Glory (Book 5) Read online

  She didn't say much else about what had happened with Big Mike, though she didn't need to. Most of it was obvious.

  When she stopped speaking, she looked at Adam, her eyes dry. "It's funny," she said. "I thought that story would have made me cry. But if anything, it just makes me mad." She clenched her teeth and bashed her fist against the ground. "I can't believe he did that to me!"

  Adam couldn't believe it either, but he didn't want to say anything about it to make matters worse. He thought about what he should tell her.Everything's okay now. You survived. Don't worry about it. They all seemed shallow.

  “There’s good people out there,” he decided on. “And we’re going to find them.”

  "I know," Claire said. "Look at us. Me, you, Shelly, Jane, Charles, Robert. We're not like Big Mike. We're not like that guy Sam. We'll find others like us out there. It's just…well, not so easy to keep reminding myself of that."

  Not so easy.To Adam, that was an understatement. He couldn't imagine how he would feel if their roles had been reversed. He didn't think that he'd be looking on the bright side of things. She was definitely a lot more positive than he would've expected.And he liked her all the more for it.

  Claire sat back and looked up at the stars. Adam did as well. Though he also put out his hand and grabbed hold of hers. She didn't pull away.

  *

  They sat like that until Shelly came up behind them. Once they heard her footsteps they pulled their hands away from each other like little children caught doing something bad. They didn't actually think that Shelly would mind, but it was all so new to them.

  Adam looked at Claire with a nervous look across his face. She started to laugh. Adam joined her.

  "What's so funny?" Shelly asked.

  That only got them to laugh all that much more.

  Chapter 13

  The three finally went downstairs. It was starting to get cool up on the rooftop. And they wanted to talk to Jane.

  "Who's going to speak to her first?" Adam asked.

  "You are," both Claire and Shelly replied at the same time.

  "Me? Why me?"

  Claire and Shelly didn't have an answer.

  "Fine," he said. "I'll do it."

  They walked to the library.

  Adam wasn't sure of what he was going to say to Jane, but he figured that it might be best to just come out and tell her they were worried.That's all there was to it.

  However, as soon as they entered the library, they noticed that Jane, Charles and Robert had fallen asleep in a far corner of the room.

  "What should we do?" Claire asked.

  Adam looked around and thought about it. "Let's just wait until the morning. It'll be better to do it then."

  "Are you sure?"

  "Yeah I'm sure."

  The three walked over to the other end of the library. They didn't want to wake the others. They laid down on the ground.

  "Good night," Adam said once they had settled themselves in.

  "Good night," Claire and Shelly replied.

  Adam lay on his back and stared up at the ceiling. Claire was lying beside him and he wanted to lean over and kiss her again.

  He didn't.

  He didn't want to upset her, to push her too far, too fast.

  He took a deep breath. Then another.

  It was then that he felt something press against his hand.Claire. She had grabbed hold of him. He squeezed her hand back and smiled.

  Chapter 14

  Jane opened her eyes and looked around. It was dark outside and she couldn't see much of anything. But she was positive that she had heard someone move.

  She held her breath and listened.

  Thump. It came from outside.Thump. Thump.

  Immediately, Jane thought of waking up Charles. She wanted to wake Adam up too.

  Yet, she didn't do either.

  Thump.

  She didn't know how she'd explain it to them if it was only her imagination. That would lead her to tell them about the things she had been seeing…her family…how they were haunting her.

  Thump. Thump.

  Jane sat up.She could deal with this on her own for now.She got to her feet.

  She'd look in the hallway first. If it was one of the creatures, she'd get the others. If it wasn't, well…

  She took a few steps toward the door, but stopped before she got there. She thought about the rifle Adam had given her earlier. She turned and grabbed it. Then she went to the door.

  The hallway was darker than the library. She kept her hand against the wall to guide her. Her other hand was wrapped tightly around the gun.

  Thump.

  Jane followed the sound to the stairs.It sounded like it was coming from the second floor.She nearly shouted to see if anyone up there would respond before realizing that it might wake the others.

  She put her foot on the first step and paused.

  Thump.

  Yes, it was coming from up there.

  She made her way up the stairs.

  Once she reached the top, she stopped again. She stuck her head out into the hallway. There was nothing aside from darkness…and the sound.

  Thump.

  She took her gun and pressed the base against her shoulder. She walked forward.

  As Jane made her way down the hallway, even in the dark she thought that she could see something moving up ahead. Though it was difficult to make out what it was or what it was doing.

  She approached it slowly.

  Thump.

  When she got a little closer, Jane saw what she was looking at.Her daughter. Becky was holding the heads of one of the corpses - the young girl who Jane had shot. Becky banged its head against the ground -thump - then looked up at her mother and smiled.

  At the sight of it, Jane felt an urge pull the trigger. She couldn't get herself to do it. This was her daughter. Or a version of her.

  Even if she did shoot her, Jane knew it wouldn't do any good. Her daughter wasn't really there. She was dead.

  This was all in Jane's head.

  Becky's hands held onto the corpse's head, her little fingers gripping its blonde hair. She raised it, then slammed it down once more.

