**Possible Trigger Warnings. **
As always, thanks for the reviews. Never feel like you have to leave a comment. I love them but just knowing people are reading makes me happy. Suggestions are always always welcome and I hope that everyone is well.
#### ####
"Am I wrong?"
Kate stepped back.
Taylor's eyes were wide. There was no way he was right. He flinched. "Kate?"
Kate looked over to him as she took another step back.
Bobby shut the front door. "Kate?"
"I-I it wasn't like that." She said.
Dean flicked his eyes at Sam.
Sam stepped into the hallway so Kate couldn't bolt.
Dean looked back to Kate. "How is your arm?"
"It hurts." Kate said.
Dean pointed to the sofa. "Sit."
Kate slowly walked back around and sat beside Taylor.
"Did you drop your hold on him long enough for him to shoot you?" Dean asked.
"We have established that. It is hard to control." Kate said.
Dean kept his eyes locked on hers as he speed dialed John. He put the phone on speaker and waited.
John answered. "Dean, is everything okay?"
"I don't know dad. I have a couple questions and just wanted your opinion on the answers." Dean said.
Kate swallowed again. "Dean." She whispered.
"Alright." John said. He could tell from Dean's tone that he was upset.
"Kate, did you let Craig shoot you?" Dean asked again.
Kate felt of the place the bullet had hit. "I didn't tell him to shoot me."
"That isn't what I asked. Did you drop the compulsion, knowing that he was armed?"
John's mind was racing. "Kate, answer him."
Kate looked at the wall behind Dean's head.
Sam touched Taylor's shoulder and tilted his head toward the door. If the colors that Taylor was turning had any true indication, the kid was about to faint.
Dean nodded his head for Taylor to go.
Kate sunk down on the couch. Both variations of support that she had were walking out the door.
"Talk." John said.
Kate cleared her throat. "I was angry at him. I said stuff about him being a full grown man being controlled by a kid. I said stuff I shouldn't have. I provoked him."
"That. Isn't. What. I. Asked." Dean ground out.
"I didn't want him to shoot me." Kate said.
Dean left the room and ran up the stairs.
Kate sent Bobby a panicked look.
Dean returned and slammed the paddle down on the coffee table. "Did you let him shoot you?"
Kate paled. "I want to use my red card. You said I could use it once."
John spoke up. "Then use it for anything that happened before you went to the kitchen."
Kate stammered. "No, no I can use it for all of it."
John felt his blood boil.
"Every time you deflect a question I'm going to whack you with this." Dean said and reached for the paddle.
Kate squeaked. "Dean!"
"I'm not downplaying the fact that you got shot. The whole situation must have been scary. I don't care that you taunted him. What I care about is what happened between the time you left the entry way to the moment you left the house." Dean said.
"I went into the kitchen because it made him uncomfortable. He is a control freak and has a fragile ego. Taylor was with Misty. We had some back and forth and I made him tell me why Misty was packing. They were moving. They were just going to leave Taylor." Kate said.
Bobby took a deep breath. "Just abandon their kid."
Kate nodded. "I went for his wallet because I knew if he was going to leave town, he would have cash on him. He wouldn't use credit cards so he could be tracked down." Kate said.
"When you approached him, did you know he was armed?" John asked.
Kate flared her nose. "I couldn't see the gun when I approached him."
Dean grabbed her arm and pulled her to stand up. He spun her around and cracked her across her seat with the paddle.
Kate screeched and wrenched her arm away from him. She rubbed the sting away but it wasn't helping. Tears grew in her eyes. "Dean!"
"Stop deflecting. Did you know he had a weapon?" Dean asked.
Kate put her back against the wall. "His hand was behind him. I knew he had something in his hand."
"So you saw it when you moved his wallet." John said.
Kate hung her head. "Yes but he was frozen." She slid sideways down the wall when she met Dean's eyes. "I saw the gun when I took the wallet! I knew he was armed. Had I not frozen him, he would have shot Taylor."
"Why did you let him shoot you?" Dean asked.
Kate slid down the wall and sat in the floor. "He was going to without my help." She saw Dean move and quickly added. "I did it so no one else got hurt. I knew I couldn't hold the compulsion much longer. I knew I would heal. I knew that he would realize shooting me was a massive mistake and be on the run. I mean, I'm your family, even he knows that he's a dead man. I also knew that you wouldn't feel bad about killing him since he shot me."
