Shadows in the Night Read online

  Shadows in the Night

  By J.J. Franck

  This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of characters to actual persons, living or dead, was purely coincidental. The Author holds exclusive rights to this work. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited.

  Other books by Lillian Francken:

  Tetris

  The Twelfth of Never

  Omega Factor

  Rustic Roads

  Blue Moon Rising

  Till Death Do Us Part

  Wednesday’s Child

  We Come In Peace

  All About Love

  The Curiosity Shop

  A Family Christmas Story

  Books under the pen name J.J. Franck

  Raven

  1501 Parcher Street

  Into the Darkness

  Someone to Watch Over Me

  To Tammy who believed

  I could do it.

  CHAPTER 1

  The sun rose slowly, but the tall buildings surrounding the five-story brownstone hid it from view. The long narrow alley below slowly came alive as tenants emerged one by one from their sheltered dwellings to pursue their daily journey at a nine-to-five job. This was a quaint little neighborhood in the heart of Greenwich Village. And most in the area had no idea it even existed given the busy streets that surrounded it.

  The bright early morning light slowly seeped through the open window as seven thirty flipped on the digital coffee pot kicking it into action. It sent cold water down the little shoot hitting the hot element and gurgled down to the waiting grounds. And finally out spewed the delectable brown liquid that was the salvation of many. Within a minute the aroma of a delicious hazelnut blend drifted through the rooms. It was a ritual repeated like clockwork ever since taking up residence a few years earlier in the sublet apartment complex. Although near other tenants in the building, everyone kept to themselves as all good New Yorkers. No one ventured out of his or her little domain, so life went on without as much as an acknowledgment of anyone’s existence.

  The furniture in the apartment on the third floor facing the alley below was a hodgepodge mixture of family and friends put together with no real value to speak of. Nothing matched, but that didn’t matter because, in reality, it gave the occupant the freedom of being on her own, even for the short time she had left. It was not a decision taken lightly.

  On the counter near the fridge were four prescriptions lined there like little soldiers in formation doing what they could to make life easier for the woman lying in bed down the long narrow hall. They were a sad testament to a body not well, but life without them would have been impossible. These were what gave the once young vibrant girl who lived there the independence needed to live on her own.

  On the labels, the name Avery Sinclair was visible. The one in bubble wrap read Temozolomide, to slow the growth of a tumor that had become a nuisance in her brain. It was her nighttime drug. But the rest were the ones that would get her through the day ahead. There was one that read Vicodin for the pain, the other two not visible, all contested to the fact the woman living in that apartment was not in good health. The pillbox had been filled for the coming day. Each slot full so the pills could be taken in order, for the hour that they were needed. It was this routine or go the route of chemo which at this stage of her treatment was not an option given the area of the brain the tumor attached itself to. Avery had gone with a quality of life versus longevity, a decision that didn’t go well with her parent's way of thinking. She knew the end would come sooner than later, but wanted to live life to the fullest for as long as God willed it to be so.

  The coffee pot half filled with the hot liquid when the clock radio suddenly started playing easy listening music through the small four-room apartment. It was a comfortable apartment that Avery sublet from a close friend of her mothers who had been on a sabbatical for the past few years. Although it angered her parents that she continued to sublease it even after the diagnosis. But Avery had been adamant and would not give up her freedom so lightly. This apartment allowed Avery her independence to live out her remaining days with dignity.

  The living room was large by apartment standards in a city where space was at a premium. The quaint little kitchen off the far end had all the amenities one needed for comfortable living with bar stools next to the counter for eating because there wasn't room for a small table and chairs. And given she didn’t entertain much. The need for space was not a necessity. Avery had only lived there two years, but in that time this had apparently become her home, and she was not looking forward to having to give it up once the sabbatical was over at the end of the year. But given her current declining health, and her doctor's prognosis, Avery was sure that having to find other accommodations would not be an issue. Because by all accounts her days were numbered and once it got too bad, she would have to realize that her parents could feasibly take over her care once she was incapable of making decisions for herself.

  Down the short hall to the left was a small bedroom that had a twin size bed on the interior wall facing the window. The nightstand was tiny only having a lamp with the clock radio that now displayed seven-thirty three. The glass of water with another prescription bottle sat in easy reach of the woman lying in bed. There was only room for a small chair in the corner.

  All-in-all those four little rooms were enough for Avery to call home for the time being. This was Avery’s sanctuary from doting parents who overprotected her throughout her growing up years. But now there was nothing to protect her from the disease that was eating away at her body. What she needed most was to fill her remaining day with as much living as she possibly could. But given her prognosis, Avery chose just to plug along doing her daily routine and pretend there was time to do the things she always wanted to do later.

