Red laughed. It was one of those rare times I heard real humor in his voice. “Truth is I didn’t need to be. I didn’t do much today.” He waved a hand across the now empty conference room. “This was all you, D.”
A gentle knock came to the door and then opened before I had a chance to reply. Cassandra’s head poked through, quickly scanned the room, and then her eyes narrowed on me. She held my gaze for just a moment, and then the hint of a smirk came to her lips. She cleared her throat and moved a stray lock of her straight black hair from in front of her face to behind her ear. “There you are, Mr. Winfield. You are a hard man to find these days.”
I turned away from her and looked out the window, making a show of adjusting my tie. “Am I holding up the next meeting?”
“No, it’s your wife.”
I turned around. “My wife?”
“Yes, she’s on the line. But…” Cassandra smirked again and opened the door wide enough to slide her slender body into the room. “You look like you can use some relaxation before you head home. Should I tell her you’ll call her back in say…a half hour, maybe?”
The already crushing weight of guilt I carried got heavier. I sighed. “No. Transfer her to my office line.”
Cassandra bit her lip and stole a quick glance behind her, out into the empty hall. “Are you sure? Everyone else is gone. I co—”
“I’m sure. That would be all, Cassandra.” I said, trying to remove as much of the sting as possible and forcing my warmest smile.
The flush of red that rose across her tanned cheeks let me know I had been effective enough. The only way I could hope to reset things would be by sending strong, direct, signals moving forward. She ducked out of the room without another word, and I waited a few extra seconds to give her enough time to make it back to the reception area before I decided to leave.
I took a step towards the door and my vision split in two; the dizziness returned, far worse than before. I squeezed my eyes shut, but instead of subsiding, the feeling only intensified. I felt myself swaying, side to side, despite my best efforts, like a tree in a cold breeze. My world pitched forward, and there was an instant when I felt light, almost weightless, then I hit the ground.
My eyes shot open, and I gasped at what I saw as I slowly panned my head around. Gone was the large boardroom, the table, the chairs, the mid-town office building itself. I found myself outside on my hands and knees, bracing myself in a barren sea of snow that covered every inch of the ground as far as the eye could see, and came almost up to my elbows. The sky was an overcast grey, and thick flurries of snow falling to the ground just a bit slower than it should have. Every few hundred yards, in any direction I looked, black monolithic cylindrical columns rose dozens of feet into the air and somehow didn't accumulate any snow on its polished surface. These were the only other features on the arctic tundra.
I must have hit my head…
Except, this world felt very real, more real than any dream I'd ever had, and invoked a foreboding that I sensed on a visceral level. My heartbeat quickened, for no reason I could put my finger on, and I fought against my every instinct to get up and flee. But…where? I climbed to my feet and, because the landscape was featureless in every direction, just started walking. I made it only a dozen or so yards before my mind finally settled, and I noticed the oddities.
By all accounts, I should have been freezing, except I wasn’t. Despite seeing the vapor escape my mouth on every exhale, I felt just as comfortable as I had been in the climate-controlled conference room. And even though I could feel the crunch of snow underfoot with each step, I somehow still felt the fibers of the conference room carpet under my fingers, the weight of my body on my knees and shins, as if I was still kneeling.
This must be a dream. No sooner than the thought entered my mind, the vague, directionless sense of foreboding solidified, concentrating its focus off in the far distance behind me. I stopped and turned around, peering into the empty expanse, miles upon miles, but could see nothing. Yet, I felt a presence approaching with terrifying speed. It knew I was there, I was sure of it, even if I couldn’t explain what exactly ‘it’ was. But I knew. I needed to flee.
The loud crunching of snow from behind me brought my attention back around towards the direction I had been walking, and my breath caught. Less than fifty yards away, a beast most closely resembling a bear but twice the size and with the bulk of an elephant, barreled towards me, huffing, growling, and grunting. It was both beautiful and savage, with thick ropes of matted fur the same pure white color as the snow trailing in its wake, large black orbs the size of my fists for eyes, and thick canines that protruded a foot from its gaping maw.
Where did…How could I have missed this…
I froze with fear, my head swiveling back and forth from the beast galloping towards me in one direction, and the presence approaching an unknown distance away from the other direction with unfathomable speed. I stole one last look at the beast as it closed to within twenty yards, then turned my back on it to watch the far horizon, hoping to get mauled before the presence reached me.
My body jerked back and forth. My vision blackened, and I felt another instant of weightlessness, and then my eyes snapped open again. I was back inside of the conference room, still on my hands and knees.
Red was standing over me with a puzzled look on his face. “You alright, D?” He said, squinting his eyes as he studied my face. “You were…distant for a moment there.”
“I…ugh…” I looked around again, confused. “I think I passed out…but, I don’t know why, or how.”
Red watched me for a few seconds without saying a word before slowly nodding. “Might still be experiencing some effects from that fight back in the alley, like that time you almost got knocked out training. Took you a week to get over them dizzy spells.”
“Maybe…”
“Come on, get up off the floor.”
