MORRISON, Kirby Anne

[kirby anne morrison]

KIRBY ANNE MORRISON

FULL NAME: Kirby Anne Morrison.
NICKNAMES: None
AGE: 18
GENDER: Female
SEXUALITY: Straight.
STATUS: Single.
GROUP: Student.
GRADE: Female.
MAJOR: Teaching and Education.
JOB OCCUPATION: Tribeca Cinema Vendor.

HAIR: Blonde, long – just past her shoulders - and thick. There’s a wave in it she leaves there and after everything she tends to just leave it down. It’s the simplest thing to do in her opinion.
EYES: Green.
SCARS/BIRTHMARKS: She has one on her collarbone and another on her left thigh – both caused by her brother and both about two inches long.
TATTOOS: None.
PIERCINGS: Just her ears once.
PLAY-BY: Chloe Grace Moretz!

LIKES: poetry books, hot chocolate with cinnamon, dark blue, tortoises, tutoring, eyeliner, clear lipgloss, cream soda, vanilla ice cream, marbles, adapted fairy tales, movies about outcasts, garlic bread, instrumentals, Christmas, Silent Night, lockets, her own company, getting lost in something new, crochet, mobiles, her teddy that she’s had since birth – Marley, Charles Dickens.
DISLIKES: Thinking about her past, floral wallpaper, throw pillows, things being too neat, spearmint, big noses, people shouting, the mountains, crime shows, horror movies, heights, small spaces, the media, talking about herself, sunshine yellow, medication, leopard print, thinking people are talking about her, cold nights, spiders, feeling lonely.
FEARS: Spiders, what her brother did reflecting on her, heights.
SECRETS: Her brother was a serial killer who killed nine women and took Kirby hostage before he was caught by the FBI. She was sixteen then and since has been in a hospital and changed her name to earn the freedom from everything he had done and so she can live her own life.
PERSONALITY: Kirby might seem like she keeps to herself, but it just takes her a while to open up to people. Still, she’s friendly to most people, even if she’s not the biggest fan of talking about herself. She spends a lot of time thinking about others, and is helpful to those in need. In a way she feels like she owes it to the world after everything her brother did. She’s sweet and considerate of everyone else, sometimes forgetting her own needs. Kirby likes to think that after everything life has thrown at her she’s capable of handling anything that comes at her now, but that means that she sometimes takes on too much or ends up ignoring the warning signs when they come at her. She’s been damaged by what happened in her past, but Kirby just wants her future and to continue working towards the life she was planning before her brother threatened that. She just wants her life again, and she’s spent a lot of time telling herself that she deserves that. Insecure still, Kirby sometimes need reassurance that she’s not alone and is loved and wanted by those around her. She’s prone to feeling lonely even when there are plenty of people around her. She’s not in the least bit aggressive to others, but can be to herself when she’s at her breaking point; something which thankfully happens very rarely these days. However, there are still a few things which trigger a self-destructive explosion from Kirby and often requires professional help to control again. She longs for a happy ended, and for someone who will understand her for who she truly is. She can’t hide her scars – or her past – forever, but she’s scared of someone betraying her again. Her need to be loved again means she can be easily deceived and a boy or two have tricked her into their beds with false lies and sweet words. Kirby tells herself she should know better, but her longing for love makes her an easy target for those kinds, and also makes her vulnerable. She’s worried that if a nice guy does come along and she puts up walls she’ll miss her chance with him.

