Page 67 of Madness & Mayhem
Eloise points to the dead bodies on the ground. “Who the hell is that?”
Lakyn shakes her head, a slight lick of shame entering her features. “They were going to kill Reign.”
“I’m guessing you haven’t seen the news,” Archer cuts in, narrowing his eyes at me. He’s giving me a warning, that whatever I’m about to see is something I’m not going to like.
I shake my head at him.
“Come on. You’ve got to take a look,” Archer nods toward the house, and we all head inside.
“What are we going to do about the bodies?” Lakyn asks as we step inside.
“Well, burning them will attract people. The ground is too hard to bury them.” I narrow my eyes as I walk to the kitchen, dropping my knife in the sink. “We’re going to have to take them out of here, but we don’t have a car.”
“Fuck you,” Archer laughs, and I turn to him, knowing he’s our only chance unless we are supposed to drag two full grown men through the forest in the snow, when we’re being hunted. “Where the hell are we supposed to take them?”
“We could drop them outside of town. We could put them in the woods up north a little. Deep in the forest,” Posie suggests quietly, and I watch as everyone’s eyes whip toward hers.
“Really?” Lakyn asks breathlessly, her eyes glowing. “You’d do that?”
Everyone is silent as we contemplate what to do. I know there’s no way out of this. There’s no going back, so the real question is, how do we move forward?
“We’ll take care of it. But that’s not why we’re here. Take a look at the news.” Archer steps forward, bending at the waist as he turns on the TV. It’s pure static, but once again, the news anchor, Bridget Bofield from Fox 7 News is on the TV, this time in front of Braylin’s house.
I can barely make her face out, and she splits in half and bobs back and forth with the static, though her voice is clear. “This is Bridget with Fox 7 News reporting from Hellcrest Heights here in Maine. The masked killer, who we now know as Reign Whitmore of Hellcrest Heights, has struck again. A triple murder of the Carter family has risen the death toll and we suspect there will be more. It appears Mr. Whitmore has added an accomplice who we now have identified as Lakyn Ashford. The brutal and heinous slayings of the Carter family have the town in fear of who may be next. The police are asking the public if they have any—” She frowns, pressing her finger to her ear. “Oh, one moment please.” She nods her head a few times until her eyes widen and she looks directly at the camera.
“It seems there are two more deaths which have just been discovered. It appears the father of Reign Whitmore, Spencer Whitmore, has been murdered by his own son. There is an unidentified female on the property who has also been reported as deceased. More information to come soon. George, back to you.” She nods, and even through the static I can see the unease in her eyes. The desperation to be done reporting on this case.
She should be nervous. Those who get involved end up dead.
Archer switches the TV off and turns toward me. “Your time is limited, Reign. It’s time you guys get out of here. If you waste any more time, you’ll be surrounded, and you might be able to take down two, but you won’t be able to take down an entire police force once you’re both surrounded.”
I know. It’s time to go.
“Lay low. We’ll take care of the bodies, and we’ll be back tomorrow. We can get you outside of town and you guys can go wherever you need to.” His eyes flit to Lakyn’s. “Just get her out of here. Get her safe.”
I nod, my jaw clenching. “I plan to.”
“Creed’s funeral is tomorrow. Obviously you guys can’t go, but I thought you might like to know,” Eloise says.
Lakyn sighs, and I turn to her, seeing her eyes darken with sadness. “Oh,” she whispers.
Posie steps up to Lakyn, and I watch as Lakyn’s body curls over slightly in pain. “Lakyn, we’ll get you out of here. Just stay strong, okay? Don’t get caught.”
Lakyn nods, her eyes growing watery. “I’m so sorry. For everything.”
Posie shrugs, giving her arm a squeeze before she steps back. “Don’t be sorry, Lakyn. Just stay safe.”
Archer steps up to Lakyn, and my body grows tense as I watch them. The connection they have which I know doesn’t slip into anything more than friendship, yet there’s still a discomfort in watching their connection.
“You’re so beautiful covered in blood, baby Lake,” he mumbles, his fingers grazing her chin.
She tilts her chin up, narrowing her eyes. “It’s just me, Archer.”
He steps back, his hand dropping to his side. “I know it is.” He turns his gaze to mine. “Both of you. You belong together.”
“Let’s go, Archer. I need to make sure Vienna is okay before Creed’s funeral tomorrow,” Eloise interrupts, and Archer takes a step back.
“We’ll grab the bodies. Stay inside until we get back tomorrow,” Archer says, and I nod at him, thinking that’s the smartest thing we could do.