In Bits and Pieces by ReeseisLAVAhot, SavhCaro

Chapter 5

The warehouse was big, cold and very drafty. It obviously had been abandoned as a place of business years ago. The windows up near the roof were mostly cracked or broken or even non-existent. The roof seemed relatively water proof but there were parts where the moon shown through. The metal walls were cold to the touch and held in none of the warmth from the fire in the center of the warehouse. The smoke drifted up and out the broken window.

Reese was amazed at the number of people in the warehouse. There must have been over fifty people. All seemed to shop at the same clothing store that he did. Hand me down, well worn, mismatched clothes worn in layers for warmth and convenience, less chance someone would steal your clothes if you were wearing them. Standing by the door Reese took it all in. There was a human warmth here that had not been present on the ship. People talked to each other here. He heard laughter off in the distance. The smell of food made him realize just how long it had been since he'd eaten any real food. But he knew no one here, no one he could ask for food even if he wanted to. He still had two mostly full bottles of the cheap booze he'd grabbed when he left the ship. He found a corner out of the way and crouched down to watch this new world he had found.

Taking a long swallow from the first bottle he tried to make himself disappear. He wanted to shut his brain down, stop it from looking at everything and everybody as a potential target or threat. But it would have been easier to quit breathing. He'd finished one bottle and was almost completely out until he felt someone trying to get to his second bottle. He roused himself enough to pull the bottle away from the man crouched in front him. The liquor had made his movements sluggish and he hit his elbow and dropped the bottle. It fell to the floor and broke, spilling his precious liquor on the concrete floor. Anger erupted from deep within him and he lunged at the would-be thief. Someone behind him cracked him over the head with a brick and he went down like a boneless doll. The two men begin to beat and kick the unconscious Reese until the fun went out of it and they walked away leaving him bleeding heavily from a head wound.

A woman nearby sat watching all that transpired with detached interest. Nobody messed with her or her buggy of valuables. Joan, as she was known as, was a force to be reckoned with. She was a gentle soul with a heart she shared with most everyone but she was hard as nails when it came to something that belonged to her. Few people crossed her when it came to her possessions.

Joan had watched Reese stumble into the warehouse alone. Quickly realizing he knew no one, she decided that he was a person of interest to her. Living life on the streets had honed her instincts about people that were worth getting involved with and others best left alone. This man was an enigma. She felt the potential of his worth but she also felt the menacing air that he gave off, as someone to be wary of.

That contradiction alone intrigued her.

Once she was sure the man was completely out, she made her way over to him. Up close he was quite different than what she had expected. This was a man who did not belong here. Even though his clothes and his appearance said he did, his face said differently. In his unconscious state, the man had lost that pained, lost, angry look that he had on his face when he first arrived. Joan could see intelligence in his visage even with his eyes closed. She went back to her buggy and found some clothes and brought some water from the near-by rain barrel and began cleaning him up.

As she wiped the blood and dirt from his face she was amazed at how good looking he was. But she was dismayed when she saw how thin he was. It was obvious that he had not been eating much if anything for quite some time. As she worked her way up to the bad cut on his head he began to stir. She started talking softly to him and making soothing noises. Surprisingly that seemed to calm him. She continued her ministrations until she had the wound cleaned along with his face and neck.

While she was putting away her clothes she felt his eyes on her. She turned around and was struck by the deep blue eyes staring at her out of the gaunt face. He made no sound, made no move just looked at her. The pain she saw in those eyes reached something deep within her. She reached out and placed her palm on the side of his face. He jerked away but she persisted. His skin felt hot and feverish to the touch. The closer she looked, she more she realized that the pain in those eyes was also mixed with the brightness of fever. He was sick, very sick.
There was something about this man that reached out to her. He seemed big and strong but something in his life had almost destroyed him: something that left deep, life-long scars. She felt the desire and the need to take care of this man, even though she didn't even know his name. There was something about him worth saving but she got the distinct impression that he did not think he was worth saving. He had obviously been slowly and methodically trying to kill himself for quite some time.

Taking it slowly Joan worked her magic on Reese. It took two days before he'd even tell her his name and even then all he told her was John. She brought him food and gave him aspirin from her private stash. Finally his fever broke and he was able to sit up and feed himself. Other than tell her his name, he didn't talk. He almost seemed in a trance, staring off in the distance, barely acknowledging Joan. He'd spend hours not moving unless Joan would call his name. His mind was almost blank except for vague, blurry images that made him whimper in fear. She was concerned he may have had a psychotic break. That was more than she was prepared to deal with. She'd seen a number of people on the streets over the years go through that. Some came out of it and some did not. She hoped John would. She didn't want to be wrong about him: that he was worth saving.

Finally he was able to get up and walk around the warehouse. Most people there kept their distance due to Joan's influence, which worked well for him since he didn't talk to anyone. Joan kept after him to come out with her when she'd go scrounging. She knew he needed to get out of the warehouse, to re-connect with life. He'd been in hiding long enough. After the first couple of nighttime 'shopping trips' that they took together, she told him to go out on his own but to come back before dawn. He'd kept up his drinking and she worried where he might end up, but he needed to see if he could handle being truly alone.

Reese woke up crouched in a corner to his name being called from a distance. He was instantly on alert, his abused body tingling with phantom memories of action, his body in a self-defense posture. His eyes snapped open only to squint immediately from the glare of the light from a loading dock at the back of the low rent bar. Panning around left to right Reese finally saw a figure standing about ten feet away next to a grocery buggy. Ten feet was a pretty safe margin Joan had discovered when trying to rouse a sleeping Reese. The first time she had tried when she was right next to him and she ended up on her butt with a bloody lip, followed by a pitiful Reese begging her to forgive him.

“Time to come home, John.” she said.

John slowly crawled to a standing position, leaning against the wall. He closed his eyes for a moment to bring himself back to the world he is now forced to live in and away from the nightmare his life had been. Opening his eyes he saw Joan, still patiently waiting for him, still ten feet away. His attempt at a smile was more like a grimace but Joan understood it for what it was.
She turned away and started pushing her buggy and John caught up with her. The sun would be up soon and they rushed to get off the streets. Invisibility of night was their preferred time to be out and about. With fewer people on the street, there weren't as many people to stare at them in their dirty clothes and unkempt hair. Fewer people to walk around them or even change sides of the street when they approached just making them feel even lower on the bottom rungs of society. But they both preferred it that way. Anonymity is best.....and the safest.

…..It felt nice to have a good dream for once. Being with Joan made him feel safe. Suddenly someone tried to grab his bottle of booze and that makes him instantly alert. He grabs the arm of the thief and sees a young punk wanna-be staring openmouthed at the now fully awake and very deadly John Reese.........