1.27 – Slapdash

Meeting Maria, the strange but kind goth girl, and Derrick, the like-minded ultra nerd, had started to fill some of the new void in Leona’s heart left behind by Sarah, but she still couldn’t fully shake her funk. 

Outside school, she continued to mope, and even the company of her new friends couldn’t fill the emptiness she still felt. Maria, however, wasn’t one to let Leona off easy. She refused to let her "half-heartedly" practice her art and would call her out whenever Leona pretended that everything was okay. Maria pushed her to face what she was going through, which made Leona both grateful and frustrated.

Eventually, Quinn had enough of watching her sister suffer and decided to step in too. A few days later, Leona found herself shaken awake from her restless sleep.

“Ugh, what… what time is it?” Leona groggily muttered, her voice thick with sleep.

“Hey kiddo, it’s only 10 PM. Wanna go on a little ride?” Quinn asked with a playful grin, dressed head to toe in black clothes. “Can’t have you running around outside in your jammies, though. I think you should put on something a little more fitting for the trip—lots and lots of dark colors, and maybe cover your head if you want to blend in. You know, just a thought.” Quinn gave her a teasing look, the picture of casual mischief.

Leona blinked sleepily, her brain sluggish. “What do you have in mind, exactly?” This wasn’t the first time Quinn had taken her on a late-night adventure around the city or the suburbs. Quinn would sometimes want company on a random errand, like an ice cream run or taking a friend home from a late-night party. It wasn’t out of character, and Leona never really minded helping—especially now, when she welcomed the distraction.

“Oh, you know,” Quinn said, her grin widening. “I’ve got a very important errand to run—and I need you to come with me. Now, shut up and do as your big sis says.” She raised an eyebrow, her expression feigning annoyance but full of mischief.

Leona groggily eyed Quinn, then reluctantly rolled out of bed. “Another gig?” she asked, rubbing her eyes as she walked toward her dresser to find something dark to wear.

“Nope,” Quinn said, winking at her. “You’ll see.”

After driving in the pitch-dark night for more than an hour, the constant drone of Quinn’s favorite dubstep music almost lulled Leona into a trance. “Can we put something else on?” Leona complained, reaching for the radio dials.

“No!” Quinn slapped Leona’s hand away. “It’s how I stay focused late at night. So just NO!” she groused, her voice sharp. Leona flinched and pouted at the abruptness, but the sting of Quinn’s hand and her irritated shout did more to keep her awake than the music did.

Leona wasn’t sure when, but at some point, she must have dozed off. The next thing she knew, Quinn was turning the music down. Looking at the clock, Leona realized they’d been on the road for over two and a half hours.

“Okay—we’re almost there—” Quinn flashed Leona a grin.

“Almost where? We’ve never driven this far at night,” Leona yawned, still annoyed. The city lights had long since faded from the rearview mirror, and the highway had disappeared into the darkness of back roads.

“Where? To Jesus Camp, of course!” Quinn whispered, her tone almost mischievous. “You wanna see Sarah, don’t you? You told me everything I needed to know in those billions of rants.” She rolled her eyes. “Turns out a friend of a friend knows a guy who has some family who works at this place, and I scored us directions. It’s called Padua Realignment Camp. How the heck their marketing team lets that name slide, I’ll never know. Anyway, we roll up, you hop the fence, and then all you gotta do is sneak in and say hello! Easy-peasy.”

“SNEAK IN?” Leona asked incredulously. “ME?”

“Or I could crash through the gate with the car, but then I’d definitely make you work off the repair costs and the bail money. It’d only take a few years, I suppose,” Quinn shrugged casually.

“Point being, you’re a minor—the worst they’ll do to you is hold you overnight for trespassing. Call me on your cell if that happens. They’ll release you to my custody with a fine, but who cares? This is for a good cause.”

“What?” Leona raised an eyebrow.

“In my case, I never got more than a slap on the wrist when I got busted for trespassing,” Quinn said almost nostalgically.

“Anyway, we’re here.” Quinn turned off the lights, and the car coasted in semi-darkness. After a while, she pulled over and stopped.

“This is it! This is the ranch end of the camp, so it’ll probably be nice and quiet. Go for it. Your mission: Find Sarah in there—quietly.” Quinn winked.

“Do you have any idea where to find her once I’m inside?” Leona tilted her head, unsure.

“How would I know?” Quinn quipped. “I dunno, use the power of love or something cheesy like that.” She chuckled. “I’ll at least wait to see if you make it over the fence.”

