Innocent Shadows

by Warren Ray

  Laney had pulled away from the clutches of Collette and Finley. She tightened her grip on the Sig Sauer .380 as she scampered across the overgrown lawns. The wet grass slapped against her bare legs making her wish she hadn’t worn shorts. The petite girl crouched down right behind the driver, who she knew was Mike Furrier.

  She hated him because he tried to get with her little sister when they were home alone. It was against the very rules he had helped create being one of those in charge. She fought him off her sister but ended up having to give in to him in front of her. He promised never to come around again as long as she promised never to tell Billy Gamble, who kept a tight rein on things.

  Winters’ fired a shot and Laney realized she was in the line of fire. She moved down a little bit and waited for the right moment. She had gone hunting with her dad many times, and he always told her to be patient, and wait for a clear shot. She had taken several deer over the years and loved the experience. “Was this any different?” she asked herself. Not really. Her newfound hero was in trouble, and she had a strong desire to help him. She never could ignore someone in trouble and always jumped into the fray without thinking things through. She did it for her sister and again, a couple of hours ago, when she jumped on Owen to help Finley.

  She looked across the street and needed to get closer to her quarry. The .380 wasn’t as accurate as the old Winchester .30-30 her grandpa had given her. She watched Mike take another shot and miss. He cussed up a storm as he tried to line up another shot. Cole fire three rounds that hit the car in quick succession. Then another three hit the same area. Why were they hitting the front of the car? Surely Cole was a better shot than this. Three more hit the same area. Then it dawned on her, he was signaling her. She shook her head when Mike started making fun of Winters’ wild shots.

  This was it. Laney sucked in a deep breath before hitting the pavement with her wet sneakers squeaking as she approached Mike who was still chuckling. He fired a shot and lined up another as Laney slinked ever closer to him. She was only fifteen feet away, and her heart was pounding like a trip hammer as she aimed at his back. She let out a breath and took in another. She squeezed the trigger and the gun went off.

  Mike screamed out and started to turn around. Laney took a step backward and fired again hitting him in the chest. The round forced him to drop his weapon. Blood oozed from his wound as he put a hand on it. His eyes grew in recognition.

  “Laney? Whatcha go and do that for?”

  “That’s for my sister,” she yelled, as she fired again. “And for me.”

  Mike struggled for air as Winters came running around the car. Laney took aim at him but realized it was Cole.

  “Laney!”

  “Cole, you alright?”

  Winters nodded as she wrapped her arms around him. Her body started shaking from the adrenaline. “You did good girl. You did real good.”

  When Winters saw what Laney was going to do, he stormed after Boxer-boy, but couldn’t find him behind the car. He wasn’t sure if he was still around and figured he might have run off for help. He then ran to Laney after she shot Mike.

  Winters pulled away from Laney who was still shaking and leaned down to her five-foot-two level. “You sure you’re okay?”

  She nodded.

  Mike was still struggling for air, so Winters pulled Laney away from him. He pointed his M-4 at his chest and finished him off. He was glad he was the one to have actually killed him. It would be easier for Laney to get over it if she needed to, which Winters hoped was the case. He didn’t need another Reese on his hands.

  Chapter 30

  Winters grabbed Laney’s hand and they ran back to where Finley and Collette waited for them. Neither of the other two girls knew what to say when they got there. The only thing they did was give Laney a big hug.

  “C’mon girls, we need to go.”

  They reached the car, and Winters decided it was better for him to drive. He didn’t think they would have a lot of time before Boxer-boy alerted the rest of the gang. He wanted to get the girls and their families out of there as soon as possible.

  Winters peeled out of the driveway and was surprised the girls were still quiet. This was unusual for them, so Winters decided to break the ice.

  “Laney, that was pretty bad ass what you just did. You got my butt out of a jam, so thank you.”

  “I just can’t help myself sometimes,” said Laney. “It was probably pretty stupid.”

