Chapter 21 - Jace
JACE
Every tendon pulls painfully tight, my muscles burning as I push myself to run faster into the woods.
The harsh winter air freezes me down to the bone, making my limbs throb as my heart struggles to deliver blood to them.
Twisted patches of bramble and broken branches break free from the snow like gnarled hands, reaching to drag me into their frozen tomb until spring.
The wind wails, whistling through the trees and begging me to turn back.
I can’t. I won’t. There’s nothing left for me there except the same lies, but I refuse to ignore them anymore. The impact of my pop’s palm is still hot, the inflamed skin stinging as my tears slide across it, a painful reminder of what will be back home waiting for me.
Trees surround me, a thick expanse of them stretching out in all directions.
Each path forward is indistinguishable from the next.
As long as I keep going straight, I’m certain I’ll find the Gibson home.
I struggle to get my bearings, fighting to stay present through the turmoil coursing through me.
Speaking directly with Elias is my only chance to know the truth.
I can’t continue to live underneath the rock of my family’s secrets, constantly suffocated by burdens not my own.
I stop to catch my breath, leaning against a tree.
My raspy exhales come out as white plumes, briefly warming my face before they dissipate.
With only a thin long sleeve shirt and jeans to cover me, my body shivers uncontrollably.
I drop my boots, and my hand spasms from the movement.
Gritting my teeth through the discomfort, I slip each one on.
Lacing them takes longer, the small motions painful as my fingers grow increasingly stiff.
Once my feet are safely tucked into my boots, I wiggle my toes just to confirm I still can.
The glistening white of the pasture is no longer visible behind me.
The open space is now filled in by the distorted shadows of the skeletal trees.
Soon, the last bit of sunlight will be gone, and the already freezing temperature will rapidly become a death sentence.
I need to keep going, hoping I can reach Elias’ place before dark.
As I go deeper into the woods, the light dwindles prematurely.
I place my hands against the trees to guide me, stumbling through the snow.
Branches crack behind me. I freeze, listening while tendrils of fear spread through my overworked nervous system.
I squeeze my eyes shut, continuing forward by feeling alone.
The noise draws closer. I try to swallow past the tightening of my throat as my heart pounds.
It’s just my imagination, the adrenaline of the confrontation wearing off.
I slowly open my eyes, holding my breath to listen without the crackle of my own exhales.
I know better than to look behind me, but I do anyway to prove to myself there’s nothing there.
Terror twists in my gut as a large, shadowy figure steps from behind a tree onto the path. “Hey,” it calls in my mama’s voice—but it’s all wrong. The tone is strangled and hoarse, like it’s testing out her voice box.
An involuntary scream breaks out of my constricted throat.
My legs turn, and I start to run before my body is fully in the same direction.
I stumble, tripping over my loosely tied boot laces.
Before I face-plant on the ground, I regain my balance and sprint forward.
Dead branches and thorned vines lash at my skin, ripping my shirt as I force my way through them.
The creature closes in behind me, dropping to run on all fours.
It shouts to me again in a mockery of Mama’s voice. “Jace.”
Black mist fogs the ground. Shadows race parallel to me, snapping out and attempting to circle around my ankles.
I’m barely able to pull ahead of them each time they reach for me, grazing my skin with their icy touch.
My pulse hammers against my skull, making my vision blurry.
Each gulp of air feels like hot knives stabbing my lungs.
“Help!” I scream, urgently searching for an escape route. “Please! Help!”
A yellowish glow appears in the distance, becoming steadily larger as I close in on it.
A wave of relief washes over me as I burst through the tree line into a clearing, gasping for more oxygen.
A small house rests in the center, smoke trailing from its chimney and light shining through one of its windows.
A howl from the woods reverberates through the open air, but nothing follows me out from behind the trees.
“Hello?” I yell, full of hope, racing toward my salvation. “I need help!” My knees buckle, and I fall onto the porch steps. I grasp the wooden railing, my legs wobbling uncontrollably as I stand again. My chest seizes, sending me into a coughing fit as I choke on the air my body screams for.
The front door flies open, the suddenness making me almost fall again.
Elias steps out, shotgun held in front of him.
His head bobbles, scanning all directions for the intruder.
When he finally glances down at the steps, a sickening smile twists across his face.
His gun lowers, taking a step toward me.
“What the fuck do you want?” he bellows, swaying slightly.
“I’m sorry,” I blurt, wheezing between words.
“I was just…I was just out in the woods, but somethin’ started chasin’ me.
” Elias’ smile crumbles, his eyes darkening as they flit up to look behind me.
Fresh terror oscillates through me, waiting for the creature to snatch me from behind.
I turn my head uneasily, looking over my shoulder—but there’s nothing there save for snow swirling in the wind.
“Did ya see it?” he asks frantically, his question full of intense necessity. When I don’t answer immediately, his voice becomes frenzied. He takes another step in my direction. “I said, did ya see it, girl?”
“No,” I lie, shaking my head. Something out there terrifies him too, and I’m too frightened to confirm what I saw. “I just ran until I got here.”
“Did it talk to ya?” Elias inches closer, the scent of whiskey rolling off him in thick waves.
