Ripple Effect: A Novel (31 page)

“I know,” she says. “We better run for it.”

“Thank you,” Sabrina says uncomfortably. Stacy looks at her strangely, then nods.

We go the opposite way from the way he went, creeping slowly so that our footsteps won’t be heard. Once we are standing at the opening to the next hall, I look back toward his classroom one last time.

I gasp.

A dark silhouette of a man is striding with purpose down the hall, getting closer with each step.

It didn’t work

“Run!” I scream and grab Stacy’s arm as I take off down the hall. Sabrina is right beside me.

The clapping of our shoes on the linoleum floor is loud, but his is louder. Our path is dimly lit and I feel there is no end. Thunder rattles the building again.

Sabrina and Stacy lead the way, leaving me in the back with the map. I swear I can feel Leison right behind me, breathing down my neck. I start to cry.

We turn down another hall. A glorious sight unfolds—it’s the front entrance of the school. At the end of the hall are three real officers and the principal. They are illuminated from behind by the light outside—like angels from above, coming to save us from the darkened hand of Leison.

He lets out a shout and I scream—he is right behind me!

He reaches a hand out to brush down my back in a desperate attempt to snatch me up. I push myself harder to escape his grasp.

“Principal Smith!” I cry as we run into their line of sight, out of the dark creepy hallway and into the front entryway of the high school.

As soon as it’s safe I stop running. Instantly I turn around and know that Leison has retreated back into the shadows. I can’t see him or his eyes, but I can feel them watching me.

I breathe heavily and wipe my eyes. Smith is standing before us, hands on his hips. “What is the matter?” His eyes widen as he looks down at us. “Why are you crying?”

Tears fill my eyes once more. “Mr. Leison!” It’s still difficult to say his name out loud. “He is disguised as a police officer. He’s chasing us!”

The principal looks at the map, then down the hallway. “What do you have there, Cecily?”

A lump fills my throat and I can’t speak.
All of this for nothing . . . he’s going to confiscate this stupid map.

After seeing the tears that gather in my eyes, Smith points to the darkened hallway. I can tell he isn’t sure of what’s going on, but he knows enough about Leison that he’s willing to trust us against him. As he orders the officers down the hallway to chase him, Principal Smith acts as though he doesn’t notice us sneaking away.

As we go, I turn and watch the beams of their flashlights bounce on the walls as they sprint through the darkened corridors.

We all know they won’t catch him.

The three of us rush out of into the cold air, shaken up and nearly crying. It dawns on me fully that Leison truly has eyes and ears everywhere . . . and I fear that even the FBI can’t stop him from coming for us. He knows every move—as if he’s planted them in our heads.

“We have to get to the girls before he does . . .” I say quietly, looking around for anything suspicious. “You know he’s going to be there. He’s planned all of this.”

Sabrina slows her pace. “Are you backing out, Wolf?”

“We need to contact Agent Owens.”

“We need to save those girls. Leison will kill them tonight. He’s secret’s in the open. He’ll kill them and flee the scene.”

Hazel practically skids into a handicap parking spot. She drives as if she’s in some getaway sports car and not her white hatchback. Her music is way too loud, as usual. I make my way quickly over with a sigh.

The school doors open behind us. I don’t stay long enough to see who it is.

Once in, I look out the window. No one is even there. The only trace of a being is the handicap door that closes slowly and eerily.

“Drive, Hazel.” My eyes can’t peel from the closing door. “Just drive.”

“Where to?” She punches the gas and then the gas, throwing us around in the car.

I glare at her. “My house. It’s where we are meeting everyone.”

“What about your mom?” Sabrina yells, over the music.

Another pang of dread fills me. “She’s with Adie at the hospital.”

“Nothing, absolutely nothing.”

Kelly sets his phone down on the kitchen table. He has been trying to call Owens for the past twenty minutes.

