My Three Cousins

Chapter Twenty Eight

Lennox lived closer to the gas station than my cousins did, so they were there within a few minutes.  They pulled up in a beat-up, silver Buick Century and reached across to the push the passenger door open for me.  "Get in," they yelled.

I climbed in quickly; glad they had arrived both because I was anxious to get back to my cousins and because the man behind the register had been watching me since I left the store without buying anything.

"So is this a casual ride or an emergency ride?"  They asked but the I could tell it was taking effort for them to keep their tone light.

"Emergency," I said.  "I need you to take me to my cousin's house.  It is out on Pike Road, the white house with the long drive way."  I realized as I desperately tried to describe the house that I didn't actually know my cousin's address.

Luckily, Lennox had lived in the area for a while, so they tilted their head, thinking it over, and then agreed.  "Ok I know the place," they said, pulling out onto the road in the direction of the house.

"So, do you want to explain why you're all alone at a gas station or should we pretend this is an everyday occurrence?"  I could tell Lennox was still putting in effort to lighten my ever-growing panic.

I told them the story starting where I had left off over text before finding Fitz sneaking into the hidden room.  I spoke quickly and tried to fit in as much detail as possible before we got to the house.  I ended up finishing my story when we were a few minutes away.

"Woah," Lennox said, clearly still processing everything I had thrown at them.  "So I'm taking you back there to what?  Fight this electric man?"

"That's the plan," I said, noting that the lightening was getting stronger the closer we got to the house, but the rain had stopped entirely.  I didn't exactly know what that meant but I knew it couldn't be a good sign.

"And how do you know your cousins haven't already dealt with him?"

I thought it over, "I mean I hope they have.  Trust me no one wants me to fight a man made out of electricity in the middle of an electric storm less than I do, well except maybe my mom, but in case they haven't I need to get back there and help them."

"Ok so once we're there what do we do?  I mean if he already has them cornered or something we're going to have a pretty difficult time following your original plan."  I could feel Lennox speeding up now that they knew why we needed back to the house and I appreciated it, but something in their words caught me off guard.

"What do you mean we?"  I asked.

"I mean you and me.  It sounds like things have gone off the rails and your cousins are going to need all the help they can get."  Lennox's statement was practical, but as soon as they said it I knew I couldn't let them risk their life.

"No, you're going to drop me off and drive away from the house as fast as you safely can."  I insisted, already preparing myself to jump out of the car as soon as Lennox came to a stop.

"I can't just drop you off to potentially be murdered and drive away like I'm bringing you home from a date," Lennox seemed alarmed and my heart raced at the word date even though I knew this was a horrible time to have butterflies over a potential romance.

"You don't have a choice," I said, not sure what I planned to do to keep them from following me inside.

"Addison, I'm coming with you."  Lennox seemed more confused than determined.

"Really, my cousins can't know I told you and I don't want you to get hurt."

"I don't think their secret is the top priority right now," we were quickly approaching the driveway and needed to come to a decision about whether we were going in together or I was going in alone.

"Pull down the road," I said, trying to come up with a plan to keep them safe while I spoke, "we might need someone ready to get us out of here.  Keep your phone on and wait for me.  I will call or text when we need to get away."

I could tell they didn't like my plan and were weighing out the pros and cons, but I could also see the look of defeat behind their eyes, so I wasn't surprised when they answered.  "Fine, but I will be one minute away.  If anything goes wrong or you need any help you have to let me know."

"I will," I promised, turning my attention to the yard and house as it came into view.

Nothing looked out of place and there was no sign that anything had changed since we left.  For a moment I was hopeful that in my worry at leaving my cousins all alone I had misjudged the situation and the electric man hadn't attacked, but then our car was rocked by the loudest burst of thunder I had ever heard.  Chills ran down my spine as I realized that none of my cousins were standing guard so not only was the electric man nearby, he was already attacking.

I barely waited for Lennox to stop the car when I launched myself out without saying another word.  They waited in the car, and I had to waive them away, not wanting them to watch as I tried to figure out what to do.  I listened in the yard waiting for some sign of where my cousins were, if I picked wrong, I could waste valuable time and I didn't know how much time they had left.

It felt eerily quiet while I stood and waited.  I was worried this would mean that the electric man had found his way into the house and had almost gone running in to meet him when I heard a familiar high-pitched scream in the direction of the pond and saw a crack of white, hot light.