Across Time and Space

By D. Lazerous

When people deny themself happiness,

Either by choice or circumstance.

They forget that their are people around them that forgive,

Befriend, and in few cases love unconditionally.

-D. Lazerous

          When I was very young, my Grandfather, Jason Lazerous, would often tell me stories about growing up when he was a kid, and how I was so privileged.  About all the hardships he and his friends endured to stay alive and rebuild a word on the verge of destruction.  One day I asked him why he told me these stories.  His response was, "so you will know just how bad, bad can get."  To this day, of all the stories he told me, none stood out in my mind quite like this one does.

           In the pale glow of a street light two people slowly made their way through the shadows to the back door of a supermarket.   "Hurry up Kevin, if you don't get over here soon we won’t have enough time to grab all the food we need."  Kevin, a tall stocky boy of about eleven, carefully moved over to his friend Jason, a seventeen year old who had been living on the street for five years, and Kevin's only friend.  The two had met a year ago when Kevin ran away from an orphanage.

"Now pick the lock just like I showed you, and be sure to bypass the alarm so the cops don't come."  Jason said.  As Kevin began his work, Jason looked around to make sure no one was watching.  Kevin was deeply involved in his work when the loud click of the lock sliding open stirred Jason from his watch.

"There," Kevin exclaimed in triumph.  "I got it, and no alarms like last time."

"Good job Kevin."  Jason waved his arm forward invitingly.  "Tonight we eat like kings."  Both Kevin and Jason ran into the store eating anything in grabbing range for they hadn't eaten anything for a week.  Unbeknownst to them, Kevin had only disabled the alarm speaker, and not the alarm it self.  The two starving boys ran through the store grabbing anything that was within easy reach, and a few things that were not.  As they started to leave the store with their armloads of food, Kevin had dropped a loaf of bread, and went back for it; Jason made it quite clear that on this trip they had to carry all the food they possibly could.  He turned around as Jason was walking out the door.  Suddenly Jason froze.  Kevin started to run towards him when Jason started shaking and convulsing where he stood.  Kevin, scared half out of his mind stopped in his tracks.  Loud quick explosions were firing all around him.   He covered his ears trying to drown the noise out until he saw Jason drop to the floor, his body riddled with bullet holes.  Kevin ran and hid as fast as his feet could carry him, but he could still see the door where his friend laid, his lifeless eyes staring at Kevin.  His friend brutally gunned down by the police.

          Seven years slowly passed, Kevin is now a man of 18, and still living on the street.  For many people, seeing your only friend gunned down in front of you would make you think that things couldn't possibly get any worse, unfortunately for Kevin, they did.  Two weeks ago a young girl was raped by her father.  Not being able to suffer the humility she thought was brought down on her, she, like many others in the neighborhood, blamed her problems on Kevin.  Kevin didn't care.  Kevin didn't care about much anymore, ever since he watched his friend get killed; he just stopped caring about anything.  Kevin had been beaten, spit on, and cursed, and he just didn’t care anymore.  As Kevin walked around a corner into the ally he normally hung out in, five of the neighborhood boys followed him.  From the corner of his eye, he saw the boys but kept walking.  " Now we got him!"  One of them said.  Kevin realized what they were there fur and started running as fast as he could from them, but it was just no use, the boys were faster than he and caught up to him quickly.  The gang threw him to the group and beat him unmercilessly.

Kevin said nothing, and just laid their while the gang beat him and between the punches and kicks thrown at his body, they would curse and spit at him.  Kevin still just lay their while the gang of kids beat him to near death.

          Kevin awoke to find himself in the hospital under guard.  For a long time he just lay they’re waiting to see what happened next.  A nurse came in, but left quickly.  Kevin could hear voices coming from behind the door.  “ You are not taking that boy from this hospital, he’s seriously injured and shouldn’t be moved!”  A man hollered.

“ I don’t care what condition he’s in.  He broke the law by raping that girl and we’re taking him back to the station.”  A police officer said.

“ I’m not going to listen to this crap.  Nurse, get hospital security and have them watch that door, if the police try to get in, have the removed form the building.”  The man ordered.

