City of Ghosts

by J. H. Moncrieff

“Are you sure? You don’t sound so good, bud.”

  “Talk to him, but don’t forget,” the girl said. “I’ll be watching.”

  Erik pounded on the door. “Seriously, man, I’m freaking out. Let me in.”

  Slowly I reached for the knob, wondering if she would stop me. She didn’t, and I yanked the door open and rushed out, careening into Erik on the other side. I nearly knocked him over—I hadn’t expected him to be so close.

  “Woah, man. Are you okay? Are you sick? What’s going on?”

  I shook my head and immediately wished I hadn’t. Stars burst in my brain and my knees buckled. Erik grabbed me by the elbow and guided me to the bed. Sinking onto the mattress, I moaned as waves of nausea swept over me. “I think I’m gonna be sick.”

  Something hard and plastic was shoved into my arms. “Puke in this, man. It’s okay.”

  Blindly, I groped for the edges of the garbage can, and not a moment too soon. My stomach lurched, and I retched. The partially digested food burned on the way up, but once I’d begun, I couldn’t stop. I vomited until my gut ached and nothing was left but spit.

  “Are you done?”

  “I hope so.” My voice had been reduced to a croak. Something tugged on the makeshift puke bucket.

  “Let go. I’ll empty it.”

  “It’s too gross.”

  “Give it here.” The determination in his voice told me Erik wasn’t going to cave. My fingers, already weak, relaxed. I was both humiliated and relieved when I felt him take the can. But then I remembered what awaited him in the bathroom.

  “Wait! You can’t go in there.”

  Erik laughed. “Seriously, dude. Whatever you did in there can’t smell worse than this. Don’t worry about it.”

  “It’s not that. She—”

  I winced against the light. I’d kept my eyes shut while I’d thrown up, so they still hadn’t adjusted. Erik walked back to me, looking nervous.

  “Is she in there?”

  I tried to nod and thought better of it. “Yeah.”

  “You’re fucking serious? This is messed up.”

  “Yeah, you could say that.”

  “I’m going to tell her to get her ass out of here. And then I’m going to get Harold. This chick should be locked up.”

  “No…don’t go in there. I think—I think she has a weapon.”

  I wasn’t sure why I thought that. There had been no press of steel against me—that had been my imagination. There was only the threat running beneath everything she said. A threat she seemed more than able to carry out.

  Erik hesitated. For a moment, I thought I’d convinced him, but then he rushed the bathroom. I didn’t have the voice left to call after him. He charged to the doorway, puke bucket held aloft. I guess it was a weapon of sorts.

  Holding my breath, I waited. Metal scraped against metal as Erik yanked the shower curtain aside. Then I heard the revolting splash of my vomit pouring into the toilet bowl. It was enough to make me sick all over again, if I’d had anything left in my stomach.

  The toilet flushed. The tap ran for a long time as Erik scrubbed his hands. Why wasn’t he talking to her? My eyelids were heavy with the need for sleep, almost as if I’d been drugged. I struggled to stay lucid.

  “I’m going to leave it here in case you need it again.”

  My eyes flew open. The room was dark. I felt panic pressing down on my chest. “What happened?”

  “Nothing happened, man. Get some rest. You’re sick.”

  I fought to sit up, but the second I lifted my head, I saw a galaxy of stars. Staring at a ceiling I couldn’t see, I heard the squeak of bedsprings on the other side of the room. “What do you mean, nothing happened? Did you talk to her?”

  “She wasn’t there.”

  “What do you mean, she wasn’t there?” My hand pawed futilely at the lamp, but I couldn’t reach the switch. The slightest movement made me dizzy.

  “She wasn’t there. Maybe she left while you were puking. But trust me, no one was in there.”

  Not knowing her whereabouts was worse than her lurking in the bathroom. “Did you check the closet? Maybe—”

  “No one is here but you and me, brah. I checked.”

  “I have to talk to Harold. I have to tell him….” My tongue was thick with sleep. I could feel myself drifting further and further away, in spite of my attempt to stay conscious.

  “No one’s telling anyone anything now, dude. It’s three in the morning. Get some rest.”

