Chapter 23 part 1

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Chapter 23

William paced across the alley.  He had arrived the night before as the last fire truck left the area.  Bryan's car had already been towed away and all the police had left before dawn.  The voices had warned him against coming back, but if he was supposed to protect Jessica, then he would stay nearby.

Then, this morning, the voices had fallen silent.  They hadn't bothered him for the last hour.  It was a welcome break, but he wondered at their silence.  They usually forced him from one place to another and he wondered where he would sleep that night.  He couldn't go back to the warehouse.  Police had probably been warned of the shots fired there and even if they hadn't, the man in the truck knew about it, and could come back with more men.

He looked up the fire escape.  He didn't want to sleep on the roof across from Jessica's building as he had last night.  Even under a bridge would be warmer than that had been.

From down the street, he heard the sound of several cars pulling up.  Then, there were more approaching from the opposite end.  He peered out at the street and saw the green truck pull to a stop thirty feet away.  William ducked back into the alley.  The men had come to kill him, he was sure of that.  But the voices should have warned him.

If they had been with him, as they had been since he'd broken free, he would have had enough warning to run, or hide on top of the building.  Why were they gone?  Why hadn't they warned him?

He stopped, almost laughed at the irony.  He had been trying to drive them away, had been desperate to live without them, and now he was missing them.  "This sucks," he said to himself.  He dropped his hands to his sides, tried to relax and let his attention drift, but the fog didn't grow any thicker.  The sound of car doors opening came from the street.  William turned and began to hurry down the alley.

As soon as he did, the fog welled up around him and the voices appeared, standing in his way.  Stop, The Hunter said.

The Advisor pointed behind him, back to the street and Jessica's building.  Turn around.  Go back.

They were serious.  William looked back at the street.  None of the men had come close enough to look into the alley yet, but they would soon.  If he ran now, he still might be able to get away.

Step out.  Let them see you, The Advisor said.

Another fight.  The voices wanted him to fight them, to kill again.

The Caretaker passed a hand over and through William's cheek.  No.  Just let them see you.  Then run.

He looked at her.  The fog shifted through her face, almost as if blown by the breeze.  There was so much he knew they weren't telling him.  He didn't want another overdose of information shoved into him only to slip out of his grasp.  That was too much.  But if they could give it to him in pieces, it shouldn't be beyond him.  Didn't they think he could understand some of the reasons for what they were making him do?

The Advisor stepped closer.  He needs to see you here.  It will move him closer.

That meant the man in the green truck.

Resentment began to spread through him, a tension that tightened his whole body.  Everything he did to drive the voices away had been pointless.  Seeing Jess holding on to Bryan had only proved that point.  Nothing he was doing was working, was getting him closer to getting her back.  He was simply a tool for the voices to use.

The voices stood watching him.  This is how you help her, The Advisor said.  This is one step.

His will crumpled.  William stepped to the edge of the alley and onto the sidewalk.  To his left, the man with the green truck stood by his vehicle, next to someone holding a cell phone to his ear.  They were both studying the burn marks on the street.  William stared at them a long moment.

On William's right, three younger men stepped up, bottles of amber liquid in their hands.

"No.  Not here," the man with the truck said.

Now run. The Hunter turned beside him and sprinted back down the alley.

He turned and ran from the men.  The man's voice called out before he took more than a step.  "Follow him.  Keep your distance!"

A car pulled into the alley behind him and William sped up.  As he ran across the next street, he saw another car fishtail around a corner and pull up after him.  Even with his mind in the fog, he understood what was happening.  They were setting up a net for him.

He ran, cut through alleys and down busy streets in the midday sun.  First his lungs began to protest, and then his legs.  Finally, his stomach churned and clenched in a constant cramp that even the fog couldn't muffle.  He must have run twenty blocks, most of it at a sprint.  Even with the help of the voices, he knew he couldn't go on much longer.

But the cars were still behind him, and he saw glimpses of the green truck at intersections.  The Caretaker had said no to William's thoughts of fighting the men, but how could he avoid it?  And how could he survive it if he had no way out?

He looked around, unfamiliar with this part of the city.  Ahead and to his right was a complex of long, low metal buildings surrounded by chain link: self-storage garages.  To his left squatted a row of whitewashed concrete buildings with small shops, their windows and doors lined with iron bars.

The voices gave him no directions, though they were close by.  He looked at The Hunter, who kept pace, but hadn't sprung into the lead during the chase.  Wasn't this their plan?  The Advisor, on his other side, gave him no clue either.

William put his head down, ignored the pain as much as he could and ran into the rows of storage garages.

*

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