Scary Horror Stories by Dr. NoSleep - Pt. 2 - I’m afraid my 7-year-old son might kill me in my sleep

Episode Date: February 8, 2023

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Thank you to my new patrons Dominique, Miranda, and Talib. If you'd like to also support the podcast and receive access to exclusive content and bonus episodes, check out the Patreon link in the description below. Now back to the story. It must have been the whimpering that woke me up. I had heard that same whimpering as a child over many nights. It was the sound of our family dog, Gunner, wanting to be let into a room or let outside to do his business. But as the fuzzy unreality of my dream gave way to the chill wind and stark actuality of real life,

I realized that the whimpering wasn't quite the same. It was more urgent. It was a whimpering rooted in pain. I looked around in confusion, wondering what I was doing standing outside by the old well. The whimpering was coming from down there, down in the dark. A sudden realization gripped me. I shook as I moved to the edge of the well. I looked down, but couldn't see anything.

It was too dark. But I knew. I knew what I'd done. Just a week earlier, my father had woken me at the back door, Gunner in my arms. Where do you think you're going with the dog, son? He asked with an amused tone to his voice. Huh? I said, looking down at the American leopard-owned in my arms,

Gunner panted happily and licked my cheek. I don't know, I said. Well, put him down and go back to bed, my dad said. It wasn't the first time I'd done something strange while sleepwalking. Somehow, my dad always seemed to know, like he had a sixth sense about it. Or maybe it was the creaky old farmhouse that alerted him to my nocturnal wanderings. In the weeks leading up to that terrible night,

Zane and I had been fascinated. by the old well. It had been covered when we were toddlers, but that year, when I'd turned eight and Zane's six, Dad had finally decided to fill it in. So as I awoke to Gunner's whimpering from down in the well, I knew that I'd done something terrible, even if I had no memory of it. Tears sprung up in my eyes as I looked down into the dark. Gunner? Zane called out from behind me. It was late spring, and we often slept with it. with our windows open. I guessed he'd heard Gunner whimpering.

A light came on in Zane's room, spilling illumination onto the dirt next to the well. I moved around the well to hide, not exactly sure why. I crouched down with the well between me and the house, as Zane stepped up to his window. I ducked down just before he looked out. Gunner?

He called out, panic seeping into his young voice. From where I was, I could see the light from my brother's room cast on the dirt. dirt next to the well. And as Zane's shadow moved from that rectangle of light, I knew he was coming out to investigate. I ran around the house as Zane came out the back door, and I went through the front door. We were on a large farm and never locked our doors. I got into my bed and pretended to wake up when Zane started screaming from the backyard. He got the whole house up. We gathered around the well, and my dad looked down inside with a flashlight. I'll never forget how we glanced up me after he saw Gunner down there. He held my eyes for a long moment, as if waiting for me to tell

my part. But I didn't. I was too scared, too racked with guilt. My dad sent us back inside with our mother while he fetched his rifle and shot the dog to put it out of its misery. Zane screamed and cried the whole time. That week, my father finished filling in the well with Bentonite Clay, leaving Gunner buried down there, his grave marked by the circle of stone and mortar. And after that, no matter how many times I wanted to tell the truth, it always seemed too late. But I couldn't actually remember doing it. So it was easy for my child's mind to believe that I hadn't been to blame. And, in a way, I hadn't. I wasn't in charge of my own body when it happened. Of course I wasn't. I wouldn't have ever done anything to harm Gunner. Not ever. My dad never mentioned anything

to me about it. He was like that. He just moved on. We eventually got another dog, and by that time, I stopped sleepwalking. I'd grown out of it. But it seemed I passed it on to my son. And as I stood in my kitchen, looking at all the knives sticking out of the food items, I knew I had to do something about Micah's sleepwalking. He'd gone into Lily's room and wrote on her head with a marker, and now he'd come down here to stab things with knives. What would stop him from doing something even worse? Something like I'd done to Gunner all those years ago. The memory of Dame nailed to the fence came into my head then, but I shrugged it off. My mind was trying to make connections, where there were none. This was just awful timing, I told myself. Not only was some psycho-trial,

targeting our family, but we also had to worry about Micah doing something while he was unconscious. When it rains, it pours. After walking back into the living room to make sure Micah was still sound asleep on the couch, I turned my attention to cleaning up the kitchen. I salvaged the food I could and put the knives in the sink for washing in the morning. Then I went back upstairs and put the gun back in the lockbox. After that, I gathered Micah up and put him back in his bed. I lay beside him for the rest of the night, not getting another second of sleep as a new day slowly dawned. Research shows that the propensity for sleepwalking can be inherited, the doctor said as Josie and I, sat in his office. Micah was out in the front room, playing with the array of toys there.

