CHAPTER 2
BANG! There was a loud explosion to her side, making the ground shake beneath her feet. BANG! Another explosion, only this time it came from a completely different direction. BANG! BANG! More explosions around her, leaving her feeling completely disorientated. Gunfire ensued and figures dressed in khaki duck and dove behind any barriers they could find. BANG! Debris flew everywhere, shrapnel scattered across the ground like a rainfall of metal pieces. It was as if it would never end. Cate was stood in the centre of all the madness, as if she were frozen, stuck to one spot with lead boots that wouldn't move. Dust and smoke filled the air like a toxic mist, burning at her blue eyes, blue eyes that had seen horrific things. There was blood everywhere… Men lay on the floor with missing limbs, nowhere to be seen. It felt as though she were spinning as the explosions and gunfire continued, rotating on a spinning platform, forced to watch the mayhem in each and every direction. She stared down at a body in front of her, his face covered in blood and missing scraps of flesh as a result of shrapnel. His eyes shot open.
Cate shot up in bed with a desperate gasp for air, her chest rising and falling rapidly with each quick and ragged breath she took. Beads of sweat rolled down the side of her face, down her chin, all the way down to the curve of her breast. Slowly she lifted her shaking hands to her face, slowly pulling them up and over her head to brush away the strands of her that had become stuck to her face which was damp with sweat. She let out a shaky breath and shuffled to the edge of the bed and got out of it, she had felt how damp the sheets were as she pushed herself up from the mattress. She left her bedroom, her bare feet gently patting against the floorboards as she made her way down the hallway in her knickers and vest top. Cate had to squint her eyes as she flipped the light switch in her bathroom, the bright light coming on with a gentle audible buzz. Once her eyes had adjusted to the light, her eyelids opened fully and she moved over to the sink. She ran some cold water, tucked her hair behind her ears and lowered her face to the cool stream gushing from the tap. Using her hands, she cupped some of the water and splashed it over her face, the tension in her shoulders instantly easing at the refreshing coolness of it. She filled up a glass of water and then turned the tap off and leant over the sink slightly with her eyes closed, holding onto the edge of it after placing her glass down, her knuckles white due to her forceful grip.
She took a deep breath and exhaled heavily, opening her eyes in the process and straightening her posture. It was then that she looked at herself in the mirror. She was tired and looked it too; her long and wavy black hair was dishevelled and messy from her tossing and turning in bed. On her face were a few scattered tiny white lines, scars from her past. She paid little attention to the rest of her appearance, she knew she looked rubbish; she was tired and hadn't been sleeping well the last couple of nights. After one last quick glance at herself in the mirror, she collected her glass of water, turned her back on herself and left the bathroom, turning off the light as she went. Upon returning to her bedroom, the light from the moon through the window being enough to light her way, she made her way back to her messy bed. The covers were a tangled mess from her restless sleep, it didn't surprise her much. Cate perched on the edge nearest to her bedside table, and she reached for a medicine bottle which resided permanently on that surface. Out of it, she shook out one of her prescribed sleeping tablets and tossed it into her mouth followed by a swig of her water. She placed both the bottle and the glass down onto the wooden surface, but before retracting her hand, her fingers brushed over something that twinkled gently in the moonlight. They were cold to the touch and she gulped at the memories the items brought back. They were her scratched up dog tags. With a sigh, she pushed herself backwards and rolled onto her side on the bed, facing away from her bedside table. Would her nightmares ever end?
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Cate's eyes shot open at the loud noise which had brought her out of her peaceful, drug-induced slumber. Had she imagined it?
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Nope. Not her imagination. It was her front door, someone banging excessively loud on her front door. "I'm coming!" she yelled groggily, hoping that whoever it was would hear her from the depth of her house. Cate groaned as she pushed herself out of bed and to her feet, her body ached, that's often what happened when she took her meds to help her sleep. She slept so deeply and heavily that she barely moved and her poor back would end up killing her the next day. She pulled on an over-sized hoody and walked as quickly as she could to her front door. Opening the door, she was met with a middle-aged woman, fist raised, ready to knock on her door some more. Cate squinted in the light that had suddenly gushed through her doorway. What time was it?
The woman in front of her lowered her hand to her hip and shifted her weight onto her left leg. Cate raised an eyebrow, still squinting slightly as her tired eyes hadn't yet adjusted to daylight. "Can I help you?" her voice was quiet and groggy. She really didn't like taking those tablets, but with nights like last night, she had no choice. The woman in front of her smirked and her brow raised over her sunglasses.
"Isn't it a little late to be sleeping in?" The stranger asked, with what sounded like an almost cocky tone. Cate was confused, she'd not seen this woman before, and had no idea why she was on her doorstep.
"I don't know.. Is it?" Cate retorted with a shrug but couldn't contain her curiosity, so she glanced over her shoulder at the clock hanging from her wall and her eyes widened a little when she realised what time it was. "Oh shitting hell." She huffed. It was 2pm, she'd slept for 11 hours thanks to that one little pill. She heard the woman clear her throat and whilst Cate's back was turned, she rolled her eyes and then turned back to face her with a big forced smile. "I work long hours?" she tried to justify and it wasn't like it was a complete lie, she did work long hours. The woman gave a quick laugh and nodded her head.
"Don't need to explain yourself to me, honey." She responded before holding up a cardboard box in front of her, towards Cate. She gave it an inquisitive look before looking back up at the lady. "It's not a bomb for Christ sake… the UPS guy said you didn't answer this morning, so he asked me to take it."
"Oh.. Oops." Cate whispered, giving the woman a sheepish and tired smile. "Thank you, you didn't have to do that." She continued and reached out, taking the medium sized box from the hands of the other woman.
"Not a problem, I was happy to help. In fact I gave me an excuse to finally come over and snoop on my mysterious new neighbour." She grinned again and lifted her sunglasses up to rest on top of her dark and highlighted hair. "I'm Gemma." She held out her hand.
"Cate." She answered whilst reaching out to take her hand, giving it a brief shake before retracting her hand and placing it back on the box. She didn't really know what to make of this Gemma. She wasn't sure that she had seen her around before, but then again she worked stupid hours and rarely spent time out in the neighbourhood if she didn't need to.
"Nice to meet you Cate… my not so mysterious neighbour." Gemma quipped and gave Cate a once-over which made her feel a little uncomfortable. She didn't like having people try to suss her out. She'd once dated a studying psychologist and it only ended badly due to all the casual analysing of her psyche. "I'll see you around, Doc." She finished with a nod of her head, pushing her sunglasses back down to rest on her nose. And with that, she was gone. Cate watched as the woman she now knew as Gemma sauntered away from her house and got into a pretty nice car of her own. She closed the door with her foot as her hands were busy supporting her box. It was her new coffee maker for the kitchen, she was a coffee fiend but she knew it was no good for her anxiety, however it never stopped her. Cate popped the box down onto the counter and leant back against the opposite worktop, bringing her hand to her mouth to chew on her nail as she thought back at her encounter with Gemma.
"Wait a minute.." she spoke out loud to nobody but herself, crossing her arms beneath her bust. "How did she know I was a Doctor?" With a loud groan of frustration she spun on her heel and returned to her bathroom, wondering if there was more to this Gemma than what met the eye.