by Jordan Ford
I don’t know where the hell my family have disappeared to. I don’t even care. As long as they’re safely hidden.
I’m about to sag with relief until I notice the barrel of a rifle appear out of Kade’s bedroom window.
Marco spots it at the same time and grips my jacket even tighter. I wince at the gun digging into my neck. “Don’t even think about it!” Marco shouts. “I’ll shoot him right now!”
Mariella’s crying in the back seat. Her terrified whimpering does nothing to help me reach the kind of calm I need to survive this. Her cries grate my nerves to dust.
And it’s only made worse when Ana steps onto the porch.
Trey’s right beside her, aiming a rifle at Lucca. The look on his face is pure murder.
Shit. I hope he doesn’t do something stupid.
Ana glares at her uncle and shouts, “Let him go!”
Slow footsteps crunch over gravel and Lucca pauses by the front corner of the car. He gazes up at his daughter with a fatherly smile. “Hello, bambina.”
Ana’s eyes narrow into thin slits. Her glare is darker than Trey’s.
Lucca ignores it, snickering like she’s just some petulant teen. “Enough now. It is time to come home.”
“I am home.” She crosses her arms. “Now let my cousin go, and get out of here.”
Lucca’s head jerks back like he can’t understand why she’s acting this way. But then his gaze flicks to me. Confusion bunches his expression until Mariella slips out of the car and stands on my right.
I can’t see her face, but whatever she’s doing makes Lucca’s eyes bulge. “It can’t be.”
“It’s true. Sophia’s son. He lived, and you have no right to kill him. You took everything away from this child. Enough now, Lucca. Enough!”
I glance to the porch. Ana’s gaping at her mother, no doubt reeling at the woman’s beat-up face. I try to make eye contact with Trey, but he’s still focused on Lucca. His finger strokes the trigger and I’m trying to decide the best way to play this.
I need to get my family to safety before all hell breaks loose. Licking my lips, I’m groping for ways to diffuse the situation.
Then Lucca starts talking. Staring up at his daughter, he acts like there’s not a gun pointed at his chest and waves his hand towards the car. “What’s done is done. It’s in the past and I can’t change it. Now let’s go, Christiana.”
She shakes her head and he lets out a frustrated huff.
“You are my daughter! You belong with me! Now you either come, or I kill everybody in that cabin.”
Ana flinches like she believes him.
She should.
He will.
“She’s not going with you!” Trey roars and pulls the trigger.
The bullet whips past Lucca and fires straight into the car window. Glass shatters and I’m yanked to the ground as Marco ducks down.
He raises his gun at the porch and I lurch forward with my elbow, knocking him off his feet. His hand smacks against the ground and I lunge for the gun, punching his wrist to loosen his hold on the weapon.
He yells in pain as I pull his fingers back and slide the gun away.
It doesn’t go very far.
I’m about to jump for it again when someone starts screaming. I look up in time to see Lucca fire a shot at the porch. Trey’s arm is already around Ana’s middle and he tackles her into the house as bullets smash through the sliding glass door.
The rifle in Kade’s bedroom window goes off. Lucca gets nicked in the shoulder. He roars and swivels, firing at the cabin.
I hear a terrified scream from inside and then a baby starts crying.
Shit! Ellie!
I scramble to my feet, set on taking Lucca down, but Marco grabs me before I can. Yanking my leg, he pulls me to the ground and lands an elbow straight into my face. My cheek cracks against the hard-packed dirt. Stars scatter my vision.
I blink to clear them as he jumps over me. I struggle to my feet…and feel cold metal press against the back of my head.
I go still, breaths spurting out my nose.
“He should have done this years ago,” Marco mutters in my ear.
The click of a cocking gun has never been so loud and I squeeze my eyes shut, ready for the darkness.
“NO!” Someone screams and Marco’s weight is suddenly gone. Rolling over, I gape at the sight of Mariella wrestling with Marco. They roll in the dirt, grappling for control of the weapon.
