Ten after ten, Wednesday AM
The sun is out
the kids are bussed
my hair is combed
no longer mussed
The stuff is placed
my breakfast et
Jeff's out the door
the garbage set
The house is quiet
then my cell rings
my Love's stuck in traffic
I'm checking bing
Reroute the husband
from central command
switch back to my email
and other demands
The dog starts barking
another ring on the phone
I start to panic
"They" know I'm alone
How much will I accomplish
how much can I do
if the phone keeps on ringing
as I try to wade through
as the dog barks a warning
of garbage can crime
as the computer freezes up
as I lose all my time
The sun is still shining
it's 10 after 10
the day seems it's mine
but it's really all "Them"
A deep breath, another
I’ll muddle on through
and keep checking things off
of my list of to do.
~ Amy Graves 9-08-10
They say you should be careful what you wish for, and perhaps this can be applied to that which we hope to win. Be that as it may, I desire a writing life and so I am embarking on the journey, risking and writing in order to win it, a writer's life.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Monday, June 7, 2010
Final Chapter of Stewart and Joshua's Story begun 11-24-09
Here is the final installment of Joshua and Stewart's story. It's been a long time in coming, I know, and I have appreciated your patience and support as I have written my way through to its end. It is my hope that you have enjoyed the crazy little journey I, they, and we have been on. I welcome your comments, insight, and thoughts about the ending, the story, the proces, etc. For those new to the blog, this story began on 11-24-09 and ends here. Please use the tag cloud to navigate back to the beginning and read from there.
Without further ado...
Chapter 14 - Freedom
Before he knew it Joshua had run right into the heart of the chaos filling the hall. There were people dressed in orange bio-hazard suits carrying black boxes on straps and wielding long black wands over a pile in the middle of the floor. The air was filled with an irritating clicking that grew in intensity the closer a wand was brought to the pile. Near the door, the door he wanted so badly to reach, were police officers and paramedics, several of whom were in the process of putting on orange suits.
On instinct Joshua headed for the nearest doorway and pressed himself into the shallow depression. The door behind him had been shut, but not latched and, as he pushed back to avoid the searching eyes of the men who had been chasing him, the door gave way and he stumbled backwards into an office. The door swung slowly shut, but stopped short of closing, coming instead to rest on the latch and leaving a thin window between the doorframe and the door.
Joshua looked quickly around himself. The office held a desk, a file cabinet, a computer, and a several chairs, all of which were turned this way and that, one was tipped over completely. There were papers on the desk and also on the floor beside it. The handset of the desk phone was dangling off the edge of the desk and making nasty buzzing sounds over and over again. He felt Stewart wrap his body tighter around his neck and patted the salamander on the back.
Shouting out in the hall drew the boy back to the door and he peered out through the crack left by the latch. Across the hall was another doorway, the familiar male stick figure on a black square posted next to it. People in orange suits were walking in and out, some carrying the black boxes and wands, some carrying red bags with white crosses on them. Eventually a silver cart with silver wheels and a mattress on it came into view and was steered into the men’s room.
All around his door Joshua could hear the voices of men and women, all of them speaking fast and a bit too high. Someone in regular clothes walked by and then another person, a woman, stepped up to the door.
“We can talk in here,” the woman said and Joshua watched in horror as the doorknob began to turn. He stepped back but there was no where he could dart to hide.
The woman took a step into the office and caught her breath as her gaze fell on Joshua in the stolen lab coat. “You…” she whispered.
Joshua swallowed. It was the woman who had grabbed him the other day. He decided that he would run right at her and kick her in the shin to get away.
“John,” she said and turned her head to look over her shoulder, “there’s not enough room in here for the officers. Let’s try the conference room instead.”
“Yeah, all right,” a man answered.
The woman turned back and looked at Joshua. “I imagine the emergency crews want us out of their way while they take Mason out to the ambulance,” she continued. “The conference room would be better.” She held Joshua’s gaze and then whispered, “Leave the coat here and wait until they take him out.”
“What did you say?” the man asked.
The woman started to close the door. “I said the coast will be clear once they take him out.” Her voice grew softer as the door came back to rest against the latch.
Joshua let out the breath he had been holding. She hadn’t told on him. She had looked right at him and then left without telling. His knees felt weak.
“Gggggoooo lllloooookkk,” Stewart growled from under Joshua’s chin.
The boy walked back to the door and peeked out the slit once again. The silver cart was sticking out of the men’s room door and two paramedics in orange suits were holding on to it. The one nearest the hall stepped on a pedal near one of the cart’s wheels, then both paramedics disappeared into the bathroom. There was a lot of scuffling and grunting before they reappeared, each one carrying one end of a stiff board with someone lying on it.
“Careful…up and over…” someone said as the board and person on top of it were lifted onto the cart. There was a thump as they set it down followed by a deep groan.
“Mason,” one of the paramedics said, leaning close to the head of the person on the cart. “Mason, can you tell me where you are?”
“Hell,” came the weary reply.
The paramedic looked up. “Let’s get him out of here.”
The other paramedic finished fastening straps across the man lying there and then flipped the pedal near the wheel with his toe. The cart started to roll and the two orange-suited men maneuvered it out into the hall.
