Page 138 of My UnTrue Love
Luke trailed along behind. “This is fucked up, Bill. Why didn’t you kill this Johnny guy months ago? For real.”
“I’m askin’ myself that very thing.”
“I just hope everyone else gets out safely.” Clem fretted, securing their belongings in her blanket. “Our neighbors are all so nice. I met some wicked witches in the laundry room, and they invited me bowling this weekend.”
“You’re not going bowling with wicked witches.” Luke scoffed. “Hell no.” He looked more upset about Clem’s proposed outing than he did about the fire. He turned to Bill for backup. “It’s too dangerous for her to hang out with wicked witches.”
It took some time for a suspicious coyote and an extroverted muse to adjust their differing natures, so they could live in harmony. …It took even longer for the coyote to understand that he would be the one adjusting.
“We’ll all three go bowling with the witches.” Bill decided. The secret to a successful relationship was to support your wife in whatever she wanted to do and then quietly, indirectly ensure that she was safe while she did it. “Just as soon as we escape the burning building.”
Bill grabbed his guitar from where it was leaning against the couch. They went through the living room and out the front door.
The night was full of shouting and people running, as the other tenants fled. The Westward Arms was an old adobe structure. Adobe didn’t burn, which gave everyone a fighting chance to escape. All the architectural flourishes that had been added over the yearswouldburn, though.
Quickly.
The steps down from the exterior balcony were already engulfed in flames.
“Oh God.” Clem whispered, seeing that their way down was blocked. The fire was eating away at the wooden walkway in front of their second-floor apartments. They seemed to be the only ones trapped. Johnny must have specifically targeted their section of the building.
Bastard.
“I sometimes use the laundry chute to slip around Woody.” Luke volunteered, taking stock of the situation. “We can get to it, but we’d need to make our way to the other wing.”
There wasn’t a clear path to the other wing or time to find one. The balcony was already groaning under the fire’s wrath.
Bill turned towards Luke. “Can you catch her, just as you are?”
The kid’s coyote wouldn’t be able to come out again for at least a few days. Shifts took a lot out of freshly-emerged creatures, even ones as huge and bloodthirsty as Luke’s. It was a monster trapped in a teenage body.
“I can catch her.” Luke sounded certain and surprisingly calm, considering half of him was a frustrated, ferocious coyote. He handed Clem his folder of sheet music and headed for the iron railing, following the plan without Bill having to explain it.
Yep, the kid was real valuable.
Bill slung the guitar strap around him, so the instrument lay at his back. “Luke’s gonna get to the ground.” He tied their blanket full of valuables around her, so her hands were free. “Then, I’ll drop you right to him, okay?”
“You want us to jump, you mean?” Clem shook her head so hard that it sent her curls swinging. “No,notokay! It’s a two-story plummet onto concrete…” She broke off with a panicked yelp as Luke vaulted over the railing.
The kid gracefully fell to the ground, landing in a crouch.
“Don’t do things like that!” She admonished.
Luke straightened up, already reaching for her. “You’re being bossy, again.”
“Assertive.” She corrected in a panicky tone. “And I’m assertively suggesting we call the fire department, before one of us breaks their necks.”
Bill swept her up in his arms. “It’s gonna be fine. He’ll catch you.”
Luke hadbettercatch her. What if he didn’t catch her?
Bill met Luke’s eyes through the smoke. He suddenly wasn’t sure his hands would be able to release his wife into thin air. His newly-found heart hammered at the very idea. The kid was so skinny. So young. What if…?
“I won’t drop your mate.” Luke interjected, seeing his anxiety. “We have a deal. We’ll both defend her. Trust me.”
Coyotes were stronger than they looked, even in human-form. Luke treasured Clementine. The boy wouldn’t let her hit the pavement. Bill forced himself to believe all that, because there wasn’t another option. The fire was getting bigger, filling the air with heat.
“I hate this idea so, so much.” Clem moaned. “Just do it quick, so we can get out of here.”
