Prologue

“Dammit pop! Who’s driving, me or you?”  Caleb snapped. His father was really working his already agitated nerves and his back seating driving right now only added to his annoyance.

“Calm down, boy.  I’m just saying that is awful dark along this stretch of the highway.”

“Dad, I know. I’ve been driving these roads since I was twelve.” Caleb Manning reminded his father.

 They had both lived their entire lives in Perry County, Georgia. Neither ever had much reason to venture further than the county line; unless they had to. Which usually meant work or in Caleb’s case the local sheriff required it. Everything that they knew was contained in that dusty little place in South Georgia and they never saw the need to abandon it.

“Yeah…don’t remind me about that shit.” His father responded, “You and that damn Reed, causing all kinda hell for me and your mother.”

Ernest Manning silently sent up a prayer of remembrance in honor of his late wife, who he lost years ago.  People often say that as time moves on the pain would get easier to bear. They were wrong. Mary Manning had meant everything to him. She was a loving wife and a devoted mother, who doted on her boys as if they lit the stars in the heavens each night.

He had to admit that he was glad that she wasn’t alive to see the hell her boys had been living in these last few years. It would have broken her heart to watch her smart, caring, loving boys spiral into drugged fuel menaces; Ernest thought as he glanced over to Caleb.

Ernest often wondered where he went wrong. Yes they were young when Mary died, but he believed that he had soldiered on the best way he knew how, to ensure that Reed and Caleb would grow up to be fine respectable young men. But somewhere along the way, things seemed to go terribly wrong. If he was being honest he could admit that his inability to cope with Mary’s passing was probably the stressor that caused his boys to break.

Sneaking a peek at his youngest son, Ernest couldn’t help but become wistful at the fact that the gods had found enough favor with him to give him back one of his sons. Though Caleb was no longer his inquisitive, eager, precocious 8 year old who was quick to learn everything that his father taught him; he was relieved that he was no longer the stoned drunken troublemaker, that he would have to bail out of county jail at least once a month.

First it started with the adolescent drinking, that Ernest quickly brushed it off as boys being boys and even laughing at his own youthful experimenting days. But Reed’s early drinking quickly turned into drug use and not long he was dragging a young Caleb to binge parties with him.

Maybe it was his fault, he had set relaxed boundaries because he knew that they were having a hard time dealing with their mother’s death; he understood what they were going through because he too felt the emptiness that lingered.

“I appreciate you coming with me, tonight. You didn’t have to…so…thanks.” Caleb mumbled into cab, without a glance to his father. He wanted to say more but, he couldn’t. Expressing his feelings died the night his mother did.

“You don’t have to thank me, son; despite everything that you’ve been through….you’ve taken every step to get your shit together. I’m proud of you.” Ernest beamed, referring to Caleb graduation from the local technical college.

Caleb was about to say something in return when he was suddenly blinded by bright lights in his rear view mirror.

“What in the hell?” Ernest screeched. Neither had noticed that they had picked up company on the dark stretch of State Road 341. Country living, it was the norm to encounter stretches of dark roads because the county didn’t have the means to light their share of highway.

“Where in the hell did that truck come from.” Caleb asked trying to shield his eyes from the driver’s high beams and fog lights; while trying to maintain his lane.

Suddenly the truck’s engine revived up as the driver speed up to pass Caleb. Horn honking, raucous laughter and belligerent shouts greeted them as the truck pulled alongside Ernest on the passenger side.

 “Maybe we should call Tate and tell him about this.” Ernest suggested reaching for his cell phone.

 Caleb quickly realized that this driver and his crew were drunk and it was best to let them have their fun and let them pass him, than to interfere and possibly cause a wreck. 

 “And tell him what pop? That some drunken kids are out doing the same stupid shit that Reed and I used to do when were stoned out of our minds?” Caleb eased his foot off of the accelerator, slowing his speed and watched as the loud Dodge Ram 3500 roared passed them and disappeared into the darkness.

“Yes; because they can cause a major accident.”

 He knew that Ernest was right. Caleb didn’t tell him, but he did memorize the license plate number as it drove by them; his thoughts were to mention it to Sheriff Hadley in the morning.

 The pair drove in silence for miles as Caleb thoughts drifted to the past.  That could have easily been them out at tonight doing that and much, much worst, causing so much chaos; he thought. He immediately shook the bad memories that invaded his thoughts at that moment. Reminding himself, that he was no longer that wild, drug fueled idiot that caused so much pain to his parents and others.

“Call Tate if it makes you feel better pop; but those kids are probably long gone by now.” Caleb blurted out, startling his father who had started drifting off.

