Cornered
"How the hell did you find me?!?" Greg said, his eyes bulging in terror.
"It was easy," Cat’s voice said from somewhere immediately before him. "I just nosed around where you work. Originally I went down there hoping to see you. But when I looked all over the place and I still couldn’t find you, it finally occurred to me that you might have left town. I knew you’d have to stay in touch with all those flunkies and stooges of yours, so I just poked around in some files, nosed around in some phone logs and just snooped around here and there. I listened in on some phone conversations and looked over people’s shoulders when they sent e-mail messages. I did it all right under their noses and they never even knew I was there!" Cat giggled. "And I must say Greg, it was very thoughtful of you to use hotel stationary to send your faxes on: it had the name & address of the hotel you were staying at printed there at the bottom. That alone made it REAL easy for me to track you down!" she laughed.
"How—how did you get in here?"
"Well, once I found out what hotel you were staying at, I just got a room here myself, and then all I had to do was wait. Watch and wait. I knew you’d pass through the lobby eventually, so I just took my invisibility potion, parked myself down there in the lobby and waited for you to turn up." She laughed again. "I must say, they sure know how to make an invisible woman feel comfortable here! Outside, it’s cold & rainy, yet inside they still keep it nice & toasty; they even have a nice warm, cozy fire going in the lobby!"
Cat laughed again. Greg’s left eyelid began to twitch.
"Anyway, when I saw you pick up the package at the front desk, I just followed you right on up to your room. Then, once you got the door open, I gave a quick little tug on that folder thingy you had under your arm. Just enough to make you drop it. Then, while you were picking up your papers and junk, I just…walked right in."
Greg swallowed hard. "Why—" he began, his voice cracking. "Why are you here? What do you want from me? I thought we weren’t going to see each other anymore."
"Well no, what I actually said was that YOU’LL never see ME again. And you’re NOT. However, I can still see YOU if I want to. It’s a free country, isn’t it? Especially for me!" she laughed again, then fell silent.
"You know, you really shouldn’t have run away like that," she said soberly. "It was very mean of you, to just run off without a word, forcing me to go to all the trouble of tracking you down and traveling hundreds of miles to catch up with you." She paused a moment.
"It was mean and cruel of you. You made me cry." She paused again.
"I really ought to be angry with you. Very, very angry." Another long pause. Greg swallowed loudly in the silence that followed.
"But I’m not!" Cat finally laughed. "I’m just so glad to see you again!"
The floating box arced off to Greg’s left, and he flinched as he was embraced tightly by a pair of unseen arms.
"And anyway, I brought you a nice little present. Don’t you want to see what it is?"
The small velvet box now floated back in front of Greg’s face; he stared at it in horror.
"Go on, open it." Cat’s voice said.
Greg didn’t move.
"Go on, take it." The voice said. "It won’t bite you."
Cautiously, Greg reached out with trembling hands to take the box. He opened it, and his eyes widened when he saw man’s wristwatch inside. He carefully removed the watch from the box and held it before his eyes, examining it..
"Oh, my God, oh my God…" he said. His mouth dropped open when he saw what kind of watch it was. It was an Omega.
"My God!!" he gasped. "How the…! Where the hell did you get this?!? How could you possibly afford it?!?" As he said this, however, he knew full well that she couldn’t.
"Let’s just say ‘I picked it up real cheap.’"
"Oh, my God!!" Greg felt faint, his knees began to weaken. He staggered back heavily against the wall. "My God!! Stolen property! That’s all I need!"
"Did I say it was stolen? I just said ‘I picked it up.’"
Yeah, I’ll BET you did! Greg thought as he carefully replaced the watch in its case, and held it out in front of him. "I--I can’t accept this!" he said.
"What’s the matter? Don’t you like it? I can always get you another one, if you don’t like it."
"NO! Please! I don’t want another one!" He bent down and carefully placed the box on the floor. "Please… Just—Just go away! Leave me alone! Please!"
