Cliff and Rowen hurried back through the trees, but as they rounded the corner of the second house, they slowed. Rowen was the first to notice the blatant issue. He frowned, eyes scanning the perimeter with deep suspicion. "Cliff?" he said.

"I see it," Cliff replied.

The car, where Zane was supposed to be waiting, was completely empty. Rick was also supposed to have been waiting by the car, but he was nowhere in sight either. Where was Zane? Where was Rick? Why was it that every door of the car was wide open and every non-stationary object lay in a mess on the ground outside? Something wasn't quite right about the scene, and Rowen found himself hugging Kevin tighter.

"He's here," Rowen said. "Maybe he has been the whole time. He's probably been watching us since we got here."

With a glance at Kevin's face, Rowen could see his skin growing paler by the minute. He needed medical help, and he needed it soon, but they couldn't just leave Rick and Zane behind. There was only one reason for them to be missing and it wasn't a good one. Rowen was torn between abandoning the others for Kevin or risking Kevin's life for the others. The thought of choosing left a bad taste in his mouth.

Suddenly, there was a crash from somewhere nearby and the two men whipped around to see Rick stumble around the side of the house, a hand to his head. There was a sizeable, bleeding gash on his forehead. "Damn..." he muttered as he made his way towards the others. They met him halfway.

"What happened? Where were you?" Rowen demanded.

"I don't know. One minute I was walking back to the car and the next I'm waking up on the ground," Rick replied. He winced and placed a hand on his injury. "My head hurts like hell. I think someone hit me with a shovel."

"Have you seen Zane?" Cliff asked.

Rick frowned and it was obvious before he even spoke that he was just as surprised as they were. "He's not in the car?" he asked.

Rowen was about to mutter something about this being the perfect situation to get everyone killed, but he didn't get the chance. Somewhere only yards away, a gun went off, startling a flock of birds from the trees nearby. Everyone hit the dirt. Rowen shielded Kevin's body with his own, regretting having the practically drop him.

"Where the hell did that come from?" Cliff snapped.

"It's been a long time," someone called from behind them. We all turned towards the second house where the voice had originated from. Frank Dover stood in the doorway. He held a gun in one hand. "You know, I was starting to think I'd never catch up to you," he directed at Rowen. "How laughable is that?"

Cliff's eyes narrowed, a low snarl forming in his throat. "Where's Zane?" he asked.

Dover grinned, still only looking at Rowen. "Why don't you come find out?" he tempted. With a fleeting glance at Cliff, he turned and walked back into the house. Cliff scrambled to his feet, intent on following, but Rowen stopped him. "You stay here," he said.

"He's got Zane," Cliff gritted out. He was ready to knock down the whole house if he had to.

"I know, but I'm the one he wants. I know you're worried, but you have to trust me," Rowen insisted. He handed Kevin over gently. The injured boy was breathing harder and had begun to shiver. Cliff was the only one who could make sure he stayed alive long enough to get him to a hospital, and Rowen was the only one Dover wanted. They each had their parts to play. "Look after Kevin for me, and I'll get Zane," Rowen promised.

Cliff looked worried, but he nodded reluctantly. "You be careful."

While the others stayed by the car, Rowen made his way inside the house. To keep his location secret for as long as he could, he was careful not to trip over the renovation tools. When he reached the living room, he heard footsteps from the floor above. With growing trepidation, Rowen climbed the scaffolding to the second floor. A shadow moved across the wall inside a nearby room and Rowen entered a small bedroom that was still being plastered. Dover stood by the far side of the room. Zane sat against the wall on Dover's right. His hands were tied together with a thick cord and he was covered in dirt. Rowen knew Zane well enough to know he had not gone quietly; his haggard appearance was proof of that. Rowen couldn't help imagining that Cliff would have been proud of that.

Dover wasn't smiling like he had been before. Now he looked impassively calm except for his hands which shook by his sides, one gripping the gun he had waved around at them earlier, finger over the trigger. Rowen only glanced at it, refusing to let its presence be the driving force of their conversation.

"Let the kid go. He has nothing to do with this," Rowen said.

Without a word or even looking where he was aiming, Dover lifted his arm and shot. The bullet went straight through the wall only a few inches above Zane's head. Zane flinched and slid lower, swallowing nervously.

