Part Four: A Series of Unfortunate Events

There was nothing but pain, and pain engulfed her every sense. She was being torn apart from the inside, every atom pulling apart from its neighbor, farther and farther until suddenly she was whole again, and the pain was gone, replaced by a numbness that pervaded every cell. She tried to open her eyes, move her fingers, but nothing responded. Suddenly, green light, starting as nothing but a pinpoint, but expanding with startling rapidity into an all-consuming brightness… Malevolence surrounded her; chanting voices rose in unison, promising everlasting torment.

After an eternity compressed into seconds she found herself conscious but still unable to move, surrounded by madmen in robes with glowing eyes. One of them gestured sharply, and she fell out of the air. She screamed…

Catherine woke with a start and struggled to sit upright, unsure of where she was. After a moment's panic she sighed and shook her head, then looked at the digital alarm clock she'd bought a few days before. Sure enough, it was four in the morning, and she knew from experience nothing in the world would be enough to get her back to sleep.

With every light in her apartment on it was easier to remember that she wasn't still in the clutches of the Circle of Thorns, and that they weren't about to sacrifice her to some horrible god to bring about an even more horrible demon, but even in the safety of her apartment she could still hear their chants and see the malice in their eyes.

She shuddered and rubbed her wrist, which ached despite the fact it had healed fully more than two months ago.

It was far too quiet, that was certain. That needed to change

.* * * *

Later that day, as Catherine was about to take a lunch break from her job as a cashier at the local supermarket she caught a glimpse of someone she hadn't seen in awhile- Liz Moore. She hurriedly packed the last few items for her last customer, practically ran into the employee's lounge to punch out and darted back, hoping her friend hadn't left the store.

Her luck held, and she spotted Liz in the entryway scanning the notice board there. Catherine grinned, then quietly walked up and tapped her on the shoulder. "Find anything interesting?"

Liz shrieked and whirled around, handbag in hand, ready to fight and found Catherine with her hands in front of her, looking surprised. "Don't do that! I hate it when people do that."

"I'm sorry, I had no idea." Catherine put her hands down and breathed a sigh of relief. "It's good to see you! Where have you been? We've missed you at bowling."

Liz laughed and ran her hand through her hair. "I've been busy. I've still got my job at the salon, and I'm going to night school now at Paragon University, trying to get my Bachelors in Business Administration."

"Excuse me ladies, is everything okay here?" said an elderly man in a dark blue security uniform. "I heard a scream from this direction."

Catherine turned red. "Everything's fine. Just a prank gone wrong."

The security guard scowled at Catherine. "I know you work here. You should know better."

She nodded and looked sheepish. "I know. I'm sorry."

The guard nodded back. "Have a good day." He then turned and went back into the store.

There was a moment of awkward silence. "Well then," said Catherine. "You should join me for lunch. Do you have the time?"

"Well, I came to get groceries, but that can wait until after my shift. Any place in particular?"

Catherine shrugged as the two walked out into the warm sunshine of a summer day. "There's a burger place nearby. That's where I usually go."

Liz wrinkled her nose. "Hmm… do they have a vegetarian option?"

"They do."

"Let's go then!"

The duo chatted lightly as they walked together down the street, catching up on the events of the past month. Once they reached the restaurant they took their place in the surprisingly short line. A few minutes later, food in hand, they sat at an outdoor table on the sidewalk under the shade of a red and white umbrella.

About halfway through her cheeseburger, Catherine yawned, and Liz raised an eyebrow. "You look tired."

"I didn't sleep well last night."

The eyebrow went higher. "Your eyes are red. Are you okay?"

Catherine took a bite of her sandwich before answering. "I'm fine. Things are a little stressful for me right now, is all."

Liz looked worried, but held whatever she was going to say in favor of finishing her veggie burger.

"I really am fine," Catherine said. "And I've got tomorrow off, so I'm going to spend most of it asleep."

"You're off on a Thursday?"

Catherine nodded. "My shift is just that, shifted. I've got tomorrow and Friday off, but I work Saturday and Sunday."

"Weird."

Catherine shrugged. "It works."

She glanced down at the digital watch on her wrist, then blinked and squinted at it. According to it, it was eight o'clock in the morning. She sighed and shook her head. For some reason electronics had a tendency to malfunction around her. "Do you know what time it is?"

Liz glanced at her own watch. "It's almost one."

"Oh, man, I've got to go." She quickly scribbled a series of numbers onto an unused napkin. "Here's my number. Call me, okay?"

Liz tucked the scrap into her purse. "Of course."

