DDAANNGGEERROOUUSS  DDEECCEEPPTTIIOONNSS 

Part 2

Two days later Roy walked into the locker room to find Johnny finishing up changing into his uniform.

“Hey, Johnny. How were your days off?”

“Fine,” he responded, not looking at Roy.

“What’d you do?”

“Nothin’.”

Roy looked at Johnny for a moment, wondering if he should ask what was wrong. He could tell by Johnny’s demeanor that there was definitely something bothering him.

“Uh...nothing, huh? Sounds exciting. I should have called you; Joanne had a huge list of stuff for me to do. I barely got a chance to sit down.”

Johnny sighed and sat down heavily on the bench. “Man, I wish you had.” He paused, then said, “Man, I think I got a serious problem.”

Uh, oh, here it comes. Roy lowered himself down onto the bench beside Johnny. “What’s the problem?”

Johnny sighed again and turned to face Roy. “Charlene. Charlene’s the problem. She keeps calling me and calling me. I had to keep thinking of excuses not to see her. Finally, I told her I was feeling sick. So what does she do? She shows up at my house with some soup yesterday about 4:00. So I had to pretend I was sick the rest of the day. She wouldn’t leave! I finally just went to bed last night at eight o’clock. When I got up this morning, she was still there! Asleep on my couch! I don’t know what I’m going to do, Roy.”

“Why don’t you just tell her you don’t want to see her anymore?”

“I want to! I will! It’s just that...I wasn’t expecting her to show up like that. I need time to figure out how I’m going to break it to her.”

“Break it to her?”

“Roy, I can’t just tell her to get lost. She likes me. A lot. It’s hard to just dump a girl when she really likes you. I don’t want to hurt her feelings.”

“It would have been a lot easier if you hadn’t slept with her.”

Johnny scowled at Roy. “You know, this is all your fault, don’t you?”

            “MY fault! How is this my fault?”
            “You’re the one who pushed me into going to her house for dinner, that’s how! I never wanted to go in the first place! Why don’t you help me think of a way to dump her?”

            “Sorry, but I’m not very experienced at that sort of thing. You didn’t have to – “

            Cap stuck his head in the door. “You gentlemen care to join us for role call?”

            “Oh, sorry Cap. We’re coming.”

            The two paramedics ran out into the apparatus bay.

            The day proceeded uneventfully with mostly minor runs. Around two o’clock the paramedics were called to the scene of a residential construction site. Two boys had been playing inside a house that was just being framed. Daniel, one of the boys, had tripped over a two by four and had fallen, breaking his leg.

            Johnny and Roy had arrived and had his leg splinted and ready to go when the boy’s mother showed up, and began scolding him for playing in a house under construction. The ambulance arrived and Roy told the mother she could ride in the front of the ambulance.

            “You want to go in with him?” Roy asked John.

            “Sure.” Johnny grabbed the biophone and drug box and followed the ambulance attendant. Roy walked around to get in the squad to follow.

            Just as Johnny was about to step up into the ambulance, he glanced up and saw a blue Mustang parked across the street. He knew Charlene drove a blue mustang, and did a double take as he noticed a blond that resembled her behind the wheel. He didn’t get a good look at her face as she pulled out and drove away. With a surprised look on his face, he stared after the car until it disappeared.

            Could that be - ? Nah, must be a coincidence. With that he climbed the ambulance and rode in with the boy to the hospital.

            The guys had no sooner pulled back into the station when the Cap yelled to Johnny that he had a phone call. It was Charlene wanting to know if he was feeling better.

            Johnny frowned in defeat as he hung up the phone.  I’ve got to figure out a way to dump her! But how? He dreaded having to do it.

            The A shift crew was on again the next day, and Johnny swore he saw the blue mustang again at two different runs, but was unable to actually see the face of the driver. Each time the car pulled out quickly and left the scene as soon as the call was over.

            Johnny was really getting nervous. It was just too coincidental. Was she following him on runs? He didn’t want to tell Roy because Roy would think he was paranoid. But this was really worrying him. It was bad enough that she wouldn’t leave him alone on his days off. But to follow him around on runs while at work? That was too much. As he thought about it more, he decided that he must have imagined it. You’re imaging things, Gage. You’re dreading dumping her so much that you’re starting to see her when she’s not really there.

            Johnny managed to avoid seeing Charlene on his next day off by spending practically the entire day at Roy’s house helping him with chores. After the work was done, they had a barbecue and enjoyed a few beers while relaxing on Roy’s deck. Johnny returned late that night, thankful for not having had to see Charlene. He was also kicking himself for not calling her and getting the inevitable break-up over with. Oh, well. Maybe she’ll get the message if I just don’t call her and don’t return her calls. He knew that was not right though, and resigned himself to the fact that it had to be done sooner or later. Better later, he chagrinned.

            The next several shifts Johnny did not see the blue mustang at all, and he started to relax. His days off had been busy, and he hadn’t had the time yet to break up with Charlene. At least she hadn’t stopped by at his house again. Or, if she did, he didn’t know it because he was gone most of the time. He was starting to think that maybe if he just didn’t call her, that she would go away and his problem would be solved.

            Dinner was nearly ready when the tones called the crew of station 51 to a three alarm fire at an office building.

            At the scene, Johnny and Roy jumped from the squad and quickly started to put on their SBCA gear. Each gave the other a knowing look as they regarded the fully involved fire. Flames were shooting out of the upper story windows and the roof, while smoke poured out of some of the broken lower story windows.

            “Man, I wonder how many people are still inside?” Johnny wondered.

            “I don’t know. Hopefully not too many since it’s past quitting time.”

            Two other engine companies were already at the scene and firemen were scattered everywhere dragging hoses toward the engulfed building. Johnny and Roy ran toward their Captain to receive their instructions. The news media was there and Captain Stanley was trying to keep them away from the scene while yelling instructions to his men.

            “John, Roy, we need help on the third and fourth floors checking for anyone in those offices. We have reports that maybe ten people are unaccounted for. Make it as quick as you can – it’s getting pretty hot and unstable up there.”

            “Right, Cap.”

            The two paramedics ran toward the building and went inside the smoke-filled structure. Neither noticed the blue mustang that had pulled up a few seconds earlier, or the blond-haired driver that was watching them.

            Gage and DeSoto joined two others in their search for the missing office personnel. The fire roared loudly, nearly drowning out the firemen’s yells as they checked each room. After twenty minutes, four people had been found in one office, and two in another. All but one were able to walk with help as they were escorted, coughing, from the building. Craig Brice and Bob Bellingham were there to take care of the victims as Johnny, Roy, Charlie Dwyer and Frank Miller reentered the building.

            They knew they had to hurry, as the building was becoming more and more unstable. The fire was intense, and it was becoming more and more difficult to see through the black smoke. Sweat poured down the backs of the men as they continued their search.

            Outside, Charlene exited her car and slowly made her way toward the building. The scene looked chaotic as firemen ran about and the media scrambled to get as close as they could with their cameras, while those that were rescued from the building could be heard coughing and crying as paramedics tried to treat them. A crowd of onlookers had gathered in the street to watch.

            Charlene looked around for Johnny desperately. She knew he had gone into the building, but she hadn’t seen him come out yet. Panic rose up in her; she was terrified something would happen to him. I finally got him; I can’t lose him now!

            She tried to squeeze her way through the crowd and slip in unnoticed, but one of the fire chiefs grabbed her by the arm and forced her back.

            She decided to cross the street first, then walk down several buildings and try to come in from a different direction where she might not be seen as easily.

            Back inside, Charlie and Frank had finished searching the fourth floor and knew their air tanks were low. They met up with John and Roy as they climbed down to the third floor.

            “You guys find anything?” Charlie yelled through his mask.

            “Not yet! We’re almost done!” Roy could hear Frank’s air tank beeping. “Go on out – we’ll finish up and meet you outside!”

            “Okay!”          

            Frank and Charlie disappeared down the stairs as Johnny and Roy moved on to check the last two rooms.

            Roy entered an office while Johnny went to check the restroom next door. The smoke was so thick Roy could barely see more than a foot in front of him. Crouching low, he called out as he made his way through the room. Roy had just surmised that nobody was there when he heard Johnny call to him.

            Johnny had found a large man on the floor of the restroom, who was unconscious. He saw Roy enter and shouted to him.

            “Over here!” Johnny was unsuccessfully trying to lift a man off the floor who was over 300. “Grab his legs and let’s get out of here!”

            Together they lifted the man and made their way out of the rest room as quickly as they could.  They made it down two flights of steps when the building was rocked by an explosion and then the ceiling began to cave in. The building was beginning to crumble around them.

            Both men dropped to the floor, trying to cover their victim and themselves as pieces of plaster, burning wood, and hot metal fell around them. Looking up, they could see there was no way they were going to make it out the way they had come in – the front door was completely blocked with debris and flames. Both Johnny and Roy knew that it could be only a matter of seconds before the building started to collapse further, and they didn’t want to be inside when it did. Frantically looking for a way out, they picked up their victim and made their way into a large room that looked like it might have been some sort of a lunchroom. Sweat ran down into their eyes as they ran toward the windows on the far side of the room.

            Laying the heavy man down, Johnny picked up a chair and heaved it into the window, which was already partially broken. He used the chair to brush as much broken glass away as he could, and then he and Roy dragged the man toward it, hoisting him up onto a table nearby.

            Roy climbed out first and jumped to the ground. Johnny grunted as he shoved the man out the window, draping the unconscious man’s arms over Roy’s shoulders. Roy pulled the man most of the way out, while Johnny grabbed his ankles and started to climb out.

Gage felt the backdraft only seconds before two more blasts exploded from inside the building. Black smoke, flames, and debris spewed from all the windows, sending bricks, wood, and other particles flying. The force of the explosion catapulted Johnny out the window and over Roy and their victim, and the three of them tumbled to the ground.

            Pieces of the burning building rained down all around them; the clatter of wood and rubble hitting the concrete echoed in their ears.

            Roy looked around behind him to see Johnny lying flat on his back a few feet away. He was relieved to see Johnny gingerly roll onto his side and sit up.