Rowen took a deep breath. "Please. I'm the one you want," he said. "Just let him leave and you and I can get all of this sorted out by ourselves."

There were pounding steps from outside the room, and Dover's face darkened. He shot at the door behind Rowen who barely ducked out of the way in time. "Stay out!" Rowen called, warning them. "I got this."

Cliff and Rick backed off for the time being, but the lack of retreating footsteps told of their hesitance to leave. Rowen turned back to Dover. "If you want to be alone, then let Zane go and we can talk."

"I don't want to talk. You're gonna talk," Dover said. He was still aiming the gun in Rowen's direction. "You're gonna tell everyone what you did. You're going to spell out every detail in black and white."

Rowen knew he wouldn't shoot. Just like Rowen wanted to avenge Kevin as intimately as possible, Dover wanted to avenge his family. He wouldn't kill Rowen with a gun. He wanted to kill him with his bare hands. 

"I was a on the run and the military caught up-" Rowen started.

"No!" Dover shouted, firing the gun again. The next bullet impacted the wall closer to Zane's head than the first one had. "Everything! I want you to tell everything!"

Rowen could feel Zane's eyes boring holes into his soul, could hear Cliff and Rick outside the door, listening just as intently. Rowen shut it all out. This story had haunted him since the beginning, and he had known since then that there would come a day when all of it would have to come out. Today was that day. There was no way he was getting out this, but Rowen was ready for it. He'd been ready since the moment he stepped on Dover's property for the second time.

"I was on the run. I knew the military was catching up and I needed a place to hide out," Rowen said. He chose a soft yet matter-of-fact tone. "I found a farm and decided it was my best option. There was a family, a husband and wife, and their young son, who couldn't have been more than six or seven years old. I asked if I could use the phone."

Dover watched with contempt, a look of distant, burning pain in his eyes.

"I wasn't aware that the husband was ex-military. He lead my pursuers straight to me and when I saw the lights, heard the shouts, I-... I grabbed his wife. I used her as a shield so that I could get to the back of the house." Rowen felt the unfamiliar sensation of guilt lodging in his throat like a tumor. "When they found me in the living room, I hid behind a curtain, but they saw me and fired. They didn't know I had her with me. The bullets only hit her."

Rowen knew they could hear everything he was saying. Zane, Cliff, Rick... He'd never told anyone exactly what happened. He had just chucked it all up to a bad day in the office. But it was really so much worse than that. Rowen still had nightmares about that night, about what he did to an innocent family. The worst was yet to come.

"One shot broke the window, giving me the chance to climb out after I... threw her body at the men," Rowen said. "I started running for the trees. I hoped to lose them in the dark, but when I got to the treeline... there was that little boy standing in front of me. I forgot that his dad told him to go play..." Rowen attempted a laugh, but it sounded broken. "He was brave. The bravest kid I've ever known."

Unlike his composed appearance from before, Dover was breathing hard through his nose. He paced the room like a mountain lion ready to strike as soon as an opportunity presented itself. "What did you do?" he asked, pointing the gun at Rowen. "Just say it!"

The other man didn't respond immediately.

Dover shot the wall two more times, and he screamed again, "What did you do?!"

Rowen exhaled. "Military code," he said, almost whispering. "If pursued by enemy soldiers, you are to take no prisoners... and leave no witnesses. I..." Rowen had to force the words out. They stuck in his throat like tar. "I snapped his neck and lowered him on the ground quietly. Then I left his body in the leaves."

The room fell silent. No one dared to speak, move, or even breathe. The air was as thick as deadly a miasma. Rowen brought his eyes up to meet Dover's and they stared at each other. Finally, Dover pointed the gun at Zane, glaring at him. "Get out," he growled.

Zane struggled to his feet and hurried towards the door, brushing past Rowen without a word. Not that Rowen expected him to say much. Of all the horrors Zane had witnessed in his lifetime, Rowen's had to be the worst.

For a good long moment, the room remained silent. Then Dover lifted the gun towards Rowen, hands as steady as ever. "I can't even begin to tell you how good this is going to feel when it's all over," he said. He didn't need to tell Rowen anything. For once, Rowen could relate entirely. 

*******

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