I wait until Sera drives off in Granger’s car before getting back into my rental. Cami gives me about ten minutes to get myself together.
“Is something going on with AJ and Sera?” she asks, “Where is he going ?”
“ I don’t know.” Which is technically true.
“I saw the stuff that was back here. Are you helping him run ?”
I can’t tell if she’s disappointed or trying to understand me.
“He was always going to run.” I remind her.
She shakes her head.
“I don’t get why he recanted. I need the audio from the video you took of AJ’s original confession. I can break it down bit by bit and prove that–.”
“Cami. I still have a room in the city. I’d feel better if you stayed there. There is a flight to New York tomorrow afternoon. You should be on it.”
“I’m not abandoning this story. Everyone is going to be more on edge now that a killer is loose.”
“Legally-speaking, Scott hasn’t been charged with anything.”
“The court of public opinion will find him guilty.” She says, “If he’s going back to Severance. So am I.”
I start the car and we drive back in silence for a while.
“What’s really going on ?”, Cami says as we pull into town, “Is Sera in trouble ?”
“What makes you say that ?”
“Suddenly you don’t care about getting justice . You only started this because you wanted to protect Sera. Everything you do is to protect her. Did Scott threaten her ?”
I tighten my grasp on the wheel. “Something like that.”
The streets are strangely empty. The town looks abandoned until we get to the packed Days Inn parking lot. A few journalists and out-of-town cops have started to arrive.
Sheriff Nate eases past us in his blue hatchback. The lights on his roof are flashing as he scans the street. He slows down and reverses back to us.
“You two better get inside.” There is no posturing in Nate's voice. I can also smell the bourbon on him, “Dodson’s going to be back in a few hours. They gave him an ankle monitor. We're going to try to surveil him. For now there is a 10:00 pm curfew.”
I wonder if Cami was starting to regret not staying in Olympia
“Do you finally have time for an interview”, Cami asks, “Should you even be on the case ? Isn’t he your best friend.”
“Was my friend”, He snaps, “I’m meeting with the commissioner today to get more resources for the investigation. For now follow the curfew.”
He drives off before Cami can ask another question. We gather a late lunch from the bank of vending machines in the lobby. A lot of junk food is surprisingly vegan-friendly.
“Cami”, I tell her before we part ways, “You need to go home. Please. Work on your podcast. Get the word out. Get people talking and then come back. Scott’s more dangerous than he appears. ”
She looks up and down the quiet street, “Well…what about you ?”
I can’t stop Cami from coming back to Severance. For right now I need her to be out of town when Sera kills Scott Dodson. She was smart enough to put it all together.
“I have to be in Minneapolis at the end of the week. Sera signed the divorce paper. I got what I came here for. I think this is just about over for me.”
I turn the corner and see all of my stuff is piled outside my door. I try to scan in and the door stays firmly locked.
“What’s this ?” I turn to Jasper who is vacuuming the hallway.
“Bev said delinquent accounts need to put a new card down everyday. We’re getting busy so we had to give the room up to someone who needed it more.”
“That’s bullshit.” I start, “Bev has been trying to kick us out since–”
“It’s fine. You can stay in my room”, Cami suggests.
My hotel room door swings open. There is a soft meowing coming from inside. Granger holds the door open a little bit wider. Larry is on the bed. All his medications and wheelchair are crammed into the tiny room along with their cats.
“Shit. Sorry. I…” I am at a loss for words.
“Police said it would be easier to keep an eye on us here.” Larry explains.
“There is also still a fuckton of blood still in our house”, Granger says.
I decide now is not the time to tell him that he will be finding and cleaning random blood spatters for the next few days.
“Where is AJ ?” Larry asks, “Is he safe?”
“He left.” I admit.
“Figures,” Granger says.
“He was always going to leave. It’s not safe for him here.”
Granger seems to hear what I’m saying but he refuses to accept it. He snaps on his headphones and settles in a corner of the room.
“I hope he doesn't run forever”, Larry says, “What Dodson did was evil. But I’m glad it gave me a chance to tell him what a good kid he was. I told him he did good saving our lives. I should have said more than that.”
