City On Fire

20

As she did most mornings Ella woke up screaming. With tears in her eyes she shot upright. The only thing that made today different was that when she did she shot up right into someone’s arms, someone whose smell she remembered. She clung to the scent of Old Spice and leather for dear life as she tried composing herself. Conrad sat on the edge of the chair and didn’t move, neither did he say anything. As he sped away the night before he found himself worried about her safety. She was alone in an abandoned neighbourhood, in a dilapidated house and in bad mental shape. What if someone cornered her? What if someone tried using the house as a shelter and found her there? What if. What if. What if.

It was all he could think of. So much so that he eventually turned around and found her asleep, though it could hardly be called sleep. She was wrestles and tossed and turned the while night. At times she spoke though he couldn’t make out her words and other times she seemed to be in agony. It was worrying. He was the last one to be partnering with authorities but perhaps they needed to find her for her own good.

The thought was very temporary, there weren’t nearly enough good cops for that to even be an option. Besides, he had seen the kind of help they would give someone like her. He had been next to her when she woke up and when he saw her that upset he tried is best to comfort her, although he was did wonder what would put her in such a state to begin with. It took some time but she did eventually stop shaking but seeing her in such a state made him less inclined to let her go. Something about her made him deathly protective of her and he listened carefully at every sound shout it carry any danger with it. The sun had come up and drenched the room in rays of light, both from the open front door and the opening in the boards covering the windows.

“Do you always sleep that bad?”

She opened her eyes when she felt his hand on the back of her neck but didn’t answer.

“Is that why you were in that place?”

Again she didn’t answer and her silence gave him the answer he partly already knew. More than once Ella had thought about how she would explain all of this to someone. She had told her parent but they were her parent. Telling Benny had come almost naturally, like he simply understood, but telling someone like him. He didn’t share part of a disorder with him and neither was he family, he couldn’t possibly understand. He would judge and draw his own conclusion, not to mention he would never believe her. This conversation would not end well and she would rather keep a friend than tell the truth. He was a friend right? “What are you doing here?”

Wiping her eyes on the back of her sleeve she sat away from him, although he was far less inclined to let go.

“I remembered I don’t take orders from children.” Leaning forward with his elbows on his knees he looked at her with his trademark arrogant grin. Having now been shot and killed by the same man twice she was in no mood for his remarks. The only thing she could think of was getting into that room. All of this was getting to be far too real, even for her nightmares. Never, not ever had she felt that kind of pain in a nightmare and she didn’t want to feel it again. While Conrad still starred at her she got up and walked back to the staircase where she had left the shoulder bag. Standing in the sun felt like heaven and calmed her shocked nerves which was why she decided to sit on one of the steps instead of returning to her chair. It was occupied now anyway.

Just to be sure it had been the same man as the first time she paged through the sketchbook until she found his portrait and sure enough it was the same bastard. What she had not noticed before was the street preacher and she had gone through everything to be sure. He might not be all that relevant but she felt it best to keep him amongst her records anyway.

She completely ignored Conrad staring at her from the next room and focused on her drawing. She needed everything as accurate as possible, the streets, the preacher, the scene after the explosion and even though she could life without seeing it ever again she needed to see where to record to bodies. She became emotional more than once but made herself promise she was not going to cry in front of him again.

Conrad’s curiosity about this woman was driving him up the walls and as he watched her draw he could faintly hear the sound of graphite gliding across the page. Finally when he couldn’t stand it anymore he got up and walked up to her with his hands in his pockets. Careful not to get in her light or hinder her concentration he leaned on the railing and looked down at what she was drawing. It was no wonder she wasn’t sleeping. One page after the other filled to the brim with the morbid scenes of destruction and bloodshed. To get a better view he sat on the step below her but she noticed noting around her. All she saw and heard were strokes on paper. She only stopped when she turned the page and found that the book was full. The disgust painted on her face made Conrad laugh.

“So this is where you have been hiding.”

A short stocky figure with a brown paper bag in his right hand stood in the doorway and blocked out the sunlight. Ella sat upright. She recognised him as the man that had been with Conrad the day before but wasn’t sure what to make of him. Looking to Conrad for answers she found him smiling so she turned back to the man in the doorway. “Relax. I come bearing gifts.” He walking with his hands raised before removing his sunglasses. Crouching down in front of them both he placed the paper bag in front of him and dug inside.

