“Yeah?” Grandpa asked. “Well, I hope you’ve got plenty of places to go.”
Aunt Rose didn’t answer. She just sighed. With a quick wave, she popped out of sight.
Grandpa was alone.
Chapter Twenty Two
Defensive Driving
When I came to, I was alone in the back of a van. They had removed the hood from my head so I could see everything around me, not that there was much to look at. It was dark. I was in a windowless van, and my feet and hands were bound with duct tape.
I was shoved in the back corner of the van. I landed on the cold, metal floor. I could see the front window, but there was nothing out there that told me where I was.
My head was killing me, my ribs ached, my entire body hurt. The more awake I became, the more I became aware of the agony I was in. I listened outside. I thought I heard the crackle of a fire, but not much else.
I closed my eyes and thought about my family. I wondered if they were unharmed. I hoped that Archer was all right, although I was pretty sure Grandpa would have healed him by now. But we had lost at least one of the armed guards that Varick had hired. I hoped the rest were alive.
I didn’t want to think about Payne. I tried not to, but it was hard to actively try to not think about it. I tried to think about escape. I had get back to Seth. That would be what Payne would have wanted.
Opening my eyes, I saw I was no longer alone.
“We don’t have much time.”
A sixteen-year-old boy was sitting just across from me. I couldn’t understand how he got there. I had just been alone. I was certain that nobody had entered the van.
I shook my head, which sent a massive spike of pain through my skull. Finally, I recognized him.
“Try not to talk,” the ghost of Matthew Connor told me. “They’re outside. Don’t let them know someone’s here with you.”
I nodded silently.
“I’ve very sorry,” Matthew said. “I know how devastating it is. Don’t start crying.” I guessed he could see tears forming in my eyes. “I just want you to know how sorry I am. And how grateful I am to your families for everything you’ve done for Seth. He loves you so much.”
I wanted to tell him that I loved Seth too, but I didn’t want to speak.
“I know you love him too. We can’t come to him yet. He still feels too guilty for living when we died. I need you to do something for me. Tell him it’s okay to be happy. Tell him that I want him to be happy. Every time he laughs and smiles and loves someone, it makes what I did worth it. Can you do that?”
I nodded. I hoped I would get the chance to fulfill my silent promise.
“Now, listen,” Matthew continued. “Try to say as little as possible. Just pretend like they’ve beat you. Avoid eye contact. Don’t fight them unless I tell you, all right?”
I hesitated.
“Bristol, please. You have to trust me. Seth is the only family I have left. He’s the last of the Connors. And he needs you. Trust me.”
Finally, I nodded.
I had so many questions that I wanted to ask him. I thought about breaking the silence and asking him the one question that terrified me the most when I heard something outside.
Matthew had also heard it.
“They’re coming,” he said. “I won’t leave you. Just trust me.”
I nodded quickly just as the door opened. It was Dave.
“Time to go,” Dave said as he pulled me out. “Here’s the deal. You do anything and I’ll make you suffer in ways you can’t possibly image. Worse, I’ll do the same to Seth. And we’ll kill your little cousins. I’ll make them suffer as well. You do what we want, and after we get Seth and pay our debt, we’ll leave and we won’t bother them again. We don’t care about killing them anymore.”
I didn’t respond, I didn’t make eye contact. I just stared at my feet.
Dave slapped my face. I cried out.
“Give him a nod,” Matthew said. “Don’t look up. Just a short nod. Throw in a whimper.”
I nodded, and let out a high-pitched whine.
“Don’t overdo it,” Matthew warned.
I wanted to roll my eyes at him, but that didn’t seem wise.
Dave pulled out a knife and used it to free my hands and feet.
“Don’t try anything,” he reminded me one last time.
Dave marched me over to a small campfire where Jack was sitting, all bandaged up. I had to resist the urge to kick him in his wounds.
Victoria was there, too.
“They want to see it happen,” she said. “Right after we get the kid back.”
Jack struggled to get up. After a moment, Victoria helped him.
“I want to do it,” Jack said. “I want to kill her.”
Victoria looked impatient, but she agreed.
“Not until I say so—and make it quick.”
“Why?” Jack said. “She deserves to suffer.”
Victoria’s hand flashed out and smacked Jack’s head. He winced.
“Because I said so,” she said. “You went in and blew things up as soon as you saw them. Now look at us. They killed Cam, Dan and Bill. Our job was to grab the child, but instead, you wanted revenge, and you got our people killed. Do as I say.”
Jack looked like he was going to argue back, but Victoria stepped closer and put her hand on his chest.
“Don’t,” she warned. I knew what she’d do if he didn’t listen.
Slowly, Jack nodded.
They were going to kill me no matter what. It didn’t surprise me. I looked over towards Matthew. He didn’t look shocked by the fact Victoria was planning a double-cross.
“Here they come,” Matthew said to me.
I looked up; thinking someone from my family was here.
I felt the shadows before I heard them. A cold chill went through me like ice, and as they slithered into the area, I heard them hiss.
“We ssssshowed you the way to find them,” One of them said, it’s voice echoing like they had by the stream near my home. The one that was speaking to Victoria sounded like the one Grandpa called Moe said. “Now it’s your turn. When the boy isssss yourssss, kill her.”
