With lightning reflexes, Buck sidestepped the blow and delivered one of his own to Chester's ribs with his elbow. The dodge, the rib pain, and his drunkenness threw Chester terribly off balance. Before he could recover, Buck stepped in and kicked Chester behind one knee. Chester's leg buckled and he fell to the ground like he had been dropped from a roof. Buck stepped over him and reached a hand out to Laura.
"I guess we'd better go, huh?"
Laura stared dumbly at Buck's hand, then down at Chester, who was clutching his knee to his chest and groaning. Others were coming out from the house to see what was happening. Buck took Laura's hand and pulled her gently forward.
"Come on. It's okay."
In shock, Laura allowed herself to be led toward the house. The crowd parted for them. Then one girl cried out.
"He's getting up!"
Buck and Laura both turned just as a tremendous roar filled the air. Chester had catapulted himself at them, aiming for Buck. Pushing Laura out of the way, Buck met Chester, grabbing his outstretched arms. Rolling onto his back, Buck lifted his legs and pressed his feet against Chester's midsection. Continuing the roll, Buck pushed, launching Chester into the air. Chester landed on his back on the concrete patio. Buck, meanwhile, rolled deftly onto his feet, preparing for a counterattack. From the way Chester curled up into a ball on the patio, an attack was unlikely at best.
"Hey!" Doug shouted from the back door. Jumping down the three steps, he kneeled beside Chester. "You could have killed him!" he shouted at Buck.
"He was gonna kill me," Buck said, his breath coming in short gasps. "And he was hurting Laura."
Doug looked up at Laura, who nodded in support of Buck's story. But even this did nothing to quell Doug's anger.
"I don't care what happened, I don't like fighting at my house, under any circumstances."
"But…"
"Forget it!" Doug interjected. "You guys will have to leave." Buck started to protest again, but Laura came to his side and tugged his arm.
"He's right, Buck. Let's just go." Now it was Buck who allowed himself to be led away.
Shelby was waiting for them just inside the house. The three of them headed toward the door together.
As Buck unlocked his car, Doug's front screen door banged open. Out darted Allison, obviously in a huff. Chester stumbled out right after her, on a weaving path toward his car, an old Corvette Stingray. Doug came out then. He turned for a moment and called back to Rayne. "Come on. We have to get him home. We'll be back in a couple minutes."
Rayne came out and stood on the top step, her arms crossed defiantly.
"Rayne!" Allison called sharply. "You have to come sit in the back with me." Chester was now leaning against the Stingray, whistling to himself as if he didn't have a care in the world. "I sure don't want to sit with Chester."
Rayne stamped once in frustration, then started down the steps. Doug headed toward the car, keys jangling in his hand.
"Come on, Laura," Shelby said, urging her sister to get into Buck's car. Laura slid into the front passenger seat. Shelby had already taken her place in the back. Buck pulled away from the curb as the engine in Chester's Stingray turned over. As they passed by, Doug gave Laura a wry smile. Chester was slumped against his window, already fast asleep. Rayne glared from the backseat with Allison.
Laura looked back once they reached the end of the block. The Corvette's headlights angled out into the street behind them. Chester lived in the same general direction as Laura, so Doug would be following them for several blocks.
While they rode down a long block near Elm Street, headlights appeared in the distance heading their way. They were swerving from side to side, the driver apparently out of control.
"What's that?" asked Shelby, who was leaning forward from the backseat.
"Oh shit!" was Buck's only reply, because the lights were now heading straight toward them. "Hold on!"
Cutting the wheel sharply to the right, Buck jumped the curb with a violent lurch. The girls screamed. There was a thump and Shelby cried out in pain. Buck grunted as his chest hit the steering wheel. The car came to a rolling stop on someone's lawn.
Laura, secured by her shoulder belt, was unhurt. As she turned to check on Shelby, she caught a glimpse of the other car, a Cadillac, as it careened by. In the Caddy was an old man, clutching his chest with one hand. The other hand was clawing at the steering wheel. Laura followed the Caddy's taillights as the car headed toward another set of headlights.