After the cart came clear of the bathroom and they pushed it down the hall toward the outside door. Joshua caught a glimpse of the man lying on it as it passed. His face was white with red patches on it and his mouth was hanging open. The sight of him sent a shiver all the way through the boy, one so deep that it made his stomach turn. More people in orange suits came out of the bathroom. The ones that didn’t have the clicking black boxes were carrying other things: pieces of clothing, a pair of shoes, one had a clear plastic bag that had a wallet and some loose change in it.
All of these people turned and headed for the outside door as well and the hall grew quiet. Joshua opened the door a bit wider and looked out. The only people left were near the door at the end of the hall. He could see the flashing red and blue lights on the police cars and the ambulance just feet beyond it. He took a tentative step out when Stewart hissed in his ear.
“Lllleeeevvvv tthhhhhe ccccoooooattttttt.”
Joshua pulled his foot back into the office and let the lab coat fall from his shoulders. He put his hand over Stewart’s back to make sure the salamander didn’t fall and then he peeked out the door again. Now the hall was silent and empty. He stepped out and started walking fast for the outside door.
“Hey!” a gruff voice rang out behind him. “What the hell are you doing in here?”
He took another step.
“Hey you! Who the hell said you could come in here?”
Joshua peeked over his shoulder. A policeman was just coming out of a room at the far end of the hall, his face stern and angry. “This isn’t a playground!” the cop shouted.
Joshua swallowed hard and started to take another step.
“Rrrrrruuuuuunnnnnnnn,” Stewart growled in his ear and the step became a leap and the leap turned into pumping legs.
In less than twenty feet Joshua was out the door and dodging through orange-suited bodies and surprised cops. The summer air hit him like a wave, filled his nose with the scent of fresh grass and car exhaust. Adults shouted at him as he ran, but he didn’t stop. With his hand firmly over Stewart he ran flat out until he could no longer hear the angry voices, until he could no longer see the flashing red and blue lights, until he could hardly breathe for the stitch in his side. He ducked between two dumpy houses and skittered across the alleyway behind them, rounded a corner and slipped through a thin copse of trees. In front of him was a pond that he nearly fell into. He slid to a stop and sat down hard on the bank and breathed in great gulps of air.
Stewart uncurled himself from around Joshua’s neck and looked out at the lake from the boy’s shoulder. He lifted his glossy black head and smelled the warm air. Satisfied, he crawled down Joshua’s arm and stood on the boy’s knee.
“This might be a better place to live, Stewart,” Joshua said as he regained his ability to speak.
“Yyyyeeeeesssssss,” Stewart hissed.
“I don’t think they’ll be able to find you here.”
“Ssssaaaaaffffeee.”
Stewart climbed down off Joshua’s leg and made his way through the grass to the waterline. He stepped into the pond, felt the cool, soothing water as it caressed each of his six legs and then turned and looked at the child, his child.
“Ttthhhhiiissssssss iiiiisssss gggggooooooodddddd. Ggggggoooooo hhhhhooooommmmmme. Ccccccoooooommmmmmeeee bbbbbaaaaacccccckkkk.” He turned and faced Joshua, rearing up on his hind pair of legs, his tail curved in the water behind him for support. “Ppppplllleeeeeeesssssseeee ccccoooooommmmmeeee bbbbaaaccccckkkkk.”
Joshua smiled and nodded at the salamander. “K. Don’t get eaten before I can get back here.” Stewart stared at Joshua for several moments, his bright red eyes unblinking and clear.
“Iiiiiii wwwiiiilllllll bbbbbeee ssssaaaafffeee. Ccccoooommmmmeeee bbbbbaaaccccckkkkk.” Then he lowered himself into the water and swam off.
Joshua watched the expanding wake as the salamander slipped away. After ten minutes or so he tossed a few handfuls of ripped up grass and twigs into the water, then he wiped his eyes with the back of his hands, the dust on them mingling with tears and leaving brown smudges on his cheeks. He stood up and looked out over the pond.
“Bye, Stewart,” he whispered and walked back the way he had come.
~ Peace and completion
Without further ado...
Chapter 14 - Freedom
Before he knew it Joshua had run right into the heart of the chaos filling the hall. There were people dressed in orange bio-hazard suits carrying black boxes on straps and wielding long black wands over a pile in the middle of the floor. The air was filled with an irritating clicking that grew in intensity the closer a wand was brought to the pile. Near the door, the door he wanted so badly to reach, were police officers and paramedics, several of whom were in the process of putting on orange suits.
On instinct Joshua headed for the nearest doorway and pressed himself into the shallow depression. The door behind him had been shut, but not latched and, as he pushed back to avoid the searching eyes of the men who had been chasing him, the door gave way and he stumbled backwards into an office. The door swung slowly shut, but stopped short of closing, coming instead to rest on the latch and leaving a thin window between the doorframe and the door.
Joshua looked quickly around himself. The office held a desk, a file cabinet, a computer, and a several chairs, all of which were turned this way and that, one was tipped over completely. There were papers on the desk and also on the floor beside it. The handset of the desk phone was dangling off the edge of the desk and making nasty buzzing sounds over and over again. He felt Stewart wrap his body tighter around his neck and patted the salamander on the back.
Shouting out in the hall drew the boy back to the door and he peered out through the crack left by the latch. Across the hall was another doorway, the familiar male stick figure on a black square posted next to it. People in orange suits were walking in and out, some carrying the black boxes and wands, some carrying red bags with white crosses on them. Eventually a silver cart with silver wheels and a mattress on it came into view and was steered into the men’s room.
All around his door Joshua could hear the voices of men and women, all of them speaking fast and a bit too high. Someone in regular clothes walked by and then another person, a woman, stepped up to the door.
