Crash III: There's No Place Like Home by Michael Robertson

Author:Michael Robertson [Robertson, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Published: 2015-04-04T23:00:00+00:00

The Note

Despite the flashlight in his hand, Michael sat in the darkness of the bedroom and waited for Lola to return. They’d found the flashlight in a cupboard beneath the stairs, and although his finger hovered over the power button, he resisted the urge to press it. If he turned it on, people would be able to see him from a mile away. He'd promised Lola he'd only use it in an emergency.

It had been two days since they’d smashed the window and broken into the house. Because George hadn’t moved, they hadn’t either. Each night, Lola had gone out and taken a can or two from the back of his truck. It was sure to end at some point. George would move on and take their steady supply of food with him, but until then, they agreed to make the most it.

Michael listened to the front door open and close. They had keys now because Michael had found them in the cutlery drawer in the kitchen. His family hid their keys there too. Why did everyone use such obvious hiding places? It can’t have made it hard for burglars.

While listening to Lola walk up the stairs, Michael's stomach rumbled. The regular nightly feed seemed to make him hungrier, like his body expected it. There was also the fact that they couldn’t take much so he was never quite satisfied. If George noticed… well, it wasn’t worth thinking about.

Reliving the memory of his dad falling limp beneath George’s hammer, Michael envisioned Lola falling to a similar deadly blow as she pushed her luck with the food stash.

When Lola walked into the room, she had something white in her hand and Michael flicked the flashlight on. “What’s that?”

Lola gave it to him.

It was a note. Michael read the scratchy writing aloud. “‘I know you’ve been taking food from me and watching me for the past few days.’” His blood ran cold. “‘I know you’re staying in number 362. You may want to keep the curtains open during the day; it makes it less obvious that there’s someone in there. If you want food and protection, you should come over and knock. Boy, I know you saw me kill your dad, but I had to do it. It doesn’t change what I did and it won’t bring your dad back. Dean knew there were people in the house because the dogs sniffed you out. By taking your dad and leaving you, I managed to save one of you. I couldn’t have saved you both.’” A lump rose in Michael’s throat and choked him. After clearing it, he continued, “‘Even after your dad had fallen, I had to persuade Dean that the house was empty.’”

Tears rose in Michael’s eyes, which he wiped away before reading the rest of the letter. “‘I don’t know who the girl is, but she’s more than welcome to come over too. There’s plenty of food to go around.’”

Michael folded the paper up and then pointed the light at Lola.

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