by Archer, Tia
I heard: “Don’t worry, I’ll get us out of here. That’s only going to keep them down for a couple of minutes, at best.” I still couldn’t see straight, images of blood and death crashing from one memory to the next in rapid succession filled my head. I held my head between my knees; hand over ears and rocking back and forth in the back of this car, muttering something underneath my breath.
The sound of the engine of the vehicle and my rescuer were so distant, like they were coming through a faraway tunnel. I finally raise my head long enough to notice that his black bomber jacket had a long jagged gash down his right arm, like something had taken a piece out of him and leaving behind pieces of flesh, and what I can only assume was a piece of bone sticking out where it shouldn’t.
“That doesn’t look good, I think you might need some serious stitches, maybe even surgery.” The blood had clotted, but there was still droplets falling on the seat beside him, as I saw his fingers on the steering wheel struggling to hold on.
“It’s not as bad as it looks…but I’ll need time to heal.” His head dipped forward, his eyes closing and losing consciousness, while the car veered out of control, heading towards a parking lot full of cars.
I don’t know how I did it but I launched myself over the back seat, landing beside him and using my own hand to make sure that the car didn’t go crashing into a fiery blaze. Jumping into his lap, I saw his head was now lolling to one side. I turned the car, fishtailing back and forth across the street, but I was finally able to slam my foot on the brakes and bring us to a stop.
“I don’t know who you are mister, but right now, I think you need help. I also have this feeling that I shouldn’t go to the authorities. There’s only one person that I can trust with any of this.” But, I’m not sure if I want to mess up his life anymore than I already have. Biting the bullet, I reach out to Andrew to see if he could meet me somewhere to fix this man up. I call him, and, without going into any details, I implored him to come to the place we had our first date and, to bring medical supplies. I’m not sure exactly why I didn’t just say the name out loud; most likely paranoid and thinking people were listening to my conversation.
“Tina…bloody…betrayal…stop this…love her.” Touching his forehead, I realized he was running a high fever, making his words senseless.
“I will do what I can to help, but you’re going to have to answer some questions after you’re patched up. I don’t know why, but I think that you might be able to clear up a few things.” I grab and push him into the passenger seat, sitting on the driver’s seat, no doubt getting my very expensive skirt sullied with his blood.
I look continually in the rear view mirror for any signs of anybody tailing us, but as far as I could tell, it really did look like we were safely away from whatever that was.
Reaching over, with one hand on the wheel, I pulled an old threadbare wallet from his jacket, opened it (hoping that maybe there was something in there that could explain all of this). I was keeping one eye on the road and the other on the wallet firmly clasped to my hands. The first thing I notice is that he had about $3000 in various denominations of currency and not all from the same country.
Putting the wallet down on the console in front of me, splayed open I see something peeking out of his other jacket pocket. Perplexed, I find three separate passports in his other pocket. Opening one at a time, I find they have different names in each one. Not only that, but each photo had been altered so that all he would have to do was change a small part of himself to become that man like slicking his hair back, putting on a pair of glasses or wearing a distinguished red tie with a very expensive suit.
These were not the answers I was looking for; in fact they only raised more questions. This must be a very bad dream maybe I was in some sort of trance-like state and would wake up at any moment. I knew instantly that was wishful thinking.
I heard his breathing getting erratic, his breathing was labored and a wheezing sound coming out of his mouth. That wasn’t a good sign. I have to do something, after all, he saved my life back there.
As I was getting close to the meeting point, I could still hear Andrew’s voice on the other line as I told him I was in trouble. ”Just tell me where I can meet you. You know that I am in this with you till the end and I will protect you with my life. I love you, Gail, nothing is going to change that.” His words had a calming influence on me and I just knew seeing him was going to make me feel a whole lot better.
I was breezing through traffic, still worried that we weren’t out of the line of fire. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a photograph sticking out of a compartment of his wallet. I reached out and snatched it before thinking about it. It was a picture, but it wasn’t just that he was in it, but so was I.
It was strange looking at my own face with this man’s arm around my shoulder. What I can only assume is that the photo was taken inside a photo booth. He had his tongue out and was making a fool of himself while I was playfully pushing him away with my hands. It was one more mystery to solve. I could only hope that Andrew could keep him alive long enough to fill in the blanks.
*
I parked the car a couple of blocks away from where we were going, thinking that I should get rid of it since whomever had attacked us, would’ve seen us leave in it.
I was surprised to feel this would be difficult to carry, but he didn’t weigh as much as I thought he did. I felt this new borne strength that I was now able to feed off. Suddenly, I found myself lifting him over my shoulder and carrying him in a fireman stance towards the closed down Chinese restaurant. Andrew’s car was sitting on the other side of the building, away from the road and away from the prying eyes.
It was one thing to bring me to his favorite restaurant for a first date, but it was entirely something else indeed when he had surprised me by buying the place as an investment into our future. It had already gone through some major renovations, and we had planned to open it up in the summer season.