"But—But Greg, I—I--!" Cat’s voice rose in pitch and intensity. "I came all this way just for you! I went to all this trouble to find you, just so I could see you and talk to you again! Doesn’t that mean anything to you? Don’t you even care?" She paused. The small box floated up off the floor and towards Greg’s face again. "And I got you this nice present!" The box opened by itself, again revealing the watch inside. "See? Isn’t it nice? You always did like nice, expensive things, didn’t you?"
Greg stared at the floating watch-case, and he tried to edge his way along the wall towards the door.
"Come on, Greg; come on!" Cat’s sudden voice said from directly in front of him, blocking his path. "Take it! I’m trying to be nice! I said I was sorry! Can’t you forgive me?" She waited a beat, and then said, more insistently, "Well?? Can’t you??" The watch-case moved closer to Greg’s face with each word, as if for emphasis. He flinched with each movement.
"Cathy, please!" he said. "It’s over! Why can’t you face it? Please—just—just—just go away and leave me alone! That’s all I want! Just go and leave me in peace! Can’t you do that much for me at least?"
An unseen hand suddenly gripped the front of Greg’s shirt. "But—but—" Cat cried frantically. "But I said I was sorry! Greg, I need you and I love you!" The grip on Greg’s shirt tightened. "Why are you being so mean to me? Why can’t you be nice to me? Why can’t you—" she hesitated, then her voice dropped low. "Why can’t you just…love me?"
"Cathy, Cathy…" Greg said, as he gently pulled her hand away from his shirt and stepped away from the wall. He spoke softly, as though trying to soothe a child. "Please… It’s over."
"But--!"
"It’s over."
Slowly, the watch-case closed itself again and gently floated to the floor, like a leaf falling from a tree. Silence followed for a minute, broken only by the sound of Cathy sobbing.
Then suddenly, Greg’s face was grabbed roughly by a pair of unseen hands, forcing him back against the wall again. His cheeks were gripped tightly and he froze in terror, afraid even to breathe. The hands held tight, and then gradually relaxed their grip. Unseen fingers began to softly caress his cheeks. Greg flinched at their touch.
"You know Greg, you really are a heartbreaker, you know that?" Cat said, her voice breaking with emotion. "You really are. You’re very nice-looking, but you don’t care about anyone’s feelings but your own. I guess with that handsome face of yours, you think you can just go around breaking hearts left and right without consequence. Sure, you can always get yourself another girl tomorrow, right? So what do you care? You really ought to give more thought to the consequences of your actions. You really should."
The caressing continued, only now with unseen fingernails.
"And it really is a handsome face too, there’s no question about that, it’s very nice-looking. It would really be a pity if something were to happen to it, you know? I mean, even by accident." The fingers stopped their caressing and now gripped Greg’s face again. He felt fingernails digging into his cheeks. "Accidents do happen, you know. Something could happen, just like that!" Greg flinched as a pair of fingers snapped close to his face. "And you could be scarred for life. Think about it. It could be something sudden, unexpected, something you never saw coming. And it would be over and done with before you’d have a chance to do anything about it. Such a nice, handsome face, totally ruined for life… Wouldn’t that be a pity…"
A long silence followed. Greg was afraid to even blink, his heart pounding. Then the fingers gently released their grip.
"Oh, but I don’t mean to imply that I would do anything like that!" Cat said, making a feeble attempt to laugh it off as a joke. "Not me, Greg! I could never hurt you, never! I know this may be hard for you to understand, but in spite of everything, I still love you. Even now, after you’ve hurt me, and more deeply than you could ever imagine."
Cat was silent for several seconds, before she weakly laughed again. "Oh but look, why are we talking like this? You could never hurt me any more than I could ever hurt you. You love me and you need me just as much as I love you, and we both know it. And you also know, deep down inside, that you forgive me. Come on now, you know you do. You’re just too darned stubborn to admit it, that’s all." she laughed weakly.
Greg flinched as Cat again threw her invisible arms around him, and kissed his cheek.
"So come on, let’s stop all this crap and go home right now, all right?" She released her embrace and took Greg’s hand and squeezed it. "All right? Come on, let’s go." The unseen hand tugged at Greg’s. "If you start packing right now we can catch the next plane in the morning."
