Knock. Knock. Corwin rapped on the motel room door.
The door to the motel room cracked open. “Can I help you?” said a suspicious Shawn from behind it.
“I’m Corwin. Michael Allen’s roommate. I’m the one who contacted you.”
“Ah, good. Come on in.”
“Thanks. I brought food.” Corwin proffered a bucket of Kentucky Fried and a 2-liter of soda.
“Thanks. We’re starved.” Admitted Rebecca.
Corwin set down the bucket and popped open the 2-liter. Rebecca sat down next to him and dove into a breast, while Shawn stood back for a bit.
“So, you think he’s alive?” said Shawn.
“Michael? Yes, I do.” Said Corwin. “Eat. They’ll be time enough to talk in a bit.”
Shawn stepped forward and grabbed a drumstick. He sat down. “You explained some in your letter. But not everything.”
“I wasn’t sure if you’d come. I’ll need your help if what I think has happened has.” Corwin took a bite himself.
“And that is?”
“Well, let me start with a story. Last October, about a year ago now, Michael was in bad shape. He’d broken up with his high school girlfriend and was pretty depressed over it.” Corwin’s tone gave no indication that he knew Rebecca was that girlfriend, and if her glance to Shawn gave it away, Corwin gave no sign. “I think that left him open to get involved with some bad people. A few days later, he came by our room, gathered up a bunch of things and left. That was the last time I saw him. When he was declared missing about three weeks later, I presumed foul play. Now I have a different theory.”
“Go on.” Said Rebecca, getting more food.
“What if that rough crowd didn’t kill him but recruited him instead? It’s the only thing that makes sense given what I’ve seen.”
“You’re sure you saw him?” inquired Shawn.
“Absolutely. And if it hadn’t been a crowded bar, I’d even have spoken to him. But by the time I got through the horde of people, he was gone.”
“If you saw him, then so have others.” Concluded Shawn.
“Indeed. Finding him, now that we know he’s alive and around, shouldn’t be too difficult. The tricky part is going to be what to do with him once we do find him.”
“Ain’t that the truth?” said Shawn, looking at Rebecca as if sharing a private joke. “So where do we start?”
“If you’re up for it tonight, we can go downtown and do some asking around. But I know you’ve been on the road today and may want to rest.”
Rebecca looked at Shawn. “What do you think?”
“I say we get started. The sooner we get to it, the sooner we’re going to have our answers.” Shawn paused. “Sooner we can get back home.”
“Then let’s finish our food and get going.”
----
They parked downtown and walked towards Hokie House, figuring to start there. Any number of the bars in Blacksburg could have sufficed, but Corwin decided that would be the best starting point. It was popular and often crowded.
Rebecca and Shawn lagged behind Corwin a bit, conversing with one another. “It seems such an odd thing for Michael to frequent this sort of place.”
“Everything points to him being a vastly different person that he used to be. Let’s not forget, the last time we were here, my brother almost died. Now, the reason why makes sense.”
“You think Michael did it?”
“It adds up, doesn’t it? Michael falls in with the criminal element, gets a taste of power, sees his old nemesis from high school and decides to settle the score.”
“And what will you do when we find him?”
“He has a lot to answer for, Becca. Not just for what he did to Todd, but what he did to you, his parents, all his friends back home. I don’t know what I’m going to do when we find him, but I’m certain that Michael will regret whatever it is.”
“No,” said Rebecca forcefully, stopping and putting her hand on Shawn’s chest to stop him. “No, we’re here to save him not punish him.” Corwin noticed their pause and turned around to rejoin them.
“I didn’t contact you two to avenge the wrongs he may have done you. You were his friends once, as was I.” Emphasized Corwin. “And we may be the only chance of bringing him back from whatever hell he’s condemned himself to.”
“Michael and I were never friends.” Said Shawn sharply.
“And yet here you are.”
“I came for her. She’s the one who used to love him.” He turned to Rebecca. “And the more we learn about what’s really going on, the more I hope you realize how unworthy he was of that.”
