by Jana Janeway
“No!” Jessica’s attention moved back onto Craddock. “No! You can’t make me do this!”
“Stop being a child!” Bibi snapped at her, pushing off the floor, her stance almost combative.
“Stop asking for the impossible!” Jessica snapped back, adopting the same stance Bibi had.
With all their arguing, they didn’t hear the door open. They all startled at the sound of a fifth voice ringing out.
“We gotta go!” When they all just stood like deer caught in headlights, Lilith gestured for them to join her with a brisk slice of her hand through the air. “Now!” She shoved each of them in the direction she wanted them to take as soon as they stepped up to the door. “Things are not going well,” she told them as they walked hastily, her jogging the several necessary steps to pull ahead and lead them.
“What’s going on?” Jessica asked breathlessly as she kept the pace. “Where are we going?”
“They’ve pretty much decided to kill you.” Lilith led them to a jamb with no door, peeking around its corner to determine if it was safe before gesturing for them to follow her into the larger room just beyond it. “A van is waiting outside and down the street, to take you to a safe house.”
“What happens then?” Jessica asked as they reached a metal roll-up door at the far back wall. She winced at the noise it created when Josiah and Craddock grabbed the bottom and yanked it open just enough for them to squeeze through.
“We don’t have time for itineraries,” Lilith told her, then grabbed Craddock’s arm and spun him around to face her. “You have to punch me.”
He scowled back at her. “What? Why?”
“I can’t have my cover blown,” she explained. “I’m a dead woman if they think I helped you escape.”
“I can’t punch you,” he said, appalled by the thought of it.
“You have to!” she insisted, her tone a harsh, panicked whisper. “I was given very specific instructions!”
“Which are?” Bibi asked, eliciting an irritated sigh from her sister.
“I’m to tell them that I caught you guys trying to escape, and tried to stop you, and you punched me and got away!”
“Come with us!” Bibi knew what her sister’s answer would be before she even spoke.
“I can’t. This was an emergency situation, but this is not my mission! I’m still needed!”
“You punch her,” Craddock said to Bibi, but she immediately shook her head.
“I can’t punch her! She’s my sister!”
“We don’t have time for this!” Lilith glanced behind her before turning to face them once again. “One of you punch me!”
“I’ll do it!” Josiah stepped around the others, his hand fisting as he stood in front of her. Lilith winced as she anticipated the blow, but when it didn’t come, she opened her eyes and looked at him questioningly. “How hard do you want me to hit you?” His tone depicted remorse over what he was about to do.
“Hard enough to leave a bruise, but try not to knock me out.”
Nodding, Josiah pulled his arm back, ready to strike, and Lilith closed her eyes again tightly when he did. Everyone turned away just before the blow landed, but as they heard her hit the floor, they all quickly looked back and rushed to her, dropping to their knees beside her.
“I’m fine,” she insisted, disoriented, waving them away with an uncoordinated gesture of her hand. “Go! Turn right. . . green van. . . you know the driver.”
“Thank you,” Bibi whispered to her as the others pushed off the ground. Jessica and Josiah ducked under and out the door quickly, but Craddock stayed behind to wait for her.
Lilith nodded slightly. “Go. Before it’s too late.”
“Bibi,” Craddock called to her, encouraging her to hurry.
Touching her hand to her heart, Bibi then placed it over Lilith’s and smiled. When she nodded in understanding, Bibi pushed to her feet and followed Craddock out towards safety.
They were several yards up ahead when Josiah and Jessica realized that Craddock and Bibi weren’t behind them.
“Where are they?” Jessica asked, alarmed, at the ready to run back towards the building.
Sensing her intentions, Josiah grabbed her arm to steady her, telling her with feigned confidence, “They’re coming, okay?”
When they saw them approaching out of the darkness, they both sighed in relief.
