“Please,” I said, not wanting to be alone. My body was still trembling, and I couldn’t shake the eerie feeling that someone was watching me.
It wasn’t possible, though. Elijah was trapped in the basement, just like he’d trapped me. He was getting a taste of his own medicine, and I really hoped he was hating every minute of it.
“Did you guys find some gas?” I asked as we walked up the stairs.
“Some,” Archer said. “Not as much as we would have liked.”
“It took you a long time.”
Archer nodded. “We stayed out of town and checked along the shore for abandoned vehicles.”
No one had said anything, but I was almost certain we wouldn’t be heading out on the road for a while. Sam was in rough shape, and she would need to heal. She would need to regain her strength, and after my confrontation with Elijah, I needed to regain mine too.
Morning came far too quickly. Archer was standing at the window when I opened my eyes.
“Erik’s ready to go,” he said, concern wrinkling his brow. “I think you should stay here with Dorian.”
“Oh, no,” I said, shaking my head. “Not that I don’t trust Dorian, I think we should all stick together. Elijah would want us to separate.”
“I thought you’d say something like that,” Archer said. “I want to talk you out of it, but I don’t want you out of my sight.”
I swung my legs over the side of the bed and got to my feet. Archer wrapped his arms around me and squeezed.
“Ow!” I said, wincing.
Elijah had been rough dragging me through the woods, and until that moment, I hadn’t realized exactly how rough he’d been.
“Sorry.” Archer’s brow wrinkled. It was like he was angry all over again about what happened to me. “Let’s go get this asshole, huh?”
I nodded, but I wasn’t exactly thrilled by what we’d have to do. Seeing him dead, on the other hand, might be a relief. Elijah had tortured me for far too long, and it needed to be over.
We walked close together. Archer and Erik at the sides of the group, each holding a gun.
Everything was calm and peaceful. The sun brightened our surroundings, and the birds were singing their sweet morning songs. They’d probably change their tune if they knew what we were going to do.
I slowed slightly when I saw the house. Being close to where Elijah was sent shivers up and down my spine.
“It’s okay,” Archer whispered. “We’re not going to let anything happen to you.”
“That’s right,” Sam said. “He’s going to pay for what he did to you and to my eye.” Sam looked at Erik’s hand. “Shouldn’t I have the gun?”
Erik ignored her and pushed open the cracked front door. He glanced at me over his shoulder.
“You left this open?” Erik asked.
“I… I don’t remember,” I stammered. “I must have.”
Erik led the way into the house, and we all followed him single file. He stopped walking and rested his hand on the top of his head.
His eyes were focused on the wall. My hands started to shake.
“No, no, no!” Sam shouted, pounding her fist into her thigh.
There was a message written in blood. Three short words meant for me.
This isn’t over.
I covered my mouth with both hands as the room started to spin. Erik stepped to the side and looked toward the kitchen.
“Fuck!” he said, punching the air.
I dashed toward him, needing to see. The chair was on the kitchen floor in two pieces. There was a bullet hole through the door near the knob.
“We need to get out of here,” Erik said, grabbing my arm. He pulled me along as we all rushed out of the house.
Our feet moved fast. I kept looking back as if I expected the house to blow up, which, of course, didn’t happen. Elijah was good, but he wasn’t that good.
At least I hoped he wasn’t.
We jogged back to Erik’s house and locked ourselves inside. Erik and Archer swept the house to make sure Elijah hadn’t sneaked inside.
“What the hell are we going to do,” Sam asked, lying down on the couch.
Her chest was rising and falling with her labored breaths. I could tell each inhale caused her an intense amount of pain.
“We’ll just leave,” Dorian said. “We got the gas. Once we’re in the car, he won’t catch us.”
Erik nodded.
“It’s just too bad he gets to live,” Sam said.
“We’ll rest for three days,” Erik said. “No one goes outside. Someone keeps watch at all times.”
“He’s hurt,” I said. “He’ll need to rest too. With a broken bone, he likely won’t try anything. Elijah isn’t stupid. He won’t come for me unless the odds are in his favor.”
Sam nodded. “Mel’s right. We’ll just be smart and careful.”
“Think you’ll be okay to travel in three days?” I asked, kneeling on the floor next to Sam.
“Oh, yeah. Definitely,” Sam said. “I could go now if I had to.”
I smiled at her. “Well, I’m pretty sore. I could use the rest.”
“We all need to be ready,” Erik said. “It’s going to be a long trip. I don’t think we’ll have enough gas to make it without stopping, but we should make it a good distance.”
“Where is this car anyway?” Archer asked. “What makes you guys think it’s going to run?”
Erik ran his fingers through his hair. “It’s old. No electronics. It should run.”
I couldn’t wait to leave. The further away from Elijah we all were, the better.
There wasn’t anything worse than being stuck anywhere near where Elijah was.
I’d thought Sam was being selfish and careless about leaving, but I was glad she’d pushed it so hard. We had a plan,
