by Ben Cass
Maddie grinned and held her hand out, and Mike tossed the ball to her. Maddie barely hesitated before winding up and throwing the ball straight at the target, hitting it dead center and sending Coach Silvers into the river below.
People cheered, and Mike enveloped her in a hug. “That’s my girl!” he exclaimed, kissing her cheek. He high-fived her and walked back over to the river, trading banter with Silvers, who was coming out of the water, the pulley system on the long metal arm slowly raising the chair and soaking-wet coach back up to the wooden plank.
Olivia glanced to her left, did a double-take, and pointed. “Wait...isn’t that Jen?” she asked. Maddie followed her finger and spotted Ellie’s sister at the edge of the crowd, standing very close to a man who was decidedly not her new boyfriend. Jen was wearing shorts and a dark hoodie; the hood rested on her shoulders right now, her dark hair flowing over it. The man next to her had his arm around her, but it looked like his hand was lightly resting on the small of her back.
“I thought Ellie said Jen and Coach were an item now?” Abby sounded puzzled.
“She did,” Maddie confirmed.
“So who’s the hunk with his arm around Jen?” Olivia asked, placing her hand over her heart. “He’s as gorgeous as Coach Doyle!”
The man was tall, although not as tall as Doyle, and well-built. His physique hinted he might have been a swimmer or a track star. Lean and fit, with big biceps and shoulders; his hair was cut short, and his beard and mustache were close-cropped and neatly trimmed. Like Maddie, his dark skin stood out in the sea of pale bodies, but the residents of Groverton didn’t look twice.
Maddie narrowed her eyes, studying the scene. Jen didn’t seem her usual bubbly self, but she also didn’t look as worried or scared as Maddie thought she herself would have been, if she’d had the same kind of week Jen had just experienced.
“I wonder if Coach knows this guy is moving in on his girl?” Abby tapped her lips with her finger. “That would be a lot of muscles in that brawl.” She shivered in pleasure. “So hot!”
Maddie rolled her eyes. “No, he’s not moving in on Jen. Look.” She pointed. “His eyes haven’t stopped moving, and he keeps turning his head. He’s constantly scanning the area for something. And that arm isn’t possessive; it’s protective. He’s barely touching her. It’s more like he’s just keeping physical contact, ready to grab her at a moment’s notice.” She saw her friends looking at her and shrugged. “You know I love movies like that.”
“You’re thinking he’s a bodyguard?” Olivia asked. “Makes sense.” Abby smiled at her sister.
“One way to find out,” she said cheerfully. Waving her hand in the air, she raised her voice. “Jen! Hey!”
Jen’s eyes turned to them, and so did the man’s. He eyed them suspiciously before Jen touched his arm and said something, and then he noticeably relaxed. They came over to the girls, and Jen hugged them all.
“Haven’t seen you three in a while!” Jen exclaimed. “How have you been?”
“Us?” Maddie said incredulously. “We’ve been fine! You’re the one with a bodyguard!”
The man smiled. “Bodyguard,” he said thoughtfully. “Yeah, that works, as long as she doesn’t start singing Whitney Houston songs.”
Maddie liked his voice; deep and smooth, it made her want to listen to him all day long. Much nicer than Coach Doyle’s voice. And those eyes? Bright blue eyes. She hadn’t met many African-American men with eyes that color. She knew it was not a common thing.
Jen rolled her eyes. “I wouldn’t even think of it. Girls, you remember Kira, right? Doyle’s sister?” They nodded. “This is her husband, Jerry. He came down to help out.”
“Well, Kira certainly has excellent taste,” Olivia said, boldly offering her hand. Jerry lifted it to his lips and kissed it.
“I’ve always told her so,” he agreed, dropping her hand and taking the other girls’ in turns.
Maddie could see Olivia trying not to swoon; she was a sucker for an attractive guy making an old-fashioned gesture. Maddie fought down a smile, and instead asked, “So where’s everybody else?”
“Doyle is sleeping for the first time in days,” Jen replied, “and Ellie couldn’t make it, as she told you. Really bad girl stuff. She stayed home with Kira.”
