Heroes Read online

  “Does that sound like something you could do?” he asked. “Hunter, you would have to slit his throat, deep and along the side, slicing the vein. Then, you would need to muffle his cries, gurgles, and shuttering for about three minutes. It takes that long for a man to bleed out. It can feel like an eternity. Or you would have to stab through his skull—at the temple. It’s immediate but requires a lot of strength and conviction. You wouldn’t be able to second guess yourself or hesitate.” Ash fell silent, trying to read her expression, but it was almost blank. “The hard part is that you have to do it before they wake. You can’t let them get a jump on you. If they do, they could use your knife against you. You still need to bring your gun, but I’m telling you, if you get spooked or surprised and fire, the sneak attack is going to turn into an all out war. And it won’t end well.”

  Ash let the information hang in the air, allowing Hunter to turn the reality of it all over in her mind—over and over—as many times as she needed. While he waited for her to respond, he pulled two knives from his pants. One was dark and large, even in its folded state. It didn’t look like a knife though it was, in fact, metal. The other caught the moonlight and glimmered, a deadly sliver of silver. It had rings, four to be exact, where the fingers were meant to go for a tight, sturdy grip. Even if the knife became slippery and blood-soaked, the hand wouldn’t lose its grip thanks to those rings.

  Ash handed Hunter the silver knife.

  “I’ll take the man at the front,” said Hunter, popping up with the knife in her hand.

  It was almost surprising. Almost. He watched her trot through the field, the knife blade pointing down, erect in her white-knuckle grasp.

  She glanced over her shoulder at him. “If you see Grizzly, don’t kill him. He’s mine.”

  Chapter Five

  Blair lay belly down on a bale of hay, leaning through an open window, binoculars to her eyes.

  “I told you,” said Grizzly, standing behind her. He was so tall his head grazed the wooden beams that arched across the top of the barn constructing its ceiling. “She’s early.”

  Blair watched her sister through the rounded viewfinder of her binoculars. Hunter was feet from the front porch. She seemed to be hesitating, cautious, looking around. It was almost as though she was trying not to look at the man sleeping on the porch.

  It brought a smile to Blair’s face to see Hunter. She lowered the binoculars.

  “Is Ash out there?” she asked.

  “Somewhere, I’m sure,” said Grizzly.

  “Any others you think?”

  “No,” he said. “Just them. I can smell it.”

  Finally, Blair rose to her feet, turning to face her dad.

  “How do you think she’ll do against Rick?” asked Blair.

  “I instructed him not to kill her,” said Grizzly.

  “That’s it?” Blair’s eyes flared up in fury. “Not to kill her? I don’t want him touching her!”

  “Calm down, Blair,” said Grizzly with virtually no affect.

  “I told you, I don’t want a weakened, injured, nothing fight on my hands. She needs to be strong, healthy, and unharmed,” said Blair.

  “He’s allowed to cut her,” said Grizzly.

  “That wasn’t part of the plan!” Blair was growing irate.

  “There are no plans,” said Grizzly. “Only strategies that change any time I need them to.”

  Blair wanted to throw something, but it wouldn’t be useful. Instead, she glared at her father. She had been playing on his side up until this point. Maybe she needed to consider the benefits of starting her own team, playing by her own rules and winning the game her way.

  “She’s here to rescue you,” he went on. “And we’re going to give her that much. Stage it to look that way, at least. It’s time.”

  Grizzly grabbed Blair by the arm and dragged her—though she didn’t resist—to the far end of the barn where a coil of chain lay against the wall. Walking over, Blair looked down into the center of the barn at the first floor. The video camera was set up, flashing a little red dot to indicate it was on standby. Blair smirked. They were all standing by. Everyone wanted a piece of Hunter. However, Blair was the only one who wanted her dead.

  “Get down,” said Grizzly.

  Blair lowered to a seated position, as Grizzly secured ice-cold manacles around her wrists so tight the metal cut into her skin.

