Here's the next chapter! Enjoy!

Snowie

Chapter Seventeen: Dark As Night

        “What’s going on?” Hinkley asked as they hurried out of the police station. The ran to Doug’s patrol car, which was parked at the curb. Doug waved Hinkley to the driver’s side and headed for the passenger side.

        “Larry Anderson’s going after my brother,” Doug said as he got into the car. Hinkley’s eyes widened and he hurriedly got into the driver’s seat. He started the car, flipping on the lights and siren and then looked at Doug. “Jay,” Doug said. His eyes piercing. “I want you to drive like you would if it was your son that psycho was going after. You got that!?”

        “Got it,” Hinkley said. He slammed the car into gear and pealed out into traffic.

        Doug grabbed his cell phone and quickly dialed the B&B’s number. He cursed when he was thrown against the door as Hinkley squealed around a corner. “C’mon! Pick up!” He muttered anxiously. He cursed again as the answering machine came on. They either weren’t there to answer the phone or they couldn’t. He didn’t want to think about what either scenario could mean.

        He turned to Hinkley again. “You’ve got to get me there Jay!”

        “I’m working on it Doug!” Hinkley said through gritted teeth as he swerved around a car. “@#%$!” He muttered, jerking the wheel back to the right, barely making it in time to avoid the truck that had been coming towards them. Doug was thrown to the side, his head contacting the window with a dull thump.

        “Damnit!” Doug said, rubbing his head.

        “Sorry,” Hinkley muttered.

        “Don’t worry about it,” Doug said. “Just drive.” He picked up the phone again and hit redial. “C’mon Pace! Be there!” He was sick at the thought of Pacey having to face Larry again, especially without warning. “Hang in there Pace,” he said softly. “This time, I’ll protect you.”

*~*POTTER B&B*~*

        “Pacey,” Joey gasped. “Pacey, who is he?”

        “Mama’s oldest son,” Pacey said, not taking his eyes off of Larry’s face. “He killed Meg.”

        “Oh,” Joey said, her eyes widening in horror. She also knew that this was it. This was Pacey’s worst fears coming true. Sally Anderson was striking back at him, even from behind bars.

        “It’s so nice to be remembered for your deeds,” Larry said, smiling. “Meg was certainly a pretty girl, wasn’t she Sonny boy? Too bad she let her heart rule her head and betrayed us. It was a shame that she had to be punished so…”

        Pacey flinched, but let no other sign of his anger show on his face. The last thing that he wanted was to let Larry know that he was getting to him. His mind raced, looking for any avenue of escape. He couldn‘t think of anything. He looked at Joey. If there was only some way to save her, he wouldn’t care what Larry did to him. It wasn’t likely that Larry would give her up, but it was worth a chance. It was time to throw himself to the wolves. “Let her go Larry. I’ll do anything you want me to, just let her go.”

        “That’s sweet kid. Really,” Larry said. “But see, I want to do something that’ll hurt you… and hurt you badly. Now, the more you beg me to let her go, the more she‘ll seem to mean to you… and the more I’ll hurt her. You get what I’m saying?”

        Pacey looked at Joey, his eyes begging her to forgive him. He then turned his attention to Larry, his eyes flashing with anger. “You’re one sick bastard, you know that Larry? I mean, you get your kicks out of hurting kids who can’t fight back. You’re pathetic.”

        Larry’s eyes narrowed, but he smiled. “You forget yourself, Sonny. I know you far too well to fall for any of your stupid little tricks. You’re trying to buy time. You know that the longer we stay here, the better your chances are. It’s not gonna work.” He grabbed Joey roughly by the arm. She whimpered softly as he jammed the gun into her side and Pacey paled. “So let’s go.”

        Pacey put his hands up. “Just tell me where,” he said softly.

        “Thatta boy,” Larry said with a smirk. “You go first.” He nodded towards the door. “And we’ll follow.”

        Pacey took a deep breath and walked slowly for the door, his heart dropping in his chest. It was like being thrown back a year. He was once again at the whim of the people who had stolen so many years for him… And this time he was dragging someone he loved down with him.

