So far the Shadows had never sought to use platonic friends as weapons against me so long as they were casual and not particularly close. Perhaps they did not see mere friendship as offering a sufficient leverage to make me do their bidding, whatever it was.
Thank God.
When Becki turned the corner, I turned on my heel and began walking briskly to my Introduction to Engineering class. It was a bright, sunny, September day. I should enjoy it.
#
Red lights blinked in front of the apartment building when I returned that afternoon. An ambulance, its flashing lights the source of the red, stood in the street. A crowd clustered around the entrance to the building, the door of which was propped open.
A man my size does not force his way through a crowd but I did manage to worm my way to the door. No one in the crowd crossed the threshold, almost as if the door remained closed. Inside, I saw several residents of the building staring up the stairwell. I stepped into the foyer and looked up the stairwell myself, or at least I tried to. Mostly I saw the backs and heads of the people ahead of me.
“Jeff!” I heard Becki’s voice coming from above.
I don’t know how, but an instant later I found myself in front of the crowd and sprinting up the stairs. I rounded the landing, then up to the second floor. Another group of people clustered around one of the doors, the one Jeff, Becki’s brother, shared with his roommate Darryl.
Again, without being quite sure how I did it, I wriggled through the mass of people. I stopped once I stood inside the apartment. Across the living room Jeff sat on the floor under a window staring at nothing. Becki knelt at his side, staring into his face, her hand on his shoulder.
“Jeff?”
To the left, a team of paramedics were working over someone, Darryl, I presumed.
Suddenly the vial clipped into the inside of my belt weighed twenty pounds.
“Scheisse,” I said softly. That vial was close to the last of my elixir. The next batch was months from completion.
I looked from the paramedics working on Darryl to Jeff and Becki. The paramedics would never let me interfere with their work and I could never explain in a way they would believe. And if I did the secret would be out and who knows how long it would take the Shadows to find me again.
But if they could just keep him alive long enough to get to the hospital I would only need a moment unobserved and what I had was enough to cure anything short of death.
I would have to trust the paramedics to do their jobs.
That left Jeff and Becki to deal with. I squatted in front of Jeff.
“Hey,” I said. “What happened?”
Jeff continued to stare at nothing. I shifted my eyes to Becki.
“Becki?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “I heard him shout Darryl’s name, then something about an ambulance. I mean, I heard him all the way over in my room. When I got here, I found Jeff like this and Darryl over there. I called nine one one, met the ambulance, and I’ve been trying to get Jeff to say something ever since.”
I glanced back over my shoulder. The paramedics no doubt had seen an apparently unconscious body on the floor, a body not breathing judging by that bag they had attached to his face, and another man in emotional shock. They clearly didn't have time to deal with a man in emotional shock. They had their priorities. I didn't blame them.
I looked at Becki. She would never do what needed to be done.
I jabbed forward with my right arm, stopping an instant before touching Jeff’s face. I forced a wide grin on my face, grabbed his nose, and twisted.
“Honk!”
I was expecting the reaction and was already moving before Jeff’s arm shot out. But he moved faster. His fist caught my shoulder like a trip hammer, spinning me halfway around before I sprawled on the floor.
I rolled to my back to see Jeff already on his feet and towering above me, his arms in front of him, his fists balled.
“You asshole! You think this is a joke?”
Becki sat back against the wall where Jeff’s sudden movement had flung her, her hands over her mouth, an expression of shock in her eyes.
I raised my hands between us, palms facing Jeff.
“Welcome back.”
“What?” Confusion interrupted the fury on his face.
“Had to get your attention,” I said. “Would you rather I hit you?”
“You...you,” the look of anger drained away to be replaced by fatigue. “You’re insane.”
“I’ve been told that.” I started to sit up. Jeff held out a hand and I took it. I practically flew to my feet as Jeff pulled me upright.
“What about Darryl?” Jeff asked.
I grabbed his arm and squeezed. “Let the men do their jobs. We’ll go look in on him at the hospital. Come on. I’ll take you in the Monster.”
Jeff met my eyes for a moment and swallowed. He nodded.
And no one noticed that I had just given myself an excuse to pay a visit to someone I hardly knew. At least it was in a good cause.
CHAPTER FIVE
While the paramedics loaded Darryl into the ambulance, I shepherded Jeff and Becki down to the Green Monster.
“Which hospital?” I asked one of the paramedics, a young woman in her twenties, before she could close the rear door of the ambulance.
She told me and I nodded.
We followed at a more sedate pace than the ambulance. While, truth to tell, ambulances did not drive as fast as most people thought—after all, they didn’t want to get in accidents themselves—traffic did not get out of our way and we did have to stop for traffic lights.
On arrival, we were unable to see Darryl. The receptionist directed us to a waiting room.
“Here you go,” I said. “I’ll be right back.”
Becki looked up at me. “Adrian?”
I smiled. “I’m going to get coffee. Black, right?”
She nodded but hardly seemed to be paying attention.
I looked at Jeff, who still looked pole-axed.
“Oh, black is fine,” he said.
