Life is a bit like a party. When something goes wrong, one has to clean up the mess before relaxing.

A science teacher in front of a volcano experiment gone wrong

As I floated at the demarcation between consciousness and unconsciousness, the first thing I noticed was the warmth. Someone had wrapped a cloak around me, and was carrying me along in swift, but sure motions.

The second thing I noticed was the overpowering stench. A mixture of garbage n°5, “Eau de Sueur”, rotten fish, and other even less appealing smells kept intruding into my lungs. Had I been completely awake I would surely be puking my guts in a corner by now, but thankfully my numb and limp body repressed that urge.

After what seemed like ages but could have been only minutes, I was set down on the ground. A hand gently patted my hair, and tightened the cloak around my body. I could hear words spoken above me:

“It’s alright now little one, you’ll be safe here.”

The voice was deep and warm, with rough edges as if the speaker was either a chain smoker, or hadn’t used it in a long time. An unknown voice should have frightened me in my state, but instead I felt deeply reassured, letting myself sink deeper into oblivion.

I woke up a second time to a weight pressing down on my stomach and a beeping sound nearby. Tensing up, my eyes snapped open as I took in my surroundings.

“White walls, disinfectant smell, medical bed, did that man bring me to the emergency room?”

I was lying in a bed with one of those paper-ish hospital gown covering me. The weight I had felt was the head of the imp sleeping (and drooling) on my gut. Dark circles could be seen under her puffy eyes, her usually neat clothing all rumpled from her sleeping position.

“How long have I been here?”

As she whimpered in her sleep, I combed her hair with my fingers in reassurance. It would totally not be my fault if she woke up with a bird’s nest on top of her head…

A squealed “SIS! You’re all right!” later, I was busily getting strangled by hulk-Kate crying in my neck when the door opened on my mother carrying goodies of the edible kind. For a minute, she just watched me getting mangl…err hugged by my sister with a slight smile on her lips.

“I see you decided to come back amongst the living?”

I gently unclamped my sister’s arms from my throat to free my hands so I could answer.

“It has been a rough day, or couple of days maybe? How long have I been sleeping?”

“You got here during the night, around a day and a half ago. They told me you had some bruising and were in shock, but nothing a few days of rest won’t cure.

“So we can go home? I really want to go home…”

“Someone wanted to talk to you before we checked out, but it shouldn’t be a problem to get discharged afterwards.”

“Sooo…are some of the goodies in that bag for me? I’m so hungry I could eat a horse and its saddle right now.”

“I’ll go check with the nurses what you can eat. For now, don’t touch anything!”

As my mother left the room, I winked at the imp as I snagged a couple snacks out of the bag for the both of us.

“I’m totally telling mom if she asks!”

“If you don’t want the snack I’ll eat both you know.”

“Give that to me!” mumbling “I’m still telling her…”

Is it bad that I love seeing my sister when she’s mad? A riled up imp with puffed up cheeks was just too damn cute.

Besides, the routine banter was reassuring in a way, the normalcy of the act restoring my balance.

While we cracked jokes I could hear footsteps approaching the door and a male voice answering someone I couldn’t hear, maybe a phone.

“I know we’ve got lot of work piling up at the station, but I’ve got four men turned into vegetables and the last person seen with them just got delivered in a neat package to the closest hospital. I’ll come back once I wrapped up here, not a minute before!”

“…”

“Just give me an hour, ok, we’ll talk after.”

A knock landed on the door before it opened on a tired looking middle aged man. With a weary sigh, he came to sit beside the bed.

“Good morning young lady, I’m Inspector Leroy. I needed to ask you a few questions if you’re up for it?”

I nudged Kate’s shoulder and signed:

“Go find mom, I’ll need her to translate the conversation.”

“I can translate too!”

“I know you can, but this is adult stuff and I don’t want you mixed in it. No arguments!”

I seldom put my foot down with my younger sister, so she knows when arguing is useless. Pouting, she left the room in search of mom.

I pointed at the watch of my visitor, then raised 3 fingers.

“I need to wait a few minutes uh?

Nodding, I took the opportunity to observe him. I rather liked what I saw. He looked to be around 40-45 years old, with a lined and tired face that still managed to retain laugh lines and crow feet at the edges of his blue eyes. His chestnut hair was lightly streaked with white at the temples, giving him a distinguished air.

He was wearing neat but casual clothing, which told me he wasn’t the run-of-the-mill policeman since he wasn’t in uniform, and a depression on his ring finger attested of the absence of a ring that probably had been there for a long time.

