Raven Kray

She hung up the phone and went straight to O’s room. Frantically she tried to enter the code to open the safe hidden in the closet corner. Hands shaking she had to stop and take in slow deep breaths. The safe opened and its contents we’re exactly as aunt O describe. Newspaper clippings, folders filled with information and photos. The last folder had paper clips holding one corner closed. The story inside was one of horror and devastating abuse. The man accused was set free only to be found dead a week later. All the details surrounding his death matched up to the plan outlined in the folder. His death was murder and the person responsible had just confessed to his and more than 20 other murders. Driving in the pouring rain, tears streaming down her face, she felt an overwhelming sense of finality. Nothing would ever be the same. She would never be the same. Life without aunt O would not be life at all. She had saved her when she was no one’s child. The words kept racing in her head, “she may not survive this, she is barely holding on, she is asking for you”! Between her tears and the rain hitting the windshield, she drove blindly through the dark. Hoping and praying to make it to the hospital before it was too late. Raven busted through the emergency entrance door. A male nurse was standing in front near the admissions desk and immediately seemed to know who she was there to see. The room was noisy with the sound of monitors and nurses discussing medication orders. Raven stood frozen in the doorway. That wasn’t aunt O! The hands were hers, the hair was hers, but the face was unrecognizable. She approached her bedside and held her breath as she reached for aunt O’s hand. Her eyes were as blue as ever and full of love. She tried to speak only to become aware of the tube in her throat. Raven understood exactly what her aunts eyes were saying. She didn’t need words. Raven had a deep connection with this compassionate, caring woman. They stared into each others eyes as alarms began to beep and three nurses and two doctors rushed to the bedside. Raven was deaf to the sounds around her. She drifted back in her mind. Back to three hours earlier when she heard O’s voice. What she said, the secret she revealed. The secret she had shared was an impossible, unimaginable truth. It was like a box lid covered in thorns. To open this box would be like letting blood flow freely with secrets in every drop. Aunt O was a serial killer. Not in the usual sense. She righted wrongs and took over where justice failed. She had been an avenger for the past 25 years. No evidence left behind, nothing to connect her to these crimes. Nothing, except the folders of chronological documentations she had just given to Raven, along with her dying request that Raven continue her crusade. The next few weeks flew by quickly. No time to be alone with her thoughts. Raven had taken care of all the funeral arrangements. She had contacted all of O‘s friends and the few family members that were still alive. There was plenty of money, as her aunt had made very profitable investments over the years, and had married well and divorced very well. The house alone was worth well over a million. Raven had not been at the house much in the last 6 years. College and work had taken her miles away and holiday visits weren’t always possible. They talked several times a week and sent text messages everyday. How could this all be! How can you be so close to someone and not know their true capabilities, whether good or bad? After her parents died, there was no one to care for Raven. She was to be put in the system. On the list for a foster family, she waited and her future was unknown. Aunt O, Olivia Kray, was her father’s half sister. She had been estranged from her step brother and Raven knew nothing of her existence. Social workers located her and without hesitation, she agreed to take Raven until a suitable foster family could be found. The two had an immediate connection. At five years old, Raven had little to no clear memories of her parents. Of course, she knew Olivia was her aunt, not her mother but she was the only mother that she had really ever known. The two had traveled the world and had many adventures but no matter where they lived, Raven always had a stable loving home. The memories of sudden moves from one city to next, were beginning to make sense now. How did this loving woman hide the evil required to end someone’s life? Was she justified? Did she truly right wrongs? As she began to read through the folders of stories of these horrific acts and the individuals who had seemingly gotten away with their crimes, her outlook began to change. She studied the techniques and specific rules laid out in each of aunt O’s plans. She read page after page of evidence and personal notes from O. She wept, she felt nauseous, she even decided to burn all of it. Everything changed when she read the story in the paper clipped folder. The information described a foster program advocate. This person had contact with and spent a lot of time with foster children and perspective parents. Aunt O had discovered a connection with human traffickers involving missing foster children being listed as runaways. This individual had a position of respect and many friends of influence. He had been getting away with it for 4 years, according to the documents obtained by O. He was her next subject for removal. He had recently relocated to Chicago. A forced tugged at her and she knew what she had to do. She needed to find out more about this man. Raven packed her bag and booked a flight to Chicago.....