The receptionist was keeping an eye on him. I figured, I said. Dr. Rhone, a gaunt man with heavy eyelids and eyeglasses, perched near the top of his nose, nodded. But you say you outgrew it as a teenager? Yes, I said. Right around 12 or 13, I think. Did you ever do anything strange like Micah has been doing? He asked.

Yes, I did. Not the same kinds of things, but some strange stuff. Dr. Rhone. He's not on any medication or sleep supplements, right? No Ambien, melatonin, anything like that? No, of course not, Josie said. I mean, we take Ambien from time to time. but never Micah. The doctor nodded. Good. Ambien can actually increase instances of sleepwalking,

but if he's not taking any, and he certainly shouldn't be, then that's not a concern. He looked down at the paperwork on his desk, which contained the answers to the questions he asked us and Micah. Well, he said, I think your best bed is to make a concerted effort to get him to relax before bed. Read him a book. Ensure he doesn't eat any sugar within two hours before. bed, and make sure he goes to bed at the same time every night. In addition, I would start locking him in his room at night. You'll probably need to change the doorknob, and put child-resistant locks on the windows if you don't already have them, and remove anything sharp from his room. We don't want him hurting himself. Josie and I shared a look. The thought of treating our

son like a prisoner in his own house wasn't attractive, but we had to think of Micah's safety. as well as the rest of the families. Rohn seemed to pick up on this. If you want, you can put a camera in his room to see how he does. If he keeps sleepwalking after a month of this, we can try something else. But I'd like you two to start with this, okay? Okay, I said. He's a healthy little boy, Rone said.

Sleepwalking is very common in children, albeit not to the extent that he's been doing it. Still, he'll likely grow out of it in a couple of things. years, just like you did. In the meantime, we just want to keep everyone safe. Josie and I think the doctor collected Micah and headed home. On the way, we stopped at a shopping center. Josie went to find a camera to put in Micah's room. Meanwhile, Micah and I went to find a new doorknob for his door. When we got home with our purchases, Micah watched as I took his old doorknob off and put the new one on. This will keep you from watching. wandering around at night, I said.

But what if I have to use the bathroom? Micah asked, from where he sat on his knees on his bedroom floor. Well, we're going to use your old baby monitor at night. That way, if you need anything, you can just talk into the monitor and tell us. Either mommy or I will come to let you out. Okay, Micah said sadly. Hey, buddy, you're not in trouble, okay? You can't help sleepwalking.

I mean, you don't remember what you're. did last night, do you? Micah shook his head. All I remember is Buster Beans giving me a knife. He said it was okay. I gaped at him for a second. Who's Buster Beans? I said, trying to keep my voice light. My friend, he comes to visit at night when everyone else is asleep. My stomach tied itself in nods. How long has this been happening? How long has he been your friend? I don't know. Mika said. Did you tell Dr. Rown about this? I asked.

Mika shook his head. Buster told me not to tell about him. So why are you telling me? Because you're my dad, he said, shaking his head like it was a stupid question. And what does he look like? I asked. He's a monkey with big eyes and a funny grin. Mika said, giggling.

I breathed a sigh of relief. It was just some cartoon character. from one of his shows, coming to life in his dreams. Still, it was something to monitor. Do you see Buster during the day when you're awake? Micah shook his head. I nodded and went back to putting the new doorknob on. Instead of a lock on the inside, it had one on the outside, not a key lock, but a simple knob lock like the ones common on interior household doors. When we were done, I took Micah downstairs and told him he could watch television for 30 minutes. This was my sign to Josie to install the camera in his room.