“Is she okay?” Abby asked. “She didn’t look so good the other day.”
“She’ll be fine,” Jen said easily. Almost too easily, Maddie thought, but let it go. “She’s feeling better, but was afraid to go anywhere in case she had another episode.”
“I hear that,” Olivia said, grimacing in agreement. “So you decided to emerge from your hidey-hole?”
“I did,” Jen said, brushing her dark hair back from her face. “I figured it was time to show my face again. Jerry refused to let me go alone.”
“And remember,” Jerry spoke up, poking her shoulder, “you get to explain this to Doyle when he wakes up.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Jen said, waving her hand dismissively. “I can handle Doyle. You have to kiss him just right.”
Jerry made a disgusted face. “In that case, you are most definitely in charge of talking to him.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Maddie saw a man raise his wrist to his mouth and start talking. She turned her head to look at him, but he’d blended into the crowd, and she couldn’t find him now. Weird, she thought. Just use your phone, not your watch. She turned her attention back to Jerry, who was listening to Olivia explain the Festival to him. Considering Jerry was a married man, Maddie thought Olivia was standing a smidgen too close to him while she talked.
Then again, Maddie would have done the exact same thing. She wondered if he’d be willing to take a turn in the dunk chair. His tight shirt would probably look really good while clinging to him.
Maddie suddenly realized Jerry’s attention was directly on her, a half-smile on his mouth, and Abby was not-so-discreetly shoving her elbow into Maddie’s side. Oh, shit, I was staring, wasn’t I?
She knew he was about to say something, but to her surprise, he simply looked away and sniffed the air. “Something smells good,” he said. “Are you hungry, Jen?” She nodded. “Let’s grab some food, then,” Jerry said. “Ladies, what’s good over there?”
“The fried chicken!” the three teens chorused in unison, and then exchanged glances and laughed.
“It is pretty tasty,” Jen agreed. Jerry patted his stomach.
“I’m convinced,” he said, starting to put his hand on Jen’s back again, but she stopped him.
“Jerry...I appreciate it, but I think I’ll be okay,” Jen said, laughing. “I don’t need a bodyguard.”
“Like hell, you don’t,” he retorted, but dropped his arm.
“I feel rather unsafe, personally,” Olivia said, stepping closer to Jerry, her sister right next to her. He just laughed and shook his head, and started walking towards the fried chicken truck.
“I was ogling him, wasn’t I?” Maddie asked quietly. Jen grinned.
“Little bit, yeah.” Jen sighed. “I’ve done the same thing with Doyle, though, so I can’t judge at all.”
They made their way past the booths, bumping into people in the crowd, sidestepping the little kids who were happily running around. Maddie sniffed, recognizing the tempting aroma of funnel cakes—oh, that fried dough smothered in powdered sugar!—and decided she’d get one in a few minutes.
The Festival was going as it always did: bright strings of lights hanging, providing an ever-changing display as they shifted colors, people laughing and yelling and talking, selling things in the booths. Everything was as it should be, yet Maddie couldn’t shake a small, nagging sensation at the base of her neck. Something just seemed...off. She had no idea what, and chalked it up to Ellie not being there with them. That had never happened before.
As they approached the fried chicken truck, a bright flash of lightning lit the skies, splitting the air with a loud crack that made Maddie jump and scream. Jen wrapped her arms around Maddie, and
whispered into her ear, “You’re okay. You’re safe, Maddie. Nothing to be scared of.” Maddie, grateful nobody judged her for her fear of storms, glanced up, and saw a clear sky, no clouds in sight. The forecast had said no rain or any kind of bad weather, so what the hell was going on?
The lightning flashed again, but this time, a bolt actually came down and struck the ground on the far end of the park, rapidly followed by several more strikes at various places. Screams reached Maddie’s ears, and people began running, trying to find a place to get away from the freak storm.