“We can talk in here,” the woman said and Joshua watched in horror as the doorknob began to turn. He stepped back but there was no where he could dart to hide.
The woman took a step into the office and caught her breath as her gaze fell on Joshua in the stolen lab coat. “You…” she whispered.
Joshua swallowed. It was the woman who had grabbed him the other day. He decided that he would run right at her and kick her in the shin to get away.
“John,” she said and turned her head to look over her shoulder, “there’s not enough room in here for the officers. Let’s try the conference room instead.”
“Yeah, all right,” a man answered.
The woman turned back and looked at Joshua. “I imagine the emergency crews want us out of their way while they take Mason out to the ambulance,” she continued. “The conference room would be better.” She held Joshua’s gaze and then whispered, “Leave the coat here and wait until they take him out.”
“What did you say?” the man asked.
The woman started to close the door. “I said the coast will be clear once they take him out.” Her voice grew softer as the door came back to rest against the latch.
Joshua let out the breath he had been holding. She hadn’t told on him. She had looked right at him and then left without telling. His knees felt weak.
“Gggggoooo lllloooookkk,” Stewart growled from under Joshua’s chin.
The boy walked back to the door and peeked out the slit once again. The silver cart was sticking out of the men’s room door and two paramedics in orange suits were holding on to it. The one nearest the hall stepped on a pedal near one of the cart’s wheels, then both paramedics disappeared into the bathroom. There was a lot of scuffling and grunting before they reappeared, each one carrying one end of a stiff board with someone lying on it.
“Careful…up and over…” someone said as the board and person on top of it were lifted onto the cart. There was a thump as they set it down followed by a deep groan.
“Mason,” one of the paramedics said, leaning close to the head of the person on the cart. “Mason, can you tell me where you are?”
“Hell,” came the weary reply.
The paramedic looked up. “Let’s get him out of here.”
The other paramedic finished fastening straps across the man lying there and then flipped the pedal near the wheel with his toe. The cart started to roll and the two orange-suited men maneuvered it out into the hall.
After the cart came clear of the bathroom and they pushed it down the hall toward the outside door. Joshua caught a glimpse of the man lying on it as it passed. His face was white with red patches on it and his mouth was hanging open. The sight of him sent a shiver all the way through the boy, one so deep that it made his stomach turn. More people in orange suits came out of the bathroom. The ones that didn’t have the clicking black boxes were carrying other things: pieces of clothing, a pair of shoes, one had a clear plastic bag that had a wallet and some loose change in it.
All of these people turned and headed for the outside door as well and the hall grew quiet. Joshua opened the door a bit wider and looked out. The only people left were near the door at the end of the hall. He could see the flashing red and blue lights on the police cars and the ambulance just feet beyond it. He took a tentative step out when Stewart hissed in his ear.
“Lllleeeevvvv tthhhhhe ccccoooooattttttt.”
Joshua pulled his foot back into the office and let the lab coat fall from his shoulders. He put his hand over Stewart’s back to make sure the salamander didn’t fall and then he peeked out the door again. Now the hall was silent and empty. He stepped out and started walking fast for the outside door.
“Hey!” a gruff voice rang out behind him. “What the hell are you doing in here?”
He took another step.
“Hey you! Who the hell said you could come in here?”
Joshua peeked over his shoulder. A policeman was just coming out of a room at the far end of the hall, his face stern and angry. “This isn’t a playground!” the cop shouted.
Joshua swallowed hard and started to take another step.
“Rrrrrruuuuuunnnnnnnn,” Stewart growled in his ear and the step became a leap and the leap turned into pumping legs.
In less than twenty feet Joshua was out the door and dodging through orange-suited bodies and surprised cops. The summer air hit him like a wave, filled his nose with the scent of fresh grass and car exhaust. Adults shouted at him as he ran, but he didn’t stop. With his hand firmly over Stewart he ran flat out until he could no longer hear the angry voices, until he could no longer see the flashing red and blue lights, until he could hardly breathe for the stitch in his side. He ducked between two dumpy houses and skittered across the alleyway behind them, rounded a corner and slipped through a thin copse of trees. In front of him was a pond that he nearly fell into. He slid to a stop and sat down hard on the bank and breathed in great gulps of air.
Stewart uncurled himself from around Joshua’s neck and looked out at the lake from the boy’s shoulder. He lifted his glossy black head and smelled the warm air. Satisfied, he crawled down Joshua’s arm and stood on the boy’s knee.
“This might be a better place to live, Stewart,” Joshua said as he regained his ability to speak.
“Yyyyeeeeesssssss,” Stewart hissed.
“I don’t think they’ll be able to find you here.”
“Ssssaaaaaffffeee.”
Stewart climbed down off Joshua’s leg and made his way through the grass to the waterline. He stepped into the pond, felt the cool, soothing water as it caressed each of his six legs and then turned and looked at the child, his child.
“Ttthhhhiiissssssss iiiiisssss gggggooooooodddddd. Ggggggoooooo hhhhhooooommmmmme. Ccccccoooooommmmmmeeee bbbbbaaaaacccccckkkk.” He turned and faced Joshua, rearing up on his hind pair of legs, his tail curved in the water behind him for support. “Ppppplllleeeeeeesssssseeee ccccoooooommmmmeeee bbbbaaaccccckkkkk.”
