“There’s that judgment again,” Lexi joked.
They debated Frank’s harsh opinions about wealthy people as they grew closer to his ex-wife’s house.
Frank’s pace steadily became slower. A rough cough started, which only made him walk even slower.
Lexi looked at the horizon and watched the sun continue its slow descent.
Frank’s cough grew worse and forced him to stop. The coughing was so forceful that it caused him to take a knee.
Carey came to his side and knelt with him. She placed a soft hand on his back.
Frank took out a rag and put it to his mouth. When he pulled it away, there was a large amount of blood on it.
Lexi exhaled heavily. She was both frustrated and concerned. They were close to the house but couldn’t quite make the final steps as Frank knelt hacking.
“Can I do anything?” Carey asked him.
He only responded by shaking his head. The coughing increased in severity and at one point he gasped for air.
“Frank, how far are we from the house? The sooner we can get there, the better. You’ll be able to rest,” Lexi said.
He lifted a shaking arm and pointed.
“Where?” Lexi asked, looking down the beach. The houses were in sight but too far to make out.
He gulped for air and said, “Fourth house on beach.”
Lexi looked and counted. “Good, that’s not too far. Carey, help him up, let’s get him there.”
Carey replied, “Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure, get him on his feet,” Lexi ordered as she walked to the other side of Frank and reached for his arm.
Frank gasped and tried to stand, but his physical condition had deteriorated greatly.
Lexi wrapped his right arm over her shoulder.
Carey followed her lead and did the same thing with his left.
As they stepped off, Lexi looked at his face. Fresh blood clung to his lips with a small amount dripping down his chin.
“Frank, we’ll get you set up nice real soon.”
Frank took a gulp of air and said, “Franco.”
“Huh?”
“My name, my real name is Franco.”
“Okay, Franco.”
He chuckled.
Lexi gave him a confused look and thought that he was able to find something funny even during the painful coughing fit.
Lexi didn’t waste time getting him inside the house. With no keys to gain access, Lexi smashed a window off the garage and got in that way. She climbed in, and like a sign from God, the last rays of the day were shining through the broken window onto the Impala. It was there just as Frank said it would be. She was anxious to see if it ran but would first get Frank into a bed. She made her way through the house to the sliding glass door off the front deck where Carey and Frank were. She opened it and helped him inside and to the master bedroom.
His coughing fit had subsided, but the trip had taken all his strength, leaving him as limp as a rag doll.
They plopped him on the bed and took off his gear, pack and shoes.
“Just lie down, rest,” Lexi said softly.
He did as she said and fell into the thick pillows. The second he went horizontal, the coughing began again. He rolled onto his side and coughed up a large amount of blood. It streamed down the pillowcase and onto the mattress.
“Get a towel,” Lexi ordered Carey.
Carey raced off.
“Is this normal?” Lexi asked him.
He nodded.
“Will it stop?”
He nodded again then looked up at her. “Sorry.”
Seeing him suffer like this made her feel sorry for him. She reached out and rubbed his shoulder. “We’ll take care of you.”
Carey ran back into the room with a towel. She placed it under his chin.
Frank smiled as he spit some blood onto the towel’s monogram.
Lexi noticed this and asked, “You’re not a fan of your ex, are you?”
Frank shook his head and said, “Nope.”
“Can we get you some water?” Lexi asked.
“No, just rest,” Frank mumbled and closed his eyes.
Lexi and Carey exited the room, closing the door softly.
“Poor guy,” Carey said.
“Yeah, I feel bad for him.”
Carey walked down the long hallway and into a massive great room. She stood and looked around at the ornate decorations and extravagant furnishings. The room faced the beach and jutted out from the main part of the house. All three sides had tall glass sliding doors that opened onto a large wooden deck. She approached the furthest door that looked directly out onto the beach and stared at the sun on the horizon.
Lexi came up behind her and said, “Help me find some candles and flashlights.”
Carey kept staring at the sun, watching it slowly disappear into the vast ocean. She cradled her chest with her arms and gave herself a hug. “Why do you think this happened?”
