Outlaws to the End (HotCider & heartofcourage)

[HotCider]

Ian waited for Elizabeth to leave and listened as she met Tom at the bottom of the stairs. When he heard the front door close, he sat straight up in his bed with an impish smile. Now that Tom and Elizabeth were gone, he figured that he would go and check out the creepy room at the end of the hall. Throwing back the sheets, he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and found his pants. Once he had them on, he walked over to the bedroom door and poked his head out, listening to the silence.

Tom and Elizabeth might have been gone, but Tom’s dinosaur of a father was somewhere. Ian left the room and crept down the hall. A nostalgic smile curled at his lips. This kind of mischief reminded him of his old southern boy days. When he reached the door, he glanced back down the hall. His heart was hammering in his chest. Elizabeth was going to be so mad when she found out.

I bet you wanted to know what was in here too, Ian thought with a smirk.

He grasped the doorknob and immediately released it when he felt a shock of cold. A chill rushed up his spine. That was unusual.

“What does he got back here a freezer?” Ian muttered to himself.

Vigorously rubbing his hand against his pants, he warmed up his palm before he took hold of the doorknob and quickly opened the door. A gust of cold air washed over his heated skin and Ian didn’t have to step too far into the room to lay eyes on a skeleton that was lying on its back upon the bed. Gramps was in his wheelchair next to it. His head hung limply as Ian assumed that he was sleeping. Ian went as white as a sheet. Was that Tom’s dead mother? Did he keep his dead mother’s body in the bedroom!? A strange feeling came over him then, making him quietly back out of the room and close the door. Ian wandered over to the stairs and descended them down to the first floor. He opened the front door, leaving it wide open as he stepped onto the cool grass and walked as though he knew exactly where Tom and Elizabeth had both gone.

There was a golden light coming from the shed. The shed doors were open and Ian walked over to them, but did not go in. He instead watched from outside as Tom and Elizabeth cradled fresh cooing pups in their arms. Sheva was lying on her side, exhausted while the rest of her pups nursed at her teats.

“They’re so cute,” Tom said, feeling as though he was melting on the inside. He rubbed the little pups back before delicately returning it to the doggy bed. “I don’t know what I’m going to do with them.”

Tom then brushed his hand down Elizabeth’s back while she continued to cradle one of the pups.

Ian frowned and shook his head, trying to blink the dream from his eyes.

Elizabeth returned the pup back to the doggy bed and she turned toward Tom giving him a smile.

Ian’s hands went to his face. He felt as though he were hallucinating, but he couldn’t help but tiredly watch.

Tom leaned close to Elizabeth, his actions apparent and she turned away from him. He continued to stare at her and Elizabeth eventually turned back to stare back at him.

Ian lowered his hands from his face, which was wearing a look of disbelief. She wouldn’t kiss him. She was his woman. Tom? Really? Out of all people…

They both kissed and it had been soft and not feverish. They didn’t kiss the way Ian and her did.

Ian had a thousand mile stare as he watched Tom cup the side of Elizabeth’s face and brush his fingers back through her red hair. Ian turned and left.

Sheva raised her head and started barking, causing Tom too look over his shoulder curiously, but he saw no one. He stroked Sheva’s head to calm her down.

“Don’t get yourself worked up girl,” he told her. He then smiled at Elizabeth. “Thanks for helping me. I didn’t mean to bother you and Harry. I know you guys like having alone time.”

By the time Elizabeth was done at the shed, she would find Ian back in bed, in the same manner in which she left him.

 

[heartofcourage]

"They are pretty cute." Elizabeth said as she cradled one of the puppies close, listening to it whimper and growl as the others ate from their mother. "And Sheva was a champ. See, you didn't even need to be here to help. She did it all on her own."

Elizabeth chuckled as she placed the small puppy back into the bed, watching as it wiggled towards the heat of its mother, latching on to a free nipple to feed like its brothers and sisters. "You could sell them. I'm sure that they would bring you in some good money. Or would could keep them and have a nice little husky ranch going on out here. Looks like you have more than enough room."

Elizabeth glanced down at the dog as she started to bark and Tom was soon soothing the new mother. Things around his house were a little weird. She was used to old creepy homes. She had been in her fair share back in Chicago but there was something off about that old Victorian farm house that Tom and his father lived in. It just reminded her that when she and Ian talked about settling down, she wanted to find the perfect little plot, nothing too big, where they could raise a family. That thought was beautiful.

"Well, I guess I'm going to go back in." Elizabeth said as she stood up and wiped her hands on her skirt, glancing down at Tom as he mentioned that she and Ian certainly liked their alone time. "We're engaged. Of course we enjoy our alone time. It's nothing against you, Tom. Harry is a prickly man when you first meet him, but he does have a heart of gold."

