Hello I finally got this done through my Creative Writing that I'm supposed to be doing. Oh well as long as I have an B I won't get grounded so I'm fine.

I couldn't think of any good names so Jared Powell happens to be named after this dude who is really annoying and asked me out about five times last year and the principle at my school.

Chapter 4-Injury

Nick parked the car in front of the house where a girl about nineteen was pacing the curb. She jumped as he and Sarah got out and almost ran away.

"Hey calm down," Nick said grabbing her shoulder.

"I didn't so anything! I just found him like that."

"It's okay," Sarah said. "Who did you find?"

"Bill, he's in the basement."

"Stay here," Nick headed toward the house ducking under the yellow tape that stretched across the doorway. Automatically he drew his gun before he started toward the kitchen were the stairs were that lead to the basement. He jumped as footsteps sounded behind him. Whirling around he found Sarah with her gun also drawn.

"You're supposed to stay outside," Nick hissed.

"You don't think I'd let you come in alone did you?" Sarah asked. "Brass is on his way and a local officer is with the girl."

"Go back out. We don't know if it's safe."

"Which is exactly why I'm not about to let you go in alone. Beside you know Brass is supposed to come in first."

"Sarah please get out of here."

"Like hell Nick. You can't go in there alone."

"Sarah there is no need to risk you."

"There's no need to risk you either. Now either get moving or I'll go first."

"I'll go to hell first. If I say run you'd better run like hell."

"Fine."

Nick didn't believe her but he already knew he had broken at least three of the rules by coming in here. He also knew that he could argue with her until the cows came home and she would still win. He raised his gun again and started toward the kitchen.

Everything in the house was eerily silent but they made it to the stairs without meeting any kind of resistance. After glancing back at Sarah and receiving a 'like hell you'll leave me behind' look he frowned and slowly pushed the door open. An overwhelming stench greeted them. Raising one arm to cover his mouth and nose he slowly started down the stairs. At the bottom of the steps he turned and survived the basement.

It was as clean and spotless as the first time he had come down here. The only difference was that a closet toward the back was open part way. The door that led to the back yard appeared to be locked and the curtain was drawn.

Sarah tapped him on the shoulder and pointed with her gun toward the closet door. Nick nodded and they started to move toward it slowly. Reaching it he stepped to one side so that he could look in. With a gulp he stepped back. Since it was too dark to see anything diffident he hoped he was wrong and used he foot to nudge open the door.

As it turned out he was right. Nick jumped back stopping next to Sarah as a boy about fourteen fell forward. Going straight through his neck was a blue arrow. As he fell forward with a thump his weight caused the arrow to slide through his neck until only the feathers were left on his front side.

A commotion to their left caused both Nick and Sarah to look toward the door that led to the back yard raising their guns. A man came through the door and was half way toward them before he noticed that they were there. A gun appeared in the man's right hand and he raised it to about chest height.

"Who are you?" The man asked taking a step backwards.

"We're with the Crime Lab," Nick said. "Lower your gun and you won't get hurt."

"Like hell I know your type," he shifted his gun slightly.

Nick stepped sidewise so that he blocked Sarah if the man decided to shoot. "Clam down and lower your gun. There is nothing you can do."

"You wanna bet little man? Do you think your pretty boy cops can stop me? I'm better then that. Now which one of you wants to die first?"

"Did you come back for the boy's body?"

"Which one? The one I shoved off the roof to that one?" The man pointed to the boy on the floor. "Any last wishes before you meet your maker?"

Nick felt Sarah pulling on his waistband and took a small step backwards. If he could keep the man talking there might be a chance to at least get Sarah out of here. "Why did you do it?" Another step, "what did those boys do to you?"

"Their alive. That's what they did," another step. "Those little brats wouldn't let me be. They were always in my way. They deserved what they got," Nick and Sarah kept moving backwards inch by inch as a crazy grin spread across the man's face. "Do you want to know how I did it before you die? I took that pretty bow of his and held it to his throat. He begged me not to. He begged me to let him live. He promised, no he swore, that he wouldn't tell anyone but I knew better. He saw it so I had to get rid of him."

