The Children and the Blood (7 page)

He drew a slow breath. He couldn’t call the cops without telling them where the men were heading. And he wouldn’t know that unless…

Vaughn’s voice echoed back to him, telling him to stay down or he’d die.

This was what shock felt like when it was breaking.

Cole ran for the car.

Now

With a clunk, the book hit the ground and Ashley jerked awake.

At the sudden motion, her neck twinged and she winced. Moving gingerly, she shifted out of her awkward position against the window frame and rubbed her neck with a hand still tingling from being pinned between her body and the wall. Red imprints in the shape of the window molding marked her arm, and she suspected from the weird feeling on her face that they crossed her cheek as well.

She could just picture Jonathan’s expression when he found out she’d once again fallen asleep only inches from her bed.

Rolling her shoulders to loosen them, she glanced at the clock on the nightstand and instantly regretted it. Depressingly small numbers glowed back at her, burning indelibly into her mind the math of how few hours’ sleep she’d have till sunrise.

With a sigh, she reached down, retrieving the book from the floor and then tucking it beneath the window cushion. Propping herself against the nightstand, she fumbled for the lamp switch and then clicked it off.

A strange, orange glow filled the room.

Deep in her stomach, she felt herself start quivering.

With tremulous control, she pushed to her feet. Her eyes locked on the shifting shadows and light playing over the dark walls, tracing them back to the window on the far side of the room.

Orange ghosts shimmered on the casement. Her hand clutched at the rail of the footboard as she navigated around the bed, and when she came into view of the window, she forgot how to breathe.

Fire engulfed the barn.

Black silhouettes against the light, the farmhands looked tiny as they battled the towering blaze. Broken beams shifted in and out of view behind the curtains of flame, and from the ranch house, she could hear someone ringing the alarm bell, though she could already tell that the structure was a loss.

All that mattered now was getting everyone out before the embers spread the flames.

Gasping, she whirled from the window and tore across the room. The door crashed against the dresser as she threw it open, toppling books to the ground. Taking the steps two at a time, she raced to the second floor and landed with a thud at the foot of the stairs.

“Dad!” she screamed.

Not waiting for him, she dashed into Lily’s room, skidding on the paper and crushing crafts beneath her feet. The little girl blinked blearily and let out a confused cry as Ashley ripped the blanket away and then yanked the child to her feet.

Ashley glanced back as Patrick’s door flew open.

He took in the dark hall and his panicked daughter in a glance. “What’s going on?”

“Fire. The barn.”

Spinning back toward Lily, she grabbed the girl’s jeans from the floor and pushed them into her sister’s hands. “Come on.”

Dragging the girl behind her, she headed for the door. “Jonathan and the others are out there,” she called over her shoulder. “The stupid hay probably wasn’t dry enough. But they’re trying to put it out.”

She rushed down the stairs. Pausing in the foyer, she shoved her feet into her shoes and quickly motioned for Lily to do the same. Patrick pushed past them both, heading for the back door. Glancing to her sister, Ashley tried to smile.

“It’s going to be fine, Lil.”

The girl nodded nervously as she pulled on her jeans and shoes.

Clutching Lily’s hand, Ashley hurried after her father. Yanking open the door, he started down the concrete stairs, his daughters on his heels.

At a popping noise, Patrick stopped. Ashley jerked to a halt behind him, confused. His brow furrowed as he glanced back at her, and she couldn’t understand the look in his eyes.

He tumbled down the steps to the ground.

“Daddy?” Lily cried.

Ashley stared.

Blood spread like water from the holes in his chest, dyeing his pale t-shirt red. Choking wetly, his face crumpled in bewilderment and pain as he dragged his gaze over to hers.

“Run,” he gasped.

Ashley stumbled down the stairs, crashing to her knees by his side. Bubbles of blood hovered around his lips, with more frothing up every time he breathed.

This couldn’t be happening.

This wasn’t real.

“Jonathan!” she screamed.

She tore her gaze from her father and scanned the fields desperately. He had to be there. He would help them.

