This Girl Who Was A Ghost, page 31
part #2 of Near Future Series
Sammy stared, frozen.
The wall buckled, and the ceiling dipped as the floor shifted. Sammy jumped out onto the fire escape, holding Cat. She grasped the side rail and jumped over, then slid down to the first-floor fire escape. The building shook. Sammy swung away, dropping the ten or so feet. She hit the ground and rolled, keeping Cat pressed against her.
The building rumbled like distant thunder. Windows exploded out. Sammy dashed away from the raining glass, then stopped by the courtyard fence. She slumped down and released Cat, who slinked away and then circled around her. Her fingers retracted.
At the other end of the building, balls of fire leaped out the windows. Clouds of white-and-black smoke swirled around the building. Sammy stroked Cat behind the ear. Spots of his coat were singed. “At least I saved you.”
Chapter Sixty-Two
________________________________________
The building’s side wall folded in and collapsed, spilling bricks out into the sidewalk. Sammy stood, feeling as if something were crawling on her leg. She patted down her trousers and stomped her foot. The bullet dropped to the ground, slimy as if somebody had wiped their nose on it. She hurled it into the building, then wondered if that was a smart thing to do. The hole where the bullet passed through was encrusted around the edges. With the trousers also bloodied, she must look as if she came out on the wrong end of a bullfight.
She held her arm out, the tips of her fingers coming about a foot short of the fence. She reached for it, fingers extending and clasping the links.
Cat stopped licking his paws, taking an interest in Sammy’s chain-link exercises.
“You got claws. I got tentacles. Sounds creepy now that I think about it.” Sammy released the fence and flicked her fingers, retracting them.
She scooped up Cat as he was licking his singed coat. “Let’s get out of here before you get hurt.” Sammy walked around to the front, giving the building a wide berth.
The older of Igor’s two younger sisters ran up and snatched Cat from her grasp.
“I get visiting privileges,” Sammy said.
Mama smiled and nodded.
Igor sneered. “Now we need shit box.”
Cindy stood about ten feet away, fingering the closed loop of a big black bag. She turned to Sammy, her cheeks tearstained. “Sam?”
Sammy rushed her. “Where were you?”
Cindy hugged Sammy. “You’re real,” she said with a sniffle. “I thought I lost you.”
“How’d you get out?”
Cindy wiped her cheeks. “I went down the fire escape.”
“A good way to get out of a burning building.” Sammy eyed the bag. “What’s in there?”
“My dresses and makeup,” Cindy said as if it were illegal contraband.
“You had time to pack?”
“If something happened to you because of this bag, I never would’ve forgiven myself.”
“You didn’t get a chance to grab any of my stuff, did you?”
Cindy gazed down. “I’m a terrible person, aren’t I?”
Sammy shook her head. “Most of my stuff is junk, anyway.” Although the money she’d taken from the Albanian would be missed.
“Now you have nothing to wear.”
“I can always get clothes. As long as we’re both okay, that’s all that matters.”
They watched the fire turn everything inside into dust.
Fire arched out one of the second-floor windows, flashed against Cindy’s face like a bolt from a storm. “I’m going to miss this place.”
Sammy nodded, looking down at the large stuffed black bag. There must be twenty or thirty dresses shoved into it. “We’ll have to find another place. I’m thinking maybe an abandoned dress shop.”
Cindy stepped back, studying Sammy.
“We can hang the dresses in the window, and no one will know it’s abandoned.”
“You’re making fun of me?”
Sammy shook her head, although maybe she was.
“Thought you were trapped in there and didn’t know what to do.”
Another wall collapsed, scattering bricks along the sidewalk. Her phone rang.
“Who’s calling you now?”
Sammy fished out the phone.
It was Jack. “It’s not too late to call, is it?”
“Got nothing better to do.”
“Good,” he said, sounding as if he wasn’t too sure. “I wanted to clear a few things up before I put this report out for the morning.” A muffled voice murmured in the background. “Do you know what ‘rest’ means?”
“Yeah, I could use some of that now.”
“Sorry, Sam, I wasn’t speaking to you.” His breath hissed through the phone. “Against recommendations and common sense, someone wants to talk to you.”
Was it Russo?
“Hello, smart-ass.”
“Maria?”
“You think crashing a car into a tree is going to keep me down long?”
“Not the smartest thing you’ve ever done.”
“You had to have been there.”
“Feel like I have.”
“I heard we’re sisters, so you can tell me anything.”
“Bernie’s dead.”
“When? How?” Maria asked, followed by a shuffling sound and whispers.
“Just now. A wall collapsed on him from the fire.”
“I’m putting you on speaker,” Maria said. “Where was this?”
“The apartment went up in flames.”
“Is everyone okay?”
“Everyone except Bernie.”
“That’s good, isn’t it?”
“It wasn’t Bernard or the beast but Bernie.”
A slow breath whispered over the phone. “I don’t follow.”
“It’s like what that shrink said. You know the slasher had multiple personalities.”
“Yeah, right. Head’s still a little foggy.”
“Why did you crash the car?”