The smell of smoke spread through the air, accompanied by a loud whooshing sound, and shouts of panic. Maddie spun and looked toward the riverside, where a giant wall of fire was spreading. The fire was huge, nearly up to the tree branches. It must have been a good ten feet high, and was rapidly spreading from side to side, although it seemed like it was smoothly expanding, like a sliding wall following a track. That made no sense.
Screams of terror echoed through the air as people began running toward them, away from the fire. Jerry quickly pulled Jen’s hoodie up over her face. “Look down!” he commanded, pulling her and the girls close to him. He led them away, joining the evacuating crowd.
“Everybody, please stay calm!” came a voice through a bullhorn.
Maddie recognized Sheriff Bellsley’s voice. People weren’t listening, of course. She was having trouble keeping calm herself, and the panic in the crowd was contagious. Abby stumbled and went down as a woman carrying a child practically plowed her over. Jerry reacted before Maddie’s brain had even finished processing the scene. He caught Abby under her arms and quickly lifted her back to her feet.
Another wall of flame exploded into existence several feet in front of them, rapidly expanding. The mass of people stopped in their tracks, scared and confused. Children were crying, their fear washing over Maddie. The crowd began shoving back, elbows and fists starting to fly as tempers began to fray.
Jerry’s phone was at his ear, his fingers tapping impatiently against the cover. He suddenly spoke quickly. “We need your brother!” he yelled. “We’re at the park!” He turned the phone off and put it into his pocket. “I called Kira,” he told Jen, who looked relieved. “Shouldn’t be long until help arrives.”
They were still being jostled by people trying to turn back around from the fire, which had cut off their escape routes. To Maddie, it looked like the flames were quickly forming a giant oval around the park. No matter where she turned her attention, a huge wall of fire greeted her eyes. She gripped Jen’s hand, trying to stay calm, but it was getting hard.
“What do we do? What’s going on?” Abby asked, her voice quavering.
“We’re being herded,” Jerry said quietly.
JERRY looked around the park, weighing their options. The wall of fire had nearly enclosed the entire area, trapping hundreds of people inside. He couldn’t even begin to guess how many people were in there; families huddled together, people ran around calling out names. The sheriff and some of his officers were trapped in there, and were trying to control the crowd, but it was just a giant mass of panic and terror, and the police were fighting a losing battle.
The park lights suddenly winked out, throwing the area into darkness, illuminated only by the roaring fire and the moon and starlight. The humming of the food trucks cut out, the rumbling engines and generators just ceasing to work. Jerry glanced at his phone, trying to turn the screen on, but it was dead. Not good.
Jerry could hear the fire trucks coming, their sirens blaring. In a matter of minutes, they were parked and the hoses were connected. Great torrents of water gushed forth, aiming toward the fire, but the water died away before it ever reached the flames. Jerry could hear yells and cries of confusion, curses floating on the wind as the firefighters tried to figure out what had happened.
Through it all, he kept one arm around Jen, and with the other tried to keep Ellie’s three friends behind him. Jen’s hood was still up, and her hair pulled back. With her looking down, it would be difficult to see her face. He had no doubt this was about her. He just hoped he could keep her safe until backup got there.
Jerry knew his brother-in-law would come. It was just a question of how long it would take. The drive was about ten minutes, perhaps fifteen, to get there, but he suspected Doyle had his own special Tayamu ways of traveling, and would be there much sooner. He just needed to keep Jen and the girls safe long enough for Doyle to arrive and unleash the fury Jerry knew he would.
A loud voice boomed over the crowd, sounding as crystal-clear as if the speaker was standing next to Jerry. “Jen Aston. We know you are somewhere here at this...celebration. You have it within you to ensure the safety and freedom of every person here. All we want is you. Nobody else needs to be harmed. Give yourself up, and the festivities may resume. My men await your surrender.”
“Like hell,” Jerry growled under his breath, looking around.
He saw men begin to materialize out of the darkness, carrying guns of some kind. They were dressed all in black, with ski masks over their faces. He made a quick count; there were at least twenty he could see, and probably more he couldn’t. Definitely not good.
