Ben was tired, that was all. He needed to sleep it off, and not think about it. He was just experiencing a rare case, for him, of overactive imagination. Tomorrow he’d feel better.
Whether he understood it or not, it was a fact that all his wounds were completely healed a week later. Benjamin called his supervisor in Cape Cod to see if he could get his position back. The boss was surprised, to say the least, since he hadn’t expected a call for several months.
“I’m sorry buddy, but I’ve filled that position. I don’t have any room for you right now,” Ben was told. Though frustrated and down Ben decided not to sit this one out and look for a job in town, and he found one several days later at the local Supra-Mart, the town’s largest supermarket and retailer of most major goods (including clothes, electronics, and toys), as an overnight stocker. It wasn’t much to start but it would help pay the bills. He had a feeling he would need a more permanent place to stay.
Although she couldn’t foresee herself spending much longer there the Supra-mart was all she knew. At twenty-four this was, in short, her entire work experience. Amelia started there when she was seventeen, and had no aspirations for a higher level position. It wasn’t that she couldn’t do it, but inventory in the store’s backroom was her comfort zone. Shy by nature, Amelia Rivers had an innate distrust of most people. Hard lessons learned in childhood had taught her that humans inevitably disappoint. Yet it was this very distrust that allowed her to see the unique soul that was Benjamin Caldwell, and caused her to smile as he passed her in the backroom, even before they were formally introduced.
Up until this point her day had been uneventful, except for having to venture out onto the floor to ask some other associates for one of the handheld price scanners, so that she could continue to work on her on-hands, when one of the managers took possession of hers and failed to return it to Amelia. Working in the backroom allowed her ample time to be alone, and she avoided having to go out on the sales floor if at all possible. They were a 24-hour store so there were still stragglers coming in for late night munchies, and homeless people reeking of dirt and alcohol wandering the aisles.
In the back, on her own, allowed her time to think, which was usually okay. More often than not her thoughts went to her hobbies such as sewing and stitching, of which currently she was mainly working on skirts and corsets, and of course, reading. She was a voracious reader and couldn’t wait to get her hands on something new. Her interests varied from fantasy to quasi-romance. She couldn’t stand the overly mushy romance novels or the sexually explicit ones either.
Today, however, her thoughts went to the past. Something made her think of her parents. She didn’t think much of them, either in her daily thoughts, or of them as people in general. She talked to her sister Tracy, who she no longer lived with, earlier on the phone, as Amelia now lived with her boyfriend. Tracy was six years younger, and would always be her little sister. Amelia now thought of the times her parents would hit them; not the occasional spanking, but on a regular basis with drunk open hand slaps or closed fists; and all the times she stood in front of her little sister to protect her, taking the brunt of it. It wasn’t something they spoke of, and she didn’t see herself as heroic, but it made their bond all the stronger. The suffering they endured at the hands of her parents was one of the main reasons she never wanted to have children of her own. Pretty with naturally curly black hair that she often streaked with purple, pink, or magenta, and small breasts curving down to a shapely lower body accentuated with child-bearing hips, she had no shortage of men willing to bear her children, but no man- not even her current boyfriend, could convince her that was a path she was willing to take. And after a five year engagement she was starting to rethink marriage as well.
“Hey Amelia,” Marvin, one of the grocery side inventory associates said as he passed her. She wondered what he was doing over here by the backroom clothing racks, but didn’t think much of it. She smiled hesitantly, lowering her head. She had no issues with him. Marvin Meeks was a tall black fellow with a cheery disposition, but she suspected that the third time he “accidentally” found his way to this side of the store was somewhat intentional. Her boyfriend Dale, who worked there as well, as one of the overnight maintenance associates, was extremely jealous, and wouldn’t like it much if he thought someone was making advances at his girl. She didn’t put herself out there as if she was available, and as times passed his distrust of her concerned her more and more. Of course, he would always tell Amelia it wasn’t her that he didn’t trust, it was the guys. Amelia knew that was bull with a capital B. She re-focused herself on her work, attempting to block out the extraneous stuff clogging her brain. If the monotony of the work wasn’t enough to dull her mind, Amelia would eventually come to realize how unhappy she truly was.
His second day on the job wasn’t nearly as exciting
as Ben finding a reasonably priced apartment. It wasn’t deluxe accommodations, but he had his own fridge, living room, kitchen and bedroom, and that was all he needed. He was willing to move the next day, if the landlord was willing, and he was. Benjamin absentmindedly looked at the calendar and thought less than two weeks. Two weeks until what? Oh yeah, the full moon. Am I still on that? He shook his head. Well, I do feel remarkably well, and my wounds did heal incredibly fast. And I’m full of energy. But that could all be do to things starting to turn around for him. But the wounds were healed before the job and the apartment. And he was still not doing the job he truly loved. If he kept thinking like this he might actually have to get himself lost in a book. Now that was incredibly funny. He drove back to the Sedrick’s Bed and Breakfast early that morning after his shift for his final day there. He knew they were sentimental and they would probably miss him despite his hardly ever being there, but he couldn’t wait to tell them the news. It was slow progress, but it was something.
