Jeff Jones, Week 6

“For in that sleep of death what dreams may come

When we have shuffled off that mortal coil

Must give us pause…”

I recognize that one. Hamlet.

Fate’s a bitch. Easy come, easy go and all that, but to give me a week when things seem to be returning to normalcy, only to rip it right out from under me on the last day and then serve me a week of hell right back? That’s just cruel.

I’ve been in the hotel almost every night this week, and only dared return to the house once to get my laptop so I could at least try and work. The shadow is still on the door, naturally, but I’ve otherwise seen no signs of the creature’s entry into the house. I’m not sure if that concerns me more or less than if I did see signs.

I always sleep poorly in hotels. This week has been no different, and it’s had a measurable impact on my work. I’m just not producing at the quality I ought to be. It’s killing me, because I know I can do better than this and I know that better is expected of me, but these horrible things outside my control are preventing me from doing better.

Oh, and then there’s yesterday. That’s a fun day.

I was driving to the store to grab more food and speak to Roland. Traffic in this city is pretty terrible, but I’ve gotten used to it. I moved my hand to the side to adjust the volume dial, and saw a shadow cast over the console. I turned around, and saw, a few cars behind me, the creature, in the backseat of a sedan. The light in front of me was red, and it was bumper to bumper on all sides of me. I was trapped. I froze, terrified. I turned back, and saw that the creature had moved up one car – there were now only three cars between us. The light turned green, and my lane thankfully started moving quickly. I managed to speed up quickly and get in front of a car in the other lane and turn down a side road with fewer cars. I reached a stop light and slowly braked, then turned back and saw a car slowly pulling up behind me, the creature in the backseat. The light turned green and I slammed my foot on the accelerator, speeding down the road as quickly as I could. I didn’t look back, but soon I felt a cold hand on my shoulder. I turned to the side and saw the creature’s face, inches from my own. I screamed and didn’t notice as I barreled into the intersection, through the red light, and got hit in the side by a car crossing. I blacked out.

I came to a few minutes later, and was miraculously unharmed for the most part. A paramedic was placing a cast on my leg, which he told me had been broken, and that he would need to check for a concussion before I was free to go. A police officer was then allowed to come and question me. He asked me what had happened and why I had run that red light at such a high speed. I first asked him if the other driver was okay, and he told me that they all had only minor injuries – a father and his children. I breathed a sigh of deep relief, and then paused, unsure of what to tell the cop. I remembered the second week I was here, when the passenger of the crash I witnessed told me firmly that there was no third passenger. That driver was dragged away, kicking and screaming.

So I told him that I wasn’t paying attention, that I was talking on the phone and didn’t realize the light was red. I took full responsibility, was naturally given a ticket, but was otherwise allowed to go my way. Crutches suck, by the way.

Roland seemed concerned about my accident. I didn’t bother to tell him about the real reason I crashed.