MOTHER: Sarah Marie Southern, 52.
FATHER: August Andrew Southern, deceased.
SIBLINGS: Christian Scott Southern, 26.
OTHERS: Doctor Vincent Creed, 38 - psychiatrist.
PETS: Blake – Greek Tortoise barely one!
HOMETOWN: Providence, Rhode Island.
HISTORY: August was always a sickly man. He never made a full month at school, dropped out of college and flitted from job to job. He saw doctors and psychiatrists and tried a cocktail of medications to help him with his problems, but he was always suffering in some way or another. Medications had side effects after all, but there was a point where he had to choose between them or the illnesses that were ruling his life. Then he met Sarah. She was a young woman who was always in the coffee shop when he went in in the morning. August never drank caffeine, but he liked the people in there and like their lives. Sarah was the one who stood out most of all to him. She was bright and bubbly. She worked at the nearby museum as one of the tour guides since recently graduating college. August eventually built up the courage to speak to her and they went out a few times. Sarah wasn’t immediately enamoured by him, but she had felt sympathy for a man who had clearly led a difficult life. She saw that he could be sweet though and soon that affection began to grow. Her first pregnancy was unplanned, and August was panicking the whole way through the nine months and then the first year of his son’s life. Christian was a quiet baby who barely made a murmur unless he needed changing or feeding, but August always worried. Sarah helped him through a lot and she was good for him – like so many people would say. He came out of his shell, could hold down a minimum wage job for longer than before and he wasn’t as shy as he used to be. They married when Christian was three.

When he was eight they gave him a sister. Kirby was born Alyson Anne Southern. She was planned, a child Sarah and August wanted for two years before they finally celebrated the news that she was on her way. Christian was not so pleased. He had been an only child for so long and now the focus was on this pink bundle. Over time he came to care for his sister. No one was allowed near Kirby when she was little without his permission. His parents found it sweet that he wanted to be such a doting big brother, but Christian didn’t want to share his little sister with anyone. He’d try to make Sarah promise that she wouldn’t let anyone near Kirby while he was away at school or soccer practice. Sarah would say ‘okay’, but then obviously go about her life and take Kirby with her. Christian, if he found out, would throw a tantrum unlike any other and eventually would have to be locked in his bedroom to calm down. Sarah spoke to August about maybe taking him to a doctor, but August was scared of what the doctors would say or do. He had spent most of his life testing medications, dosages and treatments and he didn’t want that for his son. He kept putting forward the notion that maybe it was just a phase and maybe he was still adjusting to the new baby.

It wasn’t a phase, but the tantrums appeared to stop. As Kirby grew older, Christian would ask her about her day, the people she hung about with. Despite the age gap they were close siblings. She saw no harm in sharing everything with him. When he was overprotective about someone she was playing with or having a sleepover with, she’d tell him every little thing she knew about them. Sarah thought it adorable, but August silently worried. He saw something from himself in Christian and it scared him. Kirby was twelve when she got off the school bus at the top of her street to see the police cars and ambulance surrounding her house. She ran home and was caught at the gate by a numb looking Christian. Sarah was nearby, heartbroken and sobbing as they removed a body from the house in one of those black body bags Kirby had only ever seen on television before now. August had taken his own life, leaving a note that just read ‘I’m sorry, I’m not strong enough to stop it’. None of them knew what it meant but Sarah just kept mumbling that he was sick, but he had been doing brilliantly for years, even the doctors had said so. And they had. That was the whole reason why they had tried for Kirby in the first place. August was an excellent man, fighting his inner demons with a strength given to him by the love of his family. To Sarah none of it made sense anymore and she took six months off work where she spent most of the time just trying to figure out what had gone wrong. When she couldn’t, it was her own sister who encouraged her to go back because Kirby was the one truly suffering. Her grades were slipping and she had lost friends at school. She was a shell of her former self and there was no one to turn to. She had Christian, but after August’s death he had taken a job as a courier and it took him across the state quite often, so he wasn’t always around when she needed him to be. He was a good brother to her, and an excellent friend, but as she became a teenager, the age difference was definitely there. Christian needed to work and she needed to stay at school. They couldn’t hang out like they could when they were kids, goofing off in the backyard and talking about the people in Kirby’s life.

Christian was twenty-two when she was fourteen. He’d be gone a few days here and there for work and when he came home things would be different with Kirby. He’d notice her on the phone to a name he didn’t recognise, or there would be plans with a boy he didn’t know. He pressed her for details and she gave them, but would tell him that everything was fine. Christian didn’t want anyone hurting his little sister when he was away, but he had to go away. They needed the money he made to help out with things. He didn’t want to be a screw up like August – which was how he had seen his dad even since the day they had found his body. It didn’t matter what Sarah said or how Kirby spoke about his struggles, Christian just saw a failure.

