Haeven (7 page)

I hurried to the front door and let myself
out then called the elevator to my floor. My heart was racing and I
couldn't stop myself from shifting nervously from foot to foot
while I waited. Thankfully there was no one else in the car when it
came and it gave me a moment to study the keypad while I wondered
which floor to try.

"There must be another way out! There must
be! I'll just have to go floor to floor until I find it!" I said
confidently to myself.

Down didn't seem like a very good option so I
decided to start with the floor directly above mine. I pressed the
button. The doors closed. The elevator propelled itself to the next
floor. The doors opened. Nothing. Another small receiving area and
a door with a keypad just like mine.

I completed the process again. Floor after
floor and every one of them nothing but the same scene greeted me.
I was about to give up and after hitting the button for one last
floor glanced up and noticed the paneling above my head.

"Huh?" I exclaimed. Having seen it often
enough in movies I wondered if there was a way to remove one of the
panels and climb through the roof of the elevator. Before I could
come up with a plan for finding out the car stopped and the doors
opened once more.

"Hey," a young man stepped into the car with
me.

"Hi," I nervously replied.

"Up or down?"

"Uh, uh..." I wasn't sure where I was going
and didn't have the sense to answer.

"Down it is!" the man chuckled and hit the
button for the lowest level.

Realizing that was the last place I wanted to
be I reached out and punched the button for my floor. The man
flashed a quick grin at me then looked up at the numbers flashing
above the door.

"Are you new here?" he glanced back over his
shoulder to where I was huddled in the corner. "I don't think I've
seen you before."

"Uh, yes...just today actually."

"Really?!" he turned and faced me. "Well let
me be the first to welcome you. I'm Jesse."

"Emily."

"Nice to meet you Emily."

Again I didn't have the sense to say anything
and before I knew it we were at my floor. "What should I do? What
should I do?" I thought to myself.

The doors started to close and Jesse
automatically reached his arm out to hold them for me, "Getting
off?" he asked good-naturedly.

"Oh, yeah," I shook my head dazedly and
hurried out.

"Bye," he said hopefully.

"Sorry," I found my voice, "it's been a crazy
day and I'm a little out of it."

"Yeah," he was still holding the doors open,
"I get it. Hey, if you need a tour guide or just a friend and some
company I'm on 15."

I smiled broadly, mostly because I couldn't
believe how lucky I was to receive the invitation and found myself
shamelessly replying, "I'll be sure to take you up on the offer!"
before whirling away.

I heard the wisp of the elevator doors
closing then used my code and casually let myself back into the
apartment.

As soon as I walked in I could smell Penny's
soup. Thankfully she hadn't returned yet so I made my way to the
kitchen and helped myself to a bowl. It was wonderful and I was so
hungry that I managed to slurp up two servings before I heard Penny
letting herself in. She came straight to the kitchen and smiled
when she saw me sitting at the counter polishing off what was left
in my bowl.

"How was it?"

"It was alright," I slid the stool back from
the counter and started to walk away intending to go back to my
room to try and come up with an plan to visit Jesse the next time I
found myself alone.

"You've made a bit of a mess," Penny said
suggestively.

I glanced around and noticed the soup I
sloshed on the stove when I was ladling it from the pot and the
various drips and drops spattered on the counter around my bowl.
"Yeah. So?" I shrugged and continued to walk away.

"You should clean up after yourself," Penny
helplessly called as I rounded the corner completely ignoring
her.

I clenched my jaw angrily as I walked
thinking to myself that being a model citizen was the last thing I
intended to do if I was going to be forced to stay there against my
will. I made sure to slam my door and lock it behind me. Once I was
in my room I did a thorough inspection of it and everything that
was in it. The vents were tiny; certainly nothing I could shimmy
into and crawl through. There were no doors other than the main one
and the one to the closet. There was nothing of any significance to
be found in there either.

