Page 105 of The Fragile Ones
Chad and John kept the cars close after they moved the last tree and made it into the town of Rock Creek. Growing impatience and concern drove Chad and he needed to get to Katie as soon as possible. He felt something deep inside. Something was wrong—very wrong.
The roads were terrible, some completely flooded.
Chad took a turn too fast. He wasn’t familiar with the town and his Jeep stalled as he hit a deep-water area. He kept trying to start it but the engine wouldn’t turn over. His SUV bobbed and weaved, unable to touch down.
Chad rolled down his window, waving at John.
John maneuvered his big truck well and stayed to the left side of the road while Lizzy rolled down the passenger window. “Climb out!” she hollered.
Chad scrambled to push his body out the window and dove into the bed of John’s truck. The truck roared ahead, shedding puddles like waterfalls. The rain pummeled Chad, but he didn’t care. He’d been through rough rescues before. He saw signs for the historical area and hammered on the back window. “Follow the signs!” he yelled, gesturing to the markers. John turned and nodded. Chad gave a thumbs up as he sat down against the back of the cab.
* * *
Katie fought the grip that Ty had on her throat. His ruthless and even gleeful approach to death was more than disturbing. She could see his face as he tried to choke and drown her in the six inches of water—eyes wide, dark, with his mouth slightly parted. He wanted to kill her—life didn’t matter to him.
Katie’s body was completely immersed now, her arms and legs numb, but she managed to grab a breath when her mouth was out of the puddle before she was slammed back under.
She moved her lower body and shifted her pelvis so that she could get leverage with her legs. Finally, swinging her left leg around Ty, she pushed him away enough to be able to get up. Her move angered him. From his grunts and groans it was clear that he didn’t have anything more to say to her. It was going to be a death match—to the end.
Ty kept coming after her like a monster that wouldn’t die. Katie backed up, weaving around headstones as her feet were sucked into the mud. With one huge shove, Ty was able to push her onto her back again, but this time, she fell several feet and landed on something hard.
Dazed and gagging on the heavy rain funneling to her face, she was able to sit up and gasp for air. Looking around her, she realized she was lying in a freshly dug grave. Memories rushed back of when she had been sealed inside a coffin by Chelsea Compton’s killer.
All the feelings, emotions, smells, and restricted vision slammed into her psyche. She had tried desperately to calm her anxiety during the investigation—but now it had led her to the place she feared the most. Her breath escaped her. Dizziness enveloped her. Shadows danced around in the graveyard, playing tricks on her.
Ty stood looking down at her with a grin, his wet hair covering most of his face, and a shovel in his right hand.
* * *
Chad leaned over the side of the truck bed, watching for the turnoff for the historical area of town, when John abruptly stopped the truck. Rolling down the windows, he said, “I don’t trust that driveway up to the top. We might slide back down. It’s not like a regular four-wheel drive vehicle and I won’t have complete control.”
“Let’s run,” said Chad. “We need to see if Katie and McGaven are there.”
John and Lizzy glanced at one another.
“Let’s do it. It doesn’t look very far,” said John.
The three of them trekked up the hill. It looked easier than it was. The rain continued to pour and the wind pushed them backwards. Each of them fell a few times, helped each other up and continued on…
* * *
Katie caught her breath and began to climb out. Ty swung the shovel at her with such speed that it clipped her arm, sending her back into the grave flat on her back. Instant pain shot up through her arm and neck. She flailed in the water at the bottom, slipping around on the mud and wiping it from her eyes. Water was filling it fast, causing more mud to tumble into the hole every second.
Ty’s silhouette loomed above her, the shovel poised over his head. She didn’t need to see the details of his face to know he was about to kill her—his body language said it all. She had never encountered anyone like him before, a killer who could act so normal and go completely unnoticed for so long. A quiet man able to manipulate people with such ease. People willing to do things for him.
Taking several deep breaths, she thought of the way he had left his daughters—beaten and broken in a mountain cavern. It was all Katie needed to give her strength. She turned and climbed up the back of the oversized grave, using her feet to dig divots into the side walls, making her way to the top and landing on her belly.
* * *
Exhausted and soaked to the skin, Chad, John, and Lizzy finally made it to the parking lot. Weary and weak, they moved toward the building.
“Hey, there’s Katie’s Jeep,” said Chad, fighting to be heard through the wind. The vehicle was parked at the edge of the property.
John and Lizzy followed Chad into the building.
“Hey!” said a voice from nowhere.
“McGaven?” said Chad incredulously. “Where are you?”
