Chapter Thirty-Eight
Alex
I could hear Cam and Victor arguing in the front room, but when I cracked the door and looked out, Cam shook his head letting me know that it wasn't safe to come out. I shut the door and waited for the fire department to arrive and stop this madness.
As the argument got more heated, I heard the rise and fall of angry voices and then silence. That worried me, so I cracked the door and saw Cam lying face down on the gasoline-soaked carpet as Victor pulled Liz off the sofa and positioned her next to Cam.
"I know you're in here, Alex!" Victor called as he worked in the front room. I quietly closed the door and replaced the chair under the handle, trying to figure out what to do next. Victor kept talking as he prepped the apartment for whatever he was going to do next. "I'm going to start this fire on the first floor because I want it to spread upward and engulf this entire building. Do you know why, Alex?"
When I failed to respond, he continued talking.
"I want to burn this fucking building to the ground with all of you in it," he shouted. "I want you to suffer the way I've suffered, and the only way to do that is to prolong the agony."
"Your logic is completely flawed, Victor!" I yelled through the closed door. "You're not going to make us suffer, you're going to make the innocent people who live in this building suffer!"
"So what?" he yelled. "I'll get my revenge!"
"You're stupid," I muttered as I looked around the room for a possible weapon before yelling, "Why is revenge so important to you?"
"It's the only thing that sets things right," he said, startling me as he threw himself against the door and shoved it open enough to get the hand holding the gun inside. "I don't have anything to lose anymore, Alex. Now I just want revenge."
"Victor, none of this makes any sense," I said as I moved toward the corner where he couldn't see me, thinking that if he started shooting at least I'd have some chance of avoiding the bullets. "You've decided to trade your own life for revenge? Have you played this out? It's not going to end well."
"It doesn't matter," he growled. "Nothing matters anymore."
"So, you're going to die in a fire or a hail of bullets, is that what you're telling me?" I asked as I searched for a way to keep him talking. "This seems really short-sighted. I mean, you're looking for revenge, but you're not going to be around to garner satisfaction from it."
"Shut the fuck up," Victor growled again. "I deserve retribution after all of the shit I've had to eat thanks to your boyfriend."
"He's not my boyfriend," I said in a flat voice. "But, hey, if that makes you feel better about killing me and Liz, I guess it's more power to you."
"You can't possibly understand how that man has made my life miserable," he said as I watched his arm slide down the doorframe. It appeared that he was now sitting on the floor, and I wondered if I'd gotten to him. "He's undermined me at every turn and made my life a living hell."
"Are you sure that Cam did that, Victor?" I asked, suddenly wondering if there was any truth to what he was saying. "Did he really make your life hell or are you blaming him for mistakes you've made? Have you turned Cam into the scapegoat for all the mistakes you've made in your life?"
There was silence on the other side of the door, and I could see that he'd pointed the gun toward the floor.
"Victor?" I said quietly. "If you blame Cam for the mistakes you've made and then kill him for them, then you won't be free. You won't get retribution or any satisfaction from the revenge fantasy you've cooked up. All you'll get is life in prison for murdering innocent people and destroying the homes and lives of every person who lives in this building."
"I hate him!" Victor sobbed. "He has everything and I have nothing!"
"But is that Cam's fault?" I asked as I inched closer to the door keeping my eye on the gun. I could tell that Victor had lost focus as he cried, and I knew that if I could grab the gun, I might be able to turn the tables on him. It was a big if, but it seemed like a chance with odds I could take.
As I crawled along the far wall, I listened carefully. Victor seemed to be in the throes of a breakdown, but I didn't trust that this would last. He was obviously mentally unstable and as a result, was also unpredictable. And yet, I could feel his pain as he cried and cursed Cam for all that he was feeling.
Suddenly, on the other side of the door, I heard a loud bang and then saw Victor pull the gun out of the crack between the door and the frame. I heard a loud thud and then two voices shouting in the hallway. I stayed crouched in the space between the wall and the doorframe as the gun went off. I heard another thud, and then a voice broke the silence that followed.
"He's dead, but I'm going to burn this fucking building to the ground anyway," Victor said quietly. His voice sent a chill up my spine.
"Don't do it! Don't do it!" Liz screamed in the living room. I knew I had one chance to stop this deadly plan and, that either way, I had a pretty good chance of dying. I decided it was better to have it over with quickly rather than having to suffer. So, I yanked open the door and ran down the hallway to the living room where Victor stood poised with a lighter in one hand and the gun in the other. I raced toward him with my eye on the lighter aiming to knock it out of his hand before he could flick the flame to life.
Half way there, I heard a loud crack as the balcony door shattered and Victor slumped to the ground. Bewildered, I looked around trying to figure out what had just happened. Victor rose up with the gun in his hand and pointed it at me. I screamed as the second shot hit him and he fell over, dropping the gun to the floor. I kicked it out of the way and ran to Liz who was crying hysterically in a pool of shattered glass. She'd been cut, but as I untied the ropes that bound her, I quickly assessed that none of the wounds were life threatening.
"He shot him!" she cried as she pointed to the kitchen. I ran around to the entry and saw Cam lying in a pool of blood on the tile floor. He wasn't moving. I dropped to my knees and searched for a pulse, and then lifted him up to find that the bullet had gone into his abdomen. I searched the kitchen drawers and found a handful of dishtowels that I used to staunch the flow of blood.
"Liz, get help! Go get help!" I shouted as I pressed the towels to the wound.
"They're already here," she replied weakly as a team of police officers slammed open the door and rushed inside the apartment with their guns drawn.
"Don't shoot! Don't shoot!" Liz screamed as they aimed their guns at her. "He's over there!"
They quickly assessed the scene and called in the paramedics. Cam was loaded onto a stretcher and taken down to the ambulance, which drove off in a blaze of sirens and flashing lights. A second set of paramedics loaded Victor onto a stretcher as Liz and I were taken down to the second ambulance. Meanwhile, the police secured the apartment and began their investigation.
"We're going to take you to the hospital to get checked out," the paramedic said. She helped Liz and I up into the ambulance before closing the doors and taking off for the hospital.
I held Liz's hand the whole ride to the hospital wondering if Cam was still alive. Suddenly, the fact that he'd paid my rent and tuition didn't seem like something worth being mad about.