The Lookout: A Gripping Survival Thriller

by Hunt, Jack

  Erin stood there speechless, her eyes bouncing between Kelly and Hank.

  That’s when a dark figure emerged from behind her.

  Kelly cried out, “Erin. NO!”

  Too late.

  Travis punched the corkscrew into Erin’s neck, twisting it and staring at Kelly. Erin’s jaw widened, no words escaping her lips. Her knees buckled even as Travis continued to screw the metal into her neck while his other hand held her head.

  Though she was having difficulty breathing and controlling a runaway heart, Kelly’s survival instincts kicked in. She saw the sauna door, still a few feet away. Her only place of protection — from the elements, from him.

  Travis yanked free the barbaric tool of death as if extracting a cork from a bottle; blood gushed down Erin’s neck as his eyes darted to the door.

  As if knowing what she was about to do, he burst forward at the same time she did. Everything in that moment slowed, like having tunnel vision she saw nothing but that door.

  Kelly raced forward only see him at the last second.

  She slipped in as he shot out a hand and grasped her long hair, jerking her head back. Kelly cried out as a frantic struggle ensued. She had one hand on the door handle, which she slammed closed on his arm, and the other trying to free her hair.

  Wedged between the sauna rocks were long tongs used for picking them up. One end glowed a deep orange. Using every bit of strength she could summon, Kelly drove her feet against the ground and held the door against his arm while reaching out for the tongs. Screaming in agony, she extended her free arm. Her fingers raked the air, inches away from the handle. “C’mon!”

  She slammed the door even harder causing him to release his grip just briefly. It gave her just enough space to latch on to the wooden handle. Snatching the tongs she brought the hot end down on his hand, searing his skin. It sizzled as Travis let out a gut-wrenching scream and yanked free his hand, allowing her to force the door shut and drive the lock home.

  As she looked at him through the tiny window, Travis drove his hand into the cold snow for relief. His head tilted back, his mouth widened as he writhed, his expression a mixture of pain and anger. He locked his eyes on her and rose to his feet, jaw clenched. Travis scanned behind him and tramped over to where Erin was. He picked up the corkscrew and waded over to the door. Holding the bloody steel between his fingers he pounded the window causing it to shatter, sending shards of glass all over her.

  “It didn’t have to be this way, Kelly,” he said leering through the window. She could tell he was contemplating putting his hand through and seeing if he could reach the lock but she was still holding the scorching hot tongs in a threatening manner. He gritted his teeth and disappeared out of view.

  A cloud of white whooshed through the opening, filling the inside with large snowflakes. Panting hard, trying to regain a breath, Kelly listened intently.

  There was noise outside but she couldn’t make out what it was.

  Inching forward, careful not to get too close to the small opening, she peered out. Where are you?

  Then without warning, he shot into view, wielding the axe that had been embedded in Hank’s neck. Crack. Crack. Crack. Multiple times he struck the door. “One way or another you’re coming out of there,” he said between booming strikes.

  The door was thick, really thick as she didn’t want the sauna losing heat so she only used the best, but it wasn’t axe proof. Even the thickest trees fell.

  Think. Think. Think fast!

  Her gaze darted to the hot rocks. Doing the only thing she could while trapped inside, Kelly latched on to a hot rock with the tongs and tossed it out the open window at him. Several missed but soon she hit the mark making him even more angry. One after the other she tossed the scorching rocks, forcing him back. He stood at a distance, waiting, axe at his side, blood dripping from its head, staining the snow.

  “Why are you doing this?” he asked as if he was the victim. He genuinely seemed confused. She shook her head. He was mentally sick. He had to be.

  “You killed her.”

  “She would have told.”

  “You killed her!” Kelly cried out with burning hatred. Tears flooded down her cheeks as she begged him to leave. “Just go. Go! Please!”

  “I can’t. You know I can’t. Not after all we’ve been through?”

  “What are you talking about? You’re out of your mind,” she croaked, her voice now even worse. Losing her temper she reached for more rocks and lobbed them out, each one glowing red. They sank into snow, hissing and releasing steam.

