Page 1 of Demise

Chapter One

Bexley

“Danny,” I say, gripping his shoulders. I shake him. “C’mon,” I say. The words rip from my throat, resembling a growl. I lift his head, tilting my own parallel to his face, listening for breath. Relief washes over me when it brushes against my cheek.

I pull my hand away, mortified at the blood covering it. My hand begins to tremble. Squinting my eyes against the sun as it filters in through the grimy windows of the cabin, I look from Carson’s body to Danny’s, noting the cobwebs in the corners of this shack. They stay loyal to where they are netted even as the cold wind moves past the open door, freezing my bones and making my bloody fingers stiffen.

I feel the hardwood floor against my knees and the metal of the gun in my hand. Snow bellows in across the worn floor, flecks bouncing over Danny’s coat and into his beard.

Worried, I swipe a stray hair away from my eyes.

Think, Bexley.

“Okay, okay.” I nod, my eyes scanning the floor for answers. “Phone. I need a phone.”

I look over to Carson.Is he breathing? What if he wakes up? What if he attacks me?

You shoot him again. That’s it. What the fuck else is there?I hear Danny’s voice in my head.

Right.

I shoot him again.

I swallow, pushing up from the floor, onto legs that lack stability. Slowly, I move over to him. I’m cautious, with the gun held between my hands, my finger on the trigger.

Be quick, but don’t let your guard down, love.

I am.

I will.

It’s as if Danny is standing in the corner coaching me. He’s watching over me even when he isn’t able, but goddamn, I’m terrified.

“I’m afraid,” I murmur into the night. It’s late, and the stars are looking down on us as we lie on the roof of Ma’s house. “I’ve never told anyone that. Not her, not anyone.”

I feel Danny look over at me, but I don’t want to see his expression, so I keep my eyes focused on the stars.

“So? Who wouldn’t be?” he says.

I didn’t expect that from him. I thought for sure he’d come back with some mean remark. Make fun of me even.

“Your mom’s dying, and you don’t get a say. I’d be scared, too.”

“I probably won’t see you all anymore.”

Danny grows quiet and the sound of a ship’s horn cries from the shipyard. It sounds sad, lonely, reflecting how I’m going to feel once it’s all over.

“My dad used to say it’s not about being fearless, but how you leverage the fear.”

I look over at him. “What does that mean?”

“It means you know what you got coming. You won’t be surprised when any of it happens, you’ll be expecting it. Prepare yourself. That way, maybe, it’ll hurt a little less.”

I don’t think Danny is right about that. I don’t think any person can prepare enough for when their parent dies. I think either way, it hurts. It hurts no matter what.

“What if you aren’t prepared? What if you don’t expect the thing that scares you?”

“Then you try to keep a calm mind and do what you need to do to not be scared anymore.”

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