Chapter Thirty-Two Noah #2
“Shit.” I smack the dash as Evie begins to cry. Goldie’s rubbing her back, telling her everything’s going to be okay, but I’m not so sure anymore.
“What are we supposed to do?” Chase breathes out too quickly.
I’m trying to think, but we’re in the middle of the woods with a guy hell-bent on killing us.
Goldie touches my shoulder. “Everyone here has their phones, so I’m positive the police have been called. We just need to hide long enough for them to get here.”
Chase turns in his seat. “You guys have been here for days—what are some places he wouldn’t find us?”
“He knows this camp like the back of his hand,” I level, feeling the stinging in my arm again.
Evie’s mumbling to herself, rocking in her seat, fear taking over. “We’re gonna die. Golds, we’re gonna die.”
Goldie’s looking down as she thinks before her face snaps up. “There’s a boathouse. I know he knows it . . . But I heard the setup crew talking about wanting to take the boat out. They just couldn’t find the keys.”
“We’re gonna die,” Evie continues to mumble, crying a little more.
“Hey,” Chase barks as he looks in the rearview mirror. “You’re not fucking dying tonight, you hear me? Stop crying and get mean because the only thing that’s gonna fucking kill you is my charm.”
She swallows and nods, then wipes her tears as they hold eyes for another long second.
I let out a breath. “Well, if that’s gonna be true, then we need to get the fuck out of here because we’re sitting ducks. Anyone know how to hot-wire a boat? Let’s make the motherfucker have to swim to us if he wants us dead.”
Chase chuckles, raising his hand. “It’s literally in the rich kid handbook: ‘How to steal your dad’s boat to get girls.’”
Goldie grabs Evie’s hand before I open my door quietly and look around. I go to the side of the van and open it for the girls, who pile out quickly. I take Goldie’s hand, and Chase grabs Evie’s.
I motion my head toward the camp, where the main path forks—one leads to the boathouse, and the other leads to the entrance. We run quietly, not trying to make any noise as we stick to all the shadows.
The grounds that were filled with people a half hour earlier are now desolate. Every light is off in every cabin. People are hiding. I press my back to one of the cabins, and everyone else does the same before I hesitantly poke my head out to the open area and peer up and down.
“It’s clear,” I whisper.
But I can hear whoever’s inside the cabin crying, and for a fleeting moment, I wonder if they would let us in. Maybe we should just hide.
Except I know better. They won’t, because I wouldn’t either.
Our steps start off slow as we stay in single file, until we’re too exposed out in the middle, so I pick up the pace to run past a large tree stump and lead us to the boathouse, but Goldie screams.
We all skid to a stop at the edge of the forked paths. In the distance, about thirty yards away, blocking our salvation, is Billy.
He’s standing and waiting, this time wearing a fucking hockey mask. The glint of the knife by his side gives it away.
“Go . . .” I say over stuttered breaths as I guide Goldie sideways. “Go to the cabin.”
My head’s the last to turn, but as it does, I see Goldie’s hands shoot over her mouth, capturing her gasp. “He’s there too.”
Billy’s standing by the girls’ cabin. Same fucking mask, same knife.
“Oh my god. Someone’s working with him,” Goldie rushes out.
“Or he’s a fucking gremlin, and someone threw water on him,” Chase throws out. He turns around and adds, “What about the offi—”
But he doesn’t finish what he’s saying because he lifts a hand, pointing in the direction he’s looking, as his chest rises and falls too quickly.
Our collective heads whip right and . . . Billy.
Panic is taking over. We’re all shifting around between the three paths, fear compounding because we’re surrounded. He’s everywhere.
“Noah . . . how . . .” Goldie whispers.
I shake my head. “I don’t know.”
“What are we gonna do?” Chase presses.
But Evie walks out in front of us. She points and wags her finger as she looks from side to side and then in front of us.
“Oh my god . . . oh my god,” she blurts out.
“Only one of these is real. I made him.” We all look at her in confusion, so she shakes her head and clarifies.
“I made these two dummies to look like Michael Myers. They were meant to be in the woods and scare people. I put one by the bonfire”—she points toward where the offices are—“and one out by the boathouse.”
We all look in that direction.
The moon shines down as we stand there for what feels like minutes. But it’s only seconds as we deliberate silently, because two roads lead to freedom and one leads to death.
“Can you tell which ones are fake?” Goldie whispers.
Evie shakes her head with both hands on the sides of her face as she looks to the men. She blows out a harsh breath.
“Do you have a designer tell? Look for that?”
“No,” she draws out. “I can’t tell. Fuck.”