  “Hey!” shouted Blair, as panic swelled in her gut. “You’re supposed to leave one off.”

  “No, honey,” said Grizzly in a voice so calm it sounded evil. “That wouldn’t be authentic, now would it?”

  “How am I supposed to cuff her down, then?” asked Blair.

  “You’re not.”

  Blair looked at him confused.

  “Fine, delay the inevitable,” she said. “It’ll just take her longer to free me and when she does, she’s dead.”

  “Oh, sweetheart,” he said. “This is just to keep you out of the way.”

  “You’re cutting me out?!”

  “Well, not entirely. If Hunter really does find you, then she really can rescue you; but, I’m not so sure she’ll make it that far.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “I know Hunter’s a killer, but I’m not so sure you turning on her is going to bring that side of her out.”

  Blair had known this might be the case but had still been counting on executing the plan. It would be the only way to fight Hunter and kill her—with her father’s blessing.

  “She will more likely be inspired to kill, when I give her a choice,” he said.

  “Between me and Ash,” said Blair, already having figured out her father’s new strategy.

  “At least let me fight her,” said Blair, as she yanked on the chains, rattling them loudly.

  “I can’t risk it,” said Grizzly. He had already turned his back on her, heading towards the ladder which lead back down to the ground floor of the barn.

  “She won’t do it!” Blair called out. “She won’t kill me!”

  “She left you behind, Blair. She didn’t kill Ash when she had the chance. She’s not going to choose to save your life over Ash’s. You’re as good as dead.”

  “I’ll kill her! I’ll kill both of them!”

  Grizzly stopped, a smile spreading across his face. He turned slowly and locked eyes on his daughter. “You could.”

  And with that, Grizzly descended the ladder.

  “I’ve done everything for you!” Blair shouted. “I’ve done everything! Don’t leave me! Please! I would do anything for you!”

  Manipulating her had become too easy, thought Grizzly. Blair had been broken down and functioned at his mercy for too long. He was bored. He couldn’t wait to have Hunter in his grasp and slowly break her down. He couldn’t wait for a challenge called Hunter.

  * * *

  Hunter was freezing up. She knew she was. She had been staring at the sleeping man on the front porch for way too long. Every second that passed brought with it the risk this man could wake up and attack her, but it didn’t feel right. To kill a man in his sleep was deceitful.

  She studied his face. The winter-weathered skin, the slack jaw, the quivering eyes beneath heavy lids. What would those eyes do? Would they spring open in wide shock as the knife slid in? Hunter hoped not.

  She stepped in closer. The porch creaked under her weight. She could hear his breathing—the clipped inhales and the wheezy exhales. There was something sickly about the rhythm, as though his breathing was as demented as his mind.

  The knife felt heavy in her palm. The metal rings were cutting off circulation to her fingers. Her hand felt numb, weak, and odd. She balled her fist around the handle even tighter to reclaim her strength. She was planning on slitting his throat.

  Remember the barrel girls, she thought.

  Remember the hooks and the girls who hung dead for all to see, she told herself.

  Remember it’s not over. It’ll never be over—unless it ends right here right
now.

  Without thinking, Hunter grabbed the man’s hair in her fist, as close to the scalp as possible, a vicious grip, and twisted it at a sharp angle, as she sunk the knife horizontally into the man’s neck. Instinctively, she closed her eyes, shielding herself from the ghastly spurting of blood, but she couldn’t bar herself from hearing it land on the wooden porch like a sheets of rain. The man gurgled, jolted, and quivered, but Hunter kept a tight grasp on his head. When the seizure calmed, she carefully let go and guided his limp body to rest back into the rocking chair.

  That was fucking awful.

  And yet, now that she had done it, she knew she could do it again.

  Her eyes went dark, as she pulled the screen door towards her, stepping inside the farmhouse.

  Who would be next?

  * * *

  Ash tiptoed through the back of the house, cringing with each step, as the wooden floorboards underfoot moaned, calling attention to his arrival.

