Water Walker: Episodes 1-4 Part 26

21.

I SAT frozen to stone in the truck next to Bobby, who stared wide-eyed at Zeke's truck, then at the white truck in front of us. My veins were ice. My head throbbed. I couldn't move.

But my mind was moving, filling me with images of Paul's beaten face and Zeke's dark glare. It didn't stop to consider how they'd found out I was trying to escape, only that they had and now I was going to suffer the same fate as Paul, or worse. Surely worse.

And then my mind wasn't so much thinking as commanding without thought, reacting out of pure survival instinct.

I grabbed at the key and twisted it hard. The truck jerked and I shoved down the clutch and twisted the key again. The engine tried to start and then fired and the moment that roar filled my ears, I slammed my foot down on the gas and released the clutch, twisting the wheel as far as I could to my right, because I had to get past that white truck, see?

I had to escape now or I was going die.

We surged forward, jerking, and I turned the wheel harder. The lights illuminated a deep ditch to the right of the white truck and it struck me that we might go straight into that ditch, so I yanked the wheel to the left a little, but by that time we had covered the distance to Claude's truck-we were going to hit it!

Again without thinking through it, I pulled my foot off the gas and somehow managed to cram down the brake.

And then we smashed into the front of Claude's truck and came to an abrupt halt.

The engine ticked and hissed.

"You hit Claude's truck," Bobby said.

The engine ground to a stop.

There were two men in Claude's truck, both just looking back at me, uncaring it seemed, that I'd just hit them. I twisted back and looked at Zeke's black truck, expecting to see his tall form stalking toward us. But no one got out-the truck just sat there like a demon panther, lights glaring.

For a few seconds nothing happened, but even that silence seemed to be screaming at me, telling me that I was nothing that could possibly threaten or escape from these men. I was only a slightly annoying gnat that could be easily crushed.

One of the men in the white truck lifted a cell phone to his ear, spoke for a few seconds, then put it away. He pushed open his door, climbed out and walked toward me.

Opened my door, grinning.

"It was a mistake, Claude," Bobby said in a thin voice. "Are you going to hurt us?"

The man was skinny, with messy red hair and a long tangled beard. His fingernails were dirty as were his plaid s.h.i.+rt and his blue pants.

"No, Bobby. I'm not." He looked at me and his grin flattened. "You hit my truck."

"It was a mistake," Bobby said.

"Shut up!" Eyes back on me, glaring now. "Scoot over. I'm taking you back to where you belong."

I wanted to scoot. I should have scooted. But the thought of going back to Kathryn had turned my muscles to paste.

"Move!"

I moved. Quickly, then, panicked.

Claude climbed in, started the truck, shoved the gear s.h.i.+fter all the way back, and backed away from the white truck, which was turning around, driven by the other man, who slid over to take the wheel.

It was Zeke that I was more concerned with, but he was turning his black truck around, then heading back in the direction we'd come from. By the time Claude got our truck turned, I could only see the taillights of Zeke's black truck. He'd left us in Claude's care, as if totally unconcerned.

But that couldn't be true. Of all the possible scenarios I'd imagined during my planning, being found out by Zeke himself was the worst. I sat in the seat next to Claude, hands folded in my lap, hardly daring to breathe. My palms were sweaty and my face was cold. I felt like what a corpse must feel like, ten feet under the ground.

The white truck was following us.

Beside me, Claude chuckled.

"My, my, my, you have gone and done it now, haven't you?" He shook his head. "Not too smart."

"My dad helped us," Bobby said. "He gave Eden the keys."

Claude cast a side-glance at us. "He did, now did he? Even dumber."

I wanted to defend Wyatt, I really did. But my voice wasn't working and I didn't know what to say.

How much Claude knew was beyond me. I wasn't even sure he was aware of who I was, other than Kathryn's daughter. But I couldn't help feeling like he was part of a bigger plan that I'd been kept in the dark about all these years. Like maybe getting my money.

"You really did p.i.s.s him off. I wouldn't want to be in your shoes, I can tell you that much."

The same road that had taken us much longer to travel stuck in first gear, now flew by. The dogs barked as we sped past Zeke's house. And before I could fully process what had just happened, we skidded to a stop in front of our house.

"Are you going to hit us?" Bobby asked, face drooping.

"Get out," Claude snapped.