"Oh God, DOUG!" Laura screamed.
The Cadillac veered directly into the path of the Stingray. There was no escaping a collision this time. With a muffled crunch, the Cadillac broadsided the Corvette on the driver's side. Both cars seemed to jump into the air. Glass exploded.
The next moments were silent, but for the buzz of streetlights. Buck groaned and rubbed his chest. Shelby moaned in the backseat. From the wreckage down the street, she heard no sound at all.
Chapter 4
For the fourth time that night, Laura awoke to the sound of the car collision. And for the fourth time, she rushed to the window, only to find her street empty.
In her dreams, the details of the accident became more and more vivid. At first, the old man appeared as he had that evening: an agonized soul clutching his chest, oblivious to the havoc he was about to create. But by the fourth reenactment, the man had changed. His skin became slick and reptilian. With murderous glee, he drove deliberately at her friends. The way he smiled — he even winked at Laura as he drove past — it was obvious that he regarded the impending crash as sport. Laura's simultaneous feelings of premonition and helplessness threatened to overwhelm her.
The impact in the fourth dream that night was punctuated by an explosion. Somehow, Laura was transported into the inferno, treated to the grisly sight of Doug, Chester, Rayne, and Allison being roasted death. And then she realized that she had known, even before the headlights were weaving before them, that there would be a crash. The man in the car — the scarred one — had known he would wreak havoc. The terrible knowledge showed in his smile.
Turning away from the window, Laura wondered how her sister was doing. All of them had been taken to the hospital after the accident. Laura had sustained the least serious injuries, with barely a braise. Buck, Allison, and Doug were treated for minor cuts and braises and then released. Chester had suffered a serious concussion and a few deep cuts on his head. Shelby had hit the roof of Buck's car, and had been knocked out cold. Her concussion was not as serious as Chester's, but the doctors wanted to keep her overnight for observation. Laura had wanted to stay with Shelby, but her mother had convinced her to come home and return the next day.
Being home, however, had meant sleeping only long enough to fall into a violent dream that would awaken her in terror. Willing no longer to submit to the exhausting ordeal, Laura went downstairs to fix herself a cup of strong tea. As she waited for the water to boil, she thought of the old man in the Caddy. He was by far the worst off of everybody. At last report, he was in the cardiac care unit of the hospital, barely alive.
Steam curled up from the surface of Laura's tea and had a calming, almost hypnotic effect on her. The caffeine kept her awake, though, until first light, when she had breakfast, a shower, and then headed back to the hospital.
She arrived before visiting hours, so she decided to see if Buck had come in yet. She found him at his desk, with a large square bandage on his forehead.
Calling his name, Buck looked up quickly in surprise and winced. His hand instinctively went to his bandage.
"Sorry about that," Laura said.
"No prob." The dullness of his voice told Laura he had not slept much either. "You come to see your sister?"
"Yeah, but they won't let me in yet."
Buck's eyes darted to his wristwatch. "Yeah, too early. She's okay, though. I checked with a doctor when I came in."
"Will she be getting out today?" Laura asked hopefully.
"This afternoon," Buck assu
red her. "She's the lucky one. Your pal Chester will be in at least another day. The old guy may not make it out of here alive."
"Who was… is" — Laura corrected herself — "that guy anyway?"
"Warner Holbert," he said. "You'll never believe what he does."
Laura didn't have a clue.
"He's a headhunted He finds people jobs. If he lives, and he's not too pissed about the accident, maybe he can help you."
"Buck!" she gasped, shocked that Buck could think so opportunistically at a time like this.
Buck apologized quickly, then took Laura to Shelby's room. "We just gotta be quiet," he warned.
Silently they navigated the hallways. Laura was completely lost, but Buck knew exactly where he was going. Finally he stopped at Shelby's room and scanned the hallway. Laura knew he was breaking hospital rules. Putting one finger to his lips, he pushed the door open. Shelby lay in the same hospital bed she had occupied the night before, but now she seemed to be asleep instead of unconscious.
