by Kunego, Chad
“Tai Chi?”
Blythe nodded as she took the sword off the wall again. Moving through a few graceful moves, she demonstrated some of the form he’d just performed.
“Yes, sometimes called Tai Chi Chuan. It’s a form of internal martial art that’s supposed to help develop internal power, or chi.”
Hanging the sword back up, she demonstrated a different form.
“This one’s called the simplified 24 form, what most people start out learning.”
Samuel watched as she slid from one posture to the next. He could sense the power of the movements as she worked her way through the form. As he got lost in watching her perform, he suddenly noticed an odd shimmering-effect starting to form around her. The intensity seemed centered around a spot just below her belly-button and slowly suffused outward, forming an almost shimmering field extending several inches from her body. Before he had a chance to make sense of what he was seeing, she finished the form and the shimmering affect contracted back to her abdominal area.
Reaching into the closet, she pulled out a hand towel and wiped her face, which Samuel noticed had started glistening with sweat.
“It doesn’t look like much, but it definitely gets your motor running while relaxing you at the same time. Kinda weird, actually.”
“It looks likes a pretty powerful form of self-defense, too.”
Samuel noticed Blythe’s face sag slightly.
“Yeah… I guess so. Not really why I started taking lessons though.”
“Oh… Then why’d you want to learn it?”
Blythe’s expression darkened before glimpses of sadness poked through.
“I had anger issues when I was younger. My parents thought Tai Chi would help calm me down, especially after…”
Samuel looked at her as she trailed off. After a moment, he cleared his throat.
“Blythe?”
She blinked before looking at him again. She had a slight edge in her voice as she handed him the blankets and sheets from the closet.
“I’m sorry, I’m kinda tired and I need to get up early for work tomorrow. If you need anything, just let me know. Goodnight…”
Before he had a chance to say anything else, she quickly turned around and walked into her bedroom, closing the door behind her.
Chapter 19
Samuel awoke with a start. It took him a few seconds to remember where he was. Sitting up on the couch, he glanced around for the source of the noise.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you. I was trying to be quiet while I got ready for work,” Blythe said, poking her head from the bathroom.
“No problem. From what I can tell, I appear to be a pretty light sleeper. What time is it, anyway?”
Samuel heard gargling from behind behind the door. After a few seconds, she replied.
“It’s a little after six in the morning. I have to be to work by seven unfortunately. If I didn’t need the money so badly, I would have called out today.”
“That’s fine. There’s some stuff I need to look into today anyway.”
“Really? You’re welcome to stay if you want. I only have to work ‘til one today. After that, I have classes but they don’t start until three. So if you’re interested, maybe we can get some lunch together?”
Samuel could hear the hopeful tone in her voice.
“Sure. But you might want to consider bringing something home from the store. From the amount of food I seem to be able to pack away, I might eat your next month’s rent if we eat out somewhere.”
Samuel could make out the sound of fabric sliding across skin as he heard her giggle. Looking over as she stepped out of the bathroom, he watched as she finished pulling a shirt over her head before tucking it into her jeans. She caught him looking at her and smiled.
“Yeah, about that. I’ve seen you eat. Where do you put it all, anyway? I’ve never seen anyone eat like you before. Hell, I’ve never even seen two people eat the amount of food you pack away. How you don’t rupture your stomach I’ll never know.”
“I’m not sure myself, actually. All I know is, since I’ve gotten out of the hospital, I’ve been constantly hungry. Even after I eat all that food and I know I can’t eat another bite, I’m still hungry. What’s odd though was I wasn’t that hungry after sparring yesterday.”
“Yeah, that is kinda odd. I know they say you should try to eat right after working out because your appetite is suppressed, so maybe that has something to do with it…?”
“Eh, maybe. Just one more mystery about me that I don’t have answers for. So where do you work today?”
“I’m waitressing down at a local coffee and bistro shop. I cover the breakfast and lunch crowds. The tips aren’t as good as they would be if I could work the dinner shift, but I have classes then. I’m hoping next semester I’ll be able to work the dinner shift and maybe get ahead a bit. Anyway, you said you had some stuff to do today?”
“Yeah, I was thinking about visiting a few different jewelry stores and see if they might have any ideas about where this thing could have come from,” he said, shaking his left arm in the air, ”or who might have the skill to make it.”
“Makes sense. Speaking of which, I’ll try and get ahold of John and Karen, see if they’ve found anything yet. It’s still really early right now. Since we were out pretty late last night with them, they probably went home instead of going back to their store. But you never know with those two. You’d think they were married the way they bicker sometimes, but at other times, they’re so different that it’s a wonder they can run a store together.”
Samuel watched as she went back into the bathroom to do her hair.
“Of the two, I’d bet that John would stay up half the night trying to research that thing of yours, but I doubt Karen did much more than a cursory glance before going to bed. She’s usually the first one to the shop in the morning while John has a tendency to keep the shop open late because he’s lost in something he’s researching.”
