Undone: The Complete Duology, page 18
And my stupid ass had come searching for him. Now, I would either become one of them or die destroying them from within.
Those, I had come to realize, were the stakes. Grace did not necessarily seem to believe we would survive.
Our remaining days were few.
I understood enough now.
Without thought, I grabbed her by the arm and turned her towards me, claiming her mouth in a kiss that caught her wide eyed, her hand spread in the air beside our faces. Slowly, she lowered her hand to my arm, curling her fingers around my forearm as she leaned into the kiss.
When we broke apart, I whispered, “I’m going to go get us a saw. I’ll be back.”
She nodded once, no longer seeming to feel the rain.
I didn’t either.
I walked back to town on the long dark road lost in a haze. Only one vague thought circled in my brain: when we were done, Thorn Tree could no longer be standing.
Nothing else mattered. This place, whatever it was, could not be allowed to exist. Too much damage lurked under the surface of the town. They had destroyed Grace.
How many others had they betrayed, broken, and beaten into submission?
Everyone, that was who. Some would go easier, give less resistance to take less pain, but no one came into this willingly, even if they did not realize it. Even if they had never been given a choice.
When I looked up, I was back on the main street, the town stretching out in front of me. Up on the hill, the church watched with the flickering of firelight behind its windows.
The thought of shooting the Reverend in the head crossed my mind, but if ending the reign on this town were so simple, Grace would have done it already.
I had to trust her witch spell was the only way out.
“Hello, Malachi.”
The words reverberated around the street. I halted as three silhouettes parted from the shadows: one directly in front of me, and one on either side.
Amelia, in front of me, smiled. None of the three girls seemed to notice the downpour.
My senses went on alert. I put on my best charm. “Hello, ladies. Quite the weather, ain’t it?”
“Malachi, you haven’t met Bethany or Sarah yet,” Amelia said, indicating the girls on either side, ignoring my comment.
Bethany. That was the girl I’d meant to talk to when I’d first arrived, before everything had gone sideways. These were Amelia’s coven sisters, no doubt.
I had never told Amelia my full name. The Reverend, however, had already known.
Danger rang clearly in every word, every smile.
“Bethany, Sarah.” I tipped my head at them in turn. “It’s my pleasure to meet you ladies, but I think we should all be getting indoors until this storm passes. Don’t want ya sweet things to catch a cold.”
Fire blazed in Amelia’s eyes as she regarded me. I couldn’t tell if it was lust, or fury.
“Are you coming to the Feast, Malachi?” she asked.
The Feast. That was the weird event the woman at the grocery story had invited me to. I’d taken it as little more than a strange local custom at the time, but now I knew better. I would have to get more information from Gracie, but I understood this town enough to know I absolutely did not want to attend—and that I absolutely should not tell these girls that.
“I’d be honored,” I said. “Will you lovely ladies be there?”
“Of course,” Amelia said.
The other two remained quiet but watching, a bit like predators. If any of the three lunged at me, I wouldn’t be surprised.
“Then I’ll see you there,” I said with as much pleasantness I could force into my words.
Amelia regarded me, still not heeding the rain. Then she seemed to be pleased with what she saw in me, because she lowered her head in a demure way and smiled up at me.
“We look forward to it, Malachi.”
With that, the three of them turned in formation and glided away, flowing together until their silhouettes merged into one before disappearing around the corner.
I let out a pent-up breath.
Those girls were up to no good, but I didn’t have time for that yet. I needed the saw, and quick, before the rain washed open Gladys’ shallow grave we’d dug for her in the woods.
Honey and Hive came into view, and I realized then how late it was. I had intended to ask Mrs. Woolworth for a saw, but she might be in bed. Instead, I headed towards the shed out back. The less I had to interact with the locals, the better.
The shed was unlocked but contained everything under the sun except what I needed.
I had to go inside and see if my host was awake. No matter. I could use a change of clothes, even if they would be drenched again once I headed back out. A pair of long-johns wouldn’t be a bad addition. The boys were freezing.
I decided to use the front door instead of the bedroom window, which was probably still open, since I needed to talk to Mrs. Woolworth if she happened to be around.
I stepped inside and a puddle formed right at my feet before I had even closed the door. I leaned out the door and smoothed the water out of my hair and off my jacket sleeves, but it made such little difference it hardly mattered.
When I turned back to the interior, I startled.
Mrs. Woolworth sat at the dining room table, cup of tea in front of her, watching me.
“Oh, sorry.” I indicated the floor. “I’ll get a towel and clean that up.”
“Don’t worry about it, Malachi. Come, sit and have some tea. You look cold.”
I was, and not just from the rain.
There was that name again. It was my name, but they had really made it their own, hadn’t they?
Another steaming mug of tea sat on the table, across from her.
Had she known I was coming?
That was too much, even for Thorn Tree.
Then again, the Reverend did light fire in his hand. So, there was that.
I approached her like she might attack and took the seat across from her, the mug of tea in front of me.
“Were you spending time with Gracie?”
That was a trick question. The right answer had changed overnight, and I wasn’t sure how many of the townspeople knew that yet.
