by Joan Davis
“Samson?” Bill yelled, but got no response. He tried to get a response from Samson several more times, but finally hung up and called 9-1-1. Oh God, what’s happening to my little girl?
Conner had just turned off of Samson’s street and was headed towards downtown to meet his date. He planned on taking her to a new restaurant that just opened. He felt his cell phone vibrate and hit his Bluetooth to answer it. “Hello?” he asked.
“Conner, its Gabriel. Thank God. I’ve been trying to reach you forever. Listen, I know who’s been coming after Risa,” he said urgently.
“What do you have?” Conner asked grimly. He pulled the Tahoe over and put it into park.
I spoke with Eunice McCreary, she’s the mother. She visits her son’s grave every day. Her son died almost six years ago. They found his body in a field. He was sliced to ribbons and had been washed clean. Conner, most of his blood had been drained from his body,” Gabriel said ominously, and then continued. “I went over to the court house and pulled up any public information I could find. I started with the oldest kid, and I got lucky. The oldest son, Jethro McCreary, is around 30 years old. He’s a prison guard in Cloverdale, Conner. A god-damned prison guard. I asked around and found out McCreary has tried several times to get on the police force, but he never passed the psyche exam. I went over to the town’s local diner and had a conversation with a few of the old-timers. It seems that in order to generate public financing, Cloverdale has begun outsourcing security details to Dalton and other towns. They use personnel from the prisons to assist with any overflow of need. He’s been around you guys from the beginning. It’s got to be him, Conner. I know it,” Gabriel finished grimly.
Conner cursed, starting his Tahoe and running it up over the curb and side walk in his haste to get back to Samson’s house. “I’m not far from . . .” Conner started saying, but then heard the loud report from a rifle. Stomping his foot on the pedal Conner yelled, “I just heard a gunshot. Call the fucking police. Call everyone, and get them out to Samson’s house, now!” Conner disconnected the call and raced down the road towards Samson’s house. He ran the Tahoe up over the sidewalk and onto the grass in front of the house before grabbing his own rifle and racing towards the house.
CHAPTER 12
Risa was rinsing her glass in the sink when she looked out of the large kitchen window and saw Samson jogging down towards the dock. His large body graceful as he moved. She smiled as he easily grabbed all the towels and the big deflated raft in his hands and started back towards the house. It would have taken her two or three trips to get all those things.
She watched curiously as Samson paused, pulled out his cell phone and put it to his ear. He listened for several moments and then glanced up, rage filled his face. Samson dropped everything in his hands and looked like he was yelling into the phone as he began racing towards the house. He was reaching behind his back when there was a loud popping noise. Risa jumped at the noise and then watched in frozen horror as Samson flew backwards and landed hard on his back. Risa saw a dark red plume spread across his chest. He didn’t move.
“No!” Risa screamed in agony. Without thinking, she raced out of the kitchen and into the living room. In her panic, it took her several tries to get the French doors unlocked and opened. She began to race down the porch steps and across the deck when a strong hand fisted into her hair and yanked her back viciously. Risa screamed in pain, but her eyes were glued to Samson.
“Samson! Oh God, Samson . . .!” Risa screamed in agony, but Samson never moved. Risa whimpered in anguish.
“Well, isn’t this nice? The little witch came out to meet me. Saves me the trouble of having to come in there and find you. It’s too late for your man to save you. Look at him lying there, witch. His blood is on your hands, just like my brothers,” a voice growled in Risa’s ear.
Risa’s nightmare was unfolding right before her eyes. She tried to lunge away from the man that held her, but he jerked her back viciously. Risa screamed as loud a she could, until pain exploded in her head as her attacker hit her with something hard.
Risa slumped down in a haze of pain, and the man lifted her and carried her in one arm towards the dock. “Not this time. This time I get to finish what I started. You will pay your debt, witch. My brother won’t rest in peace until his murder is avenged. I made sure Saren and Sissy paid for what they’ve done, and I made sure there ain’t no one left that can identify me. Don’t you see? You’re the only one left. After I kill you, it will all be done, and I can re-start the coven . . .” The man stopped and muttered as if confused. “The coven was a lie . . . You’re not really a witch, Saren lied.” He stood at the dock’s edge and swung back and forth, but suddenly stopped again. Laughing, he started back down the deck. “I just have to finish you, and it will all make sense.”
