Dawn's Abyss

Ashton finally picked up his phone the next day. It was eleven ‘o clock, and I wasn’t sure how late he slept in, so I’d waited until then to try his cell again. I was dying to know why he hadn’t been at school, but in all my excitement to ask him if he would meet me and a surprise guest for lunch, I’d forgotten to ask before the line went dead.

I figured I would find out soon enough, anyway. I was driving Carson and I to the Hazelwood Community Park in Grandpa Plucky, and my nerves were on high alert. I could only hope that Ashton and my brother would get along as well as I did with both of them. They were the two most important people in my life, and I needed them to like each other.

We arrived and made our way over to the very same picnic table that Ashton and I had ate lunch at only a few days ago. It was approximately 12:01, but for once, I was not the one panicking.

“Are you sure we can trust this guy. He’s already late!” Carson exclaimed. “Isn’t he supposed to want to make a good impression on the older brother?”

“It’s not like that,” I scolded playfully. “Ashton is a good guy, believe me. It’s not as if he got to know me because he’s in cahoots with the Kurl and he’s feeding all of my information to her. That would be ludicrous! Besides, I’m very perceptive. I can tell when someone’s playing me.”

“I’ll be the judge of that,” he muttered quietly. Just then, the rumble and then purr of a familiar-sounding engine died and I knew it was almost time for the moment of truth. I didn’t doubt Ashton for a second; he held my utter confidence and I would trust him with my life . . . or I thought I would, at least.

He walked up to us at a normal pace, doing his best to conceal his own suspicious. I imagine I would be curious, too if I were him. It took him the better of a week to get through to me, and even that was only under special circumstances. Now, he sees me with basically a complete stranger who seems to know more about me than I do.

“Hi, Dawn,” he greeted when he reached Carson and I. “And who might you be?”

“Hello, Ashton,” I responded in kind. “I was worried about you yesterday. Did you get my message?”

“I’m Carson McKnight,” my brother said before I could answer. “I’m also known as Dawn’s brother, but you can just call me Carson.”

“McKnight Cobnutton,” Ashton recalled. “You’re the one whose been sending Dawn the letters?”

“Yes, it was him. I supposed you got my message, then?” I asked.

“Yeah, I got it. Thanks for the heads up. I’m sorry I wasn’t there yesterday, and you had to go through all of that trauma by yourself, but I had an appointment,” he said.

“What trauma?” Carson asked. I’d been too caught up in my past to remember to tell him about how somebody had plastered my drawing all over school.

Ashton explained it to him politely, and I could tell that they were both unsure of each other. That was a bit unsettling; it had seemed like Ashton got along with just about everybody. He’d never struck me as the suspicious type before.

We all took a seat around the picnic table. This was a little bit of a struggle for me, because I had to choose who to sit by. Carson was on one side, and Ashton on the other. I was standing at the head of the table where there was no bench. Therefore, I had to choose which guy to sit next to. I didn’t want to hurt either of their feelings, and I didn’t want them to think I liked one better than the other. I’d known Ashton longer, of course, but Carson was actually my flesh and blood - halfway.

I figured since I had come with Carson and hadn’t seen Ashton for a day, I might as well sit by him. I needed to prove to my brother that I trusted him anyway. Then, it was my turn to speak. I had to let Ashton know everything else there was. I’d only told him everything I knew two days ago. That was, everything I’d known B.C. (Before Carson). Now, there was an entire knew truth to explain, and I owed it to him to let him in on it. Best friends didn’t keep secrets, right?

I guess not since only seconds after we were all seated, everything came pouring out. I did my best to ignore the grunts and huffs and sighs of annoyance from Carson. He was clearly unhappy that I’d decided to tell Ashton everything. I guess trust issues just ran in the family. That was absolutely okay with me, though, because I never thought I’d even have any part of a family.

It didn’t seem to take as long for me to explain everything to Ashton as it did for Carson to explain everything to me. I guess I probably shortened things a little bit, but I didn’t leave out any important details that I could think of.

