"But Dad," he started.
"Listen! I don't have time to argue or explain. I have to get your Mom and Ashley and Stephanie."
"Bud Dad!"
"Please Alistair. You get down there and you stay quiet. Keep your brothers safe. I love you. I love you guys. Now go!"
I straightened up and turned around. David and Charlie were still sobbing, but I knew Alistair would do what needed to be done. Now, I needed to do what needed to be done.
"Take the gun," Koran said as we headed back toward the shack. "I'm better with the knife than you are."
I stopped and pulled the knife from my belt loop. I handed it to Koran and took his pistol. Swallowing, I clenched my jaw and stared up at the rusty shack with cold eyes.
"Come on," I said and marched forward.
We hurried around the side of the building and knelt at the corner. Scampering on all fours we moved around the front and stopped. There was a window to the left of the door just above our heads.
"I'm gonna check it out," I whispered.
Terrified, I slowly rose my head above the sill and peeked inside. I expected to be greeted with the barrel of a shotgun, but my luck held. It looked like there were only two rooms. The front room was empty and makeshift drapes had been hung in the doorway to separate the backroom from the front.
"It's empty," I said as I crouched back down. "There's another room in the back, we should be able to get inside without anyone seeing us."
Koran nodded and we moved onto the tiny porch up front. The door to the shack was made of thick, unfinished wood. The knob was rusted metal covered in chipped, red paint.
I reached out and grabbed it then looked back to Koran to make sure he was ready. He nodded and I started to mouth the countdown from three.
"Three, two, one," I mumbled before slowly twisting the knob.
CHAPTER 27
WHAT CAN'T BE BROKEN
I pushed the door open and stepped into the darkness that lay inside. The smell was a dank aroma, like waterlogged clothes and moldy bread. It smacked me in the face like an open hand as soon as I walked through the door.
Up ahead a faint glow cast a hardly noticeable light from the other room. It flickered from the slits between the curtain like a candle or something. A cracked window let in a cool breeze, but the air inside felt moist and dirty.
"You smell that?" Koran whispered.
"Yeah, it fucking reeks."
"No... no. It smells like gasoline or something."
I shrugged and stepped further into the house. A dark brown, wicker chair was tucked into the far corner. A pair of men's jeans and a t-shirt were thrown across it. Other clothes were scattered across the room like someone had undressed in a hurry.
We tried to move silently across the concrete floor. A thin layer of sand shifted with each step we took, but the noises from the other room masked any sound that we did make.
"Hurry up!" an angry, deep voice shouted.
We both froze. I tightened my grip on the pistol and clenched my jaw. Trembling, I looked back to Koran and he nodded his head forward.
"Shut the hell up Timmy. You had plenty of time with the other broad. You ain't save none of that to share," another voice replied.
"Damn it Carl, that's why I let you have the young one first, so we're even."
"Then stop rushing me. This bitch is feisty."
There were at least two men inside and I knew they had the girls with them. I felt a rage come over me. I wanted to rush into the room and shoot everything breathing. But I fought to compose myself and kept edging closer silently.
I stopped right next to the curtains that hung from the ceiling. Koran tapped me on the shoulder and gave me an encouraging nod. I reached out to grab the purple drapes, but stopped as someone inside grunted.
"I told you be still," the man named Carl shouted angrily.
There was a dull thud and then a whimper. Koran growled and pushed past me. He ripped the curtains down and rushed inside. I followed right behind him, stopping just on the other side of the door.
The room was dim, the only light came from a kerosene lamp that burned dully in the corner. There was a soiled mattress next to it and blankets covering all of the windows.
Ashley was squirming on the edge of the bed. Her mouth had been taped and her face bruised and beaten. A scrawny, grungy old man was pressed in between her legs. His long, gray hair was knotted together and fell down his back. He had sparse patches of facial hair and tattoos up and down his arms. His skin was tanned and leathery like he'd spent a lifetime in the outdoors, like the sun and the spray of saltwater were home to him.
