“Whatever,” Bronx said between his sharp exhales as he pulled himself forward. His eyes were focused forward… determined.
Bronx kept going. I stopped counting after fifty, and it was a long while before he stopped, flopping his arms over his head.
He’d worked up a sweat and was breathing heavily. Bronx turned sideways and grinned at me.
“Now I think I’m too keyed up to sleep,” he said.
“All right, you keep watch,” I said closing my eyes. “I’ll take a little nap right here.”
He hopped to his feet, and before I knew it, he was scooping me up off of the ground. His damp skin was slick against mine.
Before I could ask what he was doing, he lowered me down on the sofa. He crouched down next to me, the candlelight dancing on his face.
“Sleep, I’ll wake Danny if I get tired,” Bronx said. I started to get up, but he placed his hand on my shoulder. “No, it’s fine. If you can sleep, you should. I’ll just take a nap tomorrow.”
“You need your sleep too,” I argued.
“Can’t,” he said as he stood and walked over to the window. “Like I said, too keyed up.”
I yawned and closed my eyes. “If you insist.”
Chapter 12
I sat up and rubbed my stiff neck. Sleeping the entire night on the sofa had been far from comfortable.
Danny was sitting at the window leaning forward with his head resting on his fist. I covered my yawn as I walked over to him.
“Why didn’t you wake me?” I asked looking over my shoulder at Bronx zonked out on the floor. Apparently, the crunches had worked.
“Bronx woke me and it was almost morning,” Danny said.
“Oh,” I said pulling the curtain further to the side so I could have a better look at the yard. “He was up all night then?”
Danny shrugged.
“He woke me, but then was having trouble sleeping. Eventually, he gave up and told me to go back to bed,” I said.
“The house could be falling down around us, and I don’t think I could wake him,” Danny said with a yawn.
I shook my head and let the curtain fall back into place. “I’m not sure that’s a good thing.”
“No, you’re right. It’s probably not.”
The guest room door opened and Milo came running out. He stopped abruptly when he saw Bronx on the floor. Milo cocked his head to the side and dropped to the floor. He quickly started driving the cars near Bronx’s feet.
Nina was close behind looking around the room with her arms crossed. She smiled at Milo before meeting my eyes.
“He loves those cars,” Nina said.
“There might be more upstairs,” I said, and Milo’s head popped up.
“Mom, can I?” Milo asked.
Nina chewed her lip for a moment. “I guess so.”
“Want me to show you where they are?” I asked, but Milo was already halfway up the stairs.
“I remember!” Milo said as he disappeared out of sight.
Nina placed her hand on her stomach and lowered herself into the chair near the sofa. “Is he okay?”
“Just sleeping,” I said leaning back against the wall.
Danny abruptly stood and grabbed the shotgun. I took a step away from him as if I’d done something wrong.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
Bronx popped up as if he could sense something happening in his sleep. Maybe he’d felt the air in the room change because it felt as though the oxygen was leaving the area.
“Milo,” Nina whispered loudly as she placed her foot on the bottom step. “Come on down please.”
The floorboards above creaked with his steps. He didn’t hesitate to come when she called.
Danny held up his hand. “Something is out there in the distance. Might just be another wolf.”
Bronx was at Danny’s side in a flash. He held up his palm as he peered out between the curtains.
“There is something out there, but it’s not a wolf,” Bronx said stepping away from the window. He slapped Danny on the back just as a grin curled his lips.
“What is it?” I said, my eyebrows squeezed together just as hard as my lips pressed together.
“You mean who is it,” Bronx said with a bounce in his step as he walked to the door. He pointed at the window. “Have a look.”
Danny’s palm was against the window as he shook his head in disbelief. I swallowed hard as I stepped up next to him. There was just no way it could be….
The sound of Bronx opening the front door sounded so far away even though he was right next to me. There was no mistaking who was approaching.
Nick was smiling as he limped toward the house. Blair was looking in every direction but smiled when she saw Bronx walking toward them.
“Is this really happening?” I whispered, and Danny wrapped his arm around my shoulders.
“It is.” He pulled me with him. “Let’s go say hi.”
Nina and Milo were already outside as Danny, and I made our way toward them. Nick walked faster when he saw me. My breath felt as though it was stuck in my throat as he wrapped his arms around me.
Never in my entire life did I think it would feel so good to see my brother.
“Gwen,” Nick whispered into my hair. “Am I dreaming?”
“I don’t know,” I said because it felt a lot like a dream.
Nick pulled back and shook Danny’s hand. “Looks like she took good care of you.”
Danny smiled and lowered his head.
“Actually, he took care of me,” I said wanting to give Danny all the credit he deserved.
Nick didn’t say anything he just nodded in Danny’s direction. His eyes darted around, and I knew he was looking for Jamie. Bronx must have realized too because he stepped up and took Nick’s hand into his. They shook briefly before Bronx pulled him closer for a half hug. I couldn’t hear anything, but if I had to guess, Bronx quickly whispered something because after that moment Nick stopped looking around and he didn’t ask where Jamie was.