We were afraid he would feel violated if he knew we were installing a camera in there. Of course, not telling him wasn't much better. But we figured hiding the small camera was the lesser of two evils. And it wouldn't give him some kind of complex if he never found out about it. By the time Lily got home from school, we had everything set up for Micah, the doorknob, the camera, and the baby monitor, which we would turn on when it was bedtime for Micah. Josie had even installed the camera app on both of our phones so we could check on him in real time without getting out of our own bed.

She told me it was set to record from 8 at night to 7 in the morning, and that it would store the recordings in the cloud for two weeks. With that all taken care of, I ducked into my office to get a little bit of work done. And before long, I smelled something cooking downstairs. I was usually the one who made dinner since I worked from home. So I got curious and headed downstairs. Zane was in the kitchen, making dinner. He saw me come in.

Dude, what happened? Someone get mad at all the healthy food you guys buy? The chicken breasts looked like it hadn't been stabbed. Oh, yeah, right, he said. Mike has been sleepwalking again. We're handling it. Why are you making dinner? I was out of line last night, Seine said.

This is my way of apologizing. Take this off your hands for one night. Thanks, I said, seeing that my little brother was in a good mood. Is the job going well? Oh, it's great. Couldn't ask for a better one. That's awesome, man, I said. Yeah, I'll be out of your hair in no time, he said.

I'll get my own place as soon as I have enough for a deposit and first and last. Don't feel like you need to rush out of here, I said. Take your time. Thanks, Zane said. Dinner will be ready in 30. I appreciated Zane, I said. Leaving the kitchen to lie on the couch in the living room, I was exhausted. I barely slept last night, and it was catching up to me.

I dozed off for what seemed like seconds before Zane was calling everyone to. to dinner. I heard Josie, Lily, and Micah come down the stairs as I got up from the couch. Our plates were already set on the table and loaded with food. Wow, I said, looking at the spread of terriaki chicken, stir fry, and mashed potatoes. Isn't this nice? Josie asked, the kids. What do you say, kids? Thank you, Uncle Zane, they both said in unison. We all ate, clearing out plates of food. When I started to clean up in the kitchen. Zane stopped me. You look exhausted, man, he said. I can do the cleanup. You sure? I said. You did the cooking. I don't mind cleaning. I'm sure, he said. Go get some sleep. I took his advice and

headed upstairs. I could barely keep my eyes open, but I supervised Micah getting ready for bed. After he brushed his teeth and put his pajamas on, Josie came and took over. Go to bed, she said. I'll read to him and tuck him in. And turn on the baby monitors and lock the door, I asked. I got this, he said, pushing me out of the room. Go, sleep. After I had done my bedtime ritual and was getting into bed, Josie came into the room.

That was quick, I said. He fell asleep before I even read two pages, she said, yawning. And Lily's already asleep too. It's a miracle, I said. settling into bed while Josie went into the bathroom. As consciousness was fading away, I heard my wife ask me something from our bathroom. Babe, have you been taking some of my Ambien pills?

I swear I had more than this left. I said sleepily. Something nod at me, brought on by my wife's question, but I didn't have the energy to explore it. Sleep enveloped me, pulling me into its dark embrace. Sur-joled,

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of $10 dollars, Beye, I'm doing a way to be responsible. The conditions apply. Someone was screaming. Someone was in the well. Screaming. I jumped out of my bed in my childhood bedroom

and ran out into the hallway, turning to go down the stairs and out to the backyard. Someone was in the well. Had I done it again? Had I thrown someone into that deep hole again? Daddy! The hallway in my childhood home morphed, shimmering and melting away.

I blinked sleep away. My senses slowly coming back. I was an adult. in my house, and my daughter Lily was screaming. I looked down the hallway, my gaze dragging over Micah's open bedroom door and landing on Lily. She stood outside her bedroom, leaning against the wall in her sleepwear, a large t-shirt and loose basketball shorts, and there was a knife sticking out of her back. It's hilt just visible over her left shoulder.