“Come with me.” Without asking any questions and only seeing a patient that was in dire need of his services, Andrew helped me drag the stranger to the back door. Passing me the keys, I opened the door. I slid the key into the slot, looking over my shoulder and seeing Andrew was having a hard time keeping this mysterious man from his grip. “I don’t know how you managed… to carry him, because he weighs…a freaking ton.” I helped to pull him inside, bringing him over to one of the new tables in the corner and laying him down on the crisp, new white tablecloth.
“I hope this helps because I don’t have anywhere else to turn.” He stares at me, then grabs me and wraps his arms around me. His concern for his patient didn’t outweigh his concern for me. The feel of his chest against me is all I needed.
“I’m going to need some supplies, so if you could get me some alcohol that would be great.” I heard the ripping of fabric and glanced back to see that he had ripped the shirt wide open to get to the wound. Finding everything he needed, I even managed to scavenge a needle and thread that I had in my purse for emergencies. I wasn’t expecting the emergency to be used to stitch up human flesh, but more like mending a slip.
“Honey, he is most likely going to wake up once I begin working on this. I can’t have him moving around, so you’re going to have to keep him steady.” I move closer and see a very unusual tattoo of a lion’s head in the middle of his chest. The lion has the same yellow glowing eyes that I had seen in the mirror this morning. The tattoo was lifelike; I felt like if I stared at it long enough, it would leap out of his chest.
Andrew was opening the bottle of whiskey that I found in the cupboard. He took a deep breath, tipped bottle and let the liquid flow freely onto the wound in his shoulder.
“AHHHHHHHHHHHHH.” The man was now screaming with his eyes wide open and thrashing back and forth on the table trying to get away. I found myself holding him down when, suddenly, he fell backwards with his eyes rolling into the back of his head.
“I’m going to suture the wound b
ut there isn’t anything I can do about the nasty bruise underneath his breastbone. That could be, and most likely is, internal bleeding. Without the necessary equipment, I think his prognosis is grim.”
The effects of the day was getting to me, so much so, that I found myself sitting down on one of the walnut chairs with tears streaming down my face.
“I wish that I could’ve been there to protect you. I can only thank god that someone intervened. Being mugged is a traumatic event. You’re going to have to come to terms with the fact you survived and the person that came to your rescue might not. It’s called survivor guilt. I’ve seen it many times in the emergency room.” I felt his hand on my chin raising it so that he could see my face. Using his fingers, he wiped my tears.
Getting down on his knees, he let me cry on his shoulder until finally there were no more tears. I look up at him, seeing love and compassion. He leaned down and pressed his lips to mine. We were getting lost in the moment; I was busily taking off his tailored tie and jacket, then on unbuttoning his shirt. I think I fell in love with Andrew because of his caring nature, like how he went out of his way to save a stranger’s life..
His kisses are soft and demanding, he was now opening my own blouse and planting his face between my cleavage. I moved my hands to his short hair, feeling the bristles of his goatee against my skin, and then the feel of his lips licking delicately against the fabric of my black bra. He found the clasp in the back, opening it and letting the dainty material fall into his hands.
“I always feel like I am in the presence of greatness, and every time I see you like this, I know I am home and am exactly where I’m supposed to be. I didn’t know what I was missing until the day you came into the emergency room, looking like a drowned puppy.” His lips then touched my nipples, circling them and making me thrust my chest into him.
“I need you so bad, Andrew. I can’t believe you’ve stood by me through thick and thin. I couldn’t imagine that kind of love in my life, and here you are not asking any questions and just doing what I ask of you. How did I get so lucky to have you stand by me like this, when I could be some kind of serial killer or criminal of some kind?”
“I see your heart. And, whoever you are, I know that you have goodness that goes beyond your past.” He went lower, until my legs were up over his shoulders, and I was using the chair and table to keep me from falling over onto the floor. He easily pulled my panties to the side, looking at me like he was seeing me with new eyes. “I have to tell you, I was blind and just going through the motions, but your love has opened my eyes and made me see for the first time. There’s more to life than just working long hours, and you gave me that.”
“Oh my…yes…just like that, Andrew.” I felt his tongue insistently opening me up to his oral advances. I didn’t want to close my eyes, because I didn’t want to miss any of what he was doing, and especially since he was looking up at me the whole time. “You have saved me…. ahhhh…in more ways than one…a little more…faster…YESSSSSSS.” My emotions were so pent up that I needed this release to feel like myself again. He brought the woman into me, and continued to drink from the source of the well, until there was nothing left to consume.
I heard the tell-tale sound of his zipper being pulled down. He lifted me until I was on top of the table with my legs around his waist. Neither one of us had to say anything, as I reached down and took a hold of him by the base, feeling him tremble at my touch, and then placing him in the exact spot where he needed to be. I was still coming down from the afterglow of my first climax, while he put a little bit of pressure behind his thrust, essentially taking me with one long delicious stroke.
