Diary of the Gone (15 page)

“
And then she disappeared,
right?” I said.

“
Yes.” Mom nodded her
head. “Then they found Cynthia dead. And her purse was in Oliver’s
room so they arrested him. Aiden disappeared some time later. It
turned out that the police had found bit of skin under Cynthia’s
nails and they weren’t Oliver’s.

“
A few years later I moved
to Phoenix and met Aiden. He’d changed. We married
soon.”

Mom stared right in front of her
without blinking, probably looking back at her life.

“
What happened next?” I
interrupted her thoughts.

“
Then Bev came. I thought
we were a real family. Happy, but I was wrong. Something snapped
after you were born.”

Her words stung, but I knew it wasn’t
either my fault or Mom’s that their life had been
ruined.

“
Your father kept writing
this weird diary. He said it was important. He never told me what
was so important about it.”

Mom grew agitated, and I interrupted
her. “Mom, you must be really tired. You need to take some
rest.”

She turned to me. “But what if he
comes here?”

“
No, he won’t.” I helped
her stand up and then saw her to her room. As her head hit the
pillow, she closed her eyes and fell asleep, breathing peacefully.
I stared at her for a few moments, thinking over what she’d told
me. Aiden had kept her deep in the forest. That was where he kept
the others. That was where I should go.

I just needed to do one more thing
before meeting Aiden.

Chapter 14

Aiden watched Melanie stumbling away,
towards Olden Cross. He wasn’t going to chase her.

Let her tell Callum
about this place. He’s going to come here to save his stupid
friends,
Aiden thought, his lips curved
into a wicked smile.

Shoulder-length blond hair tickled his
neck as he walked leisurely towards the exit, past the rooms where
he kept the marked ones.

Melanie hadn’t even cared to close the
door. Why would she? It kept creaking in the wind, nearly falling
off its rusted hinged. He bowed his head to get through the
doorframe, stepped over the threshold and came outside. Melanie’s
footprints were still there, but soon the snow would cover
them.

The Swamps made this place almost
impossible to get to, especially at this time of the year. He’d
found it years ago after he killed Cynthia. It provided shelter to
him whenever he had to hide from the police or Olden Cross
townsfolk.

Aiden knew that his son was going to
come here soon in spite of the weather. Callum had been close to
this place already, bringing his friends and Geoffrey.

Aiden walked around the house, peering
into the distance. No one was out there.

If only he didn’t
have to go out there and search food for the damned kids.
I hate them.
But soon
I’ll set myself free.
He licked his lips
in anticipation.
I’ll get all the numbers
and they’ll be dead. I’ll stop seeing them all
then.

He heard someone banging against the
door. Was that the same kid who’d gotten on his nerves ever since
ending up here? Wayne, was it his name?

“
I’m gonna kill him,” he
hissed, rushing into the dilapidated house.

In quick steps he crossed the dark
corridor and opened the door. Wayne stared at him right in the
eyes. Aiden grappled the long-haired boy by the collar and pushed
him into the room. Not that Wayne could offer any resistance with
his hands tied behind him. Snatching him by the hair, Aiden kneed
his face, the boy’s nose crunching. The boy dropped the ground,
nose-bleeding and moaning.

“
If you bang against the
door one more time, I’ll cut the girl’s throat,” Aiden said,
pointing to a scared-looking girl in the corner, “and you’ll be
watching.”

Aiden noticed how the boy’s and the
girl’s hands kept glowing with circles, triangles and the numbers
4/7 and 5/7.

It was fascinating
to watch these symbols and numbers.
The
fourth and fifth to die,
Aiden told
himself, then turned around and left the room.

He would have to visit Olden Cross one
more time. Before meeting Callum he had to capture another marked
girl. As Aiden was walking through the Swamps, he smiled wickedly,
his heart beating with wild anticipation.

Chapter 15

5 hours later

My last entry

November 25

This is going to be my
last note. Ever. I’ve had enough of it. Enough of the dead. Enough
of the suffering. Enough of the diary.

It never really helped.
Just postponed what was going to happen anyway.

Aiden would never stop.
It’s I who should do it.

P.S. I love you, Mom. I
love you, Bev. Sorry I was such a jerk to you.

P.P.S. Vivian, you are the
best girl I’ve ever met in my life. And you are so hot! Back there,
at the graveyard I meant to say that I really like you. Your
vanilla scent is driving me crazy.

I raised my eyes
from the page, smiling to myself at the last phrase. I heaved a
deep sigh.
Soon. It’s going to be over
soon.

I shut Bev’s notebook and put it on my
desk.

“
It’s time,” I told
myself.

“
Are you going to leave me
alone?” Cynthia said, coiling her beautiful hair on her index
finger.

“
I’m sorry, but we belong
in different worlds.” I turned to go.

“
If Aiden kills you, we’ll
be together, right?” the dead girl said, hope in her
voice.

“
Sure.” I winked at her,
then left the room.

Careful not to wake Mom, I tiptoed
downstairs, picked Aiden’s diary, put it in my bag and
left.

*

Bad luck seemed willing to play jokes
on me whenever it had a chance. As if I hadn’t had enough of it. As
I locked the door of my house and exited the gate to our yard, I
saw Stan. He had become the runner-up on my black list, since Aiden
had taken the lead.

He was alone, no cronies by his side,
but the way he was walking straight to our house unnerved me a
bit.

“
Hey, Blackshit, what’s
up?” he hollered. “What’s in that bag of yours?”

“
None of your damn
business, Stan,” I said with as much confidence as I could muster.
I was going to face my father soon, so Stan felt like a warming-up
rather than real threat.