Greg stood frozen for several minutes, as he pondered the situation. It was incredible, but Cat still wouldn’t believe that it was over between them; she simply would not accept it. So what could he do about it? She still had the edge over him, of course. So should he go back home with her and go back to the way things had been? Or should he refuse and take the consequences, whatever they might be? In the back of his mind, he suspected that, sooner or later, he would have to face this situation; it was simply unfortunate that it turned out to be sooner rather than later.
Finally, Greg reached a decision and forced himself to respond. "No, Cathy. No." he said, pulling his hand away. "I’m not coming back. I’m staying here."
"Greg…!" Cat’s voice rose in pitch again.
"Cathy, please! For God’s sake, listen to me! Try to understand! I can’t live with you! I can’t live in fear! You’re destroying me. If I go back with you now, that whole destructive cycle will just start all over again."
"Greg! I am not going home without you!"
A long silence followed. Greg didn’t move.
Finally, Cat spoke. "Did you hear what I said? You’re either coming home with me right now or you’re not coming home at all. Do you understand me?"
Greg didn’t budge, the expression on his face was resolute.
"Greg, I mean it."
Greg merely shook his head. "Cathy, I can’t…" he said.
"Greg…you know that I can and will follow you anywhere you go. You can’t hide from me. Anywhere. Sooner or later, I’ll find you. You know I always do. So it’s pointless for you to try to run and hide from me."
Another long silence followed. Greg still didn’t move.
Suddenly, the door opened by itself. Was she leaving? Greg wondered. It was almost too much to hope for.
"Or you can try and run now." Cat said. It was too much to hope for. "Go ahead," she said. "Go on. Run. Run, you coward. Go tear-assing out into the freezing rain, without your raincoat. Go ahead. Catch pneumonia; see if I care. Sooner or later, you’ll have to come back inside. And I’ll still be here waiting for you, where it’s nice & warm inside. So go on: run. Make a break for it. I dare you."
Greg ALMOST made a move for the door. If he made a quick dash, he could grab his raincoat on the way out. But he wasn’t quite sure exactly where Cat was. Was she standing to the left of the doorway or to the right? Or right in the middle? Or did she have a fist raised, ready to clout him if he did try to run for it? He couldn’t be sure. And anyway, where could he go? Where could he stay? Another hotel? No. With that stupid convention in town, the whole city was booked solid.
Besides, Greg decided that he was through running away from Cat. As she herself pointed out, it was useless anyway. No matter where he went, sooner or later, she was bound to catch up with him. Eventually, he would have to face her down, and he might as well do it here and now.
And all the while these thoughts went through Greg’s mind, he never moved a muscle.
Finally, the door closed. "You don’t leave me much choice." Cat said.
"You’ve never given me any choice." Greg answered quietly.
Another long silence followed. Seconds stretched into minutes.
"All right," Cat said, at last. "All right, you win. I’m begging, all right? I’m begging! Please? Greg, please come back home with me. If you come home with me now, I promise I won’t hurt you, I won’t even punish you, all right? Please?"
She sounded so pathetic, Greg almost felt sorry for her. Almost. She must REALLY be desperate, he thought. Still, he never moved.
"Cathy, I can’t. I’ve heard your promises before." he said.
"Greg, please…" Cat said. "I can’t live without you. Please don’t do this to me. Don’t put me into a corner… Please…don’t force me…"
Despite the tension, Greg almost laughed. Put HER into a corner? Force HER? He couldn’t believe his ears…
"Greg…Greg…" she sounded on the verge of tears again. "Please… I don’t want to hurt you again. Please…don’t make me… don’t make me hurt you…"
Immediately, every instinct in Greg’s body screamed out to him: RUN! Fortunately, Greg hesitated for only 2.3 nanoseconds before listening to those instincts. He made a sudden move for the door. But just as he reached for the doorknob, the chain suddenly raised up and latched itself, locking the door. Greg reached to the chain to undo it, but his hand was struck away by an unseen force. He grabbed for the chain again, yanking on the doorknob at the same time to try to force the door open, but he was struck in the face by something sharp. He reeled in pain as blood poured into his eyes. Another blow was struck, this one below the belt. He doubled over in pain, and tried to back away. He ended up backing into the far corner of the room.
