The Girl With Aquamarine Eyes
Page 24
He knew Tommy would understand. The boy would be proud when word came back his father could cure any affliction known to mankind.
He raised his rifle. One down, two to go.
* * *
“Are you two all right?” Harmon called to the teenagers, as he stared in disbelief at the damage to the front of his pride and joy.
The sleek hood was mangled, the shiny chrome bumper lay twisted on the ground. Without waiting for a response from the pair, he knelt down and clutched the gnarled metal to his chest in sorrow.
“ I’m fine you idiot!” Tommy sneered at the odd musician. “I bet the California Highway Patrol has you on their ten most wanted list.”
“I’m fine too, you moron.” Heaven grasped the seatbelt and tugged at it. “Someone come get this buckle undone, I’ve got to find Bice.”
Harmon peered at the darkened house. Trees lined the driveway on each side, it was impossible to get a clear view from where he’d so poorly parked his prized vehicle.
“Tommy.” He gazed at the boy, and gingerly laid the wrinkled bumper down. “I’ll go and find Bice, you stay here with Heaven.”
“No, I’ll go with you. You’ll need my help to find him inside the house.”
Harmon glanced at Heaven. She sat silently, gazing out the window of the car “Heaven? Will you be all right here a few minutes?”
She did not respond, but continued to stare into the distance transfixed by foggy shadows within the trees.
“All right Tommy, lets go. We’ve got to hurry, I can’t leave her here long.”
Harmon and Tommy crept up the driveway, gazing quickly into Hawk’s and Bice’s empty vehicles.
“What the hell is going on?” Harmon muttered. “Where is everyone?”
Tommy gazed at the dark house. “Something’s fishy. Let’s go around back, maybe they’re talking in the kitchen.”
Harmon hesitated, and glanced at Heaven waiting in the car. “All right, but we can’t be long.”
He followed Tommy toward the looming house.
* * *
Bice, you must talk to me. I can not find you if you don’t tell me where you are. Use your soul, and call to me. I will hear you, and I will come to help you. It’s not time for you to go to the other side. You still have great things to do. One day you will save many lives. Call to me quickly, your time is running out…
* * *
Dr. Killmore lowered the rifle as the red sports car whipped into his driveway and crashed into the Limo parked in front of it. He struggled to stifle a laugh.
He pressed his back against the closest tree and peered through the rolling fog, watching as Harmon and someone else leapt from the car. Now, he would need more bullets. At least he wouldn’t have to hunt Harmon down. They’d come into his web. And, he’d pretty much destroyed his fancy car doing it.
He’d postpone shooting the bodyguard, at least for now. He slowly crept toward the dented Ferrari sitting alone in the driveway. There was still someone sitting in the passenger seat, and he had a feeling he knew who it might be.
* * *
“Dad?” Tommy called as he entered the kitchen.
Harmon quietly following the boy into the dark house. A small beam of moonlight filtered through the dim kitchen. An overturned chair lay on the floor, near it a newspaper, scattered and crumpled. Blood was on the floor near a broken coffee cup.
“Tommy,” He whispered, “what the hell happened in here?”
“Heaven slapped some sense into my dad. She bloodied his nose.”
Harmon felt a sickening wave of nausea rise in his throat. If Heaven had done this to the physician, the man must be at the edge of insanity by now. He’d want revenge on the girl.
Not only had he brought her back to him, he’d put her in grave danger. She was a sitting duck in the car. It was apparent the physician wasn’t in the house. “We’ve got to get back to Heaven!” He cried.
* * *
Hawk watched as the crazed physician rushed for Harmon’s car, forgetting at least temporarily, about shooting him.
He was nearly back to the driveway, exhausted from pulling his dead friend across the massive lawn. He’d helplessly watched as Harmon screeched to a stop behind the Limo, a little too late.
With a last heave, he pulled Bice into the cover of the thicket and laid him gently near his car. He had no choice but to leave his friend’s body, because now the madman was after Harmon.
