Alternate Ending

Let me start by saying there will be spoilers in this post for my latest book, Getaway. So, if you haven't read it yet, go ahead and read it and then come back here. Go ahead, I'll wait.......done? That was fast! I guess you know the ending now, huh? What did you think? Good? I thought so! 

Well, the book could have ended differently. Not dramatically, mind you, but perhaps a little less ambiguous. You see, I debated between two styles for the ending. There's, of course, the one you read and the one in my head. I'm going to detail the alternate ending here for you now. Remember, spoilers! (In case you somehow forgot you hadn't read Getaway yet)

With the family dead, minus Samantha and Wesley, the two siblings decided to travel towards town together. Wesley was reluctant because it seemed Samantha had murdered their father for the death of Tyler. Despite this, he was forced to work with her. So far, this is all the same. But here's where they start to differ. In the alternate version they would have stopped to make camp and Wesley reaches for something, revealing a cut on his upper arm. 

Samantha notices this cut in both versions but I had played with the idea of Samantha acting on it. She decides to take first watch and let's Wesley fall asleep. As the fire slowly dies, Samantha takes her knife and kills her brother. From there, she marches into town with blood on her hands and is soon arrested for the murders at the cabin. 

Now, don't get me wrong, that doesn't mean she was the one who committed the murders in the book. It was just an idea for how to end it. Everything else would have been the same. Was Wesley the killer? Or was the scrape from his kayak accident? Did Tyler do it? Was he really sick? The answer to that died with him. And did the mother really commit suicide or was it one last kill? I've left all of that up to you to determine. In fact, I would love to hear your theories. Let me know what you think in the comments below!