“Whoa, that’s . . .” Ashton let out a low whistle of amazement. I didn’t blame him. My reaction would have most likely been the same if the tale hadn’t been personally relevant to my life.

“I know,” I told him. He looked uncomfortable a moment, like he wanted to say something reassuring to me, but was unsure of if that was okay while Carson was here. I suddenly felt bad for dumping all of this on him. I know they’re not his problems, but I guess he asked for it. “So, what are we going to do about Mrs. Kurl?”

“We are not doing anything about it,” my brother hissed. “This is not your problem, ‘Ash.’ Dawn and I will figure out how to go about this on our own.”

I aimed a kick at my dearest brother under the table. “Stop it, Carson. Ashton is part of this, whether you like it or not.”

A disapproving glare and gracious smile were both sent in my direction. I just knew this would happen. They hate each other. The two most important people to me absolutely loathe one another! Why did everything keep going so horribly?

“Since we are all in this together,” I began with a meaningful look in Carson’s direction. “You two are going to have to learn to get along. We need to figure out what to do about the Kurl. It’s not safe for her to be a teacher after everything she’s done. I mean, I suppose it’s a possibility that she’s changed, but I doubt it, seeing as how hateful she is to me and most of the other students at Hazelwood, too.”

“I, for one, don’t have a problem with Carson, and I’m willing to put aside any misgivings I may have had about you and work this out,” declared Ashton. I thanked him and we both turned expectantly toward the third party.

“It’s all a matter of trust, you know,” he heaved a sigh melodramatically. “And you might as well just make me die my hair rainbow for all the pride this will cost me, but I’m in.”

The unsettling weight that had been bubbling under my skin ever since my brother and my best friend had first met, finally lifted. Maybe things would work out after all. Maybe, we would bring the Kurl to justice and Ashton and Carson would end up being the best of friends, and I would live happily ever after.

Yeah, and pigs really did fly. What was I thinking? We hadn’t even come up with a plan yet to make things right. I didn’t know if they ever would be. Two sixteen-year-olds and a twenty-two-year-old facing an experienced, middle-aged stalker who knew how to cut the break lines of a car. What could possibly go wrong . . ?

Two voices speaking simultaneously pulled me out of my depressing reverie. “I think I have an idea.” I looked on in surprise at Ashton and Carson who’d spoken together. I could only hope that this wouldn’t instigate an argument between them or worse; the death of three unfortunate victims.

☼☼☼

It had finally gotten dark come 6:00. The beginning of plan G.T.K. (Get The Kurl) could now be initiated. The three of us were all dressed in dark clothing. That part wasn’t too difficult for me. Ashton had told his parents he was hanging out with me and would be home sometime after dinner. Carson had taken the liberty of phoning the Kurl’s house and telling her she was needed immediately at the school. We were currently creeping through the bushes on the outskirts of school property, awaiting the arrival of the red mini-van.

This part of the plan had been Ashton’s idea. Part B, which will take place after the Kurl got here, was Carson’s contribution. I’d done nothing but provide Carson some old clothes of Gabriele’s that had been in the dresser in my parent’s old room, which I’d never bothered to open before.

The rumbling of an engine sounded not far off in the distance. I knew it was time. My gut feeling told me that danger was coming around the corner, and that it was too late to escape now. I couldn’t run or hide. I was facing this and there was no backing out. That was all there was to it.

I peaked my head up above the bush to confirm my suspicions. It was the very same vehicle that had been outside my house only a few nights ago. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t figured it out sooner. I’d been thinking there were two people after me, but it was only the Kurl. Had she figured out that I was the result of Gabriele and Gloria’s marriage? If so, how and where had she gotten that kind of information. The only two in Hazelwood who knew who I was and where I came from were sitting right beside me, and neither of them would ever betray me. I hadn’t known them for long, but there was still that unexplainable pull between Ashton and I. I knew myself well enough to know that I wouldn’t just blurt out my life story to anyone. I hadn’t ever even trusted anyone before Ashton. That meant and proved something to me. Carson was my own flesh and blood, and there was just something about him that made me trust and believe him. I was in good hands.

