The Collection

Chapter Two

        "Kiara!" Dad shouts, sticking his head in the pantry. "The bait stash is almost empty! I need you to run to the store and get some more!"
        I close my book, slip on my sneakers, grab $20 off the counter, and run out of the door. We live in a house that's surrounded by a forest, only connected to town by a long dirt driveway. I hop on my bike and start pedaling.
        When I reach town, I lean my bike against the front of the store and head inside. Mr. Hopkins, the owner of the place, knows me by name, since I come here so often. He's just putting the phone down when I come in.
        "Hey!" He looks sad, but he manages to give me a wide smile and come walking up to me. "It's Kiara! What do you need today?"
        I return his smile and walk over to the candy section. "A lot of lollipops." I glance at the other candy bars. "And some chocolate." I grab a basket and start loading it up with all kinds of candy.
        Mr. Hopkins watches me. "Did you hear?" he says, lowering his voice to almost a whisper. "Another kid was just kidnapped. A 10-year-old from downtown." He shakes his head. "Terrible, terrible person, whoever's doing this."
        My breath catches in my throat and I almost drop the basket. So THAT'S why Dad needed bait. "Yeah. Terrible." I bring my basket to the counter with shaking hands and give Mr. Hopkins the money. He rings me up and pours the candy into a paper bag.
        "Have a great day, Kiara!" he calls as I'm heading out. "And stay safe!"
        I climb on my bike, put the bag in the basket, and start pedaling. I don't stop until I reach my house. I jump off, grab the bag, and run inside. Dad must be in the workroom. That's where he always does the dirty work.
        Sure enough, when I enter the workroom, an unconscious girl is lying on the table. Dad's in the middle of scooping out one of the girl's eyes. "Dad!" I shout, running up to him. "Stop!" I pause, panting. "I'll... take it from here."
        Dad breaks into a smile. "My little girl, learning the delicate craft of collecting! You want me to guide you through the process?"
        "No, no, it's okay." I wave my hand dismissively and walk up to him. The girl's left eye is fine, but her right eye - the one with the scoop in it - is bleeding like crazy. The blood vessels in it have all burst, turning the eye a dark shade of pink that's reddening by the second. "You can go."
        Dad starts to walk out, but then stops. "Remember to bring her down to the basement when you're done," he says. "And after you take the eyes out, stick them in that jar." He leaves the room and calls from the hallway, "I'll be taking a nap."
        As soon as he's gone, I gently extract the scoop from the girl's eye. It doesn't look good. She's likely going to lose vision in this eye, but I have to make sure it doesn't get infected. I carefully apply some ointment to the inside of the eyelid, and push the eyeball back into place. Then I run into the kitchen and grab a large bandage. I put some more ointment on that and put it over the girl's right eye.
        She moans softly. The drugs that Dad injected into her arm are going to wear off soon. I put one arm around her shoulders and the other under her knees, and carry her downstairs. The Incompletes that still have eyes stare at me in shock. I bring her to my corner and open the door that leads to the small crawlspace. Dad doesn't know about this. I use it to keep my secret stash of treats and supplies for the Incompletes. I take a blanket and pillow from the pile and place the pillow under her head and the blanket over her.
        Suddenly, her head jerks up and her eye focuses on me. She takes a deep breath, but I cover her mouth, muffling her scream. She struggles, and I hold her down. "Shh, shh!" I hiss. "I'm not here to hurt you! Please! You have to be quiet or my dad will wake up! He's the one that captured you!" She keeps struggling, but weaker this time. "You have to trust me. I hate what my father does too. I'm trying to help you."
        She slowly stops struggling, and I release her from my hold. She takes a gasping breath, and pulls her knees up to her chest. "My eye hurts," she whispers.
        "I know," I say. "My dad... he hurt your right eye. And to be honest, I don't know if it's going to be okay. But you're safe from him now." I brush strands of black hair from her face. "What's your name?"
        "Cara," she whispers. "What's yours?"
        "I'm Kiara." I take a Hershey's bar from my candy stash and tear open the wrapper. She hears the crinkle, and her head snaps in my direction. It's too dark in here to see anything clearly, and her eye searches the darkness. I break off a square and hand it to her. She looks at me warily.
        "Is it poisoned?" she asks. I shake my head, and she hesitates before popping it in her mouth and chewing. When she finishes, I hand her the rest. She wolfs it down and licks the wrapper. She's quietly crying.
        "It's okay," I assure her. "You're safe in here. Try to sleep, Cara, and if you wake up, just... don't make any noise, or he will find you. I wasn't supposed to bring you here."
        She's asleep before I can even finish the last sentence. I leave the crawlspace and close the door. There's a padlock on it, but I don't know where the key is. I push my beanbag up against the door to hide it some more.
        The other Incompletes are staring at me. I hold my finger to my lips. "Don't say anything about this," I warn. "She's safe in there, and I will try to help as many of you guys as I can. I promise." I quietly walk back up the stairs and peek into Dad's room. He's asleep. Good. I tiptoe past and into my room, where I sit on the bed and grab a notebook and pen.
        I have to start planning.