Before I Go: A dark and tense psychological crime thriller. Marie Reyes (best reads .TXT) š
- Author: Marie Reyes
Book online Ā«Before I Go: A dark and tense psychological crime thriller. Marie Reyes (best reads .TXT) šĀ». Author Marie Reyes
āGet out!ā
Michael got out as quickly as he could, stumbling as he stepped onto the uneven ground, and shut the car door behind him, a tinny sound sending reverberations into the forest. He rushed to the front of the car. The damp earth beneath his feet released a musty smell with every step. āHey. Slowly.ā Julio didnāt take his eyes off Michael. In the dwindling light his brown eyes were almost black, like looking down a dark well with no end. Michael heard Josieās car door close. āWhat is going on?ā Michael shouted, trying to hold Julioās attention. As Josie came up behind, Julio span around just in time for the bottle to make contact with his forehead. A hollow thud, and a crack. Julio stumbled backwards, dropping his gun, but remained upright. The bottle remained intact in Josieās hand and as she lurched forward and swung it at Julio again, he grabbed her wrist and wrenched her arm down, sending the bottle rolling across the dried leaf-litter on the ground and under the car. As Michaelās brain finally kicked into gear and he ran at them, grabbing Julio from behind, his arm around his thick neck. Julio tried to throw him off, flailing like a bucking-bronco, and smashed Michael backwards against a tree, knocking the wind out of him.
Michael could just about make out Josie, scrabbling around amongst the leaves to find the gun. Julio turned around and lunged at him again. Michael dodged to his right and grabbed Julioās head, ramming it into the trunk of the tree, using Julioās own momentum against him. The sound of skull slamming against bark. He watched in disbelief as Julio collapsed at the base of the tree. His body had worked independently of his mind, an out-of-body experience. He wasnāt capable of these things. His hands trembled.
āIs he?ā
āUnconscious? Dead? I donāt know.ā He couldnāt bring himself to check. He had to dissociate himself from the heap on the floor.
Josie didnāt waste any time before crouching down to have a look, but she wasnāt checking for signs of life. She rifled through his pockets. Her cell phone was in his pocket and she took it back, before digging deeper into his pocket, and then checking the other. āWhere are they?ā
āWhat?ā
āThe car keys,ā she yelled impatiently. āCheck in the car.ā
Michael opened the door of the unlocked car, checking the ignition and the front seat. Nothing. āThe keys must be on him.ā
āTheyāre not. Iāve checked every pocket.ā She took her attention away from Julio and ran her hands through the debris on the floor.
āJosie, this is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Weāre just going to have to go by foot.ā
āAre you kidding?ā
āLetās get out of here.ā Michael started back up the path they had come from. āJosie, come on!ā She finally tore herself away from searching for the car-keys and they sprinted back down the road they had come from. There were no cars on the road, no headlights to illuminate the way. Just shadows and darkness.
āWe better not stick to the main road. If he wakes up.ā Michael didnāt want to finish his sentence.
āI think weāre better off taking our chances in the forest, at least weāll have cover, plenty of places to hide.ā She walked across the road and shone the dim light of her phone into the bushes on the other side.
āShould we phone the police?ā
āI just need some time to think first. Besides, weāre not going to be safe waiting here for them, not if Julio wakes up. Remember what Ćlvaro saidāabout the police being in their pockets.ā
āIf that was the case, why did Julio kill that cop?ā
āFuck it, letās just keep moving.ā
Chapter Seventeen
The dense forest left them just enough room to weave between the obstacle course of trees and bushes of ferns that clawed at their legs as they walked. Roots curled in and out of the earth, and they cursed every time they stumbled on one. It was almost pitch-black and Michaelās legs ached from each and every considered step he took. The trees closed in on them, almost impenetrable, suffocating. Michaelās skin crept with claustrophobia, and he regretted straying too far from the road as invisible insects tickled his skin, making his hairs stand on end. They swerved to their right, where the forest was less thick and held out their arms in front of them, feeling their way through the never-ending maze.
āThis will be quite the story to tell when you get home.ā Michael tried to air on the side of optimism, for once. He slapped his left arm. That was definitely a bug.
āAfter this.ā Josie paused as she ducked under a vine. āYouāre so going to have to come visit me. Youāre stuck with me now,
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