Page 65 of Traces of Her

Forty-One

GRIFFIN

RYDER IS ALREADY OUTSIDE WHEN I pull up to his house. Slamming to a stop, I wave for him to get in as he starts running and jumps in the car. We’re pulling out of the driveway before his door is even shut.

“Jesus Christ, Griffin,” he huffs, finally pulling it shut. “It’s not going to help us if we’re dead before we get there.”

Ignoring him, I turn up the radio and press harder on the gas. Small talk and talking shit is the last thing I feel like dealing with right now. My body is a bundle of twisted, fucked up nerves.

Forty-five minutes of silence passes before I turn down the volume slightly. “We’ll be there in an hour,” I inform him. “We get in, get out. We find her and then he’s done. Got it?” I ask, keeping my eyes trained straight ahead, not looking in his direction. I see him give me a curt nod out of the corner of my eye and reach over, turning the music back on.

The farther we drive, the farther I’m dragged into the darkness of my thoughts. I pull onto a side road that leads directly into the woods, which then turns into a stone gravel road after we get into the forest. The tires slowly crunch on the stones as the car slows down. With the sun setting, there’s just enough light to show the cabin up ahead around the bend of the road. Bringing the car to a stop, I turn off the headlights and point over to the cabin, staring at it intently before glancing at Ryder. “That’s it,” I say, letting out a deep breath. “They’re in there.”

Ryder narrows his eyes as he looks back and forth between me and the cabin. “How do you know for sure that they’re in there?”

“You’re kidding,” I scoff. “I’ve had my guys tracking him. He slipped up with a cell phone we had wired and basically led us directly to him. I had someone come scout this place out earlier, careful to not be seen. He saw them both there, and there’s still someone in there now.”

He stares at me for a moment before nodding. “Okay,” he declares. “Let’s fucking do this.”

A smile creeps onto my face as I ease my foot off the brake, letting the car inch closer to the house, staying on the road by sound versus having the headlights on. We silently pull up a little closer to the house and I cut the engine after putting the car in park.

This is fucking it.

Looking over at Ryder. I reach over and pull a gun from the glovebox. Quietly shutting it, I press the button for the trunk and slip out of the car. Just barely lifting the lid, I pull out my rifle and quickly shut the trunk, making the car rock. Ryder sits still in the car like he’s frozen in place.

Maybe I shouldn’t have brought him along, maybe he’s not built for this.

Walking around the car, I tap on the window with the barrel of my semi-automatic, making Ryder practically jump out of his skin.

“You dumbass!” I hiss, ripping open the door. “I could have been anyone. I could have been HIM and you’re like a motherfucking sitting duck right now.” At a loss for words, I simply shake my head at him. If he’s doing this with me, he needs to get his shit together. “Get your shit together. We need to move,” I urge, walking away. It doesn’t take long for Ryder to catch up to me. We come up along the side of the house and pause before turning the corner. I look over at him, waiting for a silent response to my unspoken question.

You ready?

He gives me a quick nod and then we’re both moving, quickly but quietly, around the front of the house and up to the front door. As I reach for the door, the knob starts to turn on its own and the door slowly opens, revealing exactly who we were looking for.

“Well, shit.” Jared smiles, holding onto the door. “I wasn’t expecting any guests. If I knew you guys were coming, I would have gotten some food or some shit.” He shrugs and opens up the door.

My gun is in my hands within in a matter of seconds, pointing it right between Jared’s black beady eyes. “Get the fuck inside,” I bark, pushing the barrel of the gun into his skin.

“Alright, alright,” Jared sighs, raising his hands up. “You caught me.”

“I said get. The. Fuck. Inside,” I demand, drawing out every word with my tone growing harsher with each one. Jared abides and starts backing up into the cabin with both of us following. “Where is she?” I bark, keeping my gun trained on him as we walk into the house.

“I’m sorry” —Jared’s brow furrows— “I’m not quite sure I know who you’re speaking of.”

With a flick of my wrist, I whip Jared across the face with my gun. Bright red blood sprays from his mouth from the impact. “What the fu—” Jared starts to say when he’s immediately hit from the opposite direction as well.

“I’m only going to ask once more,” I sneer, pressing the hard cold metal against his face. “Where. Is. She?”

Jared smirks. “Ah, yes. Your freak. The creepy little ghost bitch.”

Taking a deep breath, I cock back the hammer and dig the barrel of the gun into Jared’s head as I slowly shake my head. “I was going to let Ryder have you, but now, I’m just going to fucking kill you myself.”

He barks out a laugh as the corners of his mouth reach toward his eyes. His teeth are bright red with blood, and his face lights up with amusement.

“You can’t kill me,” he chuckles to himself. “If you kill me, you’ll never find her.”

Rearing my hand backward and forcing it forward, I drive the butt of my gun into Jared’s head. He collapses onto his side, still breathing, but not moving.