The Sedricks were in the kitchen watching the small tube TV as they ate breakfast. Pauline was shaking her head, “Oh, isn’t it just terrible?” Rudy’s eyes were glued to the screen, as was their daughter Bonnie. They heard Ben walk through the doorway.
“Ben,” Rudy said, “Have you seen this? This happened last night.”
“No,” Ben said, “I haven’t. I was at work. What is it?” He sat next to them. The big headline scrolling on the bottom of the screen was something about a massacre at Westchester Hills, what he understood to be the ritzy part of town. There were six injured, forty-two dead, and several missing persons, including the mayor. It all happened at a town hall meeting. The chief of police was talking about it now, telling reporters what he knew, which as a matter of course, led to several replies of “We’re still investigating.” This was bad.
Benjamin decided to tell them his news later that afternoon. It could wait until then. He understood the devastating effect this story had on a community, although he wasn’t as emotionally invested in this town. But it was a human horror no matter how you looked at it. After about twenty minutes he couldn’t take much more and went up to his room to sleep for a few hours.
One of the perks Amelia’s job afforded her was time to listen to music while she worked. Currently she was listening to The Foo Fighters on her Sony CD Walkman through ear buds. While management didn’t mind so long as she got her work done, she still got looks sometimes. She couldn’t wait to be able to get one of those new MP3 players they kept talking about on the news so she could hide it better. Her “fiancé” was downloading her tunes off the internet onto her computer, but she could only listen to those when she was home.
Ben walked by to pull some freight and nodded at her, introducing himself. She nearly dropped her Walkman.
“Sorry,” Ben said.
“No problem.”
“Hey, do you happen to know where they keep the electronics freight? I’m supposed to be stocking there tonight.”
“Yeah,” Amelia said, motioning over her shoulder, �
��Back there by the truck receiving doors.”
“Thanks.”
She nodded.
Nice girl, Ben thought. He had the feeling like he intimidated her somehow and felt bad about it. She seemed more intelligent but also more reticent than her fellow associates. The streak of purple in her hair suggested a sort of rebel or free spirit, but he would come to see that it was more an expression of her individuality- no more, no less. She worked a job, her job didn’t work her. It was a quiet defiance, but she needed to feel like a whole person, apart from her work. She didn’t want it to define her.
Amelia still wasn’t sure what to make of Ben. His size and stature were a bit daunting, but combined with his smile and his demeanor he came off more like a big old teddy bear. She didn’t know it consciously, but deep down she already suspected they would become good friends.
Benjamin was still learning the handheld scanner, but he’d figured out how to scan items to tell him the locations. Now he just had to guess where all the locations were. The best way to do that would be to walk the aisles before he started stocking them. He was grateful for the job, but apparently the on hand training at this place involved a twenty minute crash course, after which you were left to your own devices.
He turned around the corner into the stereo aisle and nearly bumped into Amelia, who was walking toward him.
“Oh, hi,” he said, startled.
“Sorry to bother you,” she said, “Management got a hold of my handheld again, and I need one to do my inventory. Are you going to be using yours for a while?”
“Using? That’s probably optimistic. Fumbling? Maybe.”
Amelia smiled.
“You know what,” Ben said, “Take it. I’ll learn where things are on my own. Once I’ve found everything I can by sight, I’ll come get it back from you to find the rest. By then I should know what the aisle and section numbers
mean.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes, take it.” He held it out, grimacing in pain.
“Quickly, before I change my mind.”
She giggled. “Okay, thanks.”
As she left he found himself thinking of his boys and how much he missed them. He would give them a call tomorrow once he’d moved his stuff into the new apartment.
Ben always tried to keep in contact with his kids as much as possible, but going through his ex-wife Carol could sometimes be difficult. It seemed like lately all she wanted to do was start an argument. His simple tired retort of “Hey, you wanted a divorce so we wouldn’t have to argue anymore,” didn’t appease her, and seemed only to anger her more, at which point he’d hang up and not talk to his kids at all. But he had to try. Maybe if he started by commenting on the new job and new apartment it would have a calming effect. He could only hope.
Saying goodbye to the Sedricks was more bittersweet than he had hoped. They really were nice people. Ben had feared creating new attachments here as he always planned to return to Cape Cod. But now he didn’t know anymore. He certainly wasn’t bashful, but he mostly kept to himself, used to spending many hours alone at sea. Sometimes he worked with a crew but they each had their own jobs to do, and he really wasn’t one for idle chit chat, especially when he was focused on the next big game. Fishing was still as much the sport to him now, as before it was his job.
Despite some sorrow at leaving The Hillside Bed and Breakfast he loved his new apartment, and was glad not to have to share his living space. Since the divorce he’d learned to love being on his own again. There was a certain pride he enjoyed in doing things on his own, without assistance.
Amelia, on the other hand, lived not just with her boyfriend, but also another male and a female. Her other two roommates were formerly a couple, but split up several months ago, and instead of going their separate ways space wise chose to stay in the same place to save on rent. It was merely Amelia’s sanity that was in danger of fraying with their constant bickering.
