Pitch Black Heaven

I won’t lie. I doubted my decision to join forces with Jeremy. I sat on the floor in my room sitting in front of the window, staring outside as I fiddled with my phone waiting for Zach to call me. The rain hit the window gathering in drops before dragging itself down the glass.

The rhythm of it was soothing.

I loved the rain, but right now it only seemed to make today and the past week seem even drearier. It was so hard to take my mind of things, because whenever I’d start winding down I would suddenly remember why I’d been so uptight before. I still didn’t completely understand what I was even doing. Mum was with William and as long as they were together I wouldn’t be a part of Rapture, I would be with Zach.

I could see the door open a crack in the reflection of the window. I turned around and craned my neck upwards to glare softly at William. My eyes remained narrow and accusing as he smiled down at me.

“If you’re here to torment me further, just hurry up and get it over with…” I muttered, looking away from him. I watched him sit down beside me, in the corner of my eye. I leaned away almost automatically.

“I’m not here to ‘torment’ you Rhi.” Will said.

I rolled my eyes. “Then please leave.” I said, struggling to remain polite. I was sort of hoping if I was nicer to him he’d stop this nonsense with Zach.

“I only want to speak to you for a moment. Your mother insisted I to talk to you about it first...” He sounded annoyed.

I eyed him suspiciously. “Fine, but make it quick.”

He nodded. “Well your mom and I have gotten to a point in our relationship where we think we wanted better things.”

My heart perked up. We’re they finally going their separate ways? Had mom finally realized her mistake?

“I really love your mother, and I’ve asked her to marry me.”

My mouth was open, but I wasn’t screaming. My hand was in a fist but I wasn’t throwing punches. Why I wasn’t going crazy and running around the house – I had no idea.

“What.” I said sharply.

“We’re getting married Rhiannon.” He exclaimed, he sounded more like he was trying to rub it in. His body was almost in hysterics as he got to his feet. “Your mom wanted me to ask you its okay…”

I started shaking, my hands quivering. “Well it’s not okay.” I growled under my breath.

William laughed loudly. “That’s just it Rhiannon… That’s not going to change anything. We’re getting married no matter what you think!” I thought he would break into a fit of mental song and dance. “I’ll go tell you mother.” He grinned and ran down stairs.

“No.” I hissed. I got to my feet and ran after him. I sprinted ahead and skidded into the kitchen. “Mom you’re kidding right!”

She wasn’t. I could see it from where I was standing, a massive diamond on her finger.

“So what do you think?” She smiled holding her ring and that massive diamond forward.

I slapped her hand away. “Don’t.” I said I wouldn’t leave, I lied. “I’m leaving. I’m not staying in this house any longer.” I started heading for the stairs.

“Wait a second Missy, get back here!” Mum shouted after me.

I walked up the stairs, knowing they couldn’t stop me.

“You can’t leave. Where will you go, think about that?” She said, thinking she had got me in a tough spot.

I huffed a forced laugh. “Zach, Tiarne, Scarlett. The list goes on mom… I have plenty of places to go.” I smiled smugly as pulled dozens of clothes out of my closet and into my bags.

“What about the killings going on, you’re just a little girl, you can’t protect yourself!” Mom stressed, holding her head as if it was too much.

She knew I could protect myself just fine. “Mom you need to stop kidding yourself. I’m not a little girl anymore, I’m eighteen if you haven’t realized.”

Tears welled up in her eyes. She held her hand to her mouth trying to muffle the whimpers. “But baby, I love you. What am I going to do without you?!” She stood in the doorway silent for a long time, just watching me pack my things.

I pulled the last of my stuff out of my bed side table, my phone and my lap top. I put the laptop in my suitcase and shoved my phone in my handbag. I ignored mom’s question, it was a stupid one anyway… It was a struggled to get two suitcase and my other bags down the stairs but I made it out the door and down onto the front lawn in no time.

I turned to mum who was being comforted by William at the door. “I’m not doing this to hurt you mom!” I called back to her. “I can’t be held back from what I need to do…”

She knew what I was talking about. “Mi-Mi darling, please don’t go! I don’t know what I’ll do without you!” She wailed, shoving away from Will.

