The Final Rule (18 page)

“You’re making up for lost time.”

“I think you’re just trying to fatten me up for something.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know, but at the first sign of a barbeque pit and tiki torches, I’m out of here.”

Jon grinned. “You have nothing to worry about, I promise, because the parts of you I like to put my mouth on don’t require cooking.”

The heat rushed to Ellis’s cheeks. He tried to cover it with a glare but going by the look on Jon’s face he failed. Miserably. “You’re still recuperating.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll make up for that too.

Ellis looked over the pile of food. “Are you sure you left food in the pan?”

“Absolutely. And there’s still enough for seconds.”

“Seconds? Jon, if we ate half of what you’ve got on that plate, we’ll be sick the rest of the night.”

“Quit making excuses and eat.” Jon forked up a bite. “Here.”

“Let me get dressed.”

“Why?”

“Because I try not to make a habit of running around naked.”

“Maybe we should work on that.”

Ellis threw his towel at him.

It hit Jon in the chest. “Hey now, you’re messing up my spread.”

“Your spread?”

“Yes. I worked hard to carry this plate all the way from the kitchen so I can have the privilege of fattening you up in private.”

“See, you are up to no good.”

Ellis picked up the towel and sat. “You should be resting, not worrying about bringing me food.”

“I’m fine.”

“You’re black and blue.”

“Nothing’s broken.”

Ellis touched the bruise on the side of Jon’s face. “Does your head hurt?”

“As long as I don’t move around too fast, no.”

“What about you?” Jon pushed Ellis’s bangs back.

“I’m not the one who was in a coma.”

Jon dropped his gaze to Ellis’s foot.

“It was a sprain.”

“All the more reason you should stay off of it. Sprains can take a long time to heal. Walking on it won’t help.”

“I’m fine. It doesn’t hurt.”

“Ellis…”

“It doesn’t, I promise.”

Jon frowned.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“Something is.”

“I just worry about you, that’s all.”

Ellis snorted. “Tit for tat.”

“And what’s that supposed to mean?”

“I worry about you too, so that makes us even.”

Another look, but this time it was gone as quick as it came. Jon rolled his shoulder.

“See, it does hurt.”

“You asked about my head, not my shoulder. And it’s just stiff, nothing I can’t handle.” He held the fork up to Ellis’s lips. “Now eat.”

“Under one condition.”

“Oh?”

“You rest after we eat. You sleep a full night, you take the pain meds, and you don’t do anything for a whole day.”

“A whole day?”

“Yeah.”

“How about half?”

“Whole.”

“Three quarters.”

Ellis leveled his gaze. It was like arguing with a fence post. “A whole day.”

“All right. A whole day. But after that I get to run a marathon.” He waved the fork. “Open wide.”

Ellis took the bite. Sweet and salty accompanied the rich flavor of meat. He moaned. “That’s really good. What is it?”

“Who knows? It’s food and that’s all that matters.” Jon held up another bite.

“What about you?”

“I’m feeding you right now. We’ll worry about me later.”

“You haven’t eaten for almost four days and you’re worried about me?”

“What are you talking about? I sat right beside you at breakfast this morning.”

“A piece of toast and a single scrambled egg is not enough food for you. You wouldn’t even eat any of Eleanor’s pie the other night.”

“That’s because I wanted you to eat the last piece.”

“I ate three slices.”

“See. You would have never forgiven me if I had eaten it.”

“You practically crammed it down my throat.”

“You ate it. That’s all that matters. Besides, I didn’t want to overdo it until my stomach got used to food again.”

“Then what’s your excuse for today?”

“I ate lunch.”

“A can of soup.”

“The entire can.”

“Jon.” For once, just once, Ellis wanted the man to think of himself. “Please eat. And by eat I mean consume an actual meal.” He stole the fork and held it up.

“I’ll tell you what.” Jon reclaimed the fork. “For every two bites you take, I’ll take one.”

Ellis squinted. “That doesn’t sound fair.”

“You get a day’s rest out of me and I get a full meal out of you. Sounds perfectly fair to me.” He wiggled the fork. “Now eat.”

“I think I’m being played.” Ellis ate the offering. “Your turn.” Jon scooped up a small bite. Ellis said, “That’s not a bite.” He scooped up more. “Better.”