My throat thickened as every parental instinct I had kicked in. I ran to her, catching her as she fell unconscious. I put my arms around her waist and let her fall against my shoulder, trying my best not to jostle the knife. Josie! I screamed. Josie, wake up! Blood was soaking Lily's shirt around the knife. A wide-eyed Micah walked out of Lily's room.

When he saw his sister and me in an awkward embrace, his face twisted up in fear and he started bawling. Josie! I screamed, hefting my unconscious daughter up onto my shoulder in a fireman's carry. I moved into my bedroom and saw that Josie was still asleep. How? I thought, panic creeping in. How is she still asleep? Jocelyn her with my foot, I finally got a reaction.

Her eyes fluttered open and then closed again. Josie, wake up! There was no time. I hurried down the stairs and into the garage, placing Lily gently in the front seat of my SUV. I leaned her over the center console so the knife was sticking up. When I came back in the house, Zane was by the stairs looking around, stunned. He had shorts and a T-shirt on.

What's going on? He asked. Lily's been stabbed. I said. What? Is someone in the house? No. I said, running up the stairs to throw some clothes on and to try to wake Josie again.

Micah was in the middle of the hallway, bawling. Josie was sitting on the side of the bed as I came into the room. She was still half asleep. I'm taking Lily to the hospital, I said, frantically pulling on some clothes. What? Josie said. Who's crying? It was no use.

I grabbed my phone and ran out of the room, then back down the stairs. Zane was coming up the stairs. As we passed, I said, Take care of Micah, please. I didn't wait for a reply. I grabbed my keys off the key rack next to the garage door and jumped into the car. Lily was still unconscious. I reached over and gripped her tightly to keep her from moving as I pulled out of the garage,

nearly backing into the opening garage door as I went. A hundred questions raced through my mind as I sped to the emergency room. How did Micah get out of his room? Did Josie forget to lock the door? And why was Josie so out of it? Sure, it was hard to wake her up when she took a sleeping pill, but not that hard. Something else was bothering me as I pulled up to the ER doors,

but I put it on hold as I jumped out and ran around to get Lily out of the vehicle. A couple of employees came with a gurney, which I put Lily on. Then I stepped back as a flurry of activity enveloped her. I was pointed to a bathroom where I could wash the blood off. my arms and then told to wait out front. As soon as I got to the waiting area, I pulled out my phone and tried calling Josie. She didn't pick up. Something wasn't right. This didn't make any sense. There were too many coincidences, too much strange stuff going on. Next, I tried calling Zane,

thinking about the dinner he made for us. And what about what Josie has said as I was dozing off? She asked if I'd been taking her Ambien. Zane didn't pick up. Just here. heaving as I paced, my surroundings going out of focus. I navigated to the camera app on my phone. After messing around with it, trying to find out how to access the recordings, I finally figured it out. Since the recording was still going on, the app brought up a live feed from Micah's room. Josie had put the camera in the air vent high up near the ceiling,

aimed down into the room. I could see the open door and the unmade bed, but the app also gave me the ability to rewind. It was now just after midnight, so I rewound the recording 30 minutes. It jumped to that location, showing the door closed and Micah in bed. So I started jumping forward a little bit at a time, and then I saw it. At 1137, the door to Micah's room swung open, revealing a man wearing black pants, black gloves, and a black hoodie.

He had a rubber chimp mask on, one with bulging eyes and an ear-to-ear grin, and he had a knife in his hand. As soon as he took a step into the room, I knew who it was. I recognized the way he moved, the way he walked. It was Zane. A chaotic swirl of overpowering emotions battered my insides until I felt I would burst. But I made no move. I stopped pacing and stared down at my phone, unblinking.