Ashley was doing her best to resist him. He was pushing and pulling at her legs, trying to thrust his naked body in between them. Every time he grabbed one of her legs, she'd kick out the other one, pushing him away. She earned several blows to the face for her efforts, but she didn't quit fighting.
The man named Carl froze when he saw us. His eyes grew like balloons and some barbaric grunt got stuck in his throat.
Koran didn't waste any time. He took three strides and was on Carl in seconds. Koran's knife slid into the small of his back as he grabbed Carl's hair and yanked his head backward.
"Argh!" Carl shouted.
Koran snatched the knife out and blood sprayed onto the floor. With a quick jab, he buried the blade into the base of the Carl's neck. Carl gasped and his arms snapped wildly like a dying spider. He let out a garbled breath then his muffled groans fell silent.
Koran released his hair and stepped to the side as Carl toppled backward. Blood streamed down his bare chest and his eyes flickered like dying butterfly wings.
Ashley ripped the tape from her mouth and screeched. Jumping to her feet, she stomped on him over and over as she punctuated each blow with a howl of pain.
There was another man to my left, Timmy. He'd been undressing when we walked in and was caught with his foot halfway out of one of his pants legs. He reached for a gun that was sitting on the far nightstand, but he tripped over his dingy jeans and landed on all fours.
Without a single feeling of remorse, I raised the pistol and fired three shots into his face. Blood and brains peppered the wall behind him and Timmy collapsed to the floor. Smoke swirled from the barrel of my gun and my ears rung in pain, but I'd never felt so powerful in my life.
Something moved out of the corner of my eye and I whipped around. Melinda stared at me with blank eyes and I dropped the gun and rushed toward her. She wrapped her hands around my neck and I scooped her into my arms.
"Are you okay? Did they touch you? Did they hurt you?" I rattled off.
She didn't immediately answer. She stared me in the face then burst into tears. I squeezed her and ran my hand over her head. She collapsed into my embrace and I felt a pain in my heart like someone was crushing it with pliers.
"I'm fine...I'm fine she sobbed, but."
"Where's Stephanie?" Koran asked as he spun in place.
I looked around the room in confusion. Stephanie was nowhere to be seen. Koran had wrapped Ashley with a sheet and sat her onto the bed. Melinda was squeezing me like a lifeline, but Stephanie...I hadn't seen her.
"Randall," Melinda sobbed. "Randall listen."
"Where is Stephanie?" Koran said again in a deeper tone. "Stephanie!"
"Randall!" Melinda exclaimed and grabbed me by the shoulders.
I looked down at her and she pointed to a shadowy doorway near the back. We'd missed it when we first came in, but there was something ominous and malevolent that seemed to spew from the dark.
"The restroom," she said lowly.
"Wait here," I told her.
I raised my gun and called out to Koran. I motioned toward the doorway and he tightened the grip on his knife and marched toward it.
"Stephanie," he called again. "Stephanie, are you in there."
I followed behind him and leaned against the wall next to the door. I was ready, ready for whatever evil hid just out of sight.
&n
bsp; Reaching into the darkness, Koran felt on the wall for a light switch. His fingers found it and as the light illuminated the bathroom I watched all of the life fade from Koran's face.
"No!" he roared.
CHAPTER 28
WHAT WILL BE BROKEN
The scene was horrific. Blood was splattered everywhere. The grimy walls were stained with the crimson traces of death. The mirror bore streaks from fingers covered in blood and a cracked smear from where someone's face had impacted it.
The towel rack had been torn from the wall and the dirty toilet had a fracture running down the side. Everything about the bathroom was wrong, everything was tainted with pain and death.
I edged inside and passed Koran. The bathroom was long and narrow and ended with a dirt smudged bath tub. Inside of it was a shower curtain with dark green floral patterns and peacocks. It was covering something, something that Koran couldn't bear to reveal himself, but I knew it needed to be done.
I walked toward the tub and knelt down. With shaky hands, I reached out and grabbed the curtain. I took a deep breath and pulled it back.
