Chapter One: Fear
There was a brightness in the sky as I walked toward home. It looked like a beam from a giant spotlight, but I started to feel the heat as I got closer to our street. I started to run; I ran till I was less than a block away and I could see my home lit up with a raging fire. The firemen with their big trucks were spraying water through the windows. I could only stare in unbelieving awe as the fire grew. I was finally snapped out of it when a fireman broke through the door with a limp body in his arms. Knowing it was someone I loved I broke into a run again toward the burning house. As I got closer I could make out my mother's long blonde hair and let out a scream as arms wrapped around me, pulling me away from the ambulance that they were loading her into.
"Máthair!" I screamed over and over as I was pulled back and brought to a couple officers by a police car. The ambulance's lights lit up and the sirens screamed as it sped away and I dropped to my knees. I cried into my hands as the firemen still sprayed water toward the house to put out the flames.
Someone was shaking my shoulder and everything began to blur and become distant. Someone was calling my name, but they seemed so far away. The voice was getting closer as the image of the burning house became harder and harder to see. With a final jerk I startled awake to see that I was still in the car with Jack. He was looking at me worriedly. A deep frown etched into his face that had become a permanent feature since the night of the fire.
"You were screaming in your sleep again." The pain in his eye was plain as day to me. I hated seeing the pain.
"Sorry." I adjusted in the seat as we continued down the interstate. The gun in my waistband rubbed against the tattoo on my lower back causing me to cringe in discomfort as the steel pressed harshly into my back and served as a reminder of what we were running from.
"How much longer?" We had been driving for two days to get to this place that Jack had arranged for us to hide out at.
"An hour. Remember the cover story I told you?" He glanced over at me and I nodded my head as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes.
"We're Jack and Aideen Quinn, brother and sister. We're moving here from Chicago for a change of scenery." Jack nodded and slowed down as he took a turn off the interstate onto a highway. We passed a large green sign saying 'Welcome to Port Angeles'.
"Jack where are we?" I hadn't recognized or known where we were since we were in Minnesota.
"Washington. We're going to a town called Forks. The weather's similar to Chicago, so no major weather changes. Just a little less snow, more rain, but it tends to be warmer. The house that we'll be staying in borders a little Indian reservation. It's only about a ten minute walk from a beach. It won't be like the beaches off Lake Michigan, but a beach is a beach." Jack gave a shrug and I nodded.
"I have a meeting with a guy in Seattle tomorrow to pick out a dog. You want to come along with me?" Jack asked when I didn't respond and looked at me. I thought about it for a second before I nodded. It was ironic. I had always wanted a dog, but could never have one. Now when I didn't want a pet, I was getting a dog and for what? A security system? Jack stops trying to start a conversation after that and we drove in silence.
We drove out of the city and down a road that was surrounded on either side by deep forest that seemed dreary and uninviting. I balked when we passed the sign to Forks. There was only a population of just over three thousand people were in Chicago there was almost three million people. Shouldn't we be going somewhere with a large population? Somewhere that nobody would notice us, where it would harder to find us if somehow they found out where we were? I learned a long time ago not to question Jack, he always had his reasons for doing things, but sometimes they're hard to understand.
"This is it." Jack said as we turned into a long driveway that was almost impossible to see with trees lining either side. The house was about a minute into the forest in a little clearing. The house was a simple one story with a small porch. It was painted a dark green with a small garage. It didn't look like anything like what we had lived in back in Chicago. I climbed out of the car and grabbed the duffel bag with the things Jack and I'd had replaced after the fire.
I followed Jack to the door. He reached up to the eave above the porch and grabbed out a set of keys to unlock the door. Inside was already furnished in light colored used furniture. Jack pointed down the hallway and I walked down it. There were six doors in the hallway. Three on the left, two on the right, and one on the very end. I checked each room to see what they were. The doors on the right were a stairway to a basement and a large bedroom. The doors on the left were a small bedroom, medium bedroom and a decent sized bathroom in-between them. The door at the end of the hall was a back door that was maybe fifty feet from the tree line. I put my bag in the medium sized room knowing that Jack would appreciate the larger room.
I sat down on the full sized bed and looked around. There were two windows on either side of the bed. A door that was probably a closet and a small end table with a bare lamp on the right side of the bed. The walls were a boring tan color and the floor was dark, hard wood. The bed only had a set of white sheets on it that were stiff. The whole house smelled musty, like it hadn't been lived in for years. Maybe I could convince Jack to head to Seattle early and we could do some shopping. We had a bit of money built up before we left Chicago, so buying a couple things to make the house a little homier wouldn't break the bank. I sighed and walked back out to the living room area.
