Chapter 19- Crisis Inverted

I was exhausted but couldn't sleep. My body was antsy, nervously twitching as though it wanted to get up and run. A side effect of the pain medication making my mind drowsy I assumed. I sat upright in bed, shaking my head to clear the fog. Fog. It felt so familiar, yet distant, like something in a dream. No, not a dream, a nightmare...

I pulled the covers off and inspected my bandage. The dark, almost black stain of congealed blood was hardened into the fibers of my dressing. Limping to the bathroom, I sat down and carefully removed the bandages with a pair of scissors I'd grabbed from the kitchen. Wincing as I slowly pulled the gauze off my skin, I tossed it into the trash and examined my injury for the first time. It was smaller than I imagined- only about half an inch wide but rather jagged. It must have been deep to cause this much pain. I touched it lightly, testing my tolerance. It seemed to be healing okay, and rubbing the muscle around the cut gave my leg some needed release. I pulled the plastic sleeve I'd received at the hospital over my thigh and sealed it against my leg with a few rubber bands. I was about to step into the shower when I heard a knock on my front door. Pulling a towel around my midsection I hobbled to answer it. A small package wrapped in brown paper lay on my doorstep. I picked it up and looked around. No one. The package was heavier than it looked, and something shifted around loosely inside. There was no address, no indication of who has left it. Normally I would not have thought anything of it, but my mind raced with possibilities tied to recent events.

"I was about to step into the shower when I heard a knock on my front door. Pulling a towel around my midsection I hobbled to answer it. A small package wrapped in brown paper lay on my doorstep. I picked it up and looked around. No one."

I closed the door and pulled off the paper. A smooth yellow box with the letters VL were embossed next to the icon of a beaker. I opened the box and inside there was an expensive looking metal case. Flipping the latch I opened it slowly, revealing a hypodermic needle laying in a form of grey foam. The hypo was made of steel and glass, and filled with a yellow liquid that almost seemed to glow. There was no note, no card, nothing to indicate what this item was or who sent it.

Replacing the lid, I placed the box next to my work bag and quickly showered. After eating an overripe banana and stale muffin, I dressed and grabbed my phone off the charger. Carefully sliding the box into my bag, I headed out the door. Pressing the "Lock" button I heard the mechanical tumblers secure the door in place, followed by the feeling of the familiar buzz of a text message. Glancing at the screen of my phone I saw the words "System armed in Away mode" confirming my doors and window were automatically armed and my cameras and motion sensors activated. I wondered if they would register anything today, and laughed as I realized I was starting to talk like Jeff. I did my best to make light of the situation, because I knew the reality that seemed to be unfolding was much too terrifying to admit.

Walking slowly to the train station, I found myself glancing left and right, scanning the streets for signs of new attacks or distant observers. Each person walking by became a possible assailant, each one in the distance a silent observer. Regardless of my paranoia, my fellow commuters seemed normal, oblivious to the danger that seemed to be growing every day. How is that even possible? The media had to have picked up something. Finding a seat on the train, I pulled up the local news on my smartphone. There were deaths, accidents, all sorts of catastrophes, but each one seemed to be attributed to some natural cause or mechanical failure. There was no mention of any outbreaks, plagues, or unknown diseases. I checked twitter and performed a few quick searches for "Crazy" and "Attack" but all I found were the typical posts about mundane, unfulfilled lives.

I took the elevator today, with my leg still healing I knew walking up stairs would be painful and slow. I was later than usual, but didn't see Tracy at her desk. Jeff was wearing his headset, tapping away on his keyboard, but Dwayne stood up as I arrived. "Oh man, are you okay?" he asked, genuinely concerned. I hobbled to my desk and sat down, nodding my head and smiling a bit. "It's sore, but healing fast I think." I replied. "We heard what happened. Must have been really scary." Dwayne went on. "I mean, getting attacked like that. Wow." I turned to my computer and logged in. Checking e-mails, I tried to focus on catching up on what I'd missed the past few days, but found it almost impossible to focus. Between the aching in my thigh and the questions in my mind, I had a hard time seeing how any of the e-mails in my inbox held any relevance.

