Only the Strongest Survive

by Ian Fox

  “No panic,” he said calmly.

  She stared at the black barrel aimed at her chest. The image of him pulling the trigger almost suffocated her.

  “How did you find me?” she said, her voice trembling.

  The answer didn’t really matter; all she wanted was to postpone his decision. Fear of death pushed her mind into overdrive and she was able to think with incredible speed.

  Ronald lifted his head proudly and laughed. “My brother John is not the smartest thing on this planet. He may have always been more handsome than me, but I have always been more intelligent.” He sat down on the chair, which was approximately six feet away from her.

  “It seemed inconceivable that John would decide to live alone in this horrible house. He’s not the type. I know him well.”

  You don’t know him at all.

  “At first I thought he was having a nervous breakdown, that he was going through a crisis because of what we did to you.” He corrected himself. “Well, because of your funeral. You’ve got to admit that the coffin idea wasn’t bad. But it’s clear that the actual execution never happened.” He laughed cynically, as if telling an old joke.

  Emely felt like spitting in his face, he repulsed her so much.

  “He’d resigned from his job and at the same time drank champagne and ate caviar. I thought there was something fishy, but couldn’t find an explanation.” The barrel of his gun kept moving to and fro while he talked. “Before, he used to call me at least once a week. John was very attached to me, you see.” He paused for a moment, looking at her with disdain, wanting her to feel that she was the one who had built a wall between the two brothers.

  “After he moved to this house, there was no sound from him. In spite of the astronomical phone bill I noticed on my first visit, he never called me. When I came here, he wasn’t glad to see me at all. How, my dear Emely, could I not get suspicious?” He looked around the room contemptuously.

  How dare he call me dear? This man is sick.

  “And he was somehow distracted and nervous. I don’t know how to describe the state he was in. And then the alarm. Why would anyone install an alarm at a house where there are no neighbors anywhere near?” Once again Ronald aimed the gun with its deadly charge.

  “Last night I finally decided to make an unannounced visit. I wanted to do it earlier, but the problem is that I’m a very busy man. You understand, don’t you, Emely, you’re a busy businesswoman yourself.” With his head up he waited in vain for her to nod, and then said, “In fact, I watched the house from a distance last night. As I was about to come nearer, I saw you walk out of the house first. I must admit that was the last thing I expected. My heart stopped for a few moments, but then I got really mad.”

  He rose from the chair and transferred his weight to one foot. “Allow me to ask you a rather indiscreet question. How come you’re still alive?”

  Emely inhaled, wanting to throw something, anything, in his face, but stopped herself. Any wrong move could be fatal for her. She was aware that she had to keep him talking for as long as possible, regardless of what they talked about.

  “John is not a bad man. After you buried me, he came and dug me out and took care of me until I got well again.”

  “And probably used you as a sex object,” he said.

  “No, nothing like that happened.” She was looking at the wall.

  “Hang on, Ms. Donnovan. You’ve been shut in this moldy room for a few months and you’re telling me John’s not a bad person. I can’t believe it. It’s no business of mine, but tell me why John dug you up and kept you here.”

  She looked at the red bag and decided that the time for revealing the truth had not arrived yet. When necessary, I’ll use the money as a weapon. But not yet. When there’s no other way, I’ll tell him about those millions.

  “John loves me,” she said calmly.

  “Come on,” Ronald said, laughing. “He’s incapable of loving anyone or anything but alcohol and money.”

  She stared at him angrily, not knowing what else to say.

  Ronald said, “Then it really was about time for me to appear on the scene. John had made a bundle of mistakes in his life before this. Luckily he’s got me to get him out of trouble.” He stood up firm and became serious. “Well, Ms. Donnovan, say your last prayer, because our ways will have to part. As I said earlier, I’m a businessman and I’ve got things to do.” He laughed out loud. His eyes were wide open and his second chin took on the shape of a small cushion.

