Guardian: Book One

by A.L. Crouch

When we pulled up to the house I hopped out of the cruiser and ran through the stinging drizzle to the door. Lightning was flashing in the distance and the wind was picking up. I patted my pockets and was relieved that the new key was still inside. Shivering, I turned the knob.

  “Stop,” Jones called from behind me. “Let me go in first!”

  I sighed and stepped aside so that the officer could get by. I followed him into the house and waited just inside the door as he flipped on the lights and meticulously checked every room and window. When he cleared the kitchen I made a dash for the bag of Gram’s cookies and devoured three in the time it took Jones to come back into the kitchen.

  “Bottom floor is clear. I’m going to check upstairs. You stay right here.”

  “No worries. I lack the willpower or desire to move from this spot and these cookies at the moment,” I mumbled, my mouth full of oatmeal goodness.

  By the time Jones came back into the kitchen I had downed almost the entire bag. I felt better with a full stomach, but I was still shivering in my damp clothes. My body ached all over. I tossed Jones the rest of the bag and headed out of the kitchen.

  “I’m going to take a shower and grab my things. Please yell if Sulley radios in about Will.”

  “I’m not supposed to let you out of my sight, remember?” Jones set the cookie bag on the table, all business. Was this guy serious?

  I sighed. “I just spent twelve hours buried in grimy underbrush or trudging through knee-high wilderness. I’m wet, muddy, scratched all to hell and freezing. I am taking a hot shower and I don’t care if that means you are standing right there to hand me the soap.”

  When Jones didn’t waver I added, “Look, you already checked upstairs. No one’s getting past you down here. I think you can relax a bit.”

  Jones sighed and backed down. “I’ll give you twenty minutes. If you’re not down here by then, I’m coming up . . . and it won’t be to hand you the soap.”

  “Fair enough,” I agreed and made my way painfully up the stairs, gripping the railing for support.

  When I reached my room I shut the door behind me and looked into the mirror. My own reflection startled me. I was more of a mess than I thought. The once white tank top and blue jeans were now a sick shade of brown. I had small cuts and scrapes up and down my arms. My hair was littered with small bits of leaves and mud.

  “Do you feel as bad as you look?”

  I looked to the right of my own reflection and saw Donovan bracing himself against the door. My heart warmed at the sight of him.

  “I’ll feel a lot better after a shower.”

  “Hurry Alexandra, I don’t like you being here. It’s too obvious. We should leave as soon as possible.”

  I nodded and started to gather clothes from my bag. “Do you think he’ll come here?”

  Donovan hesitated. “I don’t know. Something . . .”

  I stood and caught the confused look on his face as he concentrated on something I could not see.

  “Something what?”

  “Something is off . . . I can’t pinpoint what it is, but I don’t like it. Hurry.”

  I knew that he wasn’t telling me something, but I also knew that there was no point in trying to get it out of him. I trusted him with my life.

  Rushing into the bathroom, I started the shower. Within seconds the room was filled with steam. When I emerged ten minutes later, I was warm, clean and dressed in my most comfortable sweat pants and a long-sleeved shirt. I had a fresh bandage on my thigh and my muscles felt much less tense.

  A glance at myself in the mirror assured me that I was looking much better as well. Then I caught Donovan’s reflection. He was leaning against the wall, ear to the door, the palm of his hand pressed against its surface. I knew by the way that he leaned that he was still weak. His eyes were closed and he was concentrating, a startled look in his face.

  “What is it?” I asked, holding my breath.

  “It’s Will . . .”

  I gasped, my pulse quickening. “They found him?”

  I ran to the door and threw it open.

  “Alexandra no . . . wait!” Donovan yelled and I felt his grip on my shoulder but I shrugged it off.

  “I’ve got to go. They might need my help. What if Will saw him? He might be able to identify Brightman!” I cried and ran for the stairs, eager to reach Jones and force him to take me to Will.

  “Alexandra stop! You have to listen to me! Something is wrong . . .” I heard Donovan shout, but I was already down the stairs.

  I paused and searched the room for Jones but didn’t see him. When I heard movement in the kitchen I hurried over.

  “Did they find . . .” I began to ask and then stopped abruptly in the kitchen doorway.

  Will leaned against the counter, the wine bottle tipped to his lips as he guzzled its contents. His uniform was muddied and torn and his face and hair were caked with a thin layer of dirt and sweat. He set the bottle aside when he saw me, his face frantic.

