The Savior Rises

by Christopher C. Payne

  There was a light tap on the door, and Staci entered wearing her bathrobe. “Are you ok?” she asked softly. “You’re worrying me.”

  “I don’t know,” Stefani sobbed. “I honestly don’t know what’s happening. Didn’t we go to the hospital yesterday? Didn’t a bunch of men break into our apartment? What’s happening?”

  She couldn’t catch her breath. She felt nauseous again. Staci sat down on the bed next to her and wrapped her arms around Stefani.

  “Why don’t you just stay home today? Maybe call in sick. It sounds like you could use some rest, sweetie.”

  Stefani just cried and finally said, “Ok, I think that’s a good idea.”

  She laid her head down and curled up in a little ball as Staci closed the drapes.

  “I’ll be here for about 30 more minutes if you need anything. You can also call me at work if you want to,” she said. “I could come home early, as well. It’s a pretty light load for me today, so if you need something, just let me know.”

  “Sure,” Stefani replied.

  She’d seen her mom. Her mom was alive. How could her mom be alive, and how could she, Stefani, be lying here in her bed? What happened to Matt? It wasn’t like she even knew how to find him. She jumped up and grabbed the phone. She had been in the San Francisco General Hospital. They had to have a record of her.

  She dialed 411 and asked for the number. She let the system carry her through until she finally reached an actual person on the other end of the line in hospital admissions.

  “Hi, I was checked in yesterday to your hospital. My name is Stefani Hernandez. Can you please tell me if my test results are back? They did some blood work.”

  She waited for several minutes, listening to the warped music on the other end of the line. She wondered if she were going crazy. Maybe she was insane. Insane people have no idea what they are doing, right? Things just didn’t add up.

  Finally, the lady on the other end came back and, as Stefani expected, the answer made no sense.

  “Really, you don’t have any record of my being admitted? There are no tests pending? I was never there?”

  Stefani hung up the phone and talked to herself. She curled up in a ball again. She cried, but this time she didn’t even realize it. Her mind acted involuntarily. Was this how you found out you were crazy?

  She clutched her doll and wrapped her arms around her pillow. Her hand scraped something underneath, and she picked it up. It was somehow stuck inside the pillowcase. She stared at it for several minutes. Her eyes glued to a plastic bracelet from San Francisco General Hospital with her name on it. It had her name on it.

  She didn’t realize she was screaming until Staci ran through her door.

  “Oh, my God, are you ok?! I thought you were being attacked,” Staci yelled.

  Stefani didn’t have any idea what to do. She was so lost.

  “I’m just going to take a shower,” she said.

  She folded the bracelet inside the palm of her hand. For some reason, she didn’t want to share this with her roommate right now. She just wanted to be alone.

  She walked to the bathroom and flipped the faucet up, letting the warming mist fill the air. She just sat and stared at herself in the mirror. She really didn’t look very good right now. She stripped off her sweat pants and T-shirt, never taking her eyes off the mirror. She almost felt like she couldn’t look away. Maybe she would disappear if she lost her reflection.

  She could hear Staci on the phone now. The walls in these apartments are so thin, she thought to herself. She never did like to eavesdrop, but a couple of words she heard intrigued her.

  “I think she’s buying it, but she’s still unstable. I don’t know how long I can keep her here, but I’ll do my best. You have my word. I love you, too.”

  With that, Staci hung up the phone.

  Stefani stepped into the shower. She washed her hair, put conditioner in, scrubbed her back and even took the time to shave her legs. It felt like days since she had been clean for some reason, and it felt good, rejuvenating even, to be back on track. Taking a shower always helped her focus. There was something about the warm water cascading over her face. It calmed her down and helped her think.

  She wrapped the towel around her and headed to her room.

  “I decided to just work at home today,” Staci yelled as Stefani walked by. Stefani didn’t respond.

