Open Wounds

Open Wounds

By

Stephen Lewis Smith

SMASHWORDS EDITION

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PUBLISHED BY:

Stephen Lewis Smith on Smashwords

Open Wounds

Copyright 2012 by Stephen Lewis Smith

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.

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To my daughter, who reminded me of the joy of writing in my youth, and inspired me to pick up my pen once again

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CHAPTER ONE

Sam stood in the elevator, rocking slightly as he shifted his weight from heel to toe and back. He pulled at the collar of his shirt and loosened his tie. His grey suit was worn so infrequently he hadn’t realized how tight it was starting to get, it almost felt claustrophobic. He was a tall man, a little over six foot, and had an average build for a man nearing forty. In the last five years he noticed he was slowing down and for every year past thirty he seemed to gain five pounds. The suit was bought four years before, and maybe worn twice a year since. Most days in the office he wore polo shirts with khakis and more frequently a t-shirt and blue jeans. Being the boss meant wearing whatever he felt like to work.

Why does it always take so long to get downstairs, he thought as he pushed the down button repeatedly. The final meeting with Hyperteron Equipment went well. All the paperwork was signed and Sam was ready to start building their sales portal next month, but right now he just wanted to catch up to his family.

His wife, Rose, and his daughter, Celia, left for vacation earlier in the week. Rose had been looking forward to seeing her parents for some time. When Sam told her that the meeting to finalize the deal had been pushed out a week, she informed him that she would be getting a head start and he would just have to catch up. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but now Sam couldn’t think about anything else but his girls. He talked to them both every night before bed, but his sleep was always restless. The empty house was deafening.

Finally the elevator door opened. Sam walked out of the building, the sunlight highlighting the specks of white in his dark brown hair. Like many programmers, he had a beard that also had strands of white throughout, but he kept his hair and beard trimmed short. Perhaps it was the Marine Corps cut’s his father, the captain, insisted on when he was younger, but letting it grow too long didn’t feel right.

As he approached the parking structure that stood next to the building his office was in, he pulled his smartphone from his pocket and clicked on the image of his wife from the favorites screen. He put it up to his ear and waited for an answer.

Hey there hansom, you on your way, Rose answered.

Sure am. I signed the contract and raced out the door.

I had no doubt you’d get it. You work too hard not to.

A flash of the argument they had last week went through Sam’s mind. How he spent too much time at work. How many weekends was he going to lose to his job before he realized his daughter grew up without him noticing? It was not a pleasant conversation to say the least, but Rose was right, as she usually was.

Sam started his company with Lawrence, a friend from college. It was the same year Sam and Rose were married. It had grown steadily since. Now the company had over forty employees. It was time to do more delegating and allow some younger stars to shine. It would be hard, the company was his baby, but his family came first.

Lawrence is listing some new job openings, Sam exhaled. We will be doing some interviews when we get back and promoting a few people from within and, in a few months, I will be back down to a nine to five work schedule.

Really? Sam could almost hear the smile on her face.

Really. Sam was still walking and could see his car in his reserved spot in the parking structure. He pulled his keys from his pocket and began to twirl them around the forefinger of his free hand. In the distance he heard the squeal of tires on one of the upper levels.

Oh, I just can’t wait to see you. Her voice went a little quitter. My parents are driving me crazy.

Better yours than mine, referring to his father, of course. Sam’s mother had died when he was still in high school.

Rose continued like he hadn’t said a thing. Dad decided it was time to get mom a new front load washer and dryer. He got your daughter to crawl behind the washer to undo the water hoses, only the water valves are busted and don’t turn off. He tried to clamp the hoses using some vice grips. Only problem is, dad wasn’t paying attention and went into the other room and Celia undid the hoses from the wall instead of the washer.

Sam stopped walking and listened more intently, a smile forming on his face. So the water…

Went everywhere, Rose finished.

He fought the urge to laugh, Why didn’t she stop undoing it when water started spraying out?

Because dad told her that some water would still be in the hose and to not worry about a little water. So dad and I go in when we hear Celia screaming that the house was flooding. Water is spraying out of the wall into the back of the washer, deflecting from the back of the washer out all over the walls and ceiling. Celia is standing next to the washer completely soaked, shivering, and still holding the plier’s dad gave her. Dad says ‘hey, I don’t remember rain in the forecast’, and mom comes in behind us and asks calm as can be if anyone needs anything from the store. I swear my parents are crazy.

Sam laughed, I guess she didn’t want anything to do with that.

Yeah, mom was gone the rest of the afternoon.

I hope everything turned out alright.

Yes, she exhaled, we had to turn the water off at the main and dad cleaned up the mess. The old washer and dryer are now lawn ornaments. Dad keeps trying to give them away, but no takers.

