The Allotter:The Threads of Destiny (2 page)

  The snow was becoming heavy. Shit. She hated driving in the snow. It was the fear of sliding on black ice that threw all of her joints into freeze mode, causing her to white-knuckle the steering wheel.

  Cursing the heavy snow fall and lack of visibility, Evie
’s car crawled along Pitman Pike at a whopping 20 miles per hour. As the radio played, she hummed off key to calm her nerves. The roads were deserted, due to a combination of the time of night and terrible driving conditions.

   While her car crawled along the desolate expanse of road, Evie imagined herself pulling on her warm, soft black fleece pj bottoms. Suddenly, she swerved into the other lane to avoid something large and white in the road. Car sliding in the slush and ice, she pumped the brakes and jacked up the emergency brake as she slid sideways to a stop.

  She blew out a relieved breath and mumbled to the interior of the car, “Wow. That was scary.”   She peered into the rearview mirror, stunned to see what appeared to be the faint outline of a person. Fumbling for her cell phone with cold and clammy hands, she turned on her hazard lights. Opening her door, she attempted to dial 911 and step out of her car when her breath froze in her throat. Her phone slid from her hand onto the driver’s seat of her car, call failed blinked into the darkness. A man was standing inches from her, and he was a very large, angry, and naked man! His face was shadowed and his breathing was heavy as the meager street lights illuminated him from the waist down. Her face reddened by the site of his nakedness, so she quickly averted her eyes.

 
“Are you ok?”  She blurted, eyes trained to the left of him, embarrassment keeping her eyes away. Why was he in the middle of a snowstorm naked? Scanning her surroundings, she saw that there wasn’t another car around anywhere.

  As her eyes were drawn to the site of him, she was alarmed to see that his body shook all over, the outline of his fists evident as they clenched and unclenched by his naked hips. She swallowed the lump of fear that had formed in her throat.
“I just called the police for you,” she lied hoping he would leave her alone, fearful knowing that the police were not coming.

  Still nothing. No response. If she could just see his face, maybe he wouldn
’t seem so intimidating. Evie thought about turning and getting back into her car, but he was too close to turn her back on.
Run
her intuition told her, but terror rooted her to the cold ground. Her hands stiff and cold, she half-turned and braced them on her open door.
Get back in the car
, her good sense told her. Unfortunately, the nurse in her insisted she try to help him.  As she lifted her foot into the car, he was suddenly very still, the tremble had stopped, and in its place was an almost imperceptible vibration. Could he sense she was contemplating fleeing? Was steam rising off him or was it a trick of the streetlights reflecting off the large flakes of snow as they fell to the cold earth?

“
My name is Evie.”
Good one genius! Just give him your address too!
“Uh, I think I have a blanket for you if I could just get back into my…” the words died and Evie’s heart skipped a beat as he was suddenly upon her, hand thrusting out with alarming speed as he grabbed her by her throat. Within mere seconds, he backed her against the car, his hand encircling her neck. The air whooshed out of her lungs, and she couldn’t breathe. Not so much from him applying pressure, but from something else.

  Fear. Cold, stark, raw fear began thrumming through her veins.

 
  He‘s a lunatic.
“Please, let me go” she pleaded, as her eyes burned with tears. Slowly he pressed his full body against her. The contact sent an immediate fission of terror throughout her body. Like an electrical shock, her entire body became rigid as small pants of breath puffed from her lips. She couldn’t breathe deep enough, her lungs burning in her chest.

 
This can’t be happening. Is he on drugs?
He was so hot and heavy; she was barely able to suck in a fortifying breath. Pressed against him almost to the point of pain, his body temperature felt dangerously high. Sandwiched between him and the car, Evie was immobilized and speechless. She knew he could somehow see her face, even though she couldn’t see his. He crouched down enough to look into her eyes, allowing the light from a nearby pole to illuminate the right side of his face.

    Her voice was shrill, weak.
“You need to let me go. “  He ignored her. His intense stare focused on her eyes. He seemed angry and confused, his eyebrows furrowed in anger. His dark and damp hair was plastered to his head, hanks of hair not quite concealing his eyes. His eyes were a terrifying and beautiful shade of gray glittering in the light from the streetlamps. A gray color similar to her gray eye. He reminded Evie of a wolf, scrutinizing its prey before pouncing. He surveyed her with a feral light in his eyes, scanning her face but repeatedly settling on her eyes, as if searching for something. Could he tell she was wearing color contacts?

