The Invisible World

Chapter 8: Keep Feeling Fascination

Jenny approached the phone in Jack's kitchen, Jack and I following close behind. She took the phone off the wall and read over the phone number off the sticky notes stuck to the wall next to it. She tapped the one closest to it with her clackety red fingernail before dialing it into the phone. It rang once, it rang twice, it rang three times.

"Hold on," Jenny assured us. "It might take a while."

I rolled my eyes. This person didn't actually exist, did they?

"Wait, that was Brian's number," Jack realized. "What are you calling Brian for? How's he supposed to help?"

"Brian's such a carefree guy," Jenny explained. "He's bound to have at least one iota of belief that we can get Katie out of this situation."

"I'm right here," I mumbled.

Just then, Jenny's eyes widened, as if someone had finally picked up the phone. "Hello?" A pause. "Hey, Brian! It's me, Jenny. So, uh, let me get you up to speed on what's been happening. Jack and I finally took a look in the basement, and we found the stalker. It's Katie Tatulli, and yes, she could definitely be his doppelganger. Apparently, she came out of the void at the same time as Misty except she wasn't just spat out. She had to crawl out, so she's a little messed up, but she's okay. She just thinks she's an unlovable freak who has no chance of starting a new life. Can you help us help her, like, find an apartment and a job?"

Another long pause.

Then Jenny turned to us. "He said it's going to take a while for him to process everything I just said with the head injury and everything. He also asked me to take him to the pharmacy to pick up his pills. He's in no position to drive, and his car's been stolen, anyway."

"He's asking you?" Jack asked. "I thought I was his chauffeur."

Jenny shrugged. "Don't know what to say. Want to come with, Katie?"

"It's not like I have anything better to do," I decided.

"Great! I bet he'll happy to meet you!" Jenny traipsed out of the kitchen and into the entryway.

"Really?" I asked skeptically. "After everything I've done, he'll still be happy?"

"If you really have been stalking us, you'd know Brian better than that." Jenny opened the front door. She and I passed through. Before walking to Jenny's car, I took one last look through the window in the door and saw Jack on the other side locking it behind us. That dumb jerk really did look like I was looking in a mirror.

That's when I heard Jenny's voice behind me. "Hey, Katie! What are you waiting for?"

I snapped out of it and ran over to Jenny's car. She got in the driver's seat. "Now, which seat would be the shadiest? Brian's still sensitive to light, so I want him to sit somewhere he won't be in any pain."

"Can't we figure that out when we get there?" I asked.

"Well, that would determine where you sit." She got back out and began pacing around. "The back seat isn't directly in front of the windshield, but the passenger's seat has that flap thingy you can pull down to block the sun. There's also the matter of the left or the right. Which side would get less sunlight? That entirely depends on the position of the sun and the direction of our journey. Now, the sun is in the east, and I don't know which way the pharmacy is..." She glared at me, "and I can't figure that out because you stole my map."

"And your car is next if you don't speed this up," I replied without missing a beat.

"Okay, fine. We'll let him pick his own seat." Jenny got in the driver's seat again. "Get in."