Chapter Five: Once More into the Brink

 

Chapter Five: Once More into the Brink

8:00 a.m. Sunday, July 2

            I stepped out into the warm morning sun, still feeling a little sore, but otherwise well. The night’s rest did me a world of good, even in the stiff hospital bed. The doctor’s gave me the all clear about an hour ago, but I already knew that I was fine. The signs of internal bleeding were subtle, but I considered myself to have a fair hand at diagnosing symptoms. Diagnosing oneself, when you already have prior medical training, was not as hard to do as when other people tried to do it themselves.

            Once I got into the parking lot, I realized something quite significant. I had no idea what I was going to use as transportation. My Explorer was most likely history. Scratch that… There was no way it was in any working order after flipping like that. At the very least it was going to look and sound like absolute hell, and I’d be damned if I drove that around.

            Thus decided, I turned around and went back into the lobby of the hospital. I had to call for a cab. Thank God that I had some cash on hand. Debit cards were all fine and great, but nothing beats cold hard cash in some situations.

10:14 a.m.

            I drove out of the car lot with my new Toyota Prius. I knew that it basically was an extremely squishy car, but I blew a lot of money for a sizable down payment out of my bank account for a new set of wheels, and I wanted great gas mileage. Being able to haul around loads of crap if needed was great and all, especially to a pack rat like me, but I was going to have to agree with the economy and look for the best gas mileage. Nowadays, the gas was killer, and I just couldn’t afford to use like it was going out of style.

            Even if it was…

            Today would hold even greater importance on gas mileage. The address that Janelle Deans had given me was located in the town of Arab. It was a sleepy little town about thirty miles south of Huntsville, and up a small mountainside. I already knew this trip was going to be costly on gas, but I gave my word. I didn’t have much for myself nowadays, but I did have my self-respect for the most part.

            I took a quick detour to my apartment complex to find the note. Sure enough, it was at the foot of my couch in its protective plastic bag. I placed it back into my pocket and went into the kitchen to prepare a quick sandwich and a glass of water to wash it down. It wouldn’t do if I started a road trip on an empty stomach. I consumed the simple brunch and went back outside to my new car. I drove back out of the parking lot and onto one of the bigger roads.

            I got onto the Parkway and made my way through the city, eventually getting into the south part of town and close to the outer laying areas that preceded the bridge. It was unnaturally busy for this time of day and week, though, so the going was slow.

            God, how I hate….Well, you get the picture.

           

            About a half hour later, I was on the outskirts of Arab. I had passed through two other small towns, neither of which holding anything of interest besides convenience stores and gas stations. Very unimportant towns, seeing as I started this trip with a full tank of gas and wasn’t particularly hungry or thirsty.

            The great thing about this town was that it was like Huntsville was before it got too big for its britches, so to speak. The same highway that made up the Parkway in Huntsville ran straight through the middle of Arab and everything else seemed to just branch off of it.

            The directions I got from Google, God bless the internet, told me I was to go up the overpass on the southern part of town and take a left turn onto another highway road, and then take the first right driveway.

            Driving through the town was almost therapeutic. No one seemed to feel like being an a*****e for the sake of beating that red light or moving up one car length in the line of traffic. It was actually calm.

            Seeing the overpass ahead, I merged smoothly to the right and took the ramp up to the stop sign. It was a difficult place to see both sides without the front end of even my little Prius sticking out too far for safety. It seemed like everything was clear so turned left onto this new highway.

Hooonk!

Looking in my rear view mirror I saw the source of the indignant noise behind me. It was a huge eighteen wheeler. And it was riding my a*s like a twenty dollar w***e. Apparently I pulled out at the wrong time and just wasn’t able to see that trucker. My eyes darted back and forth for an escape path and I saw at small opening in the sidewalk to the right. I pulled hard on the steering wheel and hauled a*s into the little driveway.