Ernest fumbled to make his call, cursing his old age and trembling hands; not to mention the darkness and why in the hell did they make the buttons on cell phones so damn small. So caught up in his ramblings that he didn’t even feel the truck slow down significantly to an almost crawl.

 “Dad, tell Tate to send an ambulance.” Caleb whispered into the cab, causing Ernest to look up at sight before them.

 Ernest looked up from his phone to see a car lying in the middle of the road flipped over on its top. Through the darkness of the night both could clearly see faint plumes of smoke escaping from the wreck.

 Caleb hastily put the truck into park and rushed out to see if there were any injuries or worst casualties. The late model Honda Accord was barely recognizable and above the hiss of the fractured vehicle, he could make out strained whimpers as he neared the wreckage.  Reaching the car, Caleb got down onto his hands and knees and crawled closer to the driver’s side, peering into the shattered window.

 “Please…please…please help me…” was the faint plead from the driver.  It was a woman. Her cry for help gnawed at his soul.

 Her back was to him and head was resting closer to the passenger side of the car, obscuring most of her face; but he could make out in the darkness of the night that she was a black female. 

 “Don’t try to talk, Miss; the ambulance is on the way.” Caleb assured, hoping that his father got through to the sheriff’s office.

Reaching for the flashlight that was in his hand, he clicked it on to see if there was any way to possibly pull her out of the window or windshield. Shining the light into the now cramped spaced, Caleb immediately felt panicked, when he saw the amount of blood splattered in the car.

 “Please...” She cried, “The baby…”

Caleb’s eyes quickly darted to her middle and the flashlight followed suit.  It was so dark that he didn’t notice it initially; but now that it was brought to his attention, he couldn’t understand how he missed it before. His heart quickened when he noticed that her protruding stomach was practically resting on the twisted steering wheel.

 “He’s moving…it’s too soon.” The driver whined in pain.

This wasn’t good. She was lodged in her seat. Caleb’s immediate reaction to that was to try to get them out of the car; but because it was on its top, it seemed nearly impossible to get to them.

“Don’t try to move.” Caleb knew that it was a dangerous move to try and extract a pregnant woman on his own; but he had to try.

Her muffled cries tore at his core and knowing that he hadn’t called the sheriff about the crazy driver before made him feel guilty. “Hey, calm down…help is coming; I’ll be right back.”

“Wait; no please don’t leave us…” Was the woman’s cry as Caleb attempted to get up. “I don’t want us to die here, alone.” Crying harder, the woman tried to turn towards the sound of his voice but she couldn’t move.

 “Just calm down, I ain’t gonna let you die out here.” He assured, hoping that she could find some comfort in his words.  “Take a deep breath and try to calm down, ok. Think about the baby.”

Nodding her head slightly, the driver did just that. “Dylan…” she breathed out as another pain assaulted her, “the baby’s name is Dylan.”

 “Dylan…” Caleb repeated, “See, now that’s a good strong name; sounds like a fighter to me. Hang in there mom, keep talking. Dylan needs you to stay awake.”

Maya took a deep breath and thought about Dylan. He was her only company lately and she wasn’t ready for them to be parted, just yet. She prayed that he was ok, he had to be; he was all she had now.

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Maya knew that she was in trouble when she felt her stomach lurch; baby Dylan was just as uncomfortable as she was. No matter how much she tried, she could not maneuver her hands into position to reach for her cell phone after the crash.  Tears of frustration and alarm streamed down her face, as a million morbid thoughts raced through her mind. It wasn’t until she heard the screech of tires and a calm reassuring voice that she started to feel hopeful that she and Dylan wouldn’t die tonight.

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She tried to listen to the activity outside but her head was throbbing. Maya closed her eyes in an effort to stay calm but all it did was cause her to replay this dreary day.

 Maya Holliday didn’t think that her day could get much worst from her early waking hours this morning. But clearly she was wrong. Not only did she wake up late, but that cause her to be late to her econ final. Luckily Professor Cleare was in a generous mood and allowed her to enter the lecture hall, breaking one of his own tardy rules.

 In her haste to make the final she parked in an illegal spot on campus and was there just in time to be greeted by the parking attendant placing a boot on her car. After several minutes of negotiation, the attendant took the $35 she had in her purse in lieu of the $50 it would have normally cost.

 Rushing to get to her evening job on time, she left home without her back up shoes. Yep, seven months pregnant and wearing heels were well beyond torture. And if that wasn’t enough to top of the disastrous day, on her way back home to Fort Valley, from working a late night shift at the Peach Landing Country Club, a bunch of idiots thought that it would be fun to play chicken on the highway with the lights off and then turn on high beams when they were nearly head on with a driver. Swerving to avoid a head on collision with the idiots, she lost control of her car and flipped over.