Sam began walking towards his car again, twirling his keys. Remember that crappy set we had in that duplex, what we did with them when they stopped working?

Yeah, you put them out at the curb and someone took them.

Yes, but I also put a sign on them. $100 obo. The best offer turned out to be a free haul off.

You didn’t…

I’m telling you, you try to give something away, the first question is, what’s wrong with it. You try to sell something and leave it unattended, someone will steal it. Our washer and dryer was gone in less than twenty-four hours. How long have your parents’ washer and dryer been on the lawn?

Three days.

Put a ‘for sale’ sign on it and it will be gone before the end of the day.

Sam, this is Joplin, Missouri. People just aren’t like that around here.

There just isn’t as many people like that around there. At least your parents’ washer and dryer are working. Whoever takes them will get more than scrap out of them.

Maybe, she paused for a moment. What time does your flight get in?

Late, Sam opened his car door and sat inside. My ticket is at home with my bags. I’ll take a look and text you with the time.

Well, I was thinking. Maybe after I pick you up at the airport, you and I can sneak away to a hotel for a night. Soak in a Jacuzzi for a few ours. Order some room service…

Yeah? I think I can handle that.

Yeah?

Sam could hear the anticipation in her voice. It always made his chest feel warm and his heart beat a little faster.

You think Celia will be ok alone with your parents for a night?

I think she can keep them in line.

I can’t wait. Can I talk to Celia real quick?

Dad, took her to the mall.

In that case, tell her I love her. I need to head out if I’m going to make my flight.

OK, I’ll see you soon, love you.

I love you too.

Sam put his phone down, started his car, and drove out of the parking structure.

* * * * *

In his kitchen, Sam was putting a sandwich together. He was trying to finish off the last of the lunch meat. The idea of throwing out food made him sick, and if he didn’t eat what was left now, it would be no good when they returned from their trip.

The suit he had been wearing earlier was replaced with a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. They were the most comfortable clothes he had, which was exactly what he needed for a plane ride, even the short one he was going to be on. His wife had driven the SUV, and rather than drive another vehicle to Joplin, Sam opted for the three hour flight so he could travel back with his family in the SUV, about a nine hour drive if he didn’t have to stop.

The television was showing one of the network news channels in the living room, turned up as far as the terrible television speakers could go without completely distorting the audio so Sam could hear from the kitchen. Sam remembered when he was younger how he dreamed of owning a home that had a television in every room. How, if he had walked from one room to another, the television’s would flip on and off at his very presence. It was an adolescent dream and as he grew older he found that television was a distraction from real life. No matter how many shows had real in the title, they couldn’t match the things he had seen and done himself.

The things he saw on television and said ‘I wish I could do that’ became, ‘if I stop watching television all day, I could do that’. It was the Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan movies that inspired him to start doing martial arts. It was about that same time Sam realized that anyone could accomplish just about anything they wanted in life, if they just worked hard enough.

After he and Rose married, they agreed there would be one television in the house and anything that they wanted to watch would be watched as a family. Sometimes that really annoyed Sam, like today. He wanted to catch the news before he left, and he was stuck trying to listen to it from across the house.

While pouring himself a drink, he heard the anchor on the television say something about Joplin. Sam walked into the living room. There on his hi definition, fifty-two inch, plasma television was an aerial view of Joplin. It wasn’t quite right though. Buildings were collapsed, cars upturned, streets almost completely covered. The anchor was trying to tell him what had happened, but nothing was getting through. Sam stopped breathing, like the air was just sucked out of him. His heart dropped down into his empty stomach. Realer than real hi def destruction panned across the screen displaying the horror. None of it seemed real, like it was some Hollywood stunt to advertise a new movie.

There, along the side of the screen, Sam recognized a landmark. It was hard to make out the old tree, most of its upper branches where gone, but he recognized the shape of the trunk. That was her tree, Rose’s tree. She had told him the story of how she used to climb that tree when she was little. The day she fell out of it, hitting her chin on one of the lower branches. How she had to have her jaw wired shut and drink pizza through a straw. Even before the wires were cut she was back in that tree, her tree, which was only a few houses from her parents’ home, the home that was a pile of rubble in the corner of the screen.

Sam’s whole body had been one giant clenched muscle that suddenly let go. The bottle of soda he had carried with him from the kitchen fell from his hand. It fizzed all over the carpet. His lungs gasped for air. With shaky hands, he pulled out his phone and called his wife. It rang.

Pick up, pick up, pick up, Sam repeated. Pick up!

When it went to voicemail he hung up and dialed again. After it went to voicemail a second time, he tried his in-laws. Their phones went to voicemail. Sam’s eyes were glued to the television in the off chance that he might see his wife, daughter, in-laws, somebody. His entire body was shaking as he tried his wife again, still no answer. He looked down at his phone, and realized, if he left now, he would make his flight with plenty of time to spare.

