Dark Creations: Dark Ending (Part 6) (20 page)

“Good,” she said and smiled. 

They walked together to the door of the diner.  When Amber stepped inside, inviting scents greeted her.  The mouthwatering smell of pancakes and maple syrup mingled with that of French fries and hamburgers.  She scanned the room and marveled at how many booths the diner held.  And the booths were filled.  The highway they’d been on was well traveled, but she never imagined that a truck stop restaurant would be as crowded as it was in the predawn hours.

A plump woman with an abundance of blue eye makeup that matched her blue uniform made her
way toward them.

“Hey kids,” she smiled and revealed lipstick-smeared teeth.  “Table for two,” she stated more than asked and winked.

“Yes, please,” Amber said.  “And if it’s possible, may we have a corner booth,” she added and took Kyle’s hand in hers.

The hostess’ eyes dropped to their intertwined fingers and a sly smile spread across her face.  “Sure sweetie.  I’m a sucker for young love,” she said and grabbed two menus before waddling through the dining area.  They followed her and were pleased to find that they’d been seated in the far corner of the packed
dining room.

Amber sat with her back to the widow so that she had a clear view of the ta
bles in the room.  Kyle slid into the small bench seat that was likely intended to seat just one person and nestled beside her.  His gesture was not lost on their hostess who clasped her hands over her ample bosom and grinned widely.

“One of the girls will be with you in just a few minutes to take your order,” she said
still smiling then shuffled off.

“I think she likes you,” Kyle elbowed Amber lightly and smirked.

“No, it’s you,” she narrowed her eyes at him.  “I think she likes young studs.”

Heat crept up Amber’s neck and touched her cheeks.  Luckily, Kyle stared straight ahead.

“Nah, I think she likes
us
, you know,
together
,” he said and she looked to him.

He had not turned his head, but watched her from the corner of his eyes. 

“Hmm,” she said.  “I see.”

Her words wafted in the air as light and breezy as silken
strands waving in the wind.  Nothing further was said on the subject and Amber could not help but feel slightly disappointed.

“I don’t see anyone who stands out and looks, uh, you know, like you,” Kyle fumbled.

She looked from table to table and saw that no one jumped out at her, just face after average face in varying states of concentration going about their business. 

“No one here looks like a member,” she said quietly.

“Yeah,” Kyle added.  “All I see are fat truckers, old men and that nerdy dude.”

Amber’s eyes zeroed in on the man Kyle had referred to as nerdy.  A slender man with thick glasses and thinning hair sat hunched over a steaming mug, his beady eyes shift
ing nervously.  He did not seem to fit in with the rest of the customers, but the fact that he was not even remotely attractive meant that he could not be one of Terzini’s creations.

“I don’t see anyone who could be him,” she mumbled as a waitress appeared at their table.

“Hi I’m Ginger.  I’ll be your server this morning,” Ginger greeted them.  “What can I get you?”

“I’ll have a hamburger deluxe and a cola,” Amber replied and answered the loud complaints of her empty stomach.

“Fries or onion rings?” Ginger asked as she scribbled on her notepad.

“Fries
,” Amber replied.

Ginger looked to Kyle, waiting for his order.

“Oh, uh, I’ll have what she’s having,” he said and smiled.

Ginger disappeared and left them alone again.

“So here we are, alone in a restaurant and about to eat a meal together.  Guess this is kind of a date,” he laughed nervously then promptly stopped and dropped his eyes to the table.

Amber was about to reply to him when she noticed that several other patrons watched them. Hunger and paranoia conspired against her and her body went on high alert.  Any among them could be Arnold.  She did not know which one.  

“People are looking at us,” Amber turned to Kyle and covered her mouth with her hand. 

Kyle looked up and around immediately.

“No, no, don’t look,” she cautioned. 

“We probably look ridiculous sitting here pile
d up on each other,” he said sourly.

“What?” she panicked, afraid he would move to the seat across from her.  “No.  We just need to look more like we’re on a date.”