“Stop it, Shawn. You’re not making this easier.”
“You can always go home.” Said Corwin. “if you’re not going to help. Rebecca and I can do this alone.”
“You think I’d trust you to lead her into danger alone? No thanks. I may not like it or any of this, but I’m in.”
“Very well. Let’s see what we can find out.”
----
Their search was not entirely fruitless, but what they gathered they found of little use. Yes, Michael had been there. No, no one had seen him tonight. No, no one knew where he lived or what he did for a living. Still, Corwin’s story now had corroboration. They knew he was telling them the truth.
Although tired, Shawn was restless when they returned to the Red Lion Inn. “I think there may be a more efficient way of going about this.”
“What’s that?” asked Corwin.
“Alright, what do we know? You suspect he’s involved with criminals of some sort, a gang or the Mob or whatever. We know he’s been seen in the Hokie House and whatever other bar you were in…”
“Sharkey’s.”
“Alright. Hokie House didn’t card at the door; they card at the bar.”
“You can bet he’s got a good fake ID by now.”
“Maybe so, but here’s my theory. Whatever criminal element exists in this town, I can guarantee it’s here to cater to the student body. Drugs or prostitution. Vices. We’re not talking gun running or animal smuggling or money laundering here. He’s probably a dealer, a point man, or a pimp. So he’s going to want to hit those places with the easiest access to the most students.”
“In other words, those places that let in the under-21 crowd?” said Rebecca.
“Exactly. He may frequent other bars for his own pleasure, but when he’s doing business, he’ll be at places like we were tonight.”
“Convenient,” added Rebecca, “since none of us have fake IDs and can’t get into those bars that check at the door.”
“So what do you want to do?” asked Corwin.
“Stake out the same location. Hokie House seems quite popular. I say we cage the joint for a few nights.”
Corwin shrugged. “Works for me. Rebecca?”
“Can’t hurt, especially if we know he’s been there within the last week. He’s bound to come back at some point.”
“Then it’s agreed. Tomorrow night then.” Corwin got up to leave.
“Tomorrow.” Agreed Shawn. “See you then.”
“Good night.” Added Rebecca as Corwin departed.
---
Corwin came over to the pool table, his hands full with three sodas. “Two Cokes, one Diet, as requested.”
“Thanks. It’s your shot.” Replied Shawn. It was the next night and they were back at Hokie House. The three of them had staked out a pool table for themselves and had played several games of Cutthroat to pass the time. No sign of Michael yet though.
Corwin lined up his shot and sank a solid. “So how long do we wait?” He took the offered soda and drank.
“Place is pretty dead tonight. It was busier last night.” Observed Rebecca. She drank from her diet as she tried to figure out her next shot.
“Thursdays are an off-night here. You get the hump-day crowd on Wednesday and, of course, the weekend starts tomorrow.”
“A light crowd doesn’t help us. Whatever poison Michael may be peddling, a quiet bar means two things. Fewer customers and what he’s doing may be more obvious to probing eyes.” Said Shawn. “I say we finish this game and call it a night. Better luck tomorrow.”
Rebecca shook her head rapidly, as if trying to shake off something. “I agree. I’m not feeling myself.”
“Yeah, I’m a little off too.” Admitted Shawn. “Must be something we ate.”
“That’s Chinese for you.”
“No, that’s cheap Chinese for you.” Said Rebecca with a wry smile. Her look contorted a bit. “Ugh. Feeling a little dizzy.”
“Maybe we should go now?” offered Shawn sympathetically.
“Doesn’t matter to me. I’m losing anyway.” Replied Corwin.
“Nothing’s going to happen tonight. Let’s get back to the motel.”
They knocked the remaining balls into the pockets and put away their cues. Corwin took a couple of big gulps off his drink and then headed out the door. Shawn and Rebecca followed.
“Too bad you’re not feeling well,” admitted Shawn. “I was kinda hoping you and I would…you know…tonight.”
“I’m not exactly in the mood even if I hadn’t eaten bad Chinese.”
