Page 112 of The Vanishing Place
“Dad, please,” Effie begged, but she didn’t—couldn’t—stand. The earth had ensnared her, cementing her useless legs to the dirt.
He glared at her. “Stay.”
As she lay in the ferns, Dad dragged Asher farther away, and Asher stumbled behind, like he wasn’t even trying. Like maybe he just wanted to get Dad away from her. Effie sobbed as they moved farther away. She should run after them. She should throw herself at Dad. She should do something.Anything.But fear held her still. Then, with a crack, Dad hit Asher so hard that Asher tripped and slumped to the ground.
“Asher!” Effie screamed.
Before he could stand, Dad was over him, pinning him to the ground with his foot. Then he raised the spade above his head.
“No!” Effie yelled. “Dad, stop!”
He smashed the spade down, the handle connecting with Asher’s stomach, and Asher groaned. Effie let out a scream. Then Dad raised the spade again.
“Stop!”
The thud of wood on flesh knocked Effie from her numbness and she lurched forward. But a hand gripped her wrist and she spun around.
“Tia?” Effie stared at her sister. “What are you doing? We need to help him.”
Tia shook her head, her eyes teary, and she dug her fingers in.
“Let go,” Effie shouted, and tried to tug her arm free. “Dad will kill him!”
But Tia held tight. “Asher shouldn’t have come back,” she said.
“What?” Effie panted in disbelief. “How can—”
“This is our home,” Tia sobbed. “Dad’s protecting us.”
“Tia, Dad’s gone. Something’s broken in him.” Effie held her gaze. “Dad’s dangerous.”
Tia shook her head again, tears wetting her face. “We’re safe here,” she said. “It’s the outside world that’s dangerous. The outside world that killed Aiden and—”
“That’s not true.” Effie yanked her hand free. “It’s cos of Dad that—”
Asher screamed and Effie tore away. She sprinted across the clearing and threw herself on her dad’s back. She tugged at his hair and face, digging her nails into his arms and shoulders, but he didn’t lift his eyes from Asher. Asher lay on the ground, a heap splayed among the fallen leaves, unmoving. Blood dripped from his split cheek into the hollow of his gaping mouth, his eyes closed and unresponsive. The only life in him was the soft rise of his chest.
“Dad, stop.” Effie clung to his arm. “You’ll kill him.”
But Dad wasn’t there.
He wrenched his arm free, the violent jolt sending Effie to the ground, then he lifted the spade and turned it around in his bloodied hands. The bush inhaled, stunned, as the steel blade cracked off Asher’s body.
Then time stopped, and the spade fell to the earth.
And the rise in Asher’s chest stilled.
“No,” Effie sobbed.
She crawled over to the lifeless white form. Asher’s lip had burst, and blood trickled from a gash across his temple. Effie leaned in, the red of him seeping into her clothes as she clutched at his dead body.
“No!” Effie kicked out as two strong hands pulled her away. “You killed him!” she screamed.
She punched at her dad’s stomach, at his arms and chest, and he released her. He looked at her, tears filling his eyes, and let her hit him.
“You’re a monster,” she sputtered.
Then she turned and sprinted to her sister.