  “No, what I did was stupid. I shouldn’t have gone in there and left you girls behind like that. What you did was pure bravery. Isn’t that right girls?”

  “Laney, you are a badass,” said Finley. “I mean, c’mon, I thought you were, like, brave to help me with Owen, but this, I mean, my God Laney, you is craaazy.”

  “Crazy doesn’t even come close,” shouted Collette. “The way you snuck up on him! I mean, Finley and I were watching and squeezing the crap out of each other’s hands.”

  “Yeah, and the sweat was just pouring out of me,” laughed Finley.

  “Girls, all of you,” said Winters. “All of you are badasses. Each of you has proven that tonight. Just trust me on this, okay? However, we still have much to do so I need you guys to focus. We need to get your families out of town, so who lives the closest?”

  “I do,” said Collette.”

  “And then who?”

  “That’d be me,” said Laney.

  “Okay, Collette, how many are there?”

  “It’s just my mom and little brother.”

  “Perfect. What about you Laney?”

  “My mom and little sister.”

  Winters already knew Finley had her mom and sister at home. There wasn’t enough room in the Impala, so he planned to go to Collette’s place first. He’d drive them to the police van he left on the outskirts of town. He’d have her mom drive the Impala back to their hideout.

  Winters pulled into Collette’s driveway and turned his head to the back. “How do you want to handle this?”

  “Let’s just all go in. I think that would more dramatic.”

  “Huh, an actress tried and true,” said Winters.

  “Big entrances,” smiled Collette.

  Collette opened the front door and they all followed her inside. She began lighting candles in the living room and kitchen. The room was soon bright enough to see the place was neat and well kept with little furniture.

  Collette disappeared down the hall and reappeared a few minutes later with her mom in tow.

  “Mom, this is Cole Winters, Cole this is my mom, Stacey.”

  Winters came forward and shook the hand of a woman who looked like she was in her late thirties. She looked worn down and the hard living was stealing what youth she had left.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Stacey.”

  She shook his hand with a limp-wrist. “I heard you were in town.” She turned to Collette. “What have you gotten yourself into?”

  She gave her mom a short version of the night and pleaded with her to grab some things. Stacey shook her head angrily and muttered to herself while she went back down the hallway to gather up her sleeping son, Seth, who was nine years old.

  Winters was surprised at her reaction. Shouldn’t she be happy her daughter wouldn’t have to prostitute herself anymore? Perhaps they didn’t get along very well or maybe she herself had been involved with it. She had the looks for it, but he couldn’t be sure. It was a delicate thing to ask and it didn’t really matter. He had hoped to ask her to drive, but because of her poor response to what they were doing, he decided against it.

  After a few minutes of waiting in silence, they exited Collette’s house and hopped into the Impala. The smaller Laney sat up front on Finley’s lap while Collette and her family squeezed into the back seat. The silence continued for a few minutes until Stacey broke the ice and asked where they were going.

  “There’s a place west of town where I’m staying. It’s big enough to be comfortable.”

  “How long
will we be there?”

  Winters wasn’t sure. “A day, maybe two?”

  “Do you have food? Because this one is supposed to be working to get us some today?”

  Collette turned to her with a frustrated look. “Mom, why can’t you be happy about this?”

  “Because come morning your little brother is going to be hungry and I’ve got nothing to give him.”

  “But I won’t have to work anymore,” pleaded Collette.

  Winters could not believe what he was hearing and realized there was something wrong with this family. “You don’t need to worry. I have food there.”

  “Worry is what we do, Mister Winters. When you’ve gone days without food, worry is what you do.”

  “I understand,” Winters said, with more than a tinge of irritation in his voice.

  “Do you?” she asked in a harsh tone.

  Winters gripped the steering wheel tighter deciding to give Stacey some perspective.

