The Storm Before the Storm

by Joe Russell

  Dave wanted to investigate to try and find Neil, maybe around the back side of the house. He had a bad feeling that something had happened to him. He was inwardly debating on what to do when Mike tapped his shoulder and spoke as softly as he could over the noisy blaze of the fire.

  “They got him. When he was at the door. They grabbed him and pulled him inside. That’s the last I saw him.”

  Dave swallowed hard, unsure of what this could mean. Just because he had been in the house earlier didn’t mean he still was, but given the level of hospitality they had shown him, he worried that they had left Neil in the house to burn or just killed him on the spot. Obviously, they couldn’t go in the house, or even get close enough to try and see through a window, but they at least had to look around back. Maybe he had escaped, or maybe they still had him. He shuddered when he thought about the fact that the man who’d been asleep on the couch, the man he had bypassed out of merciful decency, was probably still out there. He had probably escaped the burning cabin, and was watching them right now…

  He looked around nervously, suddenly half-panicked by the prospect. Was he armed? If the man had a gun, he could shoot at them from the dark cover of the forest and they wouldn’t even know where he was. Maybe he wasn’t armed, though. If the group had had a second gun, wouldn’t the man guarding the women upstairs need it more than the one sleeping downstairs? And the man upstairs hadn’t had a gun. He hadn’t had anything at all. Maybe he hadn’t thought he’d need it. Dave’s mind swam with possibilities, but knew there was really no way to sift out the truth, other than simply waiting to see what happened, and hoping that none of them would get hurt or killed in the process.

  Forcing himself to relax and not panic, or more importantly, act panicked, he shifted his thoughts back to what needed to be done now. Both because of the remaining threat that could be out there, and because the girls probably didn’t want to be left alone after the ordeal they had just escaped. It would be better for the entire group to just stay together, regardless of what awaited behind the burning cabin.

  Dave approached Rachel, unsure of what to say to her. He didn’t know what had happened to her father, and he didn’t want to lie. He was about to put a hand on her shoulder, but seeing how frightened and skittish she appeared, refrained. Sandra apparently noticed what was going on and put a comforting arm around the girl.

  “We think your dad went into the cabin to find you. We don’t know where he is, but we’re going to circle the cabin and see if we find him or any clues as to where he is, all right?” He tried to speak gently, but he knew his words probably came out a little blunt. He didn’t care. He couldn’t care. This wasn’t over yet.

  “All right guys, let’s move around the back. Everyone stay close, and keep your eyes open and look around. One of the bad guys may have escaped.”

  The girls exchanged nervous glances with each other, but didn’t object. Mike moved to the general rear of the group without Dave asking, and Dave was pleased by that. Mike was definitely kicking into to gear, he thought. Maybe he had been wrong about Mike.

  Pistol drawn, Dave proceeded to circle the cabin in a clockwise direction, hugging the base of the upward slope in order to keep enough distance from the unbearable heat that the blazing cabin was emitting. The girls were behind him, looking in every direction for both Neil and any danger that could be lurking in the dark forest around them. Mike brought up the rear, rifle in hand.

  Rounding the corner between the side and back of the cabin, Dave halted and a second or two later, the rest of the group caught on and found what Dave was looking at. It was a body, lying face down and still, about fifteen feet from the back wall of the cabin, not too far from where he’d approached earlier. Dave thought it might be Neil, but couldn’t be certain in the flickering eerie light of the fire.

  Apparently, Rachel didn’t have any doubt. “Daddy!” she yelled, like a daughter of any age, taking off at a sprint past Dave, toward her father. Dave was about to protest when a second person, Jen, rushed past him, probably to chase after Rachel. Rachel was halfway between Dave and her father, and Dave was drawing in breath to call out to her to hold up and wait, when a dark, previously unseen figure broke cover from a nearby tree. In two quick bounds, the figure intercepted Rachel with force. Dave saw the flash of a knife blade in the firelight, bright and cold against the girl’s throat as the man held her, facing the rest of them. Jen, who was only a few paces behind Rachel, stood frozen about ten feet away from the man and his captive. Rachel’s eyes were wide with horror, but no sound escaped through the hand that was clasped tightly over her mouth. The man glared at Jen, then to Dave, breathing hard and smirking just a little bit.

