Immortal Part 2

Chapter One

            Shivering, I pulled my coat close around me and stepped on to the vestibule. I already had the key out and had turned to lock the door. For a couple months now I haven’t been able to lock the door from the inside, shut the door and merely leave. I actually have to turn the knob a few times and then lock it with the key. Otherwise, even though the door is locked I can just pull it open. The little bar, for whatever reason, doesn’t stick.

            “Hey Syd.”

            Now I shivered for a reason other than the cold and I was glad I was facing the door. I wiggled the knob and gave the door a good tug to make sure that it would remain closed before sticking the key into the hole and locking it. I took a deep breath, turned and faced the owner of the nasally, gruff voice that had spoken to me. It took a lot, I have to admit, to respond in a pleasant tone rather than the annoyed put out tone that would have revealed my true feelings, “Hey Emryl.”

            I was very proud of myself. I didn’t think I sounded revolted at all, but revulsion was my initial instinct whenever I thought about Emryl Pemstein.

            Emryl had been my neighbor ever since I could remember. I mean, I remember playing with the guy as a little kid, avoiding him like a plague in high-school, and struggling to disguise my horror when he moved into the same apartment building as I did when we went to college.

            I won’t go as far as to say that Emryl had followed me here. It just happens that we both got accepted to Boston University in Massachusetts. I got my Scholarship for performing arts. Emryl got his for mathematics. I also know that he’s as poor as I am and the dump we live in is just in our price range.

            Ever since we moved here, Emryl seems to have latched on to me. We played together as kids, like I indicated before, but I wouldn’t consider us friends. We associated with very different people all growing up. Why he felt that moving to Boston made us instant best friends, I sill can’t figure out but for the last several months he would be waiting for me every morning. He watches me lock my door and then walks me to my first class.

            I suppose I should just accept the routine and try to make the best of it. Maybe even be grateful for the guise of protection that Emryl presents for me. With a man walking by my side I wasn’t likely to become a victim of assault or rape. That kind of thing was known to happen on campus occasionally and in this wicked world one can never be too careful. I am fully aware of what a wimp Emryl is and that if it came down to it, I would end up being the protector if we were ever confronted with a threat, but still… Image is a lot and the two of us together weren’t likely to ever be attacked. The sensible logical part of me knew this and I tried to remind myself that Emryl was just trying to be nice and that he probably thought of me as his little sister, just like I thought of him as an annoying brother. But the fact of the matter was, Emryl gave me the creeps.

            Imagining him gazing into my window with a pair of binoculars hoping to see me undress was not very difficult. More than once I had caught the guy drooling as he leered at me with a perverted glaze in his eyes. I wanted to smack him. And the mere fact that he did pick me up every morning and then was there waiting for me after my last class to walk me home gave people the impression that we were together. On more than one occasion I had the distinct feeling that Emryl felt I belonged to him somehow. Sometimes the mere thought of Emryl Pemstein sent chills up and down my spine.

            As usual, Emryl immediately freed me of the burden of carrying my bag. Some women might consider this a benevolent act of a true gentleman. For me it felt like just one more way for Emryl to prove that he was the man and that I was somehow less capable than he. A surge of humiliation and resentment shot through me every morning when this happened. Oh, don’t get me wrong here. I want to someday find that gentleman that will open doors for me and pamper me.  I deserve that in my life. Every woman does. Maybe it was because Emryl never asked. He just grabbed my bag and threw it over his shoulder with a grunt. Like he was so put out and bothered by my inability to do the simplest of things… or maybe for the sheer fact that it was Emryl that was doing it. But for whatever reason it irritated me immensely.

            I forced a smile and mumbled, “Thanks.”, like I always did and the two of us stepped onto the sidewalk.

            Normally Emryl started up right away. He likes to talk. He tells me about everything going on in his life, from the television shows he’s watching, to the math problem he’s struggling with, to the meaningless facts he had picked up while searching the internet, to the weather for the next few days. I usually walk in silence, interjecting a few “uh-hunh's", “yeps”, and when things really get dull I’ll feign interest by adding “Really?” but my mind is always anticipating our arrival at my first class and the reality of an entire Emryl free day.

            After a couple minutes of absolute silence. I glanced at Emryl in puzzlement. He wasn’t talking at all.

            “Everything okay?” I asked.

            “Yep,” he said shortly and he looked behind us distractedly.

            I glanced behind us too, wondering what it was he was seeing. But I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. The street was scattered with people, like it was every morning. Other kids our age headed to class, some headed to work, mothers walking their kids to school. It was always busy and somewhat chaotic in the mornings.

            “Are you sure you’re alright?” I asked studying Emryl a little bit closer.  Something was definitely bothering him.

            What I expected from Emryl and what I got from Emryl were very different things. I thought he would dismiss me again and begin a lecture about how weird I was. He told me all the time how weird I was. I worried too much, tended to be a little bit paranoid and that I verged on ridiculous. That’s what I thought would happen. Instead he glanced behind us again. For as long as I live I will never forget the expression on his face when he turned back to me. Instead of a wide smile as he laughed off my concern and reminded me how silly I was. His face had suddenly gone pale. I won’t say it was as white as a sheet. I’ve never actually seen that. I don’t even think it’s possible, but the blood had drained from his features and his skin was an odd, yellowish, sickly color. His eyes were big and wide and he looked lost.

            “Emryl, what is wrong with you?  Are you sick?” I asked concernedly. This really wasn’t like him.

            “Don’t worry about it,” Emryl growled angrily.  “Just… let’s hurry.”

            “You’re being bizarre. Just tell me.”