I glance up and my eyes settle on an old pick ax hung on the wall, a memory of my father. Below it is a picture of Papa, dirtied with coal and wearing coveralls and a hard hat. He was brave enough to do it, to enter into the horrible dark mines every day. That means the same strength must be within me to enter the old mines too—if I have to.

“We triple checked the coordinates,” Landon says. His curly hair is bright orange and almost matches the color of his freckles. How did Sabrina get caught up with him? “They keep leading us to the same mine.”

Standing, I glance at Kelly. “Check your uncle again.”

“What are you doing?” he asks as I step past him and to the wall.

My hands reach up and I take the axe in my hands. It’s heavier than I thought it would be and my arms drag down toward the floor. Papa was one strong man!

Kelly comes up behind me and helps me hold the axe up. His elbows hug mine. “You aren’t going in that mine,” he swears. I look down at the axe feeling little solace in his words. “I’ll call my uncle again.” He takes the axe from me with one hand and puts it back on the wall. “The FBI will handle whatever is in that mine.”

Sabrina enters the room and looks at me. “No one is answering, Cecily. I’ve called the police department, the fire department, and 911 three times now . . .”

Darien gets to his feet. He and Hazel are sitting in the family room discussing
things.
At least they aren’t making out. That would piss me off to no end.

“Something bad must have happened, like Armageddon,” Landon says.

Sabrina smiles at him. Like a legit smile. “We have to save them, Ces,” she says quietly. “At least ward off Leison until the authorities get our messages. Leison knows we have the map and I’m sure that he’s heading to the site now to finish the job.”

Sighing, I try to bite back my tears. “I’ll try Sheriff Copper one more time.” I pass Kelly, who is trying to reach his uncle for the umpteenth time.

I sit on the stairs and hold my head in my hands for a minute.
Come on, Copper, I need you. You made a promise to Papa that you’d always protect me
. The number is dialed, his personal cell phone number, and I hold the phone to my ear.

“Sheriff,” I say, once he answers. “I think you should know something.”

“What is it, Cecily?” he says, worried. “Darling, what are you doing?”

With a gulp I say, “We are going into a mine on a rescue mission.” I give him the coordinates. “I didn’t want to do this, Sheriff. But no one will answer us and––”

“You’re mother told me what’s going on. What do you think you’ll find in that mine?”

I look at the light wooden banister beside me, eyes stinging. “The three girls Leison has kidnapped.”

He is quiet on the other side. “Cecily, why didn’t you tell me when this happened? I swore to your father that I would protect you with my life,” he stresses. “When all the Federal Agents showed up, I was told it was to investigate a homicide. No one told me that you were tied up in this until I forced it from your mother.”

“I tried to talk you! But Leison was talking to you first!”

I can see the Sheriff shaking his head in upset. “Who is Leison, Cecily? The teacher? I’ve never even met him.”

A gasp escapes me. “Then who––who was that talking to you?”

“Cecily,” the Sheriff says. “Who are you talking about?”

“Have you spoken to the FBI agents?” I ask him, baffled by Leison’s magic tricks.

The Sheriff sounds angry. “The FBI hasn’t even tried to contact me, Cecily. And it’s my town they’re walking all over!”

“No, they have,” I say quickly. “Both Owens and Reinhardt said you weren’t there!”

Shock fills his voice. “I’ve been here the entire time. What was the name of the agent you just said?”

“Owens?”

“No, the other one, Cecily.”

I nod. “Reinhardt.”

He lets out a long breath. Some sort of realization has hit him, but he isn’t voicing it to me. “Hold on, darling,” he says quickly.

I wait patiently and listen to him talk.

“Deputy Paxson, if I may have a word with you,” Sheriff says crossly. “Sit here.”

A chair scrapes at the ground as it’s pulled out. “I was on the way to that federal crime scene,” he says calmly. “They are in need of help. One of the machines malfunctioned and blew up, causing the roof of the cave to fall apart. Live men are in there, Sheriff.”

