[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.We had gone in the front door last time so that’s where I headed.I felt as if the trees watched, the house watched, everything had eyes, not friendly.The door was locked, of course.It wouldn’t be as easy as walking in.I didn’t know for sure that she was in there, but I heard pounding from inside the house and what sounded like a voice.I shook the door, hoping the old wood might give way and let us in.Nope.Not happening.“There’s a window in the back door.We can open that easy.” We went around the house.“Stand back.”I jumped back when Cherilyn raised her axe and swung it at the door.Glass and wood crashed into the kitchen.I reached through and down for the lock and found a latch to turn, turned it but the door didn’t budge.It was a deadbolt, locked from the outside.“Well shit.What now?”“I guess you crawl through.”“You’re skinnier.Can’t you do it?”Cherilyn’s fair skin blanched more.Damn, she was going to faint.“But Tali.I don’t want to go in there again.I can’t, not for anyone.”At that moment a scream shot through the room.“Help! Get me out of here! Mom, is that you? Is someone out there?” It came the direction of the pantry.“Please, please get me out of this! It’s dark and something’s in here with me.” Her voice went from pleading to whimpering.“Hang on, Cass! It’s Mom.I’m coming.”I grabbed Cherilyn’s axe from her limp hand as she stared into the house, her face lax with fear.The handle swung in a circle, knocking all the glass from the door.I was desperate for something to step on so I could try to heave myself through.I didn’t let myself think about getting stuck, wedged in the door for the rest of forever, listening to Cass pleading for help.I threw the axe down.A large rock put me high enough.I launched myself into the air and through the window, praying to the universe that I’d miss the worst of the glass.My hips grazed but didn’t stick.Both shins scraped in spite of the jeans but my boots stayed on.I yelped and would have cussed loudly if I hadn’t knocked the air out of my lungs.I lay gasping until I could get up.I’d only cut myself in a couple of places.“Someone please, is someone out there? Help me.” Cass’s voice scratched against the ear like nails, as if she’d been yelling for a long time.I pulled myself up from a prone position for the second time and stumbled for the wooden door opposite me.“I’m coming Cass.I’m here, baby.It’s all right.”“Mom.I knew you’d come.Hurry, they’ll be back, I know it.”I grabbed for the door, jerking on it.It refused to open.“The door’s stuck.Can you open it from the inside?”“Well no.If I could, I’d be out.They locked me in here so I wouldn’t get away.”“Who did? Who were they?”“Mom, hurry up.Don’t ask a bunch of questions right now.”I heard Cherilyn from outside.“Tali.Someone’s coming and I don’t know who.It could be the bad guys.Great.We didn’t know who the bad guys were.I grabbed the door handle and rattled the door as hard as I could, then saw the damned latch with the padlock at the top of the door.Well, shit.That hadn’t been there before.“Cherilyn, throw the axe through to me.”“Something’s watching me.”“Do it anyway, I have to get Cass out of here.”“Where is it?”“I don’t know.I’m in here, you’re out there.I know I dropped it before I launched myself through that little hole.”“Oh.Here it is.”I waited.“Throw it already.”“All right, watch out.”I dodged to keep from being hit by the flying blade.I picked it up and whacked at the padlock with the thick end of the tool.The angle was too high for any decent leverage but I figured if I banged at it long enough the wood might give way.Finally, the wood splintered and the lock fell off.Cass burst through the door much as Cherilyn and I had the day before, her eyes wild as her tangled hair.She threw herself at me, catching me in a bear hug that took my breath away once again.I staggered back, grabbed her in a hug and dragged her toward the door.“Let’s go, babe.Cherilyn said something was coming.”She stopped, stiff like a post, her eyes wide with fright.“Wait.I can’t go out there if they’re coming.”“Who do you think is coming? Why?”“I don’t know who.Something grabbed me from the house.I passed out or something and woke up in that room.But if the thing is coming back, I don’t want to go out and meet it.”“Was it Chase or his friends?”“Mom.What part of I don’t know don’t you understand? I passed out.I was alone here when I woke up.End of story.”Well she was feeling better.Every muscle in my body hurt from jumping through windows to rescue her.“Not end-of-story if the mysterious kidnappers are coming back.And why did they or he take you in the first place?”“I wouldn’t know, I’m not a mind reader like you.I know it’s better here than out there.”“It’s not safe in here so let’s go, now, without any more argument, young lady.”“All right, already.Don’t get your stuff in a bunch.” She dragged a chair to the door, stepped up and climbed through, much more gracefully.I climbed up, sat on the edge of the window, grabbed waiting hands, and jumped down.“JT what are you doing here? How did you find us?”“I could ask you the same thing.How did you end up here?”“I asked you first.Cherilyn and I cut over from the lake, not realizing we could get here from there.Her car is still back there.”“We got a call reporting activity at the old Rayburn house so we headed out.”“That was convenient.Who reported it?”“Didn’t leave their name.”“Do you think someone wanted you to find Cass?”JT raised on eyebrow.“Seems that way but then why bother taking Cass in the first place? What would that accomplish other than scaring her and you?”“Maybe that was the idea, making us feel vulnerable or something.I don’t know.I keep trying to find some logic in all of this [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]