Escaping Memories

by Amanda Siegrist

  Aubrey nodded. "You know, they flash through my mind, but all I see is Logan. His arms around me telling me it's okay and he can't hurt me anymore. It just feels like a bad nightmare and not a horrible memory I endured."

  "I'm glad you have Logan. I can see he's been good for you and helping you in this struggle, but you've also been good for him."

  "I'm glad, too. I just wish—" Aubrey paused as she reached for the other flashlight lying by her feet. "Here, hold this light to the ground."

  Kat grabbed the light and held it in place like Aubrey suggested. "What are you doing?"

  "Do you think the fire will reach us? Do you think the door will keep us safe?"

  "I don't know. Hopefully we're dead by then. I don't really wanna burn alive. I'd rather fall peacefully asleep from the smoke inhalation. Shit, I don't even know if you go peacefully."

  "Kat, stop! Logan will check up on us, maybe he'll figure out we came here."

  "And if he doesn't…"

  Aubrey started digging into the floor with the handle of the flashlight. "Then I'm going to leave him a message, pointing him to the man he needs to arrest. As long as the fire doesn't reach us and burn the message away."

  ***

  Grayish-white smoke billowed in heavy waves as they weaved their way through the dense woods. Logan gunned the four-wheeler to the top speed as he raced to the fire that sparked near the door that he knew with all his heart held Aubrey and Kat. He saw Derek's four-wheeler sitting not far from the door. He knew Derek wasn't here, but looking for Kat and Aubrey. He also remembered Kat knew where to find the keys to the four-wheelers. Damn it! She knew better than to take Aubrey here. He flickered a glimpse at Deke, who raced beside him, Danny hitching a ride on the back. He nodded at Logan as his four-wheeler kept pace.

  Logan barely shut the four-wheeler off, stopping in front of the building flames, and jumped off quickly to run to his back compartment. "Fire extinguisher in the back."

  Danny already off the machine, grabbed the lid, and glanced at Logan. "And you just happened to have this with you."

  "Backwoods country, Agent O'Rourke, you are prepared for anything. Help is not a minute away out here. Most times you're on your own." Logan rattled the explanation out, shooting his extinguisher at the base of the door.

  Danny yanked his extinguisher out while Deke ran for Derek's four-wheeler and the fire extinguisher waiting for him. Danny juggled with the nozzle when he saw Deke slow his steps and pull his weapon out of its holster.

  "Movement on my twelve o'clock. You guys get the fire, I'll pursue," Deke hollered as he went into a dead run towards the figure that he saw duck behind a tree.

  Danny nodded, but didn't respond. Deke never saw the nod and wouldn't have heard a word anyway. His focus was on the suspect fleeing the scene.

  Danny turned his attention to the fire and started spraying to his right near the big white birch tree near the entrance. After what felt like hours, they extinguished the fire.

  "That's Kat's backpack and Derek's four-wheeler. They're here," Logan said, nodding his head toward the backpack that lay torched next to the door.

  "Please tell me they aren't down there." Danny pointed towards the door and bristled at the notion.

  "Not only do I think they're down there, I think we have more fire to contend with. Smoke's filtering through the sides of the door. Do you smell the gasoline? And the canteen lying over there…that's not Kat's." Logan pointed towards the left side of the door, half-covered by a pile of leaves was a camouflage colored canteen about the size of a dinner plate.

  "Do you happen to have a long metal stick to pry open the door? It's probably too hot for us to touch," Danny said, trying to keep the sarcasm out of his voice. He was half-serious. He couldn't believe the sheriff had fire extinguishers just lying around the back of his four-wheelers.

  "Yep." Logan was already pulling out a tire iron from the compartment before Danny could finish his question. "Can never be too prepared."

  "Of course not," Danny said dryly. "Slide it through the handle. I'll take one end and you take the other."

  Logan did as Danny instructed, Danny instantly grabbing the other end. They started to lift, awkwardly positioned, exerting all their strength in the difficult task. Logan felt the heat slamming into his face, knowing Danny could as well as they both leaned back as far as they could while simultaneously lifting as close as they could. Together they managed to pry open the door with a small struggle. They immediately jumped back as the door slammed to the other side and more white smoke floated into their path with a touch of orange sparkling flames.