Mariella’s crying and fighting. Her sobs and screams are terrifying.
I stumble toward her, ready to help, when the gun goes off.
Both bodies jerk and then still. I flinch.
“No, no, no,” I whisper, scrambling across to the bodies.
The gunfire stops as soon as Lucca notices what’s happened. He lets out a strangled wail and thumps across to me. Shoving me out of the way, he falls to his knees and pulls the bodies apart.
Marco flops to the ground, his head lolling to the side. Blood has soaked into his shirt, a red declaration of his death. Mariella trembles beside him. She’s a mess—her beaten, mascara-stained face, her chin splattered with blood.
Lucca wails, rocking over Marco’s body before glaring at his wife. “You stupid bitch!” Lashing out, he slaps her across the face. The gun he’s holding creates an instant welt on her cheek.
She yelps and starts weeping.
Standing tall, I close the space quickly, pushing Lucca away from the woman.
Anger is coursing through me in thick waves. I’ve never been a killer. Never even thought about ending someone’s life. Even in my rage over Mom and Dad’s deaths, I still had prison as my first option.
But I want to kill Lucca right now.
I want to see the light go out of those evil little eyes.
My upper lip curls as I roar and come at him with a punch, but I’m frozen midair when he raises his gun at me. It’s pointed straight at my heart and at this range, he won’t miss.
I catch his eye—see the finality of his decision.
My life’s over.
Images flash through my brain like flying photographs. Everything from Mom laughing, to Uncle Rafe hugging me after we caught that fish, to the time I met Trey, to when I beat Kade at the Gauntlet, to the look in Caity’s eyes before she kissed me.
The thought that I’ll never see her again pierces me with a profound clarity and the last thing I feel before closing my eyes is regret.
The roar of an engine cuts through my last moment.
My eyes snap open as Kurt’s truck speeds up the driveway. Gravel sprays as he skids to a stop beside us.
“Freeze!” He’s shouting the word before he even gets out of the vehicle. Fumbling his gun from the holster, he aims it at Lucca. “Lower your weapon!”
Lucca’s nostrils flare.
“I will shoot you if you do not lower your weapon immediately!”
Lucca’s fingers tighten around the gun. He wants to kill me so bad, but he knows if he does it’ll be witnessed by the law, and there’s no way in hell he’ll get away with it.
Staring him in the eye, I watch his hard look waver. It’s dawning on him that he’s finally lost. His eyebrows wrinkle with regret before he whispers, “I’m sorry, Sophia.”
The gun then swings to his head, but he doesn’t have time to fire before Kurt’s gun goes off and Lucca jerks forward with a shout of pain.
His arm goes limp, the gun slipping from his hand while blood blooms on his jacket sleeve.
Kurt’s eyes are the size of dinner plates as he swallows and tries to reholster his weapon. He misses the first time and has to take a breath and try again. Clipping the gun in place, he yanks out a pair of cuffs and strides forward.
“You have the right to remain silent.” His voice is a quaking mess, but he pushes Lucca forward, going through the drill that he obviously hasn’t done in a while.
I step back, my legs giving out as Lucca’s face hits the dirt and Kurt continues to read him his rights, his vo
ice growing in confidence as soon as those cuffs are secured.
I try to catch his eye. I want to silently thank him for getting off his fat ass and acting like a real sheriff.
But he doesn’t look up from his duties, and I’ve somehow lost the ability to speak. All I can do is breathe. Sit here and breathe.
Sit here and live in this aftermath.
There’s whimpering behind me. Ragged breaths. Distant weeping. Thudding on the stairs.
Suddenly Trey’s there, wrapping me in a bear hug and slapping me on the back. “It’s over, man. It’s over.”
Ana kisses my cheek. I feel her tears brush across my skin before she goes to hug her mother.