  “Eventually you’ll have to come out of there. You’ll run out of rocks, you’ll get hungry and…” He looked off to where Erin would have been. “And no one else is coming.”

  She couldn’t believe how stupid he was. Did he really think that Hank’s wife, or Bryce wouldn’t worry? That they wouldn’t come out themselves or call the cops? Her eyes darted back and forth, her mind making connections.

  No, that’s not what he was saying. He wanted them to come, he’d kill them just like he did Erin. Travis shook his head at her and walked out of sight. Kelly cautiously moved to the opening.

  She heard him curse, losing his mind, crashing the axe into the logs before attempting to hack his way into the sauna through the far side wall. The sauna shook with every strike.

  Not wasting time, Kelly pulled Hank’s phone from her pocket and powered it on, hoping to God that it wasn’t password protected. It took a few seconds before she was staring at the main screen. It wasn’t locked. She breathed a sigh of relief and thanked God until she saw there was no signal. “No. No. No! Shit!”

  Outside Travis continued his outburst of violence.

  The wall echoed, the outside split and she knew it would only be a matter of time before he hacked through the first layer of paneled wood, the insulation and then the second layer.

  She considered slipping out while he was going nuts but the chances of escape were low. Instead, she held up the cell phone and walked around trying to get a signal. “Give me one bar. One bar. Please, God. Please,” she pleaded. She wasn’t religious, a woman given to going to church or reading religious texts, but neither was she an atheist. Could she even get a signal inside the sauna? She’d never used a phone in there. With all the insulation, would it even work? She just needed one bar. To make a connection. To call the cops.

  Kelly stared at the window and knew what she had to do.

  She raced over and stuck it out, risking her own hand. If she hadn’t heard him cracking the axe into the wall, she wouldn’t have done it but Kelly figured he wouldn’t see her on the other side.

  Still, nothing.

  “Please God.”

  More seconds passed.

  Then as if by some miracle, one bar appeared.

  Hope filled her chest, as she punched in the number for emergency services. Keeping the volume down as Travis continued pounding, her mouth went dry. “C’mon. C’mon,” she said.

  “Benewah County emergency services, operator 28, what’s the location of your emergency?”

  “Hello. Hello. This is Kelly Danvers.”

  “Ma’am, you’ll need to speak up.”

  Her damaged voice and the howling wind were making it virtually impossible for the operator to hear Kelly. And yet she couldn’t speak loud or Travis would hear, and she couldn’t pull the phone into the sauna out of fear of losing the connection.

  “Kelly Danvers,” she cried out as loud as she could while keeping the phone close to the window. Right at that moment two things happened: The call dropped as the signal was lost, and Travis heard her. He came into view, wielding the axe.

  Her hand shot in just as the blade crashed against the door inches from her.

  12

  Half an hour earlier, Lucas Hurst knew he shouldn’t have had that third cup of coffee. His heart was racing even though he hadn’t exerted himself beyond patrolling the streets of Emery.

  Outside the snow created a swirling tun
nel before him.

  His SUV windshield wipers were slapping back and forth at full speed and hardly making any impact. While he wasn’t reading anything into his run-in with Kelly Danvers, he would have been lying to say that he didn’t think there was something amiss with Cole’s statement. He’d read it several times, and although it was plausible, something didn’t ring true. Call it a gut instinct, an inner bullshit meter if you will, but Lucas liked to think he could sense when someone wasn’t being truthful.

  Having been an officer for close to thirty years he’d seen it all — the good, the bad and the ugly. It was all there. Cocky officers were notorious, and those that abused power were in every department in the country, even if their ability to keep their negative behavior on the down-low had been made more difficult since the introduction of body cameras. The losers still found ways around it.

  Small-town departments really couldn’t afford the cost of equipment. Body cameras were a great way to win the trust of the public but also a surefire way to burn through a budget, with some departments paying upwards of fifteen grand a year for equipment and video storage.

  Still, there was always a smidgen of truth to rumors.

