In My Dreams (17 page)

My cell phone rang as I stepped into the bathroom. It was probably Emily. Her timing was impeccable. She was probably calling to complain about missing her breakfast with Tyler. I continued to brush my teeth while the phone rang.

As soon as I was finished I picked it up… just as she hung up. Figures. I was about to put it back down when it rang again.

“Hey Em! What’s up?” I answered cheerfully.

“I knew you’d pick up sooner or later,” a low, raspy, evil voice replied. Every single hair on my body stood on end. It was Buck, calling from Emily’s cell phone. A thought of horror, and my nightmare, shot through my mind.

“What do you want? Where’s Emily?” I asked roughly.

“Lizzy… Lizzy… Lizzy. Did ya think ya could just leave me without sayin’ goodbye?” he teased in a cold tone.

“Where’s Emily?” I demanded.

“Oh she’s a little tied up at the moment with her boyfriend. Oh wait… It seems she really wants to say hello.”

I heard shuffling and loud breathing on the other end.

“LIZZY!” Emily cried hysterically into the phone. “HELP US!”

“Em, are you okay?”

“NO! PLEASE! YOU HAVE TO HELP US!” she wailed.

“Where are you?”

“I-I don’t know!” She screamed and it sounded as if the phone on her end dropped. He must have taped her mouth shut again, because her cries became muffled.

Fear, panic, terror and anxiety overcame me at once.

“What the hell do you want?” I said in my bravest voice.

“Ya know what I want. I want my money, and I want ya to bring it to me… alone. One thousand dollars in cash. If I have any hint that there’ll be police or anyone else involved… your friends will die.” I knew he was telling the truth because he was already a heartless murderer.

“I’ve only got eight-hundred dollars. That’s everything I have in my account.”

He paused. “Well, that’s good to know but the price still stands at one-thousand, and not a penny less.”

“How am I supposed to get that?”

“You figure that out. I’ll give ya an hour. Yer friend’s Audi’s in parking lot. The keys are in the ashtray. I’ll be givin’ ya a call at exactly eleven forty-five. Ya better be in the car and ready for directions. Don’t ya dare try pullin’ any funny business, or I’ll assure ya, they’ll die, and I’ll have fun doin’ it. Do ya get me?”

“Yes,” I said and hung up the phone. It was all happening again. What was I going to do? I couldn’t risk telling the police, and there was no one else I could turn too, who I trusted… that is, no one
living
.

“Michael, I need you now more than ever. I don’t know what to do,” I breathed, my heart pounding a million miles an hour.

I knew I’d have to go alone, but I needed a weapon. Michael gave me a hand gun, a few years back, which I’d hid in my closet behind my Christmas decorations. I hated guns, but Michael made me keep it… for security reasons. I never thought the day would come when I’d really need it. That was my best defense. My only defense. I’d have to make time and get it.

Well… That was much easier said than done… I still had to sneak out of the hospital, without being seen, while an officer was stationed down the hall… just for me. This wasn’t going to be easy.

I peeked out the doorway. The officer was occupied, reading a newspaper with a cup of coffee in his hand. I had to come up with a plan. Maybe I’d be able to get by if he thought I was a visitor.

I quickly dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, and pulled a beanie down, low on my head. I decided to take my get-well balloons. They should make a good shield.

I peered down the hall again. Officer Jimmy had become even more distracted, talking to one of the nurses; his back facing me. Across the hall, voices rang, “Good- bye!” A younger couple was hugging an older patient in the room directly across mine. They looked like they were getting ready to leave. This was a huge break, and probably my one and only chance of escape.

The couple walked out into the hall and I stepped out right behind them. As we neared the officer, I stepped up to the right side of the girl, attempting to shield my face with the balloons.

“Hi, how are you doing?” I asked her, trying to blend in as a visitor.

She turned to me and smiled. “I’m fine, thank you.”

“So who were you visiting?”

“Our grandmother. She had a stroke, but she’s doing a lot better.”

The officer still had his back turned to me, but the nurse was looking in our direction.

“I’m so sorry to hear that,” I said turning my face away from her. My pulse raced as we walked toward the front desk. The officer sounded like he was flirting. What would have happened if the murderer slipped by while he was flirting? Ugh… At least it was a distraction while I needed it.

