24. Lexi
Chapter twenty-four
The plan is a simple one.
I’ll wait at the top of the hill where we all supposedly fell to our deaths and scream bloody murder until the Axeman returns to finish the job.
Once he’s within sight, the rest of the group will come running out of the tree-line and attack him until he doesn’t get back up, or until he stops breathing.
We’re hoping that by doing this before the sun sets, it’ll lure him out of wherever he’s hiding, giving us the upper hand by seeing him before it gets dark. If that doesn’t work, then we will just have to try again tomorrow.
Simple enough, right?
I can do this.
They won’t let me die.
They can’t let me die.
I really wish I could remember what happened before I woke up at the bottom of said hill. Something is nagging at the back of my brain, something I feel is essential, but every time I try to focus on that faded memory, it eludes me yet again.
Flashes of blue, tantalizing caresses…then nothing.
Trying to conjure up a memory I’m not sure I have anymore is futile.
I stare at my haggard reflection in the bathroom mirror as I give myself one last pep talk.
My blonde hair is lifeless, limp, and frizzy.
My eyes are sporting bags larger than the ones I packed for Scotland.
Really, the only thing I have going for me is this once-hideous outfit that’s been turned cute.
I cut the oversized purple hoodie into a crop top and chopped off the sleeves.
If I’m going to my potential death, I refuse to be caught looking like that stupid purple dinosaur all the kids used to rave about.
Lochlan and Lee are waiting for me outside the bathroom once I finally emerge.
“Killer outfit, Lex,” Lee muses with a sly smile.
Lee and Lochlan are both dressed in matching black cargo pants and fitted black V-neck t-shirts.
I suppress a giggle when I realize we all have the same style of combat boots.
This creepy bunker literally had everything we needed.
We look like a trio that you’d find in some sort of video game.
I must admit the style suits us for what we’re about to endure.
“It’s nice to see you out of that robe,” I tease.
“Here, take this just in case.” Lee hands me a large knife tucked into a black sheath. We don’t acknowledge the tremble in my hands when I take it from him.
“What’s this strap thing for?” I ask, inspecting the black nylon bands attached to it.
Lee shrugs before Lochlan reaches for the knife. “May I?” I nod, handing it over to him. He kneels before me and taps the outside of my thigh. “Are you a lefty or a righty?”
“Lefty,” I tell him, my eyebrows furrowing in confusion. “Why?”
“Just watch,” he says, wrapping the strap about my left thigh. He tugs it tight enough that it won’t fall while I’m running, but not so tightly that it cuts off my circulation. He stands and flashes me a lopsided grin. “Attagirl, lass. Now you’re properly prepared to take on the world.”
I tug the knife out of its holder, attempt to twirl it, then slide it back in before I chop my own fingers off. It feels good to have this by my side, even if I have no clue how to use it. I guess I’ll just have to stab first and ask questions later if it comes down to that.
“How’d you know how to work this contraption anyway?” I ask Lochlan. “What kind of kinky nonsense are you into, Lochy-boy?”
“Lara Croft,” Lochlan says proudly with a big, stupid grin on his face. “She was my biggest crush as a wee lad.”
“Mine too,” I smirk, earning surprised looks from both men. Whatever. Lara Croft was hot. Anyone who denies it is a liar.
The fun mood turns serious as Lee steps forward and places a hand on my shoulder.
Lochlan does the same. We form a tight-knit circle and bow our heads together.
“Whatever happens today,” Lee whispers, “just know that I’m glad that I got stuck with the two of you during this twisted goose chase.
I’m with you both until the bitter end.”
“Way to be inspirational. Clearly, Capri’s epically inspiring pep talks haven’t rubbed off on you yet,” I respond with a weak laugh. “But, I’m also glad that you’re both here with me. Just try to keep me alive.” I swallow hard against the lump in my throat. “Please.”
Lochlan snorts. “We got you, lassie. Now let’s go give this axe-douche a taste of the L-team.”
