Chapter 40
Torren
Visions of that fateful night enter my mind, but they don’t cause distress.
That night was a lesson. It taught me how to use this monster to do something when evil strikes, and I’m going to use it to save the love of my life.
Felix took my broken heart and put it back together, and I’ll slaughter anyone who stands between him and me.
I love him with my whole heart, and I’ll never cower away from saying it again.
My eyes trail down to the phone strapped to the hand clutch. My blue dot is quickly approaching the red.
Hot breath. Heart thuds. Fingers itch.
The cabin appears, and I stop the bike, leaping off it and running toward the house. I peek through the window to see if anyone is there. I see a mess of blood on the floor, and my foot kicks open the door, my gun ready to blow a hole in Hargrove.
There’s no response, and I creep in to find someone lying on the ground, a pan next to them.
Hellcats spill into the space, voices clamoring.
The back door is open, and I run out onto the deck to find a trail of blood along the wet ground.
And footprints.
I dart into the woods, following the prints I see on the ground. I hear Hargrove screaming Felix’s name. My heart squeezes in my chest because that means he’s alive.
My boots pound the ground—legs moving faster and faster.
The calm before the kill consumes me. My body’s a machine with a single mission.
Kill that man, and take Felix home.
Felix
The trees won’t shut their goddamned mouths! I just want to curl up into a ball and—
“Felix! This way.” I follow Mother’s voice, sprinting past little creatures that scurry on the ground with bloody paws.
I hear the monster screaming my name—its voice is more terrifying than before.
“Felix!” I turn and see—
“Torren!” I run to him, but my body falls through his. When I look back, a panther crawls toward me, gnashing its teeth. The trees bend forward, all of them with Torren’s face in the bark. “We hate you, Felix. We hate you.”
No! Please, don’t hate me!
“RUN FELIX!” It’s my mother. Focus on her voice.
The monster is approaching. His howling echoes around me.
Keep going. Run. Run.
The monster screams my name, the sounds booming throughout the forest.
“Keep running, my love! He’s coming.”
Oh God. Oh God. Oh God.
I turn to look behind me, and the panther gallops toward me—
And the monster!
Oh no!
It’s gaining on me.
“RUN!”
I go and go and go until I reach a cliff. No.
My body turns, prepared to go in the opposite direction, but he’s there!
He grabs hold of my neck, choking me with a force that feels like he might crush my throat.
The monster is hideous! He’s so pale and scabby. Its eye glows red, the other gushes blood, which pours on me.
Can’t breathe.
I beat against its arms, but the monster is too strong.
I thrash about, the pain of not breathing making me panic. It hurts. I claw and kick, but it’s no use.
Things go dark. My body relaxes.
I see her. Mother in her white nightgown. Her hair flows in the breeze.
You look beautiful.
Darkness consumes me. My body goes limp.
It doesn’t hurt anymore…
Torren
I weave through the forest, trying to follow the prints, but they start to blend in with the rest of the mud.
“FELIX!”
I hear him. Hargrove. I push harder. Faster.
I weave about trees, leaping over logs and brush.
“Felix!” I cry.
Where are you? Where are you?
I see a cliff and—
Him.
It’s Hargrove. He’s crouched over something, and I dive forward, grabbing him as I soar and pulling him off Felix.
He screams, blood pouring from his face as he batters away at me. I headbutt him, and he stumbles back. My hand grips my gun, but he kicks it away, sending it soaring to my right.
Hargrove rushes me, tackling me to the ground.
His hands find my throat and choke me. I reach out, hoping to grab hold of my gun, but it’s too far away.
A stick is all I can get, and I use it to stab Hargrove’s neck.
He thrashes about, screaming and choking, but I grab him by the head and twist it, his neck breaking with a snap, and his body falling to the ground.
“Felix!”
I rush to his side and—
No.
He’s limp. I listen for his heart—
“NO!”
With one hand over the other, I thread my fingers together and pump his heart.
