The Girl With Aquamarine Eyes (31 page)

He handed her the strap. “Put the seatbelt on.”

She jerked away from him. “No. I hate those things!”

“Heaven, you’ve got to cooperate for once in your life.”

Without giving her a chance to argue, he reached over, and
buckled her in. He only hoped it’d hold. He thought about it a moment longer.
He tore his belt from his waist, and wrapped it around the seat across her
hips. He buckled it snugly and twisted it until the buckle was behind the seat.

Heaven glared at the musician. “What’s all this?”

“I don’t need you flying out the window, like you did in the
kitchen.” He rushed to the driver’s side and leapt in.

He threw the car into reverse and screeched into the night.

* * *

Tommy was tired, damned tired. He’d been walking for what seemed
like miles down the lonely canyon road. Out of desperation, he’d finally given
in and tried to call his dad. Just his luck, he could not get a signal from the
depths of the canyon from hell.

He knew there was a gas station somewhere ahead. He couldn’t
remember how much farther it was, everything looked different in the darkness
of the woods. Walls of trees lined each side of the road, expensive estates lay
hidden behind.

Out of the darkness, the roar of a car approached. He
whirled around the moment the headlights had him in their sights. The car was
powering straight at him at a deadly speed.

He leapt from the side of the road the instant the car sped
by. The wind from the vehicle nearly knocked him off his feet.

“Dumb ass!” He cried toward the retreating taillights,
waving his gas can wildly in the air. “Watch where you’re going!”

The roaring sports car screeched to a stop, as burning
rubber from its smoking tires filled his nostrils. It roared in reverse at him,
and again he found himself diving out of the deadly machine’s way. Whoever the
idiot was who was driving it, was hell bent on killing him tonight.

“Tommy?” Harmon stuck his head out the window. “What the
hell are you doing out here?”

“You could have killed me!” Tommy approached the fiery red
car. “This is what I’m doing!” He shoved the gas can into Harmon’s face.

“Why didn’t you call me?”

“I can’t get a signal in this bottomless hell. Better yet,
why don’t you take some driving lessons?”

“Never mind. Get in the car, there may be a problem at your
house. I’m heading there now.”

Tommy peered into the small car, noticing Heaven in the
passenger seat. “Harmon, the car only has two seats.”

“Shit. I forgot.” Harmon leapt from the car. “Crawl in and
sit between us, hurry.” He shoved the teenager onto the center console, leapt
in behind him and sped off onto the night.

“What’s going on?” Tommy cried. The gearshift was stuck
between his legs. He was crouched over, and was forced to press his face
against the dash in an effort to keep his head from hitting the roof of the
car. Plus, a maniac driver was at the wheel. “Why is Heaven looking so spaced
out?”

“She had some sort of a vision.” Harmon’s bloodshot eyes
remained fixed on the winding road. “Bice is in trouble, I’ll explain later.”

Tommy glanced at the speedometer. The car was quickly racing
up toward one hundred ten miles per hour. His blood froze in his veins, as a
visual fleeted through his mind of what his body might look like hitting a tree
at that speed. There’d be nothing left of him but a piece of beef jerky.

He shook his head clear, and glanced at the girl beside him.
But the trees behind her caught his eye. They whipped by in the distance, one
melted into the next until they were only a blur of wood and leaves. His belly
began to churn.

“I think I’m going to barf!” He cried.

Harmon glanced at the boy. “I can’t stop this car for you to
puke, hang your head out the window. This is a three hundred thousand dollar
car, don’t you dare barf in it!”

Tommy stared at the crazed musician. “You idiot, I can’t get
to a window!”

“Hold on.” Harmon pressed the button on his dash, which
slowly began to raise the convertible top. “Oh shit!” He gazed in horror at the
reflection in the rearview mirror.

He pounded the button madly, hoping to bring the top back
down. Realizing his mistake too late, he could only watch helplessly as the
fine Italian leather was ripped from the sports car in the oncoming rush of
wind. The twisted mass of steel flew backward and bounced away into the
darkness behind them, scattering fiery sparks as it skidded across the
pavement.

