Chapter 26- Rebound

I returned to Mr. Munn's house to find the door wide open. Blood streaks on the walls and floor sent me into a panic. I followed them to the room where my mother was, but the bed was empty. Did Mr Munn kill her? The thought filled my heart with a mix of sadness, anger, and fear. "Mom!" I called out. "Mom, where are you?" I heard a sputter and a gurgle, like someone was drowning and choking at the same time. I rounded the bed to see a pair of shoes, worn by a body halfway under the bed. As I pulled on the legs I heard a panicked scrabbling. It was Mr. Munn, and only his eyes remained, the rest of his face torn and scratched off. His eyes were filled with horror and pain. "My mother-did she do this?" His eyes blinked once, like a nod.

I pulled out my phone to call 911 and his hand reached up and stopped me. He pointed at a picture on the wall. It was an old seascape, a ship navigating a reckless sea in the middle of a storm. I studied it for a moment and them looked back at him. He nodded and pointed again. I peered behind the frame and saw a hinge up the left side. I pulled on the edge, revealing a box set deep in the wall. On a shelf there was a slip of paper and a handgun. I picked them both up and brought them to Mr. Munn.

He handed the paper back to me and I unfolded it. On it was the VL logo and a few simple words:
Yellow= Erase
Green= Return
I looked at him with a quizzical look "The injections are not the cause of the infection?" I watched as he lifted the pistol to his own head, pressing it to his temple. His eyes filled with tears and I left the room as fast as I could. As I ran down the driveway I heard the pop of his handgun.

I walked rapidly to the closest bus station, eager to get to the office. Walking inside the door I was immediately approached by one of the Managers. "How is your mother?" he asked with pretended concern. I hung my head, doing my best to look depressed. He nodded in understanding. I knew that acting emotionally distraught would keep them off my back, giving me the time I needed to accomplish the tasks before me. "I just need to do a few quick things then I'm heading back to the hospital." I lied. He put his hand on my shoulder and said in his best voice "Well, if you need anything..." his lips pursed in pouty, false sympathy. I nodded in equally false appreciation and walked to my desk.

Sitting at my desk I glanced around carefully before opening the bottom drawer. I removed the yellow box I had stashed there and carefully opened the lid. Inside the silver case shone and I unhooked the latches quietly. Lifting the lid I looked at the syringe of green liquid. It was almost luminous. Removing the syringe from its fitted foam casing I placed it in my lap and pretended to type something on the computer. Glancing toward Tracy's desk with my peripheral vision, I could see her working on something, looking back and forth from her screen to something on her desk. I picked up the syringe and tucked it in my palm. I poked my head in her doorway. "Sorry I haven't gotten my reports to you this week." I interrupted. "I've had some things keeping me out of the office." She glanced at me only slightly, barely recognizing my apology. "I understand. Hope everything works out."

Back at my desk, I tried to think of ways to draw her out of her office. Without a personal relationship I had nothing, and our business relationship was clearly not enough to get some time alone with her. I considered enlisting the help of Dwayne or Jeff, but either posed problems. Suddenly I noticed Tracy stand up. I watched as she moved toward the marketing department. I glanced at my watch. It was almost lunch time. If she went to lunch with Will it would be almost impossible to get a moment alone with her. I walked to the water cooler and tried to listen in. "Where do you wanna go today?" I heard Will ask her. Tracy shrugged and mentioned a couple local eateries.

I saw Will grab his keys and Tracy hooked her arm in his as they began walking out together. As they passed by me I turned my head toward the wall as though I was reading a memo posted nearby. Glancing back at the couple I caught Will's eye. He was looking suspiciously at me. Before they got to he front door I heard Tracy say "Hang on, I need to run to the restroom." She turned and walked to the bathroom while Will stood by the front door looking at his watch.

The door of the women's bathroom closed behind me with a soft bang. My heart was racing. The stall doors were open except for the last one. I heard the soft whoosh of a toilet flush and barely had time to duck into a stall before Tracy came out. I watched her through the crack as she washed her hands and then applied some lipstick. She looked at herself in the mirror and picked at a flyaway strand of hair. She picked up her purse and was about to leave when I opened the door. "Tracy, wait..." I called out to her. She froze, staring at me in confusion. "What are you doing in here?" She asked, but the look on her face changed from confusion to horror as I produced the glowing green syringe. She took a step backward. "What is this?" Her furrowed brow showed fear and anger.  "Tracy, please..." I pleaded, stepping toward her. She moved toward the door but I shifted to block her escape. Grabbing her, I cupped my hand over her mouth and plunged the syringe into her forearm. I could hear a brief muffled scream before she began to convulse, crumpling into my arms and then sliding onto the floor. Her body shook violently and I stood powerless, wondering what I'd just done.

Just then I heard the door open behind me. I turned and saw Will standing there. "What's going on?" He demanded. His eyes moved to my hand and widened as they saw the syringe. "What have you done?!?" He rushed toward me, slamming me into the wall behind me. I heard tiles crack and shatter and struggled to gain my footing. Pushing him to arms length I managed to land a blow to his eye, but he answered with a elbow to my chin. I crashed to the floor hard, and felt his fists pounding me repeatedly. I tried to block his punches, but he landed several. I felt my head getting fuzzy, and tried to grab his legs to trip him. He kicked me hard in the stomach and I lost my breath. Again and again I felt his blow, and heard the crack of my ribs as they broke from the onslaught.  I was about to give up when I heard a tremendous crash. I looked up to see Will's body smashing though the door of a nearby stall.  Searching for the source I saw Tracy reaching down, lifting me to my feet. "We need to get out of here."