Alliance

by S. R. Franklin

  She continued to walk to the back of the large room. There was another room and two bodies on the floor. The closet door was open. It was filled with clothes and a large roll of industrial plastic. Probably the same they had found wrapped around all the bodies, she thought. Samantha turned the corner. She could hear moaning. Maybe she had found Amanda. It was JJ. She had blood streaming down her face. She had been tied to a chair. Samantha lowered her gun and yelled for Lisa and Diane.

  They ran into the room. Samantha was cutting the ropes around JJ’s arms. Diane and Lisa cut the ones around her legs. Diane got down on her knees and pulled her backpack in front of her. She began to pull out bandages and tape. Samantha held JJ up. She was still barely conscious.

  “We have to get her out of here. “Diane bandaged her head. “We’ll have to carry her.”

  Samantha wasn’t paying attention. She could smell gas and oil. She had to place the odor.

  Lisa stood up and grabbed her arm. “Sam, did you hear her?’’

  “Do you smell that? Can we move her. We have to move her now.”

  Samantha was pulling JJ. “There’s gas everywhere. JJ is soaked in it and now we are, too. We need to move now.

  The smoke began to fill the room. Diane stood up and turned to the front door. The room was on fire. She ran and shut the door to their room. “We’ll have to go out the window. Lisa, you first.”

  They pulled JJ over to the window. The fire was popped and crackled.

  Lisa scrambled out the window.

  Diane and Samantha held JJ up. “You’ll have to go first and help pull her out.” Samantha grabbed JJ around the waist.

  Diane jumped out the window and fell against the side of the house. Samantha pushed JJ out head first. She could smell the burning wood behind her. Lisa and Diane pulled JJ out and laid her on the ground. She was free.

  “We need to get to the bridge with her.” Diane grabbed her under the arms. “Get her feet. Sam, let’s go.”

  Samantha scanned the room. She needed something to tell her where this killer was hiding. She ran over to the bed and the small table. It was cluttered. There were small pieces of paper laying under the other things. Samantha grabbed as many as she could and stuffed them in her pockets. Samantha turned around and around in the room. She was getting dizzy from the smoke. “There has to be something here to tell me who you are you sick twisted son of a--. There, what is that?” Samantha went over to the corner of the room beside the closet. There was a book. It looked like a scrapbook. She bent down to grab it. It was huge and heavy. She pulled it towards her. There was a door under it. Samantha forgot everything else. She moved the scrapbook and tried to pry open the door.

  “Samantha, get out of there,” Diane yelled.

  “One more minute. I need one more minute. She slammed her foot into the floorboard. It made a hole just big enough to put her hand in and pull. It gave, and the momentum threw her to the floor. Samantha scrambled back to the secret hole. There was another scrapbook. And another. There had to be four or five. She pulled them out one by one. Under them was a small metal box.

  Diane grabbed her arm. “Stupid hardhead, this place is on fire. Let’s go.” Diane was pulling her away from the scrapbooks.

  “Stop, grab a couple of these. It is the only way to catch him.” Samantha jumped up and shoved as many of the books into Diane’s arms as possible. Lisa was at the window now. “What is wrong? What are you waiting for? An invitation?”

  Diane threw the books out the window and grabbed Samantha again. “You are going to get us killed.”

  The door to their room burst into flames. Samantha grabbed the last of the books and the metal box and threw them out the window.

  Diane jumped down.

  Lisa was already running away with her arms full. Diane grabbed the rest of the scrapbooks and ran behind her. Samantha put her leg over the window seal. She looked back.

  There had to be something else in that hole. She looked around the room. The ceiling was on fire now. “One look, I can grab it and run. Then I have him.”

  Sam made a nose dive towards the hole once again. She was right. There was something else in that hole. A picture. She grabbed it. Samantha stood up. She was almost surrounded by fire. She took off her jacket. It was covered in gas from holding JJ. She turned to the closet. She could see the ground through the hole she had dug the scrapbooks out of. Samantha knelt down. “Hope I fit.” She pulled herself thru the hole. She was on her back. There was light coming from beside her. She pushed herself towards it with her feet.