As time went on there were many things he grew angry with. He didn’t like Kirby’s curfew becoming later, or that she was starting to have an obvious interest in boys. A fight with the first fifteen year old who – she thought – broke her heart saw Christian arrested but released after Kirby pleaded with the boy’s family for her brother, throwing in the story about her dad and how he was just protective of her. All the kid had done was played a game of kiss and tell and then decided to make out like Kirby was going to give it to anyone who asked. He got in trouble for that anyway once his parents found out, but Christian said that he deserved more. Kirby tried to calm him down but he left on his next job and when he came home it was like nothing had ever happened in the first place. So when she dated and chose to sleep with a boy from her English class, it was an even bigger deal.

While all of that teenage drama was happening in Kirby’s life, an FBI manhunt was underway for a man who had been killing women across the state. They were all blondes, all killed in the same way with their femoral artery slashed. He made graves for their bodies, numbered but not named and they were all buried in woodlands scattered across the state. It was like he took care of them and then lost their temper with them before ultimately killing them. Some had signs of beatings that had then been concealed with make-up. It was a trace on the concealer brand that eventually led to CCTV footage and a receipt that pointed the FBI in the direction of Christian Southern.

Christian was at home in Providence, when he caught a glimpse of the e-fit on the television and realised that time was up. The e-fit was never supposed to be released after the FBI had identified him through the credit card he’d used, but a sheriff department had decided they knew better and did it anyway. It gave Christian the warning he needed. He left the house and went to the high school to get Kirby. He pulled her out of class telling the school there was an emergency and they needed to go. She thought something had happened to Sarah, but they didn’t go home or to the hospital like she imagined. They ended up at an old bowling alley closed down and waiting for renovations. Christian kept apologising to Kirby who was at this point confused and scared. He tried to act like things were normal and everything was okay. He asked her what was happening and everything that was going on in her life. She told him everything like she used to do and begged him to tell her what was happening. Christian eventually began to explain that he was sick, just like August had been. He didn’t turn for help like their father because help had made him weak, made him less of what he ought to have been. Christian told Kirby that he just wanted her to be safe, for no one to ever hurt her, but that wasn’t possible if they were going to take him away from her.
The FBI located them after tracking Kirby’s phone once they knew Christian had picked her up from the school. The building was surrounded, but Christian wasn’t about to walk outside. Kirby broke down, begging to know what was going on and slowly everything came into place. She didn’t watch the news much, but she had seen the headlines about the dead women and it all fell into place. She begged her brother to tell her she was wrong, that the FBI had made a mistake, but Christian didn’t. Kirby tried to run and that was when Christian lost his cool. He screamed at her, demanding to know why she was trying to run away from him. He was her brother, he just wanted to keep her safe. He told her again that he couldn’t do that if they were apart. He kept saying that he didn’t want to hurt her, that he didn’t want to have to do this, but afterwards no one could hurt her again. Kirby was his hostage and the only reason the FBI hadn’t stormed the place for Christian. They did send someone in, but it made matters worse. Christian ended up hurting Kirby when she was almost talking him down from his plans. He held a knife to her throat, cutting her collarbone as proof that he would hurt her when the agent challenged him. Christian whispered a final apology to his little sister before stabbing her in the thigh and trying to end things. His plan was for both of them to go out together, but they both lived. The agent shot him in the shoulder to wound him and then arrested him. And he missed Kirby’s femoral artery by a centimetre because of her squirming.

Kirby woke up in hospital – alone. Sarah had apparently collapsed upon discovering the news and was in her own bed somewhere, but when she came to had been unable to see her daughter. She couldn’t bring herself to face what had been under her roof for all of those years. She told the FBI that she would have been fine apart from their agent making matters worse thinking she knew what Christian wanted to hear. Kirby explained that she had him on the verge of surrendering, but that agent made it worse and almost got her killed. After saying that she refused to speak to anyone else. Her mother apparently couldn’t bear to look at her and she didn’t want to see the world either.

