Promise Me Eternity (35 page)

Again Simon shoved his hand into the
undergrowth and started feeling around. That hypodermic was too
important to leave behind. He could go to Carlo’s home and inject
him with insulin there. Then he’d just have to transport him to the
woods. The police would never find out the truth.

Not far away he heard leaves rustling. He
became alert, stood up, and peered into the dark thicket. He didn’t
dare move an inch.

After not hearing anything for two minutes,
apart from the sound of the wind, the owls calling, and crickets
singing, he calmed down, still far from being certain Carlo wasn’t
nearby.

Feverishly he resumed his search. He knelt on
the ground, feeling through the grass and leaves with both hands.
He didn’t care about the thorns pricking his skin, he just needed
to find that syringe.

Noises emanated from the distance again. He
raised his head, scanning the surroundings. He’d much rather meet
up with a wolf than Carlo.
Nothing. Absolutely nothing. It’s
probably a hedgehog or something.

The pain in his head had become so unbearable
he could barely think anymore. He concentrated on the search.
Where is that damn hypodermic?

When he heard the branches cracking again, it
was too late. A heavy figure was running toward him and he had no
doubt it was Carlo. Simon jumped up, ready to escape, but Carlo
kicked him in the backside, making him fly through the air. Simon
lay on his stomach, with his head in the undergrowth. He wanted to
get up onto his knees, but because of the pressure of a foot on his
back he couldn’t.

“How could you sleep with my wife? Don’t you
know who I am?”

“I didn’t sleep with her. I swear! Ask
Christine!”

“You’re lying!” Grabbing his hand, Carlo
lifted him into the air, hurling him toward the car. “Damn you,
Doctor! How stupid I was to invite you to my house.”

Simon turned and looked at him beseechingly.
“I really didn’t sleep with her. How can I prove it to you?”

“I can hear from your voice that you’re
lying. Your life is over. I detest you.” Carlo kicked him in the
stomach.

Simon was choking from pain. “Please, stop!”
He shielded himself with his arms, trying to protect himself from
the blows, but it didn’t help. Carlo was kicking him as if he were
a sack of potatoes. “No, please!”

“There, and there …”

“Please listen!”

“And that … you’ll see …”

“I’m begging you!”

The blows stopped. Holding his stomach, Simon
could hardly bear the pain which was spreading through his entire
body.

Carlo had stopped to catch his breath. He
leaned forward and thought aloud: “I don’t know what to do with
you. I have to think it through. … Aha, that’s what I’ll do.”
Grabbing him by the collar, he dragged Simon behind him.

“Where are you taking me, I’m choking! Let me
go!”

After he opened Simon’s car door, he pushed
him inside. “Get in the seat!”

“What are you going to do? Why do I have to
get in?”

“Because I want you to.” He pulled the
revolver from the inside pocket of his jacket and put it to Simon’s
head.

“You can’t do this. Please, you mustn’t kill
me. I’m innocent.”

“Say good-bye to your life. If only you’d
admit it, then I might forgive you, but not if you look me in the
eye and lie. I hate that.”

Simon’s nerves were in tatters. The metal
touch of the revolver on his forehead made him hysterical. “OK, we
were together, I admit it. It happened even though it shouldn’t
have. Let me go, for God’s sake!”

Carlo lowered the weapon and stared at him.
“Where was this and how did it happen?”

“In a hotel …” He tried to remember the name
of the hotel, but couldn’t. “Actually we met in front of the hotel.
We didn’t plan anything. Your wife had a headache and she asked me
to come and get her. She said you kept changing phone numbers and
she couldn’t reach you. I didn’t want to, but she …” He told the
story and Carlo listened with interest. Simon also told him about
her visiting the hospital before that, so that he could run some
tests.

“So she said she had problems with headaches?
Funny, she’s never complained to me about these problems. An
interesting story. Did you ever meet her again?”

Simon had no intention of telling him how
they met again, when she came over to his house. “No, after that we
never met again. I had a wife, Helen. But then someone killed
her—”

“Quiet, you bastard! Now you’re going to
involve your dead wife. How dare you?” He grabbed Simon’s throat
and pulled him out of the car. “How could you do it? I can’t
believe it.” He punched him in the stomach, knocking Simon onto the
car hood.

