Blind Knowledge

“What’s the name of the hotel we’re staying in?” Julian asked as Alex accelerated onto route 2 from the highway. Julian gripped the door with one hand and placed his other hand on the dashboard. Alex smiled as she glanced at Julian. “It’s an inn, not a hotel. And it’s called 1862 Seasons on Main Bed & Breakfast.” “It’s not one of those places where we have to sit with other people and have breakfast, community dinners, sharing plates, stuff like that, is it?” Alex pulled a face. “What are you talking about? You love those kinds of places!” “Usually, yes. But this getaway is different. I want you all to myself, that’s all.” “Well, I can’t really argue with that. Tell you what, we’ll do our best to stay in the room as much as possible. Sound good?” Julian waggled his eyebrows in Alex’s direction. “Sounds perfect. I have plans for you, my dear.” “Oh my God.” “Yeah, you should be saying ‘oh, my God’ because I’d be happy to tell you about my plans-“ “No, no, not that. There’s an accident up ahead. It looks like a car is wrapped around a tree. Oh jeez, Julian, it’s bad. There’s a girl standing on the side of the road covered in blood. We need to stop and help.” Julian tucked his sense of humor in his back pocket and asked Alex to describe the scene as they pulled off the road. “Older Corvette, skid marks on the road leading to where the car veered off. Maybe the driver was trying to avoid hitting something? There are lots of deer around here. Could’ve been that.” “Where’s the girl that’s covered in blood?” “She’s about twenty feet in front of us, clearly in shock, because she’s staring at us but I don’t think she’s registered that we’re actually here. C’mon, let’s go talk to her.” Julian grabbed Alex’s arm. “Be careful, Alex. Everybody reacts differently when in shock. Some people lash out, literally, and others close up. Either way, try not to scare her when we approach.” “Got it. I’ll come to your side.” Alex got out and continued to observe the teenage girl as she crossed to Julian’s door, opened it and took his arm. “She’s not even blinking, Julian.” “Okay, I’ll speak first, okay?” They approached the girl, making as much noise as they could, hoping that she’d acknowledge them, but she didn’t. Stopping ten feet from her, Julian cleared his throat. “Hi there. My name is Julian and I’m wondering if you might need some help.” The girl turned toward them and simply stared. “No, I’m fine, but thank you.” Julian took a step forward as Alex remained watchful. “What’s your name?” The girl looked confused for a moment as she brushed blood-soaked hair from her forehead. She stared at her bloody hand and attempted a smile. “My name is April.” “Hi, April. You’ve been in a car accident and I want to make sure you’re not hurt. Can I come and sit with you on the grass for a while and talk?” April’s eyebrows came together as she contemplated Julian’s offer. “I guess that’d be okay.” “Great. April, I can’t see so I’m going to need you to help me, okay? I’m going to ask you to let me take your arm and you can guide me to the grass where we’ll sit and talk. Can you do that, April? Can you help me?” Giving her a job seemed to help April focus. “Oh sure, sure.” As Alex walked Julian over to where April was standing, Alex whispered, “FYI. Broken nose and some missing teeth. Could be other issues including internal injuries.” Julian nodded his head almost imperceptibly as he took April’s arm. As they walked to the side of the road, Julian casually asked her if she were hurt. “Just my head, I think.” “Okay. My friend Alex will call 9-1-1 and they’ll be here soon. Can you tell me what happened here?” April stared through Julian as if not seeing him. “We were driving-“ “Who was in the car, April?” “What? Oh, Luke and me. Just the two of us. We were headed to Brindell Lake to-“ April cut off abruptly and started to cry. Julian touched her arm. “Take your time, April. It’s just you and me sitting here. Just the two of us talking. You talk only when you’re ready. Excuse me for one moment.” Julian turned around and spoke evenly, “Alex, a boy named Luke was driving and needs to be accounted for.” “I’m on it,” Alex responded. Julian returned his attention to April. “Sorry for the interruption. Please continue when you’re ready.” April sniffled, hugging her legs up against her body. “It’s okay. I can go on. We were going to the lake to get away. I really don’t know Luke that well, but- oh, I guess I should say that I didn’t know Luke that well. He’s dead, right?” April craned her neck looking for Luke but couldn’t see past the wreck of the car. “April, can you focus on me? My friend Alex is checking on Luke and will take good care of him. She’s actually a police officer so you don’t need to worry.” April ran her sleeve under her nose and then wiped her eyes with the other arm. “I must look awful.” Julian smiled. “You look okay to me.” April paused and then barked out a laugh, which quickly morphed into a crying jag. “April, Alex told me that there are tire marks on the road, which makes me think that Luke hit the brakes pretty hard before you went off the road. Why did Luke brake so hard?” “Um, I’m not sure. I don’t remember. It’s, um, all kinda fuzzy but-“ Julian waited as April worked through her memory. When April finally spoke, it came out as a whisper. “The girl…it was the girl.” “What girl, April?” “The girl in the middle of the road. Luke slammed on his brakes trying to avoid hitting the little girl in the middle of the road. She wouldn’t move; she was like some kind of zombie from the movies. Even after the accident she acted really weird. She was smiling at me like some kind of fucking freak show!” Julian held out his hands toward April, palms up. When he was sighted he would ask patients to look into his eyes in an effort to calm them. But since that was no longer an option for him, he’d learned to use touch instead. Except for patients who were contact-avoidant, Julian had found that touch worked wonderfully. “April, do you see my hands reaching out to you? Can you please place your palms on mine?” April, her rising anger momentarily subdued, wrinkled her brow but complied. Sirens were beginning to sound in the distance. “Where is this little girl now?” “I don’t know. I went for help and she walked in the other direction. I know she’s only little, but I’m telling you, there’s something really odd about that girl.”