            “You okay?” Roy called to Johnny as he crawled toward him.

            Johnny pulled off his facemask and shook his head, trying to get the little pieces of debris and dust to fall out of his hair. “Yeah, I’m fine. Wow, that was close!”

            Johnny heard someone screaming his name and looked over his shoulder to see a woman running towards him. Captain Stanley caught up with the woman and grabbed her by the arm just as Johnny realized who it was – Charlene.

            She fought him as he dragged her away, all the while screaming Johnny’s name.

            Incredulous, Johnny’s mouth dropped open and he turned to look at Roy, who had the same expression on his face.

            Standing up, Roy started to hoist the heavy man back up again. “C’mon, let’s get him out of here!” Johnny grabbed the man’s feet and they made their way back toward the street and their equipment.

            Having gotten the man ready for transport to the hospital, Johnny threw the ambulance doors closed and tapped on them twice. He took a deep breath and looked around. The crew was busy finishing putting out some hot spots and mucking up debris; Charlene was nowhere to be seen.

            The ride from Rampart back to the station was quiet. Roy finally broke the ice.

            “I think you’ve got a problem.”         

            Johnny sighed. “I know. Roy, I think she’s been following us on other runs.”

            “I know.”

            “At first I thought I was mistaken, but then...what do you mean ‘you know’?”

            “She drive a blue mustang?”
            “Yeah.”

            “I’ve seen her, at least twice. I didn’t want to say anything because she didn’t get out of her car, and I didn’t want to alarm you.”

            “Oh, God, I was right,” Johnny put his hand to his forehead.

            “You can’t have her following us on runs. It’s dangerous.”

            “I know, I know. I – I’m going to call her as soon as we get back to the station.”           

            Johnny did call her when they returned and asked her not to follow him on runs, saying that it was dangerous. He also asked to see her on Friday, but not for the reasons she thought. He knew it was time to put an end to this relationship.

            Charlene was thrilled. First, because his saying it was dangerous for her to follow him on runs made her think that he really cared for her. And second, she couldn’t wait to see him again, and couldn’t believe he was asking to see her. She had been beginning to get the feeling that he was brushing her off.

            The next shift was pretty routine for the A shift crew. Then at seven p.m. the station got called out to a run at the amusement park. The sun was starting to set and the sky was a beautiful kaleidoscope, with hues of oranges, yellows, and turquoise. Gaily colored lights sparkled and flashed on all the rides. A sweet breeze filled with the scent of cotton candy and a warm summer’s night wafted through the air.

            An employee of the park met 51’s crew at the entrance to the Adventure World Park. He led them to the park’s newest and largest roller coaster, “The Monster”. The men looked up to see a row of coaster cars perched at the very top of the first hill, and it was full of people.

            A young man ran over to them and frantically explained that the car was stuck. The controls were jammed, and he had been unable to get it moving. The people had been stuck up there for half an hour.

            “You’ve got to get them down!” Jack, the coaster operator begged. “They’re getting really scared and they’ve been screaming for help. I think maybe there’s a guy in the back who’s sick!”

            “Okay, just calm down. We’ll get them down,” Captain Stanley assured the young man as he surveyed the situation. “John, Roy, you think you guys could climb up there?”

            Johnny squinted up at the ride, evaluating the scene. “Yeah, Cap; I think we could just walk up the track actually. That way we can check out the guy in the back.”

            “Is there any chance this thing could roll backward?” Captain Stanley asked Jack.

            “No way. The controls are jammed in the forward position. Besides, more of the coaster is over the hill than behind it, so if it came loose, it would roll forward down the hill.”

            “Guys, get your climbing gear and go on up and check it out. We’ll work on the controls from down here.”

            “Right, Cap,” the paramedics said in unison.

            Having donned their ropes and climbing gear, they eased over the railing and began their ascent up the hill. It was steep, but not as steep as the hill going down.

            Johnny made it to the top first, and could see that the man in the back car was by himself and in distress. He was panting heavily.

            “How’re ya doin’?” Johnny asked the man as he climbed into the car and sat on the hood facing the man. He hooked his belt to a portion of the bar going across the man’s lap.

            “Thank God you’re here!” the man panted. “I feel like I’m going to have a heart attack! I can’t believe I let my kids talk me into getting on this thing. And now it’s stuck! We could be up here all night!”

            Two kids in the car in front of him whimpered, “We’re sorry dad.”

            “Now, don’t you worry about a thing, sir. We’re going to get you down. They’re working on it right now. It won’t be long.” Johnny reached for the man’s wrist. “Let me just check you out here, okay? Are you feeling pain anywhere?”

            “No, just can’t get my breath.”

            Roy, who was standing on the track behind them, had hooked his belt to the railing and was crouching down to look under the cars; trying to see if he could figure out what was causing the cars to be jammed.

            Johnny felt the man’s respirations. “What’s your name?”

            “John. John Preston.”

            “Oh yeah?” Johnny smiled. “Well, my name’s John too. John Gage. That’s my partner, Roy DeSoto back there. You just take it easy. I think you’re just hyperventilating yourself. What we need is a paper bag for you to breathe into.”

            “Hey, I’ve got one!” the boy in front of them exclaimed. He dumped his candy out of a bag he had been holding between his knees and offered it to Johnny.

            “All right!” Johnny took the bag and placed it over the man’s nose and mouth. “Now just breathe in and out of this bag and that should help.” He heard Roy speaking into the HT.

            “Cap, this is Roy. I can’t see anything here. But this thing is on some sort of a conveyor belt to pull it up the hill. Is there any way you could just get the controls to reverse and we could lower it back down slowly?”

            “Roy, we’re workin’ on it. I think that might work. Stand by.” Cap started to walk over to the control box where Jack and Marco were inspecting the wiring and switches.

            Roy yelled out to the rest of the people on the coaster. “Is everybody else all right up here?”

            He got a chorus of ‘yes’ and ‘I think so’ and one ‘I have to go to the bathroom!’

            “Just everybody try to relax and hang on! We’ll be getting you down shortly!”

            His head jerked back to Johnny when he felt he cars lurch. Johnny glanced up at Roy in mild alarm.

            “Hey, Cap! You mind lettin’ us know when this thing’s gonna move so we can get out of the way?” Roy called into the HT, hoping the hint of humor would mask his nervousness.

            “Sorry, pal!” Cap responded. “It should be moving momentarily. We’ll let you know.”

            Just as Johnny and Roy started to relax, the cars lurched again. This time, however, they weren’t moving backwards; whatever had been holding the car in place had given way, and the cars suddenly jerked forward.

            Johnny didn’t have time to react. His face froze into a shocked expression as his eyes met Roy’s. “Roy – ”

            Roy’s eyes were wide with fright as Johnny and the car disappeared from his view and over the top of the hill.

“John-naay!” Roy screamed.”

“Oh, shit,” Johnny whispered.

            Sitting backward, with one foot in the car and one foot dangling outside the car, Johnny lunged forward and desperately tried to grab onto something as the cars gained momentum and roared down the hill. Johnny dared to peek over his shoulder as he felt himself plummeting downward, and saw the tracks racing underneath him in a blur. Tendrils of hair snapped at his eyes and face, making it difficult to see clearly. Johnny’s whole body vibrated and shook, and he felt the sensation of being lifted slightly as the coaster gained speed.

His heart leapt into his throat when he felt the car reach the bottom, then fly upward again toward the second hill. White-knuckled hands grasped the precarious purchase he’d gained as his body was forced in ten different directions. He was too scared to scream. He nearly spilled off the hood of the car when it careened down the second hill; his safety belt cut into his gut as the car threatened to dump him out. At the top of the second hill, the cars took a wild turn and Johnny felt himself wrenched sideways. He hit something. The man in the car had been screaming until then, but was suddenly quieted. Johnny’s sweating fingers started to slip off the metal bar. A feeling of horror filled him up as he glanced behind him and saw what was coming. I’m dead.

            A wave of pandemonium came over the crew as they witnessed what was happening. Roy was yelling into the HT to get the coaster stopped, while anxiously trying to make his way back down the tracks.  Marco, Cap and Jack were frantically clawing at the controls. People on the ground were screaming. Chet stood staring in disbelief with his mouth hanging open.  All the people in the coaster were screaming in terror. They all watched as the fireman was tossed around in the last car attached only by his safety belt, expecting his body to come crashing down to the ground any second.

            Johnny saw the loop looming ahead and squeezed his eyes shut. Upside down? No. This can’t be happening. A wave of panic washed over him as he realized it would be impossible to hold on. He tried to brace himself while the cars rattled down another hill, and then Johnny suddenly felt weightless, suspended in midair, his fingers slipping from their grip as the cars turned upside down. Bright, colorful lights swirled dizzily by as his stomach did a flip, and then his body dropped abruptly, slamming onto the car as it continued on its way. For a moment he was dazed and made no attempt to hold on; his body draped limply over the side. One of his shoes clacked ominously against the side of the tracks, threatening to catch his foot and pull it under. The man in the back car facing him was pulling on him, shouting something to him. Gage looked up blearily and saw another loop coming. Please let me off. I can’t do that again.

            The man grasped Johnny’s forearm and tried to pull him closer. “Hold on!” he yelled, and the cars twirled around the second loop, the man desperately and unsuccessfully grappling for a hold on Johnny as he once again hung upside down.

Johnny’s body smashed into the car again as it righted, his head colliding with something hard. This time Johnny’s upper body slumped down inside the car while his legs protruded wildly out the side. The man continued to yell at Johnny, pulling frantically on him in an effort to get him inside the car. There simply wasn’t enough room, and Johnny could only see stars from the impact that his head and shoulder had just taken.

Everyone stared in mute horror as they saw the coaster approaching a narrow tunnel, with one of Johnny’s legs protruding out to the side. It was obvious that his leg was going to hit the tunnel wall, which, at sixty miles per hour would probably either tear off his leg, or rip Johnny from the car and send him falling to his death.