My stomach lurches, bile creeping up my throat.
His hands reach for me, the gun dropping between us to hang from its sling.
Gripping fistfuls of my torn shirt, he shakes me.
“It’s important, Jace! Did it talk to ya? Maybe it sounded like someone ya know?”
“I…” My voice quivers, and I break down. “I…I mean… It sounded like my mama but not right. The voice wasn’t quite right.”
Elias releases me like I’ve scalded him, and I land on my ass in the wet snow. He moves away, visibly shaking with fear. After another look around the empty area beyond the reach of the woods, he clears his throat. “Well, go on. Git inside then.”
I don’t wait to be told twice, already scrambling to my feet before he finishes his sentence.
The moment my boots hit the wooden steps, I rush past him into the safety of the house.
Inside, it’s hot and stuffy, but it does nothing to warm the chill crawling underneath my skin.
The door creaks shut, the lock clicking too loudly in the otherwise silent room.
I cross my arms, attempting to rub the feeling back into them and relieve the tension coiling in my limbs.
My teeth chatter, and my eyes scan the room, trying to locate the source of my uneasiness.
“If I could just borrow your phone, I’ll have Pop come get me straight away. I don’t mean to be a bother.”
“It followed you here,” Elias hisses, ignoring my request. His eyes narrow, lasering in as he stalks toward me. The thud of his heavy footsteps hit the wooden floor in time with the hammering of my pulse. “It’s marked you now, tainted you.”
“What has?” I question cautiously, attempting to swallow, but my saliva turns to sand at the back of my throat. “I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about, I swear.”
“Oh, I think ya do. Saw the look in your eyes the moment I spotted ya.” His low timbre becomes a snarl, and he grips the gun swinging in front of him. “I can’t have ya bringing it back here.”
“I won’t,” I plead, backing away from him. “I promise, I just want to go home. I’ll never come back. I’ll tell Pop to never bring me back. Please!”
“Can’t be takin’ the chance,” he chuckles, only a foot away. He rubs a hand under his chin, and his lips distort into a toothy smile. “I’d be a hypocrite after all.”
Blood crystallizes in my veins, rendering me immobile. My alarm transforms into full-blown panic. My vision swirls, swaying on my feet as I take another step back. “Please,” I whimper. My back hits the wall, making picture frames rattle beside me.
“Ya know, your pop gave me a real hard time about Cyrus.” Elias rolls his lips together, wetting them.
He smacks them loudly, the noise wet and revolting.
His putrid breath hits my face in toxic puffs.
“Didn’t know his own offspring was marked too.
Thought he was better than me, better than Ezra. Now look at ‘em.”
Cyrus. His name is a beacon of hope, a topic of conversation to distract his father and possibly free myself from the trap I ran straight into. “A hard time about what?” I question hesitantly, like I’m asking a snake to not bite me. “What did Cyrus do?”
“It wanted him,” Elias explains, slumping down on the couch. He lifts a glass of whiskey off the nearby TV tray. “That thing. Out there in the woods. Marked him.”
His words come out disjointed, like he’s recalling a story but only telling half of it out loud. He takes a sip of whisky, slurping loudly then belching. I creep along the wall, shuffling closer to the front door as he stays lost in his memories.
“Cyrus!” Elias shouts, making me jump back against the wall again. “Boy tried to escape his fate too, but there ain’t nowhere to run where it cain’t find you.”
“What happened to him?” I’m so close to getting the answers I came for, but the knowledge won’t do me any good if I can’t get out of here. If I can keep him talking, I can keep moving closer to the door.
“I shot him,” Elias spits out, snapping his head to me. His dark eyes lock on me, blazing with contempt even as they fill with tears. “I had to give it what it wants!”
Elias folds over, dropping his head into his hands.
I seize the moment to charge toward the door, sprinting through the pain in my fatigued muscles.
The coolness of the metal lock touches my skin, but it fights me when I try to turn it against the misaligned door frame.
It jiggles uselessly in my hands while clumsy footsteps close in behind me.
I grab the door handle with both hands, shaking it as I scream at the top of my lungs. “Help!”
A fist clenches around the collar of my shirt, cutting off my pleas as I’m pulled back.
My fingers stretch to keep a hold on the door, but a strip of fabric tears free from my shirt, and I fall to the floor.
Elias stands over me, the piece of shirt still in hand, straddling my legs.
He chuckles darkly, leaning his head back to let out a deep belly laugh.
Cyrus’ face flickers in and out like an overlay in front of Elias’, reminding me of what his father has done.
A burst of rage swells within me. I kick my leg up, nailing his groin with my shin.
The impact forces him to tumble over. As he wheezes, I roll to my knees and crawl to the door.
I grab the doorknob again, using it to pull myself to my feet.
This time, the lock turns easily, unlocking just as a gust of hot breath grazes the back of my neck.
“You little fuckin’ bitch,” Elias groans, fisting my hair on the back of my head.
My scalp burns with hot pinpricks of pain.
I cry out, twisting against his grip. He yanks my head back, bellowing with rage as he slams my head into the door.
Pain sears down my body, forcing it to go limp as my vision fades to black.