THE CRUEL SEVEN

by Terence Mitford

  “But why didn’t he jump as well?”

  “He did. We both got out. If we hadn’t, we would have died there and then.”

  “Are you saying Mike survived the accident?”

  “Yeah, but it wasn’t an accident.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “We were forced off the road.”

  “By what?”

  “You mean by who. I’ve driven that road a thousand times and know every inch of it. I know when to shift down, when to brake, when to turn the wheel.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “We were rammed from behind.”

  Lisa’s mind immediately flashed back to the damage on the front of the SUV. Then she nodded. “I think I can guess who the other driver was.”

  Larry tightened his lips for a moment, then said. “It was Luke. I thought the first collision was an accident and that maybe he wasn’t used to the SUV. But when he rammed us the second time, I knew. It was stronger than the first and it was sustained. He kept his foot on the gas and pushed us off the road.”

  “Did you actually see Luke behind the wheel?”

  “I’ll never forget his face in my rearview mirror.” He paused and seemed to study her. “You don’t seem surprised.”

  “When you told me it wasn’t an accident, I just knew it was him.”

  “I know who, but I don’t know why? Did something happen at the McCrawley’s place?”

  “How well do you know them?”

  “They’re my closest neighbors, but the only time I see them is when their truck breaks down and they need a lift into town.”

  “It has been out of action for a while. At least, that’s what they told me. But now I’m not so sure. They also told me their nearest neighbor was fifteen miles away. So it was clearly a ploy to keep me here.” She hesitated a moment and then continued. “But that’s not the reason I wasn’t surprised to hear Luke tried to kill you and Mike.”

  She began at the beginning and told Larry about the plane crash, about finding the house in the woods, and about the drug traffickers, the sheriff, and the killings.

  He listened, mouth ajar, while just staring at her.

  After she finished telling him about the girls the sheriff had brought out there, and about Carlos and his little sister, Larry shook his head. His face had turned a lighter shade of pale, and it took him a moment to respond. “I’ve seen a lot in my time. I served in the military and witnessed a fair amount of death, but this is something else. To think all that was happening a few miles from my place.” He sat staring at the ground for a few moments.

  Lisa took a deep breath. “So what happened to Mike, did he die at the scene?”

  Larry snapped out of his semi-trance. “No, he dragged himself over to where I was lying. We were both beaten up by the rocks as we slid halfway down the slope, but nothing was broken.” Larry raised his arms and showed her his elbows. They appeared to have had the skin ripped away but were now healing over. “Mike was the same, so I thought he’d be okay. It took us all day, to drag ourselves back up to the road. We rested for a while, and Mike could stand, but only with my help. So I left him and walked back to my place to get the barrow I use to move logs around. It was only a couple of miles each way, so I got back to Mike in just over two hours.”

  Larry took a breath and sighed. “Mike was unconscious. That’s when I saw the gash on the back of his head. So I put him on the barrow, and instead of taking him back to my place, I wheeled him into town. I walked all night, but when the medics examined him, they only found a weak pulse. They took him to the emergency room and told me not to wait around because they didn’t think he was going to make it. But I did wait. Until a doctor came out to tell me he wasn’t responding, so they were planning to turn off the life support. After they patched me up, I got a lift back home. I’m sorry to have to tell you all this, Lisa.”

  Lisa needed another moment.

  Larry reached out and gently squeezed her hand in his. “Are you okay?”

  She looked at Larry and gave a slow nod of her head. “When I stood on that mountain road looking down, it was obvious no one could have survived the impact of your truck hitting the bottom of that ravine and the fire that followed. But recently I had a feeling deep inside that Mike was still alive.” She gave out a long sigh. “It must just have been wishful-thinking.”

  “If it helps, I don’t think he was in any pain in the end. He just faded away.”

  “That’s good to know.” She gave Larry a muted smile. “I’m sorry you got involved. Did you tell the police what Luke did?”

  “No. I would have if I’d known Harvey was dead. But I knew he was way too friendly with the McCrawleys. So I figured it was better to let Luke think I was dead. Then I could pay him a little surprise visit on my terms. I was on my way to do just that when I stumbled on you and him.” Larry pointed to Frankie, who was still prone on the ground. “Which one is he?”

  “That’s Frankie.”

  Larry stood up and went to check on him. He rolled him over, revealing the bloody wound on the left side of his ribcage.

  Even from her position a few feet away, she could see his chest rising and falling. He looked unconscious but alive. “Frankie’s not dead, is he?”

  Larry shook his head.

  Lisa walked over and picked up Larry’s rifle. “Is it loaded?”

  Larry glanced over his shoulder. “Yeah, careful where you point that thing.”

  She stood over Frankie and aimed the rifle at his head. “We can’t leave him alive.”

  Larry raised a hand. “Wait-a-minute. Have you ever shot anyone before?”

  “No, but don’t worry, even I can’t miss from here.”

  “I’m not worried about you missing.”

  “What then?”

  “Taking a life is not as easy as you think.”

  “It seems easy enough to me. I just pull the trigger and there’ll be one less monster in the world.”

  “It can stay with you for the rest of your life.” Larry stood up and held out his hands. “Give it to me.”