  The hallway was dark, a labyrinth of shapes and shadows. He couldn’t tell where a room was until he stepped up against its closed door, feeling the knob protrude from the wall.

  He paused in front of a closed door and listened, but all he could hear was the tap, tap, tap of his bloody knife dripping. He wiped the blade flat against his jeans, one side then the other. Those taps would drive him crazy otherwise.

  Suddenly, a girl’s voice emanated through the floorboards from below. It sounded muffled. He couldn’t make out the words, but recognized it as two distinct voices. Part of a conversation or more likely one girl checking in with the other. Hunter had said the girls were often kept in the basement. He needed to find the stairs that would lead him down there. If only he had the burner cell. He needed Sarah for this. He needed help. There was no way of knowing how many girls he would find down there. The more there were, the harder it would be to sneak them out and get them to the woods safely.

  It crossed his mind to wait for Hunter. Together they could get the girls out and call Sarah on the way. It was an idea. Although they had agreed to focus on Blair first, then killing Grizzly to get him out of the way, then taking the girls out. Ash resolved to give it a minute. If Hunter came through the house, they would go down together. If not, he would proceed alone and pray to God she wouldn’t kill him later for having changed the plan.

  Something about Hunter was different. She had changed somehow. Ever since he had brought Sarah back to their motel room, Hunter had toughened up and hardened. In many ways, she became unlike herself. It was as though the moment Hunter had pulled the trigger, aiming just inches away from Sarah, it had unlocked a darkness in Hunter that she couldn’t come back from. Whatever goodness Ash had been trying to preserve when he had hoped she wouldn’t volunteer to slit a man’s throat was gone by the time they got here.

  It reminded him of himself.

  Now, they were just two killers—too far gone to be good. Would this offset the balance between them? Hunter had seemed to take charge since the motel, almost militantly so. Could he live with that?

  In fact, it turned him on.

  A shadowy figure stepped lightly through the living room on the other side of the French doors Ash was standing behind, peering out through the rustic glass. The sway of the hips and the shape of hair—wavy and flowing—told him Hunter had made it past the man on the front porch.

  He quietly turned the doorknob and swung the door in, drawing Hunter’s attention. Initially, she lifted the knife, pointing it out poised and ready for attack. Then, recognizing Ash, she lowered it and walked quickly to him.

  “If Blair’s here,” Hunter whispered into his ear. “She’ll be upstairs. So will Grizzly.”

  “There are girls downstairs,” said Ash. “I heard their voices. They’re up.”

  Hunter pressed her lips together, annoyed. If they went down before taking Grizzly out then they risked getting trapped, which would put them in no better a position than the girls.

  “We should call Sarah. She could get here by the time we get the girls out,” said Ash.

  “If we call Sarah then we put everything in her hands,” said Hunter. “We already decided not to do that.”

  “We need to get the girls out,” said Ash.

  “I know that,” said Hunter. “I agree. The only question is when.” Hunter was about to dive into her logic, but she could see Ash was upset, though he held it in well. She needed to pick her battles. All that mattered to her at the moment was to keep things between the two of them. If she had to go down into the basement to maintain that, then so be it. “Ok, let’s go down.”

  “Lead the way,” he said. “I couldn’t find the stairs.”

  Before she did, Hunter grabbed Ash by the lapel and pulled him close. “We get them out. Lead them through the woods. Get them in the car. Then, I’m coming back to finish the job. Whether you join me will be up to you.” She pressed her lips against his, kissing him deeply. Then, she headed down the far hall to the basement stairs.

  It felt so good to take charge. It felt so empowering that Ash was listening to her. She hadn’t liked manipulating him in the car, doing what had to be done to get him onboard so he would come here with her, but Hunter had rationalized that she hadn’t given him anything he didn’t want. As a matter of fact, they seemed more solid because of it.

  They descended the stairs through the dark. When they reached the bottom, Hunter felt along the wall until she found the basement door and its handle. She didn’t even try to turn the knob. She knew it was locked.