Risa was still dazed, and moaned as the man dropped her roughly to the deck platform. He laid his rifle aside and turned Risa over on her back. She saw for the first time that he was covered head-to-toe in black. Whatever he wore was padded heavily, making him appear very large and menacing. Even his face was covered in black. He reached back behind him and pulled out a large, wicked looking knife. Its deadly steal flashed ominously in the sunlight. Risa whimpered in fear and tried to roll away from him, but he laughed and held her down easily. “That’s right, witch. Recognize your fate? Are you scared, witch? Do you think that’s how my brother felt when those bastards tied him to that alter? Now you’re going to feel what he felt.”
Risa gasped out a sob and yelled, “I know you. You’re a McCreary!”
The man paused and seemed to stare at Risa from behind the mask over his face. He then slowly put down his knife, reached up and pulled off the hooded mask. “Well, well. Ain’t you the smart one,” he said, his accent much more pronounced now. He picked up the knife again, looked at the sharp blade and then smiled down at Risa. “It don’t matter none that you know. I’m glad the last thing you’ll ever see is my face. You remember me girl?”
“Jethro . . .” Risa sobbed and then screamed. “You killed my mom, you bastard!” Her sadistic captor now had a face. Risa tried to twist away, but Jethro McCreary slammed her back down and lunged close. His ruddy skin was pock-marked and scarred. His short, ash-brown hair lay flat against his head from sweating under the head mask. His eyes were just dead. No life. Empty and black, like shark eyes.
“That’s right, witch. I used to help your daddy out some with his wood-working jobs. I couldn’t let your momma live when I seen she knew it was me.” Jethro suddenly frowned down at Risa. “Who else knows you think your momma’s killer was a McCreary?” When Risa just stared mutinously at him, Jethro lowered the knife and ran the blade lightly down her arm, leaving a thin trail of blood.
Risa screamed as the knife seemed to sear her skin, but then Jethro was suddenly jerked backwards. Risa was able to turn on her side. She saw that Conner had his large arm wrapped in a death-grip around Jethro McCreary’s neck, and was trying to subdue him.
“Run, Risa! Run!” Conner yelled, still fighting to hold on to McCreary.
“Conner, he’s got a knife!” Risa screamed, but it was too late. Jethro reached back and slammed the knife into Conner’s side twice. Risa saw the shock and pain register on Conner’s face, as he slowly collapsed backwards onto the dock.
Jethro lunged up in rage and turned to face his opponent. He raised his bloody knife over Conner and was preparing to plunge it into his chest.
Risa stood up and screamed, “Jethro McCreary, you fucking coward. If you want me so badly, come and get me, asshole. All you McCreary’s are dumb fucks. Daddy always said so.” Risa tried to think of anything she could remember about Jethro to use against him. She had to get him away from Conner. “Didn’t you want to be a cop, Jethro? But that couldn’t happen, could it, because you were too damn stupid to pass the exam. The whole town really had a good laugh over that one,” Risa sneered and forced herself not to sob in fear.
Jethro slowly turned to
Risa and began stalking her across the dock and onto the platform. His eyes were almost demonic. “All you people looked down your noses at the McCreary’s. We was too plain for you. We talked funny and dressed strange. Now I’m showing all of you. I beat all of you, and no one will ever know it was me who done all this. I fooled you all,” Jethro sneered triumphantly. When he was only feet from her, Risa did a clumsy back dive over the side of the platform, the way Samson had taught her. Instead of swimming away, Risa continued the arch of the dive and slid quickly under the dock itself. She came up slowly, until her head lifted into the airspace below the dock. Her teeth were chattering almost violently, and she had to clench her jaw to stop them. She tried to take shallow breaths, and she edged back slowly into a corner and silently waited.
“You fucking bitch! You gotta come up sometime. When you do, I’m gonna blow your fucking head off!” Jethro roared in rage.