I watched as Zane knelt by my son's bed and started whispering. I couldn't hear what he was saying. The built-in microphone on the camera wasn't good enough to pick it up. Soon enough, Micah sat up in bed, eyes half-closed, staring towards the chimp mask. He nodded and got out of bed. Zane directed him out of the room, turning them toward Lily's bedroom. My paralysis broke like a rock through thin ice, and I bolted out of the hospital. In my SUV, I dialed 911 and explained in a rushed, panicked voice that my wife and son were in danger,

that my brother might kill them. I gave my address and then hung up to concentrate on driving. Five minutes later, I came to a screeching halt in my driveway. The garage door was closed, although I hadn't closed it in my rush to get Lily to the hospital. I shut off the engine, extracted my keys and phone, then moved to the doorway. But before I got to the front door, I heard the sound of the garage opening again. I turned that way to see the reverse lights on Josie sedan flare as the close. car backed out of her parking spot. The front windows of the car were down, and the interior lights

were on. Josie was sitting in the front seat, Micah, in her lap. They both had tape over their mouths, and they both looked up at me with dazed, desperate eyes. Zane was in the driver's seat, no longer wearing the chimp mask. He had my gun pointed at my wife's head as he leaned forward to look at me. Throw your phone into the car, he said. His voice void of emotion. What are you doing, man? I asked. This is crazy. In one quick movement, Zane bashed Josie in the side of the head with the pistol, drawing blood. Josie moaned as her eyes rolled in pain.

Fucking do it now, Aidan, Zane said. I stepped up and saw that Josie's arms were bound in front of her with duct tape. So were Micah's. I tossed the phone at her feet. Micah looked up at me, sobbing and whimpering against the tape over his mouth. I was supposed to protect him. I could tell he didn't understand why I wouldn't just make this all stop. Stop that fucking whimpering, Zane shouted.

Drives me fucking crazy. Micah stopped making noise, but he still stared up at me. My heart crumbled as I fought back sickness. Now you're going to follow me in your SUV, Zane said. And if you don't, I'm going to put a bullet in each of them. If you fall behind more than a hundred feet, you'll see your wife's brains come flying out the fucking window. Why? I said.

Why are you doing this? Like you don't know, he sneered. Better hurry up. He pulled out past my SUV and started out of the neighborhood. I scrambled into the driver's seat and raced to follow him. He turned right off our street and then made another right, heading away from the city and toward a wooded area with hiking trails. I followed behind, thinking about ramming the smaller car with my vehicle.

I quickly dismissed the idea, thinking it could cause him to pull the trigger and kill one of them. Or, if he lost control of the vehicle, it could kill all three of them. Josie and Micah hadn't been strapped in. He turned toward a parking area for a trailhead, and I followed him up the hill. I had time to realize that everything was Zane's doing. I remembered the ice cream he'd given the kids. He could have crushed up and slipped half of an Ambien into Micah's rocky road. Then I thought about other nights. When Micah had told me as I tucked him in, that Uncle Zane had made him some warm milk to help him sleep.

Then there was the dinner he made for us. We'd all been so tired afterward, as though we drugged our food. And if Josie had taken another Ambien before bed, it would explain why she didn't wake up from all the screaming and crying. For all I knew, he was the one who had stabbed all the food packages. He was the one who wrote on Lily's forehead and marker. He was the one who killed Dame and stabbed Lily. I just didn't know why or how.

But I had a feeling I was about to find out. right before he killed me. Zane turned into an empty parking area and stopped. I pulled into a spot nearby and shut off my engine. Get out of the car! Zane called. I did as I was told. Now stand in front of this one, he said.

I did. Standing in the headlight beams in front of the sedan. Zane opened his door and got out. Then he told me to sit down. Can't we talk about this? I asked. Sit the fuck down! He yelled.

I did. He tracked around the back of the vehicle and pulled Josie and Micah out. Keep your hands on him, Zane told Josie, speaking of Micah. He positioned himself behind my wife, still pointing the gun at her head. Walk ahead of me, he said, speaking to me. Where? I asked, standing up. To the cliff, he said. Can't you just tell me what this is about? I asked. What did my wife and son do to deserve this, Zane?

Isn't this about me? About something I did? Oh, so you do know. Zane said. I know that they didn't do anything to you, I said. So it must be about me. You killed my fucking dog. Zane yelled, nearly crying.

You killed Gunner because you hated me. You sick, fuck! And nothing happened. Nothing! You just went on with your perfect life and got your perfect job and then your perfect fucking family. While I have nothing.

