***
At the bottom of the steps, Gabriel stepped cautiously around Eugene. When confident that Eugene would not strike, Gabriel used his middle and index fingers and depressed a point midway down the length of Eugene’s neck.
In the hollow between Eugene’s windpipe and the thick, ropey muscles of his neck, Gabriel examined him for a pulse. None was detected.
Eugene’s corpse presented a problem for Gabriel. Eugene’s distinctive facial characteristics and exceptional size, together with the circumstances surrounding his death, would raise questions.
Gabriel needed to leave.
He ascended the staircase and joined Melissa at her father’s side. Christopher Martin stirred. Melissa sat upright.
“Dad, are you with us?” she asked and put her face in front of his.
“Oh! Missy, what the hell happened to me? I was out for a while,” Christopher murmured, his voice thick, his eyes darting and disoriented. “That thing,” he continued “that was some kind of monster. No man is that big and those eyes,” he rambled.
“Shh, don’t speak Dad. Save your strength. I’m calling an ambulance,” Melissa said as she pulled her cellular phone from her pocket.
The screen illuminated at her touch. After selecting the corresponding prompt, a keypad appeared. Melissa depressed the numbers 9-1-1 and gave the relevant information to the operator. An ambulance was sent.
Gabriel turned to Melissa. “You understand that I need to leave now,” he said earnestly. “This is what we wanted to avoid. I have no choice. Questions will be asked, questions that will lead to Dr. Terzini, to me.”
Wiping the tears that streamed anew, Melissa nodded her head in understanding.
“I understand, Gabriel. Will I ever see you again?”
“I’ll call you later, after I speak with Terzini,” he managed, his voice quavering with emotion. Gabriel took Melissa’s hand in his and whispered, “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” Melissa breathed.
Gabriel descended the staircase again and, stepping over Eugene’s colossal corpse, left her home.
He climbed into the driver’s side of Kevin Anderson’s black Infiniti and turned the key in the ignition. Gabriel’s Ford Explorer was still at Harbingers High School.
As he rounded the corner of Blackstone Drive and began traveling on Top Hill Road, the sound of wailing sirens drew near.
The siren howled like an injured animal, warning of the approaching emergency vehicle. It marked a painful comprehension of what was to happen.
Gabriel knew that there was only one way to insure Melissa’s safety. He needed to kill Dr. Franklin Terzini.
Dark Creations Boxed Set (Books 1-3) Page 54