He smiled, or grimaced maybe. Evie wasn
’t quite sure what it was. “Why do you hide?” his gravelly deep voice was tinged with an accent she could not quite place. She pulled her head back, was he referring to her eyes?

  As she swallowed, her neck moved his hand up and down with the action, revealing the light pressure he had on her. At least he wasn
’t choking her. Yet. “I don’t know what you are talking about and you should know that the police are gonna be here any minute.” her threat on deaf ears, his cold, molten eyes studied hers with intent.

“
This is truly divine intervention at work, Evangeline. We have much to do, places to go.”  His voice deceptively calm, while still fixated on her eyes. A carnal smile crept onto his full lips, “Your mortality has made you quite…captivating,” the last said as he pressed against her with unyielding force. Her ribs burned with the contact, an unexplainable concoction of pleasure and pain tested the boundaries of her mental strength and grip on reality.

When she felt his hot breath on her ear, she jerked her head back, hitting it against the roof of the car. How had he moved so quickly? Her body began trembling, her knees wobbling and weak causing her to fall if not for him holding her up by her neck. The gentle pressure on her neck was now alarmingly firm.
Is he going to kill me now? Maybe crush my windpipe?
She felt his lips part on a smile, his teeth softly grazing her earlobe as his warm breath soughed softly in and out of her ear canal. Evie shivered, the ripples cascading down her body. She could feel herself slipping, spots forming behind her eyes while a slow roar began building momentum in her head. Her heart beating erratically loud, the rushing sound becoming louder and louder, she realized she was passing out! No, no, no! This cant be happening! Not now!

  As unconsciousness won the battle over her terror, Evie distantly but clearly heard his soft, malevolent chuckle. He whispered in her ear,
“Your wait is over, Evangeline Smith. Your time has come.”

Chapter 2

  She was floating. No, maybe she was swimming. How could she be since there was not any water! Their was no sound except for the faint, distant tinkle of bells softly echoing a melodious harmony of euphonious music as if they were effected by the wind, except there wasn
’t any wind.

  White light blurred her eyes, overwhelming in its intensity. She brought her hands to her eyes to shield them from the light, but her movements were slow, almost graceful and fluid as gossamer feathers fell from her hands. She blinked, watching as the silvery plumes gracefully tumbled away from her. Slowly, beautiful colors began to appear before her as if an unknown and unseen artist was painting the scenery before her.

  She was at the bottom of a mountain looking up at peaks and valleys, the colors, hues, and textures indescribable.  She looked down at her toes to find they were hovering over the ground a few inches. She felt as though she needed to take a deep breath, but there was no air to breath, as if it was unnecessary. She raised her head up to see a darkness slowly engulf the mountaintop. Quickly, dark shades of gray and black began to appear above the peaks, as if an unknown artist furiously painted their sorrow, darkness, and pain. She tried to scream out stop, but no sound came out of her mouth. Then she heard it. Her name called from a distance. “Evie” like a whisper on the wind, only there wasn’t any wind, just existence. “Evie!” This time closer, urgent. The colors began to run like a washed out painting. No! She said inside of herself, as her panic escalated. Wait! This is the farthest I have ever made it!

 
“Evie!” Thelma Smith yelled one more time, causing Evie to jump and suck in a breath. “Easy now, I’m right here with you honey.” She said pushing a sweaty hank of hair out of Evie’s eyes.

“
You were dreaming. Was it the dream that you always have?” the question laced with worry and love shone through her bloodshot green eyes.

 
“Mom, what are you doing…where am I?” Evie asked in surprise to see her mother, and was even more surprised at the scratchy quality of her voice. Her eyes burned from the bright lights and her head pounded like a drum. She slowly and cautiously peeked through sensitive eyes at her surroundings: Pale green walls, white blanket, generic picture of sunflowers on the wall, IV pole. Wait, IV pole?

   
“I’m in the hospital?” She asked in surprise, as she gaped at her surroundings.

 
“You don’t remember what happened?” Thelma asked worriedly, wrinkling her brows at her.