Catherine gathered her trash and got up, leaving Liz to finish her meal, then did her best impression of a champion power-walker back down the street to her job

Mind a thousand miles away, Catherine was brought back to reality when several sets of hands reached out from an otherwise deserted side street and dragged her into it. She stiffened and closed her eyes, too terrified to even think about screaming.

A male voice. "Come on, we gotta get out of here. We're gonna get spotted if you don't move your ass faster."

"We're gonna get spotted if you don't shut up." This voice was female.

"Both of you shut up and help me get her up here." A different, deeper, male voice.

At that Catherine opened her eyes and thrashed frantically, trying to dislodge her captors. "I don't have anything you want, I swear!"

The Damned standing on the lowest platform of the fire escape above her laughed. "I've been told otherwise, babe."

She screamed, only to be cut off when he reached down and grabbed her by the throat. She pulled at his hands, trying to loosen them enough to get even a tiny bit of air, but his position and grip meant that she had no chance. After a minute, her struggles stopped.

By the time Catherine came to, gasping for air, the Hellions that had assaulted her were long gone. Even so, she examined the area around her as best as she could without actually having to move. Absolutely sure she was alone she carefully pushed herself upright and groaned. Her whole body ached, but the pain was worst in her throat, making it hard to even breathe. She groaned and put her head between her knees, hoping the nausea would pass. It did, even if it wasn't as quickly as she hoped, and she was soon checking herself for injuries.

Her jeans were torn and her arms and shins were covered in scrapes and bruises, but other than that she seemed to be unhurt. That was something at least. Her belongings were another story though- her purse, with her keys and wallet inside, was missing. She sighed and put her head in her hands.

After a few minutes she regained control of herself and started a search for the fire escape, which didn't take long. She clambered down the rickety contraption and after a moment's thought started down the street, headed towards her job.

As soon as she stepped back into the store a manager who happened to be nearby flagged her down. "Catherine! Where have you been? You're half an hour late!"

"I- I'm sorry. I uh, I got jumped by the Hellions. They stole my purse."

The manager, Jason, short and heavyset with graying hair, frowned and hustled her into his office. "Have you called the PPD?"

Catherine shook her head. "No… I, uh, woke up, and I came here. I'm fine, I think."

Jason's frown deepened. "If you passed out, you need to be seen by a doctor."

"I'm fine, really. I can finish my shift."

Jason would hear nothing of it, and Catherine soon found herself back at Chiron Medical Center.

A few days later Catherine returned home from work, a grocery bag in each arm, to find police and fire trucks parked in the courtyard of her apartment complex. She stopped just short of the police line and scanned the area, trying to catch someone's eye as a trickle of dread ran down her back. A policeman standing off to one side caught sight of her from the corner of his eye and looked up from his clipboard and the paperwork he'd been filling out. "Ma'am, do you live here?"

"Yes, I do. What happened?"

"There's been a fire. What apartment are you in?"

"314."

The policeman lifted the yellow tape in between them. "Ma'am, if you'll come with me…"

Almost an hour later Catherine found herself escorted to the charred remains of what had been her apartment. In shock, she slowly picked through the sodden mess, trying to find something, anything, salvageable. To her dismay, everything she had come to think of as valuable- half a dozen small wooden figurines of various animals, the whole box of supplies that Portal Corp had provided to her, a dozen worn paperbacks, were all gone. It was the loss of the portable DVD player that Noel had loaned to her the day before, however, that was the last straw, and she leaned up against the counter and cried, unable to hold back her tears any longer.

Noel stopped by not long after the police left, and to Catherine's relief not only offered her a place to stay for the night but waved off the loss of her DVD player.

By mutual agreement that night turned into movie night spent on the overstuffed couch with a bowl of popcorn between them. First up was a sci-fi action flick featuring a mutating virus and the ragtag band of heroes formed to find a cure, then a time-traveling romance involving the end of the world. As the credits for the second movie rolled their conversation turned to the future.

Catherine sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I don't even know what to do now," she said. "My paycheck isn't going to cover everything."

"Didn't the police say it was an arson?"

Catherine nodded. "It was probably the Hellions- I told you they stole my purse the other day, right? I told the police I think they're targeting me, but I don't think they believed me."

Noel straightened out and sat up from where she had been sprawled on her side of the couch. "No, you didn't. What happened?"

There was a pause. "I got jumped by the Hellions. One of them… when I woke up, they were gone, and they had my purse."

"They tried to kill you? Oh man, I wish I had been there."

Catherine chuckled at that, then sobered. "It was weird. It sounded like they were after something in particular."