“Are you ready for this,” he asked me. I nodded my head at my brother and looked at Ashton for confirmation. He emulated my actions. My head was screaming at me on the inside that I would never be ready for this. That was probably accurate, but I wouldn’t let anybody down like that, including myself.

Ashton spoke, explaining his part of the plan more fully to us. “We’ll wait a few minutes until we’re sure she’s in the building. Then, we’ll go in, and you guys know the rest. Hopefully, everything will fall into place.”

My brother and I followed instructions loyally and sat quietly for about five minutes. My head was running through topics to talk about, but I couldn’t think of anything to say. What kind of conversational topics would come up while waiting to confront a dangerous criminal. I shuddered to think how similar this plan was to the one my father had constructed eleven years ago. Things hadn’t turned out so well for him, but maybe the Parma luck was turning. A girl could hope.

“I thought you said you’d grown out of your ‘quiet’ stage,” Carson whispered to me. I rolled my eyes, then he said, “Let’s go.” He lead and Ashton took up the rear, leaving me the most comfortably in the middle of our moving queue.

Because we’d all dressed with stealth in mind, our shoes made next to no noise. We were now creeping down the deserted hallways of Hazelwood High. I don’t know where Ashton got a key to open the school from, but he’d just pulled it out of his pocket and unlocked the entrance in the cafeteria. It was the very same one we’d used to sneak out earlier that week. I wasn’t about to ask any questions.

We reached the Kurl’s door, and this was where Carson’s part came in. Plan G.T.K. was officially half way over. The hard part had barely begun, however. What we were about to do next wasn’t that complicated, but it would still be the most difficult. It was all a matter of confrontation skills.

The next thing I knew, Carson had held up a hand behind him to indicate that I not follow him until the signal. Ashton and I stayed back. All we could do was watch helplessly as Carson knocked on the door and then walked in assertively, leaving the door open behind him.

More than anything, I wanted to grab his arm and hold him back. I wanted to protect my older brother. This was my battle, and I knew I shouldn’t be letting others fight if for me. If not for the fact that Gloria was also his mother, he wouldn’t even be here. The only reason Ashton was here, because I wasn’t planning on putting him in any danger, and because I needed him there in case anything happened to Carson. I wouldn’t allow myself to think that way.

“Are you Mrs. Kurl?” asked a very confused-sounding Carson. I didn’t understand the reason for this, but maybe it was part of his plan.

“Yes,” I heard a voice say. “What are you doing here? School is closed during night hours and you look much too young go be a student here.”

That was her alright. I would recognize that voice anywhere. It was the very same one that enjoyed torturing me day after day in her Algebra class. An emotion I’d never felt before came roaring to life inside of me. It was hatred. I felt it deep to my core, so intense that it was, I could barely stand any longer. That was the voice of the woman who had attempted to kill my mother long ago. It was the voice of the stalker who had succeeded in killing my father - the man she’d loved - a shorter time ago. I couldn’t stand here and let the same thing happen to my last surviving family.

Fortunately, Carson’s coughing signal came sooner than I’d anticipated. I went rushing in, and despite our former arrangement, Ashton followed me. I had wanted him to stay back. He didn’t need to be a part of this. I didn’t want to put him in danger, too. Why couldn’t he just stay back?

“You are not the Kurl,” Carson said accusingly. I didn’t understand this. Of course this was the Kurl. She was the very same woman that had been teaching me for two years. She was the one who enjoyed torturing me in class. I knew Carson had seen pictures of her, but surely it’d been a long time. Was he so easily ruining the plan just because he didn’t quite recognize her.