“He had a rope around my neck, and he wasn’t whispering sweet nothings,” Maria said. “He must’ve known his name was on the list Jack sent me from Taxi and Limousine.”
Maybe that list was like the fence that always seemed to switch him.
“Jack’s calling Russo,” Maria said. “Is the fire department there?”
Sammy looked up at the building. Another section collapsed inward this time, sending up a fireball. “Nobody called; nobody ever calls for these buildings.”
“Jack’s coming over, but this is your story.”
“Jack can do it if he wants.”
“You can do it, Sam.”
“I don’t know. The kegger-slasher-party one didn’t turn out so good.”
“For your first story, it was a good job.”
“Which means ‘shit’ for somebody who knows what they’re doing.”
“Nobody gets it right the first time. You should’ve seen some of my early reports, and that was after following Dragon Lady around for six months. I hammed the camera the whole time.”
The confession did give Sammy a lift, but she still wasn’t sure.
“Just think of it as telling a friend what happened.” There was a scuffle in the background. Maria said, “She can do it.”
The comment was meant for Jack, but Sammy was glad she said it.
Maria breathed into the phone. “I’m guessing you’re feeling a little raw right now.”
“Don’t know what I feel.”
“Whatever you do, don’t be matter-of-fact. Dig into what you’re feeling.”
“Don’t know what you mean.”
“When I was on that boat, I was dazed, confused, not sure what happened, and I didn’t stop to pretty myself up and take the time to clear my head. I just went with my gut.”
“That makeup bot was all smashed up,” Sammy said.
“Exactly. Before, I was too busy looking good instead of digging down to what’s important.”
“I don’t know what’s important.”
“Weren’t you disappointed in not saving Bernie?”
“I had Cat in my arms, and Bernie reached out, wanting me to save him, but the floor rumbled, and I had to get out.”
“That’s it, Sam. Some stories only have one angle; the better ones have two, but you have three: Bernie, the cat, and your home.”
The apartment was mostly rubble now. “We’ll need to find a new place.”
“That’s right, but Bernie is your centerpiece, and how you came to know his other personas.”
“Bernard was the real monster.”
“Two sides of the same coin, Sam. That’s your metaphor,” Maria said. “Jack’s leaving now, so don’t worry if you mess up. But if you dig down, it’ll be ten times better.”
“You think so?”
“Yes,” Maria said, the S whistling in Sammy’s ear. “Jack’s insulted. You know I’m right, Jack.”
“Get some rest,” Jack hollered in the background.
“Can’t sleep now.” Maria released a slow breath as if to calm herself. “You have the Bernie/Bernard story to tell, and I know you’ll tell it better than anyone else. Okay?”
“I guess.”
“If you have any questions, you call me.” The call disconnected.
Sammy stared at the reflection of a flame flickering off the dark screen.
Chapter Sixty-Three
________________________________________
Sammy stood in the glare of the camera light, thinking about what more she had to say. She had talked about the fire and saving Cat. She even mentioned about the different people in Bernie, but she didn’t use the coin metaphor. There were at least three people, and coins only had two sides.
Cindy stood a few feet away, holding the phone’s camera on her. “You finished?”
“Maria said I have to be raw. I feel more numb.”
“Could be why you’re not in pain.” Cindy panned the phone’s light over her shirt.
“I’m talking about feelings, Cindy.”
“There’s a lot of blood, Sam. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“The ambulance lady said I was fine.”
Cindy panned lower. “Is that a bullet hole?”
Sammy was regretting letting Cindy do the recordings.
“You said he had a gun.”
“If he shot me, do you think I’d be standing here?”
Cindy didn’t say anything as she stared at the hole in her trousers.
“I was in the middle of the fire, Cindy. All kinds of stuff was flying around.”
“If it’ll make it up to you, I’ll toss these dresses into the fire.”
“What will that do except make this fire burn longer? Besides, you worked hard for those dresses.”
Cindy turned off the phone and hugged her. “You’re the best, Sam.”
“Just glad you’re okay.”
“No matter what happens, we have each other.”
Sammy leaned back. “I know what to say now.”
Cindy gazed at Sammy, waiting.
“I’m talking about for the news report.”
Cindy turned on the camera; the light bathed Sammy against the backdrop of the smoldering apartment.
“I knew Bernardo for months and always thought he was a bit flaky. Now, I think he was scared and confused and used zany comments to cover it. He didn’t know about Bernard or the beast, but he knew something wasn’t right and changed his name to Bernie, so he could keep Bernard buried deep.”
“That’s why he changed his name?” Cindy asked.
Sammy nodded, wondering if she could use the coin metaphor.
The light drifted as Cindy turned toward Igor’s youngest sister, who’d tripped on a brick.
Sammy waited for Cindy to aim the camera back on her. “Bernie was also kind, generous, and funny. I liked his laugh too.”
The camera shook as Cindy nodded in agreement.
“I know he wasn’t right in the head. I’m sure a lot of us are a few cards short of a full deck and have dark thoughts. Maybe Bernie was in a place where it was too dark, and the darkness took over, but he fought it.”
Igor’s other sister approached, holding Cat in her arms.
