by K. T Fisher
“Yeah, sure, but this letter’s important. It’s a surprise. I need it delivered now, don’t have time to wait for the mailman.” I wave the money in front of him. He’s tempted, but he’s cautious.
“It’s not illegal is it?” He asks. He’s wavering.
“Nah, it’s just a joke I’m playing on an old friend.” I reassure him.
“Make it ten dollars and you’re on.” He blusters. Greedy little shit. Part of me admires his enterprise. The other part of me wants to rip his fucking head off.
I pull another note from my wallet and put it with the other one. I carefully explain what I want him to do, and make sure that he repeats the message exactly as I gave it to him. Satisfied, I hand the envelope and the money over.
I watch as he waves goodbye to his friends, and heads off in the right direction. I don’t have much time. Pretty soon I’m going to be alone with that shit, and I’ll be exacting my revenge. I drive off to the cabin, whistling as I go.
Chapter Twenty Eight
Emma
I’m numb the whole ride back to the compound. The police questioned me for ages back at the coffee shop. They kept asking the same questions in different ways, trying to catch me out. What could I tell them? I don’t know who she was, or why she did it. I told them straight, the woman was a crazy bitch.
I remember picking up the charm yesterday; it was at the side of Danni’s body. It looked familiar but I couldn’t place it. I absently put it in my pocket and forgot it was there, until I saw the bracelet on Rachel’s wrist. That’s when I remembered where I’d seen it before.
I still don’t get it. Why she did all this. What her motivation was, although from the look of her when she walked in the shop this morning, she’d lost her mind.
Justice has hardly said two words to me. I’m not sure if I’m saddened or relieved. I don’t think I could stand to hear his disappointment, so I think that makes me relieved.
Before I know it, we’re back at the clubhouse. I don’t want to be here. I want to go home. What I want doesn’t seem to matter though, as he takes my hand and leads me inside. He gestures to the communal area and tells me to wait there, before striding off down a corridor to God knows where.
Do I do as I’m told, or do I turn tail and get out of here? I don’t think I want to know what would happen if I left. Besides, if I stay I might get to find out what’s happening with the search for the kids.
I take a seat on one of the benches against the wall. The room’s deserted. I guess everyone’s out looking for the kids. I draw in a deep breath. What have I done?
The prospect from the gate walks in, looking around for someone.
“Can I help you?” I offer.
“You seen Justice?”
I nod my head to indicate the direction I last saw him heading in. “He went down there, not sure where he was going.”
The prospect looks at the letter in his hand, then at me. He seems unsure of what he should do.
“I guess it’s okay to give you this. It’s not like the other one.” He mutters. I’m confused by his words. Then again, when the fuck am I not confused around these guys. He hands me the letter, but the envelope’s blank. ‘Can you give this to him when he comes out? I need to get back out to the gate, but the kid who delivered it said it was urgent.”
“Can’t you take it to him now if it’s so urgent?” I question.
“Nah, if he’s gone down there he’s in with Prez and I’m not allowed to interrupt.” With that he’s gone, nervously looking over his shoulder to make sure no one’s seen him deserting his post I suspect.
I finger the letter, wondering what it contains. It’s not mine though, so I place it on the table and wait for Justice to return.
***
It feels like I’ve been sitting here forever when Justice finally shows up, but it hasn’t really been that long.
“You want a drink?” He offers gruffly.
“Yeah, I could do with one I guess.” He’s about to head off to the bar when I remember the letter.
“Justice.” I stop him. “The guy from the gate brought this in for you. Said it was urgent. Some kid just delivered it for you.”
He snatches the letter from my hand, ripping the envelope open and quickly scanning the contents of the letter inside.
I can’t see what it is, but I can tell from the look on his face it’s not good.
“You stay here.” He commands, before racing from the room. What the fuck did it say to get that kind of reaction from him?
No sooner has Justice gone, than Cowboy walks in.
“Hey, Emma.” He says kindly. “You okay darlin?”
I nod my head. “I will be.”
“You see where Justice went?”
I start to tell Cowboy about the letter, and how Justice suddenly ran off. That’s when I get the feeling that something’s not right.
“Cowboy, I need a favor.”
He looks at me; I can tell he’s concerned about the letter as well.
“We need to go after Justice. I don’t know what was in that letter, but the look on his face wasn’t good. He looked furious. Can you take me?”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to come, Emma. But, I think I might go see if I can find him.” Cowboy looks like he’s about to leave the room when I stop him.
“Don’t you fucking dare.” I shout at him. “I’ve been through more shit in this past twenty four hours thanks to this club than I ever want to live through again. I’m not some fucking doll in case you hadn’t noticed. I’m involved in this shit about as deep as I can be, so if you’re going after him, then you’re taking me along too.”
Cowboy looks uncomfortable, but he can see that I’m determined, not to mention we’re wasting precious time here.