He and the women were pressed up against one of the food trucks, the horde around them operating with a mob mentality. Pushing, shoving, not caring who was around...Jerry had a difficult time keeping his small group with him. He looked down at the ground and mentally kicked himself. He leaned into Jen’s hood and whispered, “Under the truck. Now!”
Without questioning, Jen dropped to the ground and rolled underneath the food truck, escaping the crush of humanity. Jerry directed the girls to follow suit, shielding them with his body in an effort to prevent them from being noticed. One by one, they followed Jen under the truck, which was plenty wide enough to allow cover for all of them.
Jerry waited a few moments, allowing the crowd to move away from him, before he joined the women under the truck. Even in the darkness, he could see the wide eyes of the teenagers, terrified, the three of them huddled close together under the center of the truck. He reached out a hand and gently squeezed an ankle, but didn’t know whose it was.
“Stay calm,” he whispered. “Try to control your breathing. It’s going to be fine. Doyle’s coming.”
“He’s just a coach!” the girl hissed at him. “He’s going to stop all this crazy shit?”
“Absolutely,” Jerry said firmly. “And if his dog comes too, as I’m sure he will...these assholes will have the worst night of their lives. Probably even the last night of their lives.”
JEN felt remarkably calm right now, and wondered idly if she’d finally snapped. Then again, she’d stared death in the face more times in the past week than most people had to in a lifetime, and every single time, Doyle had been there. She knew he’d be here again.
She lay on her stomach, the underside of the truck several inches over her head. She could see feet and legs around the truck, pushing against it, as people tried to figure out where to go and what to do.
Jen reached out and grabbed hold of Abby’s hand—well, maybe it was Olivia’s. She still couldn’t tell them apart. They were pressed closely together, right next to her, and she knew they needed comforting.
“Hey,” she hissed quietly, drawing their attention. The twins both looked at her, and even in the darkness, Jen could make out their expressions, full of fear. “It’s going to be okay,” Jen whispered. “Help is on the way.” Down below her feet, she could see Jerry talking quietly to Maddie, his forehead pressed against hers, his arm wrapped around her shoulders.
That crystal-clear voice spoke again. “Miss Aston, please be honorable. I have no desire to hurt innocents who have nothing to do with our business.” The voice paused for a moment. “As a gesture of good faith, I will allow some to leave.”
Cries of relief soared through the park, and Jen saw the feet by the truck start moving, heading away, people stumbling and shoving.
The relief quickly turned to yells
of dismay. “As I said, I have allowed some to leave, Miss Aston. Once you and I have settled our issues, the rest may go. Or, you can stand by and watch them all die, one by one, until you show yourself. The choice is yours.”
Jen’s mind raced, weighing her options. She had no doubt this man, whoever he was, would kill people off in order to get to her. She heard the popping of gunshots, and more cries of terror and panic.
“That was a tree, Miss Aston. Next time, it will be a body.”
Jen closed her eyes. She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t just let people die while she hid underneath a truck. Jen turned and gave the twins what she hoped was a comforting smile, and then quickly rolled to the edge of the truck, slipping out from underneath it and standing up.
“I’m here!” she yelled, raising her hands and pulling her hood off. “I’m here. Let them go.”
Jerry was beside her in an instant. “What the hell are you doing?” he hissed in her ear.
She looked into his eyes. “The right thing.”
He started to protest, but stopped when the other girls rolled out and stood up next to Jen. “What are you doing?” Jen demanded of them, staring them all down.
It was Maddie who replied. “The right thing,” she said, voice quavering but still determined.
Three men clad in black suits moved out of the darkness, walking toward the small group. Other men chased the rest of the crowd away, moving them back into the park, leaving only Jerry and the girls together, in front of the food truck.
The disembodied voice spoke again, still sounding as if it were right next to Jerry. “Thank you, Miss Aston. You have my word they will all be free to go momentarily. Gentlemen, if you please?” The men raised their guns and took aim at Jen. “Go with honor, Miss Aston, and may your next life be better than the one you leave.”
Jerry suddenly pulled a gun from the back of his pants and snapped off three shots, hitting the gunmen in the arms, and then spun around, trying to shield Jen and the girls with his body.