Kade appears on the stairs. I smile at him over Trey’s shoulder, tears stinging my eyes when Jules pops into view with Ellie in her arms.
My family.
My family’s safe.
The weight that’s been crushing me for so long is finally lifting. I know what happened to my parents now. I know the truth. And justice will be served.
“It’ll be served,” I whisper, hugging Kade as he drops to his knees beside me.
Everyone I love is around me—safe and well.
Well, almost everyone.
My thoughts shoot to Caity and an overpowering urge to see her courses through me.
#35:
Cold Reminders of Defeat
Caitlin
I think I’ve lost him.
Doing a quick spin, I listen for crashing feet in the bush, but can’t hear anything. Hopefully he’s fallen and knocked himself out. Or maybe he veered left when I went right.
I have no idea how long or how far we’ve run.
All I’ve been focused on is getting away from Antonio’s wild shouts.
Unfortunately, the problem I’m now left with is that in escaping the psycho beast…I’ve kind of lost myself.
The trees loom large around me, and for the first time ever they feel overpowering and ominous.
“It’s okay,” I whisper, swallowing the thick lump in my throat. “Just think logically.”
The chances of getting home before dark are now zero. I’m smart enough to figure that out.
Dad will be annoyed, but that emotion will quickly morph to worry.
That’s good. Worry’s good.
Because I need him to find me.
For a second I wonder if I should stay put. Moving around while they’re searching isn’t going to help them.
But this forest is my home. My backyard. I practically know it better than anyone in Legacy. If I can just find a familiar landmark then I’ll be set.
Doing a slow turn, I look up into the trees and notice the deep blue hue of the sky. There’s a slim chance the sun hasn’t set yet. If I can spot it before it sinks below the horizon, that’ll give me west. From there I can maybe get my bearings and muddle my way towards Legacy.
Fat chance.
I scowl at the negative thought, batting it away by picking up my pace.
I hurt. Every muscle is ragged with exhaustion, my mind spent by the amount of adrenaline it’s pumped through my body today. My fingers shake as I wipe my mouth and fight the urge to cry.
“It’s okay,” I remind myself.
All is quiet.
My heart thunders inside me as I walk up the slope and weave through a thicker bunch of trees. I’m looking for a ridge or clearing, something to give me a decent view of the sky.
It’s an effort, and my thighs are burning as I grunt and claw my way to the top. Dirt gets wedged beneath my nails, and dry pine needles poke my skin. I struggle onward, my fight for life enough to outweigh my will to give up.
If I keep moving, I can stave off the cold, the debilitating reality that I’m in for a very long night.
It’s going to be frigid. I hate the cold. I’m going to freeze in the middle of nowhere. Who knows how long it will take them to find my human Popsicle.
“Shut up!” I grumble to the nasty little voice in my head.
My gear is good. Thankfully I live in hiking boots and it’s been cold enough lately to pull out the thick socks. I’m wearing a thermal under my sweater, plus a decent jacket. My fingers may freeze, but I’ll keep them in my jacket pockets whenever I can.
Gripping a trunk, I use it to haul me up to the top of the ridge. All I find there is another steep slope down, peppered with pines and no hope.
With a disappointed grunt, I stay on the top of the ridge and walk to my right. The trees are slightly less dense there and I might score myself a better view of the area.
Burying my hands in my pockets, I stop short when I think I hear a snap of wood.
My mind immediately jumps to Antonio and my heart works its way up my throat, trying to cut off my air supply.
Crouching down, I scramble for something I can use as a weapon and manage to score myself a couple of decent rocks.
My breathing is fast and erratic as I gingerly keep moving, my eyes darting from one tree to the next. I should be running from the noise I just heard, but I don’t want to give away my location. And I need to get to the end of this ridge to see if I can’t orientate myself.
I have no idea how much further I have to go, but—
A flash of movement catches my peripherals and I turn to see an enraged body powering towards me.
