Stepping into Psycho

Carissa could barely keep her head up, much less get away from two people who were in far better shape than she was. But despite the fact that her body didn’t want to cooperate with her mind, her hearing worked just fine. “How do you get people where they’re going to?” asked Flora. “I never knew because I never asked before. I figured the less I knew, the better, and I didn’t really want to know until now.” “We have private planes.” “Well, I know that, silly. But how? How do you smuggle a person onto a plane without anyone noticing?” “Very carefully. Some even go overseas in shipping containers—with some very pricey soundproofing material, that is. Besides, they use private ships, and Customs handles those a lot differently in the places they end up going to than they do with things entering the U.S. Also, the people on the receiving end know what’s coming. Those navigating the ships don’t always know, but they don’t have to. They’re just hired to sail the stuff across, not question it. They never even come in direct contact with the crates.” “Crates?” she heard Flora ask with surprise. “You ship them in shipping crates?” “Sure do. Not much choice there. But they’re inside a special crate that’s inside the outer crate. You’d have to get close to one of them to hear someone screaming inside, and even then it would just be a muffled sound.” “Oh, I see,” said Flora, as if her sick, twisted shit of a brother had been explaining the best way to cast a fishing line. Kenneth went on. “The crates are loaded onto the ship by us personally. They’re also unloaded by people working with us once they arrive overseas. This way, there’s no reason for any outsiders to get too close to the crates to get a sense of what’s going on.” “How long are they in the crates?” “Not long. They don’t go on commercial cargo ships, so they don’t make any stops along the way, which means it should only be ten days max.” “Ten days! Wow. How do they eat and drink? What about when they have to go to the bathroom?” Kenneth laughed as if it were some kind of joke he and his sister were sharing. “Relax. Each stylishly posh crate comes equipped with many bags for waste, jugs of water, and loaves of bread.” “Can they get enough air to breathe in one of those things?” “Of course. We can’t ship them dead if we’re to make the kind of money we expect to make. There’s a ventilation system that lets in sufficient air while still keeping any sound muffled so they can’t be heard from too far away.” “Wow,” Flora said, as if her brother had just explained some intricate steps to pulling off a convincing magic trick. “That’s amazing.” “So is the money.” “How many have you sold?” Flora asked. How many has he sold? Carissa thought incredulously. This deranged nut job, who had been caring for her, may as well have been asking about selling paintings. It chilled her to think that such people existed in the world—people who seemed so normal otherwise—and even more so that one of them worked in the health field. Here was a woman who had spent so many years saving lives and was now talking about selling one. Un-fucking-believable. “Not as many as I’d like. It’s not like you can pull people off the street whenever you feel like it, but I’ve managed to sell enough to live a very comfortable life.” “So where is she going?” asked Flora. “To China or something?” “Don’t know where she’ll end up in the final stretch, but her first stop will be at a place we refer to as our hub. This is in Chicago. We gather whoever we can and send them to our central location to be distributed from there.” “So that’s how it works?” Through blurry vision, Carissa saw Kenneth nod. “We send them to Chicago, receive payment through bitcoins on the dark web, and then we’re done with them. We never see them again, and we don’t know where they’re going.” “Why don’t you?” “Because we simply have no reason to, and whenever you’re engaging in any kind of illegal activity, the less anyone involved knows, the better. It doesn’t matter if she ends up in Los Angeles or Shanghai, as long as she’s out of your life and you get your money.” Carissa struggled to speak, but it came out slow, slurred, and barely comprehensible. “I-I could be out of your lives right now if you would just let me go. In exchange for not making a profit, I swear I’ll keep my mouth shut.” “Yeah, right,” Kenneth said. “And I swear I’ll go live on Mars right after I ship you off.” Flora laughed. How had Carissa been so blind? How could she not have seen the evil lurking beneath the friendly eyes and bright smile? “So do we have to drive her all the way to Chicago ourselves?” Carissa struggled to clear the fog from her head. She had to think fast. If she didn’t take action soon, she would be shipped off to some other state—or maybe some other country—for whoever was on the receiving end to do whatever they pleased with her. But she didn’t see how she could outrun two people, even if she weren’t drugged. She still wasn’t nearly as strong as she’d been before the accident. “No. I have a guy I call who takes care of the local deliveries. He has a large, windowless truck that’s soundproof. She’ll be loaded onto that.” “So it’s like a semi?” “Pretty much,” Kenneth said with a nod. “Once the guy accumulates a full truckload, everybody will then be taken to the Chicago hub for distribution to their future homes. Like I said, some will remain in the U.S., and some won’t.” “When will this guy be picking her up?” “As soon as I call him. Let me go do that now before the tranquilizer I gave her has a chance to wear off.” “Okay,” said Flora. She then slowly sauntered over to Carissa and gazed at her coldly. A slow, evil grin appeared on her face. Carissa searched her eyes for any trace of humanity, but all she met was a steely gaze that cut through her soul and left her with very little hope. “P-please. You’ve got to help me.” “And why must I do that?” “Because I know deep down you love me, and you know I still love you too.” “Actually, I don’t know that, Carissa. I don’t know that at all.” “Pl-please take me home with you! I promise things will be better. I’ll do everything and anything you ask of me, and I’ll never think of leaving again. I swear to God!” “I’m afraid it’s a little too late for that.” Flora took a seat on the couch next to her. “For whatever it’s worth, I’m having him do his best to see to it that you end up with an older woman who simply wants a companion to help with cooking and cleaning and things like that, instead of guys who want you for one purpose only.” “But I would rather be with you. I’m sorry I fought you at first. You know that to me it seems like it’s right after the accident, and so all I could do was be distracted by the sadness I felt for the loss of my friends and family. But this has helped me see that I should focus on the present. Instead of spending all my time crying over what I’ve lost, I should enjoy and appreciate what I have. The only way I can prove my sincerity is for you to give me a chance. Think about it, Flora. Do you really want to get caught up in such highly illegal activity that could get you put away for life? We don’t have to say anything about what your brother does. I miss our closeness. I want that back. I just want—” “Oh, shut up already with all you say you want!” Flora snapped. “I’ve had it with what youwant. Now we’re going to do what I want. I’ve already made up my mind, and I’m not changing it.” Despair washed over Carissa as her drugged body slumped back against the couch. She felt totally defeated. She was drowning, and no one was going to grab her hand and save her from sinking. Then Kenneth reentered the room. “Bad news.” “What’s that?” Flora asked with concern. “I can’t get a hold of the guy. I called another guy who’s supposed to be a backup for when the main guy can’t make it, but he doesn’t answer either.” “Oh no. What do you suppose that could mean?” “I guess they’re just very busy tonight. Things are slower at this time of year when the weather turns cooler. Most of the people we snag are homeless or hookers. You don’t see as many of them on the streets during the colder months.” “What happens if neither of them answers?” “Somebody will sooner or later. The problem is that I’m low on tranquilizers. If no one can get her for a day or two, I don’t have enough tranks to keep her out of it for that long. I also don’t have any soundproofed rooms. All we can do is keep her confined to the room that’s furthest from any neighbors. We can tie her down, too. Remember, she’s not nearly as strong or as fast as we are to begin with, so she isn’t going anywhere.” For the first time since Carissa realized the horrible fate this evil brother-and-sister team had in store for her, she felt a faint sliver of hope. She still had no idea how she could break away, but now she had a little more time on her side to figure it out. And then came the knock on the door.