A. R. Shaw's Apocalyptic Sampler: Stories of hope when humanity is at its worst

by A. R. Shaw

  “No one’s going to hurt you.”

  “Bev…Beverly.”

  Dane nodded, and Matthew thought it was a good sign that Dane was helping.

  “Okay, I know you’re in pain. We’ll get you there as soon as we can. Everything’s crazy right now so, hold on. Do we have any blankets in here? She’s shaking like crazy.”

  “No. Here,” he said and took off his jacket. “Put this over her.”

  Dane tucked the extra-large fireman’s coat over Beverly and then, as Matthew waited, she stepped into the passenger side of the truck.

  He still wasn’t convinced Dane wouldn’t just run for it. Once she was securely inside with the door shut, Matthew then walked around the front of the truck while watching her through the windshield and also patted the crime scene weapon in his pants cargo pocket absently. He’d forgotten about it with the extra weight there but didn’t even take his eyes off Dane. He just didn’t trust she wouldn’t bolt.

  Inside, he pulled the truck out and took off as fast as the partially blocked roads would allow to keep up speed. She was less likely to try and jump out that way. He wasn’t sure why, but he expected her to run for it at any moment.

  Instead he was surprised when Dane relaxed, deep in thought, and asked the woman, “Can you give us a description of who did this to you?”

  The woman in the backseat was quiet. She just made loud breathing sounds as she tried to suppress moans of pain. Dane turned to look at her. “It’s all right. Matthew will get us to the hospital as soon as possible. Can you tell me who did this?”

  Matthew watched in the rearview mirror. The woman’s mouth was clamped shut but her eyes threw daggers at Dane. There was a look there that seemed odd to him.

  “Hey,” Dane said, grabbing the woman’s hand, “it’s all right. No one’s going to hurt you.”

  There was something there in the woman’s face. Later, he would understand but at the moment, he just thought she was quite possibly unstable.

  Suddenly, the sharp pointy end of the Pulaski tool in the backseat came swinging right for Dane’s head. Matthew slammed on the brakes and threw his arm in the way, blocking the strike, but he knew instantly his arm was mostly likely cracked.

  That caused him to veer off the road and they careened over a sidewalk and into the corner of a pizza shop.

  Dane was already on her, all teeth and brawling. They struggled over the axe handle. “Who shot you? What’s his name?” Dane yelled.

  And the woman named Beverly spat, “Paul!”

  64

  Paul

  He was getting out, right then. That was the plan. Didn’t Kim say something about smokejumpers being there in Chicago? He stopped his frantic packing. It was only one bag—the kind you keep with you and don’t even put in the overhead bin; instead you stuff it under the airplane seat in front of you, kicking under the straps as the air flight attendant comes by. He’d already checked the airport. There was a direct flight overshooting Montana to Seattle. He’d just rent a car once he got there and drive back east the rest of the way to Missoula. Easy…he needed a long drive out in the middle of nowhere anyway. It would do him good as he evaded the authorities here.

  As he scrolled through his phone, there was a sudden ear-piercing sound and he knew it was one of those terror alerts. Honestly, they were getting annoying and he couldn’t disable them. Most of them had nothing to do with the area he was in, anyway. They didn’t affect him. Why broadcast those to everyone? Why couldn’t they just localize these things? It wasn’t as if they didn’t have everyone’s location as it was. But when he glanced at this notice, his jaw dropped.

  Pipeline explosion grounds all flights until further notice. No-fly zone in effect as precaution of suspected terrorist activities.

  “No, no, no, no, no. What?” He frantically scrolled through his email and sure enough, an automatic refund and withdrawal of flight confirmation: “Dear sir, your flight’s been cancelled…”

  “Son of a…” Paul threw his phone on the bed, where it bounced once. “Fine…fine!” He finished tossing a few things in his bag. He gave Henry a scratch and dumped the rest of his dry food into a large bowl, opened the back door four inches, and lifted the toilet seats. Grabbing his keys and his phone, he mentally rearranged his plans as he headed out the door. “I’ll drive all the way there.”