My hand covers my mouth as I gasp. This explains a lot. Everyone is busy with that explosion, so they aren’t answering our calls.

A sigh of dread comes from Copper. “Deputy, why didn’t you tell me that the bureau was here, on my turf? When did you call them in?”

A screeching sound comes from the suddenly moving chair. “Sir, I didn’t know they were here until last night. I did not call them in.”

“Then, who did?” Sheriff asks, baffled.

It is dead silent. “Sir. It is no longer a concern of yours.”

“What?” Copper is pissed—I can tell by his voice.

Suddenly, banging is heard through the phone and I hold it away from me. I can hear Sheriff Copper yelling out in pain as the man beats him. Shaking in fear, I stare at my phone as if it is possessed and filled with demons.

“No,” I whisper. “Sheriff!”

The man on the other line picks up. “Cecily,” he says eerily, “you’re all alone now.”

I throw my phone across the room. I curl into the stair and rest my head on my arm, far past terrified. Did I just lose Alan Copper, the only father I have left? I refuse to believe it!

Kelly is right beside me, holding me tightly in his arms. Softly, he courses his hand through my hair and kisses the side of my head. “Cecily, what happened?”

Shaking still, I look up at him. “They hurt him––” I bury my head in his shoulder.

“Ces,” Hazel says from the base of the stairs.

I look down at my friends and they stare at me with dismay. My shoulders shake violently and I try to wipe the tears from my cheeks.

Kelly holds my face in his hand. “Who did they hurt, Cecily?”

“Sheriff Copper.” My vision goes blurry and I burrow my face into Kelly’s shoulder again. A loud moan escapes me. “They probably killed him!”

All I can hear for the next few minutes is my sobbing and Kelly whispering hopeful things to me. He says maybe he’s not dead, but he didn’t hear what I did on the phone.

“We’re going to stop him—” I say. Anger ripples through my body. I stand up and point to the map that sits on the living room floor, surrounded by black lights “—with or without the authorities!”

No one dares to speak up. Instead, we disperse and begin collecting things to use as weapons.

“You could do serious damage with that,” Darien says to Hazel as I walk past.

Hazel laughs and holds the fire poker in her hands, a mischievous sneer on her face. “I think you’re right.”

I enter into the blue walled kitchen and hear Sabrina and Landon. “I could kill him with it!” she objects loudly. Turning toward her, I see that she is holding a plastic fork in her hands.

Landon laughs and looks at me. “She thinks she can claw his heart out with a plastic fork.”

I nod numbly. “Try a real one. It won’t break as quickly.” Moving from them, I head for the axe on the wall on the other side of the kitchen.

“You can’t even lift it,” Kelly says quietly from behind me when I reach my hand up to touch it.

My eyes sting with tears. I’m on my last leg with this man and I want him dead. “So?”

“Think logically.” His hands are on my shoulders. “Cecily, come on.”

I turn around to face him. “Don’t tell me what I’m capable of.”

Kelly stares at me, forehead tense, and quietly asks, “Who will come for us if we do this?”

“They’ll get our messages,” I bite, “the FBI––your uncle. We’re not alone.”

“What if it’s too late when they get there?” Kelly’s blue eyes glue to mine. “Cecily, is this worth risking our lives over?”

“Have you ever been so terrified of something, with all your power stripped from you, that all you could do is pray, Kelly?” Sabrina asks as she sashays toward us. “Have you ever had to put your life in the hands of the unknown, because it’s all you can do? Defenseless, empty, dying––you don’t understand the meaning of such cruelty until you’ve lived it.”

I glance from Sabrina to Kelly. “We have a chance to save the girls. Without us . . . they’re dead.” My jaw tightens. “What kind of soldier would you be if you willingly let people die because you were scared?”

Stepping back from me, Kelly narrows his eyes at Sabrina. “He’ll kill you.”