I reached for the mug to stall the answer.
“She’s a lovely girl,” Mrs. Woolworth said. “Just a little misled.”
“Is that right?” I asked, putting an emphasis on the drawl.
Mrs. Woolworth took a sip of her tea and then placed it back on the saucer. “She’s had a hard go of it. You know, her mother died when she was small. We all tried, tried to fill the void, but a girl needs her mother, ya know?”
I measured every move I made, every expression, every breath.
“We want to reach her, but she’s got so much fire.” Mrs. Woolworth shook her head, fingering the handle of her cup. “But you, Malachi. She listens to you.”
“We’ve been talking,” I said, leading Mrs. Woolworth to continue.
She smiled. “Have ya now?”
“I want to help her,” I said.
Mrs. Woolworth’s expression relaxed. “I do believe God sent you here for a purpose, Malachi.”
“He does work in mysterious ways.”
“Not our god. His way makes sense. He’s here to protect us. No mystery to it.” She leaned forward ever so slightly. “You know, Malachi, Thorn Tree is a lovely town. Nothing bad ever happens here. Our god keeps us safe. That’s His promise. We’d love to have you. Join us, stay here, and help Gracie. Bring her back to us. There’s a real future here, for the both of you.”
So, Gracie wasn’t mistaken. They were headed in the exact direction she had called. I was no longer the unwanted stranger in Thorn Tree.
I was the bait to bring Gracie back to the church, back to their little brainwashed cult. All they had to do was convince me and I wouldn’t let the ones I loved stay outside their protection. That was how they always worked, wasn’t it? Either rope them in with their love, or with their fear. I served the town either way: Gracie loved me, and she feared losing me.
The trap had been set.
Grace was no fool though. Did they not know she would see them coming? That she would warn me?
Perhaps it didn’t make much difference to them. I lived here now, whether I liked it or not. The forest determined that. The town had all the time in the world to tear me down.
When that didn’t work, things would get ugly—more so than they already were.
“I’ll definitely keep that offer in mind,” I said, with all the respect and manners my mama had instilled in me.
I picked up the tea and drank it down, the heat rushing straight to my stomach countering the cold that had seeped all the way down to my bones.
“You should get in some dry clothes. Don’t want you catching pneumonia.”
I placed the mug, now empty, back in front of me. “I was wondering if you could help me out with something. I saw the tables out there, I guess for the Feast? I was going to make a big ol’ flowerbox, little gift for inviting me.”
“That sounds nice, Malachi. The town will love that.”
“Thank ya, ma’am. I just need to borrow a saw, if you got one? Need to cut the box to size, get it together.”
“Well, there’s some tools down in the basement. They belonged to Mr. Woolworth. Didn’t see any reason to get rid of them. Sometimes the boys come around and do a little carpentry. Help yourself to them.”
“That’s right nice. I was fixing to take one with me. Already got my shop set up, didn’t want to tear it all down.”
Interest filled her eyes. “Oh, is that so?”
“Over at Gracie’s.” I said in a knowing way. We were bonding, Gracie and me; and so were Mrs. Woolworth and me.
“Oh, yes, go ahead and take the saw. Whatever you need.”
“Thank ya, again, ma’am.” I started to stand.
She tipped her head. “You going back out there tonight? In this weather?”
“The Feast just right around the corner,” I said.
“Yes, that’s true. All right, Malachi. You be safe out there.” She cleared our dishes, and that was that.
I headed straight to my room and peeled out of my wet clothes. My skin was red and clammy, and my muscles ached as I slid into warm, dry clothes. When I returned to the kitchen, Mrs. Woolworth was gone, probably off making notes for the mayor.
This whole town was one big conspiracy.
Down in the basement, I found a circular saw. I started to pick it up. A visual of what I was going to do with this piece of machinery flashed through my mind.
I nearly put it back.
Then I remembered that soon, I was going to have failed the town in their plan to capture Gracie and bring her back to their side. There was sure to be repercussions.
I snatched up the circular saw and headed back out into the night. My car was still parked around the side, thank everything holy, so I loaded the saw into the back.
As I started to slide behind the steering wheel, a noise reverberated through the night. I halted, listening. It grumbled under the sounds of the storm, distinctly different but darker, somehow.
The sound came again, like the grinding of gears down in the earth.
What did that even sound like? I shook my head.
The noise came from deep within the forest, in the direction of where Gracie and I had made love for the first time, among the trees. Maybe the forest was moving, but the sound didn’t seem the same.
It was just one more mystery of Thorn Tree.
Somehow, I knew I would find the answer before this was over.
24
GRACE
As soon as Mac was out of sight on his way into town to procure a saw, I scurried back to the jeep and headed to Bobby with food and water. With the downpour over the last few hours, the tarp had probably done him little good.
When I pulled up in front of the wood pile, everything was so silent, I thought he might be dead. Hopefully, he was just asleep.
I placed the bottle of water and container with the hastily made cheese sandwich on the ground. He continued to remain quiet as I unstacked the log piles. After the first two rows, the top of his head appeared as he leaned back against the rock wall, mouth gaped in a soft snore.