When Elizabeth left the shed, she made her way back to the bedroom. Opening the door, she found Ian in the place that he had taken up when she left. Chuckling to herself, she pulled off her dress yet again and soon got beneath the covers, pulling Ian's arms back around her as she snuggled up against his warmth.

 

[HotCider]

Ian was awake when Elizabeth returned to their bedroom, stripped off her dress, and crawled into bed. He allowed her to wrap his arms about her as though they had been her true blanket as she cuddled close to him and fell asleep. With his head still beneath the pillow, Ian for some reason could not sleep. He felt tired, but he had a feeling that he wasn’t going down anytime soon. He laid there with Elizabeth for what might have been two hours before he slid out of bed and walked over to stand in front of the window that overlooked the field. He was still wearing the trousers he had slipped on before he had walked out the door that evening.

Time passed by so easily. When the sun started to peak the horizon and pass its warm light up Ian’s body, he hadn’t even realized that he had been standing there all night as though lost in some trance. He had dark circles in his eyes from lack of sleep and his eyes were a little red. He looked absolutely exhausted and there was nothing he could do.

 

[heartofcourage]

Elizabeth slept like the dead, not stirring as Ian got out of bed and stood in front of the window. She only woke the next morning when sunlight started to fill the room. Her fingers clenched against the sheets, moving through the bedding to try and find Ian, but he wasn't there. Lifting her head off the pillow, she glanced around with slightly confused blue eyes.

"Ian?" She murmured, rubbing at her eyes with a fist before she raked her hand through her messy red locks. "Baby, what are you doing?"

 

[HotCider]

Ian gave the red beauty no response. It was as though he didn't hear her or realize that she was speaking to him as he remained at the window.

 

[heartofcourage]

Something felt incredibly wrong as Ian didn't respond to her, but continued to stare out the window to the fields and mountains beyond. Elizabeth pushed herself off the bed, moving quietly across the room until she touched his right arm. Slowly, her fingers trailed down his arm until she twined her fingers with his, looking up into his far away gaze.

"Ian? What's wrong?" Elizabeth asked in a breathless tone, her voice a whisper in the quiet of the sun filled room. "You're starting to scare me."

 

[HotCider]

Ian? What’s wrong?

Ian finally turned his head to regard Elizabeth and she looked a little surprised to see her standing there. Even more that his hand was in hers.

You’re starting to scare me.

He looked a little troubled. He was more confused about the situation than she was.

“Sorry,” he apologized. “I saw somethin’ last night. I wanted to tell you.”

He closed his eyes, his brows furrowing tightly. A hand went to his skull as he clutched it. He couldn’t remember. What did he see? He couldn’t remember anything. Why was he standing at the window? Shaking his head, he stepped away from her.

“I’m gonna go take a walk. I need the fresh air. I’ll be back later.”

Ian grabbed his plaid shirt and his shoes and started to slip them on. He needed to get out of the house for a while.

“Maybe you can go help Tom with breakfast or somethin’.”

 

[heartofcourage]

The look in his brown eyes was frightening. He looked troubled, exhausted, and incredibly confused. Perhaps he wasn't as well as she thought that he had been. Romping around like they had been doing certainly wasn't helping things. Elizabeth was about to say something as he apologized and told her that he had seen something the night before and wanted to tell her.

"What?" Elizabeth asked as he closed his eyes and then stepped away to gather his shirt and his shoes.

The way that he was talking didn't make much sense. He seemed so confused, so unlike the Ian that he was just the evening before. When he told her to go help Tom with breakfast, she shook her head, moving to sit next to him on the bed.

"I really don't think you should be alone, Ian. You look like hell." Elizabeth said as she reached up to touch his cheek, concern showing in her blue eyes. "If you're going for a walk, I'm going to do with you. I don't think you should simply go off into the wildness on your own."

 

[HotCider]

When Elizabeth reached up to touch his cheek, Ian recoiled, and a second after, his eyes went a little wide when he realized what he had done. He had never recoiled from her before. He had been sliding on his shoes when he released them to sit upright in bed and apologized for his actions, “Sorry, I…”

He just needed to get out. He rose off the bed and started for the bedroom door. He knew that he would have time to get away from her for she still needed to get dressed. Ian quickly descended the steps and coming through the front door was Tom with a basket of eggs that he had gotten from the chicken coop. His first reaction was to smile at Ian until he saw how rough he was looking.

“Harry…are you all right?” he asked in shock.