            The man in the car with Johnny heaved with all his might and just managed to pull Johnny’s leg away a second before the cars entered the tunnel. After what seemed like an eternity, the coaster emerged from the tunnel and finally, with one last sharp twist, headed back to the area it had started. With a jolt, it slowed, easing back to the platform. The crew from 51 ran with the car as it glided in and abruptly came to a halt.

            The scene before them might have been funny if Johnny had not just come so close to death. His head and upper body disappeared inside the car while one leg draped across the body of the car and the other dangled over the side. One of his hands was still glued white-knuckled to the metal bar. His other arm hung limply inside the car.

            Johnny slowly became aware that the roaring he had been hearing had stopped. He slowly opened his tightly closed eyes. Everything was dark, and he felt disoriented. Someone was calling his name; he felt a hand on his back.

            “John?”

            Cap.

            “John, you okay?”

He heard more voices, then realized the people in the cars were all talking and shouting in panicked voices, some crying.

            Another voice, with a restrained tinge of panic to it. “Johnny, can you hear me?” Roy?

            Gage swallowed and tried to find his voice. “Y-yeah.” He started to move and when he tried to push himself up, a paralyzing pain shot through his shoulder and he cried out.

            “Johnny, don’t move!” Roy again, his voice a bit calmer.  “We’ll get you out, just let us do all the work, okay partner?”

            “O – okay. Hurry,” he said through gritted teeth. He felt hands running over his body, feeling down his spine, legs and arms. He wasn’t sure which was shaking more, the hands, or himself.

            Mike and Marco had already readied the equipment nearby when Roy requested a cervical collar.

            “Johnny,” Roy said in a forced calm voice, “I’m gonna get this c-collar around you, then we’ll lift you out. Just hang on.”

            Hang on, huh? Easy to say when this thing isn’t moving. Johnny felt the soft cervical collar being fitted around his neck, then heard Roy instructing the others where to grab him to pull him out.

“Okay, Johnny, you ready?”

            “Yeah, just…get me outta here.”

            First, Johnny felt hands gently take hold of his arms, legs, and torso, and then he felt himself being lifted up. He was unprepared for the intensity of pain that shot through his shoulder. He couldn’t decide whether someone was shoving hot knives into his arm or if someone had just decided to rip the whole thing off at the joint. He couldn’t help but cry out. He watched as drops of blood spattered onto the dusty worn wood floor below him and realized that the blood was coming from him. He felt strong arms steadying his head as his body was gently turned over and then set down on the wood platform.

            Upon opening his eyes, he was suddenly bombarded by all the chaos and sights going on around him. The bright flashing lights of the rides spun around him making him dizzy. Music from the merry-go-round and people’s shouts made his head pound. He heard Cap’s voice somewhere trying to calm the still trapped passengers and telling them that they would be freed from the nightmare ride they were on momentarily. Roy’s voice seemed to be right over him, and John realized that he was talking to him. Slowly his eyes focused on Roy’s face.

            Roy tried to keep the worry from his expression as he looked at Johnny.  Blood was running from Johnny’s nose and was smeared across his face, while more blood flowed freely from a large contusion on his forehead.

“You know, Johnny, if you’d have wanted to ride the roller coaster that bad you should’ve just taken a day off work,” Roy said with a strained smile.

            Johnny tried to grin at him, but it turned into a painful grimace instead.

            “Where do you hurt?” Roy asked, then reached down to count his respirations. He looked back to his partner’s face.          

“Head....an’ my shoulder’s killin’ me,” he said breathlessly, closing his eyes.

Roy opened Johnny’s shirt carefully and grimaced as he looked at his shoulder. “Looks like you dislocated it.” Roy knew his partner was hurting, but he also knew there would be no pain medication by the looks of the bump on Johnny’s head.  Briefly squeezing Johnny’s good shoulder once, all he could offer was to say,  “Hang in there, we’ll get you fixed up.”

“Okay,” he panted, trying to breathe through the pain.

Somewhere in the background he heard a girl yelling. Her voice began to sound familiar. It came closer. She was calling his name. Had to be a dream; it couldn’t be – oh, no!

John opened his eyes to see Charlene pushing through the crowd of people toward him. He looked at her with total disbelief in his eyes, and as she knelt down beside him, he instinctively recoiled from her. Oh, man, not her again! Can’t she leave me alone?

The sudden movement and the pain it brought caused his stomach to lurch violently. He rolled with a groan onto his good side and threw up.

Roy was on the biophone to Rampart relaying Johnny’s vitals when he saw what was happening. “What the hell – ” Confusion and anger overtook his voice.

“Johnny!” Charlene called. “Oh, Johnny! Are you all right?” She grabbed his shoulder trying to pull him to her.

“Aughhh!” he screamed as she pulled on his injured shoulder, then weakly rolled back and vomited again.

“Cap! Get her out of here!” Roy was incensed.    

Captain Stanley was there in a second, and grabbing her by the shoulders, whisked her away. Roy could hear him reprimanding her as she was dragged away. He turned his attention back to Johnny.

Johnny lay moaning and clutching his arm with his other hand. He lay on his back with one leg straight and the other knee up, slowly rocking on the wood floor.

Roy’s stomach tightened into knots and he swallowed as he momentarily placed his hand on Johnny’s knee and squeezed gently. “Johnny, it’s okay. She’s gone.”

Johnny cracked his eyes open to look at Roy. He couldn’t speak at the moment.

“Johnny? Dr Brackett ordered an IV. Let me have your arm here and I’ll get that going.” Roy gently pulled John’s arm away in preparation for the IV. “Be done in a second. Then we’ll get your shoulder immobilized and get you out of here.” Roy heard a siren and looked up. “Great. The ambulance is here.”

Johnny didn’t even feel the IV going in, his shoulder hurt so badly. He put his hand to his forehead and could feel the large bump there and a warm wetness. Grimacing, he knew he wasn’t going to get any pain medication after hitting his head the way he did. The sight of the slick blood on his hand as he pulled it away from his face only added to the queasiness in his stomach.

“You okay?”

“Yeah,” he breathed, “let’s get out this place.”

Johnny was lifted onto the ambulance’s gurney and wheeled away. A crowd had gathered around the scene, and the local news was there with cameras and video. Roy tried to walk close to Johnny along side the gurney to prevent them from getting shots of his partner’s bloodied face and anguished expression.

Once in the ambulance, Roy tried to clean as much of the blood off Johnny’s face as he could. Johnny looked up at Roy.

“Oh, man,” he said softly.

Roy just sighed and looked back at Johnny. “Yeah.”

Johnny was finally wheeled into a room at Rampart around 10:30 that night. His shoulder was indeed dislocated, and after some pain medication, it was moved back in place using traction. It turned out that the bump on his head looked worse than it was; just a mild concussion; but the cut needed some stitches. His nose was swollen and bruised, but not broken. Once again, the staff at Rampart found themselves marveling at Johnny’s legendary luck. They weren’t alone. One of these days, my luck’s gonna run out, Johnny thought.

Roy had walked up with him along side the gurney as he was wheeled to the room, and helped the attendants move him into the bed. Both paramedics were exhausted.

“Anything I can get you?”

“Nah, I just want to go to sleep, and forget this whole thing happened. Thanks.”

“How’re you feelin’ now?”

“Better. Sore all over. The stuff they gave me for pain is helping a lot though.”

“Good.” Roy paused and looked around the room. He stiffly shoved his hands into his pockets. “You know, when I saw you starting to go over that hill...I  thought...” Roy shut his eyes.

“Yeah,” Johnny looked at him somberly, “Me too.”

“Well....”

“Roy, get out of here and get some sleep. That’s what I’m going to do.”

“Okay,” Roy smiled and waved as he headed for the door. “Take it easy.”

“I will.”

The night was a long one for both Roy and Johnny. They both had nightmares. Roy kept seeing Johnny falling off the roller coaster to his death. Johnny couldn’t stop the feeling that he was still on the coaster, riding it all night long. In his dreams it kept going around and around with him hanging on only by his hands. No one could stop it, and he spent the whole night experiencing the terror over and over again as it lunged down the hills and into the loop, then through the dark tunnel. He awoke several times sweating and dizzy. By morning, he was exhausted and looked terrible, the dark circles under his eyes adding to the colorful bruises on his face.

Roy spent a good part of his day off in bed trying to sleep. He got up around three o’clock after finally getting a few hours of rest. After a good lunch that Joanne fixed him, he headed over to Rampart to see Johnny. He couldn’t believe it when he walked into Johnny’s room and saw Charlene sitting in the chair next to Johnny’s bed chatting away about something. Johnny looked miserable. Johnny looked up when Roy entered the room, pure relief shining in his eyes.

 “Oh, hey, Roy!” she bubbled. “Come on in! I was just telling Johnny about something funny that happened at work the other day.”

Roy felt anger building up inside and ignored her, instead walking around to the other side of the bed. “How are you doing?’

“Well – ”

“Oh, he’s doing much better,” Charlene interrupted. “Don’t worry, I’ve been taking good care of him.”

“Yeah, I can see that,” Roy said rather sarcastically.

Charlene looked at her watch. “Oh, I wish I didn’t have to go, but I’ve got to be at work in a half an hour! Are you going to be okay without me? Is there anything I can get you, sweetie?”

Johnny cringed. “No, really, I’m fine. You just go on, I wouldn’t want you to miss work.”

“Well, if you’re sure?  Because I could call in sick...”

“No! I – I mean, no, don’t do that. Really, you’d better go; you’re going to be late. Believe me, you’ve done plenty.” Johnny sounded desperate.

Charlene sighed. “Well, okay. But I’ll be back as soon as I’m done! I’m going to try to leave early.” She kissed him on the cheek and reluctantly headed toward the door. “Bye-bye!”

“Bye,” Johnny waved dispassionately. Then she was gone.

Johnny let out a breath and let his head fall against the pillow. He stared up at the ceiling.

“You look terrible.”

“Oh, God, Roy; I’m so glad she’s gone.”

“What was she doing here?” he asked angrily.