I shook my head, my eyes red and puffy. A tear rolled down my cheek. “You have William now…” I said, my voice so low it was almost a whisper. I pulled my suitcases along, bags on my shoulders and a scarf tightly wrapped around my neck.

“No! Mi-Mi, please don’t!” Mum howled behind me.

I didn’t look back as I spoke. “I love you mom.”

“Don’t Fiona. Let her leave.” I heard Will mutter.

I walked all the way to the main road. The streets were almost empty. Twenty-One deaths in the same city wasn’t something comforting for most, people were wise to stay indoors. I grabbed my cell and called someone I knew would help me out.

“Dale, its Rhiannon.

~

“Rhiannon, I’m touched that you called, I thought you’d forgotten about me!” Dale hugged me tightly. He was like a big brother to me, I hugged him back.

“How could I forget you and Kyle? You two saved my life.”

Dale smiled, keeping one arm wrapped around me. “Wow that seems like such a long time ago. I’m just glad you’re still okay, not running into anymore trees I hope?”

I giggled and shook my head.

“Thank you Kyle.” I said, as he put the last suitcase into the trunk.

He grinned and flashed his pearly white teeth. I gave him a hug and he held my door open for me. I got into the back seat and buckled up.

“So where does this Zach live?”

I opened my mouth to speak but nothing came out. It took me a second to realize. “I don’t know...”

Dale laughed. “Well, find out then.”

I knew who to call. I dialed Scarlett, she answered straight away.

“Rhiannon, what’s up?”

“I need you to ‘escort’ me to Zach’s place.” I said, biting my lip hoping she wouldn’t ask why.

“Sure, but why?”

I sighed. “Please just come.”

“Fine then, I’ll be there soon.”

I gave her our location and she was there in no time. Marcus wasn’t with her, surprisingly. We followed her car down to the outskirts of town. It was only a twenty minute drive.

We arrived at a large house by the water. We all parked outside the gate.

Dale got out and opened my door for me.

“Thanks” I said, staring towards the house.
Scarlett beckoned me over. I followed her closely to the front door. She looked so at home as she knocked on the front door. It was my first time coming to Zach’s house. It was a large house beside the lake, a balcony hanging over the water. Floor length windows on every wall and a ghostly look seemed to shroud it.

The door opened and Zach stood there, looking very scruffy. I stared at him for a long time, just as he stared right back at me. A grin spread across my face.

“You’re here.” Zach said hugging me to his chest.

I nodded, but soon began chewing on my lip. “One problem though.. I had to run away from home to be here.”

Zach stiffened. “What? Rhiannon, you didn’t have to run away from home to see me.” He said disapprovingly.

I laughed flatly. “I sort of did.”

He laughed too. “Well you can stay here if you like?”

I didn’t need to answer. My head spun to another topic. “Is Aaron here?” I asked, eyeing Dale and Kyle lounging by the car talking.

“Yeah, we’re all here, just about.” Zach replied sensing there was a reason behind my question. He caught me eyeing Dale and Kyle. “You’re not thinking of recruiting those two are you…?” He remarked skeptically.

I thought about it. It was a good idea. Kyle was well built and very strong. Dale was smart, and cunning. They would be a good addition. I still didn’t feel right about asking something so great of them.

“Invite them in.”

I smiled and Zach and pushed his arm off my shoulder as I ran over to the boys. “You boys feel like coming inside? C’mon, you should meet my friends.” I encouraged.

“Are you sure? If I remember right your boyfriend didn’t like me very much...” Dale said, pursing his lips.

I shoved him playfully. “You know he’s over that, all I had to do was explain what happened to him. It’s all good, so come in, please?” I begged with a smile.

He looked to Kyle who nodded. They followed me to the house.

As I walked down the hallway I saw Zach standing at the end, standing in the doorway. He beckoned me over. I walked into the room filled with what seemed to be casual conversation. I couldn’t help but listen more closely. I wasn’t casual at all, it was serious talk.

Dale and Kyle followed and stood awkwardly near the door, I couldn’t blame them. It was a weird situation for them to be in, everything would sound like crazy talk to them.

Marcus jumped up on a table and everyone turned to him. “Twenty fucking one death’s everybody – and rising. This isn’t good enough people!” He hollered over the noise.

