Heaven's Grief (Sequel to Hell's Reign)

Chapter 5 - On the Road Again

       

Tori stared out the back window of the van, watching their home disappear behind them as they made their way down the hill to where the men had disappeared with her little boy. They drove slowly, painfully slowly, while Andy and Pete scouted ahead in an attempt to follow the tracks left in the dirt by the other vehicle. Joe was driving, and Patrick was sitting in the passenger seat beside him, methodically cleaning and loading four separate rifles. He was quiet, and purposefully avoiding Tori because he knew she was blaming him.

    She didn't want to blame him, she didn't even want to be man at him, but she couldn't help it. He had been the one to leave Aaron alone, not that he could have seen this coming, but all the same, it was technically entirely his fault. Neither of them had any idea who these men were, or what they could possibly want with their son. And when she had asked Patrick to describe them, he drew a blank. "I was panicking," he had said, "I was looking at out son, not at them." Tori shook the memory from her head, unable to keep replaying that conversation over and over. That was why she was sitting as far back in the van as she could, to stay away from her husband.

    The van was silent as they drove on, and darkness was quickly descending. It had been a full hour after the kidnapping before they actually set off, having to gather their weapons, refuel the van, and pack enough food to last them at least for a few weeks, since they had no idea where they were going. Tori hated the pace they were moving at. After ten minutes of following the dirt road and still being able to see the hill that led to their house in the distance, Tori got up and knelt behind the row of back seats to look at Joe through the rearview mirror. "Can't we go any faster?" She asked, her voice hoarse and breaking at the end of her question. Just the sound of it made tears prick at her eyes again.

    Joe glanced up at her solemnly. "We're going as fast as we can, Tori," he said gently, trying to calm her with his steady voice, but she could hear the worry in there as well. "If we go any faster, we might lose the trail."

    "They could have driven hours away," Tori insisted, "If we keep this up, it'll be days before we reach them. Or worse, we'll never catch up."

    "Don't say that," Joe said firmly, turning the van around a bend in the road to follow Andy as he waved them toward him and Pete. "We will find him, Tori. I promise."

    "You can't promise that," Tori mumbled, just loud enough for both of them to hear her. Patrick turned halfway to glance at her, his blue eyes flashing coldly in her direction. She glared back for a moment, until Patrick looked away again. Then, she turned around and slid down against the back of the seats to stare out the back window some more. She stared and stared, until her eyes hurt and the sun began to lower behind the thickets of trees. As night fell on the world, Pete and Andy began to walk closer to the van, slowing their pace even more. Finally, the van came to a halt and the boys climbed in, tired and unable to walk anymore. Tori turned to look at them as they collapsed in the back seat.

    Patrick turned at the same time, their eyes locking for a brief moment before Tori looked away again. "I'll walk," Patrick suddenly offered, to no one in particular. He began lifting the rifles to lay them down between the seats neatly, ready to go as soon as they found the men who had taken their son.

    "I can't drive anymore," Joe sighed, rubbing at his eyes. "We all need rest, Patrick."

    "I'm not tired," Pete said, though he was obviously lying. His eyes were bloodshot, and he was visibly sagging with exhaustion. "I'll drive." He turned briefly to glance at Tori. "Do you want to walk with Patrick? We can keep taking this in shifts if we do it right."

    Tori hesitated, glancing between Pete and Patrick. Her husband wouldn't meet her gaze, and simply jumped out of the van with his pistol in his hand, making sure it was loaded. Tori reached into her back pocket to pull out her own handgun. "Yeah, I'll walk," she said, he voice devoid of emotion. She turned and slid open the back door of the van, climbing out into the cool night air as Joe and Pete traded places.