Sheep's Clothing by Gary Lewis (dark books to read TXT) 📗

flex to press her eyebrows deep into whatever painful world existed far within those glowing embers that shined in her blue eyes.

"It's been here," David said to the others as he explained how his camera and scope were busted into pieces and strewn about the top of the tower.

"So, what did we miss?" Janice asked.

"Missed out on Davie," Terry said, covering a momentary laugh behind his hand as Sarah rolled her eyes.

"Turns out, Vance was the first one to see it and it sounds like he got a better look at the thing than anyone else," Sarah said.

"I bet he did," David said as everyone looked in Vance's direction.

Vance's jaw tensed cold across the showering sparks of fiery ash that flew upward between them. I've given him one chance after another. Watched him take my girl... Sits here in front of everyone with her... Now he has the balls to put me on the spot right here. He watched the fire begin to settle as the blackened coals shrunk into white ash.

Terry finally spoke up. "Vance had to burn their family's barn or his father would beat him. It's not his fault."

The waving flames of the fire died down, but Vance felt them flaring up within him. He knew that Terry was just trying to defend him, but hated the way it sounded. "I can deal with Dad," he said. "It's my problem, not yours."

Janice began to speak. "All Terry meant was that-"

"That poor little me was going to get beat up, I know." Vance nodded his head back.

"Is that your excuse for burning down the old rec center too?" David asked.

His words lit a stick of dynamite in Vance's chest and now it was only a matter of time. Vance turned to look across the fire and saw Janice still wearing her innocent look of surprise. "Didn't have anything to add to that one, did you?"

Janice's eyes grew wide as she glanced around to the others. Sarah squinted a quizzical look to Janice on the other side of the fire as David rose to his feet.

"Leave her alone," David said loudly.

"Ooh," Vance said, wriggling his thick fingers in the air. "Where's my white knight to save me," he continued in a meek, girly tone.

David pointed his finger from the other side of the flaming fire pit at Vance. "How about why you didn't talk about that fire? At the meeting, you know?" Everyone remained quiet. "Was it because they were going to cut you from the team was your reason? Or maybe you didn't want to bring it up because people died trying to put it out."

Sarah raised her eyebrows toward David. "Brad's dad died in that fire." Her eyes slowly returned to Vance's direction.

Vance stood and huffed the air. He paced side to side, trying to cool off. No. David had his chance and this time he went too far. He should know better. Vance drew his gun from behind and everyone's eyes lit wide from their makeshift seats. As he walked toward the group, David stood still and Vance stepped over to Sarah. She looked up at him without a single word. Her eyes seemed flooded with fear.

"Here," Vance said, handing her the handle end of his revolver as her pale, thin fingers slid across the cold steel and he awaited her firm grip before letting go. "Hang onto this."

He approached David slowly, stopping just a few feet in front of him. "I think you've been afraid of the big bad wolf a little too long and forgot what I'm capable of," Vance said. He firmly shoved his index finger into David's chest hard enough to stumble him off balance. With a flash, David's fist made perfect contact with the side of Vance's jaw and voices erupted into chaos as he staggered back, stomping into the fire. Glowing ash flew up across Vance's body as he balled his fist and turned, ready to hook David wide, right in the torso. But as he saw Janice pulling at David's other arm and Terry begging David to apologize, he relaxed his arm and stepped away from the fire, brushing himself off. He looked over at a trembling Sarah. The shiny metal revolver reflected the camp fire in her hand as she aimed it straight up to the sky.

"It's alright." Vance waved his palms slowly out in front of his chest. "It's alright." He repeated louder and slower until everyone settled down. David still stood there, staring Vance in the face.

Vance rubbed the side of his jaw and spit into the fire. "A little harder than I thought," he said. He turned to the dark clearing below. "Going to borrow your light," he said, reaching to the stump to grab David's flashlight.

"Wait," Sarah shouted while he walked further into the woods.

Guess she means the gun. "Hang onto it," he said. "I'll get it another day." As he walked further into the night, the shadows swallowed him far from the voices that he left behind. From time to time and owl would sound loudly and Vance would hoot back in a slur as the euphoric darkness guided him back to his truck and the moon traveled across the sky.

Chapter 14

#Sarah#

Sarah awoke, pressed against a surface much harder than the sofa back at home. She squinted at the blurry, bright sky as she rolled over tangled within her orange sleeping bag. Her leg hurt as it pushed down against the hard revolver that she laid on the ground the night before. It was then that she remembered she had promised to stay awake and keep watch until dawn.

"Shit," she said aloud as she looked where David and Janice had been sleeping. "David!" she shouted. "Jan!" She hopped up to dash to their side of the fire pit. Their sleeping bags had disappeared from the ground where they once occupied, now torn with disturbed dirt. Drag marks slid in the direction of the woods just downhill. The once well stoked fire was left in