An Unsettled Past

by C. L. Brees

  “Jesus, woman! This is why you can’t keep up with me! Ugh,” he exclaimed.

  “Don’t you dare judge me, Alex Jones! This is the only thing I can do to deal with my anxiety.”

  “I’m not judging you; you’re my best-friend in the whole entire world. Sometimes our friends do things that we may or may not like—it’s part of life. It’s not the life I would chose for myself or for my body, for that matter. I can tell that the stress is starting to make you cranky, and if having a cigarette will calm you down, I say go for it.”

  “I’m just really scared. I’m, like, starting to feel quite certain that we’re not going to make it out of these woods alive,” she admitted as the red, hot cherry of her cigarette smoldered and she puffed the smoke into her lungs.

  “I’m not going to sit here and promise you that everything is going to be alright. I’m not Miss Cleo you know—we could have a happy ending or we could die. You always think I have all the answers to the meaning of life. Well, truth be told, I don’t always know the right thing to do. However, I’ll be damned if I’m going to let us sit here and give in so easily.”

  “Oh, damn, your forehead is bleeding again,” she muttered as she dug into the backpack for the first aid kit.

  Finding a large gauze pad, she quickly tore it open. She removed the pad and pressed it against his forehead, applying as much pressure to the wound as his body would allow her to. He sat there as she tended to his injury, forcing a smile as her cigarette dangled from the tip of her lips. “You have no idea how ridiculous you look right now.”

  “I guess I could say the same about you,” she joked as he reached up with his numb hand and took over holding the gauze.

  “We really need to decide if we are going to wait out the storm here or move on. What do you think we should do?”

  “I definitely want to rest a bit, but I also know that if we do, we’re as good as sitting ducks waiting to be slaughtered.”

  “Let me be honest – we have to be close to something by now. It feels like we’ve been out here for hours, and I’m starting to lose the feeling in my hands.”

  “That’s not a good sign that you can’t feel your hands. Let’s wait just a few more minutes and then keep moving.”

  As his anxiety kicked in, he peered outside the entrance of the cave. The wind and snow were gradually tapering off and out of nowhere the wind became calm, creating an eerie sense around him. He knew that it was now or never on leaving—there was no telling how long this lull in the weather would hold up.

  The wind had blown so hard that there were no remnants of their footprints left in the snow. While this was good news for them because the kidnappers wouldn’t be able to figure out their path, it was also bad news because now they had no idea where the route they came from was located. And worse yet, with the calm wind, if the kidnappers stumbled upon where they were they would surely be able to find them and recapture them.

  Making their way back towards the main trail, the visibility had improved enough that Alex was able to see further into the dense woods. It appeared to him that the trees were beginning to thin out just ahead of them.

  “Hey, look ahead. The trees are thinning out up there,” he explained as he pointed straight ahead.

  “Maybe there’s a road or something up there, we can do this. Come on, let’s move.”

  It took them five minutes to get to the tree line, but once they did they discovered a large lake at the bottom of a steep hill.

  All we have to do is just get down this hill and we’re home free, Alex thought in his head. But how am I going to get us down there without killing us?

  Amy glanced at him just as he was thinking to himself about what their next move should be. She shook her head, knowing that he was scheming up something or another. Knowing how his mind worked, she knew it was probably something she wasn’t going to enjoy doing.

  “We have to find a way down the side of this hill.”

  “Have you just lost your damn mind? That’s not a damn hill—it’s a mountain. Let’s just follow it along and see if we can find another way down,” she said as she walked off.

  “Wait up a second; where are you going?” he asked as he took in after her.

  “Am I the only one that saw that winding road that follows the side of the lake? What if we just keep walking this way? We’re bound to eventually run into that same road. And you know what, we won’t kill ourselves doing that.”

  He began walking along the tree line with her, but suddenly he paused for a moment. He swore he heard a soft voice off in the far distance behind them.

  He listened for a few seconds but shrugged it off, figuring he was just hearing tree branches falling under the weight of the snow. Amy had somehow found the will within to survive and was already about ten yards ahead of him when he finally stopped listening and began moving. He rushed down the trail and was able to catch up, every so often checking behind him just to make sure that there really wasn’t anyone there. Somehow, he couldn’t shake the feeling that someone or something was following them down the trail.

  He chucked and said aloud to himself, “I’m just being paranoid; just keep moving.”

  As they began their steep descent, the snow began to thin out beneath their feet. It was a welcome relief from the knee deep snow they were tackling before. Amy turned back towards him and let out a sigh of relief.

  “This is amazing. I can actually walk faster now than I could before. Maybe we are actually going to get out of here yet.”

  “We’re not out of the woods yet—pardon my pun. Let’s just keep going, though.”

  “I really have a good feeling that beyond this hill the road is going to just magically appear.”

  “I hope you’re right about that. I’m ready to get out of these woods.”

  As they reached the summit of the hill, it turned out that her intuition had proved to be correct. There it was in all its glory: a desolate two-lane curvy road. She once again trusted her instincts and pointed to her left. “The lake was to our left. Let’s take our chances and walk along the roadway. I can see it’s been recently plowed, so we’re bound to run into someone other than the kidnappers.”