Without breaking his stride, Craddock grabbed for Jessica’s hand once he’d reached her, pulling her with him as they all headed quickly up the street, scanning ahead for any sign of the van Lilith had mentioned and described.
“How is she?” Jessica asked, the question directed at Craddock.
“She’s okay. Don’t worry.”
“Yeah, right,” she scoffed, well past the point of that happening. The whole night, pretty much all of the last several days, had been spent doing little else.
“There it is!” Josiah pointed as the driver stepped out of the vehicle.
“Oh my God,” Jessica whispered, the person standing beside the van becoming recognizable to her as they neared it. “Is everyone I know involved in this?”
Chapter Sixteen
The closer they got, the more Jessica’s expression changed from slight panic and fear, to surprise and confusion.
“Jessica! Thank God you’re okay!”
Taken aback by the relieved embrace she was being assaulted with, it took Jessica a moment to respond. “Marcy, you’re an infiltrator, too?”
“We’ll have time for explanations later.” Marcy dodged the question anxiously, releasing Jessica and reaching for the handle on the sliding door of the vehicle. Yanking it open, she gestured for the four escapees to enter. “We need to get off the street before we’re spotted.”
Filing into the van quickly, Bibi and Josiah took seats in the back, in the third row, while Jessica and Craddock sat in the second row, behind the empty front passenger’s seat. Before they were even settled in, Marcy slammed the door hard and rounded the vehicle, then jumped in and turned the car over, all within seconds.
“Is Lilith going to be okay?” Jessica asked, as Marcy threw the van in drive and sped away from the curb hastily.
“She knew what she was signing up for.” When glancing at Jessica’s image in the driver’s mirror showed the genuine concern on her face, Marcy softened a little. “She should be fine. The important thing is to get you safely away from these people.”
“And then what happens?” Jessica snuggled into Craddock’s side as he stretched his arm around her.
“At the safe house, we’ll create new identities for all of you. Relocate you. Erase your past, essentially, so they can’t track you. Well, easily, at any rate.”
There was something off about Marcy’s tone. Something Jessica caught, but couldn’t quite place. “So they could still find us, even with the change in identities?”
“Unfortunately, yes,” Marcy answered reluctantly, but then she was quick to add with a little more optimism, “but it takes effort, and with our people on the inside, if they get even remotely close to finding you, we’ll step in and relocate you again.”
“Yeah, but for how long?” Adrenalin and worry caused her voice to rise in pitch and volume. “I mean, what if they never give up on this? What if we have to keep running for the rest of our lives? What if—?”
“Okay, Jess, okay.” Marcy met her eyes in the rearview mirror briefly before returning her attention to the road. “One step at a time, okay? Let’s just focus on now, and worry about the future later.”
It was several moments later, after the occupants of the car had started to settle in, when Jessica gasped suddenly. “What about my brother? What about Stacy? What about my parents? Are they in danger now? Will they go after them, to try to get to me?”
Marcy sighed, her exceptional state of calm contrasting Jessica’s near hysteria. “Your parents are being picked up as we speak, and Shea and Stacy are already at the safe house. Nicholas Brady brought them to us,
and we moved them there.”
“Oh my God,” Jessica whispered, mostly to herself. “They must be so confused right now!”
“They are. We tried to explain some of it to them, but they don’t believe us. They think they’re prisoners. They’ve tried to escape twice.”
“Do they know I’m coming?” Fresh tears welled as she imagined how frightened her brother and friend were.
“They were told,” Marcy answered, “but they didn’t believe us.”
With a heavy, burdened sigh, Jessica slumped back against Craddock’s side. “What happens with them now?”
“We can relocate them as well, if they want us to, but we can’t very well force them to. Ultimately, what happens with them is up to them.”
“Has my mom been notified?” Craddock asked, when Jessica seemed to be out of questions.
“Yes, and Josiah’s family as well.”
“Is my dad pissed?” Josiah leaned against the seats in front of him, to hear the answer better.
