Author's Comments: Wait. It gets worse.

Chapter Nineteen

The trip had started out nerve-rattling yet uneventful, and Olivia had put one foot in front of the other and marched herself down the street to the store. It was only half a block away, but it only took a few steps for the voices to start up in her head. At first she thought maybe someone was talking behind her, but she turned, and nobody was there. She brought her hands up to her ears, trying to shut out the disturbing chatter.

At the store, she was able to get the half-gallon container of milk, and even pull out a ten-dollar bill with her shaking hand, passing it to the cashier with darting eyes. He narrowed his eyes at her, and she tried to avoid eye contact. He placed the change in her trembling hand, bagging her milk for her quickly so she could dart out the door.

Outside, she tucked the milk under her arm so she could cover her ears again, although it didn't help at all. She clenched her eyes shut a little too long, and almost knocked over a young woman, dropping her milk in the process. Instead of getting mad, the girl took one look at her and said, "Do you need help?"

Olivia shook her head and trotted off down the sidewalk, barely registering the fact that the woman had knelt down to help pick up the milk still lying on the pavement. There were footsteps behind her, but the person kept dodging into doorways and alleys, because every time Olivia turned to see who it was, there was nobody. She flinched when she thought someone touched her shoulder.

She couldn't lead them to her apartment. They might find Noah, take him away, do horrible things to her and Lucy in front of him. She had to find a public place to go instead.

She kept walking, jogging at times, sometimes covering her ears, oftentimes glancing behind her, until she reached her favorite local bar. She would be safe in here, as long as she stayed out in the open and didn't go into the bathroom.

Darting into the bar and up to the counter, she glanced down at her quaking hands, wishing her hydrocodone weren't wearing off. But the effects of it were disappearing fast, adrenaline quickly replacing the codeine in her bloodstream. Her gut twisted up into knots, and she had to remember to slow her breathing, or dizziness might overtake her. There was only one thing that could steady her right now.

The barmaid recognized her and brought her a beer. "You're here early," she said, sliding the drink to Olivia and taking her money from her.

"Alex, I'm going to go sit at a booth," Olivia said, trying to keep her voice from quivering. She snatched her beer off the counter.

"Sure thing," said the young barmaid.

After two beers, Olivia didn't feel any better, still ducking every time someone walked by her booth. She molded herself into the corner where the booth met the wall and started on her third. Only after finishing the entire thing did she start to relax, feeling floaty and confident, and she thought one more ought to eliminate all the nightmarish cobwebs of traumatic visions and sounds.

After downing the fourth beer, she noticed her own intoxication and couldn't help but wonder if the sounds around her were real or merely products of her own delusions. But it didn't matter anymore, because she stopped dreading them and began to allow them to co-exist with her. She stood up and wandered out the door, brushing past all the people, whether real or imagined, out in the street to face the masses and deal with the ones who might tear her down.

Staggering down the sidewalks of New York, she didn't really pay attention to the street signs, and soon she was in a neighborhood she didn't quite recognize. It may have been the East Village, but it didn't matter. As long as she kept moving, kept trekking, she could stay ahead of the footsteps, ahead of the voices. Soon the sunlight began to fade behind the skyline, and shadows deepened onto the pavement, forming into ominous shapes that may be nothing, or they may be murderous psychopaths stalking her.

Her palms began to sweat at the thought, and she ducked into an alley to escape the torturous shapes. She could almost feel the whip falling on her back if she didn't move quick enough. A dumpster stuck out into the alleyway, providing the perfect cover for her. She hid behind it, peeking back toward the main street to see who was following her. All she saw was dancing dark figurines passing by the alley, and they could be people or they could be shadows of trees swaying in the wind. Either way, it wasn't safe to go out there.

"Who you hiding from?" a voice said behind her, and she nearly jumped out of her skin.

She turned to see a dark-skinned woman with frizzy hair, a dirt-smeared face and tattered clothes sitting against the wall behind her. But was this woman real, or was she just another image Olivia's mind had conjured up? She decided to answer the woman. "N-nobody. I don't know."

"You look worked up. Need to relax? I can share some smack with you if you got money."

"Um, no thank you," said Olivia, squatting down next to the dumpster. The woman moved to sit next to her, and tried to touch her hair, making Olivia think she must not be real, after all. All the same, she swatted the woman's hand away. It felt real enough.

Olivia peered out past the edge of the dumpster again, trying to decide if she should move on, maybe try to make it home. She could almost feel the woman breathing down her neck, but thought with her own heightened senses, the closeness must be distorted. But now she felt a prick in the crook of her arm, and she said, "Ow!" and tried to pull it away, but the woman had a death grip on her hand. Olivia watched as filthy fingers emptied the contents of a needle into her arm, struggling to free herself, but it was too late.

"Now you owe me," said the frazzled female face before her, and before she knew what hit her, Olivia was floating in space, and nobody could touch her, nothing could reach her, because she was out of her body. She became vaguely aware of a hand digging through her pocket, but she didn't care. She stared up at the stars winking at her through the clouds, inviting her to come play, and she thought she just might join them.