        He opened the front door and walked out onto the porch. He could hear Joey and Larry following him. “Where do you want me to go?” He asked when he reached the steps.

        “Down to the dock,” Larry said.

        Pacey looked over at the dock and a new fear raced through him. There was a motorboat there. How or when it had gotten there, he didn’t know. The important thing was that it was there. Pacey knew that if they ended up on that boat, their chances of living dropped dramatically...

        Pacey spun around when he heard Joey cry out in pain. He glared at Larry. “What did you do!?”

        “Just hurrying you along,” Larry said, giving Joey’s arm another twist. She didn’t cry out this time, but Pacey could see the pain in her face. She looked up at him, her eyes filled with tears and Pacey felt an anger unlike anything that he had ever felt before. If only Larry didn’t have that gun… Pacey stopped that thought before it went any further. Larry did have the gun and that put him in charge. “I’m going,” Pacey said hurriedly. He walked down the steps and made his way towards the dock.

        Larry laughed as he followed. “Who would’ve guessed that all it took to keep the little hellion in line was a pretty little thing like this.” Joey bit her lip as Larry ran the barrel of the gun down her face. His hand on her arm made her skin crawl, but she was afraid to do or say anything that might make things worse than they already were. “You still haven’t figured it out, have you Sonny boy?” Pacey turned to look at them and Joey could see the struggle on his face. Larry smiled, knowing that he was causing pain. “You’ll never win. I know what you’re thinking. You’re trying to figure a way out of this … But there is no way out of this. You may have gotten your name back, but your soul’s mine… And the only place you’re going is hell.”

        Joey watched as Pacey’s shoulder’s slumped in defeat and she felt her heart break for him. She could see that Larry’s words were throwing Pacey back into a time where he’d had no power… no control. She had to do something…

        Joey took a deep breath and stopped short, driving her elbow into Larry’s side. Larry let out a short gasp, but didn’t loosen his grip on her arm. Pacey’s eye’s widened in horror as Larry turned to Joey with anger burning in his eyes. “No!” Pacey yelled as Larry raised the gun and brought it down hard on Joey’s head, knocking her cold.

        A scream of rage built from deep inside him as Joey slumped to the deck. He jumped forward without thought. Larry turned the gun toward Pacey, but he was too late. Pacey swiped at his arm, knocking it to the side and the gun flew out of his grasp. They watched as it skittered across the deck before slipping silently into the dark water.

        “How about that?” Pacey said coldly. “You lost your gun.”

        “I can kill you just as easily without it,” Larry said, his eyes narrowing in anger. Did this stupid boy actually think that he relied on a gun to kill people? That took all the fun out of it.

        “Really?” Pacey said lightly. “How would you know? This is the first time you’ve come near me where there hasn’t been a gun pointed at my back. Maybe I’ll surprise you.”

        “Or maybe I’ll slit your throat,” Larry said with a grin, pulling his favorite knife out it’s sheath. It glinted menacingly in the sun… and so did his eyes. He glanced down at Joey’s still form and his grin took on an extra evil glint. “And then maybe I’ll get to know your pretty little girlfriend very, very well before I slit hers.”

        Pacey’s eyes narrowed. He wasn’t going to let that happen. Not this time. “You’re not going to touch her ever again Larry!”

        Larry laughed. “You’re not going to win this Sonny boy. You don’t stand a chance.”

        That was all that Pacey could take. He was tired of listening to Larry. Tired of living in fear of the man. It was time to take his life back. He sprang forward and was on Larry before the older man even knew what was happening.

        Larry stumbled backward, surprised by Pacey’s total disregard for the knife in his hand… and by the force behind the fist that rammed into his chin. He quickly recovered from the surprise and shook off the punch, dropping into a fighter’s stance. He circled Pacey meaningfully, moving the blade from side to side, waiting for his opponents next move. He didn’t have long to wait.

