Glory (Book 3) (22 page)

Chapter 3

Jane continued to stand by the dead bodies, though she wasn't really looking at them anymore. Her ideas were elsewhere. On her husband and daughter, the ones who had come back to haunt her.

She knew that it had something to do with all that had happened. She might even be undergoing some form of shock. She had seen her daughter killed. Her husband had jumped out of a window. She had killed two other young people herself.

All of that took a toll.

But why would her husband and daughter come back as they did?

Jane took a deep breath and tried to steady her nerves. She told herself that they were dreams, her imagination. They weren't real. No one had come back to haunt her. Her family was dead. That's all there was to it.

She also told herself that she needed to get over it. She couldn't let these images keep bothering her. She had to be strong and fight them.

But the dreams…they were so real...

She shook her head
.
They were just dreams.

Jane turned around and faced the cafe. She thought about the people that were in there and was glad that she had found them. She didn't know what would have happened if she had had to deal with this on her own. She didn't know if she could have done it. Charles and Robert had both saved her. Last night, Adam had too.

She thought about Shelly and Claire. The young girl was adorable. She was always happy, always wanted to do something fun and interesting. And Claire was beautiful. Though she hadn't talked to her much, she was certain that they could become good friends.

Everything's okay.

She walked toward the cafe, determined to move on from all that was bothering her.

Yet, as she came upon it, she heard laughter. It sounded like her daughter.

No
!
Jane balled her hands into fists, deciding to fight.

The laughter continued. It was coming from the back of the cafe.

She had to be strong.

Jane started to march around to the back of the cafe. However, as she went, she didn't feel as strong as she had hoped. If anything, she felt like crumbling to the ground with every step she took.

She knew her daughter would be there, waiting for her. Her husband somewhere close by. They'd be covered in blood. They'd chase her. They'd attack her. Make her cry.

She kept walking.

Closer and closer she got to the back of the cafe. Her feet crackled on the gravel as she walked. She stepped on a few branches along the way as well. One snapped and Jane felt herself jump at the sound of it.

No, she didn't feel strong at all.

She came upon the back corner of the cafe, but stopped before looking around it. She wasn't ready to yet. She needed to gather herself. To get strength.

The laughing continued. It was getting louder. And faster.

Then Jane heard a deep voice. She couldn't make out what it was saying, but the noise rumbled through her.

She couldn't breathe. It was her husband and daughter. She was certain of it. They were coming back to haunt her. Coming back to get her.

But they were dead
.
She knew that too. They couldn't hurt her. Not now. No
t
ever.

She squeezed her fists again, determined to fight. Then she stepped out from the side of the cafe.

At first, Jane didn't see anyone. But her eyes soon found them near the trees. It wasn't her daughter and husband. It was Charles and Robert. They were running around, playing.

Robert saw her. "Jane!" he screamed. "Charles can't catch me. I'm too fast. I'm too good!" The little boy laughed as he continued to evade the old man.

Charles turned to look at her. "Don't listen to the boy. I'm just letting him get away."  He started to laugh as well.

Jane's fists loosened. It was nice to see them playing. Nice to see them having a good time. But, more than that, it was nice to see that it wasn't her husband and daughter.

Chapter 4

Jane woke up in the middle of the night. She could hear crying.

She didn't need to look around to know that everyone was sleeping and that the sound was coming from upstairs. It was her daughter, crying on the bed.

She could picture the blood dripping out of Becky's mouth, spilling on her nightie. Her husband would be there as well.

"Mommy?" a voice called to her from far away. "Mooommmmmy?"

Jane put her head back down and closed her eyes. She didn't have any intention of going up there to confront her family, no matter how determined she had been earlier in the day to fight them. Night time was different. The images far too real. She didn't have the strength or courage to deal with it.

She covered her ears and tried to think of anything other than her family. It was hard. The thought of them consumed her.

"Stop," she whispered to herself. "Stop, stop, stop."

Jane kept her hands pressed to the side of her head.

When she removed them, the crying had stopped. She sat up and looked toward the staircase leading upstairs.

She listened. Nothing.

Jane wanted to wake someone. No, no
t
someon
e
. She wanted to wake Adam. To confess all that had happened. Ask for his help.

But she couldn't get herself to do it. She didn't want everyone to worry. This was something that she could do on her own.

The laughter started back up.

"Oh, mommy," her daughter called down to her. "You silly goose. Come on, you can't leave us, mommy. You can't!"

Her husband joined in. "No, Jane, you can't leave us. Now come up stairs. We're your family. You should be with us. You should…"

Jane covered her ears again and closed her eyes. She lowered her head and pressed it against the ground. "Stop, stop, stop."

But her family didn't stop. Her hands had muffled the sound, but she could still hear them. Laughing. Taunting. The blood gurgling out of her daughter's mouth.

This had to stop. I
t
ha
d
to!

Except Jane didn't know how to make it stop.

"Leave me alone," she whispered. "Pleeeaassee..."

It was all she could think of.

The laughter continued.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank my family and friends for all of their support and encouragement in writing this book. I truly appreciate your kind words of support during this process.

I would also like to thank you, the reader, for giving an unknown author a chance. I hope you enjoyed the book and that you look forward to the upcoming installments. There are five books in total that I plan to release over the upcoming year.

About the Author

Starting with nothing more than the prologue, Michael set off writing his version of the apocalypse. He even quit his job and moved home for a year to do so. The end product is a story which spans five books that he will release over the upcoming year. He is from Brampton, Ontario, Canada.

You can follow him at
michaelmcmanamon.com
and
www.facebook.com/glorythebook
for information and updates on upcoming books.