Mythical Link ▸ Link Neal {Book One}

Thirty One

     Rhett whirled around at Link's voice so close to him, and he moved to his feet and walked toward him. Link was clad in his sleepwear and slippers, the only thing covering him a bathrobe. Rhett pulled him into a quick ever so grateful he's alive hug and pulled away. Then he took Link by the shoulders and looked him hard in the eyes. "What the hell are you doing out here? Do you have any idea how worried everyone is about you?" 

     Link's eyes watered and he looked down. His glasses had been skewed on his face, his hair peppered with dirt and debris. 

     Rhett exhaled sharply as he folded his arms across his chest. "You have no idea you came out here, do you?" 

     He met Rhett's eyes with a quick nod of his head. Rhett continued to hammer Link with questions. "Just like you don't know that you wrote 'help me' in Gaelic on the back of my car? Or that you were screaming like some poor cat being strangled?" 

     Link's lips parted slightly. His eyebrows had furrowed and his breath formed a vapor of hesitation. "I have no idea what I did. I must have been in a trance the entire night. When I finally came to, I was standing in front of a dead body." 

     "What?" Rhett folded at the middle so his head would be closer to Link, his eyebrow arched. "I'm sorry, did you say a dead body? " 

     Link gulped for a steady breath, his eyes the marbled epitome of fear. "I... I didn't kill anyone. Rhett, I swear." 

     That was the moment when Rhett's heart seized in his chest, gripped by the cold hard reality that Link was telling the truth. He tried to believe that Link wanted to joke around with him to lighten the mood as they so often did, but the fear that dripped from his voice was unmistakable. There was only one possible explanation as to how the body got there.

     "Show me where the body is," Rhett insisted. The scientist in him thought it was cool that Link found a body, although that part was one percent out of 99 on the pie chart. Link stumbled without another word and led Rhett back toward the trail. They walked the pathway in silence, which allowed Rhett to be consumed by his burning curiosity. 

     Whatever he had expected to see, he had still been taken by surprise. Down the path and off to the side concealed by dense shrubbery was a young female body curled up on her side. Her short dark hair was matted to a wad on the side of her head. Her throat had clearly been torn clean out, blood caked down the front of her shredded blouse.  

     Link took a deep breath and looked away. He avoided Rhett's harsh stare, his lungs hollowed out of any remnants of air. Water pooled in his eyes as he brought his hand up to shield his peripheral vision from the gruesome scene. 

     Rhett crouched to the ground and tilted his head to the side. Her eyes had been frozen open, and he silently surmised that she had clearly been taken by surprise from whatever animal did this. He slowly shook his head as his own heart shattered. This was somebody's wife, as he could see by the ring on her finger. She was definitely a daughter, maybe a sister or a mother. "We have to call the police. But first we should call our wives and let them know you're okay."

     "I'm far from okay, Rhett." He couldn't contain the strangulation in his voice as a tear trailed down his cheek. Rhett looked up at Link sympathetically. He rose to his feet and took Link into his arms, to which Link leaned into his shoulder and shuddered with sobs. Rhett gave Link a few minutes to break down and compose himself, because they did need to let their families know that Link was safe at least.

     Rhett fished his phone out of his pocket with a free arm still draped around Link, and he searched his contacts for Christy. Christy was on the phone seconds after Rhett had dialed, and he immediately handed the phone to Link, who'd taken it with shaky hands. "Ch—Christy," he cried. 

     Christy squealed with joy, but then her voice took on a concerned tone. "Link, honey, where are you?"

     "I— I took a drive to the trail because I needed to take a walk to clear my mind and I—  I found a dead body."

     "You what?!" 

     Link had to pull the phone away from his ear. He covered his nose with his arm, the stench of the dried blood and decayed body singeing his nostrils. "It's been here a while. At least a few days," he said, then gagged. The contents from his stomach came up and at his feet, and he'd dropped Rhett's phone. 

Rhett dove for it and caught it right before it landed in Link's bile, and he heaved a huge sigh of relief. "I'm pretty sure she was killed by a wild animal. It didn't happen recently, which surprises me." Rhett put it on speakerphone. "Sorry about that Chris, Link's getting sick." Just as he'd said that, Link heaved and lost it even more. It was violent like he'd had food poisoning, and Rhett knew it was coming.

     "Oh my god. Oh my god! Did y'all call the police? I'm coming down!" 

     Link popped up like a meerkat out of the ground and shook his head adamantly, his eyes wide. "No! Just stay home. Stay home with the kids. Do not leave the house!" Link heard Lily ask her mother what happened and Link groaned inwardly. "Christy, please listen to me. I know you're worried and I'm sorry. But you can't bring the kids out here. I saw the animal." 

     Christy screamed shrilly again. "What was it? A bear? Link!" 

    "I— I think it was a mountain lion." Link gripped on to the frame of his glasses.

     Rhett stopped pacing and arched an eyebrow at Link. The both of them knew it wasn't a mountain lion, but it made more sense than saying it was a bear. Bears didn't usually rip out the throats of their prey.

     "It didn't hurt you at all, did it? I'm so worried about you!" 

     "No. Just please listen to me. Stay home." 

     It was silent for a few minutes, then she finally spoke. "Okay. Just come home safe, please. I love you so much."

     Link closed his eyes and his throat constricted terribly. "I love you too. I'll be home after we call the police." He pulled the phone away from his ear and looked at Rhett's background. It was of the two of them and all five of their kids together. Link shook his head slowly, the tears that burned his eyes equivalent to acid rain on limestone. He was afraid to let them fall for they would burn his cheeks. "Rhett." 

     Rhett gently placed his hands over Link's in an attempt to take the phone, but he held his hands there. Something in Link's eyes told him that he was afraid for their families.

     "Lily's asking what's going on. She's going to find out... how are we going to keep them safe now? All of this strange crap that I'm doing, and the full moon being tomorrow night... I'm scared to death, man!" Link swallowed after he spoke, afraid that he was going to vomit again.

     Rhett craned his head from side to side. His green eyes took on a dangerous glint that Link didn't see very often. In fact, the last time he'd seen that look was when Rhett beat up a bully that was harassing Link back when they were in school. "I'm gonna tell you something right now... if that thing goes after any of our families, it will wish it hadn't."