After the phone call from Eli to tell me he’d found the prison where the girls were being taken to, and where Ricky had been keeping Ana I practically scrambled a clean up in my garage and flew over to Eli’s house, desperate to see the proof that he’d found it. It’s not that I didn’t believe him, I just needed to see it for myself, some kind of proof that I was a step closer to findingher, to bringing her back where she belongs. With me.
The moment I arrived at Eli’s, I went straight over to his laptop and there it was, the address of the prison that he’d found on the vans SatNav, staring right at me. Like a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow, I just hoped it wouldn’t disappear once I got to the end of it.
Gripping the steering wheel in my hands, I quickly turn to face Eli. “Either way, it got us exactly what we needed.” I see him nod his head at the side of me, his jaw ticking as it always does when his mind is heavy. “Everything good?” I ask with concern.
Eli clears his throat before lifting his hands from the keyboard and running them down his weathered face. He’s been working away from the moment we got into the truck, but I’m not sure what on. “Uh, yeah. I just.. I can’t stop thinking of Sophia and whether she’s my sister or not. I guess I’m just hoping that she is.”
“Is that what you’ve been working on?” I say, tipping my head towards his laptop and he nods. “Yeah, I’m trying to find some kind of background on her but there’s nothing. Like she’s a ghost.”
His voice falls flat and I can see the anguish on his face. It hurts to see my best friend so torn up over this.
“How are the girls?” I say, trying to divert the conversation.
“They’re good. Cecilia has been great with them, getting them to safety. She’s amazing.” His eyes shine as he speaks about his wife and I can’t stop the pang of jealousy I have knowing that Ana isn’t here for me to speak about her like that.
I simply nod my head and fix my gaze back on the long stretch of road that feels like we’ve been on for miles. We’re way outside of Rockford now, and I can feel my stomach turn at the thought of Ana being this far away from me this whole time. The air feelsdifferent here, it’s heavy and dark and nothing like Rockford.
“Turn left up here.” Eli instructs. “We’re gonna have to go in blind here, the trees are too densely packed to get the drone in the air.”
“Alright, Lyla sticks with me. I’ll head in first and we scour the building, shoot to kill.” I order, slipping into sniper mode. “If Ana is in there, I don’t want anyone alive when I bring her out.”
“Heard.” Eli says with a sharp nod, then slips his mask over his face and closes his laptop.
The smooth tarmac quickly turns into stones as I take the turning Eli instructed me to take and I flick my headlights off, shrouding us in complete darkness. There’s a faint smell of fire lingering in the air that quickly hits my senses.
“You smell that?” I ask, keeping my eyes fixed on the dark path ahead of us. “Yeah, it’s burnt whatever it is.” Eli says.
Darkness fills my vision until there’s a small breakthrough in between the dense treeline, giving way to a looming building that’s sitting smack bang in the middle of what looks to be an open field of grass. The burnt smell seems to get heavier the closer we drive towards the prison. I stop the truck just at the edge of the treeline and Lyla whines in the back seat, her chocolate brown eyes darting over our shoulders to look outside of the windshield.
“You’re okay baby girl.” I say softly to her whilst running my hands over her ears. She seems to visibly relax but I know something has set her off and that has me on edge.
Eli places his laptop in the footwell of the truck before climbing out to grab his gear from the trunk and I follow suit, letting Lyla out in the process. She lands with a soft thud on the grass and plants herself down near the back tire whilst I sift through the holdall bags that are packed with ammo and guns.
I go through the motions of strapping knives to my thighs, along with two handguns at my sides, then a sniper rifle over my shoulder before slipping two grenades in the side of Lyla’s tactical vest. I’d rather be prepared for anything than go in there and have our asses handed to us. Once I’m geared up, I grab my mask and slip it over my face before sliding on the night vision goggles, and inhaling deeply through my nose.
Memories flood my mind of the last time I saw Ana, the moment her car barreled down the road, sparks flying high into the night sky. It’s enough to almost bring me to my knees with distress.
A heavy hand lands on my shoulder, knocking me out of the memories. “You good?” Eli asks, his head tipping to the side. I can’t see his face because of the mask but I can tell he’s concerned. I shake the tension from my shoulders and nod my head.
“Yeah, I’m good. Just needed a minute, that’s all.” I take another deep inhale through my nose to compose myself. “Let’s move.”
We take steady steps across the grass, the moonlight peeking through the treetops creating white shards of light against the dark floor. Lyla keeps herself close to my right leg, her nose sniffing every inch of the floor in front of her. I keep my hand gripped tightly on my rifle, the tip of my index finger brushing over the trigger, ready to fire at any threats.
Lyla suddenly stops in her tracks, her ears pricking up.
“What is it, baby girl?” I ask, keeping my eyes on everything that I can see, with Eli protecting my back. Lyla drops her nose to the floor again and leads us off towards the right instead of straight across towards the looming prison, letting us follow behind.
A sweet and sickly smell hits my senses through my mask and I instantly recognize it. Death. Burnt skin. It’s something that once you smell it, you’ll never be able to get rid of it, it sticks with you forever. The further we follow Lyla, the richer and more sour the smell gets and I have to release my gun to bring my hand to my face. Even the mask alone isn’t enough to block out the rancid scent.
“Fuck me.” Eli chokes out. “What is that smell?”
“Death.” I state simply.
Lyla stops in front of us, leaving us frozen in time, our eyes fixed on the pile of burnt bodies. I swear my knees threaten to buckle at the sight. I’ve seen some horrendous shit in my life, but this is an act of pure evil, of someone who’s filled with nothing but a sick hatred. A heavy silence surrounds us as we take careful steps towards the pile of bodies, the burnt scent of charred flesh getting stronger with each step.
I go to take another step forward when Eli places his hand on my shoulder, stopping me in my tracks. “You sure about that?” He asks, his grip firm on my shoulder.
“I just need to check. I have to.”
