by Logan Castle
She continued to lie there sobbing so I got to my feet as quickly as I could and rolled the IV stand with me as I approached her. I dropped to one knee, which was difficult as my hospital gown kept coming undone and the IV stand wasn’t making things any easier. But, regardless, I knew I needed to comfort her. To my mortification, as soon as I reached for her and touched her arm, she winced before she tried to scramble away like she was scared of me. I ignored her reaction and reached for her again, this time, enveloping her in my arms. I was relieved when she gave up her struggle, resting her head on my shoulder and allowing me to hold her close. “I’m sorry, Plum. I’m so sorry. I don’t know why I said those things. I didn’t mean any of it. This has been… this has just been really hard on me and I’m exhausted. I hope you understand?”
She looked up at me and nodded, her tears soaking her entire face.
“I just want to go home,” I continued. “Can you please just take me home?”
The door to the room suddenly opened and I saw from the corner of my eye that a nurse stood in the doorway. But I kept my eyes on Plum and didn’t take them off her. She was still shaking.
“What’s going on in here? Is everything okay?” the nurse inquired. Her voice was full of concern as her eyes settled on Plum and narrowed when she lifted them to mine. Seeing the way she was standing, completely alert, it appeared she was ready to act in the blink of an eye.
I still didn’t look up but answered quickly, “Everything is fine. We just want to go home.”
“You’ll be out of here shortly. Please keep your voices down. You aren’t the only patients on this floor.” She turned around and left the room, being sure to close the door loudly behind her.
I felt Plum’s head move as she looked up into my eyes. We held each other’s gaze for a few seconds longer. Tears began to sting my eyes as I brushed my lips against her forehead. She threw her arms around me and her body shook with the weight of her sobs. We just sat there and held each other, our bodies and tears becoming one.
*
After another hour, a different nurse returned. Plum and I were still huddled together on the floor. She’d fallen asleep as I caressed her hairline and I didn’t dare move or even breathe, lest I disturb her. The nurse didn’t say anything; she approached us quietly. Then, without a word, she began removing the IV from my arm as I held onto the one woman I loved more than myself even.
“You’ll be able to leave soon,” the nurse whispered with a smile before she shuffled out of the room.
I returned my attention to Plum and sighed as I thought about everything she’d been through. I could see the incredible toll my actions were taking on her. She was never a deep sleeper. Usually, the slightest noise would have woken her up. But now, she slept like the dead.
She was there for you. She was the only one who came to see you. It was true. Of all people, she had the most reasons to give up on me…after everything I’d done to her…
And yet the images from New Year’s persisted. They haunted me no matter how hard I tried to banish them from my head, or how many times I reminded myself that I delivered the first blow. They threatened to consume me at any moment and hurl me back into a fit of lunacy. I was holding off as best I could for Plum’s sake. She had endured plenty. We both had. There would be time later to filter and process everything that happened. That time was not now.
Watching her sleep was enough to keep me at peace. The sound of her breathing against me and observing her hand while she left it resting on my chest made me feel content in that moment. I couldn’t understand how I let a fit of anger overtake me earlier. It was so out of character. I’ve always been in such control over my emotions but somehow, in that moment, I lost it. It was more than just that though; something about those moments of being trapped by pure rage that scared me. The rage was so powerful and so hateful that I nearly reached over and squeezed the life out of her. That freaked the hell out of me. The damage my body and mind had endured over the last few days had certainly taken its pound of flesh.
“It’s time to go, you two,” the nurse said, reappearing suddenly in the doorway.
At the sound of her words, I felt Plum stirring and awakening. I stood up and helped her to her feet. She was a bit unsteady as she shook the cobwebs from her head. I could tell she was still tired.
“Are you okay, babe?” I asked her.
She took a second to steady herself and then nodded. She looked up at me and gave me a thin smile. “Yes. Let’s get out of here.” I grabbed her hand and clasped her fingers in mine. The nurse turned around and held the door open for us.