  “She was there….”

  “I believe you. Just get some sleep, okay?”

  As woozy as I was, I could hear the doubt in his voice.

  ~ Chapter Eleven ~

  Needles were being pushed into my brain. Hot needles. My head throbbed with pain. I groaned.

  “Not feeling any better, huh?”

  My eyes refused to open. I panicked until I realized they were crusted closed with sleep. Brushing the worst of it away, I squinted at Erik. The room smelled of soap from his shower. He slid the straps of his daypack over his shoulders.

  “I’ll tell Harold you’re sick.”

  “No…” I tried to get out of bed. Pain lanced through my brain, so sharp and intense that I collapsed against my pillow, moaning.

  “What choice do you have? You can’t survive a five-hour cycle in that condition.”

  Fuck. The bike ride. Yangshuo. I’d forgotten. Thanks to my stupid fucking body and its stupid fucking sickness, I was going to miss some of the most beautiful countryside in the world. It was the part of the trip I’d looked forward to the most.

  “He’ll kick me out of the group.” I winced. My lips had dried out overnight, and talking caused them to crack. I tasted my own blood.

  “What are you talking about? He’s not going to kick you off the tour for being sick.”

  “Hey, do you have any lip stuff? My lips are chapped like crazy.”

  Erik cocked an eyebrow. “What do you think I am, a chick? Next you’ll be asking me for hair gel.”

  “Nah, I’ve seen your hair.” I smiled at my own joke and immediately regretted it. My lips felt like they’d shattered on my face. “Seriously, can you ask Kate if she has anything when you see her? I’m dying here.”

  “Sure, I’ll tell her you want to borrow some panties too.”

  “Fuck off.”

  “That’s not what your mother said last night.”

  The comeback was so ridiculous it was difficult to keep a straight face. But it was too painful not to.

  Erik grinned. “Okay, I’ll get your lipstick—”

  “Lip balm!”

  “Lip balm, and I’ll tell Harold you’re on the verge of death. Anything else?”

  I worried about our guide’s reaction, but I was too sick to get out of bed. Even if Harold followed through with his threat and kicked me off the tour, I’d have to stay in the hotel. I had no choice. I wasn’t going anywhere for a while.

  As another wave of nausea crashed over me, I closed my eyes. Any desire I’d had to laugh was long gone.

  “Are you sure you’re going to be okay, man? You seriously look like shit. Somebody should stay here with you, or call the doctor or something.”

  “I’m okay,” I managed in a voice that sounded more like a croak. “I just need some water.”

  The last thing I heard before I drifted off was the rustling of Erik rummaging through his bag.

  * * *

  My mother laid a cold cloth on my forehead, and every time I shivered, she pulled the quilt up to my chin and tucked it around my shoulders. When I was able to stomach food again, she heated her homemade chicken soup and brought me dry crackers with some of her special cheese—the stuff from the fancy shop. She only shared it when I was sick.

  My eyelids flickered. My mouth was terribly dry, but at the same time, it felt like it was filled with paste. My lips hurt. “Water…” I rasped.

  Instead of the cold glass I’d been expecting, a plastic bottle was pressed into my hand. The cap w
as already off, and the warm liquid slid deliciously down my throat, soothing it. “Thanks.”

  “No problem. How are you feeling?”

  It was a female’s voice all right, but it wasn’t my mother’s. Opening my eyes wider, I blinked to focus, surprised to see I wasn’t in the blue bedroom from my childhood.

  There was a woman sitting beside my bed. I wiped my eyes and she swam into focus. Kate.

  Suddenly I remembered where I was. “What are you doing here?”

  “Erik said you were really sick. He didn’t feel right leaving you alone, so I volunteered to stay with you.”

  I closed my eyes again, mortified. What if I’d farted? What if I’d drooled? Oh God, what if I’d had to hurl again? It was beyond embarrassing.

  “You shouldn’t have done that.” I turned my head slightly away from her as I spoke. I was sure I had morning breath bad enough to slay every dragon in China. “Today is supposed to be the best part of the trip.”