  In the parking garage, with his bag slung over his back, he rounded the corner and saw something he never expected in a million years.

  It was Dane, leaning against the trunk of his car.

  He stopped.

  Her arms were crossed over her chest. She stared at him but said nothing.

  “Where did you come from?” he gasped, breathless, and took several quick steps toward her, until he saw the gun.

  65

  Kim

  “Don’t…don’t,” she screamed out in agony as Dane kneeled into her wounded ankle and swiped the axe away from her.

  “Why the hell you’d do that?” and then added without an answer first, “Do not move!”

  Then she ignored her completely and asked Matthew if he was all right.

  “Yeah,” he said, “but I think we should get out of here and deal with her later, before we attract too much attention.”

  Kim felt the truck clunk down over the edge of the curb again. Once they were back on the road and picking up speed Dane looked at her again as she lay in the seat. As Dane knelt over her, Kim could tell the woman was pissed by the flaring of her nostrils. It was the first time she’d ever been near the woman and yet she knew of her through Paul since they were children. This was the Dane Talbot?

  “Explain,” Dane seethed.

  Kim started to cry. “I just…I just wanted to make it right. It was Paul. You know him, right? Paul Torrio, because you’re Dane Talbot, am I right?”

  She looked a little pale. “How do you know my name?”

  “He told me all about you. See, I was with him that night. That night he killed your father. He forced me into helping him because I owed him money; he’d loaned it to me. Said I wouldn’t have to pay it back if I helped him get something that was his out of the old man’s house.”

  “Wait. What? You can confirm that Paul was in the house that night?”

  She nodded. It was working. If she couldn’t get what she wanted from Paul, she was going to take the one thing he loved the most in the world away from him.

  “He did this to me…he tried to kill me because I couldn’t take the guilt anymore over what I saw him do. I told him I was going to the police. Turning myself in as a witness to his crimes,” she bawled.

  “Wait a minute,” Matthew said. “Does Paul wear glasses? Skinny guy? Did he run out of the front of the building shortly before I got there?”

  “Yes, that was him.”

  “Dammit!” Matthew said and slammed his fist against the steering wheel.

  “I still don’t understand why you tried to slam an axe into my skull.”

  “Because honey, he said if you ever came back, you’d take what was yours and turn him in. I thought if I took care of you, he’d leave me alone finally.”

  Something flashed in Dane’s eyes. “You’re Kim, aren’t you? Why’d you lie about your name? Start explaining to me exactly what happened that night. How he killed my father. And what he was after.”

  The woman wasn’t dumb. She didn’t think she needed to confirm her identity at this point. “I told you. He was blackmailing me and said he needed your father’s formula. Said he didn’t know he was sitting on a goldmine. He didn’t know your daddy was going to be home that night. He wasn’t supposed to die but he was there and found him. I was just the lookout, outside, you see? I never entered the house but when I heard voices, I looked through the doorway and saw Paul hit your daddy in the back of the head with some kind of metal stick. He whacked him good. I screamed. I screamed, ‘What’d you do that for?” He told me to shut up. Said I was next. Then he disappeared back into the lab room and next thing I know
, I smelled smoke and he’s running out the door. There was some kind of explosion in there too. Place went up quick. We ran away but before he left me that night, he beat me up good. Said if I told anyone, he’d kill me and my babies.”

  “But you still work for him?” Matthew asked. “Why didn’t you go to the police anyway?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t work for Paul. He scares me. I have children. I left Chicago and went as far away as Canton, Ohio to hide out. I only came back because my momma, she’s dyin’. I need to watch over her. I couldn’t let her die alone. She hadn’t seen my babies in a few years but soon as he heard I was in town he sent for me. That’s why I was here. And he was…he was going to kill me until you came in.” she sobbed.

