A Family on the Run. 3rd part

The van careened off the road and followed a path in between trees for a quarter of a mile. As the trees thickened, branches broke off against the van. One low hanging pine penetrated the windshield on Diana's side. It reached inside as if it were talons from some medieval fork lorn, it's claws grabbing her face and tearing the skin from the bridge of her nose to the top of her forehead. As if it had a grudge still unfulfilled, the branch reached out and sliced it's way across Allyn's cheek, opening a gash on it's way out. Allyn leaned over and covered Diana's body with his. As the van found the trunk of a large Pine, it came to a sudden stop. Allyn's body was forced up onto the dashboard and then back on top of Diana. The van as well as it's occupants did not move. Silence over took the inside of the van as each one of them slowly moved their bodies to be sure that they still could.
"Dad, are you alright?" Sherry's voice was weak and shaky. She unbuckled and leaned forward. Her outcry told Allyn and Diana how they must look. "God Dad, you guys are covered in blood! MY God, I am so sorry I made all this happen!"
Allyn forced himself off of Diana's unmoving body. She lay still under him, her eyes closed and her face covered in cuts and blood. His tears were involuntary, but the kiss he gave to her was not. He shook her a bit and waited for her response. He pressed his face to hers and felt the warmth of her breathing on his cheek.
"She is alive. She's hurt badly but she is breathing."
Both teens smiled and reached forward to hug their parents. "We have to get out of here. Whoever that was behind us can follow the trail we tore through these trees right to us."
"What about Mom? We can't leave her here alone?"
"I know that Tim. Listen... I am going to walk back to the road."
"Dad you can't! They will be waiting for you!"
Allyn reached into the glove compartment and pulled out a gun. It was the same gun that the man had tried to use the night their home was set to flames. "I am going to walk back and see if I can surprise whoever it is. They are going to figure us hurt or dead so maybe they won't be expecting me. You kids stay here and watch your mom. If you hear any shooting, you lock everything up and go hide in the woods. I don't care if you have to drag your mom. Just make sure you hide her with you. I will be back for you, I promise."
Allyn kissed Diana and climbed out the window of his door. He walked in the trees beside the trail, hoping to go un-noticed. HE stopped and hid as the sound of squeaky brakes echoed through the woods. He could see the white back-up lights and then nothing. He heard a door shut. He listened and then breathed a sigh. Only one door meant only one person to deal with. He heard the trees moving and someone cursing as they sound came closer. Ducking behind a tree, he listened as the footsteps and voice drew nearer to him.
"Freaking trees! I hope they are still alive so I can enjoy shooting them! They aren't paying me enough for this crap!"
As the man passed Allyn, he stepped out from behind the tree. Placing the barrel of the pistol against the mans neck, Allyn spoke. "You are so right! They didn't pay you enough! But then, you aren't going to be spending any of the money anyways!"
Allyn reached around the man and took his gun from him.
"Look Mister, I am just a guy they paid to kill you. I don't have anything personal against..."
Allyn didn't let the man finished. He struck him hard in the side of the head with his pistol. The man fell to the ground. Allyn stuck the gun in his face, blood still dripping from the gash in his cheek. "Tell me who sent you before I kill you. I should just kill you anyways, right now!"
"No, no, no... I got family!"
Allyn hit him again, his anger growing every time the man spoke. "You have family!!!! You have family??? IS that what you said??? Who the hell do you think you just tried to kill? That is MY family! You better talk now or I will just do to you what you tried to do to my family.Talk!!!!!!! Why did you kill those kids and why are you trying to kill us!??"
"Your daughter saw them killed. The men that killed them weren't even cops. They were hired to kill them because..."
"I know why! They were trying to stop drug dealers! Tell me something I don't know."
"Is that what you think? They weren't trying to stop anything. She was a local gal and he... he was a Prince here for schooling. His family found out that she had talked him into staying here. They were only supposed to kill her but somebody goofed. Your daughter saw it all. Those men want you dead so that they can say it was a double suicide. That is what they told his family. They believed them and it was all hushed. If the truth comes out it will cause an international issue. Even the Governor has a place in this now. Do you see how big this is!? I am just a little guy to them. You might as well kill me. They will anyways."
Allyn tried to take in all that he was hearing. He realized now how important it was for him to get to Omaha. "Get up and if you so much as shrug, I will put a bullet in your head."
Allyn shoved the man towards where the van was. When they reached the van, he saw Diana looking out the window. Sherry was cleaning the blood from her mothers face. Allyn opened the back of the van and took out some rope. He tied the mans feet and hands tight and then took the left over rope and wrapped it around his own arm. He hugged Diane and retold the story.
"What are we going to do, Allyn?"
"We are going to borrow that guys vehicle and get to Omaha. Once we are there, Frank will know what to do. It really is our last chance. I have one more question for you," Allyn said, pointing at the man. "Why was there nothing on the news about our house being burned down? We are we not anywhere in the news?"
"You were. On the back page of the paper it said that you all died in the fire. The fire was blamed on a faulty wire on a floor heater. The news covered it for one day also. Your funerals were yesterday. All of your family turned out."
"We have to let our family know we aren't dead, Allyn! We have to!"
"Not yet, Diana. Not until we reach Omaha. I am so sorry. We have to stay dead to everyone for a little longer."
They reached the man's truck and climbed inside. The man was shoved in the cubby in the back. Tim held a gun on him as Allyn drove towards Omaha...