  They both grabbed for their extinguishers and started blowing out the flames. The entrance was too narrow for two large men to walk down side by side. Logan went in first, pausing on the second step. "Grab that third extinguisher, just in case."

  He didn't wait for a response, turning back around and slowly made his way down the steps. The heat coming off the walls burned his throat, wishing that he could gulp a large glass of water. He didn't even want to think about those two and what they had already suffered. The fire wasn't given ample time to grow, but that didn't mean they weren't seriously injured. He suddenly wished for the cool, damp air from the last time he ventured down into this pit of darkness. He made it to the bottom of the stairs when his extinguisher started to sputter and wean down to nothing.

  "Move, I got it now," Danny said, almost shoving him to the side. Logan stepped back, trying hard not to touch the walls. He dropped his extinguisher and grabbed the extra one Danny held in his left hand.

  They slowly made their way down the darkened hallway, coughing and pounding out the fire each step they took. When the last flame died, their pathway suddenly filled with a swirling smoke that burned their eyes and clogged their throats. They couldn't see a damn thing anymore without the fire lighting the way.

  Logan set the extinguisher down and grabbed his phone from his belt, cursing violently that he forgot to grab a flashlight. "Do you have a flash…" Logan coughed. "…light or is the light on my phone, all we got?"

  Danny threw his hand in Logan's face, coughing roughly. "Got my phone light, too. Let's get 'em and get the hell out of here."

  When they got to the door, almost passing it from the swarming smoke, Danny tore off his jacket and jerked the door open. He didn't want to take the chance the handle was too hot to handle. The fire had simmered about 15 feet away from the door, but he refused to take the chance. The smoke rushed in behind them.

  "Aubrey!" Danny dropped to his knees by her side, lightly grabbing her head to see how bad her wound appeared.

  "I'm fine, Danny. Just a scratch," she replied, coughing at the same time.

  "Kat, are you okay?" Logan said, pulling her up with one hand and embracing her in a fierce hug.

  "Better…much better. Aubrey needs stitches. Get us out of here," she whispered close to his ear.

  Logan looked at Aubrey, who gave him a reassuring smile, but made no move to leave Danny's helping arm. He smiled back and gestured his head towards the exit. "Let's go!"

  Logan took the flashlight offered from Kat and led the way, holding onto her the whole time. He was so thankful they were unharmed and safe. He knew Aubrey had a small injury to her head, but what had been flashing through his mind the moment he saw the flames was far worse. He still couldn't dispel the horrible images from his mind. He wanted so badly to pull her into his arms, but the look on her face, and more importantly, on her brother's face, stopped him. He didn't have the right to, not like Danny did. He could feel himself losing her each step they took.

  The moment they breached the fresh outside air, Kat dropped to the ground and had a coughing fit. Logan knelt beside her, rubbing her back soothingly. "You're alright, Kat. I got you."

  "Aa-uu-brey," she said between coughs.

  Logan glanced over to where Danny helped Aubrey lean against the four-wheeler, her wound piercing to the eyes in the bright sunlight. Her hair was matted against her
head, a slow trail of blood running down her ear to her neck and down the side of her arm. Before Logan could tell Danny a first aid kit was in the compartment of the four-wheeler, a shot rang out through the air.

  Danny immediately shoved Aubrey down to the ground. "Shit, Deke!"

  Logan glanced in the direction Deke ran off, pinpointing that was the same direction the shot came from. "You two stay here. Did you see anyone before the fire started?"

  Kat tried calming her coughs and reached for her ankle. "No. Nothing. We'll be fine. Go check it out." She pulled a small gun from her ankle holster and flipped the safety off. "We're good, Logan, go!"

  "Be safe, come back to me," Aubrey said, grabbing Danny in a quick hug, then pushed him away.

  His startled expression had no time to bloom as he put his game face on and followed Logan into the fray.

  "How come you have a gun?" Aubrey asked, resting against the four-wheeler and glancing over at Kat, who scooted closer to her.