Jon raised the fork in a mock toast. “Glad you approve.” He ate it and his eyes widened. “Holy shit, that is good.” Jon took another bite. “Okay, two for two.”

They ate. When the plate was empty Jon pushed the TV tray next to the wall and sat against the headboard. He rubbed his stomach. “You should have made me stop.”

Ellis moved up beside him. “You? What about me?” Either way, the bellyache was worth it. And he was pretty sure Jon felt the same way. Ellis picked at the jeans Jon had on. “Why don’t you take those off and we’ll go to bed early?” Ellis wasn’t tired, but he couldn’t think of anything better than lying next to Jon. It was a gift he would never take for granted again.

“I will. Later.”

“Wait a minute. You promised to rest.”

“I will. It’s just that I…” He glanced at the bedroom door. “I promised Mrs. Marsh I’d help her clean up the kitchen.” He smiled but it was strained.

There was a lie in there somewhere. Ellis decided to play along. “Okay. Then I guess I’ll either go back to sleep or read.” He hadn’t even looked at the titles of the books on the shelf next to the window.

“I’ll be back in an hour, then you and I will get that rest.” Jon squeezed Ellis’s thigh. “But don’t wait up if you’re tired.”

“I’m fine.”

Jon stood. “I’m serious. If you’re tired go to sleep.”

“I will.”

Ellis waited a few minutes after Jon’s footsteps faded before he made any move to get dressed. He opened the bedroom door an inch. There were no voices coming from the other end of the house. Ellis eased down the hall and to the kitchen. It was empty. He found a note on the fridge to George from Eleanor about running to the store to get eggs for breakfast.

If Eleanor was gone, then where were Jon and George? It was dark in the dining room. Outside the bay window, warm light made yellow squares on the side of the shop and drew an outline around the door.

Ellis put his shoes on, grabbed his jacket, and made his way down the path. Dew clung to the grass, soaking the hem of his pants. He stopped near the window.

Ellis peered over the windowsill. George and Jon had large sheets of paper spread on the tailgate of an old truck.

Jon’s strong voice carried through the walls and into the night. “Does this road come out anywhere?” Jon moved his finger across the paper.

“Yeah. On the other side of Bissle’s chicken farm.”

“Can we get the track tank down that road?”

“Not with the tool bars. They fold, but they still take up space. We’ll have to stick to the main stretch.”

Jon rubbed his chin. “Do you think there would be any way to jury-rig an extra tank to a truck bed to go along with the tractor?”

“I suppose so. But most trucks aren’t going to be able to haul a full sized tank. We’d be better off getting that old tractor running. I’ve still got that hitch frame. It’s rusted up, but I think it has one more go in it. The sprayer for the tractor mounts on the front end but it’s not an injector.”

“As long as it soaks the ground, I think we’ll get results.”

“It’s a big piece of property, Jon.” George scratched the bald spot on top of his head. “We need more hands.”

“No.”

“It’s not going to do any good if we only do this half-assed. We’ll need to soak the field. Not only that, how do you plan on getting out of there without a vehicle? That thing moves fast. We’d never outrun it. And with each of us on a tractor, there’d be no one to drive a car.”

“I’m not bringing Ellis into this.”

“I’m not talking about Ellis. I know some men. And I think the more hands we have the better our chances.”

“And how do you plan on explaining that we’re going to soak a field in gas and torch something called
The Big and Terrible
. Remember how you reacted?”

George’s cheeks reddened. “This will be different. I served with these men. They’ll listen and they’ll believe.”

“You sound sure of yourself.”

“Son, I am sure. These guys trusted me with their lives. They went in blind on my word alone more times than I’d like to entertain. If I tell them about this creature, they’d consider it their duty to kill it.”

“Okay. Talk to them. But make sure they understand what we’re up against.” Jon gave his attention back to the map. “So how do you suggest we deliver the gas?”

“The topographical map shows a slope. I think if we can get enough fuel…” He put a finger on the paper. “Gravity will pull it across the field toward the house.”

“What about the trees? There’s debris on the ground, do you think it will get in the way?”

“Some. But two thousand gallons of fuel will wash the ground pretty good. With the soil already saturated from the rain it’s not going to sink as quick either.”

Jon picked up a small day planner. “I called the numbers you gave me. I’ve got each delivery tankard coming in on a different day. I think we can have enough in a week without people getting curious as to why we’re buying that much fuel.”

