Loser || WlW

Forty-Nine

 The cold air whips against my face. I blink a few times and look around.

The treetops stretch high above us, blocking the stars. Moonlight speckles the ground. I half sit up, resting my weight on my elbows. Zachary is a few feet away on one knee. The police cruiser is parked at an angle to block the dirt road.

I move to sit up fully, wince, and glance at the spot where Zachary stabbed me. He must have tried to stop the bleeding with a pad of white gauze but the crimson liquid is already soaked through and bubbling at the top.

I clench my teeth and force myself into a sitting position. My movements are slow and deliberate. If I can get away without him hearing me, I can call the police and end this.

"You ruined it, you know..." he says.

I can't tell if he's talking to me or himself until he faces me. His posture is calm, not like before when we were in the basement at my Aunt Jane's cabin. He's carving something into a twig with the box cutter. The gun's sitting on his leg.

"I broke mom out of the mental hospital just in time to blame her for all of the murders."

My thoughts go back to the day he went with me to Black View Hospital. How he conveniently stayed outside when I went in to ask who had seen our mom that day. Just in case reception recognized him. He had it planned from the beginning. He even used Trevor's name to sign in to keep my attention on the Hemmetts when it should have been on him.

"I was going to finish Grace off, set Mom up, and everything would be back to normal by now." He shakes his head and keeps his eyes fixed on the twig as he continues dragging the blade across it. "But that bitch, Brittany." He makes a sound in the back of his throat; curls his lips over his teeth. "I guess she ruined everything." His eyes meet mine. "You don't actually love her, do you?"

I swallow. "Is she here?" My voice is deep, hoarse from screaming.

He shakes his head. I can't put my finger on it, but I know he's telling the truth. It's like the mask has been stripped away and everything is back to normal. Just siblings having a conversation.

I shake my head. "No."

"I knew it." He clenches his jaw. "She's not your type."

"She's straight."

He gestures at me with the box cutter and nods. "There's that too." After a moment of silence, he says, "You had me though. I believed you. They should have given you an A in theater."

"Zachary," I cut him off, "what are we doing out here?"

He sits forward and sighs. "I'm ending it."

I lick my lips. My eyes flick toward the trees and back. Just long enough to map out a plan. "You're going to kill me?"

His eyes lock with mine. He raises an eyebrow.

"How is that the same as protecting me? I thought the whole point of this was to protect me."

"It was." He sighs again. "But you've ruined it. You and Brittany ruined it." He shakes his head. "I'm not going to let you go alone though." He pauses. "I'll –"

If there's anything I've learned from TV, it's that the last chance the hero has to escape is when the villain is droning on about how perfect he is, so disregarding the burning pain in my side, I push to my feet and dart into the trees before Zach has a chance to catch up.

I'm sucking air in through my teeth, clenching my side with one hand, and half limping half jogging through the trees. Zachary's voice is getting closer as he yells out for me. I can't outrun him. I slide over a fallen tree and push through a thick thorn bush that tears at my cheeks. Ignoring the blood on my face, I push into the rushing water.

I must have looped back around, curved toward the river instead of the road. I take another step, but the water is moving with so much force, I might not make it across.

I wade down the river, toward a pile of large boulders when the sand dips lower and I sink to my waist. I grab the edge of the largest rock and position my body between two of the boulders.

"You can't run from me, Jordan!" Zachary barrels through the thick bushes and splashes into the river, squinting through the darkness. "Let me end it the way it's meant to be!"

The water around me is a foggy brown color as blood seeps through my shirt. I press my fingers to my side. They come away fresh with bright blood.

"Shit," I whisper. I reopened the wound.

A glance over the rock reveals Zachary jogging toward me. My heart is pounding in my throat.

I only have one shot.

I move into a crouching position behind the shorter rock.

Zachary is standing next to me, his gaze focused downriver. He doesn't see me as he cups his hands around his mouth and shouts, "Jordan!"

I scoot back slowly. If I can sneak behind him, I'm home free.

I'm almost on the other side of the boulder, out of his line of sight when his eyes land on me.

He makes an "Ah!" noise and leaps at me.

I turn to run but he catches hold of my shirt and pulls me back, slamming me against the riverbed.

He digs his fingers into my shoulders, holding me under. His lips are moving, but I can't hear him. He's going to kill me the way he always wanted to. I throw my fist into his arms, his chest, anywhere I can reach, but he doesn't move, doesn't even flinch.

Bubbles rush from my nose as the pressure builds in my head. I let out a muffled scream. I crave oxygen. I need it.

I rake my fingers through the sand and find a rock a little larger than my palm. I don't hesitate to slam it into his arm.

He falls back and I shoot into a sitting position, gasping in air.

"Fuck!" He's shouting, gripping his wrist with the other hand. He turns away from me and plunges half of his arm into the icy water. "I think you broke it," he whines.

Without thinking, I jump to my feet and smash the rock against the back of his head.

His body collapses and I sprint toward the trees again. I stop just as I'm about to break through the treeline and look back.

The water is rushing just as it had before. It's too dark to tell if he's submerged.

I stop and bounce on the balls of my feet. I can't let him drown. He's my brother. I take a step forward, shake my head, and turn back.

I can't help but run as I make my way to the police cruiser. Every shadow jumps at me. Every bush is large enough to conceal Zachary. He could have slipped away while I was crawling over the rocks.

It's not until I'm a few yards away from the cruiser when I stumble through the overgrowth and trip into someone.

I'm screaming, begging him to leave me alone when Kyle swings his gun at me.

He yells something but I can't hear him over my own hysterics.

"Where's your brother?" he asks, his eyes flicking from my bloody side to my eyes.

I shake my head. "The river." Goosebumps ripple up my arms. "Kyle," I grab his arm as he starts toward the water. "I think he might be dead."

Kyle nods once; swallows. There's something in his eyes. Empathy. He knows what this feels like.

A paramedic rushes toward me and breaks Kyle's stare as she grabs my arm. "Come with me. We need to get you to the hospital," she orders.