Terrible Friend

3

Albert parked on the east side of the capitol building and walked the half block to the gallery.

He stepped out of the truck and turned to lock the door but saw the necklace still hanging from the rearview mirror.

He opened the door and reached back inside. His large frame prevented him from leaning in and simply grabbing the chain, so he had to slide back into the seat.

"I'm going to try to do this without touching it Jax, but I can't make any guarantees. I'm not going to carry it through downtown like it has the plague, so I'm going to slip it into my pocket. Are you ready?"

<Put it in a fucking box or something!> Anger filled his words this time. <For that matter, toss it out in the street and let the trolleys have their way with it.>

Albert was confused. "What about the She that wants it back?"

<She can go out in the street and pick up the pieces if she wants it.>

"What about h...What the hell is wrong with you Jax? When we left, you wanted to get your memories back. Now you want to toss our only lead into the street and let cars run it over?"

<I don't know. I don't like the feelings I'm having right now. Returning it might not be the right thing to do.>

"Returning it is what we do Jax. It is what pays the bills, puts food in my belly, and gas in our ride. Why would we not return it?"

<Just shut up and put it in your pocket. I don't want to watch this anyway.>

"Watch what?"

<I don't fucking know. I can't see it. I can feel it, but I can't see it. Just...lets go already.>

Albert stood up and held up the necklace to look at it one more time before he slipped it into his pocket. The reflection of the sun off the hood of his truck shone just right into the emerald and blinded Albert.

He covered his eyes with his arm. Surprised by how bright the silver-green beam of light was. The thought crossed his mind that when he could see again, he would be in strange place surrounded by aliens. He chuckled at the thought.

He grasped and pulled the outer edge of his jeans pocket open. He maneuvered the chain so that the gem dangled just above the opening and slid it down into his pocket. He shook his leg gently, forcing the gem deeper into his pocket to make room for the bulky chain. The stone pressed against his outer thigh through the thin fabric of his pocket.

Albert noticed an ever so slight buzzing in the back of his head and the voices were subdued, but not completely gone, as before. Albert turned away from the truck and headed toward the gallery.

When he arrived, the door was open, so he stepped inside. Something deep within him made him cover his pocket with his hand. He rubbed the gem gently against his leg as he stepped toward the glass counter in the corner.

The buzzing in his head picked up slightly and the voices in his head stopped completely. He looked around, but found no one in visual range. He looked over the glass counter for a bell to ring. There wasn't one.

He decided to browse around. It looked like a standard art gallery, except all the pieces were old, worn, and what he still thought of as relic-y.

There were paintings and sculptures all around him. There wasn't a symmetrical placement of anything.

Columns jutted up out of the middle of the floor, blocking what would be the natural flow of the room. Strategically, it made sense, he thought. A person walking through would have to step around the column and could get a better view of the sculpture on top of it.