by Hayton, Lee
“What did they ask? You want to be careful they don’t turn this whole mess around on you. I’ve seen how they can twist these things.”
“I’m heading off now, Nicole,” Victoria said, turning her back on the woman. “Get a good night’s sleep if you can. I’ll drop by tomorrow.”
Nicole’s hand shook under her own and Victoria squeezed it tighter, until it relaxed.
“Call me first,” Nicole’s mother said. “I don’t want you interfering in Nicole’s recovery.”
“I’ll do no such thing,” Victoria said. Leaving before the woman could question which thing she meant.
#
There was no question of Victoria driving, even if her car had been in working order. Edwards dropped her home, then left to grab a few hours’ sleep himself. After all, he had work the next day.
When her eyes blinked open in the morning sun, the tender skin still stinging and burning but her eyes now blessedly free of blur, Victoria pieced the attack together in her mind. Working out each section of action before advancing to the next.
An attacker she couldn’t see. An attacker she couldn’t feel. A frightening display of power from a source too familiar to her to be ignored. Victoria had felt the presence of Gregory Mancini. Had even smelled the awful gel he’d once used to slick back his greasy hair.
If she hadn’t been there, Nicole would be counted among his victims. In defiance of death itself, the Birdman was still committing terrifying acts.
Victoria lay in bed while Arnaud and Grace got ready for work and school. She thought crazy thoughts—the only ones that made any sense—while she listened to them talk, eat, and depart to join the early morning traffic.
With her car still frozen in the driveway, Victoria walked to the mall nearby. The sunlight on her skin was soothing, reminding her of the joyful things still present in the world. She spent a few hundred dollars at the local Walmart. More worried about the trudge to haul her goods home than the emptying of her bank account.
Although the sun still shed light, there was no warmth in it as Victoria struggled back to the house. The plastic bag handles twisted in her grip and dug deep into the padding of her fingers.
When she reached home and poured the contents out onto the table, the handles left awful white peaks of flesh next to deep ridges. She flexed them a few times to get her circulation going, alerting her nerves into pins and needles in the process.
Half a dozen radios that required batteries. Ten more that plugged straight into the wall. Victoria fumbled with tired fingers to pop open the plastic covering on the disposable batteries she’d purchased, then squinted to see the right way around to insert them.
Although the blur had been gone when she first woke up, it was returning. From memory, it’d be like this for several days as the thin membrane covering her eyes repaired itself.
Another bag held mobile phones—prepaid TracFones for less than ten dollars a phone. “A family visit from overseas,” Victoria said in response to the curious eyes of the check-out operator when she piled twenty onto the counter. “Cheaper than those roaming charges.”
The teenage boy’s eyes emptied to blank as he swiped them all through. Deep boredom not effaced by her deja vu purchases. There had been an offer of minutes, but Victoria had shaken her head. From what she’d seen, it didn’t matter.
For safe keeping, she tucked her own mobile phone away in the bedroom, under her pillow. On flight mode, then turned all the way off, just in case.
The radios used too much tabletop. Victoria’s minimalist soul rebelled. She opened the cupboard beneath the stove—a repository for odds and ends throughout the years—to tidy some away. But the drawer was already full. Of radios.
She pulled one out in confusion. The device was almost identical to the one already sitting on the counter near the window. There were another four tucked away, ready to go.
Victoria dropped it back in and closed the door, thinking back.
The morning she thought she was going crazy. The morning she thought her brain missed one too many nights of sleep and was rebelling in full spirit. The morning she saw the radio burst into flames, doused it with water and threw it away only for it to reappear unscathed.
Victoria had thought she was going mad, but all that happened was somebody—Arnaud most likely—replaced the radio before she got up for the second time. He’d replaced it from a cache he kept ready. As though the event happened so often it was only reasonable to keep a stock of them handy.
For house guests, Victoria belatedly realized she knew little about Arnaud and Grace. Too much happening in too short a period had led to her not asking the questions she should.
Well, that was going to stop. Tonight, Victoria had all the time in the world to get to know her surprise roommates a lot better.
Now, though, Victoria didn’t need to worry about the crazy pile of radios and phones. Judging by the supplies, anyone walking in wouldn’t be surprised by what they saw.
Lining up the spares, Victoria turned on the first radio in line and turned the dial, so it broadcast off-station white noise. She clicked on the first mobile phone and went through the minimal setup screens, then clicked on the message icon. The cursor flicked on the screen, waiting for phantom fingers to type out words.
Victoria ran her hands through her hair and blew out a breath. She closed her eyes for a second, as though in prayer. Resting her palms flat on the tabletop, she looked out the window at the street light, glowing brightly despite the light of the day.
Glowing even though the power wasn’t connected. It would remain shut off until the late afternoon started to fade into the evening and the council timer activated the entire row, all at once.
Victoria pictured Star’s frightened eyes turned toward her in terror. She heard the echo of her confused voice, a broken whisper drifting from a throat torn apart. She concentrated on Star’s image, her spirit, her presence.
And when the radio started to mutter and whisper instead of issuing random white noise, Victoria leaned forward eagerly and said, “Tell me everything.”
Stayed tuned for the next episode in the Birdman Series.
Until then please enjoy a free companion short story.
Dead as a Dodo
Alvin plans on going gently into that good night.
With his family gathered, weeping quietly around his bedside, Alvin's battle with leukemia is coming to a soft and peaceful end. One last breath out is all it will take and he will slip away forever.
But forever isn't what it used to be.
Available from www.katherinehayton.com/free-books or click on cover to go straight to the download page
About the Author - Lee Hayton
Traveling is a great expander of ideas and the understanding of other cultures, and writer, Lee Hayton, has explored this facet of the world many times. After each journey, she always returns to her home, only a few miles from her birthplace.
Her books take readers on adventures drawn from her creativity, where age, physical ability, and wealth are immaterial. You can almost hear the author telling you about these fantastic flights of fancy over a cozy, gossipy lunch, where your blood may curdle, or you might explode with laughter.
Stay in Touch
You can find Katherine (Lee) Hayton on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google Plus. Keep on top of every new release by clicking “Follow Me” on her Amazon Author Page, or visit http://leehayton.com.
Also by the Author
Pre-Order Now Available - Rebels & Runes Boxset
The Rebels & Runes boxed set contains 23 novella-length urban fantasy stories. Some of these spell-binding tales are brought to you by NYT and USA Today bestselling authors.
Take a trip to the future, or to the ruins of some of today's great cities. Tales of magic, malice, mayhem, and a little bit of madness can be found in this collection. If you enjoy books containing shifting creatures, monsters, wizards, sorcery, and witches then this is the boxed set for you.
A Mongrel, a Bard and Witches, oh my! (Face the Music Book 2)
WereEagles Fear to Tread (Face the Music Book 1)
Cupid’s Bow Anthology
Gun (Gun Apocalypse Book One)
Writing as Katherine Hayton
The Tide
Winter Solstice
The Second Stage of Grief
The Three Deaths of Magdalene Lynton
Breathe and Release
Skeletal
Found, Near Water