  Thump.

  "You're not real," Jane said. She took a few steps closer. She didn't want to. She wanted to run. But she also knew that she had to battle this. She had todefeat it. "You're dead."

  Jane's daughter looked up and her and started to cry. "That's not nice, mommy. Don't say I'm dead."

  "You're dead," Jane repeated. "Dead!"

  Becky picked the head up again and slammed it down again. This time Jane was sure that she had heard it crack open. There was a squishing sound as well.

  "You're not real!"

  "Mommy, don't say that!"

  The little girl continued to cry. Though, by now, Jane realized that the tears weren't real. Her daughter was pretending, mocking her.

  Becky raised her hands to her face to wipe away her fake tears. The blood covering the little girl's hands rubbed on her cheeks and under her eyes.

  "You're not real," Jane continued to say, her voice shaking.

  "Mommy, look at me. Look what I can do."

  Her daughter took her hands and and put them to her mouth. She licked them. Jane saw her daughter's tongue come out and taste the blood from the corpse. Then she stuck a finger in her mouth and twirled it around.

  "Stop," Jane said.

  Her daughter laughed.

  Jane wanted to run, Though she stayed where she was, knowing she had to fight this "You're not real!" she yelled.

  Her daughter didn't reply. She simply looked at her mother and continued to suck on her fingers as though they were covered in sweet syrup.

  "You're not real!"

  Jane took a few steps closer, the gun pointed out in front of her.She should shoot her,she told herself.It might make it all come to an end.

  "Jane!" a voice called from beside her. Her husband.Phil. He was standing in one of the classrooms. "You're late."
>
  His words confused her. "I'mwhat?"

  "You're late…for class."

  Jane saw that he was holding a ruler. He slapped it into his hand.

  "Come to class, Jane."

  Jane moved away from the door and looked back at her daughter. The little girl was standing directly in front of her now. Jane jumped back.

  "Mommy," Becky said. "Don't be afraid. Let's go to class. Daddy's a good teacher, you know that. We'll learn a lot. Let's go, mommy. Let's go!"

  Jane pointed the gun back at her daughter. "Get back!"

  The little girl laughed again.

  "You're late for class, Jane," her husband said. "You're going to get in trouble." His eyes focused on her, anger building in them. "If you're not in here in three seconds, you're going to get in big trouble, little lady!"

  She pointed the gun at him. "Leave me alone. You're not real."

  "Don't say that, mommy. Don't say that!" Her daughter took a step closer.

  "Three seconds," her husband repeated. "One..."

  Jane looked back and forth between her husband and daughter. She had trouble standing up, trouble holding the gun. Any courage she may have had left her.

  "You're not real," she said. "Leave me alone!"

  "Two..."

  She could shoot them,she told herself.End it all.The thought surprised her, but it was true:she wanted them dead.

  They're all ready dead!she screamed to herself.

  "You're not real!" she screamed out loud.

  "Three."

  Her husband smirked. Then he slapped the ruler heavily into his hand. The crack sent a shiver down Jane's spine. She couldn't take it anymore. She turned and ran to the stairs.

  She could hear her husband and daughter coming after her.

  Jane got to the top of the stairs and shuffled down them. Her feet nearly tripped a few times, but she managed to grab the railing to stop herself from falling.

  She made it to the bottom of the stairs, then turned around to see if her family was still following her.

  They weren't. But shecould hear their laughter at the top of the stairs.

  "Mommy," Becky called down to her. "You're late. And daddy isn't happy about that. He isn't happy at all."

  "Get back here, Jane!" her husband shouted.

  Jane could hear her husband slapping the ruler in his hand. Over and over again. She turned away from the hallway and hurried back to the library.

  "Oh, mommy,” her daughter called, her voice fading the farther she got away. "You can’t leave us. You just can't!"

  When Jane got to the library, she wanted to wake everyone up. Except then she’d have to explain everything to them, and she wasn’t sure how to do that.

  She went through the door and walked over to the spot where she had been sleeping. Charles and Robert didn't hear her approach. The little boy snored lightly, his toy rabbit in his arms. She laid down beside him, the gun in hers.

  As soon as she closed her eyes, tears burst from them. They ran down her cheeks, onto her nose and cheeks.

  She was confused. She was scared. She didn't know what to do.

  She took a few deep breaths and tried to calm herself down.

  Thenthump.Her daughter was up there, back to banging the corpse's head against the ground.

  "Please," Jane murmured. "Leave me alone."

  Day 19

  Chapter 1

  Jane couldn't remember when she had fallen asleep, but she knew that she must have. Her eyes were closed when she heard a rustling. She opened them, half-expecting to see her daughter and husband standing before her. Instead, it was Adam other side of the room, just getting up.

  *

  Adam looked over at Jane. There was an expression on her face that looked like fear. Though he couldn't figure out why. He supposed that spending a night in a school library, with dead children piled up outside in a ditch, must have had something to do with it. But he wasn't sure if that was actually the reason.

  He decided not to worry about it.