Risa’s teeth continued to chatter, and she could feel her heart hammering in her chest, but tried to remain as still as she could. She heard a moan and knew it was Conner. Squeezing her eyes shut and biting her trembling lip, Risa prayed Jethro would keep his focus on her and the lake.
But she heard him turn. “Boy, don’t you know when to die?” Jethro said menacingly, as he began walking back towards Conner.
Risa knew he was going to kill Conner, and she couldn’t let that happen. “No, don’t!” Risa screamed from below the dock.
Jethro stopped, and then cautiously turned and began looking through the open slats in the dock platform. “Come outta there, girl, or he’s for sure gonna die,” Jethro slowly threatened, watching for any movement under the dock.
Risa bit her lip and didn’t want to move, but she knew she didn’t have a choice. He had already taken Samson from her. She couldn’t let him hurt anyone else. Risa took a breath a started to submerge, when she heard a roar of rage and then an enormous splash into the water. Terrified, she froze until she heard Conner’s faint call.
“Risa, get out of there fast. Hurry!” Conner gasped in pain.
Risa quickly went under and came up clutching the dock’s ladder. Petrified, she looked over her shoulder and saw Samson battling Jethro in the water. “Samson!” Risa cried, but Samson ignored her as he tried to overpower Jethro.
“Risa, get out of there. NOW . . . !” Conner yelled, causing Risa to jerk around and quickly climb the ladder. She scrambled over to Conner and found him covered in blood.
“Oh, Conner, tell me what to do,” Risa sobbed, looking into his pain-filled gaze. He was so pale, and a wash of cold sweat covered his face.
“Don’t worry about it, sweetheart. You just need to run. Do you hear me, Risa? Run, and don’t stop until you find someone to help. Don’t go back to the house, just run. The police should be here any minute. Run!” Conner said urgently, grimacing in pain, and then his eyes slid closed and his head lulled to the side.
“Conner . . .?” Risa put a trembling hand on his chest, but only felt a faint heartbeat. Sobbing, she stood up and looked out at the water. Samson held Jethro’s wrist, trying to keep the knife in Jethro’s grip from getting to him. Suddenly, with a great lunge, Samson rose up and plunged both of them under water.
Samson continued to struggle with Jethro McCreary. He had regained consciousness when Risa had screamed McCreary’s name. His shoulder on fire from the gunshot wound he received from McCreary’s rifle. He had gritted his teeth in pain and rolled towards the sound of Risa’s voice. Terror filled him as he had seen a large man in black holding Risa down on the dock. Jethro McCreary. The sun glinted off a large knife McCreary held his hand. Fighting panic and knowing he couldn’t afford to draw McCreary’s attention, Samson moved as slowly as he could.
As Samson tried to rise, he had caught sight of Conner tossing his rifle away from him. Samson guessed Conner realized it would be useless against the body armor that McCreary was wearing. He watched as Conner raced up the dock and pulled McCreary backward off of Risa. Samson moved slowly to stand, but dropped down again when he saw the man stab Conner. Samson watched as in horror as his best friend collapsed onto the dock. McCreary had turned finish the job, but Risa had screamed at Jethro McCreary until he turned away from Conner and started back towards her. Before McCreary could reach her, she had jumped into the water. Samson had moved closer as Jethro had searched the water for Risa. Samson’s wound burned, and blood dripped on to the grass. He had to grit his teeth to keep from moaning in pain, but he knew he couldn’t stop.
He was forced to drop again when something made McCreary turn back towards Conner. Samson knew McCreary still had his rifle, but Samson couldn’t see it from his vantage point. When Samson had seen McCreary come around the house, he had attempted to draw his own gun that had been tucked in the back of his jeans. He felt for it again, but it was gone. Samson heard Risa scream out and shut his eyes in pain and fear for her. He opened them again to see McCreary looking down at the dock platform and threatening Risa that if she didn’t come out, he’d kill Conner. Samson knew he only had a few seconds. He lunged up and raced up the dock, and at the last second, Samson dove over Conner, grabbed McCreary around his waist and tackled him into the water.
