Page 53 of When You're Close

The wind caught Finn's words and carried them to their intended target.

The accusation seemed to hit Bruce harder than any physical blow could. He turned on the edge of the cliff to face Finn. His voice, raw and filled with anguish, echoed back, “They left him to die in that wretched house! He was just a child!”

Suddenly, with renewed fervor, Bruce lunged at Finn. Their two forms crashed together, a whirlwind of punches, grapples, and desperate shouts. Finn, still reeling from the earlier injury, struggled to match Bruce's frenzied energy. But he fought back with a fervor driven by a need to end the cycle of violence.

The edge of the cliff loomed ominously close. Each slip, each misstep could send one or both of them tumbling into the abyss. The storm around them seemed to roar in approval, egging them on.

Bruce thrust an elbow to Finn's ribs and then he was able to land a solid punch on his chin, sending Finn staggering backward. Seizing the opportunity, Bruce lunged once more, trying to push Finn over the edge. But Finn sidestepped, and with a swift maneuver, sent Bruce reeling instead.

As Bruce teetered, his eyes widened in shock. But instead of falling, he managed to grab onto Finn, pulling him along. The two men, locked in their deathly embrace, went over the edge.

Finn felt the weightlessness, the terrifying rush of the fall, and braced himself for the end.

His thoughts swirled as he faced his death, and through the tempest in his mind, the faces of his loved ones came, memories etched into his emotions. Regret, joy, pain, they all rushed together until only two faces remained. Demi and Amelia.

But as Finn flailed for the edge of the cliff and fell, suddenly, an arm reached out, grabbing him by the collar. For a moment, he dangled there, long enough to see Bruce McCulloch's body lifeless on the old metal docks far below.

With an immense tug, Finn was yanked back onto the cliffside. He found himself staring up into the wild eyes of Nathaniel. Amelia was there beside him.

“I won’t let another die,” Nathaniel shouted, panting from the exertion.

“Are you okay!?” Amelia shouted.

Finn nodded.

All three lay there, drenched and gasping, as the storm continued its relentless assault. Then, a horrid noise came. It sounded like a thousand animals shrieking at once. A terrible cacophony of tearing and breaking.

Finn stood up and watched as the roof of Huldra House, in the distance, was torn clean off.

“No!” Nathaniel screamed at the elements, watching the only home he ever knew be mortally wounded.

Though the killer had been vanquished, the night's horrors were far from over.

“We've got to get to somewhere safe!” Finn yelled.

Nathaniel fell to his knees.

“Come on, Nathaniel! We'll die if we stay here!”

But Finn had no idea where they could go, out there on the cliffs above the empty moors, lashed and torn by a vengeful tempest.

“What about a cave!?” Amelia shouted as a gust of wind nearly blew them over the side.

Nathaniel nodded. “I know somewhere! Follow me!”

They moved, sometimes against the wind, sometimes with it. Amelia and Nathaniel helped Finn as they went. Soon, they were on a small trail that dipped below the cliff line. As they rushed along it, some rocks cracked and sheered off in the wind.

“Look out!” Nathaniel shouted.

Finn was so weary, he only saw it at the last moment, but Amelia pulled him out of the way as the rocks clattered off the trail and then over to the sea below.

“It's here!” Nathaniel said, finally leading them into the mouth of a high cave, protecting them finally from the horrific storm.

The torrential rain and whipping winds seemed to isolate the cave from the chaos outside. Amelia took her phone out and turned the flashlight on. The dim light inside the cavern painted eerie shadows on the walls, casting the three figures in an almost otherworldly glow. The cacophony of the storm outside was reduced to a faint hum, giving them a momentary respite from the terror that had befallen Huldra House.

“I thought...” Finn gasped for a breath. “That the kingdom of the hidden folk would have been comfier... Where... Where are the couches?”

Amelia's clothes were soaked through, her hair clinging to her face. Finn looked at Nathaniel, who seemed even more fragile now, his eyes distant, having witnessed something no one should ever see.

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