Tom searched more rooms. He had to hide from the men in the black suits twice as they walked by. The second time he quickly went into a closet when he heard them coming. He stepped into a cardboard box and a plastic bag crunched under his foot. He thought sure they heard him, but they kept walking.
Bobby made his way into the library. Sally saw him come in.
“Bobby!” she whispered.
She was still on the upper walkway.
“Sal? Is that you?”
The click-clack of hard-soled shoes was coming. He jumped behind a row of shelves. The gray haired man walked in pushing a wheelchair. In the chair sat Luke, bruised and bloody. He was awake now. Sally could see them below her at the far end of the room.
Oh God, Luke.
Thorton turned and said, “Bring them in.”
Two men in black suits dragged in Cindy and John. They were tied with duct tape at the ankles and wrists. They pulled hard against their bonds lying on the floor. They looked scared, but unharmed. Cindy yelled behind the tape covering her mouth. Another man, with powder burns on his face came in and joined them. The three suits stood back at the door, two with pistols, and one with a shotgun. Thorton stood confidently. He was in no hurry at all.
He lit up a cigar, and smiled. “Sally Lynn Benton. Born august twenty-third, nineteen seventy-one. That would make you, um, twenty-one, correct?”
Sally stayed still on her stomach. She was sure he couldn’t see her.
How the hell does he know me?
The room was silent.
How does he know I’m in here?
Looking around, she spotted the little motion detector in the corner. They were everywhere, all around the room. Shit. The gray haired man walked forward slowly, puffing out big clouds of smoke.
“You were born in Canon City. Your father was a sales manager. Your mother worked at the hospital. A nurse, I believe.”
She was petrified. This man knew everything about her.
How?
Sally got her answer.
“You’re wondering, no doubt, how I know you. Well Sally, I’m a rich man. I have friends in a lot of places. One friend in particular works at the FBI. I’ll bet you didn’t know they kept a file on you, did you?”
The men at the door remained motionless. Thorton kept moving.
He was at the long table now, “Well, they do. They keep files on all potential problems.”
He looked at his prisoners, “Problems just like you, Sally.”
She had never been in trouble with the law. Why would they keep tabs on her? She held tight to the sword, with her finger just over the button.
“It’s because what happened when you were ten,” his crooked yellowing teeth were showing, “It’s quite good reading. Violence breeds violence you know.”
They had started a file on her after her father committed suicide. They had one on her mother, too.
Just in case I ever go postal, Is that it?
“Tell me Sally. Was is a closed casket funeral?” His smile got bigger.
He waited for a moment for her to answer. She stayed quiet.
“How long do you suppose it took them to clean up the mess? An hour? Two?”
He began laughing. Sally bit her lip, trying not to cry, trying not to let him get to her. The tears came anyway.
He’s just fucking with me. Don’t listen. Oh God, don’t listen.
“How did it feel, Sally, when you were ten years old, living with your pathetic, ineffectual mother and your poor, drunk daddy?”
No, stop.
“Was it your fault, Sally? It probably was. Ten year olds can be such brats.”
She covered her mouth. She wanted to scream. The dark side was upon her, and there wasn’t a thing she could do to stop it.
Little Sally watched as the red mist gathered down below. It formed into a big cloud, swirling. And then into a ball. A big white ball. It floated up and up and came out of the floor, hovering in front of her. Her father was enclosed inside. He pounded on the sides of the hard plastic. There was no escaping. And then the gun. It was in there with him. He looked at it and then picked it up. The image was hazy through the white shell, but Sally could see what was happening.
“No Daddy! No!”
The barrel was in his mouth.
She hit the ball over and over again, “Daddy!”
The shot was muffled through the plastic. It had put a hole not only through her father, but also through the ball itself. It was just big enough for her to crawl inside.
And she did crawl into it. As she lay there in that room listening to that awful man, she realized that she was still inside. The plastic walls had swallowed her whole life. She couldn’t move. She was completely helpless.
His words continued to burn her. “He hit you, didn’t he Sally? And your mother too, I suppose. Mean old drunken daddy, swatting you around like a rag doll.”
Sally saw something behind her. A shadow. A person. A... little girl. She walked right up and sat down beside her.
She was grinning, “Hi, Sal.”
Sally couldn’t move. The girl looked so young. So innocent.
“It’s not our fault Sally.” She looked down at the gray-haired man, “He’s just an old blow-hard. Don’t listen to him.”
Sally had no idea what to say. She was in complete shock.
