He finally broke loose from the creature’s grasp and couldn’t think of anything else to do but to open the driver door and make a break for it on foot. He soon realized that he had made a dire mistake. The loud barking noises began behind him from the car. As Bowie grew fainter in the distance, he could hear their footfalls behind him. They were distant at first, but soon he heard them gaining on him. One was coming in from the back, trailing him as he ran and he could hear the other coming up from the side in the shadows on the side of the clearing. They’re flanking me, he thought.
He sprinted across the field back in the direction of the road. He knew that he had to go down the hill and that somehow down meant closer to the Highway. Finally he could just make out the linear path of the road below, but it was too late. He saw the headlights of a car round a curve about three miles away down at what had to be the highway and then they had him.
He heaved as the one from the side pounced on him, knocking the air from his lungs. The alien made a growling gurgle like sound as it now stared face first at Richard. Richard screamed maniacally to the empty night, his mind collapsed into panic and shock, and then he blacked out having succumbed to the terror.
Richard suddenly awoke as if being resuscitated after having drowned. He breathed in heavy heaving breaths of air mixed with much coughing. His eyes then sprang open and he realized that it was daytime. He also realized that he was laying in the dirt… naked… in the middle of a corn field.
His lungs felt like they had been breathing in sand for days. His mouth and throat were completely void and barren of any moisture. His eyes throbbed with the early onset of a major migraine headache. It was like they were returning to sunlight for the first time after being trapped down in a mine for weeks. Every ounce of his body ached like he had been laying in the elements for too long. He was covered in dust and bug bites.
All around him the corn rustled in the light daytime breeze. The sun was high in the sky, but he couldn’t tell if it was late morning or early afternoon. He stood up as best he could, taking the time to make sure he could support himself.
Luckily the corn wasn’t so tall that he couldn’t see over it. He saw a road near by and not too far down it there was a store of some sorts. He knew if he was spotted by the wrong person, in the condition he was in, he would likely be shot; put down like some mad dog. That was what he felt he was turning into at this point. His mind felt frazzled again, like someone had put the scrambler on high powered and mixed well.
He ducked low so as not to be seen, and then shucked a few ears of corn and made something like an Indian loin cloth out of the husks. This would at least push him further into the margin of not being shot if even by only a percent or two.
He felt like a caveman.
He lurched through the cornfield toward the road, trying to avoid any possibility of being detected. Finally he made his way to the store and found what could have been the last pay phone in the county. He suddenly realized, however, that he had no earthly idea where he was. He also could only remember scattered remnants of what had happened to him most recently. He couldn’t be sure what day it had been though. One thing he did remember was a big blinking red light and something about the Sergeant Bridge.
He stepped inside the payphone and only had to think for a second who he could call. He dialed the number to make it a collect call so that he didn’t have to pay anything, then he dialed the number for Doctor Hays’ office. Suddenly he worried that it was a Sunday, or perhaps already Thanksgiving and the doctor wouldn’t be in.
“Hello?” Doctor Hays’ voice picked up on the other end of the line.
Richard started to talk, but the electronic voice interrupted him asking Hays whether he would accept a collect call from an ‘ uhh Richard’ from ‘I don’t know…’
Doctor Hays agreed to the charges and soon Richard was solely on the line with him.
“Richard?! Richard, is that you? Where are you? Where have you been?” Hays asked worriedly.
“Doctor Hays…. I don’t know where… I…” He could barely talk, even in a low whisper. “I need help…”
“Ok… Ok Richard, I’ll come and get you. Don’t you worry, you just sit tight, I’m coming to get you.”
Richard heard the line go dead and hung up the phone. He then went back into the cornfield and sat down out of sight to wait for Hays.
Hours passed, but finally Hays pulled up. He looked shocked to see Richard in the state he was in, but said nothing and merely waited in his car as Richard limped out of the cornfield dressed like a Neanderthal, walked around the car and got in. I’ll take you back to my office, you’ll be safe there.
The car ride back was almost completely quiet. Dr. Hays turned on the radio to K101 The Hits radio. Richard heard the DJ’s unmistakable raspiness come on air and announce song after song. They traveled all the way back to town, and started pulling up to Dr Hays’ office. Richard became edgy when he saw that there were sheriff’s units outside the doctor’s office. He thought about jumping out and running off as soon as the car stopped.
“It’s ok, they’re just here as a precaution. I tried to make it to where it would just be you and me, but the Sheriff insisted that I have some deputies. They want me to ask you some questions.”
Richard gripped the handle of the car door and he knew Hays understood what he was thinking.
“It’d be best if you didn’t…” Hays said. “I don’t know if I could keep them from taking you if you ran again. The sheriff is at his wits end right now. They utilized a lot of resources trying to track you down the other night.”
Richard looked at Hays, not knowing exactly what the doctor was talking about. He decided to play along though at least for the time being. He was in no condition to do any running and he needed someone to fill in details for him that included why he woke up in a corn field.
They got out in the alley behind Hays’ office and went in a back door so that Richard’s appearance wouldn’t cause too much of a scene. Hays quickly went into a store room and got him a blanket to cover up with. Then he led Richard down the hall and into his office. Richard was thankful that coming in this way prevented them from having to pass by the old lady at the front counter. If she saw him in this condition, she’d never call him Sir again.
“Would you like some coffee?” Hays asked. Richard nodded and then sat on the couch.
Hays went through the little door on the side of his office and for the first time, Richard saw that it was a little butler’s pantry that contained a sink, coffee maker, toaster and the sort. He figured there must be another doctor’s office on the other side. Hays set about preparing a pot of coffee. Richard laid back on the couch, made sure he was completely covered by the blanket and then closed his eyes and tried to rest.
“Richard…” Hays said patiently. “Richard, your coffee is ready. I know I cut you off of it, but you seem like you could use something as a little boost right now.