  “That still doesn’t explain why you tried to knock Dane’s lights out. I’m not buying it,” Matthew said as he pulled into the hospital parking lot. “Look, we’re here. Dane, get away from her. I don’t trust her at all.”

  She didn’t like that guy too much. Some of ‘em, they see right through you.

  “Wait,” Dane said. “Where can we find him?”

  “Who, Paul? You don’t wanna go looking for him, Dane. He’s dangerous. Didn’t he do enough to you already? You should get out of here. Go back where you came from.” Reaching into her pants pocket, she pulled out a packet of smokes and then patted around for her lighter. “I’m hurtin’ so bad. I just need to have a quick smoke before I go in there.”

  Dane sat back on her heels and stared at her funny.

  Kim tilted the cigarette away from her mouth and blew the smoke out the side of her lip as she said, “What?”

  “Paul doesn’t smoke, does he?”

  She shook her head. “No, he never touched ‘em.”

  “It’s funny how you know that about him. Where can I find him?”

  “He’s probably long gone, sweetie.”

  “Where?”

  “If you have to find him, you can try his condo over on Massilon. He probably ran there and packed a bag. He’s probably catching the first flight outta here. Runnin’…that’s what he’s doing.”

  “Why?” Matthew asked.

  “‘Cause you caught him trying to kill me, too.”

  66

  Dane

  Matthew opened the truck’s back door, ready to take the woman into the hospital and be done with her. But something niggled at the back of Dane’s mind and she threw her hand up suddenly.

  “Change of plans. She’s coming with us.”

  “What? Why?”

  “She’s not hurt that bad. The bleeding’s stopped. There’s no chance of her dying here. She can go later, after we find Paul.”

  “What?” Kim said. “I’m hurtin’ real bad and I don’t ever want to see that man again.”

  As she visibly shook, Dane was beginning to agree with Matthew. Her reactions seemed forced. Something wasn’t right with her. “I’ve got just the thing for that.” Dane grabbed her water bottle, and as Matthew watched, she poured in one of the powdered cocktail packets and shook it up.

  “That…answers a lot of questions, Dane. How many of those things do you have on you?” Matthew said, beading his eyes at her. “Can I talk to you alone for a minute?”

  “No way, I’m not taking my eyes off her. We’re not far from his condo now. Let’s go there first. Find him and then get her medical attention after that, but with one of us present, and the police.” She handed the woman the bottle. “This will take the edge off for a while.”

  By the time they pulled into the underground parking garage, their phones all emitted a high-pitched squeal. “Well, he’s not getting away by air,” Matthew said after he checked his phone. “And if you haven’t noticed, there are no police available at the moment to investigate a murder that happened years ago.”

  “You’re right. The use of distraction works both ways.”

  “What do you mean?” Kim asked.

  “Never mind. How do we know if he’s here?”

  Kim sat up and looked out the window at all the cars. “His car’s right over there. That’s his spot. He hasn’t left yet.”

  “Okay, look,” Dane said but had already pulled out a rope from the back of the truck. “It’s not that I don’t trust you, which I don’t after the axe incident, but I also don’t want you going anywhere or complicating things. You’re a witness to my father’s murder. You stay right here out of sight.”

  “No don’t,” Kim said but before she knew it, Dane had her tied up and Matthew added a gag over her mouth. “She might start screaming and draw too much attention,” he explained.

  “She said he was on the fourth floor. You wait here by the car while I check out his condo. That way we shouldn’t miss him. Text if you find him. Oh, and…” Matthew reached into his cargo pocket and pulled out the crime scene weapon. He popped the magazine and checked for rounds. Loaded one in the chamber. “You know how to use this, right?”

  She nodded. “Be careful, Matthew.”

  “You do the same, but Dane...”

  “Yeah?”

  He hugged her suddenly. “I’m sorry you went through all of this on your own. I’ve got your back now, Dane. Don’t take any chances.”

  “I…don’t want to involve you, Matthew. This is my deal.”

