Been a while...
...but I'm not sure anyone's paying attention anyway. So, if you wish-
Chapter 13
“Ok, Ranger, let’s go home.” All I wanted was my nice warm bed. I was going to go home and sleep for about three months. I figured that by then, my head would feel better.
“Little problem, Babe.” Oh, geez. What now? “How are we going to get home?”
“Um, Ranger? I hate to break this to you, being that I’m blind and all, but why don’t we drive?” We stopped walking, and I sensed Ranger turn and face me.
“That was my original idea, but the tires on Carmichael’s car are trashed. He must have done it while I was out, but I can’t imagine why. Anyway, we aren’t going anywhere in it.”
“What about Mr. Grabby’s car?”
There was a pause. I imagined Ranger looking at me like I was completely insane. I could even feel the air around me move as he pulled away slightly.
“Steph, do you need to sit down? Are you dizzy? Have you blacked out since you got out of the trunk?”
“Blacked out. Ha ha, very funny. Make fun of the blind girl. No, I haven’t. I’m fine, more or less. I was saying, why don’t we use the car of the other guy? The one who zapped you and Carmichael.” Next to me, Ranger tensed.
“What other guy?” Ranger asked quickly, to the point. Uh oh, Ranger was in war mode.
“Don’t you see him? He should be over, um…somewhere, curled up on the ground. I smashed his groin and then zapped him.” The air moved again as Ranger scanned the area.
“Babe, no one is there.”
Oh, shit.
Chapter 14
“Babe, you’ve got to tell me what the hell is going on, but let’s get somewhere safe first. I don’t want to take anymore chances.” Ranger started walking again, towing me along behind him.
“Are we heading to the gas station?” I’m sure Ranger would have better luck finding a phone than I would.
“No, the gas station looks like it could pass for a small jail. All of the windows and doors have steel bars inside. There’s no way to get past them.” Well, this just kept getting better and better. “We’ll have to head to the woods. I should be able to lose anyone that tries to follow. Then we’ll find someway to call for help.”
We were moving faster now and I was struggling to keep up. “Here, Babe. Hold this.” Ranger thrust what felt like the handles of some kind of bag into my hands.
“What’s this?” I asked.
“Duffle bag. Not sure what’s inside yet. I’ll check it out when we get out of sight.”
I was really having problems following this. “What, did you just pull that out of your ass or something?”
Ranger chuckled. “No, it was in the backseat of Carmichael’s car. I grabbed it on my way out. Here, hold on.” Ranger shifted and placed my arms around his neck. The handles of the bag slid to rest on my shoulder. “Don’t choke me, but hop on.”
I did a little hop and wrapped my legs around Ranger. My front was pressed to his back, with my legs around his hips. His hands grabbed the back of my knees and I linked my ankles. Kind of like the rides I gave my nieces. “This way we can move faster, and I don’t have to worry about you tripping.”
“Doesn’t this hurt your shoulder?”
“No, that’s why I picked you up like this. You are basically holding up your own weight, and my hands are just helping a little.” Cool, I was finally doing something on my own.
I held tight as Ranger left the smoothness of the pavement and went down a small hill. When the ground leveled off a bit, I could hear the sound of leaves and twigs breaking under Ranger’s step, though not as loud as I would have expected. I guess Ranger was doing his best with the wind impression, only slightly hindered by a monkey on his back.
My head started to swim more as Ranger walked. He took no more than a few steps before he turned in one direction or another. I would have been screwed if I ran out on my own. Chances are I wouldn’t have made it down the hill before I fell on my face.
“So how did you get away from Carmichael? I thought I heard struggling when I was coming back.” I was speaking quietly, into Ranger’s ear, just in case someone was nearby.
“I was fighting with Carmichael when I got zapped. I came too when I felt him moving next to me. I put him down before he had a chance to wake up much. I was wondering why he was out too, I figured he managed to stun me somehow, but didn’t know why he would have been out too. But with this other guy you were talking about, it makes more sense,” he answered.