Joshua smiled and nodded at the salamander. “K. Don’t get eaten before I can get back here.” Stewart stared at Joshua for several moments, his bright red eyes unblinking and clear.
“Iiiiiii wwwiiiilllllll bbbbbeee ssssaaaafffeee. Ccccoooommmmmeeee bbbbbaaaccccckkkkk.” Then he lowered himself into the water and swam off.
Joshua watched the expanding wake as the salamander slipped away. After ten minutes or so he tossed a few handfuls of ripped up grass and twigs into the water, then he wiped his eyes with the back of his hands, the dust on them mingling with tears and leaving brown smudges on his cheeks. He stood up and looked out over the pond.
“Bye, Stewart,” he whispered and walked back the way he had come.
~ Peace and completion
Monday, April 12, 2010
Chapter 13 of Joshua and Stewart's harrowing tale started on 11-24-09
Chapter 13 – Hello, again
Joshua’s heart was in his throat. He had no idea where the gravely, hissing voice had come from, but it had been too close to his ear and it scared him. When it said to get out he had wasted no time fleeing from the room he had been hiding in. When it said run he had run, down the hall and into the first room he found with an open door. He held his hand over Stewart, terrified the salamander would fall to the floor and die. Images of those bright red eyes staring down at him from high above his mother’s head filled him with fear.
Stewart. Stewart was here, with him, in this crazy building. He should be out in the pond where he had left him a few weeks before. Joshua stroked the salamander through the collar of the white shirt he still had on.
The room he had run into had a short twisting hallway that ended up being a bathroom. There three toilets, each with its own little room, and two sinks backed by a long mirror. Two towel dispensers hung on one wall and there was a tall mirror that reached from the floor to the ceiling beside the dispensers.
“It’s a bathroom, Stewart,” he told the salamander. “There’s water.”
Joshua walked over to the sink and turned the faucet on. The water was icy cold, but as he added hot to the flow it grew warm and comfortable. He reached over to the towel dispenser and pulled a handful of paper towels out, stacked them together and then held the stack under the water until they were soaked. He squeezed the extra water out and then set them on the counter between the two sinks.
“Stewart,” he said and patted the salamander. “Come out and get wet. The towels are warm. You need the water or your skin will crack.”
He could feel the salamander uncurl himself from around his neck, Stewart’s tail and claws tickling as he moved. In the mirror Joshua could see the broad glossy black head rise up under his chin, the bright red eyes staring out at him.
“It’s okay, Stewart. Come and get wet.”
The salamander blinked and then crawled back down Joshua’s arm the way he had climbed up, tickling and wiggling as he wormed his way down the shirt’s sleeve and onto the back of Joshua’s hand. He stopped at the end of the sleeve, his head out, his front legs on the back of Joshua’s hand and looked left and then right before he pulled the rest of his body out from inside the sleeve.
The salamander had grown a lot. He was nearly as long as Joshua’s forearm and it took several seconds before his tail cleared the end of the shirt sleeve. But it wasn’t the length or breadth of him that startled Joshua and made his mouth open in wonder. It was the extra pair of legs that had grown between the front and rear pair.
“Stewart,” Joshua whispered. “You grew two more legs.” He reached out and gently touched one of them. Stewart glanced back at him and then walked onto the counter and sniffed the wet paper towels. He placed a tentative front foot on the wet pile and then, satisfied that they were safe, crawled onto the stack and lay down, belly flat on the moist towels, legs, all six of them, stretched out along his sides, and his tail flat out and hanging over the edge of the pile. If he had been in a tank of water he would have seemed to have been swimming.
“Do they hurt,” Joshua asked, stroking the other extra leg.
“Nnnnnnoooooo,” Stewart said, his head barely moving from the towel’s surface.
Joshua snatched his hand back. He stared at the salamander and then looked up, into the mirror, afraid someone had walked in when he wasn’t paying attention. There was no one there. He looked back at the salamander resting on the warm, wet paper towels with his eyes closed.
“Did you just say, no,” Joshua whispered.
“Yyyesssssssss,” Stewart hissed.
Joshua stood there, his mouth open, his eyes wide, warm water still running in the sink, and stared at Stewart. Slowly he reached his hand out and let the water run over his palm. He cupped some of the water and gently let it spill over Stewart’s back.
“How’s that?” he asked.
“Gggoooooooddd,” Stewart replied.
Joshua gently laid his warm, wet hand on Stewart’s back and could feel the salamander humming with pleasure.
“That’ really cool, Stewart. That you can talk.” He stroked the long smooth red spotted skin. “That’s really cool.”
Stewart opened his eyes and looked at Joshua. “Yyyesssssss,” he hissed.
The intercom crackled in the ceiling above them. “Access to the south entrance temporarily restricted. Please use alternate routes,” a woman’s voice told them. “Access to the south entrance temporarily restricted. Please use alternate routes.”
Stewart stood up and looked at Joshua. “Dddaaaanngggrrrrooouussssssss,” he hissed. “Gggeeetttt ooouuuutttttt.”
“You said that,” Joshua nearly shouted. “That was you back in the other room!”
Stewart put his front feet on Joshua’s right hand. “Gggeeetttt ooouuuutttttt.” Then he scrambled back up Joshua’s arm under the shirt sleeve and curled himself back around the boy’s neck.
Joshua laid his hand along Stewart’s back. The salamander was warm and damp from the water, but his grip on the boy’s skin was sure and firm. Without really thinking about it, Joshua grabbed the wet paper towels off the counter and tossed them in the trash and walked quietly down the twisty hall to the doorway.