I watched as Nina and Milo said their hello’s to Blair and Nick. Nick patted Milo on the back and briefly talked to him about the cars he was holding.
“All right, all right,” Nick said clapping his hands and rubbing his palms together. “Let’s go inside. I need to sit down.”
We followed Nick and Blair toward the house. I hadn’t noticed at first, but Nick was using a thick stick for a cane. The way he walked had changed from what I could remember. He’d move quickly from his bad leg to the other, barely putting weight on the leg that had been injured.
When we got up to the house, Bronx pulled Nick and Blair to the side. I could hear him whispering to them, but I couldn’t make out what they were saying. A few minutes later they came inside and closed the door.
“I got them up to speed on what happened and what we’re doing around here,” Bronx announced.
Nick met my eyes. He wasn’t able to hide his worry about me. I forced the best ‘I’m fine’ smile I could muster.
Blair helped Nick ease his way down into the chair near the sofa. He flapped his hands at her to stop her from fussing, but it wasn’t enough to wipe the smile off of her face.
“We heard a gunshot,” Nick said shifting his weight back and forth in the chair. He placed his palms flat on the armrests.
“That was me,” Danny said. “Got ourselves a wolf.”
“If we heard it, others might have too,” Nick said.
Danny held up his hand. “No need to scold me. I won’t be doing it again. But dang we ate good, didn’t we?”
Bronx and I both smiled. Blair sat down heavily at the end of the sofa closest to Nick.
“So, grandma wasn’t here?” Nick asked.
I shook my head.
“No sign of her whatsoever?”
I shook my head again.
“Interesting.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Maybe she went somewhere,” he said.
I lowered my head and
looked at my shoes. “And maybe she got sick while she was out there.”
Nick rubbed his fingers against his chin. “Maybe. Anyway, it feels good to be here. Grandma sure hadn’t changed much around here, had she?”
“Not really.”
“I found some of your old toys,” Milo said holding up the toy cars.
“Aw, little man, that’s one of my favorites!” Nick pointed to a red sports car with a white stripe on the hood.
Milo grinned and held it to his stomach. “It’s my favorite too. Maybe we can play later?”
“Maybe, but I’m pretty tired,” Nick said. “Might have to take a rain check.”
Milo looked at his mom and tried to hide a little frown. She gave him a quick little hug and whispered something in his ear. The boy nodded and took the cars to the guest room.
“They’re staying in the guest room,” I explained to Nick. “Danny and I have been staying in grandma’s room, and Bronx has been staying in my old room.”
“Why wasn’t anyone in my room?” he asked glancing at Danny.
“Because I knew you’d come,” I responded quickly.
Blair clicked her tongue. “What about me?”
“Sofa?” I said.
“Blair can have my room,” Nick said before Blair had a chance to verbally say what her eyes were showing. “I’d rather not climb the stairs if I don’t have to.”
“It’s bad isn’t it?” I asked nodding at his leg.
Nick shrugged. “Didn’t heal properly is my guess. Not much can be done about it, but I think after I get some rest it’ll improve some. We’ve been walking too much, I just need a break.”
“And the cane?” I asked.
“Only need it after a long day’s walk.” Nick half-smiled.
My eyes moved down to his leg. I couldn’t help but worry that maybe it wouldn’t ever get better. It wasn’t like there were doctors he could go to. He would just have to live with the complications of the gunshot wound.
“Does it hurt?” I asked softly.
“Nah.” Nick patted his thigh. “Well, maybe a little if I’m on it too much.”
“What’s too much?” I asked.
Nick glanced at Blair. “Several miles. But we don’t have to worry about that now do we?”
An awkward silence filled the room. Nina cleared her throat and placed her hand on Nick’s shoulder.
“Glad you made it,” she said. “I’m going to go check on Milo.”
Nick nodded, and Danny placed his hands on his hips. “Can I get you guys something to eat? We’re out of meat, but there are plenty of other things.”
“Got any of Grandma’s famous jam?” Nick asked with a chuckle.
I could almost taste the sweet strawberry jam at the thought. Grandma used to spread it on top of her freshly baked buttery biscuits.
“There’s tons of jam, but nothing to put it on,” I said.
“Give me a spoon.” Nick grinned.
Danny disappeared from the room, and I made my way over to the window. As I pulled back the curtain, a loud noise sliced through the air and shook the house like it was an upside-down snow globe.
I placed my hands on the wall to steady myself as I turned to look at the others. Nick was leaning forward in his chair, and Blair had turned as white as a ghost.
Bronx looked unsteady as he walked across the floor toward me. I looked out the window again, and this time I spotted the flash of light in the sky even though it was the middle of the day.
The thunder that followed rattled every wall so hard I worried if the whole thing was going to crumble down on top of us.
“It’s here.” Nick edged himself to the edge of the chair while keeping his eyes on the window.
“You guys saw this too?” I asked knowing there couldn’t have been any way they had missed it.
“Every night, coming closer and closer.”
I swallowed hard as Bronx shoulder touched mine as he looked out the window. “It’s not night.”
