Ashes to Ashes

Chapter 1-2

“No. No hospital.”

“What? You're just going to lie there until you finally die?”

“That was the plan.”

“Seriously, you need a doctor.”

“Yeah. There's a good idea. I've got enough drugs in me to kill a small animal. The first thing he'll do is call the cops, and as soon as I'm better, I'll get to share a jail cell with a big guy named Bubba. I think I'll take my chances out here, thank you very much.”

Todd sighed. Had he been a stronger person, he would have considered throwing him over his shoulder and carrying him to a hospital. But, being the lanky guy he was, he knew it wouldn’t happen. He still hadn't quite figured out how he was going to get him to the hospital anyway, seeing as he didn't have a car and if he had no way of calling an ambulance, he sure as hell couldn't call a cab.

“So you get smacked with a possession charge. You wouldn't do that much time. If it's a first offense, it'll be even less. It's better than dying a slow, agonizing death.”

But the man shook his head. “I've got enough on me to get an intent to the traffic charge.” He motioned to the nearby briefcase Todd hadn't noticed.

“So we leave the briefcase here. Not a big deal.”

The stranger sighed. “Look, the drug charges are the least of my worries right now. Trust me, going to the hospital is not an option.”

“Why? What else did you do?”

“Never mind. It's not important right now. Just no hospital. Okay?”

Todd thought for a few minutes. “You got a phone?”

“Why? Who are you planning to call?”

“My brother. He's a doctor.”

The stranger looked at him, hesitant.

“You can trust him,” though Todd wasn't so sure of his own words, it was all he could think to do.

The man hesitated. “I don't even know if I can trust you.”

“Do you have a choice at this point? I mean, that briefcase is out of your reach. So what happens when you run out of what's in the bag? Looks like you're getting low to me. I bet you'll be in a lot of pain once that stuff wears off.”

“I guess you have a point.”

“Bear in mind, since we can't go to a hospital, there’s only so much he can do. But it's better than nothing.”

“There's a phone in the pocket of my sports coat.”

Todd leaned over him and reached into the pocket, pulling out several pieces of a Blackberry. “Guess that's out,” he said, laughing more out of frustration than humor.

The younger man, still leaning over the stranger, grabbed the lapels of the suit jacket and pulled him to a sitting position.

“What do you think you're doing?”

“Well, I can't call using either of our phones. We're going to have to find a payphone so I can call my brother. Maybe he'll come to pick us up since I'm guessing you don't want me calling a cab either. Not that I can afford one. His place is too far for us to walk there, even with me supporting you. But there's got to be a payphone nearby.”

“You could just leave me here to wait for your brother to show up, you know.”

Todd shook his head. “I'm not letting you out of my sight. Who knows what you might try to do once I'm gone?”

“Fine. Let's get this over with.”

Todd took one of the man's arms and put it over his shoulder, then stood up, letting the man put his full weight against him. He moved slow, the man's broken leg dragging behind them. Todd wondered how long he'd be able to keep this up. He hoped they'd pass a bench along the way where he could stop to rest. He doubted he could go for more than ten or fifteen minutes without a break if even that long.

When they got to the fence, Todd realized the flaw in his plan.

“Now what, smart guy?” the older man asked.

“Give me a second. I'm thinking.”

“Think faster.”

“I don't hear you coming up with any great plans.”

“I had a great plan. Lie on the tracks and die. Eventually, a train would have come and put me out of misery.”

“Yeah. Sounds like a fun time.” Todd glanced at the hand on his shoulder, noticing the wedding band. “I'm sure your wife would love that.”

“Leave my wife out of it, please.”

The light in the man's eyes went out. Any trace of hope that might have been in them were gone. He seemed to be lost in thought. Todd could have been mistaken, but he thought he saw a tinge of regret showing on the guy's face.

“Fine. Let's walk along the fence a bit and see if we can find a hole in it somewhere.”

“And if we don't?”

“We'll cross that fence when we come to it.”

“Funny.”

“I thought so.”

As if the man were some kind of prophet, there was no opening in the fence to be found. At least none Todd could see.

“Any more bright ideas?”

Todd thought for a moment. “Actually, I do.”

“Care to enlighten me?”

“In a second. Here, grab the top of the fence for a minute.” The man complied, Todd felt relieved to have the weight off him, if only for a few minutes. “Those drugs wear off yet?”

“No. Why?”

Without responding, Todd put himself underneath the man, using his shoulder to lift his body and nudge him over the fence. The man landed on the other side with a thump. Todd quickly jumped over the fence after him.

“You officially suck!” the man yelled.

“Better than leaving you behind,” Todd said as he picked the man back up, continuing the search for a payphone.