  “Too late, I’m involved,” he said. His eyes said more.

  “We’ll talk about this later. Think about what you’re getting yourself into. We’re already in trouble.”

  He shrugged and flashed her a smile. “Who’s paying attention?”

  She watched him leave through the stairwell wondering where the heck a man like Matthew came from. More and more, he reminded her of the man she was named after.

  It didn’t take long for the door to swing open again. Dane stifled a jolt. Another man with a quick, rough cadence scurried out reminding her of a panicked squirrel. He got one look at her and suddenly stopped.

  The problem was, Matthew wasn’t there, and she wasn’t about to take the time to text him.

  “Stop, right where you are, Paul.” The weight of the gun felt heavy in her cold bare hand.

  67

  Paul

  “Kneel.” The gun she held was now pointed directly at his chest.

  “Dane, wait.” His arms were raised, palms up. She was going to kill him. He’d always thought this day would come but he’d hoped he would have the chance to explain a few things first.

  “I said kneel! Put your hands behind your head.”

  He dropped his bag and put one knee to the concrete and then the other. “Dane, just let me tell you…”

  “You…you have nothing to tell me, Paul.” She cut to him at an angle. “What you did. You killed my father. For what? Money? Power? I saw the warehouse. I watched you from afar all this time. Hell, I drink at least one of those damn packets every day as a reminder of what you did and why.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a handful and tossed them to the ground.

  “I didn’t!”

  “You didn’t what?”

  “I swear, Dane. I didn’t kill him. It wasn’t what I wanted.”

  “You’re lying. It’s exactly what you wanted.” She shook her head. “You wanted me, and I refused you and you got back at me by taking my father’s discoveries, and you murdered him for them.”

  He shook his head. “No. That’s not the way it happened.”

  “Are you saying you didn’t break into my father’s house the night he died?”

  “You…you’ve been talking to Kim?” Her eyes suddenly darted to a pickup truck in the corner. “You…you have to stay away from her, Dane. She’s dangerous. You don’t know. Please don’t get near her.”

  “Paul. You don’t get to tell me anything. You murdered my father for money. That’s all it boils down to. He treated you like a son. You were like a brother to me.”

  “I know. I know. But it’s more complicated than that, Dane. Let me tell you. Then I swear to God, kill me. Shoot me dead, you’ll be doing me a favor, but d
on’t trust her for anything. She’s a psychopath.”

  But he knew that look. When you grow up with someone, you know what they’re going to say. Her mouth a straight line, tears in the corners of her eyes, she shook her head from side to side, angrily. She took three steps forward. “I don’t think so, Paul. I don’t want to hear anything you have to say.”

  He squeezed his eyes shut when she raised the gun.

  68

  Matthew

  He’d heard her voice shouting from the parking garage and ran back.

  “Dane!”

  As soon as he walked through the door, his heart sank. She had the guy he’d seen earlier in assassination mode, knelt on the ground, hands behind his head. This guy, Paul, darted a glance at him but remained where he was. Smart of him.

  “Did he tell you what happened that night? His side of things? We need to hear him out.”

  Something told him this was a mistake. He didn’t like the guy from first glance, but he also didn’t like that woman either, and something about her story didn’t make sense.

  “No. No. I don’t need to hear anything that he has to say. You stay out of this, Matthew.”

  Shit, she was going to kill him right there.

  His hand raised. “Dane, wait. We need all the facts. Look, this is different. We learned this information from a woman who tried to send an axe blade through your skull. I’m not going to stop you. I’m just saying you need all the information. Don’t you think that’s worth a couple of minutes? You trusted this man once. Sounds like your father did too, at one time. Something tells me neither of you were a bad judge of character. Then, if you still want to, take him out. But at least you’ll know the whole story and not have unanswered questions later on.”

  He could tell she had an internal war going on inside her mind by the look of agony on her face. He guessed she was trying not to lose her nerve.