Love Lies Dying

by Steve Gerlach

  “Zoe?” Sherrie sounded confused. “Zoe did this?”

  “Yes.”

  John continued staring out the window.

  Zoe smiled back at him. She had seen his lips moving. She knew he was talking to Sherrie.

  Zoe leaned forward and placed both her hands on top of the steering wheel. Then she rested her chin on her hands.

  She’s just going to sit there, John thought. Sit there and wait for us to make the first move!

  “What are we going to do?” Sherrie asked.

  John felt her hand on his shoulder, but he didn’t dare look around at her. He had to stare Zoe down.

  Lightning flashed into the night.

  I need a weapon of some kind.

  Something to protect us with.

  What?

  I don’t know.

  There’s nothing here to use.

  “Don’t make any sudden movements,” John said. “I don’t think she can see you from where she is.”

  “Okay.”

  “Keep low and out of sight.”

  “I’ll try.”

  “I want you to see if you can start the engine.”

  “Okay.”

  “If it starts, you need to be ready to take off as quickly as possible.”

  “Alright,” Sherrie sounded scared.

  The Jeep’s impact had pushed the car to the side of the road. It was sitting on an angle, half on the road and half on the gravel shoulder. They were still facing away from Hepburn Lakes, but at that moment John didn’t care. There was enough room to the side of the Jeep to drive past Zoe if they had the chance. As long as they got away from her, they could work their way back to Hepburn Lakes through back roads if they had to.

  We need to be anywhere but here.

  Thunder rumbled outside.

  “Just let me know when you’re ready,” he whispered.

  John stretched back with his hand, found Sherrie’s thigh and squeezed it.

  He felt her hand on his. He could feel her fingers shaking.

  “I’m ready,” she replied.

  John continued to stare unblinkingly at Zoe.

  “Right,” he said. “Let’s do it.”

  “I hope this works.”

  “So do I.”

  Zoe was peering back at him from the Jeep.

  Lightning again, two flashes this time, and John could see the pendant around her neck.

  Helen. I’m so sorry…

  Her head tilted to one side, almost as if she knew something was happening, or maybe she was getting bored waiting.

  Just a little longer…

  Over his shoulder, John heard Sherrie’s keys clink against each other and he braced himself for whatever was to come.

  “Here goes,” said Sherrie.

  The ignition clicked.

  The engine kicked over.

  And a double wave of thunder crashed down upon them, loud and long.

  Zoe continued to stare.

  She can’t hear it! The thunder’s masking the engine noise!

  He knew they only had seconds to move.

  Zoe moved forward in her seat, tilting her head more.

  Damn!

  She broke his stare and glanced to the front of the car.

  He followed her eyes.

  The car headlights were on!

  “Sherrie!” John turned to her. “Kill the headlights!”

  But it was too late.

  Starting the engine had turned the headlights back on full. Even with the sound of the thunder hiding the engine noise, Zoe had realised what was happening.

  John turned back to her.

  She was shaking her head, a look of disappointment on her face.

  We can still make it!

  She leaned over to the passenger side of the Jeep and disappeared out of sight for a split second.

  We have to.

  “Sherrie, quick! Drive!”

  Then she sat upright again and stared back at him, a look of sadness on her face.

  She mouthed something to him. But he couldn’t work out what she said.

  Then she raised the gun.

  And started firing.

  Fifty-four

  The first bullet shattered through the Jeep’s windshield as Zoe fired and a split second later lodged in John’s door.

  The second bullet shattered his window.

  The third ricocheted off the metal edging of the windshield and disappeared into the forest.

  “Shit!” John dived backwards and grabbed at Sherrie. “Get down!”

  She pulled him towards her as the fourth bullet tore the side mirror from John’s door.

  John looked at Sherrie as lightning lit up their surrounds.

  “Keep your head down,” he said. “I don’t think she’s an expert with guns.”

  John reached up to push Sherrie’s head down below the dash, but she resisted and pulled his hand away.

  She had a determined look on her face.

  “We’re not taking this shit any more,” she said to the night.

  She gunned the engine.

  “I’ve had enough!”

  “Huh?”

  “This has got to stop. It has to end now!” Sherrie said between clenched teeth.

  Yes, John thought. Drive! Let’s go!

  He braced himself and looked out the windshield.

  He didn’t hear the next shot; it was blocked by thunder. But he knew it had come when the windshield shattered in front of them. Glass shattered outwards and some of the fine shards fell back into the car, over the dashboard and over their feet and legs.

  John watched as Sherrie put the car in gear.

  She pressed down on the accelerator and the car shot forward.

  He held on to the dashboard.

  Finally! Yes!

  They drove down the road, the headlights shining in the darkness.

  Freedom!

  Another shot whistled past them, missing completely.

  Sherrie slammed on the brakes. The tyres locked on the road and the car skidded slightly to the right as it came to a halt.

  “Damn it, she’s following us,” Sherrie said.

  John opened his mouth to say something, but he didn’t have time.

  He watched her change gears.