        Pacey rushed forward, again ignoring the deadly knife that Larry held. He ignored the pain as it sliced through his shirt into the flesh of his arm and landed a quick punch to Larry’s abdomen and another to the back of Larry’s neck as the man doubled over. Larry collapsed to the ground and lay there, gasping for breath.

        Pacey had been right when he implied that Larry had no idea what he was truly capable of… Or what freedom from six years of hell could mean to a person. Pacey wasn’t about to let him win again. He kicked the knife out of Larry’s hand and then landed a well placed kick to his face.

        Larry rolled over on his back and looked up at Pacey, a look of pain and disbelief on his face. The brat couldn’t have brought him to the ground! It was impossible!

        Pacey picked up the knife from where it had fallen and turned it over thoughtfully in his hands. He smiled softly, and began to speak, his voice cold with an emotion that was beyond explanation. “How does it feel to lay helpless at the feet of a man who has absolutely no pity for you, huh Larry? A man who would like nothing better then to kill you but cutting you apart, bit, by teeny, tiny bit? Is it a nice feeling?” Larry was silent as he looked up at Pacey, knowing, on some level, that he was about to die. “’Cause see, personally, I never liked it much. The hitting. The cutting. The kicking when I was already bruised and bloody on the floor, barely conscious… Here’s something I betcha didn’t realize, Larry. You wanna know why they say that you shouldn’t hit a man when he’s down?” Pacey crouched down next to Larry and ran the knife down the other man’s arm, drawing blood. He stared at the cut for a moment, mesmerized by the bright red color of the blood… and by the pleasure it gave him to see Larry wince. “It’s cause they might get back up again.”

        Pacey lifted the knife up and Larry closed his eyes, waiting for the blow to come. When it came, it wasn’t in the way he expected. Pacey brought the knife down, but handle first on Larry’s head, knocking him cold.

        Pacey stood and looked down at the man who had haunted his life and his dreams for so long. “I may hate you, but there’s no way in hell I’m going to jail for you.” He turned and threw the knife into the bushes. As the sound of approaching sirens sounded in the distance he turned and walked to Joey’s still form, feeling more free than he had in a long time. He knelt down beside her and gently brushed her hair out of her face. “Jo?” He said softly.

        Joey moved slightly, a low moan coming from her throat. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked up at Pacey. There was confusion in her eyes for a moment and then everything that had happened rushed back to her and she sat up straight, looking around frantically. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Larry lying a few feet away, unconscious but breathing. “What happened?” She asked softly, rubbing the back of her head.

        “You decided to play hero,” Pacey said, holding out his arms to her. She leaned into his embrace thankfully and he cradled her against his chest. “And I kicked some ass.”

        Joey smiled softly. “I knew that you wouldn’t let him beat you Pacey. You’re strong. So much stronger than him… so much stronger than her.”

        “I didn’t think so,” Pacey said softly. “I didn’t think that there was any way that I could ever beat her…”

        “But you can, just by knowing that she can’t beat you. Knowing that she can’t break you… And she can’t break you, Pacey! She tried for six years and she couldn’t do it. She’s not going to now.”

                Make me a witness
                Take me out
                Out of darkness
                Out of doubt
                I won’t weigh you down with good intention
                Won’t make fire out of clay
                Or other inventions

        Pacey rested his cheek against Joey’s hair and sighed. “She can’t beat me,” he said simply, and in saying it, accepted it as fact.

        Pacey looked up as his brother’s police car careened into Joey’s driveway. They watched as Doug and Hinkley jumped from the car and raced towards them. “Pace?” Doug called, slowing to a walk as he got close enough to the scene to see that there was no present danger to his brother or Joey.

        “I’m okay, Doug,” Pacey said. “And don’t worry. I didn’t kill him… As much as I wanted to…”

        Doug closed his eyes for a moment and sighed in relief. He might not have gotten there in time to save his brother… But Pacey had been able to save himself… and in many ways that was better. It happened the way that it needed to. “Hinkley?” Doug said.

