Haunted by the Past (Original)

Chapter 73

"Eli, it's been six hours!" I yelled. "There has been no activity! No contact! No nothing!"

"Dani, I told you this could take a while," Eli said exasperated. "They may be waiting for dark."

"No, no, we're missing something! We have to be!" I argued.

"We're not the only ones on this, remember? While we're watching this angle, Parkinson's out there attacking from another angle. This is Cameron's best chance, ok?" he stepped forward to try to calm me down, get me to sit again, but I wasn't having it.

I pulled away and paced around the empty office of the abandoned warehouse, "Two people go into the forest, only one comes out. Where is he!?"

Out of nowhere, my phone beeped to inform me of a new message. I ran across the room to check it, but Eli beat me to it and opened the message. He tried to remain calm, but his face went white. I knew it wasn't good.

Snatching the phone out of his hand, I saw I had a photo from 'Heather' of what looked like Cameron lying on the ground. Without hesitation I opened it to get a better look. Cameron's skin looked grey. His eyes stared into the distance unfocused. One of his sleeves was rolled up with strap tight above the elbow. Tears threatened to fall, it was getting harder to see straight. Rubble was visible on the ground beside him. I had seen that rubble before. Very recently before. The realization gave me the focus needed to move forward.

"I know where he is!" I announced with pride.

"Dani, let me go alone, ok? You stay here," Eli said sternly.

"Fuck no!" I snapped. "We go together, and we go now!"

My phone beeped again. There was a haunting message from Heather – 'Come alone.'

"Dani, it's too dangerous and you're still recovering," he pleaded. "You have to realize it's a trap."

"Trap or no trap, it's Cameron," I argued. "And if you go, I'll just end up having to save you too."

"Save me?" he scoffed in disbelief.

"Yeah, don't make me have to haul your ass too," I said full of sass.

Eli tried his hardest to keep a straight face, "Dani, I am not sure we're going to find there and you're going to need to be prepared for the worst."

I frowned, "Worse than finding my best friend dead?"

Eli ran a calmly hand down my arm, "Just because you've been through it once doesn't mean you're forever tempered."

I sighed and shifted on my feet uncomfortably, "I know. But the asshole wants a showdown and a showdown he's going to get."

Eli groaned and ran his fingers through his hair, "Let me call Coal for backup."

I stood motionless as Eli walked away and called Coal. He spoke in a hushed voice. For hours we had waited for this very moment and now Eli was getting cold feet? I glanced back at the photo of Cameron. As grey as his skin tone was, he was alive. I was sure of it. Knowing though that Triple-6 had time to prepare, I considered calling Sheriff Parkinson, but Triple-6 might kill Cameron if he saw or heard police.

Then there was the message, 'Come alone.'

Would Triple-6 kill Cameron if he saw Eli with me? My instincts told me to remain rational, to go with Eli, but fear gripped my heart.

My gaze drifted to my handgun in its holster peeking out of Eli's backpack. Cautiously, I leant over, slipped the holster out and into the front of my pants. Quietly I tiptoed down the stairs while Eli was still talking to Coal. He knew where I was going, he could catch up with me after I reached Cameron. As long as I arrived alone, Cameron should be safe.