Sam ran towards the door, stopped, turned back to grab his bag, and ran out the door. Outside he realized he forgot his keys. Dropping the bag on the ground next to the car, he ran back inside. Grabbing his keys and wallet from the small hall table, he ran back out to the car and jumped inside. The BMW’s tires screamed as he backed out of the driveway and raced down the street.

* * * * *

Sam parked his car in the long term parking. Stepping out of the car, he went to grab his carry on from the back seat. It wasn’t there. Stopping to think for a moment, he realized he had left it in his driveway.

Idiot!

A couple walking through the parking lot slowed and were scrutinizing him.

Sam looked up, What!? He slammed his fist down on the roof of the car.

The couple picked up their pace.

Sam knew he couldn’t make it home and back in time to get on his flight. Instead he made his way to the terminal, calling his wife’s phone, followed by each of his in-laws. His mind shifted from concern for his family to whether or not he locked the car.

Wait, I didn’t even lock the house. At least Rose’s parents don’t have to worry about getting rid of the washer and dryer any more. There is soda soaking into the carpet and sandwich on the counter that will be covered in fuzz when I get back. What do I do if I can’t get on the flight? No, I can’t not be on the flight.

It was this distraction that he brought with him to the ticket counter.

How may I help you? The ticket agent asked.

I have a flight to catch, but I forgot my ticket.

What’s your destination?

Joplin.

Oh, I’m sorry. Flights to Joplin have been cancelled due to the tornado, she said with a smile.

Nothing was registering, but, I have a ticket. I need to get to Joplin.

I’m sorry, sir, there’s nothing I can do. Her smile faltered slightly. She could see that he was agitated and even a little irrational. Had she known about his family she might have been more helpful in finding another flight, but he was starting to scare her.

I need my ticket to Joplin, now! Sam slammed an open hand on the counter for emphasis. His stomach was turning and, for a moment, he thought he was going to be sick. He placed his hands at the edge of the counter and lowered his head down between his elbows.

Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to leave or I’m going to have to call security.

You don’t understand, Sam lifted his head, a slight dizziness followed. I need to get to Joplin.

A security officer had wandered close by and heard some of the encounter. He walked up to Sam and took his arm. Sir, I need you to come with me.

Let go of me, I have a plane to catch. Sam pulled away.

The security officer, with a nametag on his jacket that read Andrew, had taken several terrorist training classes and self-defense courses in preparation for his job, but nothing he ever did prepared him for what happened next. Andrew pushed Sam into the counter, using it to limit Sam’s movements so Andrew could get cuffs onto him. While this would work on most people, Sam had been training in martial arts since his first year in college.

Andrew had one leg between Sam’s’ and one hand on Sam’s’ back. Sam shifted his right leg behind Andrews’s forward leg, and then took a step back with the left. This looked awkward, but when Sam straightened up quickly, twisting his body, Andrew’s balance was thrown off. Andrew tried to move his foot to catch his balance, but it was caught up in Sam’s’ feet. Andrew went sprawling to the floor.

You don’t understand, I need to get on that flight, Sam yield.

Several more security personnel ran from the far corners of the terminal to where Sam stood. He turned to face the first security officer he saw and when the man tried to tackle him, Sam grabbed one of the man’s arms, and drove an elbow into the officers’ stomach. The man landed flat on his back. Two more were running straight for Sam when every muscle in his body clenched. His back arched and his neck would no longer turn his head.

After a moment the muscle contraction ceased and Sam fell to the ground. He was awake long enough to see Andrew, the first security officer Sam had knocked over, kneeling on the floor with a Taser in his hand.

Goodnight, Andrew said as he put the Taser to Sam’s leg again. The world went dark.

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CHAPTER TWO

Sam was sitting at the bar, a shot in front of him. His finger and thumb held the glass near the rim, spinning it clockwise then counterclockwise on the counter. Dark circles were formed around his eyes, emphasized by his pale skin. His checks had taken a slightly sunken look, but it was mostly hidden by his unkempt beard. The pub was not crowded, but many of the seats were occupied.

Several stools away, Sam watched as a large man, well over six foot and pushing three hundred pounds, dressed in the standard leather jacket and do-rag many bikers wore, stood and walked towards Sam. He was most likely headed for the men’s room at the back of the building. Nearby, another customer was standing, joking with some friends. He was in the process of telling some flamboyant story, arms stretched out like he was imitating some bird, when he took a step back into the path of the biker. It wasn’t much of a collision. The biker just stopped and looked down at the smaller man as the smaller man reacted like someone had just smacked him.

Hey jackass, watch… The smaller man shouted as he turned to face the person who had the courage to run into him.

Sam turned his stool, ready to jump if there was trouble. For a moment everything was silent as the shorter man slowly looked up at