“Did you kill him?” I still wasn’t sure how I felt about Ranger killing people for me. I was moved that someone cared that much for me, but I still thought that murder was wrong. No matter what the circumstances.
“No, I just held him in a sleeper hold until he passed out. He has a good twenty minutes before he comes to again.”
I made a small noise of affirmation and then rested my head besides his. I could smell the last lingering traces of his shampoo. Amazing the things that can calm you. A simple touch, smell, or sight. I sighed thinking about the last thing.
“I know you don’t know for sure, but when will I know if I’m blind or not?”
Ranger was silent. Finding an answer that wasn’t going to freak me out, I’m sure. “In the morning, we’ll see what’s happening. If you are still not seeing anything in a few days, then we’ll need to start dealing with that possibility.”
“You keep saying we. I’m the only one that is blind. You don’t have to deal with anything,” I said.
“You’re wrong, Steph. I got you into this mess. I’m taking responsibility.”
“I see. I’m just a responsibility now.” My voice got even lower. Hard to do that threatening voice from a whisper.
“Babe, you are never a responsibility. That came out wrong. I care about you. This is why I said I couldn’t do relationships. Too many people out there would love to get a piece of me. A significant other is just another way to do that. I didn’t want anyone to hurt you or come after you trying to get to me. When I said it, I didn’t realize how you felt about me, and didn’t realize that it would hurt you too. I felt like I was just protecting you,” He was quiet for a moment, and then quieter, he added, “I thought sleeping with me was just a way to get back at Morelli.”
“No, Ranger.” Tears filled my eyes.
“I know now how much you care. I’ve been beating myself up ever since I told you to go back to Morelli.” Ranger’s hand had started to stroke the back of my calves, like he was trying to smooth the past. “No matter what happens, from now on, I’m going to be right next to you. I never want you to feel alone again.” Cue the waterworks.
Chapter 15
It took about twenty minutes, but we finally found a place to stop. Ranger set me down and I listened to the sounds of branches breaking over here, and the underbrush moving over there. I squatted down to feel the ground around me, moving anything that might impale me, before sitting down.
I pulled the duffle bag into my lap and began going through the contents. On the very top was a small, flat box. I turned it around, and played with it in my hands, and discovered that it was a box of cigarettes. Stuffed inside the box was a small lighter.
“Hey, Ranger! Look at this,” I called holding up the lighter.
The air shifted and his scent slowly covered me. I heard the soft shuffle of leaves and felt him sit down next to me. “This is great, but it won’t help much until we are sure that we aren’t being followed any more.”
“Huh? You mean we can’t use it to make a fire?” I heard his hair move as he shook his head. “Then how are we going to keep warm?”
“I’ll make a shelter that should keep the most of the wind out. Then we’ll use each other’s body heat to keep warm.” Yeah, I’m sure Ranger was smiling at this. Gulp. Let’s just hope that the hormones control themselves.
“Why can’t we make a fire?”
“A fire generates lots of smoke and is like a homing beacon to anyone tracking you. Never make a fire if you are hiding from someone or trying to stay unobtrusive.”
Ranger took the duffle from my lap and shuffled through the rest of the content, then whistled low.
“Man, Carmichael didn’t have anything good planned for us.” Ranger said, sighing a bit.
“What else is in there?”
“He’s got a tarp and a few trash bags.” I swallowed hard. ”There’s the wickedest hunting knife that I’ve ever seen and a roll of duct tape. Some more rope and a 9 mil Glock.” Ouch. I didn’t even want to contemplate what that could have meant for us. Ranger wrapped an arm around me and hugged me tight. I wrapped both around him and buried my face into his neck Just the thought of losing Ranger was almost too much to bear.
After I calmed down a bit I realized that Ranger was still only using one arm. “How is your shoulder doing?” I asked.
“Better than before. Still pretty sore. I’m trying not to use it too much in case I really tore things up in there.”
“Can you use some of the rope and make a sling?”
