Chapter 79 - Sirens Through the Hollow
High above our heads, the ladder creaked softly. Lily was climbing down, her small hands clutching the rungs with trembling care. Her face was smudged with soot and her yellow dress was torn at the hem, but her eyes were clear, fixed entirely on me.
I dropped the iron bar, reached out, and pulled her small, shivering body into my arms. She buried her face in my shoulder, her fingers knotting into the fabric of my coat with a grip so fierce it felt as though she would never let go.
"I knew you'd come," she whispered against my neck, her voice small, muffled, but steady. "I threw the daisy into the bag like you taught me."
"I have you," I whispered back, kissing the crown of her damp hair. "I have you, baby. It's over."
Before Greg could muster the courage to move toward the door, the distant, rising wail of sirens cut through the valley below. Red and blue strobe lights flickered through the naked branches of the willow trees along the riverbank, painting the cabin walls in frantic, flashing streaks of crimson and azure.
The roar of powerful truck engines tore through the underbrush as four state police cruisers and an unmarked black utility vehicle skidded to a halt on the logging trail outside. Car doors slammed in rapid succession.
"State Police! Step out with your hands visible!" a voice boomed over a loudspeaker, magnified by the cold night air.
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Greg slumped back against the stone hearth, his head falling back against the mantelpiece in complete defeat. Melissa scrambled to her feet, clawing at the window curtains, panic making her breath hitch into high, breathless squeaks.
"They're here for us," Melissa wept, clutching at her throat. "Mother told them we were out here! She’s sacrificing us to save herself!"