Victoria nodded, but her eyes looked around. “Gladly.” Nobody was looking at them except me and Matthew. I think they were only able to hear them, not see them. All four of them circled the area. The each took a swirl around me, before fading out.
The small one we called Shemp was last. He stopped for a quick moment, right in front of my face. I wanted to recoil, but my instinct told me not to. Part of his form reached out to me; I couldn’t call it a hand or a limb, but it seemed like a peaceful gesture, like he was trying to take my hand.
I quickly scanned the others. Victoria was watching the woods. Jack was staring at her as if he wanted to kill her, and Dave was tending to the fire. Matthew was the only one looking at me, and the only one seeing the creature before me.
I moved my hand forward, and let the creature touch me. A sharp pinch of ice pricked my fingers. Then, my world shifted.
I was back in the house where Aunt Rose had said goodbye to Grandpa. It looked like nobody had been living here recently, but scattered around tables and shelves were photos of Rose taken in places from all over the world. I could see things from travels around Europe, her time in China and trips to Africa.
Suddenly there was a pop, and Aunt Rose arrived. She looked very much like she did today. This vision was recent.
Aunt Rose went over to the fireplace and lit a candle by a picture of Tag.
“Just got back from Italy, my love,” she said lightly. “You would have loved it. The sights. The people. Not to mention the food. I toasted to you.” She smiled sadly at the picture. “Oh, how I miss you.”
She went over to a small arm chair and sat down. She was next to a small table, sitting opposite a fireplace. The lights were low as she sank back into the cushion. Slipping her shoes off, Rose put her feet up on the ottoman in front of her.
After a momen
t of being lost in thought, she picked up the phone on the table next to her, and pressed a few buttons. She was checking her voicemail. I was surprised that she even owned a telephone.
She laughed at the first message, and at the second. When the third started, she shook her head, and hung up.
“Well, Ian, you are persistent. You really believe that my brother and Varick are on better terms.”
Aunt Rose got up and went over to the mantle again; this time stopping at the other end, where a picture of her with Grandpa, Varick and Tag sat framed. They looked like young teenagers.
“Maybe it’s time,” she said to herself. “Lord knows there are so few of us left.”
There were tears in her eyes as she stood back up and went to the fireplace again. She flipped a switch on the wall and watched as a fire roared to life. Using the same finger to wipe away the tears, she looked at the pictures on her mantel again.
“You know,” Aunt Rose said, addressing the image of Tag in front of her. “I just can’t believe that Greg has accepted his only granddaughter dating a McKnight! Maybe I should go back. I wish I had the courage to face him, but the idea of being rejected by my favorite brother...” She shook her head. “I’m just scared.”
She stood there, the picture of sadness and loneliness for a long moment before she laughed.
“Listen to me.” She went to sit down on the couch. “I haven’t talked to you in years I might finally be going as batty as my brother used to tell me that I was.”
With a sigh, she put her feet up, and closed her eyes.
She opened one eye at the sound of a hiss in the dark, glancing around for the source. Not seeing anything, it looked like she was prepared to dismiss it as her imagination and close her eyes again, when it started to form in front of her. Wispy and fragile looking, I recognized it. This was Seth’s Shadow Creature – the one we called Shemp.
For a long moment, they stared at each other. Fear and shock displayed on Aunt Rose’s face for just a moment before it turned to anger.
“So, you’re real. Are you here to kill me?”
The Creature spun in place for a moment.
“Noooo,” it said.
Aunt Rose made a flicking motion with one hand.
“Go away,” she said, closing her eyes. “I’ve got nothing to say to you. You’re the reason my love is gone.”
The Creature spun again, this time a bit faster. I got the sense it was having trouble keeping its form.
“Not like me. I am....otherrrr.”
Aunt Rose opened her eyes again.
“Oh, really? I suppose you’re just an innocent little lamb.”
Suddenly the creature drew itself up big, for just a moment.
“Nooooo,” it hissed. “The ssssame. Wassss the ssssame.”
Aunt Rose sat up.
“So what?” she snapped. “You found God? You had an epiphany? You joined AA? Why the sudden change?”
The Creature melted back into a corner, growing smaller.
“Sssssso tiiiired,” it said. “Ready to die. My life tied to boy.”
Aunt Rose considered the creature for a moment.
“You’re talking about the child Ian mentioned. The one they rescued?”
The Creature spun again, desperate to keep its form.
“Yesssss,” it hissed. “He musssst live....the otherssssssss musssst die.”
“And then what?” she asked. “Why should I care if you rest in peace? I rather think I like the idea of your suffering after what you and your kind did to me and my family—and to Tag.”
The creature hissed and spun around the room in frustration. If Aunt Rose was scared, she was hiding it like a pro.
“Your family will sssstand for him,” The Creature said. “They will die for him. Your ability may make the differencccceee.”
Aunt Rose got up and walked over to the creature.
“You don’t care about my family,” she said, jutting her chin out. She pointed a finger into its smoky face. “You just want what you want.”
