Never Forever

Chapter. 12 The Intruder

My imagination had been going wild all the way down the hall until I finally laid eyes one the intruder. Was it Nick? Was it Tracker? Was it Hunter back from the dead? Was it Kyle? My mind was going a million miles second. When I leaped to the bottom of the staircase (Twisting my ankle in the process) and screamed 'Freeze!', I didn't see any of those guys.

I just saw a man who had been going through my cabinet that stood against one wall of the dining room.  He threw his hands up at the blinding light I was pointing at him as I stared. Then I started laughing. He slowly lowered his hands and cocked his head at me.

"Are you ok...?" He asked carefully. You have no idea. He probably though I was crazy. I wasn't-I was relieved. After a few moments, I sobered up.

"Looking for anything in particular?" I ask curtly. He blinked at me, then he looked around the room.

"Anything of value." He shrugged.

"Why?" He sighed.

"I have no money." He answered, gesturing with open palms.

"You could just ask, you know." I retort. I guess he was harmless. He wasn't dressed like a professional thief either. Just brown pants , a brown coat over a blue dress shirt, and black dress shoes. He had a bit of a scruffy with greying hair. Unkept hair.

"I'm sorry." He said quietly. I sigh silently. I'm not about to say 'it's ok'. And when did thieves say they were sorry?

"Did you find anything?" I ask instead, nodding to the cabinet. He hesitated, glancing at it.

"Uh, sort of." He mumbled. He isn't about to tell me. I knew exactly what was in that cabinet, but nothing really worth stealing. Unless he got his hands on those journals...

"Let me see." I kept the gun trained on him. Fear flashed through his eyes, but he held his ground.

"I can't." He said unhappily. My eyes narrow and my hand tightens around the gun.

"Let me see-or suffer the consequences." I growl. He cowered ever so slightly.

"You wouldn't."

"I would." I clicked the off-safety, expression none wavering. He gulped, slowly reaching inside his brown coat.

BANG! The man freezes momentarily then drops face first to the floor. My eyes widen with horror. I drop to the hard wood floor with a thud. The shot had come through the dining room window from outside. Scooting over to the man, I dug into his coat and came up with one of my journals. A late eighteen hundreds one. Why would he want that? Why was he shot? Who shot him? I looked over at the bullet hole in the window where the moonlight streamed in. Was the shooter gone? I inched over and cautiously peeped over the sill. All I saw was the beach and the Saw Palmettos swaying gently in the light breeze. The person was either gone or on the other side of the house. I pull the curtains together, then I duck my head again and crawl back over to the man. If Nick (if it is him) gets into the house, I'll be ready. But some feeling told me that the guy was gone. For now. I rolled the man over on his back and dropped my head to his chest. No heart beat. I then hover my ear over his parted lips to feel for a breath. Nothing. I sigh. I could've prevented this. Actually, I could have prevented a lot of things in my life if I had been smarter. Disgusted, I get up and glance at my landline. Should I call the police? NO. They will no doubt mill around for hours, asking me questions. They will see the gun in my hand (find it if I hide it) and suspect me of the murder. They will also insist on me leaving the area for a while, blah blah blah. But what will I do with him then? Throw him in the ocean? I snort. Chuck him an alleyway for someone to find? I rub my face, suddenly tired, looking up at the old clock ticking above the mirror opposite the cabinet that read 3:10am. What if the guy who shot this man, framed me?? This made me stand up straighter. Knowing what I had to do, I couldn't help but glare at the corpse. Taking a deep breath, I tuck the gun in the back of my pj shorts and underwear, making them feel weirdly loose. I put on a pair of gloves before I grabbed the body and dragged it to the front door. I open the door,  cautiously peering out. All was quiet. Feeling guilty, I let the him drop down the five steps to the ground. I managed to get him to the car, stuffing him in the trunk, grabbing the keys from the hiding place, and driving out the driveway. My heart pounded the whole time, scared I was going to get caught.

Getting to the cemetery, I turn the car off, hopped out, grabbed the man, and dragged him through the side gate. Please be there a dug grave. I begged silently. I was hoping that maybe there will a funeral tomorrow-I mean, today so I won't have to dig one. I stop momentarily to stare at the hundreds of grave markers, black in the moonlight. I groan, beginning to drag him again. Sleep was starting to overcome me as I walked with half closed eyes when I suddenly dropped into space then hitting hard ground moments later. I didn't have enough time to scream on the way down, and the hit almost knocked the wind out of me. It didn't help that the guy dropped on my legs. I scrambled up immediately, only to grip my head for the slight throbbing from where I hit it. I looked around to see that I had fallen into a grave. How nice. I thought sarcastically. I laid the man out on his back before jumping, gripping the edge, and climbing out. I honestly didn't care if they found him today for he had none of my DNA on him so I was fine.

I stumbled back to my car and drove home. But just as my driveway came into view, I pulled over and shut the car off to sleep until light.

*******

I woke to screeching of tires. Groggily sitting up, bright lights out the back window made me turn to see two headlights coming at me. The car seemed out of control as it swerved all over the road. I only had time to turn my head away before the car smashed into mine.
Everything happened so fast. One moment I'm sitting in the car, the next, I am laying on the ground fifty feet away with a piece of metal stuck in my stomach. I lay there gasping. Yes, I'm immortal, but it still hurts! I grip the metal and pull it out, breathing out in relief. Looking around, I could see bits of my car laying all around me and the other car upside down with its front completely smashed flat thirty feet to my left. I slowly dragged myself to my feet. Spying my gun a few feet away, I go and pick it up. Glancing down at myself, I am totally covered in blood and dirt.
"Can this day get any more funtastic?" I say out loud. Sighing, I walked over to where the tailgate was. The license plate was already half off and hanging loosely. I pulled it off the rest of the way and tucking it under my arm, I began walking home. I stopped beside the car that hit me and peered in at the unconscious man. In the morning light, I could see beer cans scattered around inside. The front window was smashed and the mans face was bloody. Despite how angry I was at him, I hoped he was okay. Dropping the license for a moment, I crawled in, unbuckled him, and dragged him out onto the grass where I flipped him on his back. Fanning my ear above his lips, I felt warm breath. Getting back up, I could hear the sirens in the distance. Someone must have notified them. I looked around but saw no houses as they were obscured by trees with long driveways going down to the ocean. I turned, grabbed the plate, and jogged home.
I should lock myself up and throw away the key. Every time I step out of my house, I'm either surrounded by life or death. Life is just downright annoying and death is also annoying because everyone else can do it and I can't!
I dragged myself into the kitchen, not caring anymore if Nick was there. I was almost disappointed when he wasn't. Everything was normal-except the hole in the dining room window. I flop onto a stool at the counter and pour myself some orange juice when my phone starts ringing. I stare at it for a few seconds before grabbing it and putting it to my ear.
"Hello?" I asked tiredly.
"Good morning, Miss Stoner." Came Kyles business-like voice. "I was wondering if you knew when Tracker is going to be back? He is not picking up his phone." For a moment, my mind goes blank as to who Tracker was. Then it clicked. Then I was confused.
"He... didn't get back yesterday?"
"He said he was spending the night with you." I blinked.
"He didn't." Was all I could say. It was quiet on the other end. Then I heard him swear quietly to himself.
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