Fifty-four
Doc strained to sit up, his eyes wide with
astonishment.
"I saw!"
He was looking up at her when the focus of his
gaze relaxed. The tension in his body drained away. He fell back,
impact with the ground expelling his last breath from his lungs.
Rex crawled weeping on hands and knees to the
old man and embraced him. Caitlin felt nothing but the intensity of
her hunger. She turned back to the shelter and put fresh wood on
the fire, then sat safely back to watch it burn. In time, Rex
joined her, still unsteady on his feet, his eyes hollow with
lingering shock.
"What are you going to do now?" Caitlin said.
"I'm taking Doc home." Rex's voice
sounded hollow.
"Take all the rifles and supplies you can find
back with you."
The suggestion caught Rex by surprise. "I
guess I should at that."
Caitlin stared into the dancing flames. "I was prettier than Connie, wasn't I?"
Rex sighed and spoke without hesitation. "Caitlin, you were always prettier than
Connie. You were the prettiest girl in the whole county."
"I can't live like this, Rex. I'm hurting
really bad."
"I know."
"Help me?"
She could hear his ragged breathing sounding
from behind her.
"I love you," she said. "More than anything."
Something brushed her hair. His hand, but
maybe the barrel of his service revolver. If he shot her, she would
never feel it. She would cease to exist and never know she had ever
lived.
She waited for him to say it, the last thing
she needed to hear from anybody ever again.
She waited for him to say that he loved her.
The End
