Chapter 6

The tarp was stiff, but over the pile of rags, it had served as a good enough bed.  Not comfortable, but it kept William off the cold concrete of the warehouse floor.  He stretched his neck out against the kinks that had taken root while he slept and stared around the room.

Before any details other than the grey of concrete and cinderblock could register, the fog seeped into his vision.  For once, there wasn't much difference between the gray of the fog and the external world.  In here, at least, he wasn't missing much.

William sat up and the voices formed around him.  The Advisor led the way to the window.

 *

The fire escape below had been an easier climb than the one earlier that morning when he had stolen his new clothing, but William stalled just below the roof.  He felt the rough brick wall under his palms and stared up at the white stone eave of the roof just two feet out of his reach.  The Hunter could pull him up, could make him stronger, but William knew the building across the street, and this close to Jessica's apartment, he didn't want any of their help.

He'd never felt a particular fear of heights, but a climb onto the fire escape's railing, then a pull-up onto the roof with only the flat stone to grip wasn't a comfortable notion.

Still, he wanted up there.  From the roof he could see the whole front of the building, including her apartment windows.  Inside her apartment was the only better place to protect her, and he didn't think he'd be welcome there.  Not yet.

William kept as much focus as possible on the brick wall and lifted a foot onto the top of the rail.  Slowly, he contracted the long underworked muscles and pushed himself within reach of the roof's edge.  He reached fingers over the lip, searching for a better hold, some crack or nook, but found none.  The edge was all he had.

He pushed again, to the ball of his foot, another few inches less to pull up.  His fingers tightened and he pulled, his back and arms sharing the work.  One foot, then another, left the railing.

He continued to inch up for a moment, half way, and then his tired muscles began to shake and he sank down.

His feet missed the railing.

As he lost his hold with one hand and jerked down, the surge of adrenaline gave him a brief rush of strength and William snatched at the roof with his dangling arm and pulled up again.  His legs scraped the sides of the railing, but missed the top.

He inched up, back and arms straining to lift his eyes over the edge.  The stone eaves around the building were at least eighteen inches thick.  He'd have to give up his grip with one hand and throw it over the edge to grab the far side.

As the adrenaline oozed out of his tired muscles, the fog swirled.  The Hunter, suddenly crouched above William, reached down and gripped his wrist.  The numb disconnect spread through William's body along with the sense of power and his arm easily reached out to grasp the far edge of the eave.  He pulled himself up and rolled down onto the tar papered roof flooring.  He didn't stop to push the fog away, but walked directly to the far side of the roof and looked down on Jessica's apartment building across the street.

To William, her street-side, first floor windows were shrouded in fog that not even the late afternoon sun could cut through, but he knew they would be lined with the thick, rough drapes she loved.  Past the drapes were the kitchen where they had cooked together, the living room where they had sat in front of the fire and the bedroom where they had slept.  He frowned and looked away.  Inside the apartment were memories that William had to keep at bay.

At least the numbing of the fog and the voices blunted the emotional impact of the good memories, made them easier to put aside.  But the bad memories were just as vivid, just as hard to shove away as ever.

 *

Her fingers twisted and rubbed the ring on her finger as she walked arm in arm with William.  He smiled over at her. 

Suddenly, the voices were around him.  The Advisor pointed down the street as The Hunter leaped ahead.  William stopped, craned his head to see and then caught the smell in the air.

"What?"  Jessica asked.  Her nose curled.  "Is that smoke?"

William untangled his arm from hers, stood to the side for a better view.  He saw it.  Above the line of rooftops down the street, a line of black smoke inched into the air.

 *

A pass from The Caretaker's hand wiped the memory from William's vision.  He slumped forward.  Beside him, The Hunter motioned at the fire escape.

Go, The Hunter said.

William turned away from him, but The Caretaker was waiting.

Not here.  She pointed away from Jessica's building.  That way.  Help her.

William tried to push them away, leaned against the stone edge.   As he stared down, the outline of a sedan swam through the fog and stopped at the edge.  The door opened and a man got out.

The Advisor leaned over the edge, next to William.  He is here.

William stared down as the man checked the building number and walked inside.  He'd seen this man before.  But before he could find the right memory, the voices surrounded him again.

You need to go, The Advisor said.

The Hunter pulled on William's shoulder.  Now.  He stepped closer and pointed away from Jessica's apartment.

William looked through the fog at the apartment door.  The man was checking a name on the mailboxes.  Jessica's name.  Was this who he had to protect Jessica from?