Tommy moaned, as the last of his color drain from his face.
He gripped the dash, fighting to hold back the bile as it quickly rose in his
throat. Beads of sweat formed on his hands and arms. His entire body shook as
he fought the waves of nausea, but it was determined to overtake him. He knew
at any moment the entire car would be covered in puke. Harmon would have his
ass.

“Tommy.” Heaven suddenly seemed to come back to reality. “It’ll
be all right.”

She put her hand to the boy’s head. In seconds, the teenager’s
breathing slowed and the color returned to his face.

Feeling much better Tommy sat up straight, now that the top
was no longer a bother. He shook his head, and stared in disbelief at the girl
with aquamarine eyes.

* * *

Hawk continued to drag Bice, watching the man with the rifle slowly
gaining on him. The fog hung in wisps, thin patches were slowly building into
an opaque mass.

There was nowhere to go, and nothing to duck behind. He’d be
damned if he left Bice’s body out here alone in the night. He also knew he
couldn’t outrun a bullet. So he’d play the game, this game of chase.

He determinedly dragged his friend toward the driveway,
although he wasn’t really sure why.

* * *

Harmon whipped the car around the last curve. They were only
minutes away from Tommy’s house.

He didn’t know what the hell was going on, but what he did
know was Heaven had been thrown across the kitchen by an unseen force. Whatever
she’d seen or felt happened to Bice, he would take seriously.

Now, he had a big problem on his hands. The physician knew
too much. He would talk to the press, or maybe to anyone who would listen. Soon
the pressure would be on him to let them study her. They would take her away.

He glanced at the dazed girl. Her eyes bored into the dim
night. Big deep eyes, almost bottomless in the dark shadows. He’d be damned if
he let anything happen to her. Or, to Bice.

He punched the accelerator and whipped the car into the
driveway. Before he could react, he slammed into the back of his Limo sitting
quietly in the physicians driveway.

The night air filled with a reverberating crash.

* * *

Dr. Killmore watched as the big man dragged Bice across his
expansive lawn.

It was hopeless, and the bodyguard knew it. Yet, he wouldn’t
give it up and drop his friend to make a run for it. The bodyguard stared right
at him, showing no fear. He was unfazed by the rifle glittering through the
fog. He determinedly continued his impossible mission, slowly making his way to
the cover of the vehicles.

There was one problem. The girl was gone. One last bullet
lay in the gun’s chamber, and he planned to use it. After he reloaded, he’d get
the girl and put the odd musician out of his misery. They would be free of her
excess baggage and could then be free to leave the country. He would take her
to a place she’d never be found.. Finally, he would complete his studies on
her.

He knew Tommy would understand. The boy would be proud when
word came back his father could cure any affliction known to mankind.

He raised his rifle. One down, two to go.

* * *

“
Are you two all right?” Harmon called to the teenagers, as
he stared in disbelief at the damage to the front of his pride and joy.

The sleek hood was mangled, the shiny chrome bumper lay
twisted on the ground. Without waiting for a response from the pair, he knelt
down and clutched the gnarled metal to his chest in sorrow.

“ I’m fine you idiot!” Tommy sneered at the odd musician. “I
bet the California Highway Patrol has you on their ten most wanted list.”

“I’m fine too, you moron.” Heaven grasped the seatbelt and
tugged at it. “Someone come get this buckle undone, I’ve got to find Bice.”

Harmon peered at the darkened house. Trees lined the
driveway on each side, it was impossible to get a clear view from where he’d so
poorly parked his prized vehicle.

“Tommy.” He gazed at the boy, and gingerly laid the wrinkled
bumper down. “I’ll go and find Bice, you stay here with Heaven.”

“No, I’ll go with you. You’ll need my help to find him
inside the house.”

Harmon glanced at Heaven. She sat silently, gazing out the
window of the car “Heaven? Will you be all right here a few minutes?”

She did not respond, but continued to stare into the
distance transfixed by foggy shadows within the trees.

“All right Tommy, lets go. We’ve got to hurry, I can’t leave
her here long.”

Harmon and Tommy crept up the driveway, gazing quickly into
Hawk’s and Bice’s empty vehicles.

“What the hell is going on?” Harmon muttered. “Where is
everyone?”

