Chapter Twenty-Four

“What the hell?” Kyle looked around, utterly lost and alone. “Where am I?”

He could feel a cool mist on his face, carried there by a stiff breeze. It was dark, but the moon struggled to break through a group of clouds overhead. He could still hear the roar of water in his ears. Yet, the sound had changed. It sounded as if the water was crashing against the shore in waves. He was kneeling in a patch of tall-grass that moved with the gentle wind.

Kyle rose to his feet slowly, not sure if exposing himself was the smartest thing to do, but not wanting to stay lost either.

He turned to look behind him, grunted. “Yeah, that’s about right.” White caps rolled towards him from the distance. He was at the beach.

Nina! How the hell am I supposed to get back without her?

“NINA!” he screamed as loud as he could.

Only the wind answered him.

Kyle moved closer to the water, awed by its beauty even at night. He had never been to the ocean before. He watched intently as the water washed up on the shore, only to scurry back into the darkness.

He sat in the sand, close enough for the waves to wash up over his feet.

Such a peaceful place; I wish Nina was here to share it with me. He closed his eyes and let his thoughts drift in and out with the tide. He smiled to himself and forced his breathing to match the rhythm of the ocean. Breathe in as the waves crash. Breathe out as they recede. It didn’t take long to lose himself in a trance.

“Excuse me, sir. What are you doing here?” A deep voice shook him from his thoughts.

“I, um… I am just waiting on a friend.” Kyle tried to see who spoke, but the beam of a flashlight made it impossible to make out more than a shadow.

“This is private property. You are not supposed to be here.”

“You can say that again,” Kyle mumbled.

“Say what again?”

The man moved closer and Kyle’s breath caught in his throat when he caught a glimpse of the badge on the front of his shirt.

“I already told you, I’m waiting for a friend. She should be here any time now.”

“Well, you are going to have to wait for her somewhere else. This is private property.”

“How can a beach be private property?”

“Sir, I am afraid you are going to have to come with me.” The shadow’s hand went to his hip.

“I thought you wanted me to leave,” Kyle pressed, rolling onto his knees.

“I got the impression that it wasn’t an option. Now, you are going to have to come with me.”

“Where are we going?” Kyle stood and stretched, causing the shadow to take a step back.

He obviously wasn’t prepared for just how big Kyle was.

“We are going up to my squad car.”

“That really doesn’t sound like fun. I think we should stay here and talk.”

Kyle took a step closer.

“Stop!” The officer warned, pulling his gun from its holster.

“Leave, stay, go, stop. You really don’t know what you want, do you?” Kyle laughed, unnerving the man even more.

“I want you to keep your hands were I can see them.”

“Like this?” Kyle started pounding his chest, hopping from foot to foot in an ape-like dance.

“What the hell is wrong with you, buddy?” The spectacle clearly shook the officer to the core.

“What? You can see my hands, can’t you?”

Wow, this guy must be on some heavy duty drugs, the officer thought.

“Nope, I am just high on life.” Kyle stopped pounding his chest long enough to give his new friend a nod.

The officer stood slack-jawed. Did I say that out loud?

“Of course you did.” Kyle gave him a confused look. “Now who’s the one on drugs?”

He leveled the gun. “Get on your knees, now!”

“Sorry, little fella, but I don’t swing that way.” All the humor was gone from Kyle’s voice.

“What? I said get on your knees.”

“I don’t get on my knees for any man. I have been called a lot of names, but cocksucker isn’t one of them and it never will be.”

“What are you talking about? I am going to put cuffs on you. I need you to get on your knees, now or else—”

“Not gonna happen,” Kyle interrupted.

“Do you have a death wish or something?”

“Nope, I just don’t want to have my mouth violated.”

“Get down, now, or so help me god, I am going to pump you full of lead.”

“You ain’t pumping me at all. I thought we already went over all this.”

The officer squeezed off a round at Kyle’s feet. Kyle looked down at the wisp of dust and sand as it materialized beneath him. A smile slowly spread across his face as he looked back at the officer.

“Now, Sergeant Dansky, is that any way for you to treat an old friend?”

“How do you know my name?”

“Oh, we go way back, Rick.”

“God damn it, man, you had better answer me. How do you know that?”

Kyle shrugged, pleased at the effect he was having on him, but unsure of exactly how he knew.