  Avery opened her eyes, shielded them from the brightness of the sun that filtered in through the open window. Although she couldn’t see the sun, its brilliance bounced off the buildings across the alley. Avery turned around slowly and glanced at the clock. Finally, after a few intense moments she was able to focus her eyes, and once she got her bearings, Avery carefully sat up in bed reaching for the prescription bottle that suddenly became two on the nightstand. With a shaking hand, Avery was finally able to grasp the bottle, she quickly opened it and popped a pill. Avery took the glass of water and swallowed the pill. She knew it would be a few minutes before the pill kicked in and patiently waited. Today it took a full five minutes before Avery carefully attempted to stand up, but as with the last few mornings, the room took a quick spin while her stomach turned. She quickly sat back down for a few more minutes to let the pill do its work.

  Avery remembered what the doctor had said a few weeks back. If she did not opt for the surgery, her good days would be numbered, and it would take longer for the medicines he prescribed to kick in. Somehow she thought maybe she would have a longer period before things would get worse. But then he gave her no guarantees, and this was her choice, a choice that was not well received by her parents.

  Avery reached for the water again and took another sip, she thought about taking another pill but decided against that, not wanting to get too dependent on it to start her day. After a few moments of shutting her eyes and taking some deep breaths, she opened her eyes again and tried focusing them. The sharp pain that followed made her eyes water, and as quickly as the sharp, intense pain came on, it started to subside, but not totally this time. If only she could will herself to get better, but that was not an option. What she had, was not the flu or a common cold, this was serious business. When that didn’t help Avery leaned forward and rested her head on her knees, Avery put her hands on the back of her head and tried desperately to massage her head and temples. When the sensation of
the room moving subsided, she sat straight up, and after a few more minutes she slowly got up. Finally, the room stopped moving. Avery had been through this before. But with every passing day, her morning ritual of getting out of bed was getting more troublesome.

  Avery was a young woman in her late twenties with her whole life ahead of her, or so she thought a short while ago. The death sentence that had been given her two months earlier was weighing heavy on her now. She was small in stature with short-cropped jet-black hair. Her big dark hazel eyes gave her a doe-like look, and because of the disease that was slowly consuming her, her slight build was a hindrance, and the weight she lost recently was not helping matters. It would only be a question of time before others would notice something was not right. For now, she was able to hide the fact there was anything wrong with her. Wearing loose, baggy clothes while she added a touch of makeup to a gaunt face. And most of all, putting on a happy face gave people the impression all was right with her in the end.

  Slowly Avery got up off the bed and stood for a few moments to get her bearings and to make sure the pill kicked in before she took a step. Suddenly the clock buzzer blared and startled Avery, replacing the soft, soothing music from a few moments earlier. Her heart raced. It was her fail-safe to make sure she didn’t fall back to sleep. Avery reached over and turned the switch off. And all that could be heard was easy listening again. She liked easy listening in the morning, it was soft and relaxing, and she liked the way it filtered around the rooms. Plus it was pleasing to the ears. Hard rock and rap had always given her a headache in the past and lately with the tumor that grew inside her head only made it worse in recent weeks. And right now that was the last thing she needed to deal with on top of everything else.

  Avery slowly and carefully walked into the bathroom. She found no fast movement in the morning was the best way to start out the day. For some reason she found slowing down her movements helped her get through the day and in the end, she appreciated everything around her more. Avery now took the time to notice the delicate pebbles of flowers. The complex design of a spider’s web became a thing of beauty unlike before the diagnosis when she was too busy to observe the little things in life.

  As Avery maneuvered into the small bathroom, she glanced up at the image staring back at her in the mirror above the sink. She was not the healthy person she had been three months earlier. The weight she lost recently made the whites of her eyes appear a tint of yellow. Her body was gaunt from the quick weight loss. As she stood there staring at her image, the room took another quick spin. She quickly grabbed hold of the vanity to steady herself until the sensation subsided and once it passed she took a few deep breaths and then inhaled deeply and exhaled until she gained control. A chill went through her and sent goose bumps down her arms. She glanced up. Avery's forehead perspired as a sharp pain shot through her head. Her eyes water as she winced a moment and then as fast as it came on, it was gone, and she was in control again.

  The spells were getting worse with every passing day, and it was hard to come to terms with her life, as she now knew it. Avery understood all too well that it would only be a matter of time when her daily ritual of going to work would have to come to an end. And as yet no one was the wiser that there was anything more wrong with her other than a possible eating disorder. And no one sympathized with Avery because they thought it was something she brought on herself. Little did anyone know that there was something sinister eating away at the young girl's body. In time the truth would come out, but for now, Avery was determined not to share her diagnosis with anyone for fear of being treated differently.

  The aroma of fresh brew filtered into the small room, but her reaction wasn’t as before. There was a time when the smell was an inviting start to what she knew would be a busy day once she got to work, but that morning for some reason her stomach was not receptive to the odor hazelnut conjured up. Avery understood all too well if she were going to overcome that sensation she would have to get her first round of pills into her stomach for her day to start.

