Chapter 9 - Lily
Lily
Three days since the comet landed, bringing constant rain with it. Sprinkles and storms, heavy and light, and never-ending. Today bestowed upon us a springtime storm.
I hated the rain.
“See that car up ahead?” I asked, pointing to the opposite side of the road. “Can you slow down?”
A white sports car had hit a tree hard enough to smash its entire front end. The driver’s door hung open, showing us the empty interior.
“My guess? He drove fast, lost control, and went face-first into the pine tree,” Dean said.
I didn’t care about that part. “Whoever it was, they survived. Let’s hope they found their loved ones again.”
He didn’t respond.
I didn’t mind. We’d stuck to casual conversation since our agreement two days ago: lighter topics like favorite movies or some of Violet’s teaching stories.
My heart twitched during some retellings, but they kept our moods light and stopped any creeping silence.
I’d call it friendship, or a repaired relationship, under different circumstances. “Like yesterday’s picnic.”
It reminded me of why I had enjoyed his company so much.
Once he forgot about his kidnapping and killing, Dean was remarkably fun to be around.
It, plus our partnership agreement, made the journey bearable.
If it continued, I’d consider inviting him to stay with us in Deer Lake.
It’s where he grew up, after all. What else would he do?
“That creeped me out. Celebrating the end of the world?” Dean gave a mock shiver.
“Celebrating life,” I guessed. “It’s strange what we see out here.”
A few hundred people gathered in their town park as children played in the rain and men grilled under covered picnic areas. They’d even tied balloons to the trees.
It unnerved me even as it gave me hope. I rubbed my arms, despite the heater aimed at me.
“It was a cult,” Dean argued.
“Small towns aren’t cults,” I said.
“They may as well be.” He went on, switching topics rather than elaborating. “Have you heard of this place before?”
We passed a white sign with Citrus Grove emblazoned in yellow paint.
Dark buildings and empty streets, with no sign of a militia group or rescue workers.
“People either hunker down or panic and run. This town hunkered. That won’t last.” He spoke from experience.
The engine purred and quieted as Dean pulled into a used car dealership.
“We’re going to rob them?” I asked.
“We need a truck. After that lake yesterday, I want a vehicle with higher ground clearance. You don’t want to get swept away, do you?” he said, like it was a joke.
We passed a pond that had turned into a small lake yesterday. It overflowed multiple roads, forcing us to travel south and west before turning back towards home.
“So, we go in at gunpoint and tell them to stick ‘em up. You need to teach me because this is my first robbery.”
“Funny girl.” He chuckled. “We don’t have a gun or ammo, and we don’t need one. We have me.”
“What does that mean?”
“You carry our bags, so my hands are free. Stay behind me.” Dean looked over my shoulder at the inside showroom. “There’s no moving shadows or lights. It’s possible no one is home.”
“You sound disappointed,” I said and drew back at his answering smile. “Maybe the bogeyman will come out so you can terrify him.”
“If we’re lucky,” he said.
The dealership had seen better days, with its drooping roof and rotten wood trim. The double door, two planes of scratched glass, opened with a single push.
“There’s no one here,” I said.
The employees either never showed up or fled. Two metal desks and uncomfortable visitor chairs greeted us. A long counter, covered in folders and paperwork, stood between us and a few old cars.
Our voices echoed off the dirty tile walls. I wiped raindrops off my arms. “Do you think there are towels here? Ones that aren’t gross.”
Dean’s head poked up from behind the counter. “Look in one of those desks. Not sure about the gross part.”
I approached the desks where a short hallway led to a private office. A man stood in its doorway, watching me.
How long had he been there?
He stepped forward, out of the shadow and into the dull gray light.
I stepped back.
His glassy eyes combined with an unsteady gait. “You alone?”
“We’re here to purchase a vehicle. With cash.” Did we have any? I doubted it, considering Dean’s commitment to theft.
“I don’t want your money. Come with me instead.” The man reached for me and missed. “It’s not safe alone.”
“Are you drunk?”
Using alcohol to chase away despair? I shuddered at the idea.
“You cold?” He reached for my shoulder. “I have a jacket.” He reeked of stale sweat. “Let’s take care of you.”
“Dean!”