Laura noticed that the room was divided in half by a large, white curtain. She pointed at it, and Buck raised an eyebrow. With a nod, he consented to her peeking behind the curtain. To her surprise, Chester was in the next bed. He sported a bandage much like Buck's, but it was soaked with blood. His mouth gaped open as if he were about to scream. Laura pulled back from the curtain. Buck shrugged, then pointed toward the door. It was time to leave.
Out in the hall, Laura asked about Chester. "He doesn't look so good."
"Oh, he'll be okay, eventually." Buck sighed. "They just want to run an MRI or a CAT scan, I forget which."
Hospital equipment designated by initials spooked Laura. Despite Buck's assurance, she felt frightened. She didn't like Chester much, but she didn't want to see him seriously hurt, either.
"What about Holbert? Can I see him?" she asked suddenly.
Buck took her to the cardiac care unit. The mass of monitors was mind-boggling. One of the machines beeped rhythmically to the beat of his heart. Liquids dripped from plastic IV bags to be fed directly into his veins. Based on her dream, Laura had expected to see some kind of demon in Warner Holbert, but she found nothing like that at all. Holbert was pale, his cheeks sunken in. His parchmentlike skin appeared ready to crumble into dust if she should reach over and touch it. She felt an overwhelming pity. Laura left the room with Buck two steps behind her.
"You look like you didn't sleep much last night," Buck remarked as they headed back to the administrative offices.
Laura shrugged. "I'm worried about Shelby. I don't want her waking up alone. Of course, Chester's there, but that's worse than waking up alone."
"She'll be fine," Buck assured her. "If all goes well, she'll be out early this afternoon." He glanced at his watch. "Tell you what. Go home and get some rest. Then come back here around twelve-thirty. I'll take you out to lunch, and by the time we come back, the doctors should be ready to release Shelby."
"But what if something goes wrong?"
"What could go wrong?" Buck asked calmly.
* * *
When Laura got home, she passed the news about Shelby on to her mother, who was still eating a relaxed breakfast. Laura found herself resenting the way her mother seemed so blasé about Shelby. But she said nothing, chalking her feelings up to exhaustion. She went back to bed.
Surprisingly, a restful sleep quickly enveloped Laura. She didn't awake until sometime later when her bedside phone rang.
"Huh?" she breathed into the mouthpiece before she was fully awake.
"Am I waking you up?" From deep within her tunnel of sleep, Laura recognized Doug's voice.
"Uh-uh," she groaned. Laura found that she was never able to answer that question truthfully — or convincingly. As usual, Doug didn't bother to contradict her.
"Just calling to see if you're okay."
Laura told Doug she was fine, and that she had already been out that morning to check on Shelby. Less enthusiastically, she told him about Chester.
"I wish I felt worse for him," she admitted. "But he was such a jerk, and somehow, this all seems like his fault."
"He didn't give that guy a heart attack," Doug pointed out gently.
"I know, but…" At that moment, Laura's eyes focused on the dial of her alarm clock. It read 12:15 p.m. "I'm sorry, Doug, I have to go," she said, interrupting herself. Doug apparently mistook her tone of voice.
"Are you all right? Is your mom there? Should I come over?" he asked in a staccato burst of panic.
"No, no," Laura told him quickly. "I'm fine. It's just that I'm supposed to meet Buck for lunch in fifteen minutes. I'm going to be late." When the line was silent for several seconds, Laura thought Doug had hung up. "Hello?"
"I'm here," Doug replied in a withdrawn voice. "You're seeing Buck again?"
If it had been anyone else, Laura's defenses would have gone up and she would have moved forward carefully. But this was her best friend, so she could confront him directly.
"You probably think he's a jerk because of last night, but really, Doug, he was trying to protect me from Chester. Maybe he got a little carried away, but it was Chester who started the trouble."
"Yeah, but…" Doug seemed prepared to say more, but his voice just trailed off.
"I'll tell you about it, later," she said quickly. "You'll understand. Anyway, I have to go. I'll call you later. 'Bye!"
