“I’ll play if you tell me why,” Paul bargained.
Chloe clenched her jaw tight, threw her cards on the bed and stormed off, slamming the door behind her.
Paul heard another door slam shut farther down the hall. An impulsive idea popped into his head. He tossed the sheet off and lowered himself to the floor. The short distance to the door seemed like a mile, but if he was going to make an escape, now was the time. It took four hops to make it to the door. He opened it and looked out. No one was there. He listened. Where’s Claire? Across the hall was Kevin’s old room. He needed the truck’s keys and they had to be there, he hoped. Looking at the distance, he’d have to hop five to six times to reach the door. He took a deep breath and began. When he reached the door, he celebrated briefly. He turned the knob and slowly opened the door. On the dresser he spotted the keys; fortunately for him they were close. He hopped over and grabbed them. His leg was throbbing from all the exertion and he’d only gone a short distance. He still needed to get downstairs and outside to the truck. So far, everything was going smoothly. He hopped out of the room and to the top of the stairs. The twenty-three steps represented his greatest challenge, but he had no choice, there was no other way to get down. He firmly took hold of the railing and hopped one step at a time. On the fifth step, his foot slipped. He steadied himself but dropped the keys. He squatted down, looped his finger through the key ring and stood up. He took hold of the railing and was about to step when a voice called out.
“Hi, Paul. Where are you going?” Claire asked, looking up at him from the landing below.
“Just get out of my way. I’m leaving. I won’t tell a word, I promise, just please let me go,” he begged.
“I can’t do that,” Claire said.
“You can, please.”
Claire looked past him and smiled. “I told you, Chloe. He doesn’t really care about you.”
Paul looked behind him to see Chloe was there, tears in her eyes.
“Chloe, I need to leave. Please let me go. You’re a sweet person. I’ll come back. I just need to go.”
Chloe rolled her hands into fists and stepped down to just above Paul.
Seeing the anger on her face, Paul continued to plead, “Chloe, please let me leave.”
She didn’t reply, she only stared.
“This is a bad idea. Help me back up. How about we play some Go Fish? Huh? What do you say?” Paul asked, deciding to change course with hopes she’d forgive him.
Still she didn’t reply.
“I’ll play as much as you want, I swear. I won’t try to leave again. I’ll play any game you want me to, deal?” he begged.
The anger left her face and the tension melted away from her body. She smiled and nodded.
“Thank you.”
“You can’t trust him,” Claire snarled.
Chloe looked at Claire, nodded, turned her attention to Paul and, without hesitation, shoved him hard.
He lost his balance and fell backwards. He slid to the bottom and smacked his head against the wall. He tried to get up, but quickly the darkness came and with it a loss of consciousness.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
In and out of consciousness Paul went until finally he came to. He was back in his bed. His head and back hurt, but his good leg was burning with pain.
The door opened and Chloe walked in, holding a tray. She set it down and waved.
Paul looked out the window. It was morning, so he’d been out for almost a day.
HUNGRY?
“Yes.”
She tucked several pillows behind his head and helped him sit up. She placed the tray on his lap and took a seat on the bed next to him.
On the plate were two fried eggs, potatoes and toast. His stomach growled at the sight of the food.
She held up her board. SORRY.
Giving in to his fate for now, he planned on playing along. “No, I’m sorry. I won’t do that again. Plus, I’m not sure if I can. I must’ve really hurt my leg in the fall.”
She smiled.
Paul devoured his food. A question popped in his head. One that he needed answered. With a mouthful of food, he asked, “Kevin said something about…the barn.”
Chloe’s smile melted away.
“Chloe, is there something in the barn? Kevin seemed really upset, scared even,” Paul said before pausing. “He said you were dangerous. I would agree with him concerning Claire, but you, you’re not like her.”
Chloe looked down, her long bangs covering her face.
“Tell me, what’s in the barn?”
She shook her head.
“You can tell me, we’re friends,” Paul said, placing his hand on hers.
