February 20, 1999
Sister Veronica stared down at her clipboard for a while after her latest therapy session with Vincent. His time at the infirmary was more than halfway finished, and still she wracked her brain for an answer to his problems.
She was certain that his father was on board with the idea of sending Vincent to live with a distant relative, but his grandmother had no intention of letting him go without a fight.
No matter what Sister Veronica recommended, she knew that someone's toes would be stepped on. Her decision boiled down to the safety and well being of her patient, and she planned to do everything she could to shelter him from any more harm.
The light knock on her door stole her attention away from the clipboard, and she opened the door to find Vincent standing there. His mahogany eyes showed a reflection of the worry that grew inside of him.
"Would you mind if I came in for a minute?" He asked, though he was already stepping inside.
"Not at all." Veronica said, closing the door behind them. She knew that it was against the rules for him to be in her room, but she wanted to hear what he had to say before sending him away.
Vincent sat on the foot of her bed and looked down at his feet. "Thanks. I promise I won't stay long. I-I just need to talk for a little while."
"What would you like to talk about?"
"It doesn't matter. I just don't wanna be alone."
Veronica sat down next to him and folded her hands in her lap. During their last session, Vincent talked about the guilt that he harbored for allowing his mother to be treated so badly. The tears that spilled down his face as he lamented were heart wrenching.
She tried to assure him that there was nothing he could have done to change his father's behavior, but her words were hollow to him. There seemed to be no convincing him of his innocence.
Vincent heaved a long, weary sigh before looking up at her. "Do you think my mommy is in heaven?"
The question caught her off guard. She bit her lip and stared into his eyes with compassion as she considered the best way to answer him.
"The pastor at my old church said that people who commit suicide go to hell." Vincent said, rubbing the back of his neck. "He said God won't forgive them."
"Well, that pastor sounds like a moron." Veronica blurted out, causing Vincent to stare at her in astonishment. The nun cleared her throat and said, "Forgive me if that was a little blunt, but that is a very ignorant statement for someone to make."
"Does that mean he was wrong?"
"Yes, he was wrong." She answered, "If your mother loved Jesus and accepted him as her Savior, then she is in heaven with Him right now."
Vincent pondered her answer silently for a moment, then nodded his head. "You're right. I'm sure that God forgave her for killing herself. He knows that she had a hard life." His eyes flashed with anger and his fists clenched in his lap. "Victor was so cruel."
"Try not to think about your father." Veronica said, "You'll just get upset."
"I can't help it!" Vincent cried, tears gushing down his face. "I hate him so much! I wish he was dead!"
"Shhh....take a deep breath." Veronica whispered, pulling him into her arms. "You don't have to worry about him anymore."
"But what about when I go home?" He sniffled, his words muffled by her shoulder.
"I'll make sure you don't ever have to go back there."
Veronica held him for several minutes as he cried on her shoulder, and when he was finished she took him back into his room. She poured him a glass of warm milk and tucked him securely into his bed.
"Can you stay for just a few more minutes?" Vincent asked, sipping his milk. "We don't have to talk about anything if you don't wanna. We can watch tv."
Veronica looked at him hesitantly before nodding her head. "Alright, but only for a few minutes. You really need to go to sleep. It's almost midnight."
She watched television with him for fifteen minutes, then turned it off and insisted he went to sleep. She gave him a small kiss on his cheek before leaving his room to return to her own.
The halls of the infirmary were silent as she walked down them with a sad look on her face. She wished there was more she could do for Vincent, but she knew much of his healing would have to come from within himself. The only thing she could do at this point was to be a good friend and a listening ear.
There was a cold breeze inside of her room when she stepped inside of it, causing her to shiver. The light was turned off and the window beside her bed was wide open.
'That's strange.' She thought, 'I don't remember leaving that open.'
She shrugged her shoulders and closed the window before any more cold air got into her room, ignoring the strange feeling that came over her. After locking her window, she reached for the light switch and turned it on.
Her eyes widened when she saw a masked figure standing in the corner of her room.
"Hello, Sister." The person said, waving casually before lunging towards her.
Veronica froze in horror as she was roughly shoved against the wall, a gloved hand covering her mouth before she could scream.
"Don't you dare make a sound or I'll kill you." Her captor warned, shoving a sharp blade against her throat. "Do you understand?"
Veronica nodded her head frantically and stayed quiet. The masked figure slowly took his hand away from her mouth. "Good girl."
"Wh-who are you?" Veronica choked. "What do you want?"
"You're going to take a little ride with me." The man answered, running his hand over her cheek.
"B-but why? I don't understand."
"You'll find out soon enough." The man said, "And if you cooperate with me I will not lay a hand on you."
"Sir, please-"
"But if you don't cooperate I'll kill you and everyone else here."
Veronica pinched her eyes shut and thought about the innocent children. "I'll do whatever you want."
"A wise choice." The man chuckled. He reached into the pocket of his dark jeans, pulling out a thick piece of cloth and handing it to Veronica. "I want you to tie this around your mouth."
"No, please." Veronica groaned, fear washing over her like a rushing river. "I promise I won't scream."
"Don't argue with me, Veronica." The man warned as he pulled out a pair of handcuffs from his other pocket.
Veronica could feel the warm tears flowing down her face as she tied the cloth around her mouth.
Why was the happening?
Who would want to hurt her?
The man chuckled again and secured the cold handcuffs around her wrists. "You're obedient. I like that in a woman." He said, lifting the ski mask off of his face.
Veronica gasped when she saw the man behind the mask.
"I knew you'd be happy to see me, doll." Victor Graves said, "You've always seemed fond of me."
Veronica screamed into the cloth and tried to pull herself away from him, but her screams were cut short when he punched her in the face hard enough to knock her out cold.
Victor put the black ski mask back on and tossed her unconscious body over his shoulder. He opened the window and made sure there were no witnesses in sight before carrying her out to the car he'd stolen earlier that day.
He shoved her into the back seat and covered her with a large blanket. When she was sufficiently hidden, he climbed into the driver's seat and pulled out of the parking lot of the infirmary with a smile spread across his face.
And Sister Veronica was never seen again.