Chasing Down Secrets by Katie Matthews Read Free Book Online

the hallway. Not too long later the screams start. My arms and legs move but Emmett stops me from going to help.
“They’re dying!” I mouth as tears spill over my lids. A silent cry begins, “please.”
“I cannot take that risk. All you would be doing is getting yourself killed along with them.” His face remains solid. No traces of emotion show. But his arms strengthen their grip as I cry into his chest.
It is daytime when we finally emerge. Emmett goes first to make sure the coast is clear. I try to close my eyes but they keep popping open whenever I try. The first thing I notice when I leave my room is the blood. The second thing is the smell. It is a metallic scent that clings to my nose. My eyes waters as I see the red handprints on the walls. I feel my throat close as I try to scream. We enter my eldest brother’s room, slowly, afraid of what to find.
At first, there is nothing, except the blood. Then I see it, a lifeless body. The face is swiped free of emotions. His throat is covered in a bright red liquid.
“Let’s go, Emmett,” I say my eyes never leaving the young man’s cold face.
He does not say anything; he just takes my hand and leads me away. We check the other rooms, my second brother and his mother meet the same fate. My father is not in his room and I hope he got out, but I know that he did not. We find him in the study, a piece of paper clenched in his fist. Hesitantly, I take it out of his hand.
You killed my father, so I killed your family. You killed him in front of my eyes, so now you have to endure the same torture. And when I’m done I’ll kill you.
“Oh my God,” I whisper. The note falls from my hand and lands on the desk. I feel wretched and numb as Emmett guides me out of the room and towards to trap door.
It is then that I feel my senses return. In front of me are foot prints painted with blood that lead to the trap door which is open.
“We have to get out of here. Traveling underground clearly isn’t an option anymore. Come on, Maria.”
It is more of a risk to travel above ground, especially during the day, but I know he is right. We cannot stay here and we aren’t going to follow the killer. Our only option is to hide in the trees as we run. I can’t help but think that even though we are running we have nowhere to run to, because nobody is waiting for us. We leave the house quietly and as soon as we are hidden in the trees we run.
We run for hours causing my chest to heave. How is Emmett still able to run? I let my pace slow to a jog so I can catch my breath. Emmett hears me slow and stops, waiting for me to continue. I nod to myself before picking up my pace again.
I have no idea where are, every tree looks the same. It is finally dark after a few more hours of running, which means we can rest. I force Emmett to let me take the first watch. Once he is sound asleep the tears come and soon I am consumed in self-pity. I do not even know why, my father had not existed in my childhood, he should not now. So, why can I feel my heart breaking? Is it because of what he and I had missed out on? Or because, yet again, I heard my parent die?
I wake up to a face studying me. I do not remember falling asleep, but they way Emmett is staring at me gives me the feeling that he had seen my crying.
“I must have fallen asleep, sorry,” I say while stifling a yawn.
“That’s alright, how are you?” His voice is soft as if he does not want to press to hard so instead he is gently stepping on the issue as if I am a shard of glass that will cut him if he pressed to hard.
“I’m fine, why wouldn’t I be?” I stand up and stretch my limbs, they groan in protest.
“I know you are not.” He is standing now, too, his face next to mine, and his mouth by my ear. I can feel his hot breath on my neck and I want nothing more than to pull him close and kiss him with everything I have. But I don’t. I stand there awkwardly while he is completely casual. He is comfortable with himself and with