by S. M. Bowles
"Good to see you," his voice was very somber as he spoke though he was wearing a hint of a smile as he looked over Herrik's shoulder at me. "This must be Emily." he said and though it wasn't an intense inspection it seemed like he was trying very hard to determine what to make of me.
"Yes," Herrik replied and his dour expression was swept away and replaced by one full of warmth and happiness. I could tell he had a great deal of respect for the gentleman and whoever he was he meant the world to Herrik.
"Emily, this is Artur; Artur, this is Emily."
Artur held his hand out to me, "I am so happy to meet you!"
I felt a smile creep across my lips and I blushed as we shook hands, "It is nice to meet you, too, Sir."
"No, no...Artur! You mustn't call me anything else," his voice was full of warmth.
Herrik stepped aside during our introduction and Artur moved a little closer so that he was standing directly in front of me. He reached out and took my chin then tilted my head this way and that giving me a thorough inspection. It was very odd and somewhat unsettling but for some reason it seemed necessary and I didn't make any objections or try to avoid it in any way.
"Hmm," he sighed in disappointment when he was done. "I'm sorry for what has happened. If there is anything I can do to help..." his voice trailed off and he turned back to Herrik. "May I walk with you a moment?"
"Of course."
Herrik turned and we began walking back in the direction from which we had just come. I was on Herrik's left and Artur was on his right. Though they didn't speak I had the sense that they were in a deep discussion and naturally I assumed it was about me. I pretended not to notice while they were engaged this way and instead kept my eyes down and tried to ignore everything else that was going on around me.
After a few moments Herrik paused and turned us back towards the elevator. He reached out and touched Artur on the shoulder, "Thank you for the offer."
Artur nodded expressively then turned and faced me with a weak smile, "We will do whatever we can to make this as easy as possible for you." He wished us a good day then we watched him wander back down the hallway until the doors for the elevator swung back and Herrik and I stepped through. As soon as the doors closed Herrik's happy expression evaporated and I couldn't tell in any way whatsoever what he was feeling or thinking. I shrunk back into the corner and waited for my floor. Once or twice I had the impression that he was about to speak or had something to say only to be proven wrong.
When we reached my level Herrik had me memorize the code and showed me how to use the keypad. I expected him to walk me into the apartment but without another word he pivoted and went back into the elevator. I watched the lights begin to flash the numbers for each of the floors indicating that Herrik was on his way back down.
I thought about waiting until it stopped and calling it back to see if I could take it to the garage again and try to escape. Then I remembered the gates and the guards and knew that a simple exit would not be possible and that if I really wanted to get away it would take some careful consideration and planning.
Penny came rushing out of the kitchen when she heard me at the door; her expression was full of concern. She didn't say anything, just wrapped her arms around me and hugged me close. I fretfully pulled away because her touch reminded me that I might never see my mother or father or brother again.
"Please don't!" I said somewhat resentfully.
"I'm sorry. You've been through a lot, I know...believe me, I know..." she tried a little half-smile.
"Do you?!" I asked, my anger suddenly rekindled.
We stood together awkward and silent for a moment before Penny found the courage to try and break the ice, "I thought you might be hungry when you got back so I made some soup for us. I know it's summer and not really soup-season but nothing soothes the soul like soup!"
"I'm not hungry," I growled and brushing by her made my way to the bedroom.
"Emily?" I heard her calling after me but refused to answer other than with a forceful closing of the door behind me.
After throwing myself down on the bed I closed my eyes and tried to imagine it all away. I took breath after breath and fought hard not to cry. I tried not to think about my family and how sad, frustrated and angry I was but when I forced them from my mind they were replaced by Herrik and Artur and Penny.
Penny was very sweet and I hated myself for being so harsh with her. And Artur...it was obvious there was something special about him. He was something...someone strange and mystical and "Wise," I thought. But Herrik! "Oh, he had seemed so honest and sincere when he said he would help me and now...now..."
