Chapter 9
A Call For Help
The next morning came rather quickly. In no more than an hour, John found himself back at the Subway, serving his regular customers once again.
It was around 9:30 AM, that the lady came back. She entered the restaurant, looked at John, then sat in the corner. Same place as yesterday. She was wearing a sweater and had nice long hair.
John figured he’d go talk to her this time, ask her if she was okay. This restaurant was pretty quiet and most customers were old regulars…
If she was waiting for someone, it wasn’t someone John knew, or had seen before…
Despite being a quiet restaurant, overall, this particular morning was pretty busy. John didn’t even have time to take his break… So he didn’t get to speak to her just yet. Parts of him hoped she’d stay until his lunchtime.
Finally, the many hours until John’s 1 PM lunch break turned into minutes, then seconds. He was relieved to see that the young lady was still there. John had a 6th sense for feeling people in need of help. In his mind, it was clear this lady didn’t know him. Still, he felt she needed his help, somehow.
“Hey, said John,” sitting in front of her, “my name’s John.”
“Oh! Hi, I’m Liza.”
“Is everything okay? You look sad and scared… Are you waiting for someone or something?”
“I don’t know yet… I’m not sure.”
John looked at her, a little puzzled. Her face was thin and quite pale. She didn’t look sick, but she looked tired as hell.
“I don’t want to bother you, but I noticed that you were here yesterday and then this morning. Is there anything I can do to help you? Are you okay?”
“Well, I think I’m looking for someone, but I don’t even know his name. I’m so confused. I don’t even know if I should speak to you, or anyone at all.”
John frowned and leaned towards her, a subtle but gentle smile on his face.
“You must be hungry, let me get you something.”
John went behind the counter and prepared Liz a quick 6-inch sandwich.
“Thank you so much, you’re so nice to me, I don’t even know you. I’m so sorry to bother you…”
“No worries,” replied John. “I’m always happy to help. So… Do you have any idea what or who you may be looking for? A family member, a friend? A boyfriend?”
“Nah, I don’t have a boyfriend and my family is far away. I don’t know many people around here. I don’t know anyone…”
John didn’t know what to answer, so he didn’t say anything. He simply let her bite into her sandwich. Both sat there, in silence for a good 5 minutes, until Liza was about halfway through her meal.
Liza put down her sandwich in her tray for a minute, then looked at John, intently.
“How long have you been working here?”
“Well, about a month and a half, why?”
“Nothing," said Liza. "I live a couple of blocks away.”
“The nearby Apartment building?”
“Yes. My upper neighbor is a weirdo. Yesterday, he scared the hell out of me. It was so bad, I had to flee… And I came here.”
“Are you okay, did he hurt you?”
“No, thank God…”
“But… What’s the deal?”
Liza took a deep, laborious breath. John could tell she was about to open up or something.
“My neighbor is some kind of conspiracy nut, see? He believes in this New World Order thing, lizard people, time travelers from the future, and aliens from the far side of the moon and such.”
The word time traveler echoed deep through John’s entire being. Among all possibilities, this one he didn’t imagine. Coincidence… He’s way too low profile to get noticed, especially by some weirdo... Nothing to worry about, he thought. Still, the revelation that this guy was into weird stuff—especially looking for time travelers—made John uncomfortable. Curious, but uncomfortable.
“Okay, said John,” keeping his cool and hiding his curiosity. “I imagine a lot of people are into that sort of… Stuff. It’s quite entertaining, right? But why does that make him dangerous? Did he do anything crazy?”
“See, he’s very hardcore. He’s been harassing everyone in the building about this alleged time traveler individual who’s been living close by. He can’t even name him or say where he is. It’s like the whole thing is in his head. He looks everywhere in the building and outside, asking people questions and monitoring them when they leave for work… He has such crazy eyes too… He scares me.”
“Wow, a time traveler living in the area? That’s wild,” said John, not sure how to react to this revelation. “Hasn’t anyone told him to calm down?”
“Yes, we all did! Well… Look, I don’t believe in that kind of stuff and frankly, I don’t care. I just wish he’d leave me—and all of us—out of it!”
Liza continued.
“Yesterday, he violently banged on my door at about 11:00 AM. I looked through my door’s peephole and saw him. He was buck naked and had a large knife in his hand. Jeez, I’m still shaking just thinking about it.”
John was looking at her, now with round eyes.
“Erm… What did you do? Did you call the police?”
“At first, I just made sure the door was locked, but he somehow knew I was standing behind it, so he kept banging again and again. I started crying and told him I was gonna call the police. He then started stabbing at the door with his knife!!”
Her hands were shaking. Her whole being was shaking.
“Jeez,” said John, shocked, “did he break through the door?”
“No, thank God!” said Liza, with hints of tears in her eyes. “Just as I was trying to call 911, I heard a very loud noise coming from outside, which distracted him. He went downstairs and I haven’t seen him since.”
She paused for a second.
“Thinking of it, I have no idea where he went. A naked guy running outside with a knife would draw a lot of attention… Especially during the daytime. However, he was nowhere to be found.”
“It’s like he vanished! Are you sure they didn’t catch him?”
“Nope, as far as I know, they didn’t,” replied Liza. “When he disappeared, I decided to go outside for a moment, to clear my mind. I brought my pepper spray, in case... I walked for a couple of hours in the neighborhood and ended up here for some reason. I did the same this morning…”
“At least you’re safe here,” replied John, “which must be a relief.”
Both stared at each other for a few seconds…
“So… Do you know who he is?”
“I don’t know his name, but I heard another tenant refer to him as the Marin guy.”
“Marin guy?”
“No idea what that means,” said Liza, rolling her eyes around.
John didn’t know what to do or say to make her feel better. Where’s this guy now? Will he come back and hurt her? Thank God this loud noise scared him.
He took a deep breath.
“You can’t go back to your place tonight, you know that?”
“I have to, I don’t have anywhere else to go…”
“I wish I could help you, but I’m kind of in the middle of a situation, here… I can’t take you in or whatever…”
“Oh no, I wouldn’t want to force you to, you barely know me and all. Don’t worry, I’ll be okay.
“The building belongs to my uncle, he was supposed to install a new door and reinforce the locks so I can feel safe again at my place. Thank God!”
“Okay, that’s better”
“Thank you for your help though, I appreciate it.”
“Anytime!”
Both sat there, as 2:00 PM came by and John’s lunch break was coming to an end.
“Oh, I gotta get back to work, ” said John. “I wish I could have stayed with you a little longer. You could share more about this guy and perhaps I could find a way to help you out of this dangerous situation…”
“You already helped me so much, John. Thank you for listening to my stuff,” said Liza, showing a hint of relief in her tone. “And thanks for the lunch.”
“That’s the least I can do!” said John with a smile and a slight wink, “catch you later!”
And so, they parted ways. John went back behind the counter to resume his shift. Liza went back home and found the door replaced and everything reinforced with newly installed locks. Hopefully, this weird guy won’t come back.
John hoped he’d see her soon.
This time traveler thing kept popping back in his mind. Did this guy know? Who is he and where—when—is he from? What if…
9