“You’ve been kinda cold lately.” Complained Shawn mildly. “Distant.”
“Can you blame me?” she replied as they reached Corwin’s car. “I’ve spent the last year of my life thinking I had something to do with his disappearance. Now I find out it’s all faked. I’m a jumble of emotions, Shawn. You don’t want to be in the middle of that mess.”
“Yeah, I do.” Offered Shawn. “You couldn’t sort it out alone with your brother and you won’t here.”
They got in. “Yeah, I had Michael to help me.”
“And me." reminded Shawn.
“And what would Michael say to that? That you’ve already taken his place in my heart and in my life. And now, you want his job too? To be that consoling shoulder like he was?”
“If it weren’t for him, you wouldn’t be like this to begin with. One tragedy in your life was enough, but he didn’t see it that way. His faking all this was deliberate and you know it as well as I. He did it to hurt you.” Shawn’s temper flared. “You say you’re a jumble of emotions. You shouldn’t be. You should be angry.”
“Maybe I am. But maybe there’s a part of me that still loves him.”
Shawn darkened at that admission. Rebecca continued. “Yeah, that’s a part of this too. You say it should be simple. It’s not. You forget something, Shawn. I cheated on him. I betrayed him. Michael has a right to be angry with us.”
“And that justifies what he’s done?”
“No, the punishment doesn’t fit the crime. But to pretend that we’re blameless and that it’s all his fault is a lie.”
Shawn was quiet for several minutes as they drove across town. “Maybe we shouldn’t be here.” He admitted after a bit.
“We’re his only hope.”
“But if what you say is true and if what I think about what happened to Todd is right, he may just as easily shoot us as talk to us.”
----
By the time they got back to the Red Lion, both Rebecca and Shawn were feeling quite queasy. Shawn staggered back to the bathroom and began to vomit. Rebecca collapsed onto the bed and watched the room spin above her for a bit.
“Maybe the hospital…” she began to think, just as unconsciousness took her.
She awoke to find the room still spinning and someone atop her, hands groping at her. “Shawn…” she muttered weakly. Or did she? Was she even awake? Rebecca couldn’t tell. The whole world seemed unreal and dreamlike.
“Not Shawn.” Came a voice.
“God, Michael! Is this real? Or just a dream?”
“What do you want it to be?” His voice seemed distant, and yet close.
Rebecca didn't know how to answer that. Is this real? Do I want it to be? What do I want? Why did I come here? The questions spun around in her head but a single moment of clarity cut through them.
“Hold me. Tell me you’re real. Tell me…” she said. There was a desperate longing in her voice that Rebecca knew she meant it.
“I can do more than that.” She felt him enter her.
“Oh God, I should never…” She felt his hand against her mouth, gently silencing her. She kissed the fingers, relishing each thrust of his body.
“We’ll be together again soon.” Said the voice. And Rebecca slipped into oblivion once more.
The world rushed back into her mind in what seemed to be a few seconds later. She was alone, lying on the bed. Shawn was next to her, sleeping soundly. Her head hurt. She ran her hands down her belly and discovered her pants and panties had been removed. Her nethers were still moist and tender. What had happened? Had it been a dream? A hallucination?
She sat up. “Shawn, you awake?”
“Ummm” was the only sound she got out of him.
She gave him a shake. “Hey! Wake up.” He stirred.
“What?”
“Did you?”
“Did I what?” He looked down at her naked lower half. “Maybe.” He admitted. “I don’t remember. Everything’s so fuzzy.”
“I thought I felt someone on me last night. In me.” She looked embarrassed, but decided to say nothing more.
“You moaned his name several times last night.” said Shawn, as if reading her thoughts. “Whatever made us sick really fucked us up. I was seeing things. Hearing things. I’m not sure what was real.”
“Can food poisoning do that?” wondered Rebecca.
He shrugged. “We probably should have gone to the hospital instead of coming back here. How you feeling now?”
“Death warmed over. But I think I’ll be alright.” She paused. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have called out to him. Shouldn’t have said his name.”
