Page 78 of The Boy With The Sharp Teeth
"Go,Elijah. Go now," she cried, hating the sound of desperation in her voice.
Elijahlooked at her once more, his eyes which seemed so much older than he wasconveying a wealth of unsaid things before he disappeared behind the metaldoor.
Hisdeparture was all the man needed. Yanking her back, he dragged both of theminside the truck's dingy-smelling cab and shut the heavy door with a rustedsqueal. The truck leaped away from its spot where it had been idling, turningsharply onto the dirt road that bordered the back of downtown Tarki and gunnedit towards the forest.
Numbly,she looked at Samons sitting behind the wheel, his forehead and face covered insweat and his eyes wide and wild with adrenaline. From her spot in the middleseat, where she sat uncomfortably between the two men, she turned her headslowly to the man at her right and nearly let out a gasp at the sight. Becker!The old man at the gas station sat next to her with his gun trained on her,giving her the full force of his open hatred he had kept only partiallyshuttered all those times she had seen him before. His eyes practically burnedas he stared at her.
Avertingher gaze, Sana stared down at the floorboards.
"What?You’re not going to ask why we're doing this? Not going to demandanswers?" Becker hissed.
Sanadidn't say anything. Her mind was racing with memories from Samons encounterand the dark, hate-filled looks Becker gave her and Zach at the gas station.
Asshe suspected she didn’t need to talk, Becker did that for her when sherealized she would not speak.
"Youand your fucking monster of a boyfriend killed my sons," the man seethedinto the side of her face.
Thewords took a second to sink in, like a leaf hitting the surface of the waterslowly being pulled down. Turning, she gave the man a startled look beforeturning to Samons.
"Yeah,those boys in the woods," he said, his breath raspy as if he had beenrunning for hours. "I knew you had something to do with theirdeaths." Samons gave her a narrowed look as he turned the truck down aneven narrower road leading deeper into Druther's Forest.
"But,"she began to say and stopped. She wanted to say they had been drifters, rapistdrifters but the deranged burning look in Becker's eyes stopped her words.
"Iwent looking for my boys. I knew they were going to go up and down the pacific coast.I stopped in every town and asked after them. They were easy to follow gettinginto trouble up and down the coast," he gave an appreciative chuckle thatonly made Sana's stomach turn. "But when I came here and found out thatparts of my sons were found torn apart and left to rot," he said, spittleflying from his mouth in vehemence. "It took some time, but I found outthe truth."
"Didyou find out your sons were rapists!" she shouted back, not able to holdback her desperate anger, tears streaming her face. Looking to Samons, she casthim an accusing stare, turning away from the cold fire in Becker's eyes."And this is the man you side with? I thought you used to be a man of thelaw, how could you? You know what kind of guys they were. If you know all ofthis, then you must know about thetroublethey left behind in all thoseother cities."
Samonsat least at the good grace to flinch under her words. "They didn't deserveto die like that," he pointed out. "Not by that monster you call aboyfriend."
Morelike a monster she was happily going to call her husband—or at least that waswhat she had intended. More tears welled in her eyes as she thought of Zach.They were baiting him to come after her. Glancing back at Becker under hereyelashes, she eyed his big silver handgun. They would kill Zach. Samons whohad always hated any Waatese and especially Zach and this man whose sons Zachhad killed in rage that night years ago—they were going to kill him.
"Pleasedon't do this," she whispered.
Leaningtowards her, Becker's eyes widened with satisfied zeal as if he had beenwaiting for her to say exactly that. "It's much too late for begging. Iwatched you and that monster for weeks now. I know something ain't right abouthim, ain't right about any of those fucking redskin bastards. I've seen theireyes and their teeth, and I saw the pictures of what they did to my boys,"he rasped, his hand holding the gun flexing in bottled-up rage.
"Theythink they're better than us," Samons added. Turning to him, Sana watchedin disgust as his face took on a near excited quality as he recited the words,they no doubt told themselves each day to justify their evil. "TheWaateses walk around these towns like they own the place. They should have beenwiped out when they first came decades ago. Look how they have grown and takenover. They own everything now, run everything. They even got a bitch Waatesedoingmyfucking job," he shouted. "And now they think theycan just get away with murder. No," he shook his head, "we have gotto put them down."
Coldtension twisted in her gut as she stared out the window. It was still early inthe day, but wherever they were deep in the forest, only snatches of light hereand there speared through the trees giving it an eerie gloom.
Eventually,the truck pulled to a stop near an old, dilapidated house. This had to be oneof the old trapper cabins she had heard about scattered in the woods. Being oldtrapper towns, Tarki and Gaulding had dozens of remains of trapper cabinsdotting the forest.
"Comeon, get out, but don't even dare trying to run," Becker held the gun up toher before giving her a greasy smile from underneath his unkempt beard."Or you'll find yourself blown to pieces in a different way," helaughed.
Sana'sfrown deepened as she tried to understand his seemingly inside joke. Waiting asthey got out of the truck, Sana scooted down from the seat. Taking her by theelbow, Becker led her to follow Samons. The truck was parked nearly thirty yardsfrom the house, a very odd and inconvenient distance. Stepping through thetrees, she noticed that they were following a very well grooved snaking patharound to the side of the house instead of just walking up to the house likenormal. Meandering to the right around a tree before taking a sharp left,realization finally dawned on Sana as she caught sight of a patch of freshlyturned dirt and then another. Sana nearly tripped as she came to a halt.
"Whatthe fuck are you doing?" Becker huffed as he jerked her steady and pushedher stiff body forward.
Aheadof them, Samons was now hugging the outside cabin wall as if he were on acliff's edge, making his way to the front of the house. Following his actionsas best she could, Sana swallowed the giant lump of cold fear in her throat asher eyes kept darting back to the land around them—it was a minefield.
Finally,inside they all three let out a collective breath before Becker gave her anevil grin. "Figured out our plan, did you?"
"You'recrazy," she whispered, her feet shifting on the dark, almost black rottedwood of the cabin. The inside was really no better than the outside. Its woodwas so rotted and damp from the gaping holes in the roof. Just one open roomwith no discernable difference from one side to another, she had a hard timeimagining where one once slept, cooked, or did anything to divide and determinethe cramped space.
"No,we're going to be labeled heroes," Samons answered. There was a gleam ofeager satisfaction in his eyes that alarmed her. "Once he comes for you,no doubt bringing some of their fucking family with them, they are going toeither get blown to kingdom come-"
"Orshot," Becker coldly added. "While they stand there in shock watchingeach other get blown up, we'll pick off the rest from here."
Thiscouldn’t be real. Never in her life had she ever wanted something to be a baddream until now. "You can’t do that!" she cried.
