by Ryan Casey
Chapter Thirteen
It was after two hours of walking that the heavens finally opened.
And when they did, they didn’t seem to want to let up anytime soon.
It was evening. Mike knew they should stop at some stage and grab some food. They’d brought some of the meat from the deer that Kelsie shot along, but that took time to settle down and cook, of course. It’d got to the stage where the not-so-fresh squirrel jerky was looking like the better option.
And besides. Looking at the way the rain was falling at the moment, totally torrential, starting a fire and keeping one going wouldn’t be easy in the slightest.
Mike squinted into the distance. The rain was so heavy that it was blocking his vision, making it harder to see. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say it was a storm unlike any he’d seen in his entire life—and he’d seen a few damned storms in his time.
They were in the woods, and they’d been there for quite some time. This territory, it all looked the same. And in a sense, that added to the claustrophobia of all this. Not knowing whether you were going to run into someone along the way. Not knowing if something was going to change—suddenly, radically.
All of it was disorienting.
And it didn’t help that Calvin was with them.
That Calvin was here, causing so much emotional conflict; so much chaos.
Calvin hadn’t said much. Mike had made sure of that. Every time he opened his mouth and attempted some kind of wisecrack, Mike just pushed him with the hunting rifle, knocking him to the muddy ground.
But he knew he had to be careful. He knew he couldn’t push Calvin too far. As much as he wanted to punch the life out of him, to beat the shit out of him, he had the key to the extraction point. He had the information his people needed.
And as sceptical as Mike was about all of this… it wasn’t his decision. Not solely.
He looked around. Saw Ian. He was walking now, at least. On his feet. People were keeping an eye on him at all times. He hadn’t said much at all. Still seemed to be living in such a daze.
He didn’t seem like he’d totally woken up to the reality that Calvin was with them at all.
But he would.
He would…
The sound of the rain was intense, like white noise turned up to the max. It was so loud as it smashed against the trees that they had to shout when they were speaking. Mike used to find the rain peaceful, especially when he was out camping with family. Sitting in a tent, watching it in total comfort, listening to the storm above.
But this was different.
This was a storm that didn’t seem to be letting up.
“Surely it’s going to ease off soon,” Gina shouted. “Surely. Right?”
Mike didn’t want to say anything. He didn’t want to make false promises. He couldn’t shake the sinking, niggling feeling that this storm wasn’t going to let up.
It made sense that it would. After all, they always did, eventually.
But the clouds just seemed to be getting thicker. The sky seemed to be getting darker.
And the rain seemed to be falling heavier…
“We keep on going,” Mike said. “The sooner we get to where he’s leading us, the better.”
“About that…” Calvin said.
Mike frowned. “What was that?”
Calvin looked around. Bruises across his face. He smiled. “See, I’m having trouble getting my bearings a little.”
Mike gritted his teeth. He didn’t hesitate. He lifted the rifle and pressed it to the side of Calvin’s head.
Alison raised a hand. “Mike.”
“No. I’m not listening to any more of his shit.”
“Take a breath,” Alison said. “Think about what you’re doing. He’s goading you. Don’t you see it? He’s goading you.”
Mike felt the red mist intensifying. He felt that urge to pull the trigger taking over him. It could be over. Over in a flash. The revenge he so desperately wanted. The justice he craved. He could have it. He could have it right now.
But then he lowered the hunting rifle. “You’d better remember,” Mike said. “Fast. Next time, I might not lower the rifle.”
Calvin smirked. Chuckled a little, as the rain dripped down his face, drenching his long hair. “See, I think my memory’s kicking in now. It’s amazing just how much headspace a gun to the head can bring, isn’t it?”
“Shut up,” Alison said, grabbing the back of Calvin’s neck. “Or I’ll kill you myself.”
She pushed him forward to continue walking. And they did. Despite the hiccup, they did. Despite the moment of tension, the moment that looked to Mike like he wasn’t going to be able to look past, they were still here. They were still moving forward.
He just had to keep his cool.
He just had to keep pressing on.
They walked further. Mike found himself alongside Alison. They hadn’t spoken much either. Felt like there was still an elephant in the room. Something between them. And Mike knew exactly what it was.
“I’m sorry about what I said,” Alison said as if she was reading Mike’s mind.
Mike played dumb. “About what?”
“I told you I’d killed Calvin.”
A bitter taste in Mike’s mouth. “Ah. Yeah. Right.”
“I was just… trying to look out for you. I could see you weren’t focusing on the future. I could see you weren’t thinking about what was ahead. I just wanted to bring you back, Mike. To bring you back from whatever path you were heading down.”
Mike looked at Alison, and he smiled. Because he understood, deep down, he understood.
“I realise why you did it,” he said. “Just… just don’t lie like that to me again. Please.”
Alison didn’t agree. She didn’t nod. She didn’t object.
It felt like that tension wasn’t dispersing anytime soon.
“Mike,” Gina said.