  She picked out a pair of jeans and a spaghetti-strapped undershirt. She always loved the color purple and thought today was a good day to wear her light purple blouse. It was possibly a little too dressy for the daytime, but at this point she really didn’t care.

  She brushed her hair, blew it dry, and meticulously applied her make-up. It felt so relaxing to do her daily routine. She even took the time to do her nails. They probably didn’t need it, but she felt like it. From now on, she really was going to do whatever she felt like doing.

  After throwing on her socks and favorite black boots, she walked out to the hallway and down to Staci’s room. Staci sat on her bed, doing something on her computer. She didn’t even look up when Stefani entered. She kept typing away.

  “Can I help you with something, honey?” Staci mumbled absentmindedly. She wasn’t even paying attention.

  Stefani walked over to the bed, grabbed Staci around the neck with her right hand, and threw her up against the wall. She really was pretty damn strong. She felt a twinge of pride in her physical capabilities.

  “What?!” Staci squeaked. Stefani held her by the throat securely. Staci’s arms flailed, and Stefani smacked her across the face with her left hand. She held back somewhat, not wanting to hurt Staci too badly.

  “Time to answer some questions, you lying piece of crap,” Stefani said calmly. “I’m no longer in the mood to play. Every time I think you’re lying to me, I’ll break one of your fingers. Do you understand?”

  Stefani heard this line in a movie recently. She couldn’t even remember which one, but it sounded appropriate.

  She wondered if she really could break Staci’s fingers. It might be possible. After everything she had been through, why not? It wasn’t like Staci was really on her side. Jesus, she didn’t even know how the sides were defined. She actually didn’t even know what the sides were about.

  “First, who are you, and why are you here?” Stefani said calmly, as she relaxed her grip on Staci’s throat a little.

  Staci coughed a couple of times and, then, erupted with a barrage of words so quickly she was difficult to understand.

  “I really don’t know anything. They’ve just been paying me to keep an eye on you. They told me that someday they’d need me to help them, nothing bad, just help them,” Staci said. “They called me last night and said they were going to clean things up. All I had to do was pretend nothing happened – that the attack wasn’t real. They’d do everything else. All I had to do was pretend and tell them if you left the apartment. I swear; I don’t know anything. I never meant to hurt you.”

  Staci started crying. Stefani could no longer even hold her up. She bawled full force and slumped down on the bed, sniveling like a school girl.

  Jesus, was her entire life a lie? Was there anyone or anything that was real?

  One thing was sure, it was time to leave. She walked over to Staci’s table, picked up the phone, and yanked the wire straight out of the wall. Staci’s cell phone sat on the bed, so Stefani picked it up, dropped it on the floor, and crushed it under the heel of her boot.

  “If you step out of this room, I’ll kill you. Do you understand me?” she said, calmly.

  Staci emphatically shook her head up and down as mucus dropped from both nostrils to her waiting lap below. She was obviously not an integral part of the recent events. She had the spine of a pathetic invalid.

  Stefani walked out of the room and slammed the door behind her. She grabbed her suitcase from the top of her closet and threw as many clothes as she could pile inside. She grabbed handfuls from her drawers and randomly yanked things off
of hangers. She looked at her doll, picked it up and ripped the head off in one clean jerk.

  Some stuffing fell out, but nothing else was inside. It seemed whatever ring they had been so hot and bothered about was no longer in her possession. She really didn’t care. She was not a part of their world and, for better or worse, it was time for her to exit.

  She grabbed her suitcase and headed out the front door, yanking the living room phone wire out of the wall on her way. There was no reason to give Staci any opportunity to rat her out, which she was pretty sure would happen quickly enough.

  She walked the two blocks to the closest ATM, withdrew $1,000, and continued on to the corner, waving her hand. It didn’t take long for a taxi to stop. The driver got out and tossed her bag in the trunk as she dropped down in the backseat.

  “Where to lady?” he stammered.

  “I am heading to the San Francisco Airport, please,” she responded.

  “Exciting, where are you off to?”