As soon as we stepped into the elevator and the doors closed, I let out a sigh of relief. The couple looked at me strange, but remained quiet. I’d passed the first obstacle. Now I had to get the gun.

I was a horrible a shot. When Michael would take me for target practice, I’d always missed the target. I mean… not even close. The whole target would be clean when I finished my round. Who knows where those stray bullets ended up? Well, hopefully I wouldn’t need to use it. But I knew that I had to prepare myself mentally and physically for anything, especially with a ruthless murderer. Michael told me, “If you’re ever in a situation and you pull a gun, be prepared to use it, or they’ll take it and use it on you.” I knew Buck would have no hesitation shooting me.

I tried to psych myself out, just in case, but at the same time I was scaring myself senseless. How would I be able to pull this off? I barely managed to save myself the last time, and if it weren’t for Michael, I know I’d be dead. And now I have to save three of us?

Bing!

The elevator door opened at the bottom floor, and I quickly made my way to the parking lot. Emily’s car was sitting at the far corner. I ran to it, opened the door, and checked the ashtray. The keys were right where he said.

I had thirty-seven minutes to get home, get the gun, and be back in the parking lot for further instructions. I put the car in “S”, which I assumed meant
speed
(but actually means
sport)
. The Audi was fast and I arrived at my cottage in only eleven minutes. If I were driving in my Jeep, it would’ve taken at least twenty.

I dashed up the front stairs, grabbed the key hidden under my dead plant, and swung the door open. Once I was in I ran to my bedroom, threw open the closet doors, and yanked the Christmas decorations from the top shelf. I found the little shoebox tucked in the back, and carried it to my bed. My fingers were shaking as I lifted the lid, and un-wrapped the old shirt from around the gun, holding it in my hands. It was a .357 magnum Colt Python revolver. Michael said that this was the best revolver ever made and that it was no longer in production. It was supposedly worth a lot of money.

If this piece of metal was going to save my life, or the lives of my friends, I’d say it was priceless. I grasped it, pointing it out the window and looked through its sight. This could literally make-or-break me.

I went to my nightstand and pulled open the top drawer. In the back was a box of bullets. I took a deep breath and began loading the ammunition into the revolving cylinder, one by one, just as Michael had showed me. It held six rounds. I checked and double checked to make sure the safety was on. That’s all I’d need… to shoot myself and die before rescuing my friends.

I’d never thought the day would come that I would be loading a gun, which could possibly be used to kill someone. But it would only be used in self-defense. He’d already tried to kill me once, and I knew he wouldn’t have a second thought of killing any one of us. That’s what he was; a cold blooded killer; a monster – cold and heartless. I had to see him as that. He murdered Michael, and now he’d pay.

I knew I didn’t have much time left. Fifteen minutes, thirteen seconds and counting… I threw on a warm jacket, tucked the box of remaining bullets in one pockets and the gun in the other, and then grabbed the keys and dashed out the door.

An old granny, driving about twenty miles-an-hour, pulled out in front of me pressing my patience. I was frustrated beyond words, and was so tempted to pass her on the double yellow line.

Was I destined to live the rest of my life condemned by Murphy’s Law? (If anything can go wrong…it will!)

I had three minutes to reach the hospital and was about seven minutes away. Luckily, the granny turned off onto a side street, so I hit the highway, and put the pedal-to-the-metal, flying towards the hospital. My hands began to tremble as I finally reached the lot. I parked in the first open stall – thirty three seconds and counting. I placed my cell phone on the dash and tucked my hand into my pocket. The cold metal of the gun sent a shiver up my spine. My heart beat furiously at the thought of using it.

Breathe in – breathe out. Breathe in- breathe out. It didn’t work. Nothing would work right now. What would Michael say? He’d tell me to be strong, but I was still physically weak from the last incident. I closed my eyes and pictured him sitting next to me, holding my hand, telling me everything was going to be okay.

Just then, my cell phone rang, startling me. It was Buck. I held the phone in my hand for a second and mustered enough courage to answer it.

“What?” I asked steadily.

“Did ya make it out?” he said in a smug voice.

“Yes.”