Mike looked around, snapped from his fantasies about the many ways he could make Calvin suffer. Gina walked over to his side.
“I know it’s not ideal, but I really think we’re going to have to think about taking a break for the night.”
Mike swallowed a lump in his throat. “In this weather? No chance. It’s not happening.”
“Ian’s weak. He’s struggling to walk. I know he won’t admit it, but just look at him. He isn’t going to make it much further.”
“The sooner we get there, the sooner we can finish this bastard off.”
“There’s more to this than your revenge, Mike.”
Mike frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Gina shook her head. “Nothing.”
“No. Go on. You’ve said it now. You might as well finish.”
“I’m just saying… don’t forget the real reason we’re making this journey. Don’t forget the real reason we’re doing this. We’re doing it because there’s hope. Hope of escaping this mess. Hope of finding safety. Real safety. Real security. It’s more than just a revenge mission. It’s way, way bigger than that.”
Mike wanted to push back. He wanted to argue. He wanted to tell Gina that it wasn’t just his revenge, because she’d lost a friend too. She’d lost a friend at the hands of this sick bastard.
He wanted to, but he couldn’t.
Because he heard the explosion of thunder right above him.
He heard it, accompanied by another surge of rain. As if a pocket in the sky had just exploded.
He heard it, and he looked up, as too did everyone.
And then he saw something.
Something unlike anything he’d seen before.
A flash.
A bolt of electricity, right up ahead.
Then, in the blink of an eye, a tree was on fire.
A burning tree.
He went still. Stood close to the rest of his people, to Arya.
And as they stood there, he got a strange sensation in his body. Couldn’t describe it any other way.
Then a strange… smell.
An earthy smell.
In the click of his fingers, Mike realised.
He understood.
Lightning.
He’d heard about weird phenomena that occurred when lightning was about to strike nearby.
Very nearby.
That earthy smell and that strange sensation… they were two of them.
Mike went to run. “Quick!”
But it was too late.
A thunderous blast of lightning smacked against the tree beside them.
The tree started to fall.
And then it came crashing down right towards them.
Chapter Fourteen
Mike watched the tree hurtle down towards him and his people, and he thought this might finally be the end.
A million thought processes ran through Mike’s mind. A million little fragments of analysis, all leading to one outcome.
He needed to get out of the way.
He needed to get Kelsie out of the way.
He needed to get Alison, Gina, Ian, and Arya out of the way.
And, dammit, he needed to get Calvin out of the way.
In the end, there was only one thing he could do. Only one decision he could make.
“Kelsie,” he said.
He saw the way she was staring up, all of this still within a split second.
He saw that she wasn’t as close to him as he’d first thought.
She was stuck there.
Staring up.
Wide-eyed.
He threw himself in her direction.
But she was too far away.
She was…
He noticed something, then.
In this split second. Almost in slow motion.
Calvin.
He ran towards Kelsie.
Knocked into her.
And then the next thing Mike knew the tree slammed to the ground and the pair of them disappeared.
He stood there. Frozen. Not sure what to think. Not sure how to react.
His heart raced. His chest tightened. Because one moment they’d been there, now they were gone.
“Mike?” Alison said.
He looked around. Saw her lying there, rain still pounding down against her. Gina was there too, by Ian’s side. Arya had her ears back like she wasn’t sure about any of this.
But they were okay.
At least they were okay.
But then he tightened his fists because he knew he had two other people to check on.
Kelsie.
Calvin.
He walked over to the tree. Part of him didn’t want to see what was behind it. Calvin. He’d pushed Kelsie. He’d pushed her.
And if that had killed her… Mike wasn’t sure what he’d do.
Only that he couldn’t promise anything.
Nothing was off the table.
He got closer. Desperation building up inside. Fear. Fear of finding Kelsie dead. Fear of seeing Calvin perched over her, that awful grin on his face.
He knew what he had to do. He knew there was only one solution now.
But when he stepped around the tree, he saw something different.
Something different entirely.
Calvin was lying there, yes. As too was Kelsie.
But the tree hadn’t fallen on either of them.
It had fallen just inches from both of them.
Kelsie was panting. It looked like she was hyperventilating.
Calvin was by her side, also breathing heavily.
“Whoosh,” he said. “Now that was a close call.”
Mike didn’t hesitate. He didn’t hold back.
He just launched himself at Calvin, grabbed him by his neck and smacked him in the face.
“Whoa!” Calvin said. “What the hell?”
“I saw you. I saw what you tried to do.”
Calvin spat out some blood, which was immediately washed away by the downpour. “You saw whatever the hell you wanted to believe.”
“I know what I saw.”
“If you’d looked closer, you’d have seen that I actually saved Kelsie here. The tree was heading right towards her, and I saved her.”
Mike pulled back his fist.
“It’s true,” Kelsie said.
He stopped. Stopped right there. Because he couldn’t believe this. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He couldn’t believe that Kelsie was against him now. That all of them were against him.
