Blaze of Glory

CHAPTER 12

What if they never came back?

That thought had been repeating in her mind like an incantation of evil. She begged for it to stop. She'd even screamed aloud, but somehow her internal voice boomed over everything, drowning out reason and hope.

What if they never came back?

What if they never came back?

Step on a crack. Break your mother's back.

On and on like a jump rope song for the damned.

She hurled herself to the ground before the door, seeking a space beneath the door. "Mommy? Daddy?" She sobbed. "I'm ready now, Mommy. Come and get me. Please, Mommy. Don't leave me alone."

She listened for an answer but heard only her heart as it played the backbeat to the words she didn't want to hear.

What if they never came back?

What if they never came back?

Step on a crack. Break your mother's back.

Step on a crack. Break your daddy's back.

Run little girl. They ain't never coming back.