  “I’m not much for cycling anyway. I would have held everybody back.” She felt the cloth on my head. “This is warm. I’ll run some more cold water on it.”

  “That’s okay. I think the headache is gone now.” Gingerly moving into a sitting position, I willed my head not to throb. It was tender, like someone had put my brain through a killer workout the night before, but the worst of the pain had receded. As I sat up, the thin blanket fell to my lap, revealing my bare chest. I pulled the fabric over my shoulders, my face burning.

  “It’s okay. I have seen a male chest before.” Kate grinned at me, making it clear she was enjoying my embarrassment.

  “I’m just—feeling a little vulnerable here, okay?” I tried my best to make it sound like a joke.

  “I didn’t molest you while you were sleeping. I promise. I kept putting the covers on you.”

  “I know. Thanks for staying. You didn’t have to, but it was nice of you.”

  “There was actually a bit of a fight over who got to be the Good Samaritan. I had to beat Susan and Jennifer and Meghan.”

  I shuddered. I couldn’t help it. The idea of waking up to find Meghan looming over me? I’d take my chances with the fever. “I thought Meghan hated me. I’m always offending her.”

  “Oh, Meghan is offended by everything.” Kate twisted the cap off another bottle of water and handed it to me. “I think she’s like one of those boys in grade school. She’s mean because she likes you.”

  I drained the bottle in a few swallows, wiping my mouth with the arm I wasn’t using to clutch the blanket to my chest. “I’d hate to see how she treats someone she doesn’t like.”

  Kate laughed. “I know, right?” She crunched the bottle in one hand, the sharp sound of crumpling plastic stabbing into my brain. Tossing it at the recycling bin, she pumped her fist in triumph as it went in without touching the sides. “Ten points!”

  It was impossible to tell what time it was. The heavy drapes shut out the sun, making the dingy room even gloomier than usual. Thick with humidity, the air was stifling. The air conditioner chugged determinedly on from its corner without much effect.

  “It must reek in here. I’m sorry.”

  “Jackson, you’re sick. I didn’t come here expecting a Calvin Klein commercial. I’m not that shallow.”

  I’d known she wasn’t, but I found myself wishing—a little bit—that either Jennifer or Susan was here instead. Jenn was an ICU nurse, and Susan was a veterinarian. And neither one made my stomach tingle.

  “Here.” Kate placed a small container in my hand. I had to hold it close to my face in order to read it in the dim light. Vaseline. I must have looked as confused as I felt, because she burst out laughing. “It’s for your lips. Erik said you wanted balm?”

  “I was expecting ChapStick.”

  “Oh, Vaseline is way better. And you apply it with your fingers, so you can be a lot gentler. I would have put it on for you, but I didn’t want to wake you.”

  The chemistry between us was tangible, like a constant flow of electricity zapping back and forth. It was a good thing I was too ill to do anything about it. I’d probably only humiliate myself.

  There was something vaguely unsanitary about dipping into a tub of someone else’s Vaseline, but I didn’t care. Erik, however, would have had a fit. Gouging out a good-sized blob, I dabbed the goo on my lips as carefully as I could, but the slightest pressure made me wince. Kate noticed my discomfort and leaned forward to check out my face. She was so close that her breasts brushed my arm. I held my breath in the hope she wouldn’t be able to smell it.

  “Ouch. That looks really sore.”

  Concentrating on holding my breath and keeping another part of my anatomy under control, I could only nod. Finally, she sat back in the chair again. “So, I’ve been dying to ask. How did it go with Harold last night?” Before I could think of how to phrase my answer, she clapped her hand over her mouth. “Wait…don’t answer that. You’re sick. You probably want to rest.”

  The last thing I wanted to do right then was rest. Thanks to her proximity, everything below the blanket was a throbbing, aching mess. I’d never felt less like sleeping. “Nah, I’m wide awake now.” I tried to hand her the Vaseline, but she shook her head.

  “Keep it. You’re probably going to need it a while.”

  I gave her the unabridged version of my discussion with Harold. After all, we had the time. Even in the weak light, I could see her expression go from curious to surprised to enraged.

  “What a bastard. I’m going to report him.”