  Diane and Lisa were screaming outside. She turned her feet towards the rock underpinning. Samantha began to kick as hard as she could.

  The rocks did not give. “Wait, be quiet. Sam, where are you?” Diane got down on her knees and moved along the rocks.

  Samantha was kicking, trying to get out. “Lisa, get over here.”

  Diane and Lisa sat down and began kicking against the rock wall. It began to move.

  “We need something to pull them with.” Diane ran to the front of the house. What was left of the railing for the porch was lying in the yard. The house was almost fully engulfed in flames.

  “Oh my God.” Diane grabbed the handrail and ran back to Samantha. She jammed the railing into the small hole she and Lisa had made. They both pulled as hard as they could. The small rocks gave way. They jammed again into the hole. “Sam, kick this one as hard as you can.” Lisa took a deep breath.

  Diane and Lisa pulled again.

  Samantha kicked the rocks over and over.

  The rocks gave way. They didn’t wait for Sam to turn around and crawl out. Diane and Lisa grabbed her legs and pulled her out.

  They were all out of breath. The side of the house fell in. The trio jumped up. Samantha grabbed every book and paper left and ran towards the bridge.

  Diane was shaking. She held her mouth to keep from throwing up.

  “Well, that was exciting.” Samantha bent over to catch her breath.

  The trio started laughing. “You’re crazy. If you weren’t my sister, I would beat you to death right here. Besides I am afraid of you.” Lisa smiled and walked over to JJ.

  “We really have to get her out of here. It’s going to take a couple of hours to carry her. Was there any bedding in that last cabin?”

  They glanced back. The cabin was engulfed in flames.

  “Yes, but I don’t think it’ll be helpful now,” said Sam.

  Lisa stood up, took off her jacket and tied it around her waist. “We’ll try to make a stretcher.”

  Samantha stood, too. “Diane, let’s take your jacket and put these scrapbooks in.”

  “By the way, why the heck did you go through the floor, and how did you know there was a hole in the floor? Oh yeah, and what did you find other than these books?” Diane stood with her hands on her hips.

  “Never mind all that. I’ll show you everything when we get back to town.” Samantha laid Diane’s jacket on the ground and put as many of the scrapbooks inside. She had the paper and small tin box in her pocket. Samantha put the picture with them. She tied them up and threw them over her shoulder. “So what are we waiting on?”

  Lisa and Diane picked up JJ and the trio started back to the cabin. After about two miles Diane stopped. “How is she?”

  Samantha walked over to JJ’s head. “She’s still out, but her breathing is okay. She seems to be stable. Let’s put her down and try to get her awake again. You need the rest anyway.”

  Lisa and Diane lowered JJ to the ground.

  Samantha bent down and patted JJ on the face. “Come on, JJ, wake up.” She looked at her sisters. “Do you have any water left?”

  Diane handed her the bottle. Samantha splashed some water in JJ’s face.

  JJ began to moan. She slowly opened her eyes. “Sam. He’s here. I saw Amanda and the killer. He looked familiar. There were two bodies in the floor. He had to have a car on the other side of the cabin. I can’t believe I let someone sneak up on me. I
don’t know what he hit me with. It sure was not his fist.”

  “Slow down, JJ. Let’s get you back to town. Do you think you can walk?” Samantha helped JJ stand up.

  JJ teetered as she stood. She leaned on Samantha.

  Diane and Lisa followed close. They walked for a few minutes.

  JJ was stumbling. She leaned against Samantha. “I need to stop.” JJ fell down on her knees.

  “Go ahead and see if you can make a stretcher or something we can carry her with.” Samantha squatted down beside her friend. “I will stay here with her.”

  Lisa and Diane went ahead. JJ laid down on the ground. She was breathing hard. Her head was still bleeding. “Don’t pass out, JJ. Just breathe slow.”

  “Sam, I have to tell you something. The Handyman Killer, his voice, it was familiar. He had Amanda tied to a bed and there were two bodies.” JJ put her hands on her face.