The room went silent. I couldn’t help but stare at Dales expression, Kyle stared right back at me – eyes full of questions.

“Marcus is right! How the hell does this keep happening, we pledged to stop him and we haven’t even prevented any deaths!” Scarlett said in agreement. Her eyes were hard, she wasn’t happy. “C’mon Aaron, how are we going to stop him?!” Scar asked - her ass on the table top, Marcus sat beside her, placing one arm around her shoulder.

Aaron walked towards them. He hit Marcus in the back of the head and laughed.

“Hey!’ Marcus muttered, rubbing his head with a joking smile.

“I’ll start off by saying… Marcus shut the fuck up okay?” The room filled with laugher before coming to a creepy silence. “On a more serious note, Marcus and Scar are right… This is pathetic, twenty one people is a ridiculous amount of killings for a one man and his little gang to have committed. It shouldn’t be this hard to stop them.” Aarons looked into each and every pair of eyes for a few seconds. “What do you think we should do?”

I was surprised. Aaron didn’t usually need help to think of plans.

The room exploded with conversation, every mouth was open with suggestions.

Zach slammed his foot into the ground, it echoed. He jumped up onto the table. “What the hell are we supposed to do guys? Detroit is a big city, we’re a small gang. We can’t be everywhere at once…”

True.

“Well we have to at least try…” I mumbled softly. They all looked at me.

“Your back,” Julia exclaimed with a smile. “We thought your mum would lock you in that house for the rest of your life…” She said in a joking tone.

I smiled crookedly. “Yeah, me too… Well, I managed to get away, and I’m here now.” I shrugged my shoulders.

“That’s great Rhiannon, it honestly is but guys we have to focus. We need to solve this Liam situation.” Luke had his hands on the table and was leaning forward expectantly.

I nodded and all eyes returned to Aaron. He was staring off into space, deep in thought. “We need to strike them at the core…” He muttered.

“At their base…?” Zach said surprised. “That’s perfect! I can’t believe we didn’t think of this earlier!”

The atmosphere was light again.

“We follow their car from the base and strike when they least expect it!” Aaron was standing taller now.

“What if they realize we’re following them, they know our cars…?” Marcus said glumly. I had an idea, a perfect idea.

“Dale, Kyle, you live close by their base. They don’t know your car so they would never suspect you!” Suddenly things seemed to be getting just a little bit better, coming together for once.

Dale looked puzzled. I could see the confusion clouding his eyes. “Rhiannon tell me what’s going on?”

“Rhiannon that’s a great idea, a few of us could hide in their car and alert the others when to make a move. Perfect!” Aaron exclaimed, ignoring Dales demand.

Dale grasped my shoulder. “What’s going on, what is this about…?”

I stared up at Dale with mixed emotions. I had two choices, tell him and get two of my new found friends caught up in this idiotic battle or tell them both to go home – saving them the hurt – then again, it would leave us without an advantage over Liam.

“I need to talk to you…”

~

I was crouching down low in the back seat of Kyle’s truck. Dale was sitting in the passenger seat while Kyle was at the wheel.

Scarlett popped out from under the old blanket. “This is good, plenty of space. Not to mention Liam will never suspect a thing!”

“We’ll make sure to look inconspicuous.” Dale said with a cheeky grin.

I grinned back. Dale and Kyle had taken this all very well. At first Dale was convinced we were all playing a joke on him and got quite angry, we had to chase him almost the whole way back to his house, but I finally convinced him this was no joke when he spoke to Aaron and was told some of the stories I’d once been told.

Now they were both stuck like glue, eager to help.

We were parked just around the corner from the Mill, we could just see the driveway – the only entry and exit – and we’re ready to pounce the moment anyone left there. We weren’t really sure if they’d ditched that mill base after the incident a few months ago, we could only hope not.

“Most of their hits have been done in the early hours of the morning. I wouldn’t be surprised if we’ll see some activity soon.”

Scarlett was very wrong. We waited for over two hours, no one came outside, no cars left the Mill and we were left feeling pretty stupid.

“What time is it…?” Scarlett asked, patting her pockets for her phone.

I looked at my phone which was already out. “It’s seven-twenty-six…” I replied, sighing. This waiting seemed pointless.

Scar groaned loudly. “This is boring...”