The farmhands walked away from the flames. The person on the steps dropped the bell and headed their way.

And from behind the hillocks around the farm, masked men with rifles rose to join them.

Lily whimpered, fingers digging into Ashley’s arm.

“Ashley,” Patrick whispered. “Run.”

She looked down as his head lolled sideways to face the approaching men. Determination flickered through his eyes.

White light surrounded her and rushing air roared in her ears. Distantly, she heard Lily screaming. And then something soft crushed into her.

Gasping, she sat up. She was in the vegetable garden, Lily clutching her hand. Frantically, she scrambled to her feet, searching for her father.

Masked men surrounded him.

With a cry, she tried to run to him. Lily hauled on her arm, holding her back with terror in her eyes.

Through the circle, another man approached. Amid the ski masks and rifles, his business suit and uncovered face stood in sharp contrast. Firelight played off his dark hair, turning his eyes into shadowed pits and chiseling his face in strange relief. Several inches taller than anyone around him, he towered like a giant over her father on the ground.

In spite of everything, Patrick tried to stand. Fury surged past the pain on his face, and his hand rose as if to strike the man.

The giant scoffed, and his fingers twitched as though flicking away a fly. Patrick gasped. His back arched sharply. And then he crashed to the ground and didn’t move again.

Ashley couldn’t breathe.

This wasn’t happening.

A smile curled the giant’s mouth as he looked toward the girls in the vegetable garden.

“Get them,” he ordered.

Like unleashed hunting dogs, the men charged.

The sight shattered her paralysis. Ripping her gaze from her father, Ashley spun. Yanking Lily behind her, she tore across the tilled soil, choking back a sob as the soft earth sucked at her feet, slowing her down.

She reached the edge of the garden and took off across the field with no idea of where to go. Lily clung to her, and she could hear the girl crying. Thelma’s house was an eternity away, and she couldn’t see the woman’s porch light. The farmhands’ house was dark. No one had emerged this whole time.

Tears burned her eyes.

She kept running.

Headlights surged over the rise at the edge of the property. With a shriek, Ashley tried to turn, her feet sliding from beneath her on the grass. Lily slammed into her and frantically, Ashley grabbed the girl and shoved her to the side.

Lily rolled away.

Ashley didn’t have time to move.

The car roared straight at her.

*****

As the hours passed, Cole began to wonder if Keller’s definition of ‘close’ had been in relation to another galaxy, or even just the moon.

He scrubbed a hand across his burning eyes, trying to stay focused on the road. An indeterminate number of miles before, they’d passed a large blue sign welcoming them to Montana, so he knew what state they were in, at least. But they’d left the highway a while ago, and had since been following circuitous mountain roads through tiny towns with little more than a street light to separate them from complete oblivion. Occasionally, the pinprick glows of distant farms would appear. Even more rarely, a sign pointed into the black abyss of an adjoining road, denoting other specks of life lost somewhere in the darkness. But town names or mile markers were infrequent at best and he couldn’t make himself believe that anything he saw would guide the police to the other vehicles’ destination very well.

Assuming he could call them.

And he didn’t run out of gas before he got there.

Grimacing, he glanced at his cell phone for the twentieth time in as many minutes. Once they’d left the interstate, the bars of signal had dwindled, and for the past few miles, he’d only seen a tiny message politely notifying him of the utter lack of connection.

It was maddening. All his plans went out the window if he couldn’t do something as simple as call the police.

Taillights flared ahead of him again. For the first hour or so, he’d expected them to notice the luxury sedan pacing them along the miles of interstate – and to make something horrible happen to him as a result. But as time passed, several other cars pulled in behind the leaders, forming a loosely connected caravan, and he realized they’d assumed he was one of them all along.

It wasn’t exactly comforting, though it did mean he probably wouldn’t die before they reached their destination.

Drawing a steadying breath, he shoved the fatalistic thoughts away. Up ahead, Keller’s car veered onto a nearly invisible fork hidden among the trees. The other vehicles disappeared after him, and soon Cole could see glimmers of their headlights twisting down the mountainside.