  Over the past year, word had spread of Cole’s misconduct. Of course, none of it could be substantiated but there was enough murmuring to give him cause for concern. Some of it was run-of-the-mill stuff, internal workplace bullying, one accusation of unwanted sexual advances, but mostly it was being a little heavy-handed with locals.

  Perhaps that’s why Lucas decided to roll past his home later that evening.

  For someone who was meant to be hunting, he sure left a lot of lights on at his home. He drove past a few times before pulling into the driveway. He figured if Cole asked, he’d say the visit was one of concern for his state of mind, and that he knew how separation could send people over the edge.

  No sooner had he got out of his vehicle than a door opened. His familiar face, one slightly less clean cut than in weeks gone by, peered out.

  “Lucas?” Cole asked, squinting into the whiteout conditions.

  The weather was unforgiving, swirling up ice crystals into his face as he jogged over, tilting into the wind. “Cole.”

  “Come on in.”

  He widened the door and Lucas entered a dimly lit home.

  “Sorry about the mess.” Cole picked up handfuls of mail, some of which was open, and set it down on the counter. Lucas glanced at it; most were from Kelly’s agent.

  “That’s a lot of mail.”

  “Oh yeah, fan mail. You should see her inbox. I was meant to forward all that to her new address once I get it from her lawyer.” He turned on a few lights to brighten the interior. The home was modest for someone of Kelly’s fame. The neighborhood, though, was on the higher end. Cole was wearing a thick white sweater, black jeans and boots. He’d grown a full beard and looked a little red in the eyes as if having cried or consumed weed. “Everything okay?”

  “Yeah, yeah,” Lucas replied looking around the house. “Just thought I would swing by and see how you’re holding up.”

  “Ah, well… things could be better but that’s separation for you.”

  “And a heavy internal investigation,” Lucas added.

  “Right.” Cole cleared his throat and motioned with a wave to head into the kitchen.

  “Not hunting?” Lucas asked.

  Cole tossed some empty microwave dinner boxes into an overfilled trash can. He tied up the bag and headed for the side door. “Ah, decided to return early, you know with the weather and all getting bad,” he replied. A gust of wind blew in, bringing with it a fine layer of snow that fell a few feet from the door. Cole slung the bag out into the night and pushed the door closed. “Coffee?”

  “I’ll pass. Had a few too many.”

  “Oh, I hear you. Well, I was going to make something hot anyway. You don’t mind?”

  “Go ahead.”

  Lucas took a seat at the breakfast counter. A single plate with a few crumbs was in the sink nearby, along with several cups. The blinds were closed and there was a musty smell to the home as if no one had cracked a window in weeks. Nearby was a dog-eared copy of Kelly’s novel, A Call to War. Lucas scooped it up and thumbed through it while Cole fished out a bag from the cupboard. “She wrote one hell of a book, didn’t she?”

  Cole cast a glance his way and frowned as if he didn’t like him touching it. “I guess. You read it?”

  “Nope.”

  “Well, you’re not alone. Might have sold millions but it’s not everyone’s taste.”

  “You?”

  “Have I read it?” Cole asked, as if it was a dumb question. He leaned back against the counter and chuckled. “When would I have the time?”

  “You know they carry it in audio.”

  “Expect they do,” he said in an unenthusiastic way. Lucas set the book aside and surveyed the kitchen. It was modern: tiled floors, tiled walls, glass and oak cabinets and granite counters. The appliances were all top of the line. “Certainly afforded you a comfortable life.”

  “As does my job,” Cole said defensively.

  Lucas got the impression he didn’t like living in Kelly’s shadow. Although it wasn’t his business, he was curious to see what he made of her success. A person could tell a lot about another by the way they handled the success of others even if they didn’t think it was warranted. “Must be hard,” Lucas said looking over at him.

  “With what?”

  “Kelly getting all that fan mail, all that attention. I certainly could see how that could get under your skin. Anyone’s skin for that matter,” he added, not wanting to directly point at him. He shrugged, turning to pour boiling water into his mug.