I laughed at her baby pout - she could be so childish sometimes. “Yeah, I’m bored too…” I agreed.

“Have some coffee.” Dale suggested, passing his half finished coffee to me.

I smiled. “Thank you.” I sipped the cold coffee not caring if it wasn’t steaming hot anymore because I almost spat it out everywhere when I saw a black van sliding onto the main road.

“Look over there, there’s a van!” I shouted, pointing to the car as I bounced up and down on my toes.

“Shush!” Scarlett hushed me looking over the dashboard. “Yep, that’s Flynn’s van, follow it.”

“Let’s roll.” Kyle said, slipping on a pair of glasses theatrically. We all laughed. “Stay down and keep the conversation quiet okay girls.” He instructed, taking a swig of coffee as he hit the gas. We cruised right after the car. Kyle had a knack for this life, he was buff, made good judgments and seemed very cool and laid back about the situation. I was surprised to be honest.

We followed the van down the highway and right into the center of town.

“Make sure you don’t lose them, we have to stay within two cars of them at all times.” Scar said firmly, peeking over the dashboard again to check on the other car’s position.

My phone vibrated. It was Zach. “Hello?” I greeted him.

“Rhiannon, update us.”

“We’ve followed them right into town, still no idea where they’re going but we’ll make sure not to lose them.” I assured him.

“Do you know who is in the car?” He questioned sounding very professional about it.
I peered over at the van which was one car in front of us. “I can only see two heads in the back window and three people up front, there’s most likely more. I’m fairly sure Liam is in the front, it’s hard to tell.” I grimaced to myself, this was frustrating. “Do you recognize anyone in the van Scar?” I held the phone piece away from my mouth and turned to her.

“Yes, Flynn is driving I can see the youngest boy near the back. Liam is defiantly there, and I can see Rory in the back too.” She said. Her eye narrowed as she tried to make out the dark figures in the van.

“Did you get that?” I asked Zach as I put the phone back to my mouth.

“Yep, got it, now I need you to listen carefully Rhi. Make sure they don’t know your following them, and if you think they’re going to stop soon call us immediately we’ve got pairs ready all over the town to back you up.” His voice was stern and husky. “Be careful.”

I rolled my eyes and smiled. “Stop worrying about me. Seriously, I’m fine.

“Yeah, yeah whatever you say. Still be careful promise…?” He repeated ignoring my protest.

“I’ll be fine.” I hung up after that. I didn’t think I was that incompetent.

“How much longer are we going to follow them?” Dale asked impatiently. “I want to see some action already!”

I giggled. “Trust me… you won’t be so excited when you’re in the middle of a shower of bullets.”

“Where the hell are they going?” The van veered to the right and raced down a road heading towards the river front before turning onto another road that wound up the side of the sparkling water.

“Girls stay down. I think they know something is up…” Kyle said through his teeth. Scarlett ducked under the blanket so only her eyes could be seen. I curled into a ball as low as possible. I could see two boys in the back seat constantly glancing out the window at our truck, talking with suspicious expressions.

I started biting my nails. “Shit, they keep looking at the truck.” I looked with nervous eyes at Scarlett whose face was blank. “What do we do?” I hissed.

“Call Zach now, their heading for the Country Club...” She ordered. “Kyle, take us around the long way, we have to come in from another direction, their getting too suspicious.”

I could see the Country Club now, the vast golf courses and the huge manor perched on a hill. We took a left as the white van kept straight. Scarlett shoved the blanket aside.

I pulled my phone out and dialed Zach’s number as quickly as I could. I didn’t wait for a hello. “Zach get everyone to come now, they’re going to hit the Detroit Country Club on the water front of Lake Saint Clair.” I said in a rushed voice. I already felt out of breath, we were really going to stop them this time.

“We’re on our way.” He grunted.

“Rhi get ready. The moment this car stops, get out and follow me.” I nodded feeling the Desert Eagle pressed against my waist. “Stop here! Go Rhiannon, go!” Scarlett shouted, flinging her door open and jumping out. I did the same and crouched beside the car as I ran for the hedges. “I can see the black van up there.” Scarlett came and squatted beside me as she pointed far into the distance at the van further up the road.

“There all the way across the course, we’ll never make it in time!” I stressed with my hand on my forehead.

