Chapter 50

  Adam woke with a start, sitting bolt upright. Shafts of weak sunlight streamed through the high windows. He rubbed his eyes to clear the grit and found Marcus staring at him from across the room. One of his eyes was swollen shut and blood still caked his upper lip.

  "You get a good night's rest?" he asked, the sarcasm practically dripping from his words. He was tied to the same pipe Jessica had been secured to the night before.

  Adam thought about it. "Yeah, I did."

  The smell of brewing coffee drifted down the stairs and Adam took that as a sign to get up. Marcus shrank back as Adam approached, pressing against the wall. Adam walked past without giving the other man so much as a second look and went upstairs.

  Fuck him, Adam thought.

  Rashid's body was curiously missing from the hallway leading to the kitchen. Adam looked closely and saw the barest hint of a stain on the wall, the blood clearly and intentionally scrubbed away.

  "Morning," Natalie said, her voice drifting toward him from somewhere in the kitchen. He saw that Layla's body had been removed as well.

  "How did you clean it so well in the dark?" Adam asked, sitting in the same chair as the night before.

  "The power came back on a few minutes after you fell asleep." Natalie poured him a cup of coffee. "Sorry, it's black. There's nothing to put in it."

  "I'll survive." Adam took the cup and wrapped his hands around it, enjoying the nearly scalding warmth. "That makes sense. I was trying to hold back so I wouldn't freak them out last night, and then to keep from giving anything away when we were in the basement. I guess when I'm asleep it's automatic?”

  He looked around. “Where are the others?"

  "Sam is sleeping. It took her a few hours to finally calm down enough to drift off." She pointed at the bathroom door. "I believe Jessica is taking the longest shower of her life. I had to check the bathroom for anything she could swallow or cut herself with first, but yeah... She's still alive as of five minutes ago."

  "Hector?" Adam asked, glancing over his shoulder when the bathroom door opened and closed again.

  "He's out back." Natalie poured herself a cup and sat down across from him. "I dug the hole this morning. We thought about dumping them in the tunnel, but to hell with that. Some things even monsters don’t deserve. Hector should be almost done filling in the grave."

  On cue, Hector opened the sliding glass door and walked in, dirt stained from head to toe. "I'm glad it's getting cooler,” he said, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand.

  "Coffee?" Natalie asked, holding up the pot.

  "Sure." Hector took the cup and dropped into the chair beside Adam. The three sat in silence a moment, sipping their drinks.

  "Feels... normal," Natalie said.

  “Don’t say that too loud, someone will hear you,” Adam grunted. "But yeah. I'm not sure it should, but it does. We need to talk about the elephant in the room."

  "Which one?" Hector asked, scratching at the bandage over his missing thumb.

  Natalie nodded. "He's not wrong. There are a few."

  The events of the previous night played through Adam's mind in fast forward. He knew there was nothing they could have done differently, but he still felt a sense of guilt above and beyond having killed the others. He had led them here, put them all in danger, and that had led to the deaths of three other people.

  Adam finished his cup and poured himself another. "Nothing came out to take anyone after I passed out? Did either of you see anything at all last night?"

  "Not a thing, and we kept watch all night. Nada," Natalie said, shrugging.

  "So, Amir was crazy. But we're still missing something." Adam couldn't figure out why they'd made up the story about Stephen, or why they would try to sacrifice people without a reason. Amir was a sadist, but he wasn't stupid, and he couldn't shake the feeling something still wasn’t adding up.

  Jessica walked into the kitchen wearing fresh clothes. She opened a cupboard, reached to the back and pulled out an unopened carton of creamer. "Power back on?" she asked, grabbing the coffee pot and pouring herself the last cup.

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  Adam swallowed heavily, the sight of the woman dredging up some very uncomfortable feelings from the previous night. "Sorta. I… I don’t know what you understand about what’s happened, but some of us can do things now. Call them abilities, powers, or whatever. I can turn the power on as long as it’s close to me. We really don’t know how it works.”

  Jessica nodded, barely seeming to pay attention as she drank. The silence stretched uncomfortably as she stared at the counter top.

  "Do you... remember anything about last night?" Adam asked, hesitating and almost losing his nerve before finishing the question. Natalie immediately shot him a look, and Hector pretended to be very interested in label of the creamer.

  "A little, but I don't want to talk about it right now. Not while one of them is still in my house." She pointed down through the counter, her painted nail clacking sharply against the countertop.

  "That's fair." Adam rubbed his hands together nervously, choosing his next words with care. "What do you want us to do about Marcus?"