"What he see you do?" Nick paused as the man took a step forward. He could feel Sarah's breath on the back of his neck and the tension in her hand that held his belt.

"He saw me shove the boy off. He was going to tell them so that he would get the money and not me. I'm going to get it though. I've already got the rest of the family," the man took another step forward and the grin grew even more wild and crazy.

"And did you kill them also?" Nick and Sarah started stepping back slowly again.

"Yes, since your about to die I think I'll tell you about everyone else. It's not like you'll be telling anyone. First I took his mom and shoved a knife in her gut. She squealed like a stuck pig. Then his father, the bastered who couldn't even bother to loan me ten dollars. I bashed him with that precious bat of his. He begged me to stop swearing to pay me whatever I want. He could never match the amount their paying me though. I got tired of hearing his voice so I whacked him in the head a few times he cocked it."

"Who's paying you?" Nick tried to sound calm despite the fact that a madman with a gun who had just admitted to at least four murders was closing the distance between them faster then he and Sarah were backing up.

"Why should I tell you? You have no need to know."

"You're about to kill us so why not?"

The man paused and let out a deep bark of laughter. "You're right there pretty boy. Only Las Vegas's best, Jared Powell, is paying me. He wanted them gone and now they are."

Nick gulped. If they did make it out of here it would be hell with Powell as the one who had masterminded the killing of an entire family and at least one other. They would have a hell of a time getting anyone to believe the confession of this madman. Powell's lawyers would undoubtedly get the confession thrown out because of that.

"Now you and you girlfriend will join them."

Nick felt Sarah stiffen behind him as she always did when someone said that.

"Do you have any last wishes? I'll do my best to see that it is carried. He," the man gestured to the boy who was now behind him, "wanted me to make sure his sister got the hundred dollars she needed to graduate. I already took care of that. Marc wanted me to tell his mother that he loved her. I would have done that except that I'd already killed her. His mother wanted me to tell her precious son that she loved him. I did that. The father of course wanted me to spare the mother and Marc. I couldn't do that though so I asked him for his second wish, and do you know what that was? He wanted a coke."

"So you've killed the whole family?" They were almost to the steps now but the man had started taking bigger steps toward them.

"Yes, every last one of those thieving bastered's. Their all gone."

"What makes you so sure that there are no others?"

"I know there aren't."

"Is it not possible that you missed one or two of them?" They had reached the steps now. "Run now," he whispered as quietly as he could, "don't argue, run."

"What did you say? Are you telling your girlfriend that you love her? That would be smart since your both going to die."

Sarah stiffened but brushed her hand against Nick's back before inching away form him.

"Where are you going Girl?" The man stopped now only a few feet away from Nick. He raised the gun pointing it at Sarah.

"Sarah run," Nick yelled throwing himself at the man. The gun echoed in the basement as the bullet caught him in the shoulder. He kept going forward though and caught the man in the chest using one hand to knock the gun out of his hand. They both tumbled to the floor with a thud and the man tried to push him away. Nick weighed more than him though and couldn't be pushed away that easily. Struggling through the pain that laced through his shoulder and arm Nick pushed himself up and pulling his uninjured arm back he slammed it into the man's face forgetting everything except that the this man would have killed Sarah.

"Nick, Nick calm down," someone called. Strong hands pulled him back causing the pain in his arm to increase. He wasn't sure if he screamed or not before everything went black.

EVERY TIME I SEE A WOMAN ON A BILLBOARD SIGN SAYING DRINK THIS BEAR AND YOU'LL BE MINE I THINK ABOUT YOU

Okay, I've got to go before my Creative Writing teacher starts to wonder why it's taking me so long to print out my Ballad (which is really crappy but I won't go there). Rebecca and Nick's brother will show in a couple chapters. Nick has to go back to work before they met though which I think due to the fact that it was a glancing shot that Nick took should be about two months.

Rebecca visits the lab on a trip with a summer school program. I don't know if that's possible but…I'll just do it my way and you can give opinions if you want.

Please review by the way so Ill have something to help me throuh the grades that are coming out next week.