  Claire was sleeping beside him, her arms balled up underneath her head. He had no idea when they had stopped holding hands.But they had definitely been doing that. It hadn't been a dream. The kiss hadn't been a dream, either.

  He felt a bit little like a school boy and felt his face redden at the thought of it.

  He looked back at Jane. She was sitting up now.

  "Good morning," he mouthed to her. He didn't want to wake everyone else.

  "Good morning," she mouthed back.

  Adam knew that this was the perfect time to talk to her about her troubles. He pointed outside. She raised her hands in awhat? fashion.

  He tried again.

  She nodded, then got up and walked to the library door.

  *

  Adam met her there. "Let's go outside," he said.

  "Outside? Why?"

  "Because it's a nice day. And I don't really want to stand and talk in the hallway."

  "Talk in the hallway?" Jane didn't want to do that, either. But she wasn't really sure if she wanted to talk to him anywhere at the moment. "What do you want to talk about?"

  "Come on," he replied. "It looks nice out. We can chat out there."

  She followed him outside.

  *

  Adam walked out into the open air and took a deep breath. The sun had only recently started to come up, yet he could tell that it was going to be another hot day.

  He walked over to the swing set and sat down on one of the swings. He hadn't been on one in years. He used to love it as a child, though. Back and forth, his father used to push him.Until he was big enough to get it going on his own, that is.After that, he tried to go higher than his father would have ever allowed. Tried to go over the bar.Tried to shoot straight up into the sky!

  Jane sat beside him. Her hands took hold of the chains a little too tightly.

  "Jane," he said. "What's wrong?"

  Her eyes faltered before setting on him. "What do you mean?"

  "Something's wrong. I know it. Weall do. I talked to Claire and Shelly and we're all worried about you. I wish you'd tell me about it."

  *

  Jane kept her eyes on Adam as different emotions ran through her. She was angry that he had been talking about her with the others. She was touched for the same reason. She felt fear at telling him what had been happening to her. And she felt fear at thinking about what had been happening.

  He would think she's crazy,she told herself.He'd tell her to leave.

  She could work through it. She knew she could.

  "It's nothing," she said.

  "It can't be nothing. I've been watching you. I know that something's wrong."

  She went to open her mouth and found that she wanted to tell him.Her husband and daughter had come back to haunt her. She had killed her teenage neighbour. She had killed the girl who had been strapped to the bed. She had shot children yesterday. Children!It was all too much for her to handle.

  "It's really nothing," she said, and immediately regretted it. She didn't know why she didn't have the courage to tell him.

  Adam turned and stared at the ground in front of him. She could see his frustration. His concern. He took a few deep breaths, then turned to look at her again. She could see the pleading in his eyes.He wanted to help her.

  "Please," he said. "Tell me."

  Jane opened her mouth. This time, words came out.

  "It's my husband and daughter," she said.

  "What about them?"

  "It's…well…they haunt me. My husband and daughter haunt me." The words sounded strange, but she couldn't deny that they also felt good to get out.

  "They haunt you? What do you mean?"

  Jane grabbed the chain of the swing and squeezed it. She bit her lower lip.

  She wasn't ready.

  "Jane," Adam said. "What is it? What do you mean that theyhaunt you?"

  "It's…well…," She took a deep breath. "They come to me."

  "In dreams?"

 
"They don't feel like dreams. They feel real. My family is haunting me."

  Tears ran down her face. If she hadn't felt strange enough telling him her problems, this made it worse.

  Adam reached out and touched her arm. "It's okay. Don't cry. I just want to talk about it."

  "Talk about it?" Jane asked. "What's there to talk about? I see my dead husband and dead daughter. They call to me in the night. I see them in the dark, doing horrible things. They won't let me go. They won't go away."

  Jane cried all the more.

  *

  Adam didn't know what to do. He hadn't expected this. He had thought that maybe Jane was upset because she had lost her family. Or maybe she was just having a hard time with all of the changes that had happened. But he had never expected her to say that she was beinghaunted.

  He didn't know how he could help her. He didn't know what to say.

  *

  After a while, Jane looked up at him. "See? I knew that you'd think I was crazy."

  "It's not that. I just wasn't expecting what you told me."

  "I know how it must sound. I'm sorry."

  "Don't be sorry. I want to be there for you, but I've never dealt with this type of thing before. I think that we should talk to the others."

  Jane eyes opened wide at the suggestion. "No! Don't do that. Please! I don't want them to be afraid of me. I need to try to figure this out first. I think I can manage it."

  "You shouldn't have to. We can work on this together."

  "Don't say anything to them," Jane pleaded again. "Not yet. I can figure it out. I'm sure of it."

  "And if you can't?"

  "I can! I've already been trying. I really have. And I think that I'm starting to make sense of it."

  She looked away. She didn't like lying to him. The truth was that she hadn't been able to make much sense of it at all. She simply hoped that she would.

  "I don't know," Adam said.

  "I'm begging you."

  Adam thought about it, then nodded his head. "I don't think that it's a good idea. But if you don't want me to say anything, I won't. You have to promise me that if you start to have more problems you'll talk to me about them."