The Pale: Volume One by Jacob Long (portable ebook reader txt) 📕

still trying to resist him. Officer Gray’s interference might be the only reason why I’m still alive.”

Captain Michalis waited in quiet thought for a moment. “And then what did you do?”

“I . . . I hesitated,” Lamont answered. “I took cover inside the store. The perp had enough control of Officer Gray’s gun to shoot at me, so I backed off. I was counting on Officer Gray’s ability to at least point the gun in a safer direction so I could approach.”

“And how long did you wait?” Michalis asked.

Lamont shook his head. “Maybe fifteen seconds—twenty. There was a second round of gunfire. Both bullets were right into the door. I didn’t wait much longer after that. Gray clearly needed my help, so I chanced it and went outside. That’s when I saw him, um, do that . . . do that thing.”

“Yes.” Captain Michalis looked down his nose at the paper in his hand. “That’s where you saw him . . . absorbing some kind of energy out of Officer Gray’s mouth. It was glowing bright green and flowing from Officer Gray’s mouth into the mouth of the offender.”

The captain looked to Lamont for some kind of response. Sergeant Fisher could only awkwardly nod.

“This is what you think you saw?” Michalis asked.

Lamont sighed. “I know I saw it. I know it sounds crazy—”

“No. No.” Captain Michalis shifted uncomfortably and shook his head. His hands opened calmingly. “No one’s saying that—”

“I’m not crazy,” Lamont insisted. “I know what I saw. I am . . . I am of sound mind and body, and I am telling you that’s what happened out there. I had my flashlight, and I got a real good look. I saw the perp’s face perfectly too. He was definitely real, and he’s definitely guilty, and I can find this guy.”

“Okay, okay,” Captain Michalis interrupted to prevent Lamont from overexciting himself. “I know there was a perp. I know there was a crime committed, and I know you got a good look at him. We have everything we need to put out an APB.”

“I’m not talking about an APB. I’m talking about a manhunt. We need to find this guy—this thing, whatever he is.”

“That’s the thing, Lamont,” Michalis said. “Everything you say up until that point has credence.”

“It all has credence. That’s what happened. Has Gray said anything yet?”

“No. We’re letting him rest, like I said. We will get his statement later. For now, the situation is that your statement is in question. It doesn’t look good on you, especially after the incident you—”

“This has nothing to do with that!” Lamont hissed. “I haven’t lost my grip on reality! I’m fine! It’s not affecting me anymore.”

“Really?”

Lamont nodded, breathing a little heavier in his hysteria.

“Then why did you never pull your service weapon?”

Lamont was taken aback. In the commotion, he’d forgotten that point.

“Why didn’t you draw your pistol, even after it was clear the perp was going to use lethal force against you and your partner?” Michalis asked.

Lamont was quiet. He didn’t have an answer.

Captain Michalis raised his eyebrows inquisitively. “Can you honestly tell me it didn’t have anything to do with the Blume girl?”

Lamont sighed, rubbing his temple. “It shouldn’t change anything,” he said finally. “He needs to be found before he does what he did to Gray to someone else.”

“It does change things,” Michalis retorted. “Even if we used all our resources and brought this guy in, your statement is on record. Your history is on record. Any good lawyer would be able to discredit your testimony all day long.”

Lamont sighed again. It was late in his shift, and he might as well have been going twelve rounds with a brick wall.

“I’ll put out an APB for persons matching your description,” Michalis continued. “Though you know we’d have to get insanely lucky without a photo or something to use. And . . .” the captain read more of Lamont’s statement, “clean-shaven Hispanic man with a fade haircut in his early twenties isn’t exactly unique. He can change his haircut, and now we know the clothes he was wearing were stolen.”

“So dust for prints. Canvas the neighborhood. His hands were all over Gray’s gun.”

“We will, Lamont. We will. You can even work with the sketch artist when she comes in. But in the meantime . . .” Here it comes. “I want you to take some time off.”

Lamont cocked his head to one side. “Come on, boss. Don’t do that. That’s not necessary.”

“It’s with pay,” Michalis offered. “I want you to see Dr. Harrington again too.”

Lamont rolled his eyes. “Aggh! No. Boss, that’s really not necessary.”

Michalis held his hands up. “I know you don’t like it, but it’s procedure, and it’s the right thing to do.”

“I don’t need to see her again—”

“It’s also an order from me,” Michalis said with finality. “Until she confirms you’re okay, I’ll hold on to your gun.” He held his hand over the desk.

Lamont was incensed. “Oh, so one minute I can’t bring myself to draw my gun, and now you’re afraid I’m gonna do something stupid with it?”

The captain didn’t dignify that with a response, he just beckoned with his hand. “Come on.”

Lamont hesitated, but then sighed and stood. He unclipped his holster, dropped the magazine, cleared the weapon, and then placed the separate pieces into the captain’s hand.

The captain opened his top drawer and placed the gun inside. “It’s not so bad,” he said. “I’m sure you’ll be back in no time. Just relax. You’re a good cop. I hate to lose you even for a little while, but I’m sure we’ll be able to pick up the slack.”

“Roger, boss,” Lamont said.

