Forgotten (43 page)

The fire escape door opened.

And closed yet again.

December 28, 2010

9:15 pm

FEAR HOUNDED ME.

But I had no time for it.

Still clutching Mel’s hand, we U-turned,
began the next flight of steps.

No thudding sounds from Tallow. I slowed,
half-turned. Tallow was crouching against the inner concrete
barrier gripping his gun. Grey, shifting shadows circled him,
swallowed him. He motioned for us to keep moving.

From the corner of my eye, something
stirred. Another shadow, larger, darker, grossly misshapen appeared
along the upper steps’ wall. My breathing stilled as I saw it
descend. I quickly alerted Tallow to it, then gripped the solid
steel railing and began hurrying down the steps, dragging an
anxious-looking Mel along with me.

“
I don’t
understand,” she said.

You and I both.
“We have to get
downstairs, fast,” I said. My voice sounded strange, guttural.
“Whatever happens, whatever you hear, don’t think behind… just
think forward.”

Time slowed
down; my pulse ramped up. And for the tiniest moment, it was
blissfully soundless, except for the soft, whooshing air against my
ears. The proverbial
lull
crossed my mind.

I prayed for
the
storm
not to come.

Gunshots cracked and echoed.

Mel froze.
“A… are they real bullets?”

I wanted to
say,
no; that Tallow and
Shadowman were just having a jolly play date
.

I bit back
the sarcastic urge. “Yes Mel, they
are
real. That’s why we’ve got to keep going.”

She didn’t need telling twice. Another
U-turn. More steps. And I wondered if someone had sadistically
added an extra flight or two. A quick scan ahead and I imagined an
old, friendless, tomb, an inescapable place haunted by
bone-chilling creaks and shuffles, and dank, decrepit air.

A place where the dead stayed dead
forever.

The extra
shivers I didn’t need. I cautioned my imagination and snapped back
to the real world. Nearby, several bullets ricocheted off the
walls. Mel and I dropped, hovered close to the barriers.

Someone above groaned. Once. Twice.

A piercing scream. A rushing sound. And a
final, emphatic thud.

All was quiet. I stood and half-heartedly
peered over the edge.

One flight
lower, laid a hideously contorted body of a man. A crimson pool
swelled from him, the only bright, living color amongst the
surrounding dead grey.

It wasn’t Tallow.

Any minor relief I had was short-lived. Mel
popped up beside me, took one look at the figure and began
screaming.

I had never
heard Mel scream before. I never wanted to again. I likened it to
nitro-glycerin laced pinballs exploding on impact. I shook her,
yelled for her to stop. It was useless. I tried to pull her forward
but she clung stubbornly on to the barrier.

Tallow
yelled. I couldn’t decipher the words but I could decipher his
brusque tone. Heat flushed my face, tingled, felt itchy.
Shit, what to do… what to
do?

Looking
back, I wondered why I did what I did next. Instincts? Or just the
vital urgency to quieten Mel. Whatever, I stretched my hand as far
back as possible and slapped her sharply across her face - just as
good old Hollywood had taught me.

My palm stung. But Mel’s screams skidded to
an automatic halt. Her wide, glassy eyes stared back at me. Her
bottom lip jittered, her body swayed, and sagged back against the
barrier. I called her name.

Nothing.

I gripped
her shoulders, called it again. Short, fast gasps followed. And
then the mascara-tainted tears. The last time I had seen Mel cry
was on her wedding day, just before we walked the long aisle. She
had been so happy, so excited…
so
unlike
today
.

A piece of
my heart broke away. Mel was strong, always had been. But this
horror was new territory for her. I hugged her, soothed her, tried
to recall the last time
I
had done that for
her
. Mel
clutched onto me as if I were her only lifeline. In some twisted
way, the unexpected role-reversal felt good. We slowly dropped down
but there was very little comfort in the ground’s hard, emotionless
veneer. I hugged Mel tighter still.

