Nightmare in Niceville (12 page)

“Put down the knife and fight me like a man!” Scott yelled and raised his fists.

“No, Scott! Just get out of his way and let him have what he wants! Everyone is dead because of me! I can't let him hurt you too!”

“No, Lily!” Scott pleaded.

“I know! Just trust me,” I whispered.

“I would listen to my beautiful Lily if I were you,” the man said.

“What do you mean? Lily, do you know him?” Scott's fists relaxed a little and his body wasn't as tense.

“No, I don't. But . . . look out!” I saw it coming. He raised the knife, then plunged it into Scott's side.

“NO!” I shrieked. Scott exhaled heavily, making a huffing sound, and we both fell to the ground. I quickly took off my jacket and moved his hand so I could press it on his side to help slow the bleeding. My hands were covered with Scott's blood. I bit my lip hard, trying to keep my stomach under control.

“Oh, Scott, I'm so sorry. Scott, please look at me. I'm so sorry!” I blabbered. Slowly his eyes focused on me, and he shook his head. It was a small movement. I sobbed and crushed my head into his chest. I heard Sarah groan.

“Finally,” the disgusting man said.

I closed my eyes as tears fell. Scott's chest was pumping up and down ever so slightly now. He would die soon. Another person close to me dead. Then I got strength from a strange place inside me. I couldn't just give up! I had to do something!

The man roared, and I looked up. Angela was leaning against Luke and holding her blood-drenched stomach. She was crying, but her face was full of anger and triumph. She was panting.

She spoke in a tone that even frightened me and pointed at her bloody stomach. “I pulled the fire alarm.” Her voice was frantic and high-pitched. It shook with emotion.

Angela swayed and collapsed to her knees and slumped against Luke with a smile on her face. Luke crouched beside her and stroked her forehead and cheeks. I hoped she would last a little longer. Help was almost here! I could already hear the sirens.

The man turned toward me speedily. Suddenly, he grabbed my hair and pulled me up. My anger raged again. I fought the urge to yell and kick and scream. I didn't want to give him any satisfaction.

“Who is Mackenzie?” I looked him dead in the eye and saw the shock there. I smiled fiercely. He didn't like his own games. His face went limp; he blankly stared into my eyes. Then through a dark undertone of evil, he smiled and a muscle in his face twitched. A hot pain flashed in my shoulder. This time I did scream. He had cut me! I felt the warm liquid spread down my arm. I felt the tip of the knife over my stomach.

“Who is Sophia?” I screamed.

He snarled like a wild animal and pushed the knife ever so slightly. My heart pounded in my ears.

“Who is Josie! Was she your wife? Did you love her more than anything? What happened to her? Huh? What happened that made you hate me and my family? What did my friends do to you? What did all of those innocent people do to you? What? TELL ME!” I screamed and yelled from somewhere inside myself that I had never felt before. He had killed my friends. Adrenaline pumped through my veins. My vision blurred with rage. I was going to take this man down.

His knife lessened its pressure. “Shut up! I did love her! I loved all three of them!” he panted. “They were my world! Josie. She got sick.” He looked defeated.

“She died,” I said.

He nodded.

“What about the other girls?” I asked.

“My daughters. They were always blabbering and following me and reminding me of my Josie! I couldn't take it anymore!” His voice grew louder as he spoke, and his breathing was heavy.

“You killed them,” I barely whispered.

He nodded.

“Why us?” I asked quietly.

“Because. Your father had a family. One that was still alive.” He looked at me maliciously. “He had what was taken away from me! And I'm going to take that away from him! Your father finally began to love you all again, I saw it in his eyes. I couldn't let that happen, and now he's dead. And you will be too!” he screamed at the top of his lungs.

I sucked in a short breath.

There was a huge, crashing sound of shattering glass. The man jerked forward, pressing the knife harder into my stomach. As it pierced my skin, I thought of my mother and Ashley. Ashley, her innocent, round face and her bubbly, spring-like laugh echoed in my mind. Would I ever hug the little squirt again? Would I ever read her a story again and look at that princess nightlight as her chest slowly rose and fell in sleep? Would I be there as her shoulder to cry on when she had a broken heart? Would I see her on her wedding day with happy tears in her eyes? Would I ever look into those sparkling green eyes, full of the wonder and hope of a child?

