by Ava Louise
“May I think about it?” Maggie asked. She wasn’t used to jumping into decisions, unless you count contacting the Intergalactic Matchmaking Services, of course. That wasn’t thought out for long at all and look where that had landed her. “Could you give me at least forty-eight hours to think it over? It’s such a huge decision.” Right now she just wanted to be alone. It wasn’t her style to be rude, but some peace and quiet to think about everything she had learned was very appealing.
“Of course, Maggie. It is perfectly understandable. Do you promise not to discuss what you have learned with anyone?” asked the ambassador. “If you can promise us that, then I would be happy to give you the time you have asked for.”
“Who would I tell? Who would believe this?” she exclaimed in return. “They would have me locked into a mental ward.”
“Good point, I suppose. Thank you for your time, Ms. Cline. We look forward to hearing your decision in a couple of days. Please call Ms. O’Donnell as soon as you have made a decision.”
As her guests said their farewells and exited the apartment, Maggie’s mind was in a whirlwind of thoughts. Could she really go through with this? Could she find the companionship she desired among a different race of beings? She locked the apartment door and walked to the bedroom to let Mamzell out. The cat never liked being confined in a room. Then again, Maggie could sympathize with her cat right now; she felt confined to her apartment thanks to the Snake gang members camped out on the corner of her block. But aliens? And a space ship?
Maggie decided to spend the next hour or so before bedtime preparing her witch costume for school. Many of the teachers dressed up for Halloween; the young students found it entertaining and sometimes it helped them hold the attention of the students who were dreaming of bags of sweets to be gathered that evening.
CHAPTER 12
Thursday proved to be hectic at school. The students only wanted to talk about going out at night to Trick-or-Treat. Most teachers were happy to see the end of the day. Maggie looked forward to getting home and removing the green makeup and fake warts she had adorned her face with this morning. The kids at least thought her costume was a success. A couple of the charmers had called her Mrs. Witch all day.
Since her apartment was downtown and above a store, Maggie had asked the neighbors if they had kids come around on Halloween. They each told her no, since access was from a dark alley. Many of the store owners, however, stayed open a little later on Halloween for Downtown Trick-or-Treats, an annual event put on by the local businesses. Maggie couldn’t wait to see how Halloween differed this year from the previous freezing, and sometimes snowy, Halloween holidays in Minnesota. Dressing up in skimpy or thin costumes just didn’t seem worth it if the temperature was in the forties. She couldn’t recall any Hollywood witch wearing long johns!
Maggie didn’t see anyone loitering on the corner of her block or in the alleyway behind her apartment. Maybe the gang has given up their vigil, she thought. She was grateful for whatever reason they chose to not be there. Her focus was solely on getting inside and getting her Halloween makeup washed off; she could feel her face starting to itch. As she dashed up the stairs to the landing at the door, she sorted through the keys on her key ring for the right key to her apartment. Maggie yanked open the exterior door and stepped into the gloomy corridor leading to her home.
Suddenly Maggie felt strong hands grab her upper arms and pin them to her side. Her purse and messenger bag went flying across the floor as they were knocked out of her hands. The attacker that had her arms in his tight grip shoved her face-first into the wall just inside entryway door, knocking the breath out of her lungs. Thankfully she had turned her face aside to look over her shoulder, or her nose would have been broken, hitting the wall. As it was, she felt a wound open up on her forehead from the impact. Blood slowly trickled down into her left eye, obscuring her vision in that eye.
Maggie felt her assailant’s warm breath near her ear. “Listen up, bitch. Our boss said to tell you, if ya want to live, you’ll forget about fingerin’ him for that shootin’,” said the person holding her arms. The stench of his breath made Maggie gag.