  And put the car into reverse.

  Huh?

  Reverse?

  Sherrie turned in her seat and looked over her shoulder.

  “This has gone far enough,” she said.

  She pressed down on the accelerator. The car reversed wildly. Sherrie struggled with the steering wheel to keep the car straight on the road.

  John tried to grapple with his thoughts, but everything was spinning out of control and he was unable to stop it.

  “Hang on,” Sherrie said.

  And a second later, the car collided solidly with the Jeep.

  John had been ready for the impact, but he still bounced back off the seat and hit the dashboard hard. Pain sliced him in two and he felt as if his insides were trying to escape.

  Sherrie’s foot continued pressing down hard on the accelerator. The car engine was roaring, blocking out any noise from outside. They were moving backwards slowly, inch by inch now.

  John looked out the back window.

  Now both headlights of the Jeep were broken. Part of the red grill was mangled and destroyed, no longer shiny and new.

  I was handcuffed to that…

  From where he sat, he couldn’t see if Zoe was still in the driver’s seat.

  He guessed she was when a bullet shattered the back window, spraying glass over both of them.

  Sherrie put the car into drive again. They jerked forward quickly as she drove a few feet from the Jeep.

  John could now see the Jeep’s front licence plate was twisted. It swung back and forth, held on by only one screw.

  TAMEME.

  Sherrie paused for a second to look out the shattered back window before she reversed again.

  John braced himself once more. The s
econds before impact seemed to stretch for an eternity.

  The car collided with the Jeep again, with more force this time. Metal and glass collided in a symphony of destruction. The Jeep rolled backwards in an arc across the road and came to rest hitting the embankment on the other side.

  Sherrie reversed again, cannoning into the front of the Jeep, pushing it further into the embankment. The metal grill of the Jeep pushed higher, popping the hood loudly and bending it out of shape. The metal folded as easily as paper, folding back and in on itself. The front of the Jeep pushed into the back of the car, jagging upwards and lifting from the ground, metal screaming.

  Putting the car back into drive, Sherrie pulled away from the twisted metal. Both cars remained entwined for a few seconds before they gave way and the Jeep slid from the back of the car. It shook heavily as the front tyres bounced back on the ground, glass cascading to the road’s surface.

  Sherrie stopped the car in the middle of the road, then she backed it up a little so they could both stare across at the tangled mess of the Jeep. John heard her let out a deep sigh.

  He turned to face her. “You okay?” he asked.

  She nodded. “I think so.”

  He could see she was scared; he could also hear it in her voice.

  “I think I lost it for a second,” she muttered, shaking her head.

  He took her hands and kissed her.

  “That’s okay. We all go a little crazy sometimes.”

  Sherrie looked back at the Jeep and John followed her glance.

  There was no movement. No sign of life.

  The Jeep looked like a dark, dead shell.

  “I think we should be going,” she said as she ran a shaking hand through her hair.

  John nodded. “You sure you’re okay?”

  Sherrie turned to him and her face changed in a second. Strength and determination flashed across it before being replaced with fear.

  “Oh, John,” she sighed. “What have I done?”

  He rubbed her shoulder.

  “Don’t worry about it now,” he comforted her. “You did what you had to do. And now, we need to leave.”

  Sherrie shook her head, “I can’t. I mean…it’s not right. What if I’ve killed her? What if she’s hurt? I can’t be responsible for all this!”

  John leaned forward and hugged her.

  “Listen, you can’t worry about those things,” he whispered in her ear. “It’s more important we get back to Hepburn Lakes. We’ll arrange for help there and they can send an ambulance or someone out to take care of this.”

  He pulled back and looked deep into her eyes.

  “But we have to get away,” he said. “And now. Do you understand?”

  She nodded.

  “Can you drive?” he asked as he held her still trembling body.

  Lightning flashed.

  “I…I don’t really know,” she replied.

  “Okay,” he nodded. “Slide over and I’ll drive.”

  She moved towards him.

  John grabbed the door handle and pulled, but the door wouldn’t open.

  Shit, I forgot about that.

  Sherrie looked at him strangely.

  “The door’s jammed,” he explained.

  Thunder rolled all around them as he reached out and pushed the remaining splinters of glass from the side window.

  “John…?” Sherrie whispered.

  “Don’t worry. I’ll only be gone for a few seconds.”

  When the window was free of all the glass shards, John reached up and pulled himself up and out through it. As he did, he ignored the dull aches and pains of his body. He didn’t have time to worry about his wounds now. He kept his eye on the wreck of the Jeep. It was still sitting at the side of the road, squashed into the embankment.

  Steam was beginning to waft from the engine, and the motor was still running, but just barely. It was coughing and idling erratically.

  Slowly dying…

  John held himself half-in and half-out of the car.

  He waited.

  “John?” Sherrie’s voice sounded worried.

  “I’m just being careful,” he called back to her.

  Finally, the lightning came. Everything around him was white-bright for just a split second.

  Long enough for him to peer into the cabin of the Jeep.

