She frowned.
“Baby, I do want to believe you, okay? I do. I want to. But how can I when what you’re saying is just impossible?”
“Maybe someone in town is a psychic,” Jordyn said finally.
“Seriously?” Connor stood up, adjusting his pants, his face firm.
“It could happen.” She shrugged.
“You just haven’t been yourself since Ollie. You’ve been doing so much here given that I’ve been working so much. I need to help you out more. You know your hormones are still out of whack. That’s all this is. You’re exhausted.”
Jordyn stood up, trying to keep herself calm. She knew deep down that he must be right. Her husband had always been a reasonable person, believing only in what he could see or prove himself. She wished so much that she could make him understand that something wasn’t right here. She bit her lip as Ollie began to fuss. Connor walked toward the couch, patting their son’s tummy softly, confirming that the conversation was over.
Chapter Five
Steve Barger
Steve Barger refreshed his email again. Again. Again. Again. How dare that bitch not respond? It had been two days already. He took another swig of his beer, wiping his mouth with his sleeve. If she thought she was just going to leave in the middle of the night, disconnect her phone, and never speak to him again, she had another thing coming. They’d put eighteen years into this marriage, and he’d be damned if he was going to let her screw it all up now over some midlife crisis affair. His eyes burned from lack of sleep, his hands trembled, and his stomach turned from large quantities of beer and coffee.
Suddenly, an alert sounded at the bottom of his screen. New Email, it said. He rubbed his eyes, refreshing the screen hastily. The email address wasn’t one he recognized, but there was her name: Danielle Barger. She must’ve changed it when she left, to keep him from contacting her, just like the phone. He opened the email, his anger fading away immediately. She’d written:
I’m sorry. Please find the old lantern in the shed and light it. Bring it out to the field past Old Man Berkshaw’s farm, where we used to go when we were younger. Leave the lantern in the middle of the field. If you do this, this alone will show me how much you care about me. I know it’s a crazy request, but just trust me, okay? Please, Steve. I miss you.
Steve stared at the screen. Could she be serious? What in the world did she care about some old lantern? Why should he do what she said? He could be caught trespassing. The lantern could catch the field on fire. This was madness.
Still, he longed to see her again, to smell her, to hold her. He knew he couldn’t ignore her request, no matter how insane it seemed. Maybe she would be waiting for him. He imagined her standing in the sun, her hair blowing in the wind. He imagined her happy, smiling at him. He stood up, making his way out to the shed. He hadn’t been out here in years. How she even remembered he kept a lantern out here was beyond him. He stumbled toward the shed door, trying hard to remember exactly how far down under his junk it was buried. He began digging through the piles of old boxes and tools, things that hadn’t been needed or used for years. There was a life sized Coca-Cola polar bear over in the corner that had been banished to the shed when his latest hole had left white fuzz all over the house again. The room smelled of dust and hot wood. An odd combination, but one Steve was familiar with. A wasp swarmed in the corner of the room.
Steve gasped as he stuck his hand in a box and stabbed it on something sharp. He cursed, pulling his hand backwards in pain. He glanced at the middle of his hand, a thick red line of blood already forming. He really needed to get out here and clean this place up. He’d been promising to for ages. He added that to his mile-long list of things he would do if Danielle came back.
***
Finally, eight dead spiders, two wasps, twenty-seven boxes, and ten bloodied fingers later, and Steve had found the ruddy lantern. He’d showered, loaded the lamp up, bought a rose, slicked back his hair, and was on his way toward the outskirts of town. His heart raced, and he couldn’t keep the cheesy smile off of his wrinkling face. As he laid eyes on the field, his hope only grew bigger, remembering the evenings they’d spent walking amongst the wheat. It was growing dark out. He wondered if she was out there somewhere, watching him, waiting for him. He supposed she must be. He stopped the truck, sucking in his gut as he climbed out. He made his way, lantern in hand, toward the middle of the field. He felt proud of himself, all that he’d done to prepare for this. He’d even worn that awful cologne she loved so much, the one that made him smell like he was in a boy band. His lip curled at the scent. He stopped as a twig snapped just beyond the edge of the trees. Could it be?
