AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Prologue
Sweat beads on my forehead as I fly down the road in my Jeep, one white-knuckled hand clutching the steering wheel, the other my cell phone. I’d just ended the call with my grandfather and my entire body tremors from the nightmare that is unfolding. I tried to keep him calm and advise him where he and my grandma should hide inside my parent’s Florida mansion. Never in my life would I have thought I’d have to do something like that.
Inwardly, I’m flipping the hell out, an inconceivable bloodbath I could never imagine coming to life.
The popping of the gunshots in my ears made my blood run cold.
Exiting the highway, I send up a silent prayer to let me get there in time to do… something. Anything to stop the massacre from taking place. Though I don’t have a fucking clue how I’ll do that. I have no weapons of any kind on me.
And Matthew has a gun.
I fly through downtown West Palmetto, traveling double the speed limit. Dialing nine-one-one, my terrified voice recants to the emergency operator what I know of the situation. My voice shakes as I plead for her to dispatch assistance to my parent’s house in Palm Beach. I pause, tears threatening to overtake me before I can resume. “Hurry!” I bark into the phone before ending the call.
My foot presses on the accelerator, barely making it through the yellow light before it turns red, sweat rolling down my back, fear lancing through my spine. My eyes flick to my phone, checking the time. I’m only a couple minutes away from their mansion.
Leaning forward, I gaze up at the night sky, dotted with bright stars, and a strange thought goes through me. How does the night look so damned serene and beautiful when my world is in utter chaos?
Flying into my parent’s driveway, I don’t bother shutting off my vehicle nor closing my door. My only concern is getting inside that house and hopefully they aren’t… No, I can’t even think it.
Running up the steps, I reach for the doorknob and turn it slowly, gently easing the door open. My pulse thunders in my ears as I peer around the front door, eyes rapidly scanning the foyer. There’s no sign of anyone. The house sits in deathly silence.
Closing the door quietly behind me, I move stealthily throughout the first floor, scanning the living room, then the kitchen, the dining room, and my dad’s library, but find nothing.
They must be upstairs.
My eyes track to the wide staircase leading to the second floor. I slowly climb the steps, my ears straining to catch any noise. My heart pounds so hard that I’m afraid if I look down, I’ll see it thumping through my chest wall. Trying to quell the rapid breaths that expel from my lungs, my hand covers my mouth, lest it gives me away.
As I creep down the corridor, the hallway light shines into the first guest bedroom. A crumpled figure lies on the floor, a pool of blood surrounding his body.
‘Oh fuck! No!’ Rushing through the doorway, I crouch down beside my grandfather’s body, searching for a pulse. Not finding one, I lean over, placing my cheek close to his mouth and nose, hoping to feel his breath against my skin, although I know it’s fruitless. His vacant stare and gray pallor tell me it’s too late.
My grandfather is dead.
A shrill scream pierces the silent house and I leap to my feet, running toward my grandmother’s shrieks. I locate her in the bedroom three doors from my grandfather’s body, lying on the floor.
“Grandma.” Her wide eyes meet mine as I kneel beside her prone body,
“M-Max. Oh, God…” Overcome by tears, she’s unable to speak.
Grabbing her hand, I gently rub her fingers with my own. Her skin is shockingly cold. “Grandma, are you hurt? Where is Matthew? My parents?” I refrain from saying anything about my grandfather, having already found him.
“Y-y-your parents are d-d-dead, M-Max,” my grandma stammers.
I close my eyes, fighting back tears. They weren’t the best parents and both had a lot of faults, but still…
Opening my eyes, resolve on my face, I pull back my shoulders. “Where is Matthew?”
Her eyes widen and her stare is pinpointed at something over my shoulder.
Dread fills my body.
He’s behind me.
Bolting awake, I sit up in bed, sweat pouring from my skin. My breath heaves in and out of my lungs. My hand moves over the scar on my chest, my heartbeat racing, feeling like it’s going to explode. Tracing the scar with my fingers, my eyes flicker to my phone. Grabbing it from the nightstand, I look at the time.Three a.m.As I put my phone down, my hand slides to the scar on my upper abdominal region, a few inches below my heart.
Will these nightmares ever fucking end?
Chapter one
