Faint of Heart (18 page)

His blade slashed across her chin.

Her blade punched into his throat.

Alan grabbed his neck and gasped as if he were choking to death. His eyes went wide and blood dribbled from the corners of his mouth.

Rebecca picked up her chair, which felt weightless, and smashed it into him, knocking him to the floor.

Stephen ran at her.

As adrenaline fired through her veins, she swung the chair at him as well. Stephen held up his arm to defend himself, and it snapped on impact, a jagged bone bursting right through the sleeve of his jacket.

With the next swing, his jaw caved in.

He went down.

She bashed the chair into him one more time, and Stephen stopped moving.

There was no time to relax. She picked up Stephen's knife, hurried over to Gary, and gave him a big kiss on the lips. He winced in pain but kissed her back.

She cut one of his hands free then started on the other, but he shook his head.

"No, no, I can do it. You find a phone. You're bleeding really bad."

She looked down at her chest and realized that he was right. It was a ghastly stab wound. But she wasn't going to die from it. There was a hospital stay in both of their futures, but they weren't going to die.

Though she didn't want to resort to primal savagery, she couldn't have Alan attacking her while she was trying to search him for a phone. Three more bashes with the chair eliminated that possibility. Stephen was still breathing, but he was unconscious and no threat. If he did look like he might become a threat, she still had the chair.

She found a cell phone in his pocket; it had a signal.

She dialed 911.

* * *

They decided that it was better to wait for the authorities to pinpoint the cell phone signal than to risk getting lost trying to drive out of the woods, or passing out at the wheel of a moving vehicle. So they sat against the wall, holding each other.

"Did you really get into a bar fight?" she asked.

"Scott did," Gary admitted. "It was really stupid. We chewed him out the entire way to the campsite." He chuckled then winced. "I hope I didn't puncture a lung."

"So Scott and Doug are both dead?"

Gary gave her a sad nod. "Yeah." He wiped at his eyes. "I had no idea what those psychos wanted. They asked me all kinds of questions about what we'd done that day but they didn't say why they needed to know. I kept waiting for them to kill me. I was just...I was completely freaking out the entire time. I can't believe you rescued me."

"And now you're never allowed to leave me again."

Gary kissed her cheek. "Never."

* * *

They saw the flashing lights of the ambulance, and then the cabin was filled with paramedics and police officers. They lifted Rebecca onto a stretcher, assuring her that she was going to be all right.

As two cops raised Stephen's mangled body, he opened his eyes and shrieked in pain.

"You bitch!" he said. He sounded like he was trying to shout but his voice wasn't working right. "I'll find you! I'll hunt you down, and..." He coughed up some blood, and then shrieked out again as the cops lifted him onto his own stretcher, none too gently. "I'll find you," he repeated, and then he succumbed to pathetic sobbing.
 

Rebecca looked him straight in the eye and smiled.

"You don't scare me."

The End

Other Books by Jeff Strand

A Bad Day For Voodoo.
A young adult horror/comedy about why sticking pins in a voodoo doll of your history teacher isn't always the best idea.

Fangboy
. A dark comedy fairy tale about the adventures of Nathan Pepper, who was born with a mouth full of sharp teeth.

Wolf Hunt.
Two thugs for hire. One beautiful woman. And one vicious frickin' werewolf.

The Sinister Mr. Corpse.
The feel-good zombie novel of the year.

Dweller
. The story of a decades-long friendship between Toby and the monster that lives in the woods behind his home. Bram Stoker Award nominee for Best Novel.

Benjamin's Parasite.
A rather disgusting action/horror/comedy about why getting infected with a ghastly parasite is unpleasant.

Pressure.
What if your best friend was a killer...and he wanted you to be just like him? Bram Stoker Award nominee for Best Novel.

Kutter.
Charlie Stanlon is a reprehensible serial killer, a vicious beast who cares about nobody...until he finds an injured Boston Terrier in the park...

Graverobbers
Wanted (No Experience Necessary).
First in the Andrew Mayhem series.

Single White Psychopath Seeks Same.
Second in the Andrew Mayhem series.

Casket For Sale (Only Used Once).
Third in the Andrew Mayhem series.

Lost Homicidal Maniac (Answers to "Shirley").
Fourth in the Andrew Mayhem series.

Suckers (with JA
Konrath
).
Andrew Mayhem meets Harry McGlade. Which one will prove to be more incompetent?

Gleefully Macabre Tales.
A collection of thirty-two demented tales. Bram Stoker Award nominee for Best Collection.

The Severed Nose.
What would you do if you came home one evening and found a severed nose lying on a plate on your dining room table?

Disposal
. Frank, a self-proclaimed scumbag, is hired to murder an old man...but the old bastard just won't DIE!!!

Elrod
McBugle
on the Loose.
A comedy for kids (and adults who were warped as kids).

Out of Whack.
A coming-of-age comedy about love, friendship, and the realization that trying to yank somebody's panties off in a passionate manner can only lead to wedgies.

How to Rescue a Dead Princess.
A ridiculous spoof of fantasy novels. Lots and lots and lots of jokes, but I'm willing to admit that it perhaps tries a bit too hard.

The Haunted Forest Tour (with Jim Moore).
The greatest theme park attraction in the world! Take a completely safe ride through an actual haunted forest! Just hope that your tram doesn't break down, because this forest is PACKED with monsters...

Draculas
(with JA
Konrath
, Blake Crouch, and F. Paul Wilson).
An outbreak of feral vampires in a secluded hospital. This one isn't much like
Twilight.

For information on all of these books, visit Jeff Strand's more-or-less official website at
http://www.jeffstrand.com