Post by Hellokitty on Aug 19, 2006 8:42:43 GMT -5
Falling Book 2: Finding Marlena – Chapter 4
“25?” John asked curiously, hearing the blood hounds barks nearing closer with each step. Not wanting to waste a moment of precious time that they didn’t have, John grabbed Marlena’s hand and pulled her alongside him. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye noticing that she seemed to be lost in her own world.
“I don’t know,” Marlena said as she tried to stop. She was so confused right now; her head full of images and thoughts that wouldn’t end. She hadn’t had this level of confusion in months; really since she started remembering her past. John pulled on her arm to keep her walking.
“Come on Doc, just a little bit further,” John whispered, as he looked around, hoping that the map that he’d memorized weeks ago of this area was accurate. He recognized some of the landmarks from the map, and was hopeful that the town was 2 miles away as charted.
“He said 25, I’m sure of it,” Marlena said, her mind flashing back to the memory of him, laying on top of her trying to rape her when Mason unremorsefully shot him in the head. She clearly remembered him saying something else to her, but couldn’t conjure up what that was. A feeling of uneasiness settled over her; she felt dirty and wanted to take a shower.
“25….that’s a start…what do you think it means?” John asked trying to act like they were having a normal conversation during a quiet walk in the woods. In reality he wanted nothing more than to climb inside her head and figure out what all these jumbled pieces of her past meant, if they meant anything at all. There had to be a reason why President Maxwell Owens was after Marlena, other than the fact that she supposedly killed his brother Channing. Was that enough to make the President risk everything to go after a private citizen?
“I have no idea,” Marlena muttered as she looked down at her arms. Deep red gashes marred the pale white skin. Both of her arms had the telltale sign of someone grabbing onto them and leaving the imprint of their fingernails as Marlena pulled out of their grasp. The wounds were starting to throb with each step she took.
“Are you alright?” John asked noticing that Marlena was absently rubbing her arms and grimacing as they walked along the trail.
“I’m fine,” she whispered, not bothering to look up. She needed to be strong for him.
“You don’t sound fine Doc,” John said, stopping in the middle of the path and facing her. “Let me see your arm,” John demanded as he tried to reach around her and grab hold of her arm.
“No,” Marlena said defiantly as she backed away from him. “I said I’m fine….we don’t have time for this right now…okay…didn’t you say we needed to find shelter?” She pulled the thin material as far down her arms as it would gone, hiding her injury from John. She couldn’t deal with his interrogation of her right now.
“Nice diversion Marlena…For now I’m going to let this issue pass, but I can tell you that once we find some place to hide out I will be looking at your arm whether you like it or not.” If she was hurt he needed to know. It was better to treat her injuries as they arose rather than wait until they were in a situation where there was potentially no medical help available. Damn her stubbornness.
“Fine,” Marlena muttered as she took off ahead of him, leaving him staring at her backside as she disappeared down the narrow path. She wasn’t going to wait around for another interrogation. She hated that he still saw her as a fragile person that needed to be protected. In reality, she had more clarity as to who she was and what she wanted than she’d had in the last ten years.
“Dammit…Doc, wait up,” John whispered loudly as he took off running after her. She was so infuriating to him at times.
After twenty minutes of walking in almost complete darkness without saying a word to each other they reached the edge of the small Italian fishing village. Glancing down at his watch, John noted that it was almost ten p.m.
“Doc, stick close to me and try to blend in like you live here,” John whispered as he looked around and sized up their options. Marlena snickered at the comment. With her long tangled hair, dirty and wet clothes she looked everything but a local. John could hear the sounds of police sirens in the distance. Unless they took cover now, they were certain to be caught.
Grabbing her hand he ran across the cobblestone street to a house whose lights were off. Looking in the lace covered windows John sized up the occupancy. He was unable to tell if anyone was home or lived there.
“Come on John,” Marlena muttered, starting to get nervous standing on the darkened street when there was a manhunt out for her.
John tried to open the window to the house when an upstairs light went on. Quickly dropping out of sight, John grabbed Marlena’s hand and ran. Beyond exhausted, Marlena struggled to keep up with him.
