by Andrew Yake
“Sorry? Hey what are you doing here?” He seemed surprised to see a nurse and patient in the service elevator. Allison looked at the man’s nametag and addressed him. “Matt, my nurse is accompanying me to be discharged. The other elevator is out of order. Would you take a different elevator please?”
Matt looked them both over and smiled for a moment. “Don’t I know you?” He looked at Jane. “I could swear that we spent time together before, or maybe…” Matt looked up toward the ceiling as if lost in thought. “Maybe it was later and not before or perhaps you found me finding you?” Matt looked contemplative for a moment and then reconsidered. “Maybe…” He laughed at himself. His laugh was slightly off and stopped abruptly. “So, where are we sneaking off too? Hum? Are we going on some top-secret mission to save the world or are we dooming it to ultimate destruction? I could always go for a slice of New York pizza first. How about you?” His words rang out in almost a sing-song way. He smiled again. This time he focused his gaze on Allison. “He is looking, searching, finding, and soon he will come to you. Are you ready?”
This seemed to frighten Allison because of the context of her last conversation. However, it only served to annoy Jane. Jane was starting to believe more and more that Matt was simply an escaped crazy person. Jane struck out and hit Matt in the neck just below the jaw line right at the perfect spot to cause Matt to crumple to the ground. That shocked both Jane and Allison.
“How… Why?” Allison started to sputter.
“Don’t know. Don’t care.” The elevator stopped on sub-level 1. Jane attempted to hide her own shock with her short answer. Allison studied her. “We have to move. Where do you need to go to?”
“First locker room on the right.” Allison pointed down the hall to the left. She doesn’t know either. Memory loss of some kind perhaps? They started walking in that direction. The pain was becoming worse, but Jane pushed through it. She opened the door to the locker room and looked in.
“It looks clear.” Jane spoke in a low tone.
Allison pushed past her and went to her locker and quickly changed into some other clothing. She grabbed a coat and shoes out of her locker and then reached behind a few items on the top part of her locker and quickly put the pill bottle into her coat pocket. “Alright, one more stop.” Jane eyed her and shrugged. As they left the locker room Allison popped a pill from the pill bottle into her mouth and swallowed and then placed the bottle back into her jacket. They continued down the hall and made it to the room that she had been in for class a few short hours earlier.
“What the hell are we doing here?” Jane spoke softly. It was not lost on her that they could easily be discovered here. She looked up and saw cameras in the corners of the room. “Damn it! We have to go now.” Allison retrieved her book bag and hurried to the door. As they started walking toward the exit Allison pulled out her phone to text her father. Jane saw the phone and immediately grabbed it out of Allison’s hand. “Are you out of your mind?!” She dismantled the smart phone as if it had been something she had trained to do for years. “This is traceable.” Jane thought about this for a moment before discarding the, now in pieces, phone into a trash can. Why would I know this and why would it be so important to me?
Allison seemed to pick up on Jane’s momentary pause. “You lost your memory.” It seemed like it should be a question, but Allison was used to diagnosing things very quickly. “You won’t make it very far without someone to help you.”
“I made it this far, didn’t I?” Jane looked down the hall behind them and kept moving. Her leg was bothering her worse now.
“I can help you.” Allison caught up to Jane quickly. “Besides, you are going to need me to take a look at that. I think you pulled a stich or two.” Allison motioned toward Jane’s leg and then reached into her coat pocket and procured a white pill from the bottle. “Here.” She handed Jane the pill, “it must be killing you.”
Jane took the pill and kept it in her hand. “The pain is not fun, but I need to be alert right now.”
“Fine, let’s get to a place where you don’t have to be at… well… DEFCON 20 or whatever.”
“What did you have in mind?” Jane pushed the door open and felt the cold blast of outside air. They were only in the parking garage and the cold was extreme for what she was wearing. She shivered. Jane made a beeline for the first older looking car that she could find. She came up to a 1986 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme. She checked the passenger side door. It was unlocked. She slid into the car and scooted to the driver side and pulled the panel from under the steering column.
“Wow, where did you learn that?!” Allison looked around nervously and then got into the car. Maybe I should rethink this. Allison thought to herself and then shut the door. It does fit in with what I was planning anyway, just a bit differently than I had expected. She watched as Jane hotwired the car.
The car roared to life and the radio started playing some country music song. Jane shut it off, buckled her seatbelt, put the car in reverse and pulled out of the parking space. Then she put the car in drive and started heading out of the parking lot. The gate to exit the garage seemed to register something from the car and Allison heard a click from a device stuck to the upper left side of the windshield. The gate raised and they were able to exit. Jane looked both ways and then pulled out taking a right onto the street. “Where is the nearest surplus store?”
“What is a surplus store?”
“You know where they sell old army clothes and stuff like that.”
“Um… I have no idea.” Allison shrugs. “But I am sure if you drive around for a bit you can find whatever your heart desires. New York sells everything.” Allison smiles as she spoke to Jane and noticed that Jane seemed to mouth the words New York. Then Jane turned her head toward Allison and returned her smile. Allison looked forward again, her eyes going wide, and yelled, “LOOK OUT!”