I climbed back to my feet, trembling from a combination of nerves and the lingering remnants of that terrifying presence. I was otherwise alright. “Yeah, let’s go.” I left the conference room and headed to my office, leaving Red standing there.
~ * * * ~
Red was already waiting in my office when I got there, leaning up against the window looking out at the city below. Eyeing the spot on the floor I had Fati bent over the night before finally seamed to ease my nerves and reminded me that she had been waiting on the line for me.
I hurried around the desk and saw that the light on line one of the desk phone was still flashing. I sat, took a deep breath to clear the last of the fog from my head, and pressed the speaker phone button. “Hey beautiful.”
“Hi Darien.” She said.
Something in her voice caught my attention. “Is everything alright?”
“Of course,” she laughed, a little too forced. “It’s just, well, remember I mentioned old Ms. Bezi?”
“Yeah, sure. I already told you I’d go with you. You’re getting no argument from me.”
“We should go today.”
Red chuckled, but I ignored him. “Today? Why? Are you serious?”
She sighed. “Darien, please, don’t be difficult.”
I shook my head. “I’m not. Just kind of sudden, that’s all. Why not give her a call and see when she is available for an appointment?”
There was a long pause, and when Fati came back on the line, her voice sounded strained. “Well…that’s just the thing. She called me today, out of the blue. She insisted I come in and see her, said it was urgent. Really freaked me out, babe.”
I leaned back into my chair as I considered. “I…” I flinched when I saw Red now only inches beside me, staring intensely at the phone through narrowed eyes.
“It…” I hesitated as I watched Red, then shook my head and turned back to the phone. “It’s nothing to freak out over, hun. We’ve all had that time when we thought of someone and they call right after.”
“Yeah, but, this wasn’t that. Look, I know what’s
about to happen. We’re going to go back and forth for a long time until either you keep your word, or I hang up frustrated. So, let’s cut right through it, Darien. Ms. Bezi was more adamant than I’ve ever seen her about meeting. So, will you come or not?”
“Hey, hey. No resistance from me. If you want to go, we’ll go. No problem.”
“No.” Red said, his voice was intense.
I looked back up at him and saw him staring at me with a stone serious expression. “Got one of those feelin’s about this one, D. Don't go anywhere near this old woman.”
“Okay great. I'll send Karl to wait for you to get off. I'll be ready by the time you get here.”
My eyes were locked on Red’s. I’m sure he expected me to listen to him. Hell, I expected the same; I always went with Red’s gut when he took such an emphatic position. But I shocked the both of us when instead I turned back to the phone. “Okay, babe. I'll get my stuff.”
Fati sighed in relief. “Thanks, Hun. Let me get ready now.”
“Alright. See you in a bit.”
She hung up. When I looked back up Red was gone.
CHAPTER SEVEN
“PLEASE REMEMBER, HUN. We have to do exactly as Ms. Bezi says. It's very important that we show her the proper respect.”
I looked at Fati with as straight of a face as I could manage, hoping my sheer annoyance showed through. "Now, when have you ever know me to be anything but respectful to my elders?"
Fati nodded. “No, you’re right. It’s just...Ms. Bezi gets a little difficult after dark. It’s why grandma always warned us to see her early in the day." She sighed. "But I'm hoping she can help; I've seen her do some truly amazing things."
I watched Fati, the concern in her eyes that I’ve seen every time she looks at me since walking in on my argument with Red the first time. I had the urge to reach out and hold her, but she turned towards the window, and I allowed the conversation to die. I settled back into the pillowed seat of the Maybach and watched the gritty uptown streets speed by the window.
I couldn't remember the last time I had been up to The Bronx, let alone riding up to the northernmost tip. It hardly felt like we were still in New York City at all. And it wasn't merely the fact that I had gotten so used to the midtown Manhattan comforts, because even the Harlem projects seemed to capture the same spirit of New York City. Up here, watching blocks and blocks of the same squat, shabby looking houses packed together in dark, desolate streets, I felt like an outsider. Nothing about this place felt like the New York City I knew.
Just as my disorientation reached its height, the car slowed to a stop between two beat-up parked cars, one of which sat on bricks, and it’s paint stripped down to the grey metal beneath. Karl lowered the partition and adjusted the mirror to meet our eyes.
“Mr. and Mrs. Winfield, GPS says this here is the place.”
I glanced around through the window and frowned, but Fati released and seatbelt and turned to me as she eased open her the door.
"This is it," Fati said, and then stepped out into the warm summer night and closed the door behind her.
I opened the door, but when Karl cleared his throat, I paused with one foot down in the filthy gutter between the street and sidewalk.
“This here street is too narrow to stay double parked. I’ll drive around the block and pull up at that hydrant we passed near the beginning of the block.
I nodded. “Thank you, Karl. And have the other car pull up at the far corner.”
“Of course. We’ll bookend the street. And…” he pulled a chrome Desert Eagle into view and slid a clip into the grip, “we’ll be ready for any trouble. Should there be any.”
I raised a brow and grinned. “A pistol? My paid detail carry rifles that can put a dozen holes in a man before he can blink an eye.”
Karl laughed. “Why use a dozen bullets when one well placed and well-sized one will do the job just right, young blood?”
