Dawn of Eve by MJ Howson (best ereader for students .txt) 📕

Eve’s face as Father John slammed the door shut. She clutched her elbow, now throbbing from the hit it took when she landed on the stone floor. Eve pulled herself upright, staring at the light coming from beneath the door.

“Are you okay,” Hugo asked.

Eve spun around and searched the room. It took a few moments for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. She finally saw Hugo sitting up in his bed. She said, “I’m fine.”

Hugo got up and walked over and knelt beside Eve. He put an arm around her and helped her stand up. Together they walked to Eve’s bed. He asked, “What happened?”

“I . . . I followed them.” Eve slid beneath her blanket. The warm flannel felt good against her ice-cold feet. “Caretaker and Suzie.”

“Where’d they go?”

“I don’t know, Hugo. Just some room way on the other side of the complex. Beyond the iron gate.”

“You got past the gate?” Hugo asked, looking at Eve in amazement. “How?”

“It doesn’t matter.” Eve sank deeper beneath her blanket and ran her hands across the scrapes beneath her gown. “I got caught.”

Hugo sat on the edge of Eve’s bed. He looked at the armoire lurking in the shadows. Even in the darkness, the curved wings and serpent’s head appeared threatening. Hugo shoved his hands beneath his arms to fend off the chill in the air. He turned to Eve and asked, “What . . . what do you think they’ll do to you?”

“Who knows. Last time I broke the rules, I went all day without eating.”

“I remember. The punishments are always different.”

“Bad kids must be punished.”

“Well, whatever they do, you know I’m here for you.”

“Thanks.” Eve looked at Hugo. The light from the crack beneath the door barely illuminated his round face. She looked into his caring brown eyes and said, “It’s just the two of us now.”

The windows whistled as the wind tried to seep into the cavernous room. Hugo headed back to his bed, shuffling his feet along the way. He stopped, turned to Eve, and asked, “You said they took her to a room?”

“Yes. Another locked door. Why?”

“What . . . what do you think’s in there?”

Twenty Eight

Taylor

Dr. Cole tapped his index finger against his damp lower lip. He sighed as he stared at the notepad in front of him. The top read Easton-D 12/6/19 #12. The office windows howled from the cold December wind blasting against them. The dust-covered radiator hissed and clanged as it tried to heat the chilly room. He reached for the recorder on the edge of his desk and pulled it closer. As Dr. Cole hit the rewind button, his office door opened.

“How’d your session go?” Flo asked as she stuck her head into the room. Luna bolted between her legs, ran across the rug, and pounced onto Dr. Cole’s desk. “Or do I not want to know?”

“Luna,” Dr. Cole said with a sigh.

He removed his glasses, picked up Luna, and placed her on the floor. Flo walked across the office and stood beside her husband’s desk. The old Panasonic whirred and vibrated as it rewound the tape.

“Considering she hasn’t been here for a month, it went better than expected, although not how I’d hoped.” Dr. Cole glanced at his notepad and frowned. “All she wanted to do was talk about her boyfriend. He’s been reluctant to come in for a joint session. The problem, however, is that she continues to fight me about her mom.”

“Fight you?”

“She’s just so vague.” Dr. Cole leaned back in his chair and groaned. “And she’s always contradicting herself.”

“Well, she is getting better with her makeup. She’s still gotta do something with that damn hair. At least she didn’t bring that freaky doll today.” Flo shook her head and rolled her eyes, her confusion over Dawn’s therapy on full display. “I wonder if she ever bought it new clothes. Last time it was looking kind of ragged. Or was it just me?”

“I haven’t noticed. The doll is simply an outlet. I haven’t been paying attention to how it looks.”

“Why? Shouldn’t that let you know how she’s progressing?”

“The goal isn’t to make her a good mother.”

“Well, that’s good because that doll’s a mess.” Flo crossed her arms and frowned. “What is it, Winston? You seem a bit . . . rattled.”

The tape finished rewinding, causing the unit to shudder loudly. Dr. Cole hit the eject button and removed the cassette tape. As he stared at it, he reflected on his most recent session with Dawn. He said, “She’s . . . she’s become infatuated with this diary she obtained.”

Flo stepped closer to the desk and leaned forward, trying to read her husband’s chicken-scratch notes. She asked, “What diary?”

“Today, she told me it belongs to the doll. It’s so . . . odd.”

“What’s in it?”

“From what I’ve gathered, it’s a group of children at camp. And their birthdays. Only their birthdays.” Dr. Cole ran his finger across his notes. “Billy, Tina, and Suzie were the ones she talked about today. Oh, and Eve, of course. The doll.”

“Billy, Tina, Suzie, and Eve.” Flo tried to read the rest of the notes on the pad. “How are these kids related?”

“I . . . I don’t know. It’s most likely nothing.”

“How many kids are there?”

“I can’t remember.” Dr. Cole leaned back in his chair and scratched his beard. “I know there were others. Anna. Charles, I think. I have them in my notes. Why?”

“Do you want me to do some investigating for you?”

“I don’t think it’s that important.”

“You know I can help you with your research. I’ve helped you before. All you have to do is ask.”

“I prefer I get my answers from my patients. It builds trust.” Dr. Cole pointed to the Trust plaque. “It’s an organic process.”

“If you say so.” Flo turned and headed toward the door. She stopped briefly and scooped Luna into her arms. Flo looked back at her husband and asked, “Has she brought the diary in for you to see?”

“No.”

“Mm-hmmm.” Flo