Taken By Surprise

by Jessica Frances

  ***

  Monday I drag myself out of bed to go to work. Sleeping so much is upsetting Dad a lot and working is bound to help distract me from the questions running over and over again in my mind. I make a showing of taking two helpings of cereal and leave to go to work. I get there late today and find most of the guys already working. I make my way towards the shaft to move to the top floor when Adam finds me.

  “Decided to turn up to work?” Adam taunts. I’m definitely not in the mood today so I ignore him.

  “What, nothing to say? Did I upset you? You’re not going to poison my food, are you?”

  “Shut up.” I clench my fists, trying to keep my cool. My jaw tightens and my teeth start to hurt from the pressure.

  “You know, I suppose I should thank you for not dating Gemma anymore. Who knows when you would have decided to poison her. Is that what happened with your date? Did she not want a second one with you?” Adam steps closer to me, completely oblivious to the anger raging through me.

  “You know poison is a pretty shit way to kill someone. Too afraid to get your hands dirty?”

  I lose control then. The hums that surround us on a daily basis goes silent as they all shut off. I turn and slam Adam into the side wall and hold my arm over his neck. I want so badly to squeeze his throat into the wall further so he stops breathing, so he stops talking.

  “Charlie!” Frank, the foreman, yells at me and I force myself to calm down. I reluctantly let go of Adam and watch as he splutters and coughs, trying to breathe in air before he collapses to the ground.

  “What the hell is going on over here?” Frank demands. I don’t have an answer for him and, luckily, I don’t need one.

  “Frank, everything’s shut off. We’ve lost all power. We’re already behind three weeks—”

  “I don’t have time for this shit, so sort this out and if this happens again, I don’t care who the hell you are, you’ll both be fired,” Frank yells at us and then storms off, slapping his radio as he tries to get it to work.

  I turn away from Adam as well as all the stares I’m getting from the guys and storm off. I can still feel that anger inside me and I know I have to cool off. I walk off the site and down the opposite side of the street to the coffee place where I met Nora.

  I hear my cell go off and pull it out of my pocket, thankful it’s still working and expecting to see Dad’s name. Instead it reads Hilary. She’s a girl I dated on and off for a few years at school. She had been head cheerleader and, with me captain of the basketball team, we were a match made in high school heaven. After school, we broke up and became friends. The pressure to be together at school had really been what had held us together and the fact that Hilary is now a lesbian really shot down any chance of a reunion.

  “Hey, Hil, did you find anything out?” Hilary has been working at Houston PD for a couple of years and I called her yesterday to see if she had heard anything.

  “Yeah, I did some digging. Tests found that your friend had her steak poisoned with a Beta Blocker. It’s used to treat heart problems and a bunch of other things. Used improperly, though, it can be deadly, which you obviously already know now. No one else who ate the steak was poisoned. I pulled a favor with one of the detectives and found out that after several interviews with staff and other patrons, it is believed a new woman who was hired just the day before was the one to bring your food out to you guys. A couple thought they remembered seeing someone sprinkle a seasoning over a meal around the time you guys received yours. The woman, a Jane Smith, if you can believe that, has not shown up for work today and the address she gave to her employer is a fake. The heat’s off you now and it’s on this mystery woman.”

  “Why hurt Nora?”

  “I dunno, Charlie. I’m sorry.”

  “Thanks for looking into it for me.”

  I click off my cell and keep walking. So she had been deliberately poisoned. Did Nora have enemies? I really didn’t know much about her.

  I turn the corner and walk straight into an old lady.

  “Sorry.” I glance at her apologetically. I’m too distracted to be out in public. Next, I’ll be walking into oncoming traffic. After seeing my face, though, the lady grabs my arm tightly. “Ouch, lady, what’s your problem?” I try to shake my arm to get it free, but she holds on even tighter. She pulls out a knife with her other hand and holds it to my stomach. I freeze.

  “Don’t move or I’ll stab you.”