“Keeping me company, she said. Roy, she’s been here since nine o’clock this morning. Nine o’clock! She wouldn’t leave me alone. I kept trying to get her to leave, but she wouldn’t. She insisted on feeding me lunch; she’s been bugging me all day! ‘Johnny, can I get you some water. Johnny, let me fluff your pillow. Johnny, do you need some pain medication? Johnny, this; Johnny, that!’ I’m going crazy, Roy! If she comes back, they’re going to have to put me in the psychiatric ward!” He looked defeatedly down at the sheets on his bed. “I don’t know what I’m going to do. I didn’t get any sleep last night. Between the nurses checking on me every two hours and....well... then she wouldn’t let me get any rest today.”

Roy was boiling. “Don’t worry, I’m going to take care of it right now.” He started out the door.

“Wait! What are you going to do?”

Roy turned to look back at Johnny. “I’m going down to talk to Dixie and Dr. Brackett, and I’m going to have them order that you are not to have any visitors. Then, I’m going to ask Brackett to give you something so you can sleep. How’s that?”

Johnny gave Roy half a grin and a face full of relief. “Man, that sounds great. Thanks, Pally.”

“Don’t mention it,” Roy’s face softened, “Oh, and I’ll stop by in the morning with your clothes and stuff and give you a lift home if Brackett releases you.”

“Thanks. I really mean it.” Johnny’s face became more serious, “Just make sure you get here before nine o’clock.”

“No problem. You get some rest. See you in the morning.”

Johnny watched the door close and for the first time that day, he relaxed. At that moment he was never more thankful to have a friend like Roy. A friend he never wanted to lose.

Roy faithfully showed up at eight-thirty the next morning. He had already picked up Johnny’s clothes and personal items after first calling the hospital to make sure Johnny would be released. Gage was sitting on the edge of the bed waiting for him when he walked in.

John nervously glanced toward the door as he tried to dress, but had difficulty getting his clothes on with his arm in a sling. Wordlessly, Roy reached out and helped him pull up his jeans, then assisted Johnny with his shirt, buttoning it for him. As close as the two of them were, it didn’t even occur to Johnny to be embarrassed; he was only too glad to have Roy’s help so that he could leave as quickly as possible. Roy cringed inwardly every time Johnny winced, almost feeling all the bruise and contusions on Gage’s body himself. Five minutes later Roy wheeled Johnny out the door in a wheelchair and they headed down to sign the release papers. Johnny let out a breath of relief when they finally made it to the exit door.

It was a beautiful morning and Johnny breathed the air in deeply as he sat down in Roy’s car.

“Hey, let’s put the top down!” he said excitedly.

Roy grinned, “Okay, partner!”

They were both in a good mood as they pulled out of the parking lot; a warm wind ruffled their hair. The sun felt good beating down on their shoulders. They had just pulled out of the parking lot when Johnny’s mood darkened.

“Oh, no.”

“What?”

“Roy, I can’t go home! Charlene will probably show up and bug me all day again!” He thought a moment. “Look, just take me to the beach. It’s a nice day; I’ll hang out there.”

Roy pulled into a driveway and turned around. “I’m not dropping you off at the beach. Johnny, you just got out of the hospital.”

“Well, where are you going?”

“MY house.”

“Your house? Roy, no, I don’t want to be an imposition. I’d just be under Joanne’s feet. Look, just take me to that motel you went to when you stayed over at my place. That’ll be fine.”

“Johnny, you won’t be under Joanne’s feet because she’s not home. She went to visit her parents for the next week and took the kids with her. As a matter of fact, you can have the whole place to yourself this weekend because I’m working Saturday and Sunday.”

Johnny brightened. “Oh, yeah? Well, that’s great! Hey, maybe I could even get some of the yard work done for you while you’re at work!”

“No! No, yard work. Just rest and get that shoulder better so you can come back to work soon. The less time with Brice the better.”

Johnny snickered. “Brice, huh? Sorry about that. Okay, no yard work. This is going to be great! Just rest and relaxation, read a few books, watch a few ball games – hey Roy, you got any beer in your fridge?”

“A few,” Roy rolled his eyes. “Ah, aren’t you going to be on some pain medication?”

“Oh, yeah,” Johnny said frowning. “Well, that’ll probably only be for a few days.”

“Uh, huh. Just do me one favor.”

“Anything.”

“Do something about Charlene.”

“Oh. Okay. Man, why’d you have to ruin my good mood by bringing her up?”

“Johnny...just – do – it.”

“Okay, okay! I’ll go see her before my next shift.”

“Good.”

Roy spent most of that Friday working in the DeSoto backyard while Johnny relaxed on the deck reading and napping. Johnny bugged Roy several times to let him help with the work, but Roy would not concede. Johnny laughed to himself when he thought about how badly Roy didn’t want to work with Brice any longer than he had to.

Saturday and Sunday proved to be very quiet and relaxing for Johnny. He had enjoyed catching up on his reading and ball games during the rest of the week, while also spending some time with Roy on his days off. By the following Sunday evening he was aching to get back home, but dreading the inevitable confrontation with Charlene. Oh well, at least his horses were being taken care of. His neighbor Bob Williams was always willing to help out when Johnny was away or laid up. Johnny always made up for it by helping Bob out with projects he was working on.

The last Sunday at Roy’s was spent sipping beer in Roy’s recliner while watching a baseball game. He had one more day of recuperation before he had to go back to work on Tuesday, and he knew he was going to have to confront Charlene tomorrow. Begrudgingly, John pulled himself out of the chair and picked up the telephone. He sighed with relief when the answering machine picked up after five rings, then left his message that he wanted to see her tomorrow. He said he would call in the morning, not mentioning where he had been the last week after he left the hospital. Man, I bet she’s been sitting there waiting for me at my house.

Monday afternoon found Johnny standing before Charlene’s front door. He had departed that morning before Roy returned from work and left a note on the kitchen table thanking Roy.  He hesitated a second before he rang the bell. Might as well get this over with. He rang the bell.

A second later Charlene answered the door. She had an unhappy look on her face. “I’ve been wondering what happened to you. You left the hospital and didn’t even call me. I didn’t know where you went or if you were all right.”

Johnny looked down, feeling a little like a heel. “I’m sorry. It’s just that, well, Roy came to pick me up and insisted on me staying at his house, and well, I, I, just needed some quiet, you know?”

“How can you have quiet with Roy and his wife and two kids there? You should have let me take care of you.”

“They were all gone. Roy was working and his wife and kids were away. I had the house to myself.”

“Why didn’t you just go home?” She had him backed into a corner now.

Johnny couldn’t believe he had to justify his actions to this woman. He felt like a little boy whose mother had caught him with his hand in the cookie jar.

“Look, I just didn’t, okay?” He walked into the center of the room. “Charlene, I need to talk to you about something.”

She said nothing but stared after him.

Johnny gestured to the sofa. “Why don’t you sit down.”

Warily she looked at him as she sat down next to him on the sofa.

“Charlene,” Johnny lifted his eyes to meet hers. “Remember when we first met, in the supermarket, and then you invited me over for dinner?”  She nodded minutely. “Well, I thought that it was just going to be a casual friendly dinner, you know, because you felt bad for what had happened, and you just wanted to do something nice for me to make up for it. But then, it turned into something a lot more.” He paused a moment. “I never thought that when you invited me over that we would end up in bed together...and I wish it hadn’t happened.”

Charlene staring at him stone-faced, her hands tightly laced together in her lap.

 He went on, “Charlene, us sleeping together that night was a mistake. It should never have happened. And because it did,” he sighed, “now I think you want us to have a serious relationship...and I don’t.”

His brown eyes were full of remorse as hers filled with tears.

“I’m really sorry, Charlene, but I just don’t want that kind of relationship with you. It’s nothing personal; look, you’re a really nice girl – and pretty – you deserve a guy who’s going to care about you just as much as you care about him. I’m not the right guy, Charlene. I just can’t give you what you want; you deserve better.”

There. I think that sounded pretty good, he thought. Be kind, Gage; let her down easy.

A tear ran down her face and her lip began to quiver as she continued to stare at him. There was an uncomfortable silence between them as Johnny tried to think of what to say.

Then he made his mistake. “Charlene, I should have told you this...but, you see, I was already seeing someone when I met you. I just don’t feel right continuing – ”

In that instant, her face changed from grief to anger and her hand smashed across his face before he knew what hit him.

“You used me! You son of a bitch!” she screamed. “You were screwing me and some other woman at the same time!”

“No, I didn’t – ”

“What’s her name? It’s Kathy, isn’t it? I suppose that’s where you’ve been all week!”

“No, I wasn’t – ”

Charlene raised her hand again to slap him, but Johnny caught her hand halfway to his face. One slap was enough; he wasn’t going to tolerate it again. “That’s enough!” he tried to contain his anger through gritted teeth as his hand held tight to her wrist.

He stood up and let go of her wrist. His tone was no longer contrite. He’d had enough, and just wanted to be done with her. “I’m sorry it didn’t work out. I think I should go,” he said, turning. He walked toward the door.

The tight lines of anger in her face softened instantaneously, and were replaced by fear. “No, wait! Johnny please! I’m sorry! Don’t go!” She stood up taking a few steps toward him. “Let’s talk about it!”

“Charlene, there’s nothing to talk about.” He opened the door. “Good-bye.”

He was one step out the door when he heard her call, “Wait, Johnny! Don’t go! There’s something I have to tell you! I...I’m pregnant!”

He froze in midstride. She watched as he slowly turned to face her, eyes blazing in incomprehension. “What did you say?” he whispered.

“I...I said...I’m pregnant.”

His eyes narrowed; a small smile of disbelief formed across his face. “Are you insinuating it’s mine?”

“Yes, of course it’s yours! I haven’t been with anyone else!”

“That’s impossible. It’s been less than three weeks ago. You told me you were on the pill!” he spat accusingly.

“I am. But you should know that no birth control is one hundred percent. I missed my period and saw my doctor. He told me I was pregnant. They can tell, you know, even if you’re only a couple days past your missed period.”

Johnny was breathing heavily now. His eyes were wide with anger. “You’re lying.”

“No, I’m not Johnny. I’m going to have a baby. Your baby.”

Johnny stood staring at her for a moment longer, his eyes wide, his mouth frozen half open in an expression of disbelief. Slowly he turned and started to walk away as if in a daze.

