Chapter 6 - Fire And Shadows
Kelly stepped cautiously toward the rundown gas station. Her eyes darted to the broken windows, shards of glass glinting in the fading light. She tightened her grip on the handle of her knife, stepping over debris and easing the door open.
Inside, the air was thick and stale, tinged with the faint acrid smell of gasoline and time. Shelves stood half-empty, their contents either looted or spoiled, and the floor was littered with empty boxes and wrappers.
Kelly moved cautiously, her boots making soft scuffs against the linoleum. She scanned the aisles, her fingers brushing over the remnants of a time before.. the twisted remains of a soda can, a crushed candy wrapper, a sun-bleached road atlas someone had discarded. In the corner of one shelf, she spotted a can of beans. She reached for it, feeling the weightless hollowness of the empty can. She exhaled sharply, forcing herself to focus.
Kelly continued her search, making her way to the back of the store. Her eyes swept over a counter covered in dust, stopping on a small stack of old road maps. Their edges curled and yellowed, they looked almost forgotten. One in particular, a detailed map of Georgia, caught her eye. Kelly reached for it, brushing off a thin layer of grime before carefully unfolding it.
The paper crackled in her hands as she spread it out on the floor near a shattered window. The fading daylight spilled in, illuminating the worn lines and faded names. She traced a finger along the routes, her brow furrowed in concentration. "Anderson," she murmured under her breath, her finger hovering over the name printed in faded ink.
"The cabin is three miles north of the school," Gordon's voice echoed in her mind. Kelly shut her eyes briefly, gripping the edges of the map tightly as if the memory might slip away. The cabin, with its sturdy wooden walls and the back window she'd clambered out of, floated into her thoughts. Her chest tightened.
Using the joint of her index finger as a crude ruler, Kelly measured the distance. Each inch equaled five miles, she decided. She placed the tip of her finger over Anderson Elementary school, counted upward, and stopped just shy of a dense patch of forest. Her hand lingered over the spot she imagined the cabin would be.
How far have I come? she wondered, her throat tightening. Her heart clenched as the weight of it all pressed down on her.. the fire, the screams, Charlie's last words. She blinked rapidly, forcing the tears away. This wasn't the time for that. She clenched her jaw and focused again, her gaze hardening.
Kelly's finger trailing faintly across the fragile paper. The name "Pontheugh" caught her attention, its letters barely legible beneath a smudge of dirt and time. It was a name she'd never heard before, but it was her here and now, a small, insignificant dot in the vast sprawl of Georgia's countryside. She exhaled slowly, her breath stirring the fine layer of dust that clung to the map's surface.
"Pontheugh," she muttered aloud. She glanced around the dimly lit gas station, the shattered windows framing the dying light of day. "Okay," she whispered to herself, her voice the only sound in the empty room. "If this is Pontheugh, then Anderson's…" She paused, dragging her finger southward, past the dense forest and toward the small mark she had identified as the elementary school. The journey was clear in her mind: the abandoned roads, the overgrown trails, the haunting quiet of the woods that stretched endlessly in all directions. From Anderson, her finger traced a cautious path to the farmhouse marked to the south. The symbol on the map was faint but unmistakable.. a small rectangle nestled amid wide, open fields.
Her finger paused at the farmhouse. "Fifteen miles," Kelly calculated aloud, using the map's scale. "Three inches, fifteen miles."
Kelly's hands trembled as she folded the map carefully, tucking it into her backpack pocket. Her breath hitched as her mind drifted, unbidden, to her parents. Their faces came to her as they always did.. fuzzy around the edges..
"Kelly-bug, don't go too far!" her mother's voice echoed in her head.
"You've got this, kiddo," her father had said once, his tone full of pride as he helped her steady a fishing rod by the lake.
Kelly squeezed her eyes shut. Her fists clenched, nails digging into her palms as she anchored herself in the echoes of their voices. "They might be alive," she whispered to the empty room, her voice trembling but fierce. "They have to be."
Her mind wandered again, this time to Gordon and Charlie. Their voices joined those of her parents, forming a bittersweet chorus in her memory.
"Never let your guard down, Kelly," Gordon had said, his tone gruff but not unkind as he handed her a hunting knife. "The second you do, you're done."