As I walked back through the house I noticed that weren't big windows. The ones that were here were on the small side and everything seemed like it was disposable at any minute. That was probably the point. I wouldn't be surprised if this place was only a rental. Jack was sitting on the light brown couch with the small television tuned to a news station as he cleaned his gun. The only other furniture in the small room was a tan recliner and both it and the couch were angled toward the TV, but the recliner was also angled so whoever sat there could see the door and out the window to see anyone coming up the driveway.
The kitchen was small only six cabinets, three on the bottom and three on top, with a couple drawers. There was an old gas stove and small refrigerator, but also a newer looking microwave and coffee pot next to a white porcelain sink. A wood fireplace sat in the corner of the room with only a couple small blocks of wood near it. I walked past the small table with only three chairs to check all the cabinets to see what we had. It looked like someone had somewhat stocked the little kitchen before we got here. There was enough food to last us a couple days before we would have to go to a grocery store. I pulled down a box of Cheerios and opened it. I took a seat in one of the wooden chairs and watched the weather as a short, fat, balding man pointed to a map like he knew what he was talking about while I munched on the cereal.
When Jack had cleaned and put his gun back together, he sighed and leaned back into the couch. He looked tired, but that was nothing new. Just like the deepening frown lines on his face. No one would ever guess he was only nineteen. He had the start of stress lines on his face, his eyes held pain and the knowledge that you would expect from a man at least twice his age. Our past was a weight on our shoulders that we would have to live with for the rest of our lives. When I finished with my cereal I put it away and moved to sit next to Jack. Even slouched over he was almost twice my size. When he stood straight he was 6'3", his arms had defined muscle, but not the kind you saw on weight lifters or body builders, but from working at the port and moving boxes and heavy crates.
"I left you the master bedroom. The sheets are thin and there aren't thick blankets. We'll need to get some tomorrow when we go out." I glanced at Jack and he opened his eyes to look at me, he nodded before closing his eyes again.
"You should go rest. I'll start the fire and make something for dinner." Jack nodded again before hoisting himself slowly off the couch and walking down the hall. I sat on the couch watching as some blonde woman with horrendous make up talked about some killings that were happening during the night in Seattle for a couple minutes till I could hear Jack's light snores coming down the hall. I stood and moved two blocks of wood into the fireplace before going through the drawers in the kitchen and found a pack of matches and a lighter. There was a pile of papers stacked next to the small pile of wood; I used a couple as starters to get the fire going. I stood and stared at the fire for a second, a fire of a bigger magnitude entering my mind till I shook it away and moved to put the lighter back in the drawer.
I looked around the space again before shrugging my jacket on. I picked up the pair of keys that Jack had set on the counter and removed one. I slipped the key into my pocket before setting the other one back on the counter. I was curious and going to explore the property. I made sure to be quiet as I shut the door behind me. I hadn't noticed before that there was two matching wooden chairs on the front porch, the house overall was very simple and quaint, but was beautiful in it's own way. I walked down the little sidewalk to the garage and opened the side door with the key. Inside there was room for the car and maybe a bike or something. A decent pile of cut wood sat in the corner along with an ax. A bench and stool were against the back wall as a work station.
When my curiosity for the garage was satisfied I locked it back up and walked along the perimeter of the clearing. The forest had an edge to it that was almost menacing, but it would make a good refuge if needed. As I walked I took note of what could be seen through the windows. In my room all you could see was the edge of the end table and the closet door, the TV could be seen in the living room and the fireplace. In Jack's room the corner of the bed could be seen and his foot as it almost hung over the edge. Once I made it all the way around I walked down the driveway, it took me a couple minutes to get to the road, the forest making it eerie. I stood inside the trees for a little while and took note of traffic and where the mailbox was before heading back. Only one car had passed in the couple minutes that I had been near the road and I didn't hear any others as I walked to or away from the road.
I went back inside and shrugged out of my coat, placing it back on the pegs by the door and kicked off my combat boots. I surveyed the cabinets and fridge again before deciding on what to make and set to work. The TV providing some background noise as I worked. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad and if we stayed here for a couple years without incident maybe would could cut back on our paranoia a little and live somewhat. I could only hope.