Guilt At St Joseph's Academy (The Fallen Book 3) Read online

  “Careful, dude. I want to get there in one piece,” I warn him.

  He glances at me for a second before setting his eyes back on the road. I look at his hands on the wheel and notice that his knuckles are white. I’m not the only one who’s worried.

  “You’re the one who told me this is an emergency,” he counters.

  “I know.” I close my eyes and rub my temples. “And it is. Or it might be. It’s just—we won’t be able to help Zeph if we’re dead.”

  “But if we get there fast enough, we might find him before he’s dead,” he points out as he floors it until we reach another curve in the road. When he slams his foot on the brake, the tires squeal in protest.

  I stiffen and hold the seat to keep myself from hurtling to the side, but don’t say anything. The truth is, I asked him to drive specifically because I know I can trust him to get us there in one piece, and in record time.

  “We’re almost there,” Thunder reminds me, as though reading my thoughts.

  I know this, of course, but I think he’s just trying to fill the silence and help quiet my mind.

  “Right here!” I shout and jolt upward in my seat as we pull up to the lookout. “But… his car—it’s… not here.” My heart takes a giant leap into my throat. “That can’t be right.”

  Fuck.

  I was so sure. At least, I thought I was. Looks like I’m going to have to put up with Zeph ribbing me about being a pussy for years to come.

  I turn to Thunder. “I guess it was a false alarm. Sorry for wasting your time.”

  “Nah, man, it’s okay. As I said, you never have to apologize for being a good friend. Let’s just—” He stops speaking, instead, staring out of the car window.

  “Thunder?”

  “I see something.” He has the door open and is making his way out of the car before I can ask him what he saw.

  I follow suit, flying out of the car like my life depends on. The reality of the matter is that someone’s life might depend on it, just not mine.

  “He’s here. Or at least, he was.” Thunder bends down, then straightens up again, brandishing an empty bottle of Henny XXO—Zeph’s drink of choice. It’s much more expensive than the regular kind, but also way smoother. Not many people drink it because of the price tag.

  “Fuck. Then where the hell is he now?”

  “Damned if I know. Is there somewhere else you can think of?”

  Nowhere logical springs to mind. I was so convinced he’d be here that I hadn’t even thought of anywhere else, and now I’m at a loss.

  “I mean, I guess he could be going to Denver, but I really think he’d say something before he just took off across the country. That’s a level of assholery that I wouldn’t expect even from him.”

  “Denver. You mean…?” Thunder’s eyebrows knit together as he thinks through the implications of what I’m saying.

  “Yeah, that.”

  Even though it was my suggestion, I honestly don’t think it’s the most likely explanation for Zeph’s disappearance. Though, God knows, I hope it’s something as simple and harmless as that.

  I pace in front of the car, half-blinded in the glare of the bright white headlights, but not really caring. I’m way more concerned about the welfare of my best friend.

  “Wait. Kill the lights a moment!” I yell to Thunder.

  “What? Why?”

  “Just fucking do it!” I don’t mean to scream, and I’ll apologize at some point, but for now, I just need him to do what I ask.

  He backs up a little and reaches into the car. Moments later, the lookout descends into darkness, except it’s not as dark as it should be without the powerful headlights illuminating the area.

  “Motherfucker!”

  I race to the edge of the overhang, joined quickly by Thunder as he does the same. My suspicions and worst fears are confirmed as I peer down at the incline, noting that the hardy trees growing from the sparse soil are being lit by an unnatural light source.

  “ Fuck! Look, there. It’s his car. Let’s go!”

  Chapter 2

  Tyce

  We take off over the edge of the lookout without a second’s hesitation and begin making our way down the incline, heading toward Zeph’s car. It’s not an easy scramble in the slightest. Not only is it super steep, but in the dark, it’s hard to safely navigate the tangle of undergrowth, trees, bushes, and rocks.

  “Wait one second.” Thunder pants out the words urgently, but I don’t listen.