Tommy gazed at the dark house. “Something’s fishy. Let’s go
around back, maybe they’re talking in the kitchen.”

Harmon hesitated, and glanced at Heaven waiting in the car. “All
right, but we can’t be long.”

He followed Tommy toward the looming house.

* * *

Bice, you must talk to me. I can not find you if you don’t tell
me where you are. Use your soul, and call to me. I will hear you, and I will
come to help you. It’s not time for you to go to the other side. You still have
great things to do. One day you will save many lives. Call to me quickly, your
time is running out…

* * *

Dr. Killmore lowered the rifle as the red sports car whipped into
his driveway and crashed into the Limo parked in front of it. He struggled to
stifle a laugh.

He pressed his back against the closest tree and peered
through the rolling fog, watching as Harmon and someone else leapt from the
car. Now, he would need more bullets. At least he wouldn’t have to hunt Harmon
down. They’d come into his web. And, he’d pretty much destroyed his fancy car
doing it.

He’d postpone shooting the bodyguard, at least for now. He
slowly crept toward the dented Ferrari sitting alone in the driveway. There was
still someone sitting in the passenger seat, and he had a feeling he knew who
it might be.

* * *

“Dad?” Tommy called as he entered the kitchen.

Harmon quietly following the boy into the dark house. A
small beam of moonlight filtered through the dim kitchen. An overturned chair
lay on the floor, near it a newspaper, scattered and crumpled. Blood was on the
floor near a broken coffee cup.

“Tommy,” He whispered, “what the hell happened in here?”

“Heaven slapped some sense into my dad. She bloodied his
nose.”

Harmon felt a sickening wave of nausea rise in his throat.
If Heaven had done this to the physician, the man must be at the edge of
insanity by now. He’d want revenge on the girl.

Not only had he brought her back to him, he’d put her in
grave danger. She was a sitting duck in the car. It was apparent the physician
wasn’t in the house. “We’ve got to get back to Heaven!” He cried.

* * *

Hawk watched as the crazed physician rushed for Harmon’s car,
forgetting at least temporarily, about shooting him.

He was nearly back to the driveway, exhausted from pulling
his dead friend across the massive lawn. He’d helplessly watched as Harmon
screeched to a stop behind the Limo, a little too late.

With a last heave, he pulled Bice into the cover of the
thicket and laid him gently near his car. He had no choice but to leave his
friend’s body, because now the madman was after Harmon.

* * *

Bice, I know you are closer to me now. Please, I beg of you, don’t
go to the other side. You are in limbo, caught in between, yet I know you can
hear me. I am trapped Bice, but know I am struggling to free myself so I can
come to you.

Hold on for me a moment longer my dear one…

* * *

Dr. Killmore jerked the car door open and pointed his rifle inside.

Heaven, still in her prom dress, stared at him in horror.
The idiot had brought her right back to him. She was struggling to free herself
from the seatbelt, but the massive gown she wore kept it in place. Her eyes
shone white with fear as she desperately clawed at the strap.

He unhooked the seatbelt and yanked her from the car. But
something snapped her back against the seat, and wrenched her from his hands.

“What the hell?” He peered into the convertible. Someone had
wrapped a leather belt around her waist and buckled it behind the seat, which
effectively kept her in place. Today was his lucky day after all.

He glanced toward the ignition. Tonight might also have been
a good night to play the lottery, he surely would’ve won. The strange musician’s
keys hung in the ignition, glinting in the moonlight. He could easily drive
straight into Mexico in the race car, and catch a flight to anywhere in the
world. They would never be found.

He slammed the passenger door shut, raced to the far side of
the car and promptly tripped over the mangled bumper. He cursed under his
breath and angrily slung it into the bushes.

He stumbled toward the driver’s door and leapt in.

* * *

Harmon left Tommy standing in the kitchen, and raced out the back
door.

In his haste, he promptly tripped down the stairs and slid
to the bottom on his backside. Tonight was not the night for getting down
stairs. As a matter of fact, his night had quickly deteriorated into a complete
disaster. He clutched his aching back, and pulled himself up on the railing.
Finally, he burst around the side of the house and shot towards the driveway.