The Inn

by D. R. Mather

  “I’ll get this in the wash but I don’t think I’ll get this blood out.” She turned to everyone, smiled a very nervous smile, and then walked back the way she had come.

  Kevin gathered Alex, and Judy, and then waited for Beth and April to return. Will was about finished when they came back down. They were both careful descending the stairs that day.

  As Beth passed Will, she patted his back; “Thank you hun.” She headed to the living room. “I’m good for the morning as long as we wrap it up by eleven,” she said to Kevin.

  “I’m off tomorrow,” said April, and they gathered close together, out of Will’s earshot.

  Kevin looked at all of them, “We have to do something about Will and Barb, they need us and we need them. We can’t afford to alienate them from us; I see that slowly happening here.”

  “What can we do?” asked Beth.

  “I’m not sure; I hate the thought of having to force them to think differently. I’d rather leave them alone in that respect. Let me think on it a while and I’ll get back to you. For now, let’s go have a look at some old Christmas decorations shall we?”

  “Cindy was on her way down to get the key when she fell,” said April.

  “Then let’s go get that key.” Kevin gave them a huge smile, put his arm around Judy and they all headed off towards Will and the third floor respectively.

  ***

  “Oh, look at this one,” Judy exclaimed. She held up an angel that seemed to be made of a very fine crochet with cotton attached to it as piping and dress trim. The halo was a gold ring; the wings were some sort of white paper. Kevin looked up from the box he was in.

  “Guys, what do you think?”

  Everyone said it at once; “Tree top!”

  “Okay then that settles the top, moving on.”

  There were seven boxes in all; everyone had their hands in one or another. The ornaments were beautiful; there were tiny wooden Santas, tiny elves, tiny sleighs and trees and everything else they could think of. There were hundreds of tree bulbs, all of them made with hand-blown glass; some were solid color, some a mix of colors. Alex found a box marked ‘garlands’. He opened it and it looked like real pine needles. The second he tried to pick it out of the box it disintegrated in his hands. Judy was working her way through a box next to him when she saw it happen.

  “Aww…that sucks,” she said.

  A while later and most of the boxes were laid out around the floor in the living room. Roland and Alex were having an increasingly heated discussion about how best to mount the tree into this old stand they had found next to the decorations. It was very old, made of heavy iron and had a base and four long flat bars. It also had all the connecting hardware. It was clearly only made for a big tree. Alex thought this part should go here, Roland disagreed and said that it went somewhere else. This went on and on.

  Kevin was holding up the tree. ‘Nuff said.

  “Look, if you two want to duke it out, do it later, I’m getting pine pitch all over me.”

  “But Roland thinks this goes here and it doesn’t, it goes like this.” Alex tried to show Kevin. It didn’t work so well.

  “Let me see all the parts.”

  They showed him everything in a heap, so he took one hand off of the tree. He had one branch that kept poking him next to his eye. He suddenly turned and ‘snap’, no eye poking branch anymore.

  Kevin scanned the parts. ”Ok listen up,” he started pointing, “this connects to that, which goes into this base here, then you repeat it for all four legs. Got it?”

  Roland was holding the base and slipped the metal bar through a slot like Kevin had instructed, “Huh, son of a gun, it worked.”

  Kevin turned away from them and put the palm of his free hand to the front of his face, then just started shaking his head. He could hear giggling behind him, so he snapped his head around and there was Judy, Beth, April, Barb and Will standing back, enjoying the show.

  “Don’t you guys have something better to do?”

  Judy lets out a quiet, “Oooo.” Then the crowd dispersed.

  Now THEY were the show as they mulled about while actually having ‘nothing better to do’. They were waiting for the tree to be set up so that they could work on it.

  Kevin twisted around as much as he was able to, while still holding up the tree. As he did so, he saw Will quietly whistling and rummaging through a box that only had three things in it. Barb was inspecting a scratch on the coffee table that’d been there for maybe four decades. April was polishing a bulb and Judy and Beth were re-arranging some decorations that were only put where they were so that they could be transferred to the tree. Kevin laughed out loud; everyone stopped and looked at him.

