by Mya West
“Why?”
“You can take some of my moms’ clothes too. She’s not as thin as you, but it’s better than walking around like a zombie prom date.”
“I was thinking about calling the cops,” I say to him.
He looks at me coldly. I have never seen Bryce look at anyone this way. “Did you? Did you call them?”
“I have my cell, but it’s basically dead. If The Beasts are as powerful as they seem though, they might be able to find me if I do. I think it may be better if you just call me an Uber, and I get the fuck out of Dodge.”
Bryce nods his head. “Perfect. Let’s not call from my house. There is a pay phone at a convenience store a few blocks away. You can change quick, and we can go. I will pack a small travel bag with some food and water. I have some cash I can give you.” Bryce was pacing back and forth in his kitchen, deep in thought. I put my hands out and stop him because he is freaking me out. Bryce pushes my arms away. “You need to go now! We are not moving fast enough. They will find you here. When you leave, get as far away from Ryland as you can.”
“You’re scaring me.”
“You need to be more scared than you are right now. I can’t believe I let you eat in the house!” He looks down at my feet in terror. “And your dirty feet! Fuck, my dad is going to kill me. There’s little footprints on the wood floors too.”
I stare at him like a deer in headlights. “I have no clue what to do right now,” I say.
Bryce claps his hands. “Right, first thing, raid my pantry. Bring whatever snacks you want. My parents will not find it too hard to believe I ate them today anyways. I am going to grab the travel bag and my mom’s clothes and the cash. I must make sure she won’t notice her clothes are missing. I’ll dig in the back of her closet.” At this point, I feel like Bryce is more talking to himself than me. I nod my head and walk into the pantry. He turns to me and looks at the floors in disgust. “And clean your feet!”
Bryce heads upstairs while I grab some snacks from the pantry. A few opened bags of chips, crackers, and a small jar of peanut butter was all I felt I needed for the trip. I still had no clue where the hell I was going to go. I thought of going straight to Candice’s house in the city. They likely would not look for me there. Not unless they had phone records somehow.
How powerful were The Beasts?
I use some paper towels to clean my feet and start cleaning the footprints from the floor.
Bryce comes back downstairs with a small workout bag and some folded clothes in his hands. “This isn’t fashionable exactly, but I know she won’t notice these clothes missing. Some shoes are in the bag. Some cash is in there too, but I have more hidden in the basement. This was my Get-Out-of-Ryland money, so it only seems right that it’s used by you for getting out of this shit town. I will just need to grab the cash, and we can leave. Get changed upstairs in the bathroom.”
I nod my head. I had never seen Bryce give orders like this in such a concise way. Maybe his ex-military dad rubbed off on him in more ways than he noticed.
I walk upstairs and close the bathroom door behind me. Until now, I did not realize how ugly the clothes he gave me really were. Grey jogging pants with a light pink sweater that had a white teddy bear face on it.
Really?
I wanted to open the door and yell at Bryce, but worried that this new stern order giving Bryce would not take my shit. More than that, he has a point—it is time to get the fuck out of Ryland.
I don my new attire as quickly as I can when I hear the front door open downstairs.
“Dad!” Bryce yells. “You’re home early.”
His dad whispers something to him that I cannot hear.
“What are you talking about?” Bryce says to him. “Why would she be here?”
“Don’t play games with me, boy,” his father says with his deep voice. “I’m sick of your games. I asked you a question.”
“Dad, I haven’t seen her. She was supposed to come to my concert last night and ditched me. I’m done with her.”
I can hear his father walking around the home. I look around the bathroom and realize I am in the shittiest place to hide. All I could do if he comes upstairs is hide behind the shower curtain.
I quietly open the bathroom door and walk lightly through the hallway. Bryce’s door is locked, but the room next to it is not. I sneak into the room, and quietly close the door behind me. I notice a lock on the door and turn it.
I turn around and notice a large wooden desk with hanging shelves around it. A large collage of pictures is behind the desk. Even when he was younger, Mr. Jamison looked like a hard ass. It was a bunch of pictures form his time in the army. A large military looking blade is hanging on the wall beside the collage of pictures. I realize I am in Mr. Jamison’s office.
“What are these little tiny footprints doing in my kitchen?” I hear Mr. Jamison yell from downstairs. “Where is she, Bryce? Do you know what is at stake? Do you know what this could mean for us?”
“She left, Dad! She’s gone. I gave her some cash and clothes, and she took off. I have no clue where she went. She—”
Even from upstairs I could hear the smack of his father hitting Bryce. “Enough bullshit! Where is she?”
Suddenly, I hear loud stomps coming up the staircase. Each step causes my heart to pound a bit harder in my chest. I look around the room and open a closet door.
I used to play hide and seek when I was a kid. I was actually fairly good. This was pretty fucking stupid though.
I quietly shut the closet door. Lucky for me, the closet was wide and had plenty of clothes in it that were large to potentially hide behind.
“Why is your room locked?” Mr. Jamison yells at his son.
“I’m sick of you going into my room! I’m eighteen now!”
“Don’t make me hit you again, boy. I will do it harder until you get the point. Open it, now!”