“Well, hopefully they’ll turned something up,” he said as he got up and moved toward the bathroom, “because this not remembering stuff is getting really old, really fast.”
He stopped at the door and waited for her to look up. She jumped slightly when she realized he was standing next to her.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“Nah, it’s okay. I just didn’t hear you sneak over here is all,” she said.
“Would it be okay if I got cleaned up?”
“Sure…”
Samuel caught her looking him over out of the corner of his eye.
“You know, you’re not that much different in build than my ex although you look a little beefier than he was. I still have some of his stuff that I haven’t chucked out that might fit you.”
She brushed against him as she squeezed out of the bathroom, heading toward her bedroom.
“There’s towels and washcloths on the shelf over the toilet, so feel free to hop in the shower whenever. Unfortunately I don’t have a spare toothbrush, but I’ll pick one up when I stop to get us food at the store.”
Samuel paused to look at himself in the mirror before pulling his shirt off over his head. As he was pulling off his socks, he heard a loud gasp behind him.
“Oh my God… I hate you so much right now.”
He turned around, trying to figure out what he’d done wrong.
“How the HELL do you eat like a horse and still keep a six, no, eight-pack like that? I eat one damn cupcake and it goes straight to my ass!”
Realizing she wasn’t really mad, he replied, “Well, in defense of the cupcake, it looks really good hanging out in your pants like that.”
He made it a point to stare at her ass for a few seconds before she got red and threw some clothes at him.
“That’s just wrong,” she said, fighting back a giggle.
He glanced back down at her butt again as he wiggled his eyebrows.
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure I like cupcakes…”
With
that, she started laughing. Samuel grinned at her before he closed the bathroom door.
“Will you be here by the time I get out?” he said through the door.
“Probably not. I’m going to leave a spare key on the counter for you so you can let yourself back in if you get back before I do.”
“Thanks. I really appreciate that. While we’re on the subject,” he said, poking his head out the door, “I have the address of a couple of the places I want to check out today. Do you have any idea where they might be?”
He reached down on the floor and pulled the notebook out of his pants pocket before holding it out the door, waving it at her. As she took the notebook, she turn away quickly and walked over to the couch. Looking behind him, he realized one of the mirrors over the sink was open, giving her a perfect view of his backside in the reflection. Closing the door quickly, he got ready to turn on the water.
“One of these places is only a couple blocks away. The rest of them are probably around twenty to thirty blocks away, but all in the same direction. I’ll write some directions next them so you can find them if you have time. I’ll leave it on the table for when you get out.”
“Thanks!” he said loud enough to be heard over the running water, “what time should I be back by?”
“Like I said, I get out at one, so I should be back by two at the latest. Anyway, I need to get going. Anything else I can get you before I leave?”
“Nope, thanks again so much, you’ve been great. Although…”
He paused for a second before poking his head back out.
“I don’t suppose you could bring back some cupcakes, could you?”
“You’re impossible!” she said as she threw a pillow at him as he ducked back into the bathroom.
Chuckling, he yelled through the door.
“See you later!”
“Later.”
He heard the door close as he stepped into the tub. From the sounds of it, today was going to be a busy day.
§§§§§§§§§§§§
Samuel looked at the clock as he came out of the bathroom. It was almost seven o’clock, so he still had at least an hour before any of the stores opened. He wanted to be back before Blythe got home, so with that in mind, he decided to hit one of the more distant stores first. He figured he’d be able to cover most of the distance before they opened, so he could at least be somewhat productive.
He realized that Blythe might have either overestimated how big her ex was, or had underestimated how big he was. The shirt was pretty tight, straining against his arms and shoulders. The waist on the jeans were a bit loose, but the thigh area was pretty tight as well. He hoped they would stretch out some as he wore them, or there was a chance he was going to bust a seam somewhere.
He looked over the list of jewelry stores. If he jogged, it’d probably only take a couple hours at most to reach the most distant one. He thought back to how easily he’d been able carry Hank while jogging and figured he’d be able to go faster since he wasn’t carrying anything. With that in mind, he drank his fill of water and headed out, grabbing the spare key on the way by. As he closed the door, he got a strong feeling of being watched. He glanced around trying to find the source of the feeling, but the only thing he noticed was someone heading down the staircase. It didn’t feel quite the same as the weird feeling he had the other day. That feeling had just seemed like something was there, while this sensation had almost felt menacing. He wasn’t sure what to make of it since it had already faded away. Shrugging, he scratched the back of his neck before pulling up his hood and headed down the stairs.
Reaching the street, he glanced around to get his bearings. The last thing he wanted to do was forget where the apartment was, especially since he already had memory problems. Just to be safe, he scribbled down the street address. Suddenly, the hairs on the back of his neck jumped to attention again, causing him to spin around. He noticed a guy turning the corner at the end of the street, just before the feeling faded again. He wasn’t sure, but it kinda looked like the guy he saw walking down the staircase a few minutes earlier. He thought about trying to catch up to the guy before dismissing it.