"Cathy, please! For God’s sake, stop this!" he cried.
"Greg…Greg...." Cat sobbed. "Why do you make me DO these things to you? I don’t want to hurt you, I really don’t…" Another blow was struck. "But you leave me no choice. You’ve just GOT to listen to me, can’t you understand that? You’ve GOT to come home with me!"
Greg made another blind lunge for the door, and again he was struck back by an unseen blow.
"No, no…" Cat’s voice said. "I’m sorry…it’s too late for that. You had your chance. I’m not about to go chasing you down the block in this weather. No…no, we’ll just have to settle this right here in private, here and now. Just the two of us… Just you…and I…"
* * *
"Nick, I’m really worried about Greg." Norma Stiles said, as she hung up the phone for the umpteenth time. "I’ve tried calling him repeatedly for the last two weeks, and he doesn’t answer the phone. I can’t even get his answering machine anymore. I tried calling him where he works, and they just say he’s out of town. And when I try to leave a message, they get really rude and then just hang up on me!"
"Maybe they thought you were somebody else," Nick said from the living room sofa.
"You know, I think they did, now that you mention it," Norma answered him. "It was weird, but I got the oddest feeling that they just plain didn’t want to talk to me."
She walked back into the living room, and sat down next to her husband on the sofa. Nick saw the look of concern on his wife’s face, and he gave her his full attention.
"I’m telling you," she said. "I am really getting frightened. I don’t know what the hell is going on with Greg lately, but I am really truly frightened. I just--" her voice dropped down low. "I don’t know, I just have a feeling, a kind of sick feeling that his life is in danger."
Nick listened soberly to his wife’s words, nodding silently.
"I know you don’t believe me—" Norma started to say.
"No, no, I DO believe you," Nick hastened to reassure her. "I admit I had my doubts at first, but now… Well, I—I’ve been getting the same kind of feeling myself. Although I don’t generally like to rely on feelings, as you know; I prefer to try to find rational explanations for things—" he stopped short as he caught the look on his wife’s face.
"Look, I don’t know what the hell is going on either, but…" He dropped his gaze and was silent a moment. He then looked his wife squarely in the eyes. "That thing at the mall a couple of weeks ago! Now dammit, I know there’s got to be a rational explanation for that! There has to be! And I’ve been racking my brains trying to come up one! It’s been driving me crazy! And I still don’t know exactly what happened or how it happened or why it happened, but—but I’ve got the crazy feeling that it’s somehow connected with Greg."
Norma looked at her husband quizzically. "What the hell are you talking about?" she asked.
"I—" he started to say. "I—can’t tell you…yet. It just sounds too crazy. But I’ve been doing some research, reading up on unusual occurrences like—like what we saw. And, I know it sounds far-fetched, but based on what I’ve read, I’m developing a theory…just a theory, mind you…about what happened and how it might have happened and how it’s connected to Greg."
Silence followed for several moments, as Norma absorbed her husband’s words. "Well…?" she said finally. "What’s you theory?"
Nick hesitated. "It’s gonna sound crazy, you’re never gonna believe it."
"Try me."
"Well…" he began, then hesitated, as though embarrassed to speak
it aloud. "Have you ever heard of telekinesis?"
"No…no… Oh, now wait a minute, you don’t mean… You don’t mean, like people moving stuff with their minds, do you?"
Nick nodded. "More or less, yeah, that’s the idea."
Norma laughed in spite of herself. "Oh, come on, you don’t really believe in that stuff, do you?"
"Well, I didn’t use to, but—well, I’ve been reading up on it, and it DOES seem to be the explanation that most closely fits the facts we have. You see…" Nick leaned forward, as he always did when he was excited about discussing something intensely interesting to him. "There is one theory that says that ‘poltergeist’ activity—you know what that is, right?"
Norma nodded. "Like at the mall, right?" she said. "Plates and stuff flying around by themselves?"
