North Oak, Book 1 - BORN TO RUN

Chapter 4: Only a Dream

ONLY A DREAM

A flash of lightning lit up the room just enough to frame Ashley in the doorway before she turned and padded up the stairwell to the bathroom.

Alex rolled over, trying to beat out the lumps in her mattress well enough to get comfortable, but her best efforts were futile.

Rain pelted the lone window in the overcrowded bedroom. A flash of lightning projected veins of running water on the opposite wall. Thunder crashed against Haven's walls, rumbling with a blast on the air. Somewhere in the house, a gun had been fired. A thud on the floor above followed.

All of the girls snapped to attention. Bewilderment and confusion lit every face. Alex threw back her covers and admonished her foster sisters, "Stay here."

The old, wooden floorboards creaked as she stepped across them. She turned onto the staircase, gaining speed. The stairs reverberated as she pounded up them.

"Ashley?"

She took the steps by twos now, searching for Ashley. Why isn't she answering? Alex called for her again. "Ash?"

Alex paused on the landing at the top of the long staircase, her breathing rapid. Her heart pounded. She swallowed back the dread pulsing inside. The end of the hall opened to a storage room, with the bathroom nearby. Something dense sprawled on the ground, darker than the rest of the hallway.

Alex raced down passage, keeping her hand against the grimy wall to guide her in the blackness. Sagging, damp wallpaper peeled beneath her fingertips. An audible drip made its way from the ceiling and pattered on the floor.

When she turned on the bathroom light, it flooded into the hall, illuminating Ashley whose color was fading fast. Ashley stared up at her. "Alex..." Her hands shook as she raised them to her chest. A damp stain of crimson spread over her shirt like a shattered sun.

Alex dropped to her knees, slipping in a small pool of blood. She reached forward hesitantly, flinching, as though it might sting to touch her beloved friend. As soon as their fingers met, Alex pulled Ashley close to her and cradled her.

"Stay with me. We're running away, remember? We're gonna get out of here and start a life together." She held Ashley tight, rocking her. "Just you, and me. Please... please, I need you."

Ashley's mouth moved to speak, but no words came out. She drew a ragged breath and reached to touch Alex's face. Alex clasped her hand. "Everything's gonna be okay, Ash."

"I..." Ashley sputtered, "I love you."

Ashley's mouth pursed, body shuddering. She gulped air with a desperate rattle, then eased. Her head rolled toward Alex. Wide, blue-gray eyes glazed over, staring, as the light went out of her.

"Ashley? Don't leave me, Ash!" Alex kissed Ashley's forehead as if love was enough to bring her back. "You're all I got. Don't leave me."

But Ashley was already gone. She lay heavily in Alex's arms, and yet felt like nothing more than an envelope whose contents had been emptied. The air seemed colder, darker. 

"Somebody help!" Alex tried to yell; the words came out barely more than a whisper. She shuddered, vaguely aware of the blood on her hands and shirt. "Ash." Alex shook her. "Ashley!" She broke down into tears. "I need you... I need you. Come back."

"I was hoping it was you," growled a steely voice.

Alex jumped and turned her head. Vanessa DeGelder stood in the doorway to the spare room. 

"Why are you doing this to us?" Alex cried.

"You're no longer of use to me." DeGelder drunkenly pointed a small handgun. Her words slurred. "There's four more bullets for your little friends."