The door opened once more on mom, while Kate sat on a chair outside.

“Let’s get this started then.”

Mom…can you be blunter?

“As your daughter probably told you, I’m here to ask Abigail a few questions about the incident that brought her here, and she asked for you to translate her answers, is that ok with you?”

“As long as you stay fair to my daughter I’ll answer you.”

“Has your daughter always been mute or is it due to the recent events?”

“She was born like that, her hearing’s perfect, and her vocal chords show no anomaly, but for some reason she never could utter a sound. She didn’t even wail as a baby.”

“Is that so? I never heard of such an occurrence…did you consult a specialist for this disability?”

“More than one, but I don’t think you came here to discuss my daughter’s handicap, no?”

“Yes, of course, please forgive my prying. It’s an occupational hazard of mine. So Miss Ortiz, how long have you known Michael Boyer and his friends?”

“I never knew his friends, as for him, I met him at work about four months ago. He came to show samples of his textile company to my boss, and we dated a couple times afterwards. He is handsome after all, and I was single and stupid.”

“I take it things didn’t go well between you two?”

“I broke up after two dates, but he kept pestering me and showing up around me.”

“Can you tell me in your own words what happened that evening?”

“I was heading home after works and minding my own business when he and his friends popped up again. We had words, I asked him to leave alone, then they attacked me. I clobbered one in the forehead with a garbage can cover, and another one in the belly and neck with a plank. After that there was an explosion and I fainted. Next thing I knew I awoke in this room a couple hours ago.”

“Did you know Mr. Boyer had a sealed juvenile record?”

“Had I known I would have stayed clear off him from the beginning”

“Mr. Boyer and his friend are now in another section of this hospital. It seems their minds regressed to the state of newborns. The doctors don’t know if they’ll recover. Do you have any idea what might have caused it or caused the explosion you talked about?”

“I truthfully can’t say I feel an empathy towards their condition, but no, I have no idea what caused it. The explosion knocked me out, and no, I don’t know where it came from either.”

“Is that so? Do you remember know who brought you to the ER?

“I only know it was a man, I was pretty much out of it, so I don’t know how he looks like. I would probably recognize his voice if I was to hear it again, but that’s about all.”

“Excuse me inspector, but is my daughter in trouble?”

“No, I can reassure you on this. All the evidence points at your daughter being a victim in this case. Frankly, I’m more interested in her as a potential witness. I have four grown men with their minds entirely wiped without a clue about how it was done, an incendiary bomb that didn’t leave any residue, and a ghost-like mystery man who can deposit a half-naked woman in front of a hospital without being caught on security cameras or seen by anyone. What I want are clues to solve those riddles.

I’ll leave you my card, in case you remember anything, feel free to have your mother call me at any time, or you can leave a written message.”

“About written messages, did you find by any chance a decorated clipboard on a silver chain? It was a gift and has sentimental value to me.”

“I’ll check the evidence, if it’s there I’ll make sure it’s returned to you as soon as possible considering the situation of this case.”

“Thank you, inspector.”

As he turned to leave the room, I could feel my mother’s pondering gaze on my back.

“Let’s get you in the shower and changed, then I’ll take you home.”

A few minutes later, I was looking at my reflection in the mirror. Some bruising could be seen on various places on my stomach and ribs, but the absolute best was still my face. Two magnificent black eyes circled my yellow irises, making them stand out even more. I looked like an overgrown raccoon, further enhanced by my mated and dirty hair.

Sniffing, I couldn’t help but notice my quite overripe smell either.

“That policeman sure was polite to not say anything about my condition.”

I hopped in the shower, letting the warm water wash away the dirt and loosen my cramped muscles. I hadn’t noticed how tensed I had been all along, and it felt good to let go. A tear ran down my cheek, mingling with the water.

“I can’t cry here. I won’t give the bastards the satisfaction!”

Swallowing back the tears, I resolutely went out of the cramped shower, drying myself with one of the hospital’s towel. I dressed up in the jeans and sweater mom brought me, then went back to the room.

Mom looked me up and down in satisfaction.

“Much better. Now that you don’t look like a war refugee anymore we’ll go back home, then you’ll tell me everything you didn’t tell Inspector Leroy, and I mean everything. We’ll figure out a way to track down your father too, something tells me we’ll need him for what’s to come.”

Katarina just looked at us with her mouth agape, as if stricken by lightning.