Cara felt like she was on top of the world. She was the star jammer of the top roller derby team in the region. Her dad owned the local skating rink. She was approaching valedictorian status in college. She was beautiful, smart, athletic. The whole package. She could do no wrong.
Cara was skipping with joy as she approached the skating rink. She had just finished with some charity work, volunteering at the local library. Cara would read to children and help the elderly with paperwork they couldn’t understand.
Cara pushed open the double doors to the rink and walked towards the reception desk. Lucy was the attendant working today.
“Hi Lucy! How are you today?” Cara was beaming.
Lucy sighed before putting on her customer service voice. “Why, I’m doing quite alright, Ms. Hawthorn. Are you excited for your match against the Faerunners today?” Lucy didn’t actually care. She was contractually obligated to humor Cara.
Cara giggled. “Well, of course! This match is just our ticket to nationals!” Cara twirled around.
Lucy nodded. “Right. Well. Youd uh better head to those locker rooms and get ready. Good luck Ms. Hawthorn.
Cara gave Lucy a bright smile. “Thanks Lucy!” She took off straight to the locker rooms.
Cara was greeted by one of her teammates. “Hey Cara! You excited?”
“I’m estatic! This is gonna be it, Jenny! We’re finally going to make it to nationals! Then from there, we’ll be playing in other countries!” Cara put on her ensemble of roller blades, protective pads and her jersey.
Jenny smiled. “Extra confident huh? Well, just be careful. The Faerunners ended up needing a last minute sub. They roped in Kayleigh.”
Cara furrowed her brow. She hadn’t thought about Kayleigh in a while. “She’s Moira’s partner, right? I didn’t think she’d be interested in roller derby! I know she used to skate a lot with her dad but that’s about it.”
Jenny shrugged. “Who knows. But it’s better to be safe than sorry.”
Cara scoffed. “It won’t be an issue.” Cara put on her jammer helmet and exited the locker rooms.
She couldn’t believe it. They were in the final jam of the second period. Both teams were tied in score. How was Kayleigh able to keep up with her? Cara was livid but she didn’t let it show through her calm demeanor. There was simply no way she could lose. She couldn’t afford it.
Both packs set up in front of Kayleigh and Cara. Kayleigh turned to look at Cara and waved at her with a smile, mouthing ‘good luck!’ Cara’s blood boiled. How could Kayleigh be so casual about this? This whole game was her life, her passion. Cara faced forward with a fierce look in her eyes.
The referee blew the whistle. Cara charged through the pack in front of her, smirking. Her plan was to gain a singlepoint and end the jam there, locking in the victory. The referee blew the whistle twice. To Cara’s shock however, Kayleigh was ahead of her. She was the lead jammer. Cara’s face went pale for a moment. She still had a chance, Kayleigh would get blocked and all Cara had to do was get get a grand slam.
Cara and Kayleigh successfully completed their first laps. This is it.
Cara skated ahead as fast as she could. She successfully passed one, two…. three of the Faerunner’s blockers! This was it. She was going to win it all.
That is until she felt someone slam against her. She grunted, nearly rolling out of bounds. But this wasn’t enough to stop her. She kept skating forward. But she didn’t notice Kayleigh in front of her. Cara panicked, unable to stop her momentum. Just as Kayleigh swerved slightly to dodge a blocker, her padded elbow made contact with Cara’s face. Cara felt the world tilting as she fell sideways, her vision going black.
Cara’s eyes fluttered open. Her nose was in excruciating pain. She groaned as she sat up. Cara looked at her surroundings. She was in a hospital room. In a chair next to her sat her dad, snoring peacefully. “Dad…?”
Cara’s dad opened his eyes. “Oh my goodness Cara! We were worried sick. You took a nasty blow at yesterday’s game.” He gently pulled Cara into an embrace. “You did great, kiddo!”
Cara rubbed her face against her dad’s chest. “Dad you have to tell me. Did we win?”
Cara’s dad gulped audibly. “Ah… about that sweetheart. Kayleigh scored a grand slam and stopped the jam, closing out the game.”