The main hall was empty, though quite a bit of noise was coming from his right, where he thought the door to the outside should be. He looked that way for a long time and then decided they had better go left instead and try to find another door. He took several steps down the hall in this new direction when three men turned a far corner and came rushing towards him. Joshua froze for a second and then Stewart’s gravely voice filled his ear once more.
“Rrrrrruuunnnnnnn.”
Joshua turned and ran back down the hall, the three men right behind him. He held his hand over Stewart’s back and headed for the place he thought the door should be – just a little further and then down the next hall.
Behind him he heard one of the men call out.
“Hey! This area is restricted! Didn’t you hear the announcement?”
Another voice joined the first.
“Stop, damn it! You’re heading right into the hot zone!”
Another man appeared around the corner Joshua was headed for, his eyes wide and filled with confusion as Joshua ran at him.
“Grab him,” another man shouted from behind. “He’s going the wrong way!”
As Joshua ran past him, the man who had just appeared reached out and snagged the lab coat Joshua was wearing, pulled the boy towards himself and reached out to catch him in his other arm. Joshua felt the floor shift under his feet as he lost his footing, felt the fabric of the coat go taut and pull against his forward momentum. Along his throat he felt the pressure of Stewart’s body, felt it vibrate and the salamander’s head rise up under his own chin. He stepped down, put his free hand on the rising ground, let his other arm slip free of the coat, twisted to the left and spun out of the shirt. Beneath his chin Stewart opened his mouth, the bright flame red of his mouth and throat flashing at the man who had grabbed them, and hissed as loud as he could manage.
The man jerked back at the sight and sound of Stewart. “What the hell is that!?” he shouted and threw himself against the wall.
Joshua righted himself and rounded the corner. The door outside was where he remembered it, right there at the end of the hall – a hall filled with people in orange suits and uniforms.
~ Peace and courage
Joshua’s heart was in his throat. He had no idea where the gravely, hissing voice had come from, but it had been too close to his ear and it scared him. When it said to get out he had wasted no time fleeing from the room he had been hiding in. When it said run he had run, down the hall and into the first room he found with an open door. He held his hand over Stewart, terrified the salamander would fall to the floor and die. Images of those bright red eyes staring down at him from high above his mother’s head filled him with fear.
Stewart. Stewart was here, with him, in this crazy building. He should be out in the pond where he had left him a few weeks before. Joshua stroked the salamander through the collar of the white shirt he still had on.
The room he had run into had a short twisting hallway that ended up being a bathroom. There three toilets, each with its own little room, and two sinks backed by a long mirror. Two towel dispensers hung on one wall and there was a tall mirror that reached from the floor to the ceiling beside the dispensers.
“It’s a bathroom, Stewart,” he told the salamander. “There’s water.”
Joshua walked over to the sink and turned the faucet on. The water was icy cold, but as he added hot to the flow it grew warm and comfortable. He reached over to the towel dispenser and pulled a handful of paper towels out, stacked them together and then held the stack under the water until they were soaked. He squeezed the extra water out and then set them on the counter between the two sinks.
“Stewart,” he said and patted the salamander. “Come out and get wet. The towels are warm. You need the water or your skin will crack.”
He could feel the salamander uncurl himself from around his neck, Stewart’s tail and claws tickling as he moved. In the mirror Joshua could see the broad glossy black head rise up under his chin, the bright red eyes staring out at him.
“It’s okay, Stewart. Come and get wet.”
The salamander blinked and then crawled back down Joshua’s arm the way he had climbed up, tickling and wiggling as he wormed his way down the shirt’s sleeve and onto the back of Joshua’s hand. He stopped at the end of the sleeve, his head out, his front legs on the back of Joshua’s hand and looked left and then right before he pulled the rest of his body out from inside the sleeve.
The salamander had grown a lot. He was nearly as long as Joshua’s forearm and it took several seconds before his tail cleared the end of the shirt sleeve. But it wasn’t the length or breadth of him that startled Joshua and made his mouth open in wonder. It was the extra pair of legs that had grown between the front and rear pair.
“Stewart,” Joshua whispered. “You grew two more legs.” He reached out and gently touched one of them. Stewart glanced back at him and then walked onto the counter and sniffed the wet paper towels. He placed a tentative front foot on the wet pile and then, satisfied that they were safe, crawled onto the stack and lay down, belly flat on the moist towels, legs, all six of them, stretched out along his sides, and his tail flat out and hanging over the edge of the pile. If he had been in a tank of water he would have seemed to have been swimming.
“Do they hurt,” Joshua asked, stroking the other extra leg.
“Nnnnnnoooooo,” Stewart said, his head barely moving from the towel’s surface.
Joshua snatched his hand back. He stared at the salamander and then looked up, into the mirror, afraid someone had walked in when he wasn’t paying attention. There was no one there. He looked back at the salamander resting on the warm, wet paper towels with his eyes closed.
“Did you just say, no,” Joshua whispered.
“Yyyesssssssss,” Stewart hissed.
Joshua stood there, his mouth open, his eyes wide, warm water still running in the sink, and stared at Stewart. Slowly he reached his hand out and let the water run over his palm. He cupped some of the water and gently let it spill over Stewart’s back.
“How’s that?” he asked.
“Gggoooooooddd,” Stewart replied.