Tonight was such a night. Amelia locked her bedroom door, drowning out her roommates with her music playlist on the PC. Her boyfriend was headed off to work and it was her night off, so she hoped they’d be done arguing soon so she could start her new book, the second in the Harry Potter series. For now the Chili Peppers and Blink 182 would have to do. Though her 56k dial up modem was almost as frustrating as her arguing roomies- with its constant re-buffering and irritating breaks in the audio stream- that not even the jolly voice of the America Online guy could cheer her up with his “You’ve got mail!” pronouncement.
“Kill me now,” she said to herself.
Meanwhile at the Supra-mart her boyfriend Dane Short was giving Ben the evil eye, having witnessed their handheld scanner exchange the night before, while sweeping the floor with the dust mop. Ben had no idea who the kid with the lengthy ginger hair and goatee even was, and after Dane turned away he shrugged, quickly disregarding it.
Once he was able to talk to his kids Benjamin felt better, and while not entirely supportive of him, his ex-wife said, “Well, at least you’re doing something.” They both recognized that his fishing gig was much more lucrative, although she never could stand the fishy smell when he arrived home, making him shower right away with the most perfume laced abrasive soap and hair products she could find. But she knew it wasn’t his fault. Neither the loss of his job, nor the smells that came along with it.
His boys, now sixteen and seventeen didn’t need him or his smell anymore. They barely needed their mother, but it was still nice to know they were okay. Knowing that, he could relax and watch The King of Queens before he had to head off to work again. He’d get to unpacking boxes another day.
A week later, Amelia’s roommates were at it again- this time it ended with the shouting ex-boyfriend moving out. She liked them both and didn’t want to get stuck picking sides, so she was glad she might finally get some peace and quiet, until she walked in the next day to find her female roommate’s legs draped over Dane’s thighs as they sat on the sofa watching television.
Her withering look brought him chasing after her into the kitchen.
“What?” he said.
“Really?” Amelia answered. “What the hell was that?” She wasn’t the jealous type, but Dane and her roommate Kelly had never been that friendly.
“Nothing, we were just relaxing.”
“Relaxing? If I relaxed like that with a guy you would go through the roof.”
He had nothing to say to that.
“That’s what I thought,” Amelia said.
She didn’t speak to him the rest of the day and came into work crying. Ben saw her and immediately asked her what was wrong.
She told him. “He’s such a hypocrite. I wouldn’t even be mad if they were like that all the time, but I’m supposed to trust him when he puts zero trust in me?”
“Yeah,” Ben said, “I see what you mean. Usually the ones that accuse you of doing something constantly are guilty of it themselves. I hope that’s not what’s going on, but if it is I’m truly sorry kiddo.”
“Thanks Ben. I appreciate you listening. You’re a good guy.”
“Shucks, don’t let that get around okay?”
That induced a grin.
“Okay, well, get to work before we both start crying because we lost our jobs,” Ben said.
“’Kay,” Amelia said. “Thanks again.”
Ben tipped his head. “Not a problem.”
Dane was blessedly absent from work that night.
Five days from the full moon Benjamin Caldwell experienced what amounted to a surge in energy. He felt stronger, more alive, and more awake. Ben didn’t attribute this to anything other than things going well (he’d cleared out all the boxes and bought some new furniture for the apartment, and he was well liked by most of his associates at work). Along with this surge in energy came heightened senses, particularly smell. Everything seemed more vibrant, crisper, sha
rper.... He could feel the texture of the weave beneath his leather and vinyl armchair and the particles beneath the cardboard boxes, hear the buzz of an insect outside a closed window, taste every grain of sugar in his coffee, see every drop of condensation on a leaf from six feet away, and smell the earth the trees grew from without being near them. At first he didn’t know what to make of the sensory overload. It hadn’t made sense to him before because his perceptions had increased gradually, and he hadn’t really noticed until now. His energy level and his senses seemed particularly strong today.
Ben wasn’t much for exercise. He’d got most of his
exercise from working out of a boat or water vessel. But since the injury and the move he’d grown more sedentary, except for his job. Now he seemed to be filled with an excess of energy, and for the first time since his teens he put on a pair of sweatpants and went out for a run on his night off.
It was exhilarating. The thumping of his heart, the cool feel of the sweat on his brow and glistening on the hairs of his shirtless chest, the smells that wafted into his nostrils on the wind- dirt, grass, a backyard barbecue, chlorine from a swimming pool... his muscles stretching and tightening, curling and straightening. His run was intense, comparable to nothing he’d ever experienced before, except for sex. He needed to do this more often. As he followed a trail outside an apartment complex a stray cat crossed his path, halting long enough to hiss at him.
“Well, love you too,” Ben said, “Whatever happened to ‘meow’?” He hoped he didn’t run into a skunk.
“Howdy,” a man said jogging past him, headed the other way.
Ben gave him a cheerful hand-to-head salute. He ran for an hour until he felt spent, and then fell into bed on his back. Birds singing woke him at five a.m.
The Depths of the Hollow (Mercy Falls Mythos Book 2) Page 5