For some reason, seeing Tom at that moment filled Ian with hot anger. Ian’s pace changed and he strode right for Tom. His hands latched onto his collar, startling the man into dropping the egg basket on the porch.

“What did you do last night with my wife!?” Ian growled.

Tom staggered backwards out the door and collapsed when his foot missed the step. They both collapsed across the ground with Ian still on top of him and his fist curled tightly into his shirt. Ian sat up on him and leaned over him with a fist cocked threateningly over his face. Tom raised his hands to shield his face from the punch.

“I didn’t do anything!” he exclaimed. “We were with Sheva that’s all!”

“I saw you kissin’ on my wife! You lyin’ sack of shit!”

“No one kissed anybody Harry! Hope! Hope, get Harry!”

Ian’s eyes shrank with rage. “Don’t you call her name!”

He grasped Tom's collar and crossed it over his throat, starting to choke him with it. Tom gasped and kicked. Ian was really trying to kill him! Tom countered the choke by lowering his chin and grasping Ian by the neck with his own hands. Both men seemed determined to strangle the other, but as tears started appearing in Ian's eyes, he knew that he had been the stronger one.

Ian rasping for air released Tom's collar and went to grasp his forearms. Amidst his struggles, he frowned down at Tom who had the hint of a sadistic smile on his face. He knew it! He was trying to kill him, and it was going to look like an accident or self-defense. Ian was going red in the face. Black spots were starting to appear in his eyes. Damn it! This was not how he was going to go!

"Raah!" Ian exclaimed as he drove his knee into the man's crotch.

Tom instantly released Ian with a pained cry and immediately curled into a ball. Ian collapsed to the side and rolled onto his back as he tried to refill his lungs with air on hoarse gasps.

 

[heartofcourage]

Elizabeth jerked her hand back as Ian recoiled, looking at her with an expression that mirrored her own. They were both shocked and a little surprised that he had pulled back so sharply. She was so concerned that she almost couldn't speak as he quickly got up and got the hell out of the room. She had no idea what was going on. He wasn't acting like himself and she wondered if he weren't getting ill again.

Standing from the bed, she pulled on her dress and was just reaching for her shoes when she heard someone calling for her frantically. Elizabeth was out the door in an instant, hurrying down the stairs in bare feet as she heard the sounds of a fight outside. What the hell had Ian done now, she asked herself as she stopped herself in the front door, looking at Tom and Ian as they each lay in the grass, Tom in a ball and Ian gasping for air.

"What happened?" She asked, looking to Ian for some kind of confirmation as to what had happened. "Are you two insane?"

 

[HotCider]

Tom grit his teeth as he continued to hold his aching crotch. “He tried to kill me! He thought you and I kissed last night or something!”

All Ian could do was rest a hand over his face in shame. No longer upset, he realized that his anger may have caused him to overreact. Had it been a nightmare? He swear he saw them kiss, but he should have known that Elizabeth would never betray him. Throughout their trip together, he had never seen her with anyone else. Not even Tom who he felt had everything that he didn’t have in his current state.

If only he could remember what he saw…but saw what? Why was it important?

“I need to get away from this house,” Ian said. “There’s just…somethin’ wrong with it. Somethin’ ain’t right about it.”

Tom managed to roll onto his knees still in pain from the blow Ian had given him.

“I think you ain’t right Harry,” he growled. “You ain’t been right since you got here. This is the second time you attacked me, and the first time, even Sheva had to fend you off! I believe I’m being kind letting you folks stay here, but my patience is growing thin.”

Ian sat up massaging his throat. Tom’s hand prints were still around it.

 

[heartofcourage]

"You think Tom and I kissed?" Elizabeth asked, glaring at Ian as he lay on the ground with a hand over his face. "What is wrong with you? We didn't do anything like that. I was helping him with the puppies. How dare you think that I would kiss anyone but you."

Elizabeth glanced towards Tom as he rolled onto his knees and told Ian that he didn't think he was right. Hell, she didn't think that he was right half of the time either, but she was truly concerned in that moment that the both of them were losing their minds.

"Stop it!" Elizabeth yelled, glancing at Tom and then at Ian. "Just stop it, both of you. I don't know what the hell happened, but I do know that this is going to stop now. Tom, if you want us to leave, we'll leave. Harry, you know for a fact that I am damned tired of being on trains and traveling. I want a few days in a bed that wasn't moving. You're going to apologize for thinking that something happened that didn't."

 

[HotCider]

Ian knew that Elizabeth was going to be pissed, and she didn’t spare him from his shame. He wanted to tell her how it had seemed so realistic, but he figured that she wasn’t looking for excuses at that moment.

“I’m sorry,” Ian said.