“Come on, there’s gotta be something,” Chase adds.
But she starts to cry again. “I don’t . . . oh my god.” Her breathing starts picking up pace as she keeps looking between the paths. She’s panicking. “I can’t tell. Oh my god. I just don’t . . . I just don’t know.”
Chase pulls her into his arms and whispers down to her. I can’t hear what he says, but she lets him hold her while she repeats “I’m sorry,” over and over.
“Fuck this,” I rush out and turn to Goldie, cradling her face. “You’re going to go back to your cabin and lock the door. Do you hear me?” She’s shaking her head, already saying no, but I keep talking. “Take your sister back . . .”
“Noah . . . no.”
I nod reassuringly. “Take her back. Chase will go with you to protect you.”
Tears begin to stream down her face. “No . . . I’m not doing that.” She slaps her hands against my chest. “You’re not gonna be the fucking hero, Noah. We save each other tonight.”
I stare into her eyes, rubbing my thumb over her wet cheek. “It’s okay, baby. I’ll be fine. This has to end, and I’m the one who needs to do it.”
She grips my wrists and repeats herself, just a little quieter. “We save each other, do you hear me? I love you, and I don’t want to live without you.”
A heavy breath leaves me because I feel the same, but also I can’t live knowing I’ve put her in harm’s way. If something happens to her, it would only be because I’d let it. That’ll never be her story.
But before I can say any more, Evie pipes up.
“And I’m not living without my sister, so if she stays, you’re stuck with me too.”
I scoff, shaking my head as the girls look at Chase. He shrugs.
“I feel like I’ve made my position clear on this.” Chase locks eyes with me. “We ride, we die together. You’re the Martin to my Will. Also, in case anyone’s interested, I vote we head to the boathouse. It’s four against one, and I think we can take him.”
Both girls raise their hands, saying, “Me too.”
“You’re all nuts.”
“We’re all family,” Goldie counters.
I don’t have the emotional bandwidth to let that sit for too long, but we need to live so I can show her how grateful I am for those three little words.
My head turns to look out at the miserable motherfucker waiting for us as I say, “Boathouse it is.” My face swings back to Chase. “And for the record, you’re the Martin to my Will.”
“Code names.” He grins.
“Here we go . . . Girls, watch our backs,” I say to Goldie, feeling her turn around, her back to mine as Chase and Evie do the same, before we walk directly toward what could be our deaths.
The closer we come, the more the adrenaline builds, but it’s still not enough to counteract the visceral fucking fear.
We’re whispering among each other as we go through a hundred different plans, trying to strategize how we’re going to fend off an attack.
Billy managed to kill five people after almost being killed, so I’m wishing we had a few more of us going in.
“I love you. It’s still all clear back here,” Goldie says quietly, and Evie agrees.
“I love you too,” I whisper back.
“You make the best steak I’ve ever had,” Evie offers to Chase, since we’re doing endearments.
“Yes, I’ll marry you,” he answers back.
“Noah,” Chase says, looking over at me, but he doesn’t have to say anything else.
I can see it in his eyes—he’s as afraid as I am but still willing to risk his life for me. I nod and then turn my face back to Billy.
Fuck, this is unnerving, walking step by step toward the thing you’ve had nightmares about your whole life. He still hasn’t moved. And a part of me just wishes he’d fucking give himself away already.
“I’m done playing games, Billy. You wanted us here, so here we are, you motherfucker.”
Silence bleeds out, and none of us move because there’s no turning back. We’ve come as close as we can before the only way to the boathouse is through him.
Evie’s voice is quiet, so only we can hear: “Maybe he’s a fake one. Switch with me so I can get a closer look.”
“No. Stay there,” Chase orders, like when he’s in the kitchen.
But I’m barely listening because the longer I stare at that hockey mask, the more I can feel it—the rage.
It’s just like that night when I kissed Goldie in the alleyway. The rage is palpable, drawing me in toward him. I feel his hate, and his disgust. His disregard for life. I can feel him staring at us through that mask.
We’re standing in front of the real Billy.
We picked the wrong path.
Goldie’s hand tightens around my arm, and I know she’s turned around.
That’s when I see the knife.
Evie gasps, and slowly, as if he’s trying to draw out the terror, Billy reaches up and removes his mask, then drops it to the floor.
“Gotcha.”
He lunges forward, knife raised, but Chase and I are already running toward him. Billy spins, the knife slashing the air in front of him, making both of us jump back a few feet.
We stand off, staring at him as he glares back.
“Who wants to die first?” he asks.
Chase and I glance at each other, but Billy looks past us at Goldie.
