Into the Aether_Part One(15)

Aaron walked to the door, peering outside. Something felt wrong, but he wasn’t sure what it was.

“Sir, your credit card?” the clerk asked.

“I'll be right back,” Aaron replied.

He walked onto the sidewalk, looking down both sides of the road. There was no one there, and no cars to be seen. Several businesses lined the strip—a dry cleaner, eateries, and a convenience store, all closed. The freshly laid tracks from the sedan that brought him to the hotel were being filled in by the falling snow. Within an hour, they would be gone. Listening intently, Aaron could only make out the wind howling around him. He could see only snow and darkness. You're cracking up, Aaron. Time for some sleep.

A woman's scream broke the still night air. Aaron’s focus immediately snapped to a dark alley across the road. He stood frozen.

Another scream. Go, you idiot! Aaron ran across the street. A thin layer of ice hid beneath the fresh snow, causing him to almost slip and fall. He reached the other side of the road and stopped just short of entering the alleyway. The orange light from the street lamps did not reach inside, leaving its contents—whatever they were—draped in darkness.

“Help me!” cried a woman’s voice. A figure emerged from the darkness; based on the silhouette, it was a woman. She hastily ran at him. Stumbling, she fell on her hands and knees, but quickly scrambled up again. Aaron took several steps into the darkness, his hands outstretched. A second figure came out after her.

He was a brute of a man, standing almost a foot taller than the woman and almost twice as wide. He reached for her, something glinting in his hand.

“Hey, you!” bellowed Aaron. The brute stopped, seemed to sum up Aaron, and started at them again. “The police are on their way!” Aaron yelled. This time, the brute stopped and ran in the opposite direction, his heavy footsteps echoing in the alleyway. The woman ran right into Aaron’s arms, and embraced him tightly.

“Oh, God, thank you! Thank you!” Her voice was muffled in Aaron’s chest. Feeling awkward, he let his hand hover over her back for a moment before he gently patted her, his free hand hanging limply at his side. After several seconds of this, he placed both of his hands on her shoulders and gently pushed her away from him.

She had black hair that was pulled back, but it had come loose in tufts, and green eyes rimmed with red. Her face was flushed from crying as well as the cold, but her skin was flawless. She was not wearing any coat, only a black formal evening dress. It was ripped terribly along the top, revealing a considerable amount of skin. What happened to her? She could not be more than twenty—hardly older than some of his students. A shiver ran through him that had nothing to do with the weather. Realizing that she, too, was shivering, Aaron quickly removed his jacket and draped it around her. All this excitement was starting to make his mind feel sluggish.

“Come on, let’s get you inside where it’s warm. I’ll get you something hot to drink and call the police.”

“No, I don't want to call the police on my boyfriend. Well, ex-boyfriend.” She wiped tears from her eyes. “He didn’t take the news well,” she offered with a meager smile.

The two walked across the street and into the hotel. Aaron quickly grabbed his small suitcase and then gestured for her to enter the bar. The clerk was still standing behind the desk, his eyes glued to the computer screen. This time there was no typing.

The bar was empty, save for the bartender, who was watching the TV that hung in the corner of the room. The room was poorly lit, with several tables in front of a series of large windows. A long counter ran across the left-hand side, with an incredible assortment of liquors in various bottles behind it. Aaron coughed loudly, and the bartender looked at them.

“Could I get a ginger ale? And miss...” he turned to the woman.

“Black tea,” she said to the bartender, “and my name is Emily Delaney,” she told Aaron.

They took a seat by one of the large windows that offered a full view of the street. The table was draped in a black tablecloth, and had a small red candleholder with an electric candle flickering inside. A tall, slender wine menu stood up on their table, advertising the 'Finest Wines from the Niagara Peninsula and Beyond’.

“My name is Aaron—Aaron Alcott. Emily, listen, I really do think we should call the police,” he said, pulling out his cell phone.

Emily sat looking at her hands and then stared out the window for several seconds. Reading her apprehension, he said, “It’s up to you, I just don’t want to see you hurt.” He was staring intently at the wine menu while he said this. There was no response, and he looked up to see that her whole expression had changed. She was now beaming at him.

“First you save me and now you are concerned with my future wellbeing. Who are you, Aaron Alcott?” she asked. This seemed an odd reaction, and he wondered momentarily if she was in shock.

“Uh—I’m just a schoolteacher,” he stated, “from Indiana.”

Emily placed her arms in front of her on the table and leaned forward. She wore a half smile as she looked at him.

“No, you’re not just a schoolteacher...” she said, a coquettish tone creeping into her voice. Aaron looked at his hands; he was wringing them in his lap. His cheeks started to feel warm and he realized he was blushing. He wasn’t sure about the direction this conversation was headed.