“You can make it through this, you know. But, you have to believe.”
“In what?” Sally’s whisper was raw in her throat.
“In yourself, silly. And in me too, I guess.”
“Who are you?”
The little girl in the long pink nightgown stood up and put her hands on her hips, “I am the Jedi knight, master of the force.”
She giggled. Sally knew that she must’ve totally lost it now. She was ready for the state hospital.
The girls expression got serious again, “I know you blame me for what happened. But why is it my fault? Why Sally?”
“It’s not your fault. It’s not.”
She sat down again and put her arm around Sally. “Daddy’s been gone for ten years. How much longer are you gonna wait? We’re still alive Sally. Alive. When are we gonna start living?”
“I don’t know.”
“Well you better figure it out soon, cause our friends are gonna die without our help. They’re depending on us Sally. They believe in us.”
Sally peered over the edge of the walkway. Cindy was looking up at her. John was struggling. Luke needed a doctor bad.
The gray haired man spoke up again, “I’ll make a deal with you Sally. You give up the sword and I’ll let you and your friends walk out of here. Just give it to me and you’re free.”
What could she do? There were no other options. Were there?
“But if you choose to be contrary, I shall have to shoot you all,” he put his hand on Luke’s shoulder, “Starting with this one.”
His crooked toothed grin made her feel sick.
“Remember Sally,” the little girl said, “Daddy was gonna do what he was gonna do, no matter what we did. So I figure, you might as well do what’s right. Right?”
Sally knew it was true. She didn’t determine her father’s actions. And she didn’t determine this asshole’s actions either. He was going to kill them whether she gave up or not. She could either lie down or fight. Little Sally smiled at her, and then disappeared. But she wasn’t gone really. Sally knew where she could always find her. In that moment she knew she had to fight. For the people whom she loved, that depended on her. And Sally knew that she herself, was one of those people.
She picked up a small book off the shelf, and glanced down. When they weren’t looking she threw it across the library. It landed two rows over from where they were standing. They heard it smack the floor. Thorton motioned in that direction, and the three suits ran that way. It was now or never. Sally stood up and jumped off the ledge. She landed on top of the man and they both hit the tile floor hard. Bobby watched her all the way down. He ran across the room and heaved against the tall bookshelf. It toppled over and hit the next one. That one fell on top of all three men. He jumped up and down on the shelf making sure they weren’t going anywhere. When Thorton and Sally landed, they were six feet from one another. Thorton got to his feet and pulled a small flashlight shaped object off of his belt. It had wires connecting to a backpack he was wearing. It looked very similar to the one Sally had on. He clicked the switch and it buzzed and popped. The blade on his was green.
“Don’t look so surprised, Sally. We stole the technology months ago. That’s plenty of time to make my own.” She was getting to her feet. Her whole body ached. She could especially feel the soreness when she bent down to grab her laser. It was dangling by the wires at her side. She kept her eyes on him the whole time. She clicked it to life just as he rushed her. The blades met. They popped and grinded against each other. He was strong. It took every ounce of strength in her to hold him back.
“Give up Sally. I’m bigger than you. I’m stronger than you. You can’t win.”
She pushed away from him and jumped back, “Fuck you.”
This time it was her offensive. She yelled out and swung the sword around like a mad woman. The lasers clacked together twice. He leaned in, swung hard, and she blocked it. He swept his foot under her and she fell to the floor. He leaped over and held the green beam at her neck. It was close. She could feel the heat burning her skin.
“Well Sally, it’s been fun, but all good things must come to an end.”
He raised the sword up above his head.
He said, “Say hello to daddy for me,” as he swung it down at her.
Just as the beam was about to cut her in half, Thorton was blind-sided. Luke tackled him with his left leg still duct taped to the wheelchair. Tom had missed that piece. Thorton yelled and swiped the laser at him. The blade cut deep into his thigh. Luke screamed in pain.
“Luke!” Sally scrambled to her feet and kicked Thorton in the face.
He rolled backwards. The gash in his forehead poured blood.
Standing up, he growled, “Now you’ve pissed me off bitch.”