Scarlett poked me in the ribs. “Don’t be so pessimistic. We’ll make it, and back up is right on the way. C’mon!” She tugged at my sleeve.

Though I was hesitant I ran after her, tailing close behind. We sprinted across the golf course. I could see two men getting out of the van.

“The vans leaving,” I said feeling hopeless as I tried to make my legs move faster.

“Two guys got out, their probably dispatching all over the grounds. Crap, where the hell is our back up? This is crazy!”

I spun in a circle hoping to see a familiar car pull up, but nothing, no one. “We can’t just stand here. Let’s follow the other two.”

Scarlett nodded as she bit her lip. “What about the van?” She asked.

“Kyle, drive around the grounds, find that black van!” I screamed franticly down to where Kyle and Dale were standing. Kyle gave me the thumbs up and they both jumped in the truck and set off. “OK, let’s find those two guys.” We both sprinted up the hill towards the country house perched on the hill.

“Split up, I’ll like the perimeter you take the inside.” Scar instructed as she turned the corner heading towards more open fields of grass.

I wanted to shout out ‘wait’ but I decided it would be better if I just shut up and did my job. I shoved the glass doors open and burst into reception. A young woman at the counter looked up from her computer screen at me with a confused expression. “Are you here for the Charity Putt?” She asked over the noise of the group of people dressed in suits, golfing uniforms and girls in pretty dresses who were chattering away.

My eyes widened, exiting the door behind the bustling group - heading for the gold course - were the two guys who had exited the van.

“Where are those two going?!” I gushed, running to the counter as I pointed at the men.

“The Charity Putt, if you’re just going to watch you can just head outside now.” She gave me a greasy look. I soon realized why, I wasn’t really ‘dressed for the occasion’.

I sprinted out the door after the men not bothering to care what she thought.

“Shit no, no, no this can’t be happening!” I groaned. They were out of site among the hundreds of people crowded around the first hole. “What do I do, what do I do?” I whispered to myself. My pocket started buzzing, my phone. It was Zach.

“Zach where is the back up? Scarlett and I can’t cover this much ground alone!”

“Calm down Rhiannon, we’ve just arrived. We’re dispatching from all directions, we’ll be closing in on first hole in a matter of minutes.” From the sound of his breathing I could tell he was running. He hung up.

I instantly started scanning the crowd for the two boys. I suddenly spotted one of them in a light blue dress shirt heading towards some sheds beside the barbeque pits. It was times like these when I wished Scarlett was here to instruct me on what to do next, because right now I had no idea what to do.

Still unsure I ran after the boy, as he ducked into the shed. I crept around the side, taking slow and careful steps. I was too frightened to peek ins through the window just in case he’d see me. There was no moment for a long time but just as I felt like giving up the door cracked open and the boy strolled out of the shed dressed in dirty overalls and pushing a huge work trolley along in front of him. There was a dark blue plastic sheet coving the trolley so I couldn’t see what was inside.

“Rhiannon where is Scar?” Marcus startled me. He was right behind me with his head beside my shoulder, Aaron right beside him.

“We had to split up to cover more ground – but look at that boy over there. He’s one of Liam’s men, there’s something in that trolley he’s pushing.”

Marcus’s eyes became fixated on the trolley now, his narrow eyes full of questions. “How many people got out of the van?” He asked.

“Just two that we saw… The van took off after that, I told Dale and Kyle to follow it.”
He gave me a sharp nod.

“I’ll call some of the others. We’ll split and follow this guy. We need to find out what is in that trolley.” Aaron said with authority. I had to admit, I admired him quite a lot. “Rhiannon you observe from within the crowd. Marcus and I will watch from a distance, signal us if you need help.”

I nodded and ran after the guy with the trolley, we was heading for Hole one. The charity tournament hadn’t begun yet, but the crowd was already huge. It was sort of hard to bend into a crowd or finely dressed people when I was just wearing my old black jeans and hoody – I still made an effort though.

“Where are you going…?” I whispered to myself as I eyed the guy in the overalls. Suddenly he stopped. My eyes widened in anticipation as he walked to the corner and stuck his hand underneath to take something out. Just before I could finally see what was under my vision was blocked by a group of passersby. “Excuse me, excuse me please.” I said politely as I tried to push past the people – but the guy had already taken whatever it was out from under the sheet, it still seemed like there was more of whatever it was loaded onto the trolley.