  “You guys really are my family now,” he said, and then turned back to the tree.

  The tree was absolutely beautiful. It looked like history on a limb. If ever anyone wanted to see a slice of Americana, this would have to be where they went to see it. Nothing on it was manufactured in a country that most people would never go to. These things weren’t made in any factory; this was real, old-fashioned handmade, hand blown, hand carved and steel forged history. Although there was a box of small candle holders and small candles meant to go on the limbs, Will and Barb had to point out that the insurance would never allow for that, so they put them on but didn’t light them. Everyone agreed the tree didn’t need them anyway. All that remained after they were done were six bulbs, six hand carved decorations and one ‘Angel in waiting’. Judy collected those and wouldn’t let anyone put them up.

  “For Cindy,” was all she said, and placed them aside. She even made sure that certain places on the tree looked bare without them. Kevin put the folding ladder behind the tree for Cindy.

  That evening they all sat and stared at the tree. Even if they tried to read, they kept looking back to it. Kevin didn’t ask Judy about what had happened at the hospital, he was pretty sure she hadn’t quite figured it out herself yet. He thought it would be best to let her decipher it first.

  That night, Kevin and Judy made love. It was slow and loving, a lot of touching, caressing, fondling and kissing.

  ***

  At 8:42 a.m. Roland opened the front door and ushered Cindy in. Everyone was standing in a half circle around the entryway.

  “CINDY,” shouted the crowd.

  Cindy smiled a huge smile, then burst into tears. Everyone was on her in an instant.

  “I’m sorry guys, I really am. That was just so overwhelming that I thought my heart was going to burst. I’m not sad. I’m happy, happy to have you all, happy that I’ve finally found a home where I belong. Just, you know, happy!”

  April came forward and took Cindy over to a sofa, Roland sat next to her.

  “Kid, on behalf of everyone in this room right now, I want you to know that we are your family and you belong to us as much as we belong to you.” The tissues once again made their appearance at the Colburn Inn.

  At 9:40 a.m. everyone was in the second floor library, save Will and Barb.

  Kevin stepped to the center, “Okay, it seems we have some exploring to do guys. I’m seeing things from some of you that I’m trying to get a handle on because I’m pretty sure they will be needed soon.”

  “What do you mean ‘soon’?” Alex asked.

  “That’s for another time, but I think I can explain what is happening.” He went into what he had said to Alex in the hospital waiting room. “If this is the case, and I think it is, we need to set up a training program. I’m open to suggestions.”

  Judy stood, then opened and closed the suggestions in one simple solution; ‘The basement.’

  Kevin walked over to her, put his palms on her cheeks and kissed her, “You’re a freaking genius baby and I love you.”

  Judy let out a giggle and everyone else yelled out, “Get a room you two!”

  Both Judy and Kevin were now trying on natural ‘blush’ colors.

  “Okay, the basement it will be, we’ll need a schedule set up. April,
Beth, and Alex, it will be centered around you three because Roland is off campus till after the new year, and we don’t work. So get me something I can work with, right?”

  They all agreed.

  “Great, then class dismissed!”

  Everyone exited the library and Kevin headed to his room.

  “Where are you going honey?” Judy asked.

  “I think I just got a ‘phone call’ in my head.”

  “Oh, you want me to go with you?”

  “No baby, this one I have to take alone.”

  “Okay, I’ll go down with Cindy; I want to watch her put the remaining decorations on anyway.” They gave each other a kiss and Judy went downstairs.

  Kevin went over and sat in the chair at his window. He smelled mint.

  “Hello Kevin, this sure has been an exciting week hasn’t it?”

  “Well, exciting is a word, and it would certainly describe this past week.”

  “Kevin, we have a mission for you, for all of you – except Cindy and Roland of course.”

  “April hasn’t been on one yet, you know?”

  “We are aware of this, but she is about to make that a thing of the past. You will need her for this mission.”

