End of the Line

by Ottilie Weber

A few more days passed and we were still with Ed. Jill and I each sat on a couch to read... Well, Jill was reading and I stared blankly at the book trying to make out the letters since I didn’t have my glasses. The last time I saw them was when we were back at my house before the asteroids. Paige and Sean were on the floor with Mandy, coloring in some coloring books Ed found in the attic from when his grandchildren came to visit. Cole was in the kitchen with Ed when there was a knock on the door. We all looked up not sure how to respond. We couldn’t think of anyone who would be knocking. Ed walked over quickly then looked through the peek hole to turn around staring at us with wide eyes.

  “Lauren take everyone up to the attic and stay there!” he spoke quietly, but firmly.

  I became worried, but he gave me a look as I rushed everyone into the attic. We rushed into Ed’s bedroom then into the attic. We hurried up the stairs. When we got up there, I shut the door behind us. We had the two little ones continue their coloring so they wouldn’t notice the change of tone in the air. I found it was easy to distract them.

  “Well good evening, men. What brings you back here?” Ed’s voice came through as he opened the door.

  I listened to what was happening, simultaneously happy and dreading for having thin walls. My body was stiff, anxious about what any movement would do.

  “We still haven’t seen that boy,” a voice asked evenly.

  “You would think a teenage boy would be easy to find,” Ed spoke with ease.

  “You would think so. Now you must be thinking why we are continually coming back here,” answered Mr. Manson with his strong voice.

  “I was in fact wondering why you and your men were doing just that.”

  I could feel the smirk on Dean Manson’s face grow through all the wooden boards.

  “Stay here. I’ll be right back,” I whispered to the others.

  I went out of the door before they could stop me. I had to save Ed.

  “We believe that either you and or your daughter are helping this boy.”

  “Now why would you believe that? My daughter and I live a quiet life away from the city. We keep to ourselves and don’t do any harm to anyone,” Ed defended.

  I noticed that I left the bottom door opened a crack, so I peeked through, watching men with guns stand near our friend Ed.

  “We believe that the boy was here.”

  “I wouldn’t keep a teenage boy here with a teenage girl! Too many bad things could happen.”

  “Where is your daughter now?”

  “She is finally feeling better so she went out to see if the flower patch was still alive by the river.”

  Manson nodded his head as if he cared.

  “I see, and how would I know if you were lying to me?”

  “I have no reason to lie. I don’t know the boy,” Ed answered, his head following Manson.

  “Here’s the thing. We don’t know who the girl is, but we know she isn’t your daughter. Your daughter died in an apartment fire three years ago with her family. So it does make me wonder what more you are hiding. I don’t like being lied to.”

  My eyes widen as the men encircled Ed. I was about to open the door to help him. He needed my help! He lost his own family and was now was being forced to suffer because he choose to protect us. I couldn’t just stand here and watch him get hurt. I gripped the handle. I was suddenly pinned against the wall. I was about to yell at the person when I saw the body against mine was Aaron.

  I turned to see how Ed was doing just as one of them put a gun to his head. I couldn’t take my eyes away as the evil man pulled the trigger. A loud echoing filled my ears. Tears streamed down my face as I watched Ed fall to the ground, a pool of dark blood forming by his head.

  “Split up and check the grounds to see if they snuck out, then we’ll search the house in case he’s here,” Manson ordered.

  Manson just kicked him lightly by his feet to see if he would move. Ed didn’t budge. Ed who had taken in seven children he didn’t know. Ed who had given us shelter even though I was sick and he knew Dean Manson was after Aaron. Ed who had taken care of us. More tears fell as Manson took a quick glance around the room then left slamming the door behind him with the house still shaking in his aftermath. After the door was closed, I pushed Aaron away hard and ran over to Ed.

  I collapsed by Ed’s body, not believing he was dead. Even though we didn’t know each other long, Paige was right, Ed was like a grandpa in an odd way. I covered my eyes not able to look at him with the puddle of dark warm liquid around his head. I felt tears fall from my eyes and through my fingers.

  “Come on, Lauren. We’ll leave through the attic window where I came in. We’ll do that so they won’t have to see this,” Aaron whispered tenderly.

  I didn’t move. I was not sure if I could move.

  “Lauren?” Aaron spoke again, putting a hand on my shoulder.

  That was when I snapped.

  “This is your fault!”

  I stood up swatting his hand away from me. I tried to stand up straight in attempt to match his height.

  “What are you talking about?” Aaron asked with brows that met.

  “He is dead because of you!”

  He looked taken aback by this. “Last I checked I wasn’t the one who put the gun to his head!”

  “No, but you might as well have been! Those men were after you! They killed him because he was protecting you!” I howled, furious and heartbroken.

  “He told me to run!” Aaron countered.

  “And you did! You just ran to protect yourself!”

  “I was protecting you guys!” His voice sounded a little weaker that time. “I didn’t want to. He told me to run…”

  “Well you sure as hell did a good job with that! They killed Ed because of you!” I spat at him, not caring what his eyes showed.

  “Well, Lauren, if you don’t remember, you wouldn’t be alive if it wasn’t for me, either!” he yelled after getting a second wind.

  “If you are going to keep using that as an example—”

  “What? What could you possibly do to me?” His hands tightened into fists by his sides as he glowered down at me.

  “How do I even know he won’t kill one of us because of you?” I threw at him.

  “I won’t let that happen!” he barked.

  “You couldn’t save Ed! He took care of us when you left! We lost someone who, in a short time, became a part of the family! We lost someone else, but this time it was because of you!” I hurled the words at him, hoping they would hurt him like I was hurting.

  “Shut up, Lauren. You don’t know what you’re saying!”

  “I know what I am saying! Stop undermining me! I might not have muscles like you, but at least I don’t have people’s deaths on my conscience! There’s no blood on my hands! I hate you!” I screamed, hearing venom shoot through my voice.

  “Well you’re not high on my list, either!”

  “Then stop ‘helping’ us and leave us alone!” I screeched, using my hands to aid with the air quotations.

  “You wouldn’t last five minutes out there without me!”

  “We could and can!” I shouted, restraining a foot stomp.

  “Fine, I’ll leave you guys! See if you guys even make it through the night!”

  “Fine!”

  I felt the tears form, but this time they were tears of anger. I refused to give him the pleasure of seeing them fall. I bolted up the stairs into the attic and saw Aaron left the ladder by the window, which I guessed was how he got up there in the first place. Without saying much, I made the group go down the ladder, confused about what was going on. We left the house in silence. Not one of them asked where Aaron was and why we left without him.

  Not long after that, we were near some wooded area. I decided that we should stop as I felt that my heartache from the events today take its toll on my body. My heart was actually in pain. I curled up into a ball that night when we were all ready to sleep and held back my tears ‘til everyone was asleep. Onc
e I started crying, there was no stopping. I wrapped my arms around myself tighter, as I sat back up and leaned against the tree trying to muffle my sobs. I bent over so my face was against my knees and I wished I was home with my parents. I wanted to jump into their arms so they could hold me as I cried on their shoulders. That was not an option now. Not only were they dead, but so was Ed. Not only were they dead, but I had chased away Aaron. I couldn’t handle anymore loses.

  Chapter Six

  Aaron