Joshua gently laid his warm, wet hand on Stewart’s back and could feel the salamander humming with pleasure.
“That’ really cool, Stewart. That you can talk.” He stroked the long smooth red spotted skin. “That’s really cool.”
Stewart opened his eyes and looked at Joshua. “Yyyesssssss,” he hissed.
The intercom crackled in the ceiling above them. “Access to the south entrance temporarily restricted. Please use alternate routes,” a woman’s voice told them. “Access to the south entrance temporarily restricted. Please use alternate routes.”
Stewart stood up and looked at Joshua. “Dddaaaanngggrrrrooouussssssss,” he hissed. “Gggeeetttt ooouuuutttttt.”
“You said that,” Joshua nearly shouted. “That was you back in the other room!”
Stewart put his front feet on Joshua’s right hand. “Gggeeetttt ooouuuutttttt.” Then he scrambled back up Joshua’s arm under the shirt sleeve and curled himself back around the boy’s neck.
Joshua laid his hand along Stewart’s back. The salamander was warm and damp from the water, but his grip on the boy’s skin was sure and firm. Without really thinking about it, Joshua grabbed the wet paper towels off the counter and tossed them in the trash and walked quietly down the twisty hall to the doorway.
The main hall was empty, though quite a bit of noise was coming from his right, where he thought the door to the outside should be. He looked that way for a long time and then decided they had better go left instead and try to find another door. He took several steps down the hall in this new direction when three men turned a far corner and came rushing towards him. Joshua froze for a second and then Stewart’s gravely voice filled his ear once more.
“Rrrrrruuunnnnnnn.”
Joshua turned and ran back down the hall, the three men right behind him. He held his hand over Stewart’s back and headed for the place he thought the door should be – just a little further and then down the next hall.
Behind him he heard one of the men call out.
“Hey! This area is restricted! Didn’t you hear the announcement?”
Another voice joined the first.
“Stop, damn it! You’re heading right into the hot zone!”
Another man appeared around the corner Joshua was headed for, his eyes wide and filled with confusion as Joshua ran at him.
“Grab him,” another man shouted from behind. “He’s going the wrong way!”
As Joshua ran past him, the man who had just appeared reached out and snagged the lab coat Joshua was wearing, pulled the boy towards himself and reached out to catch him in his other arm. Joshua felt the floor shift under his feet as he lost his footing, felt the fabric of the coat go taut and pull against his forward momentum. Along his throat he felt the pressure of Stewart’s body, felt it vibrate and the salamander’s head rise up under his own chin. He stepped down, put his free hand on the rising ground, let his other arm slip free of the coat, twisted to the left and spun out of the shirt. Beneath his chin Stewart opened his mouth, the bright flame red of his mouth and throat flashing at the man who had grabbed them, and hissed as loud as he could manage.
The man jerked back at the sight and sound of Stewart. “What the hell is that!?” he shouted and threw himself against the wall.
Joshua righted himself and rounded the corner. The door outside was where he remembered it, right there at the end of the hall – a hall filled with people in orange suits and uniforms.
~ Peace and courage
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Chapter 12 of the Stewart and Joshua story started on 11-24-09
Chapter 12 – Suddenly
He had barely reached the next depression, barely caught his breath when another voice called out.
“Stewart!”
For an instant Stewart panicked, fear gripping his entire body. Now the voices knew who he was. Then, from somewhere deep in his mind he realized…he knew that voice. He opened his eyes and forced himself to look in the direction his name had been called. There, beneath a long ledge, behind shining silver sticks and branches, was the child.
The boy shoved some of the shining sticks aside. “Stewart!” he said again, his eyes wide and compelling.
Before he knew what he was doing Stewart turned and ran at the child. He no longer cared about the long whiteness, or the disembodied voice, or the people running around carrying things. Here was his child. Here was the one he wanted to find. Here were warm hands and kind eyes. Here was home.
The child reached down, spread his fingers on the floor and Stewart found speed in his legs that hadn’t been there before. His front feet touched the child’s palm, carried him up the boy’s wrist, and pulled him under the long white cloth that covered the rest of the child’s arm. He ran upwards until he found the child’s neck, to the warm, soft place where the boy's shoulder made the perfect spot to sit, and there Stewart stopped. He pressed himself tightly against the child’s throat, wrapped his body, his tail, everything, around the boy’s neck and clung to him.
He could feel the child’s heartbeat, could feel every breath the boy took, and the warmth, the safe warmth of him through his skin. The child reached up and laid his hand on Stewart’s back.
“Stewart, you’re so cold,” he said softly, his voice sending vibrations into Stewart’s body. The boy took the sheet he was wearing and pulled it up against Stewart and hid him from the cold air. “You’re too dry,” he said next. “You need water.”
He felt the boy look around, his chin brushing over Stewart’s head as he looked to the left and then to the right.
“There’s no water in here,” the child told him. “We’re gonna have to leave.”
At first Stewart didn’t say anything. He would stay or he would leave with the child. Where the child went he would go. As long as he was with the child the rest didn’t matter. Then he remembered the empty shadow and the man who had worn it. And he remembered the word the woman had used only moments before.
From deep in his throat he pulled the word out. “Ddddaannnggrrruuussssss.”
The child’s whole body went rigid. Stewart could feel the tendons on the boy’s neck stand out. He took another breath and tried again. “Ggggeetttttt ooooouuuutttttt.”