        “Got it,” Hinkley said, pulling out his cuffs and approaching the still unconscious Larry. He handcuffed him, ignoring the injuries Pacey had inflicted. There was no way that he was going to let this guy get away… Especially not because of some well deserved cuts and bruises.

                Will we burn in heaven
                Like we do down here?
                Will the change come while we’re waiting?
                Everyone is waiting…

        Doug continued over to Pacey and Joey. “You two okay?”

        “Joey has a massive bump on her head,” Pacey said.

        “And you’re bleeding!” Joey said, noticing the knife wound on Pacey’s arm.

        “Just a scratch,” Pacey said dismissively.

        “A scratch that’ll need stitches,” Doug said, looking the wound over. “Hey Jay?”

        “Yeah Doug?” Hinkley said.

        “I need to take these two to the hospital. Will you be okay here alone? My Dad should be here soon with the cavalry.”

        “Sure,” Hinkley said. “He’s not going anywhere… And if he tries… well, I have plenty of bullets and he has plenty of limbs.”

        Doug allowed a small grin to creep across his face and then became serious again. “Tell Dad that they’re all right, but we’re going to the hospital to get them checked out and fixed up.”

        “No problem,” Hinkley said.

        “C’mon,” Doug said, helping Pacey and Joey to their feet. “Let’s get out of here.”

        Pacey put his arm around Joey, half supporting, half holding her. Together they turned and looked at Larry one more time. Then without another word they turned and followed Doug to the car.

                And when we’re done soul searching
                And we carried the weight and died for the cause
                Is misery made beautiful right before our eyes?
                Will mercy be revealed, or blind us where we stand?

*~*LATER THAT DAY*~*
*~*POLICE STATION*~*

        Pacey walked into the visitor’s room and sat down in the chair that the officer had indicated. He took a deep breath and watched the door that she would come through. When it opened he waited for the look that he knew he would see. The same look that he had seen so many time. Surprise that he was still alive, still standing… Surprise that he had survived, body and spirit.

        “Hello Mama,” Pacey said softly, his voice betraying little.

        “Where’s Larry?” Mama asked warily.

        Pacey laughed shortly. “It was a nice try, Mama. Really. But all it accomplished was getting Larry in a cell right down the hall from you… For the time being anyway.”

        “What does that mean?” Mama asked, an emotion that could almost be called fear entering her voice for the first time.

        “He’ll soon be on his way to Virginia,” Pacey said. “To face the charges against him there… You know, for the murder of Megan Spaulding.” Mama blanched. “That’s right Mama,“ Pacey continued. “You should really be careful where you kill people. Virginia has the death penalty, you know. They haven’t actually carried out an execution in a while, but I think when the jury hears what Larry did to Meg before he killed her, they’ll be more than happy to send him to the gas chamber… or however it is that they kill people down there.”

                Will we burn in heaven
                Like we do down here?
                Will a change come while we’re waiting?
                Everyone is waiting…

        “You’ll pay for this, Sonny boy!” Mama snarled.

        “You know what? You don’t scare me anymore Ms. Anderson,” Pacey said coldly. “Cause I know that no matter what you do, you’re not going to beat me… Cause I’m not going to let you. You can hurt me. You can even kill me, but you won’t beat me, because I WILL NOT let you destroy me! So save your meaningless threats, because I’m going to walk out of here and live my life no matter what you say. You can’t touch me anymore!” Pacey turned and walked out of the visitor’s room, ignoring her as she called after him.

        “Get back here, Sonny boy! I’m not done talking to you yet! Sonny!” Mama stared at his retreating back in disbelief, unable to believe that he was walking away. She made one final attempt. “Pacey!”

        Pacey paused for a moment, but didn’t turn around. “Goodbye Mama,” he said softly and walked out of the room.

        Mama watched him go in shock, knowing that he was right. She wasn’t going to beat him. She had spent six years trying to break him and she had never succeeded. He had held tightly to his identity. To his life. He was stronger than she had imagined. Stronger than she had ever been willing to admit.

                Will we burn in heaven
                Like we do down here?
                Will a change come while we’re waiting?
                Everyone is waiting…