  “I just told you what he was part of and what they did to the girls, to Carlos and his sister, and what they had planned for me. He needs to die.”

  “We can turn them in.”

  “Do you have transport to get us into town?”

  Larry shook his head. “We’ll have to walk.”

  Lisa hesitated. She had the means to end the existence of one of the most evil people she had ever encountered, but maybe Larry was right. Maybe prison would be just as good as death for someone like him. She handed the rifle to Larry.

  He gave her a reassuring nod and a look that said she had made the right choice. “Now, we need to use his belt to tie his hands, and I’ll use mine to bind his feet. Then we can leave him here and walk into town.”

  Before Larry could turn around, there was movement behind him. Frankie reached out and grabbed the knife from the ground, then he jumped up and lunged at Lisa.

  There was no time for Larry to turn and raise his rifle, but he stepped in front of Lisa, blocking Frankie’s charge, while shouting for her to run.

  Lisa watched in horror as Frankie twice thrust the knife into Larry’s back.

  The old man staggered forward, stared at Lisa with wide eyes, and thrust the rifle out towards her. “Take it.”

  Lisa grabbed the weapon, stepped back, and raised it to her shoulder. Frankie was just a few feet away, glaring at her with the knife gripped in his right hand and his left clenched into a fist.

  Larry dropped to his knees, then fell face down and rolled onto his side. He looked up at Lisa. “Now you can shoot him.”

  She didn’t need Larry’s approval or permission. If Frankie could stab an old man in the back, prison was too good for him.

  She squeezed the trigger, and the rifle barked its thunder and a single piece of lead ripped through Frankie’s chest.

  He dropped the knife, staggered back, and stared at her with a loo
k that told her he knew he was dying.

  But Lisa watched him closely, looking for any sign he could still be a threat. Then a couple of seconds later, she relaxed and lowered the rifle as Frankie fell backwards like a tree being felled. And like a tree, there was no sound until he hit the dirt. Then he groaned as the air rushed out from his lungs.

  This time, he lay still. No rise and fall of his chest told Lisa what she wanted to know. He was dead.

  She dropped to her knees next to Larry.

  He was struggling to breathe, but managed a few words. “I guess I’m not as fast as I used to be.” He gripped her hand in his. “Go. Get out of here while you still can.” Then his hand relaxed and fell away from hers. And he breathed out for the last time.

  Lisa cradled Larry’s head on her lap for what seemed like hours but was probably only a few minutes, before she eased herself away and covered his head and chest with his jacket. Then she turned, and after confirming Frankie was no longer part of this world, she scanned the area all around her.

  She was alone. But for how long? Had the others heard the rifle shot? Were they on their way? Larry’s last words echoed in her mind. Get out of here while you still can.

  She looked to her right, to the continuation of the route she had walked with Frankie. It was a northerly direction and the way to safety and freedom. Then she looked to her left, to the trail back to the house, and to danger, captivity, and eventual death.

  An internal struggle now raged inside her head. The Lisa from a week ago, and the personality she had lived with for twenty-six years, wanted to run away as fast as she could without looking back, and without ever having to lay eyes on the McCrawley family again. But now there was another side to her, and a new voice that, before this trip, hadn’t existed. And it was a voice that wouldn’t let her move on with her life until justice had been done.

  Luke had killed Mike and had lied to her about that fateful journey, and he was the reason she would never see her husband again. Then there was Erica, the head of this dysfunctional family and no doubt the architect behind their evil way of life. Next she thought about Ed, Freddie, Summer, and Billy. Luke had admitted they were all involved in the deaths of Carlos, his younger sister, and the other girls.

  She looked back and forth and nodded to herself. There was no dilemma. Not really. The new Lisa was calling the shots now and was more determined than the old. And she could never live with herself if she ran away.

  So she knew what she had to do, but didn’t know if she would succeed, or if she would even live to see another day. But she had to try. Because allowing this family to survive and carry on their sick life style would be worse than death for her. And even though she had spent the last couple of days praying for an opportunity to escape the family’s clutches, it was now far from her mind. Because now she not only wanted revenge, she needed it.

  Like a warrior preparing for battle, she picked up the knife, wiped the blade on Frankie’s discarded shirt, and tucked it inside the waistband of her shorts. It wasn’t as big as the hunting knife she had brought with her from the plane, but as that was still in the green survival bag hanging on a hook on the back of the front door, this one was better than nothing. And it would just be there for backup, because Larry’s rifle was her weapon of choice.

  She pushed back her hair, took a couple of steps, and picked it up. She was no firearms expert, but she had gone along to a local shooting range occasionally with a friend and her father, who was a keen hunter. So she had fired rifles before, and although at the range she’d been shooting at paper targets, she had just seen first hand their ability to kill.

  The rifle in her hands reminded her of those she had seen in the many western movies she had watched with her dad while growing up. In the films they referred to them as Winchester repeating rifles, and although she didn’t know the caliber of bullet it fired, from the hole in Frankie’s chest, she was confident it was fit for her intended purpose. And they seemed to have done a good job on the bad guys in those movies.