His eyes fluttered open. I removed enough logs for me to easily step over them. Stooping in front of him, I removed the gag in his mouth.
He barreled forward, slamming his head into my face. I stumbled backwards, tasting blood. My feet slipped on the wet tarp, and I fell. Bobby launched himself forward, hands and legs still fastened, and rammed me in the chest. Pain shot through me as I gasped for air. He reared back and hammered me in the face again. I reached out blindly, trying to block him. He gnashed his teeth into my hand, catching my pinky finger.
I brought up my knee, right in his groin. He grunted, bearing down on my finger. I tried to pull my hand free, but he was latched on like a rabid dog. I slammed the side of my fist into his temple, but he only bit harder. I grappled with his jaw, digging into his skin, trying to force his mouth open to release me.
With a snarl, he shook his head and yanked backwards. I cocked my other fist and caught him straight in the face. He released me, dropping to his side on the wet tarp and tangled blankets. Blood trickled from his nose as he gasped for air.
I towered over him where he cowered on the ground, anger flaring through me.
I wondered how I looked to him. Hopefully, terrifying.
“Who the fuck else came looking for you? Red sports car? Sound familiar?”
He shook his head, then winced.
I kicked him in the ribs, and he curled in on himself. “Answer me, asshole.”
“I don’t know anyone,” he said between pained gasps. He sounded sincere. “I never knew anyone in New York that would care if I was alive or dead. Mac…he’s the only one who would come looking for me.”
“It wasn’t Mac.”
He touched the tip of his tongue to his bloody lips. “I don’t know who you’re talking about, Grace. I swear to god.”
“Yeah, which one?”
He whimpered. “It’s freezing out here, Grace. Just take me back to the basement. I won’t fight you, I promise.”
“You just tried to rip my hand off.” I touched my face and grimaced as pain shot through my skull. “You might have broken my nose.”
“It’s going to snow. You know the weather here. We’re in for a blizzard, and soon.”
“Well, I can’t take you back to the basement, Bobby. You got Mac suspicious. I can’t have that, can I?”
“I’ll be quiet.”
“All thoughts that came far too late. Look, I brought you food and water. Do you want it or not?”
He gave a tight nod, not budging from where he laid on the wet blankets. “Can you untie my hands, please?”
“It’s not like you’re on good behavior, Bobby. You still don’t think anything through.” I reached down and hoisted him up, my back burning with the wrenching motion and the weight of his nearly limp form.
I was getting real sick of hauling this shithead around.
He helped position himself back against the rocks and the rolled up blanket. I grabbed the bottle of water from outside the cave and tipped it to his lips. He guzzled it down, water mixing with the blood on his mouth and dripping down his chin and into his lap.
When he had his fill, I placed the bottle aside and removed the sandwich from the container.
“It’s just cheese and bread. My house was ransacked. I didn’t have the time to make anything better.”
“I’ll take about anything,” he said.
I fed him the sandwich, then followed it with another round of water.
I frowned down at the wet blankets and tarp. He was right. This wasn’t working, and we had a snowstorm on the horizon. My options were limited though, and so were my blankets.
“The chair,” I muttered. “I forgot the chair. I’ll bring it next time. It’ll get you up off the ground at least.”
He didn’t resist as I returned the gag to his mouth, and he barely moved as I restacked the logs.
If I hurried, I could retrieve the chair and get Bobby situated before Mac returned.
I hopped into the jeep and wound through the trees, irritated I couldn’t go any faster with all the weaving. Right before the tree line, Mac appeared, carrying an enormous saw. He jolted, then stepped back away from the jeep as I slowed on the approach. He was wearing different clothes, but they were already soaked through. Water slicked his hair to his head, but he was still as gorgeous as ever.
I came to a halt, and he placed the saw on the backseat before dropping into the passenger seat.
“That was some adventure,” he said, then jerked around to look at me. “Holy shit, Gracie, what happened to your face?”
Oh, yeah. Bobby had bashed me up pretty good.
“I slipped on wet rocks and caught my fall with my face.” I tried to flash him a smile, but it probably looked as deranged as I felt. “Good work with the saw.”
“What were you even doing out here…” He trailed off, looking around outside the windows as if he could figure out the answer for himself.
“Trying to find where we buried the body.”
Now that I mentioned it, I actually didn’t quite remember where she was. Down the steps, but where were those again? It was within the confines of the forest, so it wouldn’t have moved, but everything was becoming a blur, even areas I remembered well seemed less familiar.
I was close to my breaking point.
Mac twisted in his seat to look out the back window. “I have no idea. I don’t know this area well enough to even guess.”
I drove slowly, looking for a landmark to spark my memory. The world felt muddled. Finally, the rock steps came into view. I navigated the jeep down them, pain pulsing through my head with every drop. When we reached level ground, I stepped out of the jeep, staggered a few steps, and then slumped against the side of the vehicle.
Mac hurried around to catch me before I dropped to the ground. The world faded in and out between black and gray. Color had vanished.
“Gracie, you okay? You need water? We have some in the back.”
