THE SHOWDOWN
As
they lay in the couch, Zach stroked his wife’s hair. God, he thought, he was
blessed with such a woman. In spite of her short falls (which she could not be
blamed entirely – he would have done the same, maybe worse, had the matter been
reversed), she was willing to make amends and keep their marriage still alive.
He valued her then – she was priceless. As Cathy lay in her husband’s embrace,
drifting into sleep, Zach thanked God for her. He did not realize his tears
were falling till Cathy woke up and wiped them off his face. He carried her off
to their bedroom and began a very intense love-making, an apology, a plea to
get Cathy to understand he was sorry, and he would never leave her again. As
they both reached their peak, they made such promises to each other, and when
they finally collapsed with pleasure and satisfaction, Zach pulled Cathy to
himself, kissed her head, and they both fell asleep.
They were awakened by the ring of Cathy’s mobile handset. It
took several rings before she could get to her mobile handset. She exclaimed
when she read the time on her phone. She double-checked with the wall clock in
the hall and she was mortified – it was 12 o’clock! How could they have slept
through the night and right through the day?! How could they have missed the
meeting? The meeting! Cathy quickly checked through the calls she had missed.
Dale had called several times from 10:00am. She panicked. He would surely think
she deliberately stood him up! He was going to come after them!
Just then, Dale called again. Cathy’s heart raced with fear.
She gulped and inhaled thrice before answering. “Dale…”
“Don’t even start, young woman! Do you think you can mess up
my heart and add my pocket as bonus?! Where is my money? And where on earth are
you?!!!” Dale thundered impatiently.
“Be calm, Dale. I did not deliberately miss…”
“Don’t you dare try to talk yourself out of it. You deceived
me! You have yourself and your hulk of a husband to blame for what is coming to
you!” Dale hissed.
The bullets riddled the windows as soon as Dale hung up on
Cathy. She screamed and ducked behind the couch. While there, she prayed her
husband would not come out to try to save her. She did not need to worry much,
for as she was hiding, she heard a second set of bullets through the bedroom
window. After seven shots, there was silence. She peeped from behind the couch
to see what was happening. When she was certain the coast was clear, she dashed
to the bedroom into Zach. When her adrenaline calmed, she kissed him with all
ferocity. As she did, she felt the moisture seep through her dress. She jumped
back and gasped. “Oh Zach, he hit you!”
“Obviously. I should…” Zach trailed and slumped in Cathy’s
arms.
“No Zach! Not again! I’m not going to lose you again, my
love. I can’t bear it! Zach!!!”
“Hey, baby, relax…” Zach slurred his words, trying and
failing to rise. Cathy slowly and gently lay his almost still form on the floor
and went into the bathroom to get first-aid. She then dashed out of the bedroom
into the hall to lock the door only to run into Dale right there at the threshold,
walking in. Cathy stepped back in fear, holding back the scream that built up
in her throat. She gasped loudly when she saw the metallic glint of a muzzle in
his right arm.
Dale grabbed Cathy roughly and covered her mouth with his
right hand, bruising Cathy’s lower lip with the grip of the pistol. The sight
of the pistol in Cathy’s face caused her eyes to widen and her spine stiffened.
She did not know what to expect; fortunately, she did not have to think long –
Dale spoke.
“You left me, Cathy. You tricked me into keeping you company
all this while, knowing and expecting that your husband will return. I was only
a toy to you. But you don’t want to pay for your toy, do you?” Dale spat the
words. His breath smelled of strong liquor. Cathy cringed into him, grateful
for his hand over her face – that, at least, mitigated the stench. She only
prayed that he would just drag her out and do whatever he wanted with her: God
knows she deserved every bit of it; she did not want him around when – if –
Zach regained consciousness.
Unfortunately for her, Dale pushed her away from him and
pointed the pistol at her, indicating that she should move towards the bedroom.
Right then, he began to loosen his belt. Dear God, Cathy had never been appalled
as she was of Dale there and then. When she hesitated, Dale clicked on the
safety of the pistol which made Cathy spring into action. She walked cautiously
into the bedroom where Zach lay, bleeding out. Seeing her husband this way
caused her to sob quietly but Dale was neither moved by pity nor interested in
the near-lifeless Zach on the floor of the bedroom. He kicked him softly which
made Zach groan and open his eyes to slits. His brows creased when he
recognized Dale.
“I’m going to have your wife right before your dying eyes,
man, then I will kill you right before her eyes, then I will kill you, my love,”
he finished with an innocent smile, turning to Cathy. “Undress!” He ordered.
Zach shut his eyes, as if he could blot out what was about to happen. Cathy undressed
mechanically, the pistol urging her on in silence. “Now, turn around.” She did.
“Walk to the bed. Stop.” She did, stopping just as she was about to climb into
the bed. “I want you to stand here”, pointing with the muzzle where she should
stand. There was a chair near Zach’s head. Cathy stood in front of the chair. “Hold
the back, and face your husband. I want him to see how I made you scream my
name in his absence. I want to show him how much you enjoy me inside of you.”
“Dale…”
“Shush! You do not speak. Now bend!”
Cathy stood in the position that Dale wanted, and he took
his place behind her. Zach groaned. He had never felt more helpless in his
life: here was a man about to rape his own wife, and there he lay, not being
able to even find his feet…
Something caught Dale’s attention at the window and made him
pause – apparently the curtains were drawn back; he thought that people might
be drawn to the drama going on so he left Cathy and went to the window. As he
moved, he dropped the pistol on the bed very near Zach’s head, at an arm’s
length. Cathy held her breath as she noticed that Dale had worked a good
erection which might hurt her. She closed her eyes as Dale laughed at her – at them
– as he let down his pants, slapped the cheeks of Cathy’s backside, and readied
himself to make entry. If only…
Dale caught Zach’s stealthy movement just as Zach grabbed
the pistol which Dale had left on the bed. Dale bent over and began to struggle
with Zach. Zach held on with all the strength he had left. Just then, there was
a muffled ring of a gunshot. Both Dale and Zach went still. Cathy gasped. She had
no idea who had been hit at that point. As she hesitated, she saw Zach trying
to move the now lifeless Dale off him. Apparently, during the struggle, Zach
had pulled the trigger and the bullet had landed right in Dale’s chest. He was
killed instantly. Cathy quickly went to Zach’s side to help him from under. As she
did, she saw a glint on Dale’s neck. Out of curiosity, she pulled out what she
saw: it was a ring – her wedding ring! Out of joy, she jumped and dropped Zach
onto the floor.
“My ring, Zach. I have found our ring!”
“I would have kissed you if I were not hugging your lover,
sweetheart…” Zach muttered in pain. This brought Cathy back to earth. She finally
extricated Zach from under the log of Dale’s body. He hung on her and they both
walked out of the bedroom. Cathy went out quickly, got a taxi and convinced the
driver to help them, after which she came and helped Zach into the vehicle. As an
afterthought, she poured kerosene onto the floor as she went out. She lit a
match and threw it into the room and banged the door. She then entered the taxi
and asked the driver to move. As they drove away, Zach and Cathy looked back
together – their love nest was already in flames. They just held on to each
other, and the driver drove them away from there, far, far away to where they
could begin again.
THE END.
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