“I think he knew. I think he stuck around all these years because he knew.”
+++
Cami and I stay up late. We have a long conversation about law school and watch a few episodes of The West Wing as a distraction. It reminded me of the early days of our relationship. We could just talk for hours. I’d give advice and bring up my experience and she would challenge me and make me rethink everything.
When I wake up the next morning the first thing I regret is sleeping on the floor. Then I check all my news feeds. Scott Dodson hasn’t been reported murdered. Yet
Cami had saved the artisanal soap I’d thrown out after my argument with Sera. The strong orange blossom and eucalyptus relieves some of the stress I’ve been carrying. When I get out of the shower Cami flashes her plane ticket.
“I got the last flight out tonight.”
“Thank you”, I say.
“I’m only doing this because crime reporting moves slow. It could take months for the re-investigation to come up with any good leads. I need to get this out before a big network scoops me.”
There is coffee and packaged pastries in the lobby. Cami makes her way through the crowd mingling with the investigators in town. I keep an eye on the local reporters in the corner. They’d certainly be notified first if Scott has been found dead.
“Word is Scott got into town last night.” Cami says after making a round, “The police have been trying to watch the house from a distance but his lawyer is calling it harassment.”
“I warned Lydia to cut and run. ”
“Now the police are just doing routine drive-bys. Nothing illegal about that.”
“How routine ?”
“Once every two hours.”, She says, “ I just told them I was concerned about my safety and they were happy to spill.”
“Let’s see how much more you can find out…”
+++
I walk the streets of Severance for what might be one of the last times. It's just after 4 p.m and will start getting dark soon. Lines had been out the door at the market. They’ve closed down the boatyard for the week and most of the workers have left town.
The High Noon is completely boarded up. Graffiti has been sprayed all over the entrance and most of the glass is smashed.
Murderer
Is splashed across the door in bright neon red.
The path to Sera’s house is quieter than usual. I navigate through the streets and towards the lane without really thinking about it. The abandoned homes and overgrown lots are oddly comforting. The sounds of her wind chimes carry as I get closer.
I stop short
There is a ‘For Sale’ sign in the front yard.
I look up at the porch. Sera stands when she catches my gaze. She’d shaved all her hair off and is rolling a metric shit ton of joints. Her sparkly Modge Podge gun case is next to her.
“Still can’t get this fucking thing open.” she says in greeting.
“What’s this ?”, I point to the ‘For Sale’ sign.
“I found it in the closet. Same sign I saw when I first came to town.”
“It won’t be a good look after you… you know.”
She shrugs and settles back down on the porch, “I just...I was cleaning that kid’s blood off my floor and I really looked around. I saw how empty the place looked with everything all neat and put away.I don’t know. I just got this feeling that I was done here.”
The porch bends as I take a seat next to her. The mailbox is barley hanging on to the wall. The faded yellow siding is wearing thin. There are still a few spots of AJ’s blood drying in the corner.
“You are never going to sell this place.” I remind her.
She blows out a soft plume of smoke that smells like weed and jasmine.
“A micro organic small-batch Pale Ale bullshit brewery has been trying to build a facility here for years. This house was the only thing in their way.”
“Where are you going to go ?”
She takes a moment before exhaling, “I think the kid had the right idea about disappearing.”
“That will look suspicious after you… you know.”
“Not with the way I plan to do it–”
Deputy Daniel’s police cruiser pulls into the neighborhood. He does a quick turn and circles around Larry’s house. He waives to Sera on his way out.
“He’s been coming by every 4 hours”, She says, “He was at Scott’s house all day last night. I couldn't get in.”
“They changed their pattern”, I relay the information Cami had pickd up, “ They drive by his house at the top of the hour. Then circle back at the end of the next hour. His ankle monitor is being tracked centrally in Tacoma. There is about a 30-45 minute delay if it goes offline.”
“That should be enough time”, Sera says.
She heads inside and gestures for me to follow.