“Where are you going!” she yelled. “We need to talk about this!”

He stopped for a second but didn’t turn around. Without another word, he slowly walked away, leaving the door hanging open.

Roy strode in to the day room at seven forty-five Tuesday morning, looking for Johnny. He had seen his Rover in the parking lot and was kind of surprised that Johnny beat him to work.

He found Johnny sitting at the kitchen table with his back to him, his forehead resting on the palm of his fist while his other hand was wrapped loosely around the handle of a cup of coffee. His eyes were closed, and his shoulders were slumped; he looked to be asleep.

Roy walked by and poured himself a cup of coffee. Roy spoke as he neared the table, noticing Johnny jump as he did so.

 “Hey, Johnny.”

Johnny looked up at him blearily. “Hi, Roy.”

Roy sat down next to him. He studied him a second and said, “You feelin’ okay? You don’t look too good.”

“I’m fine.”

“Did you not sleep well at my house? The neighbor’s dog didn’t keep you awake, did he?”

“No, I didn’t even hear a dog.”

Roy studied him some more.

“Are you sure your shoulder is healed enough for you to be working?”

“Yes, Roy, my shoulder’s fine.” With that, Johnny got up and slowly walked over to the door stopping to look out the window.

After a moment Roy got up and followed him. “What’s bugging you then?”

Johnny didn’t answer him. Strained lines of defeat and despair etched his face.

After a moment Roy’s face lit up in understanding and he snapped his fingers. “Ah, I know what it is. You went to see Charlene yesterday, didn’t you?”

“Yes,” Johnny answered quietly, his gaze out the window didn’t waver.

“Let me guess. It didn’t go well.”

Johnny inhaled slowly. “You could say that.”

Roy stood looking at Johnny’s profile, gradually becoming concerned over Johnny’s demeanor. “What happened?”

Johnny’s chin lifted slightly as he heard some of the guys approaching the day room from the engine bay. Turning away from Roy he said, “I don’t want to talk about it right now.”

Cap stuck his head in the door as some of the guys were pouring coffee. “Role call, gentlemen!” With that, the crew scurried out the door, passing Johnny, who slowly shuffled out behind them.

The morning wore on, and Roy became increasingly aware that Johnny was suffering from some kind of inner turmoil. He didn’t know what had happened with Charlene, but he couldn’t imagine how it could be something so dreadful that could cause Johnny to act so despondent and depressed. Johnny had kept to himself all morning, quietly doing his chores, walking around as if he were in a daze. Roy found he had to ask him almost everything twice, since Johnny didn’t seem to be able to register what he was saying the first time. Roy could tell Johnny’s mind was deeply engaged in something, and it was bad. Roy had never known Johnny to not talk about his problems with him, and the fact that he wasn’t talking today caused Roy to worry. Usually when something was bothering Johnny, you couldn’t shut him up about it. He decided that he needed to get his partner to talk about it; he couldn’t stand it the way Gage was acting – it was foreign behavior to him. They were a little low on Ringers, so he made that his excuse to get him and his partner away for a while, and hoped he could get Johnny to open up to him on their trip to Rampart.

Roy looked over at Johnny in the passenger seat of the squad. He looked tired; no, more like, beaten, resigned. His eyes stared dully out the window, fixed in one position.

Roy decided to take the plunge. I hope I don’t regret this. “Well, are you gonna tell me what happened yesterday with Charlene?”

Johnny shut his eyes briefly and sighed. A long silence ensued, then he finally said, “I guess I might as well. You’re going to find out about it sooner or later.”

“Find out about what?”

He hesitated. “Charlene said....Charlene told me yesterday when I went to break it off with her...she...she said she’s...she’s pregnant.”

 Roy’s mouth dropped open slightly and his foot slipped off the accelerator. He looked over at Johnny who was still staring straight ahead, then turned back to look through the windshield. He closed his mouth, and raising his eyebrows slightly, swallowed hard. He thought a moment, then started to say “Johnny – ”

“Whatever you gotta say, Roy, just do me a favor and don’t say ‘I told you so’, because I really don’t need that right now.”

“Okay; I won’t say it.” A small smile came across his face. Trying to lighten the mood a little he came out with, “What color tux you gonna wear for your wedding?” then immediately regretted saying it.

Johnny slowly swiveled his head toward Roy, eyes blazing, incredulous, his mouth open. “Is that all you can say?” his voice rising into rant mode. “My LIFE is in the toilet, and you’re making JOKES! Thanks a lot, Pally, a great friend you are.”

Roy could see Johnny was so upset he was shaking. Feeling badly, he apologized. “I, I’m sorry Johnny. I shouldn’t have joked about it.” He paused.  “I hate to ask this, but are you sure it’s yours?”

“She says she hasn’t been with anyone else.”

“Yeah, just like she told you she was taking birth control pills. Are you sure you believe her?”

“How can I not believe her? I mean, I guess I can make sure with a blood test when the baby’s born.”

“You better do that. In the meantime, have you decided what you’re going to do?”

Johnny thought back to yesterday when he had walked out of her house. He had climbed in his Rover and started driving, not knowing where he was going. He drove and drove, his mind in a whirl, stunned from her information. He had run the gamut of emotions – from shock to disbelief to anger, then to sadness. Sadness at what he realized was the end of a happy life for him.  A life that from that day forward he was sentenced to spend tied to a woman he now despised because she carried his child. And then there would be the embarrassment of having to tell everyone that he had an illegitimate child, unless of course, he married her. All because he couldn’t keep his pants zipped. He had cursed himself over and over, then cursed her for betraying him – no – for deliberately trapping him. Because that’s how he felt, like an animal caught in a trap, and there was no way out. He knew he would rather be dead than to be married to her.

He felt a sickness in his stomach knowing that any chances of having a relationship with Kathy were now gone. A sickness knowing that he had created a child with someone he didn’t care anything about. And maybe worst of all, a deep disappointment in himself that he had had such a lack of judgment, and now that lack of judgment had changed his life forever.

Johnny mourned for the lost relationship of a family that he once had dreamed of having some day, a family like Roy’s, where he married the woman of his dreams and had children out of love. A family to replace the one he had lost as a child that he had longed to have for such a long time. Now all gone; down the drain.

This is not how he had envisioned fatherhood. Having been around Roy and his kids for the last several years, he had come to realize how special that bond could be. He envisioned himself beaming with pride some day over the children he might have. He had had dreams of being able to tell the guys at the station that his wife was pregnant, in his mind seeing everyone congratulating him with slaps on the back at his happy announcement. All that had now been taken away with a life’s sentence of a relationship with a woman who was possessive, unstable, and possibly violent. A woman whom he would never be able to love, but would have to endure to be able to have a loving relationship with his child. He knew he would be miserable married to her. But he cringed at the thought of her raising a child of his, with him being a part-time parent. And he wondered how he could be close to a child that he would not be allowed to be around very much. With her as a parent, his kid would surely be screwed up!  She would most likely even try to turn his son or daughter against him.

He had driven around for hours, wracking his brain to think of a solution. The more he thought about it, the more distressed he’d become. By the time he reached home, his stomach was in knots and he felt sick. He couldn’t eat. He finally decided to take a ride on Midnight, his beautiful black horse. He knew that usually a good ride would relax him, and it did, somewhat. Sometime during that ride he had convinced himself that he was not going to marry someone he didn’t love. He started to think about talking to a lawyer about the possibility of even getting custody of his child. The thought of that made his mind spin. Himself – a full time father! How could he manage the hours he worked and take care of a baby? Those thoughts brought on a whole new list of worries. He finally fell into bed feeling exhausted and drained sometime after midnight. He got little sleep, though, tossing and turning almost all night.

Roy looked over at Johnny, who was lost in thought.

“Johnny?”

“Huh?”

“I asked you if you had thought about what you want to do?”

Johnny ran his hand through his hair. “Yeah, that’s all I’ve thought about since yesterday. I’ve decided one thing – that I’m not going to marry her.” He looked over at Roy, who was silent. “I want to raise my kid, Roy, but not with her. I’m going to have to find a way to do that; I was thinking about talking to a lawyer.”

Roy looked skeptical. “I don’t think that’s going to help you, Johnny. Without being married to her, you basically don’t have any rights at all. No judge is going to let you see your kid; you’ll be lucky if you get any visitation at all.”

Johnny looked crestfallen. “How do you know that? Are you sure?”

“Look, Johnny. Fathers today get almost zero rights when it comes to their kids. And not being married, you might as well say good-bye to seeing very much of your child – unless Charlene agrees to it. Basically you have two choices. Either marry her and raise your kid, or don’t marry her and hope that you’ll be able to see your kid sometime.”

Johnny made a fist and pounded it on the dash. “Damn it! I don’t want to marry her! The thought of living my life with that woman…well, I think I’d rather be dead!”

Roy couldn’t see a solution. He knew from being a family man himself that a child should be raised with a mother and a father. Having Charlene raise Johnny’s child by herself could be disastrous. He weakly offered, “Well, it’s only for 18 years.” He really didn’t believe his next statement, but he made it anyway. “Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.”

“Eighteen years! Roy, I’ll be almost fifty by then!” With that he bowed his head and brought the heels of his hands to his forehead. Quietly he said, “God, I’ve made such a mess of my life.”

Roy felt truly sorry for Johnny and gave him a sympathetic look. “Sorry, Junior. I really am.”

They arrived at Rampart and got their supplies without further conversation. Johnny stayed in the squad while Roy went in. He wasn’t in the mood for cheerful conversation with anyone.

Roy stowed the supplies in the squad and climbed in. Johnny was resting against the door with his eyes closed. He slowly opened his eyes as Roy started the squad.

With a pat on his shoulder and an encouraging smile, Roy soothed, “Hey, try not to worry so much, okay? Everything will work out. I’m sure there’s a solution; you’re just not seeing it right now.”

“I wish you were right.”

“Right now things seem pretty bleak; just give this some time and I’m sure you’ll work it out.”

“You think so?”

Roy turned in his seat to face Johnny. “Sure. Look, you and Charlene are adults, right? You just need to sit down and discuss the situation like adults and come to an understanding.”

