How was this happening? They’d lived through that insanity being chased by a psycho only to die in a random act of violence. Unless it wasn’t so random.
Zack was happy he had a gun. But it didn’t do him any good right now since it was in the car. Everyone was running past them, so they followed, jumping into the line of the twenty or so people.
More gunshots rang out, followed by some screams. A bloody and wounded woman took a few steps towards them. Zack turned to help her, but she collapsed a few steps from them.
The light fixture above their heads exploded and rained down glass. Zack took off, pushing Emily ahead of him. They got to the rear of the store and ran into the stock room, where employees were leading people to a back door. But a few people came running back, saying the back doors were chained from the outside.
Zack looked around the stock room. Tall shelves stretched all the way to the ceiling. If there was no way out of here to get to the gun, he had to come up with something else. He turned to Emily. “We need to split up.”
“What? No way!”
“I have a gun in the car. I’m going for it.”
“No, Zack, there’s no way.”
He gave her a kiss. “Trust me.” He pointed to the shelf. “Climb and hide up there.” Without giving her a chance to argue, he took off out of the stock room, back onto the floor. To his left he saw what he suspected: Harry, dressed in full military fatigues.
Zack stayed to the right, using the thick clothes as cover. A few steps from the front door he saw what he least expected. The door was latched shut with a chain.
Undaunted, he picked up a rack of blouses and ran at the thick glass with the aluminum legs pointing the way. He slammed into the glass, shattering the large pane with an explosive sound. Gunshots flew at him, but he ran to the car quickly and started digging through his gym bag.
With the pistol firmly in hand, he started running back towards the store, full speed. Barely hesitating, he jumped back through the hole he’d already made. More shots and screams rose from the rear of the store and now people were running at him towards the hole he’d made to the outside.
There were two entrances to the stock room. Harry had gone into the right one, so he went into the left one, where he’d left Emily. Inside the stock room, with the pistol pointing his way, Zack took a gander of the layout.
People saw his gun and ran from him, too. He didn’t see Emily or Harry. Slinking around the tall shelves, he saw another body on the ground. A young girl—she was breathing, awake, and shaking in fear.
Zack looked up, he saw Emily climbing down the stock racks back towards him. Shots rang out again, puncturing the boxes around her. Zack wanted to return fire, but he had no clear shot and didn’t want to give away the fact he had the gun. He wanted that element of surprise. She dropped the last ten feet and landed next to him.
“Go!” He pushed her to the other aisle, trying to get her away from the line of fire. Zack stood with his back to the racks, waiting to hear a noise, waiting to get the drop on this guy.
He looked at Emily. It was scarily silent for a moment, but then he heard Harry laughing a few rows over.
“I know you can hear me,” Harry said. He laughed again. “You didn’t think I was going to let you off the hook, did you? I always carry out my missions. I’m a soldier and we follow directives until the end. In the course of this mission, the prime directives have changed.” He rapped on something steel, making a clanking noise.
There was a strange clicking noise. Zack tried to listen to what it was he heard, but he couldn’t figure out the noise. It sounded like a rattlesnake somewhere at the far corner of the room.
From the corner of his eye, he saw movement, and some of the items on the shelf next to him came busting outward into his face and head. It hit him so hard he nearly stumbled and finally did fall under the weight of some large boxes. When he regained his composure, Harry had a shotgun pointed at his face.
“Get up and put you’re fucking hands in the air.”
Zack slowly got to his feet and raised his hands.
“You two must be the luckiest people on the entire planet. I’m beyond amazed either one of you are still breathing.”
Zack swallowed the dizzy away a bit. He hoped Emily had seen what he’d done with the gun. She stood close behind him.
Harry used the shotgun to urge Zack to the side. “Move over, I want to see her.”
Zack took a step to the side, but stayed close enough.
“Well, well. The perfect little princess. I could’ve killed you on that cliff so easily. One shot to the head, you’d be gone. But I couldn’t do it. I didn’t want to do it in spite of my change in directive.”
Emily sniffled. “Then don’t do it now.”
“We’re so far past that, Emily.” Harry pointed the gun back to Zack. “You, on the other hand, I can’t believe you’re not dead. You’re just lucky a slight cross breeze pulled my sniper rounds from the cliffs. I’m still trying to figure that out—I think maybe an updraft from the highway traffic caused it. I’ll have to calculate that into the shot next time.”
Zack laughed. “I don’t feel so lucky right now.”
Harry smiled at him. “You’re a funny kid. And you got a lot of guts, I can see why she loves you. And she does, I can see it in her eyes, the way she looks at you. She looks at you the way my wife used to look at me when we were your age.”
Emily put her hand on the small of his back. He looked back at her.
Harry poked the shotgun into Zack’s chest. “How’d you survive the millhouse shots?”
Zack shrugged.
“No,” Harry replied, “Tell me now.”
“I found a steel plate on the floor. I stuffed it into my jacket.”
Harry shook his head and smiled. “Wow, you really are brave; you’d’ve made a great soldier. It’s too bad we’re not on the same side of this fight.”