  “Let her go,” Dave commanded, taking a single step toward them, but stopped when the man made a show of squeezing Rachel even more aggressively at Dave’s advance.

  “Stay right there!” the man screamed, attempting to sound like he was the one in control of the situation.

  Dave heard the sound of a hammer cocking back behind him, and put his hand back slowly in a ‘hold on’ motion to Mike, who was probably aiming for the man’s head in the semi-zeroed scope.

  “Just let her go,” Dave repeated, a little softer this time, and not moving. His mind was racing. He wasn’t going to negotiate their safety with this asshole, but he also didn’t want Rachel to get hurt. He wished he was as close as Jen was. He was about twenty-five feet away from the man, and Jen was sort of between them. Dave had his pistol gripped at a low ready in front of him, but raising it and taking a quick head shot when Jen was between them, and the man was mostly behind Rachel, was just too risky. He didn’t know what to do, so he decided to stall and hope for a better opportunity. “What do you want?” he shouted.

  “I want you all to back off for starters,” the man replied. “I want you to lay that gun down on the ground and back up, then we’ll talk.”

  Not going to happen, Dave thought. “And if we don’t?”

  “Then I’ll gut her like I did that other man,” the man replied coldly, and Dave shivered with belief in the man’s words. In the flickering light, Dave could make out the man’s face. That’s him, all right. The man sleeping on the couch. The man I passed by and allowed to live. Should have slit his throat when I had the chance, Dave thought. But he knew that even though that would have helped their cause at this point, he had done or not done, what he’d had for the right reason, and he’d felt good about that. Now, however, if he got the chance, he was going to blow a hole in this asshole’s head and feel good about that, too.

  To Dave’s surprise, it was Jen that spoke next. Dave could hear the anger and hatred in her words, toward the man who had already done her so much wrong when she addressed him. “Let her go, you sick fuck!” she ordered, taking a step closer herself.

  The man sneered at her, “What are you gonna do, bitch? I should have taught you a lesson earlier, but I guess, better late than never.”

  Jen spoke again, her words so icy that it gave Dave chills just listening. Jen had a real hatred for this man, that was obvious. And it clearly wasn’t just the current situation, but the thirst for revenge over what the men had done, and tried to do. “I’m going to cut you open with that knife,” was all she said.

  The man continued to sneer at her, but it seemed to Dave that although the change in his face was very subtle, he looked just a little less sure of himself, as if he had been chilled by Jen’s threat as well. The man looked like he was unsure of what to say next, or if to say anything, when he and the rest of them jumped. With a loud crash and blazing display of sparks, most of the roof of the cabin collapsed in on itself, and despite the intensity of the standoff that was taking place, the unexpected event stole everyone's attention for just a moment. Everyone except Rachel’s, that is.

  In a previously uncharacteristic display of assertiveness, Rachel apparently noticed immediately that the man’s attention was averted, and did not hesitating a second to act on it. She simultaneously used h
er right hand to push away the wrist that was holding the knife in front of her throat, while sending her right heel backward into the man’s groin with a donkey kick. Upon the impact with his unexpected and unprotected genitals, the man buckled forward, letting his left hand slip from her face and move to cover his stricken crotch. His right hand still held the knife, but at least for a second, he was not ready to fight back, and that second was all Rachel needed. As soon as he released his grip on her, stumbled back a step and buckled forward, Rachel pivoted on her left foot to face the man, and swung her knee perfectly into his downturned face. Nose shattering, his head lurched skyward with the force of the knee and he landed hard on his back. Rachel didn’t even notice that he’d dropped the knife and she pounced on him like a jungle cat, sending wild punches at his face as he tried pitifully to defend himself.