We both climbed out.

"Get in the house."

Without waiting for us, he marched up to the porch, rapped his knuckles on the front door, and yanked it open. "Kathryn! Get your sorry b.u.t.t out here!"

He'd told us to get in the house but he was blocking the front door and all I could think was, Kathryn's going to see me standing outside. She's going to catch me. I'm in terrible trouble.

I could see Kathryn stumbling out of the hallway in her night dress, eyes wide.

"What's going on? What on earth are you doing here?"

"Zeke wants to see you," Claude said. "That's what's happening."

"Now?"

"Yes, now. Why else would I be here in the middle of the night?"

Wyatt appeared behind Kathryn, b.u.t.toning up his pants. I didn't think Kathryn had seen me or Bobby yet.

"Why?" she demanded.

"Why? Because your rat made a run for it, that's why. Now get your b.u.t.ts down there, both of you. He's waiting and he ain't happy. Don't bother dressing."

With that, Claude stepped aside, brushed past me, and headed toward the white truck which had pulled in behind us.

Kathryn could see me now, that much I knew. But I couldn't bring myself to look at her face. I couldn't bear to see her accusing eyes boring though me.

It took a few seconds, but she finally spoke, and the low, biting tone of her voice did the job plenty well, anyway.

"What have you done to us?"

"I showed Eden how to drive the truck," Bobby said, stepping up beside me.

Mother shoved her arm back into the house. "Get back in your room this instant, you little runt!"

Bobby scurried up the steps, ducked into the house, and vanished into the hall. I started to follow, eager to get away from her.

"Not you," she snapped.

I finally found the courage to look her in the eyes and they were as fired as I could remember seeing. She glanced at Wyatt's truck, then found me again.

"Where did you think you were going?"

What was I supposed to say?

"Answer me!" she screamed.

"Away from you," I said.

She blinked. I could see her jaw flex. I knew that hitting her in the face would be kinder than the words I'd just spoken, but I was done with not telling the truth. So I said some more.

"I don't want to be your slave anymore."

My mother stepped forward, trembling. She lifted her arm and pointed a finger back into the house. "You get back in that closet this very instant and you get down on your knees and you start begging G.o.d for mercy and you don't stop until you have accepted the full weight of your repentance. Go! Now, before G.o.d strikes you down where you stand, you hear me?"

I looked at Wyatt who was dressed-maybe he knew this was going to happen the moment he heard Claude's voice. He certainly knew that I was in trouble and his eyes showed me great empathy.

But that look gave me the courage I needed to set my jaw, step up onto the porch and walk past Kathryn into the house.

I knew that I was done. That I was going to face a new kind of h.e.l.l. But I also knew that I wasn't going to get down on my knees and repent for trying to run away from a monster.

Not this time. Not ever again.

[[SECTION BREAK]].

THE NIGHT was hot and the air heavy, but something far more threatening suffocated Kathryn as Wyatt guided the truck down the gravel road.

Dread.

"How dare she?" Kathryn breathed through gritted teeth. "How dare she do this to me!"

Wyatt stared out the winds.h.i.+eld, silent.

"Why? How dare she?"

Tears gathered in her eyes. Every st.i.tch and seam that held her life together seemed to be unraveling.

Zeke was waiting. Dear G.o.d . . .

"There'll be h.e.l.l to pay for this," she said. "h.e.l.l to pay for all of us."

Kathryn's mind spun. "How'd she get the truck? It doesn't make sense. I told you to keep your keys in the nightstand. How could she have gotten her hands on those keys?"

Wyatt kept his eyes straight ahead.

"Answer me! Don't just sit there like a wart. Say something."

He glanced at her nervously.

"Don't you dare tell me you knew about this."

"No. No, of course not."

"We're all in a world of trouble here. How'd Bobby show her how to drive? He can't drive."

Wyatt shrugged. "I showed him a few things."

"If you know anything, it's gonna come out. Zeke will know. You realize that, don't you?"

He began to speak, then stopped.

"What? Spit it out."

"I can't remember what I did with the keys. Maybe I left them on the kitchen counter by mistake."

"Maybe?"

"I'm sorry, sugar. If I'd known . . ."

"Shut up, Wyatt! Just shut up!"

He offered no response.

"All that matters now is that I failed. Zeke told me there would be consequences if she ever got out of line."