When they made it to Lakeside drive, taking much longer than it should have, Todd still had seen no signs of activity, which came as a relief. But even if anyone saw them, they would most likely think he was helping his drunken friend get home. That was one reason it was nice to live in a town like this: if you were out in the wee hours of the morning, everyone assumed you'd been out drinking.

The older man had said little during the walk. Todd assumed this meant the drugs were wearing off, and he was feeling the pain. This wasn't necessarily a good thing, but Todd hoped they'd find a payphone soon. Since he'd gotten a cellphone several years before and no longer needed a public phone, he never even noticed them anymore. He'd almost forgot they even existed. Now, when he needed one, there didn't seem to be any around, though his memory told him there used to be one on almost every corner in the busier parts of town.

“How…much…farther?” It had been almost a half-hour since the old man had spoken. Todd figured the broken speech meant he was in pain, though his facial expressions and body language didn't indicate he was hurting.

“What's wrong with you?”

“Nothing…Feel…great.”

“Yeah. That's convincing.” Todd looked up. “Come on. I think I see a phone up ahead.”

The idea they had almost reached their goal propelled Todd ahead at a much faster rate, even with the extra weight of the older man added on. He barely noticed it anymore. They reached the phone, and he propped the man up against the post on which it hung. He dug into his pockets, first those of his jeans, then his coat, and groaned.

“Please tell me you have change,” he said to the man.

“Wallet…” the man managed to say, though it was even more difficult than before.

Todd had to lean the guy forward, trying to hold him up with his own body as he reached into the back pocket of the man's pants. Grateful he'd found the wallet on the first attempt, he pulled it out, let the man slump back into position against the post and, and opened it.

He checked the driver's license, learning his new friend's name was Walter Francis. He pocketed the license, then dug through the change compartment, pulling out a couple of quarters.

The phone rang several times. As soon as Todd heard the slight interruption telling him his call was about to go to voice mail, he hung up, fed the quarters back into the coin slot, and let it ring again.

After doing this routine twice more, a groggy voice answered.

“Yeah?”

“Mitch. It's Todd.”

“Todd?”

“Yeah, Todd. You know, your brother.”

“Do you have any idea what time it is?”

“Actually, I don't. I don't have a watch and my cell's dead.”

“It's one-thirty in the morning. This better be good.”

“Look, Mitch, I wouldn't be calling this late if it wasn't important. I have a guy here, he's in terrible shape. He needs a doctor. Now.”

“So bring him to the hospital. Now if you don't mind—”

“I can't bring him to the hospital. Come on, man. You gotta help me.”

“Can't bring him to a hospital? Why the hell not?”

“I just can't.”

“Jesus Christ, Todd! What the f**k have you gotten yourself into this time? Are you doing drugs again? This guy isn't overdosing, is he?”

“It's got nothing to do with drugs.” A lie, which made Todd feel guilty, but he knew his brother wouldn't help him if he told him the truth. “Look, it's complicated. Please, can you help?”

There was a long pause. Todd could almost hear the gears in his brother's head working as he weighed the pros and cons of bailing him out of yet another jam. There was a long sigh in his ear. It was the same one his brother always made when he relented and was about to agree to help, despite his better judgment telling him it was a horrible idea.

“Where are you?”

Todd looked around for a street sign. “Corner of Lakeside and Montrose.”

“Wait there. I'll be there as soon as I can.”

Todd hung up the phone, relieved.

“Hey, Walter. Everything's going to be okay. My brother's on his way.”

Walter didn't bother to respond. Todd noticed the life had gone completely out of his eyes. Though the faint groans told him the man was still alive. Barely, by the sound of it.

It occurred to Todd that Walter hadn't said exactly how long he'd been laying on those tracks, but he'd indicated it had been quite a while. The man's wife must be going nuts with worry.

He fished through the wallet he still had, looking for anything that might tell him his phone number, and wasn't surprised when he found nothing. People rarely needed to carry their own phone number around with them.

Luckily, he stumbled on one of the few payphones that still had a phone book attached to it.

He flipped through it, relieved to find there was only one Walter Francis listed. He dialed the number.

No answering machine picked up, so Todd just let it ring for several minutes before he finally gave up.

Well, he thought, either she's a heavy sleeper or she's not home. Todd remembered bringing up Walter's wife earlier, and the subject seemed to be a sore spot with him. Maybe she'd left him recently, which would explain the reaction he got for even mentioning it.

At least that meant she probably didn't know Walter hadn't returned home yet, which meant she wouldn't be worried. Thank God for small favors.

“Hey, Walter!” The older man's eyes had closed and Todd feared he was losing him. He bent down and gently slapped the man's face until his eyes opened. “Stay with me, dude. Help is on the way. I just need you to hang on a little while longer.”

Walter still said nothing, but he was making the groaning noises again. “Come on, man. Just hang in there.”