“Okay, but if any shit goes down you do exactly as I say.” He tells me.
“Yeah, yeah.” I agree. “Come on before we lose him.”
Chapter Twenty Nine
Justice
When I read the letter that Emma hands me, I almost lose it. I can’t though, I need to keep my cool. I can’t let her suspect how important it is, nor what it contains. I need to follow the instructions so this goes smoothly. I won’t let those kids come to harm.
Who the fuck is doing this anyway? And why do they want me?
I’m no fucking wiser than I was this morning, if anything I’m more confused after finding out all that shit about that Rachel woman. The only thing I do know though, is that this crap runs deep.
If I can do anything to save these kids then I have to. Anything!
Prez will kill me for not telling him about the letter, but I can’t risk this whack job hurting the kids. I’ll go check it out. I can always call in for back up if I need to. It’s not like I’m not armed.
The road to the cabin is deserted. It’s miles from where they were searching over night. No wonder they haven’t found the kids.
When I reach the cabin it looks almost derelict. I hope the kids are okay. It would have been cold in the woods last night, and that place doesn’t look like it will have offered much shelter.
I make my way cautiously over to the cabin door. Trying to sneak a look into the window as I pass. I can’t hear or see anything.
Just as I put my hand on the door to open it, it’s yanked away from me.
“Come in Justice, about time you got here.” I don’t recognize the voice, but it’s male.
The cabins too dark for me to see his face, yet there’s something vaguely familiar about his outline. I step into the cabin, and before I can reach for my weapon I feel a gun against my forehead.
“Drop your weapon now.” He commands.
I slowly remove my gun from my waistband, tossing it on the floor. I hear him kick it away from me. I still can’t see his face. I want to know who this fucker is, and why he’s doing this.
The pressure of the gun on my temple increases a little as he forces me into the room. There’s a chair set up facing the door, and he gesture
s for me to take it. Right now, I don’t have a choice, there’s a fucking gun pointed at my head. As he secures me to the chair with some old bits of rope I flex my wrists out. It will mean he’ll have to tie a looser knot, allowing me more chance to escape when the time is right. All the time I’m scanning the room for any sign of the kids.
There’s no light in here, but my eyes are slowly adjusting to the darkness. I scan the room, looking for the kids, praying they’re here and I haven’t just walked into a stupid fucking trap. Relief floods through me when I finally see them. There’s a bed against the far wall, and it looks like they’re both sleeping. For his sake, they’d better be fucking sleeping.
“Are they okay?” I gesture towards the bed.
“They’re fine, just drugged.” He answers. “Now shut the fuck up and listen.”
He smashes the butt of the gun against my head. Fuck! That hurts. I hold in my grunt of pain not wanting to give him any satisfaction. I feel like I’m about to lose consciousness, but force myself to focus. I need to stay alert if I’m going to help these kids. Prez is going to be so pissed at me for walking into a trap like this. I should have known better, but I can’t say I’ve exactly been thinking clearly the last twenty-four hours.
I’ve let anger rule me, let my emotions take over and control me. It’s a stupid rookie mistake.
“So who are you?” I ask the darkness. “What the fuck is all this about?” I probably shouldn’t be using such inflammatory language, but I can’t help it. I’m tied to a fucking chair, and this dick is waving a gun in my face.
“You don’t even remember me?” He hisses with anger. That voice is vaguely familiar, but it’s just outside my consciousness. Keep talking fucker, I will remember you. If he keeps talking it’s going to come back to me.
“You don’t look quite so tough tonight without your partner in crime.” He laughs. And that’s when it hits me. It’s that fucker Ted, Holly’s ex. How the fuck did he get messed up in all this?
“I see you’ve realized who you’re dealing with.” He sneers. “About fucking time.”
“You dickless coward.” I shout out. Oops. Bad choice of words there. The butt of the gun comes smashing down on my head again.
***
I’m not sure how long I was out for, but I do know I’m going to have a hell of a black eye in the morning. That fucker hit me right above the eye. I shake myself awake, and find him in the same position, watching me.
“Welcome back.” He sneers. “So nice of you to rejoin us.”
I take a quick look over at the kids, I need to assure myself that they’re okay.
“What do you want?” I seriously can’t figure out why he’s got the kids, or how he’s involved.
“Quite simple, Justice.” He takes a step closer. “I want revenge. Only difference is, when I cut your dick off, I’m going to leave you to bleed out.”
He cackles like a maniac at that. Great. I’m stuck in cabin in the woods with a fucking psycho nut job. Could this day get any better?
No, it’s only going to get worse. There’s movement over on the bed, and I can hear Elizabeth start to whimper for her mother.
“Shut up you little shit.” Ted screams at the bed. Great people skills there Ted, it just makes Elizabeth start to cry instead.