  Jen, however, had noticed the knife, and was almost to the grappling pair by the time it had hit the ground next to them. Seemingly unnoticed by either the man or Rachel, she lifted the knife from the ground, held it firmly in a reverse grip, and plunged it into the man’s crotch. The man, who was too busy defending himself from Rachel’s blows to his already damaged face, howled in pain. Rachel removed the knife and sunk it once, then again into the man’s stomach.

  Dave had watched this all transpire, frozen for the first several seconds. When he saw Jen stabbing the man’s midsection, he snapped out of his daze and charged in. He grabbed Jen and pulled her off the man, then did the same for Rachel. He didn’t know exactly why he did this. It wasn’t really to save the man; he was getting what he had coming. It was strange, and Dave didn’t realize this until later when he’d had time to process the day’s many events, but he was trying to save Jen and Rachel. Not physically. Clearly, they were defending themselves and doing a good job of it. He just didn’t want them to have to do it. He wasn’t a murderer, he knew that. But his violence cherry had been popped long ago, and he didn’t want either of the girls to have to experience that any sooner than they needed to, if at all.

  Rachel was surprisingly cool about Dave interrupting her little beatdown, but as soon as her attention was turned from the man on the ground, she immediately ran to her father. Dave was torn, unsure of whether to leave the dying man on the ground in order to tend to Neil, who may or not be alive. The man on the ground was writhing in pain, curled up on his side and clutching his bloody stomach and groin. Dave half-pitied the man, knowing that even if he deserved what had just happened to him, they couldn’t just leave him like this. Even putting a bullet in his head would be more humane than this. Dave was restraining Jen, who clearly wasn't finished with her retribution, and had resumed her threats and critique of the man’s character quality, but with much more volume than before. She was acting like an angry dog at the end of its leash, barking and snarling viciously at something just out of its reach, and it bothered Dave. Then again, look what he had done to his captors just hours earlier. He may not have screamed at them the way she was, but then again, the way he had burned and beat them to death wasn’t exactly merciful treatment, either. Still, that’d been self-defense. They probably would have killed him if he hadn’t been able to escape, and attacking them the way he and Mike had, had been necessary to execute that escape. This… this was more brutal. Jen stabbing the man in order to seal Rachel’s escape from his clutches was fine, but now she wanted to finish him off out of spite, when he was no longer a threat to them. Her attacking him now would be murder, no matter how much her hatred toward him was justified.

  Dave turned and watched Rachel crouching next to the body of her father. Was he alive? Dave couldn’t be sure. Sandra was now beside them, too, and Mike was still standing back a little, probably keeping an eye on everyone’s back, in case of any more surprises. Dave turned and tried to get Jen’s attention. The rage was still in her eyes, matching the blood on her hands, but she seemed to be hearing him. “Hey,” he said softly but firmly, “I think Neil is alive, but hurt. Let’s do what we can for him, then deal with this guy. Okay?” Dave didn’t really have a plan, either for Neil or for their wounded enemy. The latter would probably die if he wasn’t flown out immediately, and Dave didn’t think that was going to happen. He didn’t want to just leave the man in his suffering, but also didn’t know what they could do for him without any serious medical supplies or expertise. Right now, he wanted to get Jen away from this man, and suffocate her wrath by distracting her with something else, something more important. She didn’t verbally respond, but seemed to agree to comply with Dave’s suggestion, and turned with him toward the group and Neil. However, too fast for Dave to react, she broke away from him unexpectedly and charged the helpless man, dropping low to retrieve the bloody knife from where it fallen for a second time on the ground. Dave cringed when Jen raised the knife high, and let out a tribal scream as she brought the blade down on the side of the man’s head, puncturing his temple, and causing his squirming and moans of agony to cease. Jen was still for a long moment, and Dave didn’t move, didn’t say anything. He just watched her. Then slowly, she turned and met his eyes, hers cold and resolute. She said nothing as she left the knife embedded in the side of the man’s head, stood up, and walked past Dave like he wasn’t even there.

