SIMS

by F. Paul Wilson

THREE: Meerm Chapter 20

  NEWARK, NJ

  Meerm lonely. Not hungry. Nibble food save from last night. Watch out window. See peoples walk sidewalk. Not far down. One floor. Meerm listen. Sometime hear what passing peoples say. Sometime happy. Sometime mad. Meerm like happy better.

  Meerm watch street. Many car but no sim bus. Wait sim bus. Hope come soon. Then friend Beece come. Belly pain hurt less when Beece near. Beece talk Meerm, help Meerm.

  Meerm see car come fast. Stop outside. Four sunglass mans come. Look round, look sim building. Meerm quick step back. Who mans? Why here? Why look at sim building?

  Meerm fraid mans come in. Peek so mans not see. No mans come in. All stand by car. One talk little phone. Why here?

  Then Meerm see new car. Also fast. Stop next first car. One man come. New man talk loud. Point this way and that way. Other mans go. New man voice. . . Meerm hear before. But where?

  Now Meerm see new man and other man come sim building. Meerm fraid. Mans come take Meerm away? Back to new needle place?

  Meerm hide. Go closet. Push self into dark corner. Make ver small.

  Hear yell downstair. Benny mad. Shout loud. New man yell back.

  Meerm shake. Know new man voice! Same voice in old home night loud noise and fire. Hear on roof too. New man come get Meerm!

  Hear loud feets on stairs. Must not find! Must not find! Meerm climb up in closet. Get on shelf. Curl up. Make small-small. Tiny-tiny-tiny. Push back into high corner and - Corner move. Meerm turn, feel loose board. Meerm push board, move more. Black space open. Cold in hole. Meerm not care. Too fraid be cold.

  Hear new man voice yell, "Damn it, where is she?" Voice close now. In sim sleep room.

  Meerm squeeze into black hole. Ooh-ooh-ooh. Too tight. Meerm so fat now. Meerm fraid get stuck, but more fraid new man. Push-push-push, get fat self into hole.

  "I tell you," Benny say, "we ain't got no sims here inna day!" Benny sound fraid. "Not till tonight when they all bussed back from the city. "

  "She's here!" new man say. "And we're going to find her! Look under every bunk! Check every closet!"

  Meerm in cold place inside wall. Ver tight. Ver dark. Meerm push on board, push back where belong. More dark now. All dark.

  Meerm hear closet door squeak. Some man open. Meerm can't see man but hear thing move. Meerm stay ver, ver still. Not breathe.

  "Nothing in here. " New man voice ver close. Meerm so fraid. Want go pee. Bite lip stop cry. "Where the fuckis she?"

  "Maybe she goes out," say other man voice. "You know, walks around. "

  "Since when did you become a sim expert?"

  Other man say, "Hey, I'm just thinking out loud, okay? That sim at the sweatshop described her to a T: she's lost, she's sick, she's blown up. So we know she's staying here. She's just not here now. Probably going stir crazy here alone all day. "

  "All right. Here's what we'll do. Bring in the others and we'll do a sweep of the building. If we don't find her we'll back off and put the place under twenty-four-hour watch. When she returns, we nab her. "

  Meerm hear mans go way but still not move. Still fraid. Meerm must stay in sim building. Mans will get Meerm. Hurt Meerm if try leave. Meerm so sad she cry.