I screamed and collapsed to the floor. When I opened my eyes, police were filling the room with guns raised. I looked up at the man and smiled. The knife was raised above his head, and he looked just as shocked as I was, guns pointing at us from all directions.

“NO!” he yelled.

“Put your weapon down!” a voice called. He looked down at me with a crazed rage expression. My eyes widened in shock. He raised the knife higher, preparing for the moment he had been waiting for. I winced—my mother and Ashley's faces flashed before my eyes.

A shot rang out.

The man fell to the floor and groaned in agony. He grabbed his leg, screaming profanities. He still sounded exactly like my father. I shivered. I closed my eyes and clutched my stomach, my breath coming in shallow bursts. With every inhale, the wound flared with pain.

Police officers swarmed around the foul man. I realized that they had shot him in the leg.

“Search the building for survivors! Get the paramedics in here!” a man shouted.

I was confused for a brief moment, and then I was aware that it was finally over. I looked over at Scott. He was so pale, but his chest was rising and falling. Scott was okay for now, and I thought Emily was too. Sarah was only hurt. Her wounds would heal. My wounds would heal. It was over. I relaxed for the first time all night. My muscles appreciated that greatly.

24

Lily

A
police officer and a man in a long, white coat, a pale-blue shirt, and pale-blue pants ran over to Scott and I. More men in blue and white rushed over to help put Scott on a stretcher. They mumbled medical things I didn't understand. The police officer started to lift me onto my own stretcher.

“No! I want to be with Scott! Where is Emily?” I screamed hysterically.

“It's okay, Miss. Don't worry about your friends. They're in good hands now. Be still now and we'll get you cleaned up,” one of the paramedics said in a kind, gentle voice.

They wheeled me through an open door. I heard little crunching noises as their feet crushed the small glass fragments. He rolled me to an ambulance and loaded me into the back. A woman with dark-brown hair was wearing the same pale blue—the color swirled in my head and made me nauseous. My vision started blurring and I was woozy and dizzy. The woman started to wipe my face with a cold substance. I flinched away.

“Sorry it's so cold. It's just antiseptic,” she said in a kind voice and continued cleaning my face and moved to my arms.

“Oh, that's a nasty cut. What other injuries does she have?” she asked one of the EMTs.

“She's got a stab wound on her stomach, most of the victims do. Her ankle is sprained or broken, there's a scratch on her shoulder, and that's all,” he replied quickly.
That's all?
It seemed like I had broken bones and painful, stinging scratches everywhere. My whole body ached and pulsed.

“Thanks,” she said. He nodded and jogged off.

“My name is Lisa,” the woman said. “Let's get you to the hospital and take care of you, okay?” she continued. I nodded.

I blinked a few times and tried to mumble something, but I was shushed by the woman in pale blue. My vision blurred again, and everything went black.

25

Lily

“L
ily?” a voice called my name, pulling me out of the darkness.

“Honey, are you awake?” The voice continued to pull me further into the bright light ahead of me. I felt my eyes flicker, and I fought to open them. I blinked and tried to focus on one thing. It was very bright.

“Lily!” the voice said, and a pair of hands touched my face. My eyes finally focused and I saw my mother.

“Mom,” I said, lifting my hand to her arm. My voice sounded hoarse.

My mom grabbed my hand and squeezed it. “The nurse said you might be a little groggy. How are you feeling?” she asked.

I only grunted in response. I looked around the room and realized I was in the hospital. I tried to remember why, and then everything hit me like a punch in the stomach. I gasped and tried to sit up. Mom gently held me down, but she didn't need to. The pain in my stomach alone kept me down. I sucked in a breath and took in a few short breaths.

“Honey, you need to rest! What's wrong?” she said frantically.

“My stomach hurts,” I said quickly. “Where is Emily? Is Scott okay? What about Sarah? And what about . . .” I rambled.

