Emily Sullivan wasn't entirely certain why she'd trusted these men in the first place, but now, she was fairly certain that they'd killed the sheriffs, and were impersonating officers. And she'd inadvertently led them straight to Bonnie Richmond, a lovely young woman who just so happened to be deaf. Emily mentally kicked herself for being so blind. It wasn't like she couldn't have paid attention to the signs! They were right in front of her face! But sometimes, she got carried away in her head, and things stopped clicking into place.
However, Emily had seen a way to fix it, to make amends. At least, she hoped so. She'd noticed the radio in the stolen squad car and was fairly certain that if she could manage to escape their sight for a few moments, and get to the car, she could radio for help. And then she remembered Bonnie, and realized she needed to warn the young woman somehow. Looking up she noticed the Colt revolver that belonged to Mr. Richmond, hanging in a case on the wall; noticed the case was unlocked. If she played her cards correctly, she could get the gun, and a few bullets, and maybe get Bonnie out of this mess alive. She just hoped Mustache and Bloodstain didn't catch on too quickly; otherwise, the both of them were going to be very, very dead.
At the moment, she and Bonnie were making bacon and eggs for the escaped convicts, and the two psychos were discussing their plans. Emily took the time, during the convicts' distraction to alert Bonnie of their plight. It came in handy, knowing sign language.
Mustache then, in an alarming motion, threw both arms around the two girls, and said, "Hey. You wanna help me out with the coffee?" Bonnie hadn't seen his lips, hadn't heard him, so Emily had to respond. It gave her an edge though; inspiration, but it took all of her self-control to keep herself from cringing. She almost wished that Jake was there, but she brushed the thought aside. Now was not the time for wishful thinking, or to be attempting to rekindle an old love she thought was long since dead.
"Yeah, I'll show you where it is." She muttered, and gave him a false-yet-believable smile. Mustache seemed to believe it, and she smiled inwardly. It was amazing how many people were fooled by her dumb-blonde ploy. Only those she trusted really knew how clever she could be. Including Jake.
She shook the thought of him from her mind, focusing on making the coffee, and removing the glasses from the cabinets without dropping them. She shouldn't be thinking of her ex-fiancé now, when the predicament that she and Bonnie were in called for a clear head, and proper timing to execute the plan.
Emily placed four glasses on the tray, as well as the half filled pot, and led the mustachioed prisoner into the living room, where they sat on the couch.
"That smells good." Mustache said, rapturously, and reached for the pot. Emily batted his hands away.
"Oh, no, no. I'll get it." She took the pot from him, and grinned inwardly, as he picked up a mug. Emily began pouring the steaming liquid, and then looked up at him and smiled, even as she intentionally moved the pot forward a few inches, far enough to douse the convict's hand. He cried out in pain and dropped the mug. Pretending to look positively horrified, she cried, "I am so sorry!" as sincerely as she could muster, though she was secretly snickering.
"Damn it!" The convict cursed.
"Oh, that looks bad. Look, go in the kitchen, right now, and run cold water over it. It'll stop it before it blisters. I'll clean up this mess." Emily watched him leave the room, and then rushed behind the couch, and opened the case, grabbing the Colt and three bullets, which she hid in the back of her pants and her pockets. She leaped over the back of the couch, and stretched out languidly, before pouring herself a quick cup of coffee. She made herself comfortable and took a long gulp of the bitter liquid, just as Bloodstain sauntered to the doorway.
"Is he okay?" She
inquired, with false sincerity.
"He'll live." The grin Bloodstain gave her was demeaning, and made the hair on her neck stand on end. And once again, she found herself wishing that Jake were there.
A short while later, Emily excused herself to go to the "Little Girl's Room", and raced to the second floor bathroom. Once inside, she removed the Colt, and the bullets, and loaded the gun. She knew she couldn't just waltz down the stairs, gun blazing. She only had three bullets, and she couldn't meet the expense of missing. She recalled the radio in the car, and moved to the window. It was a long way down, but she had to take that chance. She opened it, the glass pane sliding up easily, and she ducked outside, stalking silently across the rooftop. She winced. The drop was going to hurt a bit, but she'd hurt more if anything happened to Bonnie.
Taking a breath, she leapt off the rooftop, and landed on the dusty road, a little jarred. She didn't even bother dusting herself off like she usually would have. She raced to the car and yanked open the door. She clicked on the radio, and picked up the walkie talkie. She began to speak, the clear uncertainty in her voice causing it to shake just a little.
"Hello? Is anyone here? This is Emily Sullivan. We're at the Richmond Ranch with Bonnie. Please help us!" She switched stations, after becoming certain that no one was on the channel. "This is Emily Sullivan. I'm at the Richmond Ranch. There are men here with guns! I think they might've killed the Sheriffs." Again, she found no one on the station, and she switched again, becoming more frantic.
Reaching station 8, she heard three frantic thumps coming from the trunk. Dropping the radio, she moved to the trunk of the car, and opened it to find Bill and Jimmy both severely beaten. She ripped the tape from Jimmy's mouth. "Run, Emily! Run!"
Everything that happened next, occurred in a blur. She heard the door open, and she drew the gun, and spun to find Bloodstain chasing after Bonnie. She got off a shot, but she missed him, and he caught Bonnie. Her blood was pounding hot in her ears as she pulled the hammer back. Where was Mustache? She couldn't think about that now; Bloodstain was going to shoot Bonnie.
And suddenly, another gunshot rang out, and Bloodstain began shooting at someone else Emily couldn't see, but she turned in time to see Mustache drop and she watched as the shooting came back at her. She didn't think; she reacted, and fired, hitting Bloodstain in the chest; killing him.
She was still trying to process all of it, when she heard Jake's voice, trying to reach her, as she was lost in the depths of her mind. She didn't understand, couldn't comprehend what he was saying. She was bewildered, confused. Had she really just killed a man? And then Jake's voice brought her back, it's beautiful sound calling her back to reality.
"Babe? Babe!" He was the only one to ever call her that; had done it since as long as she could remember. She responded, looked at him, eyes coming back into focus. "We've got to get inside before the rain, okay? Come with me." Blindly, numbly, she nodded. "Come on." She grasped his hand, and suddenly, they were running, and she remembered when they were much younger, trying to outrun a storm and he was urging her to run. And her heart felt free, and safe, like it had all those years ago.
She was vaguely aware of the cellar door slamming shut behind them, but she was lost in another realm, a past she had buried. And she was remembering all the reasons why she loved Jake Green. And why she was trying to forget him. But the reasons she loved him so far outweighed the bad, that it scared her. She came back to reality, briefly, shaken. Jake was sitting beside her.
"I thought you were gone." She tried to act like she was annoyed by this. Could he still see past her lies?
"Emily-."
"Why are you here?" She acted like she didn't want to hear what she knew she'd die to hear him say: that he realized he loved her too much to leave her again.
"Trying to keep you safe." He wasn't exactly lying, but there was something more behind it, that he wouldn't - and maybe couldn't? - say. Was he just humoring her, then?
"It's never safe around you." She murmured, and moved away, hiding the effort it took for her to do so. She fell back into thought, wondering if maybe it wasn't too late to break it off with Roger - if he was still alive - and go back to Jake. She wondered if things were okay outside, and if they weren't, if, like her, they would ever be okay again.
End.