Dean sat the paddle down and sat in the floor in front of Kate. He pulled her toward him and let her cry into his chest.
John was processing. Craig had intended to shoot her or Taylor. There was no doubt about that. He was a lost cause and Kate was right about him signing his death warrant. "Could you have gotten both of you out of there before you got too weak?"
Kate sniffled.
"I cannot hear you. Pick up the phone." John demanded.
Kate stood up and walked over to the phone. She took it off of speaker and put it to her ear. "If I had left earlier, I could have. I don't know if I could have kept longer than I did."
"You managed to pick it back up and compel them after Taylor showed up." John countered.
Kate knew she didn't have a leg to stand on. "I knew I would heal."
John couldn't wrap his head around it. "Unless he hit your heart."
"I told him not to kill me." Kate said.
John was thankful that he wasn't at Bobby's because his temper was doing a number on his steering wheel. "Hand the phone to Bobby or Dean and go to your room."
Kate paled. "Yes sir." She handed the phone to Bobby in hopes that he would be a voice of reason.
Bobby waited for to hit the stairs and swore. "She has lost her damn mind."
Dean sat down on the couch. He bounced his legs and tried to remain calm. He didn't understand her logic. No matter how much control she had, that bullet narrowly missed her heart. Seeing the scene at the house made him sick. Craig was taller than her. Had had to have fired the shot from hip level. There were so many variables and it was hitting him just how much of a gamble she took.
Bobby talked to John for a few minutes and then sat the phone down. "Son."
Dean looked up at him.
"Are you okay?" Bobby asked.
Dean gave him an incredulous look. "Should I be?"
Bobby shook his head. "No."
"What did dad say?" Dean asked.
"He has someone running a check on Craig's truck. Unless he has another wad of money, they are going to have to use a card if they plan on getting far." Bobby said.
Dean put his face in his hands. "We left them at Ellie's house. How could things go that wrong in that amount of time?"
"Must be genetic." Bobby said with a small chuckle.
Dean groaned. "I have never just let someone shoot me."
"I'll give you that one."
### ###
Sam followed Taylor to a row of cars. He turned when Taylor sat down on one. "You okay?"
"I don't understand." He was on an emotional rollercoaster. He felt guilty for Kate being at the house. He felt guilty for staying to argue. He was terrified when Kate was shot and blamed himself. Then, when he found out that she let Craig shoot her he was floored. She could have told him that when they left the house. He was worried that she was going to bleed out. He was worried that he would lose this family too. They'd never forgive him if he had gotten her hurt.
"Kate thinks on a different level. I'm not sure anyone will ever understand." Sam said.
Taylor moved back to prop himself against the windshield. "Is John going to kill him?"
Sam sighed. "Do you want him to?"
Taylor shrugged.
"What about your mom?" Sam asked.
Taylor looked at him. "She didn't try to shoot anyone."
"I didn't mean killing her. I'm asking your thoughts."
"He wasn't always good to her. I think he brainwashed her. That is the only thing that makes sense." Taylor said.
"What do you want to do?" Sam asked.
Taylor stared at the trees. "I don't know."
Sam sat beside him and let the silence take over. There was nothing to say and Taylor needed time to wrap his head around things.
##### ######
Kate felt like her heart was going to beat out of her chest. She didn't know how Dean figured things out but it terrified her. It was true that she was having trouble holding the compulsion but her thought process at the time was skewed. She felt of her chest. There was no sign that she had been shot. Of all the times for her body to heal, she was a bit perturbed that she couldn't hide behind the injury.
"Do you need me to take over?" Bobby asked.
Dean wanted to say yes. "She is expecting me."
Bobby nodded. "I'm going to go make sure Taylor is okay."
Dean sighed and stood up. "Maybe take him and Sam somewhere. We don't know where Craig is at."
Bobby shut the door behind him and took a deep breath. He didn't want to be Dean.
Kate looked at the window when she heard foot steps. She couldn't run.
Dean didn't sit down on the bed. He shut the door behind him and crossed his arms.
Kate tried to talk but words left her.
"Anything you want to say?" Dean asked.
"This is all a misunderstanding." Kate said.
"Did you use your abilities when you didn't need to?" Dean asked.
"No! I was protecting Taylor." Kate said.
"At first but did you continue to use them after the point that you could have ran?"