  “Will!” I cried with relief and ran to him.

  He embraced me and held me tightly against him. I closed my eyes and let the relief wash over me. Will was trembling. He let out a jagged breath.

  “I was so scared. I thought you were hurt somewhere or dying.” I breathed against his shoulder.

  Will rubbed my cheek with his thumb and held me tighter.

  “I’m okay. Everything is okay now.”

  “Alexandra no! Get away from him!” Donovan yelled behind me.

  The panic in his voice startled me and I opened my eyes. Over Will’s shoulder I caught a glimpse of something black in the corner of the room. I blinked back the tears of relief that had formed in my eyes and looked again. It was a boot. Pulling away from Will confused, I peered around him while he stood stock still.

  There, lying on the floor propped up against the wall was Jones. He was unconscious, his legs sprawled out before him. I gasped and jumped back from Will. He put his hands up to quiet me before I could speak.

  “I had to get to you . . . he was trying to stop me.”

  “What did you do to him?” I asked backing away.

  “I just knocked him out, he’ll be fine. He doesn’t understand . . .”

  “Wait a minute,” my heart sank into my stomach as I had a revelation. “If he didn’t let you in then how . . .?”

  “Alexandra, come this way . . . slowly, towards me,” Donovan called.

  I backed up to the cabinets and took a few small steps closer to Donovan and the front door. I kept my eyes on Will.

  “When the locksmith came this morning, I . . . I had him make an extra key.”

  “But why? Why would you do that?” I stammered, edging closer to Donovan, my mind screaming.

  Will reached out to me, pleading.

  “I had a feeling I would need it, and I was right. Alex, just listen to me for a minute. I have to tell you the truth, you don’t understand . . .”

  I looked down at the hand Will extended toward me and noticed for the first time that they were streaked with glossy red. I felt wetness on my cheek where he had touched me and I reached up to feel it. When I pulled my hand away, my trembling fingers were tinted with moist crimson. I gawked at Will and took another step back, panic thundering into my chest. The wild look in Will’s eyes sent my mind racing in a thousand different directions. What was going on?

  “What did you do? What did you DO?”

  I jumped when the crackle of a radio erupted from Jones’ belt in the corner. Conley’s voice, muffled, filled the channel. Will flinched and glanced behind him and then focused his intense stare back on me. His eyes were locked on mine.

  “Chief this is Conley, over. Come in Chief.”

  “Go ahead,” Sulley’s voice answered.

  “I have a ten-twenty on Birghtman. He’s dead sir. A witness saw someone in uniform matching Galia’s description leaving his hotel room about forty-five minutes ago. Said he took off on foot
through the woods.”

  I gasped and looked at Will in horror. He shook his head and held my eyes. He killed him. He killed Brightman; he may have killed Jones. I had trusted a killer. Everything was starting to make sense.

  “Ten-four Conley. I’m on my way to the homestead now. Put out an APB on the deputy and then go check to see if he’s at the station or his house. Radio me when you have a twenty,” Sulley ordered.

  “Ten-four Chief.”

  I backed up further, but Will closed the gap with one hefty step. The intensity in his eyes made the hair on my neck stand on end. The wildness there made him a stranger.

  “You killed him,” I whispered and stepped back again.

  “Alex, listen to me . . .” he stepped closer.

  “Keep coming this way Alexandra. Slowly. That’s right, you’re almost there,” Donovan said.

  Will took another step towards me.

  “I . . . I couldn’t find you in the woods. So I found the road and hiked it to Brightman’s hotel. I thought he had you. But when I got inside his room, he was already dead Alex. I checked for a pulse, but he had been dead for a while. His throat had been slit.”

  Despite his words, the pieces of the puzzle were beginning to come together.

  “Oh my God. You . . . you were the one with the gun this morning. You told me to run. I never saw anyone else, only you. You were the only one there. It was you who shot at me! You wanted me to run, so you could shoot me in the back.”

  My breath left me in a rush as if I had been hit from behind as another realization dawned on me.

  “Gram! Gram warned me that the killer wanted me to trust him. You wanted me to trust you. You were there that night, just like she said!”

  I turned to run, but Will caught my wrist and spun me around.

  “No. You have to listen to me!” he yelled.

  “Alexandra run!” Donovan screamed as he made the knife set on the counter fly into Will’s arm forcing him to , making hi drop his grip on me.

