The Funeral Redux

Sarah stared at the screen, the image of Maya sleeping in the back of the car seared into her retinas. The gun against her daughter’s temple was steady, held by a man who looked like he had done this a thousand times.

Jack—Elena’s head of security—wasn't even looking at Maya. He was looking at the rearview mirror, checking for a tail.

"You have a choice, Sarah," Elena’s voice said, soft and poisonous. "Rachel. Or Maya."

Sarah looked around the empty storage unit. The concrete walls felt like they were closing in.

"Where is she?" Sarah asked, her voice trembling. "Where is Rachel?"

"If I knew that," Elena said, "I wouldn't need you."

"I don't know where she is," Sarah lied.

"Don't lie to me," Elena snapped. "You have the locket. Jack saw it. That locket is a homing beacon. And you're going to use it to find her."

She paused.

"You have six hours. If Rachel isn't in my custody by midnight, Jack pulls the trigger."

The screen went black.

Sarah stood there for a moment, the silence of the storage facility deafening. Maya. Her baby. In the hands of a monster.

She wanted to scream. She wanted to break something.

But she didn't.

She reached into her pocket and pulled out the locket. *R.E.V.*

It wasn't just a locket. It was a key. A map.

And she wasn't going to give it to Elena.

She walked out of the storage unit, into the cold Vermont air. The snow was falling harder now, covering the tracks in the parking lot.

She needed a car. She needed a weapon.

And she needed help.

She walked to the edge of the lot, where a payphone stood under a flickering light. She didn't have any change, but she didn't need it. She dialed 911.

"What is your emergency?"

"My daughter has been kidnapped," Sarah said. "By a federal agent."

She hung up.

It was a distraction. A way to muddy the waters. The police would look for Jack's car. They would clog the roads. It might buy her time.

Or it might get Maya killed.

Sarah started walking. She headed toward the town, toward the lights in the distance. She needed to think. She needed a plan.

She reached a gas station. A beat-up pickup truck was idling at the pump, the driver inside buying cigarettes.

Sarah didn't hesitate. She opened the door and climbed in.

She found a screwdriver in the glove box. She jammed it into the ignition.

The engine roared.

She peeled out of the station, the owner shouting behind her.

She drove north, toward the mountains. Toward the signal.

The locket was humming in her pocket. A low, rhythmic vibration. It was getting stronger.

Rachel was close.

Sarah followed the signal, turning onto a logging road that wound up the side of a mountain. The snow was deep here, the truck struggling for traction.

She reached a clearing. A cabin stood in the center, dark and silent.

But there was smoke coming from the chimney.

Sarah parked the truck in the trees. She grabbed the screwdriver. It wasn't much of a weapon, but it was all she had.

She approached the cabin.

"Rachel?" she called out.

No answer.

She pushed open the door.

The cabin was empty. A fire burned in the hearth. A half-eaten meal sat on the table.

And on the wall, scratched into the wood, were words.

*I know you're coming.*

Sarah turned around.

A figure stood in the doorway. A woman. She held a crossbow.

"Hello, sister," Rachel said.

Sarah raised her hands. "I'm not here to hurt you."

"I know," Rachel said. "You're here to trade me."

"No," Sarah said. "I'm here to save you."

"Save me?" Rachel laughed. "From who? Elena? Or yourself?"

She lowered the crossbow.

"I saw the news," she said. "The fire at the clinic. The arrest. You've been busy."

"Elena escaped," Sarah said. "She has Maya."

Rachel’s expression changed. The hardness in her eyes softened, just a fraction.

"A child," she whispered. "She always uses a child."

"She wants the cure," Sarah said. "She says it's in your DNA."

"It is," Rachel said. "But she can't have it."

"Why?"

"Because," Rachel said, pulling up her sleeve. "It's not just in my blood."

She showed Sarah her arm. The veins were black. Necrotic.

"It's killing me," Rachel said. "The cure is a poison. It fixes the genetic errors, but it destroys the host."

Sarah stared at the blackened veins. "Does Elena know?"

"No," Rachel said. "She thinks I'm the golden goose. But I'm a time bomb."

She looked at Sarah.

"If she injects this into herself... she dies."

Sarah realized the truth. Rachel wasn't the prize. She was the trap.

"We can use that," Sarah said.

"How?"

"We give her what she wants," Sarah said. "We give her you."

Rachel smiled. It was a terrifying expression.

"I was hoping you'd say that."

She walked to the table and picked up a knife.

"But first," she said, "we need to make it look convincing."

She cut her own palm. Blood welled up, dark and thick.

"Call her," Rachel said. "Tell her you have the package."

Sarah took out the burner phone. She dialed the number from the laptop.

"Elena," she said when the line clicked open.

"Do you have her?" Elena asked.

"Yes," Sarah said. "I have Rachel."

"Good," Elena said. "Bring her to the border crossing. The old service road."

"I want to talk to Maya," Sarah said.

"Bring Rachel," Elena said. "And you can talk to her all you want."

The line went dead.

Sarah looked at Rachel.

"Are you sure about this?"

"I'm dying anyway," Rachel said. "I might as well take the bitch with me."

They left the cabin, the snow falling harder now, burying the world in white. Sarah drove the truck, Rachel sitting in the passenger seat, the crossbow on her lap.

"She has a small army," Sarah warned. "Argus."

"I know," Rachel said. "I've been hunting them for ten years."

She reached into her bag and pulled out a grenade.

"I brought party favors."

They reached the border crossing an hour later. It was a desolate stretch of road, blocked by concrete barriers. A single black SUV was parked in the center.

Jack stood by the hood, holding Maya. He had a gun to her head.

Elena was inside the car, watching.

Sarah stopped the truck fifty yards away. She got out, hands raised.

"Let her go!" she shouted.

"Rachel first," Jack called back.

Rachel stepped out of the truck. She walked toward them, her hands empty. The grenade was in her pocket.

"Here I am," she said.

Elena got out of the car. She looked at Rachel like a starving man looks at a feast.

"My masterpiece," she whispered.

"Let the girl go," Rachel said.

Elena nodded to Jack. He shoved Maya forward.

Maya ran to Sarah. Sarah grabbed her, pulling her behind the truck.

"Go," she whispered. "Run into the woods."

"Mom—"

"Run!"

Maya took off, disappearing into the trees.

Elena approached Rachel. She reached out a hand to touch her face.

"You're perfect," Elena said.

"I'm poison," Rachel said.

She grabbed Elena’s wrist.

Elena frowned. She looked at Rachel’s arm. At the black veins.

"What is this?"

"The cure," Rachel said.

She pulled the pin on the grenade.

"No!" Elena screamed.

She tried to pull away, but Rachel held on.

"See you in hell, Mother," Rachel said.

The explosion was blinding. A white-hot flash that consumed them both.

The shockwave knocked Sarah off her feet. She hit the snow, the wind knocked out of her.

She looked up.

The SUV was on fire. Jack was on the ground, thrown by the blast.

And in the center of the road, where Rachel and Elena had stood, there was nothing but a crater.

It was over.

Truly over.

Sarah lay back in the snow, staring up at the sky. The flakes melted on her face, mixing with her tears.

She had lost her father. Her brother. Her sister.

But she had saved her daughter.

And she had ended the nightmare.

"Mom!"

Maya ran out of the woods. She collapsed beside Sarah, sobbing.

Sarah wrapped her arms around her.

"It's okay," she whispered. "It's okay."

She looked at the burning wreck.

The legacy was gone. The bloodline was ended.

But they were still here.

And that was enough.