Kate blinked rapidly.
"Yes, you did. Did you put yourself into a dangerous situation?" Dean asked.
Kate's mouth dropped open.
"Yes, you did. The second you decided to leave the entry way and approach him, you were putting yourself in unnecessary danger." He added. "Did you push yourself for the hell of it? Yes, you did. You admitted you enjoyed messing with him. It was a power play. Did you gamble with your control? Yes, you did. Did you let him shoot you? Yes, you did. God dammit, Kate. You then turned around and hid that. You lied about it. What was your end goal? It was his choice to pull a gun and I'm not saying that you put the idea in his head, unless you did." Dean gave her a dark look.
"I didn't!" Kate said.
"You just figured that him putting a bullet in you would make sure he wound up dead." Dean said.
Kate opened her mouth and shut it several times. "Dean."
"Do you have any respect for human life? I know you have none for your own."
Kate frowned. "Of course I do. I kept Taylor safe. I didn't let him kill me."
"You let him shoot you!" Dean yelled.
Kate fell back on the bed and let tears fall.
Dean lowered his voice. "You cannot continue to be manipulative and careless with life. You get joy from toying with people and don't bat an eye with them being killed. I know, Craig is a bad guy. I know Hellen was and the witch that cursed Taylor. I know the demons are bad but Kate, you are eleven years old. You cannot make those judgment calls. I saw the look on your face when Jo and I were pinned. I heard the tone in your voice when you were telling me about yellow eyes. Kate, that scares the shit out of me. You could have left Taylor's house but you chose to stay and mess with him. Trust me, I get joy from killing creatures sometimes. It feels good to take off a vampires head that has attacked a kid. I am worried that you are losing your conscience."
Kate was full on sobbing. "Dean, I'm not evil. I shouldn't have done it. I haven't killed anyone. I can mess with them but I can't pull the trigger. You get to take out bad guys and all I have is stunning them."
"I get that. I have told you over and over and over what your objective should be." Dean said. "You are to run. If you cannot run you do something that gives you the opportunity to run. You aren't running, Kate! You are parading around in front of them. You are cocky and things will not always go your way. What if the bullet had hit Taylor as he was walking back to you?"
Kate hiccupped. "Dean, it didn't."
"How did you prevent him from shooting you in the head?" Dean asked.
Kate groaned. "I timed it. I also compelled him not to aim for my head."
Dean got closer to her and touched either side of the bullet wound. "Do you realize how close this is to your heart?"
"It is healed." Kate said.
Dean glared at her. "Even if the bullet missed your heart, you could have had bone puncture an artery. You had no way of knowing that you would heal. How do you think Taylor felt when he realized you had gotten shot, in his house, supposedly because he led you there and wasn't there to protect you?"
Kate gasped. "It wasn't his fault."
"He felt like it was. He didn't know if you would heal or if you were fatally wounded. He didn't know if he had accidently caused your death. He got you out of the house and called Bobby. Do you not think he was scared out of his mind?" Dean asked.
Kate put her head in her hands. "It wasn't his fault."
"I know that. I have told him that. He was fully expecting me to kick his ass over this."
Kate's eyes widened. "But... but.. it wasn't his fault."
Dean rubbed his face. "He is going to run laps. He could have left before you got there. He is holding on to the guilt and although this wasn't his fault, he still feels like it is."
"Don't make him run laps." Kate said.
"He and I have already talked about it. He didn't cause this but could use the opportunity to get his head back on straight." Dean said.
Kate slumped.
"Had I chosen to punish him over this, how would you have felt?"
Kate glared up at him. "I would have been pissed off because he doesn't deserve that."
"Did he deserve to get jerked around so that you could toy with Craig? Did he deserve to see his best friend bleeding from a gun shot wound?"
Kate swallowed hard. "No, Dean. I'm sorry."
"Dad is tracking Craig down." Dean said.
Kate looked at him. "Is he going to..."
"What do you think? Had you gotten out of the house and ran off and called us to say that he had pulled a gun on you, he would be in the same situation. There was no reason to let him shoot you."
Kate hung her head.
"Stand up."
Kate held her breath and stared at him.
