A Child Named Loveless Preview (Chapter 3)

Chapter 3 - The Tower (Part 3/4)

The two of them started brushing away the fragments of glass from Granny's body.

"I think Granny keeps a first-aid kit in the hallways cupboard..." Erica murmured before rushing off as Rose swept up as much glass as she could, putting it into the trashcan.

Erica came back in with the first-aid kit and started pulling out what she could. Some tweezers so that they could remove as much glass as possible, some cream, and some Band-Aids. Rose noted that none of the glass seemed to be buried too deeply and each piece was easily extracted.

"There's not too much blood." Rose said uncertainly.

That had to be a good sign, right?

There was now nothing to protect the window, allowing the wind to blow in branches and other such things around and into the house.

"Let's try to get her downstairs." Erica said.

They were both hesitant to move her, but they knew it wasn't safe upstairs anymore. Rose helped maneuver granny's body until she was resting on Erica's back. Erica was pretty strong and carrying her like that seemed the easiest way to get Granny down the stairs. Any other way seemed painful, and they didn't want to hurt her any more than she was already hurt. Rose spotted her, making sure that the unconscious woman stayed on Erica's back and didn't fall off.

Erica then knelt down onto the couch. Rose gently placed her hands under her, lowering her and shifting her body so that she was lying down.

The two girls stared at her for a while. Neither of them able to say anything. Erica's lips thinned before she turned around and started heading up the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Rose called after her, then chased her up the stairs.

"The tower." Erica said steadily.

"The tower?" Rose repeated, "Do you realize how dangerous it is out there? Granny got injured just by staying inside and you want to go out there?"

"Look," Erica turned around and shot her a fierce glare, "whatever that thing is, it has something to do with this storm. You obviously have something to do with it. So, unless you want to tell me..."

"I don't know!" Rose felt rather defensive of herself. She was surprised at the anger she felt bubbling up inside her, "Aren't you the one that has something to do with that thing?"

They glared at each other, neither of them blinked, refusing to break eye contact.

Rose's nostrils flared and she walked passed Erica up the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Erica demanded.

"I'm going with you." Rose said, as though it were obvious, "You're right. Whatever's happening, it has something to do with the both of us. That tower injured Granny and maybe...maybe if I go, I'll find my aunt."

Erica regarded her silently before Rose took off down the hall. She found Erica's school bag and tossed the content on the floor. She grabbed the lunch bag from inside of it and carried both the backpack and lunch bag with her to the kitchen.

Erica watched as Rose filled up the lunch bag with sandwiches and granola bars. She started searching the cupboards.

"What are you doing?" Erica asked her slowly.

"Gathering things we'll need." Rose said, finally opening the right cupboard. The one beside the cupboard under the sink. She grabbed two water bottles and filled them up with water. She screwed on the lids and put them in her bag, then made her way down the hall and opened up the cupboard.

"Just what do you think we're going to be doing?" Erica wondered as Rose extracted three flashlights from the closet and threw them into the bag.

"I don't know." Rose said, "That's why I'm preparing. I don't know what that tower is, and I don't know how long it will take to find out but...but being prepared can't hurt, right?"

Erica shrugged apathetically,

"You look like you're about to go on a picnic."

Rose frowned, then shot Erica a look, but didn't say anything as she slung the now zipped up bag over her shoulder. She walked off ahead of Erica, towards the living, then pausing as she looked out the window and out at the storm.

It was dangerous outside. Rose had never thought that she would ever use the word 'dangerous' to describe Deer Springs. 'Boring,' maybe, even 'dull,' but never 'dangerous.'

When she was little, sometimes she would secretly wish that something would happen. Something that would break away from the monotony of her everyday life. Maybe that was why she had felt the urge to talk to Erica. Because her school had never seen a transfer student before. Or maybe it had, but not while she was attending.

Erica was different. Interesting and new. Yet familiar, and that familiarity had created a sense of mystery. It bothered Rose, because every time she tried to figure it out but came up with no thoughts or ideas, no explanation for the sense of familiarity, her heart would clench painfully. Like not knowing who she was, was causing her pain. She wanted to cry and scream, and that feeling was only growing more intense every time she looked at her.

She wondered if Erica felt the same way. Maybe that was why they were at each other's throats now. Because they were afraid of what it might mean.

"Here." Erica said stiffly, taking a sweatshirt off one of the hangers at the front door and holding it out to Rose, "You'll be cold if you go outside like that."

Rose looked at the hoodie, then slowly took it as though handling a fragile piece of art.

"Thank you." She said quietly, then took off the backpack and slipped it over her head. She put the bag back on overtop.

Erica slipped on a hoodie of her own. She placed her hand on the door handle. She stared at it a moment, then looked back over at Rose.

"You ready?"

Rose nodded.

Erica turned the handle, only for the door to be flung open against the wall. Rose was almost afraid that it might snap right off its hinges.

"Come on!" Erica shouted, opening the screen door with all her might.

Rose forced the inside door closed, then ran out into the torrents of rain and wind. Erica followed after her. On instinct, Rose grabbed Erica's hand. They could barely see through the debris and water and after only a minute, their clothing was soaked and clinging to their bodies.

They would both look up every few seconds, keeping their eyes on the tower.

It was tough to breathe, Rose found, and even more difficult to run. The wind was impeding their progress and it felt cold when she breathed. Her nostrils were blocked with water, meaning she was forced to tilt her head downwards and breathe through her mouth when she could.

Their running slowed to a walk. They'd run out of energy if they ran. They'd get much farther walking.

The tower remained far off and their goal started to seem impossible.

Rose turned when she heard something from Erica. She was trying to talk, but Rose couldn't make out what she was trying to say over the sound of the continuous thunder. Eventually, she gave up and the two walked on without trying to talk to each other.

After nearly an hour of walking, Erica tugged Rose into the direction of someone's yard. She opened the garage door and the two of them went inside, panting and gasping for breath. They both sunk down to the cement floor.