The World's End Series Book One: Dymond's World (23 page)

The sight of Sue Bumgardner's hands reaching for her triggered the explosion in Sarabeth.  Literally, she saw red.  Her actions from that moment on were primitive, instinctual - but guided by the training she'd received in her class.

She put her hands together in front of her chest and then swept them outward.  As she did, Sue's were pushed out to the side so that she was open and vulnerable.  Sarabeth had all the leverage.

She then raised her right hand into the air above her head and made a fist.  The instructor had warned them that, done correctly and with enough violence, you could break even the strongest man's nose.

She swung her fist downward like a hammer.  It gathered speed until it had acquired a large amount of potential energy - energy that was almost instantaneously transferred to Sue's nasal bone when the fist made contact with the bridge of her nose.  The bone broke with a sound that resembled a gunshot.  Blood started to pour.  A large bubble of blood appeared at Sue's nose.

She wailed in pain as Ryan jumped to his feet and ran to her aid.  Sarabeth saw him coming and used both her hands to push Sue backwards as hard as she could.  Sue stumbled and fell onto the charging Ryan.  They both landed on the floor in a heap of flailing arms and legs.

Quickly, Sarabeth ran to the desk and picked up the liquor bottle by its neck.  Without a moment's hesitation, she hit Ryan over the head with it.  It shattered, but he instantly became still.

Sarabeth stood over Sue with the broken bottle in her hand.  She was shaking with anger.  "Please," cried Sue, blood staining her white blouse, "Please."

Her pleas were enough.  Sarabeth felt her control return as her anger became manageable.  She walked over to the coat rack and removed the handcuffs from the belt.  She knelt and snapped one end on Sue's ankle and then wrapped the chain around the chair leg that was bolted to the floor.  She snapped the other end on Ryan's wrist.

She knelt above Sue.  She was back in control, but she didn't have the antibiotics.  She held the bottle to Sue's face, broken glass inches from her left eye.  "Tell me how to get the antibiotics.  Write me a pass or something, I don't care, but make it quick."

Sue's crying intensified.  "I didn't mean anything.  I was just going to let him have a look - it wouldn't have meant anything."

Sarabeth wasn't hearing what she wanted to hear.  The red started to return.  She struggled to keep it at bay.  "Listen you fat bitch.  Either you tell me how to get the antibiotics or I'm going to blind you.  Get it?"

Sarabeth couldn't believe those words were coming out of her mouth.

Sue squealed at a pitch that sounded like she was in the fifth grade.  "I can't!  I can't!  We don't have any left!  We tried the last on my parents and on Ryan's grandfather.  There is none left.  I swear.  I'd give it to you if I could!"  She collapsed again into tears, begging and mumbling words that were hard to understand.

Her words didn't matter because Sarabeth believed her.  There were no antibiotics.  The red disappeared completely.

Without another word, Sarabeth rose and walked out.  Just as the door was about to close behind her, Sue called out, "They'll be coming for you.  You'll be sorry!  I'll make you eat that cunt lover of yours!"

***

Sarabeth's life had been one of soccer and ballet and figure skating as a kid.  It was good grades and being asked to the prom.  It was learning about boys and enjoying them while being just careful enough.  It was living at college on her own, going for runs, and studying, secure in the knowledge that
something
- civilization, the law, whatever - that something would protect her if she needed it.

But that easy comfortable life seemed to be only a distant memory.  Her new life included the fact that Hoppie was ill and might die.  That she'd just threatened to blind a girl with jagged glass.  That they were coming after her and there was no law to protect her.

Her mind was a blank as she walked back the way she'd come.  She was too shocked to make any decisions, she only wanted to walk, to go back to Huang's house, crawl into bed and hold Hoppie.

She didn't notice Father Francis until she felt his hand on her arm.  His face showed concern, almost fear.  "What happened?  I can see it in your face that something bad happened.  Tell me."

He led her to the bench and she told him exactly what had happened.  She didn't leave out a single detail.

Now it was his turn to look shocked.  He knew that Ryan Rogers could be a bully and that Sue Bumgardner had a mean streak in her, but he'd never expected this.  He knew that things would be worse with them in charge - that was why he was out here all alone; praying and asking God to tell him what to do.  But he never could he have dreamed they would sink so low, so fast.

His surprise quickly gave way to shame.  Just that morning, he'd seen the bad side of Ryan and Sue at their "leadership" meeting.  They announced that, from now on, no one could have private property.  It was selfish.  Everything had to be made available for the use of the whole town.  Sue appointed a couple of young men to go from door to door making "inspections."  They were allowed to confiscate anything of use.  The big four were food, drugs, liquor and fuel.  They men asked if they could carry guns, and Ryan said, "No. Not yet."  They settled for baseball bats.

Then it was his turn, "Father Rob, you're in charge of the bodies.  You can use one of the golf carts.  When someone dies, you pick them up and take them somewhere - I don't care where as long as it's out of town.  You can plant them in your cemetery if you want, but you'll have to get volunteers to dig graves if that's what you want to do - or dig them yourself.  I'd just dump 'em in a ravine somewhere, but it's up to you."

Ryan must have noticed the alarmed look on his face.  He sneered, "You got any beefs, Father?  Either you're part of the team or you're not.  If you want to eat, you do as I say, get it?"

It was an outrage and Father Francis longed to jump to his feet and tell them so.  He wanted to tell them that no one voted them in as leaders and that he was going to call for a town wide vote to see who the people wanted to lead them.

But he didn't do any of that.  He sat back down.

***

"You . . . you fought back against them?  All by yourself?"  There was wonder in his voice, tinged with shame.

He studied Sarabeth.  She was an average height for a woman and on the thin side.  Sue Bumgarder had to be close to six feet and weighed one eighty or more.  Ryan Rogers was even bigger.