“Huh?” Kyle asked.

“Kiss me,” Amber said without thinking and felt her heart pounding in her ears.  “People are looking at us.  One of them is Arnold.  If we don’t act like a happy couple, he will realize something is up.”

An unfamiliar look clouded Kyle’s features and Amber felt her heart clench.  Tension flooded her body and amassed at the back of her neck.  She was about to clutch her head in her hands and hide, dying of embarrassment, and knead the stiff muscles of her neck when his expression changed.  His eyes lowered to her lips.  He leaned in, inching toward her until his breath was hot against her mouth.  Her heart banged against her ribcage, thumping so hard, she worried he could see it, that it would beat straight out of her chest.  She had never kissed another before and was unsure of what to do.  She wondered what Kyle’s lips would feel like against hers and was about to find out. 

His mouth hovered just a fraction of an inch from hers, drawing near with infinitesimal slowness.  She tipped her chin in expectancy and felt the tender skin of his lips graze hers.  The touch of his mouth against hers sent shivers racing across her skin.  Goosebumps arose on her flesh and she felt every hair on her body rise and quiver.  His hand went to her cheek and rested there and she felt his lips press against hers more firmly. 
Suddenly, the clanking of silverware against plates was hushed and the incessant buzz of chatter around them was silenced.  The entire world was quiet, in fact, save for the mad drumming of her heart.

Amber contemplated involving her tongue somehow, as she had seen women do on television, but was interrupted by someone clearing her throat inches away from them.

“Ahem,” Ginger uttered a little louder.  She was holding a soda in each hand.

Kyle’s lips left Amber’s and a small part of her felt like crying.  She had not wanted their kiss to end, for the warmth that had
encompassed her fully, wrapping itself around the entirety of her being, her heart to stop.  But it did, and abruptly. 

With their drinks and straws in front of them and the promise of their food arriving soon, Amber allowed her eyes to settle on the man with the glasses who huddled over his drink.  Her eyes traveled the length of his stooped body to his feet then back up again. 
The obvious bulge of a gun protruding from his waistband chilled her to her core and the reality of the man’s identity crystallized. 

Amber looked from the bulge to the man’s face and saw that his eyes were locked on hers
, cold, lifeless eyes with irises so dark they looked as black as his pupils, both murky, bottomless pits.  Tucked behind glasses she was sure he did not need, his gaze was murderous and his demeanor was calm.  But she knew he had all the poise of a coiled serpent waiting for the right moment to strike.  And that moment had come.

Realization flickered across his features and his mouth twisted into a cruel snarl.

“Shit!” Amber cried and jumped up.  She flipped the small table she and Kyle sat behind as Arnold leaped from his chair and drew his gun.  “Down!” she shouted at Kyle and pulled him to the floor and behind the overturned table. 

With the table shielding them,
they crouched as the first bullet slammed against the heavy wood and vinyl sending particles flying in every direction.  Shots whizzed past Amber, narrowly missing she and Kyle, and sent glass, plastic, wood and tufts of polyester filling showering upon them.  Kyle looked to Amber, his eyes frantic.  She took his hand in hers and looked to the gun she now clutched in her hand and nodded. 

When the firing stopped temp
orarily, she sprung to her feet with her gun aimed at Arnold Gathers who ducked out of sight and fumbled as he loaded a fresh ammunition clip into his gun, and began shooting.  Screams tore through the diner, shrill and bloodcurdling.  Bullets sprayed all around them as customers dove to the floor beneath tables and chairs, terrified.  Amber worried that innocent people would be hurt, that Kyle would be hurt.  She kept her attention divided between him and Arnold as she began advancing. 

Arnold made his way past tables to the front door and Amber followed cautiously.  Shots peppered the glass blocks of the entryway when she’d made it there just in time to see him slip out the door.  Glittery shards blasted at her and Kyle and she shielded her eyes from them as Arnold shot out the front window of the diner. 

