Lightning Strike: Part Three: Chpater Six

Chapter Six

 

            Trisha sped down the dark forest road. Trees blurred into the night as she pushed the execrator even harder. The engine roared in protest as the old truck was pushed beyond its limitations. Her headlights barely cut through the darkness in front of her as she took curve after curve without slowing down.

            Her back tires slid on the wet cement but she only punched the gas again and kept on going. It was only by the grace of God that she didn’t slid off the embankment and roll down into the thick wall of trees. Her heart felt as though it were going to bust out of her chest. Trisha knew that she had to get there as soon as possible. It had been years since she had been there but in her adrenaline high memory she knew each turn exactly as if she took the route every day.

            The road, straightened out in front of her and Trisha forced the gas pedal to the floor while white knuckling the steering wheel.  Rain pounded the windshield as she drove on as quickly as she could. Every few seconds a boom of thunder would ring out or a flash of lightning would light up the road in front of her, enabling her to see what the head lights missed. She was getting close yet she was in agony to get there even faster. Her baby was in danger. She felt that now with clear certainty, like a mother’s instinct. Trisha cursed herself on that long stretch of open road. She had so many times pawned Emmy off on Rosa as she went to banquets and luncheons with senator’s wives. So many times she had dismissed the child saying she had a headache when she was only upset from James’s actions.

            Her daughter loved her and she loved her as well, she knew that, but she couldn’t help but feel as though she could have done more during those times. Wave after wave of guilt rolled over Trisha as she thought back to how many times she had sighed and patted the child on her head and said “Not now dear.”

            She had proven herself to her daughter during the short weeks in Abbott. Their bond had grown immensely during their time alone together and Trisha didn’t want to lose that.

            Then there was Lance. She didn’t know for sure if he was in any trouble or not but something in her mind told her that if James had came for Emmy he would come for Lance too, just to get back at her. This was all her fault and that is what drove her crazy with fear and guilt. What had gone wrong? How was it that she had failed? She didn’t have the answers but she planned on getting them and fixing them. Even if she died trying to save the two innocent people who she had pulled into this mess along with her.

            With that finishing thought still running through her mind, Trisha looked up at the road, before she could swerve or utter a cry of alarm she slammed into the large creature in the center of the road. She had been going full speed and the force of the impact sent out shrieks of shattered glass and screeching metal, as it was ripped from the body of the vehicle, followed by a heavy meaty thud as the figure was bowled over by the truck.

            Trisha sat frozen and held her breath as the back end of the truck was pushed to the left and the front end to the right as her old tires twirled as if on ice upon the wet ground.

            As the truck ground to a halt in the middle of the road Trisha gasped for breath. She hadn’t realized that she was holding her breath, her hands still gripping the steering wheel. She was faced the opposite way she had been going and through the spider web of cracks through the windshield and the rain, she could see a large lump in the middle of the road.

            She shakily opened the door of the truck. She had to jam it with her shoulder, the metal grinding together as she forced it open. As she stepped out into the wall of rain, holding onto the almost collapsed door for support, she noticed a stinging sensation on her forehead. Raising her shaking fingers up to the spot, she felt a considerable sized lump there and winced when she brought her hand back down to see blood on her fingertips before they were washed clean by the rain.

            She remembered shards of glass flying about the cab of the truck upon impact. She must have gotten cut she thought as she felt her way to the front end of the truck. The hood was crunched in and hanging open as she took a deep wavering breath and walked to the animal in the middle of the road. Its body was resting across the dotted line separating the different lanes.

            “A deer,” Trisha cursed as she walked up closer to its mangled body. As she stood looking down at the hulk of an animal with rain drenching her, she cursed.

            “Figures,” She muttered under her breath. She knew that this area literally crawled with deer. That’s why James had come here all those years ago. Duncan had declared this the best hunting area in the south, and of course her dumb a*s had to come streaking down this back road, in the middle of a storm. With low visibility and high speeds, Trisha thanked the heavens that she was still alive.

            Looking from the dead deer to the truck, Trisha thought that the crash had been a draw. The deer was dead but from the mangled bones of the truck, it was obvious it was also inevitably dead. The front tires were twisted and angled away from the rest of the body. The hood covering the engine was also practically ripped away from its counterpart.

            Feeling her time running short, Trisha turned back to the road and began to sprint her way down the course she had set out on. Leaving the deer and truck to rest together in the rain, she could feel the tick of each second passing by as she battled the wind, rain, and darkness for the last few miles that stood between her and her loved ones.

            Finally, she spotted the gravel driveway that pointed towards her destination. From where she stood bent over gasping for breath and wiping rain water from her brows she could see flickering lights coming from far off windows between branches of pine tree limbs.

            Linda knew that she couldn’t just run up the drive way itself and waltz right up to the door. She aimed forty degrees to the left and headed through an outcrop of trees to make her way to the side of the small cabin. Trisha felt as though a magnetic force was pulling her towards the cabin. She could feel her hair standing up on the back of her neck as she forced her way through the dense brush on the edges of the property. The rain and wind sent bolts of pain through her freshly shredded arms from the tangling brush and thorns.

            Trisha thought of none of these things as she crawled her way to the nearest windowsill to peer into the main room of the cabin. Closest to the window was the dining table that she and Felicia had enjoyed together. Trisha gasped and ducked back down to press her back against the rough siding of the cabin as she saw a body pass in front of the fireplace.

            James was here! Her mind screamed out to her. That meant that her precious Emmy was close by as well.

            Still crouched down she hurried to look into the next window of the cabin that looked into the one bedroom beyond. A thin lace curtain was draw across the window but she could still make out the scene inside. Trisha’s heart leapt as she saw her daughter sitting on the bed inside of the room. She looked safe enough as she held Justin in her arms. Even from where she stood with the curtain obscuring most of her view Trisha could see the girl’s red and swollen eyes from where she had been crying.

            Trisha quickly pushed against the window. It ground together for a moment before sliding upwards. Trisha boosted herself up and through as Emmy looked up from the bed to the window. Her face instantly brightened and she started to jump from the bed. Trisha threw her hand up to her lips as she landed lightly on the old, wood flooring.

            “Shhh,” Trisha whispered to her daughter. Emmy sat back down just as the bedroom door was thrown open and Trisha looked eye to eye at her husband. James grinned and stepped into the room. Trisha instinctively took a step back and almost lost her balance as her heel hit a large lump under the window she had just came through. She glanced down for a brief moment to see what it was.

            The wind was forced from her lungs as she saw Lance’s body limp on the ground. Her eyes jumped back to James as her closed the bedroom door behind him. A bolt of lightning lit up the room and she noticed a glimmer in James’s hand as the light reflected off of the gun he carried, that she had not noticed before.

 

Reviews

[Craig2591]

In the second sentence "execrator" should probably be "excelerator".

A very good chapter. Lots of tension and drama. You could really feel her frantic emotions. And a good cliff hanger at the end.

I think this might be the best chapter so far. I am totally stumped as to how she's going to get out of this jam.

[Tabitha t]

Thank you so much! She is in a bind and I almost feel like I am too cuz I have to get her out of this mess

[Craig2591]

Isn't it amazing how attached to your characters you get?!

[Tabitha t]

It is! Lol like I want the husband to die the book needs him to die but idk if I can do it lmao

[Marie]

This is good.But I still noticed a few mistakes you will have to correct.
In the last sentence in the chapter, I believe you could leave off the phrase "that she had noticed before." I don't think it's needed.

[.quan.011.]

There is a lot of drama in this chapter. This was an amazing chapter. You were able to put a lot of emotional feeling into her. I found nothing wrong with your grammar or description. Good job.