Tom gradually got to his feet and frowned, which was a first since he was normally a happy guy.

“Harry, I mean no disrespect toward you and your wife, but if you attack me again, I’m going to whoop ya so let this be the last time,” Tom warned.

Ian bowed his head to hide the arrogance that wanted to twist his lips into one of his smiles. Tom, whoop him? He was bigger than him, and Ian might have been clearly outmatched in his current condition, but his pride, especially in front of Elizabeth wouldn’t have allowed him to lose. She would only see him win.

“All right,” was all Ian said before he rose to his feet. He turned toward the road. “I’m gonna take a walk. I’m not sleepin’ in that house. I’ll sleep in the car or some place.”

Ian said nothing more as he started for the road.

Tom glared at him as he left, still sore about their scuffle.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Harry." Elizabeth called after Ian as he stood and insisted that he would sleep in the car before he would sleep in the house.

She let out a long side as he started to walk away, shaking her head and running her hand back through her thick locks. He was as stubborn as they came and she was pissed with him, but she still loved him like no other. When he pushed like he was, all she wanted to do was slap him until he saw reason, but that would only serve to make him angrier.

"Listen, Tom, I'm sorry for all of this. I swear that he really is a good guy." Elizabeth said, turning towards Tom as he glared after Ian. "He was injured pretty badly a short time ago. I was scared to death that I might lose him, but he pulled through some how. Ever since then, he's been trying to prove that he's just as healthy as he ever was. We need this down time. Not just because your house is beautiful and that bed is comfortable, but because I'm afraid I might lose him."

"I don't know what he's talking about or why he thought that we kissed last night. I mean, I would never kiss anyone else." Elizabeth said, suddenly feeling so awkward spilling her guts to a man who probably didn't give a damn.

 

[HotCider]

Tom ran a hand back through his blond hair and sighed.

“Look Hope, I hear what you’re saying, but this place isn’t a psyche ward. I got my father to take care of and now I got pups. I don’t mind you both staying a little while longer but whatever is going on with him, it needs to stop. It almost doesn’t feel safe to talk to you anymore,” he explained.

He turned back toward the house and asked, “I’m going to make some breakfast maybe he’ll come back by then?”

Ian, however, did not return. He had walked not knowing for how long or how many hours had passed.

Sowing in the morning, sowing seeds of kindness,
Sowing in the noontide and the dewy eve…​

The old white 1930s Crossley sped down the road. A rosary was swinging from the rearview mirror as the older man sang along with the radio. His hair was slicked back with grease and his wiry glasses said that he was a studious fellow. He was rather hefty, wearing a long-sleeved shirt with a sweater vest over top.

“Waiting for the harvest, and the time of reaping…We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves…”

Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves,
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves;
Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves,
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.​

The man’s brown eyes grew to bulging when a figure suddenly appeared in the middle of the street.

“CHRIST!” the man swore, stamping the brake to have the Crossley screech to a halt before a young man whose skin was red, having been burned from the sun and who was standing in the middle of the road staring up at the sky. He didn’t even seem aware that he was almost run over.

The driver clutched the wheel. His heart was pounding in his chest as he thought in horror how his sinful ways had nearly made him kill a man. Bowing his head, he prayed:

“Lord God, I’ll never speed again. Amen!”

He popped open the door and rocked out of his vehicle.

“Sir…Excuse me, Sir?” he called.

No response.

The man swallowed apprehensively. “Do you need help? The sun gone and burnt ya.”

Ian’s eyes lowered from the sky to regard the man, and the look he had given him made chills race up and down his spine. The man stepped away from the car, hands held up to show him that he had no weapons.

“Now, now, son. There’s something wrong with you, and I’m gonna help you. You just wait right there, okay?” The man crept closer. “See? I ain’t gonna hurt ya. You’re all burnt and ragged. I’m just gonna…”

He thrust his hand out and snagged Ian by the forehead.

“Release him in the name of Jesus!” the man exclaimed, and the former bank robber limply collapsed. The man caught him, lowering him to the ground and checking his pulse. What a story this was going to make! “It’s all right, son. You’ll be all better now.”

He dragged Ian over to his car and got him situated in the passenger seat. He then closed the door and raced around to the driver side to hop back in.

“Thank you, Jesus for allowin’ me to heal this poor soul. May you grant him protection on his journey, in Jesus name amen!”

The Crossley was headed back down the road to Utah. Ian had slept most of the way. He swore he could have slept forever in that smooth rocking car. The windows were down and the air was fluttering like feathers over him, cooling his sun burnt skin. His eyelids cracked open. The first thing he noticed was a rosary swinging back and forth, and then he heard gospel music.