My eyes scanned the area for any unusual object but I couldn’t see anything and the guy was on the move again. My phone started buzzing in my pocket - not hard to guess who was calling. I answered knowing it would be Zach.

“I’m here at hole one, where are you?”

I continued pushing through the crowd with my eyes firmly on the guy in the overalls as I answered. “Zach a man from Liam’s gang is here, he’s pushing around a trolley with something loaded on it, I can’t see what it is but I’ m going to follow him and find out.”

“Call me as soon as you find out, I love you, be careful.” He replied.

I smiled to myself. “I love you too.” I hung up. Looking back up, I couldn’t see the trolley man anymore. “Oh shit, not again!” My cheeks flustered red. I tried to look over the many heads to see if I could spot him, Aaron or Marcus but every head just looked the same to me.

“Rhiannon, it’s you!” A familiar voice said joyfully.

It was Spencer dressed in a fancy button down shirt with a silk tie. “Spencer, I can’t believe you’re here, hey!” I said, equally excited. I threw my arms around him and hugged him tightly. As much as I wanted to catch up with him I had no time, I needed to locate the trolley man before he did something horrible.

“So why are you here? You should have told me you were coming so we could have hung out more.” His smile was infectious, but I couldn’t help but feel a little annoyed, he was keeping me from focusing.

“I wasn’t planning on coming actually - Look Spencer it’s great to see you but I sort of have to get going…” I tried to push past him but he stood in my way.

“Are you looking for someone?” He asked looking curious as to why I was in such a rush.

I bit my lip not sure what to say. “Yeah I am actually, could you help me find him?”

“Sure.” He agreed with a big, flashy grin.

I smiled back but quickly shoved past him and continued pushing past the growing crowd. I could feel his constant presence behind me.

Spencer tapped my back with his finger. “So who exactly are we looking for…?”

I decided to tell the truth - sure he could actually help me. “I’m looking for the grounds keeper.” I lied to start off. “He’s wearing old white overalls, pushing around a trolley.” We finally broke out of the bustling crowd. My head darted all over the place desperately searching for any sign of the man.

“There!” Spencer said, pointing his finger across the other side of the hole. The load under the blue sheet looked much smaller, whatever was under there was getting smaller and smaller.

“C’mon, follow me.” I started sprinting towards trolley man. I could see him with his hand under the sheet ready to pull something out.

“Welcome everyone to the annual Putt for Cancer charity putt, thank you all for coming and please don’t forget to donate. All proceeds go to various cancer foundations.” An announcer was standing beside the tee with a microphone to his mouth. I was just about to step run across the fair way but I was eyes down by the announcer who stuck one porky finger at the barrier. “All spectators keep behind the barriers.” He said loudly, staring at me in particular.

Spencer grabbed my arm and yanked me gently back behind the barrier.

“I’ve got to get across there now.” I hissed impatiently to Spencer.

He didn’t release my arm thinking I would run off if he did. “You can’t run across the fairway, didn’t you hear the man? They’re about to start, we can go find the grounds’ keeper later…”

I pulled my arm away hastily. “Spencer you don’t understand-”

“Rhiannon there you are!” I knew it was Zach just from his voice. I turned around, he was standing there with his phone in his hand, I watched as he eyes moved to Spencer.

“Zach,” I said with a smile.

“Hey Zach, it’s been ages.” Spencer greeted him as he held out his hand.

Zach looked at Spencer suspiciously before slowly holding out his hand too. “Yeah, it has been. Spencer right…?” Zach queried. Spencer nodded. “Rhi I need to talk to you.” He said turning back to me.

“Alright,” My eyes fell upon Spencer who looked disappointed that I was leaving. “I’ll see you later Spence, school maybe?”

The knot in my stomach disappeared when he grinned. “Sure, bye Rhiannon, Zach.” He nodded his head in goodbye.

Zach took my wrist straight away and pulled me aside. “I thought you were going to follow the trolley guy? Where did he go?”

I started gnawing at the inside of my cheek guiltily. “I lost him in the crowd…” I looked down, unhappy with my effort. “He’s on the other side of the fairway but the announcer wouldn’t let me run across.” I quickly said in my defense.