“The woman I’d seen in Gloria’s pictures looked nothing like this. The Kurl was unhealthily thin with greasy, limp, black hair. She had dark gray eyes and a pale, gaunt face. Clearly, we have the wrong person!” he exclaimed. I didn’t want to argue about this in front of her, but I had to. There was nothing else to do, and right now the Kurl looked too angry for words. She wasn’t anything like what Carson had just described. This Mrs. Kurl had short blond hair, and she was rather plump. Her eyes were your average brown and there was nothing gaunt about her face.

“It’s been a long time, Carson. She could have cut and died her hair. Maybe it’s contacts, and everyone puts on some weight every now and then! This has got to be her. What about the car? It was the same one as outside my house,” I cried desperately. Things were going steadily down hill, and I knew what happened when the Kurl got angry. My father had experienced the worst of that, and I didn’t want any of us experiencing the same fate.

“I’ve had this hair cut since I was a little girl!” she exclaimed, appalled and outraged at such accusations. “I don’t need contacts, and I could give you detention for talking to a faculty member about their weight!”

I studied Mrs. Kurl’s face. She didn’t look murderously angry. It was more of a blind, confused fury. She looked like she didn’t understand what in the world was going on. I knew, then that this wasn’t the right Kurl. We’d gotten the wrong person. I could fathom how this had happened.

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Kurl,” I apologized, stammering pathetically. “I saw your car outside my house the other night. With all due respect, would you care to explain that?”

I backed up a little bit, as did Carson until we were in line with Ashton who was leaning awkwardly against the back wall. This was not part of the plan. Were none of us really in any danger? This couldn’t possibly all just be a mistake. All the signs led to her.

“That’s my car,” a different voice said. It came from the girl in the corner who none of us had noticed before. The sight of this person only increased my befuddlement. Nothing was making sense any more. What was she doing here, in Mrs. Kurl’s classroom? One glance at my two companions told me they were just confused as I was. Carson, of course, had never seen her before, but his eyes were squinted as if the girl held some sort of familiarity behind her highlighter-colored spandex shirt and overalls with a repetitive pattern of red spots all over it.

“Loraine?” I asked incredulously. “That red mini-van is yours? What are you doing here?”

Something inside my mind suddenly clicked. Lorain’s last name was Lurk. If you moved some of those letters around, you got Kurl. There was no way that was a coincidence. That’s not to mention the fact that she was my stalker, and was driving Mrs. Kurl to school. What did it all mean?

“You mean you haven’t figured it out yet, Dawn Parma?” she asked in a sickly sweet voice that I detected to be fake. It was awful-sounding; unlike anything I’d ever heard before. The closest thing it reminded me of was a spoiled little girl using a baby voice to get what she wanted.

All was silent for a while, and then Carson spoke up. “I didn’t know the Kurl had a daughter. You,” he pointed at my Algebra teacher, “are clearly not the Kurl. Where is the real one, then? Is she somewhere in hiding? Did she give her only daughter up to some innocent teacher before forcing you to change your surname?”

Loraine cackled and goose bumps rose up all over my arms and on the back of my neck. “You’re a smart one, aren’t you, Carson?”

“How do you know my last name and his first name?” I asked. She hadn’t denied anything my brother said. Did that mean he was right? The real Kurl was in hiding and her heir was my classmate?

“My mother’s been keeping me informed from her undeserved cell in the high-security prison that she got locked up in after your heartless, ungrateful father’s death was linked to her. She told me that your damsel of a mother had thrown herself on Gabriele and she’d gotten pregnant. It wasn’t hard to figure out who their child was. You were the only girl without a last name, and you were the right age after all,” Loraine sneered.

That ignited some renewed fury within me. How dare she talk about my mother like that. Maybe I’d never known her, but Loraine certainly had no right to say that Gloria Telnor was basically a -

“Shut up!” my brother snarled at her, interrupting my thoughts. I’d never heard anyone use such a venomous tone before, and frankly, it frightened me. “You didn’t know Gloria, and I’ll be darned if you’re going to talk about her like that, when you’re stalker-mom is shut up in prison for murder!”