“Nothing is in the barn,” Claire blurted out, emerging from the shadows of the hallway. She walked up to Paul’s side. “How do you feel?”
“A bit out of it. You put me on some type of painkiller, it feels like. And my good leg, I think I hurt my knee. Feels like I tore a tendon or something,” Paul explained.
“I don’t think so,” Claire said.
“Why do you say that?” he asked.
Claire looked at Chloe and smiled.
Chloe returned the same smile.
Paul looked beyond the tray and noticed something was different. He shoved the tray to the side and lifted the sheet and looked down to discover the most horrific thing. His other leg was missing. “My leg. You cut off my other leg? Why, why would you do that?”
“Because you promised you’d stay and play with Chloe. The only way I could guarantee you’d hold up your end of the bargain was by making sure you had no chance of ever leaving again,” Claire explained.
“No! What have you done to me?”
Chloe took his hand and gave him a big smile.
Disgusted and angry, he ripped his hand from hers and screamed, “You’re fucking monsters, both of you. How dare you?”
Claire pursed her lips and said, “I suggest you tone down your attitude.”
“I won’t, what’s next? You’ll cut off my arm?”
“Maybe.”
Chloe reached for Paul’s hand again, but he gave her the harshest look and yelled, “Don’t you dare touch me. You’re a fucking monster. I hate you!”
Tears burst from Chloe as she ran out of the room.
Claire stood up, her face red. “I told you I’d kill you if you hurt my sister.”
Getting a grip on his emotions, he cautioned, “No, don’t do that, please, I’m sorry. I’m in shock, clearly.”
Claire walked to the chest of drawers on the other side of the room, opened the top drawer and removed a knife. She turned back and said, “You were warned.”
“No. I’m sorry, please.”
Knocking on the front door echoed up the stairs.
A look of surprise washed over Claire’s face.
Knowing this was an opportunity to get rescued, Paul called out, “Help me. I’m upstairs. Help! Help!”
Claire marched over to Paul and held the knife inches from his face.
“Hello!” a woman called from out front. “Anyone home?”
She took the napkin from the tray and shoved it into his mouth.
Chloe appeared in the doorway.
“I need you to watch over him. Make sure he doesn’t say a word,” Claire ordered, handing Chloe the knife before leaving the room.
Heavier banging on the door. “Hello! We saw your signs. We need help.”
Immediately after killing Kevin, Claire had gone out and placed the signs up again.
“Please, my friend needs assistance. Is anyone there?” the woman called out.
Claire reached the ground floor and peeked out a side window. On the front porch was a middle-aged woman and a man who appeared injured, his arm bleeding badly. She went to the front door and hollered, “Is it just you two?”
“Oh, thank God someone is home. Yes, it’s just us. Please open. We need help,” the woman replied.
Upstairs, Chloe held the knife with both hands, keeping her eyes glued
on Paul to make sure he wouldn’t do anything.
“One second,” Claire said and ran off to the kitchen. She returned with the now infamous cleaver. She unlocked the door and stepped clear of the open doorway. “Hello.”
The woman dragged the man across the threshold and beelined for the couch. “One of those things grabbed his arm. I think they might have dislocated it too.”
In a show of defiance, Paul spit out the napkin.
Chloe approached and pointed the knife at him. The look on her face was determined.
“I like you a lot. You’re like the little sister I never had. You’re very sweet, but your sister isn’t. We, me and you, need to leave this place, and the one way we can is to let those people downstairs know.”
Chloe jabbed the knife in the air, motioning for him to put the napkin back in his mouth.
“I’m going to call out. Please don’t stab me,” Paul said.
Chloe stepped up and placed the knife against his throat. Her hands were shaking badly.
“You’re a good and sweet girl, you won’t hurt me. I trust that,” Paul said.
Downstairs, the woman tore off her companion’s shirt and began to examine him, looking for more wounds. “I need a first aid kit; do you have one?”