“Don’t worry about it.” That surprised Rebecca. “I really shouldn’t be so jealous. He used to be a good friend and I know you still care about him. We wouldn’t be here if you didn’t.”
“I want to save him, Shawn.” In the back of her mind, she admitted to herself she now wanted more than that. But she said nothing of it. “What time is it?”
“11:30am. Wow.” exclaimed Shawn. “We have most of the day ahead of us. What shall we do with ourselves?”
“Might be a good idea just to stay in.” admitted Rebecca. “We got our asses kicked by whatever that was last night. Neither of us is 100%. And I've got an idea of what we might do...” She opened and closed her legs tantalizingly. “Maybe I can make up for last night a bit. I think we might enjoy it more fully conscious.”
“I’m sure.” Said Shawn with a smile. As he climbed on top of her, she closed her eyes and imagined someone else.
---
Corwin was right on schedule that night. Shawn let him in. He came inside, minus his almost customary offering of food, and looked the two of them over briefly.
“You both look better than when I dropped you off last night.” He said. “Feeling better I hope?”
“Much.” Said Rebecca.
“Let’s hope for some better luck tonight…and no food poisoning. What are you up for dinnerwise?”
“Something mild. No Chinese.” Said Shawn adamantly.
“Fair enough. I think I know just the thing.”
Macado’s was a semi-local restaurant chain, serving sandwiches of various sorts. Corwin figured that was “mild” enough and drove them over from the Red Lion to the nearest Mac’s off University City Blvd.
“From here to Hokie House.” Declared Corwin after they’d ordered.
“Right now, I just hope this meal stays down.” Confessed Shawn. He looked over at Corwin. “Out of curiosity. Did you get sick last night?”
“A little.” Admitted Corwin sheepishly. “But not, I’m almost embarrassed to say, like you guys.”
“Not sure what we had on the buffet that you didn’t.” wondered Rebecca.
Corwin shrugged. “Beats me. I hope you guys aren’t too upset with me. It’s not like I brought you down here to give you food poisoning.”
“Ah, don’t worry about it.” Said Shawn. “No harm done.”
“I hope we see him tonight.” Said Rebecca, changing the subject. She tried not to sound too eager.
“Well, tonight and tomorrow should be good bets.” Said Corwin. “If all our guesses about his activities are right, he’ll be working the town tonight. I can’t imagine he won’t hit Hokie House at some point before last call.”
“You sound almost a little too eager.” Said Shawn.
Rebecca blushed. She apparently didn’t sound as uneager as she'd hoped. “I want to know the truth, that’s all.” It was not a complete lie, but she was now trying to cover her tracks. “You still upset about last night? I would have thought today would have ended that.”
“Did I miss something?” asked Corwin, confused.
Shawn looked like he was about to say something, but then thought better of it. “No, it’s nothing. Just a private joke.”
“You don’t share your girlfriend’s enthusiasm for finding our mutual friend.”
“I said before Michael and I were never friends.” Shawn said defensively. “I’m here for her. But that doesn’t mean I have to like it. After all, one of our guesses is that this guy nearly killed my brother, beat to within an inch of his life. Not exactly someone I’m eager to see.”
“Well, eager or not, odds are good we’ll see him tonight.”
----
Getting a pool table on a Friday night at Hokie House proved far harder than the night before. So the trio had to content themselves with simply mingling amidst the crowd. That had an advantage: Allowing them to spread out a bit. But there was also a disadvantage: Those looking for a salve for their loneliness were drawn to an attractive young woman who appeared to be alone.
For their parts, Shawn and Corwin were left to their own devices. Guys, even handsome ones, tended to be the hunters, not the hunted, in this environment.
Shawn noticed Corwin watching him almost as much as he surveyed the crowd. It was a look of curiosity more than anything else, as if Corwin was gauging Shawn’s reaction to all that was going on. Shawn didn’t appreciate the scrutiny and found that he was liking their guide less and less as time went on.
Rebecca made her way over to Shawn’s side. “I’m growing tired of being hit on.”