  “This gets more and more interesting as you talk. Go on please.”

  For five minutes, the ‘voice’ told Kevin what he needed to know. Ten minutes later and everyone was walking at a fast pace to Kevin’s new truck.

  “People, we are going to the First Allied Bank and Trust.” Kevin never slowed as he walked.

  Kevin was still talking as they crowded into the truck and he headed out the driveway.

  “Alex and Beth, I don’t want you to be seen in the bank so take care of that. I want Alex to find the gunman, who will be over on the right, near the door. Disarm him, hide the gun but don’t kill him, got it?”

  “Disarm, don’t kill, hide the gun, got it.”

  “Beth, two men on the left, near the doors, same thing; disarm them. They will be spaced apart so that you can fit between them both. Hide the guns, don’t kill, right?”

  “Right Kevin, same as Alex.”

  “Good. Judy, you’re with me. As soon as I make an appearance, (you’ll notice that I have), move off to the left gunman, near the far left counter, from behind. STAY behind him. I can’t stress that enough. The instant you reach him, take his gun and put three rounds in his head from under his neck, pointing up. He’s very dangerous, don’t screw it up; he likes to shoot first and ask why later. I’ll take the two who are at the teller. Everyone got it now?”

  “YES.”

  “April, I have a special job for you, one I know for sure you can do. The getaway man is in a large S.U.V. It’s red with a rally stripe on it. You won’t miss it; it will be parked in the street, right across from the bank’s front doors.”

  “What do you want me to do with him?”

  “Not him honey, the S.U.V. I want you to, well, ‘crush’ the doors so that they can’t open, then crush the end of the tail pipe so that the engine chokes and shuts down.”

  “Wow, Kevin, you’re not telling me that I can…”

  “You can April and you will.” Kevin reached over the seat and took April’s hand. “You can do it. Just do what you did with the phone and the vase. Don’t squint and make faces, let it flow from inside of you.”

  “Okay, I’ll try my best.”

  “Remember everyone, not one move until you see me show myself”

  “RIGHT.”

  Kevin drove the truck into the back parking lot of the bank. He couldn’t make it invisible because someone could try and park there. As everyone exited the truck, Kevin told them to do it. No one saw anyone go into the bank as they all melded through the door.

  April walked around the front and over to the sidewalk. There it was – red paint, rally stripe, with the engine running. One man sat behind the wheel.

  No one could see her so she looked the truck over. “Let’s see, crush or choke first? Ah, if I choke, the driver will be concentrating on getting the engine running again. ‘Choke’ it is.”

  She looked at the exhaust pipes: two of them, one left and one right. She concentrated like Kevin had told her to and felt the energy begin to pulse through her. She concentrated a touch more, and the pipes didn’t just squeeze closed, but flattened out and rolled up about three times. “There, that isn’t going to start again.” The engine shut off.

  “What the hell?” She heard the man bitching as he tried to get the engine restarted.

  “Ok, now.” She stretched her arms out and flexed her body, and then stopped and looked at the truck. It began to shutter; the guy behind the wheel thought it was the engine trying to turn over.

  Not slowly but in one single instant, all the door columns folded. The bottom folded to the front, jamming the front door; the top half folded backwards, trapping the rear door; the rear window crushed as she crushed the entire roof to just a foot above the steering wheel. All of this happened with a fabulous display of flying glass as a bonus.

  “There,” she said, and brushed her hands together as if finished with a chore. As April walked past the truck, she started to turn and head to the parking lot. She stopped, turned and thought, “Nah, not good enough.” She stared at the S.U.V. for a few seconds, and the whole vehicle lifted in the air, flipped upside down and dropped with a loud crash. “Aha, much better,” she said, and walked away. April never noticed the two crushed lamp posts or the crumpled up storm drain that was under the S.U.V.

