My Soul For You

by Morgana Phoenix

  “Get to the hospital. Ashlee’s been hurt.”

  Katie bolted upright in her seat.

  Her fingers flew across the keys with the same fierce intensity as her heartbeat. “What?”

  Larson never answered back.

  It was sheer luck that the bus did a quick stop right in front of the hospital. Katie leapt off and tore into the building. She dialed Larson’s phone. No one answered.

  “Where are you?” she texted.

  Still nothing.

  Desperate, she crashed headlong into the receptionist desk. “Excuse me!”

  The woman looked up at Katie with bored, tired eyes. “Yes?”

  “My friend, I think she was brought in.”

  “For?”

  “I don’t know!” She slapped the counter with her palms in frustration. “Her name is Ashlee Lambert.”

  Unimpressed and annoyed, the nurse swiveled around in her chair and clicked on the computer. Katie was positive she was deliberately taking her time because it took her nearly five minutes to find Ashlee’s name.

  “She’s on the third floor. ICU. Follow the blue—”

  Katie didn’t wait. She spun on her heels and bolted towards the stairs. She slammed through the third floor door, nearly face planting. Catching herself, she pushed forward.

  “Larson!” she called, not caring who she was disturbing. “Where are you?”

  Larson came skidding around the corner at the far end of the hall. His face was as white as the walls surrounding them.

  “Katie!”

  She ran to him. “What happened? She grabbed his coat front. “Where’s Ashlee?”

  “I don’t know!” he growled. “They won’t tell me anything. I’m not family.”

  “What happened?” she said again, battling back tears and hysteria.

  “I don’t know!” He jerked away from her and slumped into the wall with his face mashed into his hands.

  It was only then she noticed all the blood. It was on his hands, on his clothes, staining his face in streaks. He was visibly shaking.

  Calming herself, Katie went to him. “What happened, Larson?”

  He raised his head and she was stunned by the tears in his eyes. “We were on our way to your place … Ashlee wanted to see you and…” He swiped the back of his fist over his mouth. “The SUV came out of nowhere. It jumped the fucking curb like … like it was trying to hit us. I wasn’t fast enough! I wasn’t … Jesus!” He slid to the ground.

  Woozy, Katie dropped down in front of him. She placed her hands on his knees but could find no words, not one to comfort her friend as he cried into his hands. The entire corridor had become a living heartbeat cracking between the walls of her skull. It was all she could concentrate on. Nothing else felt real.

  There was no telling how long they sat there. She was vaguely aware of Ashlee’s mom barreling into the ICU, hysterical and demanding answers, but neither Katie nor Larson were in any position to tell her anything. The doctors would tell them nothing. They didn’t seem to care that it was killing them not knowing.

  “Stable condition,” she heard the doctors telling Mrs. Lambert. “Head trauma.”

  The rest of the report was drowned out as the doctor and Mrs. Lambert walked away. Katie raised her head and met Larson’s gaze.

  “It wasn’t an accident,” Larson said. “That car knew exactly what it was doing.”

  Katie said nothing because she had already guessed that. The dots had taken no time at all to connect.

  His eyes, red rimmed, we're chips of hot embers against his fierce set if his face. “Who did this, Katie? Who would hurt her?”

  Katie shook her head, honestly having no idea how anyone could hurt Ashlee. “I don't know.”

  “Well, I'm going to find the son of a bitch and I'm going to make him wish he were dead.”

  He got to his feet. Katie took the hand he offered and let him tug her up to her feet. Mrs. Lambert returned then, face blotchy from crying.

  Katie hurried over to her. “How is she?”

  Wiping at her nose with a Kleenex, she replied, “Doctors say she'll be fine. Her leg’s broken and she hit her head pretty hard so they want to keep her a few days to make sure there's no swelling.” She broke off with a sob. “If they had been going just a little faster...”

  Beside Katie, Larson turned away to face the wall.

  “When can we see her,” Katie asked.

  Mrs. Lambert sniffles. “She's sleeping now. They're monitoring her. They told me to just ... wait. I don't ... I don't...”

