“We ain’t stupid,” Derek sputtered. “We know the risk. We talked about it all day.”
“I’m sure you did, Derek, but I hate what I am. I would much rather be like you,” I said.
“And that can’t happen, right?” Bo said. “But we can be like you. Then we could be a real family.”
I looked from one child to the other, baffled by what they were suggesting. I shook my head, and continued. “Look, we shouldn’t even be talking about such things.” I started walking back toward the house. “Burkett’s only a few miles from here, so let’s go.”
“What if this Martin ain’t anywhere to be found,” Brandon said sidestepping to keep up with me.
“What difference does that make?” I asked, not hesitating in my stride.
“A lot, if you want to help your friends in Cuba.” That stopped me.
“Listen to me, Brandon,” I said, turning to face him straight on. “This means death, real death. I would have to drink you dry, feed you my blood, and only hope that it would work. I may be a lot of things, but crazy is not one of them.”
“All I’m saying is to think on it,” he said. “Don’t just blow us off. You may not have wanted this change, but we do. This world ain’t been nothing but shit to us.”
“Yeah, and doing what you ask means you would never know if the future could have been better.” He started to say more, but I held my hand up to stop him. “Enough, Brandon, alright? That goes for all of you. I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”
They all stared at me as if wanting to press on, but they didn’t. I breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you. Now, let’s get on to Burkett.”
I was emotionally drained from all this talk of madness. We drove in silence, and I was grateful. I didn’t need more worries on top of all my other problems. We were now close enough to see light’s glowing through windows of the small houses on the outskirts of Burkett, and from what I could guess, only about three miles or so from the cemetery. My heart was back in my throat, and it felt like I would faint from the anticipation that rushed through my body.
As we approached the entrance of the cemetery, I told Bo to stop.
“You guys stay here,” I said. “I need to do this on my own.” They said nothing, and Bo slowly pulled the car to a stop. I got out, closed the door, and took a deep breath.
I started walking, until I stood in the very place that I was brought when this never-ending nightmare began. I remember watching Martin move the stone door with ease, and the way he bowed for me to go first.
I shook off the memory, and started moving the stone door. Dear God, Please help me find him. The door was heavy, but more awkward than anything. I had it moved far enough to slip in, but once I was inside, I realized that despite my superior vision, it was just too dark in the crypt to see. I would need matches to light the candles that were here before. I heard the little ones talking, and it was obvious that they had moved closer. I waited until I heard the dry grass crunching under their feet, then said, “Does anyone have matches.” They all jumped, startled by my hearing their approach.
“I do,” Derek said.
“Stupid, you’re supposed to be quiet,” Bo said, slugging Derek in the arm.
“It’s alright,” I said. “I already knew you were there. I could hear you walking. Well, how about those matches?”
“Sure,” Derek replied. “You want me to bring them to ya... in there?”
I went to the opening, and stuck out my arm. When I felt his hand touch mine, I grabbed him, and yanked him into the crypt and he started screaming.
“Is this what you want, Derek? To live in the graveyard, sleeping right next to rotting, worm-infested corpses? Well, is it Derek?” I asked, with his terrified face mere inches from mine.
“If you were with me,” he said very quiet.
“What am I going to do with you?” It was worth a shot, but scaring them sure as heck wasn’t going to work. By then, the others had crowded around the door.
“You okay, Derek?” Brandon asked.
“Yeah,” Derek slowly replied giggling nervously. “I might need to change my shorts though.”
I struck a match, and lit the largest candle. The inside of the crypt glowed in the candlelight, and the first thing that caught my eye was the small golden box, sitting on top of a handwritten note. I reached out, touching the box lightly with my fingertips.
“Would ya’ll give me a few minutes, please?”
“Come on, boys,” Ashley said knowingly. “She needs to be alone.”