“What’s your name?”

“Kyle.”

“Kyle, what?”

“Kyle Kyle, bo bile, banana fana fo file, fee phi, fo mile… Kyle.” He nearly doubled over from his laughter.

“You are seriously messed up in the head, big guy.”

“I used to think I was,” Kyle said, a serious look reclaiming his face. “Now, I realize I have always had a firm grip on my sanity. It is your reality that’s twisted.”

“Okay, psycho, playtime is over. It's time to get your face on the ground. This shit is too weird for me to handle.”

“Yeah, playtime is over,” Kyle agreed walking towards him.

“What are you doing? Stop… stop walking or I will shoot.”

“I doubt that,” he said before laughter erupted from his throat like thunder.

A shot rang out. He stopped laughing and watched as the dust caught on the breeze and floated away from him. Slowly, his gaze rose to the officer with the flashlight.

“You would do well to put that thing away,” he warned in a voice riddled with menace.

“The next shot won’t be in the ground,” the officer returned. “It will be in your chest.”

“Is that a fact?”

“Try me,” he growled, the end of the pistol shook in his trembling hand.

He was ready for the confrontation to be over before he lost his nerve. I have seen some crazy things in my life, but this guy is scaring the hell out of me.

“Are you sure?” A smile spread across Kyle’s face.

“What?”

“Are you sure you want me to try you?”

Before he had a chance to answer, Kyle was running at him in a full sprint. The officer didn’t hesitate, squeezing the trigger as quickly as it would recoil. He fired bullet after bullet at the charging lunatic. Holy shit! Why won’t this guy fall? He must be on LSD or something. He began to panic as Kyle closed the gap between them.

Kyle leapt into the air, his arms stretched out before him ready to wrap up his victim and crush him into unconsciousness. He let out a startled cry as he felt his thighs collide into a table. It sent him tumbling through the air. He crashed into the far wall with enough force to knock all of the pictures free. They rained down around him, like a shower of memories, only heavier. The corner of a sterling frame raked across his cheek, leaving a trail of blood in its wake.

“What the fuck is going on around here?” he shouted.

He was back in his own living room.

“We both made the jump. I went to the house in the picture, but you went somewhere else. I was beginning to think I would never find you,” Nina explained.

“Huh—” He pulled himself to his feet.

“You’re bleeding!” She rushed to his side. “What happened to you?”

“That frame cut my cheek when it fell.” Kyle pointed at the picture on the floor.

“No, here.” She touched his shirt. Blood covered the front of it and the stains were growing.

“Oh that… I may have been shot,” he replied nonchalantly.

He tried to take a step forward, but fell to his knees. He had lost a lot of blood and was becoming weaker by the second.

Nina eased him onto his back and tore his shirt open. She counted four different bullet holes in his chest and abdomen. He could see by the frown on her face, it was serious.

“This Sucks! I thought I was invincible. Hell, that’s the way I felt.”

Blood ran down both sides of his mouth as he spoke.

“You big idiot, look at what you’ve done.”

She ran her hands over his body, just barely skimming the surface.

“We had some good times though, didn’t we?”

“Stop talking, I need to concentrate.”

He tried to sit up and began to cough, but Nina held him down. Blood bubbled out of his mouth. He struggled for air.

“How could you be so careless? You have ruined my plans. I had our evening all laid out and it didn’t involve you getting shot.”

He grabbed her hand and tried to talk, but the blood was too thick in his mouth.

“Easy, lover,” she said as he tried to clear his throat. “Just try to relax.”

“I’m scared,” he finally managed and gripped her arm tighter.

“You should be; you are losing a lot of blood.”

“I didn’t see it ending this way,” he said between gasps.

“How else did you think it would be? Did you honestly see yourself passing quietly into the night?”

Another round of coughing overcame him before he could answer her.

“No. I knew from the moment I saw you that when your time came, you would go out in a blaze of glory with bullets flying and bodies lying crumpled at your feet,” she continued.

“It should have been to the gasps of a crowd, not looking up at my own ceiling,” he whispered softly.

She smiled down at him as she stroked his hair, before leaning in to kiss his lips. Slowly she rose to her knees; put both hands on his chest.

“I love you, Nina.”

“Sleep tight, my prince.”