I tried to shut the images of him out but one persisted because it was so fresh and sensations had been so real. I thought about him walking beside me in the sand. For a brief moment I was swept back to the serenity of the beach he had shown me but the more I considered it the more I resented Herrik for taking me there. "Just softening the blow I bet! He didn't mean any of it! He knew...he knew he was never going to let me leave!"
"Maybe that is why Daemon gave me the locket. I bet they are the ones that hurt him. He must have known that something like this might happen. Why did I leave it behind? Why didn't I think of it?" I moaned knowing I had made a horrible mistake and that none of the people I was now surrounded with could be trusted.
"Emily?" Penny softly rapped on my door startling me from my reflections. "Emily, I have to go out for a bit. I left the soup on the stove for you in case you get hungry. Emily? Are you alright? Would you please say something just so I know that you're OK?"
"I'm fine!"
"Oh, good! I'll be back as soon as I can. Is there anything I can get for you while I'm out?"
"No!"
I thought I heard her sigh but she didn't say anything more. A minute or two later the front door opened and closed. I stayed where I was for a short while then got up and cautiously left the bedroom. As I walked down the hallway I held my breath and listened for any sounds to make sure that Penny had really left like she said she was going to and after inspecting each of the rooms I passed I realized that I was completely alone.
I hurried to the front door and let myself out then called the elevator to my floor. My heart was racing and I couldn't stop myself from shifting nervously from foot to foot while I waited. Thankfully there was no one else in the car when it came and it gave me a moment to study the keypad while I wondered which floor to try.
"There must be another way out! There must be! I'll just have to go floor to floor until I find it!" I said confidently to myself.
Down didn't seem like a very good option so I decided to start with the floor directly above mine. I pressed the button. The doors closed. The elevator propelled itself to the next floor. The doors opened. Nothing. Another small receiving area and a door with a keypad just like mine.
I completed the process again. Floor after floor and every one of them nothing but the same scene greeted me. I was about to give up and after hitting the button for one last floor glanced up and noticed the paneling above my head.
"Huh?" I exclaimed. Having seen it often enough in movies I wondered if there was a way to remove one of the panels and climb through the roof of the elevator. Before I could come up with a plan for finding out the car stopped and the doors opened once more.
"Hey," a young man stepped into the car with me.
"Hi," I nervously replied.
"Up or down?"
"Uh, uh..." I wasn't sure where I was going and didn't have the sense to answer.
"Down it is!" the man chuckled and hit the button for the lowest level.
Realizing that was the last place I wanted to be I reached out and punched the button for my floor. The man flashed a quick grin at me then looked up at the numbers flashing above the door.
"Are you new here?" he glanced back over his shoulder to where I was huddled in the corner. "I don't think I've seen you before."
"Uh, yes...just today actually."
"Re
ally?!" he turned and faced me. "Well let me be the first to welcome you. I'm Jesse."
"Emily."
"Nice to meet you Emily."
Again I didn't have the sense to say anything and before I knew it we were at my floor. "What should I do? What should I do?" I thought to myself.
The doors started to close and Jesse automatically reached his arm out to hold them for me, "Getting off?" he asked good-naturedly.
"Oh, yeah," I shook my head dazedly and hurried out.
"Bye," he said hopefully.
"Sorry," I found my voice, "it's been a crazy day and I'm a little out of it."
"Yeah," he was still holding the doors open, "I get it. Hey, if you need a tour guide or just a friend and some company I'm on 15."
I smiled broadly, mostly because I couldn't believe how lucky I was to receive the invitation and found myself shamelessly replying, "I'll be sure to take you up on the offer!" before whirling away.
I heard the wisp of the elevator doors closing then used my code and casually let myself back into the apartment.