  She could see his finger on the trigger beginning to move.

  She said quickly, “What about John? He’ll be back any minute.”

  “That’s precisely why I have to act now.”

  “But he loves me.”

  “Oh, he’ll soon forget you, don’t worry.” The gun rose level to her heart. “Goodbye, Emely.”

  She was panicking, staring into the barrel that seemed so very black to her. Her thoughts entered a black tunnel, the one she would travel through after dying. Don’t books about life beyond death talk about the soul rising above the body and travelling along a black tunnel up to Heaven? At least that’s what those who were clinically dead and then revived are supposed to have said. Or was it a white tunnel? Yes, of course, the black tunnel is for those who commit suicide. I’d go through the white tunnel.

  She noticed the glimmer in his eyes and the mouth stretched into a smile. His tongue was licking his dry lips.

  “I’d like to say just one more thing. I’m sure you’ll be interested. There’s eight million dollars in this room.”

  “What?”

  “Yes, in that red bag on your right, there are eight million non-counterfeit bills.”

  His eyes stared at the sports bag and the barrel of the revolver lowered by a fraction. “Do you think I’m an idiot or something? If you think that you can fool me in such a ridiculous way, you underestimate me terribly.”

  “I’m telling you that bag is full of money.”

  “And why would all that money be in such an ugly bag?” He hesitated for a while. “OK, I’ll have a look, it won’t cost me anything.”

  He moved toward the bag while looking at Emely. He was sure it was a deception. First he stepped on the bag.

  “It’s full. I bet it’s old newspapers. Or even sex aids?” He laughed again.

  Carefully he squatted next to the bag and transferred the gun to his other hand. With his right hand he pulled the zipper. He tried a few times, but it kept getting stuck. He had to use his left hand as well, so he put the gun down next to the bag. His eyes were fixed on Emely all the time while his hands were opening the bag.

  Finally he succeeded and glanced inside, expecting to see anything but money. The sight of all those banknotes made his jaw drop. It was like watching a crime story on television. He had never seen that much money in cash at once.

  “Damn it, this is a fortune.” His eyes were still glued to the money, which had the effect of a magnet on him. He picked up a few notes to look at them more closely. “They’re real. I don’t believe it.”

  At that moment Emely kicked him in the groin so hard that he moaned loudly before collapsing onto his back. Emely quickly grabbed the chair and hit him on the head. Then she kicked the gun under the bed.

  Screaming in pain, Ronald was so angry that he wanted to kill her with his bare hands. “You’re not getting away!” he yelled.

  At the last moment, she evaded him and ran out of the room. She ran as fast as she could, yet even before she reached the stairs leading to the ground floor, she felt a hand grabbing her right shoulder. She was pulled back and fell on the floor and banged her head against one of the steps. She must have lost consciousness for some time because suddenly he was standing over her, wheezing like an asthma patient. He hit her face brutally with his right hand, but she returned the blow as hard as she could.

  He was not expecting her to defend herself and certainly not with such a fierce blow. He lifted himself a fraction and Emely used the
opportunity to kick him in the groin again. He paused for a moment, then screamed, turned on his side, rolled into the fetal position, and emitted strange noises.

  Emely picked herself up and managed to avoid his hands reaching for her. She ran up the stairs and closed the door behind her. She got to the front door only to find it locked.

  She pulled the handle and rattled it, hoping the door would open. Meanwhile she could hear footsteps coming up from the basement. Her nerves were about to shatter.

  Then she remembered Kitty. She had heard her barking when they were rolling around in front of the stairs. Now Emely looked down and was relieved to find the dog staring up at her nervously. She lifted Kitty, pulling her close, and ran up to the second floor and shut herself in the last room on the right. Only when she had locked the door behind her, she realized that this had not been the smartest move. Yet again, she was shut in a room with no exit. What do I do?

