Chapter 5
She might have dozed off, but she couldn’t tell. When she opened her eyes, Aria lay curled up in the fetal position on the floor. Penelope Ann hadn’t moved a muscle. A woman with as much martial arts training as she had could probably sit there for days without moving. Carmen shook herself when she noticed Marissa sitting near her.
Carmen inclined her head toward Marissa and murmured into her ear. “I really appreciate you supporting me the way you did. I won’t forget it.”
Marissa smiled and nodded. “You were right, Carmen. Fighting back right now won’t get us anywhere. We’ll keep an eye open for a better opportunity.”
Carmen glanced across the room. “I didn’t know Penelope Ann was a trained fighter. I’m glad I’m not the only one here with combat training.”
Marissa peered into her face. “We’re lucky to have you with us, Carmen. We should all follow your lead on this. Penelope Ann might know a lot about jujitsu, but you’re the only one of us with specific training in these types of situations. I’m sure when Aria and Penelope Ann get over their shock and anxiety, they’ll realize the same thing.”
Carmen shook her head. “I might be a police officer, but I’m no better than any of you. You’ve proved yourself to be very levelheaded, Marissa, and I don’t think I could have attacked Rotnim the way Penelope Ann did. My expertise is in firearms and target shooting. I’m not much good without a weapon in my hands.”
Marissa smiled again. “Each of us has skills and strengths the others don’t have. That’s all the more reason we should work together. We’re all frightened and confused over what’s happened to us, but that will pass, and when it does, we need to be allied with each other so we can stand against these creatures. We need to trust each other and depend on each other for our very lives. That’s the only way we’re going to get out of here.”
Carmen passed her hand over her eyes. “I’m sure glad you’re here, Marissa. I don’t know what I would have done with Aria without you. I couldn’t tell her to go sit in a corner the way you did. I’ve never met anybody with a mouth like hers.”
Marissa chuckled. “That’s just her way of covering up her fear. I’ve seen it a million times in the kids in our neighborhood.”
Carmen gazed down at her hands. “I guess I don’t really know as much as I should about the neighborhood. I only just moved there.”
“What brought you there?” Marissa asked. “You could have picked a much nicer place to move.”
Carmen shrugged. “My marriage broke up, and I needed to move out of Illinois. Your police department was hiring, so I applied and I got the job. It was a quick way to leave the past behind and start over. I didn’t care about the rough parts of town. That just makes for more interesting police work.”
“I won’t ask what happened with your marriage,” Marissa replied. “It’s none of my business.”
“I don’t mind telling you,” Carmen told her. “He left me because—he said—I spent too much time on my work. I was trying out for the US Championships target shooting team, so I had to practice long hours on top of my scheduled shifts at the police station. I guess that didn’t leave much time left over for him. He decided to move on.”
Marissa shook her head. “I’m sorry to hear that. I’m glad you moved here—I mean, there. I’m glad you moved to our neighborhood. We need dedicated cops who care about people, and I can see you’re one of those.”
“I don’t think Aria and Penelope Ann see it that way,” Carmen murmured. “They think I’m the enemy.”
“Don’t worry about them,” Marissa replied. “They know you’re a good person. Penelope Ann was concerned about the young girls that disappeared from the neighborhood, and you can’t blame her for getting frustrated with the police department when they won’t investigate.”
Carmen frowned. “Yeah, that is odd. I wonder what it’s all about.”
“It’s all about their budget,” Marissa told her. “An investigative reporter ran a story in the local paper about the unexplained disappearances, and another reporter interviewed the Chief of Police to get his response. He said they didn’t have the manpower or the resources to fully investigate every single disappearance, especially since they couldn’t really be sure the women involved hadn’t just slipped farther into the criminal underworld. He said until they have some more concrete proof some crime took place, they would concentrate on more pressing matters, like patrolling the streets and combating gangs.”
Carmen looked away. “I don’t know about all that.”
Marissa laid a hand on her arm. “Listen, Carmen. Neighborhood politics is the least of our worries right now. Let’s put it aside, at least until we get back to Earth.”
Carmen smiled. “Okay.”