  Darting for the front door, I heard Will charge, close on my heels. I flung the door open in his face and he slammed into it and stammered backwards. I ran out of the house and down the porch as fast as I could. A shriek was ripped from my chest when a crash of thunder crackled above and shook the earth beneath me.

  “Alex stop! Damn it, no! Get back here!” Will screamed from the porch and took off at a sprint after me.

  I darted down the driveway barefoot, the pavement ice cold and rough under my feet. The rain poured heavily making it hard to see past the nearest streetlight. At the end of the driveway I hesitated a second. There was no way I could make it to the station I realized with dread and then ran in the direction of the narrow dirt road that would take me to Sulley’s.

  It took only seconds to get to the end of my street. I was fuelled by terror and sheer adrenaline. I chanced a look back. Through the sheets of rain that fell like glass shards, I could see Will gaining on me.

  “Alex no! Damn it!”

  I took shallow breaths and ran as fast as I could onto the dirt road. The road was murky and drenched in shadows. My breath hovered like white ghosts around my face as I ran. It was hard to see the turns in the road until a flash of lightning illuminated the sky enough for me to see where I was going.

  The gravel cut into my bare feet with every panicked step, but I forced myself forward. I could hear Will behind me, his grinding steps closing the gap between us. I tried to move faster, but my chest burned when I sucked in the bitter air. My mind raced with my feet, trying to make sense of this horrid reality. I thought of Gram and what she had said in the cemetery, and the pieces fit. He was there that night . . .

  Finally, I rounded the last turn in the road and considered running into the dark recesses of the woods and cloaking myself in its blackness, but I was too afraid. I couldn’t be alone in the woods with this man. Not again.

  I listened for the strumming, I longed to know that Donovan was with me, but I heard nothing but the panting of my own breath and the rolling thunder above. What if Donovan used the rest of his energy trying to keep Will from coming after me? What if he was still weak and couldn’t help me? I had to get to Sulley.

  I kept running. I was sure that my feet were grinding into nubs and that I would throw up or pass out at any minute, but the sound of Will’s frantic steps behind me forced me to keep moving. Finally, the lights from Sulley’s street glowed ahead and I found new strength to pick up my pace. With a wail, I charged into the paved street and turned for Sulley’s house.

  “NO!” Will screamed, a feral roar, behind me.

  “Please let Sulley be home, please let Sulley be home,” I gasped as my legs wobbled and threatened to give out from under me again.

  Tears streamed down my face and blended with the raindrops that assaulted my cheeks as I ran down the road. When I got closer to the house I saw Sulley’s truck in the driveway. Thank God! I choked back a sob and pushed faster, my heart threatening to shatter under the pressure. I could no longer hear Will’s footsteps behind me, but I knew he was still there. Maybe I had pulled ahead.

  “Uncle Sulley!” I forced out a scream as I raced up the driveway and up the steps to the house.

  I struggled with the front door and thought with sinking dread that it might be locked because my wet hands could not turn the knob. Wiping them on my pants, I fumbled with the knob again. When it finally turned, I bolted into the house and stopped in the living room when I saw that the lights were on. Sulley was nowhere in sight.

  “Uncle Sulley!” I screamed again and he appeared, startled, in the kitchen doorway. He was wiping his hands on a kitchen towel and froze when he saw me.

  “It’s Will, Uncle Sulley . . . he’s right behind me! He killed Mom,” I sobbed. “It was him, he’s the one!”

  Sulley shook his head in bewilderment as he processed the information that in my frenzy, I was trying to relay to him. Then he dropped the towel suddenly and removed his gun from its holster. He aimed it past me toward the door.

  My breath caught in my throat and I slowly turned to see Will in the entryway, gun raised and pointed at Sulley. A crash of thunder fractured the sudden silence.

  “Stop right there Deputy,” Sulley warned and then he looked at me. “Get behind me, Alex.

  I started to move toward Sulley, trembling, praying that he could finally put an end to this.

  “No!” Will yelled and I stopped mid-step. “Alex, you have to listen to me. It was Sulley the whole time. That’s what I was trying to tell you!”

  “What the hell are you talking about? Alex, come to me slowly. It’s okay. I’m not going to let him hurt you anymore,” Sulley encouraged. “I should have known . . . I’m so sorry kiddo.”

  I took a few more steps forward, keeping my back to Will and locking eyes with Sulley who stretched out his hand to me.