Lexi was opening drawers and paused at the question.
“I just don’t know who would do such a thing,” Carey continued.
“If there was ever any doubt, I think the past few days have confirmed that evil exists.”
“I know that, but why do this, what’s the purpose?”
Lexi looked up and replied, “I’m sure whoever was behind this had their reasons, but deep down it’s simple.”
Carey turned and asked, “What’s that?”
“They just want to destroy, nothing more.”
After finding all the light sources they could, Carey started preparing food for dinner. Fortunately for them, Frank’s ex-wife kept a stocked pantry of canned and dried foods. In the garage they found a chest freezer, and by luck the food was still cool. Famished from the long hike, Carey pulled out a pre-marinated tri-tip and took it to the propane barbeque located off the side of the house.
While Carey was busy making dinner, Lexi went searching for the keys to the car. She thought they’d be easy to find. She looked in all the obvious places but still came up empty-handed. She was tempted to wake Frank up, but her guilt in doing so outweighed her urgency to see if the car ran. Armed with a flashlight, she again looked in the same places, opening the same drawers and cabinets, but still coming up with the same result. She slammed the last drawer she looked in and turned in frustration. “Where can you be?” The beam from her flashlight hit the car; she looked at its beautiful and flawless red paint, not a speck of dust or dirt. Regardless of what Frank thought, it was clear that his ex took good care of the car. “If I were a set of keys, where would I be?”
She stepped away from the built-in cabinets and walked over to the car. She shined her light into the driver’s window and looked in at the leather seats. She guided the beam across the dash until she reached the steering wheel, and there she saw something peculiar. Dangling below the column, she saw a rabbit’s foot. Her eyes lit up, as she knew it was a key chain. She grabbed the handle and prayed it was unlocked; with a click the door opened. “Yes!” She swung it open and sat on the hard seats. The sweet smell of lavender hit her nostrils followed by the smell of Armor All. Her hand found its way to the key chain and to the key sticking in the ignition. Her hands trembled. “Please start, please, please, please.” Like she did with her car, she closed her eyes and recited a prayer.
“Ahhh!” Carey screamed from the kitchen.
Lexi opened her eyes and leapt out of the car. However, she had the presence of mind to take the key with her. She stuffed it in the front pocket of her jeans and sprinted out of the garage.
“What are you doing here?” Carey yelled.
Lexi entered the kitchen to see Carey standing frozen next to the large kitchen island that separated that space from the great room. She faced the north-side sliding door and was looking at someone.
“Who is it?” Lexi asked.
Carey didn’t respond. She quickly walked to the door and unlocked it.
Fully in the room, Lexi yelled, “Carey,
what are you doing?”
Carey again didn’t answer. She unlocked the door and swung it open. “What are you doing here? Oh my God, you scared me.”
Her questions signified she knew the person, but Lexi was still on edge. She walked over and was stopped when she saw who it was. “Jessie? What are you doing here?”
Jessie gave a crooked smile and sheepishly stepped over the threshold. She embraced Carey and said, “Sorry, I know it’s, um, kinda weird that I’m here.”
Carey returned her embrace and said, “It’s fine, it’s fine.” She could see that something was wrong with Jessie.
Lexi’s jaw dropped. There was no other way to explain Jessie being there except that she had followed them, but where did she hide, how did she stay out of sight? Unless…a thought came to Lexi. “You’re not alone, are you?”
Jessie was still wrapped in Carey’s arms. She lifted her head and said, “He’s a nice guy. You’ll like him.”
As if on cue, a young man stepped into the doorway from the shadows.
“Oscar!” Lexi barked. “No, there is no way in hell this guy is staying here!”
Carey looked up to see the man; she hadn’t met him but knew enough about him to feel like she did.
“Please, Lexi, please,” Jessie pleaded.
Oscar hunched his shoulders and made a gangsta-style hand gesture. “Oh, come on, girl. You know me. What happened before, hey, dat wasn’t on purpose. That was just some fucked-up shit, you know how it is.”