Just fucking shit. How is that fair? I didn't think you knew about that, I said. That's another thing. You always thought I was so stupid, didn't you? Of course I knew. You don't think I saw your footprints in the dirt that night? You don't think I didn't see the look dad gave you when we were all right there?

I knew he caught you trying to do something with the dog before that. I heard him telling mom about it. But he didn't catch you that time, did he? No, you got away with killing my dog. I didn't do it on purpose, Zane. You got to believe me. I never would have heard our dog on purpose. He was my dog, Zane yelled.

Mine! He slept with me in my room. He was mine, not ours. Mine! Tears streamed down his face as he kept jabbing the gun into the back of Josie's head. I said nothing. I was too shocked. Had he been holding this in all these years? Walk, he said, sniffling. Just walk. I walked slowly on the trail toward a cliff that overlooked the valley in which our housing development sat. It was dark. So I took it slow, slower than I needed to.

I needed to think. To buy time. I needed to do something. It's too bad I couldn't actually get Micah to stab his sister, Sain said. I would have preferred it that way. Instead, I had to do it. But I should have stabbed her in the fucking throat instead of half-assing it to make it look like Micah did it.

I don't know what I was thinking. I paused. Of course. I hadn't yet seen the camera packaging in your bedroom trash yet. When I saw that, I knew the jig was up. Too bad. I wanted you to think your son was a cold-blooded killer, just like his old man. How did you get my gun?

I asked, without turning around. What do you think the whole charade what the cat was about? I knew you'd get your gun when you saw the figure on the other side of the fence. And I knew you'd leave it open with the code still on the dials. When you went back in to get your phone, I said, remembering. My original plan was to have Micah maybe get the gun and accidentally shoot himself, make you think it was your fault that you left the box unlocked, but now all that's gone. I stepped out onto the rocky cliff top, looking out on the sprinkling

of lights in the valley below. I still hadn't come up with anything. I had no plan, no way to stop what was coming. At least, Lily's safe, I thought, if she's still alive. The only thing I could think of was to keep him talking, buying time. Who nailed her to the fence? Did you have help? I asked. Turning, as Zane walked out onto the cliff top behind Josie and Micah. If there's one thing I learned in prison, Zane said, it's that you can only count on your celly. So that's who I called in for a favor, my old cellmate.

I certainly couldn't count on you, my own brother, when I was in there. You told me not to come visit you, I said. You told me more than once. You weren't supposed to actually listen to me, Zane said. You were supposed to show up anyway, not send your... fucking letters, rubbing your perfect family in my face from afar, reminding me how much of a shit show my life has been. Micah, if you don't shut the fuck up, I'll shoot you in your goddamn head.

Micah stopped making the noise. Every time I hear that noise, Zane continued, it makes me think of Gunner all over again. I thought I was going crazy one night when I first moved in with you. I heard that damn whining, and I went upstairs only to find Micah wandering around asleep. That was when I knew what I had to do. I mean, I'd spent two years thinking about how to ruin your life, but it all made sense once I heard the little shit crying in asleep. It all made perfect sense. I was just trying to help you, I said. We invited you into our home because we care about you. You know what? Zane said, clearly not hearing me. I can trace the whole fucked up trajectory of my life back to that night you killed Gunner. Did you know that? Something happened in the days after

that. I realized something about the world. I realize that whatever you love gets taken away from you. So why love anything? I decided then that I wouldn't. I wouldn't allow myself to love anything ever again. But hate? Oh, I made hate my best friend. Hate doesn't go anywhere. It's always there, keeping you warm. Jesus Christ, I said, staring at my brother through the gloom. Who the hell are you? His tears had stopped now. and he smiled as he spoke. Micah, he said, go to your dad. Micah didn't have to be told twice.