Laura hung up the phone, and as quickly as she could, threw on some clothes and straightened her hair. On her way out, her mother said she would meet Laura at the hospital when it was time to pick up Shelby.
* * *
"I'm sorry," Laura blurted out as she rushed toward Buck. Her watch read 12:47. "I overslept, and luckily the phone woke me up."
Buck seemed upset.
"I really am sorry," Laura told him. "I hope I haven't messed up your lunch hour."
"Nah, don't worry about it," he answered, shaking off his annoyance. "Let's go."
"Can we stop by Shelby's room on our way out?" she asked.
"As long as we make it quick," Buck told her, his voice clearly implying that he indeed had less time for lunch because she had been late. "She'll definitely be out today at two."
"Okay, I'll be fast," Laura insisted. "I just don't want her to find out I was here and didn't come in to see her."
Buck said that he understood, and together they went to Shelby's room. They found Shelby sitting up in bed, picking at a tray of hospital food. Laura nearly upset the tray when she hurried to give her sister a big hug.
"This is so cool!" Shelby gushed. "Thanks for taking me out last night. This has been the most excitement I've ever had!"
Laura had to laugh. Here was her little sister, sitting in a hospital bed after a car accident, saying she was having fun.
"You could have been killed!"
"Yeah," Shelby said, her enthusiasm endearing. "I've never almost been killed before. It makes living that much more exciting!"
"If you say so," Laura answered dubiously. Then she pointed toward the drawn curtain next to the bed.
"Oh, Chester," Shelby answered, rolling her eyes with a giggle. "He's out having some tests done right now. They're gonna keep him longer, but he'll be all right. You'll never guess what the first thing he did this morning was."
Bodily functions came to mind, but Laura doubted that Shelby was referring to that. Laura gave up.
"He made a pass at me!" Shelby declared proudly. "For real! I was up first, and at some point I heard him groan. I looked over, saw he was looking at me, and the first words out of his mouth were 'You look beautiful in the morning. Can I see you like that sometime when they spring us from this joint?' "
"No!" Laura gasped. "That's disgusting!" Buck frowned.
"Yes!" cried Shelby.
"So what did you say?"
Shelby paused a few moments, to build suspense, then said, "What do you think? I made gagging noises until he got embarrassed and closed the curtain. Then they took him away and I haven't seen him since."<
br />
"Smooth operator, huh?" Buck said wryly. "Still playing the lout even when he might be braindamaged."
"That's assuming he had a brain to be damaged," Laura pointed out, with a sly wink to her sister. Secretly Laura was glad to hear that Chester was up to his usual tricks. He must not be too badly hurt.
"We gotta go now," Buck announced. "My lunch hour is half over."
Laura hurriedly told her sister that she would return after lunch.
"Why aren't you out looking for jobs?" Shelby asked before they could leave.
" 'Cause I'm looking out for my little sister, stupid," Laura said with a smile. "And this morning you were sure a lot easier to find."
* * *
In the car, Buck asked where she wanted to go. It couldn't be anything fancy, he said. They didn't have a lot of time left.
"How about the Big Game Burger drive-through?" he suggested. "We can eat at the park."
"Nah," Laura said. "I'm not in the mood for a big slab of red meat today. And besides, Rayne works there, and I don't want to run into her. No doubt Rayne blames me for nearly getting her and Doug killed last night. Rayne can be that unreasonably spiteful, especially toward me."
In the end, they decided to go to the mall, where they would have some choices. As they drove, Buck fell quiet, as if in deep thought. When they were close to the mall, he spoke up tentatively.
"I've been meaning to tell you. Something happened this morning after you left. It's Holbert. We — the hospital, that is — lost him."
Laura bowed her head. "That's terrible. I hope he died peacefully, at least." Buck's reply came as quite a shock.
"That's just it," he said. "I mean they literally lost him. About two hours after you left, a nurse went in to check on him and found his room empty." Buck swallowed, hard. "Warner Holbert has vanished."
Chapter 5
"He never even regained consciousness," Buck said as he pulled into a parking space at the mall. "There's no way he could wake up and walk."
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