  I can’t stop until I reach Zeph. Just like Thunder said to me, I’d tear the world down to reach him right now. I don’t care about the thorns ripping at my clothes and shredding my skin. I don’t care about the rocks underfoot, causing me to stumble and fall. I just care about getting Zeph as quickly as possible.

  “Tyce! Wait one motherfucking second! Let’s turn on the flashlights on our phones. I can’t see a fucking thing, and presumably, neither can you. You said it yourself, we’re no use to Zeph if we fall and break our necks trying to get to him, right?”

  In my head, I know what he’s saying is true, and makes total sense. But I’m not operating with my head right now, and I still don’t stop.

  “Motherfucker!” Thunder yells in the distance behind me as I push on in the dark.

  As we walk, I hear twigs snapping underfoot and leaves rustling, followed by the sound of heavy breathing close behind me.

  “I said stop!”

  Thunder grabs my shoulder and jerks me backward. I slam into his broad chest with a loud thud. He snakes his arms around me and squeezes me in a vise-like grip.

  “Man, you need to let me go now, or I’m going to fucking end you.”

  “That’s a risk I’m willing to take if it means you don’t fall and crack your head on a goddamn rock, or whatever. Stop. For. One. Second. Put your flashlight on, you stubborn motherfucker.”

  “Thunder. I’m warning you.”

  “And I’m warning you right back. I’m not prepared to stand by and watch you get hurt out here, so at this point, you’re just wasting precious time arguing with me. Put your flashlight on. End of conversation.”

  “Jesus, I hate you.” It’s not even close to being true, but I’m pissed and emotional, and he’s pressing all my buttons, which is nothing new.

  “Yeah, I wish I could say the same about you, but apparently, that’s not how it works. Flashlight, then let’s go.”

  I sigh exaggeratedly and reach into my pocket to retrieve my phone. As much as he annoys the hell out of me, I know he’s right. I just wasn’t ready to hear it before.

  “Okay, Mom, I’m on it. So you can stop fussing, okay?”

  “You can mock me, but as you said, we look out for our friends.”

  I don’t miss his emphasis on the word friends, and my chest tightens. I shake it off, though. It needs to be dealt with, but not now. Right now, my focus is on Zeph. I’ll worry about the situation with Thunder at some other point—once I know Zeph is safe.

  I’m on the move, continuing to scramble down toward Zeph’s car, leaping the last few feet to get to it.

  “Zeph?”

  I knock on the driver’s side window, pounding on it with my fist. I cup my hand over my eyes and lean in, peering into the window, but it’s so darkly tinted that I can only see his unmoving silhouette.

  “Zeph!” I yell.

  I slap my open palm against the glass window, furiously trying to open the door, but it’s locked, so it’s no use. The panic I’ve been suppressing since we started making our way out here finally gets the better of me, and crawls over my entire body.

  Thunder jogs up beside me, breathing hard.

  “He’s inside! Call 911!” I shout.

  He looks like he’s seen a ghost as he shakes his head in disbelief. “This shit is heavy.”

  “I know. Make the call while I try to figure out a way to bust into this car.”

  “I’m on it.” He bows his head as he rushes to dial 911 with trembling fingers.

&nb
sp; I find a large rock close to the car. It’s heavy enough that I should be able to smash the car window with it. I carry it around to the passenger side because I don’t want to hurt Zeph when the glass shatters.

  “Wait!” Thunder shouts and holds up his hand to stop me.

  “What? How else am I going to get in?” I stare at him with the hefty rock raised above me, ready to pound it into the window.

  “I have this. I almost fucking forgot.” He reaches into his pocket. “Ah, hello? Hello… Can you hear me? Hello? Fuck! What the hell? I can’t hear shit.” The panic in his voice matches the terror I’m feeling too.

  “Hello? Yeah, I can hear you. Thank God. I—we need an ambulance or some kind of rescue. My friend is stuck in his car at the bottom of a cliff. He went over the edge. We need help, urgently!”

  At the same time as talking to the 911 dispatcher, he hands me a little black device linked to his key chain.

