Dark Shadows (#1 of Dark Shadows Series) |Old Version|

Chapter 2: Home In The Darkness

Katherine sat alone, like usual, at the kitchen island as she ate from the bowl.

After seeing that text, she had only slept for a few hours from the fear, but even those few hours, the nightmare was far worse than the previous ones.

She dreamt that the murderer had kidnapped her and took her to a place of only darkness. She screamed for her sister, mother, and father, but the man simply laughed as he said no one would come for her.

She had awoke in cold sweat with her stomach rolling. She barely made it to the bathroom where she vomited the little food she managed to eat the day before.

Now, she sat numb in her thoughts, paying no attention to the soggy cereal or the commotion from the living room. Katherine knew it was her mother coming home after spending the night in a strangers arms and drinking; she could smell the whiskey and the sex that radiated off that woman.

Rachelle Bakers, just like everyone else who lost a child, was grieving in her own way. As her husband Dean Bakers stayed at work, Rachelle had used the lack of attention from her husband and looked for much younger bachelors. Though the thought of a forty year old woman cheating on her husband with a nineteen year old sickened her, Katherine had no say on the matter.

Rachelle stumbled into the kitchen, her tight dress in tatters and her brown hair a rats nest, whiskey surrounding her.

Katherine covered her nose with the sleeve of her hoodie, trying not to smell the horrid scent of regret, shame, and way too many shots of tequila and whiskey.

Her mother spared her no glance as she opened up the wine cabinet and took a swig of the bitter liquor before stumbling back towards the stairs and up to her separate room.

After a few moments, Katherine took her hand off her mouth and took in a deep now that the scent of liquor was gone. It was rare for her to see her mother in the morning. Most times, Katherine would be upstairs in her room or her mother wouldn't come back at all; not that Dean Bakers really noticed, he practically lived in his office.

No longer hungry, she dumped the soggy cereal into the trash bin and decided to go out for a while. She rarely did go out, not including her visits to the grave. Today, she felt that she wanted to be alone without anyone.

Like yesterday, the sky was gray as a slight drizzle fell from the clouds above. Katherine didn't bother putting up her hood as the drizzle settled on her skin.

Brookside Mayne was a small and quiet town outside of Portland, Oregon. It was settled in the mountains which attracted many hikers and tourists in the summer and fall months.

It was the town that you could raise a family, where you didn't have to lock your doors. But after Namie's death, the town had sheltered itself.

Katherine ignored the passing looks of pity as she walked. Everyone was horrified and shocked to hear of the random murder, pitying the younger sister as she was the one to see her own flesh and blood die before her:

Katherine watched the stranger walk away from Namie's body after telling her that he will come for her.

Her voice was lodged in her throat; she couldn't scream for her parents. She just stood there.

Namie laid motionless on the steps of the front porch, blood dripping down onto the pathway and pooling around the body. In the darkness, the younger sister could see how Namie's skin had turned several shades paler under the veil of black hair.

She was able to move after a few long moments, and she quickly ran down the stairs and onto the porch.

Katherine starred at the dead body of her sister, watching the blood seep through her shirt and trailing down her sides. So much blood...