  “JJ, stop talking. I saw all that when we came after you. What the heck were you thinking? You know better than to leave the group and go off by yourself.”

  JJ laid down on the ground. She closed her eyes.

  Samantha knelt down beside her and shook her. “Stay awake, JJ. I need you to stay with me. Diane and Lisa will be back soon. Come on, JJ, stay awake.”

  JJ didn’t respond.

  Sam gently slapped her in the face. Nothing worked. Samantha laid the scrapbooks down on the ground beside her friend. “Please, JJ, hold on.”

  Chapter 52

  Diane and Lisa moved as fast as they could through the high brush to get back to the cabin. They went to the bedroom and pulled the blankets off the bed.

  “How are we going to make a stretcher?” Diane looked up at Lisa.

  “We’ll use the bed rails. See if you can find some rope. I’ll tear the bed down.” Diane took a deep breath and pulled the mattress off into the floor. She pulled and pulled at the first rail, but it didn’t want to come loose. It didn’t budge.

  Lisa came back into the room. “I can’t find any rope or twine, but I have a knife.” They both grabbed the rail and pulled. It gave. They repeated the same technique on the other rail. The bed fell apart.

  Diane pulled the rails close to her and laid the blanket across them.

  Lisa took the knife and made strips to tie the blanket to the rails.

  “Okay, good enough. Let’s go.” Lisa picked up one end of the stretcher.

  Diane grabbed the other and they both ran out of the cabin in the direction of JJ and Samantha.

  They ran, but they were cautious. There was no way to know if the killer had left or if he was planning to return.

  The forest was quiet. They moved quickly through the tall brush.

  “I remember now why I hated the farm,” Lisa said.

  The brush gave way and Lisa could see the small cabin. JJ was on the ground and Samantha was sitting beside her. Lisa and Diane moved as fast as they could. They laid the stretcher down beside them and the trio pulled JJ over.

  Samantha laid the scrapbooks on the stretcher with JJ.

  It took another hour to carry JJ through the brush back to the cabin where Kirkland and Cameo were supposed to be waiting. The front door was open. They stopped a few feet away. Samantha pulled her Glock. “Wait here.”

  She walked to the side of the porch. She tried to see inside the cabin but could not reach the window sill. Samantha held up her Glock and walked up the steps. The living room was dark and empty. Samantha went room by room, opening each door. She got to the end of the hall, her room. The door was slightly open. She pushed the door with her right hand. She held the gun tight. She pushed the door all the way to the wall. Samantha scanned the room. The wall above her bed had “You’re my 31” written in blood. The blood ran down the walls. Her bed had more blood and someone or something laying under the covers. Samantha walked over to the bed and grabbed the blanket. She pulled it back. There wrapped in the sheet was—

  The room went black.

  Chapter 53

  “Samantha, wake up.” Lisa was crouching down beside her sister. Diane was standing holding her Glock up scanning them room. Lisa and Diane had heard noise inside the cabin. They carried JJ inside. Samantha was lying on the floor.

  “We have to get out of here. He’s playing games.” Lisa patted Samantha harder.

  “Yes, and we are the targets. I don’t like this. We have no idea where we are or how he is getting in and out of these cabins without us seeing him. Can you carry Samantha on your shoulders?” Diane lowered her Glock and squatted down beside Lisa. “I think I can get JJ. Let’s get them out of here.”

  “Run get the stretcher. We’ll put them both on it and drag them out. Be careful and watch your 6. Now run.” Lisa stood up and walked to the doorway. “There I have a clear line of sight to the porch. Go.”

  Diane put her Glock in her holster. She ran onto the porch. She looked all around her. She could see nothing. She made her way down the steps and grabbed the stretcher. She pulled it behind her and climbed the steps. Lisa was still holding her Glock, pointing towards the porch. Lisa took a deep breath as Diane came into the room unharmed. They put the stretcher on the floor beside JJ and Samantha.

  “Where have you guys been? Everyone is looking for you.” Morgan was standing in the doorway.

  “Oh man, it’s good to see you.” Lisa smiled. “JJ was attacked and beat pretty bad and now Samantha has been hit in the head. We have to get them back to town.”