  “I don’t know our exact location, but it’s a service road behind a house in the hills.” He fires off the address of the Philosopher’s house. “You need to follow the service road behind it. We’re about to break into the car now, but it’s pretty busted up, so…”

  He directs his attention back to me and the device. “Rest it against the corner of the window, then pump hard to release the spring lock action. It will smash the glass,” he explains. “It’s called Escape Glass. I’ve had this thing on my key ring forever. I never thought I’d need to use it. “

  “Then why do you even have it?”

  “Someone gave it to me as a gag gift. I guess I’m a good Boy Scout, because it just always seemed like it might be useful. Like if you drive over a bridge, into water or something, with this you can safely escape if the electrics short out, so I hung on to it.”

  Skeptical and ready to revert to my original plan if this doesn’t work, I put the rock down, press the tool to the window and push hard. The glass immediately begins to crackle, as if it’s made of plastic, sending shards everywhere. Not that I care.

  With the glass now shattered, we can now see properly inside the car.

  “Be careful,” Thunder warns, cocking the phone between his ear and shoulder. I guess he’s still on the line to the emergency dispatcher.

  I reach inside the door to press the unlock button.

  His warning about my safety falls on deaf ears. I couldn’t care less what happens to me at this point. My focus is on Zeph, and he’s not looking good. He’s motionless, slumped forward against the airbags and steering wheel, and there’s blood everywhere.

  I can’t tell if he’s breathing. Given how destroyed the car looks, he could be dead. Shit. I climb inside, kneeling on the passenger seat, not barely noticing the shards of glass slicing into my skin.

  “Zeph? Buddy…” I reach across and push his body back so that he’s leaning against the backrest of the chair.

  This is bad. Really fucking bad. Zeph’s skin is ashen. His lips are cracked, dry, and parted slightly, while his eyes are closed. His face is caked in blood, presumably from the nasty-looking gash on his forehead, which is still heavily bleeding.

  “I don’t think he’s breathing!” I yell frantically.

  Thunder relays the information to the dispatcher, then is silent for a few moments.

  “Zeph, man. Can you hear me? Zeph, bud? Hello…” I shake him gently.

  He’s totally still and silent.

  “No, I don’t think so. I mean… I don’t know. Hello? You’re breaking up again… Motherfucker! Oh, yeah. I’ve got you again. No, there are no flames, and I don’t smell smoke…” Tyce crouches onto the floor and squints at something, then swings his phone around, lighting the ground in front of him.

  “Yeah, there’s definitely the smell of gas, and I can see shit dripping underneath. Okay, okay, thanks. Yeah, we both know CPR from wrestling. Yeah… okay… we can do that.”

  “We need to get him out of there and into the recovery position as far away from the car as possible,” he yells to me.

  While Thunder speaks to the dispatcher, I reach across to unlock the driver’s door.

  Next, I race around to the driver’s side, wrench the door open and pull at Zeph’s seat belt, trying to activate it, and get him free.

  “Don’t worry, man, we’re here. Thunder and me. We’ll get you out of here.”

  “I need to put the phone down for a little bit to help pull him out.” Thunder says.

  “The emergency responders are on their way, but they’re trying to drop a pin to figure out our exact location. The reception is making it difficult to trace, so she needs us to stay on the line. I put it on hands-free so that she can still talk to us,” he tells me. “Is he breathing?”

  I have my nose to Zeph’s mouth, trying to listen for breath sounds.

  “I don’t know. It’s hard to tell like this. Let’s get him out, like they told you to.”

  Thunder puts his phone on the roof of the car to free both hands. As soon as I manage to tear the seatbelt free, we start pulling him out. It isn’t easy, since he’s a dead weight, and super heavy.

  We finally get him out of the seat, and I carry him a few feet away from the car. It’s as far as I can go before the growth is too thick to make our way through or lay him down. I place his limp and lifeless body on the dirt. It’s killing me to see him in this condition, but I can’t dwell on that. I need to focus on helping Zeph any way I can.

