Page 27 of Headless Hollow

I glanced around and then at the edge where I’d seen the Horseman go over the side. The roar of the rushing water was loud now that I was taking a second to listen. His body could take weeks to find if it ever was.

“How did he get to you? I thought you were heading to a crime scene for Eli.”

Branson’s face twisted in obvious confusion. “I was never going or at a call for Eli. Is he dead?”

“I don’t know. That voice thing he had must be able to mimic other people and he must have had your phone,” I said, looking at him, unable to believe that it was finally over and we were still alive.

“The last thing I remember is getting in my car after I left the morgue to head into the office. I woke up like you saw me, hanging by my wrists. It was a few hours later that he brought Brianna in, but you were a while after that.”

“He wanted to chase me through the forest. He even made it look like the Headless Horseman from the story was blocking my path. I thought I was losing it. Why did he bring you out here,” I asked, slipping off of his lap and pushing myself up. I wrapped the jacket tighter around me as the wind picked up. I looked down at the droplets of blood, confirming that what I’d seen was real and not another illusion.

“I honestly don’t know. To kill me, I guess. But I didn’t give him the chance to explain. There was no way that I was letting him get away after everything he’d done,” Branson said, slowly standing and rubbing at his red-marked wrists. “Guess we should call a team out here,” he said, and I nodded but looked down. “You don’t want to?”

“I do, it’s just...don’t at the same time. I know that doesn’t sound like me, but having to recount everything that happened to someone other than you…I hate the idea.” Thunder rumbled in the distance as it started to spit. The blood would be washed away, but the stain of what he made me do and how I secretly enjoyed it wouldn’t disappear so easily.

Branson wrapped his arm around my shoulders. “I’m the only one who saw what he did to you. So you tell them as little or as much as you want. I won’t dispute it.” He looked over his shoulder at the cliff’s edge. “I mean, he’s dead now. That’s what matters. He can’t hurt anyone else.”

Although, I agreed with Branson, I just couldn’t help thinking that the Horseman had something else up his sleeve, like a final act in his play. What that might be…I had no idea. But I didn’t want to be caught off guard again.

We were soaking wet from the rain by the time we reached the farmhouse. My parents wrapped me up in a hug and I held onto them, thankful that they hadn’t seen or heard anything, safely tucked away here in the house.

“I need to shower,” I said and pulled away, walking up the stairs to my old room. Stripped down, I inspected my new piercing. A skull and a carved pumpkin glittered back at me. Grabbing the two ends, I intended to pull it apart but couldn’t bring myself to do it. Turning I stared into the mirror, my eyes locked on the brand on my hip. Burned into the skin was an outline of a pumpkin and the letters HH in the middle. Even if I wanted to forget about him, he made sure that whenever I got dressed, looked in a mirror, had a shower, or let another man touch me, I would be reminded about my time in the barn. I would remember that for years, he’d been watching me and secretly wanting me from the shadows.

Someone knocked at my bedroom door. “Izzy, are you okay,” Branson’s concerned voice made me close my eyes as my conflicted heart constricted in my chest.

“I will be. Just need some time alone,” I said, feeling more lost than I ever had.

“The team is on their way. I’m going to go out to the barn and call the mayor. If you need anything call me, I’ll come right in.”

“Thank you.”

“I love you, Izzy. It’s all over. He can’t hurt us anymore.”

My heart pounded harder with those three little words. Why had it taken so much for us to admit our feeling for one another? What Branson said was true, and yet, it felt like all the damage the Horseman meant to do was already done. Laying my hand over my stomach, I locked eyes with myself and knew that if I was pregnant, I would carry his baby. I was fucked. He’d found a way to reach into the darkest corners of my brain and the most depraved parts of my soul and pull out the fragments of me that I kept hidden. Now that they were free…there was never going to be a way to put it all back. Pandora’s box, once opened, caused havoc that could never be undone.

“Part of me will forever be yours,” I whispered to the mirror and the ghost of the man who had changed me forever.

Fifteen

SIX MONTHS LATER

Izzy

I laughed as I held up the adorable onesie with the police badges all over it. Branson smiled and took it from me, holding it up to his large chest.

“I don’t think this is going to fit,” he said.

“I can get you a matching one in your size if you want,” I teased him.

“Don’t tempt me, this feels comfortable.” He rubbed it on his cheek.

“Thank you, Eli, it’s adorable,” I said as Brianna put the baby outfit away and wrote on the list for the thank you cards. It had been like this all day. People all around town had decided to lavish Branson and me with wedding and baby shower gifts for saving the town from the serial killer who had terrified them. Overnight, we became celebrities, and there was nowhere we could go to pay for a meal or anything else.

We’d sold both our homes and bought a place on a handful of acres with enough bedrooms for multiple kids or family to visit. One whole room was stuffed full from floor to ceiling with gifts that we hadn’t opened yet.

“That was the last one,” Brianna said as she sorted the gifts like a pro. I smirked as Eli laid his hand on her shoulder and handed her a plate of food. They’d been dating for three months and were adorable together.

“Excellent, I need to stretch my legs.”