Nick nodded and went on. "Well, this theory says that ’poltergeist’ activity is really just another form of telekinesis. 'Poltergeist' activity usually centers around one individual, rather than a specific place, as in a 'classic haunting,' so to speak. So the theory is that that individual is the one who’s actually causing the disturbances. With their mind. Not intentionally, of course, but unconsciously. The theory is that the person’s subconscious mind is capable of creating an intense energy, a psychic energy that can cause mechanical, physical and even chemical effects. And it is this psychic energy that creates the disturbances, usually while the subject is under a physical or emotional stress of some kind."
Norma sat and listened stoically as she absorbed all of this. Finally, with a face completely blank, she said, "So let me get this straight…you think that Greg caused that whole scene at the mall with his mind?"
Nick nodded. "That’s my theory. Now let’s relate the theory to the facts we have. Now you said yourself that he looked like he was having a nervous breakdown, right? So who knows, maybe my theory is right. Maybe the emotional strains that Greg is under—whatever they are—have somehow triggered a latent telekinetic ability he may have. And that the disturbance we saw at the mall was really caused by the unconscious part of Greg’s troubled mind."
Norma shook her head. "I dunno, Nick…" she said. "It sounds
awfully far-fetched to me. I’m a little surprised to hear such talk coming
from you. You’re normally the level-headed one. You don’t usually go in for
this kinda stuff."
Nick bowed his head, as though embarrassed. "I know…I know it sounds crazy," he said. "But let’s think about it a minute. Let’s just suppose the theory is correct. Okay. Now do you remember what we just happened to be talking about immediately before that whole commotion started?"
Norma didn’t answer, but the look on her face indicated that she did indeed remember. Nick answered his own question:
"We were talking about Greg, right? About Greg and whatever problems he might be having with—with—" he hesitated, as though trying to avoid speaking the name aloud. "With Cathy…" he finally finished. "And BOOM! Right then, at that precise moment, all hell broke loose! Now maybe it was just a coincidence…or maybe… Well, if something like telekinesis is possible, it’s not too much a stretch of the imagination to also suppose that a kind of ‘mind-reading’ is also possible, even if only on the subconscious level."
Norma continued shaking her head. "I don’t know Nick, you’re losing me. This is all a little too much for me to swallow. I’m not sure I can buy any part of it."
"Yeah, well…" he said. "I’ve been trying to come up with some kind of explanation for what we saw that day, and except for this, I haven’t been able to think of a damned thing. I know it sounds loony, but at this point, it’s the only theory I’ve got to work with." Nick was silent for a moment, then spoke quietly, as though trying to convince himself of something. "I mean, there’s gotta be a rational explanation for it, there just has to be!"
Norma put her hand on her husband’s shoulder, as though to comfort him. Nick reached up and placed his hand on his wife’s.
"Even supposing all this is true," Norma said after a bit. "And that your theory is correct and Greg is causing all these things with his mind…what do we do about it? How do we help him?"
Nick turned and looked at his wife, surprised, as though the question hadn’t even occurred to him.
"I don’t know," he said. "I guess maybe there’s some lab or institute or something. Someplace where they study stuff like this. Maybe they could help him. I don’t know. I guess I hadn’t really thought it through that far before."
"So we’re basically back where we started," Norma said. "Namely, how do we get to Greg and help him?"
The two sat in moody silence for several minutes, each one reflecting upon their own private thoughts on the matter.
"Anyway," Nick said at length. "I’m going to go back to the library and do some more research. I want to check the back-issues of the newspapers to see if there have been any other disturbances around here like the one we saw. And if I do find any other occurrences like that, I see if they correlate to any of Greg’s known movements."
He caught a look on Norma’s face, and hastened to add, "Who knows? Maybe I’ll find something."
Norma just silently shook her head. She didn’t believe any of this stuff, the ‘poltergeists’ or the telekinesis or what-all, nor did she care. All she did know was that her friend Greg was in deep, deep trouble, of that she was sure. And she had made up her mind that, one way or another, she would find a way to get to him and help him.
"If I can just get to Greg and get him to talk to me, and tell me what’s going on, I know I can help him." she said. "I just know it… If I can just reach him…somehow…"
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