Endurance - Jack Kilborn [94]
Then Harry grabbed her.
Letti shoved the woman with the artificial legs aside, reaching out her arms to catch Mal, who was screaming as he fell. He came down face-first, but Letti was ready for it, keeping her back straight, bending her knees, grasping him tight just inches before his head cracked against the ground.
“We have to go,” Florence said. “Now.”
She was right. Eleanor’s brood was coming down the ladder.
The four of them hurried into the next room, shutting the door behind them. Letti, Florence, and the legless woman—Letti remembered that Mal called her Deb—began to stack boxes against the door, moving as fast as they could.
“Where’s Kelly?” Florence asked.
“She disappeared with JD and Cam.”
“They must have gone through here,” Mal said, poking his head into the room with the suitcases. “Maybe they found an exit.”
Letti hefted a particularly heavy box of pills, dropping it on the pile. “Okay, let’s go. Right now. Come on, Florence.”
“No,” Florence said.
Letti stopped and stared at her mother. “What do you mean, no?”
Florence came up to Letti, and did something completely out of character. She held her daughter’s hands.
She hasn’t done that since I was a kid.
“Someone has to stay here and hold them off so you can get away,” Florence said.
Letti shook her head. “No way. We don’t have time for this. You’re coming with us.”
Florence smiled, but it was a sad smile.
Oh, no. This isn’t happening. She isn’t going to do what I think she’s going to do.
“I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry, Letti. I was stubborn. I thought I knew better. But the fact is, you’re more important to me than anyone else on the planet. I wish I realized that sooner.”
“We can do this later, Florence.”
“There’s not going to be a later, Letti. Not for me.”
Letti took her hands back, folding her arms across her chest. “If you stay here, then I’m staying with you.”
Florence shook her head. “You need to be there for your daughter, Letti. Like I should have been there for you. I’m sorry I wasn’t at your husband’s funeral. It’s my biggest regret.”
A lump grew in Letti’s throat.
I waited so long to hear her say those words. But not here. Not now.
“Florence…”
“Tell Kelly I’m sorry I wasn’t a bigger part of her childhood. And I’m sorry I won’t get to see her grow up into the amazing woman I know she’s going to become, because she has you as a mother.”
Letti’s eyes got glassy. “No. You can tell her that yourself, when we all get out of here.”
The door shook, toppling some of the boxes.
“I’m not going to get out of here, Letti.” Florence said. “But you are. And you’re going to live a long, wonderful life, taking care of my granddaughter.”
She’s not doing this. Don’t let her be doing this.
“Florence… please…”
Florence touched Letti’s cheek, wiped away a tear.
“Of all the things I’ve done, Letti. All the soldiers I helped to heal. All the hungry I helped to feed. The vaccines I gave. The dams I built. The villages I helped to save. Of all the things I’m proud of, the thing I’m proudest of most of all is you. You’re the best thing I’ve ever done with my life, Letti.”
The tears came fast now.
“Oh… Mom…”
“I love you so much.”
“I love you too, Mom.”
They hugged. A final, desperate, loving hug.
“I always wanted to grow up to be just like you,” Letti said, sniffling.
“You grew up to be even better.”
More boxes toppled, and the door opened a crack.
“Let’s go!” Deb implored.
Mal shook his head in agreement. “We really gotta get out of here.”
Letti tried one more time. “Mom… please… don’t do this.”
Florence gently pushed her away. Then she winked.
“It beats dying of cancer. Now go find Kelly, and let your old mother kick some ass.”
The door opened halfway, and the freaks began to slide through. Letti watched Mom turn around and face them, knife in hand, standing tall and proud.
Then Letti followed Mal and Deb through the door, not looking back, not able to see even if she did because her eyes were blurred with tears.
Kelly had seen big cats before, at the zoo. Lions and tigers and cheetahs. But she’d never seen one in the