The Long Dark by Billy Farmer (best book club books for discussion .txt) 📗

was talking to me or Olivia. Either way, he did as he was asked.

As for Olivia, I put my hands on her shoulders and told her to go rest and that we would make sure everyone was safe. She began to say something, but I told her to, “Go on now.”

She wouldn’t budge.

“What?”

“You all need to be careful. You know all the crazy drugs people take in Barrow. He might have super-human strength.”

“Thanks, Olivia... I’ll keep that in mind.”

She had taken maybe ten steps before she had cornered someone else, telling him no-doubt about her harrowing experience outside.

“Well, I am being wery sorry about your experience,” the man said.

“Hey, Aadesh,” I said. “I need you to come here for a minute.”

He rushed over to where I stood. Olivia stomped off. The Commons was a captive audience. She’d find someone else to ear rape. I was sure of that.

“I am wery appreciative of you saving me from dat woman. She is windy.”

“Well, don’t thank me much. I need you to check the drill shack.”

He looked concerned. “I just came from dere. It was completely empty.”

“Well, I need you to go back. You heard her story. Someone could be out there.”

“I did see him, Jack!” Olivia yelled from across the Commons.

“Poor word choice, Olivia. My bad,” I said, wondering how in the hell she had heard what I said.

A crowd of people began gathering around Aadesh and me, trying to find out what the newest source of turmoil was. “Anyway, just go back over there and check. I’d hate for you to have to explain how things were stolen.”

“Yes, I don’t want to be telling him dat. But I am not wery crazy about going out dere with a crazy man being on the lamb.”

I thought for a minute about him saying the man was on the lamb. Aadesh has a habit of mangling the English language. In this case he might’ve been right. “Take the rifle, then. Just don’t shoot anybody.”

The offer to let him use the rifle seemed to have taken him by surprise. “You want me do dake de weapon? I have only fired it once, and id wasn’t wery successful.”

“Yes. Just be careful with it.”

“Doors are locked,” Jim said, as he nudged his way through the people who had encircled us.

“Well, Aadesh and I are going outside. Lock them behind us. Don’t let anyone inside.”

Jim chuckled. “You really are letting Aadesh take the rifle?”

“Yeah.”

“He doesn’t know how to shoot it.”

“I know.”

“I can go out with him or wake up some of the other guys?”

“Nah.” I looked towards Olivia, who was neck deep in her retelling to some poor shmuck who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. “I think things will be okay.”

“If you say so. I’ll have someone watch the other door for Aadesh. I’ll wait for you at the main entrance.”

“Thanks.”

Jim locked the door behind me. I didn’t bother turning my lamp on. It was twilight and the snow was starting to let up. It sounds weird, but I felt safer with the light out. I pulled my hood over my head and walked quickly over to the lean-to, which seemed like a good starting point. That, and a quick sip of tequila sounded good.

The only thing of interest in the lean-to was the mostly empty bottle of Sam’s tequila. “Drink ‘at Tequiler, shit, and you won’t even need no heat,” Sam told us earlier that night. I was feeling a nice chill about then. I thought I would take ol’ boy’s advice. A couple swigs later the bottle was finished. Sam knew his shit. I was feeling warmer.

I let the alcohol run its course. After all that we had been through over the last several hours, I needed it. That’s when it hit me like a brick, and I’m not talking about the alcohol, either.  I had failed to link what had happened earlier with Tom and me with what Olivia had seen. I needed to have been taking things much more seriously than I was, but that was a long-standing problem with me. As I often did, I vowed to do better. I tipped the empty bottle one more time, savoring the last couple drops, before leaving the building.

I was getting ready to latch the lean-to door closed when someone slammed into me, nearly knocking me to the ground in the process.  “What are you blind, bro," I said, startled, but mostly jokingly.

His face was awash with wide-eyed surprise. "Hey, who are you?" I asked.

The first thing I noticed, besides his wide eyes and a menacing brow, was the rifle he had slung on his shoulder. “What are you doing here? Are you the police?” I asked.

He didn’t reply. Instead, he began unslinging his rifle, and considering how he looked at me, I knew I was in trouble. As he brought the rifle up to what I assumed was a firing position, I slung my lantern around as fast as I could and I struck him hard in the face. I then jumped on the bastard. He dropped his gun – looked like a machine gun to me, but I was from a part of California where it was uncool to have a gun, much less know anything about them.

I grabbed the gun and was on my feet in one quick motion. I aimed the barrel between his eyes. “Who the hell are you? If you’re the police, this is on you, man.” Shots rang out somewhere near the Commons, followed by what sounded like hundreds of feet slamming into the snow. “Dude, if you don’t fucking talk right now, I’m going to do something bad to you. I mean it,” I said, taking another quick look at the Commons.

Feeling completely vulnerable, I told him, “Get up and get in the building, now.” He lay back and sneered at me. I put the point of the rifle barrel into his left cheek and pushed hard. “Look at me, asshole,” I