  “Alex, it’s true. I got the phone call after I left Brightman’s apartment. My buddy from the NYPD called me back . . . the one I told you about,” Will said staring me in the eyes. “He got a hit on that VIN number from that vehicle that fit the description of what you saw. Turns out the red Bronco was registered to a Mr. Sullivan Wiley. He bought it in Hendersonville two days before the accident.”

  I watched as Sulley’s eyes narrowed in anger. Mine grew wider, the shock of Will’s words sinking in. My breath caught in my throat and I turned.

  “What?” I croaked, unable to find my voice. I looked back at Sulley who was glaring at Will, unblinking. “What is he talking about, Uncle Sulley?”

  “Lies. He’s trying to get you to trust him. None of it is true.”

  “It’s over, Sulley. Tell her the truth. Tell her why you did it . . . she deserves that much, don’t you think?” Will sneered.

  “Don’t listen to him Alex. He’s trying to confuse you. Come here Kiddo,” Sulley whispered still reaching for me.

  I stared in terror from one to the other.

  “It c
ouldn’t have been you,” I said to Sulley. “You were in Iraq . . .”

  “See, I checked on that too,” Will yelled when I took another step towards Sulley. “And according to Camp Bucca records, SSgt Wiley was released from military service for behavioral concerns less than a week before. He was discharged, Alex. They sent him home.”

  “That’s a lie!” Sulley barked and I froze in place. “Everything he is saying is a lie! Did he tell you about his son? I mean, the truth? Or did he give you his version of it like he gives everyone else?”

  “You son of a bitch!” Will hissed and stepped closer, gun aimed at Sulley’s head.

  Sulley stared directly at me. “I bet he told you that his son accidentally shot himself, didn’t he?”

  “Enough!” Will screamed.

  “He didn’t want you to know the truth,” Sulley continued, “that he got drunk and shot his own son!”

  I whirled around to Will. I could see in his eyes that it was true. Will’s face was a twisted portrait of pain and hatred. Lightning illuminated the doorway behind him throwing his eerie, deformed shadow onto the floor and then just as quickly it was sucked out into the dark night. The power flickered and threatened to go out.

  “It was dark in the house. I’d been on a stakeout all night. There was dinking after, yes. I thought someone had followed me home. He was supposed to be in bed! It was an accident!” Will seethed between clenched teeth.

  “He’s been lying to you this whole time Alex, and he’s lying now! He’s the master at getting people to trust him. He’s had me fooled for years. I should have known. He got fired from the NYPD because he’s a good for nothing drunk! No one else would hire him, so he came back home. I took pity on the bastard. I had no idea, Alex . . .” Sulley wailed.

  I glared at Will. I finally had my chance to ask the question that burned into my soul like an incurable fever.

  “Why Will? Why my family? Were we just an accident too? Were you drunk when you hit us? Did you have to kill them to cover your tracks?” I asked, looking Will dead in the eyes.

  Will’s face sank. He shook his head.

  “No Alex, think about it,” he said. “Sulley’s the one who cut the brake cables in my car. He knew you’d be driving it. He grabbed the keys when my back was turned. He was the one in your house . . . he had a damned key to it! He was in the woods tonight . . . he was wearing a mask when he attacked me. We were struggling for the gun when he shot at you!”

  “You knew I’d be driving too! It was your car, your suggestion! You had a key to my house too!”

  My mind reeled as I considered all the possibilities. I felt dizzy, like the room, as well as my life, was spinning out of control.

  “I didn’t get the key until today, I told you that!” Will yelled at me, the frustration on his face was very convincing.

  “His arm, Alex!” he continued. “Tell him to show you his arm! The man who attacked me last night had a bandage on his left forearm, just above the wrist. I saw it when we were struggling over the gun, before I escaped into the woods. Tell him to show you his arm!”

  I turned to Sulley, eyes wide, and waited. My heart beat in sync with the pounding of the rain on the old cabin roof. His face was unreadable.

  “I never told Will about the scratch.” I swallowed. “Show me your arm.”

  Sulley laughed, a loud booming cackle.

  “He would know if he were the one you scratched! Tell him to show you HIS arm.”

  I tuned back to Will. He looked me in the eyes, their intensity saying a thousand words all at once. He kept one hand on the gun, aimed at Sulley, and with his free hand he hiked the up the sleeve of his uniform. There was no bandage there. He switched gun hands and hiked up the sleeve on the other arm. There was nothing; no bandage, not a scratch.

  I turned to Sulley and stepped away from him, my eyes glued to his face, gauging his reaction.