"You're not alone anymore, sweetheart," Charlie had whispered one night, brushing a stray strand of hair from Kelly's face as she tucked her into bed.
"I'll find them, I'll find my parents. I'll make it to Lockheaven. No matter what."
Kelly leaned against the cold wall of the station, exhaustion creeping into her limbs.
-_-_-
The morning air seeps through the cracks in the gas station walls, waking Kelly from a restless sleep on the hard floor. She pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them for a moment before sighing and stretching out her legs. Her hand reached for her backpack, the contents rattling softly as she opened it. She pulled out a can of peaches and she retrieved her knife, wedging it under the lid. The metallic scrape echoed unnervingly in the stillness, making her pause and glance around. Satisfied she's alone, she continued prying the lid open.
The sweet aroma of the peaches wafted upward, momentarily cutting through the scent of dust and decay. She eat quickly, scooping the fruit out with her fingers. The syrup dripped down her hand and she licked it clean, unwilling to waste a single drop. The moment of sweetness felt like a fragile barrier against the harshness of reality, but it faded as soon as the can is empty.
Kelly wiped her knife on her sleeve, methodically cleaning it before sliding it back into its sheath. Her gaze fallen on her backpack again, now slightly lighter with the loss of one can. As she hoisted the backpack onto her shoulders and stood, her legs protesting the movement, and made her way to the gas station's entrance. The shattered glass crunched under her boots, each step deliberate and cautious. Pausing at the threshold, she looked down at her wrist at the compass watch Gordon gave her. The needle wobbled for a moment before settling on its direction.
"South," Kelly whispered. Her mind drifted back to Gordon's lessons. His voice was always steady and Kelly pressed her lips into a thin line.
The pale light of dawn creeped across the cracked asphalt as she stepped outside. "Okay," Kelly muttered to herself, adjusting the straps of her backpack. "Farm's fifteen miles."
Kelly's voice wavered on the last word, betraying the fear she tries to suppress. For a moment, she wished she'd let Justin come with her. At least then, she'd have someone to talk to.
"You don't have to do this alone, Kelly," Kelly muttered to herself, her voice dry and hoarse from lack of use. She stopped for a moment, sighing at the absurdity of her own words.
Kelly's mind drifted back to the house, to Justin's hopeful face as he trailed behind her, practically begging to stay together. She shook her head sharply, forcing herself to focus.
"He'll slow me down," Kelly whispered, as if saying it aloud will make her guilt fade.
The edge of the town given way to the woods, the trees standing like sentinels against the chaos beyond. Kelly moved quickly into the forest, her eyes darting between the trees.
-_-_-
As the sun climbed higher, Kelly's progress slowed when she spotted a faint glow through the trees ahead. Dropping into a crouch, she edged closer, the orange flicker of a campfire revealing the silhouettes of four men. They're seated around the flames, drinking and laughing in low, guttural tones that carry through the forest. She's about to retreat and find another path when her eyes catched a figure tied to a tree near the fire.
Justin. His bright orange hair is unmistakable, though now disheveled and matted with sweat. His mouth is taped, his hands are bound behind him. He looked terrified, his wide eyes darting frantically as one of the men hurled an empty bottle at the tree, making him flinch. The men laugh, their voices slurred from alcohol. Her heart pounded ss she studied the scene. One of the men kicked at the dirt near the fire and mutters something.
"Why don't we just get it over with?" the man grumbled, his voice rough and impatient.
The tallest of the group waved him off. "Carter's orders," he slurred, holding up a flask. "We wait. They're bringing the rest of the gear, and the kid might be useful."
"Useful?" The man scoffed, his voice dripping with disdain. "What's he gonna do? Cry us to death?"
Justin flinched again, his body trembling against the ropes that bind him. Kelly's grip tightened on her knife. Her instincts scream at her to back away, to leave before she's spotted, but something keeps her rooted in place. Memories of Gordon's lessons flash through her mind.. stay hidden, assess the situation, know your odds. But no lesson prepared her for this, the sight of someone she had dismissed as a nuisance now helpless and alone, surrounded by men who wouldn't think twice about ending his life.
"Maybe we just scare him a little," a third man said, his voice low and eager. He pulled a hunting knife from his belt and flipped it in his hand. "Make him squeal. It's too quiet out here."
"No one's touching him," the tall man growled, his tone suddenly sharp. "Not until Carter says so."
