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It was a perfect summer day when nine-year-old Amy Jones first met the woman with the hat.
The kind of day when it feels impossible for anything bad to happen; the sun blazing, the sky blue without a hint of a cloud... Everyone knows bad things only happen when the skies turn dark, and clouds grow heavy with rain. Or rather, lucky children who hadn’t had anything bad happen to them. Yet.
Children have so many perceived notions. Amy Jones’ proved to be her last.
Her idea of danger came from TV and her parents, dressed as men with candy, big white vans, the smell of sweat, and imaginary pets. So, when a woman with a funny hat and a gentle smile approached Amy on her way from piano practice, Amy smiled back.
Seven years later
The first thing Amy saw when she opened her eyes was the familiar roof of the Earth Cruiser. She sighed and closed them again, hoping to return to her dream where her parents were preparing her a birthday party, and she was just deciding which cake she wanted by licking the many frostings laid in front of her and-
“Hi, there, sleepyhead.”
Amy kept her eyes closed, careful to keep her breaths deep and level. Sometimes it worked with Crow and Barry, made them leave her alone for a few more minutes.
The mattress dipped when Rose sat down. She caressed Amy’s cheek, moving her hair out of her face. “Come on, I know you’re awake.”
Even though her touch and voice told otherwise, Amy knew that if she kept pretending to sleep, Rose’s nails would dig into her skin until she “woke”. So, taking her time, Amy opened her eyes, blinking against the light coming in from the windows next to them before her gaze settled on Rose’s face. Her hat sat atop her head, as strange as the first time Amy had seen it, and her lips split into a gentle smile as she cupped the left side of Amy’s face in her hand.
“Today’s a beautiful day, don’t you think? Sunny, blue skies, just perfect, right?” Rose said, her eyes wide with glee.
It made Amy’s skin crawl, and she wanted nothing more than to recoil from her touch, but she learned fast that it was better to agree with Rose than to bear the consequences of defying her.
Rose’s fingers dug into the skin right under Amy’s eye, making her wince.
“Yes,” Amy said quickly, her lips quirking up.
Rose’s smile grew. “Ah, we’re going to have so much fun together today, pet.”
“You see that boy over there? Cute, right?”
“No.”
They were sitting under a tree in a park near the campsite, watching people going about their day, mostly families or students who yelled far too loudly, making Amy flinch. Amy toyed with a fallen leaf in her hand, savoring the precious moment outside of the Earth Cruiser. In the last seven years, she’s been out for maybe a few hours. The touch of grass on her legs and the wind on her skin made her eyes glassy with tears. Oh, how much she missed this.
“Come on,” Rose said, smiling. “You don’t have to be shy with me.”
Rose kept pointing out various people and asking Amy if she found them attractive. Amy didn’t get it. Maybe it was a precaution? For the people around them, they must have seemed like friends or worse, a mother and her daughter enjoying a nice day out, and if someone overheard them talking, they would just roll their eyes and continue on their way instead of looking at them more closely.
Initially, when Rose said they’d be going out this morning, Amy had been ecstatic. Except for a few minutes every day, she hadn’t been out of the Earth Cruiser for at least a couple of months, and she finally had a chance to ask someone for help.
Rose said that they’d go anywhere Amy wanted after they visited the park, but that was two hours ago, and Rose didn’t seem like she planned on getting up anytime soon. She lay on the grass with her hands under her head, her hat for once sitting next to her hip. Amy sat with her back leaning against the tree, enjoying the fresh air and the feeling of freedom it brought.
“You said we can go anywhere I want today,” Amy reminded Rose, careful to keep her tone light. “I would like some new clothes or a book, you know.”
Rose kept watching the people walking around, her sunglasses hiding her eyes, but Amy could still imagine the eye roll.
“I said we can go anywhere you want, if you behave,” Rose said.
Amy quickly thought back. When did she not behave? She made sure to keep Rose happy, doing everything she asked. Was it the way she was sitting? Or was it that she wasn’t playing along with her charade of a normal day?