And fear took a few steps back.

“The guy is dead,” I whispered. “We’re
safe.”

She nodded
and sniffed. I pulled some tissues out of her bag and handed them
to her. “I have never seen a dead body before. It’s so….” She
stopped, screwed her face, and then glared at me,
strangely.

“Shit. How many times have you been through
this?” she murmured.

I spread my fingers, tapped my pinkie.
“Well, let’s see, last count….”

“
This
is
not
a joking matter, Claudia.” The old Mel was back. “I thought
I understood, was so harsh on you, but all this time I… well, I
just didn’t know.”

I took hold
of Mel’s hands; they were cool and damp, a little shivery. “You
didn’t have to know,” I said. “You were there for me anyway, every
single time, helping me in the best way you could. I will always be
grateful for that.”

Above, the
fire escape door opened and closed again. Saul’s men? I looked
upwards, waited for Tallow’s verdict, waited for any sign that
promised us safety. But all was still, all silent.

“
We’ve got
to keep moving.” I tried to sound calm but Mel wasn’t
stupid.

“You said we were safe now.”

The sudden,
ominous echoes of
fresh gunfire confirmed
otherwise.

Mel gripped
my wrist. “I don’t want to die,” she whispered. “Claudia, my god…
my children. I can’t.”

I pictured
the three small versions of Mel, all girls, all flamed-haired, the
youngest barely three, the eldest seven. I pictured them without
their mother, pictured Pete without his wife. All because Mel
was
my
friend.

Because she was collateral.

Anger
powered me to my feet. “That is
not
going to happen.” I hissed.
“We
will
get out of this,
alive
and you home to your
kids.”

I had no
basis for her to trust me. I wasn’t even certain I trusted myself.
I reached out with a visibly unsteady hand. Mel studied it, then
studied me. She wore an expression I hadn’t seen before.

Above, more shots sounded.

Mel clutched
my hand and I pulled her up. She wobbled a bit, took a few solid
breaths and then gripped the railing. “Let’s go.”

And we did, scampering off like small,
frightened rabbits down a nefarious rabbit hole.

Tallowed yelled a warning.

Another shot and Tallow yelled no more.

Threatening footsteps thundered in his
place.

No time to turn, to check.

Bullets zipped around us like hungry,
single-minded mosquitoes. Acrid gunpowder polluted the air. We
skirted the twisted body, careful not to slip in its darkening,
syrupy pool. Then, sped up again.

Endless
grim, concrete blurred past. And I wondered what a bullet to one’s
back felt like. Would it hurt? Would it be quick and painless or
slow and agonizing? I thought of Saul waiting on the other side of
the door, imagined him pacing, fiercely rubbing his brow. I began
jumping two steps at a time. Mel did the same. Not enough, though.
Pounding, rhythmic footsteps vibrated to our rear.

Mel groaned. “I can hear him….”

“We’re almost there.”

One more
U-turn. My feet skidded, lost balance. Mel caught me, leveled me.
We charged to the door. Behind us, there was a low, satisfying
laugh and a less than friendly gun cocking. “Little late, ladies,”
a male voice whispered.

Perhaps it
was; I didn’t care. I threw my full weight on the long horizontal
handle, pressed down hard and flung open the door.

“Get down!” Saul yelled.

I grabbed
Mel and pulled us both to the ground. One last gunshot and then a
clear, loud thump. After that, all I heard was Mel’s and my heavy
wheezing.

We took our
time before inching into a sitting position. Mel straightened her
sleeveless top, twisted back her bag and began checking out her
gravel-rashed knees. She brushed one and winced. “Tell me, we’re
definitely safe,
this
time
.”

I turned to
Saul. He was still facing the exit. Both hands had his gun cemented
directly ahead of him. That fixed, lethal look of his, the one I
had seen two days earlier with the mammoth, had returned. I
followed it to fire escape door. The spread-eagled body of a man
lay across the exit. Centering his forehead was a single bullet
wound.

