The Awakening (40 page)

             
He advised her to call in sick the next day, but Abby refused, saying she’d get a good night’s sleep and feel better in the morning.  Mark wasn’t so sure, but seeing as he was back to his old routine and disguise, he didn’t have a lot of time to catch up with her.

             
The next day, Mark grudgingly forced himself through every one of his morning classes.  By the time lunch rolled around, he was happy to lock himself away in his office, setting up his do not disturb sign in the window and drawing back the shades.

             
He sat there, staring through the milky white film of the contacts, feeling the rough wood of his old desk under his fingers, listening to the soft clock ticking away in the corner.  He wondered briefly how long it would be before he had a moment of real peace.

             
A knock interrupted his musings, and he groaned.  Reaching out, he felt for the knob and twisted it, allowing the door to open just a crack.  “Forgive, but I’m very busy…”

             
“It’s me,” came Abby’s voice, sounding strained and rushed.  She pushed the door against his arm, stepped in, and shut it.  He heard the lock click and then heard her slide into the chair nearest to his desk.  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt, but I just needed a break.  All those children just yammering away, like they’re the only beings in existence and I’m here solely to serve them.”

             
Mark gave a little laugh and ran his fingers back through his hair.  “I know what you mean.  It’s difficult to come back to the job knowing what we know.”

             
“What do we know really, though?” Abby asked. 

             
Mark felt her warm fingers close over his wrist, a desperate attempt for comfort.  “Still not much, unless your brother has called you with new information?”

             
“My phone hasn’t made a peep,” she said, pulling her chair even closer to his.  “Yours?”

             
“Just a very brief conversation this morning.  He said he may have a lock on some guy named Shawn… I don’t remember the last name.  They had spoken to his mother earlier and now they’re trying to track him down.”

             
“Hmm, well good luck with that one,” Abby muttered.

             
Mark frowned, turning his gaze towards the sound of her voice.  “What do you mean?”

             
“I just mean, with every dead end we’ve met, it’s hard to have faith,” she said in a hurried tone.

             
Mark sat back, pulling his hand away from her.  Something was off about her, but he wasn’t sure what, and he didn’t quite like it.  “Look, Abby, maybe we should wait for your brother to call before we go on speculating anything.”

             
“Sure yeah,” she said and Mark heard her chair scoot even closer.  “I don’t mean to be so negative, I’m just so stressed out.  I haven’t slept in days, and these kids are just… I don’t know how people deal with having these little creatures living in their homes all the time.  They just never stop needing things.  And then dealing with this will-we-won’t-we find this supposed suspect.  It’s just a lot.”

             
“Yes, it is,” Mark said slowly, pushing his chair back slightly.  He moved to stand up, but Abby’s hands were suddenly on his arms, holding him in place with surprising strength.  He tried to pull away but he found his arms pinned.

             
“I’m just really stressed, and really lonely,” Abby breathed, her mouth close to his ear.  “Can you just hold me?  Just for a minute?”

             
Part of Mark wanted to tell her no.  She was acting oddly, but part of him suddenly understood where she was coming from.  He’d been running for so long, and just when he thought he could stop and catch his breath, something else happened and he was on the go.  He was lonely, he was stressed, and the warmth of her arms was so inviting.

             
Very slowly, Mark slid his hands up her sides wrapping around her back.  The front of her body pressed against his, slightly awkward from the position of the chairs, but her head fell on his shoulder, her mouth close to his neck, and he could feel the heat radiating off of her.

             
“Thank you,” she breathed.

             
Mark gave a nod as he held her closely, feeling her knees shifting between his gently, but persistently.  Her hand began to draw a lazy circle on his side, her head shifting so her mouth was touching the skin on his neck.

             
“I can’t remember how long it’s been since I’ve been held.  I imagine it’s been a long time for you, too,” she whispered.

             
He shivered at the feel of her mouth moving against his neck, and he cleared his throat.  “Quite some time, yes.”  He swallowed again as she shifted from her chair onto his lap, keeping her face firmly in the crook of his neck.

             
He felt her lips shift, pressing a gentle, but firm kiss to his skin.  “And how long since you’ve been intimate with someone?”

             
Mark shifted, trying to pull away from her, but he didn’t try very hard.  “Look Abby, this isn’t a good idea,” he said.

             
“Nothing we’ve done the last several days has been a good idea,” she said, her voice going from husky and low to demanding and firm.  “Everything we’ve done has either been a mistake or illegal.  Why not do something else that might be stupid, but might be so good?”

             
Mark opened his mouth to argue with her, but he found that his lips were suddenly occupied by hers.  She kissed him, fierce and demanding, her hands twisting into his shirt, her legs shifting so she was straddling him in the chair.

             
Any thought of protest at that moment was gone as she moved against him, making his entire body feel like it was about to catch fire.  One hand ran into his hair, her fingers moving gently, giving it the barest tug.  He groaned and didn’t protest as she quickly reached between them to undo his belt, buttons and zipper.

             
It had been a long time for Mark, a very long time, and as she moved her skirt aside and took him, any thought of protest or bad ideas had flown out the window and he gave in.  It was over before Mark really realized it, and when he came to his senses, her head was on his shoulder, both of them gasping for air.

             
He immediately felt guilty, but there was more to it.  As Abby shifted off of him and he adjusted himself back into his trousers, he saw something through his blurry contacts.  It was a light, like a flame, sparking up in the room for only a second before going out.

