CHAPTER 19
Officer Blane's vision was blurry and it lagged as he looked around the baby's room. His senses were drastically dulled and rendered nearly useless, he saw everything as multicolored shapes, foggy ones at that, that seemed to blend into each other as he turned his head. He could hear the soft howling of wind as it swept stray snowflakes into the room through the singed hole that was burnt into the wall. The sound of the wind, to Blane, was akin to hearing someone trying to talk underwater; only coming across as muffled whispers that seemed to continue endlessly.
Blane fluttered his eyes, his slight slowly returning to normality. He stretched out his arms only to be met with the jagged points of the crib he had crashed through, before being knocked unconscious. He struggled to lift himself up with his arms, and looked back at the burnt through back wall. Early morning sunlight shone through the the hole in the wall like a spotlight, more morning light peaked through the bullet holes that riddled the rest of the wall around the opening in the ravaged wall.
Blane was confused, he looked at the hole in the wall and it's surrounding bullet holes, wondering if he was having some sort of discrepant nightmare. The last thing he could recall was seeing the show figure enter the baby's room and Gavin kicking in the door to reveal the figure cradling the baby bundled in blue blankets. He also remembered how there used to be a wall and a small window there instead of a ragged aperture in the wall.
The more Blane thought of it, the more he began to absolutely lose it. Blane walked over to the edge of the room and peered past the fissure in the wall, he saw that much of the second story deck had collapsed in a charred mess. As he stared longingly down the edge of the wall, the thought of his companions Gavin and Tracy crossed his mind. He asked himself quietly and under his breath, "Where are they?"
The wreckage of the charred deck was partially buried by a foot of powdery snow. He saw Gavin's silver Cadillac and the patrol car riddled with bullets, their windows still intact with only a couple of scratches. Gavin must've retrofitted his windows with the same bulletproof polymer that the Cenk police department had equipped their vehicle and their buildings with.
He let the snow hit his face as the frequent violent gusts sent it against his face. He stood there with his sandy blonde hair once in a bowl cut blow behind him like a lion's magnificent mane in the fierce savannah winds after the sudden disappearance of his pride, he thought of where Gavin and Tracy could've gone or what had happened to them, running through the possibilities in his head. Anything from a kidnapping to a highly unlikely romantic rendezvous, but there was no telling. That only disturbed Blane further, no leads mean no progress.
Just then, the slamming of a door downstairs ruptured the thoughtful silence. The sound made Blane jump as he turned around, drawing his matte black Desert Eagle. He looked down his quivering sights as he slowly stalked down the hall and towards the observation deck.
Thank god for the light. Blane saw figures enter the den from the back door; if it weren't for the light he would've probably opened fire. Not only painting the floor a warm shade of blood but also would've painted him as a bad guy, the last thing he wanted. He was known as a boy scout that couldn't bare breaking or bending any rule or protocol, it was just the way he was. Whether that made him a better or worse person was easily up for debate, there was a valid argument on both sides. Because of the light, he noticed Gavin among the group of people. He was so excited he hadn't even noticed the absence of Tracy.
Blane exhaled a sigh of relief, holstering his gun. "Mr. Garza!" shouted Blane as he leaned over the railing and looking down towards the group of friends. His voice sounded cheerful, he was clearly ecstatic and tremendously relieved to see something that wasn't pure nightmare fuel: friends. Friends hanging around the fire, discussing amongst one another and concentrating their efforts to have a good time on this grim Christmas morning, despite the horrid happenings outside the cabin. Beautiful. Blane knew more than anything that deep down in his heart, something like that was what he had always wanted but could never obtain for reasons that didn't seem clear to him.
Two beautiful blondes (another thing he wanted), a slick looking Asian, a skinny and quirky looking white kid, a short but stout black kid with diamond studs, and talking to the blondes was Mr. Garza.
He stopped talking to the blondes and turned his gaze up towards Blane; he pulled one of the blondes close, the one with thick-framed glasses and a red and black cheer jacket. "Blane!" shouted Gavin up at the officer with as much enthusiasm and reprieve as Blane when he saw Gavin. "I found my wife!" Gavin craned his neck to kiss the top of his wife's had, "And please, its Gavin." he said kindly, like a friend.
Blane enthusiastically ran down the stairs loudly and approached Gavin and his wife who was on his arm. Gavin's wife extended a gentle hand out to Blane who took it gladly and shook it firmly. "Hi. I'm Sara." she said with a silky soft voice and a toothy grin.
Blane retained the grip, "I'm officer Blane. But y'all can call me Jake." Gavin and Sara noticed his western accent, where words would sometimes blend together. Jake was just glad that they had moved on to a first name basis, he guessed it was another stepping stone treaded on the path to a greatly anticipated friendship.
"Good meeting you, Jake." said Sara with a chuckle, her glistening and curly ponytail bobbed as she turned around to talk to dray and the boys who were all laughing and jesting, exchanging remarks that created quite a lighthearted atmosphere that greatly contrasted the atmosphere outside the cabin. Like a heaven within a hell.
As Sara walked away to accompany her, he heard her husband's voice behind her, “Officer- er, Jake. I have to tell you something." said Gavin in a significantly quieter tone, the tone was riddled with a sense of secrecy. Sara looked back over her shoulder; Gavin's back was to her. She saw Gavin put a hand on Jake's shoulder, who was across form Gavin. But Sara noticed something terribly wrong, as he turned his head slightly to reveal a frown. The atmosphere around the trio, once spirited dead joyous, had turned grim and grey. Fro, Sara knew more than anyone else, Gavin seldom frowned. He would always be the last person in a room to wear a grimace of any kind.
She continued to listen in, stopped dead in her tracks. "Sure. What's up?" Jake asked, noticing the glower. He backed up and Gavin's arm fell limp to his side. "Wh- what's wrong?" Before Gavin could offer an answer, Officer Jake Blane got a gut wrenching feeling that he was missing something: his partner. The closes thing to a friend he'd ever had, and whom he adored greatly. A pained expression and worry infected Jake's once jubilant face. "Gavin. Where's Tracy?" Gavin shook his head. Jake grabbed Gavin by the shoulders and shook violently in interrogation, his eyes wide and moist. "Dammit Gavin, tell me already!"
"Okay!" said Gavin, raising his voice as he pushed Jake off of him. Sara winced as she asked herself who Tracy was. Jake looked at Gavin in horror and disdain. Gavin stared quietly, breathing rapidly and shallowly. "Look," Gavin said as he inched closer to Jake, only to have him retreat, pinning himself against a wall directly under the observation deck. Gavin stuttered momentarily, like he was trying to find words to his thoughts. Trying to explain the unexplainable and attempting to break the news that seemed impossible to break.
"Just... follow me, man. Everything's going to make sense. It's ok." Gavin flagged for Jake to follow him. Sara decided that ignorance is bliss, especially as she took into consideration the already abysmal state of hers and Gavin's marriage, she walked away. If it was going to end, she wasn't going to be around to see it. Gavin and Jake disappeared through the door, walking towards the early morning light. Jake slammed the door shut behind them, with a thud that echoed though the entire cabin.
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