Chapter Three

 

“Man, I’ll be glad when this shift is over.” Susan stretched as she yawned widely. She placed a hand on the small of her back and winced.

“Stop it. Yawning’s contagious. Now you have me doing it.” Ellie’s words were nearly unrecognizable as she struggled to speak over her own yawn.

Susan flipped the sign on the front door from ‘open’ to ‘closed’. In the kitchen, they could hear Brad Paisley on Henry’s CD player, singing about how he was going to miss his girl. Ellie hummed along quietly as she took down the large container of salt and began filling the shakers at the booths.

“Have you decided what you’re going to sing yet?” Susan propped the broom and dustpan by the register. After they wiped the tables, she’d sweep and mop the floors.

Ellie shook her head. “I can’t seem to narrow it down. I’ll only have two minutes to make them choose me over someone else. I have to impress them, you know? I also need a couple of backup songs ready to go in case someone performs one of my choices.”

“Even if they do, they won’t do it like you can.” Susan wrung out a damp cloth from a bucket of soapy water and started on the main counter. “Lord knows you can sing just about anything, but if you really want to knock it out of the park, pick something sad and bluesy. Damn, I don’t know what it is, but when you sing from the heart like that, it just does something to me.”

Ellie shook her head, smiling at Susan’s advice. Ever since her high-school music director had encouraged her to try out for the class musical, people had praised her singing. For a short period of time, she’d been something of a star at school, but then she’d graduated and had become one of the working poor. She hadn’t wanted to stay with her last foster family after she turned eighteen, and that meant entering the workforce instead of going to the community college. She’d shared rooms with friends for a few years, pinching and saving for a place of her own. She’d only just managed to afford a cheap apartment nearby, but she loved it. She’d made it into her own private space—the first she’d ever had in her entire life.

Since high school, she’d shoehorned singing in small clubs and bars into her work schedule, but most of the money she made from gigs went to paying the backup musicians. If the Nightingale audition didn’t work out, she’d re-visit the idea of producing some single tracks. She wouldn’t be the first artist to get her start on the internet. The hard part was finding the money. Studio time was expensive. That’s why she had to be a success at Nightingale.

“I don’t want to sing something too old. And it has to showcase what I can do in a short period of time. If I’m going to advance to the next level, I have to make the judges sit up and take notice.”

“Yeah, but those old songs are the ones you do best. You give them—I don’t know—your own twist that makes them seem new. I’m telling you if you give the judges the Marilyn Monroe treatment, they’ll be eating out of your hands. If you don’t want to go that far back, do Whitney Houston. But you must let your inner Marilyn out to play.”

Ellie laughed. “Breathy and babyish?”

“No, no, that’s not what I mean. Not her vocally, but her va-va-voom. You got it. You just won’t flaunt it.”

The salt shakers done, Ellie began wiping down the tables. “Well, there’s not much call to be a sex goddess in everyday life.”

“That’s not what the hot guy with the motorcycle would say.”

“His name is Jack.”

Susan stopped cleaning and squealed. “Oooh, Jack. I love it. Never met a Jack who wasn’t trouble—and I mean that in the best way. So where’s he taking you?”

Ellie rinsed out her dishcloth in the bucket. “He’s meeting me here tomorrow for coffee after my shift ends.”

“Don’t you get enough of this place as it is? Promise me you won’t play it too safe. You don’t want that one to get away.”

No, I don’t.

The forcefulness of her thought surprised her. She didn’t hold with falling hard for every cute guy she met—that was more Susan’s style. There was no such thing as love at first sight. What mattered more to her than instant attraction was what happened when push came to shove. Past experience had taught her that if she gave a guy enough time, she’d find out what he was really made of. A little fun was all well and good, but she wasn’t going to start picking out curtains over someone she just met.

On the other hand, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d been so attracted to a near-total stranger. If ever.