We stepped into a long hallway and I could barely contain the flood of relief that washed over me. The thought that I would be leaving this place, and everything that happened over the last two days, an all-encompassing blissful feeling. But it didn’t last long.
“Hey! Hey, you! Isaac!” a female voice shouted as soon as we took our first steps into the hallway.
I strained my head in the direction of the voice, which came from behind me. And that’s when I saw her. Sitting on a bench. Her hair was streaming all over her face and the outfit she was wearing was dirty and in disarray. Even underneath the mop of tangled brown hair, I recognized her instantly. Kelsey.
I could feel Plum’s suspicious eyes on me, burning a hole right through me. She could probably see all the way into my soul. In silent response, I gripped her arm tightly, trying to reassure her. The last thing I wanted her to do was jump to any conclusions. However, after more consideration, whatever conclusions she would currently jump to weren’t that far from the truth. Events had begun to play back in my head at the sight of the bartender who, only thirty-six hours ago, was serving me drinks and doing cocaine lines with me in the bathroom. Both of us, no doubt, were wondering what the other felt like naked. And on that subject, I could only wonder if we’d done anything more…
Kelsey got up and stumbled towards us, her eyes wild and crazed. “I’m not crazy! Tell them I’m not crazy!” she shrieked at me.
I stared blankly at her for a second, watching her stagger closer. She was clearly exhausted, her steps wavering, or maybe she was still drunk. It was hard to tell. She began to point in my direction as she got closer. “I saw them! I know I saw them!”
I realized I had to speak up. “You saw what?” I asked uncertainly. But I knew the answer even as I hoped against all odds that she wouldn’t utter the words.
“What the hell are you?!” Kelsey demanded as she reached out and grabbed my arm, threatening to throw me off balance.
“Let go of him! Who the hell are you?!” Plum shouted back, pushing Kelsey and trying to release her grasp on me. But Kelsey held her position by sinking her fingernails into my arm.
“I saw them move! I know you saw them too!” Kelsey insisted as she glared at me and completely ignored Plum. “I want to know what the hell is going on!” she howled into my face.
“Get away from him you crazy bitch!” Plum yelled at Kelsey before digging her own fingernails into Kelsey’s arm, and forcing her to release me. But Kelsey didn’t even spare her a sideways glance. Instead, her wild eyes stayed riveted on mine. This time, the nurse intervened by stepping between us and placing her hands on Kelsey’s shoulders.
“Young lady, you need to calm yourself down,” she said as Plum forced me forward. Looking back at us, the nurse addressed Plum and me sternly. “As for you two, you’ve been released by the doctor, so go!”
But Kelsey sidestepped the woman and threw herself directly into my path. Before I could react, she grabbed hold of my forearms again. I tried to push her away but Kelsey’s sharp fingernails clawed into me. She wouldn’t give up.
The nurse, apparently refused to bother with her any longer. “Security! Security!” she yelled.
Immediately and from out of nowhere, several large men wearing uniforms appeared. They approached Kelsey, each of them grabbing her arms. She fought them until they tackle
d her to the floor, holding her there as she clawed them to free herself, all the while staring at me. Glancing down at my forearms, I noticed that Kelsey had drawn blood. Finally, the security guards managed to yank her to her feet before they began carrying her down the hallway in the opposite direction. As she was pulled away, she shrieked loudly, making my blood curdle.
“I saw them! I saw his tattoos!! The clocks! They were moving!” she screamed. “I swear it! You have to listen to me! Something is wrong with him!”
The last thing I saw were her eyes, wildly shifting from my face to my forearms…and then she was gone, dragged away by the hospital security.
A cold dread descended on me as I remembered what I saw before losing consciousness. The clocks on my forearm. They had been moving. I remembered it as clearly as day now. It wasn’t a hallucination. My stomach dropped and I realized there was no possible way I could have imagined it. Kelsey saw it too, just as I did.