“We all know that Gabriele deserved to die, Carson. He’d never earned my mother’s love that she gave to him so graciously. She did us all a favor,” Lorain laughed. My fists clenched into tights balls, and I had to fight myself from attacking the girls standing in front of me, whom I’d always been rather fond of. Nothing was the same.

“What do you have against us?” I asked quietly, keeping the outrage from my voice, so as not to arise any suspicions from her.

“The same thing my mother had against your parents, Dawn,” she spat my name as if it were bile on her tongue. “You took Ashton away from me. You’re just as much of a flirt as your filthy mother was!”

I felt paralyzed. Where did she come up with such abominations? Ashton and I weren’t dating; we weren’t in love. I didn’t think we were, at least. You’d think I would know something like that, but it seemed like Loraine thought she knew more about our relationship than we did. I turned my head a fraction of an inch so I could see the expression on his face.

I was surprised to see his cheeks a flaming red color of embarrassment. I’d never seen him embarrassed before. Were my eyes playing tricks on me in my newfound insanity? Loraine couldn’t be right about this. She was crazier than any of us!

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said slowly, trying to keep his voice steady. I supposed that we were all fighting internal battles right now. Loraine was only falling her mom’s footsteps. Who knew if she really cared about Ashton or not. Maybe she was just doing this because imitation was the sincerest form of flattery and this was all she had to give to her mom. That was messed up.

“I think I do,” she said solidly. She was so sure of herself, and no perceptible form of uncertainty emanated from her.

“I’ve never spoken to you before,” Ashton said, clearly in an awkwardly uncomfortable position at this moment. My heart went out to him in a moment of pity and guilt. I knew I shouldn’t have dragged him into this. I was just too selfish to face this alone. How could that be right, though? I had Carson with me. That wasn’t alone.

“Love is a complicated thing,” explained Loraine, speaking in her candy-coated voice once again. It was like nails on a chalkboard. “It doesn’t have to be verbal. My attempt at sabotaging Dawn was ruined when I saw she didn’t even care what I’d done.”

I looked at her as she scoffed. “What did you do?”

“Put the pieces together, stupid girl!” she screamed at me. I struggled to keep myself from covering my ears. “I took a picture of your dumb drawing and put it up all over school. You were supposed to be so humiliated and mortified and Ashton would see you going crazy. Then, he would realize that you weren’t the one for him and you would run away and never come back!”

My mouth dropped open in shock. Ashton hadn’t even been there that day. I’d ended up going home sick anyway, and the last thing I would want to do in front of my entire school was get all spastic. If anyone was loony, it was Loraine! What kind of twisted plan was that?

“That is a seriously demented plan,” Carson said. I glanced at him to see him controlling his laughter. This was not the time for laughing! He was right about her attempt at treachery, but this seemed like a dire situation to me, and I didn’t find anything particularly funny.

“I wouldn’t be laughing if I were you,” she hissed, glaring at all of us with visual daggers. Mrs. Kurl was currently hiding under her desk, apparently scared for her life. I didn’t blame her; at least she was taking things seriously.

“Why is that?” I asked cautiously. Now was the time to bolt. We needed to get out of here and report her as a stalker. As far as I knew, she hadn’t done anything else wrong that could be considered a serious offense. That didn’t mean I was letting my guard down. None of us knew exactly what this girl was capable of.

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” she giggled like a little girl from a horror movie. “It’s probably because you’ve all underestimated me, and now I can really follow in my mother’s footsteps.”

“What are you talking about?” Ashton whispered, sounding as spooked as I felt. We really needed to get out of her, but now that I knew Mrs. Kurl wasn’t the one we were after, I couldn’t just leave her here. Had she known about Loraine? It didn’t matter. It was obvious she wasn’t a threat. The important thing right now was getting everybody to safety, and alerting the authorities. Nothing else mattered at the time being.

