“Sammy, don’t cry. I know you’re scared, sweetie. Listen, he’ll be back soon. I want you to promise me, no matter what he does to me, you’ll sit quietly and not make any noises. I don’t want him to even notice you.”
“What do you mean? What’s he going to do to you? I don’t want us to die.”
“Listen to me! I will protect you. I promise you, I will protect you. But you have to be ready. If an opportunity arises, I will tell you to run. I don’t want you to hesitate, and I don’t want you to look back. Do you understand? You have to run as fast as you can. I want you to find a house where there are people there. I saw several down the road. They’re far, but just keep running. You’ll see them eventually. Tell me you understand me, Sammy. I want to hear you say it. You’re brave like your daddy, right?”
Samantha was quiet for several seconds and then she nodded. “Yes, I’m brave like my daddy.”
“Good girl! I’ll do all the talking when the mean man returns. You just stay quiet, okay? No matter what happens, you don’t make a sound. It’s like making yourself invisible. Promise?”
“Promise,” she whispered.
While they waited, Kelsey made a point of talking to Samantha about other topics to get her mind off of their current situation. “Sammy, on a bright side, we can finally catch up. How’s school going? Is music still your favorite subject?”
“Yeah.”
“What about boys? Do you like any yet?”
“Eww, Aunt Kelsey. They’re gross!”
Kelsey laughed, seeing some of Samantha’s personality returning. This was something Kelsey could control for now. She only hoped it wasn’t the last time Samantha laughed.
Thirty-five
Before long, Kelsey heard the footsteps upstairs. Sensing the fear from Samantha, she whispered, “I need you to be my brave girl, okay, Sammy? Remember, make yourself invisible.”
Samantha slowly nodded.
Kelsey willed her heart to slow down and prepared herself for whatever this evil man had in store for her. She promised herself she would not allow him to break her.
The light flickered on, and Kevin descended the stairs. “Well, well, well. Why am I not surprised that you’d try to escape? Let me guess, you thought if the gag was off, you could scream for help. I told you nobody would hear you.”
Kelsey remained quiet, watching his every move. He approached her and saw the rope burns around her ankles and wrists. Shaking his head, he untied her and brought her away from Samantha. “Now, where were we?”
“Kevin, listen to me. You don’t have to do any of this. I can get you the help you need. Believe me, at one point in my life, I needed help, too. It’s not too late.”
Without a word, Kevin punched her in her stomach, causing Kelsey to tumble down in pain. He then kicked her.
“Fool! Don’t you get it? This beast…it’s inside of me. It lives inside all of us. The difference is, I embrace it. Now, Kelsey, if you do the same, we can be a great team. I bet we can really have some fun. Maybe even with Samantha over there.”
Kelsey coughed, trying to ignore the pain. She knew it was now or never. Since she was untied, she had to try to fight him. She had seen him put her gun in the top drawer of the desk. She just had to get to it. Remaining crumpled on the floor, Kelsey waited until Kevin kneeled down to pull her up. As soon as his arm was within reach, she grabbed it and slammed him down. Jumping up, she lunged on top of him, swinging her arms to knock him out. Although she was able to land some punches to his face, he soon had the upper hand and had her pinned. He punched her even harder in her face and dragged her to tie her up to another pole.
“Damn you, Kelsey! I gave you a chance and once again, you blew it. Look at you, your one eye is already turning black and blue, and your face is swollen. What a shame. And now, what am I supposed to say at work when they ask how I got a bruise on my face? That was the problem with Lisa. Luckily, she had scratched me on my arms and chest, so I was able to cover them with my shirts. She was a real pain.”
As Kevin tied her up, Kelsey tried to take deep breaths to stay focused. She couldn’t lose consciousness right now—not with Samantha just a few feet away.
She saw the knife in his hand, and before she could react to it, he sliced her shirt open. With only a bra covering her, Kelsey tried to kick him, even with her legs tied together.
Kevin laughed. “Beautiful, just beautiful. I love how feisty you are. It only turns me on even more.” When he noticed Damien’s ring resting on her chest, he said, “Interesting ring, Kelsey.”
