Vision of Shadows (31 page)

I heard a moan
, followed by the familiar shadow rising from Bryan. I relaxed as Bryan collapsed to the ground. I looked him over to see how bad he was. He didn’t look too badly injured, but he did need medical attention. I didn’t have my cell, but I found his in his jacket pocket. Taking it, I tried to call for assistance, but there was no reception. Remembering what happened at the McKnight’s home before Hunter and I were attacked, I knew I was in trouble.

The door burst open. I swung around to view what looked like five guys rolled into one. He was huge, over six feet tall
, and at least three hundred pounds of pure muscle. I had seen this guy around school. When he walked through the halls, people either moved or got stepped on. He had dark hair, closely cropped, and was wearing a black T-shirt and blue jeans. His arms were bigger than my head.

I couldn’t recall his name, but I remember
ed he was a McKnight. He lumbered toward me. I didn’t have to ask if it was Jay at the controls this time. I could tell by the sneer. He came at me, pausing just a moment to laugh at me.

I took that moment to swing the wood I was holding as fast and hard as I could right
toward his head. With one hand, he caught it and yanked it out of my grip, sending me flying across the room. I looked up in time to see him break the board in half like a toothpick. I was next.

He barreled at me like a bull in a rodeo. I managed to sidestep at the last moment
, and he crashed through a wall. Dust and splinters went everywhere. It didn’t take him long to get up. I looked around for a weapon but nothing that looked feasible was by me. There were a few big pieces of wood still lying at the bottom of the stairs, but I couldn’t get to them without passing Godzilla. Before I had a chance to think, he charged.

I feinted to the left this time with unfortunately less than stellar results. He grabbed me by the throat and slammed me into a wall next to the one good window left in the house. I could hear him practically growl. I fell to my knees as the muscle
-bound behemoth applied pressure. However, his intention wasn’t to throttle me. I watched, helpless while he held me with his left hand, and he drew back his right. He balled his meaty hand into a fist and then had the gall to wink.

The window we stood near exploded in a shower of glass
as a dirt bike burst through, smashing into the large figure. Crashing to the floor, I looked up and saw Payne rushing to my side.

“Bristol!” Payne shouted. “Are you ok
ay?” I felt him take me in his arms and pick me up. “We need to get out of here. The others aren’t far. We knew you came in this direction, but the rain masked your trail, and…”

I fell to the floor hard as Payne went flying across the room thanks to the monster of a teen. I scurried away from him as fast as I could. He grabbed one of the boards and attacked. I managed to dodge the first swings as he took out what was left of the window. I looked up to see him reach over his head with the board
, preparing to bring it down and crush my skull. So I leaned back and kicked him hard between his legs, watching with satisfaction as the board fell out of his hands and hit him in the head. 

Before he could recover, Payne tackled him at the legs.
The giant hit the ground with a grunt. Payne flipped him over and raised his fist. “I’m sorry about this, Toby.” 

Somehow
, the idea that this huge monster’s name was Toby only made everything even more surreal. I could feel the intense regret from Payne as he slammed his fist into Toby’s face. As Toby moaned, Payne punched again. Payne raised his fist to follow through once more when I grabbed his wrist. The shadow had floated out of Toby. 

“Stop,” I yelled. “He’s gone
. Jay isn’t in him anymore.” 

Relief flooded through Payne. “Thank God
.” He collapsed next to me. “I hated that. Toby’s such a gentle guy.”

I looked at the fallen form of Toby now in
the fetal position. “Really didn’t seem so gentle now.”

“That was your old boyfriend, Jay
,” Payne said as he helped me up. “Are you all right?” 

I fell into Payne’s arms. “I was so scared
. I’m sorry I ran, but Jay said he would keep going after my family if I didn’t. We can’t stop him.” I looked into Payne’s eyes. “We can stop whoever he possesses, but we can’t really stop him. He’ll just keep coming and coming!”