  “I do. You see Stacy, I’ve been all over the Midwest and I’ve seen old people, women, and children executed for no other reason than the killers didn’t want to feed them. I’ve rescued young girls taken into slavery and raped repeatedly all day. I’ve seen the bodies of close to a thousand people murdered inside churches all at once. I’ve seen people begging and scrounging for their next meal.”

  The dead silence in the car was eerie as Winters continued.

  “But I’ve also seen amazing things. Men and women rising up to fight evil, forfeiting their lives to save the person next to them. I’ve seen young girls like these three here, muster up incredible courage and do things they never would have thought possible. I know an eleven-year-old girl who fought with everything she had and never gave up on me. You don’t get to see that kind of human spirit every day, but when you see people fight when they had nothing to go on but faith, that is something quite special.”

  Winters could almost hear everyone breathing it was so quiet.

  “You should be proud of Collette. She helped save her friends’ lives tonight. She did it willingly and bravely. All three of them have been nothing but courageous.”

  The rest of the drive to the hideout was in awkward silence. Winters hadn’t meant to be quite so blunt, but he couldn’t take her negativity any longer. He thought he’d seen it all before he had come back to his hometown. However, if the other parents were anything like Stacey, it would be even more unimaginable than the prostitution itself. She seemed to have completely given up and had adopted a level of acceptance that Winters hoped wasn’t prevalent.

  Chapter 31

  Winters ushered everyone inside and introduced them to Ashley who looked like she had been dozing off and on. He checked on Blair, the girl from Jarvis’s house who had passed out and found her still sleeping. He thanked Ashley for the help and told Finley and Laney to get ready to go.

  Winters stepped outside to wait for them when Collette joined him. He turned around to her and said, “Hey, you alright?”

  “Yeah, thanks for sticking up for me.”

  “You deserved it.”

  “I’m really sorry about my mom.”

  “Don’t be.”

  “She’s always been, like, a negative person.”

  “Some people are just like that.”

  “Well, it makes it hard to live with her. I was supposed to be going away to college this last year and was really looking forward to it.”

  “What about your dad?”

  “Off to war like everyone else’s.”

  Finley and Laney stepped outside ready to go.

  “Can I come?” asked Collette.

  Winters was expecting the question and had already decided to let her come. He didn’t think it’d be a good idea to let her stay there with her mom. “Of course you can.”

  “Yes,” said an excited Collette.

  “C’mon girls, the sun’s gonna be up pretty soon.”

  Winters floored the car and headed toward the police van having decided to have Finley drive the Impala to her house. There was no sense in not utilizing both vehicles to save time. Besides, he needed to finish up so he could get some sleep.

  He pulled into the field and found the van untouched.

  “Listen, girls, we need to save some time. Finley can you take the car and pick up your mom and sister.”

  “I can do that,” said Finley who then turned to Collette. “You want to come with me?”

  “Sure.”

  “Okay, now don’t take any chances. In fact, you might want to park the next street over and sneak in. I’m sure that one guy in the boxer shorts went for help.”

  “Oh, you mean, Bobby.”

  “Bobby? That’s his name, really?” asked a surprised Winters.

  “Yep,” said Finley.

  “Well, it’s Bobby Boxers now,” quipped Winters.

  “Ha, Bobby Boxers, I love it,” laughed Laney.”

  Winters watched Finley pull away and then got into the van.

  “I hope your mom isn’t like Collette’s mom,” said Winters as he started the van.

  “Oh, gosh no. That poor girl, I don’t know how she puts up with it.”

  “She’s still her mom.”

  “Yeah, I know. My mom hates that I work, but there’s no other choice.”

  “You don’t need to justify that to me.”

  “I just don’t want you to think I’m, like, a whore or something, or that I enjoy it.”

  Winters stopped the van before pulling out of the field. He looked at Laney through the goggles. “Laney, you’re a brave girl, that’s what I think of you, nothing more.”

  “Thanks, that means a lot.”

  “Though you are a bit impulsive.”