Stepping out of the car, Leona walked in the direction Quinn had pointed. It wasn’t long before she came across a tall chain-link fence blocking her path. And not just any fence—this one had curled barbed wire mounted on top, like something straight out of a prison or an internment camp. Leona frowned at the obstacle. Getting over that fence would surely leave her bloodied.

She stomped back to Quinn, whispering, “There’s a lot of freaking barbed wire up top! If I show up bleeding, I wouldn’t be able to pass as anyone in there, right?”

“Huh—damn… I guess they’re serious. Don’t worry… I’ve got a solution.” Quinn reached into the back seat, digging around in the pouch behind the passenger seat. She pulled out what looked like a massive pair of pliers, grinning wickedly.

“Huh? You wanna bend them?” Leona asked, incredulous.

“No, dumbass. Wire cutters!” Quinn stated proudly. “Just clip a hole in the fence and sneak in.”

Leona eyed the tool, then glanced back at Quinn. “Why do you even have these? These are going to cut through fence wire? Really?”

“Yeah! I use them to cut thick A.F. audio cables all the time… How different could it be?” Quinn purred, handing the wire cutters to Leona. “Now git!”

Leona stared at her, her head spinning. “What if it’s electrified, and I get fried?”

“Nah—if that was the case, they’d have crispy kids on the menu. Don’t you think they’d touch the fence when they’re let out to play?”

“Maybe they turn the fence off when the kids are out and then—back on at night,” Leona retorted, grinding her teeth.

Quinn pointed imperiously at the fence. “Fine, whatever. Just do it.”

Leona huffed but reluctantly trudged back to the fence. She struggled with the cutters for a while, but eventually managed to snip through a single link. Just as she felt a small sense of triumph, a blinding light from a massive spotlight lit up her face, freezing her in place.

“Alright, enough of that. Get up slowly.” A man’s voice barked at her from the darkness.

Leona gulped and shot a glare at Quinn, her mind screaming at her sister for dragging her into this mess. With a resigned sigh, she raised her arms and let the wire cutters drop to the grass. There went her perfect record and sterling reputation.

“Come along,” the man ordered, shining the flashlight in her face as he marched her back to the car. There, Quinn stood, already cuffed, by another man holding a flashlight. Leona’s eyes squinted as she adjusted to the light, and she finally took a good look at the man who had apprehended her. He wore a fake-looking badge and had a firearm slung at his side.

“I found this one cutting the fence,” the man said, motioning to Leona.

“Hey, I don’t know her,” Quinn said flatly. “I was just here to tip a cow or two. Who knows what nefariousness this one’s been up to?”

Leona’s glare could have melted steel as she shot her sister a betrayed look.

“Yeah, right? That’s quite enough. The local PD are on their way, so sit down and shut up,” the second guard growled, his accent thick and strange to Leona’s ears. It wasn’t quite southern, but it definitely wasn’t local either. She wondered what kind of out-of-state security company these guys were from. The whole thing felt off.

Quinn shot Leona an apologetic look, but it didn’t make Leona feel any better. At least they hadn’t cuffed her, so she didn’t have to deal with that added humiliation. The sisters slumped into the grass, awkwardly waiting for the authorities to show up.

When the police finally arrived, the flashing lights of the patrol car lit up the night, but there were no sirens, thankfully. Leona felt a knot in her stomach as they were cuffed and stuffed into the backseat of the patrol car. The separation of the front and back was a constant reminder that this was real, and they weren’t getting out anytime soon.

The sisters exchanged a look. Leona’s face was a picture of terror. Quinn, ever the calming influence, leaned her head against Leona’s, whispering, “Hey, chill. It’s not that big a deal.”

The police car rumbled to life, leaving Quinn’s car behind with the two guards. The short drive to the local police station felt endless, and once they arrived, the officers processed them for trespassing and vandalism. They were fingerprinted and, after a while, placed in a holding cell.

An officer came by to offer them their free phone call. Naturally, the sisters called Laguna, who picked up with an immediate sense of concern.

“Did they hurt you? Thank goodness you’re alright… I was worried when I noticed you gone—”

“Nah, they never laid a finger on Leona,” Quinn said into the phone.

“You fool!” Goonie seethed, her voice rising. “Dragging your sister into this kind of mischief! What the hell were you thinking?”

Quinn chuckled lamely. “It seemed like a good idea at the time.”

Hours passed, and finally, Goonie appeared at the station, looking more than a little disheveled. Her eyes zeroed in on Quinn with an intensity that could have burned a hole through her.