* * *
Bice, I know you are closer to me now. Please, I beg of you, don’t go to the other side. You are in limbo, caught in between, yet I know you can hear me. I am trapped Bice, but know I am struggling to free myself so I can come to you.
Hold on for me a moment longer my dear one…
* * *
Dr. Killmore jerked the car door open and pointed his rifle inside.
Heaven, still in her prom dress, stared at him in horror. The idiot had brought her right back to him. She was struggling to free herself from the seatbelt, but the massive gown she wore kept it in place. Her eyes shone white with fear as she desperately clawed at the strap.
He unhooked the seatbelt and yanked her from the car. But something snapped her back against the seat, and wrenched her from his hands.
“What the hell?” He peered into the convertible. Someone had wrapped a leather belt around her waist and buckled it behind the seat, which effectively kept her in place. Today was his lucky day after all.
He glanced toward the ignition. Tonight might also have been a good night to play the lottery, he surely would’ve won. The strange musician’s keys hung in the ignition, glinting in the moonlight. He could easily drive straight into Mexico in the race car, and catch a flight to anywhere in the world. They would never be found.
He slammed the passenger door shut, raced to the far side of the car and promptly tripped over the mangled bumper. He cursed under his breath and angrily slung it into the bushes.
He stumbled toward the driver’s door and leapt in.
* * *
Harmon left Tommy standing in the kitchen, and raced out the back door.
In his haste, he promptly tripped down the stairs and slid to the bottom on his backside. Tonight was not the night for getting down stairs. As a matter of fact, his night had quickly deteriorated into a complete disaster. He clutched his aching back, and pulled himself up on the railing. Finally, he burst around the side of the house and shot towards the driveway.
It was too late. Someone was walking in front of his car.
He slid to a stop, and squinted through the fog. It wasn’t Hawk or Bice. His breath caught in his throat. Deep inside, he felt himself dying a thousand deaths. The dark figure belonged to Dr. Killmore, and he was carrying a rifle.
He watched in horror as the man plunged into the seat of his car with Heaven. The very belt he’d tried to keep her safe with, was now preventing her escape from the madman.
“No!” He leapt from behind Bice’s car. “Heaven, no!”
He plunged toward his car, but something on the ground caught his foot and threw him across the pavement. He hit the cement drive face first, and moaned in pain. Gingerly, he sat up and gazed at the object which had tripped him. It was the bumper to his car, and next to it, a person.
His mouth opened and closed, but he couldn’t scream. The person was Bice. Rather, the body of Bice, his eyes frozen open in eternal horror. Blood covered his chest, slowly dripping onto cold driveway.
The suddenly realization of the strange occurrence in the kitchen crashed down on him, as he realized what’d caused Heaven to fly through the air as if something had struck her in the chest. Bice had been shot in the chest. The moment he was, the same force had struck the girl who was miles away, throwing her from the very chair she sat on.
He shuddered in fear, feeling his skin crawl and prickle to his very core. He stared at the corpse of his friend. Headlights came on behind him, lighting up Bice’s macabre gaze. He heard the motor of his car being revved, followed by
the squeal of spinning tires, yet he was helpless to break his stoic stare from his dead comrade.
Although he lay on the ground, he felt his legs and arms begin to tingle and weaken. His mind could not understand the gut-wrenching reality of Bice’s glazed eyes, nor the shock of Heaven being taken away into the night in his own car.
He fell face first onto the cement. His thoughts quickly and mercifully left him.
* * *
Dr. Killmore watched the nutty musician stare at the body of the dead man, and fall over in a cold faint. He had a clear shot at him, and was tempted to put the aging man out of his misery. It didn’t matter now though, because he had Heaven. He slid the rifle carefully behind the seat.
He gazed at her, as he revved the engine of the foreign sports car. She was cowering against the passenger door, crying and helpless behind the belt which held her prisoner. It was best she didn’t see him shoot Harmon. The last thing he needed was a hysterical teenager on his hands.