“Yeah, there’s plenty here. The tarp and duct tape with also help with a shelter “
I heard some rustling next to me. Then Ranger said, “Can you help me here for a sec?”
“Sure, what do you need?”
“See if you tie this rope to hold my arm in? I can’t do this one handed.” Ranger took my hands and guided them to the ends of the rope. I followed the ends in, and felt that he had it going around his torso, under his good arm and over the left one, right above the elbow. I tied the ends. Tight enough that his arm wouldn’t move too much, but loose enough so it wouldn’t hurt him. I finished running my hands over his chest and felt another rope that was looped around his wrist, then up and around his neck.
“How does that feel?” I asked.
“Better, thanks Babe.” Ranger stood and grabbed my hand. He led me to the area that he cleared and had me sit again. The air was stiller here, with a slight smell of rotting leaves. Not totally unpleasant, but it masked Ranger’s odor a bit. “Ok, so you want to tell me what was going on when I was out?”
Here we go. “Ok, when you told me to run, I tried, but with my head and not being about to see, I was too dizzy. I went down on the ground and tried to crawl, but someone grabbed me. I thought it was you at first, but they didn’t feel the same. He tried to pick me up and drag me into the woods, but I managed to get loose. Only, it wasn’t very successful, and he caught me again. I asked him what was going on, and he said he was helping Carmichael because he believed the same things, but also said he didn’t believe in killing innocent people. Whatever that means. Then he told me that Carmichael was going to kill me because I wasn’t part of the original plan. Mr. Grabby also said that I would lend collateral. Then he told me that he had stunned you because you were getting the upper hand, but he was going to leave you there for Carmichael to, umm…take care of.” A hand snaked over my shoulder and stroked it reassuringly. “I wasn’t going to let that happen, so I kicked him in the groin, then stunned him. He should have been still lying on the ground.”
“What did this guy sound like?” Ranger asked.
“He had a deeper voice than Carmichael, but it was really raspy.” The hand stopped. “Ranger?”
“Samson. Shit, we gotta move. Now.”
Chapter 13
“Ok, Ranger, let’s go home.” All I wanted was my nice warm bed. I was going to go home and sleep for about three months. I figured that by then, my head would feel better.
“Little problem, Babe.” Oh, geez. What now? “How are we going to get home?”
“Um, Ranger? I hate to break this to you, being that I’m blind and all, but why don’t we drive?” We stopped walking, and I sensed Ranger turn and face me.
“That was my original idea, but the tires on Carmichael’s car are trashed. He must have done it while I was out, but I can’t imagine why. Anyway, we aren’t going anywhere in it.”
“What about Mr. Grabby’s car?”
There was a pause. I imagined Ranger looking at me like I was completely insane. I could even feel the air around me move as he pulled away slightly.
“Steph, do you need to sit down? Are you dizzy? Have you blacked out since you got out of the trunk?”
“Blacked out. Ha ha, very funny. Make fun of the blind girl. No, I haven’t. I’m fine, more or less. I was saying, why don’t we use the car of the other guy? The one who zapped you and Carmichael.” Next to me, Ranger tensed.
“What other guy?” Ranger asked quickly, to the point. Uh oh, Ranger was in war mode.
“Don’t you see him? He should be over, um…somewhere, curled up on the ground. I smashed his groin and then zapped him.” The air moved again as Ranger scanned the area.
“Babe, no one is there.”
Oh, shit.
Chapter 14
“Babe, you’ve got to tell me what the hell is going on, but let’s get somewhere safe first. I don’t want to take anymore chances.” Ranger started walking again, towing me along behind him.
“Are we heading to the gas station?” I’m sure Ranger would have better luck finding a phone than I would.
“No, the gas station looks like it could pass for a small jail. All of the windows and doors have steel bars inside. There’s no way to get past them.” Well, this just kept getting better and better. “We’ll have to head to the woods. I should be able to lose anyone that tries to follow. Then we’ll find someway to call for help.”