She pulled the others back, and I watched them leave. When they were gone, I gently picked up the box. I held it, unopened, as I picked up the letter and started reading. It said:
My dearest Renee,
I am so sorry I was not able to protect you. I know of those that took you, and I will never stop searching for you, my love. I hold in my hand the gift that once waited for you in the box you hold now. I will honor you with my life, and will return it to you when once again our hearts beat as one. Please forgive me for letting you down. I vow to take the life of anyone who brings you harm. My search will start in Cuba, the one place I know that Rebecca will return.
No matter how much time has passed, if you are reading this, do as I ask and stay where you are. I will return, Renee. I am truly sorry about your family. I, too, was attacked and left for dead. We shall speak about all things in time. You will always be with me my love. I will find you, I swear.
Yours forever,
Martin
I stood staring at the letter for a few minutes, one line repeating over and over in my mind, I am truly sorry about your family. The note fell to my feet, as I turned and walked in the direction of my grave, as if on autopilot.
“Renee, are you okay?” Ashley asked as I passed, but my gait never slowed. My mind was overloaded, and I couldn’t stop until I saw what I needed to see. Then there it was.
Erected in front of me was a large stone memorial, with several small, flat headstones close to its base, one of which was my own.
“No, no, this can’t be. There should only be two,” I said aloud, not caring if I was overheard.
I was all but numb, my feet frozen in their stride. I leaned in closer, near enough to see the names of my parents and all my siblings etched into the stone. The only name missing was Johnny. I put my hands over my eyes, and pressed into them, trying to wipe the picture from my mind. I hoped against hope that what I’d just seen was some kind of illusion, a trick of some kind. But when I opened my eyes, the gravestones were still there, glistening in the moonlight.
“How,” I uttered. “Why?” I repeated this over and over, unable to come to grips with what I was seeing. I felt a hand touch my shoulder, and the shock finally won. I fainted, collapsing to the ground.
When I came to, I was back in the crypt, surrounded by the only family that I had left. Ashley was a mess. She must have been crying the entire time I was out, because her face was mottled, red, and puffy. I sat up slowly, and was almost knocked over when she threw her arms around my neck.
“I was so afraid for you,” she cried. “Renee, why didn’t you tell us?”
“Because I didn’t know,” I said, pushing her back a little. I forced myself to smile, to ensure her that I was okay. “We have to find out what happened. I’ll need your help. Everyone here believes that I am dead.”
“What do you want us to do?” Brandon asked. “We’ll do anything, just ask. We’re all we have, and we won’t let you down.” The others nodded in agreement.
“While there’s still time, I want to go to the farm tonight,” I said.
Bo looked a little uneasy. “Are you sure you want to do that?” he asked.
“Yeah, I have to see it for myself,” I said. “And while I’m sleeping tomorrow, you guys can go around and try to find out something, anything.”
“But what will we say?” Derek asked.
“Look, just figure it out, alright?” I snapped. Derek’s eyes widened,
filled with surprise and hurt. “I’m sorry, Derek. I didn’t mean to snap, I’m just not myself right now. Just... just tell folks that you’re cousins of the Crocker family.”
“Okay,” Derek said quietly. “Sure, I can do that.”
“Yeah, we can do it,” Ashley added.
I stood and started out the door, with the four children in tow. When we reached the car, I hopped into the driver’s seat. “I know a back way,” I said, starting it up. When the others had climbed aboard, I headed toward the farm. There was an old road that passed close the Pecan Bayou creek, and it was well hidden from the main road. I parked the car about half a mile from the farm.
“Come on. We can walk from here.”
“You mean, you don’t care if we come along?” Derek asked.
“Like Brandon said, we’re all we have now, so come on,” I said with a little smile.
With that, the five of us were off. We came around the bend in the road, expecting to see the beautiful little Crocker farm, but what remained was no longer recognizable as my home. The entire farm was burned to the ground. Even my father’s truck sat tarnished in the embers that used to be the old barn.
“Do you think this is how they died?” asked Derek.
“Shut up, Derek,” Bo demanded. “Just shut the hell up.”