  I tilt his head back and check his mouth for obstructions. It’s clear, so I lower my ear to his mouth and put my index and second finger to the pulse point under his jaw. Nothing.

  “Definitely not breathing.”

  “No, there are no breath sounds or pulse,” Thunder tells the dispatcher. “Yeah, we’re okay to do that. Thanks.”

  I’m already starting CPR, thanking God that an annual First Aid course is a compulsory part of all competitive sports at St. J’s.

  “One, two, three, four…”

  “I think the emergency responders are still a ways away, so if you get tired doing CPR, I’ll take over.”

  “No, I’m good. I got this,” I pant out between counts.

  “I know you do. I’m just saying I have your back… and his. Whatever you need.”

  I carry on like that for what seems like forever, with no ambulance in sight.

  “Man, this is crazy. What if they never find us? Maybe we should just carry him to the top and get him to the hospital ourselves. You drive, and I can continue the chest compressions on the back seat.”

  “No, man. They’ll be here. They will, but in the meantime, the dispatcher said to move him the bare minimum to get him safely away from the car in case it blows, because we don’t know what kind of injuries he has. If we struggle up that hill with him, and he has a spinal injury or an internal bleed, we could paralyze him, or… worse.” He doesn’t have to say the words—I know what he’s getting at, but I feel so helpless and frustrated just sitting here waiting for something that may never come.

  Just as I’m about to get to my feet to pick Zeph up, I hear something in the distance.

  “What’s that?”

  Thunder cocks his ear. “It’s sirens. I’m pretty sure. They’re coming. Hold tight, Zeph, help is on the way.”

  I continue pumping at Zeph’s chest and blowing into his mouth, desperately trying to breathe life into my best friend. Despite years of catholic school, I’m not religious, yet I find myself praying and promising a whole bunch of shit for Zeph to make it out of this okay. He has to.

  “Yeah, bud, you got this. Not long now.” I say the words as much to reassure myself as him—if not more so. I need to believe it.

  “He’s going to be okay. You’re doing a great job.” Thunder is behind me, rubbing my shoulders, his voice low and urgent. “But I can see that you’re getting tired. Let me take over from you. They’re still a little way off, then they have to make it down the slope with all of their equipment and shit. That could take a while.You’re going to exhaust yourself.
”

  “I don’t give a fuck!” I scream the words so loud they startle me, let alone him. Still, he doesn’t flinch or say a word, just massages my neck and shoulders harder.

  I didn’t mean to tear him a new one. I know he means well, and he’s just trying to help, but I’m not ready to hear it right now. I’m not ready for anything except making sure my best friend pulls through. Everything else is less than irrelevant.

  Chapter 3

  Thunder

  I don’t think I’ve ever felt relief as strongly as I do when the emergency rescuers finally make it to where we are. But it’s short-lived. I know we’re not out of the woods yet—literally.

  They buzz around, immediately pushing us gently out of the way and taking over CPR, while thanking and congratulating us for doing so well until that point. Of course, I can’t take any of the credit for that—it was all Tyce.

  They work on Zeph with almost robotic efficiency, and pretty quickly they have a breathing mask and bag on his face, and he’s strapped into a stretcher with wires and tubes leading to portable equipment I can’t identify. I just hope it all works to keep him with us.

  As soon as they start to move back up the hill, I refocus my energy and attention on Tyce. He’s keeping it together, but I know him well enough to know he’s only holding on by a thread. A thin and fragile thread that could snap at any moment, and if it does, all hell is going to break loose.

  I wrap my arms around his shoulders and speak quietly into his ear. “They’ve got him, and I’ve got you. I’m here for you.”

  I squeeze his shoulder, saying through touch the things I can’t say with words right now. It’s neither the time nor the place, but I want him to know that I have his back, no matter what. Always.

  “Come on, let’s get out of here. I’ll drive us to the hospital.”

  “No, you don’t have—”

  “I didn’t say I had to. But I want to, and that’s the end of the conversation.”