Running down a narrow alley that ran behind the house, John pulled Marlena behind a trash dumpster to rest. Leaning for support against the filthy canister Marlena tried to catch her breath. “Lets find a barn,” she suggested, not knowing personally how much longer she could keep on running tonight. She needed something to eat; contemplating rummaging through the canister before her.
“What do you think this place is? Jerusalem?” John joked, looking around him for a barn. It wasn’t a bad idea; if only he could find one. He could tell from Marlena’s stance that she was beyond exhausted and hungry but was trying to put on a brave front for him.
“It sure as hell beats sleeping in an occupied house John,” Marlena joked back, looking around for another house that didn’t look occupied. Up and down the street almost all the houses were dark, save for one of two with low watt bulbs illuminating corridors for children who were prone to nighttime fantasies of monsters and other sea creatures.
The sound of dogs barking grew louder and louder. Marlena pulled her shirt tightly around herself, trying to draw comfort from the closeness of the fabric. She looked up at John for guidance needing to see some sort of confidence on his face that he believed that everything was going to be okay. John had a determined look on his face, biting down on his bottom lip as he looked furiously around him for a good place to hide. Marlena felt the pounding of each second that passed as her blood coursed through her veins.
“Just decide,” Marlena said loudly as she started to panic. She looked around furiously trying to find a place to hide.
“Fine,” John said as he grabbed her hand and ran to the end of the alley and turned the corner. A police car with its lights off was slowly driving down the street towards them.
“Shit.” John grabbed on Marlenas top and pulled her back, pressing her against the building so the police couldn’t see her. They needed to find shelter now. Retreating back the way they’d came, John quickly peered into windows and tried to open doors to find them any shelter from the manhunt. John feared that their luck was running out.
“The pier John,” Marlena quickly suggested, pointing to the boats that lined the shore five hundred feet in front of them. A low front was moving into the area, causing not only a drop in temperature but also visibility. Marlena stealthily ran towards the boats, paying careful attention to staying out of sight. John followed silently behind her, keeping track of the unseen enemies behind them.
Reaching the pier undetected, Marlena ducked behind an old fishing vessel that had been dry-docked. John quickly joined her. “Come on Doc, we can’t stop here,” he said as he grabbed her hand and helped her up from her crouching position.
“Where are we going to go?” She asked, seeing the police cars approaching the pier and marina. They were trapped behind an old boat that had seen better days and wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
“I have no idea, but we can’t stay here.” John looked behind them, calculating escape routes and the probability of success.
“John, if they catch me promise me that you’ll keep on running,” Marlena said as she grabbed John’s face with her hands and held onto him. “Promise me.”
“No one is taking you,” John said, not meeting her eyes. This wasn’t going to be how they ended.
“You don’t know that John…you don’t know that…. The dogs are here…they’re onto our scent…they are going to get us,” Marlena said with desperation in her voice as she forced him to look at her. “Look at me god dammit…look down the street John….look over there at the flashing lights….they know where are here….there is no where else to go.” Marlena’s tears glistened in the pale light of the moon. John slowly captured a tear with his thumb, knowing that he’d never seen a more beautiful sight. Looking at her, he knew that he would risk everything for her safety.
“I’m not giving up…I’m not giving you up Doc… Don’t ask me to,” John said defiantly and with determination. “No one is going to take you in…not if I have anything to say about it. I promised you that I’d keep you safe.”
“John, you’re just talking foolishness now…you can’t promise me safety…no one can.” Marlena looked over John’s shoulder at the sleepy village in slight disbelief that this was where it was going to end for them. How could she get John to see the seriousness of the situation and get him to accept reality? “Promise me that if they capture me that you’ll go back to the kids and make sure that they’re safe,” Marlena whispered as tears welled up in her eyes. “Promise me that you’ll find Eric.”
“Stop talking like this is the end for you Doc…. its not…this is only the beginning for us…don’t you know that? If this was the end for us, I would have felt it, and I don’t,” John said loudly, not caring anymore. He continued looking around them for another way out. There had to be another way.
“I know that you want to protect me…I know that John,” Marlena said as she wiped the tears from her eyes. “We are stuck in this damn village behind a boat that’s not even in the water. How the hell do you envision getting out of this mess?” Marlena asked.
“Over there,” John said smiling as he pointed to a small fishing vessel that was anchored 100 feet off the coast.