The others grumble but obey, their focus shifting back to their drinks. Justin's head drooped, his chest rising and falling in quick, shallow breaths. Kelly edged back slightly, her mind racing. She couldn't take on four men.. she wasn't Gordon, no matter how much she wanted to believe otherwise. But leaving Justin here felt wrong. She studied the campfire, the men, their weapons. Scar-jaw has a rifle propped against a log. The bearded man's shotgun rests by his feet. The others have knives, but none of them seem particularly alert.
Kelly moved, her breaths shallow and her steps silent. The men were oblivious, their raucous laughter and the clinking of bottles masking the faint rustle of leaves beneath her boots.
Justin's orange hair glowed faintly in the firelight, his head slumped forward in exhaustion. His chest rose and fell in shallow breaths, and though his eyes were half-closed, they darted nervously toward the men.
Kelly darted out of the shadows, her knife slicing cleanly across a man throat. A gurgling sound escaped his lips as he collapsed, drawing the attention of the others. The tall man, seated on a log, lunged to his feet. She drove the blade into his abdomen, yanking it free as he crumpled to the ground with a grunt.
"Shit! Get her!" one of the remaining men bellowed, fumbling for his weapon.
Kelly ducked as the third swung a heavy branch at her, the crude weapon whistling past her head. She pivoted, slashing his arm, and he howled in pain, dropping the branch. A sharp kick to his knee sent him toppling, and she finished him with a thrust to the chest.
The last man scrambled backward, his hands raised in surrender. "Wait! Wait! I didn't-"
Kelly's knife flashed in the firelight, silencing him before he could finish. Her hand trembled slightly as she wiped the blade on her pants, but she pushed the feeling aside. She turned toward Justin, who was now fully alert, his eyes wide with a mixture of fear and disbelief. He flinched as she knelt beside him, her knife glinting in the dim light.
"Hold still," Kelly muttered, her voice low but steady.
The blade slid easily through the ropes binding his wrists and she ripped the tape off his mouth. Justin let out a shaky breath, his arms falling limply to his sides. "Th-thank you," he stammered, his voice barely audible.
Kelly rose to her feet, scanning the surrounding trees. "Can you walk?"
Justin nodded hesitantly, though his legs wobbled as he stood. "Y-yeah, I think so."
"Good." Kelly grabbed his arm, steadying him. "We're leaving. Now."
"Wait," Justin whispered, glancing at the bodies around the fire. His face paled further, and he swallowed hard. "You… you killed them."
"They would've killed you," Kelly said flatly, she tightened her grip on his arm. "Move."
He didn't resist, stumbling after her as she led him away from the camp. "I—I thought they were going to… I thought I was going to die."
"Then you're lucky I came along," Kelly said, her eyes fixed ahead.
"Why did you?" he asked, frowning. "You didn't have to."
Kelly hesitated, the question catching her off guard. She could still see his terrified expression as the men taunted him, the same look she'd seen on her own face in the mirror back at the cabin.
"I don't know," Kelly admitted finally, her voice softer. "Maybe I just couldn't stand to watch."
-_-_-
Kelly strode through the forest, her knife tucked into her belt, and her backpack secured over her shoulders. Justin trailed behind her, his footsteps clumsy compared to her near-silent movements. The tension between them hung in the air like a taut wire, ready to snap. She hadn't wanted to bring him along. Every instinct told her he was more trouble than he was worth, but leaving him tied to that tree.. or worse, to the mercy of Lockheaven.. wasn't something she could stomach.
"Keep up," Kelly muttered, not bothering to turn around.
"I… I am," Justin said, though his uneven breaths betrayed how hard he was struggling to match her pace.
"You're loud," Kelly said flatly, her tone sharp.
"What's your name?" Justin asked tentatively.
Kelly stopped abruptly, turning to face him. Her dark green eyes were unreadable as they locked onto his bright, nervous ones. "Kelly," she finally said, her voice clipped.
"Kelly," Justin repeated softly, as though testing how it felt to say aloud. "I'm Justin." Kelly didn't respond, pivoting back toward their path. Justin hurried after her. "Thanks for saving me. Back there, with those guys-"
"Don't mention it," Kelly cut him off, her tone cold. "Seriously. Don't."
Justin fell quiet again, biting his lip to silent himself.