Inside Access

Chapter 7: Shadows

He seemed to be waiting on her, as if unsure of himself. She wasn't running, she wasn't trying to defend herself, she just stood there, staring. It wasn't a reaction he expected so he proceeded with caution.

It was a good tactic, Brooklyn thought to herself. An unknown enemy, he had no way of knowing if she had a weapon on her and, if she did, of it would beat his knife.

He took a step forward suddenly, as if daring her to make a move, and when he got no response, he started to run at her.

A scream ripped through the silent night, scaring Brooklyn and snapping her wandering mind back into place as the fear finally registered in her brain. It wasn't until she reflexively dropped her body and jumped to the side, trying to get out of the path of danger, that she realized it had been her own scream that had scared her.

All at once, her mind was whirring into action, going down a short mental checklist trying to figure out what it is he could possibly want from her.

The first thing she considered was that he was a mugger. It seemed the most logical conclusion.

So, when she scrambled back to her feet, her clothes dirty from the parking lot asphalt, she threw her purse at him, hoping that was all he wanted and he would take it and leave.

However, he just batted the bag out of the air, and kept coming at her.

The next thought in her mind was that he was a rapist.

Unwilling to give him that if that was his intention, Brooklyn screamed again, hoping to alert anyone in the almost empty building to her predicament as she turned her feet back the complex, to safety.

She heard the thuds of his much heavier boots from behind her, all too close behind her, as she tried to put more speed into her much shorter legs.

She wasn't sure if it was real or a product of her own mind, but she was sure she could feel the warmth of his body heat on her back, the tickle of his fingers on her neck.

Just when she was sure that she was going to lose the race, and her life, the world around her suddenly went black and a strange sensation of floating came over her.

XXXXXXXXXX

“Oh, look at that!” a delighted voice echoed strangely in her ears. “You're coming back. How wonderful. Brooklyn! Can! You! Hear! Me!?”

“Why are you yelling?” Brooklyn asked as she opened her eyes. Her body felt heavy, like she had just gotten over a rather bad flu. But it wasn't a bad feeling. In fact, it felt so good she wanted to just curl up and go back to sleep.

An act she found herself almost doing until a harsh snap just above her face had her eyes snapping open again. She hadn't realized they had been closing.

She was greeted by the sight of Dr. Fontane grinning happily down at her, a small pen light in his hands that he started moving in and out of her direct line of vision without preamble.

“Great, you're dilating nicely.” he beamed. “How extraordinary. Tell me, how do you feel? Dizzy? Sleepy? Well rested?”

Brooklyn sat up and looked around, partially ignoring Dr. Fontane as he went further down a list of questions.

She was in his office, a room about the same size as Jack's but infinitely more messy. The stark white walls were offset by stacks of books, a great many she recognized as books she herself had obtained for him, and a faux wood desk. There was a cot in the corner that she knew he used a great deal that she was laid out on. His door was wide open but they were the only two people she could see or hear.