Without thinking, acting purely on instinct, Maggie stomped down on the youth’s instep. She tried to elbow him in the ribs, but his grip on her upper arms was too tight. As he cursed her actions, he thrust her toward two other men. In the dim hallway light, Maggie could see they each wore a yellow bandana wrapped around their head. Hearing his companion cursing, and seeing Maggie come flying toward him, the second youth pulled back a fist and punched the left side of Maggie’s face as her flight took her closer to him. The third youth grabbed her left arm as her body turned from the punch. He pulled her arm behind her and twisted it up high enough she was bent forward at the waist. Finally able to draw breath, Maggie screamed as loud as she could.
One of the apartment doors opened. “Hey! What’s going on out here?” asked one of the tenants. Maggie thought it might be the older gentleman who lived in apartment two, Mr. Dean. “I’m calling the cops! Get out of here!” Maggie heard the apartment door slam behind the old man. As old as Mr. Dean was, she wasn’t surprised that he felt safer behind a locked door. She would give anything right then to be behind her own locked door.
As Maggie fell to the floor, one of the gang members stomped on her left arm; she felt the bone snap. She released another scream.
“Remember, bitch, you can always be left in the cemetery,” said one of the gang members.
The door to Mr. Dean’s apartment opened again. This time Maggie heard a shotgun being shucked. “I done called the cops. Y’all better get on outta here!” yelled Mr. Dean.
All three of the Snake members ran out the door, into the evening. She could only lie there on the floor and cry in pain and shock. She felt Mr. Dean lean over her. “Are you ok, Maggie? I called the police, they should be on their way. Ol’ Bessie and me will stay with you ‘til they get here.” She could hear the concern in his elderly voice. Maggie tried to calm herself and gather her thoughts. Whimpering from the pain, and holding her arm to her chest, Maggie inched her way to the wall and leaned into it as she sat up. Maggie figured she needed to add Ol’ Bessie to her Christmas card list, for surely the sound of the shotgun being shucked is what scared the horrible gang members away.
After a couple of minutes, they could both hear the sirens in the distance, getting closer as they entered the alley. Mr. Dean went to the exterior door, opened it and beckoned to the police officers.
“She was attacked by three hoodlums! I think she has a broken arm,” stated Mr. Dean to the officers as they came up the exterior stairs. One of the police officers used a radio clipped to his shoulder to call for an ambulance.
“Ma’am, can you tell me your name and what happened here?” asked the second officer.
“My name’s Maggie Cline. I just came home from school. Three members of the Snake gang were waiting for me when I came in from outside,” sobbed Maggie. She was trying to stay as calm as possible, knowing hysterics wouldn’t help the police catch the attackers, but the pain of her broken arm was almost overwhelming. Please don’t pass out, she prayed to herself. Even though she wasn’t in the habit of fainting, she could feel oblivion beckoning her.
“How do you know they’re members of that gang, ma’am?”
“I recognized the yellow scarves they wore on their heads. I witnessed a murder by their gang leader, Juan Santiago, just a few weeks ago. They’ve been watching my apartment since they discovered my name. Can you please contact Detectives Miles and Romano for me? They’ve been handling that case.”
“Yes, ma’am, we can do that. We’ll have them meet you at the hospital. I hear the ambulance pulling up now,” said the officer squatted in front of her.
Sure enough, a moment later the exterior door opened again, this time admitting two EMTs holding a gurney. They lowered themselves to her level and started evaluating her injuries. “Hi there. Can you tell us your name and what happened?” ask
ed the male EMT.
After relaying all the needed information, Maggie’s belongings were gathered up and she was loaded into the back of the ambulance and taken to the hospital located just a few blocks away. The emergency room personnel were quick and efficient, removing the irritating green makeup and fake warts as they checked her for injuries. They bustled her off for x-rays for her arm and her skull, saying something about checking for concussion. Maggie was developing a very large bump on the left side of her forehead.
“You poor thing! You’re going to be quite colorful come tomorrow,” said the radiology technician.
