Chapter 11
Todd Manning started to come through the door, but Zach held up the fireplace poker. "You're not going anywhere." Todd glared at him and hissed, "She's going to wake up any moment and realize I'm not there. She'll come after me and she'll probably be armed." Zach looked unimpressed. "Its not my problem if you're having difficulty with the little woman." Todd took another step forward, but Zach put his hand up. "Damn it, you don't understand. She's psychotic." Kendall spoke up, tossing her head. "She'd have to be to come up here with you."
Todd looked ready to shove his way in fighting when there was a voice from behind him. "Todd, darling. Was it really necessary to disturb the neighbors? They're probably on their honeymoon, just like us. Why don't you come back to the cabin before…someone…gets hurt." Zach stared at the woman behind Todd. She gave every appearance of being perfectly normal. Years and years of interacting with the worst of humanity told him differently. Todd Manning was correct about this woman. Zach glanced down at her coat pockets, in which she kept her hands. One pocket bulged more than it should. He swore silently. Why the hell did he open the door? Zach debated whether he should slam the door in Manning's face, or attempt to save him. Involuntarily, Zach flashed on pictures from the newspaper articles he had read about Manning. Pictures of his two children that were utterly devoted to him.
Zach lowered the poker. "I apologize for assuming you were a crazed lunatic. Why don't you two come in for a cup of coffee?" Zach opened the door wider. Kendall protested, "Zach!" The woman behind Todd suddenly looked menacing. "Todd…" Seeming to sense Zach's purpose, Manning dived into the cabin, and Zach slammed the door behind him. Extremely grateful that the door was thick and reinforced, the bullet that was fired into it didn't get very far. Not taking any chances, though, Zach yelled to Kendall to run upstairs, and he began pushing random furniture in front of the door. Manning jumped up to help him.
However, he underestimated the lunatic's determination. He heard the sound of a window breaking, and saw that she had taken a piece of firewood from outside and shattered the glass. She fired a shot at Manning and hit his arm. He slumped to the ground. Kendall screamed from behind Zach, and he wanted to curse her for not doing as he ordered. The woman used the wood to clear the broken glass around the window and began to climb in. From behind the sofa, Zach tried to throw various objects to knock her out, but did not have much luck. Thinking about his handgun sitting uselessly in the SUV, Zach had never felt so helpless. He heard Kendall talking, but didn't want to turn and see what she was doing. Zach ran out of things to throw, and the woman had the gun levelled at him point blank. "How DARE you interfere with my personal business! I don't know who you are, but I am very upset that you found it necessary to rent THIS cabin at THIS forsaken time of year. You've ruined all my plans and now you have to PAY!" Zach saw that this woman had absolutely no mercy and could only pray that Kendall had escaped somehow.
The woman circled Zach so that she was behind him, and pressed the gun to the back of his head. He closed his eyes and knew that he was going to die. He wondered if anyone would mourn him. As all the regrets filled his head and threatened to choke him, he felt a roaring in his ears. It was so loud, that when he heard a dull thud he thought at first that the sound was his body hitting the floor. But when he opened his eyes, he was still crouching by the sofa. "Its okay, Zach." It was Kendall's voice. He looked around and saw Kendall standing there with a radio in her hand. The lunatic was on the floor, out cold. Kendall had clocked her with the radio. Kendall picked up the gun with her index finger and thumb, and dangled it in front of Zach. "Here, you're probably better with these than I am. I'll go see about Manning. I called 911 and the manager. Hopefully the cavalry is on its way."
She grabbed the top sheet from the sofa bed, and went over to Todd, who had dragged himself to the wall and was trying to sit up. "Let me wrap this arm for you." He shoved her hand away. "I need the phone. I need to call Bo and tell him where to find Blair." Zach narrowed his eyes. "Your ex-wife?" Todd ignored him. "Give me the phone, damn it! Margaret stuffed her in the trunk of a car and she's going to die if I don't get to her!"