“Bristol, we’ll find a way,” Payne insisted. “Sooner or later
. There has to be a way to stop him. A way to kill him.”

“No, don’t you see,” I cried. “He’s already dead
. You can’t kill the dead.”

“We’ll exorcise him or something
.”

I pushed away from him. “It won’t work.
Even if there is a way, how long until we figure out what it is? How many people like Toby or Zack have to be hurt because of me?”

“Zack’s fine
,” Payne replied.

“Don’t lie,” I cried. “I heard someone say something about Zack’s spine
. My God, Payne, do you realize if that little boy can’t walk, or run, or play football again, it’ll be my fault!”

“Bristol, Zack
is
fine,” Payne insisted. “I wouldn’t lie to you. It’s a long story, but he’s okay. And none of this is your fault. It’s Jay’s.”

I wept. Could Payne be telling the truth? Could Zack be ok
ay? I hoped so. I looked at Payne and just
knew
he wouldn’t lie to me, not about this. 

“I had to run,” I told him.

Payne shook his head. “I know you think that. Nobody will be mad at you, but we have to get back. We’re safer together.”

“No, we’re not
. Maybe I might be safer with everyone, but you won’t be. What if he hurts Simon, or Hunter, or Aunt Breanne? I could never live with that. I have to keep running.”

“Bristol,” Payne pleaded
. “This is your home. You belong here.” He pulled me close and held on like his life depended on it. “You belong with me.”

I looked into his eyes. I was in love with him. I knew that even if I didn’t want to, but it didn’t matter.

“Payne,” I said. “I can’t have anyone else be hurt for me. I just can’t. Please understand, Jay will kill someone. He has before. I think he killed your grandmother.”

“What?”

“I saw it in a dream,” I explained. “Earlier tonight. I fell asleep upstairs and dreamed about your grandmother’s car accident and…”

“Wait, what?” Payne interrupted. “Car accident? That’s not right. Grandma died in a fire.”

I was stunned. I was sure of what I saw, but it changed nothing. I told Payne as much.

“Fine,” Payne said
. “Then I’m coming with you. And no, don’t try and talk me out of it. It won’t work. Your leaving didn’t keep Jay from coming after you. I can still protect you. I have money.”

“I don’t care about your damn money,” I said.

“I know,” Payne said. “But money will help. I’m going. You can’t stop me.”

I was s
peechless, but when I saw Bryan stir, I decided there wasn’t time to argue. “All right then, let’s go.”

Payne smiled right before he kissed me.

A ball of flame hit Payne square in the back. I felt the heat from the fire as Payne’s jacket burst into flame. I looked to the door to see the latest arrival. Blasé McKnight stepped through. He pointed at me with his left hand as he balanced a ball of flame in his right. 

“I will sear the flesh right off of your boyfriend, darling,” Jay said in Blasé’s voice. “And while he’s trying to heal, I’ll burn you alive.”

Payne stripped off what was left of his jacket. His shirt was in tatters. I would have found the sight of him quite appealing if I wasn’t terrified for my life. Payne stepped between me and Blasé as Payne’s jacket smoldered in the corner.

“Jay, I presume?” Payne asked.

An all too familiar sneer crossed the face of Jay’s latest victim. “Are you ready to watch your girlfriend die?”

Payne snorted
. “You want to know what I’ve come to realize here, Jay?”

Jay toss
ed a fireball from one hand to the other. “Do tell.”

“I think it’s been a long time since you had a body of your own to walk around in,” Payne explained. “You don’t seem to like pain.”

Payne rushed forward and tackled Jay. They went down in a blaze of dust and flames. Jay screamed as he lit Payne on fire, but Payne kept pummeling Blasé’s body. “Bristol!” he screamed. “Get out of here.”

I watched in horror as Payne’s skin was burn
ed off his face. It would heal within seconds, only to be set ablaze again. I should have been in agony, but somehow I wasn’t. In the process, the entire house was starting to catch fire. Being made of old, dry wood, I knew it wouldn’t take long before the whole place was reduced to ash. 