I can hear his father throwing things around Bryce’s room. He goes back into the hallway and opens the bathroom door. I can hear him throw shower curtain aside.
I slink as far back into the closet as I can manage. I sift through some of his father’s clothes as I do. I notice a large green and black military uniform. A few other military uniforms are swinging in the closet.
It takes me a moment to realize one of them is not a military uniform. Swaying in front of me is a grey cloak.
His father storms to his office door, and I hear him jiggling the doorknob furiously. “Why is my office locked? Did you do that too?”
I realize there is no way I am not going to be found. There is only so long someone can hide in a closet for. I open the door quietly and wait.
Bryce’s dad is one of them, a Beast.
I have been running all day from Beasts. It is time I face one head on. I grab the military blade from the wall and stare at the door intensely.
The door lock turns, and its unlocked. The doorknob turns, and the door opens into the hallway. With all my might, I kick the door out, and it strikes his father in the face, dropping him to the floor.
I try and run past him, but he grabs my loose pants.
Bryce watches us in horror and runs into his bedroom.
Mr. Jamison pulls on my pants with force, and I drop to the floor. With the knife firmly in my hands, I swing at him. Mr. Jamison easily manages to grab my hand and take his knife back. Why I ever thought I could take on a military trained specialist is beyond me, but I had to try.
Mr. Jamison uses his body weight and slides on top of me. He firmly places his hands around my neck and squeezes.
I feel the pressure of his strong hands taking my life.
I slap Mr. Jamison in the face, but he smiles back. “You got fight in you, girl. I’ll give you that.” I manage to scratch his face and can feel his skin under my fingernails. His grip tightens in response.
Bryce stands over his father with his concert trophy in his hands. He brings it down with a heavy force on top of his father’s head. His father’s gr
ip loosens immediately, and he rolls over.
Bryce manages to hit him several more times before he looks at me. “Go! Now!”
I cough as I get to my feet and hurry down the stairs. I don’t have the travel bag or the money, but run out of Bryce’s home as quickly as I can.
I run down the block as fast as I can. A woman watering some flowers in her front garden stares at me confused.
A hear a sports car driving up the street loudly. The car follows my pace as I continue to run.
I look over and realize its Chase Aldridge’s car. He lowers the window and smiles. “Must have been some night.” I ignore him and continue to run. “I saw you go into Bryce’s home. I was waiting for you to come out. If I wanted to hurt you, I could have done so a long time ago.”
I slow my pace. “You’re one of them! Don’t even fucking lie!”
“I’m a Beast, you’re right. My father is one. My father before him. Yadda, yadda.”
I stop out of breath, and he pulls his car up beside me. I lean against the side of his car. His passenger side window opens, and he calls out to me, “As I see it, you have two options. You can run through the Creston neighborhood and make your way through one of the lesser known trails in Ryland, camp out in the woods somewhere and get eaten by nature’s beasts, or you can jump in my car. I can go fast. We can go to the city. Go wherever you like. Wherever you feel safe.” I lower my head and look at him. He looks at me with a thin smile, lowering his sunglasses to look at my eyes. “I can’t imagine what you’ve been through.”
“Why do you want to help me? You’re one of them.”
Chase takes off his sunglasses completely and stares at me empathetically. “I care for you. I’ve been trying to help you the whole time.”
I stare blankly at him. It would not take much for him to jump out of his car and grab me, but he doesn’t. He’s calm and collected. He also would be someone who has the resources to help me escape The Beasts.
I look down the street towards Bryce’s home but see no one.
“Decisions, decisions,” Chase says jokingly. “Would this help make up your mind?” Chase pulls out a revolver from inside his suit jacket and points it at me. He smiles and turns the gun handle towards me. “Take it. I showed you how to use one before. The safety is off. I do anything you do not like, blow me away. Hell, you can take it with you when you leave. Or you can take it and run through town like a maniac if you like instead.”
I grab the gun, and sit down in the passenger seat, shutting the door loudly. I point the gun towards him. “I choose to believe you.”
Chase puts on his sunglasses and nods his head. “Just don’t point it at me with your finger on the trigger, darling. We are about to go amazingly fast.”
Chapter 5
Lance
I quickly run through the Smithson property and jog lightly once back on the street towards my car. Once inside, I turn on my cell tracker app on my phone. It gives a location close to this neighborhood. Above her location it says in red, “Last Known Location.” I am not completely sure what that means, but hope she’s holed up at this spot.
I quickly make my way to her location. I notice the neighborhood as being where her friend, Bryce, lives. The tracker app ends almost right outside of Bryce’s block.
I do not know Bryce very well, but I know his father. He is one of us. Harker Jamison is one of those guys who could recite you every rule in the Beast handbook if you asked him. Military trained and smart, he is dangerous. He will follow the rules, no question asked. Luckily, it’s still early and he is probably at work.
I park my car outside of Harker’s house. I knock on the door several times and hear rustling from inside.
Harker opens the door and looks at me as if I’m a policeman with a search warrant.
“Mr. Jamison, morning,” I say nonchalantly. “You’re home. I was hoping to talk to your son, Bryce.”