“No, I don’t. Now get the hell out,” Lexi ordered. She then realized she wasn’t armed. Her pistol was still in the holster of the vest and it was hung over a stool just ten feet away.
Oscar was short but very muscular. His thick arms and neck were covered in tattoos. His well-manicured goatee clung to his face like it was painted on. A thick scar below his left eye was just one physical reminder of his life behind bars. He was Hispanic and grew up in Chula Vista. His parents were field hands who had emigrated from Mexico. They came to fulfill a dream, but their oldest son, Oscar, destroyed those dreams of a stable and successful family when he became locked into the vicious life of a drug dealer and pusher. He had been to prison twice, and even with the three strikes law in California, he wasn’t deterred from a life of crime. With the legalization of medical marijuana in California, Oscar switched to pushing heroin. That had become Jessie’s drug of choice and he was her main supplier.
Lexi did not like Oscar and she had good reason. During a party at her house several months back, Oscar showed up with Jessie. Lexi didn’t think much of it, but after he thought he could push drugs at her party, she demanded he leave. Taking orders from women wasn’t something Oscar liked, so an altercation occurred. After much yelling, a few broken glasses and lots of machismo, Oscar left, but not before he fatally kicked Lexi’s dog Hercules, a French bulldog. Hercules was barking at Oscar and nipping at his heels. Oscar turned and kicked the dog in the throat, crushing its windpipe. Needless to say, Lexi never forgot and could never forgive.
“Absolutely not, you turn your ass around, both of you, and leave!”
Carey knew the story and joined Lexi in her refusal to allow Oscar to stay, but she did think it was okay for Jessie to remain. “What about Jessie, she can stay, right?”
Lexi shook her head and flatly said, “No.”
“Please, Lexi, don’t be like this!” Jessie screamed.
Oscar stepped into the house and looked around. He didn’t see Frank but knew he was there. “Where’s the old man?”
“None of your business, now get the fuck out!” Lexi hollered.
Seeing an opportunity and not one to think things through, Oscar made a move. He reached into the small of his back and pulled out a semiautomatic pistol. “Listen here, bitch. I will do what I want!” He stepped towards Lexi, quickly clearing the six feet that separated them, and put the muzzle of his pistol in her face.
Lexi raised her hands and grumbled, “Shit.”
“How ya like that, huh?” Oscar tormented.
“Don’t hurt them,” Jessie pleaded with Oscar.
Carey stood frozen to the spot. She was unsure if she should move for fear of her or Lexi being shot.
“Don’t hurt them, Oz,” Jessie again pleaded.
Oscar spun around and waved the pistol in Jessie’s face. “You shut up, you hear me, keep that pretty mouth of yours shut!”
Jessie looked down and cowered like a beaten puppy.
Lexi still stood with her hands up.
Oscar faced Lexi again and placed the muzzle of the pistol under her chin. “I should just blow your fucking face off, you little stuck-up whore. You think you’re better than me, don’t you? Huh, little lily-white princess think you’re better than Oz? You’re wrong, no one is better than the Oz!”
Lexi gave him a cold hard stare and asked, “What do you want?”
“I hear you got a car,” Oscar said.
Hearing that, Lexi knew Carey must have said something to Jessie.
“I can’t find the keys. I don’t even know if it works,” Lexi said.
“Bitch, I don’t need keys. I’ll hot-wire that motherfucker. Where is it?”
A wave of nausea came over Lexi followed by a sense of defeat. Once again she was so close, but like before her hopes of escape were being taken away.
“It’s in the garage, of course,” Oscar said.
He grabbed Lexi by the arm and shoved her towards the garage door, which was off the kitchen.
Lexi saw her vest; she was now inches from it. Why not go for it? If she was going to die, why not die trying to live? The thought came and went as she was pushed hard by Oscar.
Oscar looked at Lexi’s butt and said, “You know, I might have to take that before I go.”
Jessie and Carey stood watching.
