No Escape (No Justice Book 2)

by Sean Platt

“Shit, I don’t. I think it was it was something with a J. Joanna? Jennifer? Hell, I don’t remember. I think her body was found in Jacksonville, so they worked the case. Why? You think her dad had something to do with this?”

  “I dunno.”

  “I doubt it. He killed himself.”

  “What? When?”

  “Last year, while you were off duty. He burned his house down, with him still inside it. Arson ruled it a suicide.”

  “Shit, I don’t remember that.”

  “Well, it’s not like you didn’t have your head somewhere else, what with Ashley dying and all.”

  She nodded, staring at the television, feeling like she was looking at a puzzle with half of its pieces still missing.

  She made a mental note to call Peppers tomorrow.

  * * * *

  EPILOGUE

  Mal woke up in the nightmare again.

  But this time the Hunter was there. He’d already broken in and saved her.

  She was untied and sitting on the bed.

  He wore a ski mask and held a gun. He stared at Paul Dodd, who was quickly bleeding out.

  Sirens were screaming.

  She had to keep him there so they could arrest him.

  She tried to compliment him. “You did it. You killed him. You’ve had your revenge.”

  He stared at her confused, then down at his gun.

  Something was happening behind his eyes. Some realization was confusing him.

  He looked back at Mallory, then aimed the gun at her.

  “Do you really see someone behind me?”

  “Who do you see?” she asked.

  “My daughter.”

  “What’s your daughter’s name?”

  He paused and looked behind him, as if the imaginary person were talking to him.

  “Her name is Jordyn.”

  I think it was it was something with a J.

  Joanna? Jennifer?

  Mal woke up from the dream like a shot.

  “Jordyn.”

  THE END

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  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  If things had worked out just a bit differently, I might have taken my own life.

  Bullies made my life a living hell when I was a kid. It’s probably hard for most people to understand the sheer hopelessness of the situation unless you’ve been in it. It’s especially difficult as an adult when you might be a bit more immune to the power of being ostracized and feeling virtually alone.

  But there were times when I wondered: Why go on? Why bother?

  I was never at the stage where I had a knife to my wrist or was about to swallow a bunch of pills — thankfully.

  And maybe the only reason I’m still here today is that I wasn’t completely alone.

  I had a couple of close friends.

  I had a family that loved me, even if we didn’t always get along.

  And that’s a hell of a lot more than a lot of kids have these days.

  And that might be the difference — that I wasn’t truly alone.

  There were people who cared.

  But when you’re a kid, it’s easy to forget that.

  It’s easy to feel trapped with the weight of the world falling in around you.

  It’s easy to shut out the people who do care about you.

  It’s easy to think there’s nothing left.

  That life is over, or not worth living.

  Kids today have it even worse than when I was a kid in the eighties. Now they’ve got social media and online bullying. Add to that the sexual abuse that can come with online bullying and online shaming, and you’ve got a volatile mix, unlike anything that’s ever existed before.

  Many of these kids cry out for help before they do it. But those cries often go unheard.

  Many kids have posted messages on boards or videos on YouTube or Facebook saying they were going to kill themselves.

  And many of those messages were met with ridicule, or worse, people egging them on.

  Feeling alone, with nobody to turn to, nobody who would listen, these kids took their own lives. Some of them even doing it live on streaming video.

  There are few things more tragic than suicide, but to have your kid’s suicide online forever, mocked by monsters, has to be a special hell for those left behind.

  Those left wondering what they could’ve done differently.

  Wondering if they somehow contributed to the death.

  Wondering What If?

  Suicide doesn’t just destroy one life, but it’s like a grenade thrown into the lives of everyone who loved the person.

  That’s the sort of thing I wanted to give accurate representation to in No Escape, the sheer hopelessness of the situation and the lingering hell that comes for those left behind.

  But I also wanted to show how easy it is to feel alone. And how fickle fate can be.

  Jasper was suffering and shut off his daughter.

  Jordyn felt abandoned by both her father and her boyfriend.

  There’s a moment in the story where I wanted to scream at these people to get out of whatever headspace they were in and connect with this girl. That connection could have changed everything.

  Could have saved her life.

  But so many of us are lost in our day-to-day. I imagine most people are, that we don’t always see what’s right in front of us.

  I wanted to show how little things matter, and they add up until they become big things.

  And we ignore the little things at our own peril.

