Knife Hands

The knife-hands man wouldn't take no for an answer.

He just waltzed in the door, Cat in the Hat-style. I was sitting on the couch, waiting. His presence didn't surprise me; we took tea in the kitchen.

As I was pouring him some chamomile, we talked.

"Josh broke up with me," I said.

"How unfortunate," was his reply. "Sugar?"

"Yes, please." He passed me the sugar bowl, and I used my caterpillar spoon to grab some. "He said I needed to get my shit together. I mean, I get it. I'm going through some things." I scratched my arm, suddenly very itchy. "But I thought he was going to stick it out, you know? He told me he… Well, he didn't say he loved me. But he told me he cared about me. Wanted to see me happy."

The man sipped his tea at the exact moment I did, a mirror image. Which was stupid, because it was definitely still too hot.

"Are you happy?" the man asked.

I stared out the window. A black cat walked by. It hopped up onto the back fence. Then it leapt, snatched a bird right out of the air, and they both exploded into fireworks. The fireworks rained down like a willow tree and singed the grass.

"That's how I feel," I said, though the man didn't see the cat. "We'd been together for almost a year. He knew I was in recovery. But then he left." I scoffed. "Left me with a bunch of his clothes, and that stupid golden watch."

"He left the watch?" The man shook his head. "He'll be back for that."

"He most certainly will."

"I know a way to cheer you up," the man said. He drained his mug completely. My throat burned in sympathy. Then he stood up. "How about we play a game?"

That's when his knives came out. He held out jazz hands — at least, that's what I thought at first — and his fingers stretched. They grew three times longer. I expected them to flop over like noodles, but I guess his bones grew, too, because they stayed perfectly straight. The tips thinned into long, sharp points as the skin changed from flesh-toned to silver. One edge of each finger sharpened into a blade, gleaming and sharp. When he wiggled his fingers, they scraped against each other with a shing.

My stomach dropped. This wasn't a Cat in the Hat kind of game.

*****

Josh knocked on the door. "Alexis, you there?" He waited a moment, then knocked louder. "I've come for my stuff."

There were no footsteps inside, but Alexis's cat, Caesar, mrowled loudly from behind the door. The sound tightened Josh's chest with worry.

"Alexis? Come on. If you got rid of the clothes, that's fine. I just want my watch."

He turned around, double-checking to confirm. Yes, he'd walked right by Alexis's car. She was here.

Josh pulled at his beard, debating. He'd walked away for a reason. He loved Alexis, he really did, but he didn't want to get sucked into her games. He couldn't watch her endless cycles of dysfunction.

But why wasn't she answering the door?

*****

Knife-hands man swiped at me from across the table, his blades missing my face by inches. I leapt up, and my chair clattered to the floor. I ran.

I entered the hallway, making my way toward the front door. But suddenly, the carpet softened beneath my feet. It sank and rose, sank and rose, until the whole hallway undulated like a rope bridge on a playground. It bounced my body into the air, my legs turning into noodles as I tried to cross.

"See? This is already fun," the man said behind me. He grabbed my arm and his sharp fingers bit into my flesh. I screamed and yanked away. I scrabbled on all fours across the waving hallway floor, bouncing so high I hit my head on the ceiling. My breath came in ragged gasps. Knife-hands man followed right behind me.

In my panic, all I could think was, I need Josh. Josh would know what to do.

But Josh wasn't there. So I ran on.

******

Something was definitely wrong; Josh could feel it in his gut. He had a sinking feeling that he knew what he'd find inside.

He hurried around the side of the house to the small stone dragon by the bushes, where Alexis hid her spare key. Josh could only hope she hadn't moved it after their breakup.

No, it was there, gleaming silver like it was waiting for him. He snatched it up and hurried back, letting himself in.

Caesar darted out as soon as Josh opened the door. He meowed in what Josh interpreted as anxiety, weaving back and forth between Josh's ankles.

"I know, buddy, I'm here," Josh said. As he entered the house, he walked slowly, eyes down. He feared discovering the worst.