  "For this exact reason. What you said to Danny…"

  "My way of telling him my memories are back. Probably dumb going into a gunfight, but just in case, you know, something happens. There were a lot of times I hated his job. Still do, actually. We lost our parents in a blink of an eye. One day they were there and the next, just gone. I wasn't prepared to lose him too by some crazy asshole with a gun, or knife, or hell, even one time he walked into a situation that had a bomb. I got into the habit of always telling him 'be safe, come back to me'. He's all I have, Kat."

  Kat grabbed her hand. "Wrong. You have me, Seth, and seriously, how can you not count Logan? You have all of us. They'll be fine. I should really check that cut on your head."

  Kat jumped into a crouch as she made her way to the back of the four-wheeler when she heard the crunching of leaves coming from the other side. She put her fingers to her lips to signal to Aubrey to keep quiet. Aubrey nodded her head, keeping a look out in front of them in case someone came from that direction as well. They would be royally screwed if that happened.

  Aubrey couldn't help herself. "What do you see?"

  Kat flickered a wary eye at her. "We might have a problem."

  ***

  Logan and Danny caught up to Deke, who was hiding behind a big tree. He motioned for them to come near him quickly and low to the ground. Logan managed to get behind a large tree to his left while Danny took cover against a tree on his right.

  "I have Wayne Barten pinned down behind the crop of trees to our two o'clock. He has nowhere to go but up the hill behind him or straight towards us. He fired one shot at me before hiding. Hasn’t moved since," Deke whispered, taking another quick peek towards Wayne.

  "What do you think?" Danny asked Deke, giving a questioning eye to Logan as well.

  "We come in hot, you two flank to the sides and I'll go straight for him." Deke shifted his head between the two looking for confirmation. "He fired one shot, but if he really wanted a fight, he would've kept on firing. He's either scared shitless or low on ammo."

  "Give us a moment to get in position. I'm ready when you are." Logan saw Danny shake his head in approval. He started to turn and make his way to the left when he heard Danny speak directly to him.

  "Don't get shot. Aubrey would hate me."

  "Watch it, Agent O'Rourke, you might make me think you like me." With those parting words, Logan continued to his destination hoping like hell nobody got shot, especially Danny. He imagined Aubrey would hate him for it. Guess they both were in a rocky boat.

  Logan took a straight path for about twenty feet, then quickly veered to the right making his way towards the hill. He crouched behind a tree at the base of the hill and peeked his head around the tree, gun tightly in his hand and close to his chest. He saw Danny directly opposite of him peering from behind a tree about the same distance Logan had taken. He pointed a finger between them. Logan finally made out Wayne sitting against the bottom of a tree staring into his lap. Logan couldn't make out what he was staring at, but he assumed a gun.

  He glanced back at Danny, who nodded once, his eyes trailing to Wayne. He nodded back and flickered his eyes over to Deke, a simple signal for him as he took off at a sprint towards Wayne. Logan and Danny followed just as quickly.

  The sudden sound coming from all directions had Wayne lifting his head and shifting to find what the source of the noise was.

  "Sheriff's Department! Don't move. Drop the weapon," Logan hollered as he continued running straight for him, his weapon out and aimed for Wayne if he decided to make a move.

  Wayne jumped up, raising his gun as he did.

  "Drop the weapon! You're under arrest," Danny shouted.

  Wayne started to move forward, his head glancing back and forth between Logan and Danny, completely forgetting about the movement behind him. He brought his gun a little higher and pointed it directly at Logan. Before he could make another move, he felt a hard presence on the back of his head.

  "I suggest you lower that weapon slowly and put your hands behind your back. I don't take kindly to people shooting at me. There's no telling what I might do," Deke said in a calm voice as he held his gun against Wayne's head.

  "You pigs can go to hell." Wayne kept his eyes trained on Logan and spit a huge loogie in his direction.

  Logan didn't flinch. "The only one going to hell is you, Wayne. Like father, like son."

  "Mr. High and Mighty, Logan Caldwell. You think you're better than everyone. You wanna shoot me? Go ahead. You got nothin' on me."

  "I have enough. And I will see you go down for touching one hair on her head. In fact, I think if I…you know what? My threatening words won't scare you. So you can either lower the weapon, or I'll shoot you."

  Wayne laughed heartily. "Shoot me, Sheriff. I'll just shoot you at the same time."

  "I've changed my opinion about you. You're just plain dumb," Deke said, pressing the gun harder to his head. "Do you not feel this gun?"