  ***

  Rachel had rushed to her father's side, scared of what she would find. She was mostly relieved when she found him to be alive and conscious, but obviously wounded and weak.

  “Daddy,” she whispered to him, and his eyes opened as if being woken from a dream, and he gasped a ragged breath before replying.

  “Rachel,” he wheezed softly, “are you okay?”

  “Yes, I’m fine, Daddy,” she replied, tears beginning to form in her eyes.

  “I’m so sorry,” he began. “I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you.”

  “It’s okay. You’re here, you rescued me.” She tried to smile. After all, she knew that even if it’d been Dave who had cut her restraints, the fact that her father had been here as well, meant that he was part of it, and she was proud of him for that. She loved her Dad, but hadn’t exactly been expecting him to, well, storm the cabin by force. The fact that he had, only proved his love for her.

  He acted like he wanted to respond, but choked on his words and began coughing violently. He just breathed in too much smoke, she told herself. He’ll be okay. Unsure of what to do, she patted his back gently, like a mother patting the back of a coughing child. She didn’t really think this was helping, but her hands were just kind of operating on their own; fear, grief, and exhaustion stealing her mental attention for the moment. Then, she felt it. She hadn’t seen it in the orange glow of the fire still raging in the background, unnoticed because of the situation at hand. Blood soaked the man’s lower back on his right side.

  “He stabbed me,” Neil wheezed, finally finding enough breath to continue speaking.

  “Daddy, you’re going to be fine,” Rachel said again, but this time she wasn’t so sure. Her tears were falling now, leaving tracks down her face, dirty with soot. Her father was dying right in front of her, and there was nothing she could do about it.

  “Rachel,” he gasped, his voice even more strained than before. She leaned closer to hear his weak voice over the noise of the fire.

  “Daddy,” she sobbed, losing control.

  He managed to turn his head on the ground a little more to the side, in order to look into her eyes. “I’m sorry,” he strained for every word, “I’m sorry.” She grabbed his hand as his eyes began to close. His last words were so weak that if Rachel wasn’t also watching his lips, she might have missed it. “I love you.” One more shallow breath. “I… love…” His gray lips began to form the ‘y’ sound, but all that was expelled was a long exhale, then stillness. Amidst the forgotten crackling and hissing of the fire.

  Chapter 26

  Spruce Knob, West Virginia. Present Day.

  The group stood in the driveway of the cabin, which was still burning, but not with the same intensity as before. The rest
of the roof and most of the walls had collapsed in upon themselves with loud crashes and bright sparks, but the blaze was now beginning to burn itself out. It was still hot, and would be for days, Dave knew, but the ambient heat and light it was giving off was beginning to diminish. Fortunately, between the firelight, the moonlight, and a couple of hours without much else causing their eyes to adjust, all of them were able to see decently without the use of flashlights.

  Dave had elected and convinced Mike and Neil to leave Billy’s and Doug’s bodies for the coyotes and birds with little hesitation. Not only because he didn’t think they deserved the honor, but more importantly, because taking the time to do so would have been to put off searching for and rescuing the girls, a tradeoff that simply could not have been made. Now, there were three more bodies. The fourth, Don, although Dave only knew him as the perv he had killed upstairs, was probably cremated at this point, unrecognizable and definitely unextractable in the smoldering remains of the cabin. Not that Dave was going to lose any sleep if they didn’t give the bastard a proper burial, of course. He felt half inclined to drag and toss Don’s two late companions into the embers, for no other reason than burning dead bodies was the next best alternative to burying them. However, he figured that after what had gone on down here, the cops would probably want to poke around and verify that they agreed with the account that Dave and his companions would be giving them. As much as he wanted to roll his eyes at the whole notion, he knew that moving the bodies, especially burning them, would only make them look more suspicious in the eyes of the law. And knowing all about that, he bitterly decided to just leave them. Sure, the bodies would probably be unrecognizable by the time the authorities would be here for their little investigation, but that wouldn’t be his problem.