And there she was. Right where he'd expected her to be.

Alexis sat upright on the couch, head slumped to one side. Her eyes were closed. Josh watched her chest; she was breathing in slow, shallow breaths. Josh hurried over.

"Alexis? Alexis, wake up." He took her by the shoulders and shook her. Her head lolled back; the edges of her mouth were blue. A small syringe dangled in the crook of her right arm. On the table sat a bowl, a lighter, and an orange 30-day Narcotics Anonymous chip.

"Shit," Josh muttered. "Shit, Alexis, why? Why did you go back?" He fumbled in his pocket, pulled out his phone, and dialed 911.

*****

I bounced and rolled across the hallway. My only saving grace was that knife-hands man struggled with the hallway too. He didn't bounce like me, but the waving ground slowed him down, keeping me just out of his reach.

I finally collapsed onto a blessedly still landing. I got to my feet and darted into my room, where I slid under the bed. I hoped that, in the chaos, the man hadn't seen where I'd gone.

Under the bed, my body stilled. I forced my breath to slow, calm and quiet, and waited.

The man stepped into the room. Just peeking into my line of sight, the thin, pointed ends of his finger blades swung ominously.

He took a slow revolution around the room, then paused as though listening. I held my breath.

Suddenly, something slimy touched my skin, and a scream bubbled up in my throat. I glanced over.

A translucent wet blob hid under my bed right next to me. It had four eyes that dripped down its face. It used its wide, thick lips to push the eyes back into place, and they slid down again.

It opened its mouth and latched onto my hand. I felt sharp pinpricks as it bit me, and I buried my face into the carpet to keep from crying out. But knife-hands man was still there; I could hear his steps as he circled the room. He stopped by my bedside table. He picked something up with a jingle: Josh's watch. I heard a muffled chink as he slid it into his pocket.

The monster under my bed sucked on my hand. As his teeth dug deeper, my vision began to blur. It was draining me; I could feel myself fading. I shook my head and drew in a heavy breath, fighting it.

"I'm coming to find you," knife-hands man said. "You can't hide forever, Alexis."

All I could do was wait.

*****

"911, what's your emergency?"

"My girlfriend overdosed." Josh registered that Alexis was now his ex, but the detail seemed inappropriate to clarify with emergency services.

"Can you describe what you're seeing?"

He crouched beside her and took her hand. It was icy. "She has a needle in her arm. Her lips are blue, and she's barely breathing."

"I'm sending EMS. They're on their way. Does she have a history of using?"

"Yes, for the last few years. She was in recovery, though. She just hit thirty days…" Josh wiped an errant tear from his cheek as frustration and sadness collided in his heart.

"I want you to try and take her pulse for me…"

Josh stopped listening. He was watching Alexis's chest, waiting for the next breath.

He counted to ten, then to twenty.

"She's not breathing!" he said. "She's not—" She gasped in a breath, and the pull in Josh's chest loosened slightly. "There it is. She took a breath. That was at least thirty seconds."

"EMS is on its way. You said she's in recovery? Did they give her Narcan?"

"Narcan…" Josh squeezed his eyes shut, trying to think. "Yes, she told me she got some. Let me look."

He yanked at the drawers nearby, but all he could find was a TV remote and a pack of cigarettes. He flew off toward the bathroom.

*****

Knife-hands man finally left the bedroom. The monster under the bed continued sucking on my hand, draining my life. The darkness hovered at the edges of my sight and threatened to engulf me.

But I wasn't going down without a fight.

As soon as I heard the man's steps fading down the hallway, I picked up my fist, monster and all, and slammed it into the ground. I slammed over and over until the creature finally loosened its grasp and I could pull myself free. Deep red puncture wounds covered my hand, which was bleeding freely, but I'd escaped.

I slid out from under the bed, aiming one last kick at the sludgy blob, and crept to the door. The man wasn't in the hallway. Neither was the roiling floor.