Richard sat up and took the cup of coffee from Doctor Hays. He sipped at it, but it hurt his lips which were chapped. He took three or four painful sips and then set the mug down on the coffee table.
“Thanks,” He said.
“You’re welcome.” Hays replied and just sipped at his own coffee in patient silence.
“So I can guess you’re probably wondering how I got this way.”
“A little.”
“The truth is, I can’t remember. I really don’t remember much about last night.”
“Can you remember anything about the last three days?” Hays asked.
“I can remember you dropping me off at my car, and following me home, that’s about the last thing I remember.”
“Richard, that was three days ago. You’ve been missing since that night.” Hays remained completely patient with Richard, as Richard revealed his surprise. “Let me show you.”
Hays got up, coffee in hand and walked over to his white board. He took a blue dry erase marker and put a dot on the board. Under that he wrote pharmacy, this is the other night, when I dropped you off and followed you home. It was actually early the next morning on Friday, so I’ll make a dot for Friday.
He put another dot on the board and under it he put an arc from the pharmacy dot to the Friday dot. Then he put 3:00 Am on it. Then he put three more dots on the board. Above them he put arcs connecting each one to the next. Then just below the final dot He wrote Monday 11:15 Am.
“So this is what we know Richard. We… you and I, left each other around 3:00 Am early Friday morning. I left you sitting outside your apartment and went home. You were supposed to go in to get some sleep and then we were going to go to talk to the Sheriff later on Friday.”
Then he pointed to the last dot with the dry erase marker.
“You didn’t show up on Friday morning, and I told the Sheriff that I had no clue where you were. You had utterly vanished. There was an APB put out for you over the entire weekend. You were on a missing persons list, and then suddenly you pop up in a corn field over an hour away from here. So I ask you, what do you remember?”
“I remember driving, and I remember heading toward Sergeant Bridge further up state. Aside from that, I don’t remember much. Something about a red light, a blinking red light in the distance. Maybe a car I was following, I don’t know for sure. It’s not like I experienced three days. To me, I left and went out toward Sergeant, and then I woke up in a corn field.”
“No, Richard. Something isn’t right. You were an hour and a half in the opposite direction from Sergeant. You may remember heading towards Sergeant, but you were four counties in the other direction.”
“I… I don’t know…” Richard said honestly confused. “I don’t know…how I got there.”
“And you don’t remember anything?”
Richard shook his head.
“Well I guess I’ll officially add amnesiac to your file.” Hays said, Richard could sense the Doctor’s patients waning now.
“I’m Sorry.”
“Was Steven with you? Did he appear to you?”
“No, I’m sure of that.”
“So, where ever you went and what ever you did, you did it independently of Steven, is that true?”
“Yes, I guess you could say that.”
“Interesting…” Hays said as he jotted some notes down in his file. “Well, I guess we should talk about what is going to happen next. I want to tell you and when I do I don’t want you to panic, I’ll get you out…”
“Out of where Doc?” Richard asked, almost knowing the answer already. “I’m going to jail?”
Hays nodded. “But it’s not as bad as you think. I’ve been talking to a colleague of mine, his name is Dr. George Larson and I think he can take you in as a patient. If he can, then I think he has the power to keep you out of jail. Is that something you’d be interested in Richard?”
Richard nodded.
“Ok then. So when I leave, they’ll come in for you. I’ve made arrangements for them to take you to your apartment to get some of your things. You’re not being arrested, you have to know that. You have some rights still that you don’t get when you get arrested. You’re mainly being detained until I can hear back from Dr. Larson. I don’t want you to resist them, I want you to keep calm, because I think that’s what’s best for you right now.” Hays got up and walked to the door. He stepped out, but then poked his head in. “Oh and Richard, they aren’t aliens,” he said with a smile and then left.
Richard stayed sitting, not wanting to look at the door. He did however see the reflection of the two men in the glass of Dr. Hays’ degree which sat behind his desk. He could instantly tell, even in the reflection that the men appeared to be only men. He did not scream or shriek or fight them. He allowed them to handcuff him, then he lifted his legs as one of them slipped some loose pants like hospital scrubs over his nakedness. They left the blanket sitting in the chair.
He allowed them to escort him out as a prisoner, and allowed them to put him in the back of a sheriff’s unit. Soon he was in the cruiser headed to his apartment before going to the county lockup.
“We’ve been busy with you for awhile now, you’ve made all the guys in the district put in some hours searching for you, chasing you , responding to calls about you.” The deputy driving said.
“You’ve been a busy fellow, that’s for sure.” The other deputy said before he laughed.
Richard said nothing. He tried his best to do as hays had said and remain calm. He wished that Steven would help him through all of it.
They pulled up to his apartment building.
“Ok, so here’s how this is going to work.” The deputy in the passenger seat said. “We’ll escort you up to your apartment, then we’ll let you go in and get dressed. You’ll have five minutes and then we’re leaving, so get what you need and get out. We’ll search you before we get back into the unit, so it’d be best not to try to bring anything that’s going to get you into trouble.”
They went up to Richard’s floor and Richard’s superintendent, Mr. Ming met them. He unlocked the door and let them in. He stared at Richard the whole time, Richard could tell that Mr. Wong thought he was a Meth Head or Boozer that couldn’t keep it together, he didn’t know the truth. Nor could he understand the truth… Richard thought.
They let him in and they stayed at the door as he entered.
“Five minutes.” One of them said.
Richard went back to get himself some clothes. He grabbed pants and a clean shirt, he didn’t think that he would have any of his clothes from the other night considering he woke up naked, but was surprised to find his coat hanging in his closet and his boots laying at the bottom of the closet.
It was strange, because he never hung his coat up. Someone else had done this thinking it would seem normal.