Blind Inheritance

He cried himself dry. He cried himself tired. It was twenty minutes before he got himself together. He thought again of the night he had with her. He was determined to have more of them. The color came back to his face.

Donna stayed with him. She was aware of how late it was getting, but it wasn t until he assured her he was going to be all right that Donna got ready to leave. "You give me all the strength I need, Donna" he explained.

Larry knew, once his mind was clear again, what he was going to do. And with that he held Donna once more before she left and said, "When you come across a time within the next few days where you think I m breaking up, or losing it, know this: I m hanging tough. And it s because of you!"

Larry searched the house after she left. He raided the pantry, stuffing food into a duffel bag. He went to the bathroom and butchered his hair. Then, he bleached it.

He scurried down to Donna s grandmother s basement. He found a bottle. The label on it read, "Hydrochloric acid---CONCENTRATED." Satisfied with this discovery, he ran back up into the kitchen.

Ready now, with newly-dyed blond hair, Larry double-checked his duffel bag. It was all there. The bandages, the hydrogen peroxide and enough bread and peanut butter to last a couple of days (if he was lucky enough to).

He iced his ankle around the tag that Gilmour put on him, until the whole area was numb. He closed his eyes, said a quick prayer, then poured the acid onto the tag. He grimaced in excruciating pain as he watched the tag melt, along with the skin of his ankle. He quickly rubbed the wound with more ice, then doused it with the hydrogen peroxide to prevent infection. The burning was so profound that it almost caused him to pass out. He kept his wits about him, however. Quickly, he bandaged his ankle. Knowing every second was precious, he tossed the anti-infectant back into the duffel bag, and left.

It was time for Larry Carlson to run!