“Cameras”, I mouth.
At first she seems confused then she remembers the two remaining mini cameras we’d put up. I make sure she turns them off before putting them in her pocket.
Sera reaches into a tall kitchen cabinet and pulls out a thin black case. She opens it to reveal a 9-inch inch white gold pointed dagger. The surface of the knife is cool to the touch. I trace the name engraved on the flat surface. It gives me a strange feeling of deja vu.
“Where did you get this ?”
“Hippy makes them. She engraves them with the name of angels.”
I run my fingers over the name.
“Lucifer ?”
“Fallen angels”, She clarifies. “Hip co-owns a crucible at an artist's compound she visits in the Spring. It’s off the grid. They smelt old gold and silver pieces and turn them into something new. Once I’m done …I’ll take this there and it will disappear.”
“What about the body?”
“There won’t be one. It will look like he fled the country and disappeared.”
She closes the knife case, “You can be my alibi. Daniel already saw us. If anyone asks--- you stopped by, we got carried away and you stayed the night.”
I take a step back.
“I actually have to take Cami to the airport.”
“Oh..good. It’s probably safer for her. You should probably get out too.”
“I will. In the morning.”
She kisses the top of my forehead, “I’m sorry I dragged you into this Paris.”
My stomach feels like it’s tied in knots.
“I chose this. I chose this because I am still in love with you Sera. I will always be in love with you. I know you don’t think soulmates have to be together but I do. I think soulmates being apart is a fucking tragedy.”
She slides her hands into mine, “I’m just not ready to settle down. Especially after all this.”
She leans down to kiss me and rest her arms around my neck. I grip the side of her hips and glance at my watch.
My phone rings on the counter. I reach over to silence it on instinct, but it’s not a collection agency. It’s Cami.
“Hold on. Cami rarely calls me.” I grab my phone from the counter, “Hey, Cami I’m just–”
“Paris. Oh My God. Nate’s dead. He’s been murdered.”
“What ? Are you sure ?
“I”m looking right at him.”
+++
Cami is talking so fast I can barley understand her. She sounds way to calm but I can hear the panic in her voice.
“I went to the police station to get copies of the files —””
“CAMI.” I cut her off, “ Where are you ?”
I put her on speaker phone and whisper to Sera that Nate’s dead. For a moment she looks like she's going to be sick.
“I went to the police station to get updated files”, Cami says again. She considers each word as if she can replay the events and figure out where it went wrong. “Nate wasn’t there. He got fired this morning because of the fight at the hospital. I got him on the phone and he said he would give me the full non-redacted case files. He said someone had to get Scott. .I…I..I took your car…to his house…but he’s…”
“Get out of there, Cami. Call the police.”
“Wait. What is that ? Fuck. Paris...”
“Cami ?
“Oh my God. It wasn’t Mickie and Paige who hit Larry –”
Cami screams from the other end and my heart almost stops.
“Cami! “
I hear the distant sounds of a struggle. Someone picks up the phone. I hear heavy breathing and then the phone clicks off.
Sera already has her keys. Nate lives on the west side of town a couple miles of the main road. We speed through the forest and into the tangled backwoods. I barely have a signal but I keep trying to dial the Sheriff's office. It goes straight to voicemail.
My service cuts off before I can try calling a fourth time.
Scott’s modest rancher sits on a massive plot of land. His blue hatchback is sitting out front. My rental car is idling next to it.
Sera unsuccessfully tries to open her gun case again. She'd brought the knife for back-up. We head into the backyard. He’s got boats, jet skis, grills, firepits, ATVs, above ground pool and a pristine half-court. A bachelor’s paradise. A few ducks circle a murky man-made pond in the back.
“God.” Sera heads towards one of the boats in the backyard. Nate is slumped over one. A single bullet to his forehead. There are a few pictures scattered on the ground below him. I pick one up. They are small instant Polaroids. At first I don’t know what I’m looking at. Then I realize they are pictures of Mickie and Scott with Paige and Nate. A few more pictures of Mickie and Scott with Paige and Nate.
