Page 112 of Dream a Little Dream

Aaron tightened his grip on Alice’s arm, holding her upright when she looked ready to lie down and let this all happen. He locked eyes with her, hoping she could see he had no intention of letting anything happen to her, but she wasn’t there. She was gone. Hidden in the drugs. Petrified. So he played along. For now, at least. Not for his safety, or for his life, but forhers. One wrong move, and Drew would jump in and slaughter her, anyway.

He had to plan.

Be creative.

Callous.

It was more than a Marmite jar this time. It was aprinciple.

“Fine.” Aaron masked his voice with a weary resignation. “What do you want me to do?”

“Take her by the river, hold her down. After that, we’ll have the real fun with all the decorations. I know it might seem harsh, but trust me, it’s the only way. The ultimate liberation. She’ll slip away peacefully, and you’ll finally be free of the chains holding you down. You’ll know what it feels like to be totally in control. To hold a life in your hands and extinguish itlike that.” Drew clicked his fingers in the air. “There really is no other feeling like it. Not even sex! Your mother gave you life, now you take it away. It’s Godlike. After a few, you won’t need the drugs. You’ll look forward to the screams.”

Aaron’s stomach twisted, rage surging through him as he watched Drew relish the scene he’d orchestrated. But a thought struck. “Can I take her gag off?” He looked Drew dead in theeye. “So I can hear her scream?” Or so she could scream for help when he got her out of this.

Drew smiled, grotesque and awestricken. “Go ahead. Be my guest.”

Adrenaline coursing through his veins, he had only one shot to make this right, and he darted his gaze between Drew and the shadows along the riverbank, mind racing. He had to keep Drew distracted, just long enough to find an opening. He undid Alice’s gag and, forcing himself to remain calm, dragged her down to the river’s edge, Drew’s eyes on him like a lead weight, assessing him in that same way Kenny did. Was Aaron behaving the way Drew expected? Was he making the right choice? The prickling weight of his stare as they neared the water made him tighten his grip on Alice’s arm, bracing himself.

Drew took a step back, leaning against a tree, and held the knife loosely at his side. He thought Aaron was capable. Hebelievedin him. Wholeheartedly. Why was he so confident? Because Aaron had played the game well? Had he really made people believe him a threat? He’d closed himself off from everyone, not because he didn’tcare, but because it hurttoo much. He’d fooled Drew. And maybe Kenny.

Aaron leaned down, mouth close to Alice’s ear. “Can you hear me?”

She gave the faintest nod, but she’d never be able to run free if he pushed her away so he could stand in front of Drew as a human shield. He had to reassess. How long would it take for Kenny to get here? Could he wait this out? Then throw the girl at him and take the knife for himself? He straightened, glancing back at Drew. His face lit up with sick excitement as he stepped forward, gripping the knife, eagerly waiting like a proud parent would for their child’s first steps.

“This is your moment, Aaron,” Drew called to him. “Make your mother proud.”

It was now or never.

In one swift motion, Aaron twisted his body, swinging Alice behind him, and lunged at Drew with everything he had. Drew’s eyes widened, shock flashing across his face, but he raised the knife just in time to meet Aaron’s strike. The blade skimmed across Aaron’s forearm, slicing through skin, but he barely felt the pain through the adrenaline. He wrestled Drew for control of the knife, heart hammering as he shoved his weight against the older man, determined to end this nightmare. Drew might be a madman, a psychopathic killer, but he was still a twig. Aaron had youth, mobility, force, and a sheer fucking will to prove him and everyone else wrong.

“Run!” he shouted to Alice.

Alice stumbled, legs like a newborn foal, but she had something in her to make it towards the distant lights, disappearing through the trees as Drew let out a furious snarl, twisting against Aaron with a renewed frenzy. He shoved Aaron backwards; the knife glinting dangerously as he lunged, and the tip sliced through Aaron’s hoodie, grazing his shoulder.

“You’ve just made your biggest mistake!” Drew’s voice was a rasp of venom and fury. “You can’t run from it, Aaron. Whether you like it or not, you areexactlylike your parents!”

Aaron tightened his grip around the knife’s hilt, knuckles paling as he wrestled Drew to the ground, every muscle braced, strength fuelled by a desperation he’d never felt before. Drew thrashed beneath him, shock flashing in his eyes as Aaron tore the blade from his grip, holding it with a deadly resolve silencing the older man’s sneer.

“You’re right. Iamlike them,” Aaron growled. “I just choose my own damn targets.”

Without hesitation, he plunged the knife into Drew’s thigh, the blade biting deep enough to send a shockwave of agony through him. His scream was guttural, hanging in the dense,cold air as blood seeped between his fingers, staining them a dark, sickening red.

Drew’s face twisted, eyes narrowing with fury even as pain contorted his features. “You’ll regret this,” he spat, every word a hiss. “Your mother willdespiseyou. You’ll benothingto her.”

Aaron cut him off, voice hard as steel, unflinching. “Then she can dream fucking nightmares ofme.”

He staggered to his feet, leaving Drew writhing in the mud, his wound bleeding freely. Drew’s hand slipped, clutching the ground in a desperate crawl as he shifted, trying to drag himself forward. Aaron’s heart froze as he realised Drew was inching toward the rifle, lying just out of reach.

Aaron dashed around him, kicking it into the murky depths of the river with one swift, powerful strike. The splash echoed in the darkness, and before Drew could react, Aaron’s boot connected with his face, sending him sprawling back into the mud, a dark streak of blood trickling from his mouth.

In the distance, a terrified scream pierced the night, the sound of footsteps pounding the earth, then a scatter of flashing lights cutting through the trees. Alice. Had she made it to safety? Relief rushed through him, weakening his legs, and he sank against a nearby tree, drained, every breath a ragged pull of frosty night air. Chest heaving, he slumped to the ground, cradling his knees and burying his face into them.

Only then did he let himself slip into the darkness.

“Aaron!”

A hand shook his shoulder, warm and firm, dragging him back to consciousness. He blinked, vision clearing, and his heart leapt as familiar eyes looked at him with concern, with worry, with fear. Not forwhohe was. What he’d done. But forwherehe was. Trapped in the wreckage, teetering on the brink of an end he almost hadn’t escaped.

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