When you've strayed from the fold
And there's trouble in your soul
Can't you hear the blessed savior callin' you?
When your soul is lost in sin
And you're at your journey's end
Can't you hear the blessed savior callin' you?​

“Am I…dead?” Ian asked.

The driver looked over at him with a bright smile, pleased to see him alive.

“You’re in good hands son! The Lord’s got you now!”

Ian’s eyes slowly widened and slowly he sat up in his seat. He stared blankly at the open road and realized that he was in a car. When did he get here?

“Why am I here?” he asked. “How did I get here?”

He then remembered Elizabeth and his heart sank. “Where are we? I need to go back!”

The driver smiled. “Now, now, calm down. We’re a few hours from Utah. I’m gonna get you some help for them burns.”

Ian glanced at the preacher. “You have to go back! My wife’s back there!”

The preacher frowned. Now he was concerned. “Hold on there!”

He pulled over on the side of the road and turned to regard Ian sternly. “I found you wondering in the street waiting to get hit. I almost killed you. Do you remember that?”

Ian blinked. “…no.”

He looked so confused. Why was he wondering in the street?

“There was a foul spirit on you, son. Where’d you go attractin’ a spirit like that?”

“There was a house back there. There’s this guy name Tom. He’s a nice guy but he had this room that he told us not to go into. I went into it last night and on the bed was a skeleton of his dead mother.”

“Golly…that spirit hasn’t found rest. I know that house. That house had a darkness about it when we drove by. There’s an evil there that wanted you to leave. Whoever is there now is going to stay there forever.”

Ian pressed his hands to his face in grief. Elizabeth must have been terrified. He left her all alone. Hopefully, she didn’t think that he had abandoned her.

“I tried to keep telling her to leave that place and she wouldn’t listen,” Ian sadly explained.

“Don’t you worry, son. We’re gonna get your wife back and put that evil to rest!”

The preacher turned his automobile back around and started speeding down the road. Mentally he prayed, Lord, I promised I wouldn’t speed again, but I’m gonna hafta’ this one time. Give me the wings to help this man!

Back at the House

It had been hours and Ian still hadn’t come back. Tom was convinced that he had abandoned Elizabeth, and he didn’t help with doubting his loyalty to her.

“Hope, I don’t think he’s coming back. He said he saw us kiss and he might have taken it the wrong way,” he told her.

 

[heartofcourage]

"But we didn't." Elizabeth said as she continued to stare out the front window, waiting for Ian to come back. "And I won't."

She had chewed her thumb nail to the quick in her nerves as she kept silent watch out the window of Tom's living room. He was going to return. She knew that he would. He wasn't just going to leave here there, she thought to herself. Her red hair was messy from the number of times her fingers had raked through the hopeless mess. She was an absolute wreck and she had no idea exactly what to do now that Ian was gone.

"He wouldn't leave me." Elizabeth said, finally turning from the window to look at Tom with her sorrowful blue eyes. "He promised he wouldn't leave me."

 

[HotCider]

The drive back felt like eternity and Ian couldn’t sleep. As the sun set and receded below the horizon, Ian never stopped feeling nervous for Elizabeth. She was alone with Tom and he wasn’t there. That son of a bitch better not have touched her!

The pastor looked over at Ian. The man looked like he was going to war. Lord, what am I about to get into?

Back at the House

Tom had been tending to Sheva and her pups when he returned inside to see Elizabeth still sitting by the window. He couldn’t stand to see her sitting there having not eaten.

“He’s not coming back Elizabeth,” Tom told her. He had said her real name! “He said he saw us kiss.”

Tom repeated what he had said to her earlier as though it had actually happened. He stood there staring at the woman as though she were the crazy one.

“He said he saw us kiss, Elizabeth,” Tom repeated.

He started walking toward her as though she were a timid and cornered animal.

“Come away from the window. He’s gone. You need to eat and you need to rest.”

 

[heartofcourage]

The moment that Tom said her real name, Elizabeth looked up at him with frightened blue eyes. He knew, but how had he known? He didn't seem bothered and he approached her much like someone would approach a spooked horse. It didn't matter how many times he said that Ian had seen them kiss because she knew that they hadn't and she never would. Not while she still had Ian. She was sure that he was coming back.

"But we didn't kiss." Elizabeth insisted again, telling Tom what she had told him earlier. "And I never would. The only person that I want to kiss is him and somewhere in that messed up mind of his, he knows that."

She turned her gaze back towards the window and wondered for a moment if Tom were right about having some good and getting some rest. Ian would come back and it honestly didn't matter if she were sitting there in front of that window or sleeping. It had been a long day and she was going to give Ian a piece of her mind when he finally showed back up.

