Cries from beyond the grave whispering in my ear. Can I help them find restitution? Who could do something so vile?

I hope you’re enjoying the story. It’s quickly coming to an end, only two more installments. ~Alexa Martin © 2012 Misty Harvey

Grave Whispers

Part Three

The smell was horrendous, a combination between used gym socks and moldy fall leaves. It was all trickling into Alexa’s subconscious. Her arms flailed about to be rid of the scent. The blackness fading into the background as her eyelids lifted.

“Well, welcome back, Sleeping Beauty.” Officer Morgan spoke. His voice matched the sneer on his face.

“That is disgusting. Get it away from my nose.” She growled between clenched teeth. A shift of her head sent white light stabbing behind her eyes. A groan escaping her lips.

“You took a nasty spill down the hill, hitting your head.” Officer Morgan’s face softened at her obvious pain. He leaned farther over her body to examine that his original conclusion had been correct. Her pupils weren’t dilated, but she would definitely have one excruciating headache to deal with.

“You’re in my space.” Alexa placed her hands on his chest trying to push him away. The bulky jacket did nothing to disguise his hard muscles below, sending a heat creeping through her body.

“I’m just making sure that rock you landed on didn’t do more damage than I thought.” Officer Morgan ignored her shoving. He continued to wave a finger in front of her eyes. Their movement followed along closely.

“Yet, I can feel evidence that says otherwise pressing into my hip. This is no time to let your hormones grow out of control.” She shoved harder sending him falling onto his back. Her movements were jerky, but she managed to stand up. It just took her a few minutes to get the forest to stop heaving and hoeing in front of her eyes.

Strong hands reached out to steady her shoulders. Her body rocked as if she stood on the bow of a boat. The quick movements and piercing pain behind her eye left her weak. She gave into the nauseating feeling and leaned back.

Glad to have such a strong man behind her, she rested, keeping her eyes closed to the images. Alexa sucked in deep breaths trying to overcome the sickness. His cologne was more pungent at such a close distance. The heat boiled harder inside of her. She fought harder to get control so she could move to a safe distance from him.

“That wasn’t what you thought it was.” Officer Morgan’s heated breath tickled the wisps of hair on her forehead. “What you felt was my gun.”

“Your gun?”  The words were a slight whisper. Concern welled up inside of Morgan.

“Yes, I keep it in a holster on my hip.” Morgan stated. “Obviously you have a thing for portraying your feelings onto others.” A smirk curved his lips. He knew if anything were going to goad her out of this damsel in distress thing, it would be that statement. No longer could he stand there and hold such a pixie without his true feelings becoming more obvious.

He could feel the need to protect her consuming his thoughts. The last thing he needed was some injured crazy woman in his life. She would get in his way of becoming the next chief, and those were plans he didn’t plan on sacrificing for anyone.

“Portraying my feelings?” Alexa bellowed. Her whole body had gone rigid in seconds. She whirled around on him, shoving her long finger into his chest. “Portraying my feelings? I don’t know who or what you think you are, but God’s gift to women isn’t it.” Her lips curled back from her teeth.

“Some psychic you are if you don’t know who I am.” The smirk deepened, bringing out the dimples embedded in his cheeks. A sense of fire lit behind her vivid green eyes.

“You…you…” Alexa threw up her hands in frustration. She rotated around on her heel, letting her anger fuel her actions. Alexa looked around the forest. She closed her mind to everything, opening something inside of her, ready to work again.

“Are you picking up anything?” Morgan asked, choosing to examine the hill they fell down. The flaming pixie at work was a little too alluring and tempting for him. He tested the ground, pressing his booted foot into the soil, only to have it slide back down once his weight was on it.

“I’m trying to work over here.” Alexa huffed. She worried her bottom lip. The air was still, any trace of Charity that had passed through here wasn’t coming easily to her. She took a few steps forward, placing her hand on a tree. Her body jerked as images pulled her along.

The three of them were there, covered in mud. Scratches and torn clothes bore to the world as they were catching their breaths. Both teenagers looked back at the hill. Their eyes reflected horror and panic. The male turned Charity around and egged her to keep running. Soon they were darting through the forest once again.

Alexa was hot on their trail, the image bringing about a sense of urgency. She slid in the leaves, bumping into a tree as the images halted and turned around. Behind them sat a sheer drop. They had come to the end of the line. The only option left to face what had been chasing them.

She could see Charity shaking her head, her mouth moving quickly, words of begging broken through the chattering of her teeth. Her hands clutched tighter to the tiny bundle in her arms. Their heads jerked around as three men stepped into the small clearing.

They had automatically fallen into a v-shape. The male at the head looking darker than anyone Alexa had ever seen. Something seemed oddly familiar about the male in charge. She turned back to the small family. Charity now cowered behind the man with her.

It wasn’t so much Charity that drew her attention, but the male in front of her. The same dark look stared across the expanse. Alexa turned her head back and forth. The image was suddenly very clear. The father of Charity’s baby was an identical twin. As if someone had turned on the volume button, suddenly sound filled Alexa’s head. She was now a silent spectator at what she believed was Charity’s last moments.

“You shouldn’t have run.” The twin hissed. A gun glinted in his right hand. “We warned you, Kip. If you two had just given the child up. We could have made this so much easier. You could have finished school and taken over father’s business, but no you quit. You wanted the child more.” The anger tainted every word. His eyes grew darker.

“It’s not like that, Braxton. You and I both know that. I had to quit school. I needed to find a job, besides I never wanted to run the business.” He kept his body as a protective wall in front of Charity and the baby.

“See and that is our problem.” Braxton growled. “You know once you are born into this family, you never leave. You take your spot in the mob business, and you never question it.”

“I’m not like that.” Kip watched his twin closely. “I don’t want to be a killer.”

“Kill or be killed.” The sound of the gunshot rang in Alexa’s ears. She gripped at her head, collapsing to the ground. Alexa placed more focus into what she was seeing, needing to see the story out.

“What do you want us to do with her, Boss?” One of the thugs nodded to Charity. The group moved up to her, both thugs holding her back as Braxton took the baby.

“Finish her off and dispose of the bodies.” Braxton stated, holding the baby in his left arm. “I have other things to finish up, and it’s not too early to teach this one the proper way to be a Guetera.” His image faded into the line of trees, so Alexa put her focus into the thugs. She didn’t want to watch any more, but knew the key to finding their bodies lay in this last scene.

If you’re just joining us, you can find the other parts here:

Part One

Part Two