“But you said that—”

“I’m going to kill you, you bastard! I don’t
get it. I can’t imagine you in that hotel with my wife. What did
Christine see in you?” He lifted him up and studied him oddly. “I
couldn’t say you’re good-looking. Rather the opposite. And you’re
built weird, bony, as if you’re undernourished. I really don’t see
what the attraction was.”

“I made a mistake, I admit, but you can’t
kill me because of it, the police will catch you and …”

Carlo threw him to the ground. “What did you
say, that they’d find me? The cops? Come off it! Do you have any
idea how many people I’ve killed already?” He kicked Simon in the
groin, causing his body to double over. “I can’t even remember how
many. At least two dozen. And you know why the police can’t do
anything to me?”

Alarmed, Simon turned his head toward him and
clenched his teeth in pain.

“Even the cops aren’t what they used to be. I
pay them well, so they leave me alone. Everyone likes the smell of
money.” He grabbed a branch that was lying on the ground and
started beating Simon with it. “You were the only one who didn’t
want my money. That never happened before. And I thought you were
being modest.”

“Stop!” Simon raised his legs. “I’m begging
you!”

“But you were even greedier than the rest.
You wanted my wife. You bastard!”

“But you said that you wanted the truth, that
you’d let me go.”

“Yes, I’ll let you go. Oh yes I will, but not
alive.” He raised the branch in the air.

About ready to give up, Simon closed his eyes
and waited for the blow.

“But before that, I’ll cut off your dick. You
don’t deserve just death. That would be too easy. I want to see you
suffer, I want to hear you squeal with pain.” Dropping the thick
branch, he took hold of Simon’s collar and dragged him away from
the car.

“Stop!”

“You can keep on whimpering, but it won’t
help. You’re going to die in pain. And stop resisting, goddamn it!”
With his other hand Carlo took hold of the revolver, pointing it to
Simon’s head. “Do you want me to blow your stupid head off? Is that
really what you want?”

Simon immediately became still.

“Good, then get on your feet. I haven’t the
strength to drag you to my car. That’s where I have everything I
need.”

Simon got up and Carlo followed him with the
revolver in hand.

When they reached the car, Carlo said, “Stand
next to that tree!”

Simon knew he had to do something, but he was
scared of the weapon. And scared he’d make a mistake that would
cost him his life. But it was clear to him that Carlo was going to
kill him sooner or later.

Even though the moon wasn’t shedding much
light, Simon’s eyes sensed the reflection of the blade of the
knife, which Carlo had pulled out of the trunk.

“W-w-what are you going to do?”

“I’m going to cut it off. I want you to
scream and wail in front of me. I want you to die from loss of
blood. I want revenge.”

Simon remembered the dream he’d had not so
long ago. “No, no, you can’t do that. I know you’re very angry and
I understand, but this is madness. You need psychiatric help.”

“What? What did you say? That I need a
shrink?” He was holding the knife in his right hand, the revolver
in his left.

“Yes, yes, you really do need to see someone.
I understand you’re angry, that’s expected, but you can’t kill
everyone that upsets you. Sooner or later you’ll stand before God
and what will you say to him?”

Carlo started laughing loudly. “You really
are something special. You’re about to be castrated and here you
are, lecturing me about God. I’m going to ask you something, Dr.
Patterson. Can you tell me where God is this minute? Why isn’t he
helping you?”

Simon stared fearfully, first at the knife,
then at the revolver. Large drops of sweat ran down his
forehead.

“And where was God all those times I sent
people to Heaven? Or maybe to Hell, I don’t know. I have a certain
opinion about God. If he does exist, then I’m his assistant. I send
him different losers who keep on sinning. Isn’t that nice? I’m sure
he’s thankful and he’s reserved a special place for me when I
die.”

“What if you go to Hell? What if you burn in
the fire and no one will be able to help you? What will you do
then?”

“I’ll deal with that when it happens. But
first I’ll do what I decided to do. My fundamental rule in life,
you see, is to always finish what I’m doing before starting
something else. And I’m about to. … Take off your pants! Now!” He
poked him in the ribs with the revolver.

Simon wavered. He slowly moved a shaking hand
to the button on his pants.

