CHAPTER 20
The walkway leading up to the French doors and it's patio were covered with pieces of destroyed deck that lie in open caskets of twinkling snow. The burnt pieces of redwood were scattered across the lawn, some of them still producing wisps of grey smoke as they cooled in the snow. The patio itself was somewhat unharmed, the deck above it collapsed around the entryway, creating two inward sloping walls around the entrance, exposing it to the grayish sky above. Meanwhile, the ends of the deck had completely collapsed to the ground.
Gavin and Jake walked out of the French doors dazzled by the sheer scope of destruction. Not only had Jimmy's cabin been damaged, but also the other cabins on the street; some of them more unfortunate than others. Jake followed Gavin out onto the snow blanketed front lawn. The patrol car and Cadillac on the curb, to both of their surprise, remained unscathed beside the occasional stray bullet hole. The Cadillac Escalade in the driveway was more heavily stamped by bullets, but still seemed functional.
The air smelled like arson, the other cabins on the street were charred or completely burnt down. Gavin immediately started searching through the wreckage, knowing full well what he was looking for. Jake followed behind him; he had his hands dug into the pockets of his khaki slacks as he stared blankly at Gavin. He resisted reeling over from the sickening anticipation that had spawned dragons in his stomach that seemed to create immense whirlwinds oath the beating of their wings. The pair frantically walked over to the far side of the deck. It was the right side if you looked at it from the street. Snow speckled Gavin's jet-black hair like powdered sugar on a brownie as he walked towards a large beam lying in the snow. The snow lightly and peacefully floated down on Gavin as he strained to lift up on the end of the fractured and cracking wooden beam. The amicable and cool snowfall perfectly contrasted the tense and heated atmosphere that quickly became paradigm for the whole, desperate situation.
Veins bulged from Gavin's arms and neck as he struggles to tip over the beam. He grunted and groan as he rolled it over, Jake's eyes widened behind Gavin who knelt down on one knee in front of where the beam once lay. Blood tainted the snow like cherry syrup on shaved ice; Jake's jaw dropped as he felt vomit hit the walls of his throat, not because of the sprayed blood, but because of something that struck Jake as morbidly familiar.
It was Tracy- well half of Tracy, that is. Jake's knees buckled a bit and tears gathered in his eyes in disgust and mourning. Gavin tried to look away at the gruesomely bloody corpse, but for some strangely unknown reason, he just couldn't. The corpse was just of Tracy's torso from her mid stomach and up. Tracy's body was charred black and grey, her skin flaky and crispy. Her skin broke off and floated away with open gusts of winter wind, like ashes and embers being spread from an open fire.
Tracy's mouth and eyes were agape in a permanent expression of pain and horror. Part of her jaw was unhinged and her nose was burnt away. Her skin was chalky Greg and obsidian black, portions of fat and flesh were singed off, leaving haunting skeletal structures visible underneath the skin that had been reduced to a thin and fleshy film. Her cheekbones protruded from underneath the sickly Greg skin, the bones in her chest stuck out like bumps on a racing track.
Gavin took a deep breath, taking in the putrid and rank scent of the crisped and rotting corpse. "I'm sorry, she saved my life." Said Gavin solemnly in a low rumbling tone, still knelt in front of the corpse. He spoke like he was speaking at a funeral. Gavin didn't dare look back at a distraught Jake, who remained standing behind Gavin with his jaw dropped and a flicker of rage in his wide-open eyes.
"We go. " whispered Jake hoarsely, he swept a couple stray strands of hair away from his eyes and crosses his arms angrily in a stern B-boy stance.
Gavin turned his head to look over his shoulder slowly; he heard that Jake mumbled something, but didn't catch it quite clearly. "What?"
Jake was angry at Gavin's absent mindedness. "I said, let's go. We need to go. Now." Said Jake, his disheartened and urgent demeanor was evident in his voice. Jake was desperate to find Tracy's killers, he wanted more than anything to find that poor baby. He hoped that Kenny was still alive.
Gavin stood up to face Jake. Gavin understood that Jake was going through a rough patch in his life, losing a friend this young must've been devastating. From then on, Gavin made sure to count his blessings and be grateful he didn't have to endure what Jake was going through. But Gavin could tell that the group had experienced something horrible in their ventured outside the cabin, he could tell by their very apparent effort to drown the horror and sorrow with good drinks and friendly banter. They weren't ready to go out again, and Gavin wasn't about to let them. If he did, he knew something would be set to go awry.
"Um, Jake. No, we can't do that." Gavin stepped closer; his eyes darted around his surroundings. He whispered, Jake could feel Gavin's breath on his face as he harshly whispered. "No. Jake, we're not going anywhere. Not today. Would it kill you to just wait one more day?"
Jake stood in unresponsive silence, he could see that Gavin was losing his signature cool. Gavin's eyes narrowed and his eyebrows slanted. "One more freakin' day. That's all I ask, and you're going to listen." Just then, a low rumbling growl like a deep purr of an apex feline came from behind Jake. The growl was followed by the faint sound of feet arduously dragging themselves through the snow from behind Jake.
"You're going to want to listen..." Said Gavin threateningly while he lowered the volume of his voice. His fingers danced around the rigid grip of his Mossburg shotgun. "That is of course, if you still have the will to survive." Jake was as stiff as a plank in fear, he felt paralyzed, afraid to move at all as Gavin continued his threatening monologue. "It's a cruel, cruel world out there, Jake."
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