“Sweetie, hush! It's okay,” she said, stroking my cheek and forehead. “Emily is okay, look,” she told me, pointing to the left. Emily was lying in the bed next to me. She had a needle in her arm. There was a beeping coming from that direction, steady and quiet. Her eyes were closed.

“Did the nurse give her stuff so she would sleep too?” I asked, turning back to my mom.

“Yes,” she answered and smiled, trying to make me feel better.

“What happened to her?” I asked urgently.

“She was hurt and pretty beat up, honey.”

I looked back at Emily and felt my cheeks, lips, and eyes get hot as tears pooled. I bit my lip as it quivered.

“The nurse said that she was stabbed in the leg,” she said, squeezing my hand.

“Did anyone get out without being hurt?” I raised my voice. I was so angry.

“Shhh. You know this isn't your fault, sweetheart. You couldn't have known that any of this would ever have happened,” she said in a hushed voice.

Sure it's not,
I thought to myself.

“I asked the officer what happened, but he didn't give me much information,” my mother said. I stared at the wall behind her. I blinked and tears slipped down. I wiped them away angrily. I didn't want Mom to see me this way.

I wished this was all a stupid, crazy nightmare, but I was in so much pain, I knew pinching myself wouldn't wake me up. It wouldn't go away. Not ever. Every time I blinked, the shiny gleam of a knife and the man's crazed eyes flashed in my mind. The monitor beeped quicker as my heart sped up and more tears flowed.

“Lily, it's okay,” my mother said as she stroked my forehead.

But it was my fault. That man was after me, not everyone else. They were hurt because he couldn't find me. And all of those people that I didn't even know had died. It was all because of me. I opened my mouth to object and say it wasn't okay, but I was interrupted by a familiar voice.

“Lily!” the voice called excitedly. I looked toward the door and saw Ashley running over.

I had never been happier to see her little, round face and long, flowing hair, and that big, white smile under her sparkling green eyes.

“Ashley!” I fought the urge to sit up or leap out of bed to her. She scrambled onto the bed, and I couldn't hug her and have her in my arms fast enough.

When I winced my mom said “Be gentle, Ashley!”

“Oops! Sorry, Lily,” she said apologetically and batted her innocent eyes at me.

“It's fine, squirt! I'm just glad to see you!” I said and couldn't stop smiling.

“Are you feeling better yet, Lily?” she asked.

“Well, I'm tired, but I think I'll live,” I answered and squeezed her to me.

“I can't breathe!” she huffed. I laughed, which hurt, and released her. She just curled up to my side and stayed there.

“What happened, Lily?” She looked at me questioningly.

“Just a bad accident.” I smoothed her hair down, and she closed her eyes like she wanted to take a nap.

“Do you know what happened to my ankle, Mom?”

“The nurse said you sprained your ankle, but she gave you something for the pain. They didn't say when we could go home yet.” Her voice was growing more tired as she continued. Someone knocked on the wall, and we all looked over to see a police officer standing in the doorway.

“Is now a good time?” he asked politely. Mom looked at me and I nodded.

“Yes, now is fine,” Mom answered. He walked over to us and bent down to whisper something in my mom's ear. Her expression was sad.

“All right,” she said.

“Ashley, let's go get something to eat and we will come back later,” she said as she stood.

“But I want to stay with Lily,” Ashley whined.

“It's okay, I'll see you in a little while. I'm not going anywhere.” I ruffled her hair a little.

“Okay,” she said glumly. She kissed me on the cheek, and Mom helped her off the bed. Mom bent down and kissed me on the forehead, then carried Ashley out of the door. They walked out of my view, and I turned my attention to the officer. I felt my face flush nervously.

The officer pulled a chair next to the bed and sat down. He pulled a pen and a little note pad from his pocket. I sat up a little from my pillow and was glad that my Mom or Ashley wasn't here to listen.

“Don't be nervous, it's not as bad as they make it on TV. My name is Officer Drake,” he said kindly. “Can you tell me your name?” He had dark-brown hair, and it was about Scott's length. His face was gruff and covered in unruly stubble. His cobalt blue eyes were dark and tired and had shadows under them. His voice was calm and smooth when he spoke.