Reckoning

by R. S. Broadhead

  Jace flared his nostrils and puckered his lips. “There’s nothin’ to tell, Casey. You disgust me in a way you’ll never know.” Her smug look morphed into something we weren’t expecting. Her mouthed pulled into a tight line while her eyebrows wrinkled in over deep black eyes. My heart rate started to increase. Something wasn’t right.

  “You’ll never know what it’s like to be with a real woman. Don’t let him lie to you, Shayla. He knew exactly what he was doin’. He’s been begging me to sleep with him every day, whispering dirty things to me. He even told me he pictured me when he’s forced to sleep next to you.”

  “What the hell is up with your eyes, Casey?” I asked in dismay. I had seen those eyes before, too often, belonging to those we were in a war against. She briskly ran her hand over her eyes, looking down to the green floor tile.

  “I … uh …” she started.

  “Who cares what’s up with her eyes? She’s a freak that’s dead weight around here. I personally get tired of saving her ass all the time and this is how she repays me? A true friend would’ve turned the dick down, I guess that only proves the point that you’re a damn hoe on top of everything we already knew about you,” Shayla said. Her hands continued to clench and unclench as she stared at the wall.

  “I’m better than all of you!” Casey screamed from deep within. She thrashed around, grabbing a chair and tossing it into the wall. Her hands went over her face, and she backed against the wall, rocking slightly. We could barely hear the mumbles she spoke to herself before the laughing started. Black lines crawled through her body, just beneath her skin like a poison. “You know what? I don’t have to take this shit anymore!” She looked up at Shayla and charged at her, tackling her to the ground. They rolled around, kicking, making it almost impossible for Steele and Payne to break up. Once Payne had a good enough grip on Shayla, he dragged her back only to catch an elbow to the eye. Casey backslapped Ollie, throwing him into the wall, and shoved past Fuzz and me at the door before we knew what had happened.

  “She doesn’t need to get out of this place, otherwise there’s no tellin’ what she might tell Derek, if she hasn’t already,” Fuzz’s voice thundered. He regained his balance and ran after her. She was fast, too fast for us. I was so confused. Casey was one of us, not them. Why would she do this to her friends and sister? Would more follow? Every hair on my body stood at the thought. We rounded the corner to find it empty “Spread out and look for her. I’ll go tell Dax to lock this place down!”

  Payne, Ollie, and I each took a different path. Every room I crossed, I searched with no luck until meeting back up with the others in the shell of the house.

  “She obviously got out before Dax could stop her. I say we get the four wheelers out and ride the woods to see if we can find her. She couldn’t have gotten far,” Steele said.

  “I don’t know, Ollie. Did you get a good look at her eyes and skin? I don’t think she’s completely human any more,” Payne said in a shaky voice. His words worried me. Was this what I had to look forward to?

  “Yeah, I know. Let’s just keep lookin’ for now,” Steele said, running a quick hand through his hair. This freaked him out too, I could tell.

  Each of us jumped on a four wheeler and shot out in different directions. I ducked low, dodging a branch as I sped through the woods. Something red caught my eye so I turned around to find a chunk of her hair. Glancing over the ground, I saw several snapped twigs. I gassed it ahead until I came out on a dirt road. Looking both ways, there was no sign of her. We spent the next few hours riding all over the grounds that surrounded our camp. Casey had managed to elude our desperate attempts to find her. “This isn’t gonna be good. Fuzz isn’t gonna be happy about this,” Steele said as we got into the elevator.

  “She was fast as hell. I think it was a lost cause to begin with,” Payne replied.

  As we entered the conference room, we shook our heads. Fuzz and his hopeful eyes furrowed in frustration.

  “What’s goin’ on?” Abby asked, assessing the situation.

  “I’m afraid things have taken an unfortunate turn of events. Casey apparently has decided to jump ship and leave us,” Fuzz said.

  “What do you mean? Where’s my sister?” Masey asked in a shrill voice. Abby draped her arm over Masey’s shoulders, slightly patting her arm. “Why would she leave me? I’m her sister! All she had to do was tell me what was goin’ on. I tr … tried to talk to her, but all she’d do was shut me ou … out.”

