Calling On Deaf Ears
Chapter One:
The overpass was deserted. The darkness of night stretched between the streetlamps. The silence was deafening, broken only by the sounds of two people struggling. In the still of night, a young brunette was fighting for her life.
Her lungs burned for air as she scrambled to free her throat from the strong grip of her assailant. Try as she might, she couldn't get free, and her vision was filling quickly with black spots. He forced her to the hand railing, and pushed harder, bending her backwards over the busy street below. None of the late night commuters saw the struggle for life and death occurring on the deserted pedestrian overpass far above their heads.
Growing weaker, Tru tried one last time to free herself as his grim face loomed in her ever darkening vision. Abandoning her purchase on the ground, she kicked him squarely in the family jewels, and was rewarded when he let go and groaned, clutching the central hub of male thought processes. She was free for the moment. Disoriented and starved for oxygen, she stood dumbly, gasping and swaying, leaning on the railing. Concerned with feeding her brain with much needed air, she didn't notice him recover, stand and stagger over to her.
He grabbed her roughly by the shoulders, disregarding her struggles as she clawed feebly at his arms, all of her remaining strength being used to stay on her two feet.
"I've given you chances and chances and you never took them. Luc was a warning, but you didn't listen. I warned you that I would preserve the natural order of the universe, but you never stopped. I'm sorry it has to end this way." Jack regarded her steadily. "Goodbye."
With a shove he sent her over the hand railing, her scream echoing back at him as she fell, head first into the path of a semi trailer.
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Tru woke screaming. She sat up, gasping as she freed her trapped legs from her sweat soaked sheets. She held her head in her hands, eyes closed, as she fought back tears. The nightmares hadn't stopped for weeks, and it was showing. The bags under her eyes were dark and contrasted sharply with her pale and drawn face. She found herself sleeping more and more at the morgue, for some reason she felt safer with Davis around. It didn't completely dispel the nightmares, however. Thinking of the morgue reminded her that she had a shift forty five minutes, and she had to walk ten blocks to get there.
Collecting herself, she let the soft glow of the sun shining through her curtains calm her. Dragging herself out of bed, Tru made her way over to the vanity in her bathroom, and splashed cold water on her face with hands that shook. She jumped at a knock to the door. Looking through the peephole, she saw Davis standing there, his face distorted and ballooned. She frowned, wondering why he was there.
Opening the door, she tried her hardest to put on a nonchalant expression and asked, "What are you doing here Davis? Shouldn't you be at the morgue cutting up some victim of roadrage or something?"
He looked uncomfortable at seeing his colleague in her pajamas, but managed a reply. "I could ask you the same question. Your shift started fifteen minutes ago."
She looked at him puzzled, "What do you mean? My shift doesn't start until nine thirty. I have another forty five minutes."
"No…. you were meant to start fifteen minutes ago. Its nine forty five."
"What do you mean? It's only eight forty five. I…" Tru looked abashed. "Shit. Daylight savings."
He grinned. "Yep. Daylight savings." He paused, a serious expression replacing his otherwise cheerful grin. "Tru… are you alright?"
'I should win a bloody Oscar for this performance… or is it an Emmy?' She grinned, "Of course Davis, why wouldn't I be?"
He invited himself in from the foyer. Checking things off on his fingers as he went, he stated, "You look like you haven't eaten in days, if the bags under your eyes were any bigger you could go on a shopping spree and still have room to spare, and… you're swaying from side to side." He moved quickly to her side, and, grabbing her arm, guided her to the couch, forcing her to sit. "What's wrong? What's been going on?"
Her hand moving automatically to her forehead as a wave of dizziness waved over her, she tried once again to convince him that she was fine. "Really… it was just a bit of a late night. I'm just a little tired."
His considerate eyes showed his concern and his almost Boy Scout charm led him to half pick up, half drag her over to the bed before she could argue. She almost laughed, but settled for a half smile as she insisted, "Davis, I'm fine. Really. And I'm going to work today, either now or when you leave."
He shrugged simplistically. "I won't leave then."
His beeper cut off her smart reply. He looked downcast, and glanced up at her. "Damnit. The Easter Bunny just died." At her shocked appearance, he added, "The fake one, from the department store… something about an electric cable and some water." He gave her a stern look. "Don't even think about coming in today. I'll take you off the roster and you won't get paid anyway, so there's no point in turning up."
