Page 42 of Killer Summer
“Missy,” she coughed, fumbling for her seatbelt. “RUN!”
“What the fuck just happened?” Missy whined.
“He’s coming,” Dani said, still dazed. “You have to—”
“Ayiiiiii!!!”Missy squealed as a pair of gloved hands reached through the window and grabbed her by the shoulders. Dani reached for her friend and grabbed her shoe, but she was pinned helplessly and stuck, her seatbelt refusing to unlock as her friend was pulled through the open window and into the early morning light.
“No!” Dani reached into the back seat, desperate to find her knife or anything she could use as a weapon. If she could just cut herself free from the seatbelt, then she could help Missy. She could kill him right then and there! She rummaged through her open bag, and her hand closed around the handle of her gun. Working on pure instinct, she leaned out the window and pointed the gun, at the man in black.
“Hey, asshole!” she called out. “Let her go.”
The man turned to face her with Missy still in a headlock. Missy struggled against him as he positioned her body to face Dani. All she needed was a clear shot, right between the eyes. She pursed her lips, exhaled and squeezed the trigger.
BANG.
It was easier than she thought. For one comical moment, he stood there, dazed as a single dime-sized hole smoked just above his left eye. His arms went limp and released Missy from their grip. She scrambled away as the man swayed and wobbled. He took a step back and crashed to the ground like a tree felled by a lumberjack. Missy screamed and covered her mouth with her hands.
And then, through the glare of the headlights, Dani watched as the driver’s side door of the car that hit her swung open wide.
At that moment, Dani realized exactly whatkindof car had hit her. A mustang. A black, late-model mustang. She froze like a baby deer as a second man dressed all in black emerged from behind the wheel. A man with a face that had haunted her nightmares for over two decades. A man with shark-like eyes. A man who was headed straight for her friend.
“Missy! Behind you!” Dani shouted.
Missy turned to face the second man, her eyes wide with terror.
A flash of silver.
One swift, sharp move.
Dani screamed as the man plunged a knife deep into her friend's gut. She reached out of the window again, pointed the gun and fired again through fresh tears. Her hand trembled as she missed, watching him stab her friend again and again. She continued to fire, but despite her expert aim, the bullets seemed to skirt around him as if he were protected by some kind of evil force field.
When the last of her bullets were spent, Dani threw down the weapon and reached for her bag, but she was too late. The man hoisted Missy’s lifeless body over his shoulder as if she weighed nothing and turned back toward his smashed up car. In the distance, the sound of police sirens rose in sync with the early morning sun. There would be more death if she didn’t leave. More destruction.
There wasn’t anything more she could do for her friend. The police would be there soon, and she would only have to watch more people die at his hand if she stayed. Like a coward, Dani threw the truck in reverse and sped away from the scene. For whatever reason, she was still alive. She didn’t know if she deserved to be.
She needed to lead Matt Vickers away from everything and everyone she loved.
She needed to rest, recover and reload.
But what she really needed was more time.
“Hey brat. Get outta here,” Tommy groaned as his little sister, Melody, hovered in the doorway to his room. Cartoons played on the TV on his dresser, distracting the little girl. “Mom said you’re not allowed to watch South Park anyway.”
“But I wanna hang out with you guys!” Melody whined.
“Aw, let her stay,” Dani said. “We won’t tell.”
In her dreams, Dani laid on her dead boyfriend’s unmade bed, twirling her scrunchie around her finger as the little girl stared at them. His bedroom looked just like she remembered from the Rage Against the Machine poster to the blue plaid bedspread and curtains and the forgotten drum set in the corner. A stack of books was laid out open and unread on his bed as they tried in vain to study for finals. It was never easy for them to focus on anything serious when they were together, especially when his parents weren’t home.
Tommy snatched Dani’s scrunchie from her finger and gave her a wink. “Watch this.”
Tommy positioned the fabric hair band on his forefinger and thumb and shot it back at his little sister. Melody giggled, picked up the fabric hair band, and wrapped it up in her hair.
“Look, I’m Dani,” she said, her voice sing-songy and mocking as she pulled a sour face.
“Seriously, Melody. Get outta here,” Tommy said. “We’re busy.”
“It’s okay,” Dani said. “She just wants to be around you.”