"Oh really?"

Catherine shrugged. "The Damned that was there, he said something like, 'he'd been told otherwise' when I said I didn't have anything they wanted."

"Definetely weird." Noel yawned and checked the time. "It's late. Time to call it a night?"

"Yeah. Tomorrow is going to be a long day."

The next morning Noel wandered out of her bedroom, dressed in a long grey t-shirt and matching baggy shorts, to find Catherine already awake and seated at the dining room table, eating a bowl of cereal.

"Morning sleepyhead." Catherine said with a smile.

Noel raised an eyebrow, and her friend shrugged. "I couldn't sleep."

Noel frowned. "Still, or again?"

"I plead the fifth."

The frown deepened. "That's not normal, you know."

Catherine shrugged again. "I still owe you an omelet. Do you want one?" Without waiting for Noel to answer she got up from the remains of her breakfast and began rummaging through the refrigerator. "I know I saw eggs in here when I was looking for the milk..." There was a sigh from behind her, which she ignored in favor of finding the rest of what she needed.

When she turned around again, Noel was nowhere to be found, which suited her just fine. So what she hadn't slept well since she had arrived in this insane place? Somehow she didn't think anyone who'd been through what she had would sleep either, and it wasn't like it was affecting her daily life much. She was holding down a job just fine, wasn't she? Which reminded her. "Do you mind if I use your phone?" she called. "I need to tell my boss I won't be in today."

"Go ahead."

One phone call later and Catherine was off the hook for the day.

After a few minutes the sound of the shower told Catherine where her friend had gone, and by the time Noel came back out of her room, hair wrapped in a towel and wearing jeans and a collared shirt, her omelet was ready on the table.

Catherine grabbed a banana as Noel sat down to her meal and the two ate in silence until finally Noel put down her fork and turned to look at her friend. "Need anything from me today?"

Catherine thought for a second before shaking her head. "I don't think so. I need to talk to Mr. Logan about my new lease, then to the thrift store to replace what I can, then… I don't know." She sighed and leaned back in her chair. "I'm going to need a second job, that's for certain."

"I'll go with you over to the leasing office," offered Noel. "I need to renew my lease myself."

"You don't have a gig today?"

"No, not for the next few days."

"The leasing office should be open soon," Catherine said, and looked at her watch, which she'd reset in the hopes it would work longer than a few days at a time. "Now, even."

Noel finished the last of her omelet and put her dishes in the sink. "I'm ready when you are."

"Let's go then."

The two left their building and headed down the street in amiable silence. Noel seemed content to enjoy the early morning sun, but Catherine was on edge, constantly looking around and behind her, jumping at every noise louder than a footstep.

"Relax," Noel said with a smile. "No one is out to get you."

"It certainly doesn't seem that way," Catherine muttered darkly. "This place is insane."

Noel laughed. "It's your 'place' now too, you know."

"Not helping."

Much to Catherine's relief they made it to the leasing office unharmed, and soon one new lease was made up and another renewed. As the two stood to leave Mr. Logan stopped them.

"Come with me. I have something to show you."

Catherine and Noel exchanged glances and followed as the manager unlocked a nearby door, flicked on the lights, and stood aside.

Catherine gasped at what she saw inside: a large cardboard box filled to overflowing with blankets and clothes and food and other odds and ends. Overwhelmed, unable to speak, she simply looked at the box, then at Mr. Logan, then back at the box. It had never occurred to her that anyone else knew that it was her apartment that had been targeted, or even cared enough to want to help someone in need. It had simply been her problem.

There was a long moment of silence, only broken when Catherine turned to Noel. "You knew!"

Noel put her hands up innocently. "I swear I had no idea."

"The Resident's Association put everything together," said Mr. Logan. "They're the ones to thank."

Catherine nodded absently, still trying to come to terms with things. "I'll have to do that."

There was another pause, then, "Um, how heavy is that box? I don't think I'm going to be able to carry it alone."

"I'd offer you a ride, but my truck is in the shop today," said Mr. Logan.

"It can't be that bad," said Noel. "The two of us can handle it." As proof she knelt and picked it up with a grunt, then looked over at Catherine. "I've got it. Let's go."

Catherine looked dubious. "If you're sure."

Mr. Logan bid them a good day and held the door for them as they exited back onto the tree-lined street. They walked in silence, Catherine lost in her own thoughts and Noel busy concentrating on not dropping the rapidly heavier than she expected box. Neither woman paid any attention to the rustling behind the shoulder high hedge that lined the inner side of the sidewalk until it was too late.