30, 29, 28, 27, 26…
I give him thirty compressions, then pinch his nose and tip his mouth open.
1, 2…
I listen.
“Wake up, Felix! PLEASE!”
30, 29, 28…
Felix
It’s so warm. My body’s never felt better. The breeze is heavenly, and the sky is the most brilliant shade of azure I’ve ever seen. Everything is…
Awesome.
“Felix.”
There she is. “Mother?”
“How are you, sweetie?”
She helps me up, and I feel her hand. “You’re so warm,” I tell her.
Mother smiles and hugs me. I hear a cry that startles me, and I turn to see Torren on top of someone.
I run to him, but then I see who’s with him.
“It’s me.”
Mother approaches, wrapping me in her arms. “Oh, I’ve wanted to do this for so long.”
I’m so confused. Did I? Am I?
“Yes,” Mother explains. “But not for long.”
Father.
“He’s gone, now.”
I look at Mother, and I can’t hold back the tears. “That bastard.”
Mother presses my head to her chest and holds me. “I’m not angry, my love. Don’t waste your life being mad at someone who doesn’t deserve a morsel of your mental real estate. He’s getting his…” she waggles her brows. “You’ll be safe now.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
She motions to Torren. “My gift will protect you. I know how to pick ‘em, don’t I?” She giggles.
I release a surprised laugh. It’s her. Witty with a touch of mischief in her eyes.
Just like me.
I’m the happiest I’ve ever been until I look down and see my feet disappearing.
“Wait!” I grip her hand, but it’s already disappearing, too.
“You’re safe now, sweetheart. I don’t need to worry about you anymore.”
“No. No, please. Just a little longer.”
She leans in and kisses my cheek. “I’ll always be with you. I’m so proud of you, my love. Keep being you, because you’re wonderful. Never let anyone change you.”
A light envelops me, and I feel myself falling…
Torren
30, 29, 28, 27, 26…
I do it again. Thirty compressions and 2 breaths. I won’t stop. I’ll do it forever if I have to.
10, 9, 8, 7, 6…
I won’t stop. I won’t. I WO—
He gasps! Coughing and turning onto his side, hacking.
“Baby!” I rub his back, kissing his temple as he heaves.
Footsteps approach, and Tobias, along with the rest of the Hellcats, rush toward me. “Torren!”
Tobias kneels next to me, watching as I cradle a coughing Felix in my arms.
My brother jumps up. “Elias! We need medical.”
Felix continues coughing, then it finally settles. He looks up at me, but his eyes are scared.
“P-please don’t hurt me,” he begs.
His skin is red, tears fall, and he continues coughing. He sobs while coughing.
“Felix,” I whisper. “I’d never—”
“What are you?” he shouts.
Tobias leans in and whispers, “He’s on that shit Franklin gave him. He might not be seeing you.”
My heart breaks. Felix looks so scared. “I’m Torren,” I explain with a calm voice.
Felix gasps, and his eyes narrow. “Really?”
“Yes.”
Felix’s face shatters. “No, you’re not. Torren hates me.”
“What? No, I could never—“
I realize words won’t work. He’s not himself. He’s not even seeing me. I need something else.
I take his hand with care and bring it to my heart. “You feel that?” I ask.
Felix looks at my chest, blinking rapidly as he feels my beating heart. “It’s—”
“My heart,” I finish. “And it’s yours, Felix. I love you.”
His eyes meet mine. “You do?”
“So much,” I assure him.
His eyes widen before trailing back down to the hand resting on my chest. He brings his head closer, putting his ear against my pec. “I hear it,” he whispers.
“It beats for you.”
He looks to me once more, tears streaming down his face. “Torren, I love you, too!” His arms wrap around me, and I pull him in for a hug. “I was so scared,” he cries.
“Me too, baby. Me too.”
I place my hands on either side of his face and bring his lips to mine. The kiss is sweet. Gentle. He needs me to take care of him, and I will.
Forever.
“Let’s take you home.”