Backtracker (97 page)

*****

Chapter
60

For a moment, he shuddered in the rain, struggling to overcome his fear. Yet again, the urge to run boiled up within him, flared with fresh potency.

Then, he spotted Billy. Tearing his gaze from Larry, he glanced around, hoping that his partner had changed his mind, decided at the last minute to abort the raid. The faint hope was quickly doused; Dave caught sight of Billy beyond the farthest of the buildings, gliding along the open crest of the hill.

Billy was on his way. If Dave
didn
'
t
speak, he would be sacrificing his friend.

He had
no choice.

Taking a deep breath, he tried to steel himself. He opened his mouth.

"
Hey
!
"
he shouted, realizing as he did so that he
couldn
'
t
recall the syllable,
couldn
'
t
reject his course.

Down on the beach, Larry Smith turned. Slowly, he lowered the child and the blade, and he turned.

And he looked at Dave.

Dave wanted to run.

For a moment, the only raised voice was that of the infant, sobbing and shrieking shrilly.

When at last Larry spoke, Dave flinched as if
he'd
never heard another person
'
s voice before.

"
Go away
!
"
Larry shouted angrily.
"
Get outta
'
here
!
"
he hollered over the wailing of the child.

Standing stock
-
still near the top of the slope, Dave
didn
'
t
reply,
couldn
'
t
immediately find the strength or the words that he needed.

"
Go on
!
"
belted Larry.
"
Get outta
'
here! Just go!
"

Swallowing hard, Dave scratched together what little courage
he had
left. Slowly, he raised the gun from his side.

"
Go
!
"
blasted Larry, sweeping the knife through the air.
"
This is none of your business!
"

Gripping the .38 with both quivering hands, Dave leveled it at the killer. With both thumbs, he pressed back the hammer, heard a click as the gun
'
s mechanism locked into firing position.

"
Go away
!
"
screamed Larry.

With great effort, Dave forced his legs to move, carry him down the slope with stiff, sluggish steps. The gun stuttered, an extension of his quaking hands, but he kept it trained in Larry
'
s direction.

"
I
'
ll
kill
you
!
"
bellowed Larry, jabbing the blade toward Dave.
"
If you don
'
t leave
now
, I
'
ll
kill
you!
"

"
You said you wouldn
'
t,
"
shouted Dave, realizing just how badly his voice was shaking, how blatantly it betrayed his fear.

"
I lied
!
"
shot Larry.

"
That
'
s all you ever do,
"
returned Dave.

"
I
'
ll
kill
you if you don
'
t
go
!
"
exploded Larry.

"
The cops are coming,
"
said Dave, continuing his plodding, mechanical advance. The gap between him and the killer was gradually shrinking; Larry was now about thirty yards distant.

"
Bullshit
!
"
boomed Larry.
"
You
'
re
lying!
"

"
They
'
re coming,
"
shouted Dave.
"
Billy went to get them.
"
As the lie left him, Dave hoped that it was a good one, that it might keep Larry from expecting Billy
'
s assault.

"
So let
'
em
come
, then
!
"
barked Larry.
"
I don
'
t
care
!
I just want
you
to leave me
alone
!
"

"
I
'
m not going anywhere,
"
said Dave, his tone not even close to being forceful.
"
I
'
m staying till they get here. I
'
m making sure you don
'
t get away.
"

"
Listen to me
!
"
hurled Larry, emphatically chopping the knife through the air.
"
I don
'
t
want
you here! Can
'
t you see I
'
m
busy
?
"

Trembling violently, Dave continued to march slowly down the slope. He wondered where Billy was, and he almost looked for him...but he caught himself,
didn
'
t
shift his gaze from the killer. As difficult as it would be, he knew that he would have to restrain himself from checking on his partner
'
s progress; if he diverted his gaze, he could easily give away Billy
'
s position, at least clue Larry in to the fact that covert maneuvers were underway.

"
Get outta
'
here
!
"
Larry blew furiously.
"
I
'
ll kill you! I
mean
it!
"

"
I
'
ll shoot you if you try
!
"
shouted Dave, trying to sound threatening...realizing that his fluttering, ragged voice
wouldn
'
t
carry such weight.

"
So go ahead then
!
"
flung Larry.
"
Go ahead and shoot!
"

"
Not yet,
"
said Dave.
"
Not unless I have to.
"

"
Fine then
!
"
flared Larry.
"
Don
'
t
shoot! I
'
ll just finish my little
project
here, and then I
'
ll take care of you!
"
With that, Larry swung the screeching child into the crook of his arm; raising the blade, he pointed its tip toward his captive.

Dave halted his approach, realized that
he'd
to take some kind of action. He
couldn
'
t
allow Larry to slaughter the infant; still, he
wasn
'
t
sure what he should do. He
didn
'
t
know if Larry would be influenced by threats or pleading; he could use the gun, but he
didn
'
t
think that he was a good enough shot to take out the killer without hitting the baby, too.

Frantically, Dave rifled his mind for a solution. He saw Larry
'
s knife
-
hand twitch, and he knew that
he had
no more time to make a decision.

It was only then that he noticed how Larry
'
s arms had changed.

Larry was still about twenty yards away, far enough to obscure much of the detail; still, Dave was able to see that something was wrong with his arms. They were definitely altered, somehow shriveled and darkened; from a greater distance, Larry had looked as if he were wearing long sleeves, and Dave had thought nothing of it...but now, Dave could see that Larry
'
s black shirt
didn
'
t
cover his arms, that the limbs themselves had transformed.

Without thinking, Dave spoke, impulsively blurted words before he could consider what their effect might be.

"
Oh my God
!
"
he shouted, squinting at the killer
'
s dark flesh.
"
What
'
s wrong with your
arms
?
"

Knife poised to pierce the child, Larry
didn
'
t
move for a moment. His head shifted then, and he stared at the arm in which the baby was cradled.

Dave took a step forward, trying to get a better look at the killer
'
s condition. He now realized that Larry
'
s hands were mostly dark, as well, that only the tips of his fingers still retained their original color.

"
Did you get burned or something
?
"
asked Dave, posing the only explanation which he could imagine.

"
It
'
s nothing,
"
replied Larry, and his voice was less severe, not as shrill as before.
"
It
'
s just a little skin problem of mine.
"

"
What
happened
to you
?
"
persisted Dave. Taking another step forward, he saw that Larry
'
s change
wasn
'
t
limited to his extremities; his throat also looked dark and withered, as did the bare skin above the neckline of his shirt.

Larry shrugged.
"
Guess I got some bad soap,
"
he tossed flippantly.

After three more steps, Dave stopped. The closer he got, the worse Larry looked; he could now see abscesses and sores on the killer
'
s neck, bunches of blisters in the hollow at the base of his throat. His once
-
thick arms seemed substantially reduced, shorn of muscle; fissures ran through the flesh, and a flap of blackened meat dangled from one elbow.

"
What happened to you
?
"
Dave repeated, transfixed by Larry
'
s strange mutilation.

"
You
'
re right. I got burned,
"
said Larry, still staring at his arm.
"
Now get out of here.
"

"
I don
'
t understand,
"
said Dave.
"
How did this happen?
"

"
I got a little too close to the broiler at work, okay
?
"
Larry shot snidely, swinging his head up to glare at Dave.
"
Now go
away
or I
'
ll
kill
you.
"

"
Who are you
?
"
asked Dave, meeting the killer
'
s gaze, inexplicably steadying a little.
"
Who are you really?
"

"
The tooth fairy
!
"
lashed Larry.
"
Now
go
!
"