  “Please don’t. It’ll just make things worse.”

  She scowled. “You’re going to let him get away with this crap? Someone needs to fire his ass.”

  “He’s stacked the deck, Kate. He’s already told his boss about me, made it seem like I’m a troublemaker. If we complain, we’ll be ignored.”

  “Well, he didn’t tell his boss anything about me, did he? So if I complained, it would be taken seriously.”

  “Maybe….” What she was saying made sense. What reason would Harold have for discussing Kate with his employer? Nothing, except…Harold had great instincts when it came to sizing people up. If you had an interesting conversation with a fellow traveler at dinner one night, you’d be sharing a compartment with him on the next overnight train. My friendship with Kate had been far from subtle. If Harold was as smart as I suspected, he’d probably told his boss she was a co-conspirator. “But he’s made it clear that in a battle of us against him, we’d lose.”

  “He’s trying to scare us. He doesn’t want us to report him.”

  I shrugged. “Maybe, but I’m not comfortable calling his bluff. We’re kind of at his mercy right now. And that makes what happened last night an even bigger problem.”

  “What happened last night?”

  “She was here. Somehow she broke into our room again.”

  The shock and outrage I’d been expecting never came. Kate shifted on her chair, developing an intense interest in what was left of her manicure.

  “What?” I tried to keep my voice neutral, but I had a good idea what was coming, and I was pissed. Not only was I pissed, I very much sounded like it.

  “You were sick, Jackson. Maybe….”

  “I wasn’t sick. I got sick after she left.”

  “But still, you’d just woken up, right? So—”

  “So I dreamed an entire encounter with this woman? Is that seriously what you think?”

  Her eyes widened. “You’re angry at me.”

  “Of course I’m angry. I think I can tell the difference between being awake and asleep.” I glared at her, wishing I wasn’t in such a vulnerable position. It’s hard to maintain any dignity in your gitch.

  “No one’s saying you can’t, Jackson. It’s just….”

  “Just what?” I was on the verge of yelling now, and my throat wasn’t having any of it. A violent coughing fit ensued. Kate rushed around the room searching for water. All that was left was the stuff in the mini bar—I’d already fini
shed off the two free bottles we’d been allotted for the day.

  “I’m really sorry,” she said as I emptied the three-dollar bottle and wiped my wet mouth on my arm, which made me gasp in pain. The Vaseline had worked so well I’d forgotten my lips were cracked. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

  “She was here.”

  “I believe you. It’s just that Erik heard you talking to someone in the bathroom, but he didn’t hear anyone else. And when you came out, there was no one in there with you.”

  “How would he know? He didn’t even go into the bathroom until after I threw up. She had lots of time to get out of here, believe me. And there was plenty of noise to drown out the sound of her opening and shutting the door.” I grimaced, remembering the nasty events that had followed her visit.

  Kate’s eyes flicked to the floor and then to my face. She looked incredibly guilty about something.

  “What?”

  “Nothing. I shouldn’t have brought it up. You’re sick, and I’ve upset you. I wanted to help, not make things worse.”

  “You did help. I’m—” When she still wouldn’t meet my eyes, I reached for her hand. In spite of the stifling heat, her fingers were icy. “Hey, I’m glad you’re here, okay? Thank you for taking care of me.”

  The mood lifted a little, enough for her to give me a half smile. “I couldn’t leave you to Meghan.”

  I grinned. “And thank you for that. So, go on—tell me what Erik said. I know I haven’t heard the worst of it yet.”

  She hesitated. “If I tell you, you can’t get mad at me. I’m only the messenger.”

  “I promise. Go on.”

  “When Erik checked the bathroom, he thought it would be good to check the door too, in case she’d wrecked the lock or something.”

  I’d been so violently ill it hadn’t occurred to me to make sure the door was locked. Thank God for Erik, even if he was spreading rumors that made me seem crazy. “That’s smart. So what?”

  “He said the door was locked, Jackson.”

  “Is that it? That’s the big reveal?” I slumped against my pillow in relief. “It’s a party trick of hers. She did it the last time she broke into our room.”

  “How do you throw a deadbolt if you don’t have a key?”