“Hello?” he called.
There was no answer. Someone was definitely there, watching him, just beyond the tree line. He tried to see, but it was too dark. His throat grew dry, suddenly wishing he’d brought something to protect himself with. Were there coyotes in the woods this time of year? He couldn’t be sure. “Dani?” he called, trying to steady his voice.
Another twig cracked, this time from further away. He eyed the middle of the field, taking a few steps in that direction. “Dani, if that’s you, come on out. It’s me. I’ve done what you asked.” His voice grew lower as he spoke. He set the lamp down as he reached the middle of the field, turning the knob to crank the flame higher. Something was buzzing in the distance. He looked around. The night air made his skin tingle, his arm hair standing on end. He dropped the rose and left the lamp, running toward his truck for dear life. Something was not right.
***
Alex Turner
Alex turned to look behind him. “C’mon, Linds. Hurry up. We’re going to be so late. My mom’s going to kill me.”
Lindsey huffed, trying to keep up. “I’m trying. This path is too bumpy. I keep tripping. You have to slow down. I still don’t understand why we couldn’t go the way we always do.”
He stopped, turning around to grab his girlfriend’s hand. “Here. Come on.”
She took it, squeezing his fingers and stepping up on a tall rock with a sigh.
“We couldn’t take the usual way because we have to be extra careful. I told you that.”
“Are you sure you know where we’re going?” she asked again.
“Of course I’m sure. I’m not an idiot. Ben says he comes this way all the time.”
“I still don’t see why we can’t just go home the normal way. Even if we don’t go through the woods, we could walk through town. No one’s going to hurt us in town, Alex.”
“You know we can’t do that. Mom has to believe I was at Ben’s.”
“You’re sixteen years old. She acts like she can control your whole life.” Lindsey scoffed.
“I know,” he said, breathing deeply as he stepped over another huge rock. “In six months, this’ll all blow over. I’ll get the car back. Then we won’t have to sneak around.”
“I don’t have to sneak around now. My parents trust me,” she emphasized.
“My parents trust me,” he told her firmly. “They’ve always trusted me. It’s just—”
“Oh, I know. We’re on The List.” He heard the sarcasm dripping in her voice.
“Look, I know the list is total bullshit, okay? But still, we have to be more careful than usual. Just until the next list.”
“The next list? Don’t you know we’ll be dead by then?” she joked.
He turned around in a snap. “Don’t joke like that.” His stomach churned. She was silent. He turned back, walking and half dragging her behind him. He wasn’t sure if he heard the first sniffle, but by the second he was struck with the realization that she was crying. He turned back toward her, not worried about being late anymore. Cupping her face, he wiped a stray tear from her cheek. He could barely make out the outline of her face in the shadows. “Hey. Hey, don’t cry, Linds. What is it? I’m sorry I yelled at you.”
She shook her head in between his hands. “No.”
“No?” he asked.
“It’s not you, Alex. It’s…what if they’re right? I mean, about The List and everything. Do you really believe it’s all bullshit? Honestly? Has there ever been a kid on the list who didn’t wind up dead?”
“Hey,” he said softly, pulling her face to his. He kissed her lips. “Listen to me. Nothing is going to happen to us, okay? Nothing. We’re going to be fine. We’re going to go to prom. And get married. And grow old together. We’re going to college. You’re going to save the world, one sick puppy at a time.” He laughed.
“But how can you be—”
“I’m sure. I won’t let anything happen to you, Linds, I just won’t. We’re smart, okay? Smarter than the other kids. Don’t listen to anything. Notes, texts, emails. Nothing. If I need you, I’ll call you. If someone else needs you, you call them and make sure that it’s really them. We’ve got our plan. We’re going to make it through this. It’s just six months. Really only four, now.”