“WHY?!” Goonie’s voice cracked with frustration, and her gaze was piercing. Quinn winced, already knowing she was in for it.

“It was just a little joyride, y’know—” Quinn shrugged, trying to play it off like it was no big deal.

Goonie, however, wasn’t having any of it. She shook her head in disbelief, her voice thick with frustration as she admonished them both, “The both of you march your sorry butts to the car this instant and sit!” She wasn’t even looking at Quinn when she spoke; her gaze was fixed firmly on Leona, disappointment radiating from her eyes. The officer accompanying Goonie unlocked the cell door with a clang, and two other officers escorted them out. Leona kept her head down, feeling chastised, but Quinn’s unrepentant smirk remained firmly in place.

Goonie didn’t mince words as she began to lay into them. “Do you realize that I just paid a thousand-dollar fine for vandalism? Do you think we can afford this? I talked them into letting you off with a fine since you two are still kids, but this won’t be the end. Who knows what could have happened if they weren’t willing to cut you a break?”

“I’m sorry, Mom,” Quinn muttered, though her tone was casual. “I mean, not for what I did, but taking Leona was a pretty bone-headed idea.”

Goonie shot Quinn a sharp glance in the rearview mirror, her lips tight. “Leona, you should have said no! You knew you should have.”

Leona winced under her mother’s gaze, her eyes downcast. She nodded quietly in agreement, guilt gnawing at her. She had known better.

Quinn, ever the troublemaker, decided to make things worse. “I basically kidnapped her, and I know that Leona’d attest to that,” she said with a lazy grin.

“ENOUGH!” Goonie’s voice rose, and Leona flinched. “I’m more angry you got caught than I am about what you did in the first place! It was brave, but stupid. You should have thought this through. What about college? Quinzel! They might revoke your application if they catch wind of this!” Her voice was full of worry now, even if it was tinged with anger.

“College isn’t what matters most here,” Quinn shrugged nonchalantly. “That one wasn’t my first choice anyway. I don’t care if it goes south.” She lied, her words heavy with the fake nonchalance she always used when trying to avoid responsibility.

Goonie just shook her head, muttering, “I quit. I officially quit. You’re both grounded until we figure out if I can still send you to college before I murder you for doing this.” It was a desperate statement, one Leona could see was her mother’s last-ditch attempt to regain control.

When they finally arrived back home, Goonie didn’t hesitate—straight to their rooms, no dinner, no explanation, no comfort. Leona knew it was her fault. Her choices had caused this.

Alone in her room, Leona lay on her bed, her body restlessly tossing and turning. The weight of the mistake pressed down on her chest, and the guilt clung like a shadow. She felt it deep in her bones—the wrongness of what she had done, the way she had let herself be swept up in Quinn’s reckless plan, even when she knew better.

It was so stupid. She was so stupid.

Her mind raced in circles, trying to make sense of everything. “No,” she thought, “I was dumber than anyone else for not thinking things through.”

But what gnawed at her the most was the reason behind it all. She had gone to such lengths—stupid, dangerous lengths—for Sarah. And where was Sarah now? What had been accomplished?

Leona curled her hands into fists, frustration bubbling in her chest. She was still powerless. Nothing had changed. Although she had changed on the outside, but inside, she was still the same. Still weak. Still stuck. She wasn’t any closer to Sarah, to fixing the things that were wrong in her life. The whole world felt like it was falling apart.

After what felt like hours of restless turning, Leona finally reached for the gift Sarah had given her—the small glass globe. She picked it up gently, her fingers brushing over the smooth surface, and the weight of everything she had done hit her all at once. A tear slipped down her cheek, falling silently onto the globe.

As her hand lingered on the orb, the tear seemed to stir something within it. For a moment, it was as though the world inside the globe had come alive. The tiny down feathers, the ones she’d hardly noticed before, fluttered slightly, as if it had been moved by a sudden breeze—an emotional current, unseen but felt.

Leona stared, wide-eyed, as the globe’s inner glow seemed to pulse, soft and faint, but undeniable. The sensation was almost like the universe itself was acknowledging her grief, her love, and her helplessness. It was as though the globe was trying to comfort her, or perhaps remind her that even in her powerless state, something—someone—was still there.

She carefully set the globe back on its shelf, her heart aching as she did so. The glow faded slowly, leaving her room in darkness. But in that moment, as she lay back down, she realized something—maybe there was more to her connection with Sarah than she had realized. The thought was enough to bring a little comfort in the dark.