  “Scary thing is—what if they are using their vehicles out searching for us? We should stay off of the road and walk in the woods instead. We’re less conspicuous when we’re not out in the open.”

  In the distance, the echoing sound of his name resonated through the trees. He sharply stopped moving and swung around to look behind him. “Wait up a second, I swear I just heard Mike calling my name,” he blurted as she stopped and marched back towards him.

  “Are you sure? I don’t see anyone around,” she said as she tugged on the blanket wrapped around his shoulders.

  “I’m pretty sure I heard my name. Hang tight for a minute, just to appease me, will you?”

  After a few moments of standing in the middle of the freshly plowed road, she looked over at him and said, “I think you are hearing things. How can you be so sure you heard your name with this wind blowing? Maybe you really are getting confused.”

  “No, I know his voice, and I know he has to be out here looking for us.”

  It was just at that moment, peering over the top of the hill stood Mike in the middle of the road. However, he wasn’t alone—there were two people standing there, looking down upon them. With the distance between them, determining who else was with him was difficult. He crept slowly towards him. His heart was racing so fast he could feel his heartbeat through his shirt.

  He was only within twenty feet when he stopped dead in his tracks—it was Mike and Brandy standing at the top of the hill. He could make out the outline of a gun pointed at Mike’s back. It surely wasn’t turning into the happy rescue that he had been hoping for all night.

  14

  Startled by the scene before her, Amy ran up behind Alex and stopped just a few feet behind him. She was confused by why he had stopped so abruptly. She could see Mike at the top of th
e hill but wasn’t quite sure why Alex wasn’t racing to be with him. She walked slower towards him, and as she approached from behind she laid her hand upon his shoulder.

  “Why did you stop? It’s Mike and Brandy—they’re here to rescue us. I would have thought I’d be chasing you to get to them,” she remarked as he turned his head slowly back towards her.

  “He might be here to save us, but I am one hundred percent sure that she isn’t,” he indicated as he secretly pointed towards Brandy. “You can’t see that gun pressed into his side?”

  “Oh, shit. I didn’t even notice that. What are we going to do now?”

  Meanwhile, at the top of the hill, Mike looked down on them as they began slowly retreating. He had never felt more helpless in all of his life than he did in that moment. Mike wondered what his boyfriend could possibly be thinking in that very second. He knew he would give up everything that ever meant anything to him if he could take away the betrayal that he knew his own boyfriend was feeling in that definitive moment. However, he also knew that there wasn’t a damn thing he could do to change the situation laid out before him.

  Out of nowhere, a shot rang out, piercing the quiet, tranquil air. The two escapees stopped—they were paralyzed to move any further. They slowly turned around and faced the situation atop the hill head on. Brandy started walking down the hill swiftly. She prodded the gun into Mike’s back as he walked in front of her.

  “You do know that this isn’t going to end well, right?” Amy said as Alex’s eyes locked with Mike’s.

  As they came into earshot Brandy announced, “Don’t do anything stupid, Alex. If you do, then your last memories of your precious lover are going to be his brains splattered across this snow covered road.”

  “I am so totally confused by what is going on here. Can you fill me in the on the details at the very least?”

  She chuckled with a sense of craziness in her laugh, “I’m shocked by the fact that a smart guy like you never figured any of this out. You do realize that the only reason I became friends with you in the first place was so I could get closer to you and your mother? I find it humorous that you never saw any of this coming.”

  “So, all this time you were pretending to my friend—and for what? What in the hell could you possibly want from me or my mother?”

  “Funny how you know nothing about your father, but I had to suffer because mine was locked away in a jail cell. Let me fill you in on what I know about your father. A long time ago, your father, may he burn in hell, stole a lot of money from my family. It’s never been recovered, and I know your mother has it hidden away somewhere,” she said.

  “Are you high? I’m a teenager—how in the hell would I know what my mother does with her money?” he said as he pushed Amy behind him to protect her.

  “I’m not stupid, you know. I know you know something about this money. Neither of you are going anywhere until Anja and I get what is rightfully ours,” she said, as Alex looked around the forest.

  “Who in the hell is Anja? Mike, what is the world is she talking about?” he yelled towards Mike.

  “You don’t get to speak to him. You only speak directly to me. Your precious boyfriend here is just collateral damage in this mess. He doesn’t know the full story as to why we’re all out here in the middle of nowhere tonight,” she taunted as she cleared her throat. “However, to answer your question, Anja is my sister. I’m sure you’re familiar with the name Heather Burgess, though.”

  The look upon Alex’s face drastically changed from inquisitive to petrified. This entire time he had had two murderesses in his life gathering intel on him the entire time under his nose.

  Clapping his hands, he exclaimed, “I’m impressed. I really am. This entire time you and your sister played me for a fool. I can’t believe I let this happen,” he said as he shook his head.

  “Well, believe it—it happened, and all of this will be coming to an end shortly, just as soon as Anja shows up with your mother.”

