Page 2

Emma

Two Weeks Later

“H ey Maxi, sorry I’m late!” I say as I race into the school’s reception. “Thank you, Miss Bright,” I add gratefully to Max’s teacher.

“That’s okay. Max and I did some reading while we waited, didn’t we Max?” she says to him and he nods, kicking his legs which are dangling above the floor, too small to reach the ground from his chair yet. “Wait there one sec, Max. Your mom and I need to have a little chat.”

Feeling like I’m back in school being sent to the principal’s office I follow her to one side, “Look, I’m really sorry I was late, it won’t happen again, just work was crazy and—” I start to explain but she shakes her head cutting me off.

“No, no it’s fine, really Ms. Miller, I completely understand, and Max is an angel. It’s just something happened thatI thought you should be aware of,” she says, anxiously wringing her hands.

“What is it?” I ask worriedly, “Did something happen with another kid?”

“No, nothing like that. Did you ask a friend to come and collect Max today?”

“I asked my friend Jessica, but she said she was unavailable, but she’s on the approved list to collect Max. Did she come after all?” I say, confused.

Miss Bright looks uncomfortable, “No, we’d have let Ms. Woods take him, as you said, she’s on your list of approved guardians. A man was waiting with the parents at the gates. At first, we didn’t think anything of it, but then he waved at Max and called out to him. One of the teaching assistants went over since he was unfamiliar, and he claimed that you’d sent him to collect Max. She explained our policy and told him he couldn’t take Max unless he was on the approved list. The man was very polite and understanding, he told Max he’d see him soon and left.”

“Oh my god, why did no one call me?” I ask, a flare of anger flushing up.

“We tried. He really was quite convincing that he knew you, and when we asked Max if he knew the man he said he did,” she explains sheepishly.

“He did?” I ask surprised.

“Well, actually, it’s a little strange… but he called the man Daddy. Which of course is impossible… given that Max’s father is…”

“Dead,” I finish her sentence for her.

She bobs her head in one abrupt nod, “Right. So we thought perhaps he could be a boyfriend or something…”

“I’m single… What did the man look like?” I ask.

All of a sudden, I feel an irrational feeling of dread that Adam has somehow come back from the dead to carry out his promise, he always threatened he’d take Max away from me if I tried to leave. But it’s impossible. He’s dead. He drowned in a boating accident while visiting his mother in Mexico.

“He was tall, I’d say six foot, maybe, and he had a muscular build, with short dark hair and a big beard,” she explains, wearing a hopeful expression that I’ll recognize the description.

Though this description does nothing to quell my anxiety about a stranger approaching my son, it does at least relieve me of my paranoia about Adam. He was only around five ten with shaggy blond hair, a clean-shaven face, and a lean, scrawny build. Adam only enjoyed gambling on sports, not participating in them.

“I guess it could have been my brother or one of his friends…” I say uncertainly.

The description could fit Jacob, apart from the hair which he usually wears long and is salt and pepper gray. Perhaps he got it cut, and it looks darker now? Though why wouldn’t he say he’s Max’s uncle? And why would Max call him Daddy? We don’t see his uncle much, but I suppose it’s possible that, as his only male family member, Max has decided to view him as a father.

“Have you reported it to the police?” I ask.

Miss Bright clears her throat uncomfortably before replying, “Not yet. No. The school thought that, given the circumstances, we ought to speak with you before causing any undue panic. Perhaps you can speak to your brother, and we can go from there?”

“Right. Yes, of course,” I reply, hurrying over to Max, “Come on sweetie, time to go home,” I say my voice strained with the effort of trying to sound as if nothing is bothering me.

I ignore Miss Bright’s apologetic goodbyes and rush out to the car.

I feel dazed and long to take Max as far away from here as I can.

My thoughts run at a million miles an hour. All sorts of crazy theories and fears over what could have happened if the school didn’t have such stringent policies start to form in my mind.

What does someone want with Max?

No. I can’t let myself think the worst. It has to be Jacob behind this. Doesn’t it?

This kind of stunt is exactly the kind of thing my overly protective big brother would do. He wouldn’t think to check in with me or realize that the school has a permission system, he’d just show up and surprise us. It’s the reason why he’s not on the list of approved guardians. If I let Jacob back in too much he’ll go right back to being too involved in my life, treating me like a child and acting more like a father than my brother. Not that I don’t understand why. He’s twelve years older than me and growing up, our dad was absent, and our mom wasn’t around much, he’d been the one to raise me.

I feel a lot better now I’ve rationalized that it must be him. But just to be safe, I decide I’ll call him when we get home and ask.

We get in the car, and I ensure Max is safely strapped into his seat. “Did you have a good day at school kiddo?” I ask as we pull out of the parking lot.

“Uh-huh,” he replies, fiddling with his seatbelt.

“What did you learn?”

“We learned about dinosaurs!” he says animatedly, and I can tell that this heralds a new obsession for him.

