outside, he pressed the button repeatedly, as
if doing so would make it reach ground level faster. Then he watched in horror
as his hands began to tremble and fur began to fully cover his fingers, palms
and wrists. Their shapes were changing too, as if he were morphing into
something else.
What the hell was going on? Had he developed some crazy
disease?
He felt his arms and legs go unsteady and he dropped to the
floor of the elevator. Then his muscles were as stiff as a statue’s and he
cried out in terror. His limbs pulled him up on all fours, the hair on his body
elongated and turned to orange, white and black fur, and sharp claws began to
protrude from his newly formed paws.
When the elevator reached the ground level and the door
opened, he lunged out, a full animal.
* * * * *
Karabi stood there for a minute or two, completely confused.
What had happened? Was Alex drunk? The frightened look on his face, the way
he’d bolted off, worried her. She racked her brain through all the possible
things that could have just gone wrong. It was on the tip of her thoughts but
she couldn’t quite grasp on to anything.
Concerned, she finally gathered her composure and
straightened herself up. She stuck her feet back into her shoes, grabbed her
purse and both of their masks and went to the nearby men’s room to check on
Alex. But when she opened the door and called in there, she didn’t get an
answer. She quickly slipped inside and peeked into all of the stalls. No one
was in there. She checked the other men’s room on the floor. That one was empty
too.
She went to the elevator. “Did you see a man with a tiger
tie go by here?”
“Yup,” the guard said. “He went down in a hurry. Pretty much
knocked me over to get on the elevator.”
Huh. Karabi traversed back to the ninety-ninth floor
where the party was and checked the restrooms and break areas there. No sign of
Alex anywhere.
Figuring he might have gone all the way downstairs, she
descended to the ground level. Alex wasn’t in the lobby. At that point she
figured he must have left the building. She went outside and looked up and down
the block, shivering and teeth chattering without her coat. No sign anywhere of
the man who just took her over the edge on The Ledge. She traveled all the way
back up to the observation deck, checked the entire floor and then the floor of
the party again. A half hour passed and still no sign of him.
Shit. Karabi didn’t know what to think. Did he get
food poisoning? Did he pull something while he was banging her? Did he remember
a wife he’d forgotten? What if he was really, really sick somewhere, needing
help? Nah, she concluded. Truly sick people didn’t go bolting down hallways
like Olympic runners with erections. Perhaps this was a sign she should go
home. The party was almost over anyway. This was the universe punishing her for
getting so intimately involved with someone else so soon.
She grabbed her coat and took the other elevator to the
ground level, taking off her shoes to give her aching feet a much-needed break
for the ride down. While on this one she noticed a pair of men’s black dress
shoes left there haphazardly. Some guy was in as much of a hurry to get out of
his shoes as she was, apparently.
Karabi walked out into the brisk air and looked around. She
didn’t see any available cabs out right away. The weather wasn’t too horrible
even though it was quite late in the evening. There were a couple of inches of
snow on the ground and a few flurries falling from the sky. Too cold to just
stand around waiting for a taxi but not too cold to walk a little until she
found one, so she headed east toward Wells Street and started strolling, which
was all she could manage after wearing those horrible shoes all night. Besides,
she could use some fresh air to clear her head for a bit.
Once she made it to the end of the block she noticed a
bundle of clothing on the ground. When she looked closely she saw it was a suit
and a
if doing so would make it reach ground level faster. Then he watched in horror
as his hands began to tremble and fur began to fully cover his fingers, palms
and wrists. Their shapes were changing too, as if he were morphing into
something else.
What the hell was going on? Had he developed some crazy
disease?
He felt his arms and legs go unsteady and he dropped to the
floor of the elevator. Then his muscles were as stiff as a statue’s and he
cried out in terror. His limbs pulled him up on all fours, the hair on his body
elongated and turned to orange, white and black fur, and sharp claws began to
protrude from his newly formed paws.
When the elevator reached the ground level and the door
opened, he lunged out, a full animal.
* * * * *
Karabi stood there for a minute or two, completely confused.
What had happened? Was Alex drunk? The frightened look on his face, the way
he’d bolted off, worried her. She racked her brain through all the possible
things that could have just gone wrong. It was on the tip of her thoughts but
she couldn’t quite grasp on to anything.
Concerned, she finally gathered her composure and
straightened herself up. She stuck her feet back into her shoes, grabbed her
purse and both of their masks and went to the nearby men’s room to check on
Alex. But when she opened the door and called in there, she didn’t get an
answer. She quickly slipped inside and peeked into all of the stalls. No one
was in there. She checked the other men’s room on the floor. That one was empty
too.
She went to the elevator. “Did you see a man with a tiger
tie go by here?”
“Yup,” the guard said. “He went down in a hurry. Pretty much
knocked me over to get on the elevator.”
Huh. Karabi traversed back to the ninety-ninth floor
where the party was and checked the restrooms and break areas there. No sign of
Alex anywhere.
Figuring he might have gone all the way downstairs, she
descended to the ground level. Alex wasn’t in the lobby. At that point she
figured he must have left the building. She went outside and looked up and down
the block, shivering and teeth chattering without her coat. No sign anywhere of
the man who just took her over the edge on The Ledge. She traveled all the way
back up to the observation deck, checked the entire floor and then the floor of
the party again. A half hour passed and still no sign of him.
Shit. Karabi didn’t know what to think. Did he get
food poisoning? Did he pull something while he was banging her? Did he remember
a wife he’d forgotten? What if he was really, really sick somewhere, needing
help? Nah, she concluded. Truly sick people didn’t go bolting down hallways
like Olympic runners with erections. Perhaps this was a sign she should go
home. The party was almost over anyway. This was the universe punishing her for
getting so intimately involved with someone else so soon.
She grabbed her coat and took the other elevator to the
ground level, taking off her shoes to give her aching feet a much-needed break
for the ride down. While on this one she noticed a pair of men’s black dress
shoes left there haphazardly. Some guy was in as much of a hurry to get out of
his shoes as she was, apparently.
Karabi walked out into the brisk air and looked around. She
didn’t see any available cabs out right away. The weather wasn’t too horrible
even though it was quite late in the evening. There were a couple of inches of
snow on the ground and a few flurries falling from the sky. Too cold to just
stand around waiting for a taxi but not too cold to walk a little until she
found one, so she headed east toward Wells Street and started strolling, which
was all she could manage after wearing those horrible shoes all night. Besides,
she could use some fresh air to clear her head for a bit.
Once she made it to the end of the block she noticed a
bundle of clothing on the ground. When she looked closely she saw it was a suit
and a
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