  He shrugged. “That doesn’t mean anything. He could have been working with Brightman. Think about it. They were working together. Why else would he kill him?”

  “Show her your arm, Sulley,” Will demanded.

  “Just show me your arm. If that’s true, then you can just show me,” I said waiting, my life hanging on his next move.

  Sulley hesitated, staring from me to Will.

  “I’ll show you Alex, but I don’t dare take my sights off of him. He’ll attack the first chance he gets. Come on over here and pull up my sleeves. Go ahead, I have nothing to hide.”

  I glared at him, considering.

  “Don’t do it! Run Alex….run for the back door while I have you covered. You don’t have to believe either of us right now. Just run,” Will begged.

  “So you can shoot her in the back like you tried to do last night? Enough of this!” Sulley roared just as a deafening crack of thunder erupted from the street and then with a flash the house was plunged into total darkness.

  “Alexandra, get down now!” Donovan screamed above the crack of thunder.

  “Donovan!”

  Without hesitation, I hit the floor as a second explosion echoed in my ears and ripped a blood curdling cream from my throat. A gunshot. And then all was silent except for the pounding of the relentless rain.

  For a wild moment I lay there frozen on the floor trying to contain my breath so I could hear any movement around me. I waited for my eyes to adjust, but they found no trace of light to adjust to. I was utterly blind in the overwhelming dark. I strained to hear the strumming, but the wind and rain masked the diminished rhythm.

  “This way Alexandra!” Donovan’s strained voice came from my left.

  I turned my body in that direction and began to crawl on my stomach towards his voice. It was too quiet. Something was very wrong. I realized with paralyzing horror that I was trapped in the house with the person who had killed my parents. One of the men I loved had been shot and was most likely dead. The other wanted me just as dead.

  I scurried soundlessly across the floor towards where I had heard Donovan’s voice. I used my fingers to dig into the plush carpet and pulled myself forward inch by inch.

  “Sshh sshh, stop. Don’t move,” Donovan whispered from beside me.

  I stopped and listened as the sound of footsteps, slow and heavy, moved across the carpeted floor beside me. The footsteps paused. I didn’t dare breathe. I didn’t know where in the room I was. The darkness that engulfed me was both my saving grace and my condemner. My only hope was that the murderer was as blinded as I was. The footsteps continued across the room in deliberate, slow steps away from me.

  “Okay Alexandra,” Donovan panted. “You have to come this way. Come towards me . . . that’s it. Keep moving.”

  I continued to claw my way soundlessly forward. There was movement behind me, the sound of fabric being dragged across the carpet; a faint moan. I looked in the direction of the sound as a flash of lightning illuminated the scene before me for a few fleeting seconds.

  I was near the kitchen now. A tall figure at the other end of the room, their features drenched in shadow, dragged a body towards the door. The figure turned toward me as the room was again plunged into darkness.

  I turned and got up on all fours. With the next roll of thunder I crawled into the kitchen, then froze in place when the thunder faded into the distance and listened. Footsteps, slow and deliberate were moving toward me.

  “That’s it. Keep coming this way. Slowly!” Donovan’s voice was strained and desperate, but he remained calm and I clung to his voice.

  I crawled towards him, careful not to make a sound against the less forgiving hardwood kitchen floor. When I heard the footsteps pause, I froze. He was listening for me. When he continued his approach, I moved forward again.

  Another flash of lightning revealed that I was deep into the kitchen and a wave of relief washed over me as I realized that Donovan was leading me to the back door. I waited for the accompanying roll of thunder before I again scurried across the floor, this
time aiming for the back door. Feeling along the cabinets, I kept the image of the kitchen where I had spent so many childhood nights at the forefront of my mind and tried to remember the feeling of safety that had always surrounded me here.

  Thunder growled in the distance so I crawled along faster. After a few steps my hands stumbled across the loose floorboard and it pinched my palm as it squeaked. I froze again, my hand still on the board as the thunder came to a stop. I had forgotten about the loose floorboard. Damn!

  I didn’t dare move my hand for fear that the board would squeak again. I didn’t know what to do. I listened for the footsteps, they were getting closer.

  “Alexandra . . . keep moving, you’re almost there,” Donovan beckoned.

  My mind screamed that I couldn’t move and I prayed that Donovan would somehow hear. The footsteps continued closer. In a panic, I grabbed at the floorboard with my free hand, trying to force it still so I could remove the other. To my shock, the board lifted into my hand and my other hand fell into the recess in the floor.

