Chapter Seven: Run



November 5th James McCaughly rifled through the kitchen cupboard, eagerly exploring the area.
“Are you sure you can fix it? I could get someone in” Faith smiled, looking over the young mans muscular shoulder. She couldn’t help thinking he must have worked out a lot for someone so young.
“Just a blocked pipe, nothing I cant deal with” he announced, his head buried deep into the cupboard.
She stepped back to the banging sound on metal on metal, a grinding sound then a bunch on mumbled words before a head appeared. James ran a strong thick hand quickly through his main of ruffled dirty blond hair.
“All fixed” he smiled brightly like any 19year old
“Thanks James, I appreciate it”
He wandered out of the kitchen to the entrance and opened the front door.

“I'm going to go work on that hedge out there, it’s looking a bit physco” he smiled, his mouth pulling to one side.
As he stepped onto the front porch he spun around and called back to Faith.

“Looks like somebody just put something in your mail box, I just saw the person leave on a bike” he remarked, “want me to go see what it is?”
“No, that’s okay, I’ll go” Faith replied, her heart skipping a sudden breath
“Did you see who it was?” Faith questioned as she joined James on the porch
“Just somebody in a black pullover. Everything okay?”
Faith nodded quickly, dawning on a pair of shoes.
“I’ll just go see what it is”

She approached the letterbox slowly, her eyes darting from side to side of her as her imagination played tricks with her mind, imagining the trees branches were hands reaching to grab her. As she breathed in she vividly remembered the dusty damp smell, the soft silk lining, the sharp thing poking her inside. She gasped quickly remembering the fear of the darkness the enveloped her as she struggled against the four walls of her entrapment – the four, damp, silk walls of the coffin. She shook her head rapidly, trying to assure herself that was over, that was done, and the person who’d done it was safely locked away. She stopped a foot from the letterbox and starred at it, haunted by the memory she’d just envisioned. She wondered if she should wait for Brian, should she call the police before opening the flap?

Her eyes scanned the road, there were no eyes lurking in bushes, no hands pointing triggers at her waiting for the instant to pull them. She stretched her arm outward, she would not live her life if fear.

She opened the flap and gasped as a pile of red oak leaves dropped to her feet. She starred at them with wonder and question.

Oak leaves? She thought Why would anyone leave oak leaves in the letter box?

She picked one up to study, there was nothing abnormal. The leaf was reddy-brown with the onset of Fall. She rummaged through the leaves but found no note, there was nothing to suggest why they had been put there. She looked around the area, there were no oak trees in near distance so these had been bought in. They looked a bit older then perhaps they should have been. Still questions formed in her mind, and she kept coming back to one, Where was the significance in Oak Trees?

************************************

Catherine rubbed her eyes as she starred at the computer screen with added vigor. “Kelly” had since been taken off the Littrell case, and had been stuck on the boring day to day trials of looking after pregnant women. She couldn’t understand why they had dropped her – the fun hadn’t even begun let alone escalated into anything they should fear. Maybe she’d underestimated them this time, maybe Brian, or even Faith recognized something about her – a bit of true to life Déjà vu? Catherine had considered packing in her job at the hospital, but that, at this stage, might cause them to look in her direction, and if the Institute found out she’d even remotely had contact with Faith they’d lock her straight back away, though she’d yet to DO anything. She wondered if they would be sending people in to do quick background checks, in which case she needed to get out. But she had no knowledge of that – that scared her the most – she didn’t know where Faith or Brian’s mind set was, did they know who she was? Were they onto her scent now?

She tapped in the keys quickly and waited for the screen to change, she need to think, she needed to know. The phone beside her startled her, she starred at it for a few seconds before answering it.

“Hello?”
“Kelly? This is Lisa, I need you to come down to hospital urgently”
“Why?” Catherine questioned, doodling a picture of a snake on the pad beside the phone
“It’s just very important. Ten minutes?”
Catherine checked her watch, 9:40pm, what on earth did they want at this time of night?

“Kelly?”
“Sure, okay, I’ll be there in a bit” she hung up the phone and put the computer to sleep.

************************************

Brian sat silently with his palms laid on the table as the detective finished explaining. Faith sat beside him, one arm placed on his lap, the other moving slowly across her stomach in motherly affection.