“Right. Is that before or after she slugs me again?”

“What are you talking about?”

“She did it again, Roy.”

Roy looked at him, his eyebrows climbing into his receding hairline.

“Yesterday. When I tried to break up with her. She hit me in the face again. That’s TWICE now that’s happened. I guess if I marry her you’ll be seeing me with a lot of black and blue marks.” His face was set stonily.

Roy looked at Johnny in disbelief, his expression then turning toward anger.  “I can understand why you don’t want to marry her.”

“Yeah.”

They drove on in silence a while longer when suddenly Roy’s face lit up.

“Hey! I know something that’ll cheer you up!”

“What?” Johnny asked hopefully.

“I forgot to tell you; my uncle got me those tickets to the Dodgers game!”
            “That’s great, Roy. But why would that cheer me up?”

“Because the game is Thursday night, and we’re off work. I was planning on asking you if you wanted to go.”
            Johnny looked like he was considering it. “I don’t know, Roy. I don’t think I’d be very good company.”

“Johnny, the seats are great! Right between the pitcher’s mound and first base – right down in front! You’ll never get better seats than that!”

Johnny’s face found a small smile. “Oh, yeah?”

“C’mon, Junior. I want you to come with me. Besides, it’ll get your mind off your problems.  Sitting around worrying isn’t going to change anything, you know.  Look, I’ll pick you up at your house around 6:30. What do you say?”

Johnny smiled. “Okay, Pally. You’ve got yourself a deal. Maybe this is just what I need.”

“Good deal,” Roy said using one of Johnny’s favorite phrases.

Thursday morning the guys said their good-byes in the parking lot after the second day of their shift. Johnny was exhausted, having not slept well the last two nights worrying over his life.

“I’ll pick you up at six-thirty,” Roy called to him as Johnny slowly climbed in his Rover. “Try to get some sleep before then so you’re not falling asleep at the game, okay?”

“I’m climbing in bed the minute I get home,” Johnny said waving. “See you tonight.”

The minute Johnny walked into his home he made a beeline for his bedroom. Shedding his clothes, he plopped down on the bed and pulled the covers over his head. The window was open, and a gentle breeze flowed into the room. Johnny was continually thankful for the quiet and tranquility that surrounded his home that he had bought away from the city. A soft murmur of crickets and birds finally lulled him to sleep.

After what seemed like minutes, Johnny rolled over on his side. A ray of sun peaked out from behind a puffy cloud and fell across his bed. Lazily, he blinked his eyes open, and looking at his clock was startled to see that it was after three o’clock. Rolling onto his back, he rubbed the sleep from his eyes with the heel of his hands. Guess I better get up. Roy’ll be here in a few hours and I need to get a few things done. Pushing himself up with his hands, he swung his legs over the side of the bed. He looked out the window and smiled. It’s going to be a perfect evening to enjoy a game.

For a moment, all thoughts of Charlene and his troubles were out of his head. Then suddenly reality stormed back into his brain and he groaned. Oh, man, why couldn’t all of this just be a bad dream? He sighed deeply. I guess tomorrow I better get in touch with Charlene and try to work this out with her. Tonight I’m gonna enjoy myself. Only eight and a half more months of life as I know it.

Standing up, he felt better than he had the last two days. Although his shoulder was still sore, the deep aches from the roller coaster accident were finally starting to recede. Amazing what a little sleep could do. He plodded into the kitchen and put a pot of coffee on, then headed for the bathroom. After his shower, he pulled on a pair of sweat pants and went out to get his mail. Thumbing through the stack of envelopes, he grimaced. All bills. He threw the mail on the table and headed for the back door.

Clad only in sweatpants, Johnny walked out onto the back deck. The warmth of the wooden planks soaked into the souls of his bare feet, relaxing him. Sinking into a lounge chair, he surveyed his property. Taking a deep breath, he relished in the scent of fresh hay and abundant pine trees. His eyes roamed past the fence he had built and came to rest on his two horses, who were playfully nudging one another. God, he loved this place. He had saved and scraped every penny for a long time to buy the horses, fulfilling a longtime dream. His crewmates sometimes teased him about how cheap he was, especially the time his credit card company made a mistake on his bill. Then everyone found out that he had spent only $8.42 on a dinner date. He got razzed about that one for weeks. But that thriftiness had allowed him to purchase his dream.

His mind wandered, and he envisioned himself out there with the horses lifting a little girl on to Ginger, the gentler horse. She was laughing, her long dark hair in braids. Leaning down to him, she gave him a kiss.

“Watch me, daddy!” she called as the horse trotted away slowly. She waved, calling, “I love you, daddy!” He smiled, closing his eyes.

The warm sun beat down on his face as another vision materialized in his mind. He was sitting in the stands, a crowd cheering all around him. Next to him was a little boy of about seven munching on a hot dog. The bat cracked; the crowd exploded in screams. Johnny stood up and lifted the boy up to see the play.

“Wow! Dad! A home run! Can you teach me to hit like that some day?” the boy exclaimed excitedly as his arms wrapped around Johnny’s neck.

“You better believe it, partner. We can practice as soon as we get home if you want!”

“Yay, Dad! I love you!” The dark haired boy smiled a crooked smile back at his father.

Johnny opened his eyes as a whinny from one of his horses brought him out of his daydreams. Suddenly he felt more relaxed, and the strain of thinking of his problems the past few days fell away like snow melting.

You know, Gage, maybe this won’t be so bad after all. Being a father might be fun. I love being around Roy’s kids, it must be incredible to have one of your own. What kind of dad would I be, though? I don’t know anything about raising a kid.

Maybe Roy could help me. I’m sure he and Joanne would. Johnny smiled to himself. Uncle Roy. The kid would call him ‘Uncle Roy’. Won’t that be something? 

Maybe this isn’t the end of my life; maybe it’s just the beginning. I’m gonna work this thing out with Charlene. I don’t know how, but somehow there’s got to be a way. I’m not gonna let her take my kid away from me.

With those thoughts, he got up and walked back into the house with a slight spring to his step. A goofy smile spread across his face. Man! I’m gonna be a father! I can’t believe it! Eyeing the bills he threw on the table he thought, better get some stuff done before Roy gets here. Better get these bills paid! I guess there’s gonna be a lot more where these came from for the next twenty years or so.

 Grabbing pen and checkbook, he sat down. He was sitting at the kitchen counter writing when he heard a knock at the door. Looking at his watch and seeing it was four thirty, he briefly wondered if Roy had come over early, then discounted it.

Slowly he made his way to the door and opened it. His face turned into a frown when he saw who was on the other side. Charlene.

Standing looking at him through the screen, her face was uncertain, and her eyes were drooped in sorrow. “Hi,” she said softly. “Can I come in for a minute?”

He hesitated. He knew they needed to talk, but now wasn’t the time. He was looking forward to the evening, and didn’t want the impending conversation to ruin it. Beside, he hadn’t had a chance to rehearse what he was going to say to her. “Charlene, I’m getting ready to go somewhere.  I know we need to talk; I was going to call you tomorrow. Now’s not a good time.” His hand was on the doorframe.

“Johnny,” she said looking up at him with big blue eyes, “I came to apologize. I just want to talk to you for a minute, that’s all. Then, if you never want to see me again, I promise I’ll go away and leave you alone forever.” She looked as if she might cry.

Guilt washed over him and he softened. ”Well, okay. Come on in,” he reached out and held the door open for her.

Once inside she breathed in the smell of fresh coffee. “Boy, that smells good.”

Taking the hint, he offered her a cup, which she accepted. He poured himself one as well, having not had one yet. He motioned for her to sit down at his table. Once seated, she suddenly asked, “Oh, can I have some milk for my coffee?”

“Sure, just a minute.”

Johnny got up and took her cup into the kitchen. A small smile spread across her face. This was too easy. Her eyes followed him while he went, and then quick as the blink of an eye, she removed the lid of a small bottle she held hidden in her hand and poured the contents into his coffee. Her face then returned to the sad dejected expression it had held before he got up.

He sat back down and took a sip of his coffee. For a moment, he stared down into the dark brew, his brow crinkled as if something was amiss, then he took another drink. He looked at her expectantly.

“Johnny, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking the past few days since you left my apartment.”

He looked down. “Me too.”

“I just want to tell you, I’m sorry. I know I haven’t been very nice at times, and that I’ve sort of forced you into a relationship with me that you didn’t want. I realize now that that was wrong of me.”

“Charlene – ”

“No, wait; just hear me out, then I’ll leave.” She stopped to sip her coffee, and he did the same.

“It’s just that when we first met, I kind of fell head over heels for you.” A sad smile was on her face. “I guess I never should have expected someone like you to fall for someone like me.”

He looked down contritely, feeling badly for her. “That’s not true, now. It’s just, well, maybe if I hadn’t already been involved with someone else...who knows?” It would have been a cold day in hell when he allowed himself to get involved with her, but he was trying to make her feel better. He paused a moment and took another swallow of coffee.

For a moment, rage flashed in her eyes. As quickly as the expression came, it was gone. Control yourself, Charlene!

“I’m sorry everything worked out this way,” he said.

No, you’re not sorry, but you will be!

“It’s probably my fault just as much…” A wave of dizziness swept over him and he blinked; his hand came up and latched on to the edge of the table as he tried to steady himself. His eyes moved to her face; it was blurry. He closed his eyes hard then reopened them, shaking his head slightly.

It’s working!

Charlene was rambling on to him about something, but suddenly Johnny couldn’t make any sense of what she was saying. He tried to focus on her face, then there were two Charlenes. The room slowly started to spin. He blinked again, trying to clear his vision. He stared at her, his mouth falling slightly open, his hands gripping the edge of the table.

“Johnny? Did you hear what I said? What’s wrong? Are you all right?” Concern took over her features and she stood up.

Confusion swept over his features. “I, I…I don’t feel so good.” He tried to stand up and almost fell over as he saw the floor start to tip sideways. Charlene grabbed his arm to steady him.

“Hey, you don’t look too good. Let’s get you somewhere where you can lay down.” She started guiding him toward his bedroom.