"One. I have reasoned with you and talked to you. I have let you explain your feelings and I've given you laps. Sam and I never did stuff like this because we knew dad would kill us if we survived it. That and some damn common sense. So, I'm taking a page from his hand book, every single time you argue, roll your eyes or do not do as you are told, I'm going to add an extra lick. That swat you got down stairs probably hurt like hell but let me assure you it is worse when they start getting layered on." Dean finished his sentence with a glare.
Kate stood up quickly. "C-can you calm down first?"
Dean shook his head. "I am not angry with you right now. I'm hurt and I'm worried. This is not me punishing while angry. This is me being absolutely fed up with having to repeat myself."
Kate started crying again.
Dean grabbed her and put her over his knee. He started swatting right away. John said to make sure there wasn't a next time and he was determined. A next time could mean she wouldn't survive and that thought sickened him.
Kate winced. "Dean! I'm sorry."
Dean didn't respond and kept adding fire to her backside.
Kate grabbed the leg of his pants and tried to keep from reaching back. He was swatting her really hard and she was regretting everything.
Dean caught her hand before she blocked him. He pinned it to her back.
Kate twisted her hand. "Don't pin it. Can I hold your hand?"
Dean swatted her sit spot but shifted how he was pinning her hand. "Two."
Kate kicked her feet. "Noooo. I didn't fight you!"
"Three." Dean said and continued.
Kate eventually went limp and sobbed.
Dean's voice broke. "You are done being cocky. You are powerful but you aren't invincible."
Kate felt anything but cocky.
"I am serious. You are done. The thought of you getting hurt kills me. When I heard you had gotten shot, my heart stopped. I hate it. I hate the thought of it. You are done risking your life." Dean said and swatted the back of her leg.
Kate nodded. "Yes, Dean."
"How old are you?" Dean asked.
Kate was confused. "E-eleven."
"Stand up."
Kate did as she was told but was wobbly. She reached back and tried to rub the sting away but was certain Dean's hand was made from some type of unforgiving steel.
"If I was like dad I would be giving you your full age." Dean said and picked up the paddle.
Kate's eyes got wide and she stepped back.
"I'm giving you a choice. Either I can put you back over my knee and give you the full eleven at a lesser strength or you can get them over the bed but only five." Dean said.
Kate bit her fingers and shook her head. "Dean, if you hit me with that, you are going to bruise me."
Dean pinched the bridge of his nose. "Have I ever? No. I didn't bruise Taylor and he didn't get the benefit of a warm up."
"That wasn't a warm up." Kate shot back.
"Four."
Kate panicked. "The five!"
Dean took her elbow and situated her. "Do you understand why I'm doing this?"
"Because I put myself in danger." Kate said, sadly.
"You keep using your ability to heal as a scapegoat. Lucky you, your body doesn't see a spanking as a reason to heal." Dean said.
Kate grabbed her pillow. "I'm sorry." She threw both hands back and stood up, unable to catch her breath. New tears pooled in her eyes. She realized she had moved. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
Dean pointed back to the bed. "I am not going to add on an extra for that one. I know it hurts. You know what to expect so you need to stay put for the others."
Kate forced herself back over and tried to pretend she was somewhere else. She was rudely jerked back to reality when the second swat hit.
Dean added the last three quicker than he normally would. He caught her when she flung herself back and held her face to his chest. He used the neck of his shirt to dry a stray tear from his own eye. No matter how upset he was with her, it didn't make that part of his job any easier.
Kate sobbed into his shirt. "I'm sorry."
"I know. Take a breath." Dean said. He rubbed her upper back and sat down on the bed, pulling her with him. "Do you want those four extras now or before bed?"
Kate jumped back. "What?!"
"I gave you a warning and you got four extras." Dean said.
Kate started crying harder. "I'm sorry!"
"I told you I was taking a page from dad's book. You earned them. Do you want them now or later?" Dean asked.
Kate fell back into his chest. "Dean, please."
"Do I need to make it five?" Dean asked.
Kate shook her head. "Have some sympathy. You were a kid once."
Dean smirked and rested his chin on her head. "Yeah, a kid who would have gotten the choice removed and gotten the extra four now and four more at bedtime."
Kate groaned. "I'm sorry."
"You have been forgiven. This is completely separate." Dean soothed her. He thought about dropping the extras but needed her to understand. He loved her sass and smart remarks but she didn't think things through. If he let her off, John would step in.
"Dean. Please. I promise I wont ever do this again. I didn't mean to argue." Kate said.