He charged forward, swinging the blade back and forth. Sally’s back was up against the big table. She turned, stepped on a chair, and then up onto the table. She backed up slowly, keeping her eye on Thorton. He stopped at the end of the long table, glaring at her. Sally backed up another three steps. Sweat was pouring down her face. She held her weapon in front of her with both hands. Then he smiled at her. He backed up and swiped his sword at the wooden legs. It easily chopped through the thick oak. The end of the table dropped to the floor with a loud slam. Sally began sliding down toward him. Thorton stepped up. She couldn’t stop. Three books that had been sitting there slid down to his feet. She was right behind them. Shit! Sally bent her knees and then pushed off with her legs. She flew up into the air. She dived to the side of the table and landed rolling on the floor. She popped up confidently just as if she’d meant to do that. His eyes got big. She was quicker and younger than he was. He’d have to come up with something. Something to distract her, put her off guard.
“I know everything about you, Sally.”
She stood waiting.
“You and I both know you’ll lose. You always do. Life hasn’t been very kind to you, has it?”
She couldn’t argue with that.
Don’t listen to him Sally. He’s just an old blow-hard.
He took a step closer, “Daddy’s not here to smack you around. I guess I’ll have to do it for him.”
The lasers crackled together again. He pushed hard and she fell to the floor. She found herself cowering. She could feel her father’s bloodshot eyes looking down at her. She couldn’t do anything. She was just a kid.
“Yes, I know you Sally. I know every thought before you think it. I know every move before you make it.”
She didn’t move from the floor. She was helpless. He knew he had her.
“It was your fault Sally. You don’t deserve to beat me.”
The little girl’s voice was loud in her head, “This isn’t about you anymore Sally. It’s about what he deserves, not you.”
Sally knew it was true. She was here to do what was right. This guy was a real asshole. He had nothing over her. Nothing.
Little Sally’s final words were strong and clear, “I don’t know about you, but I say you should kick his ass.”
Sally found something inside her that she didn’t know was there before. It was like a fire that ran up her spine, across her shoulders and down to her hands. It was a power that danced between her fingertips. It was telling her to fight.
She looked up into the man’s eyes. He swung the saber at her like a baseball bat. She raised hers quickly to block as she got to her feet. She was still looking into his eyes.
“So you think you know me, huh?”
She blasted the sword at him full force. Surprised, he stumbled. She swung again.
“You know every move I’m gonna make, huh?”
Now she had him. The fear in his eyes was obvious. Her sword swiped again. When the blades met, she kneed him in the crotch.
“AAHH!” he cried, doubled over.
“Well bright guy, did you see that coming?”
She plowed the same knee into his face while he was bent over.
“How about that? Did you see that?”
He fell over gasping in pain. She looked down at him holding his hands between his legs. She grinned. “You don’t know shit.”
Sally ran over and hugged Luke. She kissed him. They held each other tight.
“You are gonna be alright. You hear me?”
Tom ran in, “Goddamn! What the hell happened?”
Bobby was standing on top of his pile of books and bad guys. He climbed down and started to untie John and Cindy. The video camera was sitting on the bookshelf across from them. It was still recording.
ONE WEEK LATER
Sally was lying on her bed in a long white gown. Her hair was rolled up into buns on each side of her head. The door opened. It was a storm trooper. He hobbled in on his crutch and looked at Sally.
“I feel so stupid,” Luke said, taking off the white helmet.
“You’re a little short for a storm trooper, aren’t you?”
He just looked at her.
She waited for a moment and then, “Your line.”
Luke was embarrassed, “I’m Luke Skywalker. I’m here to rescue you.”
His enthusiasm left a lot to be desired.
“Alright,” Sally said, “Close enough.”
He got on the bed with her. They kissed. Their passion for each other was hindered only by the big cast on his leg. But they could work around that.
She stopped him, “Wait.”
He raised up and looked at her. She was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.
She said, “May the force be with you.”
And it was.
All night long.
EPILOGUE
Sally went into the bedroom to gather up some laundry. As she passed by, she noticed the little white Ping-Pong ball on the dresser. She immediately turned around, and went back to the kitchen. Opening the bottom drawer, she pulled out a hammer. Sally went back to the bedroom. She picked up the ball and stared at it closely in the palm of her hand. She set it back down and raised the hammer up above it. The muscles in her arm tensed. She thought about all those times she’d wanted to smash it into a million pieces.
She waited for it to talk to her, “Go ahead, say something.”
It just sat there. And then she realized something had changed. But it wasn’t the ball. It was her. The little sphere that sat before her was not bubbling with dark energy. It wasn’t taunting her with painful memories. Of course it wasn’t. It was just an old Ping-Pong ball. Little Sally Benton had come full circle. Her dark side was complete. She looked out the window at the warm sunshine. It was going to be a beautiful day. She walked out to the kitchen holding the ball in her hand and then, ever so gently, she dropped it into the trashcan.
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