Page 71 of Sinister Legacy
The rumble of the car as it starts up sends my heart into overdrive. I begin to hyperventilate. Why is it so fucking warm in here? Or is that my panic? It’s so dark, I can’t see anything. Every bump and rocking movement has me inhaling ragged breaths deep into my lungs. It doesn’t help.
Nothing does.
By the time the car finally rolls to a stop, I’m a sobbing mess.
The trunk opens, and I blink against the bright light as Liam grabs hold of me and pulls me out. He throws me to the grassy ground, cocks the gun in his hand, and points it directly at my face. There’s no warmth in his eyes. Nothing but cold emptiness, void of humanity.
Rain drips off my lashes and beads on my lips. I stare up at him, framed by the naked trees with their crooked, spindly branches stretching across the cloudy sky.
“Stand up.”
“Liam?”
“Stand the fuck up!”
Slowly climbing to my feet on shaky legs, I hold my hands up in front of me in a surrendering gesture.
Without taking his eyes off me, he opens the passenger door to the backseat and leans in to grab something. He tosses it at me, and I stumble back.
“Now walk.”
Shivering from the cold and wet, I blink down at the spade clutched to my chest. “What’s this?”
“It’s a fucking spade. Now stop asking questions and fucking walk.”
Grabbing me roughly, he shoves me forward towards the woods. My pulse thuds in my ears the entire walk. I focus on the softness of the wet moss beneath my shoes, the sound of the rain as it falls around me on the forest floor, and the breaking of sticks underfoot. Liam doesn’t speak a single word, but I can sense him behind me. The gun digs into my head every time my steps slow.
By the time we finally stop walking, my legs are aching, and the sun is setting beyond the trees. We’re in a clearing, and the rain is falling freely. I’m frozen to the bone, my teeth chattering.
Liam jerks his chin when I slowly turn around to look at him. “Start digging.”
“What?” My voice is a shadow of a whisper, but he hears it.
The gun in his hand remains steady—a solid threat. “Are you deaf all of a sudden? Start digging.”
“Please, Liam,” I plead, my eyes blurring with stinging tears. “Don’t do this.”
“Did I stutter? Dig a fucking grave!”
My chest constricts as I release a sob and slowly turn from him. I grip the wooden handle with my numb, icy fingers. Despite the sleety rain, the ground is hard, and it takes me an excruciatingly long time to get through the first layer of soil. My arms burn from exertion as Liam remains a threatening shadow behind me.
I dig for hours. Liam doesn’t speak. He never moves. When I think my legs will give out from beneath me, he reaches forward and slides the spade from my hands. Tossing it to the ground, he orders me to step into the hole.
My heart jumps to my throat, where it beats wildly. Dread resurges, creating panicked words that pours from my frozen lips. “Please don’t do this, Liam. Please don’t. I’m sorry, okay? I’ll do anything… please just don’t—”
“Shut the fuck up. You’re embarrassing yourself.”
Panicked sobs rack through my chest, the icy wind burning the insides of my lungs as I try and fail to breathe through the mounting fear.
“Step into the hole.”
When I hesitate, he beats me over the head with the gun. Pain slashes through my skull. I fall forward, but before my knees connect with the ground, he grabs my arm and shoves me into the freshly dug grave.
My shoes sink into the soft mud as he tosses me the spade and orders me to keep digging. My frozen hands slip on the wet, wooden handle. The potent smell of damp mud is thick in the fresh air while I continue shoveling dirt. After many exhausting hours, I fall to my ass on the wet ground. The rain has created a puddle of water in the hole that’s now soaking through my jeans.
“Hand me the spade.”
“Please stop,” I plead, beyond exhausted and cold.
