Below The Surface

Paying Respects

The next day, Caroline got ready for Naomi's funeral, and she felt everything go by in her head in the form of a fog. "Today's the day" she thought. She went into her room, put on the $750 dress that Alex bought her for this day and some black leggings that Alex brought over from her house, and proceeded downstairs where Alex was waiting for him. As she went down the stairs, she saw Alex talking on the phone wearing an all black suit and a silver necklace.

"Alright" Alex said "if anything happens, I'll text you immediately. But be sure to stay near by. I'm not sure what it is. I just have a horrible feeling about how things could turn out. So for God's sake, stay by your phone." With that, he hung up the phone and turned around to see Caroline waiting for him.

"Who was that?" she asked. "Ethan," Alex said "just needed to have some... insurance about today." "Insurance," Caroline said as she became skeptical "what exactly are you talking about?" "It's nothing," said Alex with a slight smile forming across his face "now come on. Let's get rolling. Taylor texted me the church where they are having Naomi's funeral. Luckily, I know exactly where it is.""How do you know where it is," asked Caroline "you never seemed like the type of person who would have anything to do with church.""Well I'm not a church person at all" Alex said as his smile slowly turned into a frown "but the only reason I know where it is, is because it's the same exact church that held my mother's funeral." "Really" asked Caroline with extreme shock in her voice "are you sure you want to go?" "Yeah it'll fine," Alex said "besides, given the circumstances, there's no way in hell that I'm letting you go in there alone. Actually, before we go, there's something I should give you just to be safe."

Alex went upstairs and he returned a few minutes later with a gun in each hand. "Here," Alex said as he handed Caroline one of the guns "I'll keep the other on me so we'll both have something." "Alex" Caroline said as she began to panic "I don't think I can bare the knowledge of killing somebody again." "Caroline listen to me," Alex said as he grabbed her shoulders "this is not like Naomi where probably the worst thing you had to worry about was getting a black eye. These people know exactly who you are and they know exactly how Naomi died. If they see you, and you don't kill them, then they will kill you." With great hesitation, Caroline was finally able to speak. "Okay," she said as she took the gun from Alex's hand and put it in her leggings "I understand"

With that, they got into Alex's black mustang, and made their way to the church. As they were driving, Caroline noticed the necklace that Alex was wearing. "Hey Alex" she said. "Yeah what is it?" asked Alex. "I never see you wear that necklace," she said "where did you get it from?" "Well my mother gave it to me before she died. I remember when it use to be so big on me, that the bottom of nearly hit the ground every time I put it on. Honestly, sometimes I wonder if the reason she got it so big, was because she had a feeling something would happen to her so she decided to plan ahead. It's kinda funny if you think about it. I'm going to funeral where the necklace my dead mother gave me and the funeral is at the same church that held my mother's funeral all those years ago." When he said that, he began to smile and Caroline couldn't help but giggle. "Always the one for sarcasm aren't you" she said. When their conversation ended, they were already pulling up the church. "We're here," said Alex "now listen. We gotta sit at back of the church and do not leave my side for even a second. Okay?" "I understand" said Caroline.

As they entered, Caroline became overwhelmed with guilt, depression, and fear all at once. "Caroline," Alex said as he looked at her "stay calm. Everything will be okay." They sat down in the back of the church like Alex had planned. Caroline was filled with grief while Alex simply was waiting for service to end. Many joyful memories from when they use to be friends began to overflow Caroline's head. About 30 minutes into the service, the pastor walked up to the podium. "Would anybody like to say anything about the beautiful young girl who left us too soon?" he asked. With that, Naomi's older brother, the same person who raped Caroline in that school bathroom, walked up to speak. "Naomi was an amazing person and an incredible sister" he said. As he continued to speak, he suddenly made eye contact with Alex. 

"Fuck," Alex said under his breath to Caroline as he began to text Ethan on his phone "he sees us! We gotta get the hell out of here right now!" "Son of a bitch" Naomi's older brother said. "Brother Sean what's wrong with you" asked the pastor. "So that's his name," Caroline thought "I never thought I would learn his name" Sean pointed at Caroline with intense rage. "That girl is the one who killed Naomi," he said as he looked at his family who was sitting near Caroline and Alex "Travis, Brandon, block the door. I had a feeling you guys would be coming and told every member of my family to come packed in case you did. And now, you won't be leaving on your own. This is gonna end two ways. Either we call the cops and they carry you out, or I kill you and we carry you out to an unmarked grave in the middle of nowhere. Take your pick you bastards!" When Sean said that, Alex glanced at his phone to see a text message from Ethan. When he read it, a smile formed on his face. "Thanks for the options," he said "put I think I'll take the third option" "What's the third option" Sean asked with extreme irritation. 

When he asked, the sound of gunshots broke out outside of the church and many people inside of the church began to scream. When Travis and Brandon went outside to see what was happening, they were gunned down immediately. A few seconds later, Ethan entered the church with a smoking gun in his hand. As Sean began to reach in the inner pocket of his blazer, Ethan pointed the gun at him. "Touch your gun and you'll end up like them" said Ethan. While Ethan had the attention of Sean and the entire church, Alex looked at Caroline who was so terrified that she could hardly breathe. It was like Naomi's death was happening all over again before her very eyes. "Caroline," Alex said to her "stay calm and get your gun ready." When he said that, Caroline came back to reality, retrieved the gun from her leggings, loaded it, and got ready to fire at any moment. "Now here's the deal," Ethan began "the three of us are going to leave and nobody is going to follow us. Is that clear?" "Like hell that's happening" said a voice that did not come from Sean, but his enraged uncle who drew his gun and fired at Caroline, missing her by only a few inches. "Caroline, Alex, move" yelled Ethan. The two of them ran out with Ethan behind them and Naomi's family chasing all three of them. "Split up and meet at my house in an hour Ethan" yelled Alex as he and Caroline got into the black mustang and sped off.

TO BE CONTINUED........