"Fuck!" I cringed.
Crumpled in the tub was Stephanie's broken body. She was naked and covered from head to toe in welts and bruises. Her face was eternally frozen in the painful grimace she died in, but her bruised knuckles showed that she hadn't gone quietly.
I turned to face Koran and his eyes dulled over. He'd completely lost it. He groaned in pain and fell to the floor, before crawling across the tile to the bath tub.
"Stephanie no," he crooned in a voice that made my bones ache.
He reached out and grabbed her hand. Tears poured from his eyes and fell onto her face, leaving streaks in the layers of blood.
"I'm so sorry...I'm so, so sorry," Koran croaked.
I stood up and backed away. I didn't have the words to comfort him and I felt like me being there was intruding on something private that no one should be a witness to.
"Randall!" Melinda suddenly called.
I turned around and saw the trail of smoke before she said another word. The lamp had fallen over and caught fire to one of the blankets that covered the window. The tiny room had suddenly erupted into a raging inferno.
"Koran!" I shouted as I rushed and grabbed Melinda. "Koran!"
Ashley had moved from the bed and was starting toward the other room. I ripped the curtain down and walked them both to the front door.
"I'll get Koran, wait here," I told them.
The flames were spreading quickly. They'd already burned the curtains and started to melt the windows. A loud crackle exploded as the glass popped and the fire roared up.
Black smoke was everywhere. I fanned my way toward the bathroom nearly blind. The heat felt like it was going to melt my skin and the creaking frame of the shack threatened to collapse at any second.
"Koran!" I screamed.
He was still sitting at the edge of the tub. He had Stephanie's bloody, hand pressed against his face. His lips were quivering as he mumbled incoherently under his breath.
"Koran," I called again in a softer voice.
I edged my way closer to him, coughing as the smoke grew thicker. Timidly, I reached out and touched his shoulder. He jumped and spun around with bloodshot eyes.
"Koran, we have to go."
"No... no. She's sleeping, she'll get up soon."
I swallowed and took a deep breath. "She's not asleep. Look, there's a fire, we have to get out of here now," I told him as calmly as I could.
"Just leave me here. I'll bring her with me when she wakes up."
There was a loud bang in the other room as a beam fell from the ceiling. Melinda screamed my name as ash and cinders floated into the air.
"Koran!" I shouted.
Grabbing his arm, I pulled him away. He yelled and fought against me, but he couldn't get traction on the filthy floor. I literally dragged him kicking and screaming.
"Let me go! Get off of me damn it!" he snapped.
I managed to pull him into the other room where the fire was rolling across the ceiling. It moved like it had a mind of its own, like it was a thinking creature, setting a trap. The threat of mortal danger seemed to bring some sense into Koran and he awkwardly shuffled to his feet.
"I can't leave her Randall. I can't leave her," he said to me.
Another beam collapsed and the flames shot up like fireworks. The walls rattled and the rickety shack croaked like it was dying. I frowned and grabbed Koran's arm.
"We have to go. There's nothing we can do. We're all gonna die in here."
He stared back into the bathroom and wiped his face. Mumbling, he winced and started to cry some more as the flames flared engulfed the doorway to the bathroom. I pulled his arm and he reluctantly followed, but he was broken.
We rushed into the first room and bolted outside with Ashley and Melinda. The fresh air was reviving, but the storm clouds had swooped in with a vengeance. We'd traded one disaster for another.
"Where are the kids? Did you find the kids Randall?" Melinda asked.
"They're waiting on the boat, they’re okay. We need to go."
Koran took a deep breath and straightened up. He held out a pair of jeans and a t-shirt to Ashley. "I... I, I found...found you these," he stuttered.
"Thanks," Ashley whispered with a faint smile.
We turned our backs as she got dressed then started toward the water. The wind was whipping blasts of sand into our faces, but we moved quick and purposefully.
"Mom!" I could hear the boys’ voices in unison as we cleared the mangroves.