  Inside the bank, it was as Kevin described it: two on the left near the door, one on the right near the door, one over at the left teller’s booth and two at the center teller’s booth. It was the holiday season now; there were people all around the bank’s floors, spread out with their fingers interlaced over their heads. The group could hear a lot of quiet crying. Over near the back of the bank were two security guards, lying in a growing pool of blood. Alex moved to the right, behind one gunman. Beth moved to the left and settled herself between the other two. She had to prepare herself mentally.

  ‘Ok, Beth, just like the grocery store, only two instead of one, and no shooting their god damn heads off,’ she thought as she moved.

  Alex was just pretending he was cool about it all. He was vibrating enough inside to make instant milkshakes. So he told himself, ’Be cool, and don’t drink any milk or ice cream for the foreseeable future.’ He thought he may have to remember that one, it was pretty good.

  Judy veered off to the man just as Kevin showed himself. She saw the two dead guards, both were head shots. Kevin wasn’t protected at his head. Now she knew why she had to get it right. Kevin moved like lightning to the two men at the center teller. As he grabbed both men’s throats, Judy saw the other gunman raise his gun to Kevin’s head. He never got a shot off. Judy ripped the gun out of his hand, set it in her own and put the barrel to his head.

  POP, POP, POP.

  The guy fell like a stone; only, Judy was standing on the side of the man, shooting straight into the side of his head. Judy got his blood and brains all over her face.

  As all of this was happening up at the teller area, Alex and Beth took the guns from the other men and tucked them inside their winter coats. The guys just stood there, staring at their empty hands. Kevin lifted the two men up in the air and turned them to face each other.

  “Disgusting slime balls,” he said. He then slammed them together at the faces. What remained after wasn’t shown in the newspaper. The funerals would be closed casket; the funeral home could only do so much reconstructing before it just gets hopeless.

  Kevin went over to the two men on the left, placed his hand on each shoulder and whispered to them. No one heard what he said, not even Beth. They turned and went over to the door, sat on the floor and waited for the police. The man with Alex was watching Kevin as he went to him. He pulled out a smaller second gun from his coat and put a bullet in his own head. Kevin stopped. He knew the man would do it. Kevin turned to Jud
y, who was staring at the carnage left behind. He could see her tears from where he was, as well as a lot of blood on her face.

  Kevin turned towards a teller while he was still walking to Judy, “Do you have any tissues?”

  She stared at Kevin without talking or moving.

  “MISS, tissues please?”

  She snapped back from wherever she had been and grabbed a box of wet towelettes, then ran around the back of the teller area and over to Judy. She got there after Kevin.

  “Thank you very much.”

  She didn’t say a word, only stood there. Alex and Beth were now making their way over. Judy had her arms out at an angle, as if she had just been covered with mud when a car had driven past her. Kevin knew she had felt the blood hit her, she knew what was on her face.

  “Easy baby, let me get this.” He wiped franticly, grabbing more towels and dropping the ones that were now red. Beth got to her and helped Kevin wipe the blood, flecks of brain and bile off of Judy. Later on, he was going to have to show them all why you shot up from under the skull in the back, or under the chin and up from the front. It was to avoid this mess of goo. Judy was quiet but tears were flowing. When they were done, they could hear sirens coming.

  Kevin looked Judy over, “I think I got it all baby. Come on, time to go.”

  Kevin spun in a slow circle and knew that no one was going to be able to describe what happened here other than a botched bank robbery. The biggest puzzle would be that wreck of an S.U.V. out front.

  They exited out the back and walked to the truck. Judy stopped, ripped her coat off of her and threw it to the ground. It had blood stains on it. Beth picked it up, but knew Judy would never wear it again; she’d burn it in the fireplace when she was alone. Everyone loaded into the truck and Kevin was about to put it in first when he heard the lips shutter;

  “Nope, not yet.”

  He turned to Judy. She looked at him and then just simply broke down. In an instant Kevin had her wrapped in his arms. Beth and April were caressing her and Kevin was trying to quiet her down. They could all feel the shutters rolling though her. Kevin was slowly rocking her in his arms, “Shhh…shhh…it’s okay honey, you’re okay now…shhhh...”