Valley Of Glamorgan (3 page)

As we drove along Knoll turned slightly
towards me and said, “I am sorry it had to come to this; I can
imagine how you must feel right now.” I rolled my eyes. Although I
knew that he was trying to be sympathetic, I doubted if there was
one person on this earth who could feel how I did at this precise
moment.

We had been driving in silence for at least
an hour. I figured that Knoll was trying to give me time to come to
terms with the night’s events, yet I didn’t think that I would ever
feel normal again. I’m not even sure that I will ever get over the
realization that the people who raised me, the ones who read me
bedtime stories, who taught me how to ride a bike were now lying
lifeless in the back of the old minivan. Even though I tried I
found I couldn’t get my mind around the fact that they had been
going to kill me! And all because they were part of some power
hungry cult. It was just too surreal to me, sounding like some
scary movie or a bad nightmare. However, in reality it had become
my life and I would never have believed it until it had actually
happened, inches in front of me; I was still questioning my own
sanity.

Knoll finally turned off onto a gravel road
and solemnly said, “I figure this is where we should bury them.
There is an old cemetery up the way. People haven’t been buried
there since the 1800’s, so no-one will notice two extra
bodies.”

I don’t know why, but I got offended by his
statement. He sounded like a mafia hit man so I said sternly, “They
are people, not just bodies!”

He put his hand on mine replying, “You’re
right. I am sorry.”

I shook my head, stating, “You have no
reason to be sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me? Why am I
still trying to protect them, after all they have done to me?”

Smiling gently at me Knoll responded,
“Because you have a good heart, just like your real mother, and
those two are all you have ever known.” I didn’t reply; I just made
a mental note to ask him about my real parents at some point; but
first, I had to assist in burying my pretend ones.

When we reached the cemetery Knoll got out
of the car, going to check if there were any spots open to bury
them in. He waved for me to get out of the car which I did. Even
though I had helped carry two dead bodies, which had frightened me
by the way, I still had an ominous feeling about being in the
cemetery. I couldn’t believe that after all I had witnessed tonight
I was still apprehensive about entering such a place.

It reminded me of the time my best friend
Katelyn and I had snuck out to go ghost hunting. It was last
Halloween, at our local cemetery back in Palm Springs. We were
there for ten minutes, and both swore we had heard something moving
in the woods so we had run out of there as fast as our feet could
carry us! Neither of us could sleep for a week and I wondered what
she would say if she had seen what had happened tonight but I guess
I would never know as I would never see her again. It felt as if I
had lost everyone I loved, not just my pretend parents; and all in
the same night. And now, here I was burying two people that I had
inadvertently help murder. It is funny how life turns out. However,
I was not laughing, I was feeling destroyed.

Suddenly my thoughts were cut off as I
realized the obvious; and looking to Knoll I asked, “How will we
bury them without a shovel?”

He laughed lightly, replying, “Well, I guess
I hadn’t thought of that. But there has to be a supply shed around
here somewhere.” And gesturing for me to follow him we started
searching round the cemetery. Unfortunately all we could see were
some old, battered headstones and grief. Then finally, just as we
were about to give up, we spotted an old shed at the east end of
the cemetery.

I was running out of patience, finding
myself becoming short-tempered, so I shouted in a smart-alecky
tone, “Well, we can forget about getting in there, unless you have
a crow bar on you.”

Knoll just laughed, asking, “Now, why is
that?” He had one eyebrow raised, as if I had said something that
had sparked his interest.

About to snap again, as I felt myself
becoming angrier by the moment I looked at him and said, “Well,
isn’t it obvious? There is a dead bolt lock on it. Besides, I am in
no mood for sarcasm.”

I felt like walking away as he chuckled
softly to himself and approached the rickety old shed that appeared
to be on its last leg. Collecting myself I responded, “I guess we
could just huff and puff and blow it down. After all it looks like
it’s been here before the cemetery was built and I laughed. I
suppose I was trying to find humor in the situation.

