Chapter 10 - The Mother's Wrath
The dog barked viciously,
the sound tearing through the damp air of the mine,
echoing off the stone walls like the roar of a mythical beast.
"Back up,"
Claire commanded,
shoving me deeper into the tunnel,
placing her body between us and the entrance,
her gun aimed steadily at the sliver of gray light.
Heavy boots crunched on the gravel outside,
followed by the sharp,
metallic click of a tactical rifle being chambered,
a sound that sent a jolt of pure adrenaline straight into my veins.
"I know you are in there, Claire!"
Chief Harrison’s voice boomed,
amplified,
distorted,
and dripping with absolute malice,
"My dogs caught your scent on the rocks,
there is nowhere else to run,
the mountain ends here."
I clutched Mia so tightly she whimpered,
pressing us flat against the cold,
slimy wall of the cave,
praying to a God I hadn't spoken to in years to make us invisible.
"You are finished, Harrison!"
Claire yelled back,
her voice echoing fiercely,
refusing to show an ounce of fear,
"The FBI raided your station,
they have the offshore accounts,
they know about Evelyn,
if you kill us,
you will fry in a federal penitentiary!"
A dark,
humorless laugh erupted from the entrance.
"I am a dead man anyway, counselor,"
Harrison shouted,
his shadow falling across the floor of the cave as he stepped closer,
"I lost my badge,
I lost my pension,
I lost my life because your sister couldn't keep her mouth shut,
I am not going to prison,
but I am taking you with me."
"Where is David?"
I screamed,
unable to hold back the question,
the need to know where the devil was hiding overriding my common sense.
"Your husband?"
Harrison chuckled darkly,
stepping slightly into the tunnel,
his silhouette massive,
intimidating,
clad in heavy tactical armor,
a terrifying assault rifle in his hands.
"David is a coward,
he panicked when he heard the feds were in town,
tried to steal my cruiser and run for the border,
so I put a bullet in his kneecap and left him in the dirt."
My breath caught in my throat.
The alliance of monsters had fractured,
turning on each other the moment their perfect facade shattered,
but that did not make Harrison any less dangerous.
In fact,
it made him completely unpredictable,
a man with absolutely nothing left to lose.
"Put the gun down, Claire,"
Harrison ordered,
raising his rifle,
the laser sight painting a bright red dot squarely on my sister's chest,
"You have one pistol,
I am wearing level-four body armor,
you shoot me,
it will just piss me off,
and I will empty this magazine into all three of you."
Claire hesitated,
her eyes darting from the red dot on her chest to my terrified face,
the reality of the situation crashing down upon her.
She could not win this firefight,
and if she died,
Mia and I would be completely defenseless against a trained,
heavily armed killer.
With a heavy,
defeated sigh,
Claire slowly lowered her weapon,
placing it gently on the dirt floor,
kicking it a few feet away.
"Smart girl,"
Harrison mocked,
stepping fully into the mine,
the dog straining aggressively at the end of its heavy leather leash,
snapping its jaws at the air.
He reached down,
grabbing Claire by the hair,
yanking her violently to her knees,
pressing the hot barrel of the rifle against her temple.
"Now,"
he sneered,
looking past her,
his cold,
dead eyes locking onto mine,
"You and the kid,
step out of the shadows,
let's finish this."
I looked at the heavy,
jagged rock still clutched in my trembling hand.
I looked at my sister,
on her knees,
ready to die to buy us a few more seconds of life.
And I looked at Mia,
my innocent,
beautiful daughter,
whose childhood had been destroyed by the evil of men.
Fear vanished,
replaced by a white-hot,
blinding rage,
a primal,
ancient fury that burned through my veins like liquid fire.
I did not cower,
I did not beg,
I stood up,
hiding the rock behind my back,
and walked slowly out of the shadows,
stepping directly into the dim light.
"Leave them alone, Harrison,"
I said,
my voice steady,
cold,
and completely unrecognizable,
even to myself,
"This is between you and me."
Harrison smiled,
a cruel,
ugly stretching of his scarred lips,
lowering the rifle slightly to aim at my chest,
confident in his absolute victory.
He did not realize that a mother,
pushed to the very edge of the abyss,
with her child’s life on the line,
is the most dangerous creature on the face of the earth.
He opened his mouth to speak,
to deliver some final,
villainous monologue,
but I did not give him the chance.
With a scream that tore my vocal cords,
May you like
I lunged forward,
swinging the heavy stone with every ounce of strength I possessed,