"Four now or four at bed time." Dean said.
Kate wailed. "Dean!"
"Five now?"
Kate shook her head. "No. Four now." She eventually gave in.
"I hope you realize how lenient that is." Dean said.
Kate kept a tight grip on his shirt.
Dean pried her hands away. "Let's get this done and then you'll be free to cry it out."
Kate let go reluctantly.
Dean pointed back to the bed.
Kate wiped her face. "Please don't use the paddle."
Dean frowned at the sadness in her eyes. He reminded himself of the severity of her misjudgment. He reached down to his belt and unbuckled it.
Kate screeched. "Dean, you can't."
Dean nodded his head toward the bed and took his belt off. "Dad's book."
"I'm too little!"
"Kate, you forfeited that excuse when you made the choice to get shot." Dean said.
Kate was frozen.
"I'm not going to swing as hard as dad would unless you fight me on it." He reached and put his hand on her shoulder. "This isn't an easy thing for me."
Kate stared at the belt in his hand.
"How many warnings have you gotten? How many times have you been let off easy because we felt bad for you?" Dean asked.
Kate didn't reply.
"Get back over the bed." Dean said.
She complied due to the firm hand that found its way around her arm. "Please."
"Four and done." Dean said. He felt guilty. He felt like the worst person in the entire world. He swore he wouldn't use it on her but he had not foreseen the level of screwed up that she had managed to find. He bit the inside of her cheek and took a deep breath. "Stay or I will have to add on extras."
Kate put her head on her crossed arms and willed herself to stay put.
Dean laid the first, would be stripe. It wouldn't have even left a pink mark under normal circumstances. John would have put force behind it but Dean couldn't. It was loud and stung on tender skin but was meant to impact her psychologically.
Kate flinched but didn't move. She realized he wasn't putting force behind the swats.
Dean added the next two and paused. "This one is going to hurt."
Kate looked back at him. "The other three hurt."
Dean gave her an indignant look. "Those were obviously love taps. You are already sore. This one I need you to get it into your head just how serious I am. If things keep happening, dad is going to step in. You are usually with me or Bobby. He is usually gone. If he ever gets ahold of you over something like this, every single one is going to be like this. That is just because you are a girl and he would be holding back. Trust me, I have gotten a lot worse."
Kate put her head back down.
Dean hit her sit spots and put his belt back on.
Kate slid off the bed and onto her knees. She started crying again and hiccupped.
Dean scooped her up.
Kate sniffled. "There is no way he hit you that hard as much as you say he did."
Dean rolled his eyes. "Do you want to ask him? Of course you'd have to admit the first three were nothing. Oh! I can just ask him to show you."
Kate dug her nails in to his ribs.
Dean shifted her so her sit spots hit his thigh.
She quickly shifted back. "I'm sorry!"
Dean rubbed her back. "I wouldn't do that."
Kate rubbed her face in his shirt. "You said you would never use your belt either!"
"Well had I known you were going to do something this stupid, I wouldn't have said that."
"Dean!"
"Kate." Dean mimicked her. He ruffled her hair. "Just chill."
"Never again." Kate grumbled.
"I sure hope not." He gave her time to calm down and made her stand up. "You need to talk to Taylor."
Kate wiped her face. "Now?"
"Yeah, now." Dean said.
Kate frowned. "Can I tomorrow?"
"Look, if you are embarrassed, I get it. He needs closure though. Waiting until your eyes aren't puffy isn't going to change anything. He knows you just got it." Dean said.
Kate's face turned a darker shade of red.
Dean raised an eyebrow.
Kate groaned. "Dean."
"Stop that eye roll." He said.
"What? Did you mean in general or when I was in trouble?" Kate suddenly remembered the extra licks.
"I meant when you were in trouble but no more attitude when I am being serious with you." Dean said.
Kate sighed. "Okay."
"Don't look so sad. You are free to banter all you want. I just ask for some respect when needed." Dean said.
Kate rested her head on him. "I'm sorry."
"Shh, I know. We are good now. Are you okay?" Dean asked.
Kate nodded. "I'm sorry."
Dean thought about what she meant. "For forcing my hand?"
She nodded again.
"Kate, I wont lie, I hate that as much as you do. I hate it more when I have to use something other than my hand. Please just think before you do things. You aren't a normal kid. You have a higher tolerance and heal faster but so much more can go wrong with the situations you put yourself in." Dean said.
