Chapter 4 -

Zoe recounts her trip out, and has a terrifying dream.

First Brush

Someone in the capitol had declared it Gargoyle Day and hadn't told Zoe. As she strolled up the front walk to her building, she noticed the statues on her building for the first time. These were more leonine than the one she'd seen added to Mickey's, but with the same batlike wings. She shook her head. Zoe hadn't been living in the building long before the attack, but it wasn't like her to not notice something like that. They definitely didn't match the style of the rest of the building.

Cheryl was on the phone, standing by the counter/bar that separated their kitchen and living room, when Zoe walked through the door. "That's right, when I came home the door was unlocked and Zoe was nowhere around. No note or anything. None of the others have seen... Wait a minute, Mrs. Jansen. Here she is. Okay, thanks. Sorry to worry you. Sure, I'll tell her."

"What's going on, Cher?"

"Where have you been?" Cheryl demanded. "I was worried sick. No one knew where you were, and the door wasn't even closed all the way. I thought maybe that nut had a friend, and you were.. were.." Zoe was startled to see tears in Cheryl's eyes. She ran forward to give her friend a hug.

"I'm sorry, Cheryl, really. I left in a big huff after yet another 'retrospective' about Gerald F*****g Winters. I was just so sick of being stuck in the house, stuck in my head, trapped by a dead guy. And I stormed out, slammed the door, and didn't even think about the locks. Totally my fault. I should have left you a note, but at first I wasn't even sure I was really going out today, then I was just.. just gone."

"Yes, you should have. You had me worried to death!" Cheryl shoved Zoe's shoulder, half seriously, then rubbed her eyes and sniffed. "I'm sorry for freaking out. It's just, you're my best friend, and my only friend I've ever come close to losing, you know?"

"I know. It probably would have freaked me out, too," Zoe said. "Let's sit, I'll get some wine, and I'll tell you about my day. You can call me names if you need to." It was strange, being back in the role of caretaker to her more sensitive friend, after so long feeling out of control. It felt good.

While Cheryl claimed the old recliner that sat directly across from their TV, Zoe hunted through the cabinets for a clean wine glass. She ended up settling for a pair of tumblers one of the guys had left after their housewarming party, and poured them full of a cheap red wine they got at the local organic food co op. She handed one off to Cheryl and sank down into the couch with a grateful sigh. Her legs had gotten soft during her hermitage, and were letting her know it. She set the wine aside and spent some time rubbing the aches.

"So, yeah. I made myself an appointment in my calendar last month, that I was going to go out of the house by myself today. Six months, etc etc? I didn't tell anyone, in case I couldn't do it. I was prepared to cut myself some slack if necessary." Cheryl snorted into her wine. "Whatever, I was. And I think I was going to stay home after all, then that stupid morning news show went on and on about the six month mark, and showed pictures of Winters, and wondered who I was. It was like a kick in the a*s. I was so sick of it, sick of feeling like I was trapped in here by a ghost, and by the specter of things that might never happen."

"So, you basically got pissed enough to go out on your own. Honestly, Z, I'm not surprised." Cheryl's eyes were still bright from crying, but now they had laugh lines radiating from the corners. "I should have asked Franklin to tease you about it months ago."

"I do believe you are insinuating a lack of lady-like comportment on my part. I think I'm insulted."

Cheryl's laugh lines turned into actual snickers. "Oh, no, I would never suggest that you were anything but a shy, retiring, shrinking violet. Really. So, where'd you go?"

"I went to breakfast at Mickey's. I had no plans after that. I was going to Mickey's, and I was going to eat an omelet. And not be attacked and murdered." Zoe's confident smirk faded a bit. "It went okay. I mean, the not being murdered part was a rousing success. The rest was fine, though I had a couple of near freak outs when people walked too close behind my seat."

"Aw, Z, that sucks." Cheryl was looking sad again. It was verging on pity, which Zoe knew she didn't need.

"I don't know what I can do except get used to it again. I don't believe my insurance covers 'walk past behind you' therapy." The joke fell flat between them. Zoe was still broken. That fact could be avoided, but not ignored. "After breakfast I just went walking, since I was feeling so good. I went to the bookstore, window shopped, and had a coffee. It felt good, right up until I sat down."

"That's great," said Cheryl. "You should probably be more careful, though. You haven't been walking nearly as much since you.." Cheryl's stopped to swallow, and coughed a bit under her breath, "Since you got hurt. If you try to push yourself right back to walking as far as you did before, you'll end up sore every day."

"Don't remind me. I wasn't thinking too much about that while I was recovering, and definitely not when I was hermiting. But now that I've been out and about a little, I'm having trouble avoiding it." Zoe poked her stomach with a single finger. "I'm definitely squishier than I'm used to, even for me."

