When Alfred stopped screaming, Gary swiveled his head and looked for Penny. She was on her knees, staring at the spot where Alfred had last been visible, with her mouth open. The first feeling that came to him was relief that Penny was alive and apparently unhurt. And joy at how beautiful she looked. An ache in his heart replaced the pain in his stomach and showed how much he needed her.
Penny saw him at that moment and said, “Gary, are you hurt?” She stood up.
“I’m fine.” He winced as he said it. “Aside from my shoulder. I fell on it. And I think the bullet grazed my cheek.” He tried to lift his hand to touch his cheek, but was stopped by the tape that bound his arms together.
“You poor sweetheart. You’re bleeding.”
Penny hobbled toward him. He met her halfway. She had a dazed look in her eyes, but she inspected his shoulder and his cheek, being careful not to hurt him.
“There’s a scratch on your cheek, but it doesn’t look too bad.”
“I’m all right, honey. Really. What about you? Did Alfred hurt you?”
“My ears are ringing. He hit me but he didn’t hurt me. He never hurt me. He was going to kill you.” She repeated, “He was going to kill you,” as she turned Gary around and unwrapped the tape from his hands.
She fumbled a bit, and when Gary saw her hand he realized that it was swollen. It could have been much worse. He could have killed her.
“You’d better get some clothes on.”
She looked down at her body in disbelief, as if she had forgotten she was naked. She laughed, hysterically.
“Clothes? Who needs clothes? I want to see Alfred. I want to make sure…”
They walked to the edge of the cliff together. Gary held onto Penny, not convinced that she was completely rational. He didn’t want to lose her now that the danger from Alfred had passed. They looked straight down. Gary wasn’t usually afraid of heights, but his stomach felt very queasy.
They could see Alfred’s body lying on the rocks below. The inhuman positions of his head and limbs convinced them that he wouldn’t bother them anymore. Penny appeared to be fascinated by the sight of Alfred. Gary was afraid she would forget where she was. He was getting dizzy. He stepped back from the edge, pulling her with him. He put his arm around her and walked her to her clothes.
As Penny got dressed, she said, “Gary, I’m a bad person. You heard what I said. I’ve done terrible things. I don’t deserve you.” Tears were streaming down her cheeks.
He embraced her. “You risked your life to save mine. I will never forget that. I love you. That’s all that matters.”