The child bolted out from under the ledge, shoving shining sticks in all directions. Several fell over and made a tremendous crash that rang painfully in Stewart’s head. The child stumbled forward, caught himself on his front legs and then got up and ran for the door, one hand held against Stewart, the other waving wildly in front of himself as he ran. A dozen steps and they were out in the bright white of the hall and Stewart closed his eyes in response to the painful light. He could feel the child look right and left and then run again. Running was good. Running meant leaving. Leaving meant grass, and fresh warm air, and water. Running meant life.
“Rrrruuunnnnnn,” he hissed and held on.
~ Peace and motivation
He had barely reached the next depression, barely caught his breath when another voice called out.
“Stewart!”
For an instant Stewart panicked, fear gripping his entire body. Now the voices knew who he was. Then, from somewhere deep in his mind he realized…he knew that voice. He opened his eyes and forced himself to look in the direction his name had been called. There, beneath a long ledge, behind shining silver sticks and branches, was the child.
The boy shoved some of the shining sticks aside. “Stewart!” he said again, his eyes wide and compelling.
Before he knew what he was doing Stewart turned and ran at the child. He no longer cared about the long whiteness, or the disembodied voice, or the people running around carrying things. Here was his child. Here was the one he wanted to find. Here were warm hands and kind eyes. Here was home.
The child reached down, spread his fingers on the floor and Stewart found speed in his legs that hadn’t been there before. His front feet touched the child’s palm, carried him up the boy’s wrist, and pulled him under the long white cloth that covered the rest of the child’s arm. He ran upwards until he found the child’s neck, to the warm, soft place where the boy's shoulder made the perfect spot to sit, and there Stewart stopped. He pressed himself tightly against the child’s throat, wrapped his body, his tail, everything, around the boy’s neck and clung to him.
He could feel the child’s heartbeat, could feel every breath the boy took, and the warmth, the safe warmth of him through his skin. The child reached up and laid his hand on Stewart’s back.
“Stewart, you’re so cold,” he said softly, his voice sending vibrations into Stewart’s body. The boy took the sheet he was wearing and pulled it up against Stewart and hid him from the cold air. “You’re too dry,” he said next. “You need water.”
He felt the boy look around, his chin brushing over Stewart’s head as he looked to the left and then to the right.
“There’s no water in here,” the child told him. “We’re gonna have to leave.”
At first Stewart didn’t say anything. He would stay or he would leave with the child. Where the child went he would go. As long as he was with the child the rest didn’t matter. Then he remembered the empty shadow and the man who had worn it. And he remembered the word the woman had used only moments before.
From deep in his throat he pulled the word out. “Ddddaannnggrrruuussssss.”
The child’s whole body went rigid. Stewart could feel the tendons on the boy’s neck stand out. He took another breath and tried again. “Ggggeetttttt ooooouuuutttttt.”
The child bolted out from under the ledge, shoving shining sticks in all directions. Several fell over and made a tremendous crash that rang painfully in Stewart’s head. The child stumbled forward, caught himself on his front legs and then got up and ran for the door, one hand held against Stewart, the other waving wildly in front of himself as he ran. A dozen steps and they were out in the bright white of the hall and Stewart closed his eyes in response to the painful light. He could feel the child look right and left and then run again. Running was good. Running meant leaving. Leaving meant grass, and fresh warm air, and water. Running meant life.
“Rrrruuunnnnnn,” he hissed and held on.
~ Peace and motivation
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Chapter 11 - Where Joshua and Stewart are in a tight place - started 11-24--09
Chapter 11 – Red Spots
The cereal bar had helped. Joshua was no longer starving, but he still had to pee. He glanced around himself trying to figure out how he could take care of that pressing problem. While he ate he had figured out that if he risked sticking his hand out from under the counter and waving it quickly the lights would stay on. He had forgotten to do it one time and the room had gone dark. On instinct he had shot his leg out, the lights flashing back on with his movement and he had worried that someone in the hall would notice. Nothing had happened, however, so he relaxed a little and tried not to think of anything having to do with water.
There was no other way out of the room except the door he had come through. There were no other doors at all, besides the ones that fronted the cabinets above the counters along one wall. They weren’t going to lead to a bathroom. Cabinets never had bathrooms inside of them. There were windows on the back wall, but he couldn’t see the latches and didn’t think he could open them anyway. In desperation he pressed his hands into his crotch and squeezed his legs together. There had to be some place. He didn’t want to have an accident.
That’s when he saw it. Sitting on the floor between a counter and the front wall was a wastebasket. A round black can with a white plastic bag lining it and tied around the rim so it wouldn’t fall in. If he was quick he could pee and be back under the table before anyone came. He stuck his hand out and waved it frantically to keep the lights on, then pulled it back under the counter. The wastebasket was three counters away. And there were stools pushed in around them like a forest of silver trees.
Joshua leaned forward and rested on his knees. His bladder didn’t like this new position and he pressed harder with his hands to keep from going right in his pants. He stuck his head out and listened for anyone coming down the hall, but it was quiet for the moment. He pushed past the stool and realized that if he didn’t make a run for it he was going to be very wet and very miserable. He scrambled to his feet and, with one hand still clutching his crotch, bolted around the counters and ran for the wastebasket. He was so desperate that the urine hit the crumpled up papers in the can before he was fully stopped.
He thought about how angry his mother would be with him for peeing in the trash. Then he thought about how much angrier she would have been if he had soiled himself and decided this was a better choice. Besides, he wasn’t going to tell her that he had done it. She would never know.
