Page 95 of Holy Sinner

I sigh because she’s right. “You know it. Don’t worry, I’ll go and check it out.”

“Do you know how to turn the generator on?” Alana whispers.

I pause where I was heading towards the closet that has the outdoor gear in it. I found it while exploring and it had everything someone would need in our current location. I remember seeing a few umbrellas and raincoats. Something in there will surely fit me.

“Well, not really. I have Rafe’s instructions and he knows how to do it,” I whisper back.

“I’m coming with you.”

I open the closet and use my phone as a flashlight. “Jackpot.” I was right about what I saw. There’s a few raincoats and even rain boots waiting for us.

“Since when do you know how to turn a generator on?” I pull out a raincoat and it fits. It’s big and baggy, but that’s fine. The only thing I care about is getting to the generator. I hand Alana a raincoat and start going for the rain boots.

“My family has that house in the Rockies, remember? I had to learn,” she answers me and it’s then that I realize we’re still whispering. The sound of the rain is loud now without the background noise of the fridge and central air humming along. The house is deathly quiet, every step and shift we make sounds painfully loud but still…why are we whispering when we’re alone?

“Why are we whispering?” I ask her because I don’t know why we started.

“Because it’s spooky as fuck in here now and that’s what you do when the power goes out and you were just watching a scary movie.”

“Fair enough,” I say and force my voice to normal. It sounds like a gunshot in the quiet and I ignore it. “We’ll go down to the generator and get it back on. Should we let Jax and Scott know?”

She pulls her phone out excitedly as she shrugs on a raincoat. “Definitely. Allow me.” I know Jax and Scott got her message when her phone lights up with a gentle ping.

“Oh, they don’t like us going down there. I think they’re going to try and meet us.”

“Tell them it’s fine. Really.” I say the words but I’m not sure how fine I actually feel. If I’m honest, I’m stressed and a little spooked because of the entire day. The fury I felt when I looked Dottie Bee in her eyes…when I heard her say Rafe and Grant loved her? Well, that fire is dead and gone.

Now I feel tired at the prospect of doing anything but lying on the couch under a fuzzy throw blanket while Alana and I get jump-scared by a movie. Alana and I go out the back door to start our trek to the generator but not before we find flashlights to bring with us.

Alana points to the stairs. “I think they’re waiting for us down there.”

I pull the hood of my raincoat down lower against the rain and squint. “Okay, let’s go before it gets worse.” The rain soaks my legs immediately so I guess it’s good that I changed into shorts, even though the water is freezing. I shiver and walk as fast as I dare to the stairs. I’m in rain boots but I’ve never been graceful and today would be a shit day to break my neck. Alana lets me go down the stairs first. A blessing and curse because I don’t have to worry about slipping and taking her out with me but a curse because the only thing I’m thinking about is how much further to the bottom. I give up counting stairs after fifty of them and I only almost slip twice before the bottom of the stairs comes into view.

A stone walkway leads to the outbuilding the generator is in and I pause before I set off down it. I hold the flashlight and scan the area.

“What is it?” Alana comes to my side and adds her flashlight beam to mine. It’s too dark to see very far at least but it’s something. I don’t know what it is but I feel like we’re being watched. I know it’s ridiculous because it could be Jax and Scott that are watching us on their way down from the main gate. Still, the hairs on the back of my neck stand up and the water trailing down my legs and into my rain boots makes me shake.

“I feel weird,” I tell Alana. I turn to the side and peer down the trail. The night from the woods comes back in a rush and I feel dizzy. I sway slightly and Alana grabs my arm.

“Are you okay?”

“I don’t know.”

“Fuck. Okay, everything is fine. Let’s just get the generator on. You know what? I’ll go do it. You can stay here and rest.”

Alana turns to run down the path but I grab her arm to stop her.

“No.”

“Kit, you look like you’re going to faint. It’s okay. I got it.”

“We have to stay together.”

I don’t know why I feel that but I do. Everything feels like it’s closing in on me. Every drop of rain is like a knife plunging into my skin, the blade slicing me open. Suddenly, it’s not water that runs down my skin but blood. I’m light-headed and for a second I feel like I’m airborne.

I think I’m having a panic attack.

Fuck. Why now?

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