  She searched hysterically around the room that was obviously a servant’s bedroom. No one had slept in it for a long time. She ran to the window and opened it with a single push. Oh no, I wouldn’t survive the jump.

  She ran around the room and soon heard the opening and closing of doors. She climbed into a wall cabinet, still holding Kitty in her arms, and prayed quietly.

  *

  The door to the room opened. A painful silence followed, lasting at least ten seconds. The shadow visible through the small gaps in the cupboard showed that he was standing only a few feet away. Ronald bent over.

  He’s looking under the bed. She was holding Kitty’s mouth with her right hand so that the dog would not give them away. Emely was trembling all over and drops of sweat gathered on her forehead. She was still praying.

  The door of the first closet opened and then the second. Without being aware of it, as soon as the door opened she grabbed a wooden hanger and hit Ronald with it across the nose.

  The resultant thud caused Ronald to shout, “Damn it, you broke my nose!”

  He held his nose that was pointing leftward and was beginning to bleed, while he screamed. He grabbed her by the throat. She hit him again, this time on the forehead. Still not releasing his grip, he screamed even louder, like a stubborn child that refuses to let go of his favorite toy regardless of the consequences. Emely bit his hand as hard as she could and pushed him away. He dropped down like a log and kept squirming.

  Not wanting to lose any time, she ran into the corridor and locked the door behind her, still holding Kitty. She threw the key far away and then ran to the ground floor.

  Even before she had reached the last step, she heard the door smash, which meant he was out. She remembered the back door. Like a rabbit, she ran to the back of the house, but to her disappointment that door was locked. She looked at the window. Why do I want to get out through the door when I can use a window?

  Ronald’s heavy breathing and the sounds his shoes made on the floor betrayed his vicinity. She put Kitty on the floor and opened the nearest window easily. She grabbed Kitty again and dropped her out of the window. “Out, get out quickly,” she told herself aloud.

  Emely sat on the windowsill and lifted her legs to step outside, but it was too late. He grabbed her hair and pulled her close. Tears came to her eyes from the pain, but she didn’t let out a sound. She fell down in front of him and he immediately closed the window. Then he kicked her in a kidney so that she began coughing and rolled into a ball.

  “This is for my broken nose,” he shouted, kicking her again.

  She thought she would faint from the pain.

  “And this, for my head.”

  He sat on her back and grabbed her neck with both hands. His fingers were pressing harder and harder and she was unable to breathe. Her lungs were demanding air, but however hard she tried she could not move, let alone wriggle out of his grip. She nearly resigned herself to her fate when she heard yelping somewhere in the distance. Kitty felt much more courageous outside and was barking as loud as she could to get help. And her barks gave Emely additional strength. With all the force she could summon, she pushed her elbow back, aiming it at his nose. Nothing else could have had such a strong effect on him—the pain was so great that he had to put both his hands on his badly broken nose. She had never heard a louder scream and realized that she had managed to get him off her. Catching her breath, she crawled on all fours away from him.

  Ronald, not completely recovered either, also followed on all fours.

  She wondered where she could go. The bathroom was the nearest. She looked back and saw his bleeding face only a few feet away from her. He was reaching for her when she screamed, got up, and shut herself in the bathroom.

  “There’s no point, Emely,” he said, wheezing noisily, barely able to talk. “I’ll get you sooner or later. There’s no way you’ll survive this. Just admit defeat.”

  Emely was leaning on the sink, breathing deeply and listening. What he had said made her angry but at the same time strengthened her resolve not to give up. She would fight to the end—if he wanted to take her life, she would extract a high price. Then she thought what to do. The lock threatened to give at any moment. As she could not think of anything else, she unscrewed the shower hose, even though her hands trembled so much that she couldn’t control them.

  The moment he entered, she attacked him with the hose. She jumped toward him and he opened his eyes wide in surprise, having expected her to be sitting in a corner, crying.