  Katie put her arms around the woman and held her.

  She dragged Mrs. Lambert over to a chair and let her drop into it as Katie took the one next to her and together they waited for something to happen.

  It was unclear how much time passed but it must have been a while because Kaleb texted her, asking where she was.

  “Hospital.”

  No sooner had she sent it off when her phone sprung to life. She didn't check to see who it was.

  “Are you okay?” Kaleb asked the moment she picked up.

  “I’m fine,” she said, getting out of her seat and shuffling away from Larson and Mrs. Lambert. “Ashlee was hit by a car. Someone tried to kill her.”

  “What?”

  Katie took a deep breath. “They were on their way to the store. Larson said the SUV jumped the curb and came straight at them.” She moistened her lips. “It was deliberate. He did this. I know it was him.”

  She didn't have to explain who he was. Kaleb knew.

  “How's Ashlee?” he asked.

  “Stable,” Katie answered. “She broke her leg and hit her head pretty hard. They want to keep her under observation.”

  “I'm on my way,” He said. “I should be there in five.”

  Katie smiled tiredly. “You don't have to—“

  “I know, but I want to.”

  Relieved, Katie didn't argue but spent the next five minutes watching the hallway for signs of him. She was pacing when he stalked through the doors.

  “Kaleb!” She darted forward and threw her arms around him.

  He returned the embrace. His fingers closed in her hair as he gripped her to him. She felt his chest rise and fall against hers as he exhaled into her shoulder.

  “Okay?” He asked.

  Katie nodded. “Just waiting for the doctor.”

  He drew away but kept a protective arm around her middle. They walked back to where Larson and Mrs. Lambert were sitting. Kaleb and Larson exchanges brief nods before Kaleb took the seat next to Katie.

  “You don't have to wait,” Katie told him. “You should go home and shower or eat.”

  Kaleb shook his head. “I'm fine.”

  She didn't press him. Truth be told, she didn't want him to leave. Hospitals were never her favorite place.

  Most people claimed it was because hospitals smelled of dead things and despair. For Katie it was a reminder of her darker days, days when she lost everything. Including herself. She had been a prisoner in every way. Smiling faced doctors with cold hands and false cheer asking her again and again how she felt. It didn't matter though because even if she had given the right answer and they had believed her, she'd had nowhere to go. No one had wanted her. Family she had spent Christmas and birthdays with, people who should have cared about her had turned away and left her in that place with her demons. She was only better and stronger because of her aunt.

  “Mrs. Lambert?” The doctor was back. “You can visit your daughter, if you like. She's sleeping but I can give you a few minutes with her.”

  Larson was on his feet before Mrs. Lambert. Katie could tell it was taking all his strength not to bolt down the hall in the direction of Ashlee’s room. Instead, he waited as Mrs. Lambert hauled out of her seat and followed the doctor before hurriedly giving chase.

  Katie got to her own feet with Kaleb right next to her and hadn’t even taken a step when her phone chimed.

  She freed it from her pocket and read the screen
, out loud to Kaleb.

  “I warned you.” She looked at Kaleb. “He did this to Ashlee. He's the reason she almost died.”

  “Who?”

  Katie almost jumped out of her skin at the intruder’s voice.

  Larson watched her, hands balled at his sides.

  “Who did this to Ashlee?”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  “Larson—“

  He put up a hand to stop her. “Name, Katie. I want his name.”

  Desperate, Katie glanced at Kaleb. He was watching Larson with sympathy and frustration.

  “This is not someone you want to deal with, Larson. He's dangerous.”

  Larson laughed, short and harsh. “No, I'm dangerous. I want this guy's ass on a spike. Give me his name.”

  “We don't know his name,” Katie tried to explain.

  Larson's eyes narrowed into furious slits. “Are you protecting him?”

  “No!” Katie shook her head. “I swear. We don't know.”

  “Trust me,” Kaleb said quietly. “I want him just as badly as you do.”

