Chapter 18
By the following day, a sense of peace had once again begun to seep back into Kate’s bones. Although their afternoon outing on the lake had not produced any fish, Kate and Jason had enjoyed themselves immensely and had only opted to come in when the wind started up and they noticed a storm brewing on the horizon. The clouds had moved in quickly, and before they had reached the haven of their cabin, the sky had turned ominously black.
“I’m afraid that’s it for the day, Sport,” Kate announced as they stepped inside. “Looks like we’re in for a big one.” She flipped on a light and was about to go to the cupboard for the kerosene lamp and some candles and flashlights when the phone rang.
The familiar panic clutched at Kate’s throat as she froze, staring at the ringing phone. Who could possibly be calling? She had told no one they were coming to the lake—absolutely no one.
“Do you want me to answer it, Mom?” Jason asked, moving toward the phone.
“No,” Kate insisted, jumping in front of her bewildered son and snatching the receiver from the hook. “Hello?” she said, sensing even before she uttered the word that there would be no response.
She was right. The silence on the other end of the line sounded even louder than the claps of thunder that had begun to roll through the billowing, rain-swollen clouds, more frightening than the flashes of lightning that sliced across the sky.
Dropping the receiver to the floor, she turned to Jason, grabbing him by the arm and steering him back toward the front door. “We’re getting out of here,” she announced, snatching her purse from the hook beside the door. “We’re going home. Right now.”
“But, Mom,” Jason protested, even as she dragged him out the door and over to the SUV, “it’s starting to rain. And it’s almost night time. Why can’t we wait until tomorrow? I thought you didn’t like driving down the mountain in the dark. I don’t understand.”
“Don’t argue with me, Jason,” Kate ordered, yanking open the SUV’s front door and shoving Jason in ahead of her. “Just do as I say; do you hear me?”
She started to climb in behind him, then stopped. Jason had crawled over to the passenger side and picked up a package from the front seat. “Look, Mom. A bag with some books or something in it. Where did it come from? Is it ours?”
Kate stood, half in and half out of the SUV, as the rain poured down, soaking through her clothes and onto her skin. When Jason handed her the bag and she looked inside, a terror more horrible than anything she could ever have imagined gripped her. If she had any hope left that her fears were a product of her imagination, that hope was crushed as she reached into the bag and pulled out her family albums—the ones that had disappeared from her father’s desk.
“What are they, Mom?” Jason asked. “What did you find?”
Kate looked up at her young son, his dark eyes wide with confusion and fear—and trust.
Dear God, Kate thought, he’s scared and he doesn’t even know why—and he’s trusting me to take care of everything.
She jumped into the front seat beside Jason, throwing the albums in the back and fumbling in her purse for the keys. She dropped them twice before she was able to get them into the ignition, only to find that the engine wouldn’t start. It wouldn’t even turn over. Nothing. Not a sound but the rain pounding on the roof and Kate’s heart pounding in her chest. As another flash of lightning lit up the sky, she knew they had no choice. They had to go back inside.
“Come on, Sport,” she said, trying to keep as much panic out of her voice as possible. “I guess we’re going to have to stay here tonight after all.” She forced a smile. “It’ll be an adventure,” she said, knowing she wasn’t fooling Jason for one minute. “We’ll light the kerosene lamp and sit in front of the woodstove, just the way you like to, okay?”
The light was still on when they got back inside; she hadn’t even taken the time to turn it off before they left. Quickly she locked the door behind her, and then made her way to the cupboard for the kerosene lamp. Kate knew from experience that with a storm the magnitude of the one bearing down on them outside, it was only a matter of time before the electricity would be out.
Oh, no, she gasped silently, pulling the lamp from the shelf. I never replaced the kerosene we used the last time we were here. She was about to put the lamp back and grab a couple of flashlights when a resounding boom of thunder sent the lamp crashing to her feet just as the lights flickered out, plunging the cabin into complete darkness.
“Mom!” Jason cried, a tremor in his young voice. “Mom, where are you?”
“I’m right here, honey,” she called out, forcing herself to say words that she didn’t believe. “Just stand still and I’ll come to you. Don’t be afraid. Everything’s going to be all right.”
Knowing her way around the cabin, she was able to reach her son, who stood motionless in the middle of the living room, in a matter of seconds. It was only as she wrapped her arms around his wet, shivering body that she realized she had forgotten the flashlight.
“Honey,” she said softly, brushing his dripping hair back from his forehead, “we need to go back into the kitchen and get a flashlight, all right? Just stay close to me and don’t worry about a thing—”
Her words were cut off abruptly as she realized that someone was trying to open the front door. It’s locked, she told herself. It’s locked. No one can get in. But she knew in her heart that whoever it was who had been stalking her all these weeks was not about to be dissuaded by one flimsy lock.
“Mom, someone’s trying to get in,” Jason whispered. “Who is it? What are we going to do? Should we call the police?”
Kate was already working her way toward the phone, feeling her way in the darkness with one hand and pulling Jason along with the other. The receiver was still off the hook, but she pulled it up from the floor and put it to her ear, hoping she would be able to get through to the police in time. She pressed the disconnect button repeatedly, trying to get a dial tone, but the phone was dead. Had the storm knocked it out, along with the lights, or had the wires purposely been cut? Kate swallowed hard, her hands shaking as she realized the front door lock wouldn’t hold much longer.
Dropping the phone once again and turning toward her son, she gripped him by the shoulders. “Don’t make a sound,” Kate whispered. “Just come with me into my bedroom. We’ll get down behind the bed. As dark as it is, maybe whoever is out there won’t even know we’re here.”
“But, Mom, what about a flashlight?”
“There’s no time, Jason,” she explained, trying to keep the hysteria out of her voice. “We’ve got to hide right now. Besides, if we use a flashlight, whoever it is will see us.”
Carefully they made their way into Kate’s room and slid down behind the bed next to the wall. When they heard the front door crash open, Kate knew there was nothing more they could do except wait...and pray.
“Please, God,” she whispered. “Oh, please, please!”
“Great shall be the peace of your children.”
Crouched beside her beloved son, she grasped desperately at the vague promise. What was God trying to tell her? And what was the rest of that scripture the pastor had read? The part about “you shall not fear” and something about terror not coming near—oh, how she wished she could remember it—and believe it!
The bedroom door squeaked open then, and a flashlight beam began to sweep the room. Pictures flashed through Kate’s mind, pictures of Sharon Williams with her cold, jealous eyes; Chester Greeley with his rifle held menacingly in front of him; Millie Simons, crazy with grief over the loss of her son; an old pickup truck trying to run her down.
Who are you? Kate wanted to cry out. What do you want from us? Why are you trying to frighten us this way? But she only knelt in silent terror, helpless to protect herself or her son.