“
You’re too bold to talk
to me like that,” he said. “There’s no Nate or Wayne to step by
your side.”

He grinned at me, like a wolf that was
about to pounce on a lamb.

“
I know, and I’m not
afraid of you,” I said, my fingers clenched into fists.

Stan paced towards me leisurely and
kicked me in the stomach without warning. The blow knocked the wind
out of me, and I collapsed to the ground.

Stan laughed in my face. “You should
know where you belong, jackass.” He kicked me again. I rolled over,
stars flecking my vision.

This time I was on my own, no one
would come and save me. I had to act fast before Stan beat the crap
out of me.

His next kick found my face, and I
thought my head would fall off. I didn’t know how I managed not to
pass out. Maybe it was Stan’s hysterical laughter that made me pull
myself together.

“
What’re you going to say
now, huh? You come to Olden Cross and all this stuff
happens.”

While Stan was making his speech, I
thought of what to do next. My temples throbbed with pain, and my
ribs hurt. I tasted blood in my mouth. That bastard had probably
cracked a few teeth. The corner of my mouth hurt, and I licked my
cut lip, flinching at the sudden pain.

“—
you never belonged in
here. If you don’t get the hell out of here, I swear I’ll kill
you.” He pointed his index finger at me. “After all my father had
to suffer because of your freakin’ family, you should’ve never come
here ever again. And that’s for you to make sure you’ve got my
point.”

He approached me, about to kick me
again, aiming at my face. I ducked and rolled away, got up quickly,
but Stan was faster, punching me real hard in my chest, the
sledgehammer blow making my frame ripple. It wasn’t enough for
Stan. He took a few steps towards me, and I swung my plastered
hand, striking him across his face.

For a moment he didn’t seem to get
what had happened. He furrowed his brow in confusion, and there I
swung my hand another time, trying to punch him with as much force
as I could. My second strike hit his neck, and he took a few feeble
steps back, his eyes on me.

“
You’re never going to
hurt me, Stan,” I said, lunging at him, the same way I’d lunged
towards Aiden in front of the school, and kicked him right in the
face, and he toppled to the ground. “Ever again.”

*

I was lucky my plastered hand proved
useful at least once. I had to ignore the shooting pains in my
stomach as I hurried to the Swamps. I had no idea how, but I knew
Aiden was waiting for me tonight, and I feared to get there
late.

No one was out in the street except me
as I entered the forest and worked my way deeper through the dark
wood. Tree roots stuck out of the moist ground like varicose veins.
I nearly tripped on one but managed to keep my balance.

Icy water trickled into my sneakers. I
still couldn’t believe this austere wood once used to be a friendly
place where animals and plants thrived on sunlight and
warmth.

Feeble stars flickered in the evening
sky. I was fairly close to my destination, and I thought my mind
was playing tricks on me when I heard two distant voices ahead: one
harsh and one panicky and tearful.

I broke into a slow run across the
mildly frozen ground. My hands turned into steady, clenched fists.
My fears seemed so stupid when someone was in real danger and
needed my help.

I noticed a tiny spark in the
distance. A spark that grew into a constellation, and then I knew
they were torches driven into the ground. The tearful voice turned
to harrowing litany. I knew whose voice it was, and my heart
drummed harder in my chest.

There it was—a small hut, so tattered
it threatened to collapse any moment, and thick logs encircled by
heaps of hay jutting out of the ground in front of it. Nathan and
Wayne were tied to the logs closer to me. Flames from the torches
sticking out of the ground next to each log danced over their pale
faces. Behind them were Bev, Terry and Audrey. A strong stench of
gasoline hit my nostrils.

“
Vivian!” I screamed, my
hysterical voice echoing in the darkness. I gasped when I saw a
forty-year-old reflection of me holding her and staring right into
my eyes. He smiled at me, gripping Vivian fiercely.

“
And so we meet again,
son,” he said solemnly.

“
Let. Her. Go,” I said.
“It’s time for you to stop.”

Aiden moved closer to me, pulling
Vivian after him. She whimpered, her mouth wide open, eyes squeezed
in agony. I hated myself for not being able to help her.

“
Why are you doing this?”
I asked, taking a small step forward.

“
Don’t you get it yet?” A
shade of disappointment slithered over his eyes. “You and I, we are
the same. My blood flows in your veins.”

“
And?”

“
We are
cursed.”

He started feeling his pockets while
still holding Vivian. I took another cautious step towards
them.

“
Here it is.” He took a
small book out of his pocket and flung it my way. It smacked onto
the sodden ground. It was my diary. I picked it up and skimmed
through the pages, moist at the edges.

“
How did you find it?” I
asked.

“
I used to hide it in the
same spot.” He chuckled mirthlessly. “I lived in that house for 16
years.”

Vivian wriggled, trying to escape
Aiden’s vicious grip, but he squeezed her harder. “Shhh,” he
soothed her. Tears trickled down Vivian’s cheeks as she conceded
her defeat.

“
You are
asking me the wrong questions, Callum,” he said. “Haven’t you ever
wished to
stop
seeing them? The ones who haunt you.”

I didn’t respond, only swallowed then
shifted my weight from one foot to the other.

“
I can see that you have.
Eyes never lie. The gone are torturing you the same way as they
tortured me. Diaries helped me not to see them, but then your
mother sent me to a nuthouse. But I’m not mad.” A wild fire
flickered in his blue eyes.

“
What did you do to stop
them?” I asked.

“
Kill,” he
spat.

As he clenched his jaw, a whooshing
sound came to the left of me followed by a cold draft. I thought I
saw something swish past me. Aiden chuckled wickedly as the same
coldness traipsed past me on the right. This time my mind
registered a shadow of a person.