Landon cursed under his breath and grabbed my wrist, hauling me with him back to Zach and Jessica. Before we reached them, gruff voices made us hide behind two trees. One look at Landon’s grim face increased my fear. I glanced back at my family, and was surprised to see two other male figures blocking my view of them. The men spoke in angry voices, asking repeatedly , ”Where are the rest of them?” Jessica’s lack of shouting indicated the seriousness of the situation.
The tallest of the two pulled something off his belt. We were too far back to not be able to see what it was, although I heard a click. Danny sucked in his breath and almost gave up our hiding spot, until Landon shook his head and motioned for him to stay put. Compliantly, Danny snuck back into the shadows, allowing us to continue watching to scene unfolding in front of us.
“I’m giving you five seconds to answer the question before I blow your boyfriend’s head off, little girl. Five...four...” the man pressed something against Zach’s head. I gasped and at that same moment Landon pressed his hand over my mouth, squeezing us against the tree.
In typical selfish Jessica action, she immediately gave us up, screaming, “All I know is they left that way into the woods! I don’t know where they went! I don’t know! Please don’t hurt-” and the crack of a gunshot went off. My eyes opened wide; I struggled against Landon, who simply made it his task of leaving a mold of my back into the tree.
It was eerily quiet for a few moments. The smell of gunpowder was on the air, and tears seeped out of my eyes, for I knew who was next in the slaughter ,and I could do nothing about it because Landon held me fast. All of the sudden, Zach’s humourless laughter floated by.
“You think that shooting into the sky is enough to scare us out of the information you want? You and I both know that only one of us has the information,just can’t quite figure out who was dumb enough to pay attention.” I could hear Zach speaking bravely to the evil men. Several moments passed by before two gun shots fired, one right after the other. I clung to Landon.
“If you’re out there we will find you, Landon,” a voice of frustration broke through the tense silence, “ Let this serve as your warning.” The sound of people heading away from us allowed me to let out my breath. However, Landon continued to hold me against the tree, waiting.
I glanced over at Danny and saw him watching us with wide us. Neither of us wanted to step out from behind our safe haven, yet we both needed to know what the fate Zach and Jessica was.
Landon stole a quick glance around the tree, then whispered, “Wait, let me clear the area. “ Danny nodded, and we both stayed glued to our respective trees.
“Why do you think those men wanted Landon?” I mouthed, to which Danny simply shrugged. My thoughts raced, trying to piece together fragmented information that I didn’t yet have.
Landon appeared suddenly beside Danny, and whispered something into his ear. Curious, I watched the facial reaction of my best friend go from surprised to downright devastated as he turned to me. Without saying anything, I knew those men had done something bad to my stepsister and brother. Both guys approached me, one with arms wide open and the other wringing his shirt, looking guilty. One glance at our rest site, and I knew. I knew those evil men ripped two innocent people from my life. I knew they were dead as sure as I saw two mounds of bodies before my eyes.
I cautiously approached what used to be my handsome older brother ,Zach. As I sunk to my knees, I curiously touched him. Already his body had lost heat, feeling as cold as the night air that blew around me and the memories that flew around in my head. Warm hands on my shoulders snapped me out of my trance. Danny watched me, concerned. Without a word, we collapsed into each other beside Zach.
This world we were living in was no longer a world I knew. The only thing I knew for certain was that Landon held the key to understanding.
