Syphon: Guardians of the Fractured Realms (6 page)

“Any idea why there isn’t a uniform outside his room?”

“None whatsoever. Might have to do with the fact that, until they put a cast on him, he’s not likely to get too far.”

“Thanks.”

Looking over her shoulder, Cora nodded toward the room.

“Guess we’ll start with that one.”

Nodding in agreement, they both started walking to toward the room. As they got closer, they could make out groans of pain.

“Where’s that damn Doctor? My ankle’s killing me!”

“They’re busy… but how about telling us what happened earlier while you’re waiting,” Frank said as they entered the room.

“Who the hell are you?”

Cora pulled out her badge as she responded.

“Concerned citizens. Who’re you?”

“I ain’t got nothin’ to say to no cops.”

Frank wandered over, bumping into the side of the bed closest to the broken ankle.

“Ow, Shit! Watch where you’re going man…”

“Oh… Clumsy me. Always running into stuff…” Frank replied as he bumped the bed again.

“Damn it!”

“What’d you say your name was again?” Cora repeated as she pulled out her notebook.

“Fine, my name’s Kyle… Now would you tell your partner to stop bumping into the bed? That shit hurts.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” she said as she cast a glance at Frank.

“So tell me Kyle… What exactly happened in the alley tonight?”

“We got jumped, that’s what happened.”

“Really…? From what I heard, you and your buddies decided to hassle a homeless guy and wound up getting your shit broken off…”

“Man, that’s bull… Where’d you hear that crap from?”

“Frank, who was it that told you that?”

Frank made a big production out of pulling out his notebook and flipping to the right page.

“Hmmm… Oh yeah, looks like it was your pal, Pete. Seems he was the only one to get away from the ‘brawl’ without getting a scratch on him. How do you suppose that happened, with your group getting jumped and all…?”

“Sonofa…” Kyle trailed off, mumbling a bunch of curses.

Frank leaned in close to Kyle, bouncing his hip off the side of the bed again.

Kyle sucked air through his clenched teeth, his face starting to go pale.

“So how is it that he got away if you got jumped? Seems a lot more likely that you started a fight that went against ya, based off the evidence we’ve recovered from the alleyway.”

Cora watched Kyle’s face as her partner grilled him. She noticed that his tough expression was starting to falter.

“Listen. Tell you what,” Cora said, appearing lost in thought.

“You tell us what we wanna know, and we won’t run you down to booking tonight. If it’s good enough, we might even be inclined to put in a good word with the D.A.… maybe have them try and toss out the charges…” she finished, arching an eyebrow as she glanced back at Kyle.

She watched his expression closely as she said it, waiting to see if he’d rise to the bait. After a moment, she could tell he was wavering.

“This is a one time offer Kyle. If we walk out this door with nothing, then you’re going to get booked on aggravated assault charges, possibly attempted murder. Tell us what happened, and it might all go away… Minus the broken ankle and all.”

Cora waited another few seconds before looking over at Frank.

“Hmmm… Looks like it’s gonna be option number two…” she said as she started to turn toward the door.

“Okay, wait… wait… Fine, I’ll tell ya, but remember you promised ta get rid of the charges.”

“If it’s good, then sure, we’ll talk to the D.A.,” she said as she flipped to a blank page and got ready to write.

“Fine, this is what happened. We saw a bum…”

§§§§§§§§§§§§

“So whatcha think…? Think he was telling the truth?”

Frank scratched his chin absently.

“If he was, then this guy continues to impress. To break a man’s ankle one handed? I sure as hell couldn’t do it. Dislocate, maybe… assuming I could get in the correct position and apply the right leverage. But to flat out break it? That amount of torque is well outside of what an average person can generate.”

“Yeah, I’ve only seen that happen once when someone landed wrong in aikido class. So, our guy is significantly stronger than he let on when he was cooped up here. I’m guessing he stood a good chance of being able to break that cuff we left him in, but then the question remains. Was he alone when he did it, or did he have help. If he had help, did either of them have anything to do with Russo’s death? And how does Sybil play into all of this?”

“More questions without answers. God, this is turning into one big cluster…”

“Yeah, no shit. Let’s say we call it a night since the other two won’t be able to talk until sometime later this morning.”