“I see that look. Cat got the cream. You just roll with those instincts. Time you had a little fun in your life.” Susan shot her a sly smile.

Ellie chose not to respond to the teasing. Darn it, that was the second time in the same day someone implied her life sucked. Susan wasn’t exactly the greatest role model. Susan’s personal life was fraught with one dramatic breakup after another. It made no sense to Ellie. Why constantly ride an emotional rollercoaster? “I’d rather play it safe if it means peace and quiet. Thank you very much.”

“Peace and quiet is what you have now. What you want is someone to make your engine roar.” Susan lifted her eyebrows several times suggestively. She sobered suddenly. “Not like those two creeps that hit on you during the rush.”

Ellie’s nostrils flared at the memory. She had to rein in an unexpected rush of anger. “Don’t get me started on those two.”

She’d recognized the type the moment they’d sauntered in the door. A wannabe cowboy wearing a Stetson and boots, even though the nearest cow was in the freezer, not out on the range. He and his buddy had taken a booth in her section, Cowboy going so far as to stick his foot out in the aisle so she tripped over it. And then he just so happened to grab her ass when she did.

Susan giggled suddenly. “I thought you handled it brilliantly. The way you stomped on his foot like that? And pretended it was an accident? I thought you were going to dump the coffee pot on him too.”

“I nearly did.” Ellie warily brushed the end of her nose. Satisfied there was no smoke coming out of it, she let herself smile. It had been an Oscar-winning performance if she said so herself. Complete with profuse apologies at her clumsiness, even as she waved the steaming pot of coffee perilously close to his crotch. “That would have been a little harder to explain. But I think he saw how close he came to getting burned. At least he kept his hands to himself after that.”

Susan shuddered dramatically. “They gave me the heebie-jeebies. I hope they don’t come back.”

“Since they didn’t leave a tip, I doubt they will.” Changing the subject, Ellie added, “How about I take out the trash if you mop and sweep?”

“You’re on. I can’t stand the smell of fish when it’s fresh, let alone when it’s been sitting in the dumpster all week waiting for the garbage truck. Heck, I might even clean the bathrooms, too.” Susan beamed at her.

“Let’s not get carried away now.”

“Better grab your coat. My knee says it’s going to rain cats and dogs soon.”

“It’s too hot. I won’t be out there that long.”

“My knee is never wrong.” Susan lifted both eyebrows and tipped her chin down, giving Ellie the benefit of her years of wisdom and experience with a single motherly look. She had a point. Henry jokingly said Susan’s knee was better than a meteorologist.

Ellie started to lift her raincoat off the peg in the hallway, but the thought of putting on the plastic jacket in this heat made her wrinkle her nose. Instead she grabbed her phone and keys and dropped them into her uniform pocket. She pulled out the earbuds and slipped them in. She adjusted her iPod until she heard the opening bars for “Ain’t No Sunshine.” She stuck her head out into the main dining area and raised a hand in Susan’s direction. “I’ll be right back.”

Singer Eva Cassidy’s rich melodic voice filled her ears as she pushed open the door into the kitchen. What a vocalist. What a tragic story; a life and talent cut off far too soon. If she was considered even half as good as Cassidy, Ellie would die happy. At the moment, “Ain’t No Sunshine” was her top pick for her audition. It had most of the elements she was looking for. The trick was to give the classic song her own spin. She’d been listening to every version she could find, and though she loved some of the others, she thought Cassidy had the best cover. For it to work as her audition song, Ellie would have to imagine what it would be like to love someone so much she couldn’t bear to be without them, that when they were gone, the whole world was dark and grey.

The hard little shard that passed for her heart most days said it was ridiculous to pine for such a love. It was demeaning and dangerous. But the part of her that yearned to love and be loved like that in return pictured Jack’s smile. It could light up her entire world if she let it.

Ridiculous.