“Are you okay?” she asked Kyle when she saw that he stumbled and nearly fell.

“I’m all right.  Let’s go,” he shouted, his ears undoubtedly ringing from the
deafening explosions of glass and gunfire. 

They scrambled out the door Arnold had just left from and were guarded every step of the way, moving gingerly as they scanned the parking lot.  Tires screeched and Amber snapped her head in the direction of the sound.  Taillights at the rear end of a beige cargo van were glowing, an eerie shade of red, in the rain swept night before rushing away from her. 

“Go!” she ordered Kyle.  “We need to get the car!  He’s getting on the highway!”

Kyle raced alongside her to the car and they both climbed in.  Her hands trembled as she shoved the key in the ignition and started it.  The engine roared to life and she
stomped the gas pedal.  The sturdy tires of the Mustang clawed at the wet roadway immediately and the car lurched forward, racing toward the onramp to the highway. 

“Whoa! Whoa!” Kyle hollered.  “There
, on the shoulder!” he pointed to a van driving in reverse on the shoulder of the interstate.  “Shit!  He’s coming back!”

The tan van backed up swiftly and blocked her access to the highway.

“What the hell is he doing?” Amber panicked then nearly choked on her words as she saw Arnold’s sinister face framed in the passenger side window of the van.  “Oh no!” she cried as he raised a handgun and began shooting again.  “Get down!” she screamed and she and Kyle huddled beneath the dashboard. 

She expected bullets and glass to shower atop them, but heard bullets pelt the front of the car instead.  The front end sagged noticeably.

“What the hell?” Kyle called out.

The sound of tires squealing
and skidding on wet pavement and an end to the bullets bombarding the body of the car caused them to lift their heads.  Slowly, Amber edged her chin over the dashboard and saw that the van had left.  Arnold was gone.

“He’s getting away!”
Kyle said and prompted her to slide behind the wheel and step on the gas again.  The car moved bumpily, handling as though it had square wheels. 

“What the hell?” Kyle asked.  “What’s wrong with the damn car?”

A sinking feeling gripped Amber, tugging her down deep.  “The tires,” she said then punched the armrest.  “He shot out the tires!”

“Shit!” Kyle screamed angrily.  “Shit!”

Amber heard the words Kyle had spoken, but his voice was muddled and sounded as if he were speaking to her from a great distance. The interior of the car billowed briefly and she felt hot and cold at once.  Arnold had gotten away, armed with a virus that would kill every human being on the planet. 

She turned to Kyle and felt tears burn the backs of her eyelids.  “He’s getting away, and now he knows we’re after him.  He won’t be stopping again and he’ll be in New York City in
no time.” She closed her eyes and rested her head against the back of her seat dejectedly.  “We just blew our only chance at stopping him.”

Chapter 16

Gradually brightening skies and slowing rain did not bode well for Gabriel as he crouched low behind a cluster of bushes just outside the perimeter of Terzini’s stockade fence.  Both would make him an easier target than he already would be when he climbed the fence and dashed across the open field to the compound.  Darkness and driving rain would have helped cloak his movements somewhat.  But both were gone now.  Dawn was upon him and the clouds were clearing fast.  He would be vulnerable.  But he had no intention of turning back, or waiting until nightfall.  Melissa was within the walls of the compound.  He knew it, could feel it in his bones as readily as he felt his heart beating in his chest.  And he would find her.

A single member patrolled the
roof of the quadrant he intended to breach. Gabriel watched him between the wooden slats of the fence as he paced his post.  The man’s eyes were on the part of the fence Gabriel waited behind, as if he sensed someone were in his midst.  Of course, he’d be right if he suspected an intruder, and a hostile one at that.  When the moment presented itself soon, Gabriel would not hesitate to put a bullet in his eye if he stood in his way.  He hoped it would not come to that, hoped that the guard would join the other members at the far-side of the fence when the commotion began so that he could slip in as quietly as possible.  But until that moment arrived, he would remain as he was.