Maya’s most recent date with Alejandro had been weird. He had asked a lot of questions about her adopted son, Tyler. It was almost as if he knew more than he should. She wondered if this man was one of the ones that Anita had been worried about.
It had been a long time since Anita’s murder. She thought about it almost every day though; the young girl that had come to her, searching for a new life, a life away from the violence. Her belly distended and scarred as she searched for a safe haven for herself and her unborn child.
The father had been an addict. Anita had watched, helplessly, as he had forced another girl to swallow several pills of LSD. He had laughed when the girl began clawing at herself, ripping at her skin, trying to remove whatever she imagined to be there. Anita said the girl had died and after she had died, the father of her baby had raped the corpse. Then he had raped Anita before wandering off. Anita had left too. She’d looked up the only relative she had and came to South Dakota looking for shelter.
Maya had been more than willing to take in the girl. Anita had been terrified the baby’s father would find her. Maya had assured her that he wouldn’t. She had been wrong and Anita had died because of it. Maya admitted her part in it. She had assumed it was an outsider, one that wouldn’t have been very welcome on the Lakota land in South Dakota.
After Anita’s disappearance, there had been whispers around the place about a Lakota and Ute selling drugs in Sioux Falls. Maya had gone to the bar, because she had wanted to see him, but with the crowd, she hadn’t. Instead, she’d gone to the police in Sioux Falls and reported the problems Anita had with her ex. Unfortunately, she didn’t have a name or description to give them.
A few weeks later, the news had reported a Lakota named Gavin had died of a stab wound. There were no leads, but Maya had a feeling that this Gavin was the father of Tyler. She also had a feeling that it was a drug deal gone badly or he’d been trying to dose a victim and the victim had fought back.
Lately, she had been having some strange feelings as well. Tyler had gone off to college, leaving her alone for the first time in ages. He and his girlfriend, Rachel, had split up on good terms. She had hoped that when Tyler returned in a few years, the two would get back together. Now, Rachel was dead. She had told Tyler over the phone, the day he arrived in Florida. Thankfully, Maya had family in Florida and Tyler wasn’t alone. People who loved him surrounded him.
It hadn’t stopped the paranoia. She was convinced someone was watching her. Someone was out to get her. Part of her wondered if it had to do with Tyler. Another part wondered if it had something to do with Anita. She had made her family in Florida aware of her feelings and Tyler’s situation, just in case. She’d also given them a contact name, Malachi Blake. The FBI agent had come around some years earlier, looking into the deaths of the young women in Sioux Falls. He hadn’t shared his findings with her, but he had given her his card.
The news a few days ago had informed her that a bombing had occurred in the neighborhood where the VCU agent lived. She had tried calling his number, but hadn’t gotten anything but his voicemail. This only fueled the feeling of doom that was engulfing her.
She tried again, and this time, she left a voicemail, begging to be called back. She thought it might all be connected to Anita’s murder. The killer might be coming after Tyler next. Or her.
Maybe she was wrong in assuming the Lakota was Anita’s boyfriend and Tyler’s father. Maybe it had been someone else and they were now cleaning house, so to speak. Or maybe she was just paranoid because the circumstances between Rachel’s murder and Anita’s murder were so close.
This had happened before. About ten years ago, she had become very paranoid that someone was watching her and Tyler. She’d gotten sick from the stress of it. Eventually, she had taken Tyler to Florida to visit her family. Once away from South Dakota, she had begun feeling much better. She almost hadn’t returned. Sometimes, she wished she hadn’t.
Tonight was one of those nights. She wanted to pack a few belongings and hop the next flight to Florida. She would spend a few days with Tyler, helping him grieve over Rachel. She would enjoy the sun and warm weather. She could do it, but not tonight. Someone had to run the clinic, since it wasn’t going to run itself. She would have to give them at least a day or two of notice before she went on vacation.
She dug out her laptop. To hell with work, her son needed her. She logged onto Expedia and made arrangements to travel to Florida. Her cell phone was dead, again. She was having issues remembering to charge it. She was having issues with lots of things lately. It was as if her mind was a little behind. Her eyes were killing her. She almost constantly had a headache. The idea of turning on a lamp made her want to scream. She would see an ophthalmologist while she was in Florida. Maybe they could tell her what was wrong with her eyes.
There was a knock on her front door. She got up to answer it, putting her phone on the charger as she did. Alejandro was on the other side. She opened the door to the wheelchair bound man, letting him in.
“Hi, Maya,” he said, rolling into her living room.
“Hi,” she smiled at him. She liked him, but there was just something off about him. “Do you want some coffee?”
“Sure,” he said. She turned to go in the kitchen to get two cups. As she walked into the kitchen, she saw a shadow appear on the wall. It was monstrously tall and inhumanly wide. She turned to ask Alejandro if he could see it, but he was standing right behind her. Her mouth opened to let out a scream, but his giant hand clamped over her mouth. “I want to know where my nephew ran away to. I took care of Rachel for him. He doesn’t have to worry about her tearing out his heart again. If you tell me, I’ll let you go.”
Maya didn’t believe him. At least, she didn’t believe he was going to let her go. Judging by his height and size, there was a very good chance that he was related to Tyler. Tyler was very tall and heavily built. Not as large as Alejandro, but still well above average. Anita said something about giants one night to Maya. She now understood it. She was face to face with Tyler’s uncle and he was going to kill her regardless of whether she gave him information or not. He removed his hand from her mouth.
“Go fuck yourself,” Maya spat in his face. “Anita told me that the man that fathered her child was a monster. It must run in the family.”
Alejandro’s face contorted. Maya braced for impact, expecting him to beat it out of her. Instead, he reached into his pocket and withdrew a syringe. He spun her in his arms and stabbed her in the back of her head with it.
It hurt. The liquid burned as it entered. Almost immediately, she began feeling ill. The world became even brighter, forcing her to close her eyes. She was lifted into the air and slung over Alejandro’s shoulder. The movements made her feel even sicker. She opened her eyes to find the darkened world was suddenly in Technicolor. It was like the transition from Kansas to Oz.
For the first time, she truly understood Anita’s death. Her last few lucid moments were going to be spent trying to fend off the effects of the LSD. She wondered what the hallucinations would be like.