Red Rain

53

“I want that one.” Elena stabbed a finger at the laptop screen. “Just a tiny black-and-red flower. Subtle, see?”

Ruth-Ann brought her face close to the screen. “Too subtle. It’ll look like a birthmark or a mole or something.”

Elena gave her friend a shove. “No, it won’t. It will look like a perfect little flower.”

“Where will you put it?” Ruth-Ann demanded. “On your butt?”

They both laughed.

“On my ankle,” Elena said. “Right here.” She touched her bare ankle with one magenta fingernail. Then she scrolled down the screen of tattoo designs. “Which one do you want?”

“I don’t want color,” Ruth-Ann said. “I don’t like the colors. I just want black. There. Look. Those Chinese letters. What does that say?”

“I don’t read Chinese,” Elena said.

“There’s a caption. Read the caption,” Ruth-Ann leaned closer. “There. Yes. That’s the one I want. In English it means Sexy Beast.”

Both girls collapsed laughing. The laptop started to slide off Elena’s lap. She caught it before it fell to the floor.

Ruth-Ann shifted her weight on the edge of the bed. “Can you imagine? All these people walking around with Chinese tattoos, and they think they say Life or Hope or Peace or something. But they really say Kick Me.”

“No. Eat me.”

They laughed some more.

Yes, they were a little giddy tonight. Elena felt more excited to see her friend than usual. Sure, they’d had sleepovers before. But not since the murder in the driveway.

Ruth-Ann’s parents kept calling from L.A., telling Ruth-Ann she shouldn’t spend the night at Elena’s, “just to be on the safe side.”

But Ruth-Ann persuaded Mrs. Ellison, the woman hired to take care of her, that Mark and Lea weren’t ax murderers, and her parents were being extra strict only because they felt guilty about being away in L.A. for so long.

And so here they were, picking out tattoos online and texting boys in their class, and laughing a lot. They pretty much had the house to themselves on this Friday night. Roz had retired up to the attic with Axl. The boys were in their private house out back. Mark and Lea had gone to see friends in Sagaponack.

“How about a cute ladybug?” Elena asked, returning to the tattoo thumbnails.

“Lame,” Ruth-Ann said. “Why do you want a bug crawling on you? Hey, Elena, think your parents would let you get that tiny flower tattoo? Your dad says kids should do whatever they want, right?”

Elena snickered. “That’s total bullshit. No way they’d let me get a tattoo even if you needed a microscope to see it. We’re fourteen, Ruth-Ann. You know what that means.”

“No. What?”

“It means anything we want to do, we’re not old enough yet.”

Ruth-Ann thought about that, chewing her bottom lip. “Hey, you’re right. You got it. That’s exactly what fourteen means.”

They tapped on their phones for a few minutes.

“Look at this.” Elena shoved her phone into Ruth-Ann’s face. “This photo Roshanna sent me. Roshanna kissing her dog. Look. With tongues.”

“Eeuw.” Ruth-Ann made a face. “Which one’s Roshanna?”

That made them both laugh. “You’re cruel,” Elena said.

Ruth-Ann nodded. “It’s my best quality.”

Elena heard a sound. She glanced up to see Daniel and Samuel in her bedroom doorway. “Hey, guys.”

“Hey, guys.” Daniel mimicked her words like a parrot.

“You’ve met Ruth-Ann, right?”

“Hi. What’s up?” Ruth-Ann poked Elena and whispered, “They’re totally cute.”

“What’s up?” Daniel echoed. They stepped into the room, their blue eyes catching the ceiling light.

Like big cartoon eyes, Elena suddenly thought.

They wore matching denim cutoff shorts. Daniel had an orange T-shirt with a bright yellow sun on the front pulled down nearly to his knees. Samuel had a black sleeveless T-shirt that revealed his slender, pale shoulders.

Daniel held up something in his hand. A brown wallet. “Pa left his wallet on the floor in his office.”

“Well, just put it back on his desk,” Elena said.

Daniel nodded. “I’ll do that.” He tucked the wallet into the pocket of his shorts.

Elena clicked her laptop shut and set it beside her on the bed. “What’s going on in your private little kingdom out back? You’re not doing anything bad back there, are you?”

“You’ll be wanting to come see,” Daniel said. He kept his eyes on Elena, as if he was trying to tell her something.

“I don’t think so,” Elena replied. “Ruth-Ann and I are kind of busy here.”

The boys stepped up to the bed, walking side by side, their faces blank.

Elena felt a tremor of misgiving. “What do you guys want?”

“Want to see our friend Roshanna tongue-kissing a dog?” Ruth-Ann offered. She reached behind Elena for the laptop.

“No. Don’t show them that.” Elena wrestled Ruth-Ann away. “They’ll enjoy it too much.”

She expected the boys to laugh or at least smile at that, but their stony expressions didn’t change.

“You’ll be wanting to come with us now,” Daniel said, so earnest and innocent at the same time, she had an impulse to hug him.

“And why would we want to do that?” Elena demanded.

“Does your brother ever talk?” Ruth-Ann offered, her eyes on Samuel.