“Bernard fell back against the wall, and he became Bernie, scared and confused Bernie who needed my help, but it was too late. It was Bernie, not Bernard or the beast, who died. Sometimes when you try to defeat the monster, a friend dies. And when your friend dies, you die a little bit too.”
●●●
Sammy took a few pictures of Cat, zooming in on spots of singed fur. She scanned the recorded files but didn’t feel like reviewing them. She clicked “send.”
Leo grabbed her arm and pulled her away. “This is a big mistake. This is just the thing to draw millions of viewers.”
“If millions see it, then it’s more money for me.”
Leo looked over his shoulder. “Money is not going to help if certain people find out what you can do.”
“Again about people with no names.”
“Because they have no names,” Leo said, pulling her farther back. “Were you shot in the leg?”
Sammy pointed to the spot just above the knee. There was a graze on the other leg, but she didn’t think that mattered much.
“And you have no ill effects.”
“Hurt like hell, but after I got out of that building, the bullet oozed out of my leg.”
Leo rubbed his chin. “Fascinating.”
Sammy checked for anyone looking at them, then extended her fingers. “Don’t need that stupid probe thing anymore either.”
“Retract them!”
Sammy pulled her fingers in. “Thought you’d be happy.”
“Never do that in the open.” Leo did a three-sixty of the area. “You don’t know who’s watching.”
“Talk about paranoid.”
“You’d appreciate my council if you saw what I’ve seen.”
“I’m waiting for that heart-to-heart, Leo.”
“You’re better off not knowing. Simply be abundantly cautious, and you’ll be fine.”
“Sounds like a lot of fun.”
“Start off by deleting the videos and destroying the phone.”
“Already sent them off to Jack.”
“Then steal his phone and destroy it.”
Sammy rolled her eyes. “I wasn’t doing any finger tricks, Leo.”
“This behavior does not fit into ‘abundantly cautious.’”
Sammy walked away. “Neither do I.”
Leo followed her. “Tonight we’ll break into an imaging facility and do a full scanning workup.”
“The only place I’m breaking into is one with a bed.”
Igor walked up to them with a big smile. “I know of new place,” he said, putting his arm around Leo. “It is like palace.”
“Yeah, a palace for rats.”
“Do not listen to her. She knows nothing.”
Sammy sneered at Igor. “I’m not abundantly cautious either.”
“She is nothing but trouble. Before her it was quiet and peaceful, never a problem. This new place will only have the best tenants.”
“Then where are you going to stay, Igor?”
“You see what I have to put up with.”
Leo nodded, glancing over at her. “I have some idea.”
“Make sure he gives you the basement, Leo, so you can hide away in the darkness.”
“It will be quiet without her,” Igor said, walking away with Leo.
“Go ahead to your rat-infested place. See if I care.”
Cindy hobbled over. “What about rats?”
Sammy looked down at Cindy’s leg. “What’s the matter with your leg?”
“It’s nothing.”
“It’s something if you’re still hobbling on it.”
“Twisted my ankle on the fire escape.”
Sammy pulled over the bag of dresses for her to sit. “Then sit down and take your weight off of it.”
Cindy plopped down. “I should be taking care of you.”
“Why? Am I hobbling around?”
“You look like you stepped out of a horror movie.”
“Thanks.”
“I don’t mean it that way.”
Sammy looked down at her shirt and trousers. “Guess if I walked into a place, everyone would run for the exits.”
“It wouldn’t hurt to have Mama look at you.”
“That ambulance lady checked me out already,” Sammy said, gazing over at Mama, who was still on the phone. “Looks like she’s busy anyway.”
“She’s calling in favors to get places for everybody to stay until Igor gets another apartment.”
“Guess that doesn’t include us.”
“She offered. I told her I’d have to ask you first.” Cindy shifted on the bag. “She was very thankful for saving Rudy.”
“Rudy? Who’s Rudy?”
“The cat.”
“Cat’s name is Rudy?” Sammy asked, looking back at the younger sister now holding Cat. “He doesn’t look like a Rudy.”
“What does a Rudy look like?”
“I don’t know, but it’s not him.”
Cindy pushed the bag back and groaned.
“What is it?”
“Leg’s feeling stiff.”
“I think you’re supposed to keep the leg up.”
“Felt better when I was walking on it.”
“I’ll get some bricks to elevate your foot, no shortage of those.” Sammy strolled over to a pile, looked back to see if anyone was watching, then extended her fingers and scooped up about half a dozen of them. She retracted her fingers and carried the bricks over, then set them down in front of Cindy.
Igor was laughing about something, probably a stupid Russian joke. Mama was off the phone and bounded toward them.
Sammy propped Cindy’s foot on the stacked bricks.
Mama held the phone as though she was waiting for someone to come back on the line. “You are hurt?”
Cindy nodded. “I think it’s just a sprain.”
Mama gave Sammy the phone to hold, then bent over and rotated Cindy’s foot. “It is not broken. Good.”
“I have nice place,” Mama said, taking the phone back from Sammy. “I deliver baby, and she owes favor. It is crowded but only for a few days. Igor says two days. It will be four for new place.”