  “Casey, at some point, must’ve run into Derek and decided she belonged with him. She was unhappy here recently. I think that was obvious to everyone. Somethin’ happened earlier involving Jace and Shayla that set her off, showing us the darkness she’d invoked. We’ve made every effort to find her, but she managed to get away. My guess is she’s makin’ her way back to Derek now, so we need to be on high alert here. She knows this place inside and out. That’s crucial information he’d be happy to know,” Fuzz said.

  “So, you mean to tell me Derek or that zombie freak, Wheeler, could come in here while we’re sleeping and kill us? If I’m gonna die, I at least wanna go fighting,” Raven replied. Casey had access to this place and could come back with anyone she wanted at any time. For a moment that frightened me, but rage took over. How could she put us all at risk?

  “That isn’t gonna happen. Dax knows how to change all securities of this building. When I informed him of what was goin’ on, he executed the plan. We’ll start using, the second entrance that none of you knew about. The house above us will be demolished and the entrance that has been compromised will be sealed off. I’ve always known this was a possibility. I just never thought it’d happen. I have many backup plans, I’m always prepared,” Fuzz said.

  “That makes me feel better about everything,” Raven said.

  “It still doesn’t change the fact that I’ve lost my sister! Is there any way she could come ba … back from this?” Masey asked through large tears. She was hunched over in Abby’s arms, shaking.

  “I’m afraid I’ve never seen anyone overcome the darkness once it’s accepted. I’ve seen this happen a few times before. I don’t think there is anything we can do for her at this point,” Fuzz answered. “Masey, I know you’ve got it in your mind right now to try to find her, but I don’t suggest it. Darkness does awful things to a person. It manipulates and uses them for its own pleasure. There’s really no tellin’ what she’d do to you.” She answered with a loud wail and buried her soaked face into Abby.

  “All security measures have been updated,” Dax said as he walked in with a triumphant smile. He glanced down at Masey. “Too early to gloat about my awesomeness?”

  “Just a little bit, Dax. Have a seat. There’s more news I need to tell everyone,” Fuzz said. I knew what was about to come. I slouched in my seat and looked straight ahead to avoid Steele’s look. “I have reason to believe Derek may be targeting one of this group’s friends on the outside.” The room irrupted in chatter.

  “Maybe we shouldn’t have gotten involved in all this if he’s goin’ after people we know on the outside,” Savannah replied.

  “You know I wouldn’t let anything happen to the people you love, sweetness,” Lance told her.

  “Would everyone let me finish before you start shittin’ your pants?” Fuzz bluntly stated. He let out a sigh as he rolled his eyes. We all quieted back down. “This is a person linked to Reese—not any of you.” I could feel all of their eyes burning into me. “We’ll be moving Sim Baker into camp with us to keep any harm from coming his way.”

  “Bullshit!” Steele shouted as he jumped up from his chair.

  “I say let him have that dick,” Payne said. He sat back and crossed his arms. That comment got a nod of approval from Steele.

  “Why would he want Sim? That’s got to be the dumbest thing ever,” Abby said.

  “He probably knows that Reese loves Sim more than any other person and wants to use him as leverage,” Dax said. The room went silent. I felt the bree
ze as Steele walked quickly in front of me and out the door, slamming it with a loud bang.

  “Thanks for that, Dax,” I said, leaning up to rub my temples.

  “I know I’m not the only one thinking that. Reese, you’ve been hung up on that boy since the first night you met him. It’s only a matter of time before the two of you finally get your shit together and make it work.” No one said anything, but it was evident they all agreed.

  “What the fuck is goin’ on in here? Y’all didn’t find that skank? And why the hell did Steele punch a hole in the wall down the hall?” Shayla asked as she came through the door. Her face was slightly red from crying, and there were a few bloody scratches across her cheek.

  “Fuzz wants to move Sim Baker in here with us because he thinks Derek is after him,” Raven replied.

  “So? Who gives a shit if he’s down here with us? Him and Reese aren’t anything now.”

  “You mean to tell me that you don’t think those two will end up together?” Dax asked as he narrowed his eyes at her.