She continued speaking as if Ashton had said nothing. “Unlike my mother, I won’t make the mistake of killing the one I love.”

I think we all exhaled just then. Loraine wasn’t killing anybody. My guilt still wouldn’t subside. What if she had been planning on murdering Ashton? It would have been all my fault. I hadn’t wanted to put anyone in jeopardy. It seemed like we would all be getting out safe, but my conscience wasn’t satisfied.

Then, Loraine just kept on talking. “I’m just going to take the life of the one who stole my love away from me. My mom will be so proud of me. I’ll have killed her nemesis’ only child. I can only hope she won’t be too disappointed that she didn’t get to do it herself.”

Suddenly, everything was happening so fast, I couldn’t understand any of it. I, on the other hand, seemed to be moving in slow motion. I was frozen with fear, or shock, I couldn’t tell. I saw her pull out the gun. She’d been planning to kill me for a long time. It was her goal in life. She wanted to please her mother. I guess I could understand that. I would want to live up to my parent’s expectations if I had any. Well, maybe I had a mom. But I knew I would never see her again. It was too late for that. It was my time to move on. If my mom had died, along with my mom, at least I was on my way to see them again.

I closed my eyes and waited for the worst. People were screaming at me. From where I knew Carson to be, I heard the sound of frantic running in the direction of Loraine. My brother was going to try and stop her. I wanted to pull him back, but I had satisfaction in knowing that he would never make it in time. The trigger had been pulled. I heard the shot, and waited for the horrifying impact it would have on my heart.

Somebody roared out the word “No,” and then I was thrown to the ground. There hadn’t been any bullet. I was still alive. Nothing had pierced my heart as I’d expected. Without warning, time resumed its normal pace, and I was pulled back into reality.

My eyes opened and I saw Ashton. He’d thrown himself in front of me only just in time. I didn’t understand how or why he was right in front of me. I felt something wet against the front of my shirt, and looked down. The black of my shirt had darkened with a warm liquid that was spurting from Ashton’s chest. Then, I understood.

Ashton Voss had sacrificed his life in order to save mine. He had just jumped in front of a bullet for me. It had not been intended for him. I was supposed to be the on who’d gotten shot. I was supposed to be the one lying on the floor dying right now; not Ashton.

Sirens sounded in the background and I knew the police had finally come. Carson or Ashton of Mrs. Kurl must have called them somewhere along the way. The sound of those sirens made me realize something. It was something I must’ve known all along, but had been ignorantly denying it for a week.

Loraine was right. I had fallen for this boy. I had fallen hard and fast and there was nothing I’d been able to do about it. The connection we both felt that had been so unexplainable to us before, was love. At sixteen-years-old two sophomores had fallen in love in a mere week. And I had thought that things like that only happened in the movie.

I looked down at his face. The color was rapidly being drained from it. A drop of clear liquid fell onto his pale cheek, but he wasn’t crying. It was me. I was crying for him.

“Don’t worry about it, Dawn,” he croaked at me, smiling feebly. “Yesterday, my appointment was at the hospital. I was going to die anyway, so it’s okay.”

That didn’t make any sense. Why was he already going to die. Ashton was in perfect health! It had only been a doctor’s appointment. His sacrifice was for nothing. Loraine was probably aiming the gun at me right now, and preparing to fire her second bullet. By the time the police got here, it would be too late.

“I was diagnosed with terminal cancer. It’s okay, Dawn. Just don’t feel guilty about anything,” his voice was growing fainter, and I knew I was losing him. It was all my fault, too. No matter what he said. He could have had longer if only I hadn’t dragged him along to this inevitable death trap tonight. “And Loraine was right, you know? We’re soul mates.”

Those were his final words to me, or to anybody. He didn’t even get to say goodbye to his parents. He didn’t have enough time to do any of the things he’d probably been planning on before he finally passed away. I was to blame for that.