"What can I say? I have Winchester blood in my veins."
Dean squeezed her. "You sure do." He made her stand up and nudged her toward the door. "Oh, I'm giving you a heads up so you don't mouth off when he says it. If something like this happens again, dad is going to assume I haven't gotten through to you and you will get it from me and then a second one from him."
Kate's mouth dropped open. "What?!"
Dean smirked. "That is another page from his book."
Kate frowned. "I'm guessing he has done that before."
"He and Bobby make quite the team when it comes to getting messages through thick skulls." Dean said.
Kate followed him down the stairs. "Bobby isn't that mean."
Dean turned toward her. "Keep scaring him like this and he can be added back to the line up."
Kate gasped. "No."
"The ball is in your court." Dean said and opened the front door.
Kate stopped at the door way. "You still love me right?"
Dean scoffed. "More than you know."
Kate saw Sam, Bobby and Taylor on the other side of the salvage yard. She made her way to them with a shove from Dean.
Taylor saw her face and felt bad for her.
Kate looked at Sam and Bobby. "I'm sorry for scaring you guys. Taylor, I'm sorry I put you through that. I was trying to help in my own warped way and I didn't think about how you felt seeing it."
Taylor hugged her. "I'm glad you are okay."
Bobby gave Dean a look and tilted his head away from the kids. "He has tracked him down."
"Where is he?" Dean asked.
Bobby looked Dean in the eyes. "We know where he is. I don't want you running off."
Dean sighed. "I just lit her up over not thinking things through and putting herself in danger. I'm not going to go after him without an order."
Bobby put a hand on his shoulder. "John is going to take care of it."
Dean looked back to the kids. "Does Taylor know?"
"He does."
"What does he think?" Dean asked.
Bobby watched Taylor talking to Kate. "He has accepted it but who knows what all is going through his head. Kate distracted him from the argument he had with Misty but it is hitting him. He probably doesn't know what to feel."
Dean swore under his breath. "Where is Misty?"
"We don't know. She isn't answering phone calls." Bobby said.
"What are we going to do if she tries to take him back?"
"I don't think she will, Dean." Bobby said, sadly.
Dean's mind started to race. "They are going to go back to school. If she is gone, his teacher is going to notice. There is paperwork and what if he gets taken?"
"Let me handle that." Bobby said. "Right now he is trying to hide how hurt he is."
Dean rubbed his face. "I'll take him on a run."
"I think that is a good idea. He might talk to you."
Dean walked over and spoke to Taylor and Kate for a minute. He checked his watch and put his hand on the back of Taylor's head. "You have some laps to do."
Taylor's shoulders dropped but he let Dean nudge him toward the house.
"I'll get my running shoes and some water."
Taylor stopped. "Why?"
"I'm going to run with you." Dean said.
Taylor blinked.
"Anger management, right? You are blowing off steam, not being sent to run alone." Dean said.
Taylor swallowed. "Oh."
Dean grabbed the water and his shoes. "Is this a flat run kind of day or do you want me to show you the route with obstacles?"
Taylor gave him a half smile. "Obstacles."
Dean started walking behind Bobby's house. "This is a well kept secret and it stays a secret."
Taylor tilted his head.
Dean smirked. "I haven't told anyone else so I'll know if the secret gets out."
Taylor grinned. "My lips are sealed."
"Good, keep up." Dean said and ducked under the fence.
##### #####
Craig had hotwired a car when he ditched his truck. He knew how to disappear. He covered his tracks and made it away from Sioux Falls without a tail. He had planned on escaping already so he stuck with his original plan. He wouldn't go after the kid until what ever spell Kate had used had worn off. He had time. Taylor had been a thorn in his side from birth and he would be out of the picture one way or the other. Misty wasn't an issue and he just had to buy his time. He needed to get off the road. He'd start driving again at night when it was easier to hide. The last thing he needed was a cop recognizing him from the alert the hospital had sent out.
All he had to do was make it to the border and his buddy would pick him up. He should have just taken him up on the offer years ago. He found a motel and used cash to pay for the room. He wouldn't be there long but could use an hour or two of sleep. He was smug, knowing that he would be long gone before the police even found the truck he had ditched.
He slid the key into the lock and twisted the handle. He went to step into the dark room when he heard an unmistakable sound from behind him.
*Click*