  After one more glance back at the body of Larry, the sweet old man who had just saved her life, she set off.

  Left.

  Towards the house.

  48

  LISA

  Lisa surveyed the scene from behind a tree.

  The sun’s rays drenched the house and all around it in a bright, warm glow. A gentle breeze massaged the leaves as it fluttered through the treetops, punctuated occasionally by the delicate bird tweets in the surrounding canopy.

  It was a beautiful day. Too beautiful for what had just happened. And too beautiful for what was about to happen.

  She focused on the house, and in particular, the front door. Behind it was a cruel family with an evil lifestyle. One which saw other human beings as theirs to use and control and dispose of, however and whenever they wish.

  Now it was down to her to change that by ridding the world of their brand of cruelty. Because no doubt she was the only living person outside the family who knew their gruesome secrets. So if she dies in the next few minutes, there will be no one to stop them. They will be free to carry on, and many more innocent deaths would follow.

  She glanced down at the Winchester in her hands, and remembering all those movies, she ratcheted the lever out and back to eject the spent cartridge casing and reload a new round into the breech. She didn’t know how many rounds the rifle could hold, nor how many Larry had loaded into the weapon and wasn’t sure how to check. So she just had to hope it was enough for the task ahead.

  Until she had heard Larry’s description of how Luke had forced them off the road, and as a result, killed Mike, and then witnessed the old man murdered in front of her, her only thoughts had been of survival. She had never imagined herself as some kind of vigilante. In fact, anyone who knew her would laugh at the mere suggestion of it. Yet here she was, concealed, armed, and ready to do just that. She had killed one, and she was ready to kill six more.

  Although there were no targets in view, Lisa raised the rifle to her shoulder and pointed it at the front door. She had no plan and no idea how this would play out. But the only way she was leaving this place was if the McCrawleys were dead. Every last one of them.

  The door to the house opened and Ed strode out. In an almost frame by frame repeat of the first time she had laid eyes on him, he stretched, stepped off the veranda, and strode up to the axe embedded in the top of the tree stump.

  She watched him down the sights of her rifle and nodded to herself. If she survives this day, never again will she dismiss her instincts as easily as she had done on that first evening she had arrived here. Which now seemed like a lifetime ago.

  As Ed swung the axe with his usual ferocity, she took another moment to appreciate the nature all around her. The sun, the trees, the birds, the clean air, free from the cities’ pollution. Could this beautiful day be her last?

  She thought about this family’s victims again and sighed. The girls, Carlos, his sister. They didn’t get to choose when they died. They had no say in their fate. They were disposed of and no doubt forgotten, like used rags.

  She gritted her teeth. Today will be the family’s day of reckoning. The day she holds them accountable. And the day their victims get justice.

  She stepped out from the trees. Just like she’d done on that first day. But this time was different. This time, she was armed. And this time, she knew who she was dealing with.

  Ed froze with the axe above his head. He seemed to focus on her for a second and then looked beyond her into the trees. It was clear what he was looking for. Or who.

  Then he lowered the axe and shifted his gaze back to Lisa.

  She walked towards him, the rifle high, and with him still at the end of her sights. “Remember me?”

  He grinned at her. “How good is your aim?”

  “Good enough.”

  He sniggered. “I bet a little girl like you doesn’t know one end of that rifle from the other.”

  “Frankie wouldn’t
agree with you.”

  Ed glanced over her shoulder again. “Where is he?”

  “He won’t be joining us. Ever. He had an appointment with hell. And just so you know. I have made one for you and the rest of your sick family. But don’t worry. After what you’ve done, you’ll no doubt get VIP membership down there.”

  Ed raised the axe across his chest and strode forward.

  Lisa nestled the rifle into her cheek and squeezed the trigger.

  The bullet ripped through Ed’s left shoulder and stopped him in his tracks. He stumbled, grimaced, glanced down for a moment, then looked back up and snarled at her. “Lucky shot, but I’m going to chop you into little pieces and feed you to the chickens. Should give the eggs a nice flavor for a couple of weeks.” He rushed forward.

  Lisa almost tripped as she stepped back. An instinctive reaction to his aggression. But just in time, she remembered to ratchet the lever and fire another round. This one hit him square in his chest and stopped his advance again. He stood for a moment as if frozen in time. Then his knees buckled and he crashed face down into the dirt.

  Before the gun smoke had cleared, the house door burst open, and Freddie ran out with a rifle in hand. As Lisa turned to face him, he fired off two shots.

  They whistled past her head, and although the shock almost stopped her heart, the bullets missed her, giving her time to fire off a couple of her own before running for cover behind the stone wall of the well.

  She raised the rifle over the wall and fired three more shots at Freddie, who was out in the open, struggling to reload his bolt-action rifle. One of her rounds struck him in the side of his head, and a fraction of a second later he crumpled to the ground, his life switched off in an instant.

  As Lisa studied his lifeless body, she realized why Luke was the hunter in the family. Freddie’s marksmanship had been nonexistent. Thankfully.

  She focused on the front door, waiting to see who would come out next between Erica, Summer, Billy, and Luke.

  But nothing moved, and there were no sounds that could be attributed to the four remaining killers.