The Creature swirled around her legs. It looked like it was fading in and out. I was sure it was in pain. And it looked tired. So very tired.
It stopped spinning and drew itself up.
“Ssssshould the boy ssssuffer and die insssstead?”
Aunt Rose cursed. She marched over to the picture on the mantel of herself with her brother, Varick and Tag.
“I won’t betray my family, and I won’t hurt someone because they happen to be a McKnight. I’ll have no part in their damn war.”
The Creature came up beside her. “You can be a part of itsss end.”
Aunt Rose spun to face the creature, but it had lost its ability to maintain its form, and was gone. She looked around for a moment, then turned back to the picture.
“Well, Greg,” she said with a laugh, “looks like I’m coming home. I just hope you’ll have me.”
For the first time, I heard fear in her voice.
The flash was over as quickly as it began. Only a few seconds had passed. No one had realized anything was amiss except for Matthew.
“There,” Victoria pointed ahead. Headlights were flashing. It was a signal.
“Bring her,” Victoria said. “But hang back.”
Jack grabbed me by the scruff of my neck and marched me forward. I was pushed through a thicket of trees in the direction of the lights, which blinked every few seconds.
I tripped, once, and fell to the ground. Jack kicked me in the gut and then pulled my up by my hair. Victoria rolled her eyes. Dave just snickered. Matthew kept telling me to hang on, promising me it was going to be okay.
I was terrified beyond belief, certain it was just a matter of time before I was killed.
When I came into the clearing, my heart went cold, and all thoughts of my own safety disappeared.
Archer’s father Patton was standing by the driver’s side door, his arm reaching through the window to work the headlights. He wasn’t alone.
In front of him was Seth.
Seth had duct tape over his mouth, and his arms were bound behind his back. He looked straight ahead, refusing to look directly at me.
“Don’t,” Matthew said. “Don’t protest. Just look down.”
Cautiously, I looked towards Matthew.
“Look down,” he said. “Trust me. Please.”
I wanted to yell at him. I wanted to kill Patton. I wanted to run forward and save Seth, but there was no way I was going to be able to do that. I had to try and trust Matthew.
Victoria motioned for Dave and Jack to hold me back. Jack shoved a gun into my back, right behind my heart.
Patton saw us and stood up straight, leaving the car headlights on. He marched Seth forward, then reached into his pocket. Pulling out a handgun himself, he shoved this against Seth’s head.
“Shhh,” Matthew said. “It’s alright.”
Patton pushed Seth one more foot forward.
“Send her over,” Patton yelled. “Or I’ll kill the boy.”
Victoria held her hands up.
“Calm down,” Victoria said. “Nobody has to get hurt.”
Patton cursed as he gripped his gun tightly. “My son is dead because of this brat!”
My heart broke. I couldn’t believe that Archer was dead. I didn’t want to believe it.
“Bristol,” Matthew whispered. “Be ready. Just be ready.”
Victoria stepped forward. There was a gun tucked away in the small of her back. She raised her hands higher.
“Killing him won’t bring your son back,” she said.
Patton moved the gun to the side of Seth’s head.
“My other son will try to come after her. He’s protective of her, and so are the others. Personally, I couldn’t care less about her, but if I don’t get her back, he’ll try to get her back because he thinks that what his stupid brother would have done. So send her forward, and you can have this worthless piece of garbage. We never should have brought him here. He isn’t worth my so
n’s life.”
Victoria glanced back at me. She was considering it.
I wanted to scream, but Matthew kept urging me to just be ready. He kept insisting that everything was going to be okay.
I was just about to defy him when I saw someone else appear.
Jared was standing next to Seth. He was looking right at me. Nodding.
Finally, Victoria turned back to Patton.
“Well send them at the same time,” she said. “Slowly.”
Patton thought about it for a moment, but then nodded. He shoved Seth forward.
Victoria motioned for Jack to do the same to me. I wasn’t sure what to do, but Jared indicated for me to keep going towards him.
I didn’t understand, but I did it.
I took a small step forward. So did Seth. I took another one. I was right by Victoria now. She glanced at me. I could practically read her mind. She hadn’t giving up on killing me.
I turned back toward Seth, and took another step closer. He shuffled forward. I was proud of him for being so brave. There wasn’t a single tear in his eye.
Jared moved in front of Seth and motioned for me to head to the passenger side of Patton’s car. I watched Jared as he went in that direction. I tried to keep my head straight ahead and followed him with his eyes.
I took a step in that direction and then looked to Seth. He kept looking straight ahead. Not at me. Not at Jared.
It was as if he didn’t see Jared at all.
I felt something in the pit of my stomach. Jared wouldn’t put Seth in danger. Neither would Matthew.
I took another look at Seth, a really good look. He should be terrified. I should be able to feel his terror. But I didn’t.
My eyes were drawn to his feet. He was standing in front of the car’s headlights, and that’s when I saw it. Or rather, when I didn’t.
I forced myself to look away, and took another step forward and to the side.
“Hold on,” Victoria said.
She was studying Seth very closely. She could tell something wasn’t right because he was standing in front of the car’s headlights.
I waited as she tried to work it out in her head, but then she saw it.
Seth had no shadow.
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