“But all of the others?”
“The others were dumb. They listened to strangers on the other end of some piece of technology. We’ve all heard the stories. We’re the oldest kids to ever make it on the list, which means we’re the smartest. We’ve grown up here. Sixteen years of this psycho running things. We know exactly what we’re up against. In four months we’re going to be just fine, just you wait and see.”
She nodded, her sobs growing faint. Alex kissed her forehead. For the past few weeks, since the list had been revealed, she’d occasionally had a breakdown that he’d had to bring her back from. He had calming her down to an art at this point.
“We’re gonna be fine,” he assured her.
Suddenly, her eyes locked on something behind him. “What’s that?” She pointed.
He whipped around, afraid of what he might see. A light was glowing somewhere in the distance, steady and bright. A flashlight, maybe? “Shh,” he whispered, tugging her along.
She pulled her arm back. “Are you crazy? We can’t go toward them. We don’t know who’s out there.”
“The trees will hide us,” he assured her. “This is the only way I know. If we turn around now, we’ll be even later and I’ll be grounded for life. Just stay close to me. Come on.”
“Alex,” she called from behind him, her voice shaking.
“Shhh!” His heart galloped in his chest, and he wondered for a split second if this might be his parents out looking for him. As they reached the edge of the woods, they saw the source of the light grow brighter, glowing in the field. “Come on,” he whispered to her, lifting the metal barbed wire so that she could climb under before climbing through himself.
“What is that?” Lindsey asked, staring at the light source. “A flashlight?”
“Shh, let’s keep moving. We have to get out of here. I don’t like this,” Alex said, pulling her away from the light.
She nodded in agreement as they both began to run down the length of the fence. Suddenly, he heard something. A buzzing noise. He held out his arm, stopping her. “Wait. Do you hear that?”
She panted loudly. “Hear what?”
“That buzzing noise.” He turned in circles, trying to decide where it was coming from.
“Yes, I hear it. What is it?”
“I don’t know,” he answered honestly, still looking around. “It sounds like it’s close. Almost like a vibration.”
“Crickets?”
He shook his head. “I don’t think so.”
As they approached the edge of the field, the buzzing only grew louder. He reached for the barbed wire to help her climb out.
“Alex!” She stopped him, his hand frozen in midair. “Is this fence electric?”
“No, of course not. Even if it is, there are no animals in the pasture and the grass is too tall for it to be turned on. It’d start a fire for sure.”
“Look,” she told him, pointing down toward the edge of the fence in horror.
He stared, unsure of what he was seeing at first. “What the hell?”
Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Like clockwork, twigs of tall, dry grass were bumping into the bottom of the fence, each one sparking as it did.
“That’s not possible. We literally just came through this fence.” He shook his head.
“Alex.” Lindsey grabbed his hand as a long weed caught fire, spreading to the grass beside it rapidly. Sparks spit all around them. “Alex, we have to go. How do we get out of here? Where’s the gate?”
Brought back to reality, he looked around. “This way,” he told her, pulling her toward the tree line once more, hoping he’d remember where it was. Smoke began to fill his nose. He threw his head back, jaw dropping. The field had gone up in flames in mere seconds. They broke out into a run, coughing and gagging as the blaze grew near. The kids ran back and forth, sure they were running in circles, searching for a gate that had to be there.
“There! There it is!” Lindsey cried out. The smoke had grown so dense that Alex was sure she couldn’t really be seeing it. His eyes stung as the smoke continued to grow. His whole body burned from the heat. He fanned his face, hoping to get some clean air. Then, he saw it too. He could’ve wept with joy. He began to push her forward, toward the gate. They were going to make it out. His eyes fell on the padlock instantly as they approached the gate.
“You first,” he told her, each breath burning more than the last. “We’ll have to climb.”
He heard her answer, though he could no longer see her very well. “Okay.” He saw her approach the gate, hands out, reaching for the metal slats.
