Read Online The Dead in River City by S.A. McGarey - Free Book Online Page A

blaming myself since then. I stayed in downtown, and I met
you a little over a week after.”
    Kendra was totally floored. “I’m… I’m so sorry.” She
said.
    “It’s alright. I’m learning to cope. You’ve actually
helped me with that quite a bit.” Alan confessed.
    “Really?” Kendra said, surprised.
    “Yep.” He replied. “Since I met you, I don’t feel so
alone anymore. You’ve become more than just the girl I decided to tag along
with. You’ve become a friend.”
    Kendra was a little shocked. She had no clue that
she could possibly have an effect so great on him. Kendra had never been a
major influence on anyone. This was all new to her, and part of her really
liked it. She smiled as Alan continued.
    “So, anything else you wanna know?” He asked her.
    “Hmmmm.” She hummed. “I’m not sure. I mean I don’t
expect you to give your life story.”
    “I’d hardly call 23 years a life story.” He
retorted. “But I do see your point.”
    There was a silence between them before Alan spoke
again.
    “What about you? Can I ask your story?”
    “You really wanna know about me?” She asked him.
    “Sure. You are my friend after all.” He said with a
smile.
    “Ok… here goes.” She said with a sigh.
    Not really knowing where to start her story, she
began at the most logical place. She started at the beginning.
    “I was born into a family that never deserved me.”
The heaviness in her voice was noticeable. “From an early age, I was abused. My
father was a poor excuse for a man. He beat all of us children, and even raped
both of my sisters during their young teen years. The bastard never tried it on
me until I reached that age, and by then, my sisters had told me enough about it
that I was ready to strike back. He wasn’t about to violate me and get away
with it. I was 14 years old when he tried, and I decided that 14 years was
enough Hell for one lifetime.”
    “What did you do?” Alan asked, heavily invested in
the story.
      “One
night, he came into my room, and I was awake enough to hear him. If that wasn’t
enough, I could smell the whiskey on his breath mixed with the stench of sweat
from his clothes. The floor creaked in my darkened room as he approached my
bed. He could never have known what was coming next. I was ready for him. When
he reached the bed, and was mere moments away from raping me for the first of
what would have been many times, I turned over to face him, and pulled my hand
from beneath my pillow, revealing a knife I’d taken from the kitchen. It was
one of the big ones from the cutlery set, big enough to slash deep through his
skin, or even kill him with an accurate stab. In one fluid movement, I rammed
the knife through him, and he screamed out in agony and blind fury. In the
darkness, my aim wasn’t good. He hadn’t died immediately, but he would bleed
out soon. I ran, trying to get as far away as I could. He stumbled after me,
screaming, cursing, and threatening to kill me if it was the last thing he did.
I just kept running. I ran away from the house, down the street, and hid out in
an old hiding spot I’d found as a kid.”
    “What happened then?” Alan asked.
      “I
stayed out there until dawn, and when I returned, I found the corpse of my
father, bled out just as I thought he would be. Not far from him, were the
bodies of my mother, brother, and both my sisters. As I looked around, I pieced
together what had happened. After my escape, my father had gone into a rage and
murdered the rest of my family. He must have bled out soon after. I felt a
degree of responsibility, but I had to survive. I wouldn’t submit as my sisters
did. I wouldn’t ignore it as my mother and brother did. It seemed that this was
the price I had to pay. I lost everyone I had in this world at such a young age.
I was truly alone.” Kendra had a small amount of tears streaming down her face.
    Alan went over to Kendra and hugged her tight. “I’m
so sorry, Kendra.” He whispered