He grabbed her face and kissed her hard. When he bit her lip, she could taste her blood. She wanted to spit in his face, but knew it wouldn’t help her case. Instead, she willed her face to remain emotionless.
“This is when the fun is really going to start, Kelsey,” he threatened.
To her horror, Kelsey saw him lower the shiny metal, and a shiver of fear traveled up her spine. Grinding her teeth, she held her breath, preparing for his next move.
With the knife, he began to make a superficial cut on her abdomen as if he was carving a pumpkin.
Kelsey screamed, as white-hot pain exploded through her. The warm blood seeped out of her, and Kelsey’s eyes rolled back.
“Don’t you pass out on me! I barely nicked you. I made sure of it because I need you to last. You’re my brave Kelsey. Now, keep your eyes open.” Kevin’s mouth was back on hers, and he forced his tongue into her mouth.
As the room spun, Kelsey vaguely noticed thumping of footsteps rushing down the stairs. Kevin must have heard them too because he leapt off of her. Before Kevin could react any further, he was tackled down. Kelsey couldn’t believe it when her eyes registered Damien rolling on the floor with Kevin.
Damien swung and hit him couple of times, but Kevin still had his knife in his hand. Trying to avoid the knife, Damien jumped back up. Kevin also sprung back on his feet, swinging the knife wildly in front of Damien.
So many thoughts were going through Kelsey’s mind all at once. What was he doing here? How did he get here? How did he know? Was he now a human?
When the knife made contact with his arm and Damien grimaced in pain, she knew the healing powers of the gargoyle were gone. She tried desperately to get loose. If only she could get to her gun.
Even as the blood soaked through his shirt, Damien kept fighting. He kicked Kevin in the stomach and just as he fell, Damien lunged toward him. Kelsey shouted when she saw Kevin pull his gun out. It was too late, though, and she watched in horror as the shot was released. Although Damien still managed to land on top of Kevin, she knew he had been shot.
“Damien!” she screamed. “Damien!”
As Kevin shoved him off of him, Damien lay still on his back, the blood gushing out of his stomach.
Horrified at the sight, Kelsey screamed again, “Don’t you dare die on me!”
Damien’s eyes were open as he stared at the ceiling. When she saw him blink, she released a sigh of relief. At least he was still alive, but Kelsey knew he was in bad shape.
Kevin stood up slowly, limping toward Damien. “Who the hell is this?”
When he aimed his gun toward Damien, Kelsey cried, “No! Please, no! I’ll do whatever you want. Kevin, please don’t hurt him anymore.”
Kevin’s attention fell on Kelsey, seeing the fear in her eyes. He limped toward her, his eyes full of excitement. “Finally, I found your weakness! Your eyes gave you away, Kelsey. You love this man. Well, isn’t this getting interesting? I could kill him right now. But you know what? I can use him. As a matter of fact, how about we let him watch while you and I get busy?”
Turning toward Damien, he kicked him where he was shot. Damien yelled in agonizing pain.
“Stop!” Kelsey begged. Tears rushed down her face. “Please, just stop.”
“Damien, is it?” Kevin asked. “I figured you must be stupid in love with her to just run down blindly like that. Hell, you may love her even more than me.” He laughed, enjoying the scene. “You’re going to
watch us, Damien. I’m going to do what I do best with Kelsey now. Are you ready for the show of your life?” Kevin rolled Damien so he was facing Kelsey.
As Kevin stepped over him to reach Kelsey, Damien grabbed his leg, trying to hold it with all his might. But with the knife and the gunshot wounds, he had lost a lot of blood. Even still, he refused to release his hold.
“Leave her alone,” Damien said, his voice barely a whisper.
Kevin laughed at his effort and kicked him once again, this time in his face. Kelsey closed her eyes, feeling sick as the situation was getting worse by the second. Not only was she unsuccessful at saving poor Samantha, but Damien was dying right before her eyes.
Kelsey’s eyes found Damien’s, and her heart wept to see his eyes full of sorrow and something else. Apology? She stared deep into him, willing him to remain strong. Willing him to fight to stay alive. For her. For their future.