Sarabeth started to apologize, "I didn't mean to, Father.  I just lost my head.  I can't let my friend die.  Now they are going to come after me . . . after us.  Oh Father, what should I do?"

Father Robert Francis had spent the last hour sitting on a bench all alone, asking God again and again to tell him what to do and now this young woman was asking him the same question.

He'd confessed his cowardice and had begged to be forgiven, but God had been silent.

God wasn't fooled.  The assignment in this beautiful valley with its small population of permanent residents and its larger population of vacationers made for a very pleasant life as a priest.  He performed the occasional marriage, offered Mass a few times a week, and generally played the part of a priest, almost like he was in some movie.  Nothing much was asked of him and life was easy.  His friends in the priesthood, those that worked in the inner city or ran schools for the poor, told him how lucky he was, how they envied him.

That morning, when he failed to confront Ryan Rogers, he thought about the truly meaningful things he had done in his life.  It was a small list that left him feeling ashamed.  He looked to God for the strength to speak up, but he didn't hear a thing.  His own strength was lacking and now it appeared that God had abandoned him.

And yet, this young woman, willing to do anything to help another person, had stood up to them on her own.

Her eyes bored into his, waiting for his answer to her simple question -
What should I do?
  At that moment, Father Francis prayed that exact question to God.

And this time, he received an answer.  It was so clear.  He felt a burden lift from his soul - a burden that had been there a long, long time.

He rose and helped Sarabeth to her feet.  "You need to leave here.  It's bad now and going to get worse.  I don't think they'd actually do . . . what they said, but they will certainly do something evil.  Do you have a car?"

"Yes, Father, we have a rental."

"Much gas?"

"It's almost full."

His voice was gentle, the voice of a man at peace.  "Good.  Then go on now, get your friend and leave.  The roads have melted today so you should be okay."

Sarabeth looked up the hill.  In the distance, she could see Huang's house, "But someone will find them soon.  I'll need some time."

He turned to leave.  "I'll get you an hour at least.  I'll keep anyone from freeing them for at least that long.  I'll tell anyone who comes to the door that they said no one was to disturb them."

"But they'll know it's you!  They'll know you betrayed them to save us!"

He turned back one final time.  "Its fine, my child.  It's what I am supposed to do. I know that now. You go on.  I'll pray for you and Emily."

As he left, Sarabeth sobbed and called after him, "Father, God knows her as Hoppie."

***

Sarabeth was used to jogging, but she wasn't used to running flat out and uphill.  She especially wasn't used to doing it when crying.  It took her four minutes to cover the half mile back to Huang's place.  By the time she arrived, she was out of breath.  She commanded the tears to stop - she needed to think and make things happen.

She burst into the house to find Hoppie asleep on the couch.  The noise of Sarabeth’s arrival barely caused her to stir.  She coughed twice and then resumed a loud, wet breathing.  Her forehead felt very hot.

They had been living out of their suitcases, so Sarabeth tossed everything they had into first one then the other.  She took a trash bag and filled it with all the food and bottled water they had.  She tossed in the radio, kitchen utensils and a pot and pan along with towels, toilet paper and everything else in the bathroom that wasn't nailed down.  She had no idea where they were going, but she had the presence of mind to know they might need this stuff.

She ran out to the car with one bag, tossed it in the trunk and started the car to warm it up.  She ran back into the house, and got the other bags and found a place for them in car.  Next, she took every blanket in the house and made a nest for Hoppie in the back seat.

It was time to get Hoppie.  Sarabeth knew she wasn't strong enough to carry her, she'd have to walk.  She knelt beside her and slid her boots onto her bare feet.  Hoppie coughed.

"Hop.  Hop!  Wake up now.  We've got to go."  Sarabeth had her by the shoulders, shaking her gently.

Hoppie opened her eyes half way.  The whites were almost red in color.  Sarabeth felt the tears threaten to return.  "I'm tired, SeeBee.  You go on.  I'll just rest."

Sarabeth pulled her forcibly into a sitting position.  "No Hop!  We have got to go!  Stand up now!  Do it for me, Hop.  Stand up, please!"

Her voice had a note of panic.  Hoppie's eyes opened slightly wider, as she tried to obey.  Before she did, she doubled over and had a fit of coughing.  One spasm led to another and another.

Finally, Sarabeth put her arms around her and lifted.  Hoppie stood and the two of them walked as one to the car.

"It's cold, SeeBee," she said as they reached the door.

"Get inside, Hop.  It'll be warm soon."

Hoppie collapsed in the back seat and Sarabeth carefully covered her in blankets.  She looked back at Huang's house, wondering if she should run in to make one final check to see if she'd forgotten anything.

"To hell with it," she said as she slid behind the wheel and started to drive.

***

Father Robert Francis managed to keep Ryan and Sue inside the Sheriff's office for almost three hours.  People kept coming by, but he told them that Ryan had ordered they be left alone.  A few grumbled, but what could they do?

When the time arrived to open the library and distribute the day's food ration, over twenty people waited outside the door for Ryan because he had the keys.

Finally one of his newly appointed 'deputies' said "Something's wrong.  I don't care what they said; we've got to check on them."

That's when they found them.  Sue was covered in blood and her nose was flattened.  Ryan had pissed himself as he'd waited for rescue.

***

The town still had the old style wooden poles that held the wires that carried electricity.  The wires were useless today, but they found a use for the pole.  They tied Father Francis to the top, arms outstretched.  They left him there, naked, as a lesson to the people of Ketchum, Idaho.

***

Dying of hypothermia is easy.  The cold hurts for a while, but then you get sleepy until you pass gently away.  Father Francis never felt the cold at all because God was with him.  He could see the light and feel the warmth.

He went towards it.