We were moving faster now and I was struggling to keep up. “Here, Babe. Hold this.” Ranger thrust what felt like the handles of some kind of bag into my hands.
“What’s this?” I asked.
“Duffle bag. Not sure what’s inside yet. I’ll check it out when we get out of sight.”
I was really having problems following this. “What, did you just pull that out of your ass or something?”
Ranger chuckled. “No, it was in the backseat of Carmichael’s car. I grabbed it on my way out. Here, hold on.” Ranger shifted and placed my arms around his neck. The handles of the bag slid to rest on my shoulder. “Don’t choke me, but hop on.”
I did a little hop and wrapped my legs around Ranger. My front was pressed to his back, with my legs around his hips. His hands grabbed the back of my knees and I linked my ankles. Kind of like the rides I gave my nieces. “This way we can move faster, and I don’t have to worry about you tripping.”
“Doesn’t this hurt your shoulder?”
“No, that’s why I picked you up like this. You are basically holding up your own weight, and my hands are just helping a little.” Cool, I was finally doing something on my own.
I held tight as Ranger left the smoothness of the pavement and went down a small hill. When the ground leveled off a bit, I could hear the sound of leaves and twigs breaking under Ranger’s step, though not as loud as I would have expected. I guess Ranger was doing his best with the wind impression, only slightly hindered by a monkey on his back.
My head started to swim more as Ranger walked. He took no more than a few steps before he turned in one direction or another. I would have been screwed if I ran out on my own. Chances are I wouldn’t have made it down the hill before I fell on my face.
“So how did you get away from Carmichael? I thought I heard struggling when I was coming back.” I was speaking quietly, into Ranger’s ear, just in case someone was nearby.
“I was fighting with Carmichael when I got zapped. I came too when I felt him moving next to me. I put him down before he had a chance to wake up much. I was wondering why he was out too, I figured he managed to stun me somehow, but didn’t know why he would have been out too. But with this other guy you were talking about, it makes more sense,” he answered.
“Did you kill him?” I still wasn’t sure how I felt about Ranger killing people for me. I was moved that someone cared that much for me, but I still thought that murder was wrong. No matter what the circumstances.
“No, I just held him in a sleeper hold until he passed out. He has a good twenty minutes before he comes to again.”
I made a small noise of affirmation and then rested my head besides his. I could smell the last lingering traces of his shampoo. Amazing the things that can calm you. A simple touch, smell, or sight. I sighed thinking about the last thing.
“I know you don’t know for sure, but when will I know if I’m blind or not?”
Ranger was silent. Finding an answer that wasn’t going to freak me out, I’m sure. “In the morning, we’ll see what’s happening. If you are still not seeing anything in a few days, then we’ll need to start dealing with that possibility.”
“You keep saying we. I’m the only one that is blind. You don’t have to deal with anything,” I said.
“You’re wrong, Steph. I got you into this mess. I’m taking responsibility.”
“I see. I’m just a responsibility now.” My voice got even lower. Hard to do that threatening voice from a whisper.
“Babe, you are never a responsibility. That came out wrong. I care about you. This is why I said I couldn’t do relationships. Too many people out there would love to get a piece of me. A significant other is just another way to do that. I didn’t want anyone to hurt you or come after you trying to get to me. When I said it, I didn’t realize how you felt about me, and didn’t realize that it would hurt you too. I felt like I was just protecting you,” He was quiet for a moment, and then quieter, he added, “I thought sleeping with me was just a way to get back at Morelli.”
“No, Ranger.” Tears filled my eyes.
“I know now how much you care. I’ve been beating myself up ever since I told you to go back to Morelli.” Ranger’s hand had started to stroke the back of my calves, like he was trying to smooth the past. “No matter what happens, from now on, I’m going to be right next to you. I never want you to feel alone again.” Cue the waterworks.
Chapter 15
It took about twenty minutes, but we finally found a place to stop. Ranger set me down and I listened to the sounds of branches breaking over here, and the underbrush moving over there. I squatted down to feel the ground around me, moving anything that might impale me, before sitting down.