  "You won't shoot me. You pigs can't."

  "Well, you don't know us very well. You have the count of five to lower that weapon, or I will shoot you. I haven't decided where I will either," Danny said through clenched teeth. His eyes kept focusing on the gun centered on Logan's chest. No matter how much he disliked the sheriff, he couldn't allow him to get hurt.

  Wayne started to laugh again. "Let me count for you, pig. Because the minute you shoot me, I'll shoot the big bad sheriff." More haughty laughter escaped his lips. "One…two…three…four…fi—"

  A lone shot rang out in the air.

  Wayne collapsed to the ground, clutching his leg. "You shot me, you bastard!"

  Logan grabbed for Wayne's gun that fell from his grasp the moment his downward fall occurred. He checked the weapon quickly, flipping the safety on and tucked it behind his back.

  "Can't call me a liar, that's for sure." Danny grabbed Wayne's arm and hauled him to his feet, Wayne hollering in his ear from the pain. "You're under arrest for kidnapping, assault, attempted murder, and yadda yadda yadda. You get the picture, don't you, Mr. Barten?"

  "You damn pig! You shot me. I'll have your badge." Wayne struggled to stand and collapsed again from the pain.

  "The only thing you'll have is your girlfriend back when the door closes in your face. Did you have a favorite? Any requests for cellmates? Do you like it up the ass?" Danny taunted him as he cuffed Wayne. He yanked him back up to his feet and shoved his arm to start walking.

  "You fuc—" Wayne screamed in pain as Deke jerked on his other arm to help him walk a little better.

  "Watch your language, Mr. Barten. We don't appreciate name-calling. If I hear the word pig one more time…oh, and don't forget, you have the right to remain silent. Unless, of course, you have forthcoming information about the kidnapping of Aubrey O'Rourke, otherwise, I suggest you remain silent. I'd hate for another bullet to hit you," Deke said.

  That quickly shut Wayne's mouth besides the frequent moans of pain as they made their way back to the four-wheelers. Logan walked behind them, wat
ching with a skillful eye. Wayne Barten had been a troubled kid with a hot button that didn't take much to set off. He was now a grown man with years of experience in the criminal world. He didn’t trust him for one minute not to try something. He didn't doubt that Wayne would have shot him. He saw the hatred in his eyes. He had the same look his father carried.

  Logan's mind played the scene over, especially the part where Danny fired his weapon. The shock still rang in his ears from that. He couldn't decipher the why. Did it have to do with the fact the man who took Aubrey stood in front of him? Or because a gun was centered on Logan? He couldn't figure it out and wasn't too sure he wanted to. Just then, he saw Danny turn his head slightly and share a look with him. An array of emotions spoke from his eyes. Logan nodded once, deciding he'd filter what those emotions said later. For now, a simple nod of thanks would suffice.

  When they neared their destination, Logan went into a full-on run when his eyes landed on the scene unfolding in front of them.

  "Shit! What happened?" Logan asked, kneeling down by Bolt where Kat held a wad of gauze to his side.

  "I'm sorry, Sheriff, I—"

  "Shh, Bolt, don't talk," Kat interrupted. She gestured towards Wayne, who cried out in pain as they dropped him to the ground. "He surprised Bolt and shot him. He's lost a lot of blood already. He needs to get to a hospital."

  "Alright. Okay." Logan stood up, trying to calm his racing heart. "Let's get him onto a four-wheeler. We'll have to meet an ambulance at the road."

  "I already called Derek and he's on his way with re-enforcements and an ambulance." Kat grabbed Bolt's hand and pressed it over the gauze. "Hold this tight to your side. Don't let go of it."

  "M'kay, Kat. I can do that," Bolt muttered as his grip loosened somewhat.

  "Bolt, hold it tight," Kat repeated, pressing harder, eliciting a deep moan from him. "Alright, let's get him up."

  Logan went to hook a hand underneath Bolt's arm when Aubrey stepped near them and almost lost her footing. Logan changed tactics and grabbed a hold of her. "Sweetheart, you're bleeding, too." Without waiting, he lifted her at the waist and planted her on the four-wheeler right next to them. "You need to get to the hospital as well."