The Family: Ties That Bind (VOL. 2)

Chapter 21

The sun descended behind the forest of trees encircling the property, taking the light and unbearable heat with it. A wave of crisp weather had blanketed the farm and the chill lingering in the air was remedied with a bonfire in the backyard. 

The whole night out was Loretta's idea. The minute she arrived home, she was jumping the boys about why they hadn't moved the captives' car out of the yard yet. 'Burn everything inside' was what she told us to do, but that seemed wasteful to us all. She wasn't outside to monitor our every move so what was the harm in rifling through their stuff and saving what we could. Even I was on board for that. What she didn't know wouldn't kill her, right?

Positioned in the vast empty field, Nubbins kindled a fire, and Bubba drug some fell logs over for us all to sit on. The fire blazed and crackled, sending waves of heat over my body which I was grateful for. It wasn't fair that the boys got to wear long, warm, pants and I was forced into darn dresses all the time. But Loretta was stuck in the 50s and wouldn't allow me to wear anything but her modest hand-me-downs. Sure, they were fine and dandy when it was hot as hell outside but at night, when a chill descended over the land, I was left longing for stockings or better yet, fuzzy pajama pants. 

Embers from the blaze levitated in the night air, rising higher and higher until they dissipated into ash. Comet parked it at my feet, soaking in the heat and watching the flames grow taller each time Nubbins prodded the logs with the same stick Comet claimed as his fetch toy. 

Bubba unloaded the last of the suitcases from the trunk of the car and drug them over in a pile beside the fire. Nubbins and his sticky fingers were the first to dive into the bags. Dumping them all out on the ground, he pilfered through the contents and pocketed anything he found valuable which turned out to be the most random objects with no correlation between them. Everything else went into the fire.

There were no phones, laptops, or tablets amongst the loot we found in the car, and trust me, I looked hard. Drayton and Loretta must have beaten me to them. Anything and everything that could be used to send for help were likely confiscated the minute they had the captives subdued. There was no point in looking for the stuff. I had grown to know Loretta much too well and she had done the same with me. Knowing her, anything I could use to contact the outside world would've been destroyed the minute she got her hands on it.

Bubba handed me articles of women's clothing that he thought were pretty and most of it was. Loretta would've beaten me bloody if she caught me in anything that didn't hide my figure so when he handed me a pair of white shorts with a scalloped hem and cute strawberries for polka dots, I gratefully took them and stashed them to the side to wear at a later occasion when I felt like pissing her off. While I was more than happy to receive new clothes, the books were what I sought to save from the fire. They all had something to do with paranormal investigations and cryptid research, but I was thankful for what I got. Plus, I'd always had a fascination with ghosts and mysterious creatures so the idea of settling down in bed that night and cracking one of those books open thrilled me to the core.

Holding out his wrist, Bubba waved a silver bracelet decorated with colorful beads and charms in my face. He had a thing for jewelry; wearing it, collecting it, and adorning both me and himself with it. The clasp was almost too tiny for my fingers so there would've been no way he would've been able to put it on himself. I wrapped it around his outstretched wrist and clasped it on the last link of the chain since it was made for women and not giant manly hands. It was a snug fit, but it fitted nonetheless and that made his face light up brighter than a Christmas tree. 

A night like that was what we all needed. Some time to relax, kick back and forget the day's troubles. But I couldn't stop thinking about the hostages trapped in the barn just a brisk walk away. The building was barely visible from where we sat behind the house, but I couldn't shake them from my mind. Every moment they remained on the property was leading them closer to their demise. As much as I wanted to enjoy the moment since it wasn't often we were able to do things like that, I knew it was time to act. No more death. No more bloodshed. No more fear.