Before she could object he turned and strode purposely through the front door, stopping only to throw a "Get some rest" back at her and close it.
Tru glowered in his wake. 'No way I'm not coming in today. What if the Easter Bunny needs help?'
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As it turned out, the Easter Bunny didn't need help.
Tru walked through the door, peering around corners, hoping to avoid Davis for as long as possible. A voice cleared behind her. Tru closed her eyes and sighed. 'Show time.' She thought as she turned around, a huge grin on her face. "Told ya I was coming in today."
Davis frowned, about to launch into a long lecture about looking after yourself, when Harrison walked through the door. Giving her a cheesy grin, he held out his hands and did a little twirl. Tru looked him up and down. He was wearing a black suit, white shirt, red tie, and his hair was slicked back, somewhat neat. It looked like he'd even managed to run a comb through his hair.
She whistled. "Looking fine, Har. Can I ask, what is the occasion?"
His grin widened. "Well, sis, now that I'm working for Dad, I have to be presentable. If that means wearing a suit and doing my hair…" He shrugged, grin widening by the second. "Anyway, I'm here to take you to brunch. You can do okay by yourself, can't you Davis?" Without waiting for a response, he grabbed Tru's arm and started pulling her towards the door.
She disentangled herself from his arm and said, "Sorry, Har, I can't."
His face fell. "What, another rewind day?" He called over her shoulder to the Easter Bunny on the cold, metal table, "Leave my sis alone, okay?" And did a double take as he saw the costume lying against the table. Looking to Davis, he asked, "Is that-"
He nodded. "The Easter Bunny. Yes. No, it isn't a rewind, and yes, Tru is available for brunch." Seeing her about to argue, he added, "If you don't go now I'm changing the locks and you won't get another key."
She laughed. "Alright, alright, but after brunch I'm coming back."
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Brunch with Harrison was unusual. Unusual in that Harrison paid for both his and Tru's, with what looked like money from an ATM, rather than money from another gambler's pocket. Tru's eyebrows shot up when she saw him pull out the wad of cash. "Well, la di da Har. Where'd the moola come from?"
He looked mildly offended. "Hey, I earned this. Got a pay check and everything. See?" He pulled out a crumpled piece of paper that definitely looked like it had come from Harrison's pocket, and stuck it in her face.
"Hey, we should get this framed." She said in all seriousness.
A sarcastic look passed over his face. "Oh ha ha. Very funny."
She laughed and climbed into his car. "Come on, drive me back to work."
He grumbled as he walked around to the right side of the car, hopping in and keying the ignition. The car grumbled, almost started, and finally died. He grinned. "He he… no problem Tru. Won't be a second." He tried again, and frowned when the car didn't immediately spring to life.
Tru groaned and banged her head on the dash. "Did you remember to fill it with gas?"
His face paled, but then he grinned. "Of course I did. Let's open her up and take a look, eh?"
Tru laughed. "Har, you don't know anything about cars. Look, we aren't far from the morgue. Why don't you call a mechanic, and I'll walk back there?"
He frowned. "Let my little sister walk the streets alone?"
She playfully punched him in the arm. "It's like, one thirty in the afternoon. I'll be fine. Call a mechanic."
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The man hit the wheel in frustration. "No, Jason, it's just a red light. No, look, just stay with mommy, okay? I know you don't want to, but you need to… No, I can't come pick you up. I'm on my way to work… I know, it's tough, me working nights but we need the money…Shit!" The man's cell phone dropped to the floor of the car as he went over a speed bump. Reaching down, he took his eyes off of the road, for just a split second as he groped for his phone. When he straightened, his eyes widened. A young girl, barely ten meters ahead of him, frozen to the spot, looking like a deer in the headlights. "Omg!" He swerved to the left, hard, and avoided the young girl.
Unfortunately, he couldn't avoid the school bus, with the banner 'Science Centre' taped to the side. He hit it traveling at fifty miles per hour.
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Tru walked into the morgue, whistling, and stopped short. Her hand went to her mouth as she backed into the door, eyes wide. Davis grimaced as he noticed her presence. "I know. It's tragic, to see kids like this."
