He
turned to Patty.
“In the short run,
what you did today will be more valuable in helping to find her.
The composite of the man who raped you
already is responsible for generating several phone calls to the police from
those who were at The Grind when you and Cheryl were there.
Some remember his face.
One said they saw him taking photographs
with his phone, but didn’t think much of it because people generally take
photographs of their friends while they’re out.
Or so I was told.
The person didn’t recall who the man was
photographing, but the detectives now know from security footage that the man
you described in detail was indeed the man taking photographs of you.
The footage is grainy because the bar
was dim and the equipment is old, but it’s clear that you and Cheryl were being
targeted.”
“Why?”
“I don’t
know why.
Have you or Cheryl dated
anyone recently?
Is this someone
from either of your recent pasts?”
She
shook her head.
“In spite of what I
did last night, I haven’t been with a man, including a simple date, in over a
year.
I think it’s been at least
two years for Cheryl.
We tell each
other everything.
I’d know if she
was seeing someone or had dated someone.”
“What I
know is that we have momentum,” Coleman said.
“We have a make on a possible vehicle,
which the police are seeking.
We
also have a partial print of a boot in the blood, which was large enough
to suggest
that it belongs to a man.
All
witnesses who came forward confirmed your composite of the man, which they
agreed was accurate.
Not one person
said th
ey’d change anything, so good job on that.”
He took
another sip of his coffee and stopped when he caught a glimpse of the
television across from him.
On it,
a forest was being ravaged by flames.
“Where
is that?” he asked.
“Monson,”
Patty said.
“It’s burning.”
CHAPTER
TH
IRTY-FOUR
The
beast rose into the night and Kenneth Berkowitz took flight.
With his
goggles in place and Ted’s Glock in his hand, he ran back through the woods,
rushing out the same way he and Ted came in.
A scream
burned to be released from deep within his throat, but he wouldn’t allow it
out.
He kept his eyes lowered to
the forest floor because if he looked up at the Satanic hellfire that was
spreading its arms far and wide over and through the forest, he’d be blinded by
it.
He knew
better than to ask God for help, so he didn’t.
This was a test.
His lot was to bear whatever inflictions
God gave him and to see them through.
He didn’t understand why this was happening, but it wasn’t up to him to
understand.
It just was.
He knew that God had complete faith in
him and he also knew that he would get through this alive because of Him.
The beast was nothing to him.
His faith in God would crush it.
He was,
after all, the Chosen One.
The wind
grew warmer as he ran down the path.
The light was becoming so bright, he removed the goggles and found that
he could see fine without them.
He
swung around a corner and the fire now was just off to his left.
It thrashed through the trees.
It shook the birds from their nests and
sent them scr
eeching into the sky.
It
was igniting quickly―too quickly.
If Kenneth didn’t reach the end of the path soon, the fire would swallow
the exit and he’d need to find another place from which to escape.
He dug
in and ran harder, and as he did, it occurred to him that this might not be a
Satanic hellfire, but one sent from God Himself.
His mind went to Isaiah:
“For, behold the Lord will come with
fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury,
and his rebuke with flames of fire.”
Also from Isaiah:
“For by
fire and by his sword will the Lord plead with all flesh: and the slain of the
Lord shall be many.”
It was
enough to cause Kenneth to stop.
Was this God’s wrath against him?
Why would it be?
Everything
he did, every choice he made, was designed to serve the Lord.
So, this couldn’t be about him.
“But it
is.”
He knew
the voice belonged to Maria Fuentes before he turned and saw her standing
behind him.
Now, she was fully
naked and her body, though still, appeared to be moving given the shadows cast
upon it by the fire.
Her face was
in full orange bloom.
She brushed
her naked breasts against his arm and he immediately reached out to push her
away.
Only his
hand went through her, just as she said it would earlier.
She
laughed and came around to face him.
“All of this is for you, Kenneth.
It’s all for you.”
“I don’t
know what you’re talking about.”
“Yes,
you do.
But here’s a tip.
You’re a killer, Kenneth.
A serial killer.
There’s been something off about you
since you were a boy.
And now your
mind is really gone.
You’re fucked
up.”
“Shut
up.”
“Oh,
make me.”
He knew
he couldn’t for a specific reason.
“Why can’t I touch you?”
“Because
you’ve already had your hands around my neck.
You and your dead friend, that is.”
She cocked her head to the side.
“Sorry about Teddy, Kenneth.
That must suck.
Watching your good friend get blown to
shit right in front of you like that?”
She clucked her tongue.
“Pity.
We were all watching,
you know?
All of us girls were
having a grand time when Teddy took that bullet in the face.
