I take a deep breath, steeling myself. I’m here now. I have to focus on what matters. I need to find Clint.
And I need to remind myself why I’m here.
For Charlie. For Clint. For all of us.
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
Clint
I’m standingin the middle of the ranch, looking out over the fields. The land is dry, cracked, a wound that won’t heal.
I can hear the wind howling, carrying with it the scent of something burning. But it’s not the barn. Not the corral.
It’s the whole damn ranch, turning to ash, piece by piece.
I start running, trying to get to the barn, trying to do something, anything, but the closer I get, the farther away it seems. The barn is just a shadow in the distance, and I can’t move any faster.
My boots dig into the dry earth, my breath coming in sharp, ragged gasps.
I hear the horses in the distance, whinnying in panic, but I can’t get to them. They’re scattering, running into the wind.
And no matter how fast I move, no matter how hard I push my body, the barn keeps slipping farther and farther away. I reach for it, but it’s like trying to grab smoke.
The fence line is gone, the posts splintering under the storm, and I can hear the crash of wood and metal, the tearing sound of something precious being ripped apart.
I try to fix it. I try to rebuild, to make it right, but every time I grab a hammer or a nail, the wood slips through my fingers, turning to dust.
The ground shifts beneath me, swallowing everything I’ve worked for, everything I’ve built.
The sound of the ranch’s destruction is deafening, the screaming of the wind mixing with the crash of collapsing structures. My heart is pounding in my chest. I can’t breathe, can’t move.
My hands are shaking, and all I can do is watch as everything I love, everything that’s been my life, is torn apart and lost.
I scream. I yell for the others, for the ranch, for anyone to help. But my voice doesn’t reach anyone. I’m stuck in an endless loop, running in circles, trying to fix something that’s already gone.
And then, just as the barn finally crumbles, the ground cracks open, swallowing it whole. Everything goes black.
The silence is suffocating.
“Fuck!”
I shoot up in bed, gasping for air. Sweat clings to my skin, soaking through my shirt as I struggle to calm my racing heart. My chest is tight, my breathing shallow, and I think I might actually be dying.
“What the fuck was that?”
I drag my gaze around the room, trying to place myself.What time is it?
I feel sick. Because I know that isn’t just a nightmare. It’s reality. What happened yesterday, it’s messed me up. I don’t know if I will ever recover…
“Huh?”
Then, I hear it.
Laughter.
Charlie’s laughter.
It cuts through the darkness, sharp and bright. Sunlight breaking through a storm.