  For a second I didn’t move and I listened to see if I had been heard. The footsteps paused for a minute and I remained still until they continued on their path toward me, but they were no faster. Maybe they hadn’t heard me.

  I was about to pull my hand out of the floor when I felt something soft beneath my fingertips. I grabbed the fabric and pulled it from below the floor. The buttery cloth was slick between my fingers as I pulled at it. I flattened it out on the floor and ran my fingers along its edge. One fat bulk of fabric surrounded by five narrower ones. A leather glove, I realized with cold dread. And it was slick with moisture.

  Shaking, I dared to dip my hand in the hole in the floor again even as the footsteps came steadily nearer. In a craze I felt around until my fingers came into contact with cool metal. I grabbed the object and pulled it from the hole with frenzied curiosity. I had to know what it was, if it was what I was afraid it was.

  It too was moist and I clutched at the metal object with one hand and felt along its edges with the fingertips of my other hand. The sharp, pointy edge on one end and the rough, curved coil on the other sent me into an elevated plane of panic and shock. Lightning flashed in succession into the room making me feel as though I were caught in some old horror-movie projection.

  My worst fears were confirmed when I looked down at the sinister knife in my hands, covered in drying blood, its snake-shaped handle twisting in my grip. I dropped it with a clang to the floor and covered my mouth in my hands. I looked up in time to see Sulley’s face glaring at me from the kitchen doorway and then the room was tossed into darkness once again.

  “Sulley . . . NO,” I choked out the words.

  “My God,” Donovan gasped with horror beside me. “I’ve led you right to him!”

  I couldn’t breathe. This couldn’t be real. It was another nightmare. I had to wake up. The footsteps charged at me from the doorway.

  “Run Alexandra!” Donovan screamed.

  I got to my feet and bolted for the back door. An explosion erupted in white heat behind me and I ducked as the cabinet beside me burst into splinters of oak finish. With a scream I reached the back door as a flash of lightning illuminated the kitchen. I struggled with the knob as behind me drawer after kitchen drawer burst open, their contents hurling themselves into Sulley’s face as he struggled to get to me, gun raised. When he took aim, Donovan screamed and a cabinet door flung open and knocked the gun from Sulley’s hand.

  I twisted the knob and tugged hysterically, but the door would not open. I realized with helpless dismay that the deadbolt was locked. Plunged into darkness again, I felt frantically around the knob and prayed that the key would be in the lock.

  “No!” I screamed when my fingers found the empty keyhole.

  “Duck!” Donovan screamed and I hit the floor just in time to dodge Sulley’s grasping hands.

  His fingers clutched for me in the darkness and tugged my hair. I yanked free and scurried across the floor to the other corner. Sulley growled in frustration, the now familiar sound making the hairs on my neck stand on edge.

  I backed myself as far into the corner as I could. I could hear panting from next to me and I knew that Donovan was near, but in weakened condition.

  “You can’t hide forever, Kiddo.” Sulley’s voice was that of a stranger. “You know, it’s a shame that it had to end this way. It was nice having you back. Just like old times.”

  I held my breath in the corner, keeping my eyes focused on Sulley’s voice in front of me. The thunder rolled off into the distance as the storm began to pass. What light broke through the windows was only enough to cause a faint flicker before it vanished and the house was black once again.

  “But just like old times you ran off with another man. After everything I did for you. Like mother like daughter,” he dolled. “You both made me do it . . . made me kill my own brothers. First Gary, and now Will. I told you he was no good for you, but that didn’t matter to you, did it?”

  Sulley’s footsteps sounded on the kitchen floor beside me, kicking strewn utensils aside as he paced.

  “I thought you’d be different, but I could tell right away you were just like her. Do you know the things I did for her?” Sulley ranted.

  None of it made sense. My mind whirled, trying to discern his words and the sheer hatred in his tone. What was he talking about?

  “I took care of her after she had you. I made her part of my family. I helped her buy that damned house. That was supposed to be OUR home!” Sulley shouted and I bit down on my tongue to suppress a scream

  “I only enlisted in the Army in order to better provide for her . . . for the three of us. But that wasn’t good enough for her, was it?”

  I remained still, listening, trying to figure out what to do. Someone would have heard the gunshots . . . the police were coming, I told myself. Sulley’s footsteps came to a halt. I heard a series of strange clicks and then a slow, steady hiss.

  “She couldn’t wait for me to finish one damned tour!” Sulley continued, the rage building in his voice as he began to pace once again.