  This seemed to calm Larson, but only slightly. “I want to know everything.”

  They didn't go in to see Ashlee. Larson took them to the cafeteria, claimed a seat towards the back and waited.

  Kaleb said nothing. He let Katie rehash the last two months. She was quick but that was only because she had never seen Larson so still, so calm. It was nerve wracking.

  When she finished, he said nothing. The silver skull on his middle finger glinted with every deliberate rap of his fingers against the tabletop. Then, after what felt like eons of deafening silence, he raised his head. Those piercing dark eyes pinned her.

  “Give me your phone.”

  Katie’s gaze snapped to Kaleb, eyes wide in confusion. But he only shrugged.

  “My phone?" Katie asked Larson.”

  “You said he texted you, right?” He didn't wait for a response. “Let me see your phone.”

  Still bemused, Katie dug into her pocket and tugged out the device. She passed it across the table.

  Larson took it and Katie watched him flip through her messages. He stopped on the unavailable name and number ones and studied them closely.

  “You didn't think to tell your friends someone was stalking you?” he said at last, raising his head.

  "He told me not to tell,” she tried to explain. “And I was trying to keep you guys out of it. I was trying to keep you safe.”

  Larson slid the phone back to her. “Yeah, I can see how well that worked out.”

  “Larson—“

  He shook his head. “You should have told me, Katie. I would have kept a better eye on Ashlee if I had known.”

  “I'm sorry—“

  Larson got to his feet. “Come on.”

  Katie rose. “Where are we going?”

  Larson was already walking away though.

  With a quick glance at Kaleb, Katie followed. Part of her had really thought he was headed back to Ashlee’s room. Instead they were standing in the parking lot.

  “Where are we going?” Katie asked again.

  “My place,” Larson said. “I need to grab a few things.”

  “Larson.” She grabbed his arm. “Wait—"

  “I'm going to find this guy,” He said hotly. “Are you with me or not?”

  “You need to stay out of this, Larson,” Kaleb said with an eerie calm.

  Fire seemed to leap to life behind Larson’s eyes. “No, I don’t. This asshole involved me the minute he set his sights on Ashlee. I’m going to find him.”

  Agitation twisted the muscle along Kaleb’s jaw, making it bunch rapidly. “You don’t know what you’re doing.” He exhaled and glanced at Katie before fixing Larson with solemn eyes. “You’re going to get killed.”

  “He can’t kill me!” Larson exclaimed. “I would love to see him try.”

  “Larson!” Katie hissed, shooting a frantic glance around the parking lot.

  “What?” he shouted. “He’s not man enough to come face me. He hides behind text messages and stupid notes. He’s a fucking coward and I’m not afraid of him.”

  “Well I am!” Katie snapped. “He already put one of my friends in the hospital—”

  Larson rounded on Kaleb. “He seems awfully interested in you. Why is that? What’s your deal? Who are you?”

  Kaleb’s expression never changed. “He doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”

  Larson narrowed his eyes. “You know, Katie might buy into that, but I’m not convinced. He’s going through a whole lot of trouble to get to you and because of you, everyone she knows is in danger. So either you tell me, or I’ll find out myself and if you’re a danger to Ashlee, or Katie, I will end you.”

  “There’s nothing to tell.”

  Katie stepped forward. “We’re on your side, Larson.”

  His eyes narrowed. “Then stop wasting my time.”

  “I have my car parked—“

  “No.” Larson cut Kaleb off by motioning for them to follow. “Nothing routine is safe. If he's watching us at home then it's safe to assume he's bugged our cars and I don’t want him to know we’re on to him.”

  They took the bus to Larson's house and waited in the foyer as he jogged up the stairs. He returned a moment later with a black backpack and a very determined expression.

  “Come on.”

  It was on Katie’s tongue to ask where they were going, but Larson seemed to have a plan and it was more than Katie'd had in weeks. So she said nothing as she followed the boys back in the bus, a cab, another bus, a train, and several blocks on foot that took them in a wide circle before taking a cab to the warehouse district.