“You should be flattered.” His tone was insincere. After a second, he softened. “Hell, I’d hit on you if I was on the hunt here.”
“Thanks, I think.” She replied. “You know, if I wanted a dick between my legs, I could take home any guy in here.”
“If you want a dick between your legs, all you need do is ask.” Flirted Shawn.
She gave him an askance look. “Thanks for proving my point, Mr. One-of-the-guys-in-here.” She teased in return.
“I would have thought you had enough earlier. Between last night and this afternoon.”
“I did,” she said, half-truthfully, wandering over to the stairs to look down on the lower level of the bar, “but there’s something about this…” She stopped mid-sentence.
“What is it?” asked Shawn, straightening up and looking below as well.
A tall pale young man in a black trench coat had walked inside. As he entered, it was as if the entire room turned to look at him.
“That’s him.” Said Shawn. “My God, he’s changed.”
They both could see it. Gone was the sheepish nerd they had remembered. The young man before them seemed self-assured, confident, and completely within his element. They watched closely as two or three young women made their way to his side. Rebecca felt a twinge of jealousy herself as one of them put her arms about his waist. She let out a slight cry.
Despite the noise in the room, the distraction of the crowd, and everything else, Michael looked up and looked right at her. A predatory smile crossed lips. It chilled her to the bone.
“Go,” barked Shawn to Rebecca. “He’s seen us.”
Michael took a step back and headed back towards the door he came in, making for an escape. Rebecca tried to dash down the stairs, but the press of the crowd slowed her progress. By the time she reached the bottom, he was gone.
“God damnit.” She swore. “How did he hear me in this noise?”
“I don’t know, but the streets are clearer. Keep moving.” Pressed Shawn. They pushed their way outside onto the street. They glanced about looking, but did not see him amidst the crowds of college students walking up and down the strip.
“Damn. We can’t have come this far to fail now.” Lamented Rebecca.
“There, that black sedan!” barked Shawn. He pointed and Rebecca saw Michael’s tall form get into the driver’s side of a nearby car. The car started up. Rebecca darted into the street, determined to block the car with her body.
“Becca!” screamed Shawn when he saw what she was doing. Michael veered and swung around her, missing her by a good bit and scaring a number of the mingling students on the sidewalk.
“Are you mad?” snarled Shawn as he dashed out to fetch her.
“I wasn’t going to let him get away that easily. He knows it’s us.”
Corwin’s car came around the bend and Corwin laid on the horn. The pair spun around startled. “Come on. Now’s our chance.” Shawn and Rebecca dashed over and got in. And the chase was on.
“Did you see him?” asked Shawn as Corwin sped down Main Street. “Black Pontiac or Buick, some GM car. Couldn’t get the exact make and model in the dark.”
“I saw him. That should be him about three cars up. Looks like he’s turning onto Price’s Fork.”
“Stay with him.”
“Pray the lights are cooperative.” Said Corwin, making the turn.
At the next light, Michael’s car made a right, heading up Tom’s Creek. Corwin stayed with him. They followed him through town, keeping close, but not too close.
“I don’t want to spook him into racing off on us. I want to know where he’s going.”
“He knows we’re after him.” Said Rebecca. “He saw us.”
“The more threatened he feels, the more dangerous this becomes.” Said Corwin. The black car reached US 460 and then sped across the highway onto an old road leading into the woods. Corwin continued to follow, but the darkness of the woods made it harder to see their quarry.
“What is this place?”
“Undeveloped land. There’s been talk of putting apartment complexes back here, but none of the contractors have started any work here yet. The only thing back here should be old farmhouses and cabins.” The pavement quickly turned to dirt and Corwin slowed his car down to avoid crashing in the dark woods.
“You sure he’s still ahead of us?”
“Quite sure. The woods are too thick for it to have gone off-road and there’s been no side roads. Look, there’s a cabin up ahead.”
“And a car parked outside.” Added Rebecca. “The one we want.”