“The name’s Origen. Like the state.”

He handed her a sandwich and a plastic cup of coffee as he introduced himself.

“Mom had a travellers itch. She also had a heroine itch but she kicked that not long after getting it. Well, got a weed itch after that but at ninety eight who cares what kind of itch she has.”

Ella laughed slightly as she accepted the offer. Quite frankly she was starving and sure as hell not going to puss up anything that looked that good. Origen extended the same offer to Conrad before he sat down on the floor. While Ella and Conrad ate her took a beer and three candy bars from the bag.

“I thought we were going to try and keep the drinking till after two.”

Ella looked from Conrad to Origen who raised his shoulders and downed half the beer.

“It is after two, just not on this side of the planet.” As they ate Ella found herself taking to both of them which worried her only a little since having met one a day ago and the other les that an hour ago. In this proximity they did seem good people. Well, there were quirks. After finishing the candy bars and downing the other half of the beer he tossed everything back into the paper bag and stretched out on the floor.

“You two wake me when the kanoodeling is over.”

He put his sunglasses back on and clasped his hands behind his head. Ella could feel her cheeks heat up but Conrad remained expressionless. His threw his trash into the paper bag and dug out the beer bottle. Aiming carefully he threw the bottle hit him square on the middle of his fore head.

“f**k!”

He scurried like a beetle stuck on its back as he cursed.

“All done.”

Conrad dusted off his hands before he got up.

Origen eventually stopped and lay motionless on the floor.

“You bastard. I feed you and this is how you repay my kindness? I hate you.”

Conrad laughed as he stepped over him and walked back to the wall behind the stairs but not before lightly kicking him in his side.

“Off your arse. I didn’t call you here to lie around.”

In seconds Origen was back on his feet and heading for the wall as well.

“Right, so what are we doing? Breaking it down, blowing it up or we could burn it down?” Origen stood with one hand on his hit while the other rubbed his chin. Ella on the other hand stood shocked with mouth open but there came no sound, no protest and no breath. Conrad didn’t say a word either. He stood staring at the wall trying to figure out what he was missing. Finally Ella found her voice and raised her hands in objection. “You are not demolishing my house!”

The two men looked over their shoulder at her but remained quiet. Eventually the turned back to the wall and Ella, still concerned, rested her hands on her hips. Like Conrad had done the day before Origen knocked until he was answered by a hollow echo. He then ran his fingers along the edges and corners of the wall finally stopping when his finger tips found a slight breeze.

“You noticed the draft?”

Conrad nodded and Origen turned to face him.

”Then there must be another way in.”

Conrad nodded again.

“So if we can’t get in this way, we find the other way.”

Smiling Conrad nodded yet again. This made it clear that there would be no ‘we’ and Origen would be finding it on his own.

“You cannot be serious? In a house this old there is no telling where to even start!” Much to Ella’s discomfort Conrad put his arm around her shoulders. “Then you better get started or you find a way to get it open.”

He raised the index finger of the hand around her shoulders. “Without demolishing the house.”

Origen looked from Ella to him and back. “Can you believe this guy?”

Ella had her arms crossed on her chest. She tried her best to make as little contact with Conrad as possible and as a result hadn’t even her Origen talking. Using it as an excuse to get out from under his arm Ella walked to the door and pressed her hand against the wood. “It opened from this side and I don’t think there was any kind of mechanism to get it open. You just pushed it.”

She pushed against the wall but nothing happened.

After rubbing his chin for a moment Origen snapped his fingers.

“Then the answer is really very simple.”

All eyes turned to him and he glowed with pride.

“The hinges must be rusted shut.”

It was not the answer she wanted to hear and he wasn’t finished. “But there is a solution.”

He walked past both of them and out the door.

Having been left alone with Conrad made her uneasy for some reason. His motives remained a mystery and also what brought him back, with a friend no less. She wondered if he held some stake in all of this, if he was a foe who was after something she knew or perhaps even something in the house. Why did he believe her, a complete stranger, when she told him there was something behind that wall? Not only that but believed her enough to bring help? This guy was just a little too eager to help. “What’s the matter?”

She felt her cheeks heat up again when she realised she had been staring. Not only that but he had noticed.

“Nothing.”

