Tina hunched over the dirty toilet bowl vomiting profusely. Everything that had happened tonight made her sick. The thought of Steve missing made her stomach churn like an ice cream maker. Vinny stood outside the bathroom door beating the door so hard with his fist that it hurt Tina's ears.
"Hey are you alright in there? They left so you can come out now." Vinny lit a Newport and patiently waited outside the bathroom door. When Tina finally came out of the bathroom she looked like a mess. The eyeliner was smeared all over her pretty face and it was quite evident she had been crying. For the first time Vinny actually felt a subtle sense of guilt. Could he back out of this now? Was there some way he could make amends and have everything go back to normal? No. It was too late. Finish what you start. Someone in jail had once told him. Besides, he still had to avenge himself with those little brats who put him away for ten years.
Vincent knocked on the door once more." Hurry up Sally. We have to finish our dice game."
"My name is not Sally and I'm not playing your stupid game." She shouted from inside the bathroom.
Vinny pushed the shocker button on his wrist watch. Nothing. Vinny pushed the button once more. Still he didn't hear a sound from Tina. He placed his ear against the door and pushed the shocker button once more. He could hear the device around her neck letting out an electric shock but Tina remained quiet. Vincent finally realized what was going on. Tina didn't want to give him the satisfaction of letting him know that he was hurting her.
"Oh, so I see daddy's little girl has got some mettle." He said sliding a screw driver into the door knob and unlocking the door. When he opened the door Tina was standing with both of her hands on her hips staring at him like an angry drill sergeant.
"So I see you've built up a tolerance to my little shocking device." He said blowing smoke in her face.
Tina scrunched up her lips showing her perpendicular teeth with a steely look in her eyes like she was on a last limb and ready to attack. But she didn't say a word. Vincent smiled and tried to reconcile by putting his gritty hand on her shoulder." So Miss Tough Girl. Do you think you built up a tolerance to that bag of feces?"
Tina fluttered her eyes for a moment musing over the thought. Then without hesitation she took Vinny by the arm and led him out of the bathroom." Come on. Let's go play your stupid game." She said leading him down the hallway.
"That's my girl." Said Vinny pleased that she had come to her senses. He cleared some old newspapers off the coffee table and pulled two dice out of his pocket. If I don't know my next move how will they? He thought to himself. He placed the dice on the coffee table and went into the kitchenette to fetch paper and a pen. When he came back out he sat on the other side of the coffee table facing Tina. She picked up the dice and dropped them on the table without even shaking them.
"That doesn't count." Declared Vinny scooping the dice up with his hand," Watch closely. This is how you do it." He said shaking the dice and blowing on them. He then rolled them onto the table.
"I didn't know." Said Tina picking up the dice. She vigorously shook the dice while blowing on them. Vinny's eye got big with excitement as he eagerly waited for the results. When the dice finally settled the first dice read " Tony" and the second dice landed on the question mark. Tina had no idea what the question mark meant but she guessed Vincent didn't know either.
"We already know Tony's fate. He dies in a fire. Roll the dice again." Demanded Vinny.
Tina took in a deep breath and picked up the dice.
Sparky trotted over and put his head on Tina's lap to comfort her. Vinny saw the dog's head on her lap and a rage of jealousy swarmed permeated throughout his body.
"Sparky!" He shouted. The dog panted softly but didn't move. "Sparky! Get over here!" He insisted.
Tina looked at Vinny and shrugged her shoulders as if to say I guess he loves me more than he loves you. All in a blink of an eye Vinny leaped over the coffee table and punched the dog in the head. The 100 pound Rottweiler pounced Vinny and bit his ear. Vinny let out a yelp as the two of them wrestled around on the floor. Tina saw blood trickle down Vinny's face as Sparky continued to attack him. They rolled around on the floor legs kicking and paws scratching.
Tina stood up and backed herself against the wall. Sparky bit down on the watch band and the wrist watch came loose. It flung through the air landing just 3 feet in front of her. It was like a big miracle from God and all his Angels. She took one last look at Sparky and Vinny trying to kill each other then she picked up the watch and ran out the front door.
"Get back here!" Shouted Vinny but the dog held him down and continued biting him in the face.
When Tina stepped outside she could feel a gust of heat waft in her face as if she had just opened a pizza oven door. Her first instinct was to run down the long driveway toward the road but she remembered the drunken redneck that probably had plans of raping her. She turned around and stared at the tree farm encompassing the yard. All the miniature trees looked to be the exact same size evenly planted in nice little rows. Way off in the distance past the vast tree farm she could see a light shining on a hill. She figured maybe the people that owned the tree farm lived there and that she could take refuge there.
Tina sprinted through the tall grass and towards the miniature trees. The eerie night was so serene that Tina felt a paranoia like people were watching her. The feeling of paranoia caused her to run all the more faster but her baggy jeans were slowing her down. Running through the trees was a lot harder than she thought and she could feel her body start to totter and tremble. She kept on going but suddenly she felt her left foot sink below the ground and twist in the opposite direction. She went down hard and scraped her hands while trying to catch her fall. Her left foot was still stuck in the hole in the ground where a tree was supposed to be planted. As fast as she could Tina pulled her left foot out of the hole and stood up again. She was in too much pain to continue running but she wended towards the light on the hill limping like a three legged dog. She tottered along as fast as she could towards the light looming in the distance. The light looked to be a mile and a half away and she wondered if she could make it.
Suddenly she saw a beam of light flashing in every direction scouring the tops of the miniature trees. Then she heard a jingling sound coming towards her so she ducked below the trees and lay flat on the ground. Could Vincent possibly be chasing after her? Wouldn't he think she took off running towards the road? She laid motionless on the ground hoping to hide from her assailant. The jingling sound kept getting closer and closer and so did the beam of light.
She looked once more at the glowing light on the hill and realized she wouldn't make it. Tina's best bet was to stay on the ground hidden amidst the trees. The jingling sound kept getting closer and she could feel her heart pulsate like a wild animal. Before she even knew what was happening, Sparky was hovered over her licking the wounds on her hands. When Vinny finally caught up he laughed triumphantly pointing a finger at her.
" Did you really think you could get away from me? Sparky picked up your spoor in a matter of seconds." He said still laughing.
Tina looked terrified as Vinny shone the flashlight in her eyes like a police officer would testing for alcohol. Not knowing what crazy thing Vinny would do next Tina pulled the wrist watch out of her pocket and handed it to him. Sparky wagged his tail and licked Tina on the cheek. Tina looked up at Vinny once more in dismay while she petted the dog. Vincent's face looked cut up pretty bad and it looked like Sparky really did a number on him. He pulled a bandanna from his back pocket and wiped the blood oozing down his left ear lobe. Tina was astonished at what he did next.
Vincent pulled out his 9mm and pointed the gun right between her eyes. Then a big smile lit up his face and he pointed the gun at Sparky.
" Good bye Sparky." He said and fired twice. The 100 pound Rottweiler dropped to the ground and left his tongue stick out. Tina remembered watching that movie Old Yeller when she was a kid and cried when they had to shoot Old Yeller because he had rabies. Seeing a dog shot in real life was ten times worse.
Tina leaned over to vomit but nothing came out. Vincent didn't seem to be phased in the least bit over the loss of his dog. He extended his arm revealing his massive forearm to help Tina off the ground. Tina refused his assistance and stood up on her own putting most of her weight on her right leg. Vinny dug his fingernails deep into her arm leading the way as she hobbled back to the trailer. Steve. All she could think about was Steve and how much she missed him. And what exactly happened to Steve?
Tina was about to soon find out.