39. Thirty-Nine
Thirty-Nine
Presley
Since everyone thought I was at work, it was easy to get away. Although, I had no car. I searched to see if any services would take me around the lake, and all I found was a public bus.
I stared out the window as the bus meandered along at a snail’s pace. The old lady next to me kept trying to chat me up and smelled of perfumed powder.
What was this test about, anyway? What did The Family want with me? I remembered Akira’s words about some prophecy I’d ignored at the time. Akira said a lot of things and probably more than he should have said. He believed in a grand prophecy that my brothers and I were a part of. Bullshit , I’d thought at first, but now . . .
There was obviously something they wanted me to know or to see. The vampire cult that kills people wanted me. The one that killed Sarah. The unease built in my stomach on the ride there, and my heart nearly burst when I reached my stop.
The sun was leaving. Typical. With it, the temperature dropped.
Little flurries danced in the streetlight at the bus stop. I had to imagine I was playing a video game. An adventure where the guy had to put together the clues to find his family again, and each level got a little harder. That would explain my sudden anxiety, which I never got. I didn’t use to fear anything. When your brothers are there to beat anything and anyone up and you’re immortal, what was there to fear?
I could think of a lot of things now.
That thought brought me to the trailhead at Seer’s Point. I looked over the worn, faded infographics on the sign. Mostly, it stated things about not leaving trash, and there was a little map.
What would video-game Presley do? I moved my hand along the top and bottom of the sign. No one was around. I couldn’t imagine a ton of people walking the trails in the winter. My bare fingers caught something under the bottom edge. An envelope like the one from the pub. Inside was a large see-through piece of paper I unfolded and held up to the light. The biggest landmarks were marked, so I lined it up with the map. A large black X marked a place just off the main trail.
They overestimated my ability to remember things. I took my sad little flip phone out and took a picture just in case.
The snow left water seeping into my pant legs. Was it part of the test? To see how far I’d be willing to walk alone in the snow? It was all a little too much for my liking. Like, wouldn’t one note suffice? It could’ve been an email or a text, but they’d made it into a game.
Of course. Akira loved games. He’d have no trouble having someone on standby to leave me clues before his inevitable demise.
Still, they didn’t have to do all this . So dramatic.
It was a cave. Why a cave? The light on my flip phone was dull and virtually nonexistent, yet I went into their creeper cave. I was shaking.
I smelled for blood or anything rotten, but there was just stone and dirt that grew stronger the farther I went.
The cavern narrowed, and a light appeared ahead. A battery-operated lamp sat in the dirt and illuminated a small area. There wasn’t much. Just a cardboard box, a duffle bag, and a small folding chair.
I plopped down, thankful my demise hadn’t been waiting for me.
Open first was painted in red on the black canvas bag.
It was a trap, and I was being such an Aaron. I’d thought he was an idiot for walking into one in Blackheart, and I’d just willingly done the same thing.
Thank god no one was there to see it.
I unzipped it while fearing the worst. A severed head. A bag full of snakes. Dead puppies—Now that would be vile.
Only, it wasn’t dead puppies. It was cash. Stacks of cash. The cardboard box was next, and at the bottom was a pile of pictures. My heart sank as I flipped through them. They were all of us in Blackheart. My family. Weird angles from the forest or the windows. Some of us laughing and others with more intimate moments. I noted the trees. Not all of them were from fall. Some were in the summer at the waterpark. Maybe earlier.
A weird unraveling started in my stomach until a tremble twitched in my fingers. They’d studied us. We were always within their grasp.
All the football games. All the parties. They were there patiently waiting for us. There were close-ups of my brother’s faces. Kim and Aaron in his room. Thane and me playing video games. So many of Zach and Luke. Like they were obsessed with the backs of their heads.
I stopped on one that differed from the others with a regal wallpaper I didn’t recognize. Luke and Zach were in black suits talking to one another.
I almost didn’t recognize them with their cropped hair. Luke’s eyes were hollow. He looked like someone kept him in a basement for five years. And Zach . . . had a lifeless stare that made me drop the picture.
I sucked in a breath. The Family knew where I was. They knew what I was doing. They were waiting for me. That reality had never been clearer.
It was bad. Bad Presley!
I had to stop. They may have known the general location we were in, but as long as I wasn’t tracked, they wouldn’t find my family. Luke and Zach would be so pissed off at me for putting everyone in danger while I played detective. They’d given up everything to keep us safe, and I’d led The Family right back to us.
They were obsessed with us. Suddenly, I didn’t feel like pretending I was an action-adventure hero. I wanted to run away and hide. The intimacy of the photos and the feeling of dread was plastered in my mind. The anger and sadness on my brothers’ faces . . .
They wouldn’t give up until they had us all.
It was dark by the time I left the cave. Up ahead, there was a star. Burning brighter than any other. I reached up, wanting to touch it and transport there. Something about the light made me feel like . . . like it would make this burning, throbbing, aching feeling in my chest stop. So I started walking.
I kept my eyes on the sky and let that invisible string pull me into the night until I wasn’t walking anymore. I was running. Faster and faster toward that light. It was there. I swear I felt lighter.
What was this feeling?
Was it them?
Was it Her?
Whatever it was, I needed it. The closer I got, the more it eased the pain in my chest.
Then I was standing in the dark, in the cold . . . alone.
It wasn’t a cosmic revelation to feel alone, but it was for me.
It wasn’t fair that they got all the responsibility because they were born first. They’d done everything for me, and I’d done nothing. How was I supposed to deal with that?
Getting older sucks.
Crumbling into the snow, the tears assaulted me until I was sobbing into my hands. It made my chest hurt worse, but it felt good to let everything fall out of me.
It would have been easier to make my brothers the villains in their story, kind of like Aaron did at first, but they weren’t the villains in my story, not in this lifetime or any other. My brothers were both heroes in my book. They’d fought their fate with everything they had.
The pain in my chest throbbed out of control. It was the only connection I had left to them. When I didn’t feel it, it scared me, like maybe one day I wouldn’t feel it anymore.
I didn’t want Mom to tell me everything would be fine. I didn’t want Kimberly to try to fix my problems. I wanted my brother to tell me everything would be okay. I needed a hug that would erase my errors and sins.