“You know he’s right,” Trevor said. “Why would that kid walk out here in the middle of the night?”

Cole watched as Stella and David walked up the steps onto the porch. They were both shivering, but Stella was shaking more than David even though he’d been outside longer than she had. Cole thought her trembling had more to do with fear than the cold – not only the fear of who was out here, but the fear of losing David. She had never admitted that David was not her son, but it was obvious that she loved him like a mother.

Stella stared at the four men. “You mind moving so I can get him inside?”

Trevor and Needles moved out of the way. Jose hesitated for a moment and then moved aside. Stella and David hurried inside the dark cabin.

Cole turned and followed them inside. Trevor and Needles entered next. Jose took a few more looks around out at the dark night, he didn’t see any movement anywhere, didn’t hear any sounds. He turned and entered the cabin.

Jose closed and locked the front door of the cabin, plunging the cabin into near pitch black darkness again.

“Trevor,” Cole called out. “We need to get some kind of light on in here.”

Trevor’s Zippo lighter flicked in the darkness. Trevor’s face came into view right behind the flickering flame of his lighter; his face was an eerie mask floating in the darkness. He turned to the kitchen and his mask drifted towards the counters. Cole could hear Trevor rummaging around in the drawers and cabinets.

“I can’t find a – ” Trevor’s words were cut off as he found something. “Wait. Here’s a candle. And another one.”

Trevor lit both of the candles and put them on small plates. They didn’t give off a tremendous amount of light, but they pushed the darkness back a little.

Trevor held one of the plates and gave the other one to Needles. Needles seemed a little more relaxed now that he was holding the light.

Jose went into the kitchen and tried a few of the light switches. “So what happened to the fucking power?” Jose finally said.

No one had any answers.

“Those psychos out there cut the power,” Jose said as he walked back into the living room.

“No power means no heat,” Trevor said. “That’s not good.”

“Let’s not panic yet,” Cole told them. “We have a fireplace if we get desperate.”

Jose looked at Stella and David who stood a little behind Cole, like he was protecting them. Stella wrapped her blanket around her and David. They had both stopped shivering now. “I want to know what that kid was doing outside,” Jose said.

“Leave them alone,” Cole said.

“No. I want to know. I’m sure everyone else here wants to know. There are some psychos outside cutting the power and that kid decides he wants to go outside and stand in the snow.”

“We don’t know that the power was cut,” Cole said as he sighed. “We just had a snowstorm. It could’ve caused a power outage.”

“Yeah, maybe, but I don’t think so.”

“He was just scared,” Stella said. “That’s all. He was just confused for a moment. He had a bad dream and forgot where he was.”

Jose laughed out loud, a sharp and insane sound in the darkness. “Oh, you’re trying to say he was sleepwalking? That’s bullshit, lady!”

“Jose,” Cole said in a warning voice.

“No, wait,” Trevor said. “Jose’s right for once in his life. There’s something weird about that kid being out there. You have to admit that, Cole.”

Jose took a step towards Stella and David, but he stared down at David. “What were you doing out there, kid?”

David just stared up at Jose.

Stella moved more in front of David, and their blanket slipped down to the floor. “Leave him alone,” she growled at Jose.

“He knows something about all of this,” Jose said in a low, menacing voice.

“He’s just a kid,” Stella said through gritted teeth.

“He knows something about all of this,” Jose continued. “And so do you.”

“Jose!” Cole snapped.

Jose turned on Cole. “Fuck you, Cole! I want to know what the fuck that kid was doing out there in the middle of the night!”

“He doesn’t want to talk,” Cole said.

“How come every time we want to question these two, you’re always protecting them?” Jose asked Cole.

Cole was about to answer Jose, but David’s voice silenced them all.

“He called me out there,” David said, his was voice low but clearly heard in the dark cabin.

Cole turned to David. “Who called you out there?” he asked in a gentle voice.

“He’s coming tomorrow morning,” David answered.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Jose went berserk. He rushed at Stella and David. “What the fuck kind of game is that kid playing?!”

Stella stepped in front of David and protected him with her body, ready to fight to the death to protect him.

Even though Jose was enraged, he stopped right in front of Stella.

“You back off right now,” she growled at Jose.

“You gonna make me?”

Cole stepped in and pushed Jose back. “Jose, back away.”

“Cole, they know something. They’re hiding something.”

“Just back up and we can talk about this.”

“I’m through talking. They know something about this. They know something about Frank. About whoever trashed the vehicles. About the electric being cut off. And I want some answers!”

“He’s right,” Needles jumped in. “I think those two are very much involved in all of this.”

“Everybody just calm down,” Cole said. He glanced at Trevor, making sure his younger brother had his back. Things were about to spiral out of control very soon, Cole thought, and he needed Trevor on his side.

“Everybody just calm down,” Cole said again. “We’ve got some things to – ” Cole’s words were halted as the electricity suddenly came back on.

Every light and appliance was on at the same time. The TV and radio blared static. The microwave oven was on. The coffee maker on the counter sizzled.

They all looked around the cabin, and then they looked at each other.

“Cole,” Trevor whispered to him, his voice barely heard above the blaring TV. “We didn’t leave all of these lights on. Or the TV.”

Cole rushed over to the TV and turned it off. He shut off the small radio. He headed over to the kitchen and shut off the microwave, the blender, and the coffee maker. It was quiet in the cabin now that the noises were shut off. He turned back to the others who were still huddled together in the living room.

“We didn’t leave all of this stuff on,” Trevor said again to Cole.

Jose looked at David. “He did it. He went outside in the middle of the night. He must’ve turned all of this shit on before he left.”

Stella snorted sarcastically.

“And then what, Jose?” Cole asked. “Then he went outside and cut the power off?”

“Maybe,” Jose said. “Who knows what the hell those two are doing?”

“He’s a busy kid,” Trevor said.

“Fuck you,” Jose looked at Trevor. “I know you don’t want to believe that the poor innocent kid is involved in all of this, but he is. He just admitted it to you. He just told you that someone called him out there. And that someone is coming tomorrow morning. There are people out there, people either they were running from or people they are helping. And they’re doing this to us.” Jose looked at Stella. “What kind of game are you guys playing?”

No answer from Stella.

“Because you’re not going to win,” Jose growled at her, and lifted his gun a little to let her know he meant business.

Jose took another step towards them. Stella took a step back, still standing in front of David. “Who’s coming tomorrow, kid?” Jose growled.

David looked frightened of Jose.

“Answer me, you little freak!”

“That’s enough!” Cole stepped in front of Jose and pushed him back a step. “I’m not interrogating a fucking kid. Who knows if he’s even telling the truth?”

“I guess we’ll find out tomorrow morning,” Trevor said.

“Yeah, I guess,” Cole said.