  “. . . and Gary. He was only supposed to stay with Gram while I was away. I should have known that he would take everything from me that I cared about, that I had worked for. He always had to have everything, while I had NOTHING!”

  Sulley paced away from me and I sucked in a ragged breath. I couldn’t stop my body from shaking. It was Sulley, I told myself over and over in my mind. Sulley killed my mother. Sulley, the man I had loved like a father.

  “Sshhh, it’s . . . okay Alexandra. We’ll find . . . another way out of this. Have to get you . . . to the front door . . .” Donovan strained beside me. I felt his warmth on my hand but it quickly vanished.

  “When you came back I was almost glad that I couldn’t get to you that night,” Sulley chuckled. “I actually thought we could start over, that we could have a second chance. You look so much like her. I thought maybe . . .”

  “This way!” Donovan called out to me and I crawled cautiously towards his voice.

  I tried to drown out Sulley’s voice, to not hear his crazed words, but a part of me was eager to know the truth. I wanted to understand, to know why.

  “Good, keep coming,” Donovan whispered and I crept closer.

  “But you had eyes for Will from the get go. A whore just like your mother,” Sulley hissed.

  I stammered as if he had punched me in the gut and almost lost my balance.

  “Don’t listen to him, Alexandra. Just . . . listen . . . to my voice. You have to keep moving.”

  I forced my body forward though I trembled, paralyzed with shock and fear and growing rage. As I felt along the wall, my fingers found the doorway into the living room, but something caught my attention before I could make it to the safety of the carpet. I smelled something; a foul, pungent odor filled the room and burned my eyes. Suddenly the hissing made sense. Sulley had turned on the gas burners on t
he stove. The room was filling with the flammable vapor.

  I contemplated making a run for the door, but was unsure if I could make it without stumbling in the dark. As I readied myself to make the charge, the electricity flickered, filling the house with sputtering light and then came back on. Turning slowly, I s tared in horror at Sulley’s twisted face just feet away. A sinister smile curled his lips and for a few tormenting moments our eyes remained locked on one another.

  “Chief. Chief, this is Conley. Come in chief,” Conley’s voice erupted from Sulley’s belt.

  Sulley’s eyes remained locked on mine as he reached for his radio.

  “Go ahead,” he answered.

  “We got a call that there were gunshots heard coming from your house. Is everything alright sir? Over.”

  Sulley smirked and cleared his throat. “No! It’s Galia! He attacked us. I tried to stop him, but I was too late. He killed Alex. Oh God . . . hurry! I smell gas!”

  My heart sank in my chest and my stomach heaved. He was going to kill me. I would be dead and no one would ever know it was him, that he had killed my mother, Gary, Brightman, Will . . . and me. I glanced behind me to the front door and saw Will, lying in a pool of blood in the entryway. I wanted to run to him, but I knew I wouldn’t make it. I turned back to Sulley and met the hatred in his cold stare. He would catch me no matter where I tried to run, there was nothing I could do.

  “Hang in there Chief, we’re on the way,” Conley assured and Sulley dropped the radio to the floor.

  “Looks like your luck has finally run out,” Sulley hissed.

  “Alexandra, the knife . . . do you see it?” Donovan whispered from beside me.

  I looked to the floor. There, beside where the radio came to a clanking rest was the snake-handled knife. I gave a faint nod and shot a look back up to Sulley. He took a step towards me and I took an unsteady step back.

  “The lights . . . I have to take them out. When I say so, grab the knife. Do not hesitate . . . use it!” Donovan instructed.

  “What?” I called out just as Sulley charged at me.

  The sound of a thousand shards of shattering glass form every light bulb in the living room erupted in succession and caused Sulley to hesitate as the house was again plunged into darkness.

  “Now Alexandra!” Donovan screamed and I dove in the direction of the knife, my hands flailing.

  I heard Sulley stumble behind me with an enraged howl and then heard him charge at me again. My frantic fingers connected to the radio. I knew the knife was to the left of it. My fingers gripped desperately as a hand clamped down on my sore ankle and dug into my skin. I screamed and kicked as hard as I could with my other leg. I connected with bone and flesh, but Sulley’s grip only tightened. He started to drag me towards him.

  “I don’t know how you keep doing it, but you’re not going to get away from me this time,” he growled. “I tried to warn you, to get you to leave. I even tried to make Will look guilty, to get you to see that I was the one who could protect you. I killed Brightman for you! But it wasn’t enough, was it? I showed you mercy and you still ran off with him. No more . . . it’s over.”