  “Here.” I reach into the back pocket in my jeans and grab my wallet. “I don’t have much, but just take it.” I’m strong enough that I’d probably win a fight between us, even given the knife, but I’m not keen to take the chance.

  “I don’t want your money,” she gasps at me. She looks pale and I notice she’s sweating badly. She looks ill.

  “What do you want?” I’m confused, but it’s quickly disappearing and returning back to fear.

  “I’m so sorry about Nora. I never meant to hurt her. I forgot she hadn’t given up eating red meat yet. When I saw the steak, I just assumed it was yours. I never knew you to eat a salad out at a restaurant.” This lady speaks in a rush and I take several moments to take in what she’s saying to me.

  “You act like you know me.” I again try to pull my arm away, but she holds my arm in a death grip. My hand is going numb from lack of blood being able to pump down to it. People start to stop and stare at us, the knife hidden from the position we’re standing in. I should call out for help. I should do something.

  “I do know you, or at least, I would have.”

  “That doesn’t make sense.” Did this woman break out of some mental facility?

  “I really am sorry about Nora. She may have broken your heart in the end, but she was good for you. She helped you think for you and not for your father.” There are tears now falling down her face.

  “I don’t understand.” I look around us, knowing now is the time to call out. This lady is crazy.

  “It’s okay, Charlie. Just close your eyes and think of something happy. You’ll be with your mother soon.”

  My stomach drops and I feel dizzy for a moment. Am I about to die? “Who are you?” I demand.

  “It’s not important, dear. Just do as I say. Close your eyes.”

  I refuse to. “Let me go.” I again struggle.

  A man steps closer to us, his eyes widening as he finally sees the knife sitting closely to my stomach.

  “It’s the way it has to be.”

  “You’re insane. I don’t know you and you don’t know me.”

  “I’m sorry, Charlie.”

  “Please don’t.” A panic overwhelms me and people around us start moving quickly, panic in their faces, too. I already know I have shorted out their cells, it’s impossible for any of them to call out for help.

  “You’re making this harder for me.” I feel her grip falter and I take my chance to pull my arm free. I watch, frozen in place, as she starts to fall down. Her body is shaking now and sweat is pouring from her face. “No, I must do this.” She cries.

  I freeze over her, not taking my chance to run and, instead, watch her gasp for breath. I wonder if she, too, has been poisoned. What does it matter, though? This lady has admitted to killing Nora, admitted to wanting to kill me, has even attempted to kill me right this second. I take a step back, but can’t bring myself to run. I should, she held me at knife point and still holds that same knife in her hand, but I feel drawn to her.

  “Are you okay?” It’s completely ridiculous that I ask that. She has killed an innocent girl and tried to kill me.

  “I failed you and I’m so sorry.” She closes her eyes and gasps for a few moments before she is then deadly still.

  I reach out a hand to check her pulse, but then her entire body seems to shake before it caves in and turns to ashes. I jump back, fearing this is some chemical reaction doing this, that if I touch her, I’ll have the same fate. Bodies don’t disintegrate like this, something isn’t right.

  Feeli
ng more than freaked out, I follow the lead set by everyone around me and run. I sprint down the street and keep going until my legs hurt and I have to stop to catch my breath. My body is shaking all over and I feel powerless when something damp is forcibly placed over my mouth.

  That’s when I am dragged forward and see a white van with its side door opened.

  Am I really about to be kidnapped after what I’ve just been through? Is the world simply having a screw-with-Charlie kind of day?

  I struggle against the arms forcing me forward and try to turn my head to get a look at who is taking me, but my vision doubles suddenly and my stomach lurches with every jolt. The damp cloth is taken away from my mouth as I’m roughly pushed into the van. Black boots follow me in and my head drops close to them. I want to move out of the way, fearful I am about to get a kick to the head, however my body won’t move and my eyes begin to close. I feel paralyzed and panic rises up for only a moment before it gives way to exhaustion. Sinking into a deep sleep, I can only hope that when I wake, this will all be part of some strange nightmare.

  BLAKE DWELLS