“On second thoughts…,” Mel said.

I swung back
to her. Her reddened, grubby palm pressed close to my face. “Don’t
answer. You just might jinx it.”

I smiled. “I
know how scared you were, Mel, and it’s okay; you did
great.”

Something
cold and ‘shadow-less’ crossed those striking green eyes of hers.
When she blinked, it was gone. But I knew what I saw.

True fear.

The type that inhabits your body, messes
with your mind for good.

Mel grunted.
“Oh, for goodness sakes, Claudia, don’t shit me, it was
you
who
did great. Not me. If not for you….”

If not for me, my dear friend, you
wouldn
’t be here.

She pulled
off her hairband, smoothed her rebellious hair and tied it again.
That one simple action appeared to steady her somewhat. Her eyes
tapered. “In fact, Claudia, who
were
you back there?”

“What do you mean?”

“
Don’t ‘what
do you mean’
me. That whole superwoman
crap.”

Superwoman?
Hardly.
“Guess, just adrenalin kicking
in.”

“Well then, I thank your fricking, adrenalin
kicking arse.”

We laughed, hugged.

Mel pulled
back, gazed at Saul. His stance hadn’t changed. “Saul Reardon….”
she whispered.

I nodded.

“
What’s he
doing?”

“
Safeguarding me.” I flicked my head. “I mean,
safeguarding
us
; probably being cautious there
aren’t others.”

“
It
’s a little creepy, don’t you
think?”

“
He’s only
like this with these murderous scumbags. Normally, he’s very
compassionate, kind.” I shrugged. “You know.”

She ogled me
with that irritating
Mel sees
all
look. “Really?” she said.

Footsteps resonated from the fire
escape.

A swarthy,
neckless man in a white V-necked tee and denim shorts appeared. It
was Scotty. “So sorry, Saul,” he said.

It was as if
the midday sun had just breathed on Saul. Section by section his
body uncurled. “How’s Tallow?”

“
Being taken
to the ER. The bullet went right through his lower shoulder but
he’s conscious. Tough bugger. Jenna’s with him now.”

Saul slotted his gun into the back of his
jeans. “You and Jenna were his back-up. What happened?”

“I got duped by a couple of heavies is what
happened.”

Even in the
semi-lit doorway, I noticed Scotty’s reddish, cracked lips tighten
as he shook his head. “I
never
get fricking
duped.”

“Tell me about the heavies.”

“
Shit, Saul,
you should’ve seen ‘em.” Scotty coiled his hands and spread them
wide. “They stood out like a pair of solid D-cups in
micro-bikinis.”

I forced the disturbing analogy from my
head. Saul bit his lip.

“They stared directly at Jenna and me and
grinned, then began hightailing out of there.”

“And you followed them.”

“
Course. I
had just seen Claudia enter the exit. Thought she’d be safe with
Tallow, wanted to make sure these giant dudes didn’t follow. By the
time we got your message about Tallow, well… we were some distance
from any fire escape.” Scotty hesitated. “This was a failsafe
assignment, Saul. How did these guys even know Claudia would use
the fire escape
and
at that particular time? How’d they know who
Jenna and I were, especially in our get-up? Either these guys were
fricking lucky or you have a squealer in the ranks.”

Saul pressed
the bridge of his nose. “The thought’s already crossed my
mind.”

“
Don’t make
things easy,” Scotty said, shaking his head. “Anyway, want me to
deal with Weatherly when he gets here?”

Saul’s
shoulders rose and fell. “Yeah. And keep me up to date with
Tallow.”

Scotty
nodded, then disappeared back up the stairs.

Saul strode
towards us
and dropped to his haunches.
His smile was warm, yet a little unsteady. “Are you two all
right?”

I wasn’t
sure what
all right
covered. If it meant, were we still alive, then
I guess we were. “Yeah,” I said.