  “It’s short-lived. It will eventually go away.”

  “Really? I got the impression her book was only gaining momentum.”

  “Nah, that’s where you’d be wrong,” Cole said reaching for a spoon and adding some sugar. “Every book has a shelf life. Sure, you’ll get a resurgence in interest if it gets turned into a movie but I doubt that will ever happen.”

  “Why not?”

  Cole stirred; the metal clanged against the mug.

  “Read the book. You’ll understand.”

  “So you have read it.”

  He snorted, caught in his own lie. “No. I got the Cliff Notes. You know, to stop Kelly from nagging at me that I never read or appreciated any of her work.”

  “Did you?”

  “Of course I appreciated it. Look around you, this house wasn’t paid for with my wages. You should know that.”

  A cop’s salary wasn’t as dire as he made out but then again, in comparison to a bestseller that was being touted as the next Great American Novel, maybe it appeared that way.

  “You sound jaded,” Lucas said.

  Cole laughed into his drink. “Me? Please. It’s just words on paper — heck, words on screen nowadays.” He sucked air between his teeth and nursed his drink with both hands. “There might be a few gullible folks sucking down her words like Kool-Aid but where’s the real payoff? Huh? The satisfaction of coming home and feeling like the decisions you made really helped people. Can’t get that writing a book.”

  Lucas found his reply odd. “I don’t know, books, music, films… they make us think. In turn that can lead to change.”

  “Yeah, whatever,” Cole said dismissively, thumbing toward the fridge. “You sure I can’t get you a drink?”

  “I’m fine.” Lucas breathed in deeply. “So… what have you been up to? I can’t imagine having all this time on my hands.”

  Cole took a sip of his drink. “Yeah, it screws with your mind but I stay busy.”

  “Doing what?”

  He shrugged. “To-dos around the house. Things I never got to before. Surprising what you can get done when you have a little time on your hands.”

  “Yeah. I bet.” Lucas stared at him. “By the way, you wouldn’t have seen Kelly’s dog, would you?” Cole screwed up his face as if
confused. “Well, it’s just because we got a report that the dog is missing.”

  “Huh. Go figure. No. Why? Is she back?”

  When he didn’t reply, Cole smirked. “She’s up at the lookout, isn’t she?” He ran a hand over his jawline. “Let me guess, she’s blaming me, am I getting warmer?”

  “Look, you don’t know anything, do you?”

  “No but I’ll be the first to let you know if I do. But here’s the thing, I’ve been too busy fighting for my career,” he said in a firm tone. “You know that thing she tried to destroy. And then of course there is my reputation.” He laughed. “Well, that’s shot. No chance of getting that back.”

  “I wouldn’t exactly go that far, Cole.”

  “No? That’s because you have an exemplary, untarnished track record. I did as well until she walked into the station and turned the table on me. Can you imagine that? After all these years. After what I’ve done for her.”

  Lucas could hear the disdain in his tone.

  It was to be expected with anyone going through a separation but his seemed more than normal. Nowhere in his response could Lucas hear any empathy or understanding for what Kelly had gone through. It was as if all he cared about was how this would look — which, to be fair to Lucas, he understood that. The only thing cops really had was their reputation. Lose that and their credibility was gone.

  Lucas drummed his fingers. “I know. I read your statement.”

  Cole shook his head, looking off toward the window, lost in thought. “You know, Lucas, things used to be good between Kelly and me. Hell, I worshipped the ground that woman walked on but it wasn’t enough. I was never enough. She always wanted more. It’s amazing how a little fame can change everything.”

  “I don’t know, it looked as if she was sharing the perks.”

  Cole looked back at him and chuckled. “What, this house? It don’t mean anything. It’s just stuff.” He ran a hand over his lips and shook his head. “It doesn’t mean anything without her and well, that ship has now sailed.” He sighed.

  If Lucas wasn’t mistaken he almost sensed that Cole regretted what had taken place, whether that was because it was now affecting his career and freedom or because in hindsight he could he see his own faults, that was questionable.