Page 101 of Hunter's Hidden Camera
I look around for something I can use to smash against the handcuffs. But the basement is eerily empty, except for a few stray bottles of wine that seem to be randomly placed on the floor. It’s weird. Fragile bottles won’t help me with those handcuffs.
Damn it. I have to go back up the stairs to grab that big rock. I wasn’t thinking clearly during the commotion.
“Hold on, Oscar,” I say. “I’ll be right back. I’m gonna get you out of here.”
I let go of Oscar and zip up the stairs to retrieve the rock. Nikolai and his men haven’t made it back here yet. Thank God.
After grabbing the rock, I bound down the stairs. But when I reach the bottom, I stop dead in my tracks. Nash, knife in hand, is standing over Oscar, his face covered in shadows.
“No!” I yell.
Nash turns to me. “Hunter?!”
“Get away from him!” I demand.
Nash waves the knife at me. “Stand back, Hunter!”
I decide to take a chance. I throw the rock. It slams into Nash’s forehead so hard that he gets knocked to the ground, causing a booming thud. The knife flies out of his hand and bounces off the wall.
I pick up the rock again and slam it down repeatedly on the chain that holds the two parts of Oscar’s handcuffs together. I’ve got so much adrenaline pumping through me that I also feel super strong, and the chain splits open. Oscar is free.
I help Oscar to his feet. As his legs wake up, he starts moving on his own, until we’re both climbing up the stairs, him ahead of me.
Once out of the basement, we’re both running side by side across the backyard and now along the side of Nikolai’s house. As we move towards the front, I hear people inside, moving towards the back, to where the basement is. We’re going to make it.
When we’re at the front of the house, both of us are hit by the bright Christmas lights, which illuminate the night sky. We shield our eyes with our hands.
I hop off the front lawn, and I notice that Oscar is no longer next to me. I turn back to see that Oscar is behind me, standing by the nativity scene. He seems to be just staring at it.
I try to snap him out of it: “Oscar!”
Oscar turns to me. He coughs, and blood splashes out of his mouth. I look downward and see that there’s a huge stab wound in his stomach area.
“What the fuck?” I say. “Oscar, what happened?”
“He stabbed me,” Oscar says, matter-of-factly. “When you went back up the stairs, Nash came in and stabbed me.”
Oscar falls to his knees.
I run to him and hunch down. “No, no, no, no, no.”
I try to get Oscar back onto his feet, but he won’t budge. It’s like he’s rooted to the ground.
I’m shaking my head. I don’t know what to do.
Oscar holds his bloody hands up and places his palms over the sides of my face. “It’s okay, Hunter. You came to save me. That’s all that matters. You came to save me. ‘Cause we’re best friends, right? Right, Hunter? It’s good to have a best friend, huh?”
At this point, I’m crying uncontrollably. I nod.
“Can I tell you a secret?” Oscar asks.
I nod again. I can’t even manage to say anything, form any words. And physically, the lower half of my body feels paralyzed.
“Sometimes,” says Oscar, “sometimes I think about what it would be like if you and me were together. You know, as a couple. That’s stupid, huh? But sometimes I think it. ‘Cause wouldn’t it be great to be in a couple with your best friend? Like, I’m totally straight, and I don’t think about guys. But sometimes, sometimes I think aboutyoulike that. No homo though, but I do. It’s like, maybe I’m not heterosexual, I’m not homosexual, I’m not bisexual. I’m, like, I’m . . . Hunter-sexual. Is that a thing? ‘Cause if it’s a thing, maybe I’m that.”
Oscar laughs. He then falls onto his side, his head at the base of the plastic Mary statue holding the baby Jesus. The colorfullights flash against Oscar’s face. He looks like he’s glowing. He looks like he’s dying.
I think about all of the fairy tales I’ve ever heard in my life. I wonder if there’s such a thing as magic. Well, I’m about to find out.