It was clear to the captain that his officer had checked out of the conversation. “Just go on home. Get some sleep. You’re overdue for it. You should visit Officer Gray later when you get the chance too.”

Lamont nodded and opened the office door. He wished there was something more he could say, but there wasn’t. He kept looking for something to change the captain’s mind right until the door was closed behind him. He was beaten, at least about the suspension.

11

Téa’s eyelids slid open to the shining light of day like heavy stones being shifted across a sandy floor. The sun was well over the horizon and thus cast brilliant rays through the blinds covering the large picture window in her living room.

Téa, not being a fan of the sun to begin with, quickly shielded her eyes with one hand. She yawned while her body lengthened and bent until her waking muscles and tendons were stretched nearly to the point of pain. She could feel it down to the very tip of her right toe, which extended to a dainty point over the arm of the couch. Whatever was in that pill she got last night, it sure gave her a good night’s sleep. She might have to ask for more later.

As Téa came out of her stupor, she came to the realization that she was not where she expected to be. She peered quizzically about as she discovered her own living room. Someone drove her home and set her on her couch.

Did Davy do that? Hell of a nice guy.

No hero was in her living room in that moment to take credit. She wondered if he’d taken any liberties with her body while she was out.

Hmm. Jeans are on all right. Bra’s a little crooked. Maybe. Maybe I just slept funny.

Téa sat up on the couch and stretched again, twisting her body to get some good pressure on that spine. She felt refreshed, better than she had in a while. Of course, it was the weekend. After she pushed herself from the couch, she moved to the window and drew the blinds open. The sun was intense, but Téa felt like it was going to be a good day. She also felt the urge to urinate, and she’d be damned if she didn’t kick off her shoes and pad her bare feet right over to the bathroom.

While sitting on the toilet, just listening to the tinkle with her head braced on her hand, she became suddenly cognizant of the weight of the air. Her bathroom still held the faint humidity of a room where someone had taken a shower maybe an hour or so before.

It was only then that Téa considered that whoever had brought her home may still be there. Her eyes immediately jumped to the open threshold of the room where she hadn’t bothered to close the door. She lived alone and usually never thought about it. Even worse, she’d completely removed yesterday’s pants in preparation for her current task. Slowly, dread crept into Téa’s face in the form of a deep shade of red. The worst part was the fact that she couldn’t reach the door to close it from her perch. Tense seconds passed as Téa tried to hurry and finish in what was probably the most terrifying thing anyone had ever experienced.

Téa thankfully completed her business undisturbed and hurriedly pulled her discarded pants back on. Her heart was pounding, but no one had come. She began to suspect that she was just having another panic attack. There was no one in her house. She was safe. But then why didn’t she feel that way?

The young woman, her hands trembling, yanked open her medicine cabinet. Her antianxiety medication was right where she always left it—in an old mislabeled pill bottle. The drugs were supplied to her by Dr. Feelgood after she lost her legitimate prescription. Phrases like short term and habit forming were hardly obstacles when she had Mommy and Daddy’s money.

When Téa closed the medicine cabinet, she revealed a man dressed in black standing in her doorway with his arms folded.

“Need another fix?” he said.

Téa yelped and visibly jumped. The bottle of pills fell from her hand and into the sink. When she recognized the face, her jaw went slack. Her big hazel eyes dilated, and she became even paler than she already was. Her face grew hot, and her stomach churned as her feet tried to back away. Her weak legs managed only inches.

Adam spent a good length of time during the night deciding how he was going to break the news to Téa. This definitely wasn’t what he had decided on, but after a long time of sitting quietly at Téa’s side, Adam got bored. After cleaning himself of the grime he’d accumulated the previous night, he decided to sit on Téa’s bed and pass the time trying to read from her collection of Japanese graphic novels, which he found ignored in a closet. While he was reading, Téa had awoken. He heard her shifting around on the couch, and the groans of her intense stretching routine. He listened as she opened the blinds and then made her way to the bathroom. He could have emerged and confronted her at any time in between, but something strange happened.

He froze.

Adam sat motionless on her bed. He could barely breathe, and he discovered that there was a part of him that still wanted to run. It dawned on him just how traumatizing seeing him again would be for Téa, and if he revealed himself, there would be no going back. The thought of taking that plunge with Téa kept him rooted in place. It was a different kind of terror Adam had never felt before. He found himself debating the pros and cons in his head in a microcosm of time that felt like an eternity. In the end, he reminded himself that he had a responsibility to her. She needed saving, no matter how hard it was on the both of them.

He decided that he just had to do it. There was no way to make it truly pleasant, like ripping off a bandage. Adam stepped into the doorway of the bathroom to find Téa already digging through her medicine cabinet, and his mouth moved before his mind.

Adam knew he’d blown it with his little comment. He’d spooked the living daylights out of her, and then she was stunned. Téa was immediately in a fragile state, and Adam tried not to make it worse. He made no sudden movements or otherwise approached her. He tried to speak in a calming voice.

“Sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean . . . for that.”

Téa’s wide, dilated eyes were fixed on Adam. Her breathing was steadily intensifying