CHAPTER 13
"Come on!" Shouted Jimmy, trying to cover the wounds, resorting to flipping her over on her back. Kylie could see Jimmy and Eddie as blurry flesh colored simple shapes, their voices, to her were muffled and the volume constantly fluctuated in between high frequencies to distant whispers. Both were unpleasant to the ear.
"Crap! Eddie, what do we do? I'm out of ideas here..." Asked Jimmy shallowly and dejectedly in a tone that was wrought with desperation. When she heard that, her stomach sunk. Of all things she could feel, she could still feel fear and terrifying butterflies fluttering madly inside her stomach. At least she was flipped over on her back so she could witness her best friends and their valiant efforts to try and save her one last time. For that she was grateful.
Kylie saw out of the corner of her eye, Eddie was shaking his head grimly. Her heartbeat was growing dimmer and less frequent, fainter and fainter with each battling second of difficult breaths. She could hear Sara and Matt pray on their knees for her survival, not only hers; but also the yet to be born life of her fatherless child. Darya couldn't understand why they were praying. She felt that not even God could save Kylie and the potential life she was fostering inside her body.
Kylie was worried for her child and it's father, James. She had come to the realization that her life was over. At least it was a quieter and quicker death than the death she had a grim premonition of when she felt that sting just above her tailbone. She took in everyone's faces one last time, memorizing every last detail of their delightfully familiar and familial faces, just for old time's sake.
Eddie removed his fingers from the surface of Kylie's ice cold neck. Eddie solemnly shook his head; he didn't and didn't need to say anything to report the sad, grim news that Kylie had flat lined after a vicariously fought fight for life. Kylie remained waking for just a brief moment, not even having the strength to blink, as the curtain closed and the stage of life faded to black, signifying the finality of her ordeal.
Jimmy stood up, he was visibly angry; his fists were clenched, his knuckles were lusterless silver, and an enraged fire flared inside his eyes; a fire that the group knew only dared to flicker at his most temperamental times. He pointed a stiff finger at the house and growled, "Pack up." His voice was quiet through his clenched teeth. Eddie stayed behind and put a hand on Jimmy's shoulder. "I said go."
The squad followed his command without question as they frantically flowed into the house like a raging rapid into a pond or lake. Ever since his debut into the group as the newest member at age thirteen, he had established that he was a force to reckon with. Despite being the newest member, he quickly announced and displayed his dominance. He maintained the same build he had when he was a teenager, a shorter but broad frame with broader shoulders, thunder thighs, and what people jokingly referred to "Shaq feet"
When he was fourteen he began to work out on a daily basis through his own initiative to grow bigger and stronger. He began doing a hundred push-ups every day; twenty-five of those were the infamous diamond formation pushups that in good time he could get them done like it was nothing. He accompanied that with two hundred sit ups and curled twenty five pound dumbbells daily.
Soon enough, he added visits to the gym through his father's membership, at least once a week. Soon enough, he was one monster of a kid, with a barreling chest, an immensely strong core, and muscular arms and legs to boot.
Eddie had also worked out but he could never reach the mass as Jimmy, due to his high metabolism and inability to gain weight. But he came close, which was admirable in it's own right.
Even Ariel's mother had labeled Jimmy as the "Alpha male" of the group.
For now, they didn't even bother to move Kylie's body. It had stopped bleeding in front of Jimmy a while ago.
Jimmy kneeled at the side of Kylie's deceased body that was now as pale as a vampire, or even James himself. Jimmy chuckled at the comparison, James was scrawny, quirky, and pale just like the portrayed Dracula's of old black and white cinema; only thing separating the two were fantastical powers and the silky dark cape. But even then, that didn't seem totally out of the question for James.
Jimmy had stayed behind to pay his condolences and knelt beside her in a moment of silence. After his eyes had opened and he rose to his feet, he heard soft, yet deep, and masculine sounding sobbing behind him.
Jimmy spun around on his heels to see Matt sitting against the garage door in his jersey and jeans, sobbing furiously into his hands. Kylie was matt's older adoptive sister, her family had adopted him and rescued him from an abusive and violent alcoholic, piece of trash of a father he had growing up.
Jimmy found it funny to see a muscular yet stout Matt doubled over his knees and crying mournfully. Jimmy suppressed his urge to make any arrogant jokes or just generally tried not to be a complete jerk about the situation. Jimmy backed up against the garage and slid down to accompany his saddened friend, unnoticed by Matt.
Jimmy sighed, trying to get Matt’s attention and watched his own breath swirl upwards in the cold atmosphere in from of him. Jimmy put his hand on Matt's shoulder, "Hey champ."
Jimmy waited another moment for a response, instead Matt continually wept while it seemed he disregarded Jimmy's presence; but Jimmy knew that even amongst the tears and gasps for air as he wept, he could still hear Jimmy.
"So sorry about your sis." said Jimmy in his most apologetic voice as he tried to sympathize with his friend in mourning.
Matt sniffed and wept a little quieter and seemed to acknowledge Jimmy's presence ever so slightly.
"You know, you should get up. Kylie wouldn't want you to mourn her. I think, no, I know she would want you to find a way to get the hell off this crappy mountain for hers and yours sake. She would want you to quit your pouting and go tell your mom of the horrible man who did this to her. And your-your..." Jimmy paused as he wiped a tear from his eyes and choked down the urge to break down and cry, "Niece or nephew will be born, just to a better place."
This was Jimmy at the rawest Matt had ever seen him, "Damn that guy, Jimmy." said Matt as he held down tears and traded it for a signature chuckle; he firmly believed it was the estranged James who was the lethal gunman.
Jimmy, despite not sharing the same suspicion towards James as Matt; he didn't say anything because he didn't want to risk an argument. The two talked for a bit as they lost all sense of time. Matt explained that the convenient timing between the couple's breakup, both of their disappearances, and Kylie's dramatic and heartbreaking death. He also added the distinct smell of tobacco in the air at the scene of the shooting, linking it with James' disgusting and pitiful addiction to herb of death. Matt also linked together the old fashioned car and James' preference to do things "the old fashioned way"
But Jimmy didn't buy it. Even when Matt cited James' broken down and disturbed mental state. Jimmy immediately linked that to James storming off from Ariel's grave earlier. He had been through a lot, losing two close childhood friends in less than twenty-four hours. James was also and automobile enthusiast, explaining the souped up engine of the getaway car. James was also an even more avid enthusiast of firearms and was a surprisingly skilled marksman, a byproduct of to tours in Iraq for the U.S. Army.
All the points seemed to create a web of convincing pieces of evidence that all pointed to James being the one who perpetrated the treacherous murder of possible revenge.
It made Jimmy doubt his positive thinking towards James. Perhaps, just maybe, it was James. After all, he had been acting very sporadically ever since the first night, when they first arrived at the cabin. He was in a state of great grief, grief that he could've let out in an outburst of anger towards Kylie which then transgressed to the withdrawal of a gun, the .22 caliber rifle he had retrieved from the back of the ATV when they arrived on Darya's street. But even then, that didn't explain where he got his getaway car. If James were to bring a car up here, the rest of the squad would've found out very quickly. Could have there been a third party who came to pick James up? But there was very little cell reception up here, how could he have contacted them so quickly? And if there was a third party, who was it?
It gave the two food for thought as they gazed out at the cloudy and twinkling, bright night sky above them. The moon was slightly obscured by a couple thin and wispy clouds, what shone through seemed to give Matt a warm and relieving feel that soothed him. Maybe he could find peace within him, and get the hell off this mountain.
ns 15.158.61.51da2