“No way,” Marlena said in disbelief, shaking her head no. John was certifiable if he thought that there was any chance of escaping in that vessel.
“Yes way, Marlena,” John teased, “It’s the only way.”
“Find another way,” Marlena demanded. She could hear the tapping of the dogs’ claws on the cobblestone street. In a matter of minutes it would all be over for her, for them.
“Come on,” John said as he grabbed Marlena roughly by the forearm and ran for the pier. As fast as his legs would carry him he ran, pulling her behind. As he reached the end of the dock, he jumped without notice, pulling Marlena into the water with him.
Choking, she rose to the surface trying to catch her breath. John silently held her body afloat while she became acclimated to the cold water.
“Swim Marlena,” John whispered as he pushed her towards the boat. He could hear the sounds of the dogs barking and the scratching of their claws as they ran along the wooden planks of the boardwalk looking for their target. “Don’t look back, just swim.”
As hard as she could, she swam towards the floating boat. Although her side hurt like hell from the lack of oxygen to her muscles she knew that she couldn’t stop. She wasn’t a coward and wasn’t going to drown in the middle of this godforsaken ocean. She took comfort in the fact that John was swimming behind her. After what seemed like forever, but in reality was only a matter of minutes, she reached the side of the boat.
Trying to catch her breath she held tightly onto the side of the boat and waited for John to reach it.
Eyes wide with fear and excitement Marlena asked, “What do we do now?”
“You’re going to climb into the boat and lay low, look for something to cover yourself with so that you don’t get sick….I’m going to cut the anchor line.”
“I can do that,” Marlena agreed as she tried to lift her own weight over the side of the boat. Lacking the strength to pull herself up Marlena sank back into the water. “I’ve got you Doc,” John said tenderly as he held Marlena from behind. “I’ve got you.”
Marlena could see the reflection of the red and blue flashing lights of the police cars on the calm surface of the ocean. Looking to her right she could see blood hounds perched at the end of the dock barking down at the water.
“Marlena Evans Black, this is Interpol…you are under arrest for the murders Rafeal Torres, Channing Owens and John Dimera. Come out with your hands up now…We are authorized to use deadly force if we have to,” a male voice with a British accent demanded over the loud speaker.
“25?” John asked curiously, hearing the blood hounds barks nearing closer with each step. Not wanting to waste a moment of precious time that they didn’t have, John grabbed Marlena’s hand and pulled her alongside him. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye noticing that she seemed to be lost in her own world.
“I don’t know,” Marlena said as she tried to stop. She was so confused right now; her head full of images and thoughts that wouldn’t end. She hadn’t had this level of confusion in months; really since she started remembering her past. John pulled on her arm to keep her walking.
“Come on Doc, just a little bit further,” John whispered, as he looked around, hoping that the map that he’d memorized weeks ago of this area was accurate. He recognized some of the landmarks from the map, and was hopeful that the town was 2 miles away as charted.
“He said 25, I’m sure of it,” Marlena said, her mind flashing back to the memory of him, laying on top of her trying to rape her when Mason unremorsefully shot him in the head. She clearly remembered him saying something else to her, but couldn’t conjure up what that was. A feeling of uneasiness settled over her; she felt dirty and wanted to take a shower.
“25….that’s a start…what do you think it means?” John asked trying to act like they were having a normal conversation during a quiet walk in the woods. In reality he wanted nothing more than to climb inside her head and figure out what all these jumbled pieces of her past meant, if they meant anything at all. There had to be a reason why President Maxwell Owens was after Marlena, other than the fact that she supposedly killed his brother Channing. Was that enough to make the President risk everything to go after a private citizen?
“I have no idea,” Marlena muttered as she looked down at her arms. Deep red gashes marred the pale white skin. Both of her arms had the telltale sign of someone grabbing onto them and leaving the imprint of their fingernails as Marlena pulled out of their grasp. The wounds were starting to throb with each step she took.
“Are you alright?” John asked noticing that Marlena was absently rubbing her arms and grimacing as they walked along the trail.
“I’m fine,” she whispered, not bothering to look up. She needed to be strong for him.
“You don’t sound fine Doc,” John said, stopping in the middle of the path and facing her. “Let me see your arm,” John demanded as he tried to reach around her and grab hold of her arm.
