Page 83 of Below The Surface
“He gets his hair from her,” Kendra says.
“How—” I start.
“I’m older than Casey by a few years. I remember her. Remember all the other kids.”
“Soyouknow how old you are?” Hayden says.
“Not really, but I’m older. Casey was the rut of the litter. Like a fragile little kitten they threw into the fire. But he didn’t stay fragile for long. None of us did. We couldn’t. We weren’t allowed to be children.”
Casey sits in silence for a beat, tapping the huge steering wheel. “I got punished a lot.”
“We couldn’t protect you,” Kendra’s voice wavers.
“That wasn’t your job,” Casey says with affection. “None of us knew why I couldn’t focus on shit. Why everyone else could do the things no problem. Not until Darla saved us.”
“We’re going out of order,” Kendra says with a laugh in her voice.
“Right. Sorry.” Casey flashes me a smile before looking back at the road.
“No,” me and Hayden say together.
“There’s nothing to apologize for,” I say.
Casey nods. “I mean, there is, but not as a kid.”
Kendra picks up when Casey doesn’t continue for a few minutes. “Darla had him tested.”
“Low support autism and ADHD. It’s like everything made sense. I wasn’t wrong, just different. She helped a lot. Gave me tasks that helped.”
“Turned us into highly skilled killers.” There’s bitterness in Kendra’s voice. “But she also listened to us. She got mehormones and voice training. She was just as controlling as the Servants of the Divine cult we got out of, but she didn’t expect anything from us except for obedience.”
“Her obedience was easier than Charles’s,” Casey says. He shakes his head. “We’re still out of order.”
“Because Darla is much easier to talk about,” Kendra says.
“Charles liked to punish me by choking me. He’d tie something around my neck and force me on my tiptoes for hours.”
My stomach twists. That’s why he doesn’t like choking.
“But enough about me. This is about the Servants of the Divine.”
“I’ve never heard of it,” Hayden says.
“It’s not documented,” Kendra says.
“Charles destroyed it or morphed it into something else before anyone could investigate. I don’t know. But he’s not Charles anymore, he’s Matt Brooks.”
Hayden stands. “You mean THE Matt Brooks?” He paces back and forth.
“Yes, and I plan on killing him at Influencer Con.” Casey says it so nonchalantly.
Hayden stops and just watches Casey before dropping back into his seat.
We all tense and wait to see what he does.
“Why?” The sound is soft.
“Because he’s a transphobic pedophile and rapist,” Casey says.
