Only a few more chapters!! (its still not the end, lol) Thank you to anyone who's read this story! I appreciate your feedback and everything!! :) :)
Hope you like itt!!
Chapter 31:
I didn't know what came first, the tears or the water from the dust falling into my eyes.
Jake was gone. For good, this time. He wasn't coming back. He was dead.
The realization of just that hit me at the same time something crashed into my side, sending a sharp pain shooting through my body.
I screamed, both from the pain and from the anger that welled up inside me. The man that had caused all of this had gotten away.
I fell onto my back on the sharp rocks, and just laid there, staring upwards at the black cloud of dust. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't see, and I couldn't move. But none of that mattered at the moment.
My little brother was dead.
He found me through the cloud of dust. His hands found mine, and then he wrapped his arms around me as I cried.
"He's gone, Dave." I said, looking up through the dust though I could not see his face.
"I know." He whispered, close to my ear.
I wrapped my arms around him as hot tears fell from my eyes silently.
"I can't believe it." I said, then buried my face into his chest, listening to the sound of his heartbeat. He was still here, he was still alive. Why couldn't Jake be, too?
"It's all my fault." Dave told me, his voice rumbling through his chest. "I left him out here with them, told him to make sure they were okay. He must have gone back inside. It's all my fault."
"It's not your fault." I replied, looking up at him. The dust had cleared a little and I could see his face, the tears falling from his eyes.
I took my thumb and traced it under his eyes, wiping away the tears.
"Nothing's your fault. Dave, you saved all of these children! You're a hero!"
"No, I'm not. Jake was the one that knew how to escape. He freed them all, then led us to the exit. Jake's the hero, not me. And he died."
"Dave! Don't-"
Loud sirens cut through the cloud of dust like a sharp knife slicing an apple in half, causing us both to turn our heads. Dave stood, then helped me up. We headed towards the sounds to see a line of police cars, ambulances, and fire trucks driving towards the demolished building.
Flashing lights. Dust. It was like a giant deja vu moment.
In seconds, the place was scattered with police, paramedics, firemen.
The children were being put into ambulances. They were given water, food. Help. Love.
Police were taking pictures, investigating the scene.
Dave and I were standing in the middle of it all when somebody started tugging on my arm. I turned around to see a small girl, no older than nine years old, staring up at me with the biggest, bluest eyes I'd ever seen.
She wore what was left of an old pair of jeans, and a small shirt with holes in it everywhere. She was covered in dirt and dust from head to toe, and several bright red cuts stood out on her skin.
The only thing that actually looked nice about her was her eyes. They were bright, and full of life.
"Are you Erica?" She asked, her voice shaking. She looked down at her feet, then back at me nervously.
I nodded, then bent down so I was eye-level with her. She was tiny, all skin an bones. "Yeah, what do you need?" I asked.
She slipped a paper out from under her arm, then held it out to me. A hint of fear flashed across her face, but then she looked down. When she looked up again, I shuddered at the pained look on her face. What had she gone through? "The scary man told me to give it to you. He said it was important."
"The scary man?" I asked, my voice low. I widened my eyes at her, then slowly took the paper. "Where did the man go?"
"He got in a car and drove somewhere. He was laughing when he walked away." She said. Then her whole body shook, and she started trembling in fear. A paramedic came up to us and led her over to the ambulance.
I watched her for a while, still bent low to the ground, my hand outstretched with the paper between my fingers as if she was still standing there, holding it out to me.
A paramedic helped her into the ambulance, and she was immediately given a large cup of water. Several other children were inside, too, looking around wide-eyed.
"My father did this." I said, standing to face Dave again. His face was hard. Tired. Worn-out.
"What happened?" A policewoman asked, causing Dave and I to turn around. She was blonde, and just that simple fact made me break down in tears.
Jake was gone.
I turned away from her, shaking my head and taking several steps back in shock, then looked at the piece of paper in my hands.
Slowly and carefully, I unfolded it. The paper felt rough between my fingers, and I was suddenly aware of a sickening feeling down in the pit of my stomach. The words on the page were in scribbly cursive, written in a rush.
Forgetting someone? You know where to find me.
Dave grabbed my hand suddenly. Then the tears stopped. I wasn't sad. I wasn't mad. I wasn't angry.
I was livid.
"Your parents." I said, turning to face him, my eyes wide with determination.
"You can't go."
"It's the only way you'll get them back." I said.
"It's not worth it if I just end up losing you, too." He replied, a pleading look in his eyes.
"Dave, I have to do this."
"No. No you don't." He said. "We've been through enough, already. I won't let you suffer any more. Let it go."
"Dave!" I exclaimed. "You're right, we have been through a lot. But look where it got us? My brother is dead, we have nowhere to go, nothing to do with our lives anymore! Dave, we can't let him get away with this. Your parents will die! I can't let that happen! No, I'm not letting him get away anything else. I won't just sit by and watch!"
"I won't let you risk your life like this. You could-"
"I don't care if I could die!" I exclaimed."Your parents are more family to me than mine ever were! It's my fault they even got involved in this mess, I'm going to save them. I'll do whatever it takes."
"He'll kill you." Dave said, staring into my eyes with such a pained look I almost started crying again. But my sadness was no longer the dominant emotion I was feeling. No, instead it was the fuel for my anger.
"No. He won't kill me. I'm going to find him. And when I do, I'm going to make sure he never sees the light of day again." I said angrily, my voice shaking. I clenched my fists by my sides, digging my jagged nails into my palms.
"Please-"
"Don't." I cut him off.
"I love you, Erica. I love you too much to let you do this."
"And I love you too much to let your parents die."
We both just stared at each other, unwilling to back down.
Dave grabbed my hand, turning it over in his hands, examining the cuts on my wrists, the bruises forming underneath. And then something changed in his expression. He looked sad, almost...regretful.
"He's hurt you in so many ways." He told me. Then he looked up into my eyes, his gaze reaching deep into my soul. "I'll kill him myself if I have to."
And then I did the craziest thing I could've done at the moment. I smiled. Dave threw his arms around me and held me like tight for a few minutes.
"You," he said, then he paused. He pulled back to look into my eyes, then shook his head. "You're crazy."
"And you," I retorted, "are way too protective."
"But you still love me." He replied, grinning at me. I smiled back, a laugh bubbling up from somewhere deep inside me.
"Yeah," I replied, crumpling the piece of paper in my hand, "I do."