Conrad wanted to say something but he was interrupted by Origen standing in the doorway holding an axe.

“Here’s Johnny!”

He called from the door and it echoed through the house. Ella was immediately nervous as he charged full steam right at her. Conrad pulled her out of the way and tucked her behind him as Origen slammed the axe into the wall sending splinters flying. “Are you out of your f*****g mind?!”

Conrad was pissed and held on to Ella shielding her from any stray shrapnel. She on the other hand gripped the ends of his jacket and shook violently. Perhaps it was because she hadn’t gotten over being killed yet but seeing him go full Shinning scarred the life out of her. Origen on the other hand was laughing like a lunatic as he tore down the wall one wooden board at a time.

When he was finally done he was out of breath and rested the axe on its head between his feet.

“Wow, maybe I shouldn’t have had that last beer.”

He choked out the words between breaths. He was till laughing but Conrad saw nothing funny in the matter.

“What in God’s name were you thinking?! Why shouldn’t I shoot you where you stand?!”

He held her a little tighter as he awaited explanation. Origen on the other had so no wrong in the situation, he did however see something ells he would keep to himself until the right time.

“Relax! I know what I’m doing.”

He pointed at the c*****e next to him with his thumb. “Check it! And by the way, you won’t kill me because you rely on me too much.” He bowed as the two of the walked closer, Ella still attached to Conrad by the arm now having completely forgotten all distrust.

Conrad seemed disappointed but Ella was downright distraught. A brick wall had been built behind the wooden boards with no trace of a door, rotating wall or any other entrance. The brickwork had been messy and the breeze all three of them felt was from a spot between two bricks hat hadn’t been sealed properly. Conrad felt his heart break as Ella pressed her hands against the brick work, she was on the verge of tears.

”Any one got a lobotomy tool? We can always go Session 9 on that bitch.”

Conrad smacked him up side the head but Ella didn’t even hear him.

”Ouch, what the hell was that for?”

Conrad didn’t answer. Instead he looked at Ella who was banging her fists against the cement.

“There has to be a way in. I need to get to that library.”

By now she was crying and didn’t even bother hiding it. Conrad grabbed hold of her wrist and pulled her into his embrace trying to calm her.

“Shhhh, we’ll find a way alright? I’ll find a way.”

He smoothed back her hair but it did little in the way of comfort. Origen, who neither of them had seen leave, burst through the door and shut it behind him quickly. “We got problems.”

They could hear a car pull up to the house and moment later they heard the doors opening and slamming shut.

“Police! If there is anyone in there step out slowly with your hands where I can see them.” Conrad felt her go cold in his arms at the mention of the authorities. “Just give me the word.”

Origen hoped from one foot to the other in front of the door.

“I’ll cut them bitches!”

Conrad rolled his eyes as he got Ella to her feet.

“Don’t be an i***t. Let’s go.”

They were ready to leave but Ella was not.

“No, I can’t go. I have to stay here, I have to get into the library.”

She tried backing away but he held on to her wrist. The footsteps from outside was getting uncomfortably close and made everyone one concerned nervous. “Listen to me, I swear I will bring you back and we will have a plan to get through that wall but we can’t be here now. If they catch us we won’t ever even have a chance.” Despite his own anxiety he tried his best to appeal to her, fortunately it worked. After one last look at the wall she stopped resisting and followed him and Origen through the den and then a back hall that lead to the kitchen. She stopped only one at the entrance to the hall and ran back to the staircase to gather her bag and sketch book. When she got back Conrad extended his hand.

“Come on, hurry.”

Origen had stopped at the end of the hall and waited. When Ella took his hard the two ran into the kitchen just as the front doo opened and just as the two uniformed police officers soured the entry way the three of them slipped silently out the servant’s entrance. When he thought he heard sirens Origen had moved the two motorcycles to the back. The fuzz might not be there for them but it did look just a bit too suspicious. Incidentally he had broken the latch and the lock when he tried taking a short cut back inside meaning the door could easily been opened from the inside but not from the back. “Who’s the i***t now?” Conrad was more focused on the opposition at their back to pay him any attention. “Still you.”

He started the engine but waited before he took off. Ella had her arms around his waist and he gripped her wrists before he put on his helmet. “Hold on.” She nodded and looked back at the house as the three sped away with screeching tires.