I even checked the fireplace but it was
gas-lit and there was no chimney since it wasn't needed. When I was
done my inspection I stood in the middle of the room and turned
myself around several times hoping something might catch my eye.
The garden was the only thing that did. It was bright and
sunny-looking inside. I wandered toward the glass pane that
separated it from the bedroom and laid my hands on it. I rapped
once or twice and based on the sound that it sent back I decided
very dense glass.

I wondered if there was anything I could use
to break it and noticed the rack of decorative utensils resting by
the fireplace. I pulled a heavy rod with a hook on the end and
tested its weight. For a brief moment I thought about giving the
garden wall a whack but reconsidered the idea knowing that Penny
was still in the apartment. Besides I couldn't see far enough
beyond the wall to know if there was any way out of the garden once
I was in it. I tucked the idea away for future use.

There wasn't much more I could think to do so
I sat down on the small couch in front of the fireplace and
snatched the remote of the coffee table. After flipping through the
channels several times and finding myself unable to settle on
something to watch I tried the stereo instead. Most of the stations
were country or pop but I found one rock station and an alternative
station that was playing something heavy and raw. The song seemed
to touch a cord with me, maybe because that was how I was feeling
myself –weighted down with fear and anger and raw with the
emotional overload of everything that had happened, was happening
to me.

I turned it up slightly, a little more. Penny
came and knocked on my door, "Emily, not so loud please."

I grinned wickedly and rather than turning it
down as she requested I turned it up even more. She knocked again
and before she could utter a single word I went even louder.
Sitting back I closed my eyes and blocked everything else out. Song
after song rang out and I had no idea how much time had passed.

Eventually my head started to ache and I was
sure that Penny had gone away by then. I turned the music back down
and curling my legs up onto the couch I closed my eyes again. As I
lay there a touch of guilt crept into my thoughts. I knew Penny
wasn't at all to blame for my situation and other than my little
brother I had never treated anyone so poorly. I couldn't seem to
help myself though.

"It doesn't matter. As long as I am here it
doesn't matter whether I'm nice or not. I have nothing to feel
guilty about! If anyone should feel guilty it's Herrik!! And
Carah!! And...and that brute Avery!! I hate them!! I hate them
all!!" I started to cry again. "How can I possibly have any more
tears left?" I sobbed.

It was an exhausting cry and eventually I
stopped gasping for breath and completely worn and weary from it
all I fell sleep.

Not long afterwards I started dreaming that I
was home. It was so vivid that my mind was nearly convinced that
were no such people as Herrik and Penny and that none of what had
happened was in fact real. In my dream I was home and we were all
having dinner together. My father was telling us some story from
work. My mom was smiling and Evan was kicking me beneath the table
obviously bored with the tale and trying to get my attention.

"What is it Evan?" I finally demanded when I
couldn't stand his antics any longer.

His face fell and he mumbled, "Nothing...I
just wanted to show you something I found in your room."

I felt terrible for being angry with him,
especially since it seemed like forever since I had seen him
last.  Despite myself I scowled at him across the table, "You
shouldn't be in my room!"

"What's wrong?" my mom turned to us when she
heard me and saw how angry I was.

Suddenly I realized that this wasn't how I
wanted things to be. I loved my mother and my father and my little
brother. "Evan just kicked me by mistake. He apologized," I went on
to explain then looked across the table and said to my brother,
"I'm sorry, too, Evan. I know it was a mistake and I am not angry
with you."

My mother was shocked and looked at my father
in total disbelief then looked back.

"Well, I'm glad you worked it out," my father
smiled.

Evan looked relieved and I smiled at him
across the table.

Not long afterwards the dream shifted and I
found myself in my own room, in my own bed with my mom gently
trying to wake me.

"You're going to be late for school," she was
saying.

"School? Today? I thought it was
Saturday!"

"No sweetie, it's not. You'd better hurry or
you'll miss the bus," she smiled and kissed my cheek when she was
convinced that I was awake and wouldn't fall back to sleep. Then
she stood up and walked away.