“Quick, damn it! I don’t have all night.
Christine is waiting for me at home. She’ll be wondering where I’ve
got to.” Turning his head upwards, he rolled his eyes strangely.
“Mmm, what will I do with her? I’ll have to think of something
original. The unfaithful bitch!”

When Simon saw Carlo looking upwards, he also
looked to the sky. Staring at the brightest star he saw Christine
in a white nightgown. He saw her lying somewhere on the cold
ground, crying for help.

Suddenly her gown started changing colors,
from white to red. He noticed Christine’s hands clutching her
stomach, from where blood was pouring. At once, everything was red.
She was lying in a pool of blood and only then did he realize how
much she was bleeding and that he couldn’t help her anymore.

Shaking his head, Simon saw Carlo’s bulging
eyes staring at his groin. Simon finally made up his mind. In the
moment he’d spent staring at the sky, he realized that he didn’t
have anything to lose anyway.
If I don’t act now, it will be too
late.

He stopped breathing for a second, then with
all his might he kicked toward Carlo’s left hand so that the
revolver flew more than ten yards away. Carlo looked at it in
surprise, then immediately lunged for Simon with the knife.

Simon was expecting the attack and moved out
of the way in time, so that Carlo hit the tree trunk with the sharp
blade of the knife. Then Simon went for him with his bare hands,
something Carlo certainly wasn’t expecting. Simon knew he had to do
something. It was clear to him that just running away wasn’t going
to be enough. Carlo would find him sooner or later and have him
killed. He had to resist and somehow overcome him.

While Carlo was pulling at the knife which
was stuck in the tree trunk, Simon kicked him in the stomach with
all his might and then, as Carlo bent over, he hit him on the back
of the neck. To Simon’s surprise and triumph, Carlo let go of the
knife and fell to the ground.

Simon kicked him a few times, then tried to
pull out the knife. He would have succeeded if Carlo hadn’t taken
hold of his right leg, sinking his teeth into it.

“Aaaaa,” Simon screamed, barely succeeding in
pulling his leg away. It hurt so much that he nearly collapsed. He
kicked Carlo in the face with his other foot.

“I’m going to have you!” Carlo screamed, and
he moved toward Simon again, on all fours.

Simon just managed to jump out of the way. In
a panic, he stared first at his leg, then at Carlo, and decided
that he would rather make a run for it. There was no point in
fighting Carlo; he was stronger. Simon ran toward the road,
shouting for help.

He tripped twice while running, bashing his
knee on the ground. Somewhere in the background he heard twigs
breaking, which meant that Carlo was very close.
A little
farther
, he urged himself,
just a little farther
.
When he sees a driver helping me, he’ll draw back.

But when Simon reached the road, there
weren’t any cars. “Help!” he shouted even though he knew there was
little chance anyone was around. “Help, help!”

Carlo had scrambled out of the bush. “You can
shout, but no one will help you. I’m going to kill you, you son of
a bitch.”

“Help! Help!” Simon started running along the
road. He ran with all his might, shouting for help.

“You can shout all you like, but I’ll catch
up with you!”

Looking back, he saw that Carlo was going to
catch up soon. The wound on his right leg was slowing him down.
“Help!”

From behind him, Carlo repeated, in a woman’s
voice, “Help!”

Hoping that a car would drive by, Simon ran
along the road a while longer, but then decided to go back into the
woods. Picking up a big stone, he threw it at Carlo, who got out of
the way and stopped for a moment to rest. Simon chose the first
bushes he saw and charged through them, into the dark woods.

He was taller than Carlo, and because the
bushes reached nearly to his neck, Simon figured he’d have the
advantage and be quicker than Carlo in the woods. He ran and ran
and all the time he heard Carlo’s heavy breathing behind him.

He called out again, “Help!”

“Help! Help!” Carlo repeated in a
high-pitched voice.

They ran for quite a while and, to Simon’s
dismay, Carlo was only about ten yards behind him.

“I’m going to strangle you with my bare
hands. I just need to catch you.”

Simon hadn’t a clue where he was running, but
the direction didn’t matter. A couple minutes later he caught sight
of his car. He was pleased, although he intended to run past it,
deeper into the woods. Panting heavily, Simon was surprised at
Carlo. With his extra weight, he should have been out of breath
ages ago.