Cara’s face went pale as she had a horrified look on her face. “W-what? But… nationals… we were going to win… I…” Cara began sobbing.
Cara’s dad held her tighter. “Aw baby girl it’s okay. There’s always next year! Plus, you did your best. I’m proud of you no matter what, kiddo. That Kayleigh, though… incredible. If only Cillian could’ve seen her….” Cara’s dad let out a sad sigh. “That doesn’t matter now. What matters is we need to get you out of here and get you some ice cream! How does that sound, eh?”
Cara sniffled. “Daaaaad I’m not a kid anymore. We don’t get ice cream after matches anymore.”
Cara’s dad had a look of feigned offense. “Oh? And what does the young Ms. Hawthorn do after a roller derby game nowadays?”
Cara chuckled. “Well, we go for a pint obviously.”
A few days after being discharged, Cara began training furiously like a fiend on wheels. She was sad at first, but now she was more determined than ever to be back on top!
However, she ended up neglecting other aspects of her life. Her grades in school dropped so far she was no longer in the run for valedictorian. She no longer helped out at the local library, leading to it being closed down from the lack of staff and funding. And worst of all, she spent less and less time with her family.
Cara’s father stopped her as she was about to take off. He coughed. Cara’s father was leaning against a cane, having trouble standing up. “Cara… you need to take a break sweetheart, why don’t you come back inside and play some board games with me and your siblings?”
Cara shook her head. “Can’t do, sir! I’ve got a lot of work and shaping up to do!” She strapped her helmet on.
Cara’s dad sighed, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Cara… Please. This isn’t healthy. I’m worried about you. Plus, I don’t think you should be going out so late. I’ve been scared for you ever since Kayleigh disappeared.”
Cara stopped. “What do you mean Kayleigh disappeared?”
Cara’s dad stood in disbelief. “Cara, what do you mean? She disappeared a few months ago. Have you been so absorbed in practice that you didn’t notice? Moira has been hellbent on looking for her! We even helped her. Well, you didn’t since you weren’t around.” His tone was increasing in anger.
Cara’s expression was blank, as if she didn’t hear a single word, her voice monotonous. “Gosh. That sure is awful. I better be going. See you later dad.” Cara walked out the door, her father yelling after her.
“Cara Jocelyn Hawthorn you get back here this instant!”
Cara came back to an empty home the next day. As she put up her gear, she called out. “Dad?” No answer. “John? Shelby?” More silence. She noticed there was a hastily scrawled note on the fridge. ‘At the hospital. Dad isn’t doing well.’
Cara’s eyes widened in fear. She grabbed her keys and ran to her car, starting it up and taking off in a panic.
When she arrived at the hospital she spotted her siblings asleep in the waiting area. She approached her younger brother, grabbing and gently shaking his shoulder. “John…? Hey Johnny?”
Her brother’s eyes shot open. As soon as he spotted Cara, his expression became furious. “WHERE WERE YOU?” he pushed Cara away from him, waking up Shelby next to him.
Cara was stunned. “I… I was busy… I’m sorry…” her tone was quiet. Her head felt like it was full of cotton. Where did she go? Why was she training so hard? She felt confused. Cara grabbed her head in her hands, a terrible headache coming over her.
Shelby sat quietly, grabbing John by the shoulder and shaking her head. “It’s not worth it Johnny. We… we have to prepare.”
John huffed, shoving Cara again. “Are you happy now? You spent all this time who knows where while dad was worried sick about you. After you left his heart gave out. We had to rush him to the hospital.” John balled up his fists. “And he… he…” John began to cry. As Cara approached to hug him, John punched her in the face. Cara fell to the ground. She felt the taste of copper in her mouth, liquid seeping from her nose.
Cara was confused. Why was this happening? Wait, why were at the hospital? She shook her head. “Johnny, why did you hit me…?”
John’s mouth dropped. He shook his head in rage. “You really have no idea what’s going on even when it’s mere millimeters in front of you. That’s it. Shelby come on, we’re leaving.” Shelby nodded. Both of them left Cara on the ground.
