Chapter Seven: Darkness and Light

The stars started to swirl overhead and the moon continued to grow brighter and brighter. Chris was confused as the moon grew closer and finally rested right in front of his face. He closed his eyes, which only served to draw attention to the throbbing pain in his arm.

"What's going on?" he sharply asked, unaware that he was no longer alone. He only became cognizant of the others when he felt a cold hand brush across his forehead and back through his damp hair. The touch startled him and he jerked away, or at least he tried to. Barely any movement could be discerned as he struggled.

Taking a deep breath, Chris slowly began to open his eyes. The bright light caused him to squint until he could clearly see its source. A doctor stood over him, which provided little comfort; however, as he began to grasp his surroundings the panic slowly began to dissipate. Noticing once again the pain in his arm, he started to turn his head only to find even this small task too great.

"Chris, can you hear me okay?" The doctor had asked Chris this question several times over the past few days, but from Chris's panicked expression it was clear that he did not remember what had happened. "You're in the hospital, but your fine. You've got some pretty serious juice flowing through you, so you're gonna' be groggy for a while. Can you tell me what you remember? What you were doing before you fell asleep?" These questions were just to help the doctor understand Chris's state-of-mind before talking to him about why he was in a hospital. In a way it was also to help the doctor postpone the daunting task of telling Chris that his arm had been amputated.

"I was at work...I think," he mumbled, questioning whether he really did remember. "I can't remember. What did I do to my arm?" he eventually responded. From the recurring shots of pain he knew that this must have been why he was there.

"You got a nasty spider bite. It normally wouldn't have been a big deal, but you were out all night before Jim found you. It made you pretty sick, but like I said, I think you'll be all right." Dancing around the inevitable made the doctor every bit as uneasy as the dread of having to tell Chris the truth. "I'm going to have the nurse come in a put some real food in you. Eating through an I.V. doesn't last too long before it starts to wear on you. I'll be back by once you've got some food in your stomach, alright?" Without waiting for a response, the doctor stood up straight and left the room.

Chapter Six: T-Bone's Crib

"Welcome home, baby. What's your name, anyway?" asked Tedford. Krystal looked around the living room of the dark, upstairs apartment for a second before answering. "Krystal. You?" "Tedford's the name my momma gave me, but my posse call me 'T-Bone'. You can call me..." "I," Krystal interrupted, "am gonna call you 'Teddy Bear' since you're so darn cute." "Oh, hail no, beyotch!" he yelled animatedly. Krystal just smirked.

The apartment was, well, in need of a lady's touch, quite frankly. The living room was a shambles, the couch old and tattered, slightly faded with worn fabric corners and a wobbly leg. The entertainment center was faux wood with an oversized TV, and all the electronic gear you'd expect. The Cerwin-Vega's were bigger than life, their black-ash enclosures and trademark circles of color looking very loud in the silence. Various bits of clothing were strewn across the floor, not all of them male. "So, you live alone?" asked Krystal. "Not anymore" was the response. "Yeah, whose is this, then?" she pressed, knowingly, picking up a thin, purple bra by the straps. "Aww, that's nothing - just a girl around the way. We just friends, that's all." "Right," she smirked, coyly, "then where do I sleep?"

Tedford showed her the bedroom. Rather large considering the size of the place, with an attached fullsize bathroom and closet. The king size bed was unmade, but the sheets were silk, burgundy, and the pillows looked comfortable. After the bus ride and the events of last night, Krystal's head ached for some quality rest, but now wasn't the time. She walked over and examined the selection of clothing hanging on display in the closet. "Mind if I smoke?" she asked. "Go ahead," he nodded.

They walked out into the small kitchen alcove, and Krystal looked into the fridge. Bare, except for a near empty 12-pack of some cheap, generic-brand beer. "Wow," she puffed, "and I thought I had it rough." Tedford looked at her disdainfully, saying, "So, I eat out." Krystal glanced at the garbage can and on the table top and, sure enough, small Chinese takeout containers with red pagodas on the side littered the place.

"Where you from?" Tedford asked, amused by the girl's persistent curiosity of her new surroundings. "Washington," she replied, looking in the cupboards for food. "D.C.?" he continued. "Nope, the state. A little town called Lacey, just outside of Olympia, the capital," she clarified. "What brought you to Reno, then?" he wondered out loud. "One of my friends was getting married yesterday, and I was one of her bridesmaids," she explained. "You hungry?" he asked. "Yeah, starving," she replied. "Let's go grab something," he said, "you can get cleaned up when we get back." As they headed out the door, Tedford asked if she liked his 'crib' or not, and Krystal replied, "It's alright, but honestly, that bathroom is way too small."