“Oh, that sounds fun! You’ll have to tell me all about them later,” I reply trying to sound excited while desperately wanting to steer the conversation toward the man at the school gates. “Did anything else happen?” I ask cautiously, as I glance back at him in the rearview, I can see him squirming, uncertain if he should confide in me. “You know you can tell Mommy anything, right?”

He nods and then seemingly decides he can tell me. “Daddy tried to take me home today, but the teacher wouldn’t let him.”

“Maxi, that wasn’t your daddy sweetheart. It can’t have been,” I say gently. I know I need to emphasize how important this is without scaring him.

“It was!” he insists.

“Maybe it was someone who looks like Daddy, but it isn’t him. Daddy’s gone. Was it Uncle Jacob? Does he seem like a dad to you?” I probe.

He shakes his head vigorously, “No! It was Daddy.”

I sigh, frustrated and terrified at the same time of the ramifications if it wasn’t Jacob. “Max, I need you to understand that it can’t possibly be Daddy. Remember what we said about stranger danger?”

“That I shouldn’t talk to strangers,” he mumbles.

“Right, and that man is a stranger…”

“He’s not, he’s my dad!” Max yells.

“Max, he’s not your dad! I don’t care what he’s told you, that man is a stranger danger!” I yell back, my fear getting the better of me, “You mustn’t talk to him and if he ever comes near you again you must go tell an adult you know right away, okay?” He scowls and crosses his arms over his chest, glowering out of the window. “Max, promise me, this is very important. Stay away from that man, do you understand me?” I shout, using my best stern ‘Mom voice’.

“Okay Mommy, I will,” he replies, his eyes filled with tears that break my heart, but I need him to understand to keep him safe.

“Good boy,” I reply, my voice calmer than I feel.

My eyes land on a black SUV and I realize it has been behind us since we left the school. Usually, I wouldn’t think much of this, but in my already paranoid state, I start to watch it closely as we continue our journey. Whenever I think I’ve lost sight of it, it reappears in my rearview. As we take our exit toward the small town we live in, I start to get even more concerned when it continues to follow us. I decide to test whether or not it’s tailing us by going a longer route, taking random turns back and forth on myself, not wanting to lead whoever it is, right to our door.

“What are you doing Mommy?” Max asks when he realizes we’re not going straight home as usual.

“I’m playing a game. Do you see the car behind us? Well, it’s a bit like tag. We’re trying to get away from them,” I reply as my foot hits the gas.

I’m now certain that they're following us, and they know I’m onto them. I make the mistake of turning onto a quiet road with no other traffic and the car behind accelerates, coming up alongside our car. The huge SUV dwarfs our small Honda hatchback and the hairs on the back of my neck stand up as I realize what they’re trying to do. The car swerves, knocking into the side of ours and causing us to veer toward the side.

They’re trying to knock us off the road!

I grip the steering wheel with white knuckles as I stamp my foot down on the gas, focusing only on protecting my son and getting away.

“Mommy!” I hear Max say, his voice high with fear as he realizes this isn’t a game.

“It’s okay, Maxi,” I reply, trying to hide the tremor in my voice.

My little car is no match for theirs and soon they’re by my side again. Thankfully, an oncoming eighteen-wheeler forces the car to drop back, but it soon gains on us again. Luck is on our side again when I see a turn-off and I quickly take the exit, hoping to reach somewhere with more people.

Surely, they won’t try anything with dozens of witnesses?

Our pursuers must realize what I’m doing as they gain ever closer, ramming into the back of the car and sending us jolting forward. I let out a yelp and Max screams, crying in fear.

“It’s okay sweetie, Mommy’s gonna get away from them,” I try to comfort him, but my words fall on deaf ears.

When we reach the town, for the first time, I’m happy to hit traffic. The main street is busy with cars and pedestrians and the car behind me falls back. When we reach the most densely populated area, I pull into a busy diner parking lot, right up near the entrance where some people and cameras will see us. The car slows but continues to drive away and I let out a breath I didn’t know I’d been holding.

“It’s alright now Maxi, we’re fine, it’s safe.” I soothe him.

I get out of the car and walk on legs that feel like jelly to the backseat where I unstrap Max’s seat and hug him tightly as he sobs into my arms. When he’s calmed down slightly, I tell him, “Come on, let’s go inside and have some hamburgers and milkshakes for dinner shall we?”

Max nods, rubbing his eyes and taking my hand, allowing me to lead him toward the brightly lit safety of the diner. I don’t want to risk going back out on the road and encountering them again. We’ll be safe here with so many other people around. But the stark reality of the situation is sinking in. Someone is after Max.

I can’t write this off as an overactive imagination, there’s a strange man who wants my son and isn’t afraid to run me off the road to get to him. I’m going to have to do the one thing I didn’t want and ask my brother and the Iron Serpents for help.

My brother might have his flaws, and I’m pretty certain the Iron Serpents aren’t exactly law-abiding, but I know my brother will do anything to protect us and it’s clear whoever we’re up against isn’t scared to play dirty either.

As the saying goes, sometimes you’ve got to fight fire with fire.