Turning towards me Knoll smiled, simply
remarking, “No.” Then he grabbed the lock in his hand and, within
an instant, he had crushed it in his palm. I stood there staring in
astonishment. It took me a moment to build up the nerve to ask how
he had done that. But before I could say anything, he turned to me
and said, “There is a lot we need to talk about Mina, although
right now is neither the time nor place.” I shook my head in
agreement. As much as I wanted to argue, he had a point, so I told
myself to take things one task at a time as we headed back to the
van.

Helping Knoll lift Stephanie out of the van
first we gently carried her, setting her down next to the spot
where we were going to bury her. Taking it in turns we dug and dug;
throwing dirt here, there and everywhere, until finally we had a
whole deep enough to place her in. Knoll lowered himself into the
hole and placed Stephanie carefully inside it. I searched the
wooded area until I found a patch of wildflowers; picking a few and
placing them on Stephanie’s body. Knoll covered her with dirt and
then surprised me by turning and saying, “I know this is hard for
you and I know that you are trying to keep a false composure Mina
but remember I am your guardian; I am here to catch you when you
fall. I am telling you this because I truly know how it feels to
hold a grudge. You need to forgive her so I will give you a few
moments alone whilst I begin digging the other hole.” He had said
it without giving me a chance to argue.

Standing by the graveside I stared at the
pile of dirt that now held my mother, or the woman who I had
thought was my mother and wondered if she had ever really loved me.
I thought back to how good of a mom she had been. She would come to
all my games, and was very understanding when it came to problems
that teenage girls faced. But then, the image of her growling at me
flashed back into my mind and reality set in again. I had to face
the truth that she didn’t, hadn’t really loved me. No, she had used
me, as if I was a simple pawn in a game of chess; only keeping me
safe and happy so that her leader could win some sort of game.
Knoll had told me that I should forgive her, but how? She had
ruined my life; and would have killed me if she had gotten the
chance. Turning away from her grave I walked to where Knoll was
waiting patiently next to the freshly dug grave for Jack. He looked
at me; concern spread across his smooth features and gently said,
“Mina, Did you make your peace?”

I shook my head in the only way I could,
responding, “Yes.” Then we walked silently to the van as we still
had to bury my pretend father.

Carrying him to the second grave we set him
in the hole, the same as we had Stephanie. Knoll then filled the
hole with dirt, as he had the other one, patting the dirt down
evenly and making sure Jack and Stephanie were one with the earth.
Once he had finished he turned and walked away, giving me a few
moments of privacy with Jack, the same as he had done with
Stephanie; somehow I appreciated the notion. Maybe he knew
something I didn’t? Maybe one day I would regret it, but as of yet
I couldn’t forgive Jack, just as I couldn’t forgive Stephanie. How
could I? Looking at the grave where the only father I had ever
known was resting I thought it odd that I wasn’t in tears, yet my
body felt tired and my mind kept taking me back to the hundreds of
memories I had shared with the two people I had once called mother
and father.

One memory that was particularly stuck in my
head had happened when I was five years old. It was Christmas Eve
and the house had been filled with my so-called cousins, aunts and
uncles. As I was the youngest there I had to go to bed earlier than
everyone else but I never really obeyed that stupid rule. Without
anyone’s knowledge I crept down the stairs and poked my head around
the corner, hoping to get a glimpse of Santa, and my gifts of
course.

I had sat there for what felt like hours
when I spotted someone carrying a bag of gifts and placing them
under the tree. I gasped! I thought I had finally caught Santa
Claus. Rushing down the stairs I yelled, “Surprise Santa!” And when
the man, who I had assumed was the mythical all-knowing and magical
Santa Claus, turned around it proved to be none other than Jack’s
alcoholic brother, Bill.

As he turned I screamed and cried, refusing
to open any gifts or partake in Christmas for the next two years.
That was until Jack had rented a Santa costume and paid a man he
worked with to wear it. He had even built a homemade sleigh out of
spare parts from the garage and used the neighborhood dogs, putting
twigs on their heads antlers. The man had explained to me that
Uncle Bill had just been working for Santa, because he was sick
that day and was unable to make his rounds. The memories made me
smile for just a moment.