 
“Oh, I remember all right. There was a man in the street and I almost hit him. A crazy and naked man, at that!” Complete irritation laced her words as she pulled herself to a sitting position while Thelma fussed with the blankets on the bed.

Thelma grabbed her hand and gave it a conciliatory rub.
“Honey, listen. You had a seizure while you were driving the other night. You hit a telephone pole.” 

 
“That’s bullshit!” Evie snapped as she pulled her hand away. “How can you sit there and tell me that I had a seizure, especially since I have never had a fucking seizure in my life!” Her fists clenching into the blankets as her head began to pound. She was going to have one hell of a headache.

 
“Evie, watch your mouth and keep it down! You are not the only patient here you know.“ Her mother quietly admonished as she looked around the room to see who had heard the outburst. Thelma’s face was red, eyes shiny and brimming with unshed tears. Evie immediately felt contrite. Her poor mother must have been a nervous wreck. They relied on each other so much.

    It was just Evie and her mom for as long as she could remember. Thelma Smith was a devoted mother who never spoke of Evie
’s father and Evie never asked about him. A person can’t really miss what they never had to begin with is what Thelma would always say the rare times Evie would ask about him.

  Mother and daughter had a close and quiet relationship. The type of relationship where they could eat dinner in a comfortable silence, Thelma lifting her hand for the salt and pepper, and Evie passing it without a spoken word. They knew each other well, sometimes even finishing each other
’s sentences. Strangely, Evie and her mother never argued and Evie never had the teen angst that so many girls suffered from, so she didn’t want to start now.

 
“I’m sorry. It’s just that you threw me off guard. That’s all. I didn’t have a seizure.” She said in the most matter of fact, confident voice that she could muster. Her mother smiled reluctantly at her, as if saying ‘whatever you say honey’ humoring her. Damn it! Thelma wasn’t buying it.

 
“Sylvie Engals? I was supposed to see her.” Evie asked uneasily, already knowing the answer.

Thelma gently shook her head, her gaze full of sympathy,
“She passed away at about four thirty in the morning, after your accident. I’m sorry. Her daughter was informed of what happened.” She squeezed Evie’s hand to provide some comfort. Evie closed her eyes, resting the back of her head on the headboard. She felt like a failure.

Opening her eyes, she cleared her throat and asked,
“When can I get out of here?” Just then, the door opened as a doctor walked in, a nurse trailing behind him pulling a blood pressure machine.

  Evie groaned and closed her eyes, could things get any worse?
“Hey Marco, how are you?”

  He stood at the end of her bed scrutinizing her. Taking off his glasses, he nodded.
“I should be asking you that question.” His Mediterranean accent was always heavy when he was angry, and right now he was difficult to understand. He was pissed off.

  Interrupting the awkward silence, Thelma cleared her throat.
“I’ll be right back. I’m going to get a cup of coffee.”

  Lifting a clipboard off the end of the bed, he avoided her eyes while he waited for the nurse to leave the room,
“We did some diagnostic tests, a cat scan and EEG which indicated some mild seizure activity.”

She rolled her eyes while he ignored it and continued,
“We started you on a loading dose of Dilantin.”  Marco stepped around the bed and sat in the chair Thelma had vacated, “Evie, listen to me. You had a seizure.” His elbows on his knees, he leaned forward and took her hand. Sudden images flooded her mind.
Medical school, internship, marriage, four kids, sudden death at age fifty-six.
Abruptly, she pulled away. He stiffened and sat back in the chair.

  His accent was heavy from his anger.
“Why do you pull away from me?”  He stood shoving his hands in his white coat and paced across the room. She sat mute, unable to answer him. What would she say?
I can’t let you touch me because I can see your entire life span including when you will die.
She turned her head away from him. She could feel his dark brown eyes boring into her. Turning back to him, his eyebrows lifted with a silent question. She pinched the bridge of her nose.

 
“I’m sorry Marco. I’m really overwhelmed right now.” He didn’t deserve to be pushed away. He deserved someone better than her, which was why she left her position in the hospital over a year ago.

  She had become a nurse four years ago and scored her first position in a hospital on a busy cardiac floor. She was passionate about her position; her compassion for others gave her a feeling of purpose and need.

