Vicki awakened pain free for the first time in several days. Movement caused some minor aches but she had dealt with much worse. Picking up her glasses from the night stand, she settled them on her face. The room instantly became clearer. When she stood up she was suddenly struck with an urgent need to be somewhere else. The only problem was that she couldn't exactly remember where that "somewhere" was. In fact, the more she thought about it, she remembered that she had told Henry the same thing just hours before. Obviously, he hadn't been any help at all. She was clearly going to need to handle this herself.
She dressed quickly in one of Mike's sweat suits and then opened the bedroom door only to find that he was sleeping on the couch. She knew she would never make it out of the front door without a fight so she needed an alternative. Digging through his nightstand she found a pen and a piece of paper. Writing a brief note to him, she made it clear that she appreciated all of his help but was well enough to be on her own. Climbing out the bedroom window, she walked down the metal fire stairs until she hit the pavement.
She turned to the left walking down the street in the direction of her office. Along the way she mentally planned out her actions while she watched the sunrise over the horizon.
"First I'll head to the office and find an outfit that fits better than this. I'll check my messages and return the necessary calls. Then I need to figure out where I'm supposed to be."
She would have appreciated someone to mull things over with but Henry would soon be dead to the world. Plus, she wasn't so sure she could trust him after last night. While she wasn't exactly sure what had happened, she knew that he had done something. Mike wouldn't be any help because he would just want her back at his place. He just couldn't admit that there were some things he couldn't protect her from these days.
Entering her office, she grabbed the spare pair of jeans and T-shirt that she kept there for emergencies. She also reached for a rubber band to put her hair up. After 15 minutes in her bathroom she was feeling more like her normal self. Occasionally there would be a twinge in her back but nothing worse than the sensation of a pulled muscle. It didn't take long before she was caught up in her work. The urgent need to be elsewhere had waned dramatically. It was already the middle of the afternoon when the slamming of her office door drew her attention. She quickly found herself staring into a pair of angry eyes. She and Mike had the fight she knew had been brewing. He stormed out about fifteen minutes later telling her that if she wanted to commit suicide, she was definitely going about it correctly. The emotional outburst had really tired her out and she rested her head on the desk for a few minutes. Muttering about the stupidity of certain men in her life, she fell asleep.
She knew she was dreaming but couldn't seem to wake herself up. The scariest thing was that it was like she was having an out of body experience. She was looking at herself hanging by her tied hands. The rope restraining them was apparently tossed over a rafter in what appeared to be an empty, darkened warehouse. Blood was running down from that Vicki's nose and mouth and splashing quietly on the broken glasses on the floor. As she approached she realized that the other Vicki could barely touch the tips of her toes on the floor. Her arms and shoulders were taking the brunt of the weight which would be very painful after a short period of time. At the sound of voices from the back of the warehouse, she began to walk in that direction. There were two men in the back of the building talking to one another over a fire burning in a metal trash can. They looked like two homeless people warming themselves over the flames. She couldn't see their faces or understand what they were saying but one image got through clearly. As they turned in her direction she could see a branding iron glowing orange in the darkness. She began to panic as she remembered the pain that had been inflicted upon her. If only somebody could help her. She didn't want to experience the sensation again.
Vicki snapped awake to the sensation of a hand on her back. In her hurry to escape, she accidentally tipped her chair over and landed hard on the floor. The pain in her back flared to life causing her to cry out.