“Who the hell was that?” Plum asked, panting.
I pushed the maddening thoughts aside and glanced down into her frightened, wide, blue eyes. Knowing I wouldn’t win any awards, I decided to lie. I just didn’t have the strength left to explain who Kelsey really was. Especially not now. I promised myself that once we were both past this and had enough rest and gotten our lives somewhat back to normal, I would tell her the truth.
“I…I’m not sure.” I answered, feeling sick to my stomach that I wasn’t being honest.
“But,” Plum started as she shook her head, clearly doubting what I said. “She knew your name?”
I shrugged, swearing in my mind, since I hadn’t picked up on that. “Maybe she saw it on my chart on the door,” I answered, praying Plum would buy it.
“Babe, I want to go home. Let’s just go home,” she said, sighing and shaking her head, looking every bit as exhausted as I felt.
She didn’t need to tell me twice.
She was right. It was time to go home.
Chapter 5
The silence between us was uncomfortable, to say the least. We were both incorrigibly stubborn and neither one of us wanted to be the first to cave by breaking it. It was a true test of wills.
Glancing over at Plum, I could see her eyes locked in front of her – her hands clenched so tightly on the wheel that they were white around the knuckles. I just stared out the window and tried to focus on anything to distract me from the deafening silence. The only sound I could tolerate was the rubber tires on the asphalt. Every imperfection in the sprawling highway was emphasized by a rattling of coins that were heaped in a pile in the center console. That, and the creaking shock absorbers on Plum’s old Ford Escort combined to create a symphony of shitty car.
My mind was in overdrive. I was contemplating and trying to encapsulate all the events of the last day-and-a-half. Not an easy task since my thoughts, as consuming as they were, always returned to the very same place.
Kelsey’s eyes.
The mortified expression I saw in her eyes still captivated me. The panic and horror I glimpsed there would haunt me well past this day. She wasn’t at all what I remembered in the brief time we spent together in the bathroom stall. That cute, playful demeanor was gone, replaced with what looked like complete and utter madness. My body involuntarily shifted when Plum drove over a speed bump in the road and the worn out shocks once again whining over the deadly calm.
Enough!
I couldn’t take the silence a moment longer. I reached an unsteady hand towards the car radio and quickly turned it on. Plum had a deadpan stare that looked like she was about to object but instead, she stared right back at the road. I knew if it were up to her, we’d simply ride in complete silence until I finally broke it. The radio buzzed with static at first before it slowly came into tune. However, it wasn’t music that came through the speakers but a deep male voice.
“We have breaking news to report. There have been numerous reports of mass rioting and violence in the streets of Los Angeles. We’ve been getting phone calls all morning from motorists warning about the large contingent of people that are gathering in various areas. These people are joining together in order to witness the strange cloud formations that have captured the attention of everyone world-wide. The crowds have grown so quickly, they are presently well beyond the control of local law enforcement.
“Recently we received numerous phone calls from reliable sources identifying the intersection of Florence Avenue and Normandie Boulevard in South Central Los Angeles as the epicenter of all the violence. Coincidentally, this is where the infamous Los Angeles riots of 1992 began as well. There have been several unsubstantiated reports of cars being set on fire, store windows being smashed and even some incidents with pedestrians and law enforcement receiving injuries. The scene, by all indications, is getting uglier by the moment. The police force has been stretched thin across the state and cannot contain the continuing threat of violence. Subsequently, the Mayor’s office has contacted the Governor to request the help of the National Guard. No word on the status of that request. We are certain that it is very likely, owing to the sheer scope of this situation nationwide, that the National Guard is probably being requested in many other areas as well.
“Local media outlets are reporting the suggestion of a nationwide curfew but, at the moment, we have received no word as to whether that is a serious consideration or not. We will continue to update you as more information becomes available. Although no one condones violence of any kind, it is important to note that people are scared. The events of the day only remind us all that there is plenty of things around us we do not yet know or understand…and, unfortunately, people usually fear whatever they don’t understand.