Jane slammed on the brakes, nearly hitting a young man. The young man looked annoyed at first and then he saw Allison and almost seemed to sniff the air momentarily. Allison returned the look of curiosity. “I think I know…” Jane blared the horn and the man moved from the car’s path. Jane pressed the accelerator and the car took off again.
At the first stop light that Jane came to she took a right. Then she took the first side street that she could find. It so happened that the side street was on the left. “We have to ditch this car soon.” It is not out of urgency or panic that she made this declaration, but rather one of precision. Jane and Allison traveled in silence for a time.
Jane pulled into an alley and parked the car next to a pile of trash. Allison took note that it seemed that her new companion was scanning the buildings to look for security cameras. She was not surprised that they had pulled into a side street and alley that have no cameras. She also realized this may end up working to her advantage and said nothing about the display of paranoia.
They got out of the car and started walking. The cold air was biting now that the sun was going down. Jane seemed to only allow herself to shiver once before steeling herself against the cold. Her tall thin body seemed to absorb strength from adversity and they continued walking. They made it to the cross street and there were a few shops. There was a shop on the corner that had a manikin wearing old fatigues. Jane smiled and crossed the street to the Army surplus store. Allison followed and also looked-for cameras as they went.
******
I continue to watch for cameras as I follow my strange companion. She is hyper vigilant and that could be a problem latter on if she continues to be jumpy. Who knows what will happen if I start digging into the supernatural realm with her around. Then again, this could be helpful if I tap into something that I am not ready for.
I muse on these things as we enter the Army store. I have to admit, these things look kind of interesting and fun, but this is far from the type of clothes that I would choose to wear. I would not say that I am completely spoiled, but I also would say that I prefer to keep some amount of f
emininity in my clothing choices. Apparently, my companion does not hold the same opinion.
“Here put these on.” Jane tosses some black cargo style pants my direction. “What size shoes do you wear?” I start to open my mouth to speak, but she cuts me off. “Never mind. Over there.” She points toward an area with military style boots and I walk over and start looking for boots in my size. Jane, it appears, has disappeared into a fitting room with an armful of clothes. I wonder how she plans on paying for it. The realization comes to me that she is probably intending on me paying for it or for us ripping the store off. Either way I am less than pleased with the prospect. My dad would kill me if I got caught shop lifting.
Jane emerges moments later in black pants, black boots and an olive-green jacket that looks thick, but comfortable. The clothing that she has chosen seems to be for warmth and maneuverability, but I have to admit she looks good in this military sheik.
“You look good.” I say to Jane. She simply looks at me and then motions for me to get changed and turns her attention to my book bag.
“Hell-to-the-NO!” I over enunciate each word as I see her about to go for my bag.
“You have to change it. Someone could recognize it. You said yourself that your dad is an important person. Right?” Jane puts her hands on her hips and then immediately winces from the placement of her left hand on her hip and changes her hand placement so that her arm is resting at her side instead.
“I will look for a different bag.” I take my bag and retreat from the changing room and find a rack that is labeled “Ruck sacks”. There are different sizes and colors. I choose a pack that is close to the same size as my back pack and then return to my pile of clothing and take all of the items into the changing room with me. I move the contents of my back pack into the new bag.
I get changed quickly. I wonder what my companion is doing, but I am more concerned with making sure that my special book stays hidden. I wrap the leather bound weathered looking book with the upside down cross in my old clothes. I then place these items into my new pack. I slide my feet into the boots and put on my black pants and dark green tee-shirt and then head out of the changing room. I scan the area and see that Jane is speaking with a man at the front of the store, he is stocky.
He has his back to me and he has one arm. He looks like he is built like a tank and from what I can tell from this angle he is probably of Pilipino decent. He has longer jet-black straight hair and a bandana keeping the majority of his hair out of his face. His left arm is almost as thick as a tree trunk and ripples with muscular definition. His right arm is a metal prosthetic arm. It looks like something out of a Terminator movie.
I start to move as quietly as possible toward the man while his back is turned. I pass the rack of thick brown leather bomber jackets and I make a mental note to take one before we leave. My plan is simple. I will hit the vagus nerve the same way that I saw Jane hit it with the guy from the elevator and then we can leave. Jane’s eyes lock with my eyes as I continue my silent approach.
9
Running
I think over the day’s events as I sit anxiously waiting for some notice from the hospital staff about my friend. I stand to stretch my legs and walk to the nurse’s station. “Excuse me?” I speak to no one in particular. There are several nurses milling about handling different documents, clipboards, and typing at the computer while on the phone. I am able to get the attention of one of the nurses.
“How may I help you sir?” She says it kindly, but I can tell that she is annoyed that I have pulled her away from whatever she else she would rather be doing.
“Is there any word on my friend? Her name is Hailey.” I shift slightly in place.
“I am sorry sir, but I don’t have that information.” She says it in such a matter-of-fact tone and without even looking down that I know she is lying and simply refusing to tell me anything. I sigh and move away from the desk back to my chair. I grab a random magazine and start thumbing through it. There are many people in the waiting room. Hospital staff randomly come out and take a person back with them and then more come into the room from the hospital entrance that I had arrived through.