  Avery quickly walked into the kitchen, poured herself a glass of juice and took the pill container and quickly popped her morning contingent into her mouth and chugged the juice that would be her breakfast because anything else would just be upchucked. She glanced at the pot of coffee, her stomach warned her against the cup of dark liquid, but this was a ritual she had always enjoyed in the past, and she was not going to give it up so lightly. Granted food just upset her stomach since the disease took hold of her body. Once she had her cup of coffee in hand, then Avery slowly walked back to the bathroom while sipping it as she walked into the small room. The warm liquid felt good going down to an empty stomach.

  Avery quickly undressed and then stepped into the shower to pound some life back into a body that needed desperately to be rejuvenated. Once she entered the bedroom and picked out her casual attire for the day, she quickly dressed for work and grabbed the cup off the dresser and gulped the last of the coffee. It was the one vice she would not give up no matter how her body reacted to it. Avery always needed that at the start of a new day ever since her college years. Whereas her classmates drank the hi-energy drinks, Avery got her early morning jump-start from a cup of java. It was less expensive and served her well through some tough days and nights of study.

  Avery walked back into the bathroom feeling somewhat more driven than before. She put on her makeup taking special care around the dark circles under his eyes, adding a concealer before applying her foundation. Avery added the blush, just enough to give her face some color, not too much to call attention to a drastic change in the way Avery looked. Once done she stepped back and admired her handy work as she had to admit there was some semblance of life still left in her. But in reality, Avery was just hiding the fact that Avery knew inside that anyone with half a brain should see through the fact there was a trace of a body not well no matter how hard she tried to hide that reality with makeup. But it was a game she played every morning, and given the truth, no one approached her at work about her changing appearance. She felt she had done the trick of hiding her illness well.

  It was the ringing nuisance from the living room that brought Avery back to the realization it was getting late, and she only had a few minutes to spare before she would have to be on her, so she let the answering machine pick up. When Avery heard the familiar voice of her mother, she just shook her head. A part of her wanted to get the receiver, but then there was this piece of her that did not want to deal with a woman facing the biggest suffering of her life, that of losing a child. Avery froze a moment and just listened. With every passing day, it was hard putting her mother off, knowing that everything she was trying to do was in the name of love. But Avery was an adult now. She needed the time she had left to fill each day to the fullest. What she didn’t need was a mother smothering her.

  “Avery, its mother here. Your father and I want you to come and live with us.” The voice relayed before breaking up. Once her mother regained control after a few moments, she continued with her message. “We’ll take care of you.”

  The message ended abruptly. Avery had broken the news to her parents three weeks earlier. She knew the prognosis was not going to be good and they would have a hard time accepting what was to come. Maybe in time, she would let her parents take control, but for now, Avery wanted her independents. A tear formed, Avery quickly wiped it away. It was the phone ringing again that startled her a moment. She glanced at the caller ID and then just shook her head.

  “I forgot, your father got the name of a doctor in Virginia who’s experimenting with…”

  Avery quickly picked up the phone. “Hi mom,” she said.

  “Honey, we are so worried,” she started to say.

  “I don’t have time to talk, I’m late for work,” Avery quickly added.

  “But.”

  “I’ll call you tonight,” Avery said. It was hard talking to her mother like this, but she just did not feel like giving up control of the last few
months of her life.

  Avery hung up the phone quickly before she changed her mind. All she could do was shake her head. It took Avery years to convince her parents that she was old enough to live on her own. Granted while she was in college it was okay living at home, it saved on living on campus and cut her college expenses down considerably. Avery was fortunate that her parents could manage the tuition and books without her having to apply for any student loans. She appreciated them for that, but now she wanted her freedom to be on her own and not dependent on them.

  She knew there might be a time when she would have to take her parents up on moving back home, but for now, Avery just wanted to live as long as she could near her work and have a little more time to decide what her next course of action would be.

  Avery walked over to the kitchen counter and grabbed the pill container that would get her through the rest of the day. She quickly stuffed it into her purse. Then grabbed the purse and slung it over her shoulder, before leaving her small haven. Avery glanced back at the telephone for a moment. She hesitated, wondering if she had been too harsh on her mother, but then shook that thought free of her subconscious and hurriedly walked out and shut the door behind her.

  CHAPTER 2

  Once Avery shut the door, she stood there a few moments, still feeling a little queasy because the pills she took earlier hadn’t kicked in yet. It always took a good forty-five minutes for them to jump-start her body, but for some reason, it was taking a little longer today. She glanced at her watch, enough time had passed, and still, the sensation of things moving wouldn’t subside. This concerned her because it possibly meant her tumor was increasing in size, and now so would the dosage of the medicines to counteract its effect on the body would have to be adjusted. It meant another trip to the doctor and more tests. And once Avery was at the maximum dosage of her Meds, then she would have to discuss with the doctor her options for future treatment. The long term effects on her organs with continued use of the Meds could be a detriment to her health, which she found funny, given her prognosis.