“Sorry,” Derek said, lowering his head.
“No, Bo, it’s alright,” I said. “I don’t know if this is how they died. Maybe y’all will have some luck finding out tomorrow.” I stood there for a moment, staring at what used to be the most beautiful farm in the county.
“One more thing,” I said, after a few minutes of silence. “Johnny’s name was the only one not on the tombstone. I need y’all to ask around, see if you can find out what happened to him, okay?”
“But didn’t you...” Ashley said, her voice trailing off when she couldn’t bear to say the words “kill him.”
“I thought I did,” I said. “But maybe he survived. Maybe, just maybe, he was only hurt, and was in the hospital or something when all this happened.” I said motioning toward the charred remains.
“We’ll find out, Renee,” Brandon said. “We won’t stop until we do. I promise.”
“Thanks. I really appreciate everything,” I said glancing around one last time. “We best be getting back to the cemetery. I’ll stay there, and y’all can stay in the car. If anyone asks, you came for a visit, and that’s when you found out about the Crocker’s.”
I turned and started back to the car. I couldn’t clear my head of all I’d discovered the past few hours. Martin had mentioned an attack, but who attacked, and why? I immediately suspected Rebecca, but it was impossible. I was with her, on our way to Cuba, when this must have happened. Is it possible the whole thing was an accident? And, what about Johnny? Could he be alive, living safely somewhere? For now, all I could do was wait.
Bo had driven on the way back to the cemetery, before I’d even realized we’d left the farm. We piled out of the car, and headed through the gravestones.
“I’m going to head on in,” I said, when we’d reached the tomb. “I’ll see y’all tomorrow night.”
“It’s still a few hours til dawn. Do you want us to come with you?” Bo asked.
“No, I’ll be fine. I just need some time alone to work through this, okay?”
They nodded, and headed back toward the car. It killed me to watch them walk away, looking back every once in a while, almost in unison. As soon as they were safely at the car, I went inside the crypt. I relit the candle, and pulled the heavy stone door to a close, a much harder chore than Martin had made it seem.
I picked up the note off the dirty stone floor. I couldn’t tell you how many times I read it that night, but it was too many times to count. I wept until the sun rose, and was grateful to fall asleep, the one place where my thoughts couldn’t follow.
Chapter 24
When I awoke, I laid there, unable to summon the will to get up. I couldn’t wait here for Martin to return. There was no way on this earth that I would leave Garvin and Tanda in that hell, even if it meant returning all by myself.
“Something’s wrong,” I could hear the concern in Ashley’s voice, though it was muffled through the thick stone door. “She should be up by now. Please, y’all move the door, we need to check on her.”
I heard some grunts and groans, soon followed by one of the boys saying, “It won’t budge. How the hell did she move this thing?” Their innocence brought a smile to my face. I got up and went to the door. I pressed my forehead against the cool stone, and listened as the four of them tried to move it. Once again, I smiled, shaking my head. I pushed against the door, and it took every ounce of strength I could muster to move it. I needed to feed, but not around the little ones.
“Hey, are you okay?” Bo asked. “The sun’s been down for hours.”
“I’m sorry I just needed a little more time. So,” I said, jumping straight to the point that hadn’t left my mind since we’d been to the farm. “Did you find out about my family?”
No one spoke. Tears began to stream down Ashley’s face, and she lowered her head. The other’s looked at each other, avoiding my gaze.
“Please, tell me,” I said, looking straight at Brandon, knowing if any of them were going to speak, it would be him. He opened his mouth as if to say something, and then closed it. His brow furrowed and he too, lowered his head, shaking it slightly. I walked over, grabbed his shoulders, and shook him hard.
“Tell me, Brandon, right now,” I yelled in frustration.
“Renee,” he howled in pain. “Please, you’re hurting me.”
I let go so fast, he crumpled to the ground. He held his shoulders, rubbing where I had grabbed hold, clenching his eyes tight, unsuccessfully trying to stop himself from crying.
