~ CATHERINE ~
Sunday the 2nd of July, 1989
The taxi driver arrived just as I opened the front door. I locked up and ran to the sedan, letting myself into the backseat, relieved that Christopher hadn’t stuck around to stop me. I wasn’t concerned about my parents seeing me leave. I’d told my mum that I’d decided to go to swim practice. She’d mumbled something about it being too early, my suggestion of catching a taxi well received.
“Good morning,” the taxi driver said. “I’ve been told that your destination is Buckland’s Reserve. Is that correct?”
“Yes,” I replied, clicking the seatbelt on.
“That’s an unusual place to go to this early in the morning.”
“It’s for a biology project,” I lied, giving the fatherly-looking man some sense of comfort. “I’ll be meeting my class there. It’s the only time that the birds we’re studying come out.”
“On a Sunday?”
“Yeah, I know, it sucks, but we can’t do it during the week,” I said, willing myself not to be short with him, knowing he was just being nice. Although right now I wished I’d gotten an uncaring sod, who didn’t give a stuff where he was dropping me off.
Giving me a nod, he pulled out of the driveway and headed for Buckland’s Reserve. I sat in silence, wondering whether I would ever see my suburb again, my family, my friends, and... Christopher. I looked down at my hands, wishing I was with him instead of dealing with his granddad. My heart grew heavier as we drew closer to Buckland’s Reserve. I didn’t hold out much hope of surviving today. I was basically getting a taxi ride to my death, because how could I beat a man with almost a century’s worth of experience? If, or more likely when, he killed me, my soul would probably be sucked into his rosary, burning for eternity. I swallowed, beyond terrified, so much so that I wanted to ask the taxi driver to turn around and take me back home. But I couldn’t, my parents’ lives were at stake, which meant I needed to find a way to win no matter what, making sure that it was Reprebus’ soul sucked into my purgatory bead. He deserved to suffer for everything he’d done, drowning for eternity like the other souls in my rosary.
Wanting to have a look at them, I pulled my rosary out from under my I Love Mexico hoodie, doing a double take at what I saw. The star was now totally white, not even a flicker of blue left on it. Though, the tiny fish-like creatures were still swimming around inside the bead, the demon souls trapped within their own personal hell. For a second, I wondered whether there were angel souls in there too, but instantly shut that thought down, having enough things to worry about without adding more.
The taxi driver drove past the bus shed that Christopher had waited at on Tuesday and Thursday. It wasn’t long before I spied Buckland’s Reserve. I closed my eyes, listening intently to the crunch of the gravel underneath the taxi’s tyres as it drew closer to my imminent doom. I opened my eyes when the taxi came to a standstill, my heart now in my throat.
The driver glanced back at me. “No one’s here.”
I looked down at my watch for effect. “No worries, I’m a bit early.”
“Did you want to stay in the car until someone arrives?”
“No, I’ll be fine. What’s the cost?”
He told me. I dug in my pocket, pulling out some coins and notes. I handed them over and opened the door, climbing out.
The taxi driver got out too, looking over the roof at me. “Are you sure you’ll be all right here alone? I don’t feel comfortable dropping of a young lady in the middle of nowhere in the dark. Did you know a year or two back a teenager was murdered here?”
Yes, my sister.
I shook my head. “I’ll be fine. My classmates and teacher should be here soon.”
The sound of an approaching vehicle drew the taxi driver’s attention away from me, a set of headlights lighting up the car park.
Seeing my opportunity, I pushed on. “That’s my teacher’s Beemer, looks like the rest will be here in no time.”
Smiling, the taxi driver nodded and climbed back into his car. He started up the engine and drove past Reprebus’ BMW. Needing to be as far away from Christopher’s granddad as possible, I slipped through the familiar opening in the trees and sprinted across the grassy field, running as fast as I could towards the line of trees on the other side, the small forest a possible escape route if I needed it. I stopped and leaned over to get my breath back, only allowing the panic to overtake my mind for a few seconds before getting a grip and straightening.
Two tall forms emerged from the trees on the far side of the field, but contrary to my dreams, Reprebus was with his son instead of his cousin. Christopher’s dad stopped in front of the tall pine trees, while Reprebus continued moving forward, stopping several feet in front of his son. He waved at me to come closer. Eyeing him up warily, I took a few steps, but didn’t go any further, needing some distance between us. At a guess it was about fifty metres, fifty of those too close for comfort.
Christopher’s granddad raised his hands. The Seraphim rosary lit up, the red light looking brighter against his black clothes. For a second I considered reasoning with him, but as soon as flames sparked from his fingertips, I knew there wasn’t going to be any talking involved.
I raised my hands in response. All around me dewdrops rose up from the damp grass, coalescing with the moisture in the air. I started chanting the Hail Mary over and over again, my voice growing louder by the second, my prayer to Saint Mary stopping me from turning and running. My words appeared to have an effect on Reprebus too, but in a negative way. Even from a distance, with only his flames and the moon lighting the field, I could see the anger written across his face, as though the prayer offended him. The flames in his hands flared, rapidly swelling into massive balls of fire.
“Prayers won’t help you!” he shouted. “Nothing will help you. You took my grandson away from me, and you’ll die for that.”
He flung his hands out, propelling the fireballs at me. I reacted quickly, forming a protective shield around myself with the water I’d conjured up. The balls of fire struck my shield, some of it dispersing into black smoke, the rest hitting the trees behind me. The flames rapidly jumped from one branch to another, dancing across the leaves, igniting more trees.
Reprebus threw another attack at me. It broke through my water shield, striking me in the legs. Screaming in agony, I staggered back, quickly smothering my burning jeans with water. I’d barely put it out before more fireballs came my way. I flung myself to the side, narrowly avoiding them, but landed on my burnt legs, causing more pain. Not having any time to spare, I gritted my teeth and picked myself up, raising my hands to create my own attack. This time the water came from within, the surge rushing through my veins, bursting forth. It barrelled towards Reprebus, hitting him square on, knocking him back. But it was a weak attack, barely hindering him. He started moving towards me, aiming a large fireball at my head.
I quickly sent out a torrent of water to smother the fiery assault, dousing the flames. I threw out more water, pushing him back a few more feet, but it wasn’t enough, nothing I was doing hurting him. I’d smashed boulders apart with my water spheres, but he was brushing them off, like they were nothing more than splashes.
He smiled in response, knowing he was going to win.