             
“Oh God,” Mark gasped, pressing his hand to his mouth.

             
Abby, who was standing by the edge of the desk, let out a small peal of laughter.  “Look, my little immortal meat-puppet, there’s no need to feel guilty.  I can tell you with absolute certainty that this little girl wanted it more than I did.  I actually kind of feel bad for taking that from her.  She’s been dreaming about your cock since the day she met you.”

             
Mark felt a violent wave of nausea.  He grasped at his eyes, pinching the contacts and throwing them onto the desk.  He blinked against the sudden, fuzzy world flaring to life before him, and stared as the figure of Abby swam into focus.

             
She was there, looking ragged and tired, her hair a mess, her skirt still crooked and the hem torn slightly from an exposed bolt on the side of the chair.  She was smiling though, and her eyes were bright.  “In my defense,” she said, throwing up her hands, “I kind of thought you’d figured it out.”

             
“Who are you?” Mark asked, fighting down the wave of bile rising in his throat.

             
“Ah, I’ve seen enough spy movies to know you don’t give away your secret identity or your plans, even if you think you’ve won,” she said with a wink.  “I’m going to bring Abby back now, but thanks for the ride.  It was exactly what I needed to get me through the next couple of days.  See you soon, Tiger,” and with that, Abby winked, and then collapsed on the floor.

             
Mark dove to catch her before her head hit the side of the desk, and a moment later, Abby’s eyes flickered open.  “Mark?” she asked, her voice groggy.  “Where am I?”

             
“In my office,” Mark said and tried to ignore the violent rush of guilt flooding through him as he helped her sit up.  He stared at her as she rubbed her eyes, trying to get her bearings, and he shook his head.  “Abby, my love, I’m afraid we have a problem.”

~*~

              As desperate as he was to make the phone call, before Mark could dial anyone, he got Abby settled down on the sofa with a boiling hot cup of chamomile tea.  She was trembling slightly, her face a bit grey in color, and her eyes were half-lidded and watery.

             
Mark sat down next to her, staring at her intently, eyes searching her face and body language for any hint of change.  She shifted uncomfortably under his stare and she set her tea cup down.  “What?” she asked after a few moments under his intense gaze.

             
“How are you feeling?”

             
“Groggy,” she said with a shrug.  “Pretty out of it, like I took a bunch of cold medicine or something.  Also, I’m pretty freaked out.  One minute I’m drinking tea at my desk before my classes started, and the next minute I’m lying on your office floor.”  She gave a little shudder and looked up into his eyes, though her gaze was very apprehensive.  “Mark, I’m also… you know… sore.”

             
Mark gulped and felt heat flare into his cheeks.  “Look, Abby, I didn’t realize…” he trailed off, his guilt taking over for the moment.  Clearing his throat, he pushed himself away from her almost absently and clasped his hands between his knees.  “I’m sorry.”

             
“I wasn’t unconscious when we uh, you know… was I?” she asked in a very small voice.

             
“No!” Mark said loudly, making her jump.  “I’m sorry.  No, you were perfectly awake and rather coherent.  The most coherent I’ve seen you in a few days.  I had no idea you were under the influence.”

             
Abby frowned, licking her dry lips and she stared down at her hands.  “Influence.  Do you mean drugs?  Or are we talking about all that other stuff, that Greg stuff?”

             
Mark felt his stomach fall.  He wanted to do anything but answer that question.  “I’m not entirely sure, Abby, but if you want the truth, and the truth is awful… then yeah, I think it was a Greg thing.  I think one of them, whoever they are, had your body.”

             
“Oh God,” Abby said, dropping herself forward, her forehead nearly touching her bent knees.  “Oh God.”

             
“Abby, I’m sorry!  I swear I didn’t know!”

             
Abby’s head snapped up, and though Mark expected her to look angry, hateful, even disgusted, she just looked scared.  “I’m not mad about that, okay!  They’re screwing with all of us, not just you and not just me.”  Abby trailed off and rubbed her face with one hand.  “I’m scared.  I want to call my brother.”

             
Mark reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone.  “Just remember, if you tell your brother that you were possessed by a Greek god who tricked me into sleeping with you, he’s not going to believe you, and he’s probably going to come home and try to kill me.  It won’t end well.”

             
Abby let out a shaking breath.  “Okay.  Um… so who do we call?”

             
“Greg,” Mark said and scrolled through his contacts for the doctor’s personal number.  “If anyone has any idea how to prevent this from happening, it’s going to be him.”

             
Abby nodded and sat back.  “Right, okay.  But… Mark, what if Greg’s behind it?  What if he’s been lying to us this entire time and he’s actually part of this?”

             
“The thought has crossed my mind,” Mark said slowly.  “The unfortunate thing is, we don’t have any other choice, and with your brother still out of town, we’re fairly defenseless.”  With that, Mark pushed send on his phone and waited as the phone rang and rang.

             
He thought for sure it would go to voicemail when a rather tired voice picked up.  “Hello?”

             
“Greg, it’s Mark.”

             
“Hello,” Greg said.  “How are you?”

             
“Do you have a moment to chat?  We’re having some problems here, I’m afraid, and we could really use your help,” Mark said in a hurried tone, trying to keep his confusion and terror to a minimum.

             
“Uh sure, just give me a moment,” Greg said, his voice going instantly from cheerful to serious.  Mark heard some muffled noises, and after a minute, Greg came back on the line.  “What’s going on?”