Lavos
Page 8
“Shit.”
“What is it?” Mark demanded from the tablet.
She placed it on the table and grabbed the remote, flipping to another channel on the television feed. It was out too, and heavy footprints crossed the length of the roof.
“Jadee?” Brent hissed her name.
She bent over and braced her hands on the table so they could see her. “It knows where the cameras are. It’s tearing them out or covering them.”
“That’s not good. How would they know they were even there?” Mark scowled.
“Probably because they can see them from the top of the roof.” Jadee rolled her eyes.
Mark shook his head. “Your dad had them hidden to look like part of the framing at the top. There’s no red eye or anything to give them away.”
A jingling noise—like metal on metal—came from the door, and Jadee instantly straightened, spinning around. She grabbed the rifle, cradling it against her chest with one arm. Her stomach clenched. The bars were down to keep the door secured, but she wasn’t certain how strong they were if the locks themselves were disengaged. “Tell me you don’t keep spare keys to the RV inside any of the tow cars.”
“We don’t,” Mark responded.
“Does anyone else besides my dad have keys to his RV?”
“No. Just him.”
The sick feeling intensified as she concentrated on that slight jingling sound…
“You must have used the electronic keypad to get into your dad’s motor home,” Peggy said. “The second your dad activated the shutters, bolts slid into place on the two driving-area doors, so they can’t be opened with a key anyway. Only the side door can be.”
That was unexpected but good news. “When did he have that changed?”
“We were investigating Bigfoot reports and some witnesses said the creatures could tear off vehicle doors to steal food. Your dad had the motor home and the trailer modified so that couldn’t happen. Regular locks weren’t enough.” Mark paused. “He also had our roofs reinforced, since Bigfoots are supposed to weigh up to a thousand pounds and are reported to have sharp claws.”
Jadee felt only a small relief. She still had hope that her father was alive and awaiting car repairs somewhere away from the campsite. But if someone had his keys…it would mean he hadn’t made it out of the area after all.
A new threat popped into her head. “Are there weapons in the tow cars?” She cocked her head, staring the shutters covering the front windshield. “Something strong enough to go through safety glass and metal?”
“No,” Mark sighed. “No weapons. They’re all in your father’s safe.”
Jadee bit her lip, thinking. “What about a tire iron? Could that work? Every car has one of those and a jack.”
“It wouldn’t cause enough damage to breach the exteriors of the motor home or this trailer,” Mark swore. “They were built to withstand a lot of damage.”
A chill flashed down Jadee’s spine at the sudden beep by the door.
Her gaze flew to the electrical pad—and it flashed green.
One of the locks inside the door slid, creating a soft scraping noise. Something outside tugged on the door hard but the extra bolts and bars across it held.
She yanked the tablet from its charging cord and clung to it. “Oh shit.”
Jadee hesitantly stepped toward the door to get a better look. The light turned red and the main bolt clicked back into place.
A quiet beeping sound repeated and the pad flashed green a second time. The bolt slid again inside the door, unlocking it. The handle moved slowly as she stared at it in horror. Whoever was on the other side tugged hard but the extra dead bolts and bars kept them from getting inside.
She stumbled back until her ass hit something solid. The pad turned red and the interior bolt slid into place again.
Her hand shook hard as she lifted the tablet to peer at the screen. “Who has the code to my dad’s RV besides me?”
“Why?” Mark sounded wary.
“Because someone is punching in the right numbers and trying to get in,” she whispered. “The emergency bolts are holding and I pulled both of the bars down across the top and bottom of it.”
“Only your dad,” Peggy gasped. “Open it up! He’s outside!”
“Don’t do it!” Mark shouted. “He could be one of them!”
“It’s Victor!” Brent argued. “He’s alive. Open the fucking door before they find him!”
“What if they already did? He could be a Vampire,” Mark warned.
That’s what Jadee was afraid of. She muted the volume of the tablet and dropped it on the dining table. She took a small step forward and gripped the weapon in her arms, aiming it at the door. She balanced it and reached out with one hand to push down the intercom button. “Dad?”
“Let me in, Jadee.”
The sound of his familiar voice almost buckled her knees.
Her first instinct was to unlock the door and pull him inside to safety before the Vampires attacked him. Reason made her hesitate. That panic alarm might have chased away the ones attacking the exterior—but it also could have drawn more of them, like a dinner bell being rung.
No way would he be outside that door unless he was one of them.
She might not have been on his research team, but Jadee wasn’t clueless about the things he believed in.
“Where have you been, Dad? Who took out the cameras so I can’t see you?”
“Never mind about that. Unlock the door and let me in, honey.”
“Where have you been?”
“With friends.”
He sounded calm, not stressed at all. He knew Vampires were out there, had been studying them. It screamed all kinds of wrong to her, and made her wonder who these “friends” were.
A hot tear slid down her cheek but she didn’t bother to wipe it away, not willing to release the rifle.
“What did they do to you, Dad?”
“I’m okay. Unlock the door. It’s going to be fine.”
Oh God. She fought the urge to scream and cry at the same time. Part of her felt tempted to release the intercom and curl into a fetal position. He hadn’t denied that someone had done something to him. Nothing is okay. Nothing.
“Jadee,” he soothed. “Open the door, honey. We need to talk.”