“Why were we never informed?” Brian questioned, flexing his hand into a fist periodically
“Patient confidentiality” the detective replied solemnly
“The psychopath that tried to kill my wife before has been let out, my wife is heavy with child and we don’t get to know this information because of patient confidentiality?” Brian snapped, a hint of distrust in his voice
Faith patted his lap gently, then spoke up.
“How long has she been out?”
“Long enough”
Faith sighed, dropping her head.
“And you’re sure you’ll get her?”
“Definitely, she’ll heading down to the hospital as we speak, we have personal there ready to nab her”
“What will you hold her on?”
“Violation of her medical order. She wasn’t supposed to come near you guys, that should be enough to put her back into the institute for a few more years, and get the guys up there to rethink letting her out, once you violate their rules they’re not such nice people” he explained, with a light chuckle.
“Just make sure you get her” Brian announced, abruptly standing.

************************************

Catherine’s car edged into the car park, lit by only a few scattered lights, strapped to tall over leaning poles. She slammed the car door behind her and walked up the car park. The lights were still on around the hospital building. It was open 24 – 7, but Catherine knew they wouldn’t ask her to come down under normal circumstances. If one of Lisa’s patients went into labor, Lisa would be called in, but not Catherine – not Kelly. Her car keys jingled in her hands as her walked slowed.

Why did Lisa need to see her?

She racked her brain trying to come up with some sort of logical reason, but found none. She wouldn’t be needed for any sort of labor, they wouldn’t ask her to work the wards – she was after all only a graduate in their books. Unless they were overrun with patients. She starred up at the white polished exterior walls, which had, in the darkness, faded somewhat. Lights were on, but only a few, hardly a soul rushed around outside, this to Catherine, did not look like an overrun of work – something was up.

She walked through the glass doors and only half smiled to the worn out nurse on reception. The elevator took her up to the maternity ward, and the place was hauntingly silent. There were no nurses on the desk – which even at this late hour was rare, and not a soul seemed to be moving. Lisa emerged from her office and waved Catherine down.

“What’s the emergency?” Catherine called, taking a few steps forward
Lisa didn’t reply but hurriedly waved her into the office.
Catherine took another step forward.
“Lisa?”
“Catherine” she heard a voice say calmly.
She spun violently around to see the wrinked face of one of the many doctors at the Institute with the stupid happy faces on the wall.
“I think it’s time for you to go now” he said, taking a step forward
She stepped back, into the arms of a uniformed policeman. His hands gripped her arms and the Doctor pulled a syringe from his pocket.
Catherine’s eyes widened, they knew, they all knew.
How? How did they know? How did they find me?
She knew what the damn clear liquid in the syringe meant – it meant they would be taking her back to the horrid place.

She bit down hard on the officers arm, making him squeal in pain and drop her like a snake. She slid out from his reach and darted across the floor. Behind, she heard the chorus of people. She slammed through the staircase door and pounded down the stairs. She knew they’d be waiting downstairs in the reception, she wouldn’t be able to simply walk out the front door. Her heart raced as she jumped two stairs and a time, then exploded through the first floor door. She knew they were right behind, she could hear the thump of their shoes. The doctor would perhaps be a bit slowly, carrying extra weight and the burden of old age. She breathed quickly as she raced through the first floor corridors, she needed and exit, she needed a way out. Another office emerged from the side, stepping in front of her, a meter down the line. She gasped, they were on every floor. She ducked into the nearest room, and before she realized it she became a caged animal.

The room was full with only one bed, and it was empty. She stood in the middle as she saw the shadow outline of people approaching.

“Catherine, come on, it’s time for you to come back” the doctors voice ruptured the silence
The light flicked on in the room – she was trapped.
“Catherine” he coaxed
Three handguns were pointed neatly at her.
She spun around, staring the glass window down with question. She stepped forward to the doctor, he smiled.

She then spun back around and raced as fast as she could to the wall – to the glass. The glass shattered into a thousand pieces as she went flying through it. She hit the ground below with a force her body struggled to sustain. She heard frantic calls nest to the ringing in her ears. She picked herself up, she had to get out, she had to get away. Pain surged through her body, but she wouldn’t let it stop her. She darted up the back embankment, her body cloaked in the darkness. She knew it wouldn’t be long till the came looking with torches, so she had to move, she had to be fast.

She reached the highway, but stuck low to the ground, hidden in a shrub of bushes for she knew for certain they would patrol this road. She felt a moist and sticky substance etching down her face. She was bleeding.

“No surprise there” she chuckled slightly
She wondered if they’d be at her home, banging on the door, telling it’s occupants to open the door. She managed a smile, what a surprise they would get when the realize that the house they were at belonged to a elderly couple, the man with a hearing problem and the lady with Alzheimer’s, oh how she would love to see their faces. She knew it wouldn’t be too long though till they found her shabby little apartment, but at least she knew she would get there, bruised, battered and broken, before they would.



Chapter 8
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