Closed at Dark

by Rob Blackwell

  *****

  Sara felt the shot whiz past her ear.

  She barely had time to react before the gun went off again. She turned and shoved Alex to the ground, throwing herself on top of him. But these shots weren’t directed at her. Richard was firing into the forest.

  He ran toward her, crossing the distance as she lay over Alex, who was still trapped in his dream-like state.

  Richard grabbed her and wrenched her off the ground. He put the cold metal of the gun to her skull. She thought he would kill her, but instead he shouted at the trees.

  “Come out right now or I blow her head off!” he screamed.

  A large figure came out of the forest and she was relieved to see it was Ken. Somehow he’d found her. She also knew he had likely called in backup. They might survive this mess after all.

  “Give it up, Frye,” Ken said, holding his own weapon out at arm’s length. “I’ve got officers headed to this location. They know your identity. There’s nowhere for you to run.”

  “Bullshit!” Richard said. “Where are we? How did you get here? There’s no way you could have followed her here. I know how you got here, and if I’m right, that means you don’t know where you are.”

  Sara saw Ken hesitate just long enough for her to realize that what Richard said was true. He didn’t know where they were, which meant backup couldn’t be on the way.

  He opened his mouth to respond, but Richard pressed the gun further against her temple, digging it into her head. She cried out and Ken stopped walking forward.

  “Don’t lie to me again,” Richard said. “Are you alone?”

  Ken started to say “yes” — she could see it on his lips — but Soren walked out of the woods.

  “No,” he said.

  “Is that it?” Richard asked, his lips curled in a snarl.

  Soren shrugged.

  “Unless you count the shade who brought us here,” he said.

  Richard was nodding.

  “Knew it,” he said. “He’s the only one who could find me. God, how I hate that fucker.”

  Of the four of them, Soren seemed the most relaxed. Ken was still holding his gun out uncertainly, but Soren appeared to be unarmed. He stood there with his hands held up almost casually, like he encountered this kind of situation all the time.

  “Here’s how it’s going to go,” Soren said. “You’re going to let Sara and Alex go and we’ll give you a head start to escape.”

  “No!” Richard said. “I hold all the cards here.”

  “No you don’t, Dick,” Soren said, spitting out the last word. “Ken was telling the truth about knowing your identity. Even now, your wife is being questioned by police. We know what you are. You have one gun, we have one gun. You’re not getting out of this unscathed. And there’s nowhere for you to run.”

  Out of the corner of her eye, Sara could see Richard smiling. Then he started laughing.

  “I’m going to enjoy this,” he said.

  “Enjoy what? Us kicking your ass?” Soren replied.

  Sara glanced at Ken, who hadn’t responded. Then she understood why. The police officer was staring ahead in a vacant stare, his eyes glassy and unfocused. It was the exact expression that Alex had worn all evening.

  Ken was asleep. Somehow Richard had done to him what he’d earlier done to Sara. He was trapped in his own dream.

  She waited for Soren to respond, but when she looked back at him, he was now wearing a similar expression.

  “Welcome to my nightmare, fellas,” Richard said.

  “Let them go,” Sara said.

  She tried to struggle against Richard’s grip, but it was too strong.

  “But this is the best part,” Richard said. “This is where we get to see them kill each other.”

  Chapter Sixteen