Schism

Chapter 21

Chapter 21

She turned her body as much as the pain in her hand would allow.  Her right elbow bumped the edge of her seat and sent a runner of pain all the way through her arm and into her head.   She fought the urge to gasp, to close her eyes and cradle her hand until the sensation went away.

The effort paid off.  She saw Adams run from the street down an alley.

Still in reverse, she backed the car even with the alley.  It was the one she had just passed and must have been where he was hiding earlier.  She squinted out the window.  Adams was already at the far end.

She backed up a few more feet, reached around the wheel for the gear selector with her left hand, pulled it into drive and stepped on the gas.

Each bump in the alley added to the pain in her hand, but Westen pushed it away, kept her focus on William.  She had to slow as they came to a cross street.  She watched him sprint through the traffic, thought for a moment that a delivery truck would take care of her problem for her, but Adams leapt forward as he crossed its path.  When the truck had passed, she saw him running down the next section of alley, even further away.

"Son of a bitch."  She pulled the car into the street, blocked traffic on her left for a moment as she waited for the traffic on the right to clear.  Horns honked at her.  William Adams may have had lucky timing crossing the street, but she could still catch him.

The traffic to her right broke and she stomped her foot down, leaving a chorus of shouts and horns behind her.

She followed him down a twist of alleys and small streets that went on for blocks.  As she drew closer, she leaned toward the open window.  "William Adams!"

He stopped, turned to her.  She slowed the car and as she reached for the door handle, he looked to his side and nodded.  He ran to the door of an abandoned apartment building, wrenched it open and disappeared inside.

She slammed her healthy hand into the steering wheel and let herself wince as the jolt spread across her body, up her other arm and into the crushed bones inside the cast.  Gently, she twisted and picked up her bag from the passenger seat.  The syringe, already filled, waited where she had left it.  She pulled it out and eased her way out of the car.

The apartment building's door handle was twisted and bent, and the frame where the deadbolt had sat was torn outward.  It must have been already broken.  Perhaps Adams had been here before.  This might be where he was sleeping.  She held the syringe in her right armpit and pulled off the cap before opening the door.

It was dark inside, the stairs nearly invisible after the intermittent sun outside.  She let her eyes adjust a moment until she could see the steps clearly.  Some light came in from a small window on each landing above her.  There was a door, still bolted shut, near the foot of the stairs.  The only way he could have gone was up.

Westen looked down at the syringe waiting in her armpit.  She pocketed the cap, raised her good hand, precise in each movement.  It was only a sedative, but she had calculated it for William's weight, with enough extra to make sure the sedative lasted.  An accidental stick, even into the muscle of her arm, was not what she needed.  She moved her fingers into position, thumb on the plunger, and started up the stairs.

On each floor, the door was padlocked shut.  She kept climbing.

Above her, the light grew brighter.  She checked the lock on the top floor and turned up the stairs to see the open door to the roof.  "William?"

She stepped up and stopped at the door.  "William?"  No noise from outside.  The door was wide open, flush with the outside wall of the stairwell, so he obviously wasn't hiding behind it, waiting to attack her. 

Syringe held outward, she walked onto the asphalt roof.  She turned, crept around the stairwell. 

He wasn't there.

She looked over the edge of the building, saw her car in the empty alley.  She continued around the edge, saw no external fire escape, no way down on any side.  He had to be here, but wasn't.  She turned, paced around the roof.  There was a matching building twenty feet away across the alley.  In another direction was an old office building that now held a bar and warehouses stood on the others. 

Nothing.  He wasn't there.

She hunched over, threw the syringe down onto the roof.  "William!"

Slowly, she unclenched, arranged herself, and went back down the stairs.

*

William heard the doctor scream his name from the opposite building and pressed himself against the lip of the roof.  Each breath he took was shallow, quick.  He was afraid to take a full one, afraid she would see or hear him, even from the other side of the alley.

But why was he afraid?

Buried like that in his own fear, the fog was weak around him.  But William closed his eyes against it anyway.  Why was he afraid of the doctor?  He had faced men with guns and not felt a thing with the fog around him.  And the voices had helped him to fight then, shown him how to defend himself, how to kill.  But they had run from the doctor too.  Why?

He opened his eyes.  The fog thickened, threatened to dampen his thoughts.  The voices took shape before him.  The Advisor looked down and through the opposite building, the one William had jumped from to get away from her.

She is gone.  Time to go.

William only stared back at them, didn't get up.  He was tired, and in those moments without the fog, he had started to breathe heavily.  It wasn't a comfortable place to rest, on top of this roof, but it was still rest.

But that wasn't the reason he didn't obey The Advisor's directions.  "Why?" he asked.

The Hunter padded over to the stairwell door.  Get up.

"No," William said.  "Why?"  The voices all stopped, watched him.  "She wants to kill me, right?"  He had seen what the doctor had been doing to the other patient, Mary.  Was that reason enough to want him dead?  Was there another reason to kill him?

The voices watched him.

She does not realize it, but she does want that.  The Caretaker took a step closer to William.  She needs more of your help.

"I’m supposed to hurt her again?"  He leaned his head down against the roof. 

No.  She needs you to show her.  Show her why she is angry, The Caretaker said.

He didn't understand.  Why did they want him to run?  Why had they let him feel frightened?  He could have gone after the fire starter, he could have ended everything right then.

But not now, The Advisor said.  She is not ready.

Not ready?  Not ready for what? 

The others first, The Caretaker said.  Help the doctor later.

William risked a deep breath and pushed his palms against his eyelids.  He had thought that he was here to protect Jess, but now they were talking about more than just her.  There were others that he had to make ready.  He had to protect and help Mickelson.  What else was he supposed to do?

Bring them together, The Advisor said.  First the fire starters, then the others.

Their demands kept piling up.  All he had wanted was to protect Jess, to maybe find a way to get her back.  Both of those goals seemed farther away than ever.  "Go to hell."  William struggled to his feet.

*

(Author’s note: A bad day for William.  What do you think…can it get worse?  And, in other parts of the city, Jared has a meeting, but you won’t believe who it’s with!  Read on to find out more!  Until then, thank you all for the votes and comments!  Be sure to check out my blog www.bruce-elgin.com for links and more info!  See you all soon!)