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They had to be alright. Even with Dylan on the way, all of her plans were finally falling into place. One more semester and she would have her degree in hospitality management from Fort Valley State; and yet another weapon would be added to her arsenal. It was a hard fought battle but she knew that it would be well worth it in the end. 

 Even though she would have to take yet another semester off to have the baby, she didn’t mind.  Blinking back tears, she didn’t want to cry because she knew that she would become hysterical and that wouldn’t help her or Dylan.

 Dylan, she sighed. Baby Dylan, who was so unexpected, slowly crept into her heart and took over her life. But in a good way and now she couldn’t imagine what she would do if she lost him tonight.  Maya would be the first to admit that she was terrified when she found out that she was pregnant; but as the days rolled into months and Dylan grew bigger inside her, she couldn’t imagine life without him.

 But now this?

 Having a baby right now, she thought would put a serious dent in her future plans. But like most people she found a way to adjust and make changes. Her plan was to still move to Atlanta after college and get a job at one of the bigger hotel chains, for more exposure to international operations; but for now, baby Dylan was her number one priority.

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 “How many people?” Ernest rushed out, still clutching the phone to his ear.

 “Just one, but she’s pregnant. And she thinks that the baby is coming.” Turning to his father, Caleb informed him of her visible injuries and suspected that she might have a concussion or other head injury; because her speech had started to slur slightly and she was fading in and out of the conversation.

 Caleb went to his truck to grab all the tools he could carry. Heading back to the wreck he rushed to the passenger side of the car with his crowbar in hand.

 “What the hell are you gonna do?” Ernest asked watching Caleb return with his tools.

 “Smash out the passenger side window, so that I can try to slide in try to pry off the steering wheel.”

 “Are you crazy?”

 “Dad, I can’t let them stay in there; she can’t move and that steering wheel is pressing right on top of the baby. The car is hissing and....”

 Ernest nodded his head in understanding, Caleb was always the sensitive son; willing to help others when he could.

 “Be careful son, shattering that window will send glass flying everywhere and that could make matters worse.”

Caleb looked at his father after he spoke. He didn’t think about that; he had to at least try something. He couldn’t stand there waiting for help, knowing that that crouched position could cause the baby injuries or worse, result in his death.

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 “Just stay calm ok darlin’, help is coming.” Ernest soothed. He’d got on the ground just as Caleb had before to try and keep the driver alert and taking. He watched as Caleb assessed the best way to shatter the passenger side window, hoping that his son was successful in his efforts.

 “Thanks.” Maya mumbled as another pain racked her sore body.”

 “My son, Caleb is determined to get you both out of here.”

 Maya froze as that name rolled around in her head. “Cal…Caleb?”

 “Yeah, the guy with the axe and crowbar….that’s my son, Caleb.” he pointed out.

 Maya fought the pain to move her head, so that she could see who exactly her rescuer was. Caleb’s bright blue eyes locked with Maya’s soft brown orbs, as a cry so loud and murderous escaped from her lips; he was sure everyone in South Georgia heard it.

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 ‘Oh god…oh god,’ she whimpered as recognition dawned on her. Maya would never forget those eyes. How could she? They were like the color of the sky on a bright sunny summer’s day, sparkling and mesmerizing. If the circumstance were of a different nature, she may have thought them beautiful. 

 Alone on a dark desolate stretch of highway, what was the odds of being rescued by the one person who had the power to haunt her dreams. Letting loose a scream of terror that she was sure no other could match, her tears fell faster than rain; seeing those eyes caused her to become panic stricken. Fighting to stay coherent, she kept repeating Dylan’s name; but the pull of darkness was too much for her to fight as she slipped into the abyss.

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 The sound of Maya’s scream was so blood curling that hearing it frightened Caleb, causing him to slip from his crouched position and onto his ass. Scooting away from the car as if he’d just been scorched, he nearly bowled poor old Ernest over.

 “The hell’s got you moving like the devil is on your ass boy?” Ernest shouted as Caleb attempted to stand but stumbled from the car.

 Caleb couldn’t respond to his father. The ache that gripped his chest was unlike anything he’d ever felt before. Words at that moment failed him. He could barely hold back his revulsion and the vomit that escaped his throat as he began reliving that dreaded night.

When Caleb heard Maya scream, he knew that without a doubt that he was the cause. He wondered how many times he had brought her to that tormented state and just thinking about it, caused his own tears to fall.