“He was at first,” Marcy called back to him, “but after we explained that it wasn’t you who was in trouble, and that you were just caught up in a set of circumstances beyond your control, he calmed down some.”
“Are they at the safe house, too? Are they relocating?” Josiah’s frown left, but the concern remained.
“Your family is at your parents’ house, under heavy security. And all but two of your sisters are relocating.” She then directed towards Craddock, as she briefly made eye contact with him through the rearview mirror, “Your mom opted to not relocate. She said she’s too recognizable as a movie critic anyway, and that she’ll just hire more bodyguards.”
“I figured as much,” Craddock muttered, sighing as he pulled Jessica tighter against him.
“Does that mean you’ll never get to see your mom again?” Jessica felt him nod his head.
“None of us will get to see our families again,” Josiah grumbled.
“What?” Her voice was almost shrill. “Why?”
“It’s too risky,” Marcy explained, but her attention was more on the traffic behind them.
“Why is it risky?” Jessica pressed further. “Why can’t Josiah, for example, relocate with his family?”
“I can’t answer your questions right now, Jess.” Marcy’s gaze shifted repeatedly from the rearview mirror to the side view mirror.
Catching on to her sudden mood change, Craddock inched forward in his seat. “What’s up?”
“I think we’re being tailed.”
He turned to look out the tinted back window, spotting the SUV she was referring to. Facing forward again, he suggested, “Take a detour. See if they follow.”
“Yep.” She crossed traffic carefully, turning down the first side street that presented itself. “Are they following?” she asked, and everyone in the vehicle shifted to watch, to see if it was.
“Yes.” Craddock sighed, muttering a soft ‘shit’ under his breath. “Now what?”
“Now,” Marcy started digging in her purse one-handedly, “we call for backup.”
With one eye on the road ahead of her, Marcy punched in the memory dial number and hit ‘send’, immediately addressing whoever picked up on the other end. “Agent Hampton here. Got a problem.—No, they’re safe with me. . . at the moment. I think we’re being tailed.—Josiah!” she called back to him. “Get the license number for me!”
As soon as he rattled it off, she relayed it to the person she was talking to, then said to Craddock as she waited, “They’re running the plates.”
“This is a nightmare!” Jessica whispered harshly, her face in her hands. “I hate these people!”
“Join the club,” Craddock said with bitter sarcasm. “We have jackets with patches.”
Jessica cracked a smile for the first time in hours, the slightly happier expression dropping quickly when Marcy began speaking into the phone.
“Okay, but what if they stole it? It’s registered to a Human,” she whispered to Craddock before addressing the person on the other end of the line once again. “So what do you want me to do?—Okay. I’ll call you back.”
Hanging up the call with a push of a button, she handed the phone over to Craddock. “We need to lose them before heading to the safe house. Just in case.”
Agreeing, Craddock pointed up ahead. “Take the next right. I know this area.”
Several turns later, and the car was still following them, causing tensions to rise even higher than they were previously.
“Shit!” Craddock exclaimed, slamming his forehead against the seat in front of him. “They’re definitely following us!”
“What do we do now?” Jessica asked, near frantic.
“Evasive maneuvers,” Marcy answered. “Buckle up and hold on.”
Sitting back in his seat, Craddock quickly latched his safety belt, then wrapped one arm around Jessica as the other braced against the side of the van.
Pressing her foot harder onto the gas pedal, Marcy sped up, taking several harried turns before pulling into a parking garage and killing the lights and engine, trying to camouflage the vehicle in and amongst the others. They all ducked down instinctively, then Josiah peered out the side window to see if the SUV passed by or followed them in.
“They passed right by,” he whispered, though why he had, he wasn’t quite sure.
“We’ll give it a minute.” Marcy spoke only a little louder than Josiah just had. “Make sure they’re good and gone. And then we’ll head back the way we came.”
