Blood Vines

CHAPTER SIXTY-NINE

Wednesday, March 17

9:05 P.M.

Alex searched Rachel’s expression. In it she saw steely resolve-and regret. “What are you thinking?” Alex asked.

“I’m sorry I said that to you. I was just a kid, I was terrified of what Dad would do to me if he found out. I’m so, so sorry.”

Alex let out a deep, shuddering breath. “I’m not sure I can do this anymore.”

“Yes, you can. I want to be free. Don’t you?”

She did. Dear God, she wanted it more than anything. She squeezed her eyes shut, opening the door in her mind: a naked man howling, fully aroused… her mother spread out on the altar, bodies writhing together… springing away… Rachel’s hand over her mouth, the hissed words in her ear…

“Go back to bed. And if you tell anyone what you saw, I’ll hurt you. I promise I will. I’ll do to you what those men are doing to your mommy!”

She opened her eyes, looked at Rachel. “I ran, didn’t I?”

“Yes. But you didn’t go back to bed, did you?”

“No.” Alex swallowed hard, reliving those terrifying minutes. “I started to. Then I hid. Behind some barrels.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. I was scared. I wanted to see-To wait for you.”

“You didn’t wait long, did you?”

“No. You had Dylan. You were hurrying.” Alex swallowed hard; she rubbed her damp palms against her jeans. “I waited a minute, then followed. I couldn’t see you anymore. Then I heard Dylan crying again. You screamed.

“I ran then. You were at the front of the cave. There was a group of robed men… they were all around you.”

Alex brought her hands to her mouth. “They took Dylan and… Rachel… they grabbed you and dragged you beyond where I could see.”

She was crying, Alex realized. She wiped at the tears with the heels of her hands. “I peeked around… they had you on the ground, holding you down. You were fighting, but they were too strong, there were too many…

“Your T-shirt, they yanked it up over your face. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t make a sound. But inside… I was screaming.”

Alex couldn’t stop the words, they poured out of her in a rush. “He raped you, Rachel. The others were cheering… laughing…” God, she hated this. It hurt saying the words, but she had to. “He wasn’t the only one. The others… after him-”

“Two others,” Rachel whispered.

“Yes. Then, you didn’t move anymore. I knew that was bad. I wanted to find our parents, but I was afraid. I couldn’t go back in there… I was too scared!” Her voice caught on a sob. “I’m sorry, Rachel. I’m so sorry.”

“How many, Alex? How many were there?”

She struggled to remember. “Five, I think. One ran away. One just helped hold you down. They teased him about it but-”

She looked at Rachel. “Oh my God, the first one, before he raped you, he said-”

“ ‘You want to know so bad,’ ” Rachel murmured, “ ‘I’ll show you.’ ” She caught Alex’s hands. “You said that in your dream, it was Clark’s voice. Was it?”

“I don’t know for sure, Rachel. I’d just had that confrontation with him. Maybe that’s why it was his voice.”

“What about Dylan?” she asked.

“He was there, on the ground, not far from the cave entrance. Crying and crying-”

“And then he stopped. Why, Alex?”

She fought to remember. “I don’t know. Something… Suddenly all but one was gone. They ran away.”

They ran away. Frightened. They were just boys, she realized. Teenagers. Like Clark.

She looked directly at Rachel. “I ran, too. But then stopped, and looked back. His hood had fallen away-”

Alex grabbed Rachel’s hands, squeezing them tightly. “It was Clark. The boy who raped you first was Clark.”