“What is it?” Mark demanded from the tablet.
She placed it on the table and grabbed the remote, flipping to another channel on the television feed. It was out too, and heavy footprints crossed the length of the roof.
“Jadee?” Brent hissed her name.
She bent over and braced her hands on the table so they could see her. “It knows where the cameras are. It’s tearing them out or covering them.”
“That’s not good. How would they know they were even there?” Mark scowled.
“Probably because they can see them from the top of the roof.” Jadee rolled her eyes.
Mark shook his head. “Your dad had them hidden to look like part of the framing at the top. There’s no red eye or anything to give them away.”
A jingling noise—like metal on metal—came from the door, and Jadee instantly straightened, spinning around. She grabbed the rifle, cradling it against her chest with one arm. Her stomach clenched. The bars were down to keep the door secured, but she wasn’t certain how strong they were if the locks themselves were disengaged. “Tell me you don’t keep spare keys to the RV inside any of the tow cars.”
“We don’t,” Mark responded.
“Does anyone else besides my dad have keys to his RV?”
“No. Just him.”
The sick feeling intensified as she concentrated on that slight jingling sound…
“You must have used the electronic keypad to get into your dad’s motor home,” Peggy said. “The second your dad activated the shutters, bolts slid into place on the two driving-area doors, so they can’t be opened with a key anyway. Only the side door can be.”
That was unexpected but good news. “When did he have that changed?”
“We were investigating Bigfoot reports and some witnesses said the creatures could tear off vehicle doors to steal food. Your dad had the motor home and the trailer modified so that couldn’t happen. Regular locks weren’t enough.” Mark paused. “He also had our roofs reinforced, since Bigfoots are supposed to weigh up to a thousand pounds and are reported to have sharp claws.”
Jadee felt only a small relief. She still had hope that her father was alive and awaiting car repairs somewhere away from the campsite. But if someone had his keys…it would mean he hadn’t made it out of the area after all.
A new threat popped into her head. “Are there weapons in the tow cars?” She cocked her head, staring the shutters covering the front windshield. “Something strong enough to go through safety glass and metal?”
“No,” Mark sighed. “No weapons. They’re all in your father’s safe.”
Jadee bit her lip, thinking. “What about a tire iron? Could that work? Every car has one of those and a jack.”
“It wouldn’t cause enough damage to breach the exteriors of the motor home or this trailer,” Mark swore. “They were built to withstand a lot of damage.”
A chill flashed down Jadee’s spine at the sudden beep by the door.
Her gaze flew to the electrical pad—and it flashed green.
One of the locks inside the door slid, creating a soft scraping noise. Something outside tugged on the door hard but the extra bolts and bars across it held.
She yanked the tablet from its charging cord and clung to it. “Oh shit.”
Jadee hesitantly stepped toward the door to get a better look. The light turned red and the main bolt clicked back into place.
A quiet beeping sound repeated and the pad flashed green a second time. The bolt slid again inside the door, unlocking it. The handle moved slowly as she stared at it in horror. Whoever was on the other side tugged hard but the extra dead bolts and bars kept them from getting inside.
She stumbled back until her ass hit something solid. The pad turned red and the interior bolt slid into place again.
Her hand shook hard as she lifted the tablet to peer at the screen. “Who has the code to my dad’s RV besides me?”
“Why?” Mark sounded wary.
“Because someone is punching in the right numbers and trying to get in,” she whispered. “The emergency bolts are holding and I pulled both of the bars down across the top and bottom of it.”
“Only your dad,” Peggy gasped. “Open it up! He’s outside!”
“Don’t do it!” Mark shouted. “He could be one of them!”
“It’s Victor!” Brent argued. “He’s alive. Open the fucking door before they find him!”
“What if they already did? He could be a Vampire,” Mark warned.
That’s what Jadee was afraid of. She muted the volume of the tablet and dropped it on the dining table. She took a small step forward and gripped the weapon in her arms, aiming it at the door. She balanced it and reached out with one hand to push down the intercom button. “Dad?”
“Let me in, Jadee.”
The sound of his familiar voice almost buckled her knees.
Her first instinct was to unlock the door and pull him inside to safety before the Vampires attacked him. Reason made her hesitate. That panic alarm might have chased away the ones attacking the exterior—but it also could have drawn more of them, like a dinner bell being rung.
No way would he be outside that door unless he was one of them.
She might not have been on his research team, but Jadee wasn’t clueless about the things he believed in.
“Where have you been, Dad? Who took out the cameras so I can’t see you?”
“Never mind about that. Unlock the door and let me in, honey.”
“Where have you been?”
“With friends.”
He sounded calm, not stressed at all. He knew Vampires were out there, had been studying them. It screamed all kinds of wrong to her, and made her wonder who these “friends” were.
A hot tear slid down her cheek but she didn’t bother to wipe it away, not willing to release the rifle.
“What did they do to you, Dad?”
“I’m okay. Unlock the door. It’s going to be fine.”
Oh God. She fought the urge to scream and cry at the same time. Part of her felt tempted to release the intercom and curl into a fetal position. He hadn’t denied that someone had done something to him. Nothing is okay. Nothing.
“Jadee,” he soothed. “Open the door, honey. We need to talk.”
