by Bryan Cohen
Chapter 27
Watching Ted's interview was bittersweet for Sandra. She loved seeing her knight in shining armor being praised as an amazing hero. She doubted anybody would be picking on him when he ate out from now on. They'd be asking for his autograph instead. On the other hand, Ted was forever connected to one of the most traumatizing experiences of her life. A man was trying to choke her to death when Ted turned the restaurant upside down to stop him.
Sandra looked in her bathroom mirror. The sink beneath her had compiled some grime in the last few weeks. She'd been too tired from work to do much cleaning at home. Now that she had all the time in the world, cleaning was the furthest thing from her mind. Aside from her efforts to wash the strange mark from her arm. Her skin from her elbow to her shoulder was red and raw from scrubbing. She'd cleared the drug store of everything from rubbing alcohol to peroxide, but it looked like whatever the diner gang used to make the symbol appear was there to stay, barring an expensive laser treatment.
"What's next?" she asked herself, looking deep into her own eyes.
Page's had been a temporary gig, until it wasn't. She was going to move to New York or Washington, D.C., but her relationships with two locals kept her grounded both times she wanted to go. As she looked at her reflection, she saw all the previous versions of herself. The pierced nose and lip she'd ditched a few years ago. The shave-under haircut her then-boyfriend hated. He said it made her look like a hospital cut her hair to prep for surgery. He didn't keep his boyfriend status for long. Sandra glanced away from the mirror and spied a black and white cat on the fire escape. The daredevil leaped from one handrail to the other with ease.
"Don't fall, kitty. It's a long way down."
Living on the fifth floor was a pain for moving, though it was a nice view during the sunset. Sandra heard a noise at the front door. She wondered if it was her crazy neighbor trying to get in the wrong apartment again. She went to examine.
"Carol? This is 5B. Remember, you're in 5C."
Sandra reached the foyer. The door was wide open, and her heart skipped a beat. She swore she'd locked it. Sandra closed the door and balled up her hand into a fist.
"Hello?"
While she didn't live in the best part of town, there weren't many break-ins in Sandra's neighborhood. She supposed she was the lucky one, as per usual. Sandra heard movement somewhere in the apartment. It may have been footsteps. There wasn't enough time to be sure. She threw open the closet door, tossing aside shoes and coats to reach for a metal softball bat. It had been years since she played, but she hoped she remembered how to use it.
"Whoever you are, you better get out of here. I don't go down easy."
The movement in the other room stopped. There was a step. Then another. With the third, a figure came into the room. There he was, almost a foot taller than her. It was Yarrick, the man who'd tried to choke her to death. The nightmare had come to life.
"I was rummaging through pantry, but all you have is rabbit food," he said.
"I'm vegan."
"You served me big plate of bacon at diner. Seems like contradiction, no?"
"People do strange things for money," she said.
Yarrick grinned. His large teeth matched the rest of his oversized body. The last time they'd met, she was overmatched five on one. She liked these odds better.
"Good small talk. You want to say any famous last words?"
"Get the hell out of my house."
Yarrick laughed as Sandra ran toward him, swinging the bat. As she was about to block the blow, she pulled back and used the bat like a pool cue right into Yarrick's stomach. When he bent over, she swung the bat upwards and hit him in the face. Yarrick crumpled to the ground and Sandra went running through the front door.
"Call 9-1-1! Carol! Anybody!"
Sandra turned the corner toward the elevators and ran right into Carter, the man who'd chanted the permanent symbol onto her arm. He was waiting for her, and he grabbed her by the shoulders. He was smaller than Yarrick, but that didn't make his grip any less painful.
"You're a little firecracker, aren't you?"
Sandra struggled to get some leverage and gripped the bat tightly.
"You're right," she said. "I'm dangerous."
Sandra used all her might to lift the bat upwards into Carter's chin. It connected and stunned her captor. He released her just enough to give her some space. She kneed him in the groin and he went down hard. She pushed the elevator button, but then she heard Yarrick coming out of her apartment. A few feet to the right were the stairs. She pushed through the door to the staircase and started running down. Sandra pulled the fire alarm as she passed by, but there was no sound in response.
"Damn!"
As Sandra ran down the stairs, bat still in hand, she saw the way was blocked. The man who guarded the front door of Page's, Tank, was coming up toward her.
"Give up, girlie. It's over."
Sandra ran down the rest of the flight as fast as she could before Tank could lumber up and meet her at the landing, and she went through the fourth floor door. The elevator door opened when she passed by.
"Please, help me!"
It was no neighbor. Instead, it was Yarrick, sporting a fresh red mark on his forehead.
"No, I don't think I will."
This time he did catch the bat when Sandra swung, ripping it from her hands and tossing it to the ground. It clanged when it hit the hardwood.
"You're only making it worse."
She faked one direction and ran down the hallway the opposite way as fast as she could. Despite his size, Yarrick was fast, and she could hear him running closely behind. Sandra reached the end of the hallway and opened the window. She pushed out the screen with both her hands. Sandra pulled herself up onto the sill, hoping she could reach the fire escape. She had it in view and prepared to leap, when her pursuer gave her a hard shove from behind. She screamed and plummeted to the ground.
Sandra awoke to see Yarrick and the others standing around her. The pain in her head was immense, though it subsided with every passing second.
"You were supposed to just kill her. Not throw her out of the building."
"She was too feisty. She die either way, yes?"
Sandra lifted her head slightly and felt a gaping wound. As she touched it, the damage began to heal itself. Sandra felt strong. She felt like a whole new person.
She leapt to her feet and slapped Yarrick in the face. The blow was so powerful, it sent Yarrick to the ground. She turned around to the others. Tank made a motion toward her, but Nigel stopped him.
"The waitress is just getting some anger out. Nothing to worry about," Nigel said.
"I don't think I'm a waitress anymore," she said. "I think I'm a warrior."
Nigel grinned.
"A warrior needs a war. I happen to know of one going on right now."
Sandra felt like she was home. The symbol on her arm glowed.
