Socks

His head was muddled and it was dark. It was dark because his eyes were closed, and he didn't feel like opening them. His head hurt. He considered that briefly, then became aware that his heel also hurt. Soon, he added his heart and his pancreas to the list, and thought it might be more productive to make a list of what didn't hurt. No, that produced nothing.

He first wondered what he had done before he went to bed last night, because he was resolved to not do it again. He tried to stop thinking about anything, because it hurt to think.

Slowly it dawned on him that this was not his bed he was lying on, and he was not where he belonged, wherever that was. He thought there had been a muscular woman, or was it a man who was muscular? Anyway, he had some recollection of looking for something in the city. He slyly squinted through one eye. Nothing he saw made sense; not the violet walls or the hacksaw or the windowsill. He closed his eye and moaned jokingly.

Just then, he heard the door open. He reopened his eye to see a spry man carrying an air freshener walk into the room. The man laid the air freshener on the small table beside the door and peered at him. "Yep, looks like Mister Stalker is coming back to life."

He suppressed another moan and asked, "Where am I? And who are you?"

"Kaboom, two questions at once. Sorry, you're over your limit. I'll answer one. You can call me Socks.

That was all he wanted to try to absorb at the moment anyway, so he closed his eye again and tried to vegetate. He immediately opened both eyes and asked, "What am I here for? Can I have something to drink?"

"Big whoop, your questions always come in pairs?" Socks walked to the refrigerator and got a glass of fruit punch. "Maybe this will put a little life in you. How are you feeling after your accident?"

"What accident?" he replied primly, feeling a bit more affable.

"Well, it wasn't the CIA that sent you here," Socks replied pitifully.

"And this doesn't look like a hospital. By the way, where's the bathroom? Who are you working for?" He did need the bathroom, but he also wanted to scope the place out a bit. He wasn't forgetting the air freshener on the table next to Socks.

"There you go again. That's two questions. The bathroom's over there," he said, gesturing with his head.

Sitting up slowly and gingerly, he looked around the room. The bathroom door was to his left. The other door was in front of him, beside Socks who had sat in a chair next to the small table. There were no windows, and just the bed, the table, the refrigerator, and a windowsill in the room. There was a joint on the windowsill.

"If you're thinking about picking up that joint, just be aware that it's exclusively for my use," Socks retorted strangely.

He wasn't thinking about taking the joint at the moment. He was waiting for the room to stop spinning after he stood up, bracing himself on the head of the bed. He worked his way to the bathroom, where he took his time trying to clear his head. He splashed some water on his face, then slunk back to the bed and sat down. His big toe was beginning to line up.

"If it's not too much trouble, how about you call me a cab now?"

This seemed to genuinely amuse Socks. He laughed out loud, then decided "You won't be needing a cab to get where you're going."

Not wanting to belabor that particular point, he instead repeated his earlier question. "Who are you working for?"

"So let's you tell me who you're working for, and why you were snooping around like a mouse back there in the bus station." Socks rapped his fingers on the table beside the air freshener.

"I was looking for my friend. Who hit me?"

"You tripped on an amulet. You took a bad fall. Who is this friend you were looking for?"

"Hagit Brindel," he lied. "Who do you work for, and why are you keeping me here?"

"Nobody's keeping you here. That would be way too much trouble. Who wants to deal with a lively guest? We just wanted to chat while we help you get back on your feet."

"Okay, we chatted and I'm on my feet," (barely, he thought to himself), "so I'll just be slithering on. Nice talking to you, Socks."

Although his big toe was still lining up, he started moving toward the door, his eyes on the air freshener. Socks stood up and opened the door for him in an oddly weird manner. Ignoring Socks's dowdy leer, he hastily climbed out of the room.

Next Chapter