“We suggest that you remain in your homes or, at the very least, steer clear of heavily populated areas for your own safety. No one knows just how long these riots may persist or what it all means but until order can be restored, we hope all of you will exercise good judgment and, most importantly, keep your loved ones and yourselves safe. We will be playing intermittent periods of commercial free music and promise to update you as new reports roll in. Stay safe out there, everybody.”
As soon as the announcement ended, Bob Segar’s ‘Old Time Rock and Roll’ started playing. But my mind was far from the music. I was still reeling over the news. I instantly remembered what I’d heard on the TV while lying in my hospital bed. Having been so lost in my own head and recounting the events of my life, anything else around me was ignored, relegated to no more than background music. From the latest news reports though, it certainly sounded like something serious was happening…but then again…
Goddamn news stations! They always make it sound so much worse than it actually is.
I am a skeptic by nature. So I was smart enough not to believe everything I heard or read when it came to stories from the media. Considering everything I’d been through, I really wanted to believe that all of this was just another classic example of over-dramatization by the press. The events that were being described sounded so unimaginable that it was hard not to believe I wasn’t listening to a movie preview for the next sci-fi summer blockbuster. Unfortunately, I knew better deep down. The TV broadcast, now replaying in my head, was convincing and, while riots in LA were nothing new, the radio announcement only reinforced the gravity of the situation. In light of the events of my own life during the past thirty-six hours, nothing seemed too far-fetched to believe now.
I felt like a rat in a maze, one so immense and ominous that I had no chance of ever finding the end. It was a terrible sensation and if allowed, it could easily have triggered a full-fledged panic attack. I cleared my throat, hitting the reset button inside of my own mind. There was so much going on in there that it felt like all the Advil in the world wouldn’t alleviate it. Plum’s car was small enough even without all the chaos inside my head, which only made the car feel even more confined. It was like the air was being sucked from both the car and my lungs at the same time. Hastily
, I reached for the button that lowered my window and pushed it. A cool breeze revived me so I closed my eyes and welcomed it. For a split second, or something that felt infinitely shorter than that, my mind was fully at peace.
When I opened my eyes again, I was looking out the window and into a blanketed white sky. Perhaps my own morbid curiosity made me shift my body forwards in the seat so I could scan the sky, I don’t know; but something definitely compelled me to do so. I needed to see them, these Skypunches as the news had called them. A sudden, burning desire was growing and taking control of me, pleading with me to personally look upon these supposed anomalies. I scanned the sky from left to right, but saw nothing; just a blanket of cotton white.
See? Nothing.
I shifted back into my seat and returned my eyes to the road in front of me. It was as I originally thought, nothing at all to be concerned about.
I squirmed. Something inside me wasn’t satisfied. I couldn’t put a finger on it, but I also couldn’t shake the urgent need that was prompting me to look back into the sky. Frustrated with the invisible force battling inside me, I scowled and leaned forward in my seat yet again. From the corner of my eye, I could see Plum’s eyebrows rising but my mind was of a singular purpose at that moment. I scooted forward as far as I could possibly go until I was barely even on the seat anymore. Then I angled my head to look up into the sky directly above the car.
“Stop the car!” I said with a sudden forcefulness that surprised even me.
Plum glanced over, puzzled and a bit surprised at my tone. “What? Why?”
“Stop the car, Plum,” I insisted.
“Isaac…” Plum began to protest.
“For fuck’s sake, stop the car!” I nearly yelled. Or maybe I did yell. I couldn’t be sure.
She huffed out something unintelligible but dutifully maneuvered the wheel to the right and began to slow the car down onto the shoulder of the road, despite the brakes shrieking. I barely waited for the car to come to a full stop before I opened the door and jumped out, my head and eyes still looking ever upwards. As I stared at the sky, what I saw filled me with both fear and wonder. It was paralyzing and at the same time, awe-inspiring.