There, on the slabs, were three children and two adults, all covered in gashes. Tru pushed herself off of the wall and walked into the office, keeping her eyes studiously off of the corpses. Bodies didn't bother her, but the bodies of three innocent children did.
Tru looked at the time, and turned to Davis. "Time of death?"
"One thirty two. Tru, wha-" Davis looked confused.
"Where? And how?"
"Corner of Fifty-Third and Nineteenth. Why?"
"East or West Fifty-Third?" Her jaw was set purposefully.
"East."
She nodded. "Anything else?"
He shook his head. "Just that the SUV driver's name is Steve Macray, and they were on a bus headed back to school from a field trip to the Science Centre, and one of the guys was driving an SUV, swerved to avoid a young girl and hit the bus instead. Killed the driver, three kids and the bus driver."
She paled, but nodded again. "Alright. Let's hope some one asks for help." She walked over to the bodies, trying not to linger on the children's broken appearance, and stood there, waiting, listening. She could tell Davis was standing there, watching, waiting, hoping.
"Come on… Come on…" Tru whispered. Her eyes flicked to the young girl. Did an arm just move?
Now the youngest looking boy. Did his head just turn? Yes! Tru thought. Finally! Her head whipped around as Davis froze, time appearing to stop. Now, the bus driver. A whispered plea. "Save us." The familiar sensation of being tugged backwards overtook her.
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Tru awoke with a gasp, stood, and threw some clothes on. Grabbing her bag and her keys, she looked at her watch. Nine forty five. That left three hours and forty seven minutes until the crash.
She rushed out of the door, and, seeing Davis walking down the hall, grabbed his arm and led him towards the front door. "I know; late. Here's another thing I know. In just under four hours a SUV is going to collide with a school bus."
He gasped. "How many were killed?"
"The driver, the bus driver, and three kids." He swore and she glanced at him in shock. "What's worse is that witnesses say he swerved to avoid another little kid. So I'll have to be careful about how I do this. Driver's name is Steve Macray."
She walked as she talked, and they were headed out on the streets. Walking briskly towards the morgue, or, as Davis liked to call it privately, 'the Batcave', Tru filled him in on the rest of the details.
He looked thoughtful. "Well, I guess that you'll have to stop the little girl from getting in the way of the SUV… hopefully, that'll stop the crash."
She shook her head. "I need more than hopefully. I need to make sure that bus doesn't leave the Science Centre on time."
"How are you going to do that?" Davis asked.
She walked out of the door as she answered. "I have no idea."
She headed purposefully towards the corner of East Fifty-Third and Nineteenth St, wanting to check out the scene before she did any of the real leg work.
She was preoccupied with the image of the three children lying, dead on the floor, and she didn't notice as someone shadowed her, following her every move. As they moved closer to Fifty-Third the figure closed in on her, grabbed her roughly, hand over her mouth, and dragged her into an alley.
She was shoved against the wall with force enough to make her cry out. Her fear turned to anger when she noticed who it was that attacked her. "Jack!"
"Hey… long time no see. I suppose you're on your way to save the day. Again."
She struggled against his grip, but it was too strong. "Get offa me, death. You aren't gonna stop me."
He put on a hurt expression. "Now now, Tru, is that really a way to treat a friend. I'm just here to offer some advice."
"Let me guess, don't save them, order of the universe…" She snarled. "I've heard that crap, now let me go!"
He looked almost regretful. "So you're going to try then, are you Tru?"
She didn't respond, just struggled some more, painfully aware of the similarities of the situation to her dream. He sighed. "Well I can't let you. I'm sorry Tru." The last thing she saw was his fist coming at her face, before stars erupted behind her temples and darkness took her.
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Jack held the unconscious Tru in his arms, staring at her gaunt and tired looking face. Slowly, he shook his head and walked out onto the street. "I need some help here! She was just lying on the ground, looks like she's been hurt! Someone call 911!" When a suitable number of passersby had surrounded them, he stood up, brushed off his leather duster, and slipped away from the crowd.
He hoped that would be enough to dissuade her. If she tried to save anyone else, he may have to dispose of her, permanently.
