everything hurt. palmers knew he was laying on a bed. slowly he wiggled his toes. they moved. he let out a slow breath. a stabbing pain made him cut the breath short. "no, jordan, dont move." the voice was soft and calming, "if you move you will not heal properly." palmers struggled to open his eyes. a gentile hand came to rest on his forehead, "please, jordan, dont move." he could make out the blurry shape of a woman standing over him. he lifted his head slowly, trying to sit up. the dimly lit room spun and he slipped back into the blackness.
the woman's voice was joined by another when he weakly came to. "no," the gentile female voice was saying, "if he wakes up he will want to know what is going on, and i am not going to lie to him." there was a long pause. the second voice was low and husky, sounding almost like a snarl, "you could just pretend not to know?" it was more of a question then a statement. the woman laughed, it sounded like small bells to palmers, "no, erick, i cant do that." there was a rustling of fabric and a small sigh. "see erick, i am sure all this could have been prevented." palmers' mind raced. where was he? the conversation was too informal to be SPAR. erick, the low voice, sounded sad, "emily, you couldn't have known that this was going to happen." the woman, emily, sounded like she was going to cry, "but i did, i knew this was not going to go well." palmers struggled to open his eyes, but the blinding pain in his head stopped him. groaning, he slipped away again.
this time, it was easier. palmers lay alone, eyes staring at the ceiling. fully expecting to black out, he turned his head to the side. he didn't pass out. the room was small, but he could see right away that he was not at a SPAR location. he seemed to be in a bedroom. his body was stiff. however, he managed to sit up and swing his legs over the side of the bed. it was a modest room, bare wood floor, off white walls, a window on either side of the bed covered in gauzy blue curtains. a bench sat at the end of the bed, he fatigues were folded, resting on top. he suddenly realized that he was bare chested and only wore light flannel pants. bracing himself on the bed, he tried to stand. he failed, coming down hard onto the edge of the mattress, the beds frame creaking loudly. a woman was at the door in seconds. "mr. palmers," this was not the same woman as before, " youre up, that's good to see." palmers' mouth felt like sandpaper, "where am i?" the woman ignored his question, placing a cool hand on his forehead, "no fever, that is good as well. you will be stiff, mr. palmers, but if you can manage, get dressed and come down stairs." palmers reached for his clothes, his body felt weak, "its agent palmers, ma'am." the woman laughed loudly, "its good to see you have a sense of humor." she left the room, chuckling to her self, just as quickly as she came. Palmers fought his clothes, every movement seemed easier then the last, but he found it hear impossible to get his boots completely on. after a few deep breaths, he shuffled to the door, boot laces trailing on the ground behind him. the room he was in was at the end of a short hallway. there were three other doors in the hall, all of which had open doors, and a stairway leading up and down at the far end. every room palmers passed, he glanced in. all the rooms were empty. from the landing at the stairs, palmers could see the bottom landing and head soft voices. with each step making the stairs creak, he made his way slowly down the stairs, hand gripping the railing. he supposed that he should be more cautious, but the heavenly smell of coffee was pulling him towards it. following his nose, palmers found his way to a small, warm kitchen. a woman, different from the one who was just with him in the bedroom, had a pot of coffee next to a steaming mug on the large wooden table.she motioned for palmers to sit. the chair was large and looked home made, but it barely made a sound as he partially collapsed into it. the coffee was heavenly, palmers closed his eyes as he took a long drink. "you probably have a lot of questions, jordan," she spoke with her back to him. it was the woman from earlier, the soft tone and the emotion still in her voice. she stood at the stove, pushing a large piece of butter around a frying pan. palmers watched her over the coffee mug. she moved efficiently. she wore faded blue jeans and a grey tank top. her back was stick straight and her dark auburn hair was pulled back into a high pony tail. with her left hand she cracked eggs into a bowl, with her right, she lay four thick slices of bacon into the frying pan. "where am i?" palmers asked, "and its agent palmers." her shoulders rose slightly, her body giving away her grimace. she poked at the eggs in the bowl with a fork, mixing them slightly, then poured the eggs into the frying pan with the bacon. her voice was sad, "you are no longer agent palmers. SPAR has told the public you are dead. you are no longer affiliated with them." she moved slightly, reaching for a plate on a high shelve, "you are at my home. you are safe here." palmers took another long pull off his coffee, draining the mug, "and why does SPAR think i am dead?" "because they killed you." her voice was casual as she said those words, "or they think they killed you. we pulled you out of a ditch." "and who are you? and who is we?" palmers asked. the woman sighed, "we are a small group trying to get humans and paranormal beings to live side by side, peacefully." palmers felt the hair on his arms stand up straight, "youre a HPIS member?" the woman nodded, "yes, jordan, i am a member of the human\paranormal integration society." palmers reached for the coffee pot. he had to focus on his hands because in his weakened state, he hands still shook lightly. "so tell me, why did you 'rescue' me? you know i kill paranormal beings for a living right?" the woman laughed, "i saved you because you are going to be a useful resource to my cause." palmers poured the coffee slowly, almost spilling it as she set a loaded plate down in front of him. palmers momentarily forgot his coffee existed, and started shoveling fluffy eggs into his mouth. with his mouth full he spoke, "i hope this is not poisoned." she was at the sink now, running water into the frying pan. her chuckle was quiet, "if i was planning on killing you, i would have just left you in the ditch." her posture was relaxed now and she swayed as she washed dishes. palmers saw his moment to confirm who she was. "you were talking upstairs before? to erick? you said you would not lie to me no matter what i asked," he paused a beat, "emily?" she was obviously startled, dropping the sponge and a plate into the soapy water. "well, former agent jordan palmers, i see you have figured out one of my secrets. you are correct. my name is emily, and i will not lie to you ever." she dried her hands off on the front of her jeans, water streaks turning the pale blue dark. "and as a gesture of good faith, i will let you figure out another one." crouching, she pulled a paper bag out from the bottom drawer next to the sink. barely turning, she sat it down in front of him with a dull thunk. she had managed to keep her back to him through out the whole conversation. "open it." tentatively, palmers unfolded the top of the bag. reaching in, his fingers felt paper first. as he removed it from the bag, he realized it was the note from his fatigues, although it was no longer folded. on it, in small hand printed letters was written YOU ARE IN DANGER, THEY ARE GOING TO KILL YOU. palmers looked up at emily, but her back was still towards him, staring out the window over the sink. he reached back into the paper bag. cool smooth metal touched his fingers. he pulled out a gun, his gun, that had been confiscated at the abandoned office building. "what the hell," palmers look back up at emily. he had more questions now, but she had turned towards him finally, and his voice got caught in his throat. "you are.." he started, but the words faded. Emily's amber eyes smiled at him, "yes, jordan, i am scribe agent emily fosterson. nice to meet you." seeing another SPAR agent in such a relaxed atmosphere was very unnerving. his mind reeled as he tried to process this new information. it made his head ache. emily sat in the chair to his left, resting her hand softly on his arm, "dont over think it. i'll explain everything. can you walk with me? i have some things to do." palmers slid the .45 into his jacket pocket, "sure."
