Two Flowers Read online

  Chapter Two

  It had only taken what seemed like twenty seconds for the bearded man to surprise Marcus, knock him down, and scoop the shotgun off of the floor, but now it felt like the two adults had been standing there, suspended in time for eternity and not sure what the next move should be.

  When Marcus had fallen over, he had banged his shoulder on one of the desks in the room, and now the whole side of his arm was killing him as he raised both hands up and kept them up in a gesture of surrender.

  “Benjamin!” A girl not much older than Tracey bounded into the room, and stopped to the man holding the shotgun. From the corner of Marcus’ eye, he could see Tracey slowly approaching the threshold of the room.

  “Tracey, don’t come any closer,” Marcus said.

  “Shut up!” Benjamin snapped. Behind him, his female companion--the girl’s mother, perhaps--was quietly observing everyone in the room. A computer was on behind her, but Marcus couldn’t tell what she had been using it for.

  “Cassandra, sweetheart,” the woman said. “Come sit by me.”

  “No, I don’t want to.”

  “Cassandra,” Benjamin said. “Go stand by Vicki, and don’t argue.”

  “Okay.”

  Marcus cleared his throat slightly, and tried to relax his composure. Perhaps a little bit of friendliness will help defuse the situation, he thought. “Look, I think there has been a big misunderstanding.”

  “Yeah.” Benjamin said, looking so intently at Marcus he was practically boring holes through his chest. As he spoke, the shotgun rose and sunk with his arms. “I told you to shut up.”

  “I can help,” Marcus said. He paused to lick his lips. “Look, I understand. I have a daughter, too, and I’d do anything for her.” He glanced at Tracey to give her a quick reassuring grin. “If there is anything you need--money, gas, or a place to sleep, I can help.”

  “Gas?” Benjamin repeated. “Do you got a vehicle?”

  “Yes, but--”

  Benjamin shot a glance back to the woman. “He’s got a car, Vick.” He looked back at Marcus. “We’ll be taking your car, all your money, and anything else we want from this place.”

  Marcus hesitated. “I’m sorry, but, we actually can’t spare the van right now. I know some people who could give you a good deal--”

  Benjamin took a step closer, until the shotgun was inches from Marcus’ chest. “Listen, man. I’m the one making the deals. And, our deal is that you and your daughter get to live, in exchange for all your stuff.” He looked at Marcus and his face stretched into the most evil smirk that Marcus had ever seen.

  Marcus reached into his pocket for the car keys, pulled them out and tossed them onto the table. “There you go. You’re welcomed to take the van.”

  “No, daddy..that was grandm--”

  “Tracey,” Marcus snapped, purposely cutting her off. “It will be okay.”

  “How do we know this ain’t some trick?” Vicki asked, shooting a glance towards the keys. “Maybe the van don’t run.”

  “It runs,” Marcus answered, feeling his patient starting to run thin. “We drove it here, and it has lots of gas. I don’t have any reason to trick you.”

  Benjamin leaned towards the table, reached over, and scooped up the keys without dropping his eyes from Marcus. “Maybe you don’t, but it pays to be sure. Vicki, take the girls upstairs while Mr. Bookworm and I fetch the van. Wait until we pull it around front, then begin loading all of the computer equipment into the back.”

  “No,” Marcus said. “You have the keys, the van is across the lot, next to the community center. Take anything else you what, but--”

  Suddenly, the end of the shotgun was against his cheek. “Not another word,” Benjamin said. “We have the keys already, so we don’t need you. You’re just helping me find the van faster. Your daughter is insurance. Let’s go.”

  “Daddy!”

  “Don’t worry, sweetheart,” Marcus said as he led Benjamin through the door out of the office area. “I won’t be gone long. And, remember..I love you.”

  Tracey sniffed and wiped a tear from her cheek. “I love you.”

  Then, he turned the corner with Benjamin and the shotgun close behind him, and lost sight of his daughter.

  “If you want the most direct route, we can take the back door. It opens up on the side facing the empty lot.”

  “I don’t care. Just move.”

  The two men crept across the landing towards the back half of the library’s second floor. Marcus recognized the stairs to his right which headed into the third floor, and the doors to the left which led into a store room. After he had begun his job as librarian, he had taken over the third floor and turned it into a personal study. As they passed the storage room, Marcus was surprised to see that one of the doors seemed to have been forced opened, much like the door they had spotted from the cemetery. Strangely enough, large chunks of wood had been torn from both the door and the frame. Marcus couldn’t imagine any tool that could do that much damage.

  Benjamin must have noticed the door at the same time as Marcus, because he said, “This is really your fault, you know. Should be more careful about locking this place up at night.”

  “I’m not sure what you mean,” Marcus said, “but every door was locked when I was last here, not forced open.”

  “Well, for your information, we didn’t force the door open. It was like that when we got here this morning.”

  Marcus’ stomach sank as he considered the implications. Had someone else broken into the library? Could they still be in the library? If so, were they human?

  He paused at the exit, considering his options. If he left the building, there was no way of knowing if he would be able to get back in again to save Tracey. And, if there was a dino in the library there was no telling what might happen.

  “What are you waiting for,” Benjamin snapped. “Let’s go.”

  Without a word, Marcus raised the security bar that was in front of the door, released the deadbolt, and turned the lock in the doorknob. He gritted his teeth and closed his eyes as he opened the door and stepped out onto the landing. Marcus had picked this exit because he knew that it would trigger the silent fire alarm, but hoped that Benjamin wouldn’t realize it.

  “The van is on the other side of the community center,” Marcus said, his heart skipping a bit because of the lie.

  “Why so far away?” Benjamin asked warily.

  “If there were intruders, I didn’t want to be spotted,” Marcus explained. “We can save time by cutting through the lot.” He motioned towards the huge patch of weeds that stretched for almost a block.

  “Well, let’s go,” Benjamin said. “As soon as we get your van, we’re pulling around and taking anything that isn’t nailed down.” He leaned close, until both the whiskers of his beard and his breath brushed against Marcus’ ear. “That includes your daughter.”

  Marcus said nothing, but inside his blood was turning cold as steel as he prepared to do what needed to be done.

  “Where’s Benjamin going?” Cassandra asked.

  “Out to get the van, you stupid girl,” Vicki snapped.

  “She’s not stupid,” Tracey said. She regretted her words as soon as she had said them. Vicki was staring intently at her.

  “Maybe not by dinosaur standards,” Vicki sneered. “But, you would probably relate, being half dino yourself.”

  Without skipping a beat, Vicki reached into her purse, fished around with her fingers for a little bit, then produced a pack of batteries. Just the sight of them made Cassandra gasp, and her frame perceptively wilt. “By the way, Cassie, your little reprieve is over.” Vicki turned the batteries until she was holding them by the tips of her thumb and her index finger, just to show Cassandra what they were. “Fresh batteries for my remote.” Vicki opened up the packaging, and slipped the first battery into the back of a square plastic device which was sitting on the desk. “Once we’re back on the road,” Vicki said,”your new dino friend will be g
etting a shock collar of her own.”

  “Benjamin said we were just taking their van,” Cassandra said.

  Vicki stood up, holding the device in front of her. Cassandra crumpled to the floor as soon as Vicki jabbed a finger against one of its buttons. “There’s no way we’d pass up another bounty.”

  “How can you do that to your daughter?” Tracey asked.

  Vicki’s face froze. “Daughter? Do I look like a dinosaur to you?”

  Cassandra was starting to stir now. She could barely sit up.

  “Let’s head upstairs and wait for Benjamin,” Vicki said.