SAGE
Iglanced around and déjà vu spread through my senses. The wood floors were the same color as the other house. But they were in much worse shape, just like everything else in the entrance. The walls were covered more in yellow stains than the white paint. I could see the kitchen was straight down the end of the hall. The staircase was to my left, and there was a room with the door closed on my right.
Finding the basement was my first goal. I crept toward the kitchen, but it was impossible to be quiet. The old floors creaked with every step.
The countertops in the kitchen were just as empty as the last house. I hurriedly opened the two doors, only to find a pantry and a laundry room. The need to leave was starting to consume me. I had never been claustrophobic, but this house felt like a coffin. I needed to get out of here before Eric returned.
Going back down the hall, I began to open every door. Finally, I tugged the third open and was met with a set of concrete steps. Taking two steps at a time, I raced down. There was no other door; it was an open basement. The only light was from the one above the steps, making the whole room pitch black.
I pulled out my phone, turned on the flashlight, and scanned the room. There wasn’t much to see. It was small. There were no crosses on the walls and only three tables. My heart stuttered when my light shined on them. Scissors, twine, and knives covered the first two tables. The third table was against the back wall and was empty. Except for the metal cuffs chained to it.
My stomach threatened to heave everything up. I bent over, wrapping my arms around myself. I had to fight it. There could be nothing that showed I had been here. After many deep breaths, I straightened back up and looked for the whole reason I’d come down here.
There it was. On a small shelf against the wall. The book.
Carefully picking it up, I opened it, and my eyes widened. It was the same book I had ripped the page from. Tears sprang to my eyes when I turned the next page. There was Lacey’s full name and the date she had been killed. The words gave me what I needed to keep going and reminded me of why I was fighting so hard.
There would be no new name for them to put in this book.
Setting the book down, I tugged my backpack off my shoulders. I pulled out a book that looked identical to the society’s book. Well, almost identical. It wasn’t as thick, but the outside black leather looked the same. It had taken me two days of scouring antique bookstores to find one that could pass as real. As long as they didn’t look inside it.
I took the book from the shelf and replaced it with the one I had brought. With low lighting, no one would be able to tell the difference. At least until they opened it. The book was everything. It had names of victims and names of people in the society. It was the main reason I had come. I glanced one more time at the book I’d replaced and hoped they didn’t plan on using it within the next few days. I wanted to give it all to Kiara before they even knew it was gone.
I made sure everything was back in place before running back up the stairs. The feeling I got in that room was almost unbearable. Racing down the hall, I looked out the window to the empty driveway. My phone showed I’d only been in the house for twenty minutes, but it had felt like an eternity.
“One more thing,” I muttered, my eyes going to the second floor.
I needed to make sure there wasn’t a woman trapped in here. With one last look at the driveway, I bounded up the steps. There were four doors upstairs, and all the rooms were empty. Each of the three bedrooms only had a bed and nothing else. Everything looked rushed and made me think that my guess was right. This house was replacing the one I had burned down.
Back down on the first floor, I scanned each room and was satisfied that no one was there. I walked back out the front door and locked it. There was no sound of any cars approaching, but I ran back to the safety of the trees like I was being chased.
I pushed through the branches until I was back on the beach. After running nearly the whole way back, I unlocked the truck and got into the passenger seat. I pulled the book out and slid it under the seat, along with my phone. Leaning back in the seat, tears fell down my face. I had done it. I’d gotten what was needed to at least start an investigation into the society. Wiping the tears away, I packed some more snacks and water into my bag. After locking the truck, I slid the key on a little ledge of metal under the truck near the rear tire. If I got caught, I didn’t want them to know what I had driven here. It was time for the next part.
I was going back to the house. To wait and watch. There wasn’t a woman in that house, which meant they were going to be bringing one if they planned to do a sacrifice. I was going to be there when it happened. There was no way I’d be able to rescue someone by myself. I’d record it and blast it on social media. Then I’d run back to my truck and go to the major city, two hours away.
I would go into the state police station and start screaming about how a woman had been kidnapped. It was risky. That sheriff was in on it, but he wasn’t part of the Michigan State Police force. It was still possible others were. The plan rested on me being so loud and insistent that the whole building would hear, not only one person. The best-case scenario was that I staked the house out and they didn’t bring a woman back at all. But if they did, I’d do whatever I needed to rescue her. I didn’t want one more woman dying by their hands.
With my stomach rolling, I walked down the beach again until I found the trail. I went right back to the hiding spot in the bushes. The truck was still gone. It felt like I’d been here for days, but the sun was still in the sky. I felt so vulnerable just sitting outside the house. It was a well-hidden spot, but that didn’t stop the fear from claiming me.
I wished I wasn’t alone. Niko’s face flashed through my mind, and I closed my eyes for a moment. I wanted him to be here. I didn’t believe he would turn on me. Not after everything he’d done for me.
My eyes popped back open when the loud revving of an engine filled the air. The truck was back, and Eric and another guy jumped out. I peered through the gaps in the bushes to study the new guy. Something about him looked so familiar, but I couldn’t place where I’d seen him before. The guys didn’t say anything as they went into the house.
I breathed a sigh of relief when a woman didn’t come out of the truck. Maybe they weren’t doing it this year. They didn’t have a lot of time left before the full moon was gone for the month. I still wasn’t leaving until I knew for sure. I’d brought enough food to last the next day. These shrubs would be my home for at least the next twenty-four hours.
The feeling of terror never left. It lingered front and center in my mind as I stared at the house. Fear of them knowing someone had been there was keeping my exhausted brain wide awake.
My eyelids began to get heavy. I had been running on little sleep over the past few days and staring at nothing was getting to me. That changed when the front door opened. Eric walked out with a beer in hand and started making his way to the trail that led to the beach. Dread swallowed me as Eric kept walking away from me. What if they knew I was here?
I shoved that thought away. If they had found me or the truck, he wouldn’t be walking slowly with a beer in his hand. He disappeared into the trees, and I hoped he wasn’t going to the public parking area. Now I was really stuck in these bushes because he had walked right into my escape route.
Hours went by and nothing happened. The sun began to set, and Eric still hadn’t emerged from the woods. The other guy was still in the house, and I was trying to remember where I had seen him.
A branch snapped behind me, and before I could turn around, it suddenly felt like my hair was being ripped out. The shrubs scratched at my arms as I grabbed the hand that was wrapped in my hair. His grip was iron tight, and when I let out a piercing scream, a hand covered my mouth roughly as I got pulled into his body.
“This is seriously the last place we would have ever looked for you. How nice of you to come on your own,” the voice hissed in my ear.
I craned my neck as much as I could with his hand still in my hair. It was Eric. I flailed, trying any way to get out of his grip, but it was no use. Terror invaded my bones as I struggled. My fast breaths were shallow from his hand covering my mouth. He dragged me to the house until we got inside the front door. The side of my head hit the wall as he shoved me out of the way. My chest went tight as the sound of the lock turning sliced through the air.