Holding still, he leaned down and kissed me, while pushing up against me, until we were making these lewd wet sounds, as our bodies came crashing against each other over and over again. To say that we were attuned to each others bodies would be a major understatement.
The table began to creak on its legs, while we both looked at each other and felt this intense electricity burning through our loins. His movements were getting a little bit more quicker, and I reached down to use my thumb to ignite the fire from within, until my head was whiplashing back and forth on the table in absolute pleasure.
“AHHHHHHHHHH.” My body was reacting to the internal pressure of his manhood, strangling the thing with my inner muscles, until he finally let out a long drawn out moan.
We sat together, with his head on top of my chest, while I straddled his lap and sat there caressing his hair and hoping that we could stay like this forever.
Chapter3
It was a long night, consisting of Andrew getting up and administering to the mystery man’s groans of pain. I must have fallen asleep at one point.
“Gail, wake up…wake up…wake up.” I had slept through the night on a chair without moving a single solitary muscle.
“I think I might be still dreaming or did I really sleep through the night without walking around?” Andrew was smiling, looking at me as if things were going to be OK. “I don’t wanna get my hopes up, but this has to be a good sign.”
“I didn’t want to believe it myself, Gail, but the proof is right here staring us both in the face. This might be the turning point, or might be just because your body was so tuned up from what happened yesterday that it needed this time to rest. I guess we won’t really know if things have changed until tonight, but I am optimistic that I might not find you in the kitchen on top of the counter again.” I momentarily forgot the real situation: that a mystery man, still unconscious, saved me from people I have no recollection of.
“I guess I’m being a little bit selfish; I didn’t even ask how he was doing. How much time does he have left? Is there anything you can do that would make him feel a little bit more comfortable?” I felt I owed the mystery man a debt for his heroism but I wasn’t even sure would be possible.
“It’s what in my trade would call a miracle. The bruise underneath his breastbone has almost completely healed. He has an amazing will to live, and if I didn’t know any better, I would think he was going to make a full recovery.”
That’s good to know, I think, because I still had things to ask him.
“I checked his wound earlier and the bleeding had stopped. All we have to do now is wait for him to wake up and then he should be fine.” I had lied to Andrew about the people who attacked me, saying they were thieves but I felt it was about time to put all my cards on the table.
“That’s good news.” I say. “Look Andrew, I need to tell you something. I wasn’t mugged. In fact, they seemed to know me. And, while they attacked me, I had these flashes of memory, similar to my night walk vision – with bodies being torn apart. I felt so confused like my head was going to explode. That’s when he came to my rescue.” I said pointing to the mystery man. “If it wasn’t for him, I’m not sure I would be here.” I still hadn’t revealed that there was something different about me, a certain power that I felt all the way down to my toes, such as my inhuman strength almost animalistic and feral nature.
“So, you think this man might know you?” I nodded my head affirmatively while getting up and going over to a table he was laying on. Andrew was right, the huge black and blue bruise had now turned into a small discoloration you would barely notice unless you leaned forward and squinted.
“Gail, I hope he gives you what you’re looking for, but there’s a small part of me that wonders if you might be better off not knowing. Then again, what if you find out who you are, and then your feelings for me changes? I know that it’s wrong for me to think this way and I should be happy that you are finally finding something about your past. That being said, I will do whatever I can to help you and will follow you on this path wherever it leads us.” I could see how conflicted he was but I was unable comfort him because I really didn’t know what was going to happen.
“I wish I could say everything is going to be fine, but I think we both know I would be lying. The problem is, we’ve been living in a bubble, unsure of
what lay ahead. I really did feel like a Damocles sword above my head for the past year. It was just a matter of when it was going to strike, well, it looks like it finally has.” He held me close, not saying anything else and just letting me enjoy the comforting arms surrounding me.
“Ahhhhh…where am I?’ We both turned at the same time, seeing the mystery man lifting himself up unto his elbows, while moving his eyes back and forth over the entire place. “What the hell…ahhhh…. happened?” Andrew went over and gently put his hands on his shoulders to make him lay back down.
“If you continue to move like that, you’re only going to hurt yourself even more. Those sutures need to have time to heal your body, and the only way that’s happening is if you stay completely still for a little while. If you are up to it, I have somebody here that wants to talk to you.” My nerves were making my stomach churn with butterflies. I walked over on shaky legs, not quite knowing what I was going to hear about myself.
“Tina… I can’t believe it’s you! Now I remember what happened. Your sister Sheila had been tasked to find you. She brought the twins in case you fought. They forget how dangerous you can be, as you are stronger than all of them put together.” He was telling me that my own sister was trying to kill me...
“I’m sorry, I don’t know how to say this, but, I only remember this past year of my life. Nothing else.” He has the same look my supposed sister did in the parking lot. There was something very familiar about this man. Suddenly, I found myself putting my hand on his cheek, in tenderness. He leaned into it with his eyes closed, moving his head back and forth in the palm of my hand. It felt natural, and I know that I’ve done this before.