"I guess I could have something to eat." She murmured, rubbing at her tired and burning eyes. "And my name isn't Elizabeth. It's Hope."

 

[HotCider]

Tom continued toward her even when she agreed to his suggestions. She was a good and obedient woman. He stopped next to her, gazing down at her with a solemn expression on his face.

“I saw the way you and Ian fucked in the bath tub,” he told her. “I was so jealous, but now I don’t have to be. He’s gone Elizabeth.”

He rested his hand on her shoulder, grasping it with a wanton firmness. “My boy has always longed for a beautiful girl like you, but he’s too much of a good boy. He toils away at this house. He clings to memories that no longer exist and won’t move on. I thought he'd never find a lady.”

She would find his hand hard to remove from her shoulder. “Ian has gone and left you Elizabeth. You’re all alone now, but you don’t have to be. You can marry my boy and live in this nice big house. Isn’t this just what you wanted?”

Tom grasped her chin firmly with his other hand and cranked it up. He leaned down until his lips were inches above hers. He gazed into her eyes as he smirked and said once again, “He said he saw us kiss, Elizabeth.”

He then attempted to smash his lips against her own.

 

[heartofcourage]

A shiver raced down her spine as Tom suddenly told her that he had seen them both in the bathtub. Turning towards him, she wasn't sure if she should be frightened or angry, a mixture of both emotions pumping through her veins.

"You had no right..." She murmured, her lips feeling numb as the fear started to rise when he said her name again. "Tom, this isn't funny."

His hand was suddenly on her shoulder, heavy as he gripped it with too familiar a feeling. She went to brush it off, but it felt like a brick. Then Tom started speaking nonsense, speaking to her as if he were his father.

"Tom, I'm not your lady." She said, her eyes searching around the area for anything that she might use to knock some sense into Tom. "Knock it off."

She let out a gasp as he gripped her chin firmly between his calloused fingers and jerked her head until she was looking him dead in the eye. He leaned in and she tried to shrink back, the chair back preventing her from going far. Then he smirked, told her that he had seen them kissing, and then he ducked his head to try and do just that.

"TOM! STOP!" She shrieked, kicking and clawing at him as her hand reached up towards his face, pushing him away by the chin.

 

[HotCider]

Tom frowned when she started to fight him. His face became hostile, teeth clenched, and eyes livid. He pressed his chin against her hand and growled, “Why do you want me to stop? I would never abandon you Elizabeth!”

He grasped her wrist and pried her hand from his face. Wrenching her arm out so that she only had one to try and attack him with, Tom continued to try and get her to kiss him. He was strong, pinning her against the chair with his knee between her legs. Tom continued to fight her, leaning close to her face, trying to secure her lips.

A 1930 Crossley pulled up to the house, its headlights shining through the window. It was Ian and the pastor. Ian frowned at the house having a difficult time recognizing the place.

“Are you sure this is the place?” Ian asked.

The house didn’t look at all like the white two-story dream house he and Elizabeth had first stumbled across with Tom. The paint was chipped and vines grew up the walls. It looked old and not in the tidy condition he remembered.

“This is the house. Your wife is here? What convinced you folks to stay in a spooky old place?” the pastor asked.

Ian popped open the door and stepped out onto the leaf-covered grass, staring at the house strangely. It had to be the wrong place.

Tom was staring at him through the window, scowling at him in hatred. “How did he come back?”

He placed his hand over Elizabeth’s mouth and tried to muscle her away from the window.

 

[heartofcourage]

Elizabeth was panting, practically growling like a wild animal as she fought against Tom. He was so much stronger than she was that it was only a matter of time, but she was going to give him hell before he got what he wanted. When he gripped her wrist in his hand and wrenched her arm away from his face, she pushed her other hand hard against his chest. It was a mad struggle, but she wasn't about to give up.

"Stop..." She growled between clenched teeth as he leaned in again, pinning her to the chair with his own body weight.

Her legs were suddenly useless in the fight as he pressed his knee between them and she arched her back against his body, tossing her head backwards in the fight to keep him at bay. When lights suddenly flashed against the walls of the house through the front window, Elizabeth jerked her head to see who was outside.

"IAN!" She tried to scream, her cry cut off as Tom's hand closed over her mouth and he jerked her out of the chair with surprising strength.

Still she fought, panting through her nose as her free hand beat against his chest, feet scrabbling against the floor to find some kind of purchase. She just had to hold on a little bit longer. Just a bit longer. Jesus, she hoped it was just a little bit longer.