After that, I just kind of sat there breathing a little harder than normal. I seemed to still be a little shaky from the previous day’s events. Once I got myself under control, I looked at a mailbox that was next to my car. Its address matched the one that Janelle gave me. I guess I couldn’t have been any luckier. At least this way if I freaked out the occupants of the house whose space I intruded quite suddenly, I was expected to show up sometime today. I turned off the engine and got out of the car and looked around.

It was an older house, obviously having seen its fair share of weather and age. It had peeling blue paint and an old Corsica sitting out in the yard near a fence. On the other side of said fence stood two fairly large dogs, staring at me quite intrigued it seemed… Or at least as intrigued as a dog can be at a stranger in his home.

I walked up to the porch while continuing my survey of my surroundings. The porch held several chairs and a couch with some tattered cushioning. Scattered around where several cats and a few puppies, looking only a few months old.

I pulled open the screen door in front of a white wooden one and gave three firm knocks. From inside the house I heard someone hurriedly making their way towards the door.

The white door opened and then standing in the doorway wearing what seemed like old clothes and a very haggard expression on her face was Janelle. She looked at me with a somewhat confused expression before recognition dawned on her face.

“Oh, it’s you, Leonard. Sorry bout that. It’s been a busy twelve hours. Come on in. Just please…Be quiet.” She turned and led me into the room behind her. There was a soft looking couch set up around a television. We sat down on the couch and I noticed she kept on looking into a hallway towards another room anxiously.

I guess she noticed my curiosity and she sighed before answering.

“My daughter… She came down sick last night with a bad fever. Poor little Alexis is only a few months old. I went to the doctor with her earlier today and he gave us some medication, but all we can do now is to wait it out. I just laid her down to sleep and her father has been out at work all day. But enough about that… Did you bring Frank’s note?”

Nodding, as several things made sense at once, I reached back into my pocket and produced the plastic bag containing Frank Derahno’s note. I handed it to her and she just held it in her hands for a bit, looking down at it. Soon enough, I noticed a drop of moisture hit the bag with a small plop. She looked back up wiping her eyes with the back of one hand.

“Sorry… I haven’t slept much and holding this now… It’s still sinking in that he’s really gone now.” She gave a small half-hearted chuckle. “What would he say if he saw me acting like this? He would probably make some kind of sarcastic remark and try to get me angry at him to cheer me up. Ah, how I’m going to miss him. Oh well. I will at least honor his memory and see what his instructions were.”

And with that said, she opened the bag and took out the pages that contained the last will of Frank Derahno. She began reading, giving a small chuckle at what I assumed was the ‘thieving b*****d’ comment, and then resumed her serious expression. After a few minutes, she folded the pages back together and sighed, shaking her head. She then looked back up at me with a slightly hopeless expression.

“Well,” she began, “it seems like he was adamant about how things were handled. Very specific, yet open-ended at the same time. Just like him to make things difficult.”

She gave another sigh and then sadly pushed the bag back into my hands. I was surprised and apprehensive to say the least.

“What are you doing, Janelle?” I asked of her. I was simply supposed to deliver the note.

She simply shook her head sadly before answering.

“Frank’s instructions are to be carried out before his funeral. That’s in two days from now. Sadly, with Alexis so sick, I will be lucky to be able to get to the funeral, let alone carrying out his will. I’m sorry to ask you to do this, Mr. Garcia, but could you please carry out the instructions? They’re fairly simple. They just require some leg work I can’t put forth at the moment.”

I felt pangs of regret as she looked at me with a pleading look.
            “I am sorry, but I just can’t take off work for that time either. I have to save people, not wills.”

Her green eyes continued to look at me with one of the most desperate looks I had ever seen. I could tell she wasn’t the type to beg, but it seemed like she was close to it. At that point, I figured I would at least try.

“Okay, Janelle. Just let me call into the dispatcher station and see if I can even take off. Hold on…”

I fished my cell phone out of my pocket and dialed the second number on the speed dial. After a few rings a familiar voice picked up. I spoke into the device.