George tossed his chin. “It’s less about raising suspicion and more about the fact my ground tank only holds about a thousand gallons at a time.”

Jon pulled out one of the wide sheets of paper from the stack. He laid it out. “We could put the small barrel on the truck. How many gallons does it hold?”

“Three hundred, give or take.”

“If we get help, we could set up a few more trucks with fuel.”

George grinned.

“What’s that look for?”

“Thinking about Henry. I bet that son-of-a bitch has a box or two of dynamite.”

Jon’s eyes widened. “You’re kidding.”

“Nope. His daddy used to work the mineshafts around here. Was a pretty common thing for him to bring a few sticks home in his coat pocket. Built up a pile of them after a while.”

“And what are we going to need dynamite for?”

“It couldn’t hurt.”

Ellis pulled away from the window. Jon and George continued to plan taking on
The Big and Terrible
.

Getting treated like a glass trinket was getting pretty fucking old.

He yanked open the shop door.

Jon and George froze mid sentence. Ellis grazed a look over both of them, stopping on Jon.

“You bastard,” Ellis said.

Jon held out a hand. “It’s not what you think.”

“Are you kidding me? Do you really think I’m that stupid?”

“No, of course not.” He took a step forward and Ellis took a step back.

“You’re going after that thing.” Ellis pointed. “After everything you said to me? How much you cared. How you didn’t want to lose me.”

“It’s the truth.”

White hot anger boiled through Ellis’s body. “Then why the hell are you trying so goddamned hard to kill yourself?”

“Ellis—”

“Shut up, Jon. Just shut up. You know how dangerous that thing is. You were there in the Grove. You know what it’s capable of.”

“Which is exactly why I don’t want you near it.”

“But it’s okay for you to go. It’s okay for you to risk your life.”

Jon shuffled from foot to foot. “I’m just trying to protect you.” Worry darkened his gaze.

“You’re not trying to protect me.” Ellis walked up to Jon. “You’re trying to kill yourself. After all your declarations and your promises to me, you’re still looking for a way out.”

“That’s not true.” He caressed Ellis’s cheek.

He knocked Jon’s hand away. “It is true. This,” Ellis waved a hand at the tailgate of the truck. “This proves it’s true. So what is it? I’m not enough? That I’m not good enough?”

Jon pressed his lips together. “Never.”

“Then why, Jon? Tell me why you would go out there and face that thing. You had it inside you. You know how evil it is.”

The muscles in Jon’s shoulders tightened until the cords stood out on his neck. “Yeah, I do know. I also know it’s not going to stop. It’s going to infect this town, and then it’s going to infect the next town. It wants total destruction. It wants to kill everyone.” He nodded at George. “If we can burn it back, then we can drive it into hiding for a long time.”

“It doesn’t need to be driven back, it needs to be destroyed. And if I can get close enough to it I might be able to figure out how to do that.”

Jon grabbed Ellis’s shoulder and gave him one hard shake. “You will not go anywhere near that thing.” Ellis tried to jerk away, but Jon held on. “Do you hear me?”

“You don’t own me, Jon. You don’t decide what I can and can’t do.”

“This time I do decide and I will not let you near it.”

Ellis shoved Jon back and he stumbled into a workbench. Tools rained to the floor.

George grabbed Jon by the arm and kept him from falling over. “He’s only looking out for you.”

Ellis pointed a finger at George. “And you. You of all people. To do this behind my back.” To Jon Ellis said, “I believed you. All those times you told me you loved me. I believed you.”

“I didn’t lie. I do love you.”

“No, Jon, you don’t.”

Jon’s nostrils flared and he seemed to get bigger right in front of Ellis’s eyes. “Do not tell me that I don’t love you. Because I do. More than you could ever imagine.”

“No. I am nothing but a possession to you. Something you put on a shelf so it doesn’t get broken. That’s not love. No matter how hard you try to convince yourself it is.” Jon made another grab for Ellis, but he stepped out of reach. “I will not stand by and watch you throw yourself at that thing under the misconception you’re doing it to protect me.” Ellis’s throat tightened and his eyes stung, but his anger beat back the sadness welling inside him. “Because there’s nothing to protect. It’s over.” He swallowed against the pain those words created. “I’m no longer a part of your life.” The agony in Jon’s expression forced Ellis back to the house.