I nodded and walked down the hall in the direction that signs said led to a cafeteria. A few minutes later I returned with three coffees.
As we waited with the coffee, I thought about how I might get the elixir into Darryl. If he were on a ventilator, I couldn’t pour it into his mouth, not without removing the ventilator. People would notice. Unless he were conscious, and probably even if he was, he would have an IV and a standard IV would have a septum port for injecting medication into the tube. For that, I would need a syringe. But the hospital would keep tight control over all syringes, just like they would all drug paraphernalia.
I put a hand on Becki’s shoulder. “I don’t know how long we’re going to be here so I’m going to go move the Monster to longer term parking. Maybe make some calls.”
I tilted my head toward the poster that said, “please turn off cell phones.”
She did not say anything, merely nodded.
“You okay, Jeff?”
“Yeah,” Jeff said. “Do what you have to do. You don’t need to stay here with us.”
I smiled. “Hey, you guys are my friends. Friends stick together.”
Jeff own returning smile was haunted and did not reach his eyes. I clapped him on the back as I passed him on my way to the door.
Once outside, I trotted to the parking lot and dropped into the Monster’s driver’s seat. I pressed the heels of my hands against my forehead in thought. I had to get a syringe and needle. Many cities had programs to provide needles for drug users, an effort to stop the spread of disease. I did not know if Indianapolis had any such programs or where they might be. For that matter, some states allow people to just buy syringes over the counter. I did not know what Indiana law allowed.
I could, I suppose, pop open a sharps container and grab a used one, or simply steal one from a nurse’s cart. The elixir would take care of any infections or residual drugs. But, again, too much chance people w
ould notice and I did not want to explain why I was stealing needles.
I could dose anyone watching with a dissociative powder but...no. If anyone were dazed when a patient needed them...I’d never be able to forgive myself.
Or I could find a farm supply store. They sold syringes needles folk used to treat their own livestock. But how to explain why I was gone so long?
I chewed on my lower lip. If I tried to break into a sharp’s container here someone would notice, but...I had an idea, one that would also explain my delay.
I put the old car into gear and pulled out of the lot. The campus clinic would still be open and with so many students getting annual flu shots they should have plenty of discarded syringes and needles. One would be all I needed.
I made a quick stop at a florist and purchased a large arrangement of mixed flowers after first ascertaining that it contained the varieties I needed. In the parking lot, I broke off select pieces. Some stamens here, a leaf there, a few petals over there. I did not want to take the time to return to my apartment and my lab equipment so I crumpled select plant parts into a small wad and balanced it on the blade of my pocket knife. I added a drop of my blood to the mix, not as effective as if I calcined it into the Philosopher’s Stone but it would suffice for this purpose.
I fished a lighter from the glove compartment of the Monster and heated the blade in the flame, letting the plant mix char, then burn to ash. I added a few more crumpled pieces of other plants to this ash, heated it again just enough to dry it, and crumpled the remainder into powder. I took a pinch of this powder and sniffed it up into my nostrils, wincing at the sting.
A moment later, blood began to flow freely from my nose. The mild irritant combined with an anticoagulant, gave me a real beauty of a nosebleed and a reason to run to the clinic.
And once I was in the treatment room I’d have time to pry open the sharps discard box and grab one or two syringes with needles. I’d only need a few seconds.
#
Luck was with me. I returned to the hospital a little more than an hour after I left. I think the amount of blood on the front of my shirt ensured that they moved me quickly into a treatment room and had someone see me.
“Oh, my God, Adrian! What happened to you?” Becki jumped up from her seat in the waiting room as I walked in.
I held up my free hand, the other held the floral arrangement, and urged her to return to her seat.
“I stopped to get some flowers. I thought they’d be cheaper up the road than in the shop here. Right after I left the florist, my nose started bleeding, bad enough I went to the Campus Center clinic.” I shrugged. “They got the bleeding stopped.” I set the flower arrangement down and sat in the chair next to Becki, on the opposite side from Jeff. “I am so sorry to leave you here that long.”
“I was a little worried when you didn’t get back,” Becki admitted. “But, really, you don’t have to wait. I mean, you have studies, right?”
I smiled. “It’s okay. I’ve got the whole weekend to get caught up.”
We sat, making idle small talk as the time passed. Just after six a nurse came out and bent to speak softly to Jeff.
I did not hear what the nurse said, but Jeff nodded. He held a hand toward Becki and me.
“Yeah, sure. Can my sister and, uh …”
I stood and picked up the flower arrangement. The nurse led us into a small office and gestured for Jeff to sit next to the desk. Becki took a stool in the back of the office. I leaned against the door jamb, still holding those flowers.
“So, how’s Darryl?” Jeff asked once the nurse took a seat at the desk.
“I'm afraid I can't talk about that. What do you know about his using performance-enhancing substances?”
“What?” Jeff jerked back in the chair. “No!”
The nurse sat, simply waiting. When Jeff said nothing more she sighed.
“Look, we want to help your friend. But to do our best for him, we need to know what he was on.”
Jeff shook his head. “Darryl didn’t need to be on anything. He was a kicker back in high school. Good, making field goals from more than thirty yards. Helped carry his team to State. He didn’t need drugs.”