“Guess it doesn’t matter. It’s finally here,” Nick said as Danny came back into the room holding a spoon and a jar of jam.
“We going down to the basement?” Danny asked locking eyes with me.
I pressed my lips together and took another look outside. The wind picked up whipping the trees back and forth so hard one of them at the end of the driveway snapped.
Another bolt shot across the sky, and when the house shook, a painting fell off the wall. Bronx grabbed me by the waist and pulled me away from the window.
I sucked in a deep breath even though it felt as though there was no air in the room. “Get Nina and Milo. We’re going to the cellar.”
Chapter 13
Milo whimpered as we walked down the stairs and into the cellar. Bronx closed the door at the top of the stairs while Nick made his way down.
It sounded like a war was being waged on the ground around the house. There were sounds of howling and pounding like nothing I’d ever heard before. It was like the earth was being torn in two.
Nina looked nervous as she held Milo close to her. “What’s,” Nina said swallowing hard, “going on out there?”
“A storm,” I said remembering the lighting and still feeling what I thought was thunder rattling the ground.
“A normal storm?” she asked holding Milo closer.
I glanced at Bronx because he had seen what I had. There hadn’t been anything outside that had been anything like a real storm except for the darkened skies and the wind.
The light that flashed through the sky had been the same as what we’d seen at night. Only it was happening during the day.
“I don’t think so,” I said, and Bronx offered a confirming nod.
There was a small futon in the cellar that was covered in dust, but Nina and Milo sat down anyway. The shelving units were fully stocked, and there were large bags or rice next to the large jugs of water.
“Didn’t know grandma had all this stuff,” Nick said trying to hide a wince as he lowered himself down on the other side of the futon.
“Yeah,” I said looking around the room. “Must have been something she really got into recently. I mean, she always put stuff down here, but this is more than I remember.”
“When was the last time you visited her?” Nick asked with a slight smirk.
I narrowed my eyes and turned my back to him. I didn’t want to see the judging look he was giving me even though I could have given it right back.
We stayed in the basement listening to whatever was happening above for what felt like hours. When the wind died down, and we no longer felt the earth shaking as violently, Bronx and I decided to take a look while the others stayed in the cellar waiting for the all clear.
I followed Bronx through the kitchen toward the living room. The light coming through the windows let me know it was still daylight.
There was a strange charge to the air that made my hairs stand on end. A chill ran down my spine as we approached the front window. I was afraid of what we might see.
Bronx grabbed my hand and pulled me closer. I couldn’t shake the feeling that even though the doors were all closed and had been locked that someone was hiding inside the house.
I moved closer to Bronx as he sucked in a breath and pulled back the curtain. My hand shot up to my mouth to cover my gasp.
The sky was black. There were trees and random debris strewn about the front yard. It looked as though several tornadoes had passed through the area.
Lightning flickered deep in the clouds above. They looked like giant puffs of black cotton candy swirling overhead. Everything was so dark I couldn’t see beyond our front yard.
“Jesus,” Bronx said dragging his fingers across his forehead.
“Do you think it’s done?”
He shook his head. “I have no idea.”
It wasn’t even a second later we heard the rain hitting the house. It patted loudly against the roof as if it was coming straight down.
“What the…,” Bro
nx said squinting as he looked out toward the yard. “That doesn’t look like normal rain does it?”
“What do you mean?” I blinked several times to clear my vision, but it was hard to see what he was talking about.
“It looks like it’s oil.”
I shook my head. “Oil?”
“Look at the….” Bronx’s voice faded as the black slime started to slide down the window.
It dripped down over the glass as if someone was pouring a bottle of thick, black maple syrup down over the house. “Yeah, you’re right,” I said taking a step away from the window. “That doesn’t look right.”
I jumped back when I heard someone coming through the hallway. I spun on my heel and let out the breath I was holding when I saw Danny standing there.
“Safe to come up?” Danny asked placing his hand on his stomach. He looked pale, and sweat was dripping down his temples.
“You don’t look so good,” I said chewing on my cheek.
“Yeah, I don’t feel so good,” Danny said glancing at the stairs. “I need to lay down in an actual bed. Seems like the wind died down?”
Bronx was still keeping most of his attention on the oily window. “Yeah, it should be okay.”
“Let me know if things change,” Danny said as he wrapped his arms around his middle and climbed up the stairs as if his feet weighed a hundred pounds.
“He doesn’t look good,” I said crossing my arms as I turned back to the window.
“This doesn’t look good either,” Bronx said tapping the window.
The pitch-black, oily rain almost completely coated the window. I could only imagine that it was coating the entire exterior of the house.
“What are we going to do?” I said pressing my hand to my forehead.
“I don’t know,” Bronx said. “Guess we can tell the others it’s safe to come up.”
“Sounds like they’re already on their way,” I said glancing toward the kitchen.
Nina was carrying a nearly asleep Milo in her arms. He looked just as pale as Danny had.
“Everything okay?” I asked taking a step toward her.
“He’s not feeling well, and to be honest, I’m not doing that great either.” Nina nodded toward the window. “Safe to come up?”
The Red Sky Series Box Set Page 37