And as with every other blind, unmarked turn in the past few hours, he gripped the wheel and followed them without the slightest clue where they were going.

The narrow track wound through the forest, rolling with the dips and turns of the steep descent. Trees shadowed the road, obliterating any trace of starlight. Gravel growled beneath his tires, making the sedan feel barely stable on the mountainside.

And then they came around a curve, and the valley opened up below them.

Unconsciously, he eased off the accelerator, barely noticing as the car slowed.

He was too late.

They’d already started.

Fire engulfed the barn on the far side of the valley, lighting the night sky. For the moment, the houses remained untouched, but he knew that would change. Reece and his friends were pulling up to block the drive, and in the flickering light of the flames, he could see dark figures hidden behind hillocks in the ground.

His hand fumbled for the cell phone. Thumbing it on, he cursed vehemently and then tossed the useless thing into the passenger seat.

Crushing the pedal to the floor, he sent the car careening down the mountainside.

His eyes flicked from the road to the houses below. He didn’t know what he was going to do when he got there, but if he could warn them that the weird, glowing men were coming – and that the fire was a trap – maybe they’d stand a chance.

Three figures rushed from the house. One fell.

He swore, the car nearly leaving the road as he careened around another curve.

A burst of light made his gaze snap back to the farm.

The fallen one still lay on the ground, but the two others were gone. A large figure stood over the prone body, while the black-clad vultures circled.

Cole scanned the yard in confusion, and then he spotted them.

The two girls were alive, huddling several yards from where they’d been standing.

And then the men started coming for them.

He hit the gravel track bordering the property, and instantly, the embankments obscured his view. Gasping, he glanced to the road. He was running out of time.

A dead body was sprawled across the lane.

Shouting, he swerved. At full speed, the car rushed up the embankment and charged over the rise.

A girl was directly in his path.

Frantically, he hauled on the wheel and the emergency brake, sending the vehicle whirling in a tight arc around the girl and missing her by inches. Grass and dirt flew everywhere as the car spun to a halt between her and the men.

He couldn’t believe he’d just done that.

Gasping, he flung himself at the passenger door, throwing it open.

“Get in!” he shouted.

The driver’s side window shattered.

Lunging forward, the older girl grabbed the younger one and propelled the child into the car before tumbling in behind.

Cole’s foot hit the floor, taking the gas pedal with it.

The engine roared as he whipped the car around. Dirt spewing from beneath the tires, the vehicle surged toward the far edge of the property.

He glanced over as the older girl let out a choked cry. Another house. More bodies. A bloodied floral dress and a glimpse of a dead man with white hair were all he saw before the car rushed past and left the carnage behind.

Gripping the wheel, he braced himself as the sedan flew over the embankment and crashed back down onto the path. Gravel spit furiously from beneath them as the car fishtailed.

The tires caught. The sedan righted itself with a lurch. Headlights flooded his rearview mirror.

Reece and his friends were coming.

The car raced for the mountain road.

“Are you hurt?” he yelled over the growl of the gravel.

No response.

He looked over quickly. Eyes glazed, the older one stared at the floor. The younger had her head buried in the other girl’s lap.

Drawing a breath, he checked out the window as the sedan wound up the mountainside. The other cars weren’t too far behind, but the turnoff was ahead. And then the main road. And then the interstate.

If he could reach it in time.

Slowing as much as he dared, he started to turn.

Headlights surged into view. A horn blared. Hitting the brakes, he swerved madly as a pickup truck veered out of the way and smashed into the trees behind him.

With a cornering ability born of being too expensive for its own good, the sedan snapped back onto the concrete. Hanging onto the wheel with a white-knuckled grip, Cole risked a hasty glance in the rearview mirror.

The driver was getting out and shouting after him. But his truck was blocking the road Reece and the others were driving. Relief at the latter, and guilt at the former, warred inside Cole momentarily before he settled on just being glad the three of them were alive.