“No,” Marlena said defiantly as she backed away from him. “I said I’m fine….we don’t have time for this right now…okay…didn’t you say we needed to find shelter?” She pulled the thin material as far down her arms as it would gone, hiding her injury from John. She couldn’t deal with his interrogation of her right now.
“Nice diversion Marlena…For now I’m going to let this issue pass, but I can tell you that once we find some place to hide out I will be looking at your arm whether you like it or not.” If she was hurt he needed to know. It was better to treat her injuries as they arose rather than wait until they were in a situation where there was potentially no medical help available. Damn her stubbornness.
“Fine,” Marlena muttered as she took off ahead of him, leaving him staring at her backside as she disappeared down the narrow path. She wasn’t going to wait around for another interrogation. She hated that he still saw her as a fragile person that needed to be protected. In reality, she had more clarity as to who she was and what she wanted than she’d had in the last ten years.
“Dammit…Doc, wait up,” John whispered loudly as he took off running after her. She was so infuriating to him at times.
After twenty minutes of walking in almost complete darkness without saying a word to each other they reached the edge of the small Italian fishing village. Glancing down at his watch, John noted that it was almost ten p.m.
“Doc, stick close to me and try to blend in like you live here,” John whispered as he looked around and sized up their options. Marlena snickered at the comment. With her long tangled hair, dirty and wet clothes she looked everything but a local. John could hear the sounds of police sirens in the distance. Unless they took cover now, they were certain to be caught.
Grabbing her hand he ran across the cobblestone street to a house whose lights were off. Looking in the lace covered windows John sized up the occupancy. He was unable to tell if anyone was home or lived there.
“Come on John,” Marlena muttered, starting to get nervous standing on the darkened street when there was a manhunt out for her.
John tried to open the window to the house when an upstairs light went on. Quickly dropping out of sight, John grabbed Marlena’s hand and ran. Beyond exhausted, Marlena struggled to keep up with him.
Running down a narrow alley that ran behind the house, John pulled Marlena behind a trash dumpster to rest. Leaning for support against the filthy canister Marlena tried to catch her breath. “Lets find a barn,” she suggested, not knowing personally how much longer she could keep on running tonight. She needed something to eat; contemplating rummaging through the canister before her.
“What do you think this place is? Jerusalem?” John joked, looking around him for a barn. It wasn’t a bad idea; if only he could find one. He could tell from Marlena’s stance that she was beyond exhausted and hungry but was trying to put on a brave front for him.
“It sure as hell beats sleeping in an occupied house John,” Marlena joked back, looking around for another house that didn’t look occupied. Up and down the street almost all the houses were dark, save for one of two with low watt bulbs illuminating corridors for children who were prone to nighttime fantasies of monsters and other sea creatures.
The sound of dogs barking grew louder and louder. Marlena pulled her shirt tightly around herself, trying to draw comfort from the closeness of the fabric. She looked up at John for guidance needing to see some sort of confidence on his face that he believed that everything was going to be okay. John had a determined look on his face, biting down on his bottom lip as he looked furiously around him for a good place to hide. Marlena felt the pounding of each second that passed as her blood coursed through her veins.
“Just decide,” Marlena said loudly as she started to panic. She looked around furiously trying to find a place to hide.
“Fine,” John said as he grabbed her hand and ran to the end of the alley and turned the corner. A police car with its lights off was slowly driving down the street towards them.
“Shit.” John grabbed on Marlenas top and pulled her back, pressing her against the building so the police couldn’t see her. They needed to find shelter now. Retreating back the way they’d came, John quickly peered into windows and tried to open doors to find them any shelter from the manhunt. John feared that their luck was running out.
“The pier John,” Marlena quickly suggested, pointing to the boats that lined the shore five hundred feet in front of them. A low front was moving into the area, causing not only a drop in temperature but also visibility. Marlena stealthily ran towards the boats, paying careful attention to staying out of sight. John followed silently behind her, keeping track of the unseen enemies behind them.
Reaching the pier undetected, Marlena ducked behind an old fishing vessel that had been dry-docked. John quickly joined her. “Come on Doc, we can’t stop here,” he said as he grabbed her hand and helped her up from her crouching position.