  It was empty.

  He couldn’t see Zoe. She didn’t seem to be there.

  Shit!

  John quickly climbed the rest of the way out of the window.

  The wind was stronger now, and colder. The night was beginning to settle in.

  Gotta move fast!

  Once he climbed from the car, he took a moment to steady himself. He turned back and looked at Sherrie’s Ford. The passenger side was almost unrecognisable. The metal was gouged and dented all along the side with red paint scars from the Jeep. Long grooves stretched the length of the car, deep into the metal. The back of the car had been pushed right in, and the passenger-side indicator-light was hanging on only by its wires.

  He turned back to the Jeep.

  No movement. No sign of life.

  Steam was pouring from under the crumpled hood now.

  He didn’t want to make any quick moves. He didn’t want to do anything stupid.

  Slowly, he backed up and started walking around the car.

  As he reached the mangled trunk, he stared in through the shattered back window. Sherrie was staring back out at him.

  He smiled.

  “You’ve done quite some damage here,” he said. “I don’t think the insurance company will be too impressed.”

  “I don’t care right now,” Sherrie replied.

  “You could lose your no-claim bonus.”

  “I think I can live with that better than some other things I’ve done.”

  Thunder crashed loud and long above them.

  John looked up into the dark sky.

  This storm’s close.

  Too close.

  That’s the last thing we need.

  Sherrie screamed.

  John’s eyes darted to her.

  “It’s only thund –”

  But she was looking away from him. Across the road.

  He followed her eyes.

  The Jeep lurched forward slowly.

  No!

  The engine roared.

  NO!

  The tyres bit into the gravel and the Jeep shot forward.

  Straight towards them.

  Fifty-five

  John shouted to Sherrie.

  But there was no time.

  No time to do anything.

  He found himself trying to wave down the Jeep, trying to stop it somehow.

  But he couldn’t.

  Its motor revved.

  It wasn’t going to stop.

  As it charged towards them, he stood between the Jeep and the Ford for as long as he could, hoping he could make Zoe change her mind.

  But the Jeep kept coming.

  John dived out of the way with seconds to spare.

  The Jeep flew across the road and smashed into the side of Sherrie’s car.

  Metal on metal.

  Sparks flew as lightning caught the whole scene in one split-second collage.

  The ear-piecing scream of twisted metal and steel colliding filled the air.

  As John tumbled on the road surface, he could hear the Jeep’s motor roar, the tyres screech on the road, the breaking and twisting of steel under pressure, and the sickening crash that ended it all.

  There was silence for a few seconds before another clap of thunder vibrated the night.

  He looked up from the road and glanced at the destruction.

  The Jeep had Sherrie’s car pinned at the side. It had collected the end of the car and pushed it across the road and into the pines of the forest. The Jeep had come to rest impaled in the passenger side of the car.

  Oh my God! Sherrie!

  The rest of Sherrie’s car had been crushed against the wall
of pines in the forest. It was sandwiched between the Jeep and the forest.

  John stood slowly. His knees were bleeding and his jeans were torn in a couple of places. He was limping as he walked, but he didn’t care. He felt his left arm, making sure the stitches were still holding. He could feel no gaping hole, so he assumed they were.

  But none of his wounds mattered anymore.

  He had to save Sherrie.

  As lightning struck, it illuminated the crash and John didn’t like what he saw.

  The twisted bodies of the two cars, wrecked beyond belief, made him wonder about the state of the people who were in them.

  Is that blood pooling on the ground?

  Or something else?

  Smoke was pouring from the Jeep’s crushed hood and he could hear something dripping somewhere.

  Gotta move. And quick.

  He ran across the road.

  Peering into the Jeep as he approached, he looked for any sign of Zoe. The back door of the Jeep had popped open and was hanging wide. The soft canvas top was split along the side, flapping in the wind. The frame of the windshield had broken off and been flung forward, now hanging off the twisted metal of the hood.

  And the driver’s door was open.

  But there was no sign of Zoe.

  John turned and looked around him.

  Maybe she was thrown clear or jumped before impact.

  But he couldn’t see her anywhere.

  He opened his mouth to call her name.

  Then stopped himself.

  Suddenly, he was on edge again. Something wasn’t right. He was sure of it, but he didn’t know what exactly it was.

  He wished he could find Zoe, he needed to know where she was. Not knowing made him panic.

  He walked further forward, to the front of the Jeep where it pinned Sherrie’s Ford to the trees.

  Bending down to look in the side window, he called to Sherrie. First in a low voice, and then louder when she didn’t reply.

  A cold wind cut through him then. It seared his bloody knees and made him start to shiver.

  The inside of the car was a crushed mess. There was very little left that resembled the insides of a car. He looked into the front seats, but Sherrie wasn’t there either.

  Broken tree limbs stuck through the windshield and low-growing branches pierced the roof of the car.

  “Sherrie!” he called.

  Lightning flashed around him.

  It was that split-second of illumination that showed him the driver’s door was open, swinging out between the trunks of two pines.