  “How did you find us?” Diane was still holding her pistol.

  “We’ve all been looking for you. Kirkland is back at the first cabin. CJ and Max are in town. Look, Sam is waking up.” Morgan walked over and bent down beside Samantha. “Sam, are you okay?” Morgan put his hand gently on Samantha’s face.

  “Wow, what happened. Did you find Amanda?” Samantha sat up slowly holding the back of her head. “Amanda was rolled up in a sheet in the bed. She is covered in blood. Is she still alive?”

  “Everything is okay, Sam. Let’s get out of here. Can you stand?” Morgan took Samantha by the hand and helped her to her feet.

  Sam was confused, but somewhere deep in her mind she knew she shouldn’t be. There was something she had forgotten. “Where did you come from?

  “Arizona, remember? We can talk about all that in town. Come on.” Morgan led the group towards the door. He bent down and put JJ over his shoulder. She was light. He carried her to the car and helped Samantha and her sisters in the car.

  Morgan got in the driver sear and started the car. “We can drive back to the first cabin and get Kirkland. Cameo is waiting at the sheriff’s office.”

  Morgan knew the road very well. It was winding and rough. The road circled the forest and all of the cabins. Samantha looked out the window. This is how The Handyman moved between the cabins. The tunnel or shaft must connect to this road somewhere. It had to lead close to town or even to town.

  Samantha had a terrible headache, and being furious didn’t make it any better. This killer could not have committed all of these murders for so many years and then changed his MO. They never did that. Murders had a pattern. Sometimes they were the only one to know what it was, but there was a pattern. Besides, if he fit Alexis’s profile, he is in his late 30’s and military. He probably took over from his father or older friend. That is why he says “My 31.”

  There were more bodies somewhere. They would probably never be found. The likelihood of her finding this killer was getting slimmer. He knew that. She had one day left before he disappeared. He was not going to win this one.

  The ride was quiet. All of them were tired.

  JJ was waking up again. She looked sick. Her face was swollen and bloody. She kept mumbling.

  Diane was trying to understand her. “Don’t worry, JJ, you’ll be fine.” Diane pushed JJ’s hair away from her face. It was soaked in blood. There was something stuck in the cut. It looked like wood. “My God, I think he hit her with a branch or a bat,” said Diane.

  “Awful as this soun
ds, don’t remove the wood,” Sam said.

  “I know.”

  Lisa couldn’t take her eyes off of Morgan. His story made no sense. How could he get back and find them before Kirkland who was only thirty minutes away?

  Samantha was blind to him. Where had he been during this entire case? He supposedly loved Sam. Why didn’t he stay with her? Everyone would just tell her it was just her being paranoid.

  She didn’t trust him. He worked for Samantha, but it just did not add up. That timeline Samantha made everyone do, that would reveal the truth. They all had to have proof of where they were because of Amanda being kidnapped.

  Lisa knew her suspicions sounded crazy. Why would he kidnap her? She wasn’t important to anyone except them. The Thomas family had every reason to get rid of her, but no one else.

  Morgan pulled the SUV in front of the cabin where Samantha and her sisters had been staying. Everyone dragged themselves out of the car. Samantha helped JJ. Diane and Lisa held both of them up. Kirkland opened the door. Sam walked over to the couch and let JJ down. She was conscious, but her eyelids fluttered. She was still mumbling. Mostly, she was cursing the man that hit her. JJ leaned forward and put her hands on her face.

  “Kirkland, help me get my bag out of the SUV.” Diane stood up and walked past Morgan with Kirkland on her heels.

  Samantha got up off the couch and made JJ lie down. “Let Diane get you cleaned up.” She helped JJ put her feet up and pulled the small table beside her. “JJ, are you okay?” Samantha spoke softly. She took JJ by the hand.

  “Sam, I’m telling you. I know that man. It looked like Morgan. But it can’t be, right? He called me by my first name. He was expecting us, Sam. I can’t remember everything he said, but he definitely knew me.”

  “Don’t worry about it now. It will come back to you,” Lisa assured JJ.