  “Anywhere but here,” she heard herself answer. “I just want to get there fast.”

  Just as the driver was about to pull away from the curb, someone started beating on her window, and her door flew open. Matt stood there, staring at her with those puppy dog eyes, looking like he had been through a night of pure hell.

  “Please, can I get in?” he asked. “Please, I really need your help.”

  Stefani sat and stared at him, not fully knowing what to think. How was it possible to feel this connected to somebody she’d just met? There was something there; she felt it in her bones, but she couldn’t wrap her fingers around what it was.

  Maybe this guy was legitimate; and if that were the case, he’d just found out his father and his entire life were lies. Stefani could relate to that.

  We Are All Lost?

  “Why should I let you in, Matt? How do I know I can trust you?” Stefani asked.

  “Because, I have your ring,” he said.

  With that, he pulled out the necklace with the ring still attached. It dangled back and forth, looking almost alive as if it had found its way home. It sparkled as rays of sunlight reflected on its surface. Interestingly enough, it seemed to be mocking her, daring her to snatch it from Matt’s hand and take on the responsibility.

  “In or out people? I have to move,” said the driver, interrupting Stefani’s thoughts.

  “Get in, quickly, before I change my mind,” she said. “How did you get it, by the way? I can’t imagine they just let you have it.”

  “When you fainted, I knelt down next to you and removed it without my father, well, whoever he is, seeing me,” Matt explained. “Then, I just slipped it in my pocket. He was furious when he couldn’t find it. They stripped you down naked, doing everything they could to locate it. Then, they left.

  “They didn’t even say anything to me. They just left. I walked in the bathroom, splashed water on my face, and tried to get my senses together. I came back out, and you were gone. I was on my way to your apartment when I saw you hailing a cab, so I ran over.”

  “That all sounds logical, which means I have no idea what to believe. Everyone seems to be lying to me. I don’t have any idea what to do,” Stefani sighed. Her strength seemed close to failing again.

  “I can help with that,” Matt replied. “When I was in England, I met an old guy named Hector. He lived in Bath. He used to tell me stories about gargoyles and legends about a ring. He seemed like an old man weaving tales at the time. I understood gargoyles, so I knew some of what he said made sense, but some of it seemed exaggerated.

  “He used to reference a ring and a prophecy. The prophecy spoke of a girl, an all-consuming power, and the destruction of the world. It all seemed more like fantasy than reality, but now I’m not so sure.”

  Stefani thought for a moment.

  “Europe. I don’t have the kind of money to romp around Europe on a magical make-believe excursion,” she said. “I’m a waitress for Christ’s sake.”

  “Well, in that area, I can definitely help. I have more money available to me than I could ever hope to spend, and I might as well use it before Greg cuts me off,” Matt said. “It seems like I might have outlived my usefulness. Not that I really knew what that was to begin with.”

  On the one hand, it was easy to see he had never been close to his father, but, on the other hand, having your father rip any semblance of a relationship out from under you is a lot to digest. Matt turned away from Stefani and wiped his face. It seemed he was still navigating the murky waters of how to move forward.

  “Well, I have nothing else to do. My roommates are all working for the bad guys, apparently. Whoever the bad guys might happen to be. I have no idea who my mother is or if she is even alive or dead,” Stefani said bitterly. “My entire world seems about as royally screwed as yours. Seems like a perfect time to head to Europe. Let’s do it.”

  With it decided, they rode the rest of the way to the airport in silence. Matt traveled extensively, so once they arrived at the ticket window, he figured out a decent flight for them that left in three hours. He bought first class tickets on British Airways and led her to the first class lounge.

  “If you are heading over to Europe, traveling first class is the only way to go,” he said excitedly.

  Three Bloody Mary’s later, they were relaxed and headed to their gate.

  Nothing passes time like getting sloshed in the first class lounge, Stefani thought to herself. What kind of lifestyle had she missed out on? From drinking to being rich, it seemed she was moving up in the world.