“I’m the quiet one, don’t you know,” Samuel said.

“I’m quiet, too,” Ruth-Ann told him.

Elena poked her in the ribs. “Shut up. When are you ever quiet?”

Ruth-Ann laughed.

Daniel took Elena’s hand and tried to tug her up off the bed.

She pulled back. “Hey, what’s your problem?” She slapped his hand away.

He didn’t seem to register the rebuke. “You’ll be needing a bag or something. For the two of you.”

“For what?” Elena jumped to her feet.

Ruth-Ann had a grin frozen on her face. “You dudes are weird tonight.”

“You need to gather your things,” Samuel said. “So you can join us and rule the school.”

Elena frowned at him. “Does that make any sense at all?”

“Is this some kind of dare?” Ruth-Ann said, still enjoying it.

Elena felt on the verge of being creeped out. Her parents were away. And these boys were acting like. . robots? Their eyes were icy, she thought. She couldn’t see any joke in them.

I don’t really know them at all. They’ve been part of my family for only a few weeks. And I don’t really know what they are like.

“Do you have a bag to carry your things?” Daniel asked.

“You will come as well,” Samuel said-very formally-to Ruth-Ann.

She leaned forward and placed her hands on Samuel’s shoulders. She expected them to feel soft, but she could feel only hard bone. “What do you want to show us back in your little house? You’re not explaining anything. What do you want?”

“To rule the school,” Samuel replied. He didn’t move. Didn’t try to free himself from her hold on him.

“Yes. Rule the school,” his twin echoed.

“I don’t get it,” Ruth-Ann said.

“I think that’s why they’ve got those stupid arrows painted on their faces,” Elena told her. She realized it was the first mean thing she’d said to them since they arrived. But they were starting to annoy her.

She had spent a lot of time telling Ruth-Ann how cute they were, how adorable they acted together. But they weren’t being any fun tonight.

“If Ruth-Ann and I go down and see what you want to show us, will you leave us alone?”

“No.” Daniel returned her stare.

Ruth-Ann laughed. “You won’t leave us alone?”

“No.” The two boys in unison.

“You will stay with us. You will help us rule the school.”

“Stop saying that!” Elena snapped. “We’re not going to stay with you, and we’re not-”

Ruth-Ann grabbed her hand to silence her. She leaned over the boys, who were at least a foot shorter than her. “Why do you want Elena and me to stay with you? Are you frightened of something?”

That made them smile for the first time.

“We’re not afraid,” Daniel said. “We don’t know fear of things, don’t you know.” His smile faded quickly. “You will both live with all of us. You will help us.”

Elena squinted at him. “All of you? Don’t you mean just you and Ira?”

“There are others,” Samuel said. “We have others now who want to go up.”

Elena and Ruth-Ann exchanged confused glances. “You have other kids living with you out there? Do Mom and Dad know about this?”

“They’re joking,” Ruth-Ann muttered.

“They don’t look like they’re joking.”

Elena’s phone chimed. A text message. She ignored it.

“Let’s go,” Daniel said, motioning with his eyes to the bedroom door.

“Bring your things. Hurry,” Samuel said.

Both girls crossed their arms defiantly. “No way.”

“Beat it, you two,” Elena snapped. “You’re annoying us. Get lost.”

“You’re my sister,” Daniel said to Elena. “You will join us now. We are bruvvers and sisters.”

“Sisters? Leave me out of this,” Ruth-Ann insisted.

“Go away. I mean it,” Elena insisted. “You’re not allowed in my room, remember? Ruth-Ann and I want to be alone.”

“This isn’t your room, lassie,” Daniel replied, his brogue suddenly growing thicker. “You will be living among your bruvvers now.”

“Are you nuts?” Elena was a patient person, but they were pushing the limits here. She took a breath. Don’t lose it. Maybe this is some weird game they played on the island. Maybe it’s a big tease.

“Where’s Ira? Why are you leaving him alone down there?”

“He isn’t alone,” Daniel replied. “I told you, there are others now. And they are waiting for you.” He scraped a finger down her cheek. “I will be putting the arrow on right here. It will look so lovely.”

“Get your hand off me. Hey-”

Her breath caught in her throat when she saw the change on Samuel’s face. His eyes-those wet blue eyes-they were suddenly fiery red.

Ruth-Ann uttered a gasp. She bumped up against Elena.

Elena stared into the glowing red eyes. “Samuel? What’s wrong with you? Are you okay? Your eyes-”

“We don’t want to hurt you,” Daniel said in a low voice just above a whisper. “But you cannot be insulting your bruvvers.”

Elena heard a sizzling sound. Like something frying on the stove. It took her a long moment to realize the crackling and sizzling came from Samuel’s glowing red eyes.

And then she felt the searing heat on her forehead, lowering over her face.

“Oww! That burns! Stop it! Stop it!”

And Ruth-Ann was screaming, too. The two of them screaming in pain as Samuel glared from one to the other, and the scorching heat pierced their skin.

“Stop! It hurts! Stop it! You’re burning me!”