  Jessica was silent for a moment, her eyes boring holes in her cup. "I don't care. Kill him, toss him in the hole, or let him go. Just as long as he's gone and I never have to see him again."

  Adam noticed barely visible bruises covered the woman's throat. He had no doubt they were Amir's handiwork. "Are you sure?"

  She met his eyes with an intensity that made him flinch and he looked away. "Yes." Without another word. she grabbed her cup and walked outside.

  Adam thought about telling her it wasn't safe, but he let it go. He had no idea what was going on in her mind, but he could imagine. Adam grimaced at the box of creamer and drained his cup. "Could have really used that earlier."

  Natalie and Hector chuckled, nodding their agreement.

  "Are you ready? Do you know what you want to do?" Hector asked, getting up and pushing in his chair.

  Adam frowned, shrugging with his hands. "Why is it up to me?"

  "Because you're in charge, obviously," Natalie said.

  "Since when?!" Adam was absolutely certain he did not want to be in charge of anyone or anything.

  "Since you went after supplies for Sam." Natalie held up one finger.

  "When you almost got me killed in the hospital." Hector nodded and raised two fingers.

  "How about when you fought off the goblins when we escaped The Pagegrinder?" Natalie raised two more fingers to make it three.

  "The Salesman," Hector said, raising all four fingers. "That's as high as I can go."

  "I've got you.” Natalie put all five fingers up. “And you brought us here. Like it or not, this is your show."

  Adam looked helplessly between his two companions. He let out a long breath and shook his head. "Christ."

  "With great responsibility..." A grin spread across Natalie's face.

  "No. Nope. We’re not doing." Adam stood up. "Hector, grab the shotgun. Let's go."

  Adam went down the stairs with Hector and Natalie following close behind. Marcus looked up at them, his dark skin going a shade paler when he saw Adam's expression. "Work up the balls to finish the job?"

  "Get up,” Adam commanded, pulling out a small pocket knife and stomping across the room.

  Marcus cringed, trying to pull away despite being tied in place. "Don't you fucking touch me!"

  Hector pointed the shotgun at the defenseless man and Adam stepped to the side. "You can listen, or Hector can shoot you. Your choice."

  Marcus appeared to consider his options, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. He glanced between the knife and the shotgun before struggling his way to his feet. "I didn't want to do anything..."

  "Of course not. No one ever does. Let me guess. You were just following orders and you’re very sorry." Adam wrinkled his nose as he approached, his disgust mingling with the caged animal stench of Marcus’ sweat. He reached behind the taller man and sliced the rope that secured him to the wall.

  "Hector, if he tries anything, shoot him. I don't care if I'm in the way."

  "You got it,” Hector said, bringing the gun to bear and raising it to point directly at Marcus' face.

  Marcus hesitated, his eyes flickering from the barrel of the shotgun to the knife in Adam's hand. "Don't. Don't throw me down there. If you're gonna kill me... Just kill me. Or give me the knife and let me do it myself."

  Adam ignored Marcus' pleas and led him up the stairs, the taller man dissolving into sobs as they reached the kitchen. "You know how you feel now? I guarantee that's how every single person you helped throw down that hole felt." Adam pushed him through the living room and out the front door.

  "What are you doing?" Natalie hissed.

  "As close to the right thing as I can." Adam cut Marcus' wrists free and shoved him forward.

  Marcus turned, confusion spreading across his face. "What... why?"

  "Because I'm not a murderer, and I'm not going to be one." Adam pointed down the street. "This isn't mercy. Chances are you're going to die out there, probably horribly, but it won't be at my hand."

  Marcus didn't move, a dumbfounded expression etched across his face. After a long moment he turned and started down the driveway.

  Adam waited until he reached the street, then called out. "Marcus."

  Marcus paused and turned back.

  "If I ever see you again, I'll kill you. I won't talk about it, I won't listen to whatever you have to say, and I won't hesitate," Adam said.

  Marcus stood in the street for a long time, before turning and walking away. Once he was out of sight, Adam turned back to his companions.

  Natalie glanced down the street in the direction Marcus had gone. "You know, given what you said, we'll definitely run into him again."

  "Probably,” Adam replied.

  "If you see him again, will you actually do it? Kill him I mean," Natalie asked.

  "Honestly? I have no idea. I'll burn that bridge when I come to it." Adam sighed and ran his hand through his hair, trying to breathe out some of the recurring tension building in his chest. "We need to wake up Samantha. There's something I want to talk to all of you about."