“I’m so-“ Amy started apologizing, but stopped when Rose lifted her hand, pointing out a young girl with long, blonde hair buying ice cream from a nearby truck.
“What about that girl over there?” Rose asked, lifting onto her elbows and turning to Amy. “Her hair is amazing.”
“It is.” She had the blondest hair Amy had ever seen. It resembled liquid gold, and combined with her white clothes, she looked like an angel. Maybe it was a sign from the universe. Someone who could help her escape.
“Why don’t you go and ask her where she bought her shampoo, hm?” Rose sat up and put her hat back on.
Amy nodded and stood. Each step she took away from Rose made her breathing easier. But her heart was beating inside her chest like a drum, her mind convinced that at any moment Rose would drag her by her hair back to the Earth Cruiser no matter the witnesses.
But she didn’t, and suddenly, Amy stood before her Angel, staring at golden hair and incredibly blue eyes. The Angel furrowed her brows, a hint of curiosity and slight concern evident in her gaze.
“Do you need help with something?” The Angel asked. Her voice worked like a soothing balm on Amy’s nerves, and her heartbeat slowed instantly.
Amy opened her mouth to answer, but her mind was blank. It was so long since she talked with anyone other than Rose or the other members of the True Knot that she forgot how to behave during a conversation.
“I-“ Amy started, but Rose’s stare in the back of her head made her stop. It’s now or never. Rose wouldn’t do anything to her with so many people around, would she?
Amy coughed to hide her stutter and forced herself to smile, but before she could get any words out, she heard Rose’s voice. It was gentle and kind and too high.
Oh, no.
Amy apologized to the Angel and turned around. Her heart stopped.
Rose was talking with a little red-headed girl who was showing her a doll, the girl's smile missing a couple of teeth.
Amy knew that she couldn’t risk asking the Angel now. She couldn’t let Rose lead the girl away. She couldn’t have her blood on her hands like so many children before. This one she could at least try to save.
Amy turned back to the Angel. “I just wanted to tell you that I absolutely love your hair.”
The Angel smiled, all worry disappearing from her features. “Oh, thanks.”
Amy flashed an awkward smile and made her way back to Rose, trying not to run. On the way, she looked for someone who would look like the girl’s parents, but she didn’t see anyone with red hair or a panicked expression.
“Hello, who might you be?” Amy asked with a big smile when she got back. She stepped between the girl and Rose.
“My name is Vanessa.” Vanessa wore a pink dress and a bow in her hair, and suddenly Amy saw herself seven years ago, young and naive.
“That’s a great name,” Amy said, her smile turning sour, but Vanessa didn’t notice. Instead, she shoved the doll into Amy’s face.
“My mommy gave it to me,” Vanessa said with pride.
Amy looked around again, praying that Vanessa’s parents were close. “And where is-“
Rose appeared from the other side, taking the doll from Amy’s hands and digging one of her nails into Amy’s wrist. “I was just telling Vanessa here how many more toys we have back home. Whole rooms full, right?” Her smile was wide and too sharp, a warning for Amy to stand down. Amy bowed her head and stepped back. Rose knelt down to Vanessa’s level and gave her the doll back.
Vanessa started talking to Rose about all the dolls she had in her room when Amy heard the screams.
“Oh, no. Vanessa? Vanessa! Where are you?!”
Amy winced, but no one around them seemed to notice. People kept moving without even glancing up. Was it possible that it was in her head? With age, she heard less and less, but maybe powerful emotions made it through.
Amy made sure she looked like she was listening to Rose and Vanessa’s conversation while glancing around to find Vanessa’s mom. It wasn’t hard. She stood next to the ice cream truck, her red hair, the same shade as her daughter’s, shining in the sun. She looked around in panic, an ice cream cone in one hand and a phone in the other.
Amy knew that the next move was crucial. Her eyes flickered between Rose and Vanessa’s mom, her hands sweaty and chest jumping up and down. Rose might kill her if she decided to help.
