In Factorem - The Coming Winter

Chapter 9 - Sinesis

Much like all of his other belongings, Shaun’s car doesn’t look very appealing from the outside but is fully capable of bringing us comfortably into town. It’s hard not to be grateful since it’s better than walking. Besides, it’s in better shape than whatever is left of my car since it was parked in my no longer existing garage. And better than Cat’s twisted heap of metal that we left in the middle of the street.

I’m also grateful Cat is driving so I can stare out the window at the light poles passing by, not that I know where we are headed anyway. We haven’t been out beyond Shaun’s house since the day we met, when we ran from the hunters through the forest. I can’t help but think of Alex again. I wish I had the time to run into the house and drag him out before it blew up. I chew on my fingernail as the different scenarios flush through my mind, all of them with impossible endings.

“It’s not too much farther,” Cat finally says, breaking the silence.

I snap back to reality just a bit, enough to look past the streetlights in front of me. I miss the glow of the city at night. It really is beautiful in its own way. We drive deep into the heart of the city’s residential area and pull into a rundown neighborhood full of large apartment buildings. The lights here are a bit more depressing, their reddish orange flickering gives everything a sense of rust and decay. We are in an area of the city I typically avoid, where the graffiti and abandoned piles of trash remind me that I have strayed into the wrong place. Even though it’s late at night, there are plenty of people out wandering or huddling around burning trashcans. When we pull into a parking space I look at Cat with a bit of apprehension.

She just nods reassuringly and put the car in park. “I know it doesn’t look good, but it’s safe. There are people watching and it’s easier to be on guard when it looks like there isn’t anything to protect.”

I scan the area looking for hidden scouts. Hopefully they are on our side, since all that keeps me safe at the moment is the thin glass window. Truthfully I can’t tell the difference whether the people are watching for trouble or just sleeping on the benches.

Cat hops out of the car before I’m ready leaving me scrambling to unbuckle and catch up. We head inside the closest apartment building, which looks ready to be torn down any day. It’s a ten-story building with a broken elevator. Cat informs me we are fortunate, and only have to climb eight floors.

We head down the long hallway of the eight floor. It’s amazingly clean, all things considered, with scattered piles of old newspaper and boxes. The many doors that line the hallway are all metal, stained with rust and years of neglect, repaired with a variety of patches.

Cat stops at an unassuming door. The only marking is a large bluish gray metal plate patching a corner of the rusted door, but otherwise no obvious delineation from the rest of the apartments.

She steps closer to the door and places a single fingernail on it’s rusty surface, scratching so gently that I can barely hear it. I purse my lips for a moment, wondering what kind of superhuman sense of hearing would possibly register such a miniscule sound. We stand for several moments, Cat hunched over the door, waiting.

After a minute I grow skeptical that anyone will answer. My leg starts getting antsy from standing around and I begin looking up and down the hall.

Cat places a hand on my arm and gives me a warm smile, flushing the nervous energy from my legs. I flash her a smile and she returns her attention to the door.

She turns her head as if listening for something, then speaks to the door.  “Sinesis, it’s me, Cat,” she shouts. “And I brought a friend.”

The shrieking sound of bolts sliding back echoes down the hall. The door makes a grinding moan as it rolls to the side letting the sweet smell of incense pour into the hallway. In the entrance is an old man, leaning on a cane, who hardly looks able to push such a door. He adjusts his thick glasses, studying Cat’s face deeply.