  “Where are we?” Katie asked.

  “I have a friend here that can help.”

  His friend was a man in his late thirties with a face full of stubble and clothes that hadn't seen washing in weeks. He peered through a tiny crack in the metal door when Larson knocked and demanded a password.

  Larson groaned and rolled his eyes. “Harry Potter will never die.”

  He shook his head as though to say don't ask when Katie looked at him questioningly.

  Behind the door, bolts clicked, chains unraveled and clanged against metal. Something heavy, like an iron bar, scraped as it was dragged away. The hinges squealed like a bad omen and they stood facing a rail thin man with red, watery eyes.

  “Who are they?” He glared at Katie and Kaleb.

  “Friends.” Larson pushed his way past the man. “We need your computer.”

  The man, who Larson introduced only as Bill, looked about as pleased about the intrusion of his house as getting force fed a bowl of steamed cockroaches. He eyed Katie and Kaleb warily as they followed Larson deeper into the catacombs of make shift passages.

  It was clearly a warehouse broken into sections by metal sheeting to form narrow corridors and dull cubicles. Some led into empty compartments. Others opened into a jumbled mess of cables and computer monitors. The whole place reeked of rust, body odor, and fried wires.

  “Bill used to work for the government,” Larson explained as they followed him to the heart of the compound.

  It was much more spacious than the other rooms and the u-shaped console took up most of the space with its blinking lights and flashing screens. The three monitors mounted above the dials and knobs were set in a triangle formation and each one rolled with numbers and images that made no sense to Katie.

  “Doing what?” she wondered, carefully dodging a car battery that was hooked to an even bigger battery in the corner.

  “That’s none of your business!” Bill shrieked like Katie had just asked for a blood sample via beheading. “Who is she?” He whirled on Larson. “Why are they here?”

  “Calm down,” Larson said. “They’re friends. You can trust them.”

  Bill eyed Katie. “She asks too many questions.”

  Katie opened her mouth to point out she had only asked one, but Larson had dumped his backpack onto a battere
d, squeaky computer chair and was tearing open the zipper. From inside, he removed a bent hubcap, a twisted coat hanger, a box of Twinkies and a spool of copper wires. It was all junk, except Bill was gazing at the objects with a look of someone offered a giant bag of money.

  “Your payment,” Larson said, setting the spool down on the edge of the console with the rest of the stuff. “This is just half. If you help us find the guy, I’ll triple this.”

  Katie would have laughed because that sounded crazy. No sane person would do anything for a pile of crap. But Bill was about two seconds away from passing out, or coming in his pants.

  He scuffled an inch closer, reminding Katie of a pubescent boy about to get his first glimpse of a naked woman. He rubbed his hands together, flexed the fingers before reaching to touch the copper wire.

  “Who do I need to find?”

  Larson motioned for Katie to move closer. “The guy who’s been sending my friend these texts.”

  Katie removed the phone from her pocket and passed it to Larson, who scrolled to the messages. He showed the screen to Bill.

  Still eyeing the copper coil, Bill took the phone and moved to one of the consoles. Larson went with him, eyes on the screen.

  Katie shared a curious glance with Kaleb, who hadn’t moved from the doorway. He stood with his hands in his pocket and a very guarded expression on his face.

  Bill plugged her phone into his massive computer and splayed his long, dirty fingers across a row of keys with faded numbers. He squinted through his round glasses as numbers began to scroll across the monitor. He bunched his nose, pushed his glasses higher and rapped some more on the keyboard.

  “Untraceable,” he said at long last. “Whoever this person is, they’re careful. Careful not to get caught. They used a disposable and not just one.” He tapped a few more keys before speaking again. “Each message is sent from a different phone.”

  “Can’t you track who bought—”

  Bill shook his head, interrupting Larson’s question. “Anyone can buy a disposable. You don’t need an ID. No records. Completely anonymous.”

  Larson swore and hit the corner of the console with a fist. He raised his head and gazed at Katie as though it was somehow her fault her stalker was so smart.