“There are tire tracks in the yard, " Sera says , “Whoever took her is gone."
Sera glances at the Polaroids but doesn't acknowledge them.
“I have to find her.” I head toward the front of the house. "What the hell am I going to tell her family? Sera, I can’t leave this town without her—
“Wait. Look.” Sera points to the pond.
The ducks are circling a crumbled up tarp. Sera gets closer and the ducks fly away. She reaches over and pulls the tarp off. An early 2000s police cruiser is floating bumper up in the middle. The license plate has been removed, the lights are cracked and a thick spray of dried blood surrounds an oversized dent.
“Sera”, I realize, “How long has Nate been driving his blue hatchback instead of his police cruiser ?”
Sera looks at the car, “September.”
“This is the car that hit Larry”, I say walking around it, “This must have been what Cami saw.”
“I don’t understand”, Sera says, “The video on Mia’s phone showed Mickie and Paige hitting Larry.”
“Right” I realize, “The video showed Mickie and Paige running towards Bev and admitting they hit Larry. It didn’t show who was running with them.”
I remember the audio from the video clear as day.
We hit him
We hit him.
We.
Not two people. Four.
I look at the Polaroids again. Mickie and Scott had paired up their friends. They’d been having a time together all summer. Scott and Nate probably felt like they were reckless kids again. Mickie and Paige probably hadn’t been at the bonfire that night because they’d had other plans.
“He was probably drunk. He sped past the boatyard and hit Larry. ”
“Shit.”
“That’s why Nate attacked Scott in the hospital. He thought Scott was going to confess to the hit-and-run. “
Sera heads inside his house and finds a landline. “I’m calling the Sheriff's office.”
Deputy Daniel picks up the third time she calls. I take the phone.
“It’s Paris Prince”, I start, “Do you have eyes on Scott. He took my friend.”
“Huh…are you at Nate’s house ?"
“Where is Scott ?”, I shout into the phone.
“Shit”, Daniel says, “Shit. I…”
“What’s going on ?”
“Scott’s tracker went off line an hour ago. There was a delay, we just found out. We went to do a check and he’s escaped. We searched the whole house. You two better get somewhere safe.”
“He’s kidnapped a woman while you all were sitting on your asses. Get your fucking act together and find her.”
“He can’t get far”, Sera tries to reassure me, “There is a blockade at the town entrance. If he goes in the other direction he’ll hit Elma Lake. He doesn’t have a boat so he’s blocked in.”
“He could still be here. Someone could be hiding him.”
“He doesn’t have many friends left.”
“What about Bev.” I head to the CR-V, “The video only showed Mickie and Paige. But Mia saw everything. That means Bev did too.”
I drive my rental back to town. Cami’s luggage and equipment is still in the back. She was just here. She was just here.
Sera and I pull up to the Day’s Inn at the same time. All the doors are locked. Bev stands when she sees us coming to the door.
“Let us in.” I knock on the glass.
“We’re in lockdown," she says from her desk.
“Bev I will break the door down," Sera warns.
Bev reluctantly opens the door. Jasper stands protectively in front of the desk.
“Just calm down–”
“You were covering for Nate and Scott.” I follow Bev as she tries to hide in the back office. “That’s why you wanted Mia’s phone. You thought it showed everyone that was there that night but it didn’t. It just showed you, Mickie, Paige and Mia. That's why you thought you were the next victim. Everyone who knew about what really happened at the hit and run was getting murdered.
“Is..is that true ?”, Jasper asks.
Bev starts crying, “Nate said it was an accident. It would have ruined his whole career. Larry was fine. It’s not like he died. Besides, Larry never liked any of us. Outsiders are like that.”
“Fuck off with that." Sera shoves the contents of Bev’s desk onto the floor. “We are supposed to look out for each other outsider or not. Not a single one of you ever visited him, gave him a ride to the hospital or even sent a card. You didn’t do a damn thing for him because he was lucky enough not to be born in this fucking town.”
“Fuck off, Sera. Haven’t you caused enough trouble–”
“Bev ?”