As I stared at the ground that now housed
the loving man, who had gone through all that trouble just to make
me enjoy Christmas again, was something I couldn’t possibly fathom.
How could this have been the same man who had wanted to kill me
just hours earlier? I knew I couldn’t forgive him and decided that
I never would. He had made me love and trust him and it was in that
moment that I decided when, and if, I ever had the opportunity to
meet my actual parents, I would never put that much love and trust
into them, no matter how selfish it seemed. I would never allow
another person to turn my life upside down again.

Walking over to where Knoll stood waiting I
told him coldly, “I am ready to go now.”

He just shook his head and walked off
towards the van. Following him, I climbed into the passenger seat
and waited for Knoll to get in and get seated before I asked the
obvious question, “What now?”

As he looked at me, a humorous smile
displayed across his face. I began to wonder if smiling was his
defense mechanism, because he was always smiling at the strangest
times. “Well, we need to find a place to sleep for the remainder of
the night,” he informed me. I wanted to know more but had to keep
reminding myself about what Knoll had said, ‘one thing at a time.'
I kept repeating that to myself as we headed off to an unknown
destination.

Looking at Knoll I couldn’t help but wonder
how it was that I felt so comfortable around this strange man, who
had shown up and who undoubtedly, had changed the course of my life
forever. I wanted to be angry with him; most people would have felt
the same way. Momentarily the thought crossed my mind; would I have
been better off not knowing that my parents were really some sort
of occult, worshipping freaks. However, I knew more than anything
else, that no matter how bad the truth hurt, I was glad that I had
found out.

We rode in silence for about a quarter of a
mile west of the cemetery before Knoll turned right onto another
dirt path. I was starting to wonder if he could read my mind
because he seemed to know most of my questions before I asked them
when he announced, “We will have to sleep in the van. I know it’s
not a proper place for you to sleep and your mother would not
approve, but it is my job to keep you safe Mina and the only way I
can do that is by keeping you hidden.”

I replayed his words over in my mind; proper
place for me to sleep? I wasn’t some fragile princess from one of
those lame fairy tale movies. But then his words from earlier that
night came pouring back to me, as if someone had opened the flood
gates to a dam. He had said that Jack and Stephanie wanted to kill
me so that I couldn’t take my place on the throne?

I looked at him in confusion and said, “What
did you mean by I was to take my place or whatever?”

Letting out an exasperated sigh before
responding he said gently, “Carmina; I would rather explain the
whole story at once but not now as I need to find a place for us to
sleep. I give you my word once we stop and you get some rest I will
explain everything.” For some odd reason everything seemed so much
more real when he used my full name. I rolled my eyes and huffed at
him, my patience was wearing thin but, I agreed on the
understanding that I was holding him to his word.

Eventually we discovered an abandoned camp
site and Knoll pulled off the road on to it. I was actually
relieved that there was no one else camping. Getting out of the van
I stretched my arms and legs, searching for a place where I could
change into my pajamas. I was thankful that we had been on our way
to stay at my grandmas for the weekend, and that I had packed
enough clothes to last me. As I hid behind the van I changed out of
my stiff, muddy clothes thinking about my poor grandmother and how
devastated she would be when we didn’t show up. I wondered if Knoll
would allow me to go and see her so I could tell her goodbye. It
would be hard to tell her the truth. But of all the people I could
tell the true events of what had happened this past night, and have
them believe me, it would be her. She was the most wonderful,
honest, good hearted woman I had ever known and I made a note to
myself to do my best to convince Knoll to allow me see her before
we left the area.

It felt odd as I crawled into the back seat
of the van where I had been sitting when everything had first taken
place. Eventually exhaustion began to take me over and I could feel
my eyes fighting to stay open. The last thing I remembered before
falling into a long dreamless sleep, was feeling a blanket being
draped over me.