Well i was sick today, so about 80 percent of this chapter was written and thought up today in my free time. 2000 words later i hope that I've made up my absence from posting for you all. Enjoy!
Collins sighed deeply. How could he possibly have been so careless. Well, it couldn't really have been ALL his fault. There was a party and he had drank many many times before. What was different about this time? A sudden coldness crept over him and made him shiver severely. Dear God… He almost died! Collins' mind recoiled at this thought. There was a momentary feeling of vertigo and insanity coursing throughout his being. Then it was over and his mind returned to normal.
"Get a frickin' grip on yourself Tom!" Collins shouted to himself. He realized he had a death grip on his bed sheet and slowly let go. Should the thought of death really be that scary to him? He had been around death so much in the past couple of years he should have inherited the thousand yard stare by now. All of his friends from Life Support slowly dying one by one, and Collins knew that he himself was one of them. Had he been trying to take his own life at that party? No, it couldn't have been. He would never do anything like that to himself would he?
Too many questions. He had to keep his mind from working for awhile. He took as big of a breath as he dared to take and called for a Nurse. He could hear the Nurse sigh from the next bed over; apparently she wasn't having the best of days to start with.
"What can I do for you Mr. Collins?" Her voice was high pitched and extremely nasal. The noise grated his eardrums just to listen. Damn, and he was trying to get rid of a headache.
"I was wondering when I'm allowed to leave. I'd hate to be here all Christmas."
"Now Mr. Collins…" Collins began to pray she would keep it short for his head's sake. "You know that the Doctor said you'd have to spend the night. We'll let you leave first thing in the morning." She wheezed. She did keep it short but not short enough.
"Thank you Nurse." The nurse nodded at this and walked out of the room. Looked like he's be spending Christmas in a hospital bed. Damn. He reclined his bed back into a horizontal position to sleep, and began wondering what the others were doing.
It was almost 7:00 back at the flat with Roger still teasing Mark. "Hey Mark, you forgetting something?"
"What are you talking about now Roger? I TOLD you I'd call her TOMMORROW. 45 minutes doesn't quite make a day you know."
"No Mark I'm over that, though it was pretty funny. I mean your meeting with Buzzline!" Meeting? Buzzline? Mark shot a glance at the clock. Roger almost didn't see Mark leave, but he heard something as Mark left the room that sounded kinda like "Son of a bitch".
His meeting was in 30 minutes and he was running out of time fast. He had to make it quite a long way on his bike if he had any hope of making there in time. If only Joanne was here he could hitch a ride with her, but she was probably busy with Maureen on Christmas. He'd have to fly, and it was time to get started. He mounted his bike, flipped it into high gear and shot off in the direction of the Buzzline building. It still confused him why they wanted him on Christmas of all days. Business people made no sense to Mark. Whatever, he'd find out when he got there.
A familiar face? Yes it was indeed Arella's face! Mark turned and waved to her. She was reading a magazine of some sort on a bench across the street from him. Oh well, he would talk to her tomorrow when he called her. As he turned around he felt a sick sensation in his stomach. His body left the bicycle and went flying into the air. His head flew over his heels and his back hit the pavement as he slid across the ground for a good 5 feet. His lungs were not filling with air. This could potentially be a problem. Mark tried to inhale… nothing. Again? Nothing. He hated this feeling. He felt like if he didn't get a breath soon he was going to pass out.
"Mark! Is that you!" Arella came running across the street to help Mark. Mark rolled over onto his stomach slowly to see where the voice was coming from. Man could that girl dodge traffic. Four lanes and not a scratch on her. Arella knelt beside Mark and asked what was wrong. All Mark could manage to do was smile a little and wheeze some more. "Aww poor baby, you got the wind knocked out of you. Next time try not to rush so much. Comon, lets get you to a bench."
wheeze "Thank…" wheeze "you." Mark managed to choke out feebly.
Arella smiled a beautiful smile, and for a split moment he forgot about the Buzzline meeting and thought purely of the woman sitting beside him. "Now where are you off to in such a hurry honey?" Honey. Ha. Angel used that word so often.
"I have a meeting with some Buzzline Executives tonight to discuss my Documentary I was telling you about."
"On Christmas Day?"
"I know, it seems weird to me too, but it's my only source of income right now, so I've got to get there. I had forgotten about it what with all that has happened today, so I must've been careless and ran into that trashcan or something."
"All that has happened? Has it been a bad Christmas for you?" Mark had failed to mention Collins in their little chat at the Café. Somehow it didn't seem like something you told a girl to make a good first impression.
"Quite a bit so. I'd stay and tell you about it but I have to go. I need to be there in…" Mark glanced at a nearby church clock tower "15 minutes."
"Well I could give you a ride if you need one. My car is just around the corner. It's Christmas so there shouldn't be too many people on the road or I would agree that riding a bike is quicker." There was that smile again.
"Are you sure you wouldn't mind?"