“Why are they doing this?” Jessica asked, although the reasons had already been explained to her. It wasn’t that she was expecting them to answer so much as she was speaking rhetorically, amazed by the events she was entangled in. The whole situation was like something seen in a bad spy movie.
Consoling her, Craddock cradled her head, bringing it to his shoulder and stroking her hair in a comforting manner. “It’s going to be alright,” he whispered. “We’re almost home free.”
“Josiah? Any sign of them?” Marcy asked him.
“No,” he turned to face her, “I think they’re gone.”
Marcy started the car and pulled out of the spot, but the closer she got to the end of the driveway, the slower she drove, leaning far forward against the steering wheel as she attempted to peek up the street.
“Okay,” she said, deeming the coast to be clear, “we’re going for it. Stay down and hold on.”
Seconds after leaving the parking garage, Marcy was well on her way to speeding, ignoring the posted limit signs while checking her mirrors often.
Nervous over her driving, over the way she was weaving in and out of traffic, Jessica clung tighter to Craddock, her nails leaving indentations in the flesh on his arm. “Where are we going, exactly?”
“Massapequa.”
After Marcy’s answer, quiet settled then lingered, several minutes passing before the sudden ringing of her cell phone startled everyone in the car. Having placed it in his coat pocket right after she’d given it to him, Craddock reached in and fished it out, abruptly slapping it into her palm when she extended her hand towards him.
“Hello?” Marcy listened for several seconds, sighing deeply in response to whatever had been said to her. “Shit.—Yeah, okay. Bye.” She disconnected the call, but said nothing for a very long, very tense minute. “Jess?”
Everyone knew that bad news was about to be shared.
“Yeah?” The word was barely audible as her throat constricted.
“God, Jess, I’m so sorry.” Marcy’s preface was as steeped in regret as what she was apologizing for. “Your folks didn’t make it. The Purists ran them off the road. There were no survivors.”
Pulling her closer, Craddock held Jessica tightly as she sobbed, knowing there was nothing he could do to take her pain away, but wanting to do at least something. The feelings of helplessness increased as she began to whimper and moan mournfully, ripping Craddock’s heart in pieces, bringing an ache to his soul that he hadn’t
felt since he was nine years old.
Slowly, Bibi pulled up in her seat, her hand inching over top of the one in front of her, coming to rest gently on Jessica’s back. A few moments later, Josiah did the same, whispering, “I’m sorry, Jessica. I really am.”
“We all are,” Bibi said, on the verge of tears herself.
“It’s my fault,” Jessica choked out, her face still buried against Craddock’s chest. “None of this would be happening if I had just stayed.”
“Blaming yourself won’t change anything, Jessica.” Craddock was stern while still being compassionate. “You didn’t leave with the intention of making things worse.”
“Why did you leave?” Marcy asked, remaining respectful of the grief her friend was drowning in.
“I heard Bibi and Josiah talking, when they thought I was asleep, about all the sacrifices Craddock was making, and planning to make for me, and I just didn’t want to ruin their lives any more than I already had.”
Bibi and Josiah shared looks as her explanation was given, guilty expressions crossing their features.
“I didn’t know that was why,” Josiah whispered. “I thought you were just wanting to go back home.”
“I didn’t know where else to go,” Jessica cried, seeming to switch into a higher gear of misery and pain.
Craddock shushed her, whispering into her hair. “You didn’t do anything wrong. You just made a mistake.”
“A mistake that’s hurting and killing everyone around me!” she shot back, her anger directed solely at herself.
Moving past the understandable display of emotion, Bibi asked Marcy, “Does her brother know yet?”
“No. They’re having a hard time keeping him calm right now. They’re afraid telling him will cause him to completely fly off the handle. They’re hoping his combative behavior will ease, once he sees that Jessica is okay.”
“How am I supposed to face him?” Jessica’s words caught on several hiccups as she attempted to control her sobs. “How am I supposed to tell him that our parents are dead, and that it’s all my fault?”