And I have to say, you lucked out with
the hunter in the shelter.
Good for
you for shooting him in the gut.
You got lucky with that shot.
He kicked around a bit, but he’s dead.
And now you don’t have to worry about him,
which bought you some time.”
She
waved her hand behind her, where the fire was closing in.
“Not that time is going to help you now.
You’re screwed.
That fire is going to eat you
alive.
And me and the girls?
We’re going to watch it happen and cheer
it on when it does.”
“The
hell you are.”
Behind
them came the distant sounds of something running through the woods, smashing
through them.
He and Maria turned
and watched a family of six deer burst through the woods and dart past them,
led by a buck with a massive rack on its head.
“They’ll
be safe,” Maria said.
“God won’t
hurt them.
See how they’re going
off the path?
Back into the woods?
They’re doing it because the path is
dead.
Your way out is dead.
The fire has eaten it up just like you
wanted to eat your friend Ted back there....”
He
looked at her, wondering how she could have known he had that impulse.
“You
think I don’t know you?
What’s
happening to you?
How sick you’ve
become?
Well, I do.
When you took Ted’s Glock from him, you
hesitated while leaning over his face.
I saw it.
And I felt your
urge.
It pulsed through me.
I know what you wanted to do.
You wanted to bury your face into his
and eat what was left of him, didn’t you?
Just like you wanted to eat that fat hunter you two killed earlier.
Probably even his friends if you had the
chance.”
“Ted
killed them.”
“Whatever,
big boy.”
She winked at him.
“And I mean that.
I know you’re big, at least down there.
I remember that.
That’s the one thing God gave you that’s
actually worth something, because the rest of you sure as hell isn’t.”
“I wish
I could kill you again.”
“I wish
you could fuck me again.
But
neither of our wishes will come true.
Isn’t that sad?
It’s about
as sad as the fire that’s going to burn you alive.
Look at me, Kenneth.
Is that a tear?
Right here?
Left eye?
I think it is....”
The wind
changed direction and with its shift, the smoke carried their way.
Kenneth took off his jacket, then his
flannel shirt, which he tied around his nose and mouth before putting his
jacket back on.
The smoke rolled
over them and burned his eyes, making it difficult for him to see.
He
needed to get out of here.
The path
that led to the road was consumed with flames.
He’d need to run into the woods and move
alongside the path if he was going to find the road and the truck.
He
brushed past Maria Fuentes and started to flee, but not before he heard her
say, “Our girl Cheryl will have her freedom, Kenneth.
She’s nearly there now.
But you?
You’re going to roast in these woods.
And then you’re going to roast in hell.”
CHAPTER
THIR
TY-FIVE
Cheryl
Dunning ran with the animals, she ran alone when she lost sight of them, and
then she ran with them again when their lives crossed and in some cases
collided.
As the
fire raged around them and threatened to press in and surround them, the only
focus for all was escape.
It didn’t
matter that she was human.
Trumping
everything was the fire, which leaned and swayed and caught and spread and blew
its hot, smoky wind dangerously upon them.
It demanded respect, and it got it.
Cheryl and the animals had the same goal and that goal, as ridiculous as
it now seemed to her to achieve, was to survive.
She ran
with deer and with raccoons, she ran with fox and fleetingly with a bear, she
saw a moose hurrying off in the distance, but even though all were moving in
the same direction, she wasn’t sure if any of them would find a way out in
time.
If the fire didn’t kill them,
the smoke would.
She was certain of
that.
And she was frightened of it
because the smoke was starting to tunnel down.
She
swiped away branches, nearly slipped because of her damned boots and wondered
why at this point she had yet to hear the wail of sirens.
How much longer would the police and
fire departments be?
If she could
just hear them, she’d have a clear idea of where the road was and in which
direction she needed to run in order to find her way out.
Behind
her, she heard the flapping of wings and turned just as a gray owl soared over
her head and flew forward in an effort to escape.
Because of the fire overhead, it
couldn’t risk the chance of taking to the sky, so it shrewdly flew low,
following the other animals in their rush to freedom.
She followed it, stumbled over the thick
roots of pine trees, and kept her T-shirt close to her mouth so she could
breathe.
Her eyes were red and raw,
singed by the fire and the smoke.
I’m not
going to make it.
I’m not.
It all ends here.
And for what?
She
thought of her father and grandfather, whom she would miss.
She thought of her mother, long since
dead, whom she would see again.
She
thought of Patty, how she had left her alone last night and all that had
happened as a result of it.
And
then she thought of what this particular death would be like.
In spite of the searing heat, she felt a
chill at the thought of it.