Page 145 of Soul So Dark

Thatch helps me prop up LaCrosse before I turn and give the door a swift kick. And then another. And another. But nothing happens and the wood holds firm.

Thatch plants himself in front of LaCrosse as blood starts pooling on the dirt floor. He draws his weapon and takes aim at the stairs before pulling the shitty sat phone out of his pocket to call for reinforcements.

There’s a thud at the top of the stairs and muffled shouts behind the door. I dart past Thatch and scan the room for anything useful. Soon, I find what I’m looking for. Knocking over a couple of box fans and tossing some tools and junk parts aside, I reach in a rusty barrel and grab a wooden handle, revealing the head of an ax as I tear it from the jumble.

“How long will that door hold?” Thatch asks as I dash past him.

“Not long enough.”

Adrenaline dulls the pain as I reel back and swing the ax over my shoulder, sinking the blade into the wood.

“Ten seconds!” Thatch calls.

I swing the ax over my shoulder, hacking at the wood, trying to collapse this door before the other one does.

“Eight!”

I swing again.

Six…

And again.

Four…

“Break it! Now!”

Two…

There’s a crash at the top of the stairs and I hear the footfalls just as the cellar door finally gives way, splintering and knocking the lock out of place. I give another kick and the door bursts open just as Thatch fires his gun.

I whip around to see one man tumble down the stairs and another set of feet retreat back to the top. Grabbing LaCrosse, we escape up the steps and into the courtyard.

“Did you get through to anyone?” I look over my shoulder, making sure no one has followed yet.

“Yeah, but it cut out. Piece of shit! So I don’t know if they got our location.”

Our vehicle is at the front of the house, so that’s out. We need another plan, and quickly. Seeing a chain and padlock around the gate, I duck out from under LaCrosse and make sure Thatch has a good grip before I let go. Then I get a running start and leap onto the fence, grabbing the top to vault over to the other side.

But then there’s a jolt and a pop in my ears. My body goes rigid, and suddenly, the lights go out.

???

“Alexí! It’s time to come in!”

My mom’s voice is a distant echo punctuated by rustling leaves and the call of a mourning dove before it fades into her melodic singing.

“Joy to the world…” I don’t even think of Three Dog Night whenever I hear that song anymore, only her voice.

“You’re unstoppable.”My dad’s voice, brimming with pride, cuts in from somewhere behind me.“You’re too fast for them, like you got wheels instead of legs.”

A cacophony of laughter starts out high-pitched, like kids calling to one another. Then the voices get deeper, until they sound like Adrian and Luca, back when therewaslaughter.

“SUCKAAA!”Mason’s voice echoes somewhere in the distance, followed by a splash and more howls of laughter. I haven’t heard that since we were kids, some random word we chose to scream when we flew off the rope swing into the creek.

“Beasts of waste!”His voice is deeper this time.“Beasts of desolation!”Now I can hear all their voices like a roll of thunder.

“You’re like Ponyboy…”I’m startled by this voice. It’s distant, but I recognize its velvet tone.“I don’t want you to leave…”My heart starts pounding and crescendos to a hammer in my chest.“I want you to stay here, and be my boyfriend…”