Chapter 2
Clarice Starling had never been to Chesapeake before and silently thanked Ardelia for talking her into getting a newer model cell phone with GPS capability. She had been driving for half an hour, and Dr. Lecter hadn't so much as moved. By now, her shoulder felt as if it were on fire, and she head begun to feel dizzy. The road signs were a blur, and the mile markers faded into the scenery, yet somehow she recognized the exit for Chesapeake and turned. The two-story house was located in a secluded neighborhood on the Chesapeake shore. It sat as the lone house on the end of the culdesac. On a clear day under different circumstances, Starling may have noticed how lovely the beach was, or how the ocean reflected the night sky; however, on this particular occasion, all she could do was curse the damned front-porch stairs. Carrying someone almost twice your body weight on a flat surface is harder than it seems; carrying someone almost twice your body weight with a bullet wound up a flight of stairs-- that's damned near impossible.
Clarice pulled into the driveway checking twice the number on the door to ensure that this was indeed the right house. She got out of the car and nearly fell down, not expecting how unsteady her legs would be. The dizziness had amplified, along with a pounding headache. She knew the door would be locked, but-- giving in to wishful thinking, she climbed the front porch stairs to check anyway.
Locked. She dreaded walking back to the car.
Carefully she opened the passenger door. Dr. Lecter lay just exactly as he had been the entire duration of the trip.
"Dr. Lecter…"
-- No response --
"Dr. Lecter, it's Clarice…"
Of course, who else would it be dumbass? She rolled her eyes after stating the obvious.
"Dr. Lecter, I need the house key and it would be really great if you could just-- wake up and give me the key."
-- No response --
She touched the doctor's shoulder for a moment before jerking her hand back, half-expecting the doctor to snap awake and issue some sort of mocking comment-- but nothing happened.
Get it over with, girl.
She felt the doctor's pockets, first the right, then the left, but they were empty.
Goddamn Sards must have taken them.
Clarice walked back to the house; she could feel herself growing weaker from loss of blood. She knew she had to get them inside before she passed out. Granted the house was rather secluded, but she didn't want to take any chances of alerting the neighbors.
"Think girl, think…"
Dr. Lecter was not the type to keep a spare key hidden in a flowerpot. The house had a garage that connected to the house. More likely than not, there would be a garage door leading into the house. She could bust out a side window, unlock the garage door, and carry Dr. Lecter inside on a flat surface. Not a great plan, but it was all she had. Starling walked to the side of the house and found a window located not too high on the first floor. This will have to do. She went back to her car, retrieved the metal lever from her car jack, and returned to the window. Starling took a deep breath and counted to three…
1-- security system? 2-- yes or no? 3-- shattering glass……… no.
Grasping the lattice work, Clarice hoisted herself up with her good arm. Getting a good hold, she got one leg in, then-- losing her balance-- sliced her leg on the broken glass as she fell inside.
"Shit!" Grasping a hard surface to lift herself up. "Real fucking MacGyver."
The light from the windows was enough to give her that this was the living room. She limped toward the direction of the garage and made her way into the kitchen. She turned on the light and grabbed a dish towel to wrap around her calf which at this point was bleeding profusely. The door to her immediate left with the key rack beside it must be the garage. Clarice unlocked the door and stepped inside, pleasantly surprised to find that there was no car in the garage. She hit the button and the garage door came to life. She returned to the car to find Dr. Lecter unchanged. It hurt like hell to push the clutch in, but she backed the mustang into the garage and closed the door. Almost done. She grasped the doctor under the arms and began the painful task of getting him inside. Getting the doctor to the living room floor would be the last thing she remembered. Utterly exhausted and in excruciating pain, Clarice had begun to black out.