I scream and throw my first rock. It hits his shoulder but does nothing to slow him down. Spinning, I attempt to run but he lashes out, catching my arm and throwing me off balance. I hit the ground with a thud, sliding into a thick trunk. The wind rushes out of me followed by a crippling pain in my stomach.
I roll onto my back, gasping for air. He leaps on me like a freaking panther.
A spot of blood drips onto my cheek followed by a solid punch.
I yelp as my face smacks into the rough ground.
Pain radiates across my face, but I manage to block the next punch.
Air is circulating through me again and I turn and scream in Antonio’s face. “Get off me!”
“I’m not done with you yet!” His brown eyes are wild and dark. Fisting my hair, he grips so hard my eyes start to burn.
“Ow! Stop! Stop!”
He won’t let up.
I make a grab at his fist and start writhing beneath him.
His fingers tighten in my hair.
I’m going to go blind or loose a chunk of my scalp if I don’t do something.
With a frantic scream, I strike out with my right fist. It feels weird; it’s my weaker hand, but I manage to connect enough to loosen his hold on me.
He jerks back and I shove him away, enough to get my knee beneath his torso and give it a hard push.
He flips off me and I scramble to my feet.
With a terrifying roar, he lunges, grabbing my ankle.
I claw the ground, desperate to get away from him.
He starts pulling me back, so I kick and flail. I manage to catch his forehead with the toe of my boot.
“Fuck!” he screams, his hold slacking.
I wrench my leg out of his grasp and make it to my feet this time.
But not far enough.
As I reach the top of the ridge, he tackles me from behind.
The motion propels us over the lip of the ridge, and we tumble onto a slope of dry pine needles. It’s steep and our bodies gain quick momentum, spinning and sliding until we’re shooting down the hill like two torpedoes.
Panic races through me, burning out logic and screaming at me.
Look out! Look out!
My eyes bulge wide. The path we’re taking is about to open up to a big fat nothingness.
Shit! I’m going to die.
A scream rips from my throat as we near the edge.
Antonio’s screaming with me, his panicked roar manic and unnatural.
“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” he hollers, kicking his feet and trying to slow us down.
But there’s no chance.
We hit the edge sharp and hard, tipping over the side in a move so fast I
can barely register it.
Antonio loses his grip on me as we topple down the cliff face.
I scream and grapple for some kind of hold.
I’m going to die! I’m going to die!
And then my body smacks into something hard. Immovable. Bone-shattering.
“Ahh!”
My head whacks against the hard granite. Stars scatter my vision as I waver on the narrow pocket of rock.
Antonio’s scream changes from manic to high-pitched terror…fading into the distance with a chilling finality.
I close my eyes and grip the edge of rock. I’m still teetering on the edge and I force my body back. The world is suddenly spinning as pain and terror try to take me out.
Shuffling back as far as I can, I press myself into the corner of the jutting cliff face.
The perch is wide enough to hold my body, but I’m still terrified. Sliding down to my butt, I stretch my legs out and whimper as my feet hang out over the edge.
Every muscle aches. My left arm feels like it’s been shattered.
The pain is intense and blinding.
I cradle it against my chest and moan.
Staring out across the sky, I see the last remnants of sunset. The sky is slightly brighter out to my right.
“West,” I murmur.
It doesn’t matter now.
Night is setting in.
The temperature’s already dropping.
I’m injured.
I don’t see how anyone is going to find me in time.
I don’t see how I’m gonna last.
“I’m sorry, Dad,” I whisper, sucking in a ragged breath.
My nose tingles. My lips begin to wobble.
Tears brim on my lashes. For the first time in years, I let them win.
They slip off my lashes and trail down my cheeks, cold reminders of my defeat.
I have nothing to fight on this ledge.
No one to impress.
No one to woo.
It’s over.
#36:
Where Is She?
Riley
There’s still a faint ringing in my ears.
It’s finished, but it’s not.
