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As her eyes shut, a familiar and terrifying scene closed in around her. She was backed into a corner of the communal kitchen. Her father had returned and was maniacally looming over her, his face twisted in anger. Words poured from his mouth like water from a fire hose.
“You don’t let a stranger in. You know that!” His face was red and flames seemed to dance across his eyes. “This is our sanctuary and you’ve opened the door to the devil.”
“Dad, I was just—” His hand flew up to her mouth and slammed down on her with the force of a hammer to a nail. Her head smashed to the wall and air was hard to take in as he covered her mouth and nose.
“You want the devil here? You want to let in the evil of the world to destroy what we have? I have known since you were a child that you would betray my teachings.”
She tried to pull away from him, but he grabbed her arm and twisted it, causing her to cry out in pain. His grip was tight, and she could feel his fingers digging into her skin.
He spoke in a voice that was almost demonic, and it seemed to come from all around her, filling her ears and her mind. He talked about salvation, about his special connection to the earth, and how he was the only one who could lead Cinderhill. He told her she needed to fall in line or be eliminated.
That was always the word he used.Eliminated.And she knew how easily he could snuff her out. Make it as though she never existed. Fear enveloped her every cell.
Bailey tried to pull free, but vines sprung up from the ground and crept their way around her feet and rose to ensnare her ankles. The earth was his to control and it would rise up against anyone he wanted to punish. That’s what he believed and preached and it was happening.
The ground beneath her feet crumbled suddenly as her father’s face blazed with anger. The vines loosened and she found herself falling. The pit was dark and bottomless and her father’s voice turned to a distant scream.
A scream that she realized a moment later, was her own.
Bailey sat up in bed, drenched in sweat. It took her a moment to realize it had been a dream, but the terror of it lingered. She got out of bed and walked to the window, looking out at the moonlit landscape, needing air.
“Bailey?” a voice called quietly from outside. “Are you okay?”
King stood lit by the moon just outside her open window.
“I heard a scream,” he continued in a hushed but worried voice.
She watched his posture. The readiness in his stance. If she was not okay, he would fight whatever monster was threatening her. She’d known so many people ready to fight her, but it had been too long since she had someone ready to fight for her.
“A dream,” she sputtered out. “I was having a bad dream. I’m okay.”
“Are you sure? Do you need anything? That scream was—"
“Sorry if I woke you,” she gulped, and leaned against the window frame.
“I was already up. Walking around. My back is in rough shape. I was trying to tough it out, but damn.” He stretched and groaned.
“I can give you something for the muscle pain if you want to come in.” Bailey pulled her cotton robe closed and moved to the front door. Her house was the smallest of all the cinderblock squares in the community. She’d wanted it that way. Maybe it was a form of penance for abandoning them, but when she returned, she insisted this was where she would stay.
It was little more than a bedroom with a small walk-in closet size space that held a woodburning stove and tiny table. She’d done nothing to decorate it or make it feel like more than just a place she slept at night.
Her mother had mused that perhaps it was because she planned to leave again soon, but that wasn’t the case. Bailey was here to stay. She just didn’t feel worthy of cozy décor.
“You sure you’re all right?” King asked again as he stood in her doorway, reaching up to move her bangs away from her damp forehead. “That had to be one hell of a dream. What was it about?”
“A monster,” she uttered quietly. “I can’t ever seem to get away from him.”
King nodded as though he understood perfectly. “Yeah, I know that kind of monster. The ones that are real. But you’re safe now.”
“I wish it were that easy. The hold my father had over me was more than just a controlling parent. He was in my head. I was convinced of things that now I know couldn’t be true. It took a lot of work, practically deprograming my brain to be able to tell truth from fiction. Sometimes I can’t keep it all straight. I don’t think I’m doing it right. I don’t know if I’m helping people here or—”
His eyes bore through her. She could feel the heat of his body as he moved in closer to hold her. “Everyone I’ve met adores you. They have nothing but good things to say about Cinderhill and what you’ve done to help them. Moe could be the president of your fan club. Mrs. Tully obviously loves you.”
When his arms folded around her, she lost her breath. She’d been comforting people for so long. Making things right. Solving problems. Trying to hold this place together. No one had thought to see if she was falling apart.
“Do you want to be here?” he whispered, his lips brushing against her ear. “You don’t have to stay in Cinderhill if you’re not happy here.”
“I do have to stay,” Bailey sniffled, knowing that didn’t really answer his question regarding her happiness. But that had never been a priority before and she didn’t plan to start prioritizing it now.
