GUNPOINT | 2

1.| The Return

The blonde silently and attentively drives out of the parking lot and into the paved street before it departed them onto a small over-crowded highway.

"Alek?", Zack impatiently calls.

"To the graveyard in Cliffs Peak. Where else would we go?", Alek responds as he swerves around a small crimson Fiat.

Zack nods in approval before suddenly realizing what Alek had just said.

"The cemetery? What for-wait a minute...no! We are not about to disrespect the dead again! I am not about to waltz in there, shovel in hand in the middle of the night and dig up sacred dirt. You cannot drag me into this again Petrova-"

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"How did you manage to pull me into this mess again?", Zack says as he stops shoveling through the dirt and zips up his thin, navy blue colored jacket.

Alek looks up at Zack who had began scanning the foggy forest surrounding them while tightening the hoodie covering his head and face by its white strings.

"Your making this look a whole lot more suspicious than it already is.", Alek says before he wipes his sweaty brow with his sleeve and continues digging.

"I'M making it look suspicious?! Oh, right, blame it on me. Not that there are two young adults, digging through sacred dirt, dressed in dark clothes in the middle of the night!"

"Zack...just shut up and dig. The faster we finish, the faster we can get the heck out of here. Because the last thing I need is a pack of cops on my tail.", Alek states annoyed as he stops digging.

Zack rolls his eyes and follows Alek's example as they both continue digging. After about a solid two minutes of digging, Alek hits something rock hard that causes his shovel to shake at the impact. Both boys look up at each other with mixed expressions. Zack lets out an exaggerated sigh before jumping out of the large hole.

"Now that we've proven Natalia is actually dead let's get the hell out of here, this place gives me the creeps.", Zack states as his winter blue eyes scan the hilled landscape.

"Zack get your ass down here and give me a hand with getting this thing out."

"Alek, I swear that was cement. There's no way we're getting past that, and anyway, your not showing any respect for the dead. Especially for Natalia.", Zack whispers to himself before Alek yanks him back in the hole.

After about two hours they had managed to get the cemented coffin out of the hole, the cement lid was taken off and they were now occupying themselves with opening the actual coffin; coated black with golden edges. They both insert the crowbars into the side of the coffin before pausing and giving each other an unsure glance.

"Are you sure about this?"

"Of course Zack! She may have doubted me being her brother but I can't live another night thinking she might still be alive."

Zack rolls his eyes.

"I'm not even sure we'll survive this night, or any other night after this since we're gonna be haunted by the dead!", Zack states taking his hands off the crowbar which remained intact.

"Zack! For once in my stop acting like a kid and just be a man!"

"How about you get it through your head that she died from blood loss not something easily replaceable. And who knows what else happened."

Alek takes his hood off as he sighs and leans against the coffin. Zack lets out a quick sigh before mimicking his best friends actions.

"I'm sorry man...", they both say in unison before giving each other a hug and going back to the Crowbars.

With not another word said both boys;with full force,push down on the crowbars causing the bolted coffin to pop open. Alek and Zack drop the crow bars and look into the coffin.

Zack covers his nose as the stench of decay arose from the once concealed coffin and while he complained Alek surveyed the corpse.

"Alek, man, let's close that thing up before we wake the living from their sleep with that smell.", Zack begins complaining.

Alek gives a nod of approval before both boys quickly work on putting everything back in its original place.

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1 YEAR LATER...

"Keith! Get Leonardo to stop whining. I don't need him waking up Leonora", Jennifer yells from the kitchen as she frantically rushes to stop the fire heating up the milk.

Keith jumps off the steps with a slight bounce as he lands on his toes; arms stretching overhead. Jennifer looks over her shoulder giving her step-brother an over-look.

"Someone obviously had lots of time on his hands.", she says, taking the small pot off the fire.

"Jen you know I go to the gym every morning.", Keith states as he walks over to the whining twins.

He picks up the two blonde twins and turns around, looking at Jennifer.

"Where's Oscar?"

"Went out in town to fill the gas tank for the car.", Jennifer responds as she carefully fills the baby bottles with the warm milk.

"Do you know what happened to-"

"Sleeping in the truck.", Jennifer responds as she walks over to Keith, picks up her nine month old twins and walks towards the master bedroom.

Keith gives a small smile to the twins who were disappearing around the corner before looking at the silent forest through the large bullet-proof windows of the Miller's cabin, as his hand found its way into his hair.

"Let's just hope today's different.", he says, allowing a frustrated sigh to escape his lips.

Just as he took a step outside, the cold breeze of Cliffs Peak Forest welcomed him. The animals quickly made their way back home as the stranger began to walk towards the truck parked next to entrance and exit passageway of the cabin.

Just as Keith looks into the truck all the fear that had once again found its place in his heart had left immediately at the sight of the body in the truck leaning over the wheel lift...then descend in a healthy breathing manner.

"Well, you sort of asked for it...", Keith says with a smirk as he clutches the door handle of the truck.

With a hard pull to it, the door swung open.

"Mornin' Mary Sue!", he yells...