Chapter 6 - The Edge of the Cliff
The lantern struck Marcus squarely in the chest, shattering the glass frame and showering his heavy coat with sparks and burning oil. He stumbled back with a sharp curse, slapping at his clothes as the small flames caught on the wet fabric.
"Run, Leo! Take the babies!" Clara screamed.
She lunged forward with the iron poker, swinging it with all her weight. The metal struck Marcus across the shoulder, forcing him against the hallway wall. But Marcus was strong and desperate; he grabbed the iron rod with one gloved hand, wrenching it out of Clara’s grip and shoving her hard against the wooden staircase. She hit the steps with a heavy thud and lay still, groaning as she tried to pull herself up.
"Clara!" I cried out.
Marcus turned his cold, furious gaze on me. "You little brat," he spat, his voice trembling with rage as he brushed off the extinguished sparks on his coat. He took two long strides toward the living room, stepping right toward the cribs where Samuel had begun to cry loudly.
"Don't touch them!" I yelled.
I grabbed Samuel’s crib and pulled it back, shoving my body between Marcus and the babies. I held a small wooden stool in front of me like a shield.
Marcus lunged forward, grabbing the edge of the stool and ripping it out of my hands. He picked me up by the collar of my shirt, throwing me back toward the couch. I hit the cushions hard, tumbling onto the floor, but I scrambled right back up to my feet.
Just as Marcus reached down toward Maya’s crib, a bright beam of white light cut through the rain outside the front window. Sirens—drowned out by the howling wind until that very second—woke the night with flashing red and blue lights.
The two officers from the driveway hadn't been trapped. When the tree fell, one of them had walked up the steep cliff path on foot through the mud, reaching the house just as Marcus broke through the back door.
The front door crashed open. "Police! Drop your weapon! Hands on your head!"
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Marcus froze. He looked at the officers standing in the doorway with drawn flashlights and weapons, then looked at the glass patio doors behind the living room that led out to the open cliff deck.
Realizing he was completely trapped, Marcus turned and smashed his shoulder through the double glass doors, sprinting out into the blinding rain toward the edge of the rocky cliff.