  “I know, right? I, like, can’t help myself. I mean, I react without thinking, like, all the time.”

  “Well, it saved my bacon tonight, so it’s not so bad.”

  “It was pretty stupid. I don’t know what the heck I was thinking. I mean, I guess I didn’t want to see you get hurt.”

  “Like not wanting to see Finley get hurt?”

  “Yep.”

  Winters looked back toward her and wanted to know how she was processing her shooting. “You okay with what you did though?”

  Laney paused before answering. “It’s a little weird, but yeah I guess. I mean, like, I’ve killed deer before and this was, well, it was different for sure, but yeah, I am.”

  Winters sensed she was having trouble with it. “Killing someone isn’t an easy thing for anyone. My first time I ended up getting sick and throwing up.”

  “Really?” she asked wide-eyed.

  “Yep. That’s just between you and me though, alright? I’ve got a reputation to uphold now.”

  “I promise I won’t say anything, but seriously, you threw up.”

  “Oh yeah. Not only that, but I shook uncontrollably for, like ten minutes.”

  Laney put a hand to her mouth to muffle her laugh.

  Winters’ confession helped relieve her mind. It wasn’t easy for someone that age to do what she did, but then she had been doing things no one should have had to do. It made you grow up and leave your childhood behind.

  Winters pulled into an abandoned house one street over from where Laney lived. He cautioned her that they needed to be careful since Bobby Boxers had escaped and was out there somewhere.

  Laney led him through the backyards to the side of a house that sat across the street from where she lived. They crouched down on the ground at the corner of the house and Winters took off the goggles and helped her put them on. She let out a gasp when she saw everything light up green.

  “Look carefully for anything out of place.”

  She nodded her head and looked across the street. “Everything looks good.”

  “You sure?” whispered Winters.

  “Yep.”

  They stood up and started across the lawn. Just as soon they approached the sidewalk, she grabbed Winters’ arm.

  They both froze.r />
  She started pulling him backward.

  Winters bent down to her ear. “What is it?”

  “Over there. That car, it doesn’t belong here.”

  Winters looked up the street. A parked car sat on the side of the road and was pointed toward them.

  “Whose is it?”

  “I don’t know, but it doesn’t belong here.”

  They turned around and rushed toward the backyards.

  “What are we gonna do?”

  “Take out whoever it is,” said Winters, as he helped Laney take the goggles off. He didn’t want to tell her just yet, but someone was probably already inside her house.

  The hairs on his arms raised as he realized Finley and Collette were in danger as well. They needed to hurry. He grabbed Laney’s hand to make sure she stayed out of sight as they ran across the backyards toward the car. They reached the corner of the house and he motioned her to get down. They crawled to the end of the house, and Winters stared at the occupant in the car. He wished he had a silencer for his weapon. The last thing he needed was to alert whoever was inside the house.

  “You up for doing another stupid thing?”

  “You know me.”

  He gave her instructions before she streaked across the yard to hit the pavement and began to casually walk toward home. Winters then crawled on all fours across the lawn and got into position behind the car. He reached the back of the car just as Laney was also approaching it from the rear, but she walking in the middle of the street. She didn’t dare glance at him as she sauntered past the car.

  It took a second before the car door opened. Winters crept around the back end before leaping up. He wrapped his arm around the man’s mouth just as he got out. The blade cut cleanly across his throat.

  Laney raced over and watched Winters drag the man behind the car.

  He gave her a nod while shutting the car door. Then he let Laney lead the way to the back of her house. Winters grimaced and readied himself for what was about to happen. Without a doubt, he knew someone was inside waiting for her. He just hoped they hadn’t done anything to her mom and sister. They reached the patio where there was a big sliding glass door. Inside, several candles burned on the coffee table giving out enough light to show her mom and little sister sitting on the couch. The heavy-set mom held onto the frightened child as an older man, who was holding a rifle, watched over them.