  “Hey, do you know why they call them ’Bloody Mary’s’?” Matt asked with glassy eyes and a big grin.

  “No, why?” she responded.

  “Apparently some Queen of England, back in the old days, was named Mary. I guess her father, who was king before her, got tired of her mom and banished her,” Matt recited as though he were reading a history book. “When the king remarried, the new wife told him he really needed to cut ties with Mary and her mother on all counts, so he did. Then the king died; the new wife became queen, and guess what? She died, too. Everyone up and croaked, which left Mary as the next in line to rule.”

  “The real kicker is her father, when he was king, was a new-wave radical thinker and made all of these changes in the church. Give the people their religion. Let them decide. I guess he broke ties with Rome, as well. Apparently the sermons used to always be given in Latin, so nobody understood what was being said. Her father changed things so the sermons were given in English. It flipped out The Vatican, but the people loved it.”

  “Somehow, Mary blamed all of this religion stuff on her father’s ditching her and her mother. So when she took over, she declared the people would hang up these new-fangled ideas and go back to the old ways.”

  “The people didn’t like that so she gave them an ultimatum. Do it my way or die. It didn’t help that her husband never really loved her; and after a very short stay in the castle, he ended up traveling a lot. He never came home. I guess it was the same back then as it is now when your wife is, um, well, you know, a raving lunatic.”

  “So Mary went on a killing rampage and had her men burn, stab, maim, and basically do away with anyone who didn’t conform. Not a very nice lady, if you ask me. So with so much blood on her hands, she became known as ‘Bloody Mary.’ I forget why we have the drink named after her, though. Damn, and that was the point of the story, wasn’t it?”

  Matt laughed at himself. It was good to have a little humor with everything that was happening.

  Stefani smiled at him. She couldn’t tell if he were nervous or if he normally rattled on without interruption. He just kept talking and talking. It had been that way ever since they entered the airport. He seemed like a worldly guy, but he tripped over his own feet, right and left.

  “First class is now welcome to board,” the flight attendant announced over the loud speaker.

  “That’s us,” Matt said with a grin. “Let’s go relax some more for a few hour
s and forget about our troubles.”

  Stefani had never been on an airplane before, so she had no experience with first class. There was nothing about her life that resonated class on any level. Jesus, she was a stripper although that life seemed so far away. It was as if she were no longer her own person anymore. Apparently, whoever she had been was just a lie, anyway.

  “May we take you to your seat, ma’am,” the flight attendant asked when Stefani flashed her ticket.

  “Sure, that would be fine,” Stefani said, trying to act as though she flew first class routinely. But her eyes grew wide when the first thing she noticed was the live rose in a single vase in front of the seats. The seats themselves would take a while to explore.

  When she turned around to view the entire area, she was a little shocked to see artwork on the wall. Artwork in a plane?

  She might not have flown on a plane herself, but she had seen enough movies to realize there was no room for artwork hanging on the walls. There was barely enough room to sit, according to the actors, anyway.

  She played with the buttons on her seat the second she sat down and realized it would adjust so it was completely prone. It basically turned into a bed. A bed. A bed on the plane. As she was lying back another flight attendant came by.

  “Would you like some champagne, miss?” she asked.

  “Sure,” Stefani responded.

  “It seems like you’re fitting in quite well,” Matt said with a grin. “Do you think it’d be possible to get used to this?”

  Stefani smiled as she brought her seat back up to a sitting position and tried to figure out the TV. She had her own personal TV and would have the option of picking out whatever movie or show she wanted to watch. It was like having On Demand, right in the plane. She didn’t even foot the bill for On Demand with her cable company at home.

  She suddenly realized that despite the drinks in the lounge and the champagne, she hadn’t eaten anything all day. As the next flight attendant passed by she asked if it would be possible to get some crackers or a snack. The last thing she wanted to do was get sick. Her experience lately in that department had been anything but good.