“Alright, let’s be careful.” Said Corwin. “I’m going to drive past and then park a little bit away. That’ll put some distance between us and the cabin and maybe make him think he lost us. Maybe then we can approach unnoticed.”
Corwin kept going down the road and pulled over to the side after about 200 yards. He got out, and Shawn and Rebecca followed suit. They said nothing, a palpable sense of danger had come over each of them. The only sound they could hear was the noise of the woods, birds, crickets, and what not. Rebecca had a brief flashback to another woodland adventure, nearly a year ago, her and their quarry alone in the night.
“Had we gone all the way that night, would it makes things now worse or better?” she wondered grimly. She followed close behind Shawn. Corwin took point as they closed on the house.
“No lights on.” Whispered Corwin, crouching behind a fallen tree. “Odd.”
“He can’t have been more than 2 minutes ahead of us.” Added Shawn in a hushed tone. “He's got to be here.”
“He’s probably waiting for us.” Added Rebecca, remembering Michael’s smile at the bar. The thought chilled her.
“We can come back tomorrow. I don’t like this.” Admitted Shawn.
“No,” said Rebecca. “I want to know now.” She stood up and headed towards the house.
“Becca!” said Shawn with exasperation, almost raising his voice. “Be careful.”
“He won’t hurt me.” She said and then headed for the front door. The others followed, more cautiously.
The door was unlocked. She stepped inside. The first room, a kitchen/dining room combo, was somewhat messy, with a stack of books on the table. Rebecca paused at the pile to examine them.
“Roleplaying games. Shadowrun, BattleTech.” she said aloud.
“Those were Michael’s staples.” Added Corwin. “He’s here all right.”
“Indeed he is.” Said a voice. The lights came on with a flash, blinding the three of them.
When the blindness faded, they could see the same tall lanky figure they’d spotted at the bar in the doorway behind them. Now seen up close, they knew for sure.
“You’ve done well, Corwin.” Said Michael.
“Thank you, mi’lord.” He replied. Rebecca and Shawn looked at him in disbelief, doubly so at the handgun Corwin now pointed at Shawn.
Michael walked inside and closed the door behind him. “Bind him.” He ordered.
Corwin motioned for the two of them to move further inside. Wary of his weapon, they did as commanded.
“So it was a trap. All of it a trap.” Said Shawn.
“You wouldn’t have come if I’d just asked.” Said Michael.
“You underestimate how she still feels about you if you believe that.” Shawn almost didn’t believe those words escaped his lips, but he was too angry now to care.
“We came to help you.” pleaded Rebecca. She turned to Corwin. “How much of it was a lie?”
“Not as much as you might think.” Answered Michael. “Falling in with the wrong crowd, all that was true. Although not quite in the way that you think. Oh, and in case you’re wondering, Shawn, it was in fact me who hospitalized your brother a year ago. You had that right too.”
“Son of bitch, I knew it.” Heedless of Corwin’s gun, he lunged at Michael. Michael grabbed him by the throat and flung him back, as easily as he might manhandle a small dog.
“You should take a lesson from what happened to him. If I can so easily pulverize him, surely I’m not the skinny little wimp you remember. Hurry up, Corwin, before he hurts someone.”
Corwin grabbed Shawn and forced him down into a chair. Corwin then bound him securely, tying his wrists together and then his arms to the chair.
“What are you going to do with us?” said Shawn, unable to conceal his fear any longer.
“I’m going to talk.” Said Michael. “I’m going to tell you what’s really going on.”
“Then why tie him up?” said Rebecca.
“That will become clear in time.” Said Michael. “He stays put. As for you, I will not harm you.”
“I don’t believe you.” Said Rebecca. ““You’re not the Michael I remember. He was kind. You’re a monster.”
Michael laughed at that, a loud boisterous laugh that chilled Rebecca down to her very bones. “You said yourself once I had a dark side. You were right. I’ve simply come to terms with who I really am. The whole world has been telling me all my life that I’m a freak, an outsider. Well, they were right and I’m not fighting it anymore. Is there darkness about me? Yes. I don’t put up with people’s bullshit like I used to. No one makes a fool of me, not anymore.” He looked at Shawn fiercely. “Your brother learned that lesson the hard way.” He softened as he turned back to Rebecca. “Besides, I think you’ll like this version of me just as much, if not more so, than the old me.”