We all turn to see Granger wheeling Larry over. Bev puts her head down.
“Bev. Is that true”, Larry says.
Bev starts to cry, “I’m sorry. It was an accident. They didn’t mean to do it.”
“Really, Bev”, Sera says, “20 years later and you are still trying to make friends with the high school jocks. Where is Scott?”
“I don’t know”, Bev says, “I swear.”
Granger clears his throat. “I know where Scott is.”
Everyone turns to him. He keeps his head down. " I was smoking out in the woods yesterday. I saw Madison stashing a bunch of stuff in the woods. She said it was stuff her Dad didn’t want the police to confiscate but it was all survival gear.”
“He’s escaping through the forest”, Sera says.
“I can show you where”, Granger offers.
“Take Sera.” I decide. “Scott still has one more person he can rely on this town. I need to talk Madison into giving up her Dad."
+++
The green craftsman house looks lived in with a well maintained garden and two trucks in the driveway. A paved walkway leads to the basement apartment on the side of the house. I knock but no one answers. I move to the main house and peer through the front door. Madison is moving a few suitcases and bags of food. I’d taken the house keys AJ gave to Sera. I use them to open the front door.
Madison turns as I shut the door behind me.
“Paris. What in the world? You scared me.”
“Where is your Dad, Madison ? Don’t you fucking lie to me.”
She backs up, “ Paris. My dad is the only parent I have left. ”
“You can’t save him from this. He killed Nate and took Cami. He’s losing it.”
“No. He wouldn’t. I…not Uncle Nate . ” She closes her eyes and inclines her head to the kitchen.“He’s in the kitchen attic.”
The kitchen has been cleared of food. One of the cabinets is still open and I’m struck by how familiar all the glassware looks. I look up at the kitchen ceiling. There is no attic. I look at the glassware again.
I pick a glass up and bring it into the hall.
“Are these jars-”
I drop the glass. The suitcase has toppled over and partially opened. Scott Dodson’s body is folded inside. A kitchen cleaver is buried into his neck. His ankle monitor is still securely latched in place.
“What the fuck.”
“We were almost through this. ” Madison says from behind me, “I’ve just been trying to set things right. He wasn’t cooperating. He was becoming a problem. Just like you.”
“You–”
Then everything goes black.
+++
A distant ringing pulls me out of the darkness. My eyes snap open. For a moment all I see is dust. Then the stench of still water and mold overwhelm me.
.
I try to sit up but I’m already sitting up. I turn and see Cami and I are tied up back-to-back. We’re in…a cabin ? A cabin by the lake I guess from the slight ozone smell. The cabin looks like it was under renovations at some point and then abandoned. It’s sparsely furnished with a few bare lightbulbs.
Lake Elma.
This must be Scott Dodson’s cabin.
Scott’s lumbering dead body flashes into my mind.
I try to jostle Cami. I can feel the warmth of her body but she is out cold.The cabin is littered with half eaten food and trash. A storage trunk is propped up in the corner. The grisly remains of The real Severance Stalker are inside. They are sprinkled with dried mums from Sera’s flowerbed.
Madison Dodson is sitting in the sole chair in the room. She looks…disappointed. She has a thick rope tied on one wrist and is preparing to tie the other.
“I can’t believe you”, She shakes her head, “ I can’t believe you came to my house, killed my Dad, Cami and then kidnapped me. All to protect the real Severance Stalker…Sera."
“That’s the story you’re going to tell.”
“It’s the truth. This is all Sera’s fault”, Madison said, “She started this when she wandered into town and took everything that should have been mine. She practically took over the business my dad and I built together. The Henderson’s started treating her more like family than me, Mia and I were finally becoming friends until she wanted to spend all her time with Sera. Then Sera had to go and kill the first real friend I ever made."
“What ?” My head is still pounding, “The real Severance Stalker was your friend ?
“That’s the first fucking problem. I am just as much the real Severance Stalker as he was. I continued his work.”
“You sent him into Sera’s house.” I realize, “He came after her because you told him to.”