  “I used to. I thought her and Sim would be in one house and me and Tyler would be next door. You know, sitting on our wrap around porches, drinkin’ sweet tea and shit, while watching our kids play together out in the yard, but shit changes. I’ve watched Reese go from bein’ hung up on a redneck to bein’ hung up on a martial arts expert that’s looks damn good with no shirt on.” Dax didn’t reply. He just shook his head and turned back around.

  “Dax, you don’t need to test me right now. I’m still crunk over that bitch that ran out of here and I’ll beat your ass if I have to.”

  “Please, just don’t talk about Casey that way. I don’t care what your problems were … I ju … just can’t take it right now,” Masey said. Abby helped her up by the arm and they disappeared through the door. I couldn’t imagine how she felt. Shayla and Savannah were the closet thing I had to a sister. If they would have done this, I’d be lost.

  “It doesn’t matter what everyone’s opinion over this situation is anyway. He’s movin’ in with us and that’s a final decision. Reese, please go make the call and get him here as soon as possible,” Fuzz said.

  I gladly left the room and found an empty hall outside. I quickly went to my room and locked the door behind me so I couldn’t be interrupted.

  “Hello?” Sim answered, his voice higher from normal.

  “Hey. Do you have a minute to talk?” I felt guilty for talking to Sim. Steele was upset about this whole thing, but there was nothing I could do. I couldn’t let Derek kill Sim over me. I couldn’t live with myself if that happened.

  “Reese … seriously? Of course I can talk to you. What’s up? Did you go tell Fuzz about the shit we saw earlier?”

  “Yeah, and I’ve got some news that you might not be too happy about.”

  “Uh oh. He doesn’t wanna off me because Shayla told me about what y’all do, does he?”

  “No, but you might think it’s just as bad,” I replied.

  “What is it?”

  “I’m gonna need you to pack some stuff up because you have to move in here with us.” The words sounded weird coming out of my mouth. I never thought Sim would get brought into all this.

  “Wait … wait … I get to move in with you?” he asked. His voiced rose slightly.

  “Well, you’re not movin’ into my room, but you’ll be movin’ into the same building as me, if that’s what you mean.”

  “Oh, give me a few weeks and that boyfriend of yours will be long gone. I’ll be movin’ into the room with you. You know I won’t feel safe with all of these monsters roaming around unless I’m cuddled up next to you at night in the bed.”

  “Sim … don’t do that. Don’t you even wanna know why I need you to move in?” I asked. I didn’t want him to use jokes to avoid the seriousness of everything going on. He was in danger and that should concern him.

  “Well, I’m figurin’ this Derek dude is tryin’ to get back at you somehow with me, and he probably knows he couldn’t get to Ollie as easily as me. Did I get it right?”

  “Pretty much.”

  “See, I know what the hell is goin’ on with this shit. I might not have the mad fighting skills like the rest of you, but I got somethin’ y’all don’t have and that’s redneck common sense. That’s somethin’ only Washington County people have. Clarke County wasn’t blessed with it.”

  “Yep, that must be it. Do you want me to meet you somewhere?”

  “Nah, just tell me where to go and I’ll find it. Did you forget who you’re talkin’ to? I ride dirt roads and live in the woods. I can find anything.”

  “Well, our entrance has changed so I’m gonna let Fuzz call you back in a few minutes to let you know where to go. At least then it gives you time to pack up your stuff.”

  “Aight, sounds good. And don’t worry, I’ll make sure to bring some sexy boxers to impress you,” he said. I rolled my eyes.

  “Okay, you do that.” Sim always had a way of making me forget all the stress in my life. For a moment, the thought of Shayla’s daydream didn’t sound like a bad idea.

  “See you in a little bit, Reese,” he said before hanging up.

  Now, I needed to attempt to make this okay with Steele. I lay back on my bed and stared at the ceiling. It was nice to finally catch a breath. I’d been going non-stop for weeks and it was starting to show. Swallowing hard, I closed my eyes and pictured the meadow Ollie had taken me to. I could feel the sun on my face. Things were better then. I rolled off my mattress to search for him, even though I wanted to stay longer. I found him sweaty, beating the crap out of a punching bag. I didn’t want to approach him. I dreaded this conversation because I had the nagging feeling it wasn’t going to end well. Why didn’t he understand this wasn’t something I wanted, it was something that had to happen? He was my everything and it hurt to have him treating me so coldly.