I cr
ied out to Payne. How could I leave him like this? I had to do something, but Payne just kept yelling at me to run. I hated myself for it, but I ran. When I reached the door, the huge body of Toby McKnight blocked it. I was able to climb over him, but I couldn’t just leave him here to burn. 

I tried not to think about Payne as I managed to get the door open. I grabbed Toby by the ankles and pulled, but he was so large and heavy that I couldn’t get him to budge. I swung his foot over my shoulder for leverage and then forced my way forward. I made it out of the door and pulled Toby down the stairs. Unfortunately for Toby, he was lying face down as he went. 

“Sorry, Toby,” I said as his face smashed down, one step at a time. “But you don’t want to be in there right now.” After I managed to tug Toby to a safe distance, I ran back in. 

I was hit in the face with a wall of heat. I felt like I had just dived head first into a barbecue. I searched for Payne and Blasé. All I saw were mountains of flames. I didn’t know what that meant, but I ignored it and ran for Bryan. He was much lighter than Toby but still heavy enough to be a burden. Still, I was able to swing his arm around my shoulder and drag him to the door. I made it to the front steps. A few more feet and I could drop Bryan off and search for Payne.

When Payne put his hand on my shoulder, I felt like my heart had stopped. I dropped Bryan, who fell to the bottom of the stairs and settled by Toby’s giant feet. Catching my breath, I went to give Payne a hug.

Instead of returning it, I felt the wind knocked out of me as Payne grabbed me and threw me across the room. I landed hard on something lumpy. Blasé. Payne
had managed to knock him unconscious.

I looked up at Payne. He was standing across the room, partially hidden by flames
. But even through the licks of fire that whipped between us, I could see enough. 

I got up and looked for a way to escape. I couldn’t get to the front door without getting pas
t Payne, and I couldn’t get to the back door because of the fire. I didn’t know what to do. What I did know was he wasn’t my Payne.

If it had been, he would have dashed through the flames to get to me. He would have gotten me to safety, annoyed me by ordering me to stay put,
and then gone back to get his cousin. Instead, this monstrosity took its time making his way through the flames. I realized Payne must have been knocked out as well. The candle chandelier, now in the middle of the floor, must have fallen on him, and that was all Jay needed to take him over.

I looked around for something, anything
, that I could use as a weapon. I picked up a piece of wood that had fallen, but it was so burned it fell apart in my hands. I took a moment to look at Blasé, who was still unconscious at my feet. The fire seemed to not affect him, which was to be expected. But how long could he last before he died of smoke inhalation, or until the whole house came down on us?

“Darling,” Jay said through Payne, “you should have known it would end this way. You dream
ed it. You knew it would end here, with these hands”—he paused to sneer at me—“around your pretty little throat.”

I tried to run to the left, but he grabbed me and threw me against the wall. I felt the burns of hot ash as it fell on me. I punched at Payne, knowing he’d want me to do whatever was possible. Jay, using Payne’s body, slapped my face.

I was crying. I was terrified. I was going to die, and the worst part about it was that Payne would know it was by his hand. He would never forgive himself. 

“Bristol
, darling,” Jay said. “What do you think your little boyfriend will do when he realizes what happened? Will he try and kill himself, over and over again? I think I’ll enjoy watching that.”

“Please,” I whispered. “Please don’t. If you ever loved me…Please.”

Payne responded to my plea by reaching out and grabbing my throat. “Of course I loved you. And that is why you have to die.”

H
is grip tightened as I watched the flames grow closer. I tried to scream, but I wasn’t able to. I couldn’t breathe. I fought against his grip, but it was too strong. I looked into Payne’s eyes, eyes that had looked at me with love, and saw only the hatred from Jay pouring out. It seemed impossible to deny. My vision was getting blurry. My chest felt like it was going to explode. I was going to die. Jay was going to kill me with Payne’s hands.