“Sera should have never kicked him out of the bar. All because he said a few things she didn’t like. She just couldn’t handle someone not fawning over her. I found him in the woods and bought him some food and beer. He was interesting. He understood me. He got me.
He knew what it was like to be ignored by everyone. Banished to the background. He knew what it was like to watch everyone else get so much by doing the bare minimum while you got nothing. He understood that death is the only great equalizer. It was fascinating what he was doing. He was an artist.
One day he told me I could pick the next victim. Sera was the obvious choice. I watched him go into that bitches house and he never came out again”
Her gaze falls to his skeletonized remains in the trunk. There is a slight sheen to her eyes.
“Madison, Sera was your friend.” At least it had seemed that way.
Cami starts to stir next to me.
“Sera was trouble. Do you know that her kicking my friend out the bar is the only reason my Dad connected with those college bitches. Suddenly he thought he was in love and wanted to leave town. Our town. One time he said that he felt like he was living the life he gave up to raise me. He would never say stuff like that. Those girls were a problem. I was planning on taking care of them.”
“Then the hit and run happened”, Cami says now fully awake.
“I overheard Mia tell AJ. It’s like they forgot I was there. AJ left before she could tell him the full story but I already knew my Dad was with them. That’s when I knew I had to make them go away. I just…didn’t expect AJ to show up while I was cleaning up. He took the knife which was bad because it was a knife from the bar. I thought he would put two and two together but…he didn’t.
Mia kept blackmailing Nate and my Dad about what happened. That’s how she got that fake job at the police station. She used to show me the files and crime scene photos to try and scare me. After Kim Harbinger died Mia started to act weird around me. Suddenly Mia was asking questions about my whereabouts and trying to snoop in my room. So I took care of her–”
“Sera ?” Cami says and I feel her tense next to me.
“What ?“, Madison turns to Cami.
I look up and behind Madison. There is a tall shadow in the window. A familiar hand slides under the tiny opening and drops something. I shift my weight a little to hide the sound of the tiny camera falling to the ground.
“Um. Why didn’t you kill Sera next ?”, Cami says as a cover.
“I was going to. But she’s fucking huge and has a gun.”
“Paula Felton had a gun", Cami counters. She’s antagonizing her a little bit.
“I fucking know. That’s why I switched the cases. I'm no stupid”
I realize why Sera couldn’t get that gun safe open.
The back door knob starts to turn. It clicks slightly and Madison turns.
“Hey”, I distract her, “ Kim Harbinger. We could never figure out Kim Harbinger. It was about the nut butter jars, right ? Are they collectibles ? ”
Madison sits on the floor in front of us. I’d never given much thought to her before. She has a light spray of freckles. Her petite angular features are framed by loose dark hair. She looks so young. So… normal.
“I’ve petitioned the Harbingers since middle school to carry Sunny Station Butter. I begged and I begged and they finally started stocking them with Sera asked. Whatever.
Everytime I went to the shop the shelf would be empty because Kim kept a stack in the back for Sera and her fucked up diet. Every fucking month. I don’t even know how she eats it. That shit is fucking disgusting. The only good part is the jars.
I explained to Kim in detail which jars I wanted her to keep and she never did it. I just wanted one limited edition spring butterfly jar. Kim couldn't follow a simple direction. I even asked Sera nicely if I could have the jar and she said she’d thrown the jars away. She said it like it was nothing.
I knew the only way to solve the problem was if I was the store manager. When the position opened up I applied. Can you believe they didn’t even look at my application?”
“I can”, Cami manages. Madison shoots her a cold look.
The back door had inched open during Madison’s tirade.
“But your Dad attacked AJ”, I say distracting her again.
Madison looks annoyed.
“My dad always said I needed to be more empathic and understanding. That if I was quiet, agreeable and smiled people would think well of me. He used to say I made him nervous. I guess he started to notice the knives were missing and that I was coming in late. He went through the basement one day and found the stuff I hadn’t managed to dispose of yet.”