“You’re such an idiot, Lochy,” I tease as I wrap my arms around him and Lee. “You guys better stay safe.”
“You too,” they say in unison, hugging me tighter.
We join Kristi and Sammy at the entrance of the bunker. Then the five of us head out and make the trek back up the hillside.
We raided the small weapons arsenal, but there wasn’t much in it. It’s clear the bunker’s used for hunting. I shudder as I realize that we might be the game now.
Is this what Pierce does when he’s not busy writing novels? Promising an exclusive meet-and-greet to lure in unsuspecting victims for his twisted games doesn’t seem so far-fetched now that it’s happening to us.
Screw that, it’s time to reverse our fate.
Lochlan has the crossbow thrown over his shoulder. Lee carries an axe, which seems oddly fitting for him. Kristi and Sammy both have knives, as I do, along with two baseball bats. We all carry extra supplies in case everything goes wrong, and we get separated or can’t make it back to the bunker.
Which had better not happen because I’m much too pretty to die this young.
When we reach the top, we all split ways. I take my position as bait near the ledge and wait for Sammy’s bird call to signal that the rest of them are in place and ready for me to put on the performance of a lifetime.
“Caw-caw! Caw-caw! Caw-caw!”
That’s my queue. Now, here’s to hoping those acting classes in college will finally pay off.
I raise my hands to the sky and scream. “COME AND GET ME YOU AXE-SLINGING DOUCHECANOE! You wanted me, you got me!”
My voice echoes through the sky as I scream and stomp my feet louder while my eyes skim the tree-line for any movement.
“COME OUT, COME OUT WHEREVER YOU ARE! Face me like a grown-up! You think you’re tough with that stupid little axe? COME AND TRY ME THEN!” My lungs are on fire as I strain to yell as loudly as I can.
Just when I think this plan isn’t going to work, I see movement to my left. Kristi is running out of the woods, her bat up and ready to swing. Except she’s running right at me.
“This is all your fault, Lexi!” she screams as she approaches me. The bat makes a whooshing sound over my head, and I duck at the last minute, avoiding having my skull smashed in.
“What are you doing, Kristi!” Sammy screams, his legs pumping in rhythm with his arms as he races to catch up to the two of us.
Kristi turns on her heel, spinning to face Sammy. “You don’t understand!” she howls before reaching into her back pocket. “This entire thing is HER fault!” Kristi faces me again and throws a white envelope. It floats to the ground like a feather in the wind.
“Lexi is on our side.” Sammy tries to reason with her. “Why would she put herself in this situation while we all just wait to be killed off by the Axeman?”
She has her bat raised again, her arm shaking with restraint as she looks back and forth between the two of us.
Where did Lee and Lochlan disappear to? I know if they saw this crap going down, they’d be here to defend me in a heartbeat. What if the Axeman already has them? My heart starts pounding at the thought as my eyes dart from the tree-line and back to Kristi.
Sammy steps forward, his arms raised, while he pleads with Kristi to hand over the bat, just as I catch movement behind him.
“Lee!” I shout. Pure undiluted terror consumes me as I watch the Axeman and Lee fall out of the forest, tangled together.
Lee’s axe drops out of his grasp and rolls a couple of times before coming to a thumping stop mere feet from them.
I can’t tell who has the upper hand as they roll and wrestle each other to the ground.
The Axeman slams the hilt of his own axe into Lee’s face, knocking him out entirely.
“No!” I shout, racing past Kristi and Sammy toward where Lee lies motionless.
The Axeman raises the axe above his head as he stares down at Lee.
“Get away from him! Please! Take me instead, just leave him alone!” My voice cracks, and hot, wet tears stream down my cheeks as I fall to my knees next to Lee.
Blood runs freely out of the wound on his head, but his chest rises slowly. He’s still breathing. He’s still alive.
“Please.” I look up at the Axeman. “Please let him live.”
The Axeman cocks his head at me. “Choose.”