“Did anyone see ya?”

“No.”

“Did ya tell
anyone
?”

“No,” I huffed, gritting my teeth.

“Good girl,” he said darkly. “Now if ya do exactly as I tell ya, your friends will live, but if ya think you’re smarter than me and try anything, I’ll shoot em’. And I’ll start with your friend Emily here.” I could hear Emily’s cries of terror in the background. My stomach twisted, but it was rage that started to overwhelm me.

“What now?” I asked, keeping my tone even and firm.

“Get the money and bring it to me. Time is ticking and yer friends don’t have much of it.”

“Where do I bring it?”

“Call me when ya got my money. I’ll give ya further instructions. Understand?”

“Yes.” He hung up the phone abruptly. I was getting sick of taking orders from him. I wasn’t one for using vulgar language, but he was pushing me to my limit, and a million obscenities ran through my mind.

I made it to a store in Palmer that had an ATM just inside the front door. I jumped out of the car and ran inside. There was an elderly man at the ATM. He slowly slipped his card in and punched in his numbers.

Was every old person out to end me? I mean…come on!

What was only a few minutes seemed like an eternity. If he only knew that my transaction was a matter of life and death.

His transaction finally ended, and he pulled his twenty dollar bill from the dispenser. Before he took two steps out of the way, I jumped to the screen. My hands were trembling.

I could only take out three hundred at a time, so I had to make a few transactions. I checked my balance and actually had $1023.21 in my account. A few checks hadn’t cleared, but I wasn’t going to worry about that right now.

I finished my transactions with the full thousand dollars, shoved the wad of cash in my pocket, and dialed Emily’s number as I walked to the car.

He answered immediately.

“Did ya get my money?” he asked in a low evil voice.

“Yes.” He wasn’t worth more than a single word.

“Head out of Palmer and take the Glenn towards Sutton. Call me when you reach North Jonesville Road.” He hung up the phone.

I took a very deep breathe and started the car.

My cell phone rang, but it was the tone I’d chosen for unknown numbers. Someone must have noticed that I was missing from the hospital; most likely my mom, or Chief Cross. I decided not to take the call. Hopefully they’d leave a message.

It rang again... unknown number… I couldn’t get it and risk Tyler and Emily’s lives. It was better not to talk to anyone.

The phone rang again, and my heart stopped.

It was Michael’s ringtone.

I grabbed it and pressed talk.

“Hello?” I answered, nearly breathless.

Heavy static crackled on the line, and then the call disconnected. It suddenly rang again, vibrating in my hand. I jumped, dropping the phone between the seats. This time it was an unknown caller. I’d just get it. If it was someone I didn’t want to talk to, I’d just hang up.

I frantically dug the phone out and answered it.

“Hello?” I said unsurely.

“Lizzy! It’s Lucy!”

“Oh my God, Lucy! I’m so glad it’s you!” I breathed in relief. The line had a lot of static and I strained to hear what she was saying.

“Is everything alright? Are you alright?” she yelled.

“I - I don’t know. I -” I hesitated. I didn’t know what to tell her.

“Michael wanted me to contact you – (static) let you know that he’s with you (static) – Don’t go. (static) not safe. Are you sure you’re alright? Is there (static) can do?”

“No,” I said, but she must not have heard me.

“Lizzy? Are you there?”

“Yes, I’m here Lucy. You can’t help me. This situation - it’s too complicated. I’m on my own. Thank you for calling,” I said sadly. I was glad to hear her say that Michael was with me.

“Do you want me to call the police?”

“No! No! Please don’t! If they get involved my friends will die.”

“Oh, Lizzy!” She sounded frantic.

I knew I’d just given away too much information.

“I’ll be just fine, Lucy,” I lied. “You’ve already done more than enough.”

“I will say a prayer of protection for you. Lizzy, please take care of yourself.”

“I will.”

“Goodbye, Lizzy.”

“Bye.”

Michael was with me, and knowing that fact, gave me strength. He must have known my situation and where I was heading, and I knew he’d be dead set against it. I was walking into a trap, a lion’s den, knowing that a hungry, ravenous killer lived there. But Michael also knew that I couldn’t abandon my friends, and he would have done the exact same thing.