My anger increases as I listen to him shout at Elizabeth. Ted’s unhinged. I guess having his dick cut off would do that to a guy.
While Elizabeth distracts him, I work at the ropes binding my wrists. I’ve almost got them loose when she starts to scream. Ted moves towards the bed, his face filled with rage. I’m working at the ropes as quickly as I can, but it’s not quick enough.
“I told you to shut the fuck up!” He yanks Elizabeth from the bed, shaking her violently. It’s enough to shock her into silence for a moment, and I hope that will calm him down. But she’s only three and scared shitless. She’s not old enough to understand what the fuck is happening to her. No sooner has she recovered from the shock than she wails out again.
“Mummy!” She shouts, full of tears. The sound is heart wrenching. I need to get out of these ropes and save her.
No! The nightmare happens in slow motion in front of me, and I can’t free myself quickly enough to stop it from happening.
I start to rise, taking the chair with me, all the time frantically working at the ropes to loosen them. Like a fucking hunchback. I’m almost close enough when Ted tosses her violently against the wall. She immediately stops crying. The sight is sickening as I watch her tiny frame sliding down the wall, before landing in a broken heap on the floor, her head at a horrible angle. I wait with baited breath to hear her whimper or make any movement but nothing.
“No!” I scream out, in pain and anger and launch myself at Ted, too late I see the gun he’s pointing at me.
Emma
We followed Justice all the way to the dirt road, but Cowboy refused to go down it. He didn’t want Justice to spot us, or alert anyone to our presence with the noise from his bike. He did however agree to head down there on foot. I’m starting to think we’re lost when we finally find the cabin. Cowboy puts his hand out to stop me, gesturing for me to stay behind him. I’m about to comply when I hear a child’s cries.
“Elizabeth.” I whisper. We look at each other, desperate to get her out of there.
“We can’t go in there.” Cowboy tells me. “We’ve got to get some back up here first.”
I shake my head vehemently. We don’t know what’s happening in there. I didn’t like the sound of that cry. Cowboy is busy on the phone and doesn’t notice me sneak closer to the cabin.
I hear a male voice shout out. “I told you to shut the fuck up!”
My breathing halts as I listen. The crying stops for a moment, before resuming in a louder wail.
“Mummy!” She sobs. That’s definitely Elizabeth.
Everything seems to happen at once then. There’s a huge thud, at the same time I hear Justice scream out “No!”
The sound of a gunshot makes me jump. I’m frozen with shock as the door flies open and a man rushes out, running for the darkness of the woods behind the cabin.
Cowboy’s already pursuing him, firing into the woods. I hesitantly make my way over to the cabin door, not sure I want to see whatever’s awaiting me inside.
I step in and the first thing I notice is the darkness. I open the door wider to try and let some of the moonlight through. I can’t help the scream that falls from my mouth at the sight before me. At one side of the room Elizabeth is lying against the wall, her neck at an impossible angle. Justice lays face down in a pool of blood, unmoving. Who do I go to first?
“Don’t you dare fucking die on me!” I scream as I run further into the cabin.
Chapter Thirty
Emma
I let his arms hold me tightly, watching the scene unfold in front of me. It doesn’t seem real. It’s as though I’m watching a movie in my front room.
But this is deathly real.
It’s a beautiful day as we stand in the Severed heat, but this isn’t a day for catching the sun’s rays. It’s a day filled with sadness. We’re remembering how precious a human life is. Every single one of us holds that gift within us, yet we take it for granted. The gift of living.
I stand amongst the crowd of family and friends, watching through my tears as the two coffins are walked out towards us. The men of Severed carry them with respect.
We’ve just come out of the church where the funeral was held. He’s had to help me walk to this spot; it’s only a short distance to where the coffins will be laid to rest. Without his help I couldn’t have made it. My legs threatening to give way. I look at the coffins, the bodies they contain now forever frozen in time. A sob escapes me, and he holds me tighter. I shiver in his arms despite the burning heat of the day.
“Hold on.” He whispers in my ear as we watch the two coffins being lowered into the ground.
One coffin is much smaller than the other. God, this is so fucking h
ard! I want to run away from here, but I can’t. I have to stay. I need to say goodbye.
I look around at the heartbroken club members and their families.
Teresa is cuddled into the safety of her old man’s arms, whilst she cradles her stomach. It feels even more cruel, the starting of a life after two others were so brutally taken from us.
I swallow my tears and look around, unable to watch the coffins being lowered in the dark, damp earth. My eyes land on Eve, she’s sitting on a chair that was provided for her, her legs no longer able to support her. She’s not crying anymore, I don’t think she has any tears left to shed. She looks numb as she watches everything happen in front of her. Angel stands beside her, one hand on her shoulder. I can’t see the expression on his face, but he’s been unhealthily quiet ever since the incident at the cabin. I guess he’s silently plotting his revenge.