Bad Land by Jonathan Yanez Page B

Native American’s would make living sacrifices on and in turn, through the blood of their victims, they were granted immortality. The two founding families found it when they settled the area and now the Lloyd family controls the power.”
    Marshall pushed around the word Immortality in his mind. It sounded so foreign, an idea that had only existed in comic books or stories. Could there really be such a thing? If this was all happening, then Jonah’s fairy tale-like recounting of his childhood would make sense. It fit in perfectly.
    “If the Lloyd family does have this weapon and they have killed your entire family, why have they left you alive?”
    Diane leaned back in her chair. She licked her lips, searching for the right words. “They know I’m a descendant of the Whitmers who founded the county, but I was raised by my grandparents on the other side of my family, who were not Whitmers. I was raised on the east coast. They have no idea I know the truth about them or the land. Besides, even if they did know, I can’t do anything by myself. Who would believe me? Who would I tell?”
    Marshall could see her point. Even as a respected leader in the community and owner of the Hermes , a story like this would be thrown out of court in a second and she would be labeled a lunatic.
    “So what now?” Marshall asked. “You two run around after work in the middle of the night and—and what? Try and find the Lloyd family or their associates and destroy them?”
    “I wish it were as simple as that,” Diane said. “But before we go any further into exactly what Ann and I have been doing, I need to know that you are with us.”
    Thus far, Diane had been firm in her tone, but now he sensed an extra edge in her voice. One he had only previously heard when she was firing or reprimanding an employee. “And what if I say no? What if I say you’re crazy and I want no part of any of this?”
    The trio sat quiet. Diane held Marshall’s gaze and Ann fidgeted in her seat. “Well, then,” Diane started. “You would be free to go. We won’t stop you but just ask that you would keep our secret.”
    “Really? You’re going to let me go? Just like that?”
    “Just like that.”
    Marshall had his answer to what really happened to Barbara Summers. If he believed Diane and Jonah, the pieces fit together. The question wasn’t who anymore, now it was what. What did he expect to do? If Diane was right, then there was no going to the police. Who would he tell? Lieutenant Lloyd? That was a joke. No, there was nothing for him to do. He was a reporter. He had found a twisted, weird version of the truth and he had to think over what course of action he was going to take, but jumping in the middle headfirst wasn’t his style.
    “Well, then,” Marshall rose to his feet and gave a forced smile to the two women. “This has been a very weird night for me, and if your invitation to go is still on the table, I think I’ll take the offer.”
    Marshall turned and made it a few steps toward the front of the warehouse before Ann’s voice stopped him in his tracks. “You never asked me how I got caught up in all of this.”
    Marshall almost stopped but decided to keep walking. He had had enough.
    “We’re not so different,” she said. “I lost a younger brother to them. Just like you lost your sister.”
    Now Marshall stopped. Anger was the first emotion that made itself available and it seized Marshall with the pain of his sister’s memory. He wheeled around with a scowl on his face. “What did you say?”
    “You heard me.” Ann stood, arms folded across her chest. “They took my brother just like they took your sister. You can’t walk away from this. I know you can’t, because I couldn’t, either. When he was killed and I found that things were being swept underneath the rug, I took it upon myself to find the truth. I searched and studied everything I could get my hands on.
    “I trained my body so that one day when I found the men