Abaris' Arrow
by linda-seton
Chloe locks the door of the house behind her and hustles down the sidewalk toward her car. She notices
the rivulets of orange cutting across the dark blue horizon. It is dawn and she hasn't slept in forever.
She fights with the door and manages to slide behind the wheel of her car. Concentrating on each action,
Chloe puts the key in the ignition, revs the car to life and begins her journey to the hospital.
Rolling down the window, she edges out a few inches and lets the cool air revive her. After a moment she
settles back behind the wheel.
She extends her hand and her fingers rest on the radio dial. She glances over at her bag and then digs out a
random tape. She fumbles the recorder and hits fast forward and rewind indiscriminately before managing
to find play.
A male voice, with a sort of sergeant-at-bootcamp quality, rattles on, "Let me see if I have all the details.
Your friends, if you want to call them that, were picked up a few blocks from the accident. All tested
positive for heroin and XTC. And all of them said you were driving. You rich kids are always the same.
Denying responsibility."
There is the sound of someone drinking water.
"I was driving. And I hadn't been using either heroin or ecstasy."
"No, but you had, what? $5,000 worth of cocaine in your system and in your pockets?"
"Closer to $10,000, actually."
"Are you getting off on this?"
"Talking to you? Hate to disappoint you, but not really."
There's the sound of something heavy striking the table and rattling the tape recorder.
Lex sighs. "Very nice. There's nothing like a pointless display of violence to inspire me to tell the truth. I
have a feeling you're not going to believe me no matter what I say."
"Try me."
"What do you want to know?"
"How it happened."
"Which 'it'? My acquiring the cocaine? The party? The accident?"
"Why cocaine, Lex? Isn't that a little 1982?"
"I'm guessing, just guessing mind you, that hashish is probably your drug of choice." There is no response
and Lex continues. "People who smoke a lot of pot have your same problem keeping on topic."
"As opposed to someone on coke?"
"I'm doing my best to answer your questions."
"Right. But you didn't answer my question."
"Which, 'why cocaine' or 'where I got the cocaine' or 'the party' or 'the accident'?"
There is a long pause.
"You're all the same." There's the sound of paper being shuffled. "How about these pictures? She went
completely through the windshield."
There is a prolonged silence and when Lex speaks his voice has a monotone quality. "I didn't find out her
name until about a week afterwards. She had just met..."
"Jude Royce. We got that from one of the waiters at the party."
"She had just met Jude and we all decided to leave the party and go to a club."
"And you decided to drive rather than take a cab."
"Cab drivers, like waiters, talk to reporters."
"So, this was all about keeping your name out of the paper?"
"Yes. It really worked didn't it?"
"Do you think this is funny?"
"No."
"Tell me about the accident, Lex. Or as much as you remember of it."
There is the stuttering sound of a chair being moved and then Lex begins, "We were making the turn onto a
one way street, 28th. The business district at 2:30AM is completely deserted and when you come off of
Wilcox you've got that steep dip and that long, rolling incline toward the river."
"You were going 97 miles per hour when the police first spotted you. Did you ever even see the patrol
car?"
"No, all I saw..." Lex trails off. There is a good two minutes of silence and then he begins again. "We
were midway down 28th and I noticed them for the first time."
"What?"
"Did you know that painted on the curb the entire length of 28th Street are directional arrows. They're
about a foot long, yellow reflective paint."
"What does this have to do with anything?"
"They were apparently put there in the 1920s and the Historical Society repaints them every other July.
And as I was driving I just kept looking to the right and to the left. Watching each individual arrow flow
into the next."
"All very pretty but meaningless, Lex."
"That's what cocaine is for me doctor. You asked after all. Unless you've lost interest in that question.
Cocaine allowed me to see each individual arrow and not just the smear of a pattern. Cocaine offered me a
sense of clarity. And that's all I've ever really wanted."
"And what you wanted to cost Veronica Sellars her life."
"I was trying to tell Jude about the arrows. I looked into the backseat and I saw him unbuckle Veronica's
seatbelt and pull her over into his lap. I looked ahead and we were at the end of the street. All I could see
were the three arrows painted at the point where 28th merges with Weyburn. I could go straight out onto
the bridge or veer to the right or left. I tried to go straight, lost control and the car slammed into the metal
pylons at the entrance of the bridge."
"And you were the only one not hurt."
Lex says nothing and the doctor drums his fingers on the table.
The sound is mirrored by the soft thud of the tires of Chloe's car going over the speed bump in the parking
lot of the medical center. She clicks off the tape and manages to squeeze her car into a spot near the
entrance.
Half dragging her bag behind her, she staggers away the car and runs toward the entrance.
Chloe throws open the door of the emergency room and rushes toward the front desk. A sleepy-eyed nurse
looks up at her.
"My father, Gabe Sullivan..."
"You must be Chloe. He was really concerned about you when he was first brought in." The nurse rises
and beckons Chloe to follow.
The two women stop outside the door of one of the hospital rooms. Chloe sees her father through the glass
panel in the door. A sleeping Gabe Sullivan has a cast on his right arm and a series of scratches on his face.
"Dad?"
"He's fine. The doctors used a mild sedative to help him rest. It's fast approaching visiting hours so if you
want to sit with him..."
Chloe has already opened the door and stepped inside before the nurse can finish the sentence. The girl
grabs a chair from near the doorway and plants it at her father's bedside. He stirs but does not wake.
Chloe gently pulls the blanket up and over Gabe's exposed hands.
