Part 2

I wait as patiently as I can for Ken to come back and count off the minutes in my head. When twenty rolls by, I give up hope that he’s coming back anytime soon. I try and let myself relax, try and forget the painful solitude of being blind, and remember what it was like to see. But soon enough those good memories are edged out by terrible ones about the people I murdered.

 

I know it doesn’t make any sense, but my eyes are the killers. If I look into someone’s eyes for more than ten seconds while they stare back, they’ll be dead within twenty-four hours. Ever since I turned thirteen, there’s been no way for me to avoid it. I kill people by looking at them.

 

Thirty-two minutes thirty-four seconds, thirty-two minutes thirty-three seconds, I think to myself.

 

I sigh tiredly and try and get comfortable on my plastic chair. It’s fruitless. They’ve seemed to have designed a chair specifically for maximum discomfort. But I keep on trying to get comfy for a few more minutes before finally giving up.

 

Thirty-seven minutes eight seconds, thirty-seven minutes nine seconds.

 

The door suddenly bursts open, and I let out a small shriek. At times like these, I desperately wish I could see. I hear more than one pair of feet shuffle into the room, and an easy smile spreads across my lips.

 

“Got an audience now, do I?” I sneer.

 

“Shut your mouth, Elexa,” Ken growls in my ear.

 

I swear I leap a few feet out of my chair. The back of my head bashes into his face, and I feel my pulse climb up.

 

“Do not take advantage of a blind woman like that!” I scream.

 

“Elexa,” a woman’s voice croons. “Please stay calm.”

 

“No, I won’t be calm!” I shout back. “Not until you all believe me!”

 

I feel very slender fingers touch my face. “We believe you, Elexa,” the woman says. “But we need to know more before we can do anything about it.”

 

I relax a little in my chair. “Oh. Okay, I thought you all thought I was insane.”

 

“No, no,” she soothes. “We just want some more answers.”

 

“C-can you tell me your name first?” I ask. I feel my tough-girl façade slip away at the gentle touch of this woman.

 

I can hear the smile in her voice when she says, “Cameron Delco. Officer Cameron Delco, really, but you can call me Cam.”

 

“Hi, Cam,” I say.

 

She lets out a tiny, melodic laugh. “Hello, Elexa. Now, would you mind telling us a bit about yourself and this terrible thing that has happened to you?”

 

“Happy to,” I say. “I’m twenty-one and I’ve been blind since I was sixteen. I have this terrible curse where when I look into someone’s eyes for longer than ten seconds, they turn up dead later that day. I don’t know why it happened, but it did. And it was horrible.”

 

Cam takes a sharp breath. “So, that’s how you killed dozens of people? By looking into their eyes?”

 

“Yes,” I respond.

 

“But you haven’t been able to kill anyone since sixteen, correct? I mean, how could you, being blind?” Cam questions.

 

“No, I haven’t killed anyone since I was sixteen,” I agree.

 

“Then why didn’t you report yourself sooner?” Cam asks me. Her soothing tone is slowly dissipating.

 

“Because it took a lot of courage to show myself as what some might consider crazy,” I counter.

 

I can feel her cold scorn. “Or maybe you’re just a lonely blind woman who wanted attention for once.”

I grit my teeth. “If that’s what you think, fine, but I’m telling the truth.”

 

“Oh, really?” Cam has her face right in front of mine; I can smell the strong coffee on her breath. “But wouldn’t you say it’s convenient that you’re claim has everything to do with the eyesight that you no longer have?”

 

I feel my nostrils flare and my pulse quickens. I piece my tough-girl façade back together. “So you’re suggesting I’ve made all of this up.”

 

“Without proof, how can we know for sure?” she asks as if she’d be willing to reconsider if there was proof.

 

“Cam,” I say. “Just please, take a moment to imagine what it would be like to kill people just by making eye contact.”

 

The room is completely silent for a moment as everyone in it takes a moment to think about it.

 

After what feels like forever, Cam speaks up quietly, her voice strained, “You cut out your eyes, didn’t you?”

 

My silence seems to be confirmation enough.

 

“Officer Delco, you don’t honestly think this woman is telling the truth, do you?” a bewildered man’s voice demands.

 

“I . . . I don’t know,” Cam replies, obviously upset.

 

I smile and lean back in my chair, content with her reaction.

Reviews

[Zachary_James]

I am speachless great job..... love it so far