In the kitchen, Henry stirred a large pot of green beans, part of the next day’s menu. The food prep area was like a sauna. Sweat gleamed off his big biceps as he worked. His dreads were tied back to keep them out of his face, revealing the single gold earring that glittered in his left ear. Moths battered themselves against the screen where the back door stood open to offset the heat. Henry’s CD player was silent, waiting for him to re-start it again.

“Ellie.” Henry’s smile was beatific. “Here, try this.” He turned away from the beans to ladle out a spoonful of peach pie filling that was cooling on the stove and offered it up.

Ellie switched off the iPod and obediently sampled the filling, closing her eyes in bliss as she swallowed. When her lids fluttered open again, it was to Henry’s expectant expression. “Perfect. I’m surprised no one’s called you to go commercial.”

“Someday, someday.” Henry looked pleased at the compliment. “When you get big and famous, you’ll remember me, right?”

“Absolutely.” The large trash cans by the back door were nearly full, but she managed to tie the bags off and heft them up out of the cans. “Anything else?”

“’That’s it.” He frowned when she set one bag down to turn on the iPod again. “Keep the volume down on that music, okay? Pay attention to your surroundings. A girl’s got to be smart, especially after dark.”

“Aye, aye, captain.” Ellie gave him a mocking half-salute and took the trash out the back door.

In defiance to his own strictures, Henry clicked on the CD player. The disc spun and began to play. The music followed Ellie out into the night.

Compared to the kitchen, the alley was cooler, but it still felt like an oven. The night steamed with the humidity of a typical Carolina summer evening, but at least there was a bit of a breeze. A white flash overhead made Ellie look up at the sky. When no rumble of thunder followed, she shrugged it off.

Just heat lightning.

If she hurried, she’d be back inside before any rain started. Two minutes was all it would take to put out the trash. The dumpsters sat at the far end of the narrow lane. Several businesses had access to the alley, but only the diner stayed open this late. The tobacconist’s shop had an outside light on over its back door—a single bulb in a metal cage. Between that and the open door of the diner, there was enough illumination for Ellie to make her way to the dumpster. Murmuring the lyrics along with Eva Cassidy, Ellie let her eyes adjust to the dimly lit alley as she hefted the trash bags along toward the trash bins.

Normally Ellie didn’t mind taking out the garbage, but tonight she seemed acutely aware of the dark isolation of the alley. The hair on the back of her neck prickled, sending her into full alert. She set the bags down and popped the ear buds out to let them dangle at the end of their cord, the tinny sound of the still-playing track audible as a faint whine until she switched it off. After a few moments, with her pulse pounding like thunder in her ears, she shook her head at her nervousness. Too many late nights watching intense television programs, that was her problem. She almost laughed when she realized she was simply scaring herself. No more zombie shows for you.

Then she heard the small scrape of sound behind her.

Her hearing had always been good. Same with her vision. Better than normal. Better than human. It wasn’t something she admitted to herself very often, uncomfortable with notion that it was just one more thing that marked her as being different. But not tonight. Tonight she strained with every sense to identify the source of the sound behind her.

She didn’t have to wait long. Backlit by the street lamps at the end of the alley, she made out the forms of two men walking in her direction. The sight of them caused her heart to jolt to a stop in her chest and then thud with an almost nauseating urgency. Instinct told her to leave the trash and go back to the diner, but they were already between her and the bright rectangle of light that indicated the open door. They moved with a kind of predatory grace that made her skin crawl. This was no ordinary stroll down an empty lane. There was no way she could get past without going between them now. They were coming for her.

It didn’t matter why. All she knew was she was trapped at the dead end of the alley, and her only weapons were the bags of trash. She tucked the ear buds in her pocket and picked up the bags, walking toward the men approaching her.

They paused, as if her action was unexpected.

Good. Keep them off balance.

They recovered their composure far too quickly.

“Where do you think you’re going, little lady?”

