shoot yourself and this is your version of purgatory.”
“Which would still mean that you’re not real,” she said.
“You’re impossible,” he said. Jacob headed for the cabin.
“Wait! Help me cover this thing back up.”
She heard the door slam.
Chapter 13
{Joining}
M ADELYN MADE NO EFFORT to sneak up on his camp. She spotted the truck and walked right into the center of Circle Poke. She held her rifle under her arm and turned through the compass, regarding the old buildings there.
“Gabriel,” she called. “Gabriel Saxon, come on out.”
She turned at the sound of rusty hinges.
“Hold on. Hold on,” he said. He came through the door, pulling his suspenders up over his old shoulders. He laughed when he looked to her. “Don’t shoot,” he said. He put his arms up and then lowered one to the railing as he came down the porch steps.
She raised the gun to her shoulder.
“Throw down your weapons,” she said.
He stopped and gave her a serious look.
“All I have on me is this old buck knife. Everything else is in the truck.”
She put her finger on the trigger when he reached around his back. His sharp eyes caught the movement and his arm stopped mid-reach.
Gabriel turned enough so that she could see him pull the knife from its sheath. He tossed it to the ground between them.
“Lose the clothes,” she said.
“Pardon?”
“Take it off. Right down to your skivvies.”
“There are more polite ways to get me undressed, madam.”
“Save the banter and strip.”
She debated putting a bullet in the ground next to him to urge him on, but rejected the notion. She still wasn’t settled with the idea of all that noise.
Gabriel was slow to get undressed. He was clearly accustomed to having a bench to sit on while he removed his pants. She was doing him a favor. He was getting a good lesson in how bad his balance had become. The old man almost fell over when it came time to remove his socks. Madelyn pointed her rifle at the hollow where his neck met his shoulder. She imagined the bullet ripping into that delicate flesh and carving a channel down the center of his ribcage, through his heart, and then making a mess of his guts. He would be dead before he hit the ground.
“Why are you doing this?” he asked. He coughed up phlegm from his bent-over lungs.
“You apologized,” she said. “This is me accepting your apology. Now step back from the pile.”
She kept her gun pointed at him while she knelt and dug into the pockets of his still-warm jeans.
“Where are the keys to your truck?”
“They’re in it,” he said.
She nearly shot him when he pointed at his truck. His arm had moved too fast and startled her.
Gabriel sensed how close he had come to losing his life. He crossed his arms in front of his sagging chest. The puffy white hair between his breasts matched the hair poking out from his boxers. Madelyn spat at the thought.
“Where’s your gear?”
This time, he pointed only with his eyes. “Truck,” he said.
“Good. I gather you still know where my cabin is. You hike up there and you may or may not find a young man who may or may not be my nephew. He might just be the ghost of my younger brother. Regardless, if he’s there, he might take you in. He might shoot you.”
She picked up his clothes with one hand and backed towards the truck.
“You’re not making sense, Madelyn.”
“I know,” she said. “If you’ve been paying attention, you might notice that the whole world doesn’t make sense.”
He tilted his head and acknowledged her statement with a tiny nod.
“I’ll be back for you before long. Or maybe not. Help yourself to what’s left of David’s clothes.”
There was a dangerous second while she took her eyes off of him to open the truck door. She tossed his stuff inside and reached in to start the engine. It was a strange sound after all those years. A combustion engine was an impossible relic. She could hardly believe that she was taking a chance
“Which would still mean that you’re not real,” she said.
“You’re impossible,” he said. Jacob headed for the cabin.
“Wait! Help me cover this thing back up.”
She heard the door slam.
Chapter 13
{Joining}
M ADELYN MADE NO EFFORT to sneak up on his camp. She spotted the truck and walked right into the center of Circle Poke. She held her rifle under her arm and turned through the compass, regarding the old buildings there.
“Gabriel,” she called. “Gabriel Saxon, come on out.”
She turned at the sound of rusty hinges.
“Hold on. Hold on,” he said. He came through the door, pulling his suspenders up over his old shoulders. He laughed when he looked to her. “Don’t shoot,” he said. He put his arms up and then lowered one to the railing as he came down the porch steps.
She raised the gun to her shoulder.
“Throw down your weapons,” she said.
He stopped and gave her a serious look.
“All I have on me is this old buck knife. Everything else is in the truck.”
She put her finger on the trigger when he reached around his back. His sharp eyes caught the movement and his arm stopped mid-reach.
Gabriel turned enough so that she could see him pull the knife from its sheath. He tossed it to the ground between them.
“Lose the clothes,” she said.
“Pardon?”
“Take it off. Right down to your skivvies.”
“There are more polite ways to get me undressed, madam.”
“Save the banter and strip.”
She debated putting a bullet in the ground next to him to urge him on, but rejected the notion. She still wasn’t settled with the idea of all that noise.
Gabriel was slow to get undressed. He was clearly accustomed to having a bench to sit on while he removed his pants. She was doing him a favor. He was getting a good lesson in how bad his balance had become. The old man almost fell over when it came time to remove his socks. Madelyn pointed her rifle at the hollow where his neck met his shoulder. She imagined the bullet ripping into that delicate flesh and carving a channel down the center of his ribcage, through his heart, and then making a mess of his guts. He would be dead before he hit the ground.
“Why are you doing this?” he asked. He coughed up phlegm from his bent-over lungs.
“You apologized,” she said. “This is me accepting your apology. Now step back from the pile.”
She kept her gun pointed at him while she knelt and dug into the pockets of his still-warm jeans.
“Where are the keys to your truck?”
“They’re in it,” he said.
She nearly shot him when he pointed at his truck. His arm had moved too fast and startled her.
Gabriel sensed how close he had come to losing his life. He crossed his arms in front of his sagging chest. The puffy white hair between his breasts matched the hair poking out from his boxers. Madelyn spat at the thought.
“Where’s your gear?”
This time, he pointed only with his eyes. “Truck,” he said.
“Good. I gather you still know where my cabin is. You hike up there and you may or may not find a young man who may or may not be my nephew. He might just be the ghost of my younger brother. Regardless, if he’s there, he might take you in. He might shoot you.”
She picked up his clothes with one hand and backed towards the truck.
“You’re not making sense, Madelyn.”
“I know,” she said. “If you’ve been paying attention, you might notice that the whole world doesn’t make sense.”
He tilted his head and acknowledged her statement with a tiny nod.
“I’ll be back for you before long. Or maybe not. Help yourself to what’s left of David’s clothes.”
There was a dangerous second while she took her eyes off of him to open the truck door. She tossed his stuff inside and reached in to start the engine. It was a strange sound after all those years. A combustion engine was an impossible relic. She could hardly believe that she was taking a chance
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