“We could be.” Zack turned his palms up.
Harry looked at Emily. “Just to prove I’m not all monster, I want the last thing for you to hear is her telling you she loves you. Go ahead, Emily, tell him you love him.”
She frowned with hesitation, but Zack looked back at her and urged her with a nod.
She met Zack’s eyes. “I love you.”
Harry nudged the gun towards Emily. “Now you tell her.”
Zack looked back. “I love you.”
“There,” Harry said. “That’s sweet. That’s what love is supposed to be. Young love is how love should always be.” He started to tear up. “But people grow old, they have kids, and those kids grow up and the family grows apart. And then, someone sleeps with your best friend. That’s why it’s better to just put both of you out of your misery now. I’m saving you years of agony, heartache, and tragedy.”
Harry pointed the gun at Emily again. “Maybe I should kill you first. I don’t want you to live through the pain of you seeing your love killed in front of you. Because I do care for you, Emily, I really do. And if you would have me, I’d throw away my directives. I’d go AWOL for you, Emily. Every soldier has a price.”
Zack felt Emily put her hand on the gun. Then he said to Harry, “Hey, why not kill us both at the same time. It could be kinda poetic.”
Harry tilted his head.
“Yeah—yeah, just use the pistol on her and the shotgun on me. Unless you’re not man enough to pull that off. I mean, I can understand that takes a lot of coordination and I can see you’re all broken up over that cheating whore of a wife. And you know, having to murder all these innocent people because you’re a pathetic piece of shit and can’t keep your woman satisfied. Because everyone knows, behind every cheating woman is some inattentive asshole who’d rather watch NASCAR than please his lady.”
Zack could see the rage building in Harry’s eyes, but he didn’t stop. “Oh, did I hit that sore spot there, Dirty Harry? Is that it, you want to be a big tough guy and prove you’re not inadequate in the sack?” Zack laughed.
“You’re dead. Goodbye.” Harry put the shotgun to Zack’s chest.
The blast was loud. Zack gasped and didn’t expect to still be standing. But when he opened his eyes, he saw Harry dropping to the floor, a bullet hole in his forehead, and Emily with the smoking gun still in her hands.
Chapter 34
Emily was still numb long after the police had left and the media circus rolled away. After she’d pulled that trigger, everything changed. She leaned her head into the seat of the car and let a new feeling wash over her.
Zack got into the driver seat and pulled the door shut. “I’m sorry.”
She looked at him. “No biggie, I wasn’t waiting that long.”
“No, I mean I’m sorry for putting you in that spot. I know what you did was hard.”
Emily rolled her head to the side lazily and looked at him. “You didn’t do anything. He did it. He left me no choice.”
“I know. But it should have been me. You didn’t need that burden.”
She shook her head slowly. “No, you’re wrong. I needed it, wanted it, and now I own it. This was my fight to start with, and it’s not a burden to end it. It’s empowering. I feel great about it.”
He firmed his lips and nodded. “Wow.”
“Wow what?”
“You just never cease to impress me. You’re amazing.”
Emily was never bashful taking a compliment, but for some reason that one really hit her. It just seemed so spontaneous and genuine.
“Be careful, though, Emily.”
She frowned at him. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, revenge, even carried out, can be a nasty little demon.”
She thought about that for a second. “I don’t feel like it was revenge.”
“That’s good. It wasn’t.”
“It was self-defense. He got off easy. I would much rather have let him rot in prison for the rest of his life. But I won’t feel bad about it. He murdered my family, my friends, your friends, innocent people…he deserved to be put down like an animal.” She shook her head. “No, I don’t feel bad about it at all.”
“You did good. I was worried you didn’t see the gun.”
“I saw. I knew what you were doing. I knew what I had to do, I just had to get up the nerve, which was harder than I thought it would be, I gotta say.”
“That’s why I was stalling him.”
“That was very brave. He could have pulled that trigger.” She started to cry. “I would’ve never been able to forgive myself.”
He reached across the seat and gave her a little rub on the shoulder. “Hey, don’t even go there.”
Emily forced a smile and nodded. “I know—you’re right. We should be happy it’s finally over. But I don’t really feel happy.”
“It’s probably going to take time to get there.”
She wanted to start getting there. “Just drive—somewhere, anywhere.”
Zack put the car in gear and got on the highway.
They sat in silence for a long time. Emily appreciated that he didn’t have to talk to her. He was so easy to be around and just seemed to know how and when she needed some downtime. “When we were in the store and Harry was… Did you mean what you said?”
“Did you?”
She shrugged.
Zack said, “We were in a tough spot. We said what we had to say.”
She nodded and looked out the window, watching the scenery blur by. For some reason, sadness started to creep into her mind. She really wanted him to say that he did love her. Even though he’d already said he’d fallen for her, that didn’t necessarily mean he was in love with her. For some reason hearing him say the words while not under duress seemed like a fitting gesture. Maybe he didn’t feel the way she did, or maybe she didn’t really understand what love was. It’s not like she had a wealth of experience in that part of life. Her own feelings could be betraying her. At the same time, there are no rules, there’s no set amount of time on a clock that says you can’t fall in love with someone before other people might expect it. Love is a funny thing, the rules are broken and rewritten all the time. Some people claim to fall in love at first sight. Others fall in love with their best friends after twenty years of knowing that person. She liked him. Maybe she loved him. It felt like she did.