"Well, we can work on that together if you want," Cheryl said. "You know we have more than enough equipment right here in the apartment building. And since we don't work office jobs we can get down there when no one else is expecting to use it." Cheryl was the fitness nut of their group, and was always excited by the prospect of any of her close friends joining her. Along with art, fitness was the only thing that pulled Cheryl out of her shell reliably. It was one of many ways in which the two friends seemed an unlikely pair, and defied others' expectations. Cheryl's tall, toned physique housed a shy and easily hurt introvert. For most of their friendship, Zoe had been the one standing up for her, taking her side, and pushing her to reach for what she wanted.

"Oh, that's okay," Zoe said. "I think once I'm moving around more, things should settle in. And not just for fun, either. I can't live off Mom and Dad much longer. It's time to find a job."

"Did you see anywhere that was hiring while you were out and about today?"

"No, but I wasn't really looking. Speaking of seeing things while out and about, have you seen the gargoyles they added to Mickey's? They're nicely done, but I don't think they really fit in with the theme. I wonder why they did it? I'm sure I'd have noticed if they'd been left over from Halloween. And then the ones on this building! I can't believe I never noticed them before."

"No, I didn't notice any gargoyles at Mickey's, and I ate there for dinner yesterday. They must be new. Come to think of it, I don't think I've seen any on our building either. I'll have to check it out," Cheryl said. "Or maybe they're following you. Next thing you know, some creepily handsome gargoyle with a sexy voice will swoop down and talk to you, like in that cartoon."

The idea of being swooped down on by anyone left Zoe's blood cold, and she felt her face going blank as she tried to control the fear.

"Yeah, well, the gray b*****d had better swoop down from the front, or he's likely to get an elbow to the chin. You know, Cher, I am pretty tired from my walk, so I think I'll get a nap." Zoe rose suddenly, and went into her room and shut the door. Cheryl was left alone in the living room, a look of consternation on her face.

*  *  *

Zoe walked down the alleyway. She knew she was being pursued, but the way ahead was clear and the alley took her to crowded places faster than the nearest main streets. It was important to stay ahead, because she knew if the thing following her caught her, it would drag her back to the basement to finish what was started. The claws behind her were getting closer, but the streetlights ahead were almost on her.

She burst out into a crowd around a vendor cart in front of a tall office building she didn't quite recognize. "Watch out! It's coming, and it's dangerous! Someone call the police, I lost my phone!" The words were coming out in bursts, between frantic gulps of air, but no one seemed to be listening.

Zoe began pushing through the crowd, trying to put the vendor cart between her and her pursuer. As she came alongside the cart, she felt the vendor grab her wrist, stopping her. She spun to face him, ready to scream at him to let her go. The words died in her throat as she saw that his face was smooth, devoid of features, like an egg with eye- and mouth-holes upside down on his head. More pedestrians from the crowd were coming closer, closing in around her as she writhed in the iron hard grip of the vendor. While still struggling to free her wrist, she felt more hands clamp down on her shoulders, arms and legs, holding her fast.

"What are you doing? Let me go! It's going to find me, we have to run!" The shout turned into a scream as the snarls approached. During all of this, the egg-faced people holding her remained totally silent. Figures on the edge of the crowd began jerking to one side or the other, or disappearing. The disturbance moved through the mass of faceless attackers in a straight line that pointed straight at Zoe. She got the impression of a low, dark body moving on multiple feet. Thrashing once more, she shoved against the closest bodies and screamed with all her strength.

And woke in her queen-sized bed, comforter loose and tangled around her legs. Her pulse was pounding in her head, and she still thrashed against imaginary attackers. Sweat had stuck her night shirt and hair to her body. Her sore throat told her she had been screaming in truth as well as in the dream. The designs carved into her skin, long healed to shiny pink scars, ached deeply on her arms and legs. She wrapped her arms tight around herself, and had just begun to calm her breathing when Cheryl burst into the room.

"Z, it's okay! It's just a dream, sweetie. Just a dream." Cheryl climbed onto the bed and wrapped her arms around Zoe and began smoothing her hair. After a moment of hesitation, Zoe leaned into her taller friend and lay her head on Cheryl's shoulder. She began to sob, and Cheryl's nightgown was quickly wet with tears. The tears and the quiet nonsense that Cheryl continued to whisper to her friend did their job. One by one, Zoe's muscles began to relax, and her grip on Cheryl changed from desperate clinging to something less frantic.

"You okay now?"

"I think so. It was so real. I was being hunted, chased. Everything was wrong, and the people on the street were helping the person hunting me." Zoe's voice dropped to a whisper. "It was terrible."

"Do you want me to stay? It helped the last time the dreams got bad."

"Are you sure you don't mind? After the way I flounced off at you earlier," Zoe said. "I don't want to be a pain."

"You're not a pain. You go to sleep, and I'll keep watch, okay?"

The settled down onto the bed. Despite the surfeit of room, Zoe stayed stuck to Cheryl. Her dreams threatened to drown her burgeoning independence, and Cheryl was the only buoy she had. Her friend's long arms and tight muscles felt reassuring around her own generous padding. They were the arms of someone who really would fight off the darkness. Reassurance brought the return of exhaustion, and Zoe slid into a deep, dreamless sleep.