He felt his heart beat faster.  It would take less than a minute to go down the fire escape and run to the building.

The Advisor moved closer.  You will need his help.

That stopped William.  He'd need this man's help?  Wasn't this the threat he was supposed to protect Jessica from?  He turned to the voices, but again, they gave him no direct answer.

First you have to help her.  The Caretaker again pointed away, not to Jessica's apartment, but across the city.

She will help bring him to you. The Advisor moved to the fire escape.

William looked at the voices.  He didn't know what they meant, only that the woman they were talking about wasn't Jessica and that he was expected to follow them.

Now, The Hunter said again.

The man at Jessica's door wasn't there to hurt her.  But what was she in danger from?  The voices still hadn't told him, probably wouldn't until he was looking directly at it. 

He ignored the voices and stayed where he was.

 *

Jessica quietly placed her book onto the couch as soon as she heard the steps coming down the hall.  She didn't think it sounded like Harold's shuffle.  It might be William.  She'd been on edge since she'd heard about his escape this morning. 

Would he come there?  To her apartment? 

She worried that he had escaped because of her somehow.  Was he angry?  She'd meant to see him, to visit him at the hospital, but she had been angry at first, because of what he'd kept from her, his illness, the way so many other men had tried to hide their problems from her.  The same way the building super, Harold was covering his problems.  She couldn't even imagine all of the things that weren't working in that man's head.

And yet she hadn't visited William after her anger had burned down, after she had tried to understand why he hadn't told her.  She hadn't known if she'd be able to help him.  And, even when the anger was gone, she knew that he had never really been the man he had pretended to be.  He heard voices, saw things that weren't there.  He was broken.  So, she had stayed away. 

She was sure he was angry.  And now she was worried that he might do something about it.

The footsteps stopped outside her door.

A knock.  She held her breath.  Should she call the police?  "Who is it?"

"Detective Bryan Mickelson, ma'am.  About William Adams."  The man's voice came through the door, a little deeper than it had been when they'd spoken on the phone earlier that day.

She rose from the couch, stepped around it and opened the door.  "Yes.  Please come in."  She extended a hand and after a pause felt his in return.  As they shook, she reached out with her left and touched his wrist.  It was a politician's move, she knew, but it told her he was fit, not too old, and that his blazer was slightly worn at the cuffs.

She felt him pause again.  The same pause she usually got when she met like this, without her glasses.

"Mmm, Ms. Moore, there's a...stuffed animal on your doorstep."

That stopped her.  Had he hesitated only because of that?  "Another one?"  She turned her head and waved an arm at the kitchen breakfast counter behind her, where the stuffed rhinoceros sat.  "Another rhino?  I tripped over that one this afternoon."

"Hippo.  Do you have a plastic bag?  Zip Lock or anything really.  I'd like to take them in with me if you don't mind."  She liked his voice.  It was halting, which she was used to.  But still, there was a warmth to it. 

She jogged to the kitchen, slid open a drawer and came back with two gallon sized bags.  She waited at the door and listened to the plastic bag snap as he slipped one over the hippo on the floor.   "Are they from William?" she asked as she stepped back and waved him into the room.

"If they are, there might be something on them that could help us find him," he said as he bagged the rhino.

She nodded for him and waited as he paused again.  He was staring at her eyes, she knew it.  "I'm sorry."  She turned to the small table beside the door.

"Pardon?"  He did sound confused.

"You're uncomfortable."  She reached, found the sunglasses right where she had left them.  "Let me put these on for you."

The briefest touch.  His hand stopped her, then withdrew.  "No.  There's no need.  They're..."  He paused again.  What had he been about to say?  "I just wanted to ask you a few questions about William.  See if you had any photographs."

That made her smile.  "I don't have much use for photos."

His laugh was good too.  Not forced.  "Yeah."

"Please come in.  Sit down."  She circled back around the couch and curled down into it as the detective took a chair.  "They said he attacked a doctor.  He's not dangerous, is he?"

Jess heard him blow out a breath.  "I don't think so."

"The doctor that called me said that he might have some misplaced emotions.  Anger, aggression."

"Did he seem that way before..."  This time his pause was polite.  The smile that came to her lips was more than a little sad.

"Before I had him committed?  No, he was always gentle, confident, so normal."  She unfurled her legs from the couch and leaned toward the detective.

(Author's note:  So, William is having a horrible day while Bryan and Jess get a little flirty...does that seem fair?  And where are the voices trying to make him go?  What do you think is going to happen?!  Thanks for the votes and comments!)