The Lady with Blue Lips

by Brenda Franklin

  Chapter Six:

  Austin was more than happy to offer up his place as the sun went down and the building was no longer filled with tense people and officers giving strange looks to one another. Olivia was too tired to reject Austin’s offer. She found it a blessing to know that she wouldn’t be alone for the night, but she told him by morning she planned to call her sister and her husband to let them know she was moving back in.

  “You can stay as long as you like.” Austin said pouring her a glass of water.

  “No. I think I really should move back to Jordan’s house. I just think this is all a bit much for me at the moment.” Olivia replied rubbing her eyes.

  “Well, if you think that’s the best I won’t stop you, but I must insist that you eat something before going to bed.” He suggested digging through the cabinets.

  “I don’t think I can.” She weakly mumbled. Olivia’s leg wouldn’t stop shaking as she eased down and laid her head on the pillow on the couch.

  “You can have the bed Olivia. I’ll take the couch.”

  “No, I couldn’t.”

  “I insist.” He said putting on some water. She looked over her shoulder at the back of the man. He had treated her so kindly. She wasn’t sure how she could repay him. Austin looked around his pantry for a minute before sighing and clicking off the almost boiling water on the stove.

  “What’s wrong?” She asked.

  “Well, I thought I have some Ragu in the cabinet here. I was planning on making some pasta.” I turned back towards her leaning against the counter. “I was hoping if I started cooking something you’d get an appetite again and want a little, but I don’t have any.” You snatched the phone up. “Plan B, delivery.”

  Her stomach growled under her hand. Her hungry having returned full force loving the thought of some pasta, then it hit her. She realized she had some in her apartment. “I have some.” She lifted from her seat and pulled her key out of her pocket.

  “Great!” He exclaimed setting the phone back down. “I’ll run over and grab it.”

  “No, I can.” She said getting up.

  “How about I come with.” He offered and again she turned him down.

  “I’ll be right back. Besides, you need to get the noodles cooking. It will only take a minute.” She promised with an alternate motive. She needed to grab a change of clothes.

  “Okay, but if you’re not back in five minutes I’m coming over there to get you.” He said pushing a button on his watch. She looked at his confused. “It’s a stop watch as well and you’re time’s running out.” He laughed.

  “Oh!” She quickly and playfully took off from the room, into the hall, and next door where she hesitated for a moment before entering the soon to be unoccupied apartment.

  Stepping into the room she couldn’t help but feel the urge to call out to Lexington, but stopped herself. She quickly drifted over into the kitchen where she opened a couple of cabinet doors before locating the Ragu.

  “There you are.” She said grabbing the glass jar, but once she had it down and into her hands the lights turned off. She froze, her palms sweating, her breath hot in the instantly freezing air, and her hair standing on end.

  She shock, telling herself to close her eyes and head for the front door, but movement pulled her eyes unwillingly the opposite direction. A quick shuffle of noise, a creak of a door, and movement out the corner of her eye forced her attention directly down the hallway where she could see no more than shapes and shadows, but something clearly stood ominously in the center of the hall.

  She dropped the Ragu and just as it hit the floor, shattering glass pieces, sauce, and chucks of tomatoes and seasonings everywhere the black mass charged her. Olivia turned on her heels and ran for the front door, but having felt the presence almost upon her she quickly change directions and dove behind on of the couches and out of sight at the black form slammed into the door with a loud thud and sharp intake of breath.

  As it groaned Olivia looked around for the next thing to do. The intruder stood between her and the door. She prayed Austin would be coming over any minute having realized it was taking her way too long, but she couldn’t fully rely on him coming to save the day as again he began to move ever so slowly closer to the couch she was hiding behind.

  She covered her mouth to control her breathing and shaky jaw as the person gripped onto the top of the couch. With her heart beating loudly against her chest, her body shaking, and her eyes filled with water she couldn’t focus on what to do next.

  A breeze of cold air eased up her arms causing her hair to stand on end. A dim whisper hissed into her ears. She managed not to jump at the voice, but snapped her neck to the side coming face to face with a pale object on its hands and knees crawled up next to her. The form was a woman with large sunken in eyes, hair flat and matted against her body, with the bluest of lips.

  Olivia released a squeak of a gasp. The person behind the couch moved quickly, but so did the pale woman. She crawled inhumanly down the hall in the blink of an eye somehow visible. The intruder was almost upon Olivia when she did what no one in their right mind would have done, she followed the crawling creature of a woman down the hall trying not to trip over her own feet as she was closely pursued.

  Just as she slid into the room her bedroom door seem to shut behind her and without thinking she locked the doorknob.

  The man on the other side of the door slammed against eth door several times trying to break it down almost as she stayed pressed against s in fear he would break it down.

  Again a cold breeze nipped at Olivia’s right ear and she turned, her lips quivering, towards the dark space before her relieve to see nothing, but she wasn’t alone. Metal clanked together, things tapped each other, and she looked farther over her shoulder to see the swaying of the hangers in her closet.

  Her back pressed firm against the door she was too scared to move as the intruder again tried the door knob. She was almost certain he would break it off. She thought about going out the windows but just as she got enough courage to step away from the door two hangers flew across the room. She stumbled back with a cry.

  “Go away!” She cried, but both the door behind her and the hangers, continued to move.

  Another inaudible noise tickled her already freezing ear and she moved away from the suddenly appearing pale woman whose neck twisted in an unnatural way. The woman looked between Olivia and the closet and then back.

  The woman slid across the floor in the blink of an eye standing before the closet when Olivia noticed the person had given up on the door and was now jingling what sounded like keys.

  Olivia swallowed the lump in her throat and flew towards the closet where the woman no longer stood. She eased her head in and gasped at what she found.

  It was a small hidden door pushed inwards into her closet from the other side from Austin’s apartment. On the other side of the door sat the pale figure laid against a wall lifelessly. Olivia pushed through the small doorway as the person behind her entered into her room. She quickly shut the door and found the several locks against the back of it which she quickly locked and secured. Turning back towards the woman she didn’t see her, instead she noticed a deep freeze plugged up and shoved into the corner of the room. A room in which looked a bit like a storage/artist room. Across the floor laid plastic which crunched below her feet with every step closer to the freezer.

  “No!” Cried the person on the other side of the wall after slamming his fist against it before stumbling back through her closet and out into her apartment. Olivia had no time to spare as she rushed out the room and into the hall where she bolted down and into the living room.

  With each step farther into the living room she realized Austin wasn’t cooking, the water wasn’t boiling, and she was in trouble. She almost made it to the front door. Her hands where out ready to slap the locks shut when it flew open catching her wrist. She cried out in sob of pain as Austin rushed into the room gasping for breath and locking the door shut
behind him.

  Chapter Seven: