Page 153 of Hell Hath No Fury
“Come on now, sweetheart. Do we need the knife?”
“I’m not your sweetheart, motherfucker!” Kammie hissed.
“Keep an eye on him. I’ll be right back,” I said, holding thee lantern up as I glanced toward the doorway. All the kids stood at the doorway, the lantern illuminating their horrified looks.
“Alex, Alexis, take Hannah and Star back to their cots, okay?”
They didn’t move.
“Please, guys.”
They slowly nodded then took Hannah and Star by the hands and led them away.
“Juliana and Ryker, stay here with Kammie, and watch this asshole. Here…” I grabbed a brick that was used as a doorstop for the coach’s office and handed it to Ryker. “If he moves a muscle, bash his head in.”
Ryker nodded and took the brick as I placed the lantern on the ground. “I’ll grab a flashlight from the office.”
Kammie smirked. “Please,pleasemake me fuckin’ stab you.”
After tiptoeing through the blood in the coach’s office, and keeping my eyes off of Dr. McCormick’s body, I retrieved the flashlight. Then I found a volleyball net I would use to secure him and a screwdriver in the storage closet. With Kammie and Ryker’s help, I wrapped the net tightly around Bobby’s body, restricting his movement completely and tied it off, then we stuffed him into a locker. He was weeping at that point, whichjust made it that much more enjoyable. When we closed the door behind him, I stuck the screwdriver through the lock slot, effectively locking him in.
I checked on Monica first while Bobby banged against the locker door, presumably with his head. She was woozy but coming too.
“Are you okay, Mon?” I cradled her head in my lap, stroking hair from her face.
She forced a weak smile. “Aw, you love me,” she grunted out.
“We stating the obvious now?” I grinned. “How do you feel?”
“Bad headache, but I’m okay.”
I looked toward Kammie and Juliana. “Do you guys mind getting her to her cot? Make sure she doesn’t sleep, but she does need to stay still.”
Kammie shook her head. “Absolutely.”
We helped Monica to her feet, then they slung an arm over each of their shoulders. Before they took off, I put my hand to Kammie’s back.
“Thank you,” I said, pinching my lips tightly together. “For saving my life.”
Kammie grinned, shaking her head. “Don’t even mention it.”
“We cool?”
“We’re cool,” Kammie responded, then they took Monica to her cot.
I didn’t want to see Dr. McCormick; didn’t want to learn what I already knew. But I had to check, just in case. She wasn’t moving anymore when I entered the coach’s office. Light glinted off the pool of blood that had taken up the entire middle of the room. I tiptoed around it then squatted down. Tears welled in my eyes as I took in her lifeless features, her blueing skin, the wide, bloody gash in her head exposing the off white of her skull. My stomach turned, but I felt compelled to spend a moment with her, to send a prayer up to a lord I wasn’t even sure Ibelieved in, to see to it that if there was a soul heading for the heavens, that it would know she wasn’t alone at the end. That it would know its earthly vessel would be taken care of, would be honored.
“Thank you for everything, Doc,” I choked out through tears.
When I felt a soothing hand grasp my shoulder, I turned to see it was Ryker.
I set my hand atop his and squeezed, weeping next to the doctor’s body as Ryker laid his head on top of mine.
I knew we needed to get to the Carvill’s house. If we were going to use Bobby for his strength, we needed a deadlier threat than just a knife, so the next morning, I went with Juliana, Kammie, and Ryker.
The house was only a few hundred yards away, but the smoke in the distance from the fires still burning made the walk nightmarish. It looked like a disaster movie, like Tampa was in the middle of a war zone. When we reached the house, the front door was wide open.
“Fucking idiot,” I muttered. “With how shit is out here, I’m surprised somebody else hasn’t gotten here before us.” We stopped on the front porch, and I looked over the three of them. “Okay, Ryker and Juliana, you’re looking for food. Hit the kitchen, look for bags and non-perishables. Canned food especially. But noodles, rice … that all works too.”