He came over and I picked him up in a hug. But when I went to remove the tape from his mouth, Zane told me to stop. The only thing I want you to do, a brother said, is hug your son for the last time and then throw him off the cliff. Micah stiffened in my arms and I looked over at my brother. You're insane. said. You killed my dog by throwing him into the well. Now you get to know how it feels. You get to kill something you love. And if you don't do it, I'll just kill you all anyway, starting with your

perfect cunt wife. He wasn't bluffing. I knew he wasn't. He had the gun pressed to Josie's head still. I pulled Micah closer, hugging him tightly, and I whispered in his ear. Start whimpering. As I brought our heads apart, he looked up at me. Eyebrows raised. raised in a question. I nodded. Micah started whimpering again. I went to crouch down next to the cliff's edge, but Zane shouted, what are you doing? This is how I did it with Gunner, I said, lying. I didn't remember how I did it with Gunner, not one bit, but Zane clearly didn't believe me. I set him on the side of the well and then pushed him. As I finished this explanation, I put Micah down on his back, just a foot from the edge. Stay still and keep it up. I whispered

him as I found a rock about the size of a baseball in the ground under Micah's legs. I gripped it in my left hand. Hurry up, Zane said. I could tell the whimpering was getting to him, driving him crazy, making him relive the night he now blamed for every shitty thing in his life. I love you, I said to Micah. Then I paused, looking down into his eyes, praying this gamble would work. I kept Zane and Josie in my peripheral vision, watching for movement.

Do it! Zane said. Kill him! I took a deep breath, dragging it out. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Zane move. You had your chance, he said, shifting the gun away from my wife's head and toward my son at the edge of the cliff. I yanked my left hand out from under my son's legs, twisted my body and threw the rocket

Zane. It was a poor throw with my non-dominate hand, but it came close enough to make Zane flinch. He fired the gun, and I heard the bullet ricochet off into the distance. I lunged to my feet, using every ounce of strength at my disposal to close the distance between us. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Josie dive toward our son with her outstretched and still-bound hands. Zane backpedaled and fired again. This time at me! I knew the bullet had hit me, but it didn't matter.

The only thing that mattered was making sure my wife and son were safe. I crashed into Zane, tackling him to the ground like I'd done so many times when we were children, roughhousing in the yard. Only this time it was life or death. He got the gun up. and pointed it at my head a split second before I knocked it away with my left hand. He fired, and my left ear exploded in wringing pain from the loud noise. I gripped his wrist with my left hand and slammed it down on the rocks.

I was vaguely aware of the pain in my lower abdomen, and the warm wetness spreading down my jeans and up my shirt. Zane wouldn't let go of the gun, and I was losing strength fast. He punched me with his left hand twice and managed to roll over on top of me. I knew that I only had so much fight left in me. We were still struggling for control of the weapon, and it was sapping my energy. But not far away to my right, I could see the edge of the cliff. I knew what I had to do.

Letting go of Zane's gun hand, I levered myself up and wrapped him in a hug, pinning his arms to his sides. Then I kicked off with my legs using the momentum to put us into a roll. When I judged that we were approaching the cliff's edge, I pulled my arms back from around his body and shoved Zane as hard as I could away from me. As he rolled over the edge, he reached out and grabbed my arm with his left hand. His body weight and momentum pulling me overhead first. I yanked my arm out of his grasp and scrambled for purchase on the vertical rock face,

finding some just as my legs swung down. The weight caused me to slip, but my hands held onto the small divvets I'd found. The resin and thump crunch sound I heard from far below was Zane hitting the ground. But I still had a problem. My grip was tenuous. Josie's head poked out over the cliff top. and she reached down with the unbound hands. Take my hand, she said.

I did. When I got back up on top of the cliff, with Josie's help, Micah jumped on me for a hug. I breathed deeply where I lay on my back, looking up at the stars. Josie on my left and Micah on my right. You're bleeding, Daddy, Micah said.

I know, buddy. I think it's time to get me to a hospital. I was lucky. We all were, really. The doctors were. were able to clean out my abdominal cavity and repair the damage to my intestines the bullet had done. And, most importantly, Lily was alive. Since his plan was to blame the whole thing on Micah, Zane hadn't used anywhere near his full strength when stabbing her, and he hadn't hit any

vital organs. The doctor said she'd make a full recovery. The police found Zane's body at the base of the cliff. It was a long fall, but he hit some tree branches on the way. down, which kept him from dying right away. They estimated that he was awake for several hours. His body smashed to bits, struggling to maintain its functions, before he finally succumbed to his wounds. When I learned this, I couldn't help but wonder, did he whimper?