Page 30 of Stalked By Shadows

“Tell me about these noises?”

I shrugged. “Started off sounding like some weird monkey. Then like an animal screaming in pain. I didn’t see anything when I left, but I was sort of in a mood.”

“Your flashbacks make you snippy,” Lukas agreed. “But at least you realized it sooner this time.”

“I will have to apologize to Micah. And I already quit, so I guess I’m back to the unemployment center again.”

“How about you talk to him? Tell him that you were being a whiny bitch and really do want to work with him.”

“I said not nice things.”

“I’m sure he’s heard worse.” Lukas sighed. “You know after he came back,” Lukas waved his hand like all the details were out there but he didn’t want to rehash them. “Was found, or whatever. He’d moved into a tiny apartment not far from here, and called in a report of hearing screams. Early morning. A half dozen callouts over the next few weeks and no one found anything. The cops joked that his place was haunted. There’s a lot of joking like that in this city. Other’s commented that his disappearance had made him crazy, hearing shit in the dark and all that. He moved; same thing happened. He stopped calling the police. No one else ever heard what he did, but I checked in, even stayed over a time or two to see if I’d hear anything.”

“You didn’t?”

“No.”

“But everywhere he lives he hears screaming?” That made no sense.

“I don’t think it’s always the same. It doesn’t even happen every night anymore. When I stayed, he woke me up when he heard it, but nothing else happened. I didn’t hear it at all.” Lukas rested his head on the back of the couch for a minute to stare down at me. “Sky’s heard stuff when she stays with him.”

“And you believe Sky, but not Micah?”

“I believe all of you,” Lukas said. “How many times do I have to tell you that I believe you. Not that my belief changes anything. Would I have seen the same things you did? Probably not. That guy Timothy, that Micah used to date, stayed over a million times at Micah’s, says he’s never heard a thing. Does that mean Micah is lying? Or is he just experiencing something that not all of us have access to?”

“I’m so confused right now.”

“Yeah I get that, and emotionally drained. I can see it on your face. You don’t manage stress well. I thought that this job would be low stress, some bullshitting customers and walking around the Quarter. Easy peasy.” Lukas said.

“I didn’t plan for a dead body.”

“No one ever does,” Lukas said. “How about you take a shower and get dry. You’re shivering like a leaf. There’s bacon in a bag in the fridge, maybe make yourself a sandwich. You’re still so thin.”

I wrapped my arms around myself feeling a lot like that homeless guy stuck in the ward that Lukas had come to see only to get mad because he thought they weren’t feeding me. “I’m okay.” Okay, that was a lie. “I should apologize to Micah.”

“He sent me a text. I was wondering when you’d make it back home or text me. He wanted to make sure you were okay. Said you seemed very upset and he was really sorry that he caused you all this trouble.”

“Um, I’m pretty sure the trouble started on my first day of work. Coincidence?”

“Or perhaps the meeting of two powerful forces in the universe.”

I glared at Lukas. “When did you get so corny?”

“I think it was in the fourth grade when you told me you had a crush on Hayden Louis and were so mad that he was dating Sherry Matthews. You wanted me to try to date her so she wouldn’t date him anymore. We pretended for months that Sherry was dating me and Hayden you. I got really good at roleplay and corny lines about how Hayden thought your eyes reflected rainbows or some bullshit.”

I gaped at him. “How do you even remember this stuff? What about this morning? You were supposed to pick me up,” I reminded him. “Convenient time for your memory to stop working.”

“I thought you’d be sexing up the porn star.”

I wanted to. Badly. “I don’t think we fit.”

“Use more lube.”

I choked on my own spit trying to find a reply to that.

“Hey you said you woke up twice… once in the middle of the night and then this morning, but didn’t mention another flashback.”

“Because I didn’t have one.”