Bracing herself for Kevin’s next move, she watched helplessly as Kevin headed back toward her. Just when she was about to give up all hope, she was shocked to hear a gunshot. Kevin went down, and Kelsey realized somebody shot him from one of the windows. Turning toward the direction, she couldn’t see anything in the darkness of the night.
Kevin rolled toward Damien, and Kelsey saw his pants darkening from the blood. Recognizing he was shot only in his leg, Kelsey knew Kevin could easily escape.
“Who’s out there?” Kevin asked Damien, shielding himself with Damien’s body.
“It’s over. I brought the FBI with me. The place is surrounded,” Damien choked the words out.
“You’re lying!” Kevin yelled.
“No, they know everything.” It took all of the effort Damien possessed to squeeze the words out.
Kevin pulled himself back on his feet and limped up the stairs. “I won’t be a sitting duck down here. I’ll find the asshole who shot me. I know it can’t be the whole team. They would never just release a wild shot like that.”
As soon as Kelsey heard the front door slam, she turned her attention to Damien. “Damien, talk to me. Please tell me you’re okay. Who’s out there?”
Just then, the window was smashed open, and Sofia squeezed through it, jumping down.
“Kelsey, Samantha! Oh, dear God!” Sofia ran to her daughter, her gun still in her hand.
“What’s going on?” Kelsey asked, completely dumbfounded.
“Mommy? You’re really here?” Samantha whispered.
“Yes, it’s me, sweetie. I’ll explain everything later,” Sofia said as she quickly cut the rope with the knife that was on to the floor.
As soon as Kelsey was free, she said, “You have to go, Sofia! He’ll be back. Take Samantha and run! Call the authorities and tell them what happened.”
“What about you and Damien?” Sofia asked, her eyes frantic.
“We’ll be fine! Now, go!” She helped them out of the window. “Remember, shoot to kill!”
With a swift move, Kelsey pulled her sweatshirt off and wrapped it around Damien in an attempt to slow down the bleeding from his gunshot wound. Realizing he was losing a lot of blood very fast, she knew she had to move quickly.
After grabbing her gun from the desk, she rushed back to Damien and said, “I’m going after him, Damien. Don’t you die on me. I’ll be back for you.”
“He’ll kill you, Kelsey,” Damien whispered, grabbing her hand.
“No, I’m going to kill him!” Kelsey kissed him. “I love you. I’ll be right back. Just hold on.”
With her adrenalin pumping, she couldn’t even feel the pain from the cut on her abdomen. She sprinted up the stairs, knowing she had to find Kevin before he found Samantha and Sofia. In a way, she was relieved to see his car still in the driveway. He was still in the area, and Kelsey was ready to finish this once and for all.
When a bullet whizzed past her ear, Kelsey dove to the ground. She glanced in the direction the gun was fired, and saw a shadow disappearing into the woods. Kelsey sprung up and pursued him, determined not to let him get away. Since he was wounded on his leg, she knew he wouldn’t be able to move too fast.
As soon as she got another visual on him, she aimed her gun and squeezed the trigger. When she saw Kevin collapse to the ground, Kelsey cautiously approached him since he still had his gun. She didn’t need to worry, though, because he was not moving. His gun must have fallen out of his hand; she saw it a few feet away from him. When she stood over him with her gun pointing, Kevin had the same evil smirk on his face.
“It’s over, Kevin. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be held against—”
Kevin laughed. “I still have the last laugh, Kelsey. Look at the house.”
Confused, Kelsey glanced back, still being careful not to underestimate Kevin. She couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw the house in flames. This couldn’t be happening.
“Say goodbye to Damien and Samantha,” Kevin said as he coughed up blood.
“Rot in hell, Kevin.” Kelsey released a fatal shot and sprinted back to the house. She had to get to Damien. She had to save him.
As she lunged into the house, half of the first floor was already consumed by the fire. Luckily, she was able to reach the basement door. She flung it open, and flew down the stairs. Smoke was everywhere, and Kelsey was having difficulty seeing anything. Remembering where Damien’s body was, she was quickly able to reach him. She noticed instantly that he wasn’t responsive. Sliding down next to him, Kelsey fiercely shook him.
“You’re not dead! Tell me you’re not dead!” she screamed. “Damien!”