He appeared, shoving the man back and onto the floor. “Don’t touch her again.” He stood over the drunken man, boot heel against his throat. “Feel that. A light tap. No pressure at all. A little more, and you’re dead.”
I placed an arm on Dean’s shoulder, trying and failing to move him away. “He’s drunk, not a threat. There’s no reason to harm him. He offered me a jacket; that’s all.”
“He reeks of alcohol.” Dean didn’t budge. “He’s also sober enough to understand. What do you drive?”
“The gray truck. Right by the door,” the man whimpered. “Please. My name is Gary. I have a family. Kids. Two boys.” His whimpers changed to tears.
“You should be with them, not here. Where are they?” Dean asked.
“With their mother. She left me.”
“Of course she did.” Dean squatted down. “Did you drive with them in the car? Or drink too much one night? They were loud, and you wanted to finish your whisky. Is that it?”
Gary sniveled and wiped his nose. “I wanted to get them, but she lived on Amelia Island. Do you know how far that is? There was no point. I heard it was coming and thought maybe I should get them.” Dean rose and stepped back.
The man’s blubbering continued. “I told her I was sorry and to come home. She said she’d take our kids to her parents’ house. I should have tried.”
Revulsion and pity warred within me. “What were their names?” I asked.
“My kids?” He paused. “Willy and Ben. Good boys. They loved baseball. They were good, sweet boys, like their mother.”
“Like their mother?” Dean’s expression soured. “And you didn’t even try? You came here to drink yourself to death because that’s easier than facing the truth. You’re a fucking coward.”
“I wanted to save them.” His blubbering worsened.
“You can’t kill him,” I pointed out, instinct guiding me to remind Dean of that.
“Who’d stop me?” Dean asked, tapping his thigh. “Where are your keys?”
“On my desk.” Snot trickled from Gary’s nose.
“Lily, will you check for me?”
I found them in the promised location. “Here. We can’t just steal from him.” I sighed, frantic for a way to ease the situation. “We won’t kill him either. I’ll stop you if you try.”
“If you don’t hurt me, I’ll tell you where I kept the extra gas,” Gary said.
“Extra gas? You were going to use it to get your family, and changed your mind,” Dean guessed. “There’s plenty of other vehicles for him to pick from.” He flipped the man onto his stomach and straddled him, placing a knee against his lower back. “Lily, get the tape from our bag.”
We had tape? I found the black roll and handed it over. “What are you going to do?”
He zip-tied the man’s hands, and I remembered what he said about them hurting. The poor guy whimpered from fear and pain.
His eyes reminded me of a frightened rabbit.
“Where’s the extra fuel?” Dean asked.
“Back of my truck. Truck bed. Two spare cans,” Gary said in a rush.
“Let’s hope you’re telling the truth.” Dean cut a piece of tape with his teeth.
“So you can’t see.” He tore another one.
“Or talk.” He stood, leaving the man on the floor.
“You’ll escape, though I recommend taking a few minutes before you try.
Do what remains of this world a favor. Stay here and drink yourself to death. Choke in your own vomit.”
“We can’t leave him here like that.”
“Let him die. He’s not our problem.” Dean squatted down by Gary.
“I don’t think you’re a wife-beater. Maybe you cheated; I don’t know.
She left you for a reason. Did you hit your boys instead?
If there’s any courage left in you, think about your family and what you did to them.
Other people need your help. Either hurry and drink yourself to death or figure out what you’ll do next.
Be a better man. For them, at least try.
” He stood and gripped my arm to prevent me from removing the tape. “We’re going now.”
Dean flipped me over his shoulders in a firefighter’s hold, letting my helpless legs dangle. Shock stopped my protests as he carried me from the car dealership and back into the ceaseless rain.
I shivered once we were inside. Dean noticed and turned on the heat.
“We’re partners,” I reminded him. “We don’t toss people over shoulders without permission.”
“I’ll try to remember that for next time.”
“Try harder. Succeed.”
He gripped our new vehicle’s steering wheel with enough force to rip it off.
Considering his previous behavior and actions, he’d been remarkably controlled until now.
Dean brought a strange order to the way he’d kidnapped me, deliberate to the point it caught me unprepared.
His attack on the car salesman was different.
It was personal, and I’d find out why.
“I will never do that to you. I’d die first.” He put our new truck in drive. “I’d kill anyone who ever touched you like that.”