He studied her a moment longer. She was the most beautiful creature on the planet. And best of all, she was his. He reached over and grasped her thigh. She screamed in horror and slapped him across the face.
He held his temper though, and pulled his gaze from her. He threw the car into reverse and pressed the accelerator to the floor. Luckily, the damage from the wreck was only cosmetic.
With a powerful thrust, the car flew backwards down the drive and leapt into the fog.
* * *
The thrust of the car threw her against the seat with such force, it nearly knocked the wind from her. She gazed at the madman next to her, and seethed in fury. She was his prisoner yet again, through no fault of her own. Time and circumstance certainly didn’t seem to be on her side this evening. She never even had the chance to change out of her gown, and she was growing very weary. And angry.
She struggled against the leather belt which held her prisoner. She tried endlessly to pull the buckle toward her, but it was caught somewhere behind the seat and hung up on her lovely gown.
She stared at the madman with intense anger. This man had murdered Bice, a kind man who was only trying to protect her from evil people, such as this monster she sat next to.
His eyes were fixed on the darkened road before him, as he navigated the tricky curves through the steep canyon. The low car easily hugged the winding road, speeding along at an unimaginable pace. There was only one thing left to do in order to save herself from this psychopath.
She glanced at the rifle behind his seat. She may not be able to reach the belt to free herself, but she could certainly reach the deadly weapon.
She would get back to Bice even if she died trying.
* * *
Chapter Twenty Two
“Harmon?” Hawk shook the stricken musician. “Wake up.”
Harmon moaned, and sat up. He gazed at the bodyguard as a sweep of realization washed over him. “He’s got her, we have to go get her!”
“Dr. Killmore took Heaven?”
“Yes, she was waiting for me in the car. She knew something was wrong with Bice. I had no choice but to bring her here.” Harmon glanced at the dead man next to him. “She was right.”
Hawk stared at him in silence.
“Listen to me, Hawk. We have to find them, Bice’s life depends on it.”
“Bice is dead Harmon, in case you hadn’t noticed.”
“Look, I’ll explain later. Get Bice in the Limo, we have to find them!”
“We need to call the police, let them find Heaven. We can’t take Bice’s body on a wild goose chase.”
Harmon grabbed the bodyguard by the shirt “You work for me.” He hissed. “Do as I say. If we call the police Bice dies, and they will take Heaven from me. Got it?”
Hawk paled and nodded his head.
Harmon stood up and grasped Bice’s body, and began pulling him toward the Limo.
Hawk stared at the crazed man. He’d known Harmon a long time. The musician was playing in a seedy bar years ago when he’d stopped in for a drink. All of twenty seats were filled in the theater. Nevertheless, Harmon sang as if the venue was bursting at the seams with thousands of screaming fans.
He soon learned the musician wasn’t a quitter. And it clearly showed he wouldn’t give up on whatever insane plan he had construed to do with Bice’s body. He sighed, and finally leapt to his aid. He gently muscled the stricken musician aside, and carefully placed Bice across the back seat of the Limo.
“Harmon?” Tommy cried from the darkness. “What is going on?”
“Stay back!” Harmon grabbed Bice’s legs, and tried to shove them into the car. But it was too late, Tommy was already breathing down his neck. He whirled around to face the boy, hoping to block his view from the macabre scene inside the car.
Undeterred, Tommy shoved Harmon and Hawk aside. “Where is Heaven?” He gazed into the back seat of the Limo, only to lurch back in horror as his gaze fell upon the bloodied man. He staggered backward and teetered momentarily, struggling to remain in an upright position. Tears filled his eyes as he gazed at Harmon. “My dad did this, didn’t he?”
“There’s no time to explain, stay here!” Harmon shoved Bice’s legs into the back seat again, barely managing to get the door closed as the Limo roared to life. He leapt into the passenger seat as Hawk thrust the car into reverse, adding yet another set of smoldering rubber zigzagging across the driveway.