  “I know my mother, and I know she’ll never tell you what it is you want to know. We’ll all go to our graves before she’d ever let that happen.”

  A few miles downhill Sergeant Reed and Agent Tanner were racing towards the crash site. The SUV smashed through the snow drifts that had accumulated upon the asphalt. What would normally take two-hours to drive had only taken them about eighty minutes to complete. The entire drive, the two men spoke but five words to each other. Once they reached Grand Lake the glare from the snow added to their woes and made the drive even more treacherous. The constant sight of snow was causing Agent Tanner to zone out as he drove along the winding road. He quickly snapped back and turned towards Sergeant Reed who sat to his right. “We have to be getting closer now, right?” he asked.

  “I sure hope so; all this white is making my eyes tired,” he said as he slowed down slightly for an upcoming sharp curve in the road.

  “I’m worried about what we’ll find once we get to the scene. These people are extremely dangerous,” he said as Sergeant Reed nodded his head in agreement.

  “You’re absolutely right. There’s no telling what we’ll find when we arrive, but if your instincts are right about these people, we really should be prepared for a firefight. You do have a weapon with you?” he asked as he pulled his 9mm weapon from beneath his jacket.

  “I have everything I’m going to need.”

  As he began driving out of the curve, Agent Tanner slammed on the breaks suddenly. The car skidded along the pavement as Sergeant Reed reached for the handle above his head. The car came to a screeching halt, and before them stood four people in the middle of the road. It was Brandy, Mike, Amy, and Alex. Reed threw his door open without even thinking and used the passenger side door as protection.

  Agent Tanner continued to sit there, his hands still shaking from the near death experience. Things moved in slow motion for him, but he jumped into action once he saw Reed kneeling down with his service weapon drawn. Tanner flung his door open and took the same stance as his newfound friend. Neither of them were willing to risk their lives, and it was hard to tell what they had stumbled upon.

  Alex and Amy were only about fifteen feet away from the officers. Alex looked backwards towards the officers, but he continued to watch as Brandy held a gun to his boyfriend’s back. He wasn’t about to do anything that would put his life in danger. Alex slightly twisted his head back towards Amy who was standing behind him.

  “Whatever you do, please don’t make any sudden movements. Every couple of seconds I need you to just step backwards as unnoticeable as possible.”

  “I hear you loud and clear. This isn’t going to end well—I can just feel it.”

  “As long as we don’t try to make a run for it, I think it will end peacefully.”

  Time passed by for what felt like an eternity. Each party was at a stalemate, none of them backing down from their positions. Alex and Amy were able to move about five feet closer towards the SUV while Brandy continued to position a gun at Mike’s back.

  Getting fed up with the slow progression of the situation and the lack of back-up from the local police, Sergeant Reed nodded his head at Agent Tanner as he yelled loudly. “You do know I can do this all night. You might as well just give up now while we can still help you.”

  Yelling down towards him Brandy exclaimed, “No way in hell are you going to take me alive. I am going to complete my mission, and there isn’t a damn thing you can do about it.”

  Hijacking the conversation, Mike chimed in, “What in the world are you waiting for? Just shoot her before anyone innocent gets hurt.”

  Reaching the end of his patience, Sergeant Reed ran out from behind the protection of the police cruiser. He ran by Alex and Amy and stopped, crouching down on one knee within ten feet from Brandy. Everything happened so quickly that no one had time to react to what had just happened.

  Realizing that Reed was putting his life on the line, Alex grabbed Amy by the hand and ran as fast as he could towards Agent Tann
er who was waving them to hurry. Tanner was bewildered as to what exactly was happening, as Sergeant Reed had given him no indication that he was about to go rouge.

  Alex and Amy quickly reached the safety of the cruiser, yet no shots had been fired. He took a sigh of relief that things had actually turned out better than he had envisioned.

  The two knelt down in Sergeant Reed’s former spot and stayed down as low as they possibly could. Amy knelt down next to Alex, sitting there shaking uncontrollably. He reached over and latched his arm around hers as tight as he could. He could feel her fear—sure, on the outside she looked like she was trying so hard to keep it together, but Alex knew better. Amid the screaming and yelling, Alex touched her shoulder with his right hand. She anxiously glanced at him as she struggled to find the words. “This isn’t going to end well, is it?”

  “Something is going to happen, but I don’t know how bad it’s going to be. All we can do is stay here and pray that everything has a peaceful ending.”

  Amy closed her eyes tightly right at the exact moment that a lone shot rang out and then a short pause. Then just when Alex thought everything was over, a second shot pierced the air. He opened his eyes just enough to see Agent Tanner stand up and dart towards the commotion. Alex remained in a crouching position and didn’t dare move. What would be waiting for him if he stood up? He kept his eyes squinted and looked over to his right. Amy sat on the snow covered roadway sobbing. She still gripped his arm and tightened it as she could hear Agent Tanner yelling towards Mike and Sergeant Reed.

  Peeking through the passenger side window, Alex hollered to their rescuers, “Is everything under control now?”