“Where are we going to go?” She asked, seeing the police cars approaching the pier and marina. They were trapped behind an old boat that had seen better days and wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
“I have no idea, but we can’t stay here.” John looked behind them, calculating escape routes and the probability of success.
“John, if they catch me promise me that you’ll keep on running,” Marlena said as she grabbed John’s face with her hands and held onto him. “Promise me.”
“No one is taking you,” John said, not meeting her eyes. This wasn’t going to be how they ended.
“You don’t know that John…you don’t know that…. The dogs are here…they’re onto our scent…they are going to get us,” Marlena said with desperation in her voice as she forced him to look at her. “Look at me god dammit…look down the street John….look over there at the flashing lights….they know where are here….there is no where else to go.” Marlena’s tears glistened in the pale light of the moon. John slowly captured a tear with his thumb, knowing that he’d never seen a more beautiful sight. Looking at her, he knew that he would risk everything for her safety.
“I’m not giving up…I’m not giving you up Doc… Don’t ask me to,” John said defiantly and with determination. “No one is going to take you in…not if I have anything to say about it. I promised you that I’d keep you safe.”
“John, you’re just talking foolishness now…you can’t promise me safety…no one can.” Marlena looked over John’s shoulder at the sleepy village in slight disbelief that this was where it was going to end for them. How could she get John to see the seriousness of the situation and get him to accept reality? “Promise me that if they capture me that you’ll go back to the kids and make sure that they’re safe,” Marlena whispered as tears welled up in her eyes. “Promise me that you’ll find Eric.”
“Stop talking like this is the end for you Doc…. its not…this is only the beginning for us…don’t you know that? If this was the end for us, I would have felt it, and I don’t,” John said loudly, not caring anymore. He continued looking around them for another way out. There had to be another way.
“I know that you want to protect me…I know that John,” Marlena said as she wiped the tears from her eyes. “We are stuck in this damn village behind a boat that’s not even in the water. How the hell do you envision getting out of this mess?” Marlena asked.
“Over there,” John said smiling as he pointed to a small fishing vessel that was anchored 100 feet off the coast.
“No way,” Marlena said in disbelief, shaking her head no. John was certifiable if he thought that there was any chance of escaping in that vessel.
“Yes way, Marlena,” John teased, “It’s the only way.”
“Find another way,” Marlena demanded. She could hear the tapping of the dogs’ claws on the cobblestone street. In a matter of minutes it would all be over for her, for them.
“Come on,” John said as he grabbed Marlena roughly by the forearm and ran for the pier. As fast as his legs would carry him he ran, pulling her behind. As he reached the end of the dock, he jumped without notice, pulling Marlena into the water with him.
Choking, she rose to the surface trying to catch her breath. John silently held her body afloat while she became acclimated to the cold water.
“Swim Marlena,” John whispered as he pushed her towards the boat. He could hear the sounds of the dogs barking and the scratching of their claws as they ran along the wooden planks of the boardwalk looking for their target. “Don’t look back, just swim.”
As hard as she could, she swam towards the floating boat. Although her side hurt like hell from the lack of oxygen to her muscles she knew that she couldn’t stop. She wasn’t a coward and wasn’t going to drown in the middle of this godforsaken ocean. She took comfort in the fact that John was swimming behind her. After what seemed like forever, but in reality was only a matter of minutes, she reached the side of the boat.
Trying to catch her breath she held tightly onto the side of the boat and waited for John to reach it.
Eyes wide with fear and excitement Marlena asked, “What do we do now?”
“You’re going to climb into the boat and lay low, look for something to cover yourself with so that you don’t get sick….I’m going to cut the anchor line.”
“I can do that,” Marlena agreed as she tried to lift her own weight over the side of the boat. Lacking the strength to pull herself up Marlena sank back into the water. “I’ve got you Doc,” John said tenderly as he held Marlena from behind. “I’ve got you.”
Marlena could see the reflection of the red and blue flashing lights of the police cars on the calm surface of the ocean. Looking to her right she could see blood hounds perched at the end of the dock barking down at the water.
“Marlena Evans Black, this is Interpol…you are under arrest for the murders Rafeal Torres, Channing Owens and John Dimera. Come out with your hands up now…We are authorized to use deadly force if we have to,” a male voice with a British accent demanded over the loud speaker.