I landed hard on the front porch, stunned andunable to move. Sid turned to look back and started to guffaw at melying helpless on the porch. I thought he might come back to finishme off, but he apparently figured that running and living was ahigher priority. He spun back to run into the forest and instead,ran straight into the club that Sara was swinging at his head.
Sara raised her club to bring it down on himbut paused, dropped it, and slowly pulled out her wicked lookingbowie knife. Sid climbed unsteadily back onto his feet and pulledout a hunting knife of his own. I couldn’t think – couldn’t act –all I could do was watch them helplessly.
They began circling each other slowly. Sid’sface was covered in blood from the blow that took him down. Vitriolpoured from his mouth as he cursed his wife in between attacks.Sara was the exact opposite; she made not a single sound, not eventhe grunts that you might expect to accompany the slashes andthrusts they were exchanging.
A sudden charge from Sid forced Sarabackward, where she tripped over her abandoned club and fell to theground. Her knife flew from her hand as she landed. Sid quicklyleapt on top of her and brought his knife down in a vicious arctoward her head. She managed to block the attack, but now Sid waspressing downward, forcing the knife closer and closer toward herthroat.
It didn’t look good for my friend. She shouldhave just shot him as he was running rather than letting heremotions take over. She wanted her revenge to be up close andpersonal and now it would cost her. As they continued to struggle,I saw that Sara’s face was covered in blood now too, but I couldn’ttell if she was injured or if it was due to Sid’s wounds drippingdown on her.
I thought it was over. One more good pushfrom Sid and the knife would strike home. I imagined that I wouldbe next. With the first sound that she uttered since the fightbegan, Sara erupted in a shout of rage and flung Sid off of her …about twenty feet off her!
Calmly, she picked up her knife and got toher feet. She walked over to where Sid was lying, either unwillingor unable to get up. Then she bent down and slit his throat withtwo quick slashes, one on each side. She stared at him for a longmoment before standing and giving him a kick to the ribs.“Payback’s a bitch, asshole,” she said, before turning and walkingback to the house.
She knelt down by my head and checked me forinjuries. “You’re looking a little rough, but we need to get youout of here. In case you didn’t notice, your house is on fire. Canyou walk?”
I tried to answer, but all I could do wasgroan in what I hoped was a negative fashion. Apparently it wasgood enough as she got to her feet in preparation to dragging meaway. She paused for a moment in the act of grabbing my shoulders,stood, and floated me a foot off of the ground.
“I guess I didn’t imagine it. I diduse your ability at the end of my fight with Sid. Carl was rightback at the cave; I guess I’ll have to give him an apology the nexttime I see his ugly face.”
She brought me away from the house and set medown in the thick grass near the road. “It’s over now girl, we’resafe. You don’t seem to be bleeding anywhere, so I think you’ll bealright. Sid’s grenade knocked you for a loop just like last time,but it’ll pass.”
As she held my head in her lap comforting me,I noticed that the fire in my house was starting to spread. It washeartbreaking, to see my lovely home about to go up in flames, andI began crying. Suddenly it hit me – there were still the twowounded soldiers in my bedroom. Giving it everything I had left, Imanaged to get the words out: “people inside.”
She looked quizzically at me for a moment andthen her eyes flew wide open with understanding. She gently loweredmy head down to the ground and rushed toward the house. Smoke andflames were belching forth from the doorway by this point, but shecharged straight through them.
I heard the sound of tires on the gravel roadnow, but couldn’t raise the strength to turn and see if it was anew danger approaching. I heard a car skidding to a stop, the slamof a door, and then the most beautiful sound that I’ve everheard.
“Linda, are you ok?” Mark asked.
My tears became tears of joy as he fell tothe ground and wrapped his arms around me. I wanted to tell him howmuch I loved him, but didn’t have the strength.
“Medic, we need help over here! Hurry!” heshouted.
Two medics converged on me and pushed Markout of the way. One began going over my body checking for injuries,while the second began wrapping a brace around my neck. I saw thesheriff who was bent over Sid suddenly look up at my frontdoor.
“People at the house, help them quick!” Iheard someone shout. Focusing on the doorway, I saw Sara on theporch with the two soldiers from inside. The medic who had justinstalled the brace on my neck got up and ran to assist, as well asthe person who had shouted. It was one of the policemen from town.They shouldered Sara off to the side and pulled the two men awayfrom the fire.
Mark returned to me with a blanket and slidit gently under my head. “Rest easy, dear, it’s all going to be ok.I’m here with the sheriff, a deputy, and an ambulance. The firedepartment is on the way, along with every police officer and statetrooper within a hundred miles, if I heard the sheriff right.”
“We need some help over here, these men havebeen shot.” The officer called out from where they were tending thetwo men.
“Watch her closely and yell out instantly ifyou think anything is wrong,” my doctor said brusquely to