At the moment, Maggie couldn’t care less about bruises. Right now she only wanted to get the tests done and go home to her cat. Poor Mamzell was bound to have heard the noise in the hallway. After the x-rays, the doctor came in to let her know her forearm was definitely broken and she had a slight concussion. He wanted to keep her overnight for observations since she didn’t have anyone at home to keep an eye on her through the night. Great, another point to loneliness, thought Maggie sourly.
The nurses helped Maggie out of her Halloween costume and into a scratchy hospital gown. Right after that, someone came in with the cast-making supplies to put a cast on her left arm. After being taken to a room, she dug through her purse. She was getting worried about Mamzell, and knew she needed to call Shirley.
“Hello,” said Shirley’s voice on the other end of the call.
“Hi, Shirley. It’s Maggie.”
“Hey! You don’t sound so great. What’s wrong?” Maggie could hear the concern in her friend’s voice.
“There were three thugs waiting for me when I got home. I’m at the hospital with a broken arm and a mild concussion. I need a favor, if you don’t mind.”
“Of course, hon, whatever you need!” exclaimed Shirley.
“Could you please come to the hospital and get my key for the apartment, then go there and feed Mamzell for me? She will be waiting for fresh water and food. Also, I am going to need a change of clothing since I was wearing a witch’s costume today. And could you contact the principal and let him know I won’t be available to teach tomorrow?”
Shirley showed up in the doorway to her room less than thirty minutes later. Maggie was dozing when she heard a light tap on the door. “Knock, knock,” called Shirley as she pushed open the door.
“Hey there, come on in. I really appreciate you doing this for me.” Maggie handed over her apartment key.
“Not a problem, hon. Are you up to tellin’ me what happened?”
At that time, they heard another knock on the hospital room door. In stepped Detective Miles and Detective Romano. “Hello, Ms. Cline. I see you had a bit o’ trouble. The police officers said you think it was members of the Snake gang that attacked you,” asked Detective Miles, pulling a small notebook and pen from his inside coat pocket. Maggie was beginning to dislike this man. He sounded like he couldn’t care less about what happened.
Once again, Maggie told her story, grateful she caught Shirley at the same time for the tale. She was getting tired of saying the same thing over and over. The detectives promised to look into the attack, suggesting she lay low for a while and Shirley left to feed Mamzell and get clean clothes for Maggie. The medication for pain finally kicked in enough to allow Maggie to fall asleep. She never heard Shirley come back with the clothes, but she saw the clothes in a nearby chair when she woke for yet another round of vitals checks from the night nurse. Anyone needing a good night’s sleep will never get one in a hospital. Maggie was missing her cat, too. She hadn’t slept away from her for a couple of years and she could really use a little purring furball of comfort right then.
CHAPTER 13
The doctor authorized Maggie to leave the hospital the next morning. With instructions from the nurse to take it easy for a couple of weeks, Maggie decided to head home. She asked the taxi driver to wait until she waved him off from the door; first she wanted to make sure no one was lurking in the dim hallway. Ensuring the corridor to her apartment was safe, she waved to the taxi driver and hurried to her apartment door, letting herself inside quickly.
“I’m home, Mamzell.” She knew she was in for a yelling from the cat. Being left alone all night didn’t make either of them happy.
While the cat berated her for the perceived abandonment, Maggie wondered what to do now. How was she supposed to stay safe? She didn’t want to hole-up in her apartment and wait for the police to track down her attackers and Juan Santiago. That was no kind of life. As she got comfortable on her couch, her eyes noticed the bright pink flyer on the coffee table. Could she do that? Could she go to the alien space ship and hide out for a couple of weeks? Right now Maggie couldn’t think of another way to stay safe. What she knew for sure was that the gang members couldn’t touch her if she wasn’t in town, wasn’t even on the planet.
Decision made, Maggie called Claire.
“Hi, Claire, this is Maggie. If the offer is still open, I’ve decided to visit the aliens for a couple weeks.”
“Of course, Maggie, the offer still stands. Is something wrong? You sound odd,” said Claire. Believing honesty to be the best policy, Maggie explained about her attack.