“Okay, don’t worry, Aaron and the others might still be on his trail. We’ll just go around and see if we can spot him.”

My forehead crinkled. “Zach it’ll take ages to walk the whole way around, he’s been unloading things from the trolley, what if it’s something bad? What if we don’t realize till it’s too late?!” Panic began strangling me, my throat became tight and I couldn’t even continue talking about our possible failure.

“Don’t panic, if we hurry we’ll make it in time.” He took my hand and held it tightly. I nodded wordlessly trusting his words. Everything he said just made everything seem better. Zach lead the way around the crowd who had turned up in huge numbers to watch celebrities and famous personalities try to win a game of golf against each other. I had no time to fuss over the possible celebrities I could meet, I was more scared about whether they would leave here alive.

“Wait, there he is!” Zach shouted. Up on the hill, wheeling the trolley back up towards the shed was the guy in the overalls, the trolley was empty and the blue sheet was no folded and tucked under his arm.

“Shit, he’s unloaded everything. Zach we have to find out what he unloaded, now!” I started running around franticly. I looked back up at the boy pushing the trolled, he came back out of the shed no longer in overalls - he was wearing the dress shirt he’d been in earlier.

I ran as fast as I could up the hill, ready to charge into him. I almost began growling with the effort. “What did you unload off the trolley, what was it!” I screamed as I charged into him, ramming him to the ground. I pulled my gun from my waist and held it at his temple. His eyes widened as I poked the point into his head. “Tell me now!” I growled.

I could hear Zach bounding up the hill behind me.

I stabbed the gun into his temple again, my finger easing on the trigger. “Propane tanks, just propane tanks! Don’t kill me please, he paid me, he paid me, I never wanted anything to do with this!” He begged as his eyes filled with sorrow.

The blood drained from my face. I looked back down the hill to the barbeque pits right beside Hole 1. Volunteers would start cooking soon, gas was pumping into the air, one spark and the country club would go up in flames.

“Gas, gas, Zach gas is pumping into the air!” I shrieked running to meet him.

His eyes were full of confusion. “What are you talking about?!”

I sucked in a deep breath, trying to steady my rapidly beating heart. “He unloaded propane tanks. As we speak gas is being pumped into the air. We have to get everybody away from here, I’ll alert them, and you stop those people from lighting the barbeques!” I wasted no time waiting for answers. I dashed down the hill, almost tripping over my feet as I moved at an intense speed.

“Everybody run, gas, everybody run!” I screamed as loud as I could. Only a few heads turned, they all looked at me as if I was crazy. I could already smell the propane in the air as I made it to the edge of the crowd. “Everybody there is gas pumping into the air, run!” I howled.

The lady in front of me began sniffing around, her eyes widened and she looked to me. “Gas!” She shouted, shaking with fear. “Gas is in the air run everybody, run for your lives!” She started running for the cobble stone path way, scuttling up the hill as fast as she could.
People started taking notice, heads began turning, people began sniffing - smelling the now growing amount of gas in the air – they too began running for their lives, sprinting up the hill in their heels and their fancy turn-up-toed shoes.

“Please run, there has been a propane gas leak, you all have to leave now!”

A big hand grabbed my arm. “Rhiannon what’s going on?!”

I looked up and Spencer, my dear friend and fears for his life. “Run now, tell everyone to run, gas, we need to get everyone away.”

Spencer inhaled deeply and began spluttering. “Holy shit, we have to evacuate the area!”
I nodded sharply, before coughing as I inhaled a lung full of gas. How people could not smell it was beyond me.

“I’ll tell the announcer, you try to get as many people away from here as possible.” Spencer instructed suddenly looking very serious. He left me and began shoving past the unknowing people towards the first tee where the announcer was chatting away happily unaware of the situation.

“There’s been a huge gas leak, everybody leave now!” I shouted at the top of my lungs.
“Rhi there you are!” Scar exclaim as she ran and hugged me. “They won’t listen. Half the people can’t hear my warnings.”

