The Christmas Stalking by Lillian Duncan Read Free Book Online Page A

cabin.
    She glanced through the bedroom door. The hall was filled with smoke and just beyond it were the flames. The whole cabin would be burning soon.
    She pulled Mark through the trap door and outside. The shock of the numbing, cold wind took her breath away. Mark would die from exposure in this temperature. She’d have to keep him warm while she went for help.
    She scooted back into the bedroom, yanked blankets off the bed, and then tugged Mark behind the woodpile. It took a few seconds to bundle the blankets around him, and she tucked them under him as best she could. Peering from behind the wood pile at the burning cabin, she saw no one stirring.
    She ran into the woods.
     
     
     
     

11
     
    Holly hid behind a tree to catch her breath. Bright orange flames reached upwards into the black night sky.
    People would see it and come to help.
    But she couldn’t trust them. Someone wanted her dead—might have already killed Mark if she didn’t get help soon. That person could be right there among the emergency workers pretending to be worried about her. And she’d never know the difference.
    She wouldn’t be safe until she found Robby.
    But she couldn’t wait for Robby to find her. It was up to her to get out of this mess. No Robby. No Mark. She was on her own, but these woods were a familiar friend. As a child, she’d played in them with Robby.
    She closed her eyes, letting her mind drift backwards to when she was a child.
    His house was...s he opened her eyes. That way.
    Len would be there. And there would be a phone.
    She could call Robby and then she’d be safe.
    Sirens squealed. The firemen were coming.
    Should she go back? Not everyone was the enemy.
    She leaned against a tree.
    What if she was wrong about this being the way to Robby’s house? It had been years since she’d been here.
    She’d be safe with the fireman. And warm. And she could make sure they found Mark and got him to the hospital. Everything would be OK.
    She stepped out from behind the tree.
    A shot rang out, splintering wood above her head.
    She ran into the darkness.
     
    ****
     
    Every part of Holly’s body was numb. Her feet were frozen. It hurt to run, but she pushed forward. She stumbled and fell. A tree root bit into her palms as she hit the ground. Pain shot through her ankle and up her leg. She closed her eyes and moaned. Blood oozed from her fingers. She wiped them on her shirt, wishing she’d taken the time to put on a coat. She was freezing.
    She crawled to the tree and used it as an anchor, but she couldn’t stand.
    Failure wasn’t a luxury she could afford. The cost for Mark was too high. He needed medical treatment soon, or he would die.
    Help me, God…I can’t do this without You.
    On hands and knees, she crawled through the darkness. Hot tears froze on her cheeks as soon as they slid from her eyes.
    The trees thinned and the moonlight shimmered as if she were in a frozen mirage. A darkened shadow blocked part of her view.
    A fishing shack by the lake.
    Relief flooded as she crawled towards it, finally knowing her location.
    As children, Robby had brought her down to the lake to fish several times. The shack belonged to his family, and they kept plenty of fishing equipment in it. Back then, the small shack was never locked.
    People used it whenever they wanted and replaced whatever they used. It was the neighborly thing to do.
    But that was back then. People weren’t that neighborly any longer. It was probably locked.
    She looked back into the woods.
    There’d been no more shooting, but he had to be back there—following her, waiting for her to show herself again. Should she go to the shack or head straight to Len’s?
    A path led from the lake to Len’s house. She could try to make it there, but if the shack wasn’t locked, it would provide protection from the cold and the storm—a place to rest. She was exhausted.
    If the police fanned out to look for her, it’d be easier to find her there. She could tell them