  Dr. Marco Evangelista was an exotic and handsome medical resident from Croatia. The nurses on the unit she worked drooled and sighed when he was making his rounds. His deep brown eyes twinkled when he smiled; a roguish look of mischief always seemed to be present. He seemed only to have eyes for Evie, which made her feel giddy and her heartbeat raced whenever he was near. They dated and as things heated up, so did her unnerving ability to see a person’s lifespan and subsequent death. She tried to ignore her vision, until her first intense sexual experience was tainted by the intrusive vision of Marco’s entire life and eventual death. As he lay next to her smiling and handsome as he glistened in his afterglow while trying to catch his breath, she held back tears, lips quivering at the realization that she couldn’t continue their relationship.

  What was wrong with her?
She just couldn’t handle knowing when she would lose him.

  So she left her hospital position, her two week notice consisting of dodging Marco
’s confusion and hurt at her abrupt and cold break-up. She needed a position where she could be independent and care for people who knew when their life would end. End of life skilled nursing care was just the right fit for her and gave her the ability to be a confident nurse without any internal complications hindering her career.

  Picking a thread on the blanket, she asked,
“How do you know that I am really suffering from seizure activity?” the question sounded authoritative in her head, whiney when actually spoken. 

Marco switched back into Dr. Evangelista as her question prompted his cold, emotional distance. His cold demeanor stung, but he was better off this way. He looked at her for a moment; his dark brown eyes searched hers, than became distant.
“We did a cat scan and an electroencephalogram which indicated some mild seizure activity, which is why we started you on a loading dose of Dilantin.”

 
“How many milligrams am I taking?”

“
It’s a low dose to start out with and we will take it from there.” he answered as he pulled his stethoscope out of his pocket to assess her, raising his eyebrows in a silent challenge.

  
“Its fine, Marco. I know you have to assess me. “She allowed him do his thing, despite her visions, and than when he was finished, insisted upon an immediate discharge.

“
Discharge right now is not a good idea, Evie. You know that. You just started the Dilantin and we really should monitor you for anymore seizure activity for at least twenty four hours.” His concerned tone of voice tugged at her heart, a lump forming in her throat from the loss of what she could have had with him.

Her voice uneven,
“Well, Marco, I know what I need to watch out for and would rather recuperate at home. I can get some time off.” her voice very matter of fact. She just wanted to get the hell out of there and away from him.

   Noticing the dark shadows under his eyes, she winced.
“It looks like you could use some sleep and time off yourself.”  He looked at her, momentarily surprised at her observation of him. “Doctors don’t sleep very well, you know that.  I’m unfortunately no exception to the majority of sleep deprived physicians.” His unguarded smile was brief before giving way to sadness, and her heart sunk in her chest.

He studied her for a moment, cleared his throat, and then sighed.
“All right Evie. You win. I will discharge you but you are not to go back to work until your next doctor’s appointment. Is that understood?” the last of his instructions stated in a deep, resonate voice. She nodded her agreement and gave him a reassuring smile.

    He walked over to the edge of the bed, leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.
“Take care, Evie.“ The whispered words caused her to swallow the lump that had formed earlier in her throat.       Her intrusive visions thankfully overshadowed the grief of not having him in her life. He left the room as a nurse came in and began the inevitable speech about how long it will take the doctor to finish the paperwork, then to go over the paperwork,
yadayadayada
…Evie just wanted to scream shut up and do it! Instead, she offered a polite smile and said no problem. Mom scowled at her as she entered the room, able to tell that her daughters smile was a ‘screw you’ smile.

“
It wouldn’t kill you to stay another night, you know,” Thelma said in a calm, but clipped tone of voice, once the nurse left the room.

“
I don’t want to stay here. I want to go home and sleep in my own bed. Is that such a big deal?  Besides, I just can’t see him anymore. It’s too hard. “Thelma didn’t ask, and she didn’t try to explain. Swinging her feet over the side of the bed to get ready to stand up, she sat for a moment knowing that if she stood too fast, dizziness could over take her and Thelma would call the nurse back into the room. Taking a deep breath, she stood and schlepped the IV pole into the bathroom while mom mumbled her disapproval and packed her belongings into a white plastic hospital bag.