  Ash stepped forward after listening to her jiggle the handle, confirming a key would be needed to enter. They didn’t have the key, and they didn’t have time.

  He produced a thin metal pin from his pocket, as well as a plastic bobby pin and slid both into the keyhole.

  Hunter waited, sweat dripping down her neck, as her heart pounded. This was getting tense. She expected to hear the loud thuds of her father’s steps overhead any second now. She expected someone had heard them and would be coming. Her breathing was getting out of control. She tried to slow it and steady its rhythm, but she couldn’t seem to override the anxiety that was being stirred up at the sight of Ash struggling. Was it because it’s too dark? Why can’t he get the lock open? They might have to kick in the door.

  Suddenly, the door sprung open. Ash looked back at Hunter, smiling, expecting to see the same, but he was met instead with her crestfallen eyes and a long face. Then, it occurred to him why Hunter had been more focused on rescuing Blair and killing Grizzly than coming down here for the girls. This was the exact room Hunter had grown up in. The exact same place she had listened to girl after girl cry themself to sleep. The exact spot where she, when needed, had placed a pillow over a girl’s face and suffocated her to death. This room was nothing but sadness and horror. He should have known.

  Hunter’s legs turned to rubber and tears welled up in her eyes, as she walked deeper into the room, observing the thin, withered girls tied to each bed. Some were so small they couldn’t have been older than six. Others were older, teens.

  “Ash!” A girl called from the back in a strong whisper that was quiet but carried far.

  It was Devon, he realized after a long moment of squinting through the darkness.

  “We’re all tied,” said Devon. “It’s plastic, though.”

  “We’ll cut you out,” he said. “Stay quiet, stay close. We aren’t going to leave until everyone is untied.”

  “Is Blair here?” asked Hunter into the darkness. “Blair?”

  “She stays upstairs,” said Margot. “We don’t know where. We haven’t been up there at all. She only comes down sometimes to give us water.”

  Hunter nodded. It was as she thought—though a large part of her wished Blair was down here, still one of the girls. The fact that she was upstairs made it all the more likely that Blair’s convictions had been compromised. Blair probably believed she would be truly loved by their father if she did everything he asked.

  Hunter sh
ook off the dread that had accompanied that possibility and worked with Ash to cut the girls free of the plastic ties around their wrists and ankles, one at a time.

  When all the girls were standing in a tight huddle at the front of the room, Ash lead the way through the door and up the stairs instructing all of them to remain absolutely silent. Hunter warned that if she and Ash had to open fire, they all must hit the ground and stay down until told to do otherwise.

  They reached the first floor landing, which was just as dark and quiet as it had been when they had left it.

  “Let’s go out through the front,” suggested Hunter.

  “We’re closer to the back of the house,” countered Ash. “It will take less time to get outside.”

  “But we would have to circle the side of the house. That draws us right through a path of exposure. Grizzly’s windows are at the back of the house and the west side. Not to mention the barn is back there. We need to play it safe and go through the front.”

  Ash didn’t like it, but this was Hunter’s territory, and he had to defer to her. He nodded, and Hunter stepped forward about to lead the way when she paused, turning.

  “Girls,” she said in a soft whisper that was both kind and grave. “There’s a dead man on the porch. Don’t be afraid. Don’t react. Just stay quiet. Try not to look at him if you think it’ll scare you. It’s imperative that no one makes any noise.”

  The cluster of girls nodded intensely. Hunter turned once again and stalked forward. She opened the French double doors, entering the living room and continued on, as Ash brought up the rear.

  It was almost too easy. Too quiet. It put Hunter on edge. Was this a trap? Was this part of the game? To make her feel as though she was winning and succeeding in getting the girls outside? In the back of her mind, as she stepped out onto the porch and the cool night air touched her skin, making her feel more alive than ever, Hunter reminded herself to stay aware. They could be ambushed at any second. They could be shot at from afar. There was no telling what they should expect.