The End Came With a Kiss by John Michael Hileman

Author:John Michael Hileman
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Mystery, Romantic Suspense, Mystery & Suspense, Thriller & Suspense, Romance, Suspense, Literature & Fiction
ISBN: 1497437806
Publisher: Createspace
Published: 2014-01-01T06:00:00+00:00

13

Standing a mere three meters in front of the truck is a beautiful little girl, maybe five years old, in a bright yellow dress. Her sandy hair is pulled back into a ponytail, and one of her white stockings has fallen down to rest around her ankle above her black dress shoe. In her right arm, pressed tightly to her chest, is a black teddy bear.

I turn slowly and look at Harry. "Is that a looper?"

James grips his father’s arm. "Don’t move, Dad. She’s looking right at you."

I twist back around and look out. The little girl is still there. Watching us. But she doesn’t have the blank stare that the loopers get. There is movement on her face and a controlled tilt to her head. Is she alive? If she is, how is that even possible?

Her eyes blink, and I recoil from the peek hole.

"She’s alive!"

James squeezes his father’s arm. "Don’t move, Dad. There’s no way that little girl is alive. She’s a looper, and she has her bead on you. We need to back up and…"

I cut him off. "Loopers don’t blink unless they’re running a process, and that girl isn’t frozen in place, her head is moving. Look at her." They all lean in to get a better view through the checkerboard pattern. "Watch her eyes. Look at her lips. She isn’t locked up, and she isn’t running a process. That girl is a living breathing little girl."

Harry’s hand shoots out and pulls the handle on his door.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" says James, gripping his father’s shirt. "Where are you going?"

"We can’t just leave her out there."

"You’ll bring the whole city down on us with them looks of yours."

Harry is beside himself. "Then you get her," he says over his shoulder.

James looks out the window. I can see the indecision on his face. He knows it’s the right thing to do, but he is unsure whether or not he has the courage to do it.

I step in and rescue him. "It’s okay. I’ll go."

Harry’s expression is a mixture of intensity and gratitude.

"Stay here," I say, pulling off my ammo pack and resting the shotgun against the dashboard. "Be ready to open the back door when I rap on it.

Harry and James nod, but Ashlyn looks conflicted.

"You all right, Ashlyn?"

Her eyes snap to mine. "What?"

"I said, are you all right?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"You look like you want to tell me something."

She lifts a hard chin. "Well I don’t."

There is no time to pry. I open the passenger door cautiously and peek out. I can’t see any loopers behind the truck or up on the half wall divider, so I climb down and close the door behind me.

The little girl’s eyes lock onto me, but she doesn’t move or call out. I crouch down slowly, hold my hand out toward her, and give her an expression as if to say, ‘Its okay. I won’t hurt you.’ She remains fixed in place. I try to make my face even friendlier and wave for her to come.

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