The Devil Walks Among Us; Book l - Completed 4/21/22

Killer Intentions

Karen hurried down the stairs. "Mom?"

Recovering from the shock of Ray's death, Laurie slipped into defensive mode. The years of drills and weapons practice had brought her to this moment. She was prepared. She was in control. She would not panic. She had Michael by the horns - she knew what he was after, but he wasn't going to get it. 

Laurie shook her head at Karen, index finger pressed to her lips to command silence. With a head nod, she directed Karen away from the door, toward the middle of the room. "He's here, Karen," Laurie said. "Michael's here. Go to the shelter and hide. You'll be safe there.

Wide-eyed with a fright she'd never thought she'd experience, Karen seemed to accept that Laurie's dreaded moment had finally arrived. But Laurie had trained her daughter well enough that she didn't panic. Her concerns were practical: "What about Ray? What about Allyson?"

"I'll take care of it," Laurie assured her, hoping Karen felt her confidence and determination - but not the sliver of fear that had her heart racing. "It's time. Now. It all ends tonight."

Without protest, and nodding through tears, Karen rushed to the kitchen and spun the island counterclockwise. She lifted the secret door built flush with the surrounding tile but, before descending the steps to the shelter, Karen turned to look behind her at the old pantry, looking at Mia tied to the chair - the live bait. Guilt coarsed through her, but anger built up in her more as she looked at Mia. How could she even fathom befriending him? Curling her lip at disgust at her, she turned to face her mother - armed and ready to face the psychopath that had haunted her for years - and they shared an intense look. At that moment, Laurie knew what her daughter was thinking. Is this goodbye? Will I ever see you again?

Lips pressed tight, Karen gave her mother a brief nod, went down several steps before reaching up to grab the door and flip it closed. Laurie stared after her, watched the island spin back to its normal location, once again hiding the shelter entrance.

Immediately, she returned to the front door with her shotgun to keep an eye on The Shape. As she neared the right vertical pane of distorted glass, a fist smashed through the left window and Michael's right hand grabbed her face, dislodging her glasses as he pulled her closer to the door. She tried to twist free, but his powerful arm slipped lower and wrapped around her throat, shoving her face against the wooden door. Despite her struggles, her strength was no match for his and she remained helplessly pinned there. With the door separating them, he couldn't strangle her, only hold her in place, until -

- his left arm burst through the other windowpane, his hand reaching desperately for her. If he got both hands on her head - her face-

She blocked the gruesome thought. Since she couldn't pull herself away from the door, she twisted around within his grasp, trying to loosen his hold, and ended up with her back pressed tight to the door. But that freed her arms and her hands.

Angling the shotgun barrel toward the window, she switched off the safety and pumped a round into the empty chamber. A second later, Michael's frantically grasping left hand closed over the top of the barrel -

Laurie pulled the trigger, momentarily deafened by the roar as she watched Michael's left hand explode in a mist of blood, his index, and middle fingers completely disintegrated. Only his thumb, ring, and little fingers remained.

As both his arms let go and withdrew through the broken windows, Laurie staggered away from the door, her momentum carrying her to the base of the stairs before she regained her balance. Glancing back at the shattered windowpanes - new breaches into her home - Laurie needed time to reassess. Crossing through to the kitchen, she moved the island along its turning axis and opened the secret door to join Karen in the shelter below, turning to look at Mia in her hidden area as she knew she couldn't make a sound. Laurie had no intentions of hurting her, but if it meant saving her family, she wouldn't hesitate.