T. Bunn - The Great Divide

A mud-splattered boot moved in close enough for Marcus to see it through his pain. A narrow country voice rasped, “I still say he oughtta die.” The boot reared back, and crashed mercifully into the side of his head. Marcus dove wholeheartedly into the waiting darkness.

Consciousness came and went like the moon peeking through wind-chased clouds. Twice the nightmare tried to capture him, or at least twice that he recalled. Marcus held for a time to the notion that Dee Gautam had arrived. The little man bore a solemn expression as he said, “You did not listen to my warning.” Marcus wanted to reply, “I listened but not well enough.” Yet the effort of framing those words threatened to split his skull. Soon he was off once more, traversing a scattered realm of dreams. Or perhaps he had never left there in the first place.

The first time he came fully awake, it was to pure astonishment. For there beside his bed sat Kirsten Stanstead, and as he opened his eyes she even tried to smile. “How are you?”

Right then he was so poorly he feared a hard nod would dislodge his skull. His mouth tasted truly foul. His tongue seemed glued to the roof of his mouth with some gummy industrial sealant. He worked his jaw, and his lips parted reluctantly.

“Thirsty?” She reached to the side table and fitted a straw into his mouth. Marcus drew and felt his whole being absorb the cool liquid. He groaned with the pleasure, then moaned a second time from the pain in his head from the sound.

“I offered to spell Alma so she could rest.” Kirsten held the cup until she was sure he had finished drinking. “The police called last night to say you’d been hurt.”

Her blond head came and went within his field of vision, and he realized it was her movements that were jerky, not his sight. “I should call the doctor, but there’s something I need …”

For a moment Marcus was not certain whether he had drifted off again, passed smoothly back into the province of apparitions and fantasy. Then he heard her draw a ragged breath and realized he was still there. And was glad for it, though holding his thoughts together and his eyes even half-open was hard indeed.

“I’ve made such a mess of this. Of everything. I couldn’t help Gloria, and now I’ve failed again with you.”

It finally filtered through his groggy veil of pain that Kirsten was apologizing to him. For what, he felt he should know, or at least hear and understand. But the words came and went like the sound of waves crashing one against the other, making a gentle musical cadence in time to his labored breathing. Then she stopped talking, and he knew she awaited some kind of response. “You are truly sorry?”

“Oh, yes. I’d do anything to make it up to you.”

His head pounded in rhythm to his arm. His stomach and lower chest felt raked raw. “Fine. Go ask the nurse for something for my pain.” Marcus allowed his eyes to close. “Then come back and hold my good hand.”

His second awakening was to a crowded room. Marcus found that alertness came without such pain this time, which he took to be a good sign. Two women were there by his bed, both in white coats. Alma Hall stood by the window, and beside her was a tall gangly man in a uniform. The man looked vaguely familiar, but the effort of searching for his identity was too great just then.

Without asking, the older of the two white-coated women fitted the straw into his mouth. “Can you talk?”

“Yes.” His voice sounded rusty and disused.

“I’m Doctor Teller. You’ve had a clean break of your left forearm, what appears to be a mild concussion, and around your middle there’s bruising of a sort I haven’t seen before.”

The man by the window cleared his throat. “I have, ma’am. Mr. Glenwood was most likely worked over by somebody wearing knuckle-dusters.”

Marcus’ stomach convulsed slightly at the pain and the memory. The doctor set the cup back on his side table and continued. “We’ve done a scan and there appears to be no skull fracture. Does it hurt to move your head?”

“Yes.”

She pulled a penlight from her pocket. “Follow the light, please.” She watched his eyes track. “Any blurred vision? Dancing colors?”

“No.”

“Good. Tell the nurse if that changes.” She motioned to the uniform. “The deputy here wants to ask you some questions. Feel up to it?”

“Yes. What time is it?”

“Nine o’clock Saturday morning.” To the deputy, “Keep it short.”

But after the doctor had departed, it was Alma who moved around to seat herself by the bed. She reached down and came up with a thermos. Before she had unscrewed the top, Marcus was already salivating from the aroma.

“I’ve boiled this for six hours before I put it through the sieve.” Marcus watched her fill the cup with a golden liquid thick as syrup. “Can’t imagine we lost too many vitamins.”

Marcus sucked so hard the chicken soup squirted hot and sharp to the back of his throat. He kept it up, sighing noisily for air, until the cup was drained. Alma poured a second cup and held it for him, smiling tired and sad all the while.

He shook his head to the offer of a third cup. “Thank you.”

“You don’t have to thank me for anything. Not ever.” She screwed the top back on. “I’ll leave this right here for whenever you want more.”

The deputy shifted his weight, causing the leather of his gunbelt to squeak noisily. Marcus turned his gaze back toward the window.

“Amos Culpepper. We met at the Halls’.”

“I remember.”

“You see who did this?”

“One of them. The others wore masks.”

“Tell me about it.”

Marcus did so, pausing often to allow the pain in his head to subside. The arm ached no matter what he did, but each word had to be squeezed through his pounding skull. By the time he was finished he was sweating hard.

“So you think two of the men were the same as those over at New Horizons.”

“Yes.” He shut his eyes, and saw again the mud-spattered boots. “Can’t be sure.”

“Think I’ll mosey on over, see what I can stir up.” Amos started for the door. “When you’re moving around I’d like you to look at some pictures.”

“All right.”

He opened the door, then paused another time. “You aim on dropping this case?”

“No.”

The deputy nodded once, up and down, very slow. “Good.” His eyes tracked over to Alma. “Ma’am.” Then he was gone.

Alma waited until the door sighed closed to turn back and start in. “Marcus …”

But he could hold to the room no longer. He closed his eyes and went spinning away.

Marcus awoke to a fuller sense of alertness. With the wisdom of the ailing, he knew it would not last. Even so, he was grateful for this assurance that his faculties were not damaged. What was more, the thunder in his head had lessened somewhat. He was able to turn without agony and see Austin Hall seated there beside him, dark eyes glittering in the light from the window.

“Like some more soup?”

“Please.” Marcus moved one limb at a time, saving the weighty cast on his left arm for last. “But first help me to the bathroom.”

He had to lean heavily on the older man, who took his weight without complaint. When Marcus returned he rested a moment on the edge of the bed, though it hurt his head to do so. He wanted to revel in his mobility a moment longer.

Austin took it as a sign, and handed him the steaming mug without a straw. “How’s the head?”

“Better.” The soup was divine, almost a distillation of good health. “You don’t have to sit here.”

“I wanted to.” Austin finished that subject off cleanly by holding out a plastic pill cup. “The nurse said you were to take these when you woke up.”