“Oh, God, no!” David whispered. “He’s back.”
“I’ve turned on a lot of lights,” Angela said. “He’ll know something’s wrong.”
Angela thrust the shotgun into David’s hands. He gripped it with sweaty palms. They heard the car door close, then heavy footsteps in the gravel of the driveway.
David motioned for Angela to step back through the cellar door. David followed and pulled the door partially closed behind him. He left it open a crack so he could see into the kitchen.
The footsteps came to the back door, then abruptly stopped.
For a few terrorizing minutes there was no sound whatsoever. David and Angela held their breath. They guessed Van Slyke was wondering about the lights.
Then, to their surprise, they heard the footsteps recede. They listened until they couldn’t hear them anymore.
“Where did he go?” Angela whispered.
“I wish I knew,” David said. “I don’t like not knowing where he is. He knows this place too well. He could get at us from behind.”
Angela turned and looked down the cellar steps. The idea that Van Slyke could suddenly jump out at them made her skin crawl.
For a few minutes they stayed put, straining to hear any noises. The house was eerily silent. Finally David pushed the door open. Stepping back into the kitchen warily, he motioned for Angela to follow.
“Maybe it wasn’t Van Slyke,” Angela whispered.
“It had to have been him,” David whispered back.
“Let’s get the hell out of here. I’m afraid if I’m in here too long Nikki will get out of the car.”
“What!” David whispered. “Nikki’s here?”
“I couldn’t leave her at your mother’s,” Angela whispered. “She insisted on coming with me. I couldn’t fight with her. And there was no time to explain the situation to your mother.”
“Oh my God!” David whispered. “What if Van Slyke has seen her?”
“Do you think he might have?”
David motioned for Angela to follow him. They went to the door to the yard, opening it as quietly as they could. It was completely dark outside. Van Slyke’s car was twenty feet away but the man was nowhere to be seen.
Now David motioned for Angela to stay where she was. He sprinted to Van Slyke’s car, keeping the shotgun ready. He looked in the passenger side window, just in case Van Slyke was hiding, but he wasn’t there. David waved for Angela to join him.
“Let’s skirt the gravel of the driveway,” David said. “It’s too noisy. We’ll stick to the grass. Where did you park?”
“Right in back of you,” Angela said.
David led with Angela right behind him. As they reached the street their worst fears were realized. In the light of a street lamp next to Calhoun’s truck, they could see Van Slyke’s silhouette in the driver’s seat of David’s mother’s Cherokee. Nikki was next to him.
“Oh, no!” Angela said as she impulsively started forward.
David restrained her. They looked at each other in horror. “We have to do something,” Angela said.
“We have to think,” David said. He looked back at the Cherokee. He was so tense, he thought he might pass out.
“Do you think he has a gun?” Angela asked.
“I know he has a gun,” David snapped.
“Maybe we should get help,” Angela suggested.
“It would take too long,” David said. “Besides, Robertson and his crew wouldn’t have any idea how to handle a situation like this–if they even took us seriously. We’ll have to handle this ourselves. We’ve got to get Nikki far enough away so that we can use the shotgun if we have to.”
For a few harrowing moments they simply stared at the car.
“Let me have the keys,” David said. “I’m worried he might have locked the doors.”
“They’re in the car,” Angela said.
“Oh, no!” David exclaimed. “He could just drive off with Nikki.”
“Oh, God,” Angela whispered.
“This is getting worse and worse,” David said. “But have you noticed: the whole time we’ve been standing here looking at the car, Van Slyke hasn’t moved. Last time I saw him he was in constant manic motion, unable to hold still for a moment.”
“I see what you mean,” Angela said. “It looks almost as if they’re having a conversation.”