The Name's Kharma - Miss Reaper if You're Nasty

Chapter 13 - A Walk to Remember

When he woke up, Matthew immediately knew he wasn't at his home. His back was really cold and wet and he heard cattle grunting and mooing in the distance. Slowly he sat up, and looked around. He recognized the house to his left immediately as the one he'd spent his childhood in.

"Morning, sunshine."

Matt turned to look at Kharma. Today she looked like a mid-western farm girl, with her hair in braids and cowboy boots peeking out from below her Wrangler jeans. He just shook his head and turned back towards the house. "What are we doing here?"

"What do you think think we're doing here?"

"I think you're going to shove my Mother's suffering down my throat again." He answered, and while he wanted to sound tough and calloused, his voice broke when he said Mother.

"Actually, this stop has nothing to do with your mom. Get up and follow me," she ordered and he obeyed.

They walked around the house to the cul-de-sac street. Matthew's home was the last home on the right side of the street. In front of them, several preteen kids were riding bicycles both in the road and on the sidewalks. Laughter and inane chatter filled the air and it seemed like an idyllic scene of suburban life. Until a shrill scream filled the air.

In the next second, Matthew and Kharma were standing just behind a young girl who was crying and wringing her hands. In front of her lay a doll whose head had been ran over by a bicycle wheel. A group of the older kids, a twelve year old Matthew included, surrounded the upset child.

"Shut up you little retard," her older brother said. "Our parents are gonna hear you and I'll get in trouble."

This just made the girl, who clearly was autistic, cry harder. She was now sitting on the ground, rocking and holding her hands over her ears. Now all the kids were chanting at the child, calling her names and causing her to become terrified and even more vocal.

"Hey, shut up!" The younger Matthew roared while shoving the girl. She fell over and began hyperventilating.

A sharp bang filled the air as the front door of the nearest home was flung open. Mr. Flannery came stalking across the yard and most of the kids scattered. But not Matt... no, he was rooted to the spot by fear. Mr. Flannery was a very large man, and a police officer to boot.

He stopped in front of Matt and locked eyes on him. Out of the side of his mouth he addressed the brother of the girl. "Jimmy, you take your sister into the house and get her a glass of milk. Once she's calmed down you get a piece of paper and write down the name of all those kids."

Jimmy just nodded and gathered his sister up. As he walked by, his father added, "Have your mother call Mrs. Romanov and tell her she can come pick Matthew up from the station."

All the color left young Matthew's face when he heard this and he began crying despite his best effort.

From the shadows, Kharma turned to Matt and searched his face. It was still stony and full of anger. "What bothers you most about what happened that day? And remember, I'll know if you're lying."

He was silent for a moment as he searched his own brain for the right answer. "Truthfully? I'm mostly angry that Jimmy started the whole thing, and yet I was the one Mr. Flannery took to the police station and got suspended from school."

Kharma held his gaze and then began walking towards Jimmy's house, beckoning for him to follow. Somehow, by the time they were standing outside the patio door, it was dark out, making it easy to see inside the house.

Inside, Mrs. Flannery was sitting in a rocking chair holding the girl, Rose. The light from a lamp on the table next to her was reflecting in the tears that gathered on her eyelashes, before dropping onto her cheeks. Deep scratches could be seen on her arms from where the overwhelmed and overstimulated girl had fought her embrace before finally falling asleep.