“ Yes Doctor.”  The nurse said.  The Nurse walked back into the room quickly looking over her shoulder.  She quickly walked over to the bed where Kevin was lying.  “ Listen son.  I don’t know why these cops want you so bad, but don’t worry the doctor is a good guy and he’ll do whatever he can ok?”  Kevin nodded as best he could.  The nurse smiled then walked out of the room.  Kevin could see the hospital guards escorting the police from the door.  Kevin decided that he wasn't going to stay in that hospital any longer and run the risk of being hauled off to jail.  Painfully, Kevin leaned over and shut off the machines that he was connected to.  In agonizing pain, he bent down painfully removing the sensors and IV lines attached to his chest arms and head.  He carefully rolled out of the bed, wincing at the pain in his chest and quietly limped over to the closet.  Digging through its contents he found his cloths as dirty as they were before he came here.  With much difficulty he got dressed and hobbled back over to the bed.  He knew he couldn’t leave through the door; he was in too much pain and the guards would catch him before he walked two feet from the room.  His only chance was the window.  He crept over to the window hoping that he wasn't that far up.  He found himself looking out the window, four stories up.  He figured that if he was going to get out of this place; he'd have to come up with something, and come up with it fast.  He went over to the bed and started and tore the sheets and blankets from the mattress.  Twisting them as best he could despite the pain, he made a makeshift rope from the linens.  He dropped one end of his newly made rope out the window and attached the other end to the bedpost.  He had managed to climb out the window and was almost to the bottom when the guards came into the room to check on him, finding their ward out the window.  The started to pull him back up when Kevin overwhelmed by fear, let go of the rope falling ten feet to the ground, breaking his wrist.  The police, who had obviously been waiting outside the hospital, ran over to where Kevin had landed.  The yanked him up of the ground and promptly put the hand cuffs on him.  Kevin yelled in pain.

“ Shut it up kid.  Were not falling for any of your tricks.”  One of the officers said.  They were about to put him in the car when the doctor from there earlier argument came out.

"I told you, you can't take that patient, he's still very injured, and who knows what that fall did to him."

"Stifle it Doc., this kids going to jail.  With what he did, he'll be lucky to live past the first year."  One of the officers said chuckling.

          It seemed like the drive to the Police station took an eternity, all the time, the two officers heckled and tormented Kevin until the building came into view.  Kevin looked out his window.  An imposing three story gray stone building stood before him.  The officers opened the back door and dragged Kevin from the car.  They escorted him down a hall to the receiving doors.  The two officers nearly threw Kevin through the doors.  Kevin tripped and stumbled to the floor in pain.  The two officers yanked Kevin off the floor. 

“ Stop the act kid we know your faking it.”  On of the officers said.  The two officers proceeded to fingerprint and photograph Kevin.  Then he was taken to an interrogation room. A detective in the room and one of the officers that brought him from the hospital questioned Kevin about the rape of a sixteen year old girl.

“ But I don’t know anything about any girl.”  He told them.  The detective sat next to Kevin.

“ Listen son, we have several whiteness that place you at the scene at the time of the crime.”  Kevin assumed he meant the five men who beat him in the alley.

"Come on kid admit to it, the penalty will be less sever on you if you just admit to it."  The officer said.

"But I didn't do anything."  Kevin said, trying to convince them.

" The detective already told you that we have eye witnesses that said you were the one who’d done it."  The officer said.

“ Would you shut up?  God this kid’s been through enough without you browbeating him.”  The detective said.  A man in a suit walked into the room.  He extended his hand to the detective.

“ I’m the district attorney for the sate I’ve been sent here to hopefully clear up this matter.”  He looked at Kevin and put a piece of paper on the table.

“ This is a full confession of all crimes.  The judge guaranteed leniency if you sign it.”  Kevin looked directly at the attorney and pushed the paper back to him.

“ I told these guys already that I didn’t do it!”

" Just sign the confession.”  The officer said pushing a piece of paper toward Kevin. " The Judge will go easy on you." 

“ Son,“ The Detective said addressing Kevin.  “ It’s either this or you’ll be sent to jail for most of what’s left of your life.”  The sudden realization of his position finally struck Kevin.  Reluctantly, Kevin signed the paper.  The attorney smiled grabbing the paper and stuffing it into his brief case.  He and the detective left the room while the officer snatched Kevin from his chair and led him to the back of the police station where the holding cells were located. 

          As the officer led Kevin to one of the holding cells in the back of the station, Kevin finally figured out what exactly he got himself into by signing that confession.  Deciding that he wasn’t going to jail for something he didn’t do, Kevin reached over and bit the officers hand when he wasn’t looking and made a break for the door.  When the guard stopped screaming in pain, he ran over to the intercom.  " Attention all officers, detention escapee heading for the front door."  As Kevin exited the holding area he found himself surrounded by police waiting to catch him.  In an act of desperation, Kevin charged the guns dodging cops from the right and left.  As he was going through the door he felt three sharp pains in his back, but Kevin was too busy trying to keep himself from getting shot to worry about the pain in his back, and his ribs, and his arms, and his face.  Kevin ran twelve blocks from the police station ducking behind garbage cans and dumpster any time a police car drove by.  He made his way to and abandoned building that he had called home for the past five years.  Tossing the garbage on the floor around, he found what he was looking for.  His backpack had remained where he had placed it.  Kevin opened it checking to make sure it’s contents were still there.  He removed a lock pick set from the bag and made quick work of the handcuffs he was still wearing.  Kevin rummaged around the pack amongst his laptop, charger, extra batteries, pocketknife and other assorted items.  When he was satisfied that everything was as he left it.  Kevin slung the pack over his shoulder and took off into the ally behind the building.  He ran down the ally as fast as his weak injured legs could carry him.  Stopping for a minute to catch his breath, Kevin heard sirens from around the corner.  Kevin panicked and desperately looked around him trying to find a hiding place.  A strong wind came up and started to push him down the ally.  When Kevin looked behind him to make sure that he wouldn't bump into something, he saw what looked like a glowing blue doorway in the middle of the ally.  He stared at the strange object for a while when he noticed that stray paper and dust from the ally was being sucked into it.  He realized he wasn’t being pushed but rather pulled toward the doorway.  A squad car rounded the corner stopping in front of Kevin.  He could see the officer jumping out of the car with their weapons drawn.  Kevin bit his lip and jumped through the glowing portal not knowing its consequences.