“It’s the only way to catch Leison,” Darien points out. “Otherwise––”

“Otherwise, he’ll hunt us until we’re dead!” Sabrina’s gray eyes gleam now.

My hand reaches for him. “Kelly, I need you. This isn’t about getting back at him for hurting Sheriff Copper. This is about saving the girls’ lives.”

He searches my eyes for a moment, then gives a reluctant sigh. “Okay.”

I fall into Kelly’s arms and our lips meet, making me feel warm and safe––if only for those few seconds. It is a feeling that will help me through the nightmare that we’re walking into.

“I think Sheriff Copper is going to be fine,” he whispers to me.

Nodding, I force the tears away. “I hope so.”

“Ces, where is the tool box?” Darien asks. “You know, the beast that your dad toted around?”

My sights rest on the old tree house. “Out there.” The old tin roof is covered with rust and bird crap, plus leaves falling from the willow tree. The splintering wood’s been weathered colorless from exposure; the sun’s leeching effects are even more apparent in daylight.

“We’ll go,” Kelly says, and heads out the back door with the boys. The screen slams loudly behind them and I stare through the mesh as they stride across the yellowing lawn.

“He wouldn’t kill Sheriff Copper, would he?” I ask Sabrina, turning my attention to her.

Her arms are crossed over her chest. She is also distraught by the news of his . . . beating. That’s what we’ll call it. “Leison is a prick. He’ll kill you if you look at him wrong,” she answers.

“I need to call my mom.” Shooting a worried glance at Hazel, I leave her and Sabrina and go hunting for my phone. I find it on the ground by the front door. It’s dinged up––but fine––from when I chucked it across the stairway.

I step outside onto the front porch and dial my Mom’s number. I patiently hold the phone to my ear. She answers.

“Momma,” I say into the phone in the most innocent voice that I possibly can. “We got that map we’ve been talking about . . .”

“What do you mean, Cecily?”

I clear my throat. “We tried to call the FBI and local police but no one is answering, Mom. There is some emergency, something about a cave-in at the ‘scene’ of the crime.”

“What are you saying, honey?” Her voice is thick with worry, thick like molasses dripping from a jar.

“He’s going for the girls, Mom. We have to stop him, at least buy some time before the authorities can get there. He’s angry, Leison is––” I shudder at the name “––and he’ll kill the girls.”

There is nothing but silence for a moment. I stare at the changing leaves on the large tree out front. Orange and yellow leaves blanket the dying grass. I miss the days when the Wolf family would rake the leaves together and jump into them. So much innocence then . . .

“Mom?” I ask, worried.

Gasping fills the phone, meaning that she’s done that thing where she gets so upset that she just shakes for a minute. I’ve only seen her do it once, and that was when Papa died.

“Cecily, you can’t! Adie’s sick! She needs you!” Mom screams frantically.

Jumping at the sudden screaming, I almost drop the phone. I fumble to get it back to my ear. “We have to. No one else will!” As for Adie, I knew she was sick.

“Why haven’t you called Sheriff Copper?” She’s clearly panicking.

“I did,” I say. Coldness fills me and my chest hurts, as if ice crystals are gathering in my lungs. “He was attacked by Leison.”

My mom screams in horror, but covers her mouth quickly. “Cecily, don’t you dare go after these girls!”

“Mom, I have to! We’ll keep calling the special agents, and I just know they’ll come to save us,” I say optimistically. “You’ve taught me to stand for what’s right, and saving these girls is what is right. It’s the only way to catch him!”

I can picture tears streaming down her face now and her lip being bitten in half, due to the overwhelming anxiety for both her daughter’s lives. “Please, Cecily,” she begs in a dread-filled whisper. “He will kill you.”

Annoyance fills me. Or maybe it’s guilt. “I don’t have time to fight with you. Goodbye!”

“Cecily,” she cries and I keep the phone to my ear. “Baby, no. Just wait for Owens to return the call. He can save the girls!”