Bloody Sunset by Gwendolyn Harper (classic books for 11 year olds TXT) 📗

under control,” he continued. “I asked if he’d keep a hold of my weapons at night.”

“Jack…” She murmured, shifting her weight. “You’ve never once gone for your gun or your knife during a nightmare. Hell, you’ve never even tried to go after me—”

“’S just a matter of time,” Booker muttered. “These ain’t gonna get better before they get worse. That’s how it was the last time.”

“Last time?” She frowned. “You mean, before…”

He nodded minutely. “When I shipped home. Every night for six months I woke up screamin’… One night I had my pistol in my hand, safety off, pointin’ it at somebody that won’t there. Thank God my girlfriend at the time was at her mom’s, otherwise…” He took a ragged breath. “I’d rather die than do somethin’ like that around you.”

Resting her hand on his forearm, Caitlin studied his face.

“Jack, Scott said he has some meds that might help,” she said. “He wants you to talk to him.”

Booker tilted his head, unsure. “Cae, I dunno…”

“I know,” she cut in. “It’s not exactly a guarantee, but he said it might help get you through this.”

“I don’t wanna be zonked out on some sleepin’ pill each night.”

“They’re not Ambien, they’re for anxiety. At the very least they’ll help take the edge off.”

Booker was quiet for a long time, staring into his cooling coffee like it held all the answers.

“I still ain’t keepin’ my weapons by our bed,” he said finally. “Not until I know for sure I won’t do somethin’.”

Caitlin conceded. “Okay. I guess that means the revolver too.”

Booker made a noise of agreement at the back of his throat. “I want you to keep a knife though. Put it somewhere I don’t know about.”

“Booker…”

“Promise me, songbird.”

His graveled, near-desperate tone shattered her heart.

“Okay,” she whispered. “I promise.”

Nudging him gently, she waited for him to lock eyes with her before pressing closer to kiss him.

Silently, she poured as much emotion into each move of her lips as she could.

Caitlin had been through hell before most people had even seen their first PG-13 movie. She knew pain, terror, and despair intimately, like they were woven into her genetic code.

No matter what Booker thought of himself, she knew he was her gift from the universe. Her reward for persevering. Her pay out for surviving then and surviving now.

A few bad dreams and sleepless nights weren’t going to scare her away. Not when he stared at her like she built the world and blessed it at the same time.

“How d’you do that?” He asked, pulling back a fraction to grin at her.

Caitlin furrowed her brow. “Do what?”

“Make even the worst day seem like honey and roses.”

She smiled, trailing her fingers over his stubbled jawline to the spot his pulse fluttered beneath the skin.

“Must be a natural born talent,” she said, grinning as she leaned in to kiss him again.

The sound of someone clearing their throat behind her made them jump.

“I’m so sorry,” Sister Agnes said. “I hate to interrupt.”

“S’alright, Sister,” Booker said, ears going pink. “Everythin’ okay?”

Sister Agnes frowned. “I’m not sure,” she said. “But… I think there’s something you two should see.”

* * * * * * *

Following Sister Agnes into the frozen courtyard, Caitlin absently wished she’d thought to bring gloves as well as her jacket.

“I like to take a morning walk while I pray,” Sister Agnes explained. “It helps me clear the cobwebs before starting the day’s tasks.”

She led them towards the break in the fence, stepping through it.

“I was just about to finish, when I noticed something odd…”

“More cut up squirrels?” Booker asked.

She glanced over her shoulder. “Not a squirrel.”

As they approached the foul perimeter of bodies, Caitlin thought she saw what Sister Agnes meant.

“At first, I only saw one, but then I spotted the others, and… well,” she slowed, gesturing for Booker and Caitlin to look for themselves.

Six different Geeks, all gutted. Their insides pulled out, stretched across their torsos. Some had piles of organs neatly stacked next to the corpse, like pieces of a children’s game about to be put back together.

“Christ,” Booker hissed. Wincing, he turned to the nun. “Sorry, Sister.”

“Don’t worry, it was my first thought as well.”

Caitlin stepped closer, staring at the grotesque scene in front of her.

“I’ve seen vultures and crows pick at Geek bodies,” she said. “But this…”

“This ain’t from a couple of birds.” Booker scowled. “Animals eat what they scavenge. Only humans do somethin’ like this.”

Looking down, Caitlin tried not to react to the excised heart laying on the frostbitten ground near the toe of her shoe.

“Okay,” she started, breathing evenly. “Let’s think about this. What reason other than utter depravity would someone have for cutting open six Geeks?”

Booker and Sister Agnes shared a puzzled glance before looking to Caitlin.

“Searchin’ for somethin’,” Booker said finally. “Might’ve been lookin’ to see if one of these groaners ate a person in the last few days.”

Sister Agnes nodded. “We did lose people a few weeks ago. Amanda, Lawrence, Trey… Perhaps one of their loved ones was looking for answers inside the bellies of these things.”

“But we found their bodies,” Caitlin countered. “Trey had turned, but Amanda and Lawrence… We knew what happened to them.”

“Grief does strange things to the mind,” Sister Agnes said. “Maybe someone wasn’t satisfied with that.”

“Then why not cut open the others?” Booker asked, turning to look at the rest of the corpses. “Why only play Frankenstein with these six?”

Sister Agnes wrinkled her nose as she glanced around. “They’re at the top of the stacks. And they’re the least… mangled.”

“Fresh groaners do have more to work with,” Booker said with a nod.

Turning in a slow circle, Caitlin scanned the surrounding area.

The hair on the