“Not likely.” she said. It sounded only marginally more forceful than she meant it. Deep down, she knew he was right. Every word, every motion, even the most frightening, seemed to turn her on all the more. She couldn’t believe how attractive she found him. It was almost unnatural.
“You never could lie to me.” Said Michael with a sly smile.
“That doesn’t change what’s happening now. You trick us into coming down here, hold us at gunpoint, tie Shawn up.” Rebecca tried to sound fiercer than she felt, but Michael seemed unfazed.
“Each of those things you accuse me of has a reason behind it. A good one. Let’s start with the trickery. Ok, I admit to that. I had Corwin write that letter to pique your interest. I wasn’t sure if I still mattered. I didn’t know if you’d come. If I made it into a mystery to be solved, that would give me time to find out for sure. Corwin’s been spying on you the whole time, relaying to me your thoughts, concerns, and ideas about me all along.”
“The whole thing a set up.”
“It also gave me a clear picture about him.” Said Michael, pointing to Shawn. “What his real motives were.”
“He came because of me. If Corwin’s been spying on us all along, you know that.”
“But at one point,” Interjected Corwin. “he let slip the truth. Something about making Michael regret running into you two again.”
“And I contradicted him.” Added Rebecca. She looked at Michael. “I told him we weren’t here for that. We came to help you.”
“I don’t doubt that you did. But not him. He came for revenge. As his attempted assault on me a minute ago proves.”
“I don’t believe you.” Said Rebecca.
“I’ve said no lies tonight, Rebecca.” said Michael, walking over to Shawn. “But what have we here?” He reached into the pocket of Shawn’s jacket to pull out a small pistol. “A H&K P7. Nice little gun. Small, concealable. Perfect for keeping secrets from the woman you’re sleeping with, eh?” He looked at Rebecca.
“That’s not mine. I don’t own a gun. I swear, Rebecca, I’ve never seen it before.”
“So, who do you believe?” said Michael, ejecting the clip and tossing the gun to Corwin. “Did I abduct you tonight, hold you at gunpoint without reason? Do I plan to murder you or worse? Or is it as I’ve said, just an elaborate scheme to find out the truth about you and to protect myself from him.”
“I don’t know.” She replied honestly.
“This may not sound like much reassurance, but if I truly wanted to harm you, I could have done it at any time.”
“You still can.” Said Rebecca with a shiver.
“Yes.” Admitted Michael. “I could. But tell me, which is the better course? To want to do something and be unable or to be able to do something and not want to?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“The difference between who I was and who I am now.” He reached up to run his hand across her cheek. She did not flinch at his touch.
“Don’t touch her!” demanded Shawn. “She’s mine.”
“A mere possession, Shawn? How cold of you.”
“I didn’t mean it that way and you know it.”
“But how can we trust your word when you’ve been caught in a lie?”
“No more than we can trust you. You faked your own death. Disappeared. Do you have any idea what that did to her, especially after she buried her brother under similar circumstances? Which of us is the greater sinner, I wonder?”
“That!” exclaimed Michael excitedly. “is a very good question. Which is the worst indeed. Or the better? Perhaps we should let Rebecca decide. If she chooses you, you both may walk out of here, minus your gun of course, and I will bother you no more. If she chooses me, then you can go, but she stays.”
“And you accuse me of thinking of her as a possession.”
“Oh, you are right, Shawn. That was a poor choice of wording.” Admitted Michael. “Regardless of her choice, you are both free. But with or without her, I want you out of Blacksburg by this time tomorrow. Corwin, untie him and leave us.”
“Yes, mi’lord.” Corwin cut Shawn’s bonds and freed him. He then headed out the door without a word.
“Your bodyguard is gone, with the guns.” Said Shawn, coming to his feet.