Claire didn’t reply. She stood back, clenching the cleaver behind her back.
“I trust you. You’re good and sweet, you won’t hurt me. I know it,” Paul said, tears welling up in his eyes. “Help! Help me. They’re holding me hostage!” Paul yelled.
Chloe’s shaking hands got worse, and she mouthed NO.
“Help me. I’m upstairs. They’re holding me hostage!” Paul screamed.
The woman turned, looked up and saw Claire holding the cleaver. “What are you doing?”
Claire brought the cleaver down hard on top of the woman’s head. She pulled it out and slammed it against the man’s throat. Blood sprayed everywhere, much of it covering Claire’s floral dress, arms and face.
Hearing the confrontation, Paul cried out, “No. God, no!”
Chloe kept the knife at his throat, her hands trembling.
Defeated, Paul moaned and whimpered as tears flowed down his face.
Claire opened the door and stepped into the room. In her right hand she held the cleaver, dark blood dripping from it. Her piercing blue eyes stood out more against the contrast of her bloody face. “Chloe, come. We have to clean up. You know how Mother hates a mess.”
Doing as she was ordered, Chloe left the room.
Claire walked up to the bedside and looked down on Paul. “You killed those people.”
“No, you did. You’re a monster,” Paul cried.
“I’m a monster? No, I’m a survivor,” Claire said. She turned and left Paul sobbing uncontrollably. She walked to the dresser, opened the left drawer and removed a long syringe. She marched back and stood above him.
“What is that?” he groaned, frozen in fear.
“It will help you sleep,” she answered, sticking it in his arm.
“Why are you doing this to me? Why?” he mumbled as he drifted off.
She leaned over him and said, “Just remember, I warned you.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Paul coughed. He opened his eyes but found he was surrounded by total darkness. The next thing that hit him was the awful smell. He wasn’t in his bed, that was for sure, but where was he.
His arms were bound and tied around a slender pole behind him. He could touch the floor; it was concrete. Where am I?
Loud bangs came from feet away.
He jumped and his heart raced. Something was there with him.
A door opened behind him and chased away the dark.
Able to see, he looked around. To his left and right were metal bars. I’m in a cage in…the barn. He screamed in his mind. “Who’s that? Who just came in?”
Chloe walked up and waved.
Claire came just behind her and stopped. She towered over him. “Hi, Paul.”
“I’m sorry, okay. Please forgive me. I’ll do whatever you say. I’ll be the best playmate Chloe has ever had. I swear.”
“I told you what would happen, but I’ll give you one more chance,” Claire said and turned to Chloe.
Chloe frowned and shook her head.
“No, Chloe, please. I’m so sorry. Please forgive me,” Paul pleaded.
Chloe scribbled I FORGIVE YOU.
Paul burst out crying, thinking she had changed her mind concerning his fate. “Thank you. I promise I’ll be better. Please let me out of this cage. I’m scared.”
She wiped the board and wrote some more. Done, she held it up. BUT I DON’T LIKE YOU ANYMORE. YOU ARE MEAN. GOODBYE.
“No, I’m not mean. I promise I’ll be better, please,” Paul begged.
Chloe walked out of sight, only Claire remained.
Banging and chains rattled in the far corner of the large cage.
Paul looked all around. He was enclosed in a large cage and something was in there with him. “What’s that noise?”
Claire walked to a lever and placed her hand on it. “You said you wanted to know what was in the barn. Paul, I want you to meet our mother.” She pulled the lever. A loud thud followed.
Paul first heard the footsteps; then he saw…HER.
Mother emerged from the darkness. Her mouth was puckered with jagged teeth sticking out. Her pale, almost luminescent skin glistened with sweat. She cocked her head and stared at Paul with her bulging eyes and their gold snakelike pupils.
“Hi, Mother,” Claire said.
Mother looked at Claire and hissed.