I shook my head and stepped out into the muggy night air. Karl pulled off as I started walking towards the house, following behind Fati who was already more than halfway to the door. I heard the Explorer truck that had shadowed my car ride by a heartbeat after Karl pulled off. I took comfort in the fact that four ex-military mercenaries were posted mere feet away.
Fati had already crossed the narrow walkway, up the short Stone steps, and stood to wait in front of the door by the time I crossed the dark street. I took my time as I approached the shaggy, almost abandoned looking house, taking in as much detail of the neglected block as I could. By the time I crossed the pathetic lawn and made it to the base of the stone steps that led up to the front door, I had a rough mental image of the other houses on the block, despite the weak light coming from the lone street lamp for the entire block that was right outside of Ms. Bezi's home.
The other homes on the block were a sad mix of neglected and appalling, with windows and doors either boarded up or broken. For what it was worth, Ms. Bezi’s house, shabby as it was, was the best maintained on the block. The lawn was a dried brown, and a thick layer of what I hoped was black dust covered the entire facade. All of the windows were intact, and there was a general neatness to curtains and flowers visible from inside of the windows.
We waited for a long time in an uncomfortable silence. Fati seemed unconcerned with the wait, and that held my patience in check. Finally, the locks clicked free, one at a time, and a woman far older than I had expected, in spite of Fati’s description, poked her head out of the door.
“Thank goodness you are not as stubborn as your father, child. Come in. There is much and more to discuss this night.” Ms. Bezi said and reached out with her outstretched palm. Fati stepped in closer and offered the old woman her wrist, allowing the old woman to guide her inside.
“You say that every time I visit you, Ms. Bezi, but I always listen to you. We came as soon as we possibly could.” Fati said.
Ms. Bezi froze, and her flat, dignified expression melted to what was a mix of worry and anger. She stepped out of the doorway, pushing past Fati and leveled her milky-white gaze on me. The old woman squinted, and then her eyes widened. Ms. Bezi hurried back inside of her house with surprising vigor, pulling Fati inside after her.
I glanced around, shocked at the chilly greeting. I was about to turn back around and head to the corner where Karl would be waiting any minute, but I froze when I heard the hushed, urgent voice of the old woman coming from the other side of the door. I climbed the short flight of stairs and pressed my ear to the door.
“…just as hardheaded as your father.”
“But…Ms. Bezi, we…we came as soon as we could. Didn’t even wait a day, just like you said.”
“Stupid girl! I told you to come. You! I did not tell you to bring anyone else, especially him.”
“But…I was going to call you and ask you to help him. I thought you knew, and was the whole rea—”
“Oh, hush. No matter now, girl. Come, come."
The voices trailed off as they moved deeper into the house. I found myself standing outside of the old house, growing more uneasy as the minutes trailed off. Something about the house made me more nervous than it should have. Instead of going back to the car and waiting, I began pacing the old woman’s dusty yard.
After maybe two minutes passed that felt more like as many hours, my phone buzzed. I pulled it out of my pocket and saw a text message notification from Fati.
Sorry, Hun. This is a bit strange, even for her. I'll be out as soon as possible.
I shrugged. I only came at Fati’s insistence. If the old woman didn’t want me in her house, I definitely wouldn’t lose any sleep over it. I replied, No worries. I'll be here entertaining the rats.
Fati didn’t respond again the entire time she was inside. The minutes dragged on until eventually I sat on the steps and started answering emails from work on my phone of all things. It had been several minutes before I even thought to check the time, but even then it was another hour at least before my phone buzzed again wit
h another message from Fati.
She wants you to come inside and join us.
"That took long enough, babe," I mumbled to myself and forced a laugh.
The moment I entered the small, shadowed foyer, the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end, and I fought an almost overwhelming urge to flee the house. There was an energy in the air that somehow invoked a feeling I was not welcome—no, more like a feeling that I shouldn’t be there. I felt alone, exposed.
I shook my head and gave myself a few hard slaps to the face to get a hold of myself. If I didn’t start moving immediately, I knew I would turn back and leave, getting as far away from the house as fast as I could.
Directly across the room was a single doorway with bare hinges where it looked like a door was once mounted, and the hall beyond was utterly black, with the only light coming in from the small decorative panes above the entry door falling off not even two feet inside of the corridor. I took a deep breath and began to walk. The negative energy grew stronger with each step, so much so that when I reached the far end of the foyer I almost turned and fled from the house again, but I heard Fati's voice from within…or at least I thought I did, and I continued. When I finally stepped into the hall itself, the feeling completely vanished.
It was only a momentary relief as I continued deeper into the house. The walls had no form of décor, except for maybe the peeling paint that was only visible because of the contrast of the dark color and the lighter exposed sheetrock beneath everywhere the walls peeled and cracked.
The house felt a little dead, an almost negative energy. And the voices I thought I heard were gone, replaced with an eerie silence. Even the sound of my footfalls, which had been creaking and scraping across the dried wood floor, was now completely silent, as if I was walking on soft carpet. It was every bit as uncomfortable as the house foyer, just in a different way.
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