  I continued to kick as hard as I could, digging my fingers into the wood of the floor. Overpowering hands gripped my shoulders and flung me onto my back. I pushed and struggled, beating against the iron hands that pinned me and wrapped around my throat.

  “Donovan . . .gh . . .” I gargled as Sulley’s hands crushed my larynx.

  I couldn’t breathe, every ounce of air was being wrung from my lungs. I felt my body go numb. Though my heart raced in my ears I suddenly felt very tired, like I could slip away and bring this nightmare to a close. Sulley had won and I was dead. A part of me longed for it, welcomed it even.

  In an instant Sulley’s body was flung back and the crushing grip on my throat slipped away as his fingers groped for me. I flipped back over and gasped for air and choked on the little I was able to suck in. I heard the muffled gasps from above me as my body began to tingle and come back to life.

  “The knife!” Donovan strained.

  Shaking the fog from my head and still coughing, I gripped along the floor but my fingers were numb. I moved my hands back and forth until I finally connected with the cold metal handle. With a heaving breath I wrapped my fingers around the knife. I could still hear the struggling from above me and could feel Sulley’s menacing fingers groping for me, reaching again for my throat.

  “I . . . can’t hold him. Now Alexandra!” Donovan shrieked and his grip on Sulley was lost.

  Sulley lunged at me again and with a wild cry I thrust the knife forward and felt it tear into flesh and come to rest against solid bone before I let my hands drop to the floor. I heard Sulley’s anguished howl and it reminded me of the night of the accident, and of Gary’s final dying shriek. Sulley stumbled backwards and I shot to my feet.

  Lights flashed through the windows in the distance and I heard the wailing of sirens coming toward the house. I looked up and saw Sulley, hunched over, the knife embedded in his gut. He looked down in shock, and then wrapping his hands around the wound, he spun around and staggered out of the kitchen. I watched, my body trembling, as he stumbled into the living room.

  The sirens got closer and the house flickered red and blue. I followed behind Sulley, not daring to take my eyes off of him until I saw with a start that Will was looking at me from where he lay on the floor, struggling to move. I took the opportunity to go to him, to help him, but stopped cold. Sulley began to laugh; a deep, menacing laugh that turned my blood to ice in my veins.

  When he reached the entryway he turned and smiled, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. He held up a chrome lighter and slowly flipped the cap back with his thumb.

  “Oh God no,” I whispered and remembered the gas that was filling the house.

  Sulley flicked the ignition and smiled as the flame grew in his hand. I watched as he tossed the lighter towards me and turned to run. The world became slow and fuzzy all around me as I watched the flame dance and flicker in the air as it came towards me.

  I bolted for the front door, but it was as if my legs were sinking into deeper sand with every step. As I neared the front of the living room I saw Sulley reach the front door only to be pulled back by groping hands. Will clutched onto his calf from where he lay bloodied on the floor, pulling Sulley back and keeping him from escaping.

  “Looks like we both have an appointment in HELL!” Will gurgled and Sulley shrieked above the sirens that roared down the street.

  Behind me I could hear the clank of the lighter as it hit the kitchen floor. I stopped running. I knew I wouldn’t make it. I felt a calm wash over me as I accepted my fate. I turned to face the erupting flames.

  There, in the flesh before me, was Donovan – as clear to me than any tangible thing I had ever laid eyes on. His blue eyes burned into mine and his face was a mask of pure love and serenity. He held out his arms to me as the house trembled and filled with a gruesome orange light. Tears fell from my eyes as I ran to him. He caught me in his arms and wrapped them around me, and his warm body pressed up against mine, solid flesh on flesh. I looked into his face at last as he wiped my tears and drew me closer.

  An explosive wave of heat and destruction erupted around us and we fell to the floor. I felt nothing but the warmth of his skin against mine. Amid the roar of detonation and the wail of sirens around us, I could hear only the strumming against me, slow and steady. I could feel only Donovan’s body engulfing me while the world around us blew apart.

  As I began to lose consciousness, I blinked and looked up again. My gaze locked with Donovan’s and he looked down on me with concern and unwavering concentration. The house around us fractured and was consumed by bright hot flame and roaring destruction, but I couldn’t see it. The last things I saw before I closed my eyes for a final time were Donovan’s strong arms embracing me and the two great, luminously feathered wings that shielded me from harm.