  With all her strength she managed to get him on the floor and wrapped the hose around his neck. She pulled hard on both ends so that his air supply was cut. Then she knelt on him and pulled even harder. His distorted face became red within seconds and his eyes bulged. She could see he was suffocating and nearly loosened her grip, but then remembered what he had done to her and pulled even harder instead.

  “How do you feel now, Ronald? Do you like not being able to breathe? It’s your turn to say goodbye to this life.”

  Chapter 19

  _______________________

  Robert Miles was with someone he had wanted to meet for ages. Opposite him sat Anita Walters, a former Donnovan Corporation employee who didn’t have such a positive opinion about Emely Donnovan. She had been working in accounts as part of the team responsible for salaries, when Alexandra had found her giving one employee a higher salary than she should have. It transpired that this was prearranged and Anita got a share of the difference. She had to resign immediately.

  Finally something juicy, Miles thought.

  Anita was the sort of woman who asked questions and gossiped, so she was full of information.

  “You say you’re unemployed?”

  “Of course. Thanks to Donnovan Corporation I’m now without a job, with three kids.”

  “And why did you leave?” Miles was trying to make the question as polite as possible even though he knew what had happened.

  “I didn’t leave willingly, I was forced. I should have sued them.”

  “I see. What did your job involve?”

  “Salaries. You know, numbers, numbers, and more numbers. You’ve no idea what salaries the managers are getting, have you?”

  “None whatsoever.” He pretended to be stupid so that she’d tell him things no one else had. He sat comfortably opposite the woman and wrote down everything she said.

  “Every month when we were paying the salaries, I got angry. When I saw that I got only 5 percent of what my boss was paid, I lost my enthusiasm for work. You understand, don’t you?”

  “Of course, go on.”

  He was observing the woman, who didn’t look that poverty stricken. She wore an elegant blue suit. Robert guessed her age to be just over forty.

  “And that’s not all,” she said. “In addition to a huge salary, they’re constantly going for expensive dinners, for which they pay with company credit cards. Do you know how much Emely Donnovan spent on average on her card?”

  “No idea.”

  “Around twenty thousand dollars. Can you imagine?
All at the expense of the company. I know she traveled a lot, but still, it’s too much. Not to mention Alexandra. She drives the latest model of Mercedes, owned by the company. Since she’s been with the corporation, she hasn’t spent a cent on gas for it. These people eat and drive at the expense of the company, while their salary stays untouched in their bank account.”

  Miles was barely able to write down everything she told him as her anger and hatred fueled her story and made her speak quickly and with zeal. “So, you weren’t happy with what they paid you?”

  “Happy? Are you kidding me? No idiot could be happy with the pittance I was getting. I could barely make it to the end of the month. You know how much children cost.”

  “Yes, I know. I was told you were fired because you paid salaries that were higher than they should have been,” he said directly.

  “Everyone in that company is stealing. From top to bottom. And then they got at me, and I’m the least to blame. If only you knew all the things that go on there.”

  “Such as?” Miles was waiting like a dog for a chunk of meat, for her to finally tell him something tangible. So far, she hadn’t said anything useful or shocking.

  The woman leaned back in her chair and lit a cigarette. “You’ve got to understand that I have three kids to keep. My husband earns hardly anything.”

  She’s smarter than I thought. Miles took a bunch of hundred-dollar bills from his wallet and offered them to her.

  “That won’t be enough. You’ll make a fortune with the information I’ll give you, so I want my share.”

  Robert put his hand on his chin, staring at the woman. Is she worth the investment? Who knows who I’m dealing with here. “So what is your price?”

  “Five thousand dollars.”

  “What! Are you out of your mind? There’s no way I can give you that kind of money.”

  Anita Walters put out her cigarette and got up.

  “Hang on.” Miles didn’t know what to do. This was supposed to be his last article about Emely. Unless he wrote something good, he’d have to say goodbye to her. And he didn’t want that; he wasn’t ready to leave Emely Donnovan.