  “Are we gonna be okay from this?” I asked. He stopped, but didn’t say anything. I stared at his back, wanting him to say something … anything.

  “It’s nice to know what everyone thinks.”

  “I can understand why that would piss you off.”

  “No, you don’t, Reese. You’ll never know what this feels like,” he said, turning to face me. “You’re the only one I’ve ever wanted and they know that, but you on the other hand wanted someone else before. Who knows, you might still want him. Everyone out there seems to think that.”

  “I don’t know how I can prove to you that I don’t, but I’m not gonna let him die over this. Derek wants us, not Sim. He didn’t have anything to do with this and it’s not fair to him to be drug into it.”

  “So, I take it he’s agreed to come here?” he asked. His jaw clenched. He already knew the answer.

  “Yes.”

  “Don’t expect me to be nice to him. I’m sorry. I can’t do that after what he did to you. I’ll catch up with you later.” Steele knew how bad Sim hurt me in the past. He took my virginity and broke my heart. I didn’t know if I could ever trust Sim completely after that. It was a road I wasn’t sure I could take again. He started punching the bag again, practically knocking it off the hook. I left him, even though I didn’t want to. I hated him being this mad at me. He needed to cool down before we talked again, or it was just going to make everything worse. After telling Fuzz that Sim had agreed to come, I decided to check on Shayla.

  “Go away. I don’t need anyone comin’ in here to ask me if I’m okay,” she shouted.

  “Well, if you wanna be like that then you can just listen to my problems, because I got them too.” I stood waiting to see if she was going to reply. Silence hung in the air so I started to walk back to my room when I heard her door click open. She stood there with swollen eyes and motioned me to come in. I sat on the bed and leaned back against the wall.

  “It’s been one crappy thing after another, hasn’t it?” I said. She nodded but didn’t say anything. I wasn’t used to this. Shayla was always the person to wear her feelings on her sleeve and l
et you know anything on her mind. “How are you holding up?”

  “Not good. I just wanna leave and go home. This place reminds me too much of him and us.”

  “Maybe he was tellin’ the truth about seein’ you instead of her. That medicine they have him on might have done some crazy junk to his head. Jace hasn’t ever been fully right in that department anyway.” She looked at me with a dumbfounded expression. Her knuckles started to whiten as her grip on a pillow tightened. This was the hardest I had ever seen her take a break-up with a boyfriend. Most of the time she bounced back, make-up done to perfection, dressed to impress, and ready to move on.

  “You know as well as I do that he knew what he was doin’. I’ve never felt this alone. I feel like I’m walkin’ down this road, and there’s no one waiting for me at the end. I thought I had someone walkin’ with me, but I guess that wasn’t true. I can’t help but think maybe I just don’t deserve anyone in my life.” It broke my heart she thought that. The perfect person was out there for Shayla.

  “Don’t think that way. Somethin’ isn’t right about this whole thing. Casey went dark, so we don’t know what she could’ve done to make Jace see you. You probably need to give him the benefit of the doubt,” I replied, handing her a tissue to wipe her nose. She tossed the snot filled paper to the mound growing on the floor.

  “I want to, but I don’t think I can. I don’t think I can go on, period. I’m just tired of it all. Why try anymore? There’s too much pain and suffering in this stupid life.” She slung herself back and covered her face. I shifted closer and moved her arm away.

  “Girl, you better not be giving up on me. I have to deal with crap from boys just the same as you, but you know what, if a break-up happens, we’ll still have each other.” She gave me a small smile.

  “I’m not giving up on you. I plan to see this to the end, fighting at your side, but I think it’d be best if I went home though,” she said, looking up at the ceiling. “I can’t be this close to him. It hurts too bad. I’m forcin’ myself to stay here right now, just the thought of him layin’ down there in that hospital bed, hurtin’, makes me wanna be at his side. I keep pickin’ up my phone, expectin’ to see a text or somethin’ from him, but there’s nothin’. How can boys do that? They act like they’re all into you one day, and the next they act like they don’t care anymore. I wasn’t the one in the wrong, so he should be blowin’ my phone up right now, but he isn’t. That makes me question whether he cared or not.”