“Code seven, south entrance. Code seven, south entrance.”
The voice startled Joshua so badly he missed the wastebasket and peed on the wall.
“Code nine, men’s room, south entrance. Code nine, men’s room, south entrance.”
Joshua stuffed himself back inside his shorts and then pressed his back against the front wall. There were footsteps in the hall coming closer. Women’s voices floated into the room as they passed.
“Code seven?” he heard one of them ask.
“Yeah, that’s for the HazMat team. Someone’s had some kind of biohazard accident.”
Their voices grew softer as they walked further along the hallway and he could no longer tell what they were saying. He stared at the counters and wished the women would leave. He wanted to duck down under the counters and hide, but he didn’t dare move. They were still out in the hall. They could come back and find him. Then that man would try to take him away again.
“Yes, but I’m alive and I plan to stay that way,” one of the women said, her voice growing louder and clearer as she walked quickly back past Joshua’s room. The other woman clicked past, too, and then the hall was quiet once more.
Joshua waited a few more seconds before he stepped away from the wall and peeked at the doorway. No one was there. He ran for the nearest counter and shoved his way through the stool legs and underneath. As he turned around so he could watch the door from his new hiding spot he saw something small and dark run into the shadow of the door, just inside the room. His heart thudded in his chest and he strained to see what it was.
He could just make out small red spots along a smooth glossy black surface. He squinted. There was a head, flat and broad, with big staring eyes, and a long glossy black tail tucked tight where feet should be.
Joshua leaned out from under the counter, completely forgetting where he was. “Stewart?” he whispered.
The glossy black head ducked and then turned slowly in Joshua’s direction bringing sharp, clear red eyes to look into his own.
“Stewart!”
~ Peace and surprise
The cereal bar had helped. Joshua was no longer starving, but he still had to pee. He glanced around himself trying to figure out how he could take care of that pressing problem. While he ate he had figured out that if he risked sticking his hand out from under the counter and waving it quickly the lights would stay on. He had forgotten to do it one time and the room had gone dark. On instinct he had shot his leg out, the lights flashing back on with his movement and he had worried that someone in the hall would notice. Nothing had happened, however, so he relaxed a little and tried not to think of anything having to do with water.
There was no other way out of the room except the door he had come through. There were no other doors at all, besides the ones that fronted the cabinets above the counters along one wall. They weren’t going to lead to a bathroom. Cabinets never had bathrooms inside of them. There were windows on the back wall, but he couldn’t see the latches and didn’t think he could open them anyway. In desperation he pressed his hands into his crotch and squeezed his legs together. There had to be some place. He didn’t want to have an accident.
That’s when he saw it. Sitting on the floor between a counter and the front wall was a wastebasket. A round black can with a white plastic bag lining it and tied around the rim so it wouldn’t fall in. If he was quick he could pee and be back under the table before anyone came. He stuck his hand out and waved it frantically to keep the lights on, then pulled it back under the counter. The wastebasket was three counters away. And there were stools pushed in around them like a forest of silver trees.
Joshua leaned forward and rested on his knees. His bladder didn’t like this new position and he pressed harder with his hands to keep from going right in his pants. He stuck his head out and listened for anyone coming down the hall, but it was quiet for the moment. He pushed past the stool and realized that if he didn’t make a run for it he was going to be very wet and very miserable. He scrambled to his feet and, with one hand still clutching his crotch, bolted around the counters and ran for the wastebasket. He was so desperate that the urine hit the crumpled up papers in the can before he was fully stopped.
He thought about how angry his mother would be with him for peeing in the trash. Then he thought about how much angrier she would have been if he had soiled himself and decided this was a better choice. Besides, he wasn’t going to tell her that he had done it. She would never know.
“Code seven, south entrance. Code seven, south entrance.”
The voice startled Joshua so badly he missed the wastebasket and peed on the wall.
“Code nine, men’s room, south entrance. Code nine, men’s room, south entrance.”
Joshua stuffed himself back inside his shorts and then pressed his back against the front wall. There were footsteps in the hall coming closer. Women’s voices floated into the room as they passed.
“Code seven?” he heard one of them ask.
“Yeah, that’s for the HazMat team. Someone’s had some kind of biohazard accident.”
Their voices grew softer as they walked further along the hallway and he could no longer tell what they were saying. He stared at the counters and wished the women would leave. He wanted to duck down under the counters and hide, but he didn’t dare move. They were still out in the hall. They could come back and find him. Then that man would try to take him away again.
“Yes, but I’m alive and I plan to stay that way,” one of the women said, her voice growing louder and clearer as she walked quickly back past Joshua’s room. The other woman clicked past, too, and then the hall was quiet once more.
Joshua waited a few more seconds before he stepped away from the wall and peeked at the doorway. No one was there. He ran for the nearest counter and shoved his way through the stool legs and underneath. As he turned around so he could watch the door from his new hiding spot he saw something small and dark run into the shadow of the door, just inside the room. His heart thudded in his chest and he strained to see what it was.
He could just make out small red spots along a smooth glossy black surface. He squinted. There was a head, flat and broad, with big staring eyes, and a long glossy black tail tucked tight where feet should be.
Joshua leaned out from under the counter, completely forgetting where he was. “Stewart?” he whispered.
The glossy black head ducked and then turned slowly in Joshua’s direction bringing sharp, clear red eyes to look into his own.
“Stewart!”
~ Peace and surprise
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