  As I wrote the rough draft, I kept wondering if the situation Jordyn was in was enough of a catalyst for her to truly end it all. I strive for authentic characters and stories and don’t want to add a bunch of stuff just to make it seem more realistic. After consulting with people who have dealt with these issues, and who help at-risk people, I learned that often kids take their lives over even less.

  The thing that most of them seem to have in common is that they feel alone — that nobody listens to them.

  And I feel that’s a common theme in today’s society. Something that both victims and bullies seem to have in common. They both feel alone in this world despite an ever-increasing connectedness.

  We sort of touch on that in Mallory’s story with the social media killer and those who follow him. How this new age of loneliness can inspire nihilistic chaos.

  I’m not sure what the answer is.

  I feel like I know what we ought to do.

  And I don’t mean to go on a tangent here. But these things run through my head a lot, and seem to come up time and time again in my writing, so why not expand a bit in the Author’s Note?

  To me, the answer is always more communication. Not just with each other, but those vastly different than us. Communication squashes the clannish nature of our existence. It silences the devils on our shoulder that whisper horrible things and try to sow fear in our hearts.

  To me, communication is the answer to most of the world’s problems.

  But our ego gets in the way.

  Our fear gets in the way.

  And sometimes, the reality of the situation gets in the way. You can’t communicate with someone who hates you beyond reason. And you can’t communicate away all threats of violence. I might be idealistic, but I’m not blind to reality.

  So, what do we do?

  Again, I don’t know.

  I’m just guy who wants to entertain you and provide some cathartic escape.

  Smarter people than me have been trying to figure out what to do for ages.

  I’d like to close with a message to those who might be feeling alone or like the world is crashing in around you, don’t suffer alone.

  A lot of us try to do everything alone. We feel shame in reaching out. Or maybe we don’t know that there IS help out there.

  Or we’ve already given up.

  It’s all too easy to get tunnel vision and think that things a
re only going to get worse. That you’ll always feel like this, feel alone.

  But things rarely stay as bad as they are at the worst moments.

  Things can, and often do, get better — in time.

  Not always on their own, though.

  Sometimes we need help.

  And there’s no shame in seeking advice from professionals. Whether it be help navigating life, or psychological or medical, there are people out there whose job it is to listen and to help.

  You can contact the suicide prevention hotline by phone or by internet: 1-800-273-8255 or https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/

  Even if you’re not suicidal, but need help, there are organizations out there for that, too.

  If you don’t know where to start, search online, or call your local police non-emergency line, or the hospital.

  Somebody will point you in the right direction.

  While nobody can solve all of your problems, they can help you see things a bit more clearly. And, at the very least, they can remind you that no matter what’s going on in your life, nothing is forever.

  You can come back from almost anything.

  And, most importantly, you’re never really alone.

  Don’t give up.

  Dave

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  Sean Platt & David W. Wright

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  ABOUT THE AUTHORS

  Sean Platt is the bestselling co-author of over 60 books, including breakout post-apocalyptic horror serial Yesterday’s Gone, literary mind-bender Axis of Aaron, and the blockbuster sci-fi series, Invasion. Never one for staying inside a single box for long, he also writes smart stories for children under the pen name Guy Incognito, and laugh out loud comedies which are absolutely not for children.

  He is also the founder of the Sterling & Stone Story Studio and along with partners Johnny B. Truant and David W. Wright hosts the weekly Self-Publishing Podcast, openly sharing his journey as an author-entrepreneur and publisher.

  Sean is often spotted taking long walks, eating brisket with his fingers, or watching movies with his family in Austin, Texas. You can find him at sean@sterlingandstone.net.

  David W Wright is the co-author of several horror series, including the bestselling Yesterday’s Gone and WhiteSpace, as well as the disturbing standalone books, 12 and Crash.

  Dave is also the curmudgeon co-host of the weekly Self-Publishing Podcast, he invites listeners along on his journey toward better health on the strikingly personal The Walking Dave podcast, and regularly rants about his many pet-peeves on the ridiculous podcast Worst. Show. Ever. (which should never be listened to by anyone, ever).

  Dave is an accomplished and intermittent cartoonist who lives in [LOCATION REDACTED] with his wife and son [NAMES REDACTED]. Dave cultivates the perfect level of paranoia and always carries a decoy wallet in case he gets mugged. You can stalk him at dave@sterlingandstone.net or visit his personal blog at www.davidwwright.com.

  For any questions about Sterling & Stone books or products, or help with anything at all, please send an email to help@sterlingandstone.net, or contact us at sterlingandstone.net/contact. Thank you for reading.