“That’s about the only good thing I’ve heard so far today…”

Samuel slowly woke to the smell of food cooking. Eyes snapping open, he sat up quickly and looked around, trying to determine where he was. Seeing no immediate threat, he took another, slower look around. He noticed several disheveled people standing in what appeared to be a cafeteria line. As he watched, he saw a few more people in mismatched clothes come in through what he assumed was the front door, before heading over to stand in line.

“Better head on up before all the grits is gone.”

Turning around, he saw an older gentleman approaching him, or more specifically, toward him on his way to the food line.

“Where am I?” he asked as he stood, joints popping randomly as he stretched.

“You’s at the Main Street homeless shelter. I was here last night when they brought you in. Seems you was unconscious jes’ around the corner, so a couple people hep’d carry you in. Was right nice of ‘em ta do it too, seeing as how it got below freezing last night and all. Based off what you was wearin’, you probably woulda froze ta death if they’d hadn’t found ya. Now if ya’ll excuse me, I’m gonna get some grits and bacon before they’s gone.”

As the man wandered over to the food line, Samuel took stock of his situation. He was wearing a pair of boots that were too big for his feet, a pair of worn but durable jeans, and a shirt and jacket that were a bit too small. Considering his options, his stomach reminded him that it’d been quite a while since the last time he’d eaten anything.

Come to think of it, when was the last time I’d eaten anything? I hadn’t really been hungry when I first woke up at the hospital, and seeing as how I took an impromptu flying lessons shortly thereafter, food hadn’t really been at the top of my list up until now.

Getting up, he headed over to the stack of trays and grabbed utensils before making his way through the line. By the time he’d hit the end of the line, his tray was almost overflowing with food. Heading over to the tables, he noticed the gentleman that had talked to him earlier sitting at the far corner of the room. Since he hadn’t talked to anyone else, he headed over to sit with a vaguely friendly face.

“Did ya get some grits?”

Samuel smiled back at him, pointing to a spot on his tray.

“Yes. I also got some oatmeal as well.”

As he put his tray down, the other guy whistled.

“If you wasn’t a guy, I’d ask if you was expectin’.”

“Yeah, I might a gone a bit overboard, but I don’t really remember the last time I ate, either.”

“Well, then. Let’s save the chit-chat for after the vittles. Oh… Almost forgot. Name’s Hank. Hank Iam… The Great.”

Hank waved his hand around theatrically as he said it. Then he held his hand out to shake hands. Samuel smiled as he let the other man’s hand go.

“I’m Samuel, or at least I think it’s Samuel.”

As he took a bite of food, Hank raised an eyebrow.

“Well, yesterday I woke up in the hospital with no memory. Now I’m here with no real memory of how I got here, either. Had a stranger that might have known me call me Samuel, so that’s about all I got going for me at the moment.”

“Well, ain’t that somethin’.”

Hank chuckled before stuffing some grits in his mouth.

“That’s an understatement. So what’s the ‘The Great’ in reference to?”

“Oh, used to be a performer. Like Houdini, only greater. People’s used ta called me the Great Iam”

As he said it, Hank made a grand gesture, a plastic flower appearing in his outstretched hand. Samuel thought he saw a slight sparkle in the other man’s eyes, but it vanished too quickly for him to be sure.

Must be my imagination acting up again.

“So what happened…?”

A sad look washed across the other man’s face.

“People’s lost interest ‘n me. How’s ‘bout we pick dis up after we’ve eatin’?”

“Sounds like a plan.”

With that, Samuel dug into his food.

§§§§§§§§§§§§

Samuel looked back up at the chow line, debating whether to go back up for seconds. Glancing back at Hank, he saw him yank his hand behind him. Cocking his head slightly, Hank chuckled.

“Was just gettin’ ‘em outta sight before you think about eating ‘em too… I ain’t never seen someone put food away like that before.”

“Yeah, honestly, I’m not sure where I’m putting it all either. Maybe they added a stomach while I was at the hospital or something.”

He’d said it jokingly, but by the sudden change in Hank’s expression, something wasn’t right.