Samson immediately let go and grabbed McCreary’s wrist to keep him from plunging his knife into Samson’s body. Samson smashed his fist into McCreary’s face several times, but McCreary fought back and dug his fingers into Samson’s wounded shoulder, sending shockwaves of pain shooting through his body. Looking into McCreary eyes, Samson saw absolute death. Knowing his strength was fading, he made a brutal decision. He lunged up, took a big breath of air and plunged both McCreary and himself downward into the depths of the lake.
Using his powerful legs, Samson kicked as hard as he could, taking them deeper and deeper. He was hoping the weight of McCreary’s body armor would be enough to give him a slight advantage. When McCreary realized Samson’s intent, he began to struggle and fight harder. Samson held on and kept kicking, taking them deeper. Samson’s heartbeat pounded away in his head, and he saw the blood from his wound drifting upwards. He knew he didn’t have much time.
He saw panic and fear crawl into McCreary’s eyes. Jethro thrashed and shook his head in denial. Samson stopped kicking as he saw McCreary involuntarily release the air in his body, and bubbles spewed from his mouth and raced to the surface. McCreary instinctively took a breath, but swallowed only water. In terror, he tried to lunge for the surface, but it was too late. The knife suddenly dropped from McCreary’s hand, and Samson watched it twist and turn as it sank. Samson’s eyes met McCreary’s, and he watched as the cool stare of death that came over McCreary’s eyes. Samson slowly released him and watched as McCreary sank into the lake’s depths.
Exhausted and lungs burning, Samson looked up and tried to kick his legs, but after only a few seconds, he knew he wasn’t going to make it, and he stopped. As he faded, he thought of Risa. It was over, and she was finally safe. Samson closed his eyes, let out his breath and started to sink slowly.
Suddenly, Samson felt a hand fist into his hair and pulled upward. He weakly looked up and saw Risa struggling to pull him upward. Worried that she would drown trying to help him, Samson tried to make her let go, but he was too weak. Sorrow filled his heart, as darkness took him.
Risa had waited for Samson to come back up to the lake’s surface but he never did. She frantically searched the clear water, but didn’t see him. She caught a glimpse of something shiny flash in the lake’s depth and dove off the dock and began to swim towards the glimmering. After a few seconds of swimming downward, Risa finally saw Samson slowly trying to kick his way to the surface, but he stopped and began to sink. Risa swam fiercely until she reached him, gripped his hair and pulled up as hard as she could. She kicked and struggled to reach the surface with Samson. Her lungs were burning, but she couldn’t give up and let Samson die. She then heard splashing from above, and then, all at once, several people surrounded them and helped rush them to the surface of the lake. Coughing an
d choking, Risa saw several police officers and EMT workers had jumped in to help and were pulling her and Samson towards the lake’s edge.
“He’s been shot. Help him! I don’t think he’s breathing,” Risa begged hoarsely when the emergency workers tried to help her first. Risa watched as they quickly dragged Samson over to the bank of the lake and started administering CPR. Another EMT cut away Samson’s shirt and revealed the gunshot wound, and began trying to stop the bleeding.
Risa made her way over to Samson with the help of a police officer, and crawled up by Samson’s head as they worked on him. “Please Samson, don’t leave me. Please,” Risa cried and ran her hand over his hair.
They kept working on Samson, but nothing seemed to help. Risa panicked and slapped Samson’s face hard. “Samson Knight, don’t you fucking leave me. You promised me,” Risa sobbed and smacked him again. “You promised you wouldn’t leave me. Don’t leave me!” Risa screamed at him.
Samson convulsed suddenly and water came up and spilled out of his mouth. He began to cough and struggle for breath. The EMTs rolled Samson onto his side to make it easier to clear his lungs. Samson slowly laid back and opened his eyes. The first thing he saw were Risa’s beautiful brown eyes gazing tearfully down at him. He was too weak to speak, so he just smiled, closed his eyes and passed out. The reassuring look from an EMT calmed Risa’s automatic panic. Several EMT’s and police officers had to help hoist Samson’s enormous body onto a waiting stretcher and placed an oxygen mask over his face. Risa followed him closely and suddenly became aware of all the flashing red and blue lights, as several emergency vehicles and police units surrounded the property. The noise was deafening.