Come on, turn around! She’s right here! Amy tried to send the thought to Vanessa’s mom, focusing with all her might, screaming the words in her head. But Vanessa’s mom didn’t hear. Instead, she started walking away from them, towards the trees.
Before Amy could stop herself, she blurted it out loud, “Vanessa’s right here!”
Rose stopped talking, and when Amy turned around, she saw that she had stepped away from Vanessa and bowed her head, the hat shielding her face.
“Vanessa! Oh, honey, you scared me so much!” Vanessa’s mom came barreling past them, her hands wrapping around her daughter’s waist.
“I was showing them the doll you bought me,” Vanessa said, grinning, and lifted the doll.
Her mom turned to Rose and Amy, an apologetic smile on her face. “I’m so sorry. She usually doesn’t do that. I don’t know what came over her.”
Amy smiled back and, feeling a sudden rush of courage, she turned to stare at Rose. “It’s okay. We are used to it. Children just love you, don’t they?”
Rose furrowed her brows, and Amy bet that her eyes were glowing under her sunglasses. “You should go home.”
Vanessa’s mom took her daughter’s hand and walked away, their eyes glassy.
“You are so predictable it’s pathetic,” Rose growled. She grabbed Amy’s wrist and dragged her back to the campsite.
By the time they returned to the campsite, Amy was crying in pain, Rose’s nails digging into the back of her neck. Rose dragged Amy forward, not caring when she tripped and scraped her knees and legs. Through her tears, Amy saw the others watch them go past, but only Crow made a couple of steps forward as if he wanted to step in, but one look from Rose made him turn back around.
Rose threw the door of the Earth Cruiser open and shoved Amy inside. Amy yelped when her shin hit one of the steps, and fell on her hands, fresh tears springing from her eyes.
“I do something nice for you, and this is how you repay me, huh?” Rose said, shutting the door with a bang.
Amy wanted to crawl away, but her arms shook so much that they gave up immediately and she landed on her face. “I’m sorry, Rose. I- I didn’t mean to-“ she mumbled to the floor, blinking away the tears.
Rose’s boot landed on Amy’s back, pressing her down. “Don’t lie to me, you little brat! I know exactly what you were thinking.”
That’s not possible. Amy gasped in pain, her lungs struggling to keep up with her heavy breathing. “How?”
“You haven’t figured it out yet? Are you seriously so slow?” Rose asked, pressing harder. “I can read your mind. Whenever I want to. I always could.”
Amy felt her whole world shift. For the last seven years, she fully believed that her powers, no matter how dwindling, were enough to shield her mind from Rose. She thought that she had at least some semblance of freedom and her thoughts were hers and hers alone. It was where she spent most time, imagining herself somewhere, anywhere, other than the campsite and the Eart Cruiser. Somewhere far away from the True Knot. Somewhere she didn’t have to cry herself to sleep, listening to the screams of their victims and hating herself for staying alive when they couldn’t.
Just as Amy thought that she would pass out from lack of oxygen, Rose removed her foot from her back. Amy took a deep breath and started coughing before curling into a tight ball. She started rocking back and forth, sobbing her heart out.
Rose took off her sunglasses and threw them into Amy’s face. They hit her on the forehead, one of the legs missing her eye only by a few inches. Amy flinched. “You won’t set foot outside the Earth Cruiser for a month,” Rose said.
“Please, no,” Amy gasped through the sobs. “I can’t do it again. I want to go outside.”
“Do you? You were whining the whole time today.”
“I wasn’t- Ah!”
Rose kicked her in the back, hitting her kidneys. Amy yelped, her body jerking to the side, and coughed when saliva got caught up in her throat.
“I- I’m sorry,” Amy said, voice hoarse. “You were nice, and I didn’t appreciate it like I should have.”
“You’re right. I was nice,” Rose said, stepping closer. Amy let out a loud whine and braced herself for another kick, but Rose just picked up her sunglasses from the floor. She put them into her pocket before wrapping her fingers around Amy’s wrists. “And as always, you had to ruin it, hadn’t you?”