“Don’t worry, my friend Spencer has gone to alert the announcer, they’ll listen to him.”
Right on queue the announcer began tapping on the microphone. “Everyone I have just been alerted of a very dangerous situation that we seem to be in. There has been a gas leak and as we speak gas is pumping into the air-” The throng of people began screaming and pushing and shoving to get to the back so they could run. “There is no need to panic people, just calmly walk towards the gate. The police and fire brigade have been notified!”

No one even stopped to listen to his plea for calm - I myself was almost getting shoved to the ground. Frantic parents clutching their children’s hands tried to keep their families together as they fled from the scene while the elderly tried to scuttle away as fast as their bodies would take them. A people began dispersing I could now see three of the however many propane tanks tucked in-between the breaks in the barriers.

The people had been alerted, now my new concern was where Zach was. “Zach!” I yelled.
“Zach, where are you?!”

No response.

I wasn’t going to leave without him.

I saw a small opening the frantic mob of frightened people and made my way out of the pushing and shoving. I looked back down to the barbeque pits and saw Zach ushering the volunteer cooks from the scene. “Zach!” I started back down the hill – grateful I had worn appropriate footwear – and as I passed by, I saw Liam flanked by three of his men and his girlfriend Ailee beside the shed talking to the trolley man I’d threatened earlier.

“Liam look!” She said poking a finger in my direction.

Liam stomped over to me. “You’ve fucking ruined everything.” He growled in a deep voice, coaxed with hatred. His hands balled into fists as it seemed almost certain he would hit me.

“Back the fuck off Liam!” Zach barked as he ran up the hill to where we were standing, he pushed Liam away from me.

Liam flinched away. “You back off Benson!” He looked ready to pull his gun out but his eyes flickered to something in the distance. I quickly spun around. Up on the hill was a camera man and a reporter who had been there earlier covering the charity putt. Their camera was pointed in our direction.

Liam’s top lip curled up over his teeth. “Damn it,” He hissed in frustration. “We’ve got media, let’s get out of here.” Zach’s tense body loosened up as Liam began swiftly walking away. He suddenly stopped and turned back to us. “I would’ve taken the shot… I would’ve.” He added, jabbing a finger towards the first hole.

I didn’t even make a sound. I just stared sullenly at him and his retreating men. He wrapped one arm around Ailee and pulled her in close. She looked back over her shoulder and glared at me with those teal eyes, I didn’t glare back. I actually felt sorry for her, if only she knew that Liam was using her.

I folded my arms across my chest. Zach’s arm suddenly pulled me into his chest. “Don’t scare me like that.” He said softly, I didn’t respond. I just keep my eyes firmly on Liam, Ailee and the three other men. “We need to leave, media’s here, we can’t keep ourselves exposed…”

He pulled me along, up that hill, my eyes never left Liam until he was ushered into the same black van. It sped away unnoticed. We made it to the gate without any attention being drawn to us. A crowd of pretty dresses, extravagant head pieces and suits were standing behind the gate in a flurry of confusion. I watched as a young mom counted her children’s heads to make sure they were all there.

“Everyone say back, behind the gates please!” A police man pleaded. Firemen rushed passed Zach and I. I kept my head down, my brain was going crazy. I couldn’t think straight.
“Are you two alright?” A paramedic approached us.

I didn’t say anything. I could feel Zach’s stare on me. “She’s fine, I’m fine. Thank you.”
The paramedic smiled and left with a nod.

“There she is! That’s the girl who warned us about the gas leak!” I looked up in shock only to see the lady - who’d actually listened to my warning first – pointing to me as the crowds eyes darted to me.

They erupted into applause, shouting and cheering their thanks. The media ran over to me with their camera men following close behind. Dozens of questions were thrown at me. I didn’t know where to begin. My head begin spinning even more.

“Hey, give her some space!” Zach demanded holding his hand out in my defense from the vulture like reporters. “Let’s get out of here.” He made a pathway though the frenzy of media and hauled me along behind him. We sprinted across the lot. I could see a line of three cars – including Kyle and Dales’ – parked on the curb ready to go. Dale leaned back and shoved the back door of the truck open, I jumped in beside Scarlett. Zach got in too and slammed the door behind him.

“This is not good.” I said nervously staring back across the grass to where the crowd was staring right at the truck. Too much exposure, not good, not good at all…

Pitch Black Heaven - © MemoriesdonoJustice / Rose Tonis 2009