She recognized the voice at once. The backlight from the open diner door revealed the shape of a Stetson on one of the men. It was Cowboy and his sullen friend. Her heart began thumping in her chest like a bird trying to batter its way out of a cage.

If she screamed, would Henry hear her over the CD player? Maybe, but only if he was still in the kitchen. She had to get closer to the door before she made her best attempt at getting help.

“Wouldn’t you know? I brought out the wrong bags.” She said it laughingly, as though she was a witless waitress who couldn't tell trash from—well, other green plastic bags. Maybe they’d buy the dumb woman act since she’d played it earlier that evening. Deep down, she knew if they’d believed it then they probably wouldn’t be coming after her now, but she had no choice. She continued walking briskly toward them, swinging the heavy bags slightly as she moved.

As one, the two men closed the gap through which she might have passed, forcing her to stop.

“You’re coming with us.” The stench of cheap cologne mixed with the acrid scent of male sweat struck her as Cowboy blocked her path. Anticipation of her distress gloated in his voice. He was enjoying this.

Her blood roared in her veins, demanding she run or punch her way out of the situation. If she pretended she wasn’t scared, would they believe it?

“Think again.” She lowered her head and tightened her grip on the trash bags.

“No one’s gonna hear you if you scream.” Sullen Guy chimed in, chucking his head back toward the open door of the diner.

He might be right, but his smug assumption pissed her off just the same. Deep inside, something thumped against restraints. Anger coursed through her, giving her courage.

“You’ve never heard me scream.” She lunged forward, swinging the trash bags as she went, her mouth open to erupt with sound.

Her friends had long joked that she could shatter glass with her voice if she tried, and for once, she could care less if she damaged her vocal chords by screaming at the top of her lungs. Only no sound came out. Her mouth gaped wide and the muscles in her throat strained, but the fog-horn bellow of sound she expected didn’t materialize.

Momentum carried her forward, and despite the shock of temporarily being mute, she slammed into her would-be attackers, slinging the heavy bags of trash against them. The plastic tore, raining rotten vegetables and leftover food upon the men. Sullen Guy flinched and drew back, gagging at the sudden stench of liquefying waste. Ellie shoved past them and would have gotten through, only Cowboy caught her by the arm and jerked her back so hard she almost lost her footing.

“Grab her!” Cowboy grappled to retain his grip on Ellie, even as she desperately tried to shriek. What was wrong with her voice? Why couldn’t she scream?

His hands shifted to her throat, and she knew if he choked her, she’d pass out in no time. In desperation, she tried to twist out of his grasp. His fingers scrabbled at her neck and grabbed hold of her necklace. The chain bit into her skin as she pulled away. When it finally snapped, something popped in her ears, like pressure being released.

Ellie clasped a hand to her neck, feeling for the necklace that was now gone. The terrible anger, seemingly banked before, rose within her from a source she did not recognize but had always suspected was there. She opened her mouth once more, and this time, her silent scream held all of her long-buried rage within.

Sullen Guy pulled up sharply and clapped his hands to his ears. “Christ, can you hear that? Jeez, it’s like a chainsaw going right through my head.”

Cowboy leapt forward and snagged Ellie by the arm again. “What are you jabbering about, you idiot? Get her!”

When she paused for breath, Sullen Guy grabbed her other arm. Realizing she couldn’t fight off both of them at once, Ellie dropped to the ground. Unable to hold her up, her attackers were pulled off-balance as her weight dragged them forward. She rolled and swung out with her feet, kicking Cowboy in the shins.

“Hold still, you fat bitch.” Cowboy fell on top of her, pinning her to the pavement as his hands choked the breath out of her. She clawed at his fingers around her neck, unable to call for help, unable to breathe.

“We’re not supposed to kill her.” Sullen Guy sounded upset.

“Unless we didn’t have a choice.” Cowboy ground out the words as he sat on Ellie. The light from the tobacco store’s doorway spilled over his features, and she could see his creepy sneer. He was getting off on this.