Guess I can get paranoid just like everyone else, apparently.
Shaking his head, he started off in the opposite direction.
§§§§§§§§§§§§
“Nope, sorry. Never seen anything like that before. I’d love to know who made it though, I’d hire ‘em on the spot, or attempt to buy up some of their inventory at the very least. If you’re ever interested in selling that piece, let me know. Based off the workmanship alone, I’d be willing to offer you something in the low to mid five figures. That of course would depend on what that thing is made out of… I don’t ever remember coming across anything like it in my fifteen years of running this place. Might be one of them new alloys I’m always hearing about.”
“Thanks for your time then,” he said as he headed for the door.
“No problem. The pleasure’s all mine. It’s not very often that I see something come through that door that impresses me, and let me tell you, that thing impresses me. I couldn’t even hope to come close to that level of workmanship. That’s not something you learn in a regular apprenticeship program or something, either. That’s a multi-generational, secrets handed down to a select few type of skill level. Anyway, you keep in touch. If you remember who made it for you, you let me know?”
“Sure,” he said as he walked out the door. As he put his hood up, he happened to glance back into the store. He noticed the owner was picking up the phone. When he realized he was being watched, the owner turned his back to the front door. Samuel stared at the back of the store owner’s head for a few more seconds.
That seemed kinda odd… More paranoia on my part? Now that I think about it, I wonder if the cops have put out a poster of me or something…
Shrugging his shoulders, he started heading back toward the apartment. He’d already hit two stores and left empty handed. He knew he didn’t really have time to stop at any more that were in the area, but if he started back now, he figured he’d get back early enough to hit the jewelry store right around the corner and still get back to the apartment before Blythe arrived. He wanted to get back early enough to wind down a bit and figure out his next plan of action before she got home. He hadn’t really learned anything new yet, but hopefully the next store might shine some light on where this thing on his arm came from.
As he walked, he started thinking about Blythe, trying to figure her out. She was a nice person, and he was definitely attracted to her. It almost felt like a static tingle whenever he was around her, but it didn’t feel right starting something with her when he didn’t know anything about himself. But then the question became, how long would he wait for his memory to return before he moved on with his life? He might never remember anything from his past.
As he contemplated the situation, he started to notice a weird feeling, almost like he was standing in front of a large fire. He glanced in the direction the sensation seemed to come from. At the same time, he felt the metal on the vambrace start to tingle. Without warning, he noticed a shimmering affect surrounding a couple walking down the street. As the tingling got stronger, he noticed their appearance starting to expand away from them, almost like an afterimage, revealing that the couple was dressed like the people from the library.
He quickly ducked into an alleyway and jogged a little way down before hiding behind a dumpster. He wasn’t sure why, but he knew they were extremely dangerous. As they passed the mouth of the alleyway, the woman glanced down it. Samuel could almost feel her gaze travel across the area. As her gaze washed over his hiding spot, he suddenly had another flash arc across his mind. It was another memory of the woman in black with red hair. He was fighting against her again. He could almost feel the impacts as she forced him backward against her onslaught. They were both fighting with the weird sword and shield that his vambrace turned into, but he couldn’t remember why they were fighting. As
she came in for a killing blow, his memory faded out again.
He sat there gasping as the vivid memory replayed through his mind again. Both times, the memory had been physically draining, nearly staggering him with it’s vividness. What concerned him was that the memories were about two separate fights he’d had against her.
Maybe she’s the reason I can’t remember anything. Maybe she finally beat me and left me for dead…
Samuel shook his head.
I can’t get lost analyzing a memory while those people are in the area. Both times I’ve seen them, I’ve gotten the impression they’re barely contained chaos. I need to get out of here first, then I can try to make sense of why I keep recalling memories of that woman trying to kill me.
Peeking back around the dumpster, he checked to make sure they weren’t still looking his way. Not seeing them, he took off at a quick pace in the opposite direction. At the opposite end of the alley, he quickly glanced both ways before taking off. All he knew was that he wanted to put some distance between him and them. As he found an easy jogging pace to keep, he had a sudden thought.
That shopkeeper was on the phone right after I left. I know I didn’t hear it ring, so he had to have been making a call. Then these people show up out of nowhere. What the hell is going on here? Are they the reason I lost my memories? Since they’re dressed like the woman from my dreams, are they trying to finish the job?
Chapter 20
“There’s nothing here.”
“There’s gotta be. This is where this whole mess started.”
Frank kicked an old wooden crate out of the way.
“We’ve been here for over an hour. From the looks of it, the CSI guys swept this place with a fine tooth comb, then went over it with a lint brush to make sure they didn’t miss anything.”
“I know, I know, but there’s gotta be something they missed, something they ignored because they weren’t looking for it,” she said as she stood up, glancing around the area. After a few seconds, she pulled out the folder of crime scene photos. Glancing around, she scrambled across the debris to a different different spot. Studying the images again, she slowly turned a full circle before stopping again.