 

[HotCider]

Ian had been staring at the window and had made eye contact with Tom. His brown eyes bore into his blue ones and he felt that ugly look he had given him as though he had tried to assault him with a knife. He saw Elizabeth in his hands, holding onto her like some object. Holding onto her as though she was his and no one else’s. A strong emotion enveloped him then. It was hot and it numbed his body. It was hot and made him eager. He clenched his hands into fists just to have some sort of control over it, but he couldn’t.

“TOM!” Ian bellowed.

Ian chillingly charged into the house. The pastor shuddered. He could feel his rage and sense the violence he wanted to inflict.

“Jesus…” he gasped. He left the headlights on and the Crossley running to keep the house lit for there wasn’t much else lighting the inside.

When Ian barged into the house, he was stunned by the sight of Tom pressing a gun to Elizabeth’s head. A gun? Where did he get the gun? Was it one of his guns? Had he somehow got to their bag? Ian’s face paled and he instantly went weak in the knees. He dropped to his knees, holding his hands out in mercy.

“No, no, no please. Not her. Please,” Ian begged. His eyes were starting to tear over. He was no longer furious. He was absolutely terrified. His lover’s life was on the line. It was his worst nightmare.

“You just stay there!” Tom demanded. He kept a strong grip on Elizabeth’s chin and the barrel pressed uncomfortably against her skull. “You stay there or I’ll shoot her damn brains out!”

The pastor stood in the doorway and he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. What the hell had he walked into? He held his hand out to Tom.

“Son; look at what you’re doing,” he tried to reason.

“Who the hell are you?” Tom exclaimed. He fearfully pointed the gun at the pastor and then down at Ian before bringing the gun right back against Elizabeth’s head. “You brought a priest? There’s nothing wrong with this house. Everything was fine until you came back.”

Ian rested his hands flat on the floor and bowed his head as tears dripped from his eyes. How could he have let Elizabeth get into such a position? It was his fault.

“Just let her go, please. Just let her go, if you gotta take someone take me. I’m damned any way!”

“I’ll shoot whoever I please. She’s was going to be my wife until you came back. I was going to give her whatever she wanted. Mother always said the right one would come, and she came! If I can’t have her, no one can!”

“Let her go please!” Ian demanded more forcefully.

“Shut up! You do not command me! I’m the one with the gun understand?”

“You don’t want to hurt anybody! Just put the gun down. Look at her, you’re scaring her to death,” the pastor yelled.

Tom looked at Elizabeth. His eyes were crazy. She did look unhappy in his arms. His mother always told him that the right woman would want to be with him. But she was the right one! She had everything he wanted in a girl.

The helplessness was driving Ian mad. He was so tired of being helpless and worthless to Elizabeth. He had spent a quarter of the trip feeling that way. He had one shot to save her. It was risky, but if he took Tom’s attention away from her, then he’d direct his gun on him and already he’s been shot enough. He had survived every single one and he was certain he’d survive this one.

Baring his teeth, Ian pressed his forehead against the wooden floor and thought, God, why are you putting me through this?

With an enraged cry, Ian pushed off the floor and charged Tom. Tom pointed the revolver at Ian and squeezed the trigger.

Click!

Ian flinched, having expected to have been shot. The barrel was right at his chest and he peered down at the gun, his eyes wide and mouth agape in surprise. Tom was regarding the gun in horror. No bullets!? When Ian’s eyes rose to meet with Tom’s his face was contorted in an expression not even Elizabeth had ever seen. He snagged the gun in his left hand and snagged the hand he had about Elizabeth’s chin in his right to free her. Tom and Ian wrestled strength against strength and in Ian’s furious condition, Tom found himself struggling against Ian.

“You dare threaten my wife!” Ian growled. They weren’t married yet, but he was already referring to her as such. She meant the world to him.

Ian twisted the gun from Tom’s hands nearly breaking his fingers in the process and used the stock of the gun like a hammer. He struck him in the side of the face and Tom recoiled, turning to run and staggering into a wall. Ian followed after him and tackled him from behind to the ground. He tried to keep him pinned down on his stomach as he clubbed the stock against his head again. Tom rolled over, thrusting his hands out to desperately stop Ian from clubbing him only to catch the stock in the cheekbone, and Ian was certain he broke something that time. The pastor quickly raced across the room to stop Ian in his fit. He locked his arms about Ian’s chest and tried to pull him off.

“Stop! You’ll kill him!” the pastor exclaimed.

“YOU THREATEN MY WIFE YOU PIECE OF SHIT!” Ian screamed as he violently shouldered the pastor off him to swing at Tom again. The pastor was heavier than Ian and jumped on him, he locked his arms about his chest and leaned back, trying to pull him off.

