* * *
Gabe was freezing. “I’m cold,” he whispered to Jane.
“Robby, run in the house and get some blankets,” Jane said.
Robby didn’t respond. He stared at the man he had shot for a moment longer. Other than the blood that filled his right eye and leaked off that side of his face, he looked all right. A second later Robby ran into the house and brought out a blanket. He knelt down on the opposite side from his mother. They worked together to cover the injured man. Robby noticed his breaths were becoming more and more shallow.
“So cold,” Gabriel Horne said.
EPILOGUE
Gabe wasn’t cold anymore. In fact, he was deliciously warm. He could hear her calling his name. But there was so much noise, it was hard to make out. He strained his ears to hear, and he could differentiate the sounds a little better. Yes, it was her. But what was the other sound? It sounded like waves on the beach. He was nowhere near the beach, though. Where was he? He couldn’t quite remember. He opened his eyes and there she was, staring down at him.
“Wake up, sleepyhead,” she said.
Somebody else had called him that recently, but he couldn’t recall who.
“Hi, baby,” he said as he propped himself up on his elbows. They were at the beach. In fact, they had been here before. Was this the day he had taken the picture?
Michael ran up and slid down on his knees, kicking a little of the warm sand onto his father. “Hey, Dad, we’ve been waiting for you.”
“Yes,” Hannah agreed, “we’ve been waiting for you.”
Gabe smiled at both of them. “Well, I’m here now. Let’s go home.”
© Danny Crawford
David Crawford is also the author of the runaway Internet cult classic Lights Out. He is an avid outdoorsman and a fourth-degree black belt in karate. He lives with his wife and two children in San Antonio, Texas.
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