“Since I need to lay low, I figured why not check out the situation with the Nordonians. Fate seems to have dealt an odd hand at the moment. There doesn’t seem to be a better time than now, since I can’t teach for a couple of weeks. But I’ll only go if I can take Mamzell; that hasn’t changed.”
“Okay, Maggie. Let me contact the ambassador and someone will pick you up. Do you need me to be there?”
“I’ll leave that up to you. I know it’s a long drive up here from Seattle.”
“Go ahead and pack a bag and gather whatever you need for your cat. We’ll go on the assumption that everything is okay to go. I’ll call you back in an hour or so after I hear from the Ambassador,” said Claire.
After hanging up the phone, Maggie started thinking about what to take on her “space trip.” What does one take to visit aliens? Deciding on her craft bag with the yarn was easy; she was bound to have some idle time. Then she gathered a few toys and treats for Mamzell, sticking them in the outside pockets of the black nylon kitty carrier. Maggie wondered how Mamzell was going to handle the trip to space. Does this mean Mamzell would be the first feline into outer space? Oh man, the pain meds must be making me loopy, thought Maggie.
An hour later Claire called and said someone would be picking her up in another hour. Since Maggie had met a couple of the Nordonians, Claire felt comfortable saying she would pass on this visit; it was a long drive from Seattle. Maggie continued to gather things to take with her. As she grabbed her blow dryer, she paused. Do they even have outlets for appliances? Only one way to find out. Maggie called the principal of her school and told him she was going out of town for a couple of weeks since she couldn’t teach. Then she called and left a message for the detectives, saying the same thing and leaving Claire’s phone number with them as an emergency contact number. Her final call was to Shirley; she didn’t want her to worry. She got lucky and was able to leave a voice message for her. Maggie wasn’t up to playing 20-questions with her at the moment.
With a small suitcase, her craft bag, and Mamzell’s carrier ready to go, all there was to do was wait for her escort. Right on time, the doorbell rang. Maggie rose from the sofa and walked to the door. Peering through the peephole, she saw the Ambassador and the Security Chief in the corridor.
“Hello, gentlemen,” said Maggie as she swung the door open. Now that they were here, she was getting nervous. “Please, come in.”
The two Nordonians walked inside, pushing their hoods back as they entered. She heard them gasp when they got a look at her under the entryway light.
“What happened, Ms. Cline?” exclaimed the Ambassador. The Security Chief was peering over his shoulder and had a fierce frown on his face as he looked her over. He sure was intimidating looking with that frown, she thought.
“I had t
hree gang members waiting for me when I arrived home yesterday. Luckily my neighbor brought his shotgun to the party or who knows how horrible I would look or if I would even be alive.”
“So this is why you called? You are seeking protection?” asked the Security Chief. She could hear how dubious he sounded about her decision.
“Well, I won’t lie and say it didn’t cross my mind, but at the same time it seems like the perfect time to see just how adventuresome I am, right? I can’t work for a couple of weeks, with this broken arm, not to mention a mild concussion, so I figured I may as well get to know you guys better while I recuperate. Is that a problem? If you don’t want me to come, then say so.” Maggie didn’t mean to sound so defensive, but the pain pills seemed to rob her of some of her usual “starch.”
“It is fine, Ms. Cline. Daxon is just doing his job, being suspicious of everyone,” said the ambassador as he frowned at Daxon. “Of course we want to have you visit with us. The circumstances may be less than wonderful, but the timing couldn’t be better.”
“Are you okay with this?” Maggie asked Daxon. She wasn’t sure why it mattered to her that he approved; it just did.
“It does not matter to me,” he said in his deep, slightly accented voice. Their speech pattern was so formal; she wondered who taught them English.
“Well, then I guess we can go if you gentlemen can help me with the bags. I just need to gather up Mamzell and place her in her carrier. I have her food and bowls in my suitcase.” Maggie went in search of the cat and found her on the bed. “Come on little lady, time to take a trip.”