She stood up, wiping her face off with her jersey. She walked to the reception counter. A nurse sat there, typing away at a computer. “E-excuse me ma’am? I’d like to see my dad, his name is Connor Hawthorn.”
The nurse gave her a look of pure pity, shaking her head. “Ah, lass… I’m sorry but he passed away last night.”
Cara stood there dumbfounded. “W-What? But he was fine yesterday… I don’t… I don’t understand… Can I still see him?” Her headache got worse.
The nurse sighed. “My condolences dear, truly. But your siblings and grandparents asked for you to not be allowed to see him.
Tears welled up in Cara’s eyes. She nodded slowly. “I-I see. Thank you. I appreciate it.”
She left the hospital as quickly as she could. She started running, running as far and as fast as she could.
She had no direction, no idea of where to go. But she felt something pull her in the direction of the forest. Cara ran until she was out of breath, reaching a small clearing. She looked around, seeing a tree laid knocked over. Her head began hurting even worse. Why was she here?
“Sad stuff. I really feel for you and your loss.” An unfamiliar voice spoke into her mind.
Cara jumped. “Who’s there?” Her voice shook with fear.
“I’m a potential friend. I know what it’s like to lose someone you care about.” The voice sounded comforting. Cara slowly felt more at ease. “Talk to me, what are you feeling right now?”
Cara began crying. “I don’t know what happened. My dad… he… I…” She fell to the floor.
“There, there. Use your words. I’m here to listen.”
Cara wiped her eyes and began spewing word salad about how her life has taken a turn for the worst. How she’s slowly losing control of everything, how her family has abandoned her. How she no longer feels any self worth anymore. Cara’s identity was shattered. And then it dawned on her. “This is all Kayleigh’s fault.”
In the pit of her stomach Cara felt resentment and rage bubbling. She screamed and began flailing around. “It was all her! If she didn’t show up none of this would have happened! She was the problem!”
“Oh wow. Yeah, it sounds like this Kayleigh character certainly stuffed things up for you. But you know what? You can take revenge.”
Cara stopped flailing, furrowing her brow. “And how do I do that?”
“By living your best life of course! You said she beat you at roller derby, right? Obviously the only solution is to go on an absolute winning spree. You’ve been training extra hard, haven’t you?” Cara nodded. “So here’s what we’ll do, you’re gonna keep at it. You’re gonna keep climbing through your league, and you’ll conquer your rivals. How does that sound?”
Cara stared blankly ahead. The voice was right. This was her only option. She had to conquer the league. Then her life will be put back together. It was the only way.
She stood up with renewed vigor. “Thank you,, whoever you are. I know what to do now.” As she dusted herself off, she felt something press violently against her forehead. It felt like molten glass was being pressed against her skin, burning it away. She screamed in agony.
Cara fell back onto the ground, convulsing. She felt like she was moments away from losing consciousness when the pain finally stopped. She laid there, panting and out of breath.
“Consider this a little gift from me to you. A token of our budding friendship. Remember, I’ll always be by your side!”
After her encounter with the mysterious entity, Cara felt like she had enough energy to power an entire city. As the months passed and her team accumulated league win after win, she started to feel dissatisfied. This wasn’t enough. She wanted more. More control. More power.
Cara decided, why not just take control of everything around her? Afterall, she was from the prestigious Hawthorn family. They owned most of the properties in town. Even if her siblings and grandparents left, it eas in her favor. That means no one could challenge her claim. With a little extra push, she could claim evwn more. She could conquer everything.
Cara went on a spree of destruction and terror. Her first order of business was dismantling any sort of law and authority. She threatened any who stood in her way with stealing their homes or destroying anything precious to them.
It was starting to become difficult controlling the entire town by herself. But wait, she wasn’t alone. The Hawthorn Hotrods! Of course. Her team, her perfect, beautiful, obedient team.
Well, soon to be obedient. If they refused to fall in line, it’d be quite easy to ‘persuade’ them.