Harker looks at me strangely. “I didn’t know you knew Bryce.”
“Not very well, but Elle does. I am sure you saw the emergency text this morning. That is why I’m here. My father sent me.”
“Your father,” he repeats with ice in his words.
“Can I come in?” I say, pushing against him into his home. I notice some things have been trashed around the house. I also could not miss the large bruise on the top of Harker’s head and scratches on the side of his face. “What happened here?” Before Harker can answer, I beat him to it. “We installed a tracking device on Elle’s phone that lead me here. I know she’s here.”
“She isn’t!”
I take out my cell phone. “I don’t want to do this. You’re a good member, you really are. You’re just really full of shit today, aren’t you?”
“Don’t call Cain! Please!” To see a large muscular man like Harker Jamison beg for me not to call my father is off putting. Some blood is trickling down his forehead. I spot a dish towel on the floor and throw it at him and point to my forehead.
“Then make this exchange easier for me. Bring Elle to me, now!”
“She’s not here,” Bryce says from the foot of the stairs. “I mean she was, but she left.”
I nod my head at him and look back at Harker. “You didn’t keep her here? You did not call anybody? Why?” Harker doesn’t answer. “Well, where did she go at least?”
“I don’t know,” Harker says. “I wasn’t able to go after her.” His father looks towards Bryce with rageful eyes.
I point a firm finger at Harker. “You need to stay here. If she comes back, do not call anybody but me. Do you understand?”
Harker looks at me confused. “Lance, the message this morning strictly said to call a ranking member, and you’re not one. Rule number—”
I cut him off. “How many rules did you fuck up today? How many rules? Never mind, you will probably answer that rhetorical question. The answer though is the amount of fines I could put on you are heavy! You might even be eligible for a lashing or two. Make your life easy by helping me. Now, I need to talk to your son, alone.”
Harker nods his head and leaves the room without another word.
I can see Bryce shivering like it’s cold outside. “Bryce, I know you don’t know me well, and what you have probably heard about me isn’t nice. Elle is in danger though. You know what I’m a part of, what your father is part of, right?” Bryce nods. “Elle is especially important to The Beasts. They intend to kill her.”
“Why?” Bryce say, not understanding the limited time I have to find her.
“I can’t tell you everything right now. Time is everything. If the wrong person finds her, she’s dead.”
“You’re not going to hurt her?”
“You know where she went, don’t you?
Bryce shrugs his shoulders.
I walk up closer to him and take my cell phone out of my pocket. I dial a number and give Bryce the phone. He looks at me strangely and puts it to his ear.
“Hello?” Bryce asks. When Danna answers the phone and speaks to him, his whole face lights up. I wave him to give me back the phone. “Okay. Look, Lance needs the phone. Love you too. I’ll talk to you soon.” Bryce’s smile widens as he gives me the phone back. “Okay I believe you. I tried to run after Elle with her travel bag when she ran out, but all I saw was her getting into a grey sports car. I figured she may have waved someone down that was driving by.”
I ask Bryce a few more questions about what the sports car looked like until I know for sure it is Chase Aldridge Elle is with.
“I have to go. Thanks, Bryce.” I turn and leave before he can say another word. I almost run towards my car outside.
She is with Chase Aldridge!
What the fuck what she thinking?
I turn on the ignition and shift my gear to drive. I let out a deep breath with the thought that she could already be dead.
Chapter 6
Elle
Chase drives up to his large home, and I look at him unimpressed.
He sighs.
“Nobody is home. Do you really want to be on the run from people like The Beasts with no shoes, wearing that hideous teddy bear sweater? Once Jaxson did not come home, I feared the worst for you, and him. I made a bag for you and waited at one of the only places I knew you might show up, your friend’s home. I have some clothes ready, and twenty thousand in cash. Do you think that’s enough for where you will need to go?”
“I have no clue. How long were you outside Bryce’s home?” I ask.
“At least five hours. I just had a feeling you would show up. I was hoping you would call me.” Chase brandishes a smile at me playfully. “I know you don’t trust me. I get it. Let’s just get what you need, and you can start running again. Can I ask where you plan on going?”
I wave my head. I did not even know the answer completely. I thought about going to Candice’s home. Hopefully, she had saved up every penny from working the streets like she said she would. Twenty K from Chase would easily help us go anywhere in the country. We could start somewhere fresh. Change our names.
Part of me worried that I would be bringing my friend into something dangerous.
I had never felt so alone in my life. Even Chase cannot even comfort me. Hell, he’s one of them.
It would not make sense for him to help me this far to turn his back. I had a gun and knew how to use it. Chase was the one who taught me, so I know he would not try anything.
I shake my head to Chase, and he gives a reassuring gesture that he understands.
When we walk inside his massive home, he opens a closet door and bends over. He comes up with a pair of pink runners, with a smile. “Now you can run in style. They’re my mom’s. I don’t even think she ever used them.”
“Why are you helping me?” I ask him bluntly. “You’re a Beast. Why are you going against your own? What do they even want with me?”
“Plenty of time to talk on our long journey today. We have a lot to talk about, trust me. I’ll grab everything and meet you at the kennel out back.”