Suddenly I cried out for her afraid that if
she made it through the doorway I would never see her again.

"No!" I screamed. "No, please don't leave
me!" and I sprang from my bed and tried to chase after her but as
soon as my feet hit the floor someone grabbed my ankles tripping me
and I fell face down on the floor.

I tried to scramble away and call for help
but my body was full of fear and it just wouldn't obey me. I
couldn't find my voice and my legs felt so weak and my efforts
completely useless. I looked over my shoulder to see what was
holding me.

"Where is it?" a voice hissed

"I don't know," I screamed and dug my toes
into the carpet as I tried to escape.

"It was here, here on the post! I need it! I
need it to bring him back! I know he gave it to you," I couldn't
see the face that the voice belonged to because whoever it was they
were under my bed. They started tugging and drawing me back to
where they were concealed.

I frantically clawed at the floor but it was
no use. I rolled over and tried kicking at the face of whoever was
under the bed. I caught a glimpse and thought I recognized who it
was but just as I was about to make the connection the world went
suddenly bright and vivid and I felt strong, caring hands wrapped
around me.

I could hear Penny nervously calling my name
in the background and a whispered voice in my ear, "Ssh, ssh, ssh.
I'm here, Emily. I'm here. It was just a dream...just a dream."

"Herrik," I asked dazedly.

"Yes, Emily. It's me. It's Herrik."

"Oh," I buried my face in his shoulder,
shivering and shaking while the relief washed over me.

"Is she alright?" Penny approached us and
laid her hand on my back.

"She's fine. She'll be fine," Herrik assured
her.

"I'll get some water," Penny pivoted and
hurried away while Herrik waited for me compose myself.

It didn't take long. One minute I was
paralyzed with the fear I felt from my dream the next I was on my
feet and screaming at Herrik to let me go. He stood up and ran his
fingers through his hair in exasperation.

"Emily. If you would just let me try..."

"Leave me alone! I hate you! I...h...h..." my
knees went weak.

"God Good!" I heard Penny gasp and the crash
of the water glass she had brought as it shattered on the floor at
her feet before I fainted away.

It was nighttime when I woke again. The
crickets were busy chirping, the leaves rustling as they brushed
against the glass. The closet light was on and the door
thoughtfully left ajar. I couldn't remember what had happened or
how I had gotten into bed and so many of the events that I could
remember were jumbled together in a kaleidoscope of visions.

There was a glass of water on my nightstand
that I urgently reached for and downed in a single gulp. I wiped my
mouth with the back of my hand then slid from the bed. One thought
kept repeating over and over again in my mind; that I needed to get
away. I was somewhere horrible and I needed to get away.

I went to the closet and dressed myself as
quickly as I could. I picked the most sensible things I could wear
and snatched a pair of shoes before tiptoeing to my bedroom door
and easing it open. I slipped through the opening when it was wide
enough and peering into the darkened rooms as I went scurried to
the front door. There was no sign of anyone else in the apartment
and I felt completely confident as I waited for the elevator.

When it arrived I punched the first number
that came to mind. "15."

Once the elevator came to a stop I hopped off
into the receiving area and rang the buzzer. It took a minute or so
before anyone answered. I could hear music and laughter coming from
behind the doorway and I was just about to turn and head back to my
apartment thinking that whoever lived there did not hear my ring
over whatever was taking place within. Just as I started to turn
though the door suddenly swung wide and there was a dark haired man
about Penny's age standing there, a little breathless, with a huge
smile and a look of complete surprise.

"Emily," he hurried forward and threw his
arms around me. "What are you doing here?"

It started to come back to me and I
remembered who he was as my mind raced for an answer, "I was
feeling a little lonely and wondered if you were, too. I thought I
would drop by and see if you could use some company."

"Actually," the man glanced over his
shoulder, "we were just heading out," he said apologetically.
"We're playing tonight," he bit his lip and studied me, "but," he
raised his eyes hopefully, "you're welcome to come cheer us on if
you like?"