Just as she was about to say something, he started pulling the car into a rest area. “What’re you doing?”
He pulled into a parking spot and got out of the car. She watched him walk around the hood and come to her door. When he pulled open the door, she looked up at him.
“C’mon.” He held out his hand.
She followed him, a little confused but mostly curious. She took his hand and he led her over to a lone picnic table in the grass near a tall poplar tree. They sat on the table and looked out into a pasture bordered by thick pines.
It was a beautiful blue-sky day. The hum of the highway behind them was more relaxing than annoying. Scores of birds laced in and out of the trees next to them. Zack didn’t say anything for a while. Emily was growing impatient and finally said, “What are we doing here?”
He turned to face her, took hold of her hand. “You asked me if I meant what I said. I meant every word. I have fallen in love with you. I love you.”
Emily swallowed hard.
Zack continued. “Sometimes in life, lightning strikes. And in that bolt comes something so powerful and life changing that you can neither deny it, nor avoid it. No matter how much you tell yourself you’re going to feel a certain way, it’s impossible to stop the momentum. And I tried not to fall in love with you. I really did. I know that probably sounds bad, but trust me when I say you made it impossible.”
His eyes welled up with tears but he pressed on. “You blew into my life like a hurricane, in the middle of the most horrific experience I could ever imagine and I was powerless to stop you. And I’m thankful, so very thankful, that I couldn’t stop you, because you are the most amazing thing that’s ever happened to me. When I said I’d do anything for you, I meant it. I would and I will.”
Emily couldn’t help but tear up. “Damn you. I’m so sick of crying, I’ve cried more since I’ve met you than I probably have in my entire life.”
“I’m sorry.”
She laughed. “Don’t be. It’s not your fault. Well, part of it is your fault. I want you to know I mean what I say, always. Just like you. And I meant what I said. I have fallen in love with you, too. I know I’m young, but what you said was true for me, too: it was just a bolt of lightning. And I love you.”
Zack took her hand. “And I want you to know, although what we’ve been though might have accelerated this process, it’s not what’s going to sustain it. I love you for you. Your strength, your intelligence, your maturity in spite of being a kid.” They both laughed, then he continued, “You’re just a beautiful person, and I’m lucky to’ve found you. And I’d take every bullet, and fall off every cliff, all over again.”
She threw her arms around his neck. “Please don’t.”
Chapter 35
The hard hotel bed was the best night’s sleep Zack had in a while. He slid from under the covers and stood, looking down at Emily as she slept. She looked like an angel. It’d been a while since he’d slept in a bed with a girl, and just slept. But it was probably the best night he’d had with a girl in a long time, too. They stayed up late just talking and laughing. Then they watched a couple stupid movies and fell asleep.
He pulled back the curtain just enough, careful not to spill any light in and wake Emily, and looked out over the soft sands of Ocean City. They weren’t going to let Harry ruin the plans they made to go to Florida, so they were cruising down the coast slowly, stopping at every cool beach area they could find. They both loved the beach, and just wanted to enjoy the ride for a while. If any two people on Earth ever needed a vacation, it was them, and it was now.
Zack looked back to the bed for a second, and Emily’s soft hazel eyes looked up at him. “Hey, did I wak
e you?”
She just smiled. “No.”
“What do you want to do for breakfast?”
She rolled over and stretched. “I don’t know, but I’m starving.” Pulling off the covers, she struggled to fix the twisted long T-shirt she was wearing. “I’m sweating in this thing. I need to buy some sleepwear.”
“Yeah, we didn’t really get to buy you any clothes.” He flopped on the bed next to her. “I say we get some food and go down to the shops on the strip. I’m sure we can find a few things.”
She turned on her side to face him, cutely hugging her pillow. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For not pressuring me into anything last night.”
“Not in a million years. No need to thank me.”
She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I guess I’m used to high school guys. That’s all they do is pressure you.”
“That’s only partly true. There are a lot of full grown men that act the same way. One thing girls don’t know is that boys turn into men, but they really don’t change that much when it comes to sex. But I wasn’t even like that in high school. My mother always taught me to have the utmost respect for women. And to me that means you wait until it’s offered. You never pressure for it, and certainly never take it.”
Emily rolled her lips inward. “That’s pretty cool. That’s the kind of attitude that might cause a guy to get lucky.”
He laughed. “Sometimes.” He rolled off the bed and got up. “Let’s go get some grub.”
***
Zack slid his phone into his pocket and headed out the door when the room phone rang. “Hold up.” Emily stopped at the threshold. He went over to the phone. “Hello? Yeah? Okay.”
“Who’s that?” Emily asked.
“Front desk, they said they had a message for you.”
She sighed. “Probably the press or something.” They headed down the hallway. “How’d they find us?”
Out of Place Page 18