Soon enough I hear a pleasant voice. I look up to see a nurse garbed in pink scrubs standing next to a plain clothes female police officer. “This is the man that brought in the young lady.” She motions toward me and the officer takes a step toward me.
“Hello. My name is Detective Fay Barr. I would like to ask you a few questions.” Her badge is clearly visible on her belt. Her gun is too. Detective Barr is of average height and build for a woman and I notice that, while she appears to be dressed in business attire, she is wearing shoes with no heals that she could probably run in. She looks very physically athletic from what I can tell. Her hair is pulled tightly back and her face gives nothing away as far as emotions. She smells pleasant, but is not wearing any perfume. Her brown leather coat is form fitting and suits her brown eyes perfectly.
“Um… Hello” I manage to say. I am about to stand when she sits down next to me and pulls out a small pad of paper and a pen. She is poised to write and starts asking me questions.
“Approximately what time did you find the victim.”
“Hailey.” I say to her without giving any pause.
“Excuse me?” Detective Barr studies my face.
“Her name. You said victim. Her name is Hailey and I found her…” I take a moment to think back. “…around seven or a quarter after seven this morning.” I clear my throat.
Fay jots down some notes and looks back up at me. “You know her I take it.”
“You could say that.”
“I did say that. What would you say?” Her tone is becoming more pointed. She is clearly annoyed, but I cannot place why she has had this turn of emotion. “What is the nature of your relationship with the vi…” She stops herself as she sees me involuntarily tense as my friend is about to be called a victim once again. “…Hailey?”
“She and I have been friends for a few years now.”
“Friends?” She speaks to me as if she does not believe that our relationship is not a ‘working’ relationship.
“Yes, we are best friends.” I say with annoyance.
“Maybe you wanted more from her and didn’t feel like paying for it.” She says it in such a nonchalant way that I feel my blood start to boil. I cannot help thinking back again about my relationship with Hailey. I see us six months ago in my mind.
“Nice to see you here again, Zack.”
I smile when I see Hailey. She is dressed in sweats and a tee-shirt. It must be laundry day for both of us. “So...” I start, “washing your work clothes?” I motion to the laundry basket next to her.
“And I see that you are washing your hooker apparel.” She points at the assortment of jeans, tee-shirts, boxers, socks, and few dress shirts in my basket.
“Occupational hazard.” I say to her as I feel warmth of her teasing me. “These old things never stay clean after a long day.” I twirl a pair of boxer briefs in the air momentarily and then notice several other laundromat patrons staring at me and suddenly feel self-conscious.
Hailey laughs. It is sweet and warm to my ears. I have grown to look forward to every moment that I can spend with her. I know that I am in love. She is genuine and seems to truly care for me. I enjoy whiling away the time doing laundry with her. I neglect to tell her that I have memorized her laundry schedule so that I am always doing my laundry at the same time as her, nor do I let onto the fact that I have sometimes brought in clean clothes to wash again just to have an excuse to be with her.
“I was thinking.” She says softly as if she is about to tell me a secret. “I am going to apply like you suggested.” She folds a lacy pink thong and matching bra and places it in her empty basket before reaching into her pile of clean laundry again.
“That’s great. What changed your mind?” I am excited for her. I have always believed that she owed it to herself to be happy. She had never see
med truly happy working the streets. I did not care that she continued to do so. It did not change my opinion or feelings for her in the least.
“Well, actually, you did.” She smiles at me again and I feel my heart leap in my chest.
I sit in stunned silence for a moment and study her as if to burn her image into my mind. The ratty old sweatpants and tee-shirt with a coffee stain and small hole on the left shoulder where the seams meet. I see her flawless skin and the rough outline of her perfect breasts against the shirt. I see her see me, with what I am sure is an idiotic look on my face, as I continue to stare. I finally stop and speak before the courage I have gathered fails me yet once again.
“Will you go out with me for coffee or something?” I stumble over my words. My speech is slightly pressured. My palms are sweating.
“We do that almost every day.” She says to me and continues to fold her laundry, but I know that she is not naïve. She knows what I am asking. In all the time that we have spent together we have never pushed the subject of going further than friendship. She seems to enjoy flirting with me, but I can see that she also sees me as somehow purer than herself and it is like she does not wish to bring me down.
“I… I don’t care if it’s… um… coffee or something else.” I stammer. Then I find my words as I come over to take her hand. “I just want to be with you.”
“You know what I do.” Her voice now serious. A tear starts to form in her eyes. She blinks to try to make it go away, but instead a drop rolls down her cheek. “I cannot do that and be with you. It wouldn’t be fair to you.”
I feel pain rising in my chest and use my resolve to steady myself. “I don’t care and I don’t want it to be the reason you aren’t with me.” I try to catch her gaze with my own. “And if it is that big of a deal we can find a way for you to change… careers.” I choose my words carefully. “But please know that I want to give us a try and that I am not asking you to change in any way.” I am almost pleading with her at this point. I feel a tear coming to my own eyes as I am finally professing the feelings that I have had building in me for what feels like an eternity.