“Hello, Sheryl? Hey, it’s Leonard Garcia.”

“Ah! Good to hear you’re alright. Oh, while I have you here, word is from higher up that due to your experience yesterday, you’re being given a week’s paid vacation.”

Now that was a surprise. Far be it from the admins to be this generous. After getting over my shock, I replied.

“Well, alright then. I guess that takes care of why I called then. Thanks, Sheryl.”

“What, no date offer? I’m offended, Mr. Garcia.”
            “Well then, now that you mention it…”
            “Have a good day, Mr. Garcia!” Click

Smirking slightly, I replaced my phone into my pocket and looked to Janelle. I nodded once with a determined expression on my face. She instantly looks relieved beyond expression.

“Thank you! This means so much to me, Leonard. Oh! Since you are doing this, next time you go back into Huntsville, go by Frank’s place and ask his roommate Jason for Frank’s stash. He always had emergency money set aside and I am sure that he wouldn’t mind paying you for this.”

“Err, okay then. Wait, what do you mean by ‘next time’ I go to Huntsville?” I asked her.

“Oh, well, I guess you will see when you read more of the note, but most of the instructions can be carried out here in Arab.”

“Oh, I guess that makes sense then…” And at that point, the front door opened and in came a tall, skinny man seeming to be about the same age as Janelle. He had dark brown hair and a scraggly goatee. He looked at Janelle questioningly and then to me. Janelle jumped up to meet him.

            “Evan, honey, this is Mr. Leonard Garcia, the paramedic I told you about. Since Alexis is sick, he is going to help us out with Frank’s will.”

            Evan looked back at me and nodded. He seemed a bit troubled, but I guess I couldn’t be surprised. They lost a friend and their daughter was pretty sick, all within three days’ time.

            “Well, thanks for the help, Janelle. I guess I will be going. Nice meeting you, Evan.” I got back up from the couch and made my way to the front door. Evan held it open for me and spoke for the first time.

            “I’ll walk you out, Mr. Garcia…” Nodding, I walked through the door onto the porch with Evan following me. Once we got onto the front porch, he stopped and I halted to see what he had to say. He looked tired, and thoughtful. Eventually, he spoke to me.

            “Listen, man… Frank was real close to us, and I’m grateful that you’re helping us out with his last wishes. When Janelle told me how the paramedic who bagged him on the road survived his own wreck, I was pretty pissed off. I was mad at you for surviving when our friend didn’t. I was mad at God for choosing to take our friend. But apparently Frank was okay with dying enough to plan for this. So, I ain’t going to dishonor his memory by continuing being mad at you. If you need anything that we can help you with, just let us know. We don’t have much, but whatever help we can give is yours.”

            I nodded back at him.

            “I appreciate it, Evan…?”

            “Jameson. My name is Evan Jameson.”

            I shook his hand and made my way out to my car. I had just gotten into the driver’s seat when Janelle came out of the house clutching a good-sized phone book in her hands. She came over to the window which I had rolled down by now. She pressed the phone book into my hands.

            “You’re going to need this. Frank’s will requires you to go to some people, and I figured I would help you out like this since you are on a time frame.”

            “Thanks Janelle. I hope Alexis gets to feeling better soon. I will let you know if I need anything else or anything major occurs,” I replied. She nodded and made her way with Evan back into the house. While sitting in their driveway, I took the note back out and began to take it out of its bag to read the next step.

             This was going to be a weird vacation.

Reviews

Yay! A new chapter! This is getting so interesting! You have a few instances of shifted verb tense in this, but other than that and a few grammar mistakes it's marvelous! Can't wait to read more!

[Brittany]

This is a great story so far... waiting on the next... ***Just don't lose sleep over it...***

[Emily In Disguise]

I really hope the next chapter comes soon. I can't wait too long. :P