“They did. They came running. I thought that was strange. What did it matter if it happened now or three weeks from now? It was all going to be the same end. The dad got there first and though I tried to keep him from seeing inside, he did. He started screaming. I couldn’t have that. Boom, and down he went. Themother came in only a few seconds later. She didn’t go for her husband or her son. She went after me. I was startled. She didn’t make a sound. Punched me in the eye, and I fell back against one of the pens. The gun went off. Boom, that was bullet number twelve going into the barn floor. She didn’t stop. Her lips were pulled back over her teeth. I’d never seen a person look like an animal before, not like that. Her eyes were… black. She looked like a monster. I almost dropped the gun. She came for me again, boom, down she went. Thirteen bullets. Two left.
“I didn’t know where to go. I didn’t want to stay at the house because my parents were swelling. I couldn’t stay in the barn because the floor was sticky. So I just started walking and walking and walking and then I got so tired, I lay down on the ground. Rain fell on my face, my lips. It was cold. I let it fall in my mouth, my throat. And then you two came and found me and now I’m here. I still have the gun. See? It’s right here. Funny thing, isn’t it? Not very big. Two bullets left. I could have put more in, but I didn’t think I needed to. Plenty enough for one more person. But, for some reason, I still can’t do it. I still can’t pull the trigger. Thank you for the ride. I really appreciate it. Would you like me to help you? A bullet for each of you. We can even go into the barn. It’s nice in there. Quiet. You can hear yourself think, even if the thoughts aren’t very nice.
“I know what’s going on in your head. I can see it on your faces. She’s crazy, you’re thinking. She’s out of her mind. But that’s not right. I’m thinking more clearly than I ever have before. Maybe that’s what I’m meant to do. Help others like yourself to keep you from suffering. If I can’t do it to myself, then at the very least, I can do it for others. Would you like that? Do you want me to ease your suffering?”
She looked at them with dead eyes—cow eyes, Don thought hysterically, the Glock 9 sitting in her lap, her finger on the trigger.She’d pulled it from a pocket in her dress. Don couldn’t move, didn’t think he’d taken a breath since halfway through her story. Rodney’s back was pressed against the driver’s door, his body twisted so that he faced Amelia. If he reached for her from behind, she could still get off a shot. If Rodney went for her, same result. He believed her when she said she knew how to use it.
Sweat trickled down his brow, the only sound coming from the coolingtick tick tickof the RV’s engine. He almost didn’t believe it, that this girl had killed her parents, others. Twelve people in total, if she was telling the truth. But then, she had a gun, so why wouldn’t she be?
Rodney said, “I appreciate the offer.” His voice was slow, even. “It’s very kind of you to suggest something like that, but my husband and I can’t stay. We have somewhere to be.”
“Where?” she asked in that same flat tone. Never once had there been any emotion the entire time she’d spoken. It was like she’d been reciting a story she was almost bored by. Shock, yes, but it went much further than that, much deeper. Something in her had been destroyed beyond repair.
“Away,” Rodney said. “We made a promise to someone, and we need to keep it.”
“Like Chris did?” she asked, staring at the farmhouse.
Rodney nodded. “Exactly like Chris. You know he wanted to keep on talking to you. I bet it was the only thing he thought about after he left.”
“I like that,” she said. “It’s nice to think about. It’s stupid, you know? I barely knew him.” She brushed a thumb over the gun’s grip.
“That doesn’t matter,” Rodney said. “When you know, you know. It’s not fair what happened. To him or to you. But it did. It happened. Nothing can change that.”
“I know,” she said. She opened the passenger door, causing Don to jump. “Would you like to see the barn? We have horses.”
“No,” Rodney said firmly, the skin under his right eye twitching. “Thank you for the offer, but we need to get back on the road.”
She hesitated, her hand tightening around the gun. “Are you sure? I don’t want you to suffer.”
“Suffering is life,” Rodney said. “It’s part and parcel of living. It never really goes away, but you can become bigger around it. Stronger. The things you thought you weren’t capable of are easier than you think.”
She stared at him for a long moment, still halfway out of the RV. “I like you,” she said eventually. “I don’t want you to feel pain. Get out and come to the barn.”
“I can’t,” Rodney said gently. “But if you’d like to go in there, you can. No one here will try and stop you.”
Her face screwed up, and Don thought she was going to cry. She didn’t, and a moment later, the tight mask returned. “Thank you for the ride. You have been so nice to me. My mother’s face is blue and purple now. Maybe I should try and call the police again?”
“Do that,” Rodney said. “Keep calling until someone listens. They will.”
“You promise?” she asked.
“Yes,” Rodney said.
“Okay. I can do that. I will go inside and call the police over and over until someone listens to me. You promised they would, so I hope that’s true.” She looked back at Don. “Do you want to go to the barn?”
“No,” he whispered, hand shaking.
“I didn’t think you would,” she said. “Goodbye.” She closed the door and began to walk toward the house. She didn’t flinch when Rodney started the RV.
“Keep an eye on her,” Rodney snapped, looking at the side mirrors.
The RV began to reverse quickly down the driveway. Don watched Amelia. She reached the front porch steps. She looked at the barn. Looked at her gun. Tilted her head back to look at the sky. Then she turned and began to wave. Through the partially open driver’s window, they could hear her shouting. “Thank you for visiting the Diamond K Ranch! Come back soon!”
And then she sat on the steps and bowed her head. The gun hung loosely from her fingers between her legs.
Rodney spun the wheel. The RV lurched dangerously, clouds of dust billowing up around them. He put the RV into drive and shot down the driveway. In the side mirror, Don saw her face, her yellow dress before they crested a hill. After that, she was gone.
Rodney cursed up a storm the farther they got from the ranch. Spitting mad, as Don liked to say. He kept glancing in the side mirror, as if he thought Amelia would be coming after them. Maybe in the SUV. She would have access to it now. Don stared straight ahead, hands flat on his lap.