Free Dark Inside by Jeyn Roberts

His hands were shaking so badly he could barely hold on to the wheel. Turning off the car, he waited for the panic to subside.
    Had he really just killed a man? Was he a murderer? No, it was done in self-defense. There’s no way any court would convict him. But he’d left the scene of the crime. Should he have kept the baseball bat as proof that the guy had a weapon? What if someone came along and took it? A small cry escaped his lips. A man might be dead and the only thing that worried him was whether or not he was going to be arrested?
    Shouldn’t he be worried about the stranger’s family? Should he try and find them? Wouldn’t they be worried?
    He realized he didn’t care. There was no empathy in his brain.
    Was he that dead inside?
    He knew he should go to the police, but it was the last thing in the world he wanted to do. He made sure the doors were locked before he closed his eyes and leaned his head back.
    He’d be better once he slept for a bit.

CLEMENTINE
    There had been screams.
    Begging. Pleading.
    Agony.
    Then silence.
    Around four in the morning the gunshots finally ended. Shortly after that the screaming winded down and soon there was silence. No more voices. The only sounds were the crickets and wind echoing through the rafters.
    Clementine was hiding in the barn. She had run the mile to her house, but when she’d arrived, she’d known immediately it wasn’t safe. Whatever had happened to her parents and the folks at the town hall was happening to all the citizens of Glenmore. And Sam let her go free. He warned her specifically not to go home. Her house would be the first place they’d search if they came for her.
    Scratch that.
When
they came for her.
    It was just a matter of time.
    Dear Heath, I promised myself I wouldn’t think about them until I’m safe. Help me find a way out of this and then I’ll allow myself to fall apart.
    She had stood outside her house wondering what to do. It didn’t take long to decide to hide in the barn. She had plenty of time afterward to regret that decision. She could have grabbed her cell phone and called someone. She should have taken the keys to the truck. If she had done that she’d be on the road and halfway to Des Moines by now. She could have gotten help. She could have run into the fields and taken cover in the corn. It would have provided better shelter in the long run.
    Because she knew that the second they finished searching the house they’d come and check the barn.
    Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!
    She was trapped. The time to run had been hours ago while they were still busy at the town hall. Her parents’ farm was right on the edge of town. They’d be getting close by now.
    How many of them were there? She’d been too panicky to count. There had to be at least a dozen, maybe more. These were people she’d grown up with. Sam. He’d helped her dad repair a fence less than a week ago. He’d been in a good mood and she’d given him lemonade and some of her mother’s cookies.
    All these people she thought she knew. There were memories attached to all of them. Good memories. What happened to change them into killers?
    She needed to get into the house. She didn’t even have to go that far. The keys were in the fruit basket on the kitchen table, ten feet from the back door. She could be in and out in less than thirty seconds.
    But every time she tried to convince her brain of the logic of moving, her legs refused to participate.
    Dear Heath, remember last summer, before you went off to college? You told me if there was ever an issue with guys I could call you and you’d come instantly and rough them up. Well, I’ve got some problemsand could use a bodyguard right about now. Your tough baby sister isn’t as strong as she thought she was. In fact, she’s turning out to be quite the marshmallow. People keep telling her to run and she goes the distance. Should have signed up for cross-country this year. I’d be heading for the Olympics in no time. Do