Carey took a step, but Jessie grabbed her. Carey looked into Jessie’s bloodshot eyes and whispered, “I have to do something.”
Jessie pulled her close, gritted her teeth and warned, “Sorry.”
Carey felt something sharp jab her ribs. She looked down and saw Jessie had a knife pressed against her side. “What are you doing?”
“I’m sorry.”
“Jessie?”
“I have to do what I have to do,” Jessie confided.
Oscar shoved Lexi. The force from the push drove her to the floor. He bent over, grabbed her hair and pulled.
Lexi resisted and hollered out in pain.
Oscar pulled harder and ripped several strands of hair from her head.
Scared for her life but more importantly just pissed off, Lexi rolled onto her back and kicked Oscar in the left kneecap.
He wailed in pain and hopped backwards. “Fuck!”
Lexi scrambled towards her tactical vest, cleared the few feet and reached for the pistol, but Oscar had recovered from the kick to his knee.
He stepped over and again pulled her by her hair, this time taking a fistful of her blonde locks, and lifted Lexi to her feet. He forcibly pressed the pistol against her temple and screamed, “Fuck you, I’m going to kill you just like I killed your little bitch dog.” He pistol-whipped her then threw her back to the floor.
The blow to her head hurt. For an instant she wondered if she was going to pass out. She knew what Oscar meant and braced for the kick.
Carey began to cry as she watched the beating Oscar was giving her. She turned to Jessie and begged, “My sister, please.”
Oscar towered over Lexi, but before kicking her, he looked towards Carey and Jessie and declared arrogantly, “Jessie, you watch that bitch, okay? Don’t do nothin’ stupid.”
“I got her, Oz, no need to worry, baby,” Jessie said jubilantly, proud of her allegiance to him.
“I’m goin’ to spread that whore’s legs once I’m done with her bitch sister,” Oscar hollered.
Hearing this brought Lexi back to life. She lunged at Oscar, wrapping her arms around his waist, and tackled him to the floor.
The back of his head s
macked against a large wooden sofa table. He grunted in pain but was fine.
Lexi lay on top of him and just punched.
Still gripping his pistol, he raised it high above them, ready to hammer it down on her head.
Carey and Jessie both looked on in horror.
A single gunshot cracked from the hallway.
Oscar’s expression changed from defiance to shock. He dropped the pistol and looked down at the bloody hole in his chest. He coughed and spit blood out of his mouth. His eyes rolled back into his head as he exhaled his last breath.
Jessie screamed in terror seeing Oscar die.
Frank steadied himself, but it had taken all of his energy to just make it as far as he had gone. He rested all of his weight against the wall and slid down.
Lexi jumped off Oscar and scurried away; she looked towards the hallway and saw Frank standing there, the pistol still extended in his grip.
Carey broke free of Jessie and ran to Lexi’s aid; she knelt down and cradled her head. “You okay?”
Lexi was angry and she couldn’t hide that some of that was directed at Carey. “I’m fine, no thanks to you.”
“I, ah, I didn’t know she’d bring him,” Carey said, defending herself.
Lexi shot her an angry look and asked, “You knew she was coming?”
“I didn’t know…exactly,” Carey mumbled.
“Exactly?” Lexi asked. Blood streamed from the cut on the side of her face. She touched it and looked. She rubbed it between her fingers and grunted, “Don’t you ever think?”
“I just mentioned it was all. I didn’t invite her,” Carey said again, defending herself.
Jessie sobbed as she walked over to Oscar’s body. She fell to her knees and wailed.
Lexi got to her feet and walked into the kitchen. She grabbed a towel and wiped the blood from her face. A slight sensation of vertigo hit her, but she braced against the counter just in case she fainted.
Full of regret, Carey remained kneeling on the floor.
Frank coughed and said, “The insulation is great in this house.”
Lexi cocked her head and asked, “What took you so long?”
“I was sleeping like a baby. I didn’t hear anything until I got up to go take a piss,” he said and took a labored breath.
Nemesis: Inception Page 9