Lindsey’s family had a farm. They raised horses, mostly. She’d grown up around electric fencing all her life. But in the end, that didn’t help her. If the fire hadn’t been so close, the smoke so thick, the cracking so loud, Lindsey Cooke might have noticed the frayed piece of fencing wrapped perfectly around the metal of the gate. She might have heard the popping and buzzing of the much-too-high voltage. Instead, she latched onto the metal without a second thought.
Alex, who had never been around many farms, knew nothing about electric fencing except what he’d heard from Lindsey. So, when Lindsey’s head seized back, her jaw locked, no sound coming from her mouth, he watched her shake, mistaking electrocution for a fear of climbing.
“Go, Linds,” he told her, grabbing hold of her back in order to give her a boost. The pain that tore through him was unlike anything he’d ever felt before: white-hot, paralyzing, and sharp. He trembled, unable to pull his hands away. At the same time, the flames danced around the lantern, the kerosene warming quickly. No one could be sure whether the children were dead before the explosion, only that whether by explosion or electrocution, the two suffered unspeakable pain.
***
HIM
By the time the explosion occurred, he was miles away, but he still saw it light up the sky. Those kids, the things they’d said, calling him a psycho, their little “plan”…well, they saw how well it all worked.
Usually, the parents were the ones being punished, rather than the children, but in this case he’d made an exception. Steve Barger had done well, exceptionally well. He’d worried, when he stepped on the stick, if he’d somehow messed up his plan, but luckily for him the kids weren’t too far behind and were able to throw Steve off of his trail. Not that Barger would’ve come after him; he was too much of a coward for that, but he was sure he would’ve come into the woods to look for Danielle if he’d truly believed it was her. The Bargers didn’t have kids, so it had seemed impossible to get them to participate in such a plan. However, when he saw Danielle flirting with the UPS man every morning, he realized he had a way in. The fake Internet profile, a few photos and emails later, and she came running to Cleveland to meet a man who never existed. Of course, she’d realized it soon enough, but all he needed was a few days in order to put his plan into action. And oh, how smoothly it had worked. He’d never taken out two at once before, but it was much more efficient than he’d expected.
It had been two months and already four were gone. He had to figure
out who would be the next target of his plan. Human empathy, he’d come to realize, never extended much further than one’s own family and loved ones. The people in Bates were prime examples of that. For years now, they’d all proven time and time again that they’d do whatever it took to whoever it took to keep their families safe.
If only they knew no one was safe.
Four down, two to go.
Chapter Six
Jordyn
Jordyn smiled across the picket fence at her neighbor. “Good morning!”
“Morning,” Henry mumbled under his breath, not bothering to make eye contact.
This was progress, surprisingly. Since the sale of their house, Jordyn and Connor had hardly gotten Henry to speak to them at all. They’d done their best to keep the house the way his mother had left it, hoping that would help, but it had been no use.
She bent over beside the mail box, picking up the morning paper and wondering whether to talk to Connor about getting a puppy. It would be nice, she thought, to have one for Ollie to grow up with. Now that they had a yard, it would give her something to do during the day, especially once Ollie grew older and could play too. These days, it wore her out just to carry him around the house. She couldn’t imagine running and playing with him constantly. A puppy would be beneficial. She and Connor had never really been animal people, but she still thought it would be fun for their son. She imagined training it to get the paper for her every morning. The thought made her smile. A bird chirped overhead. She looked up, shielding her eyes from the sun. She flipped open the page, still smiling, and squealed. The paper dropped, pages flying everywhere. She glanced around. Henry stood up and walked back into his house, not bothering to acknowledge her.
She chased the pages across the yard, knowing how silly she must look. After she’d collected them from her yard and the street, she attempted to straighten them and place them back in order. She flipped them back open once again and sucked in a deep breath. The page contained a picture of two children. They were older than the others—teenagers, probably. The headline read:
The List (The Carolina Killer Files Book 2) Page 4