The nurse pursed her lips in disgust. “If you don’t want to help your friend...”
Jeff shook his head again. “I mean it. Sure, the squad here has been unreal in how hard they push, but...” He shrugged. “If he was using something, I never had a hint.”
The nurse sighed. “All right. If you think of anything, let us know.”
Jeff nodded. “Can we see him?”
The nurse nodded and gave directions. I followed Jeff and Becki to the room in the ICU where Darryl lay.
Darryl lay quiet in the hospital bed. Tubes ran into his mouth and nose. Another line hung from an IV bag to disappear under the covers near his right arm. Wires connected to various cables, including one to a heart monitor that beeped slowly but reassuringly.
I waited patiently while Jeff stood looking at Darryl, his knuckles white where his hands gripped the rail along the side of the bed. Becki stood behind her brother, her hand resting on his shoulder.
After a bit, I stepped to Jeff’s side.
“There’s nothing we can do here. The doctors will take care of him.”
Jeff nodded. Beyond him I saw Becki’s grateful smile.
Jeff let go of the rail and turned for the door. Becki followed him. I followed them out of the room then looked down at the flowers still in my arm as though surprised. I chuckled.
“I suppose I should leave these here. Hang on. I’ll be right back.”
Alone, I returned to the room. Once out of sight behind the curtain that surrounded Darryl’s bed, I set down the flowers on the table next to the bed. I fished my stolen syringe from my pocket, removed the cap from the needle, inserted that needle into the septum on the IV line, and drove the plunger home. Another moment let me withdraw, recap the needle, and drop the syringe into the sharps container. I clapped a hand on Darryl’s shoulder. The elixir, I knew, worked fast. He should awake at any moment.
I rejoined Jeff and Becki in the hallway, still listening for Darryl’s reaction when he would wake. Feigning tiredness, I walked slowly, forcing the other two to slow to match my pace. We reached the end of the hall and the door out to the waiting room and still no reaction from Darryl’s room.
Any second now, I thought.
Any...
I cast a puzzled look back as the door in front of us swung open.
Darryl should have woken by then. What had gone wrong?
#
Back at the apartment no word had yet arrived about Darryl’s condition. I had seen Jeff give his number as contact information, with Becki as the alternate.
We settled Jeff into the apartment he shared with Darryl. Before I could leave, Becki pulled me aside.
“Adrian?”
I looked at the anxiety in her face.
“What do you need?” I asked softly.
“I’m worried about Jeff. He’s taking this situation with Darryl hard. Could you...”
I nodded. “I’ll stay with him tonight. I’ve slept in worse places than the couch here.”
“Thanks,” Becki said. “You’re a great friend.”
I took her hand and bent over it, faking a kiss. She giggled.
“We aim to please,” I said.
As Becki slipped out the door I looked back at Jeff. He sat in one of the room’s two chairs, flanking the couch and a low folding table on one side, with the other chair holding position on the other flank. I took that chair, leaned forward, and folded my arms on the table.
“Are you all right?”
“They said he was using steroids,” Jeff said. “Darryl never touched a steroid in his life.”
“You know him well? Before college?”
Jeff shook his head. “We met when we got assigned to the same room during recruiting camp. But Darryl was as clean cut as they come. Didn’t even drink.”
“Neither of you are old enough to drink.”
Jeff laughed, his laughter holding a hysterical edge. “You think that stops anybody? Hell, they’re not even discrete.”
I nodded. I had noted that before. People mostly ignored laws intended to enforce "morality." All they did was take the attention of whoever was tasked with enforcing the law—whether the local lord, a sheriff, or police—away from crimes that actually did real harm.
“But Darryl didn’t even drink. He didn’t play around. His girlfriend? He always seemed embarrassed even to hold hands in public. No, he would never do drugs, and that includes steroids.”
“So what do you think happened?” I asked.
Jeff shook his head. “I dunno. Maybe it was his heart. Maybe something the docs missed when he had his physical.”
“Could be,” I said. “It happens.”
Except, I did not say, the amount of elixir I had injected into his line would have cured any heart ailment. It would have cured anything short of death. I went cold. Only one thing had proven resistant to the elixir.
Shadows.
My first instinct was to spring to my feet and down to the Monster. Get out of here and away from the Shadows. Two things restrained me. The first was that I had promised Becki I would look after Jeff. The second came to me after a moment’s thought. Before, every time I had encountered the Shadows they had been seeking me, coming after me. My only choice had been to run. As a result, after more than two-hundred-sixty years I knew nothing about my enemy. But this time, the Shadows seemed to be involved in something else. They might not even have known that I was here. If I could learn more about them, I might learn how better to avoid them in the future. And I so very much wanted to avoid them.
The question was, risk discovery by them now in the hopes I can learn something that can help me later, or run now and lose the opportunity?
Jeff was still talking.
“...like there’s two separate teams.”
I shook myself. “Separate teams?”
“Yeah, it’s like...” Jeff stood. “You want a beer, Adrian?”
Alchemy of Shadows Page 4
