KATIE 

 

"Victor?" I scream out for my brother because I know I saw him. I know I'm not just imagining things like a crazy person. When I was standing on those porch steps with Dominic, out of the corner of my eye, I saw him lurking over by the garage. And he was staring at me with a certain look. I've seen that look before. I know it. I remember even after eight years apart. That was my brother and now he's gone like a shadow in the night.

As I cut in front of the six-car garage, my eyes are searching for him. It's too dark, though, to get a good look at anything back here. There are no lights coming from inside the house anymore.

Under any other circumstances, right now I would be terrified. But I have too much to fight for right now. I'm too close to getting what I've been after for the last eight years and I'm not about to let fear stop me.

"Victor?" I yell out a little lower than before. At first, when I first saw him, I couldn't contain my emotions. I couldn't think logically or think straight. All I wanted in that moment was to get to him and I wasn't thinking about the consequences of alerting anyone else.

From behind me, I hear the sound of gunfire. And I immediately know that Dominic isn't the one who pulled the trigger because he had a silencer on his gun. I twist around in place to try to gather where the gunfire is coming from and it sounds like it's coming from the front porch. My heart races faster, if that’s even possible, and I curse myself under my breath for getting myself into this position.

He's still going to be in this compound but right now all I can think is that I've led Dominic to his death. I begin pacing real slow, holding my hand against the exterior of the house as I slowly make my way back towards the front of the house.

Something from behind me steals my attention.

Footsteps maybe.

I twist around on my feet and try to contain the out-of-control pounding of my heart, but I know right now it's no use. I might not die from gunfire tonight. I might just die from a heart attack. As much as I tried to prepare myself for this, I'm forced to recognize that I am not cut out for this. I'm not cut out for this life I've been living. All of this time, it's like I've been putting up a front. I'm not as strong as I'd like to believe.

My eyes are slowly adjusting to the darkness. From my calculations, I imagine someone has cut the power from inside. It’s the only logical reason for why it's gotten so dark out here.

I hear footsteps from in front of me again and though I'm not one to usually step into the unknown, I find myself drifting slowly towards the footsteps.

And then, I swear I can hear footsteps from behind me like I'm being surrounded on all sides. I stop in place and wish to hell that Dominic was here with me right now. I wish that I had stayed with Dominic because if he's hurt, maybe I could have prevented that. But there's nothing in the world to distract me like the thought of seeing my brother. I begin to reevaluate that thought in my head and began to believe that it was only my mind playing tricks on me.

Feeling as if there are people all around me, I decide to do what my gut is telling me to do. It tells me to race forward without a care in the world. It tells me to find some shelter or somewhere to hide long enough so I can gather my thoughts and come up with a new plan. And that’s just what I do. I kick one foot in front of the other and then race past the series of garages and towards the back of the house. And just as I'm about to round the corner and onto the beachy back yard, a hand wraps around my mouth.

I try to let out a scream but my voice is muffled against the hand of a complete stranger. The man pulls me backwards against the side of the house and then holds me in place while he breathes against the back of my neck.

I try to struggle against his grasp, try to break free from him but it's no use. He’s stronger than me and there's almost no point in fighting the inevitable. My cries continue to be muffled against his hand as my eyes close. Whatever is about to happen, I don't want to see it. I don't want the last thing I ever see to be this unknown mansion. In my head and behind closed eyes, there's a darkness before me that looks just like a clean chalkboard. I imagine thoughts of me and my brother at a younger time because that's the last thing I want to see before I die.

The man reaffirms his grip on me and holds me even tighter than before. His touch forces me to open up my eyes. No longer can I hide in a fantasy.

"What the hell are you doing here?" the man whispers in my ear, sending a chill down my spine. "What are you doing here with him?"

It can't be, I think to myself. I struggle against the man's grasp once more and this time I finally manage to break free. I spin around on my feet and when I see him standing there, it makes everything worth it. I knew I wasn't crazy when I saw him.

"Victor?" I take a measured step towards him while I shake my head in disbelief that this is actually happening. A soft, warm smile hitches across my lips as tears began to pool in the corners of my eyes. They're not sad tears though. Not even close. "I thought I lost you forever," I say as I began to sniffle and my words become muffled. "We need to go."

He doesn't seem as happy to see me though. He just stands there with the same blank expression and it's like my words don't move him at all. I instantly begin to think that he doesn't recognize me the way I recognize him. It's only been eight years, though, and he was an adult when he was taken so he should remember me unless for some reason, he’s shut all memories of me out.

"Don't you recognize me?" I question softly as I take another measured step towards him but he just about breaks my heart in half when he takes two steps back, reaches for his gun…

And then he aims it squarely at my face.