I pulled the duffle bag into my lap and began going through the contents. On the very top was a small, flat box. I turned it around, and played with it in my hands, and discovered that it was a box of cigarettes. Stuffed inside the box was a small lighter.
“Hey, Ranger! Look at this,” I called holding up the lighter.
The air shifted and his scent slowly covered me. I heard the soft shuffle of leaves and felt him sit down next to me. “This is great, but it won’t help much until we are sure that we aren’t being followed any more.”
“Huh? You mean we can’t use it to make a fire?” I heard his hair move as he shook his head. “Then how are we going to keep warm?”
“I’ll make a shelter that should keep the most of the wind out. Then we’ll use each other’s body heat to keep warm.” Yeah, I’m sure Ranger was smiling at this. Gulp. Let’s just hope that the hormones control themselves.
“Why can’t we make a fire?”
“A fire generates lots of smoke and is like a homing beacon to anyone tracking you. Never make a fire if you are hiding from someone or trying to stay unobtrusive.”
Ranger took the duffle from my lap and shuffled through the rest of the content, then whistled low.
“Man, Carmichael didn’t have anything good planned for us.” Ranger said, sighing a bit.
“What else is in there?”
“He’s got a tarp and a few trash bags.” I swallowed hard. ”There’s the wickedest hunting knife that I’ve ever seen and a roll of duct tape. Some more rope and a 9 mil Glock.” Ouch. I didn’t even want to contemplate what that could have meant for us. Ranger wrapped an arm around me and hugged me tight. I wrapped both around him and buried my face into his neck Just the thought of losing Ranger was almost too much to bear.
After I calmed down a bit I realized that Ranger was still only using one arm. “How is your shoulder doing?” I asked.
“Better than before. Still pretty sore. I’m trying not to use it too much in case I really tore things up in there.”
“Can you use some of the rope and make a sling?”
“Yeah, there’s plenty here. The tarp and duct tape with also help with a shelter “
I heard some rustling next to me. Then Ranger said, “Can you help me here for a sec?”
“Sure, what do you need?”
“See if you tie this rope to hold my arm in? I can’t do this one handed.” Ranger took my hands and guided them to the ends of the rope. I followed the ends in, and felt that he had it going around his torso, under his good arm and over the left one, right above the elbow. I tied the ends. Tight enough that his arm wouldn’t move too much, but loose enough so it wouldn’t hurt him. I finished running my hands over his chest and felt another rope that was looped around his wrist, then up and around his neck.
“How does that feel?” I asked.
“Better, thanks Babe.” Ranger stood and grabbed my hand. He led me to the area that he cleared and had me sit again. The air was stiller here, with a slight smell of rotting leaves. Not totally unpleasant, but it masked Ranger’s odor a bit. “Ok, so you want to tell me what was going on when I was out?”
Here we go. “Ok, when you told me to run, I tried, but with my head and not being about to see, I was too dizzy. I went down on the ground and tried to crawl, but someone grabbed me. I thought it was you at first, but they didn’t feel the same. He tried to pick me up and drag me into the woods, but I managed to get loose. Only, it wasn’t very successful, and he caught me again. I asked him what was going on, and he said he was helping Carmichael because he believed the same things, but also said he didn’t believe in killing innocent people. Whatever that means. Then he told me that Carmichael was going to kill me because I wasn’t part of the original plan. Mr. Grabby also said that I would lend collateral. Then he told me that he had stunned you because you were getting the upper hand, but he was going to leave you there for Carmichael to, umm…take care of.” A hand snaked over my shoulder and stroked it reassuringly. “I wasn’t going to let that happen, so I kicked him in the groin, then stunned him. He should have been still lying on the ground.”
“What did this guy sound like?” Ranger asked.
“He had a deeper voice than Carmichael, but it was really raspy.” The hand stopped. “Ranger?”
“Samson. Shit, we gotta move. Now.”