"What have I gotten us into to, Dad?" She asks softly.
by linda-seton
Chloe locks the door of the house behind her and hustles down the sidewalk toward her car. She notices
the rivulets of orange cutting across the dark blue horizon. It is dawn and she hasn't slept in forever.
She fights with the door and manages to slide behind the wheel of her car. Concentrating on each action,
Chloe puts the key in the ignition, revs the car to life and begins her journey to the hospital.
Rolling down the window, she edges out a few inches and lets the cool air revive her. After a moment she
settles back behind the wheel.
She extends her hand and her fingers rest on the radio dial. She glances over at her bag and then digs out a
random tape. She fumbles the recorder and hits fast forward and rewind indiscriminately before managing
to find play.
A male voice, with a sort of sergeant-at-bootcamp quality, rattles on, "Let me see if I have all the details.
Your friends, if you want to call them that, were picked up a few blocks from the accident. All tested
positive for heroin and XTC. And all of them said you were driving. You rich kids are always the same.
Denying responsibility."
There is the sound of someone drinking water.
"I was driving. And I hadn't been using either heroin or ecstasy."
"No, but you had, what? $5,000 worth of cocaine in your system and in your pockets?"
"Closer to $10,000, actually."
"Are you getting off on this?"
"Talking to you? Hate to disappoint you, but not really."
There's the sound of something heavy striking the table and rattling the tape recorder.
Lex sighs. "Very nice. There's nothing like a pointless display of violence to inspire me to tell the truth. I
have a feeling you're not going to believe me no matter what I say."
"Try me."
"What do you want to know?"
"How it happened."
"Which 'it'? My acquiring the cocaine? The party? The accident?"
"Why cocaine, Lex? Isn't that a little 1982?"
"I'm guessing, just guessing mind you, that hashish is probably your drug of choice." There is no response
and Lex continues. "People who smoke a lot of pot have your same problem keeping on topic."
"As opposed to someone on coke?"
"I'm doing my best to answer your questions."
"Right. But you didn't answer my question."
"Which, 'why cocaine' or 'where I got the cocaine' or 'the party' or 'the accident'?"
There is a long pause.
"You're all the same." There's the sound of paper being shuffled. "How about these pictures? She went
completely through the windshield."
There is a prolonged silence and when Lex speaks his voice has a monotone quality. "I didn't find out her
name until about a week afterwards. She had just met..."
"Jude Royce. We got that from one of the waiters at the party."
"She had just met Jude and we all decided to leave the party and go to a club."
"And you decided to drive rather than take a cab."
"Cab drivers, like waiters, talk to reporters."
"So, this was all about keeping your name out of the paper?"
"Yes. It really worked didn't it?"
"Do you think this is funny?"
"No."
"Tell me about the accident, Lex. Or as much as you remember of it."
There is the stuttering sound of a chair being moved and then Lex begins, "We were making the turn onto a
one way street, 28th. The business district at 2:30AM is completely deserted and when you come off of
Wilcox you've got that steep dip and that long, rolling incline toward the river."
"You were going 97 miles per hour when the police first spotted you. Did you ever even see the patrol
car?"
"No, all I saw..." Lex trails off. There is a good two minutes of silence and then he begins again. "We
were midway down 28th and I noticed them for the first time."
"What?"
"Did you know that painted on the curb the entire length of 28th Street are directional arrows. They're
about a foot long, yellow reflective paint."
"What does this have to do with anything?"
"They were apparently put there in the 1920s and the Historical Society repaints them every other July.
And as I was driving I just kept looking to the right and to the left. Watching each individual arrow flow
into the next."
"All very pretty but meaningless, Lex."
"That's what cocaine is for me doctor. You asked after all. Unless you've lost interest in that question.
Cocaine allowed me to see each individual arrow and not just the smear of a pattern. Cocaine offered me a
sense of clarity. And that's all I've ever really wanted."
"And what you wanted to cost Veronica Sellars her life."
"I was trying to tell Jude about the arrows. I looked into the backseat and I saw him unbuckle Veronica's
seatbelt and pull her over into his lap. I looked ahead and we were at the end of the street. All I could see
were the three arrows painted at the point where 28th merges with Weyburn. I could go straight out onto
the bridge or veer to the right or left. I tried to go straight, lost control and the car slammed into the metal
pylons at the entrance of the bridge."
"And you were the only one not hurt."
Lex says nothing and the doctor drums his fingers on the table.
The sound is mirrored by the soft thud of the tires of Chloe's car going over the speed bump in the parking
lot of the medical center. She clicks off the tape and manages to squeeze her car into a spot near the
entrance.
Half dragging her bag behind her, she staggers away the car and runs toward the entrance.
Chloe throws open the door of the emergency room and rushes toward the front desk. A sleepy-eyed nurse
looks up at her.
"My father, Gabe Sullivan..."
"You must be Chloe. He was really concerned about you when he was first brought in." The nurse rises
and beckons Chloe to follow.
The two women stop outside the door of one of the hospital rooms. Chloe sees her father through the glass
panel in the door. A sleeping Gabe Sullivan has a cast on his right arm and a series of scratches on his face.
"Dad?"
"He's fine. The doctors used a mild sedative to help him rest. It's fast approaching visiting hours so if you
want to sit with him..."
Chloe has already opened the door and stepped inside before the nurse can finish the sentence. The girl
grabs a chair from near the doorway and plants it at her father's bedside. He stirs but does not wake.
Chloe gently pulls the blanket up and over Gabe's exposed hands.
"What have I gotten us into to, Dad?" She asks softly.