She was moved to a place better suited to help her. It was a psychiatric clinic that focused more on rehabilitating juveniles. All Kirby wanted was to go back to school, so while she was there the doctors let her focus on completing her high school education online before they tried to push her into talking. She had group sessions with others, and sessions with Doctor Vincent Creed three times a week. There were other recreational classes too that they tried to push her into but crochet was the only one she went to and even then she sat in a corner by herself and ignored the rest. For a long while Kirby was bitter. No one came to visit her. She placed a lot of blame on the FBI and on her brother and she couldn’t bear to hear Christian’s name. Doctor Creed tried to talk to her about it, but she’d shut him down immediately. Nurses kept the newspapers and TV channels turned away from anything that might upset her and Kirby spent the next two years slowly recovering from the fact that everything had been a lie, or part of Christian’s dark life. August had taken his own life after discovering the first body in the back of Christian’s truck. He recognised then just how ill his son was, how alike they both were, but felt powerless to do anything to help. That was the real reason behind the note and the death. Kirby understood that when Doctor Creed explained it to her when she asked to know. Her curiosity was eventually the reason behind her recovery. She needed to understand what had gone wrong with Christian and why those women. Why her?

Celebrating her seventeenth and eighteenth birthday in the hospital wasn’t exactly her dream, but Sarah was unable to care for her daughter. She wasn’t dealing with any of this well, was living with her own sister and struggling a lot. Kirby understood that and it was the state’s decision to leave Kirby where it was best for her – with the doctors. Her signs of trauma were fading, and she expressed a desire to move to New York for college when she was seventeen. Doctor Creed considered that a goal for them to reach together and their sessions became based on that, on reminding Kirby of the world outside. She started going out on supervised trips to places nearby, the mall or the park. One time she was recognised and it almost set her back in her recovery, but it also put an emphasis on the need for a new identity. She got to choose the new name she’d go by and said her goodbyes to Alyson Anne Southern. Kirby Anne Morrison was born. She kept her middle name as small reminder of everything she had overcome, but in her final months in the clinic she got used to hearing her new name. Doctor Creed helped her with college applications and adjusting to everything that would come with the change. Officially, in his recommendation, she was fit for release four months before she actually left, but with nowhere to go he wasn’t willing to sign her discharge papers and let her go. At least with college there was going to be something stable around her, an environment where she could be prepared.

Kirby was accepted to all the colleges she applied to, but she stuck to the plan she had told Doctor Creed. New York City, and NYU. She was thrilled to have their admission letter and he helped her get everything ready for the move. There had been a college fund set up for her before everything had happened and Sarah allowed her to access it, despite still being unable to face Kirby. She sent her apology in a letter poorly written, but Kirby never finished reading it before she put it back in the envelope. That relationship was gone and she didn’t think it could come back. She moved to NYC and Doctor Creed accompanied her. They had found a small student apartment for her since she wasn’t comfortable with the idea of dorms. She moved in and shopped for the things she was missing. Kirby found a job at Tribeca and it was nice, but at little daunting, to be lost in the big city. Doctor Creed left his contact details and speed dialled them into the new cell phone she had just in case, and also introduced her to the staff at a local clinic in the city that mostly dealt with outpatients. She told him she didn’t want another clinic and he explained that this was merely a safety net if things became too much and she needed a safe place in a hurry or couldn’t get in touch with him.

Kirby started at the college and quickly found hurdles to jump. It wasn’t easy to fall into a routine she had been a long way from for the best past of two and a half years. Still, she kept up as best as she could and her Teaching and Education class was something to get out of bed for in the morning. She wasn’t going to let her past destroy her future. Kirby is taking things one day at a time, but each day seems to be a little bit brighter for her. It’s a start.

YOUR ALIAS: Kim.
RULE WORDS: kidnappedbykim.
WHERE YOU FOUND US: In my back pocket.
SAMPLE:

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[kim]