***Miles***
One week had gone by. One week of hearing what I could from Walrider, one week of healing, and one week of police custody. It was strange, I hadn't seen or talked to Waylon this entire time, but I knew how he was, I'd even seen into dream or two. I'm not sure exactly how, but I did. He wasn't doing well, his wife was dead and his children were missing and he blames himself. I couldn't imagine what that must be like; all I know is that every time I've looked at him he's been coming to terms with it more and more. Now it seems like the only thing that's keeping him together is his resolve to find his boys and get revenge.
I myself was physically ok, which did concern me. People don't usually heal from a broken fibula in a week. All the flesh wounds were gone as well, according to Fin I wasn't taking in any meds from the machine except periodic amounts of morphine. And I only seemed to eat half the hospital food with no weight loss. He was stumped; the sheriff was suspicious, but chalked it up to drugs. The 'agents' said mysteriously little, and the cops that guarded my room had started rumors amongst themselves, but I knew what was behind it.
I was in a legal gray zone, the hospital wasn't supposed to release a suspect from custody until some amount of time had passed, but I was completely fine in half the time the state required me to be there, so I was just sort of… here. Waiting, plotting my escape. There was no way I was going to prison and I had a feeling Waylon was thinking along the same lines. It was Friday night that I decided to put my little plan into action.
I lay in my hospital bed just like normal, staring at the cop on guard, it had become a habit of mine; they usually got twitchy after a while and looked for excuses to leave their posts, I'd been at this for three days straight.
On guard now was an older cop, last name Meyer. He took longer to crack than some of the younger guys, but was extremely superstitious and listened endlessly to the myths the guys had been making about me.
It took over half an hour of me just looking at him before he found an excuse to leave in the form of a passing nurse, whom he struck up conversation with. The second he was out of the hall way I went into action.
"ok, just like I said"
The dense black swarm of the Walrider phased through my skin and gathered around my wrist, slicing through the leather restraint. Quickly I cut through the remaining three cuffs. Now sitting upright I pulled the IV tubes from my body, not spilling a drop of blood from any of the wounds they left behind.
Leaping from the bed I went quickly to the hallway and checked for people. No one was there. Stepping out the door I turned to the right, I had a vague idea of where Waylon's room was, thanks to some extracurricular snooping.
I was walking down a long hallway, noting that there were too few places to hide. Waylon's room should be further down, just pass a nurses station. Half way down the hall I can to the opened nurses area. Peering my head around the corner I could see the weedy Dr. Fin talking with another doctor and a nurse at the desk. Moving back around the corner I caught the tail end of their conversation.
"…ok, see you guys later, I have to go make my rounds"
"Same here, bye"
Someone's footsteps were getting louder, moving quickly I opened the first door I came to and slipped inside. It was a family restroom, containing only one toilet and sink. I would have to wait out whoever it was, get Waylon, then get out. I stood in the room and held my breath as the person drew near to the door.
My heart skipped a beat when the door opened.
It was Dr. Fin.
"Wha-?"
I grabbed him by the coat collar, slammed the door shut, and bashed him against the wall.
I dropped him on contact
"Oh my god, I'm so sorry."
"uhg, ah…Miles?"
"Shhhhh" I held my remaining index finger to my lips
"What are you-"
I clamped a hand over his mouth. "please be quiet"
Shit. Shitshitshitshit. What was I supposed to do now?
Like I said before, we could just kill him.
No. You aren't killing the doctor
He was mumbling something behind my hand. While he seemed panicked, it wasn't as panicked as one should be when confronted by an accused criminal in the bathroom in the middle of the night.
He pulled my hand down and gasped out a few words "What are you doing here?"
"I..."
"Oh, you're trying to escape." He pushed himself into the wall as far as he could, but looked me level in the eyes.
"Well, I'm just a scrawny bookish doctor type, and you're a bank robber SWAT hunter criminal. Far be it for me to get in your way." He scooted away from the door. Was he letting me go?
"Thank you" I was sincere
"Thank me for what? I'm just a guy in the bathroom who in no way saw an escaping criminal."
It looked like there were still good people in the world after all. Taking the hint I left the bathroom and snuck past the nurses station. It's good to know that at least someone believed me, there's no way Fin would have turned a blind eye if he didn't buy at least a little bit of the truth.
I was nearing Waylons room only to find that the cop who was stationed there wouldn't be so easy to get rid of.
It was good old Joe. He's proven himself to be quite the asshole over the last week, it seemed like every time he was in my room Dr. Fin had to be called in to calm the situation down, and even then there were usually a few more harsh words and I had to literally beat the Walrider down with a stick to keep it from going after the men.
I doubted I could take him on in a fight, I could probably do it physically now- what with the Walrider's power- but I didn't want to turn him into a postmodern stain on the wall. I'd have to be more subtle about this.
Ok, you're going to have to follow my instructions to the letter here.
And what are they?
I need you to make an appearance, but you can't touch anybody. You got that, no funny business.
…where do I need to be?