The pastor looked to Elizabeth desperately. “Help me! You want your husband to go to prison! Get the gun away from him!”

 

[heartofcourage]

Elizabeth had no idea where the gun came from, but the moment that she saw it, her blood ran like ice in her veins. She let out a small shriek that was cut off as she was jerked around, his hand digging into the flesh of her face as he jammed the gun against her temple. She clenched her eyes shut tightly, panting as the door burst open and she heard Ian. She almost didn't understand the words that he was saying as her entire world focused in on that gun. She didn't want her life to end like this, especially not when she was so close to a happy ending.

The gun was torn from her temple as another voice sounded and she opened her eyes to look at his new man. None of this made sense. Where had Ian found him? She let out a soft groan as the gun was suddenly back to her head, Tom trembling with silent rage.

"Ian." She whispered softly, her eyes squeezing shut again as the tears started. "Ian, I don't want to die."

She felt Tom shift, staring down at her as she trembled in his grasp. What did he see as she opened her blue eyes and showed him the fear that she had in that moment. Did he see just how truly terrified she was? Did he see just how much she loved Ian? How badly she wanted to leave?

Then Ian was pushing himself up off the floor, launching towards the both of them. She let out a cry as the gun was taken from her temple and pointed towards him, the sound of the click deafening in the tense silence of the room. It wasn't loaded. Dear GOD, it wasn't loaded. She felt faint as Ian continued his charge towards them, ripping Tom's hand away from her chin and then tearing the gun away from him. She stumbled free, nearly sinking to the floor as her knees threatened to give out.

She heard the violent fight behind her, but it wasn't until the other man begged her to help that she turned to look at Ian. He was ready to kill Tom. It wasn't Tom's fault, she had to remind herself. There was something terribly wrong with him.

"Ian. Stop." She said, her voice trembling as she shook violently. "Please stop."

 

[HotCider]

“LET GO OF ME!” Ian roared. He violently jerked in the pastor’s grip nearly knocking the glasses from the man’s face. Clenching his eyes closed, he tried to talk him down.

“It’s over Ian!” He heard Elizabeth saying his name. “He won’t be hurting anyone anymore.”

“Bullshit!” Ian hissed and again rocked forward, thrusting out his neck to try and lean all of his weight forward. He managed to tip forward a little but the pastor wrenched him back to hold him in a strong bear hug like an unruly child.

“Just stop! Look at your wife, Ian!”

That demand alone had made Ian stop struggling as he cast his feral eyes at Elizabeth. Just seeing her shaking and terrified was enough to extinguish the fires of his rage.

“She’s scared and needs you now,” the pastor said softly.

The pastor could feel Ian calm down. He was no longer tense. Tears glistened in his eyes as he begged the pastor on a whimper, “Let me go.”

“Give me the gun son.”

Ian gave the man the pistol without protest and in return, the pastor released him. Desperately, he rose off the floor and rushed over to Elizabeth to wrap her in his arms. He held onto her tight as though he had nearly lost something dear and buried his face in her red hair. She must have been so scared. He knew she had never encountered anything like that in her life. It must had traumatized her.

“I’m so sorry Elizabeth. I didn’t want this to happen,” he wept. “I was so scared I lost my mind.”

The pastor inspected the revolver, popping open the dial and a bolt of lightning could have struck him in the heart then. There were brass rounds in the dial. It was a miracle!

“Lord Almighty,” he gasped before glancing over at Ian and Elizabeth with wide eyes. Closing the dial, he would keep it to himself for the time being. They still had another problem on their hands. The pastor rose to his feet and walked over to Tom who was curled up on the floor, hiding his swollen and bleeding face.

“What’s wrong with you, son? Why are you here all alone?” the pastor asked.
Tom bore his teeth in anger and growled, “Leave!”

“I want to help you, son. I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what’s going on. There’s an evil surrounding this place, and I feel it gotsa’ hold of you just as it had a hold of that fella’ over there.”

Ian wasn’t planning on letting Elizabeth go anytime soon. He didn’t say a word as he just held her in his arms. Whatever was going on with the damned house and damned Tom, he knew it was out of his hands.

“Get out!” Tom yelled. He lowered his arms from his face and snarled, “You get out of here and take that bitch with you, and you best not come back!”

“But son-”

“We’re leavin’,” Ian growled. He was growing tense again. “We’re leavin’ before I go crazy on him again.”

The pastor looked over at Ian and fanned at him. “Just go outside to the vehicle. I left it running, take your wife with you. I’ll be out there soon.”

Ian looked down at Elizabeth and slowly and carefully urged her in the direction of the door. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.”