“Here, kitty, kitty, kitty, kitty, kitty, kitty.” He smiles at her. “Don’t worry, sunshine. I’m only gonna kill these pussies.”
I channel all the rage I’ve felt during a lifetime, looking back at him. “I’d like to see you fucking try.”
Billy waves his knife between Chase and me, his evil smile ever apparent.
“Yeah, you fucking loser . . .” Chase antagonizes, drawing Billy’s eyes. “Why don’t you try and kill us? Or are you scared we’ll kick your townie ass?”
That’s all it takes. Billy charges, but I move forward and duck as the knife slices overhead. I ram my shoulder into his stomach, taking us both down to the ground.
We fall with a thud, and I yell to Chase to get the knife, but as he moves in, Billy rolls away from me onto one knee, then brings the shiny blade straight down into Chase’s thigh.
He howls as Billy twists the blade in. I scramble toward them, then wrap my arm around Billy’s neck, not feeling any pain. I dig my heels into the ground as I try to pull him away from Chase. He falls to the ground, crying out.
“Fuck . . . fuck!”
Evie runs to him and presses her hand down over the wound as Billy tries to stab me over his shoulder, but I grab his wrist with my free hand as he tries to slice the blade through the air.
“Fuck you, you piece of shit,” I growl and then headbutt him. “That’s for my best friend, you motherfucker.”
“There’s too much blood,” Evie screams, and I see Goldie run to them.
Billy uses the moment to knock the back of his head into my nose. I fall back, hearing the crack of the broken bones as blood gushes out.
“Noah,” Goldie screams and then starts toward me, but I reach up and grab Billy’s wrist again, struggling with it and flailing in the air as we both fight to stand to get the upper hand.
“Get Chase to the boat,” I tell her as Billy stands up first, using his weight to turn the knife toward my face.
Goldie screams my name again as she runs toward me, and I’m begging her to get out of here when Evie shows up out of nowhere and jumps on his back.
He rips himself away from me, turning with her on his back, before she bites down on his ear.
“Bitch,” he screams, then throws her to the ground and kicks her. I push to my feet, but Goldie grabs my arm, and as I look back at her, I feel it.
The knife cuts like butter into my lower back. My mouth falls open as Goldie’s hands cover her mouth and tears fill her eyes.
I drop my eyes to the front of my stomach, half expecting to see the knife tip come out the front of me.
“Run,” I breathe out, looking at her face.
But Billy pushes me aside and steps in front of her. He grabs her by the throat and squeezes, and I watch as all the life goes out of her.
If she’s hurt, it’s because I let it happen.
“You had your chance to be with me. To be my daughter, but you chose him. You’re no better than his mother. So now I’m gonna kill you like I should’ve done to her the first time. Now let’s let him watch.”
He spins her around, her back to him, as he holds my baby by her throat. Her beautiful green eyes are half blinking as he chokes the life out of her before raising his knife in the air.
“Now she’s mine.”
With all that’s left in me I spring forward as Billy stabs the air, aiming right for her chest, and I knock her from his grip. She plummets sideways as my body thrusts into his, and we both fall to the ground.
Billy’s on his back, his eyes wide, as I lie on top of him and stare down at him. Because he’s stabbed himself directly in the chest.
His breaths shudder as he stares up at me. My palm hits the ground to steady myself as I hear Goldie choking in air. I straddle Billy and wrap my hand around his fucking butcher knife before I pull it out slowly.
“She’ll never be yours.”
I raise the silverish metal above my head and lock eyes with him, seeing fear.
“Over my dead body.”
I hammer the knife down, driving it through his heart with every ounce of strength I have left. He sucks in a loud breath before a long soft exhale finally exorcises him from my fucking life.
He’s dead.
I fall beside him, staring up at the sky as I pant. Goldie scrambles over to me and kisses my face as I cough and look back at her.
“It’s over, baby. It’s all over.”
She’s kissing me as I lie there before we hear, “Cue the credits.”
Chase’s voice is weak but he’s fucking alive, and so is Evie, because she says “Shut the fuck up” from where she’s lying, which makes me laugh, then groan.
Goldie kisses my lips as the sound of sirens grows louder and louder.
“If this were a movie, you’d be the hero,” she says quietly.
“Oh yeah,” I say back. “I’d much rather be your husband.”
“Deal.” She helps me up as Evie does the same for Chase, and we hobble toward help like a band of busted-up vigilantes.
A long time ago, I learned from my favorite girl that once you find your family, you’ll do anything to keep them.
And these three are mine, so I killed for them.