Tommy stared after the car as it spun away into the darkness. He didn’t know where his dad or Heaven were, or what the hell was going on, but he’d follow them and find out. He’d pull himself together, there was no choice. He’d not been named Prom King for naught.
He raced for his dad’s car, but the moment he did a sudden sensation brought him to a sliding halt. He lurched against his father’s car and vomited. The heaves were merciless; gut-wrenching spasms of pure fear and sickening horror devoured him. He dropped to his knees, struggling to breathe.
Moments later, his hands groped along the top of the fender. He grasped the cold metal, and carefully pulled himself alongside his dad’s prized vehicle. Streaks of vomit now lined the side of the beautiful car, slowly yielding to the gravity until at last it dripped to the pavement below. His dad would have his ass for this.
He grabbed the bottom of his shirt, hoping to wipe the telltale signs of his nervous stomach away. “Screw it!” He shouted, and leapt into the car. He knew he must pull himself together. Hero’s don’t vomit. Prom Kings don’t go around barfing on their dad’s cars. He sat still on the cold seat, waiting for his heart to cease its endless protest.
Finally, he gazed into the distance and turned the key. If Heaven were in danger, he would be the one to save her.
He roared down the driveway and into the blackness.
* * *
Heaven watched the crazed man’s eyes burn with fury, as he whipped the sports car around bend after bend.
From the corner of her eye, she studied him carefully, as she slowly reached behind his seat for the gun. She groped around for it, but continued to gaze at the road ahead, watching the white lines blur into one beneath her.
Her hand finally hit the cold steel. She eased the weapon toward her, until it was nearly against her seat. She had no idea how to shoot it, she could only hope she figured it out quickly.
She suddenly felt Bice calling out from behind her. She gazed into the mirror, seeing a pair of amber headlights racing toward them.
“Bice, don’t give up…it’s almost over now. I will soon be free to come help you…”
She stared at the lunatic once more. In one swift movement she pulled the rifle out, placed the muzzle against the windshield and pulled the trigger.
The maniac never had a chance to react.
* * *
Hawk heard the shot come from the car ahead. “Harmon, did you hear that?”
Before the musician could respond, the Ferrari ahead whipped into a maddening fishtail, crossed into the opposite lane and spun into the hillside. Cloud
s of earth mushroomed above it. It momentarily hung in limbo, its headlights pointing into the sky. It rolled back down, and somersaulted off the cliff into the canyon below.
Hawk slammed on the brakes, bringing the long car to a screeching stop. Gravel and rocks pelted the windshield in protest as dust enveloped the vehicle. He gasped in horror as he heard the unmistakable thump of Bice’s body being thrown to the floor behind him.
He could only watch in shock as Harmon’s car went airborne, and crash end over end down the canyon wall. The fiery explosion lit up the night. The dim outline of distant trees soon glowed burning red, as the flames engulfed the twisted metal beneath them.
“No!” Harmon leapt from the car and plunged down the hillside into the darkness.
* * *
Heaven opened her eyes, and tried to remember where she was.
Pain quickly brought her back to reality as she felt the searing heat. Her legs were on fire. The car was upside down, and she was dangling from the belt which entombed her.
Her entire body screamed in agony while her lungs filled with deadly smoke. She slapped at the orange flames hopelessly, but they continued their relentless march up her legs. She was trapped inside a fiery inferno.
A shard of broken glass on the dirt caught her eye, glinting in the orangey flames. Though she hung upside down, she gazed into the crystal pane and watched, as the reflected flames spun and danced within.
Transfixed on the glowing embers as they fused and mixed into one, she studied the whirling fire as it slowly painted a picture before her. It was showing her the way out.
She knew how to save herself. She grabbed the jagged windshield, and began slicing at the leather belt which had kept her prisoner much too long. She didn’t feel the pain as the shard sliced through the skin and muscles of her palm.
Finally freeing herself, she fell to the dirt beneath the car, and gasped for breath in the whirling smoke. She reached for the door and kicked away the crackling flames which lapped at her, but it was frozen shut.