You Better Watch Out by James S. Murray

Author:James S. Murray
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Publishing Group

19

Eddie almost had to pinch himself to believe this reality. Sure, it came as no surprise to see his abductors. But for them to have set this whole thing up and carry out these acts? He didn’t believe that for a second. For a start, the old man didn’t have the strength to bash someone’s face in with a heavy log. And he certainly couldn’t go toe-to-toe with Tank in the church, like the athletic shadowy figure he had witnessed during the fight.

The old man gazed at him through glassy eyes. He looked like a clean-shaven version of Donald Sutherland. The old woman, he thought, resembled Betty White. She inspected each one of them in turn with a look of pity, as if being shown a lineup of inmates on death row.

“Hello, Eddie, Trinity, and Jessica,” the old man said, breaking the ice. “My name is George, and this is my wife, Dorothy.”

“What the fuck do you want from us?” Trinity yelled.

“Please, mind your language,” Dorothy said softly, like a matronly grandmother gently chiding a child.

“My goddamn language? Are you insane?”

The old man shook his head in disappointment. “Don’t task us, young lady. We don’t want anything from you. Our job is just about done.”

“Just about?” Eddie asked. “What does that mean?”

The old man locked eyes with him. “I believe you know what that means.”

The potential implications of the old man’s response sent shivers down Eddie’s spine.

“George, Dorothy,” Jess said calmly. “May I ask why we’re here?”

George considered her question for a few moments. “In all my years, there is one certainty I’ve come to realize: It is impossible to escape one’s past.”

He wrapped his arm around his wife, to warm her from the cold. “You are precisely where you each need to be, wouldn’t you agree?”

“The two of you are sick,” Trinity shot back.

“I assure you, young lady,” Dorothy said. “It gives us no pleasure seeing you inside this cage.”

“Which is why,” George added, “we’ll be opening this gate tomorrow, Christmas morning, at sunrise. If you are here, you will be free to go.”

Eddie frowned. “I don’t get it. What’s the catch?”

“There is no catch,” George said. “Christmas is a time for hope, not recompense. If you are here at sunrise, you can walk out without consequence.”

Eddie shook his head in disbelief. “Look, old man. If I walk out of here tomorrow, there are gonna be consequences for you.”

George pulled Dorothy even closer to stop her shivering. “Perhaps,” he replied, lost in thought. “Perhaps.”

For a tense moment, everyone eyed one another.

“Until tomorrow then,” George said.

With that, the old couple headed back toward their farmhouse.

When the old man reached the doorway, he turned back. “Oh, one last thing,” he called out, his voice weak. “The temperature drops to minus ten tonight. Be very careful now, you hear?”

George escorted Dorothy back into their farmhouse, leaving a shocked Eddie, Trinity, and Jess behind in their frozen prison.

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