Hunters Series - Burn Part Five

We pulled off the highway and followed an old dirt road. I was thankful for the 4 wheel drive because the snow as almost as tall as the tires of the truck.

“We’re almost there. It’s just up the road.” C.J. said pointing with his head at the invisible road in front of us. “He’s kind of different, but he should be able to give us a place to rest.”

I nodded hearing what he was saying, but not sure about what it really would mean.

We finally came to a broken down house at the end of the road. It looked as though someone had built it a long time ago. There was a small front porch that had an old tin roof over the top of it. There was also an old rusted car sitting in front of the house. It didn’t look like it had been driven in a very long time.

“This is it.” C.J. said as he put the car up into park. He turned and looked at me before he opened the door to get out. The snow was hard to trudge through.

I finally got to the porch and trudged up the stairs. The porch looked almost as though it was ready to fall in with each step that I took.

C.J. got to the door first and knocked on the old door. I waited figuring there was no one there that was going to answer. I heard creaking as someone was getting ready to answer the door. The next thing that happened made me remember why I was taught never to stand in front of a door.

The gunshot tore through the air and missed C.J. by only a few inches. He had jumped back to the side of the door. I dove to the porch. After I heard the first shot, I stood, knowing that it would take the man with the gun a minute to reload. C.J. still seemed a little dazed and I rolled my eyes.

The shot had left a hole in the door and I could see the hand fumbling with the gun. He clearly hadn’t used one in a while. I kicked at the door to open it. One hit was all it took to be standing in front of the person that had just tried to take my head off.

I cocked my head to the side as I looked at him. He didn’t look dangerous except for the gun that was still in his hand.

He was a color of rich chocolate and he had on a dirty shirt that looked like he had been digging in. His eyes met mine and I could see that he was a little scared and unsure of me.

“You better get out of here. I’m gonna shoot you if you don’t.”

“Relax Callon.” C.J. had moved beside me in the doorway. I watched as his eyes settled and calmed. “What are you thinking? Shooting at people you don’t even know is bad.”

“I just saw the truck and not the people that were in it. I didn’t know who the hell you were.” He started to get up from his perch on the floor. “Come on; get in here before the cold gets in.” He turned away from us and walked. I didn’t know where he was going. I just hoped that there weren’t any guns there.

C.J. shut the door behind him and looked at me again. “You OK?” I raised an eyebrow at him and sat on the olive colored couch in the middle of the room. The fire was going in the fireplace and it felt good and warm. “Callon, what are you doing back there?”

The small man walked back into the room. “I was just making sure that all of the doors were good and closed and that you weren’t followed.” He seemed unsure of himself and a little jumpy. Something wasn’t right. I could feel it. “You can stay in my extra room tonight. It’s down the hall and to the right.” He was looking at me, but there was a problem with only the one room.

“I’ll stay on the couch.” C.J. said looking at the dust covered olive couch.

I turned and walked down the hall paying attention to where the rooms were. When I got to the door on the right, I pushed the door open and flipped on the light. It was as dusty as the rest of the house. I sighed and went in. At least it was warm.

I looked around the room once the door was closed and there was only me and the bed in the middle of the room and the mirror that sat against the wall. It was dusty and dirty. I ran my hand across the reflection and looked at the girl that was staring back at me.

I hadn’t wanted my life to be like this. I wanted nothing more than to be normal and have a life that was as oblivious to the dark as I could, but it didn’t end up that way. My mother had died a long time ago and my dad had carried that with him all of these years. I wondered if he really wanted to protect me from the demons that were in the world, or something else.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out the SD card that I had taken from Paige’s house. It was important that no one got this card. I wondered how I was going to keep it safe. I was just a girl that had no way to keep a demon from snatching it right out of my hand and they all knew that I had it. There was no way that this was going to be an easy fight.

A knock at the door startled me out of my thoughts. I just stood there for a minute before I slipped the card back into my pocket.

“What?” I said my tone a little mean.

“We have to go. They found us!” It was C.J. on the other side of the door. “Hurry up!”

I flung the door open and saw the panic in his face. “Are they around the truck?” I managed to keep a level head.

“Not yet, but there at the end of the drive. We won’t be able to drive out of here.”

“We’ll have to walk.” I said looking at the floor. “How’d they find us?” I brought my gaze up to his eyes.

“I’m not sure.” He broke that gaze and looked down. I knew in that moment that he was lying.