"The Promise of a Name"
There's only a thin piece of glass separating the two of us,
but it might as well have been a concrete wall a mile thick. I've seen
you asleep before - you look like a little kid, all
innocent, and somehow the cares of the world that you somehow manage to carry
on your shoulders day in and day out fall away. But not this time. Not now. Your sleep is restless, I can tell you're
hurting. That crease you get between
your brows seems permanently stuck there and you're tossing and turning like
the devil's after you.
Maybe he is. You're too good a person for this crummy world,
but I can't imagine being here in this sewer of a city without you.
I can't wait here much longer. I was hoping to get a chance to talk to you, but you probably
need your sleep - whatever sleep you're really getting. It's hard being out there by myself Pal, especially
when so much is at stake - since you're what's at stake. The Doc's not gettin' anywhere, so I guess
it's up to me to find Callendar, find the cure before the devil that's chasing
you around in your dreams catches you.
I won't give up, Hutch.
I swear on my father's grave I won't quit. I won't stop until I find him and save you....save us. Because without you...
I think I know now a little of what you were feeling eleven
months ago when I was missing. Time
wasn't on our side then either. You said that you felt like the devil was on
your heels then too, trying to find me - save me.
How long did it take to get over the nightmares? I think yours lasted as long as mine
did. And how long did it take for you
to get past the image of my name written in blood on a bathroom mirror? I kind of remember the night you told me it
was that bloody scrawl that kept you running through the long hours of
searching for me. You said that was one of the most surreal moments of your
life - looking at the mirror, seeing my name in blood running down the glass
with your distorted image looking back at you.
You said some other weird psychological stuff to me about it, but the
meds I was on were knocking me for a loop and you lost me somewhere along the
way. All I know is that from the
moment you saw my name, as gory as it was, it set you off running and made you
hang on when it seemed the world was crumbling beneath your feet.
Well partner, that's what I'm hoping my name will do this time,
too. My name again - red on glass. But this time it's a promise that I'll keep
on running when the world is crumbling beneath our feet. That I'll keep on searching for a way to
save you....save us. And that we'll
beat back that devil one more time.
~Brit
10/11/00