As soon as I walked in I could smell Penny's soup. Thankfully she hadn't returned yet so I made my way to the kitchen and helped myself to a bowl. It was wonderful and I was so hungry that I managed to slurp up two servings before I heard Penny letting herself in. She came straight to the kitchen and smiled when she saw me sitting at the counter polishing off what was left in my bowl.
"How was it?"
"It was alright," I slid the stool back from the counter and started to walk away intending to go back to my room to try and come up with an plan to visit Jesse the next time I found myself alone.
"You've made a bit of a mess," Penny said suggestively.
I glanced around and noticed the soup I sloshed on the stove when I was ladling it from the pot and the various drips and drops spattered on the counter around my bowl. "Yeah. So?" I shrugged and continued to walk away.
"You should clean up after yourself," Penny helplessly called as I rounded the corner completely ignoring her.
I clenched my jaw angrily as I walked thinking to myself that being a model citizen was the last thing I intended to do if I was going to be forced to stay there against my will. I made sure to slam my door and lock it behind me. Once I was in my room I did a thorough inspection of it and everything that was in it. The vents were tiny; certainly nothing I could shimmy into and crawl through. There were no doors other than the main one and the one to the closet. There was nothing of any significance to be found in there either.
I even checked the fireplace but it was gas-lit and there was no chimney since it wasn't needed. When I was done my inspection I stood in the middle of the room and turned myself around several times hoping something might catch my eye. The garden was the only thing that did. It was bright and sunny-looking inside. I wandered toward the glass pane that separated it from the bedroom and laid my hands on it. I rapped once or twice and based on the sound that it sent back I decided very dense glass.
I wondered if there was anything I could use to break it and noticed the rack of decorative utensils resting by the fireplace. I pulled a heavy rod with a hook on the end and tested its weight. For a brief moment I thought about giving the garden wall a whack but reconsidered the idea knowing that Penny was still in the apartment. Besides I couldn't see far enough beyond the wall to know if there was any way out of the garden once I was in it. I tucked the idea away for future use.
There wasn't much more I could think to do so I sat down on the small couch in front of the fireplace and snatched the remote of the coffee table. After flipping through the channels several times and finding myself unable to settle on something to watch I tried the stereo instead. Most of the stations were country or pop but I found one rock station and an alternative station that was playing something heavy and raw. The song seemed to touch a cord with me, maybe because that was how I was feeling myself –weighted down with fear and anger and raw with the emotional overload of everything that had happened, was happening to me.
I turned it up slightly, a little more. Penny came and knocked on my door, "Emily, not so loud please."
I grinned wickedly and rather than turning it down as she requested I turned it up even more. She knocked again and before she could utter a single word I went even louder. Sitting back I closed my eyes and blocked everything else out. Song after song rang out and I had no idea how much time had passed.
Eventually my head started to ache and I was sure that Penny had gone away by then. I turned the music back down and curling my legs up onto the couch I closed my eyes again. As I lay there a touch of guilt crept into my thoughts. I knew Penny wasn't at all to blame for my situation and other than my little brother I had never treated anyone so poorly. I couldn't seem to help myself though.
"It doesn't matter. As long as I am here it doesn't matter whether I'm nice or not. I have nothing to feel guilty about! If anyone should feel guilty it's Herrik!! And Carah!! And...and that brute Avery!! I hate them!! I hate them all!!" I started to cry again. "How can I possibly have any more tears left?" I sobbed.
It was an exhausting cry and eventually I stopped gasping for breath and completely worn and weary from it all I fell sleep.
Not long afterwards I started dreaming that I was home. It was so vivid that my mind was nearly convinced that were no such people as Herrik and Penny and that none of what had happened was in fact real. In my dream I was home and we were all having dinner together. My father was telling us some story from work. My mom was smiling and Evan was kicking me beneath the table obviously bored with the tale and trying to get my attention.
"What is it Evan?" I finally demanded when I couldn't stand his antics any longer.
His face fell and he mumbled, "Nothing...I just wanted to show you something I found in your room."
