I Didn't Even Think

Chapter Three

The rain had made the sand on the beach soggy. Wet sand stuck to my bare feet and oozed into my cuts.

I made sure to walk on the shoreline. My footprints would be lost in the sea by morning; nobody would know I was here. I wasn’t sure that was a good thing though. I knew this could be a trap, the thought slivered through the back of my mind.

Soon I could see a figure in the distance. I squinted to see through the fog. A man was sitting on a beach blanket.  He reminded me of the strong man at the circus. His arms were thick with firm carved skin, his chest was wide but his body narrowed at his hips.  He seemed to be okay, but then again Ryce looked okay until he spoke.

I looked back; the forest was thick with shadows and trees. Then I looked back at the man. At that moment and I wanted to run home. I thought of Mason sleeping peacefully in his stable, unaware of the danger I was in. Jared would probably be shaking in his bed, still waiting for me.

“Don’t leave.” The man’s words were soft and gentle like a warm summer

breeze.

“Did you kill my father?” my own words surprised me. I hadn’t meant to say that, my lips just seemed to form it. I slapped my hand over my mouth.

He paused.“No.” His words were frozen with anger. I wasn’t sure if he was telling the truth. He patted the ground next to him, motioning for me to sit down.

“What do you want?” I stayed where I was standing. I wasn’t taking any chances.

He sighed. “Your father was a part of our…..group.”

“So you killed him.”

“Ha! You’re just as stubborn as your father was.” Now he got up and faced me. His face surprised me. Wrinkles rippled through his face like waves in the ocean. The shadows of the night lurked in-between them.  “I suppose you got the note.”

“No I didn’t.” Sarcasm stained my voice. I hadn’t known Papa had been in a group. Had Ryce known? I raced through my thoughts looking for what to say.

“We wanted to overrule our Leader.” He spat out the words quickly. Now this I believed, Papa would have joined a group like this. But what did he want from me?

“Will you join us?”  He seemed to read my mind. It scared me a little. Who was this man? We stood there in silence.

“Yes.”