“I’m so sorry. I forget I’m different when I’m with all of you. I never meant to hurt you, Brandon,” I said reaching toward him. He recoiled, a little as I held out my hand, so I swiftly pulled it back to my side.
“You okay?” Derek asked, walking over to his brother. “Here, I’ll help you up.”
He knelt down, but Brandon pushed him back, jumped to his feet, and took off. Bo started to follow, but I stopped him.
“No, Bo,” I said. “He needs to be alone. Not only did I hurt him, but I made him cry in front of everyone. I have too many brothers to know that hurting their pride often does the most damage.” A lump formed in my throat as the realization hit me. “Had too many brothers...”
My attention was snapped back to the present by the sound of Ashley gasping deeply between sobs. The poor girl was a mess. I walked over and pulled her into a deep hug.
“Are you okay, sweetie?” I asked.
“It’s just so horrible, Renee,” she said, wiping her tears with the sleeve of her shirt. “None of us wants to tell you.”
“Come sit down with me, all of you,” I said, motioning to the front of Mrs. Hill’s crypt.
As we started walking over, Derek looked over his shoulder and asked, “What about Brandon?”
“He’s alright. He’s down by the last row, sitting on the fence,” I said, semi-pointing toward him.
Derek squinted his eyes, and peered in the direction I was pointing. “But how can you tell? I can’t see any...” he stopped, then glanced at me. “Oh yeah,” he said, with a bit of a nervous chuckle. “I almost forgot. I sure wish I could see like that.”
We made our way to Ashley and Bo, and sat around the front of the crypt. I looked from one kid to the next, and they all had the same terrified expression on their face. I already knew my family was dead, so why were they so afraid to talk to me about it? I asked them that very question. The answer came from Brandon, who had come up behind us.
“I didn’t mean to run off,” he said. “But damn, that hurt, Renee, but not as much as what I’m about to tell ya.”
I turned so that I could see him more clearly.
“What do you mean?” I asked. “What happened?�
�
He came around and sat beside me, staring down at his wringing hands. “They were murdered,” he said, never looking up. “Most of ‘em was found in the house. The only one they couldn’t find was your youngest brother.” He paused, but I urged him to go on. “They said it happened within a week of your death.”
I sat for a moment, rubbing my forehead as I took in what he was saying.
“Do they know who did it?” I asked, though I already had suspects in mind.
“Not for sure, just rumors, you know? The townsfolk are the ones who burned the place, ‘cause they thought it was done by a bunch of witches. At least, that’s what everyone we talked to said.”
“Well,” I nodded. “Thanks for finding out. Y’all did great,” I said, nudging Brandon with my elbow. “And I really am sorry about earlier.”
“Sure, just be a little easier next time,” he said with a grin.
“That’s not everything,” Ashley chimed in, looking over at Brandon through troubled eyes. “Brandon, tell her. She has a right to know.”
“What do you mean, Ashley?” I inquired.
“I-I-I can’t, Renee. It kills me to even think about it,” she stammered shaking her head.
“Brandon?” I demanded, looking back at him.
“This is the tough part,” he said, shooting me an uneasy glance. “The bodies were tore up so bad they had a hard time identifying them. It took days.” He swallowed hard before continuing. “They found your pa hung upside in the barn with his throat ripped out, and all his blood was drained out like you’d do to a deer or something.”
I felt a wave of heat flushed through my body. “Rebecca,” I grumbled knowingly.
“Is that the same woman you told us about?” Derek asked.
“Yeah,” I confirmed. “When I left with her that night, the men she was with stayed behind for a while. Later when I asked her about it, she told me that they were putting Johnny’s body back to bed, so my parents would think he’d died in his sleep. Now I’m pretty sure her goons were the ones who killed the rest of my family. It’s a pretty big coincidence if it wasn’t.” I sat there for a moment, thinking to myself.
Living in Darkness (Bloodbreeders) Page 21