The roar of the engine behind him grew closer and he spared a quick glance over his shoulder. The rusty old truck was gaining on him rapidly as Arsene brought the truck up to a reckless speed.
Ben came to the sick realization that he wasn’t going to be able to reach the main road before Arsene got to him. Close but not good enough. He hammered the pedals but it wouldn’t matter. He looked back again in desperation and saw the grin on the man’s face suddenly twenty feet away.
He stood as high as he could on the pedals thinking maybe he’d roll onto the hood and avoid going under the wheels. Then he spotted a branch overhanging the road from an old tree growing on the field side of the wall.
He reached out and grabbed it with both hands just before the truck slammed into the bike’s back wheel. Ben screamed as he felt his shoulders being pulled painfully. He swung up and over the sidewall and lost his grip on the branch. He was flung into the field just on the opposite side of the wall. Ben landed on his back with a thump and slid downhill through the dirt as the air was knocked from his lungs.
Arsene screamed in rage as his quarry escaped from the road. The large bicycle shot forward under the impact to fall on its side and went under the truck. There was a horrible screeching sound and the steering wheel jumped under Arsene’s grip and snapped his thumb back. He screamed in agony and fought the wheel. He slammed his foot on the brake but something was wrong. The pedal was spongy and he wasn’t slowing fast enough. He glanced forward and saw the intersection racing towards him. He engaged the parking brake and began to slow but it wasn’t enough.
The old land rover shot across the main road at fifty miles an hour to slam into the old stone wall a split second before a speeding delivery truck on the main road slammed into Arsene’s door, crushing him.
Ben lay in the dirt trying to get his breath back. He must have blacked out for a time. He heard screaming and the voices sounded familiar. He sat up and took inventory. His shoulders ached like crazy, but he was intact. Fingers and toes moved as expected. His back felt like it was on fire but he couldn’t see that so he tried to ignore it. He got himself to his feet and looked down the road. He was maybe thirty yards from the intersection and could see smoke and what looked like a traffic accident. Head spinning, he walked along the field side of the wall to see what happened. As he approached he could see Alexis’ van and she and Béatrice holding each other and crying as they stood across the road from the burning vehicles. The remains of the bicycle could still be seen under the burning truck. Arsene’s corpse was on fire.
Suddenly Alexis spotted Ben staring at her and screamed. He raised his hands and the two women came running.
“BEN! OH MY GOD! THANK GOD YOU’RE ALIVE!” Alexis screamed as she reached across the wall to grab at his arms.
Béatrice tried hugging him but Ben hissed when she touched his back. He turned around so they could see the damage and they screamed again. His torn t-shirt was covered in blood and dirt.
“OH MY GOD! You need medical attention!” Béatrice yelled. Ben saw a firetruck approach followed by an ambulance. Ben took off his helmet and handed it to the women. Béatrice saw the cameras were still recording and looked at Alexis excitedly. She shut them off and disconnected them from the helmet. The cameras went into her pocket.
They helped Ben over the wall and held his arms as the trio made their way closer to the road. The police arrived shortly after the firemen were dousing the blaze.
The driver of the delivery truck was badly injured and needed more immediate care so the paramedics saw to him first. One took a quick look at Ben’s back and said he’d be back to clean that up.
Ben recognized one of the policemen as he approached. Béatrice acted as his interpreter as he gave the man his statement. They were still talking when the ambulance packed up their patient and raced away. Alexis shouted after the vehicle but they had a critical patient to deal with.
Béatrice told the policeman something and the man nodded. Then she and Alexis turned Ben around and led him to their van. He went into the back and Alexis backed the vehicle all the way up the lane to Arsene’s driveway where she turned and drove forward the wrong way on the road back to her property. Béatrice was on her cell and told Ben that Henry and Richard were on their way.
They helped Ben into the chateau and led him into the living room calling out to Marie to quickly bring a clean sheet. Alexis threw the couch cushions onto the long coffee table and Marie arrived with the sheet and squeaked when she saw Ben’s back. Alexis took the sheet from her and sent her to get a basin of water, facecloths and towels. The woman scurried away. The sheet went over the couch cushions and they had Ben lie on his stomach over this. He sighed heavily as he finally relaxed his screaming muscles.