I felt terrible for being angry with him, especially since it seemed like forever since I had seen him last. Despite myself I scowled at him across the table, "You shouldn't be in my room!"
"What's wrong?" my mom turned to us when she heard me and saw how angry I was.
Suddenly I realized that this wasn't how I wanted things to be. I loved my mother and my father and my little brother. "Evan just kicked me by mistake. He apologized," I went on to explain then looked across the table and said to my brother, "I'm sorry, too, Evan. I know it was a mistake and I am not angry with you."
My mother was shocked and looked at my father in total disbelief then looked back.
"Well, I'm glad you worked it out," my father smiled.
Evan looked relieved and I smiled at him across the table.
Not long afterwards the dream shifted and I found myself in my own room, in my own bed with my mom gently trying to wake me.
"You're going to be late for school," she was saying.
"School? Today? I thought it was Saturday!"
"No sweetie, it's not. You'd better hurry or you'll miss the bus," she smiled and kissed my cheek when she was convinced that I was awake and wouldn't fall back to sleep. Then she stood up and walked away.
Suddenly I cried out for her afraid that if she made it through the doorway I would never see her again.
"No!" I screamed. "No, please don't leave me!" and I sprang from my bed and tried to chase after her but as soon as my feet hit the floor someone grabbed my ankles tripping me and I fell face down on the floor.
I tried to scramble away and call for help but my body was full of fear and it just wouldn't obey me. I couldn't find my voice and my legs felt so weak and my efforts completely useless. I looked over my shoulder to see what was holding me.
"Where is it?" a voice hissed
"I don't know," I screamed and dug my toes into the carpet as I tried to escape.
"It was here, here on the post! I need it! I need it to bring him back! I know he gave it to you," I couldn't see the face that the voice belonged to because whoever it was they were under my bed. They started tugging and drawing me back to where they were concealed.
I frantically clawed at the floor but it was no use. I rolled over and tried kicking at the face of whoever was under the bed. I caught a glimpse and thought I recognized who it was but just as I was about to make the connection the world went suddenly bright and vivid and I felt strong, caring hands wrapped around me.
I could hear Penny nervously calling my name in the background and a whispered voice in my ear, "Ssh, ssh, ssh. I'm here, Emily. I'm here. It was just a dream...just a dream."
"Herrik," I asked dazedly.
"Yes, Emily. It's me. It's Herrik."
"Oh," I buried my face in his shoulder, shivering and shaking while the relief washed over me.
"Is she alright?" Penny approached us and laid her hand on my back.
"She's fine. She'll be fine," Herrik assured her.
"I'll get some water," Penny pivoted and hurried away while Herrik waited for me compose myself.
It didn't take long. One minute I was paralyzed with the fear I felt from my dream the next I was on my feet and screaming at Herrik to let me go. He stood up and ran his fingers through his hair in exasperation.
"Emily. If you would just let me try..."
"Leave me alone! I hate you! I...h...h..." my knees went weak.
"God Good!" I heard Penny gasp and the crash of the water glass she had brought as it shattered on the floor at her feet before I fainted away.
It was nighttime when I woke again. The crickets were busy chirping, the leaves rustling as they brushed against the glass. The closet light was on and the door thoughtfully left ajar. I couldn't remember what had happened or how I had gotten into bed and so many of the events that I could remember were jumbled together in a kaleidoscope of visions.
There was a glass of water on my nightstand that I urgently reached for and downed in a single gulp. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand then slid from the bed. One thought kept repeating over and over again in my mind; that I needed to get away. I was somewhere horrible and I needed to get away.
I went to the closet and dressed myself as quickly as I could. I picked the most sensible things I could wear and snatched a pair of shoes before tiptoeing to my bedroom door and easing it open. I slipped through the opening when it was wide enough and peering into the darkened rooms as I went scurried to the front door. There was no sign of anyone else in the apartment and I felt completely confident as I waited for the elevator.
