The Vanishing by Gary Winston Brown

Author:Gary Winston Brown [Brown, Gary Winston]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-04-16T16:00:00+00:00

39

VIRGIL LISTENED AS Fallon’s footsteps faded away, each creak on the landing at the back of the building more distant than the last. He rolled one of the tall linen bolts aside and slipped out of his hiding place. He was safe once more, yet he could not help but feel strangely exposed, as though his every move was being watched. Had Fallon really given up the search? Perhaps he was waiting around the corner, anticipating the opening of the door, his outstretched arm steadying the handgun he had taken from the closet pressed against the building wall, lining up the kill shot. Am I going to walk into a bullet the minute I step outside? Virgil thought. He dried his damp palms against his shirt and recalled the anger in Prophet’s words before he left and ordered Fallon to meet up with the others for dinner. It was obvious now that Fallon was much more of a concern than he had originally thought him to be. He was willing to challenge Prophet, and that made him dangerous. He had to warn Sky and the others. If he was losing control, he could be capable of anything, including killing Prophet, and anyone else for that matter.

Virgil cracked open the back door. If Fallon was waiting for him to show himself, there was also the possibility that he might not take the shot at all. The gunfire would draw attention. The others would come running. Fallon knew the consequences that would befall him from such an act if he were to bring violence to them, especially shooting and killing one of their own. He would be ex-communicated. There would be no police investigation, no formal charges. They were a family and took care of their own. Fallon would be dead to them. Not that that mattered much. Most already viewed him as an outcast, an unapproachable personality steeped in mystery, shrouded in secrecy. Every prophet has his Judas, Virgil thought, some deadlier than others. Perhaps the real danger was not in their relationship, but in what might come from the breaking of it.

A cool mist had swept down from the mountain, bringing with it a moon-silvered fog which swirled at Virgil’s feet as he eased open the door and looked out at the wooden landing. A rusty hinge creaked, startled him. He froze, waited for a bullet to find him. Nothing. To his relief, his body remained intact, the night quiet. Perhaps Fallon had given up the search after all. Still, he needed to know if Fallon was out there, waiting for him, and if he would draw fire the second he stepped outside. He needed a diversion. He could ready himself, time his escape, and dash out into the night, cloaked in a blanket of fog. But that would require two able legs to carry him a safe distance away from the building until he could get his bearings and make his way back to his room. The searing pain in his leg reminded him this was not an option.

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