I wasn't thirsty, but walked over to the water cooler by the door of the Marketing department just to have a reason to get and move around. As I stretched my sore leg I glanced in the window of Will's office and saw Tracy sitting on the edge of his desk, laughing. "Is something wrong?" the deep, serious tone startled me, causing me to spill some of the water on my pants. I looked up to see Mr. Munn looming over me. He was several inches taller than I was, and his Oxford blue shirt was pulled tight over his considerably intimidating form. "Just getting some water." I replied nonchalantly. "And trying to catchup on my emails." He stared blankly for a moment and said "No doubt you'll see my meeting request for this afternoon then. Your calendar shows your schedule is free but you would be sure to let me know if you felt you had somewhere more important to be, right?" it sounded more like a threat than a question. I nodded and held my full water bottle up with a smile. "Cheers!" I said, and walked back to my desk.

Tracy wasn't in her office the entire morning, and when lunchtime came I saw her leaving with Will. "I though those two were done, why is she spending so much time with him?" Dwayne asked when he saw me watching them leave. I shrugged, pretending not to feel hurt. Jeff popped his headphones off and looked at me. "They got back together after that drunk beat you up in the alley," he said. "Kenzie heard her telling Will that she didn't want to be with a guy that couldn't even beat up a homeless person." He must have seen the shock on my face and retreated a bit. "Hey, that's just what I heard..." his voice trailed off. Something he said set off a warning bell in my mind. "Wait..." I limped over to Jeff's desk. "Did you say that I got beat up in an alley?" He nodded innocently. "But that's not what happened." I said defensively. "I was attacked in a restaurant." Dwayne shrugged. "That's just what we heard man. Restaurant, alley, whatever." As I grabbed my keys off my desk I caught Jeff staring at me. He immediately went back to his computer, acting busy.

I walked the 2 blocks to the restaurant where Tracy and I had eaten lunch together that day. It felt good to stretch my leg, but I was almost exhausted when I arrived. A hostess offered to seat me but instead I asked to talk to the Manager. As I waited I looked around. The scene replayed in my mind- the homeless man babbling in a confused tongue, how he grabbed that girl and shook her, how his back arched as the transformation began, and finally the look in those eyes, those dead, yellow eyes... "Can I help you?" a short, round faced man stood waiting next to the expectant hostess. "I'm looking for the Manager." I said matter of factly. "That's me. What can I do for you?" I looked over his shoulder towards the office marked "Employees only." "Sorry, I am looking for the one who was on shift this past Tuesday." He squirmed a bit as though nervous about something. "He no longer works here." He bit his lip and glanced around as though someone might have overheard him, and added "And there's nothing I can do about it." he turned to go and I grabbed his arm. He spun and looked at me, fear in his eyes. "Do you know where I can find him?" I asked. He shook his head and pulled his arm away, escaping into the back room. I looked at the hostess, and asked how many different hostesses there were. "Not sure." she said. "It's my first day. Can I get you a table?" I declined and left the restaurant.

Back at the office, I sat at one end of the conference room which Mr. Munn was using as a temporary workspace. He was pouring over the report I had printed out on my departments productivity for the past few months. As I looked idly through the glass I saw Tracy walking by and gave her an eager little wave. She half waved back, looking awkward and confused. Mr. Munn looked sideways at her and immediately began asking me questions about my dept processes. I answered each without emotion or vast detail, eager for this little session to conclude. "Do you have somewhere you need to be?" he asked impatiently. "You keep looking at your watch and your foot has not stopped tapping since you arrived." He stared at me stoically, awaiting an explanation. I cooked up something I figured he couldn't argue with. "It's my leg. I'm in a lot of pain right now and need to take my meds." he seemed skeptical. "I'll look over this report thoroughly and get back to you." he said. "Expect to see a meeting request soon." I nodded and ducked out of the room as quickly as my temporary handicap could take me.

Making sure Mr. Munn wasn't looking, I ducked into Tracy's office and sat in her chair. "We have SO much to talk about" I panted. "Are you okay?" she stared at me confused and a little alarmed. Pushing her discomfort aside, I started to explain myself. "I woke up in the hospital, they said I had been unconscious for two days. My battery was dead and someone deleted your number from my phone." She looked alarmed. "Are you okay?" I repeated and reached out and touched her hand. She immediately withdrew, shocked by my behavior. "Do I know you?" she asked sincerely. "Because I think you have me confused with someone else."