Madison looks hurt for the first time, “ I explained to him that I only did this because Sera practically made me and that she had to take the blame for this. He understood. When you and Cami came into town I realized you would be the perfect next victims. It was perfect but Uncle Nate was so focused on AJ. I love AJ. I had to help him. I knew the only way to get suspicion off of him was if he was a victim. Dad wasn't supposed to get caught. I told him I should have done it. He was too out of shape.”
I spy Sera’s shadow by the window again.
“Why did you kill him ?.”
"I didn't mean to. It was my idea to use you to make AJ recant. I figured we could frame Sera and everything would be back on track. But AJ left. Then Dad said we should go on the run. He wanted to to go Alaska. He said I was dangerous and couldn't be near people. He had me get all that gear... but I didn’t want to go.
Then Uncle Nate called this morning to make things worse. He was drunk, as usual. He said he was going to confess to the hit-and-run. I needed to take care of him.
Dad and I got into a fight over it. He called me a monster and said
‘You’ve always been a problem, Madison.’
I just saw red.
Then I went to take care of Uncle Nate.
You really weren’t supposed to be there, Cami.”
Madison stands up. She tilts her head slightly when she notices Cami’s elevated gaze.
“What are you looking at–”
Sera shoves Madison into the wall, Madison trips on us on her way down. She pushes herself up and grabs a dust covered hunting rifle from the floor. She shoots at Sera but it hits the wall. Madison pulls the trigger again. The bullet ricochets through the glass windows
“Madison, I thought we were friends.” Sera says.
“Friends ? Really ? You were an outsider and everyone in this town was treating you like you belonged here. My dad was going to leave his business to you instead of me. You ignored me like everyone else. You never invited me to your house. Never offered me drugs or tried to have sex with me. You just took everything that was supposed to be mine."
“I.. you were… you were my boss’ daughter”, Sera says which was exactly the wrong thing to say. Madison shoots at the ceiling. Debris and the ceiling fan clatter to the floor. Madison throws the rifle aside and grabs a wood axe that’s covered in dried blood.
“You’re a real problem, Sera.”
She swings and it gets buried into the wall. A flicker of red and blue reflects off the frosty window.
Madison reaches into her pocket and pulls out a small pistol. Without hesitating she points the gun at me. When the trigger is pulled I suddenly remember everything that happened 7 years ago when I was shot. The bullet hits me before I can hear it. The sharp crack of bone sends tiny shards of pain through my chest.
Madison screams when I go down. “SERA NO. HELP HELP”
Madison aims for Cami, but before she can pull the trigger Sera tackles her to the ground. The gun flies a few inches away from them. They both fight for the gun. Madison claws at the wood for it. It’s inches away from her grasp and Sera knocks it further away.
The cops swarm into the cabin. Madison goes limp and starts crying.
“Help me. Daniel. Help.”, She says as tears slide down her cheeks,”It was Sera. Cami is helping her. Help. She killed my Dad –”
Madison stops when she realizes her words are being repeated from the phone in Daniel’s pocket. She turns and notices the small camera on the ground.
My vision starts to go blurry. The police untie us and I feel my chest going numb. Cami presses her cold hands over my chest, “He’s been shot.”
The cops secure all the weapons before letting the paramedics in. I can’t feel any blood but the pain feels like it’s burrowing through me. The paramedics quietly confer with each other.
“He’s clear.” One of the paramedics says, “You’re good, Sir.”
“No. She shot me.” I sit up and look down, There are tiny blue shards on my chest surrounding a bright red welt. Cami picks up a cracked blue calcite stone from the floor. It was the heart shaped blue calcite from the fair. It had been in my chest pocket. It had taken the impact and shattered.
Author’s Note
As you know I often write out of order so when this chapter starts with Sera driving off in a car I had to go and figure out how to do that. That’s why she arrives on her Harley (Which she gives to AJ which I always planned) Then Lydia Dupont offers to give Madison a ride to get her dad, and Cami gets into Paris’ rental–which leaves Sera with the keys to Granger’s Camry.
Oh. No one cares ?
Okay.