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“You can shoot me; I’m already dead.”
“But there are things you want to do,” I say. “Think, Damien. If it all ends here, how will you get what’s owed to you? How will you take control of NeuroDrive? You need to stay alive long enough to take what’s rightfully yours, don’t you? You need to be smart about this.”
Damien groans. “I’m accurate with this gun,mister.”
“That makes two of us,” the man says, racking his rifle. Damien must not know a lot about guns because a shotgun isn’t a firearm known for it’s precision. A buckshot could take us both out. So, either the big man is bluffing, or he’s as crazy as Damien.
“Now get!”
Damien doesn’t say anything for a minute, but my potential savior isn’t too patient.
“Move it now! This is your last warning.”
“Okay, okay. I’m going to back up, but I’m keeping the gun aimed on her. If you make a move I don’t like, I’m going to blow her fucking brains all over the road. Got it?”
“And if you make a move I don’t like, I’m going to explode your head like a watermelon dropped off a skyscraper. Just so we’re clear.”
The next several seconds are tense as pure terror pulses through me. Damien backs away. I can’t see him, since he’s behind me, but I know where he is because the driver never takes the barrelof his gun from him. Damien climbs into a car and screeches away, but the man never lowers his weapon.
When he’s gone, I slump to the ground, pulling my knees to my chest and shivering. I can’t stop. The man climbs from his truck and drapes a blanket over my shoulders. Soon, there are sirens in the air. Despite that, I can’t stop shivering.
For the next two hours, I go from the hospital to the police station. I give them my statement about Damien, starting in Vegas and ending with the switched phone numbers. He’s still at large, so they put a police escort on me. They try to comfort me by saying they’ve informed all their officers to be on the lookout for him. His travel is also going to be restricted.
I feel raw after what happened. As the police give me a ride, I take out my phone, open my socials, then mentally kick myself. I’ve got several messages from Luke.
Luke: Sparkplug, is everything okay?
Luke: Whatever this is, we can talk about it. I know our time in Vegas meant something to you. I know you felt the magic too. Whatever’s happening, we can fix it – together.
I try to call him via socials, but he must not have any signal. Navigating my phone, I go to my blocked numbers… and there it is, his real number. I unblock it and then try to call him, but it goes to voicemail.
The police cruiser stops outside the medical center. Perhaps I’m stupid for coming here, but I need to hear Ellie say it. She’s ill.Fine, I get that. But she still fucking betrayed me. I walk to the reception desk and ask to see her. The receptionist looks at me weirdly, and I realize I’ve got dried tears streaking my cheeks.
Before I head to her room, I go to the ladies and clean myself up. Cold water on my face, a few deep breaths, and I’m ready I go to Ellie, mostly.
She’s on her feet, standing at the window, her eyes raw and red, her hands clasped in front of her like she’s praying. She bursts into tears when she sees me.
I resist the almost overpowering urge to rush toward her. “Are you surprised to see me?”
“I saw you arrive in a police car,” she murmurs. “I was in the activities room.”
“You saw me in a police car, and you burst into tears, Ellie,” I say, struggling not to cry. It keeps coming in waves: no, tsunamis. “Why would that be? Why would you see me in a cop car and start crying, unless you knew Damien was out to get me?”
“Eh-Ellie…” She drops into her seat, crumpling like the life is draining out of her.
I walk up behind her, reach out… then stop myself. Instead, I sit on the chair next to her, but keep my hands in my lap. “What happened?” I snap.
“I don’t know,” she whispers.
“You’re going to need to do better than that.”
She stares at me with a heartbreaking expression. “All I know is, Graham told me I had to do what Damien said. Ihadto. He saidhe’d thought of everything. He claimed to have rehearsed every scenario a thousand times in his mind.”
“Batshit crazy,” I mutter, not sure what else to say.
“But he was right. He said if you came to me, I had to get your phone. I had to block Luke’s number and change the contact tohisnumber. He said if I didn’t, he would hurt me, and he would hurt Graham. Damien didn’t give us any choice.”
“So before, when I visited, you were playing up your condition, pretending it was worse than it is so you could get my defenses down. You were playing me,” I nearly screech.