Before my eyes, the hallway widened and transformed once more. Now I stood at the edge of a platform. Before me lay a bouncy-ball obstacle course. Beneath the balls, dark water churned and splashed. It looked like a more ominous version of a silly TV show I used to watch with my mom as a kid. That was before she left, leaving me with dad, and dad with his alcohol.

I shook my head to clear the old memories away. That didn't matter anymore. All that mattered was getting out of here alive.

"There you are!" Knife-hands man appeared right behind me. There was no avoiding it now; I dodged his grasp by leaping onto the first, second, and third balls in quick succession. My foot slipped on the third one, but I made a falling leap towards the next platform and just managed to grab it, my body slamming against the side as my feet kicked the water below.

I scrambled up to safety. One obstacle down, one to go. The hallway curved to the left, revealing a series of ropes with knots tied into them. The ropes crossed the expanse of water, and on the far platform stood my front door. If I could manage to keep hold of the ropes, I could swing Tarzan-style across the watery gap and escape to freedom.

"I hope you're enjoying this game as much as I am," knife-hands man called from behind me. He was crouched, bracing, ready to jump across the giant balls. "I can't wait to see what happens once I catch you!"

"Stay away from me!" I shouted. I grabbed the rope above me, took a few steps back, and leapt into the air.

Whoosh — I missed the second rope by an inch and swung back towards the first platform. Knife-hands man had made it past the bouncy balls. He reached out and grabbed my ankle in one hand. His sharp fingers cut into my skin; I screamed and reflexively kicked out. He dodged my foot and yanked me toward him. My hands slipped down the rope I was holding. The cuts from the monster under the bed burned as I struggled to hold on. But with a jarring stop, my hands hit the next knot in the rope and held fast.

I twisted and kicked again. This time, I landed a hard hit on the man's chest. He stumbled, caught himself, and then pitched forward as my momentum carried me ahead. I yanked harder on the rope, pulling my foot out of his grasp, now slippery thanks to the cuts he'd inflicted. He tumbled into the water.

One more swing and I grabbed the next rope, holding tight. I swung to the third, missed, swung backward and forward, then snatched it with a thrill — before my hand slipped and the rope swung away. Thinking I'd caught it, I'd already let go of the first rope, and down I went into the water with a heavy splash.

"I've got you now!" Knife-hands man swam towards me as I kicked and burst out of the water. He reached me too fast — his hands were on me — his blades cut into my skin. I fought him, pushing and kicking as I tried to swim away, but he had me.

He pulled me down, under the water, into darkness.

*****

"I found it!" Josh said into the phone. He held up a small white box in triumph, then hurried back to the couch.

Alexis was blue. Her chest was still.

"Oh god, she's dying," he gasped.

"EMS is two minutes out," the 911 operator said.

"She's blue," Josh moaned.

"Do you feel comfortable administering the Narcan?"

Josh rubbed his eyes, the panic pulsing in his ears. He had to save her. Even two more minutes without oxygen would be too long. "Yes. Yes."

The operator rattled off instructions as Josh, hands shaking, moved Alexis to the floor. He pulled the syringe out of her arm, tilted her head back, stuck the nasal spray into her nostril, and pressed firmly.

*****

I opened my eyes.

"Josh?"

Before me, Josh's face collapsed as tears filled his eyes. "Alexis. Oh, god, Alexis, I was so scared."

He wrapped me in his arms. I felt my whole body relax at his touch. I hugged him back, kissed his shoulder and neck.

"Josh, you saved me. You saved me, baby."

"I shouldn't have left. I know." Josh pulled away to get a better look at me. I wiped a tear from his cheek. "You were trying. You were in recovery. I should've stood by you. I'm sorry, Alexis." He hugged me again, sobbing into my shoulder.

"It's ok. It's ok. Look. Look what I have."

I pulled his watch out of my pocket. It gleamed golden in the dim lamplight.

"My watch!" Josh laughed. "I'm glad I came for it."

He hugged me again. The watch tinkled in his hands as he moved.

And just like that, I'd caught him.