Like before in the bathroom, a puff of gray smoke blew out of her nose.

Cowboy must have seen it too because he reared back slightly. Taking advantage of his hesitation, she drove her hands up between his arms and used the strength and width of her shoulders to push them apart, while at the same time thrusting her pelvis upward. Having lost his grip on her neck, and being tipped forward with the sudden shove from below, he came down just as she brought her head up. When her forehead slammed into his nose, he cried out. Her eyes watered with the impact, but she couldn’t let the pain stop her. As he clutched his bloody nose, she pushed him off, following his roll sideways to drive her elbow down into his windpipe.

Leaving Cowboy coughing and sputtering on the ground, she bared her teeth at Sullen Guy and rose to her feet.

“Now wait just a minute.” He raised his arm as though warding off a blow. It was no good. She couldn’t back down now. Her blood was up. She opened her mouth and shrieked again.

This time, there was audible sound with her vocalization. It was like nothing she’d ever heard before, and it was hard to believe it came from her. It sounded old, powerful, and pissed.

It didn’t sound human.

There was movement in the shadows, and then they came. Rats at first, boiling out of holes in the walls and from behind the dumpsters, filling the alley like a living river. But cats, too. Feral alley cats, with heads as big as pumpkins and tattered ears from fighting, eyes gleaming eerily in the light from the diner as they stalked their way down the pavement. A fierce exaltation rose in her at the sight. She’d called, and they’d come.

Sullen Guy freaked. With a wordless yell, he turned tail and ran, his footsteps echoing in the narrow alley. He cursed as he leapt over a horde of squeaking rodents.

She watched him go with undiluted satisfaction, the monster within her growling softly with pleasure at being allowed out to play even this much.

A metallic snick of sound behind her caught her attention and she turned slowly to see Cowboy screwing a silencer on the end of a gun. He trained it on her before she could react, wiping his bleeding nose with the back of his other hand. “You’re gonna pay for this.”

Behind him, a tomcat emitted a low growling sound. Cowboy fired a single shot in the direction of the cat without looking back. The gun spat the bullet with a muffled crack, causing rats and cats to scatter alike. Ellie took an involuntary step forward.

“No!” The animals had only come because she called them. She couldn’t let them be killed for that.

“If you don’t want me to shoot them, you’ll come with me quietly. No more fuss. No more doing whatever it is you do with your voice.” He used the gun to wave in the direction of the alley’s entrance. “Let’s go.”

She lifted her hands as a show of obedience and walked slowly in front of him toward the street. Instinctively, she released a high-pitched message for the street animals to stand down. They melted back into the holes and ran under boxes and containers as Ellie walked stiffly in front of Cowboy. Tempted as she was to duck into the diner, she couldn’t risk Cowboy shooting not only her but Henry and Susan, too. She passed the open door, music still pouring out into the lane, all too aware that Henry probably never heard the gunshot, and had no idea she was in trouble.

Something within the shadows caught her attention. Something was there, big and black, blending in with the walls. Her heart lifted as she noted it, even though she had no idea what is was. Whatever it was, it had come to save her. That much, she was certain. A sense of calmness settled on her like a comforting blanket, and she raised her chin as she walked past her protector in the darkness.

A throaty roar erupted from the shadows, and a sinuous flash leapt out of the blackness. Cowboy yelled and his gun barked. Ellie dove on his gun arm, driving his hand toward the ground as she pounded and kicked, even as the black animal howled with rage and pain. The force of the large creature striking his body knocked Cowboy down, pulling him out of Ellie’s reach. The gun clattered to the pavement. Cowboy hit the ground hard, but scrambled to his feet, clutching his bleeding arm, his mouth open in shock. He faced Ellie for a brief moment, his face frozen in wide-eyed fear. He turned and ran.

In the dim light of the alley, with thunder rumbling overhead, Ellie saw the body of a black leopard stretched out in front of her.