"Not at all Mark. But we'd better hurry. Time doesn't stop for anyone." She smiled again and pulled Mark off his feet, grabbed him by the hand and drug him around the corner to a shabby looking 1979 AMC Pacer. 11 years and this thing was still running? Many people considered this car a joke car almost. It seemed to be in fairly good condition though. Most of the turquoise paint was still intact, the tires were fairly new, but the wheels were still the original. One windshield wiper was missing from the passenger side. The back of the car looked like it had been totaled at one point and manually beaten back into a somewhat normal shape. Guess she wouldn't be carrying anything in the car besides people. After Mark strapped the Bike to the top of the car he stepped into the car. The front seats had minor tears and scratches all over them, but nothing major. "I know it isn't much, but it gets me where I need to go."
"Ha, at least you have a car. My bike is all I have to transport me where I need."
"And most of the time it's quicker than a car." She laughed. Arella tried to start the car, with the keyword being tried. It coughed and sputtered for a little and then went dead. "Does it all the time. Just gotta give it some love." She cranked the key again with the same effect. One more try and it started up, but died immediately.
"Well, thanks for the offer, but it looks like your having some technical difficulties at the moment, and I really have to get going." Mark said almost apologetically. She ignored him and turned the key one last time. The car sputtered, spat, coughed, and started up!
"Losing faith in me already are you?" She shot him a smirk. "I told you it would work. Hop in. If we don't hurry you won't make it in time." Mark saw that she was right. They only had about twelve minutes until he had to be there.
"I hope you don't mind driving like a maniac. The building is quite a ways away from here."
"Speed is what I live for honey." Arella winked a moment before she slammed on the gas and sped off down the street.
"Your going to miss this turn!" Mark had to yell over the loudness of the exhaust on the car. Apparently the muffler was long gone.
"Like hell I am!" She cranked the steering wheel like Mark had never seen. The back tires slid out from under the car, which was now in a drift state. She took the turn like a pro.
"Holy!" Mark didn't have time to finish the sentence; Arella was already speeding 55-60 in New York City. Thank god there wasn't much traffic or the two would have been dead long ago. After 5 more straight minutes of dodging traffic and weaving through intersections, the shoddy car came to a sudden stop at the correct destinations: the Buzzline Media building. Had the wind been knocked out of him again? Mark was in a state of shock and disbelief that no cops had tried to stop them.
"Where did you learn to drive like that!"
"Driving just has always come naturally to me."
"No kidding! That was amazing. I guess you don't mind driving like a maniac. Lucky we didn't get caught by any cops though."
"My father is a cop so I get all my information from him. I know where all the police are stationed around here most of the time. Daddy tends to tell me when things change too. He likes to keep me out of trouble." Arella giggled to herself. She was enjoying watching Mark's reaction. Actually her Father was a little further up in the chain than just an average cop. He was actually in charge of her entire district.
"I suppose certain connections gain special privileges. I guess I owe you one for this. What would you say to dinner tomorrow at my place?" The words just kinda fell out of Mark's mouth. He was a little shocked at what he just said. If this would have been any other girl, Mark would already be in the Buzzline building with only a Thank you to leave behind. He was even more surprised at the reaction he got from Arella.
"I'd love to." She said with another one of her beautiful smiles. Arella was almost just as shocked at Mark. This guy had only come into her life today yet she was already making plans to meet him at his house the next night. Things were moving a little fast, but it wasn't like they were planning on getting married already or anything like that. It was just two people that took an interest in eachother. "But your not going to set one foot in the building until you tell me what has happened today."
"Well, I guess I have time since you got me here so quick, but I'll have to make this fast cause I still need to get in there." Mark went on the explain everything that had happened the night before. He didn't name any names except Collins' because he was the only one really important in the story. Everyone else he simply referred to as "some friends". Even thought apparently most of them knew about Arella, that didn't mean that she needed to know about all of them. It was going to be hard to bring her into the family if Mark ever got that far with her. He knew he would be bringing her into a world of pain and death, which was going to be difficult to do to a girl like Arella. Mark almost felt selfish for wanting to be with her, but it was something he was going to have to get over if he wanted to be happy. After all, everyone was happy for him right?
Arella couldn't quite think of what to say to such a story. A friend almost dieing of alcohol poisoning was much worse than she thought it would be. "Ohh, Mark I'm so sorry. I didn't think it was that bad or I wouldn't have asked you to tell me."
"Don't mention it. It's not a big deal. So I'll talk to you tomorrow then?"
Arella looks straight into Mark's eyes and said, "Yeah, I'd like that a lot." After Mark removed his bike from the top of the Pacer, the two said their swift goodbyes and he trudged into the building. It was very later by this point, 7:28 to be exact. Still, he'd be on time.
It was time that Mark told the Execs how he really felt about working for them. All that he had were his words and his Camera to back him up, but it would have to be enough. Hopefully the ATM idea would come through for them and everything would be fine. Mark was betting a lot on uncertainties, but he had always lived life on the edge anyway. All he would have to do is tell them off and walk out the door with his dignity and his soul back in his possession. It wasn't going to be too tough was it? Well he wasn't going to find out by just standing there. Mark slowly stepped into the elevator, and pressed the button for the 23rd floor.
Well, there it is for you... Please Review!