“No....I...” He could barely walk as one foot crossed over the other.

“C’mon, let’s get you to bed. Then I’ll leave you alone. I guess this conversation can wait till later.”

They made it to his bedroom, and he fell awkwardly onto the bed, almost missing it. She helped him get his head on the pillow, then lifted his legs up onto the bed.

He lay with his forearm resting across his forehead, his breaths coming quick and shallow. He squinted up at Charlene, who was sitting on the side of the bed gazing down at him, her face twisting into a weird distortion. He tried to figure out what was happening, but his mind was in a fog. She seemed to be smiling, but it wasn’t a friendly smile. Something was wrong, and fear swam over him. “You....”

“Just lay still.” She rested her hand on his shoulder.

The room started spinning faster, and he felt like he was falling down a dark tunnel. His eyes closed. They did not reopen. His arm fell limply off his forehead and onto the pillow. Charlene smiled wider.

Roy kissed Joanne good-bye. “I’ve got a few stops to make, then I’m going to Johnny’s to pick him up for the game.”

Joanne gave him a hug. “Have a good time.”

“We will!” Roy waved as he walked out the door. He was really looking forward to the evening. This was just what Johnny needed to take his mind off his troubles. Roy shook his head to himself. How does my partner get himself into these messes? He jumped into his Porsche and took off down the street.

The first thing Johnny became aware of was that his tongue was stuck to the roof of his mouth, and his eyes felt like they were glued shut. His throat was very dry, and his attempts at   swallowing were in vain. His head was pounding. He tried to bring his hand down to his face, but couldn’t. He tried again; something was holding his wrists immobile. He forced his eyes open and stared at the ceiling a moment. He couldn’t move. Tilting his head back to see what was preventing him from moving, he realized that he was lying in the middle of his bed, and his wrists and ankles were tied to the corners of his bed frame. Fear swallowed him up, causing a burst of adrenalin, which instantly caused his heart rate to go through the roof. He struggled frantically to get free, but found that he was unable; the bonds were too tight. Panicking, John tried calling out.

“Hey!” he croaked. “Is anybody here? Somebody! Help me!”

A moment later a shadow appeared in his doorway. Her appearance filled him with dread.

“Well, well, sleeping beauty is finally awake.”

“What did you do to me?” he growled through clenched teeth.

Her lips went formed a pout. “You know, you’re grouchy when you wake up.”

He pulled against the ropes. “Let me go! Why are you doing this?”

“Sorry, but I can’t let you go. And as to why, the answer is easy. Because you need to be taught a lesson, Johnny. You can’t just go treating me the way you did and expect not to suffer any consequences.”

His eyes traveled downward and he saw she held a gun in her hand. Blinking hard, he shook his head slightly to clear the cobwebs, hoping he was seeing things. Unfortunately, when he opened his eyes, she still held the gun.

Charlene walked around the bed and stood next to him. “You used me, Johnny. You made a fool out of me. No one does that to me and gets away with it,” she gestured at him with the gun.

He stared at her in disbelief. Think, Gage! Think of a way out of this!

“You hurt me badly, Johnny. And now you’re going to find out what it feels like.” She turned to leave the room. Looking over her shoulder she stated, “I’ll be back.”

He swallowed, fear closing around him. As panic mounted, he twisted and yanked as hard as he could against his bonds. He didn’t care if his skin tore and bled, he had to get free.

Five minutes later, Charlene came back in the bedroom, holding a pan in her hand. By now Johnny’s wrists were scraped raw from pulling on the ropes that bound him.

He looked at her, naked fear evident in his eyes. He saw steam rising up out of the pan. In as calm a tone as he could muster he appealed to her, “Charlene, I’m sorry. I never meant to hurt you. Please let’s talk about this! I want to try to work things out with you! I – I – I – want us to raise our child together! Please! Let me go; I promise I’ll make it up to you!”

“My, my, Johnny. You certainly have changed your tune. You know, begging doesn’t become you. No, I’m going to make you feel what it was like, then you’ll know. You need to be punished.” She walked slowly to the edge of the bed with the pan in her hand. “You burned me, Johnny. Now it’s your turn.”

Realizing with disbelief what she was going to do, he recoiled.

Roy slowed his speed on the canyon road as he came to Johnny’s driveway, then slowly made the turn and followed the gravel drive back a ways to Johnny’s house. He smiled as the house came into view, remembering at one time when he’d thought Johnny had made a mistake buying what he called “a dump”. Johnny had worked his tail off fixing it up, until one day Roy realized how wrong he had been. Johnny had turned it into a lovely and cozy home, a home Roy had come to enjoy visiting very much. It was so quiet, and the air smelled so much fresher away from the city. Johnny had wanted Roy to learn to ride his horses, so that they could go on rides together. But after one time with a very sore rear end, Roy was reluctant to try again. He supposed he just wasn’t cut out to be a cowboy.  His kids weren’t reluctant, however, and he enjoyed watching Johnny give them riding instructions. They begged to get up on the horses every time they visited.

Roy got out of his car, breathing in the air. It was a great night for a game. He looked down at his watch: six-thirty, right on time.

At the moment that his car door slammed shut, Roy heard something. It sounded like…a scream. He stood a moment listening, but all was quiet. He shrugged it off and started walking toward the house. It was then that he noticed a strange car in the driveway. A white Chevrolet; it looked like a rental car. Hmm, I wonder who’s here? I hope Johnny is ready to go.

Charlene heard a noise as she stood there holding the empty pan. What was that? It sounded like a car door slamming! She looked down at Johnny, who lay gasping on the bed. “Who’s here!” she demanded.

He couldn’t answer. Fighting the pain of the burns she had just inflicted on him left him speechless. She ran to the side window and was barely able to see Roy coming around the house. Snatching up a bag she had set on the floor, she pulled some duct tape from it, tore a piece off, and quickly slapped it across Johnny’s mouth. A second later she had the gun in her hand and had leveled it at him. Johnny’s eyes were slivers of pain as he stared at her. His chest heaved with the effort of breathing.

“You make any sound, and you’re dead. You understand?”

He nodded slowly. His brain worked to recall whom it could be at his house, and he suddenly remembered that it must be Roy coming to pick him up for the game. A quick glance at the clock confirmed that – it was six thirty-five.

Johnny was only beginning to realize what Charlene was capable of. She would probably kill Roy. How could he warn him?

They heard the knocking at the door, then after a silence, he heard knocking again. More silence, then one more time, this time hearing a muffled, “Johnny? You there?”

After more silence, they heard someone trying the doorknob, then a key turning in the lock.

Damn! He must have a key! Charlene moved to stand by the bedroom door, flattening herself against the wall so as not to be seen.

Each of them heard Roy enter Johnny’s house, calling his name.

This is strange, thought Roy. Where the heck is he? Jeez, I hope he’s not in the bedroom with some woman. C’mon, DeSoto; he chastised himself, I doubt that, after what he’s going through with Charlene right now. Sheesh!

 “Johnny? You home? It’s Roy!” He glanced over at the kitchen counter and noticed the two coffee cups, and saw the bills scattered on the kitchen table. Well, someone’s here, or has been here. Looks like he got interrupted. Maybe they’re out back. He started to make his way to the back door.

Johnny desperately tried to think of something to do. He was sure she wouldn’t hesitate to harm Roy, or likely kill him. The thought of Joanne living as a widow and Chris and Jennifer being without their daddy sickened him. There had to be some way to let Roy know something was wrong, so Roy would have a chance to protect himself, maybe get help. Charlene had threatened to kill him if he made any noise, but that would be better than her killing Roy. He could never live with the fact that his best friend was murdered because of him.

Yelling was out of the question with his mouth taped. Glancing about, he caught sight of a light cord dangling down from the lamp at his bedside table. It wasn’t too far from his hand. Stretching, he was just able to hook a finger around it while Charlene’s attention was on the doorway, listening.

He inched the cord into his hand. With a quick yank, he sent the ceramic lamp crashing to the floor.

Charlene whirled and stared at him; her eyes looked frighteningly murderous, insane. Her attention immediately flew back to the door, where she heard Roy coming down the hall toward them.

Roy jumped, startled at hearing a crash. His head whipped around in the direction of the noise, realizing that it had come from the bedroom. Red flags rose immediately, and he sensed something terribly wrong, but couldn’t imagine what it could be. He hesitated a moment, then noticed the telephone on the end table. Picking up the receiver, he got no dial tone. Damn! Quietly he put the receiver back in its cradle and decided he better find out what had caused the crash.

As quickly as silence would allow, Roy rushed down the bedroom hall. When he got to the opening of Johnny’s bedroom door, the sight before him shocked him to the core. Johnny lay tied spread-eagle to his bed, wearing only a pair of sweat pants. His head was raised and silver duct tape covered his mouth. He was struggling, his eyes wide with alarm as his head frantically tossed back and forth.  Muffled sounds tore from his throat as he tried to convey the danger to Roy with his eyes.

“Johnny! My God!” Roy took one step into the room and hesitated. Johnny was frantically trying to tell him something. “What the hell…” Suddenly Roy felt something crash down on his head, causing white shattering pain. The floor tipped out from under him, then he felt nothing.

Charlene stood trembling over Roy. Laying the gun on the chest of drawers, she ran out of the room. Within seconds she was back with rope in her hand. Grunting, she dragged Roy’s prone body a few feet to the dresser, where he lay slumped on his side. Her trembling hands wrapped the rope around his wrists and secured them behind his back. Having completed that, she grabbed his arm and pulled him into a sitting position, leaning him against the dresser. She completed her deed by tying his wrists to the leg of the dresser.

Johnny watched the whole thing in utter defeat. He knew they were really in trouble now. His heart sank as he watched Charlene stand back and admire her handiwork with a sigh of satisfaction.

As if she had forgotten something, she snatched up the roll of duct tape, and pasted a piece of it across Roy’s mouth.

The momentary diversion had distracted Johnny from thinking about the pain that had spread all across his chest and stomach, but now that the adrenaline rush was gone, his breath came quicker and more shallow as his body’s nerve endings became alive again.