“What’s wrong?”

Samuel noticed Hank had started edging away from him.

“I was just kidding. I don’t have a second stomach.”

Hank stared at him for a few more minutes before color started returning to his face.

“I’ve heard the government does experiments like that on people all the time. They help out the grays with their agendas and stuff.”

“Grays?”

“Yeah, the grays. From Andromeda…? Don’t tell me you’ve never hear of ‘em… They liked ta take cattle afore they decided humans was more interestin’. Got the man involved with their secret projects an’ stuff. That’s how the government gets new technology. They let the aliens do things to peoples in exchange fer flying saucer technology an’ stuff.”

“Well, I’m pretty sure I haven’t run into any aliens, or at least none that I can remember over the past couple days that I actually can remember.”

It’s kinda funny, but that actually makes more sense with what I’ve gone through since waking up in the hospital. Aliens came back to continue their experiments on me. Can see it now. Alien hybrid… Film at eleven.

Samuel smiled to himself. As he did, he realized Hank took the expression wrong.

“Mark my words. Them aliens are around, and if you’re not careful, they might get ya.”

With that, Hank got up and hurried toward the front door. Samuel started to head after him, but decided not to.

It might be better if I let him go. As it is, he’s suspicious of me. Last thing I want to do is make him terrified of me. Besides which, they’re still serving breakfast.

Grabbing his tray, Samuel headed back up to the food line.

§§§§§§§§§§§§

Samuel eyed the food line again. For some reason, even though he was full, he still felt hungry. As if to add emphasis to the thought, his stomach growled at him.

I know I can’t eat any more right now, but for some reason, I’m still starving. I ate enough food to feed at least four or five other people. Maybe the aliens did stick a second stomach in me or something…

He smiled at the thought.

“Hello there. Glad to see you have a, uh, healthy appetite, especially after the condition you were in when they found you.”

Snapping out of his reverie, Samuel glanced up at the newcomer. Judging from the way he was dressed, he assumed it was one of the people who ran the place. Deciding it was probably better not to make another food run, Samuel pushed his tray slightly away as he turned on the bench seat.

“Hello.”

“Mind if I sit down?”

“Uh… Sure, no problem.”

Samuel gestured awkwardly at a spot next to him.

“Thank you. My name’s Carl and I’m one of the people who help run this place. I was here last night when you came in. Considering how cold it was last night and your condition when you arrived, I just wanted to check in on you, make sure you’re alright.”

Samuel paused to consider what he was going to say before responding.

“I’m doing okay, I guess. Don’t really remember a lot from last night. I remember getting jumped and escaping somehow. Next thing I remember, I’m waking up here, starving.”

A quick look of concern flashed over Carl’s face.

“Are you hurt? We have some EMTs on staff that volunteer here. If you’d like, I can see if one of them can look you over and make sure everything’s okay, make sure there’s no serious injuries or anything.”

“Thanks, but I think I got away before they did anything permanent. I’m just glad I woke up somewhere warm.”

“And with food, based off what I saw you inhale. Did you at least get a chance to taste it?” he asked, a big smile on his face.

“Nah, I figured I’d taste it later,” he said, smiling back.

“Well, I don’t want to take up too much of your time, but if you need anything, either myself or one of the staff would be more than happy to help you however we can. Also, if you’re interested, we have some connections with various work programs to help you get back on your feet…?”

Samuel could hear the question in the other man’s voice. Looking down at himself, he realized that he looked like any of the other homeless people that he’d seen here.

Now that I think about it, I actually am homeless. I have no clue who I am and no source of income. I also doubt I’d be able to sell this thing on my arm, even if I wanted to. It might be a good idea to take him up on the offer.

Reaching a decision, Samuel stretched his hand out. As the other man returned the gesture, Samuel responded.

“I might just take you up on that offer later. I don’t suppose you have anywhere I can get cleaned up, do you? And maybe directions to the nearest library after that?”

Carl raised an eyebrow.

“Sure, we have showering facilities. I think we might also have some clothes that might fit you better as well, along with laundry facilities. If you plan on coming back tonight, I’m sure we can clean what you have by the time you come back from the, uh, library.”