Page 33 of Lady Death

“You aren’t cursed,” Kori tried to tell her, but Keres was beyond listening.

“Everything I touch disintegrates.”

“Keres—”

“Don’t tell me it’s just bad luck. Abigail and Darby didn’tdie because of a fluke. My parents died … they died because of me.”

“They had a car accident, Keres.”

Keres looked away, suddenly getting swept into the memories she tried hard to suppress. “I haven’t told you about that night.”

“Do you want to talk about it now?” Kori gently asked.

She swore she wouldn’t dwell on what happened, but now the puzzle pieces were falling into place. “I-I want to go to a friend’s house but they said no. So, I snuck out, and they came after me. It was during a torrential storm in monsoon season, and they skidded across an intersection where they were T-boned by a semitrailer.”

“It was an accident.”

“There are a lot of accidents in my history.”

“Sometimes we all feel toxic to other people,” Kori said soothingly. Not one ounce of judgement in her tone. “Our perception gets skewered from the difficult times that happen around us, but that’s not your fault.”

Keres bit her bottom lip to continue breathing. For one brief moment, she thought she could be happy, but she now knew that would never happen. Death stalked her, ready to pounce on those brave enough to befriend her.

The session lasted another fifteen minutes before she hung up the video chat with Kori. Then she sat in Ronin’s bedroom and replayed the conversation in her mind. Her parents had loved her, and she remembered how devastated she’d been when they’d died. She’d been sent into the system because she had no other family. For a moment, she thought she had a new one, but now she knew none of this was ever meant to last.

****

Keres stood in front of Darby’s gym and stared at the devastation with tears running down her cheeks. Bullets had shattered the glass window, decimated the wooden frame, and chipped away brick and mortar, giving the building a dystopian façade. Yellow police tape designated a perimeter around the broken storefront. She headed for the entrance. A large crack split the door down the middle.

Ronin wouldn’t allow her to be by herself, so he went with her, acting as the lookout while she tried to understand what had happened. Tried to figure out what to do next. He went to walk with her, but she placed a hand on his arm.

“Please,” she whispered. “I need to do this alone.”

He hesitated. “Are you sure?”

She nodded. “Just … give me a moment.”

“Okay,” he said, obviously not liking being left behind.

Keres ducked under the police tape and entered the gym. Debris lay scattered everywhere. Punching bags leaked their stuffing. Paper littered the floor. Walls had a million bullet holes in them. The boxing ring had a big, red stain on it. Darby’s blood. Nausea made sweat pop out on her forehead, and she had to look away. Rehashing that night in her memory wasn’t why she was there.

Marching past all that, she headed to the back staircase and punched in the access code. The lock clicked and she hurried up to the apartment above the gym. She grabbed a duffle bag and filled it with stuff she wanted to keep. Some clothes, toiletries. Photos. Knickknacks. She marched into Darby’s room and opened the closet, quickly entering the combination on the safe he kept there.

Inside were several guns, ammunition, a few knives. A metal box she handled very carefully. All of it went into the duffle. Then, with one last look around, she gave Darby a mental goodbye.

“I hope you’re with Jonathan,” she whispered. “I will miss you, my friend. Thank you for saving me.”

Then she picked up the bag to rejoin Ronin outside. He watched as she made her way carefully out of the gym.

“Ready?”

She nodded. “What are they going to do with the building?”

“I can find out if you want me to.”

She thought for a moment. “Actually, it doesn’t really matter. Darby isn’t here. No reason for me to be, either.”

He took the duffle from her and carried it back to the motorcycle. Keres put on her helmet and slung the bag over her shoulder. Then she climbed up behind him and a moment later, they raced off into the night.

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