Charlene picked up the gun and turned to him. “YOU are going to REGRET what you just did.” Reaching for the tape she had placed across his mouth, she roughly tore it off his face. He grimaced at what felt like having his skin ripped off. She left the room before he could say anything.

Johnny listened as he heard her rummaging through the drawers and closets of his home. The sound of her footsteps told him she was headed to the back of the house, then the door opened and slammed shut with a bang.

He lay staring up at the ceiling, still not quite sure how all this could possibly be happening. The wetness from the water soaked into the bed had turned cold, and he shivered. Raising his head slightly to try to peer down at his body, he Johnny attempted to assess how severe the burns were. His skin was red, but he saw no blisters, thankfully. He knew that if the burns had been worse, he’d probably be in shock right now. It still hurt like hell.

Work on loosening the bonds continued, his thoughts consumed with freedom.

A soft moan from the floor got Johnny’s attention. Roy’s chin was resting on his chest and his head was starting to move slightly from side to side.

“Roy!”

There was no answer.

Johnny tried again. “Roy! Wake up!”

Another moan.

“C’mon, Roy, that’s it, wake up!”

When Roy finally managed to open his eyes a crack, he was staring down into his lap. He became aware of a splitting pain in his skull and winced. Then he heard someone calling his name.

“Roy! Can you hear me? It’s Johnny!”

Slowly Roy lifted his head and looked around, disoriented. The room was spinning slowly. His mouth felt dry and he tried to lick his lips, but found he couldn’t.  Something sticky was plastered across his mouth. His head was pounding and he closed his eyes again.

“ROY!”

This time the urgency caught his attention. He opened his eyes and slowly they began to focus. About six feet away from him was Johnny, lying in his bed, tied up. He blinked. Roy tried to move his arms but found they were uncomfortably tied behind his back. He glanced around the room, slowly remembering what had happened.

“Roy, are you all right?” Stupid question, dummy. Of course he’s not all right.

Roy shook his head, which was a bad idea. Squinting, his eyes came to rest on Johnny’s and his eyebrows raised in a questioning gesture.

Johnny’s voice was urgent and strained. “Roy, Charlene is here. She did this.”

Roy’s eyebrows rose higher, asking the questions with his eyes as he looked at the ropes that were tying Johnny’s ankles and wrists.

“Roy, Charlene came over this afternoon to ‘talk’ to me. I think she put something in my coffee, because I passed out.”

Roy stared at him, his eyes widening.

“When I woke up, I was tied here to my bed.”

Roy shook his head, lifting up his eyes slightly.

“Roy, listen to me. We’re in big trouble. I think Charlene is going to kill me, which means she’ll probably kill both of us.”

Roy’s eyes grew round in panic.

“She wants to get back at me, she says, for ‘what I did to her’.” He looked away from Roy to stare back up at the ceiling. Roy observed Johnny a moment, thinking he was going to say more. He noticed Johnny’s labored breathing, and realized something was wrong with him, more than just being scared. Roy scanned Johnny’s body, and with shocked revelation, took in the angry red splotches spread out over Johnny’s torso. He craned his neck to see better.

Feeling Roy’s eyes upon him, Johnny glanced at his friend, then looked away, unable to stand the expression in Roy’s eyes.

Roy tried to speak, but could only make a muffled sound. When Johnny looked back, Roy’s eyes were wide with concern, and he was gesturing with his head toward Johnny’s body. Roy tried to speak again, and Johnny knew what he was asking.

Gage hesitated, looking away again. Roy beckoned an answer with an urgent unintelligible sound from behind the tape covering his mouth.

Swallowing, Johnny finally said, “She…she poured scalding water on me,” his voice broke.

Roy stared a moment, an expression of disbelief and shock washed over his face. He glanced away a moment, closing his eyes, unable to comprehend what Charlene had done to his friend.

 Johnny looked back, seeing his expression. “I’m okay; I think it’s just first degree.” Johnny’s voice sounded tense and low. “Roy, I don’t know what she’s going to do next. We’ve got to find a way to get out of here. I’ve been trying to get loose, but she’s got me tied so tight I can’t budge. I think my hands are swelling and these things are just getting tighter.” He looked down at Roy. “Roy, how tight are your ropes? Do you think you can get loose?”

Roy shrugged, then Johnny saw him start trying to move his hands. After a few minutes Johnny asked, “Any luck?”

Roy appeared to be concentrating very hard. He shook his head, but didn’t stop trying.

“Roy, you’ve got to get loose. Keep trying!”

Roy looked up at Johnny with an exasperated expression and then nodded forcefully, wincing as he did so.

A few minutes went by with no conversation as Roy struggled to get loose.

“Roy?” Johnny called softly.

Roy looked up.

“I - I’m sorry.” Johnny’s eyes spoke what he was unable to say.

Roy’s expression softened, and he nodded slightly. Johnny turned his head and stared up at the ceiling. The sound of a door opening, then slamming shut jolted him, and his heart started to pound. Johnny and Roy’s eyes locked, their expressions of fear mirrored in each other.

Charlene reentered the bedroom. In her right hand was the gun and in her left hand she held a baseball bat. Upon seeing those items, Johnny was overcome with dread and terror. He swallowed as she neared the bed. Roy had the same expression on his face as he watched the scene unfold.

            “I found this in your closet,” she said matter-of-factly. “I didn’t know you liked baseball.” She sighed. “See, that’s just another thing we would have had in common, Johnny, if only you’d have taken the time to get to know me.” She shook her head. “We could have had so much fun together. I’m going to miss you, Johnny.”

            Johnny stared at her, unable to speak, his heart racing, trying to think of something to do, to say, to stop her.

            She sat down on the bed and looked down at him. A soft smile spread across her face. Gently, she laid the bat on the floor. He cringed as she softly touched his cheek with her hand. What she said next turned his stomach.

“You know, I think I want you one more time before you die.”

            He felt bile rise in his throat. “Charlene, please – ” he said in anguish.

She leaned down toward his face. “Kiss me,” she demanded.

            He looked at her in disbelief. “What?”

            “Kiss me.” She tried to bring her lips to his, but he turned his face away.

            Roy watched in mute horror as he saw Charlene bring the gun up to Johnny’s temple.

            Johnny’s eyes closed. “Please, don’t,” he said hoarsely.

            “Then kiss me, like you did before.” She brought her lips down to his. This time he didn’t turn his head. Cold, hard metal rested against his temple as her lips met his, pressing hard.

            His mind was working furiously trying to think of a way to talk her into letting him loose, or at least letting Roy go.

            He spoke nervously with her lips still on his, “Charlene, uh, I don’t think we need an audience, do you? Why don’t you let Roy go so we can be alone.”

            She threw her head back in laughter. “You must think I’m really stupid. I can’t let Roy go. He’ll spoil all my fun. Besides, I like it when people watch; it’s a turn on.” She continued to kiss him, her free hand moving slowly down his body.

He flinched as her hand ran across the burns on his abdomen. His whole body stiffened as he felt her hand go under the waistband of his sweatpants. He felt repulsed by her touch and struggled to move away from her.

“I know you want me,” she murmured.

“You’re sick,” he said with venom in his voice. Her hand closed around him, moving faster.

With a sickening realization, he suddenly felt his body responding. His mind screamed at him, NO! This can’t be happening! What kind of a sick bastard are you, Gage?

“You can’t deny it,” she said triumphantly as her hand continued.

             He felt sick to his stomach as his body betrayed him. He closed his eyes, concentrating as hard as he could, willing it to stop. Adrenalin coursed through him as the humiliation set in.

            Suddenly she had climbed up on top of him, her dress spread out, and was lowering herself down. His eyes flew open.

            “Get off me!” he yelled. He bucked his body trying to throw her off.

            The cold metal was back again, pressed firmly against his temple, and he heard a click as she pulled back on the release of the gun. He stopped moving, quickly drawing in a breath.

            Time stood still for Roy as he watched in disbelief at what was happening to his friend. Johnny looked stricken as he stared up at the ceiling, breathing hard. His eyes were wide under his furrowed brow and his mouth hung slightly open in his shock. Roy looked away, mortified and humiliated for Johnny as he heard Charlene moaning, and tried to concentrate as hard as he could on wiggling his hands free.

            Johnny gave a stifled cry as he suddenly felt his body release against his will. His chest heaved. He felt like throwing up. A moment later Charlene shuddered and cried out. As she did, her fingers reflexively tightened around the trigger of the gun and it went off, sending a terrifying echo throughout the room.

            Roy jumped, adrenalin speeding through him, and his head jerked up. She’d had the gun pointing at Johnny’s head, and for a sickening second, he expected to see Johnny’s brains blown everywhere. When he looked up at Johnny, his eyes were tightly squinted shut, his face a mask of pain.

            The gun had only been a few inches away from his head when it went off, and the bullet had traveled through the headboard and lodged itself into the wall, just missing Johnny. Powder from the gun left its traces on Johnny’s face, and small fragments of wood from the splintered headboard lay on his pillow. John’s left ear was ringing madly and when Charlene spoke, her voice sounding distorted and far away.

 Roy was relieved to see Johnny open his eyes, and his shoulders slumped as he realized Johnny hadn’t been shot.

Charlene smiled, a little startled herself at the loud explosion. “Thought I’d end it with a bang,” she said, and she laughed at her own joke. Finally, she climbed off of her victim and looked down at him contemptuously. “I knew you wanted me, Johnny. You loved it, didn’t you? I bet no other woman can make you feel the way I do.”

            “Go to hell,” he spat. He felt violated, dirty, and utterly humiliated. And Roy had seen the whole thing. He pulled against his bonds, knowing that he could easily kill her if his hands were freed. He envisioned his hands closing around her throat and squeezing...

            “Maybe I should keep you around a little longer for a little more fun later,” she said with an evil smile.           

             “Why don’t you go f--- yourself, Charlene? God knows no sane man would do it willingly,” he said, venom dripping from his words. Roy looked over at him in astonishment, surprised at the words that had spewed out of his mouth. Johnny immediately regretted what he had said when he saw the murderous expression spread across her face.

Part 3