In Waylon's room, I need a full body terrifying appearance, but don't actually touch anyone.
In there?
Yes in there, but are you listening to me? Do. Not. Hurt. Anyone.
You're no fun.
With that the swarm phased through the skin on my arms and gathered into haze in the hallway. I don't think I'll ever get used to the slimy, oily feeling that came with the Walrider moving into the world around me.
The Walrider moved down the hall and filtered under the door. Through the window I could see the lights of the room flickering, Joe glanced up at, I could see Waylon tensing, probably remembering some of his own ordeals in the asylum. Only then did I realize that I was probably going to scare the living shit out of him too.
"Sorry about this Waylon" I muttered under my breath
In the room the lights were set flickering. After a mere second of that the curtain rods began to shake and rattle. Joe was clearly agitated, yelling at Waylon, who was fighting against the restraints on his bed. The poltergeist activity in the room got worse with monitors sparking and releasing smoke. The light bulbs in the room popped and rained their burning residue to the ground.
All movement in the room stopped.
Then a mist started to form. A dark cloud congealed in the center of the room, floating free in the air. The cloud took shape, twisting into the form of a man with no face, a body stripped of skin and made of exposed muscle. The dreaded figure of the Walrider hung in midair.
Joe had his back against the wall, I couldn't see his face but I could imagine the fear that must have been in his eyes. It must have been a great thing to see.
It must have been a terrible thing to see. The Walrider glided around the room like a kite in the breeze, then it went freaking haywire and charged Joe. He grasped at the door, fought with the knob for a second, then rushed into the hall. He sprinted the other way, probably without any idea of where he was going. I probably didn't have much time now, but it would take a while for him to find anyone who would believe that he had a ghost sighting.
Moving quickly I went to the now wide open door. The Walrider still hung midair in the room, I simply walked through it, only to have the swarm dissipate and slither back into my skin.
"Come on, time to go." I said as I undid the restraints on his hands.
"Wha-uhh, Miles?" he seemed scared, surprised, and weary as he rubbed his wrists.
"Ya it's me, I know, I know, freaky Walrider appearance, whatever. Lets get out of here." I had undone all the leather shackles and held out a hand to help him from the bed.
He took it and said "We need to find my boys, I'm not going anywhere without them"
I pulled him up, "there not here, trust me, I would know if they were."
He looked like he wanted to ask me how but I cut him off.
"Look, it won't be long before someone notices I'm gone, we need to get the hell out of here" I walked to the door, only to have him follow.
The hallway was still empty although I could hear chatter from the nurses station. I ushered Waylon to the right where there should be a door.
We were both silent, I was pulling on instinct that served me well in the asylum, I'm pretty sure Waylon was too. We turned the corner. The hall was long with doors on either side, but is was empty and at the far end were glass sliding doors that lead to a parking lot. Half way down the hall I was thinking that this was too easy, but I didn't question it.
The two of us went down the hall without so much as a whisper. The doors slid open like a couple of pearly gates and we were out.
It was the middle of the night, probably some ungodly hour in the morning, the lot was devoid of life and nearly empty of cars. I had to admit I hadn't planned much past this point, I knew I had to get to the police station and find the cameras in the evidence lock up, but I didn't know where that was or how we would get there. Waylon on the other hand seemed to have an idea.
He walked, rather stiffly, to the nearest car and pulled at the handle. The thing happened to be unlocked, he looked up and waved me over.
I sunk into the passenger seat, then turned to look at him "Hey great we can get in, but there aren't any keys."
Without a word he popped a panel from under the steering wheel, took a second to fiddle with some wires, then looked up as the engine rumbled to life.
I couldn't help but chuckle "Two car thefts in a week, you're starting to form a habit Waylon"
He commented back "my roommate in college was an electrical engineer, we both liked cars and he was kind of sketchy"
I'd have to dig into Waylon's past later.
"In the mean time we need to find the police station"
"Any idea where it is?" he pulled the sedan onto the nearest street.
"Not one, but this towns so small it's only got two stop lights, it can't be that hard to find."
He didn't reply and instead drove down the darkened road. I didn't move to turn on the radio and I couldn't bring myself to look out the window and distract myself, so I did what came naturally and talked.
"Hey Waylon, we'll find your boys. It'll be ok."
"How did you know-?" he stopped himself took a second to think then went on "It's not ok, nothing about this is ok."
"I know, but we can get your kids back, then we can make sure that Murkoff burns to the ground."
Do you really mean that?
Figuratively.
Waylon gave a heavy sigh "You know, while I was in the asylum I thought about destroying the camera, not telling anyone about what happened there. I thought that evil like that should just be left to rot and burn itself out. But now I realize that things like that don't just go away, they have to be taken down screaming and kicking. First we find my sons, then we wipe the name Murkoff off the face of the planet."
He didn't look up from the road while he gave his ultimatum, but I could feel the intensity coming off him in waves. He was a man on a mission, and I would be glad to help.
I'm starting to like him.