Marissa sighed and leaned back against the wall.
“What about you, Marissa?” Carmen asked. “I’ve been rattling away about myself all this time, but I didn’t ask about you. Are you married?”
Marissa blushed and stared down at her hands. “No, I’ve never been married. Maybe someday, but not now.”
Carmen cocked her head to one side. “You must have a boyfriend, though. You’re as beautiful as Penelope Ann.”
Marissa snorted. “No, I’m not! Penelope Ann is a supermodel. I’ve got librarian written all over me.”
Carmen shook her head. “You might not be six feet tall with long curly blonde hair and blue eyes, but you’ve got your own beauty. You’re a lot more beautiful than I am. I look like a scarecrow.”
Marissa laughed. “No. You look like a tough female cop. You’re the one who’s just as beautiful as Penelope Ann.”
Carmen laughed, too. “Seriously, you could have any man you wanted. Tell me you at least have a boyfriend.”
Marissa stopped laughing. “It’s very kind of you to say that. Really. But I don’t have a boyfriend. I’m not a lesbian or anything. I just prefer to stick to my books. Reading to kids twice a week is about the closest I can get to having a family.”
“I didn’t mean to....”Carmen stammered.
Marissa waved her hand. “You told me all about your marriage breaking up, so I might as well tell you my story. I grew up in that neighborhood. I grew up in an apartment right around the corner from Penny’s Peppermints. It wasn’t the easiest place to grow up, as you might imagine, and when I was seven, my parents split up and left me.”
Carmen frowned. “What do you mean, they left you? Do you mean your father left? Or your mother?”
“Both of them,” Marissa replied. “My father ran off with a waitress from Seattle, and my mother moved back to Arkansas to search for her old high school sweetheart. I didn’t even know they were gone until I woke up one morning and no one was there to cook my breakfast.”
Carmen stared at her. “So what did you do?”
Marissa shrugged. “I got the cereal and milk out of the fridge and made breakfast for myself and my two younger brothers....”
Carmen gasped. “Your younger brothers!”
Marissa nodded. “They were four and two at the time. I took care of them....”
Carmen covered her mouth with her hand, but she couldn’t stop the cry from tearing out of her soul. “Four and two! And you were seven!”
Marissa nodded again. “Someone had to take care of them, so I did it. I took care of them by myself for seven months.”
Carmen’s jaw dropped. Then she shut her mouth with a click. “How did you do it?”
Marissa gazed up at the ceiling. “I don’t really remember much about it now. I remember some of the ladies in the apartment building used to give me money and food and clothes for the boys. One of them used to come to the apartment and make us hot meals every now and then, and they used to check and make sure our bedding and our clothes weren’t too dirty.”
Tears stung Carmen’s eyes. “And you kept that up for seven months!”
Marissa smiled, but her own eyes misted over. “I think one of them must have reported us to Social Services. They eventually came and got us.”
“Thank God!” Carmen exclaimed.
Marissa studied her. “Not really. I never saw either of my brothers again.”
Carmen couldn’t stop the tears from overflowing her eyes. One of them coursed down her cheek and splashed on her hands. “I am so sorry. I never should have asked you about that.”
Marissa waved her hand. “Everyone in our neighborhood has a story like that. It’s the nature of the beast. Just ask Aria.”
“Did Aria have a similar experience?” Carmen asked.
Marissa shrugged. “I should let her tell you herself. I’m just saying no one is worse off than anybody else. I only wanted to explain to you why it’s kind of hard for me to get close to people. After my parents left, I thought I had a nice little home and family with my brothers. I thought in my childish little way we were doing all right. Then they left, too, and I’ve never had a real home or family since. I don’t think I ever will.”
Carmen bowed her head and sniffed. “I’m sorry, Marissa. I only wish there was something I could do.”
“You’re doing it,” Marissa replied. “You’re a cop. You’re doing what can be done to make the world work the way it should. Now we’re here, and you’re doing what you can to deal with this mess, too. Just make sure you understand the rest of us are doing the same thing. We’re all in this together.”
Carmen raised her eyes to Marissa’s face and nodded. “All right. I understand now. You can count on me.”