The parking garage was dimly lit by only a few fluorescent lights that flickered on and off as they wished. The first thing that always came to Caden's mind was the movie Saw. She stood close to Silas as she walked to the elevator. Silas was a good six inches taller than her. He looked down at her as the space between them diminished. He felt an odd, over-whelming urge to protect her.

Caden looked around cautiously. One thing she had learned from being raised around big cities- you can never be too careful. She felt an odd connection with the man beside her. He'd seen rough times, she could tell. That's one thing they had in common.

When they reached the elevator, Caden stepped in and pushed the "3" button. Silas stood awkwardly beside her, not knowing how close or far to stand away from her.
Without any warning, the elevator jerked to a stop. They stood in complete silence and darkness.

"Shit!"

A dim blue light appeared across Caden's face as she opened her cellphone and dialed the number to the front desk.

"Shit!" she said again. "What good is a cell phone if it never fucking works." She walked over to the panel of buttons and held the phone up to a list of emergency procedures written on the wall. She moved the phone down the panel and pressed the red button marked "EMER" for "emergency". The machine jerked back to life and the lights immediately came back on.

"Thank God," Caden said, sitting against the wall. Silas noticed she had gotten incredibly pale. "You might want to sit," Caden said to him. "It's a long five minute ride in this piece of shit."

Silas sat down where he stood. "Are you claustrophobic?" he asked her. Caden gave a wry chuckle.

"No." She took her hair down and ran her fingers through it a few times before putting it back up again. "I'm afraid of the dark," she replied with a sheepish look on her face.

"There's nothing wrong with that."

Caden looked at him with a slightly embarrassed smile. Silas felt the odd feeling to protect her yet again. She looked vulnerable yet there was a cold touch to her. She had been through horrible things. A match made in Heaven…

The elevator stopped, this time were it was supposed to. Caden stepped out and rummaged through her purse for her keys, cursing under her breath as she walked to her apartment door. She finally found them and opened the door to the apartment. It was small, big enough for one tennant.The kitchen and the living room was separated by an island that was cluttered with old newspapers and magazines. The living room was fairly large. On the right wall, there was an entertainment center with a large TV in the center surrounded by a large collection of books and movies. The walls were covered with photos and paintings, many of which were Andy Warhol prints. The rest, Silas figured she'd done herself. Against the left wall was an old flowered couch that looked like it had come from the seventies. There was a small hallway to the right of the entry-way that Silas guessed was Caden's bedroom and the bathroom. Caden tossed the keys and her purse on the counter and opened the refrigerator. She pulled two bottles of Guinness out and slid one over to Silas. "Sorry, it's notreally company-ready. I wasn't really expected anyone anytime soon."

"No, thank you," he replied quickly, in regard to the beer. "I don't drink."

"Oh yeah, the church thing," Caden replied, taking a swig of her drink. "Were you a clergyman or something?"

"Monk."

"What happened?"

Flashes of the memories came flooding back before Silas could stop them. The betrayal. Murder. The last words he'd heard from the Bishop.

"I'd rather not discuss it," he replied as the memories faded.

Caden glanced at the clock on the wall. It was ten minutes until midnight. She walked over to the couch and turned on the TV. "Well, come in. Get comfortable," Caden said as she kicked off her shoes and sat on the couch. She flipped through a few channels before settling on a New Year's special. Silas sat down at the opposite end of the couch. He glanced at the photos that were on the coffee table in front of them. His eyes fixed on one black and white closeup of Caden and a man kissing.

"I like to pretend that's not me," Caden said abruptly, shaking Silas back to conscious thought. "An ex of mine. Psycho." Silas glanced over at her. Her eyes had become distant as she looked at the picture. She looked up at Silas, gave a quick smile, then looked back at the TV. "The past is the past. No use dwelling."

Loud cheers and screams coming from adjacent apartments told them the finalcountdown to New Year's had begun.

"Three..."

"Two..."

"ONE!"

"Happy New Year!"

After the cheers hadn't subsided after about a minute, Caden stood up and shut her window with a frustrated sigh.She walked in one of the rooms in the hallway and retured a few moments later with pillows and a blanket.

"Sorry it's not a pullout. It's pretty comfortable though." She tossed the pillows on the couch and handed the blanket to Silas.

"Thank you, Caden."

Caden looked at him and their eyes locked.

"Mi casa es su casa. If you get hungry or anything," she ushered to the fridge. "Good night, Silas." She walked into her bedroom and leaned against the closed door, pinching the bridge of her nose agian. She never trusted people, especially strangers. Why did she feel the need to help this man? She laid down in her bed and tried to put her restless mind to sleep.

"Caden, would you come here for a moment?"

"Yes, Father Tommy?"

"Caden, you've really shone impeccable strength and faith in the Lord. I'm very proud of you, Caden."

"Thank you, Father." The words gave great power to the twelve year old girl.

"Caden, I want to show you something... Only special children get to see this room... And you are very special, Caden."


Caden sat up immediately, gasping and sweating profusely. It had been years since she had had such graphic memories of her past. It only took her a moment to realize her head was throbbing. She raised a shaky hand to her forehead and rubbed her temples. She looked over at the alarm clock on her bedside table. 3:27. She'd only been asleep for a little over three hours. She stood up slowly and walked out of her bedroom toward the kitchen.She had momentarily forgotten about Silas and she was startled when she saw him asleep on the couch. She slowly walked over to him and knelt beside his sleeping body. He was facing the back of the couch with his arms pulled tightly across his chest and his legs were pulled partially up to his stomach, almost in a fetal position. Caden pulled the blanket over his shoulder and traced a delicate finger over his hairline across his forehead. She smiled to herself for a reason unknown to her. She stood up slowly and walked out into the kitchen. She opened the medicine cabinet and took two Tylenol with a sip fromthe unopened bottle of Guinness on the counter. She winced at the taste of the luke warm alcohol. With one last glance at Silas, she headed back into her bedroom.
Okay dokey. Sorry, this update took a lot longer than I meant it to. My computer crashed and I'm mooching off my roommate by using her laptop. Please disregard any typos. I see that I make a lot of them. Thank you so much for the reviews! Any suggestions for further chapters are greatly appreciated. I kinda have an idea for them, but any idea are welcomed! Cheers!