Heavy!
He was so heavy that my maximum effort only got me three steps back. If they'd captured him, I was questioning whether to send him back. For a captive who was bruised and battered, he sure was well fed and so damn heavy!
Or maybe I'd lost some muscles since my job got that trolley to carry the books around easier? Maybe simply pulling the little wagon wasn't helping me build strength?
I thought aloud to myself, hoping the sound would make this guy wake up and walk. Nothing happened. He was breathing and had stopped bleeding but he didn't move unless I moved him. The little cuts on his palms and arms made me change my mind about letting anyone else find him. They were all random and just as discoloured and ugly as his swollen bruises.
The hardest part about getting him inside was getting him up the three steps out front. I said my quick prayers as I shut the door seeing my first vehicle coming down the street, too far to have seen a thing. Everyone loved the night life as much as they loved the gossip. I was certain my neighbours were no where around yet.
After locking the door, I turned to find Pete on his couch and the man just where I'd left him. I knew there was no way I'd be able to get him out of the tub once I got him in so I took him to my storage room. Getting his t-shirt off was even harder than getting him inside and it made me irritated. Once the task was done, I fed Pete and took a drink myself. My mind kept flashing images of men barging into my place with guns, readily taking the heavy log back to their dungeons and locking me up too.
With Pete happy and in his little world, watching cartoons, I went back to work on the man, having taken off my shirt and having changed my skirt for shorts. I wiped him down with a damp cloth, a bowl beside me and a dry towel too.
I opted to leave his pants on but changed my mind when I saw a small blood smear when I turned him to his side. His bruises were bad enough that his body looked like a colourful nightmare. His pants off, a few slashes were revealed that looked inflamed.
A doctor. That's what he needed.
That's what I wasn't.
I knew if I did take him to the hospital then they'd have him in a second. If I took him to the nurse who lived close by, she'd start a rumor and soon gossip would lead a path to the Grazianos.
I cleaned him up as best as I could, thinking of him as the stray that he was and attempted to move him to make room for a mattress in the corner. Moving a person without clothing who'd just been sponged over a polished tiled floor is like moving a rubbed based cabinet. It sounded painful. I gave up on moving him, brought the mattress in, covered it and eventually got him on it.
Too tired to move and too afraid to sit outside and take in some fresh air, I climbed into my own bed after I showered and fell asleep welcoming some sweet nightmares with their crazy dramas.
Betty, the beautiful, dark-haired, petit woman, waltzed over with a hunk who killed every last one of the message carriers. Somehow they found everyone who'd been at the diner and killed them all too and saved me for last. They broke into my flat and found the man. They took him back to the dungeons and dragged me back with him, torturing every bit of information out of me, thinking I was working for the Maarafis and Ortellis as a double agent. It was so swift a dream that I woke up with a start. A small gasp erupted from my lips when I saw the man lying unconscious in front of my doorway, then he opened his eyes and looked right at me.
I woke up screaming. My body sweaty and feeling like I'd never slept at all. I opened the curtains to let some light in then remembered that I was afraid of the outside. I closed them back and made my bed before removing the sweat soaked sheets altogether.
I checked in on the man and found him right where I'd left him, breathing and still out cold.
I did laundry and hung it across the living room. I forced myself to stop panicking as I opened some windows to help with the drying. Pete went out and didn't come back in until lunch. When he did come back, a strange man came with him.
'Goodday, I presume you own this mutt?' The man looked too young to even be using the word mutt. I simply gave him a tight smile and nodded, beckoning Pete inside. He sat and stared up at the stranger, his tail wagging slowly but calmly. 'Much appreciate it if you'd get him away from me.' I nodded again, before stopping him short of the door by walking into the gap.
'What can I help you with?' I asked, pulling the door in to make the space in the doorway only as big as me. 'You lost?' I asked and he gave me a half glare, half uncaring stare. He just stood there and waited as though I might crack. I was too concerned about how happy he made Pete to remember the stowaway in my storage room.
'Nope. Think I might have the wrong house.' He seemed pleased, turned his back and headed away from the house. 'And tie that mutt!' He called back behind him, turning on the street and heading into a black car parked on the corner close to the back alleyway.
Pete looked up at me and barked a friendly greeting once before he tried rushing inside. I cleaned him up, taking note of the dark brown rusty colour under his paws. White again, he clambered over to the sofa and spread out on it taking in the warm breeze.
Thinking the apartment had had enough air, I closed up the place and got to work on my own meal. Having hobbies used to keep me occupied but these days, having read so many books, I was bored of hobbies and happier just existing.
Food in my stomach, a fluffed and happy dog on my sofa and all my windows shut, I finally went over to the locked door. I turned on the lights and found him looking at me through his swollen eyes, his expression and emotion hard to read.
'You're awake.' I acknowledged and he tried to moved but made a small cry after trying to wince. 'You must be in so much pain.' I ran over to him and he didn't try to move since his eyes were closed. When he opened them, he had a couple tears there but he never made another sound to accompany them.
'What's your name?' I asked him and he remained silent.
'Can you eat? You think...' I asked and he still didn't speak.
'Aren't you a stubborn one?' I almost laughed at how much he reminded me of Pete.
He held the tears back but didn't try to move his body. I wanted to help him more but there wasn't a realistic way to take away someone's pain. I had regular medicine but those wouldn't help his pain and I was sure, with him awake and still remembering his captors, he wouldn't willingly take any.
'I'm going to leave you alone in here. No one will hurt you. You're safe now.' I said, standing up and walking to the door. ' Rest well, okay. I'll give you some space to clear your head.' With that, I closed the door and left him alone in the room with the lights on.
Sure, I'd saved him but I knew he'd been through a lot just from the turmoil and defeated look in his eyes. I wanted him to feel safe before I forced him to eat and talk. I waited outside, watching the ceiling with Pete while cartoons played on the screen. We waited and waited until we fell asleep there, listening for a sound that never came.