The sound of his voice stirs something in me. Do I know him? “Choose what?” I ask, rubbing at my nose and face.
“Who should I kill next, Lex?”
I tug my hair with my hands as I stare at the Axeman. The mask and the sound of his voice tug at a memory, but I can’t concentrate enough to pull it out of my scattered thoughts.
I won’t play this game. I can’t be the decider of someone else’s fate—only my own.
“Me. Take me,” I gasp out through my tears.
The Axeman lets out a small chuckle and stands, stepping over Lee’s limp body, and stops before me.
He raises the axe above his head. “I’m not done with you yet,” he responds, then lets the axe fly past me, over my head.
There’s a loud thunk, followed by a startled, gurgling noise behind me.
I turn and see the hilt of the axe embedded in Sammy’s chest. I gasp as his dark eyes meet mine, frozen in shock and fear, before he collapses.
The Axeman lets out another heartless laugh as he heads back into the darkness of the forest, disappearing.
“Sammy!” Kristi screams, skidding to a stop next to him with the bat raised over her head.
It falls to the ground with a hollow thud.
She looks from Sammy’s dead body, then back to me, her eyes glistening with both unbelievable sadness and unrelenting rage.
Her hands wrap around the handle of the axe, and she yanks it savagely out of Sammy’s body before turning and stalking right toward me.
I crawl back on my hands, trying to put as much distance as I can between us. My hand hits Lee’s unconscious form, making him stir slightly. “Kristi, wait. You don’t need to do this!” I plead, raising my hands.
Kristi sneers and lifts the axe high above her head. “This is for Sammy!”
The axe seems to come down in slow motion.
Before I can scream, it falls to the ground at my feet.
I look up and see an arrow plunged into Kristi’s chest, blood bubbling out of her mouth as she grips the air.
She falls to the earth with a deafening thud.
Her eyes stay open as she stares into mine, gasping for that last breath she can’t get a hold of.
My entire body convulses. I turn and puke. Tears stream down my cheeks and mix with vomit.
How did this happen?
A hand touches my shoulder. I flinch, grasping for the knife strapped to my thigh.
“Easy, easy, Lex,” Lee says with a grimace. “It’s just me.”
I look into his impossibly kind eyes, waiting for the judgment and hateful remarks to finally land. But they don’t. Instead, Lee wraps me in a warm embrace and holds me as I fall apart.
“Is our lady okay?” Lochlan shouts from the tree-line a few yards away. Lee and I look over, and I see that Lochlan has the crossbow pointed in our direction.
He just killed Kristi…to save me.
The realization sends me into another fit of tears as I nod and wave him over. I don’t think my legs will cooperate right now, but I know we need to get back to the bunker and regroup. Replan.
I look over at Sammy and Kristi. Clearly, this plan failed in the most devastating and catastrophic of ways. I collapse into Lee’s arms again as the weight of our loss threatens to bury me.
A choking noise I’ve never heard before startles me when I realize Lochlan is screaming. The Axeman has the handle of the axe under Lochlan’s throat, tugging him toward the forest.
He must have grabbed the axe Lee dropped.
“COME AND GET ME, LEX!” the Axeman teases.
Lee and I jump up just as we watch Lochlan get pulled into the forest by the Axeman, his arms flailing as he fights against him.
“We have to save him!” I shout, racing toward the forest. There’s a strangled gasp behind me. Lee falls to his knees, clutching his ribs.
He throws his hand out as I reach his side. “No! Go after Lochlan! I’ll catch up when I can. I just need a minute.” His voice is strained as he takes short, stuttered breaths. “I think that asshole broke my ribs.”
I kneel and wrap my arm under his and pull him to his feet as quickly as I can. He grunts in pain, but Lee also knows time is of the essence, and we have none to waste when we have to save Lochlan. “In no world would I leave you behind, Lee. We finish this together, or we don’t finish it at all.”
He stares down at me, grimacing, but nods in agreement. “Let’s go save Lochy.”