Final Panic

23

Jim was more than exhausted, but as he neared the lake house and saw the plumes of gray smoke in the sky, he quickened his pace.

He didn’t know how long he’d been walking for, or for how long he’d been away for. He still had his watch, but to his tired brain, the hands on the dial didn’t seem to mean anything. What’s more, he had no idea what time he’d left.

He only knew that he’d been away for a long time. Long enough, apparently, for something serious to happen.

His view of the house was, for a good while, obscured by the trees. But as he got closer, he saw more of the smoke. And he could smell it.

Something was burning. Something big.

And that something, whatever it was, was right where the lake house was.

It wasn’t hard to figure out what was burning.

Jim thought of his wife. He quickened his pace, breaking into a run.

His muscles burned as he ran, and he felt like he was gasping for air, but he kept going.

When he finally came around a group of trees, he saw the house. He saw the flames, rising high.

It was immediately clear there was no saving the house. It was an inferno, burning hot and wild. There’d be no entering that house without dying.

Jim’s eyes immediately began scanning the yard and the surrounding area, hoping to see someone, hoping to see Aly.

But there was no one.

Jim didn’t let himself panic. That’d only make him less effective. He focused on his breathing, keeping it as calm and steady as he could in his state.

And there it was. A sound. Beyond the roar of the fire, he heard it. It was an engine. Rumbling and low. But not that far off.

Jim didn’t waste any time. He sprinted as fast as his exhausted body would allow down to the driveway. By the time he reached the road, he was panting and out of breath.

But it was worth it. Down the road, he could see it.

The RV.

It was far enough away that it looked small. He couldn’t make out the markings, but the size and shape of it looked just like the RV he’d seen earlier.

The RV was too far away to get a shot off. He’d miss by a mile.

But it wasn’t too far to run after.

Sure, there was every chance in the world that he wouldn’t catch up with them. He was just one lone man, tired and exhausted, trying to catch his breath. And he’d be up against a diesel-burning RV, with who knows how much horsepower.

And Jim didn’t even know who was in the RV. It was a long shot. His wife, not to mention the others, might be dead in the burning house right now. Or close to dying. But Jim had no chance of rescuing them if that was the case.

If they were in that RV, taken prisoner or hostage, then there was at least a chance of rescuing them.

It wasn’t the kind of strategy that worked in poker. But it sometimes worked in real life.

There were so many “ifs” that it all seemed crazy.

But he had to try. No one else was there. There were no other options.

Jim didn’t waste any time. He’d made up his mind. He started running.

He was already losing sight of the RV. It didn’t seem to be going fast, but it was going a lot faster than he was.

But he kept going.

After all, if there was a chance, however small, that he could save someone, or do something, then he had to take it. Worrying about the fire, the burning fire, and all the problems that would result from it, was pointless now. Completely and utterly pointless. And not just that, but an actual determiner to what he could potentially accomplish.

The day had been a long and gray one. The sun wasn’t yet setting, but the light was already getting low.

Jim had already been through his second and third wind. He didn’t have a fourth one in him.

But he still ran.

He was pushing with everything he had. His stomach was empty. His throat was dry from not drinking anything in ages. His head ached and his vision was blurry around the edges.

He kept his eyes focused on the RV.

And somehow, as he kept running, he was getting closer to the RV. It wasn’t just a little speck at the very edge of what he could see. It was getting bigger. Slowly, yes, but surely.

Had the RV stopped?

He kept running, and after a couple minutes, he was sure that the RV had stopped. He was getting closer with each step. He just had to push.

By the time he got there, he felt like he might collapse right onto the ground.

The RV was just sitting there, parked with two wheels off the road and two wheels on it.

Jim had his gun in his hand. His finger was inside the trigger guard. Right on the trigger. Already putting just the slightest bit of pressure on it. Maybe not the best practice. But these weren’t the safest of circumstances. His life might depend on a split-second reaction.

Jim pushed the door open. It swung wildly and slammed into something.

Someone screamed. A woman’s voice.

Jim leveled the gun, holding it with both hands. His legs were shaking, and so were his arms. But he tried to keep everything steady, spreading his legs shoulder-width apart.

Aly was on the floor in the space that functioned as the kitchen. She was face-down, with ropes binding her.

Jim recognized the other two people. They were the creepy couple he’d encountered earlier. He should have known they’d be trouble. Maybe he had known.

The woman had her hands in the air. She’d been the one who’d screamed.

The man didn’t react at all. He looked like he was on drugs, with his face going all droopy in a weird way. “I thought you’d never come,” he slurred. “Now we can really have some fun. Put that silly gun down and come join us on the bed. We’ll untie this woman when she’s ready. She looks like she’d be plenty of fun. Don’t you think?”

From the ground, Aly let out a muffled scream of “Help me.” Her face was pressed against the floor.

Meanwhile, the woman still had her hands in the air. But she wasn’t standing still. She was inching towards the small microwave and the kitchen sink.

Jim’s mind was jumpy with fatigue. His body was switching between feeling like he might fall asleep and as if he was pumped up on adrenaline. He was shaky and felt like he might simply collapse, no matter what state his mind was in.

He saw her hand moving in a jumpy way, as if it was lit by a strobe light. But he wasn’t going to let his fatigue interfere.

She already had the kitchen knife in her hand.

Jim was acting slowly.

But it wasn’t too late.

Jim trained the gun on her. Pulled the trigger.

She fell to the ground, the knife clattering somewhere on the floor.

Aly cried out, not able to see what was happening.

The man on the bed was somehow no longer on the bed.

Jim must have been really losing it. Losing his mind to extreme exhaustion.

The man was almost at Jim, his face contorted into some insanely intense emotion. He was scrambling, his arms flailing.

Jim was barely keeping it together. He was just getting flashes of what was happening, all of it jumbling together like a bad dream.

But he knew what he had to do.

His muscle memory wasn’t going to let him down. All those hours at the target range had been for something, after all.

The gun was as steady as it was going to get. It was aimed right at the man, who was inches away from Jim.

Jim squeezed the trigger.

The man fell. Right at Jim’s feet.

Jim didn’t know if he was dead. So he gave the body a kick to see if it would respond. It did. The man grunted in pain. Jim pressed the gun into the man’s temple and pulled the trigger.

Now he was dead.

Next, Jim moved to the woman. She was already dead. Blood was pooling up around her.

Jim grabbed the kitchen knife from the floor and cut Aly loose. She smelled like fire, and there was soot all over her. She looked exhausted and in pain.

Jim pulled her to her feet.

“You OK?” he said.

She nodded. “I was expecting you.”

“Sorry if I was late.”

“I’m fine. You came just in time.”

“The others? Were they in the house?”

“Rob and Jessica… they were gone… don’t know where… It was just Jordan. He was passed out. I tried to… I couldn’t…”

Jim put his arm around his wife and held her close to him. They were both unsteady on their feet, but somehow they managed to remain standing.

“What do we do now?” said Aly.

“I don’t know.”