Rose pulled Amy’s arms away from her head, her grip like iron. Amy kicked with her feet, but it was like fighting a mountain. Rose smiled, but her eyes stayed cold and hard as she climbed on top of Amy’s stomach, straddling her. She moved Amy’s hands down so they rested on the floor and let go, but before Amy could move them away, Rose dug her knees into Amy’s forearms.
Amy couldn’t move an inch. She started hyperventilating, her eyes welling with tears, and her head started spinning. She hoped she would pass out soon.
Still smiling, Rose cupped Amy’s face in both hands, wiping her tears away with her thumbs. “Shh, it’s okay,“ she whispered, leaning down. Amy started turning her head to the side, but Rose grabbed her chin, keeping it in place. Rose’s blue eyes soon became the only thing Amy could focus on.
“Tell me, was that really your grand plan?” Rose asked, pity dripping from her voice. “Did you think that rube would save you? That the little brat would see you as her savior? As if someone could ever see you as anything other than a disappointment.”
Amy focused her gaze on Rose’s hat, trying to ignore her, but it was hard. Because she was right, wasn’t she? For the last seven years, she witnessed hundreds of children dying and didn’t do anything, didn’t even try to intervene after the first time when she ended up with a broken nose. What was she thinking would happen if she managed to say something to the girl in the park? She would most likely think she was kidding if she said that she was kidnapped seven years ago by a cult of vampiric creatures that ride in caravans. And besides, kidnapping victims don’t hang out in the park with their kidnapper.
“Take your parents, for example,” Rose continued, and Amy flinched. “They haven’t looked for you, and I bet they’d thank me if they knew I’ve set them free from the burden of having you as their daughter.”
“That’s not true!” Amy said. She meant to yell, but it came out as a broken whisper.
Rose clicked her tongue. “Oh, you’ve seen them looking for you, have you?”
“No, but-“
“There are no buts!” Rose dug her nails deep into Amy’s skin and leaned down, their noses only a few inches apart. “There are facts. You were a burden to them, and I set them free. I could’ve killed you when we got back that first day, but I was kind because your pathetic existence made me feel sorry for you.”
Tears streamed down Amy’s face, and she had to bite her tongue to stop herself from crying out.
“Everything you have is because I gave it to you. Your life belongs to me. You are nothing,” Rose said, her voice cold. She stuck out her tongue, licking Amy’s tears as she moved her lips to Amy’s ear. “Say it.”
“I’m nothing,” Amy whispered.
“Good girl.” Rose caressed her cheek before standing up. “If you behave, maybe I’ll start letting you out for an hour each day. Trust must be earned, you know?”
Amy stayed on her back, afraid of moving a single muscle in case it made Rose drop this strangely nice façade. Why wasn’t she madder? Amy expected to be cut open for ruining the kidnapping. But then it dawned on her. Rose never intended to kidnap Vanessa. It was all to lure Amy back to her, because she could read her thoughts and knew she was going to ask for help. And she knew that Amy wouldn’t resist “saving” a little girl.
Rose, oblivious to Amy’s realization, walked over to the cabinet next to the bed. “Just one more thing,” she said, patting the wood. “Open it.”
Amy’s eyes widened. “But you said that if I ever touch it, you will kill me.”
“Don’t make me repeat myself.”
Amy got to the cabinet on all fours, her whole body aching. Before she touched the handle, she glanced at Rose, hoping to see that she was testing her. But Rose only narrowed her eyes, and Amy quickly pulled the cabinet door open.
“What do you see?” Rose asked, stepping behind Amy’s back, her hands on the top of her head. She tangled her fingers into Amy’s hair.
And Amy understood what her punishment would be.
“Canisters,” she whispered.
Rose tightened her grip. “And how do they look?”
“They are empty.”
“Huh, are they?”
Rose pulled Amy’s head back and rested the tip of her knife under her chin. Her next words made Amy’s blood run cold.
“You should have let me take Vanessa.”