“We’ve been taking care of her since she changed. We don’t have it in us to kill her even though Chloe wanted to after she killed Daddy. That’s when she stopped talking, if you didn’t know. That was a horrible day.”
“No, please don’t, no,” Paul cried out.
Mother slowly moved towards Paul, her head bobbing up and down and her teeth chattering, making the most terrifying sound.
“Chloe, please, no,” Paul begged.
Mother ran up to Paul and grabbed him by the neck, her long thick nails digging in. She leaned close and stared into his eyes.
“Since she became this way, we’ve been feeding her strangers that decide to wander by. This way it saves our food supply,” Claire explained. “Mother seems to have a real taste for people.”
Mother clenched her grip on his neck.
Paul groaned in pain.
“Go ahead, Mother, you can eat now,” Claire said, turning away.
Mother let out a screech just before coming down on his face with her open mouth.
Paul wailed.
Claire exited the barn with Chloe. “Sorry, baby sis.”
Chloe shrugged and walked off towards the house.
Claire closed the barn door.
Paul’s cries lasted for another minute before going silent.
EPILOGUE
ONE WEEK LATER
Claire thumbed through a cookbook, fretting over what to make for dinner. “Do you like potpie?”
Chloe nodded.
“Oh, I know, what about pasta puttanesca?” Claire asked.
Chloe shrugged.
“It’s a simple pasta dish, spaghetti, tomatoes, garlic…”
Chloe nodded and rubbed her tummy at the same time.
“It does sound good, doesn’t it?” Claire said.
Chloe wrote on her board. MOTHER?
“I checked, the signs are still there. No one is coming by. I know she’s hungry. I wish I knew what to do,” Claire complained. They hadn’t had a visitor since Paul was given to Mother, meaning she hadn’t eaten since.
“Someone will come by soon, I just know it,” Claire said, getting up from the dinette table. She walked to the counter and began to set up her dinner prep.
Knocking at the front door. “Hello!” a woman’s voice called out.
Claire turned to Chloe and smiled. “See, like I said, someone will come by soon. Now go hide. Do
what we always do.”
The obedient sister, Chloe ran off.
Claire took off her apron, straightened her clothes and adjusted her ponytail. She practiced smiling and even said hello in the mirror.
“Hello, anyone here?” the woman called out from the front door.
Claire stepped to leave but stopped when she realized she’d forgotten one thing. She opened a drawer and pulled out the cleaver. With her favorite weapon in hand, she went to the front door. Before opening it, she peeked out.
The woman wasn’t alone. Another woman and a man were with her.
“Who are you?” Claire asked through the door.
“We need food, water, shelter,” the woman answered. “Do you have any? The signs said you do.”
“We do. Can I trust you?” Claire asked.
“You can. We mean you no harm,” the woman said.
Not worried, Claire unlocked the door and stepped aside.
The door opened, and in came the woman followed by the others.
“Hello,” Claire said, extending her right arm and keeping her left behind her back, holding the cleaver.
“Hello, nice to meet you,” the woman said, taking Claire’s hand and shaking it.
“What can I help you with?” Claire asked.
“Like I said, food, water and a place to sleep. We’ve been on the road. It’s hell out there,” she replied.
“We can help you with that,” Claire said.
“We? You said we. There’s someone else besides you?” the woman asked.
“Yes, there is. Oh, by the way, my name is Claire.”
“Hi, Claire, my name is Sabrina and this is Ashley and Trent. Thank you for opening your home to us.”
“You’re very welcome. Glad we can help,” Claire said, closing the door.
“Are your parents here?” Sabrina asked, taking off her backpack.
“Just me and my sister, Chloe.”
Trent walked over to the fireplace mantel and ogled some of the framed pictures. “Is this Mom? Wow, she’s hot. I would have loved to meet her,” he joked, holding up a picture of Mother.
Disgusted by his comment, Claire marched over and ripped the picture from his hand. “We don’t disrespect Mother.”
Extinction Cycle (Kindle Worlds): Mother Page 9