They shouted and cried out to her, nearly capsizing the boat. Alistair jumped out to help and grabbed his mom by the arm. She hugged him and kissed his cheek.
"Alistair, I told you to stay in the boat," I snapped.
"Dad, I'm fine."
Holding onto Alistair's arm, Melinda climbed inside and grabbed Charlie and David. "Are you guys okay? They didn't hurt you, did they? God I missed you, I was so scared," she rattled.
Wrapping their hands around her, they cried and smothered her with kisses. I watched them silently, thanking God that we were back together. I couldn't imagine my life without them.
Alistair turned and went to help Koran with Ashley. As soon as she saw him she fell into his arms and burst into tears. He hugged her back and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
"You...you gonna be alright?" he asked. "What happened?"
"I'm okay. I just want to get out of here."
Ashley held his arm as she cautiously stepped down the rocks. Wincing, she crawled into the raft and crouched into a ball. Alistair frowned then went back up toward the beach to grab the blanket she dropped.
The waves in the bay started to pick up and were pushing the raft from side to side. I grabbed the front of the boat then looked back for Alistair. He was standing beside Koran with his hands on his hips, looking out over the water. Koran was mumbling something to him, while he balanced on the rocks.
"Let's move," I called to them. "The storm is getting close."
I was really worried about Koran. He'd just lost his wife and I couldn't begin to think how that was going to affect him. Right now, he was in shock. He was operating without really being there and to anyone that didn't know, he seemed normal. But that was going to end soon and I didn't know him well enough to even guess what the long-term damage would be.
Just as I started to call to them again, something moved from behind the mangroves. I jumped at the sound and stared in shock. A fear gripped me like claws on the back of my neck and my voice turned to a whisper.
A shirtless man with greasy, black hair stormed toward the beach. He had a rifle in his hand and the look of menace on his face.
As he rounded the corner and shouldered his gun, I screamed at the top of my lungs in vain. Reaching into my waistband, I pulled out the pistol Koran had given me, but his gun rang out before I could even level mine.
It felt like it took a lifetime for the bullet to find it's
mark. In retaliation, I unleashed two shots from my own pistol and roared in anger. I stared helplessly from the water, unable to hold onto a single thought or action.
In slow motion, Alistair jolted forward. He collapsed into the murky froth, just as my bullets tore into the man. Watching Alistair fall was like seeing myself get shot through someone else's eyes. I felt the pain as if the searing metal had pierced my own flesh.
"Alistair no!" I screamed.
CHAPTER 29
WHATEVER TOMORROW BRINGS
The boat bounced up and down across the jolting waves. I held Alistair's head in my hands as if I could protect him from the turbulent ride, as if I could protect him from what had already been done. As if I could protect him at all.
The idea, the thought was simply ironic. I'd failed at protecting him in so many ways and now I pit my will against gravity. What could one man do, when it seemed like fate itself had turned against you?
Alistair was laying across the bottom of the boat, a bullet lodged in his hip, death nipping at his heels. His skin was cold and pale from the loss of blood and the time he spent in the icy water, meant almost certain hypothermia.
“Keep fighting Alistair, keep fighting,” I whispered to him.
Melinda had finally stopped crying. Now she simply held his hands and shivered in fear. David and Charlie looked on with confused guises. They were old enough to know that something was wrong and young enough for that idea to terrorize them.
"We're close," Koran called up to us as he maneuvered the motor.
Across the choppy, gray water I could see the mangled dock. Two of Clark's men, Hunter and Shipley were standing on it, staring out at us. More soldiers were rushing down the walkway from the office buildings. I was sure they'd been expecting our return for some time. Clark had pitched this as some easy, over in a jiffy mission, but he was so very, very wrong.
"Dad," Alistair groaned. "Dad, I'm cold."
I'd already covered him with my jacket and tried to push the sides up under him to keep out the wind. The fact that he was soaking wet didn't really help, but there wasn't much else I could do besides hug him and pray.
Deconstruction Series Omnibus [Books 1-6] Page 16