never alone. Oh no, never by myself. The voices. They stayed. They talked. They pretended they had a purpose and a plan. Silly voices. Plans are for people. You aren’t people. You’re just silly voices.
The mean man was back suddenly. Or was it sudden? Maybe it was quite a while. Did I even own a watch?
He sounded angry. Maybe with me. I didn’t know him as well as I thought I did.
“…in the name of shit do you mean, you’re not comfortable doing that? You are an officer under my command, and if I order you to …”
I wonder what happened there?
I was bemused in the pain. Or was it curiosity?
Then sleep. Always sleep. It was a retreat.
The heat came when the cold was still there. I squirmed because it was hot. Because it was cold.
I couldn’t even see…this was insufferable.
Christ, it was hot in here.
Could a man get a cup of water?
No, clearly not. What the hell kind of place was this?
I might as well just sleep.
If I’m thirsty, I’ll just have to get it myself. Feeling better now, really.
Well, hello there , Mr. Finger …
Whoops! There went those voices again.
“…his finger just move? Fuck, man, sedate him! We don’t know what he’s …”
Why did they have to yell? The sound was so loud!
I was right here .
“I gave him enough to down a horse, Lieutenant. He just isn’t taking to the sedative.”
Well of course I wasn’t. This was me , right?
I was really feeling a little better.
Gulp.
Other than the urge to vomit. But it’s passed now. Who’s here with me, I wonder?
Let’s try for a look see.
Eyes opened?
Check.
Who is that angry man?
Well, crap.
“Oh for the love of …”
Ouch!
More pain, then … oh my that was the good stuff.
Sleepy sleepy time.
Voices when I sleep. Voices when I wake. I really needed to find a new hotel.
No room service! Stop talking outside my door!
“… don’t like the look of that…”
“… the goddamned strap tied down on the left…”
“…this isn’t right. She flat lined…why… how…”
There was the man I knew again. Why didn’t he just come in?
“Holy shit. Call the Captain, right goddamned now!”
Clattering steel. Moving bodies. Raised voices.
“Secure the fucking wrist!”
A heavy metal grating sound, like a car scraping slowly against a metal pole, the driver too drunk to notice. The sound stopped. It was quiet. My ears rang with the echo of the clanging.
Now this sounded complicated.
Where was that water? I’ll ask when I wake up.
Oh, was I going to sleep?
This time I was flying. My hands dragged through the air, fingers brushing tree tops. This was nice. I could stay this way forever. No more voices, no more pain. I took a deep breath, filling my lungs with the clean … putrid, rotting air.
No, no. This wasn’t right. I shook my head. My eyes wouldn’t open.
Then, in the silence, screams. From very close to me. In the air?
No. I was … somewhere else.
On land.
No, it was a boat.
A boat?
Really ? How did that happen ?
Wow, that was loud. I thought I was the only one that screamed.
Wait, screaming? That couldn’t be good. What the hell had happened here?
Time to try those eyes again.
They slowly cracked.
Dim, painful light invaded my pounding skull. My head was heavier than it should be. It took a monumental effort to turn to the side. The low light was agony on my eyes. They adjusted slowly. Painfully.
Fuzzy shapes took eventual form; lines formed from shadow. Colors faded from gray.
I opened them fully, hating myself as I did.
This here was a shit pickle indeed.
Chapter 7
Kate was normally a pretty calm woman.
Normally.
Right now, I was kind of glad she was tied down.
“...your sorry, movie-star, lunatic ass out of bed! Mike! Wake up! For Christ’s sake, wake the fuck up!”
I focused on her horizontal form, 5 feet away, separated from me by one cot. Her arms and legs were secured to the cot with canvas straps, her face turned toward me, eyes blazing.
Trying to
The mean man was back suddenly. Or was it sudden? Maybe it was quite a while. Did I even own a watch?
He sounded angry. Maybe with me. I didn’t know him as well as I thought I did.
“…in the name of shit do you mean, you’re not comfortable doing that? You are an officer under my command, and if I order you to …”
I wonder what happened there?
I was bemused in the pain. Or was it curiosity?
Then sleep. Always sleep. It was a retreat.
The heat came when the cold was still there. I squirmed because it was hot. Because it was cold.
I couldn’t even see…this was insufferable.
Christ, it was hot in here.
Could a man get a cup of water?
No, clearly not. What the hell kind of place was this?
I might as well just sleep.
If I’m thirsty, I’ll just have to get it myself. Feeling better now, really.
Well, hello there , Mr. Finger …
Whoops! There went those voices again.
“…his finger just move? Fuck, man, sedate him! We don’t know what he’s …”
Why did they have to yell? The sound was so loud!
I was right here .
“I gave him enough to down a horse, Lieutenant. He just isn’t taking to the sedative.”
Well of course I wasn’t. This was me , right?
I was really feeling a little better.
Gulp.
Other than the urge to vomit. But it’s passed now. Who’s here with me, I wonder?
Let’s try for a look see.
Eyes opened?
Check.
Who is that angry man?
Well, crap.
“Oh for the love of …”
Ouch!
More pain, then … oh my that was the good stuff.
Sleepy sleepy time.
Voices when I sleep. Voices when I wake. I really needed to find a new hotel.
No room service! Stop talking outside my door!
“… don’t like the look of that…”
“… the goddamned strap tied down on the left…”
“…this isn’t right. She flat lined…why… how…”
There was the man I knew again. Why didn’t he just come in?
“Holy shit. Call the Captain, right goddamned now!”
Clattering steel. Moving bodies. Raised voices.
“Secure the fucking wrist!”
A heavy metal grating sound, like a car scraping slowly against a metal pole, the driver too drunk to notice. The sound stopped. It was quiet. My ears rang with the echo of the clanging.
Now this sounded complicated.
Where was that water? I’ll ask when I wake up.
Oh, was I going to sleep?
This time I was flying. My hands dragged through the air, fingers brushing tree tops. This was nice. I could stay this way forever. No more voices, no more pain. I took a deep breath, filling my lungs with the clean … putrid, rotting air.
No, no. This wasn’t right. I shook my head. My eyes wouldn’t open.
Then, in the silence, screams. From very close to me. In the air?
No. I was … somewhere else.
On land.
No, it was a boat.
A boat?
Really ? How did that happen ?
Wow, that was loud. I thought I was the only one that screamed.
Wait, screaming? That couldn’t be good. What the hell had happened here?
Time to try those eyes again.
They slowly cracked.
Dim, painful light invaded my pounding skull. My head was heavier than it should be. It took a monumental effort to turn to the side. The low light was agony on my eyes. They adjusted slowly. Painfully.
Fuzzy shapes took eventual form; lines formed from shadow. Colors faded from gray.
I opened them fully, hating myself as I did.
This here was a shit pickle indeed.
Chapter 7
Kate was normally a pretty calm woman.
Normally.
Right now, I was kind of glad she was tied down.
“...your sorry, movie-star, lunatic ass out of bed! Mike! Wake up! For Christ’s sake, wake the fuck up!”
I focused on her horizontal form, 5 feet away, separated from me by one cot. Her arms and legs were secured to the cot with canvas straps, her face turned toward me, eyes blazing.
Trying to
Similar Books
