twelve

CHAPTER - 12

Joseph gazed, with already itching eyes due to Ricah's affection, through the glass wall overlooking a small walkway. He'd have to be more careful about physically handling Ricah. He eyed the cat behind him as he pressed lightly on the glass and it opened like a door. Ricah followed slowly behind him as Joseph went into the room before them. Once through, Joseph looked over his shoulder to Ricah, who sat down just beyond the now closed glass door and stared with wide eyes. Where the door had been were now only

mirrors on a wall.

The hall before him was not like the others in his

home. This one overlooked something he kept hidden.

From everyone. To his left, nearly two stories down were thousands upon thousands of books. And the topics in these old works ranged from monsters and mythical creatures to Gods and Goddesses in legends and folklore from all around the globe. Most of these

works-both books, scrolls, and tablets - were ancient,

going back hundreds of years, sometimes thousands, of years. Each was kept in the best possible condition for their age, with the temperature staying at a constant sixty-five degrees Fahrenheit, with minimum humidity. The oldest books remained protected in cases with controlled air pressure to keep them preserved. The rest lay flat on tilted shelves.

Joseph walked down the long-winding, two-story staircase, then across the floor of books to another

wall of mirrors similar to the one he'd left behind.

Ricah followed him with his tail in the air, flipping around and eyes wide open. The cat looked in every direction, sniffing everything they passed.

On the last mirror, Joseph repeated the same process from his bedroom. After the third step, the glass slid and granted him access. He entered the room, Ricah

still on his heels as the door slid shut behind them. The

area was large, but not quite a fourth of the library

he'd left behind him.

It was bright white, with illuminating fluorescent lights and numerous metal tables that reflected the brightness. Lining the walls ahead of him and to his right were white cupboards with stainless steel countertops and cupboards with glass doors hung above them. Each held medical supplies or documents to which only Joseph had access.

He walked to a white desk in the farthest right corner of the room. In the top drawer, Joseph retrieved a metal lock box big enough for a couple of two-inch binders.

To open it, Joseph held his watch against the cold box while simultaneously scanning his thumbprint. It clicked as the latch released. He pulled open the lid and inside lay a journal and a recorder.

Joseph took the recorder from the box and clicked the little red button on the side. A stopwatch began to tick the seconds by on the tiny screen.

While looking at his watch, Joseph said, "It is 3:35 A.M.

EDT on June 24th, 2020." He walked to the left side of the lab and at the wall. "At approximately 11:00 P.M.

CEST on June 23rd, there was another attack on Prerna

Stanton's life."

He reached out to the large metal squares on the wall and entered a code. Once the light flashes green twice, he pulls on the small latch and out-roles a large, body-sized glass case. Through it, Joseph stared at the body of a monster.

Inside, it thrashed around, but it was no match for the

ballistic glass. Joseph pressed a button on the inner side

of the metal door. Gas filled the case and in seconds

the being was unconscious.

This attempt was almost successful."

He gulped for air but there wasn't enough. Sweat drenched

his face and chest. He ran through the woods, an animal

chasing him; something enormous and hairy like Bigfoot.

He reached out, touching the trees entrapping him. They

pulled away and he grasped further, reaching nothing. He

yelled, calling out, but there was no one. The world was

silent.

But then, he heard a song. It sounded familiar, but he

couldn't place it at first.

He listened closely and realized the song; 'Fix You' by

Coldplay.

Prerna's ringtone.

#

Wednesday, June 24th - 03:19 am EDT

Jenn's hand landed on the nearby nightstand with a loud

thud as he blindly searched for the source of the noise. Once

his fingertips located it, he grabbed the phone and viewed

the screen. Prerna's picture smiled at him as the green and red

icons shone beneath her face.

He swiped the green button on the umpteenth ring. "Prerna, it's

3:20 in the morning. Please tell me you're not on fire and I'll

be able to go back to sleep soon?"

"Hey, Jenn. I'm fine." She sounded tired on the other end,

but even through her drowsy voice, he could hear the

faintest smile. "However, my birthday plans have changed.

Can you come to Joseph's place here in town tomorrow?"

"I mean, I.." he paused and could imagine the expression on her face as he faltered. "Yeah, I can. Can you send me the address again?" He yawned and laid against his pillow and shook his head into it. "And Prerna... are you sure you're okay? Was this the only reason you called?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry.I know it could have waited. I just wanted to talk to you."

He grinned.

"It is good to hear your voice." He found it hard to go days,

especially weeks, without seeing her. He'd seen her almost

every day while they'd worked at One Stop Shop together.

He'd left many months ago for better-paying work at the

local precision parts manufacturing company. "It's okay.

Sorry if I sound grumpy. It's just late. Or early, whatever."

She laughed her sweet, light laugh. "I know. I'm sorry. I'll see you tomorrow."

Jenn hated to end the conversation already, but they both needed sleep. "Do you think I could come over in the morning so we can talk?"

"Well, I'm staying at Joseph's tonight." She paused and he could hear her breathing slow as she spoke. "It's a long story. But I would love to talk to you, so please do come by early."

Are you sure you're okay?"

"For now, yes."

"For now?"

"I'm fine, trust me. I promise I'm fine. What time will

Are you here?"

She yawned and Jenn let out a bigger one. They said their goodbyes after they agreed on 9:00 A.M.

Jenn hung up the phone and felt relief wash over him before he slipped back into the darkness.

Jenn rolled over and woke from his latest nightmare, slowly stretching out his overworked, severely sore muscles. Glancing at the clock, he shot up. It was past 8:30 am. Shit! He'd be late. Once again. He was late for everything these days. He worked more than sixty hours a week as a manager and when he wasn't working, he was either in his gArage or his bed. It didn't leave him much time for socialization or dating.

He jumped to his feet and hurried to the bathroom where he used the toilet quickly, then washed his hands. As he brushed his teeth, he noticed his eyes seemed permanently dark with exhaustion. After his teeth felt good and clean, he rubbed his thumb along his dark blond stubble covering his square jaw and debated fussing with it but it would take too much time. He ran his fingers through his short, shaggy blond hair to make sure it wasn't a complete mess.

He'd never hear the end of it from Prerna if it were.

He returned to his bedroom and threw on fresh

boxers, a Flaming Lips t-shirt, and khaki cargo shorts.

He rushed through the living room, grabbing the keys off the small table next to the doorway while slipping on sandals. He exited his shabby little rental house. Locking the door behind him he followed the little stone path in front of his gArage. He slid the key

into the door handle to unlock his 68' red Pontiac

Firebird. Of all the things he's done for himself, he was proudest of this. He'd bought the car as a P.O.S.

and worked hard to fix it up. Nowadays, it purred like

a kitten and was the smoothest ride in town.

He got in, buckled up, and started the car, or Tina, as he called her. The radio boomed Pink Floyd through the car's top-notch sound system. He put the address

Prerna texted him into his phone's GPS, set up the phone on the dash, and took off.

He had a twenty-five-minute drive ahead of him.

Saturday, March 3rd, 2018- 08:30 am EST

Jenn sliced through the tape then pocketed the pocketknife. He unpacked the blood-red vases from within while glancing over to the frozen food along the back wall. A girl with long, dark orange hair held back in a ponytail walked aimlessly with a similar case in her arms. She wore tan khakis that hugged her hips in all the right ways and a plain white collared shirt that accentuated the rest of her hourglass figure.