“See?” Calvin said. “Listen to the kid. If it wasn’t for me, she’d be mush right now.”
Mike smacked him across the face again. But this time, he stood back up afterwards. He turned away. Rain falling down ever more torrentially. He grabbed Kelsie, pulled her to her feet, made sure she was okay. And he left Calvin, who was of course bound at the wrists, to try and struggle his way back up.
When they were all on their feet again, Mike didn’t even look at Calvin. He didn’t even acknowledge him. “We need to get out of these woods. This storm, it doesn’t look like it’s letting up.”
Just as he spoke, thunder exploded right above, louder than he’d ever heard it. The warmth of the air had been replaced by the coldness of the pouring rain. Somewhere in the distance, he saw a flash, and pictured another tree falling.
“Where do we go?” Alison asked. “I mean, I’m all for resting as much as the next person. But where—where do we go that’ll be safe from this?”
“I told you about my cabin,” Calvin said.
Mike turned around. Everyone turned around.
They all looked at him with uncertainty… but with a desperation that he was no doubt loving.
“What about it?” Alison said.
“Well, it seemed pretty solid to me. When I say cabin, it wasn’t a rickety old thing. I’m sure it’d be a decent place to rest. To get some energy. To ride out this storm.”
“I don’t trust you,” Mike said.
“No,” Calvin said. “I think we’ve already established you don’t trust me, haven’t we? But anyway. The way I see it, we have a choice. We get to that cabin. It shouldn’t be far from here. Or we take our chances out here—”
Just as he spoke, again, the thunder rumbled. More rain came pouring down. Another flash of lightning close by.
Mike looked around as his people. He looked at them, soaked, shivering. He looked at Ian, still weak, still in some kind of daze.
He looked at them all, and before even asking them what they thought, he knew what their decision was going to be.
“How far away is this cabin?” Mike asked.
Calvin smiled. “I guess we’ll just have to find out, won’t we?”
And with that, Mike knew he’d agreed to something.
He knew he’d made another decision he might regret.
He knew he’d emboldened Calvin’s strength over them—his hold over them—all over again.
“Then we’d better get a move on,” Mike said.
Then, he walked over to Calvin and pressed the gun to his chest.
“But if we aren’t at that cabin by the time it goes dark… you’re dead.”
“Really, Mike?” Calvin said. “Am I really?”
“Don’t test me,” Mike said.
But they both knew.
They both knew the truth here.
Calvin had him by the balls.
He had them all by the balls.
And that grip was only getting tighter by the minute…
Chapter Fifteen
Another hour passed, and darkness was approaching.
Mike couldn’t tell whether it was from the thickening clouds—yes, still thickening—or just the night getting closer. But he was serious about what he’d said to Calvin. It was time to get a little selfish, after all.
If Calvin didn’t get them to the cabin by nightfall, he was dead.
They were out of the woods now. Mike knew that was dangerous. After all, it made them more susceptible to the lightning. There was no winning, though, really. In the woods they stood the risk of being hit
by falling trees. Out of them, they were the tallest people in this proximity.
But Mike was just feeling fortunate that Calvin was the tallest bastard here.
“Much further?” Mike asked.
Calvin took a raspy breath in. The rain was making talking difficult now. It was getting so heavy it was starting to sting. “No. Not far at all.”
“Good. That’s good news for you.”
“And for you, by the looks of things.”
Mike went to push the rifle into his back.
But Alison put a hand on it before he could.
“Don’t let him push your buttons,” she said.
He lowered the rifle. He wished he could just switch a Calvin filter on. Because he was struggling. Struggling keeping his emotions in check. Struggling keeping them under control.
“How’s Ian?” Mike asked, figuring a change of topic would be good for him and all of them.
Alison looked back at Ian. “He’s alive. That’s the main thing. But it looks like… well. It looks like he doesn’t want to say much.”
“Do you believe him?”
“Who?”
“Calvin,” Mike said. “Do you believe him? What he says about Ian trying to… to take his own life?
Alison sighed. “We won’t know for certain until he opens up. Until he decides to talk. If he ever decides to talk. But I know what I saw. Gina knows what she saw. I can’t see how Ian would’ve set up what I saw. I can’t see how Calvin could’ve engineered that. He might be a shit. He might have an agenda. But he saved Ian’s life. And I… well, I can only wonder if that’s what’s holding him back from doing anything to Calvin, right now.”
Mike nodded. He could see Alison’s angle. He was foolish for feeling betrayed by her. After all, she was just being pragmatic and reasonable, something he’d always prided himself on being, too.
Calvin might be the devil incarnate.
But he was the devil incarnate with potential information.
And that information was going to be important.
“I stand by what I said,” Mike said, looking ahead at Calvin. “If he doesn’t get us to that cabin by nightfall, he’s a dead man.”
“Then we’d better keep on…”
Alison stopped, then. And for a moment, Mike thought it was just the rain. He thought it was just the sound of torrential water hammering down.