When he didn’t open his eyes, she tried to feel for his pulse. She couldn’t feel anything, but she also knew that didn’t mean anything since the smoke was getting to her head.
“Please, Damien. Please, open your eyes. I can’t lose you. Dear God! Why?” Kelsey cried, the hysterical sobs shaking her to the core.
In that moment, Kelsey felt Damien’s hand move. As she stared at him intently, his eyes slowly opened. “Kelsey,” he whispered.
“We have to go, Damien! Come on! We gotta get out of here.” She tried to drag him, but it was useless. No matter how hard she tried, he wouldn’t even budge.
Damien fought hard to keep his eyes open. “I can’t. It’s…it’s too late…for me. You go.”
“No!” Kelsey cried harder. “I won’t lose you. I can’t live without you, Damien!” The heat and the smoke were becoming unbearable.
“Yes, you can. Go…please.” Damien’s voice was barely audible. “I’m sorry I failed you.” Damien mouthed the words before closing his eyes.
“Damien! Damien, wake up! Please, you know I can’t leave you. You have to fight!”
But he didn’t respond. He remained there motionless. She waited for something…anything. There was nothing.
“Oh, God, why?” she screamed. “This can’t happen. I love you, Damien. Wake up! Wake up, damn it! Please!”
When there still was no response, Kelsey wiped her tear-filled face and looked around. The basement was full of thick smoke, and she couldn’t even see the stairs anymore. Each breath was a struggle since the dark smoke was making her cough uncontrollably. Her chest rose and fell, as her vision flickered with black spots. This was what it had all come down to. Maybe it was meant to be this way.
She lay down next to Damien and snuggled close, wrapping her arms around him. In that instant, Kelsey had found her peace. Years ago, she had missed her death with her family. There was a reason why she was spared. Maybe she was supposed to find Damien. Maybe he was supposed to be in her life to teach her to love again. And maybe, she was spared because she was meant to kill that horrible serial killer who was taking innocent lives. Yes, it all made sense. Life had come to a full circle. She would soon be with her family again. And they’d meet Damien, the love of her life.
Although she accepted her own fate, it broke Kelsey’s heart to pieces that this was how Damien’s life was ending. It wasn’t fair. He was the powerful one, her savior
. He was in this predicament because of her. He didn’t deserve this.
As Kelsey’s choked back her sobs, she raised her head and gave him one final kiss.
“I love you so much, Damien. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Kelsey put her head on his chest and closed her eyes. “I’ll see you soon, Ryan and Tori. I miss you, Mommy,” she whispered.
She could barely think clearly, as the smoke was making her disoriented. She wondered if this was how it had happened with her family. She visualized them in the corner of Ryan’s bedroom. As she pictured them holding each other, waiting for the inevitable, she held Damien tightly. With the heat becoming intense, she closed her eyes. Yes, she had finally found her peace.
Thirty-six
The wind felt good. She was floating in air. This must be what it felt like to be lifted to heaven.
Kelsey held onto Damien, making sure they would be together in afterlife. She couldn’t open her eyes, though. She needed to stay asleep. Just a little while longer.
When she finally fluttered her eyes open, she had to close them immediately from the bright lights. She reached for Damien next to her, but when she didn’t feel him, her eyes shot fully open.
“Aunt Kelsey! You’re awake! Mommy, she’s awake!”
Kelsey stared in disbelief at Samantha who was standing next to her bed, holding her hand. When she scanned the room, she saw Sofia on the other side of the bed.
“Hey! How are you doing?” Sofia asked, smiling down at her.
As some rational thinking returned, Kelsey realized she was in a hospital room. That meant she hadn’t died. Somehow, she was still alive.
“Damien?” she asked, her voice hoarse.
“He’s in ICU, Kelsey.”
Nothing was making sense to her. How could they have possibly gotten out of that house alive?
“He’s alive,” Kelsey whispered, releasing a sigh of relief. Turning her attention back to Sofia, she said, “I don’t understand. How did we get out? What about Tina? Did they find her?”
“I’m sorry, Kelsey. They found Tina’s body down the river.”
Fate's Cry Page 20