          Tanya, finding nothing better to do took a walk out side in what remained of the city she had the misfortune of living in.  Rather than look for food in the city with her friends Jason and Anastasia, if they were looking for food, she decided to explore a little, to see if she could locate any thing that could help out her and her friends.  While looking about, something caught her eye in a pile of garbage that lay beside one of the buildings.  As she consciously approached to object, she found that she had to cup he hand over nose to keep the stench out.  Obviously this pile had been sitting in the sun for a while.  But then the stench no longer mattered, for she found what had caught her eye.  A hand was sticking out of the garbage.  Her first instinct was to turn away in nauseous frenzy, but something nagged her, the hand had no fur on it.  In fact on closer inspection, it had no claws either.  Against her better judgment she reached out and took hold of the hand.  " It's warm!"  She thought to herself.  She got a better grip on the hand and pulled with everything she had, and the strangest creature came out.  She looked curiously at this thing that had no visible fur at all except for the hair on its head, the only movement it exerted was that of breathing.  She noticed that the creatures clothing was much like her own, it even carried a small satchel on its back.  Tanya didn't know why, but she took pity on this creature.  Not knowing why she picked it up and started to carry it back to her home where she could examine it and maybe find a way to help it.

          Tanya carefully carried the creature back to the now abandoned hospital that she and her two friends Jason and Anastasia called home.  She hauled the thing up the stairs and into one of the least damaged examination rooms.  Kicking open the door, she laid the creature on the table.  This being Tanya’s first examination she decided to do everything by the book.  The first thing she did was removing all of the creature cloths.  Upon completion of this task she discovered her patient was male.  As she started her examination she pulled out a mini tape recorder she had found a week before and started to speak into it.  "  The Patient is male.  Judging from his teeth and size I estimate him to be in his late teens to early twenties.  Bruises are visible along both arms, legs, abdomen, and chest.  Due to the bandages on his head, I'd say he suffered some kind of concussion.”  Tanya set the tape recorder down and turned him over.  “ What appear to be three bullet wounds enter the back of the body.  I am using a pair of forceps to move the skin.  In each wound it appears that the bullets are lodged in his ribs.  I am removing the now.”  Three small dings are heard, as the slugs are dropped into a metal basin nearby.  “ I'm now cleaning the wounds.  This male was extremely lucky, had the bullets been a quarter inch up or down, they would have pierced his lungs and hearts.  I base this observation on Batyrian physiology, as I do not fully know the anatomy of this creature.  To prevent infection, I'm stitching up the wounds, unfortunately I have no antibacterial solution so the iodine patches I have will have to do for now.  Upon visual examination of the rest of the patient, I've found that three of his ribs have been broken and the bones of his legs and arms have been badly bruised.  My God, what happened to him?  I've set the ribs and bandaged them.  They should knit together correctly.  Unfortunately I can do nothing for his arms and legs; he'll just have to stay in bed until he can use them again without much discomfort.  His blood pressure is normal for his age.  His heartbeat is slightly irregular but nothing to worry about.  It's probably due to the loss of blood and obvious stress he must have been suffering from."  Suddenly his heart stopped as she was listing to it.  "  The patient has gone into cardiac arrest.  Breathing has stopped.  I'm starting heart message and rescue breathing....  Blood pressures dropping!  Come on damn it don't you die on me now not after I put all this time into you!"  Tanya continued to give CPR when he started to breathe.  " The patient has started to breathe on his own and the heart beat has returned to normal.  Blood pressure is starting to climb back to normal levels.  You really gave me a scare my funny looking friend.  Now that I'm able to get a good look at him, it's astounding how much his physiology resembles my own.  Other than the fact that he has no fur I see very few differences.  The skull configuration being the most obvious.  Unlike Jason and Anastasia he, like myself does not walk digitigrades and unlike all of us he hasn't even the stub of a tail.  You're a very odd creature my friend, also very fortunate that I happened upon you.  This concludes medical file 001 Tanya Kohlent."  Tanya put away her recorder and covered her patient trying to protect him from the encroaching cold of nightfall.