Béatrice rushed away and returned with scissors to cut the shirt off. Once the basin of water arrived with the towels the three women began carefully cleaning Ben’s back. The blood had dried and bonded the t-shirt fabric to his wounds so that needed to be softened with the water and peeled away. Béatrice snipped the loosened shirt away from his body until they could fully expose his back. They then cleaned him as best they could until they could see the damage done. The once smooth skin now had scratches and abrasions from his fall. Some looked quite deep.
Henry and Richard rushed into the building calling out and Alexis yelled for then to join them in the living room which they did quickly.
Henry immediately knelt down and examined Ben’s back as Richard gasped.
“What happened to Ben?” he asked.
Béatrice suddenly recalled the cameras in her pocket. She rushed away and returned with her tablet. She extracted the memory stick from the camera and inserted it into the tablet’s card reader. She found the file and started playing the movie. She scrolled ahead and saw Richard talking with Ben. She scrolled a little further forward and there was some jerky motion.
“Go back!” Richard barked.
Béatrice glared at the man who apologized, embarrassed by his excited outburst. She scrolled back and saw Ben stop at Arsene’s place then roll forward. The boom of the shotgun could be heard and Ben’s grunt. They froze the movie.
“He was shot!” Béatrice yelled.
Henry nodded. “Yes, there are several pellets under his skin. I have to remove them. Ben, I have no pain killers. Would you like some whisky?”
“No thanks Doc. I’m on the wagon,” Ben mumbled from his face down position.
“Removing the pellets will hurt. Are you sure?” Henry said.
“Do it,” Ben replied with a sigh.
Henry looked at Alexis with trepidation. She raised her eyebrows. The retired doctor took out his tools and selected a scalpel. He made a neat cut above the bump of one of the pellets and Ben hissed. Then he used tweezers to spread open the cut to get to the pellet. Ben growled deeply as the tool dug into him then the pellet was out and Ben sagged with relief, panting.
“Ben, there are four more and one is deep. Are you sure you don’t want something?” Henry asked.
“No. Just do it,” Ben growled.
Henry moved quickly and efficiently but the pain was still unbearable. Once he had the last one out, the deepest, Ben was unconscious.
“A small mercy,” Henry said after checking Ben’s pulse. He proceeded to clean and stitch the larger gashes on Ben’s back closed. None needed more than two.
“Keep playing the video,” Richard asked.
Béatrice nodded and they all watched Ben’s harrowing escape. She extracted the memory card and put in the one from the back facing camera. That view clearly showed Arsene’s face as he attempted to run down Ben with his truck.
“Please make copies of those movies and send them to the police,” Alexis asked her partner who nodded and left to go to their office.
Alexis looked at the sleeping man on her table and suddenly broke down in tears. He’d almost been killed! Twice!
“Alexis! Calm yourself, everything is good. Ben’s injuries are not serious. He will have a few more scars for his collection but nothing else is permanent,” Henry said.
“I insisted he go for that bicycle ride! It’s my fault!”
“Alexis…”
She looked down at Ben.
“Alexis please…”
She knelt down to see his eyes were open. Glassy with pain but open.
“You are not at fault… If he had come after me… when I was with the kids… this way… was safest for everyone.” Ben’s eyes closed and he was out.
Alexis was suddenly angry with Ben. She wanted to strike him for not thinking of his own safety.
Henry saw her face and pulled her to her feet and walked her out of the room as Richard and Marie followed with puzzled expressions. Once everyone was back in the kitchen Henry faced her.
“Why does he think he is not important? Why does he not see how much people love him? What is wrong with that man?” Alexis’ voice was rising with each question until Béatrice arrived and pulled her into a hug. Both women burst into tears and shook with reaction to the near tragedy. Marie watched with tears in her eyes and her hand on her mouth.