Read Online Town Darling by Holly Copella - Free Book Online Page A

in
blood.  She gasped with horror and ran toward him.  He weakly lifted his head
and saw her as she approached.
    “Casey,” he suddenly
gasped.  “Run!”
    Casey slid to a stop
halfway to him, spun around, and came face-to-face with a masked intruder
holding a large hunting knife.  As the intruder raised the knife, Casey
screamed and impulsively thrust her palms into his chest, shoving him away from
her.  The knife slashed her forearm as he stumbled backwards.  Casey felt the
sting but was almost unaware of her injury as she darted past him.  She ran
across the kitchen and up the backstairs rather than out the front door.  The
intruder chased after her and was only a few feet behind.  She grabbed a photo
from the wall, spun, and struck him with it.  The glass shattered against his
elbow as he shielded his head.  She then planted her foot into his shoulder
from her elevated position on the stairs above him, and shoved him down the
stairs.  He stumbled down a few steps but caught his balance.  Casey continued
up the stairs with a greater head start now.  She bolted into the dark master
bedroom, slammed the door, and locked it.  She turned while out of breath
toward her parents’ bed.
    “Dad!  Someone’s in the
house!”
    There was no response. 
Fear swept over her as she flipped the light switch on the wall next to the
door.  Her mother and father were lying partially beneath the blood-soaked
covers.  Her father appeared to have been stabbed in his sleep with a single
stab wound to his neck.  Her mother had obviously tried to defend herself,
indicated by the cuts to her hands and arms, and was half off the bed.  Casey
stared at her butchered parents while frozen with fear.  For a moment, it
didn’t seem real.  There was a thump against the door, jolting her out of her
daze.  She ran toward the bed and grabbed the bedside phone near her slain
father.  There was no dial tone.  She cried out while tossing the phone aside
then hesitated only a moment before removing a key from the bedside drawer. 
She ran for the nearby gun cabinet.  The door vibrated again.  Casey fumbled
with the key in trembling hands and unlocked the cabinet as the bedroom
doorframe suddenly splintered.  She removed a double-barrel shotgun as the door
flew open, turned toward the door, and without hesitation, pulled the trigger. 
    The intruder saw the
shotgun and dove out of the room as buckshot from both barrels exploded the
door.  Casey tossed the shotgun aside and grabbed the .357 Magnum revolver. 
Her mind had momentarily shut down and she intended to shoot the first thing
that moved.  When nothing moved, she uncertainly approached the shattered door
and steadied the massive gun as it trembled in her hands.  There was no one
there.  She could barely control her heavy breathing as she stepped into the
dimly lit hallway.  She looked both directions while steadying the gun then
hurried along the hall with her back to the wall.  She only paused once before
her darkened, open bedroom door to peer inside.  The sheer curtains fluttered
inward from a breeze blowing through the open window.  Nothing else moved
within the darkened room.  She hurried past her bedroom and for the back,
kitchen stairs while attempting to make as little sound as possible. 
    Casey appeared on the
backstairs with the gun leveled and her back to the wall.  The dimly lit
kitchen was empty and nothing moved.  She looked at the closed kitchen door
with the fear evident on her face.  She considered her options only once and
darted to the cupboard beneath the sink.  She removed a first aid kit and hurried
for the living room.  She paused within the archway to the living room, looked
around for signs of the intruder, and then hurried to Grey’s side.  She set
down the large gun and fumbled through the medical kit.
    “I’m here.  It’s okay,” she
said softly to him.
    Grey’s eyes were shut and
he didn’t move.  Casey stared at him