“I believe you’ve already seen ample demonstration that I am quite capable at hand fighting. And working to carry out your vendetta is not likely to win you points with the lovely Rebecca.” Retorted Michael.
“You can’t seriously be thinking of staying with him. Living in his world, with all that violence and ugliness.” Pleaded Shawn.
“Who says we have to stay there?” replied Rebecca, her eyes never leaving Michael. “Surely there’s a better life than that for you, Michael.”
“Ah, yes, and now we get back to your purpose in coming.” Said Michael. “To redeem me, to save me from myself. What will you do to bring me back to the light?” Between his words and the look in his eyes, it was obvious what Michael had in mind.
“Don’t do it, Rebecca.” Said Shawn. “He’s toying with you. Can’t you see it? This is just a game to him!”
“Forgive me, Shawn. But I can’t leave him here. I have to do this.”
“That sounds like she’s made her choice.” Said Michael. Michael dug into the pocket of his trench coat and tossed his car keys to Shawn. “Go back to the Red Lion. You are free to go.”
“Don’t do this to me. Rebecca.” Pleaded Shawn.
“Now you know how it feels.” Said Michael cruelly.
Shawn’s face hardened in anger. “This isn’t over, Allens. I won’t let you do this to her.”
“Go, before you regret it.” Said Michael commandingly.
Shawn turned and headed out the door in a rage, slamming the door behind him.
Rebecca looked at the door for several long minutes, saying nothing. “I hope I’m not making the biggest mistake of my life.”
“You can always follow him out if you think so.”
“I don’t know anything anymore. Nothing is certain.”
“Is that truly so? Nothing?” said Michael, coming to her side.
“I came for you. I stayed for you. And yet there’s still a part of me that can’t believe you’re really here. That you’re really alive. Shawn was right about one thing. What you did hurt me just as badly as my brother's death, if not more so. And I don’t know whether to hate you or love you.”
“You broke my heart, Rebecca. With him. That act, more than anything else, condemned me to this hell.”
“So you don’t know whether to hate me or love me either.”
Michael gave a curt nod in reply to that.
"So what happens now?" said Rebecca, fear rising in her voice.
"You can either kill me or kiss me. I leave that choice to you."
“I don’t think I’ll stop at just kissing.” She admitted.
Michael pulled her into his arms. “Stop fighting it. We’ve waited far too long.”
---
Shawn sat in the car, pensive. Even through the closed windows, he could faintly hear the sounds within the cabin. His girl with him, with twice the gusto and ten times the passion she’d ever mustered with him.
He should have left. He should have taken the keys and driven back to town. Left her to her own stupidity.
That wasn’t his first mistake. He should have pressed Michael on the lie about the gun. There had been no gun in his pocket. How Michael had managed that bit of prestidigitation, Shawn didn’t know. But it was well played and Shawn knew he’d been outmaneuvered.
He’d been outmaneuvered on everything. Everything masterfully played. The letter, the spy in their midst, the planted gun, everything there to undermine him and to win her back. Even Corwin’s pointed questions, designed to draw attention to his jealousy. The only thing that didn’t seem to add in was the food poisoning from the night before.
"Wait a minute," he thought. "Could it have been?"
Rage filled him. “He did it!” Shawn yelled aloud. “He had us drugged. He came into the room! He raped her. I didn’t touch her last night, he did!”
He stepped out of the car and was about to head towards the house. Suddenly, Rebecca was before him, naked as the day she was born.
“Eeyah!” exclaimed Shawn, startled. “How did you…Why are you naked?”
She gave him no answer, but looked at him with an odd look. Like a predator toying with its prey. It was extremely unnerving.
“There’s something you need to know…” Shawn began.
Rebecca growled at him, a sound no human should be able to make. He jumped back, striking the car, his heart in his throat. He watched as her canines lengthened. “What the…Oh, God, no!”
Rebecca lunged in, fangs bared. Shawn got out a scream, but only for a second.
Act Two Chapter Five
No comments:
Post a Comment