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"We're going to get rid of it!" |
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"I don't know yet. Maybe I'll take it somewhere down on the beach and bury it in the sand." |
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Kristen straightened up. She was no longer amused with the situation. "I've never seen you like this." |
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"Trust me," Charlie pleaded. |
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"That's just exactly what I'm not going to do." She turned away from him, picked up the unpretentious jar and started for the kitchen. "I'll show you . . . " Her tirade gave way to a scream as the container slipped out of her hands and plummeted to the floor. It shattered as it hit, splintering in an explosion of flying glass. |
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Instantly, the room filled with a choking, noxious gas of fiery vapors burning their nostrils and eyes. Charlie reeled backward toward the balcony, gasping for breath, desperately seeking an escape from the foul air. He slumped to his knees, coughing, retching and feeling his lungs revolt against the onslaught. |
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Kristen was staggering toward him. She pitched forward, the weight of her body sagging against his. He grabbed her by the wrists and pulled her convulsing body out onto the coarse concrete floor of the tiny balcony. The |
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