Drown Rat

The rain was coming down hard. Visibility practically zero. Ky's car had stalled on the side of WA-3 N two miles from the Newberry Hill Road exit. He knew he should have picked a different car. He pulled out his phone to call a wrecker. No service. And a low battery to boot. Traffic was slow enough, maybe he could get someone to help him out. Ky got out of his car and was soaked. He tried to flag someone down to no avail. He grabbed his emergency flashlight and tried to signal, but no one stopped.

Finally, in his frustration, he slammed his hands against the next car that started to pass. They stopped. He tried the handle of the passenger side door. It opened and he dropped into the seat.

"Thank you," he gasped as he shut the door.

"You're welcome," the woman said.

Ky turned to her. Her hair was red. Her eyes teal. Her shoulders hunched forward and her knuckles white as she gripped the steering wheel. The person behind her laid on their horn breaking their gaze. She grabbed a black fleece from the back seat and handed it to him before letting her car creep forward. Her car was cold, despite the defrost running on high. It was barely keeping the windows from fogging up.

"Where are you headed?" she asked as she came up on the car ahead of her.

"Silverdale. Do you have a phone I can use? I should call a tow truck and my friend to let him know I'm still coming."

"Sure." She reached into a small bag that hung behind the center console and pulled out her phone.

"Thank you," he said.

The woman just nodded, keeping her attention on the road.

Ky called the tow truck first, telling them to use the credit card he had on file with them. Then he called John.

"John Graves speaking. Who is this?"

"Hey, John. I'm still coming."

"Ky, what the hell have you been doing? You were supposed to report in four hours ago!"

"Yeah, my car stalled. Someone was kind enough to keep me from drowning in the flood. Can you meet me at the gas station on Newberry Hill Road?"

John sighed in disgust. "You and your car troubles. If I didn't know your character, Ky, I'd be locking your…."

"Where does your friend live?" the woman asked.

"Hold a sec, John."

"Mason…."

"3722 Lowell St."

"That's not far from where I'm headed. I could drop you off."

"She's going to drop me off, John."

"Walking a fine line, Mason."

"See you soon." He hung up. Ky dropped her phone back into her bag, next to a notebook, University of Puget Sound pens, and business cards. Then he lifted the fleece over his shoulders. "Thank you for doing this."

"You're welcome."

"I'm Kyle, by the way. Friends call me Ky."

"Nice to meet you, Kyle. I'm Taya."

"Nice to meet you, Taya. Do you live in Silverdale?"

"No. Tacoma. I… have a cleaning job up here on the weekends."

He nodded. "Are you a student at the University of Puget Sound?"

"I am. Almost finished with my Masters."

"What are you majoring in?"

"Teaching with a communications minor."

"Could do a lot with a degree like that."

"I could."

"Why do I feel there's a but there?"

Taya's mouth quirked a little. "I don't plan to teach traditional classes."

"Really? So what do you plan to do with your degree?"

She glanced into and pulled out one of her business cards. Taya glanced at the back before she held it out to Kyle. He took the card and looked at it. Name, with a lot of initials behind it. Phone number and email address. It was a nice card. Green grass with a waterfall. He turned it over. Herbology, Meditative Emotional Release, Reflexology, Homeopathy, Massage, Holistic Iridology.

"These are your subjects of choice?"

"Yes." Taya signaled and slowly inched to the right to take the Newberry Hill Road exit.

"I've heard of some of these, but not all of them. What's Earidology."

"Eye-ridology," she corrected. "It's mapping the iris to identify strengths and weaknesses in someone so they know where to work to improve their overall health."

"Okay. And Meditative Emotional Release?"

"Helping the person on my table locate and release stuck emotions and their triggers."

"Through meditation?"

"Kind of. There is an aspect of visualization involved, but telling someone I did Visual Emotional Release just confused them."

"I can see that."

"Can you?" Taya smiled.

Ky chuckled. "Okay, maybe not entirely, but maybe if I tried it I would understand."

Taya nodded. "Very few people walk away from a session without noticing something."

Ky nodded.

Taya turned onto Silverdale Way NW. Ky tried to pull the fleece blanket around his shoulders a little more.

"Sorry about the lack of heat. The defrost works even less well when I run the heater at the same time."

"It's fine. I'm just grateful to be out of the rain."

"How long were you trying to flag someone down?"

"I don't know. Felt longer than it actually was."

"I understand."

"How much further do you have to drive after you drop me off?"

"A mile or so."

"That's good."

"Yes. Anything to get out of this mess." She turned on to Lowell Street.

The porch light for the house Ky was going to was flashing on and off. It wasn't flickering like the light was soon to go out. Nor was it rhythmic in any way. Taya pulled into the driveway and the porch light stayed off.

"Thank you again, Taya," Ky said. "Maybe we'll meet again."

"You're welcome, Kyle. I look forward to working with you someday."

Ky put the fleece blanket on the floor then climbed out of her car. He shut the door and ran for the house. He entered and shut the door behind him. He leaned against the door facing the stern look of John Graves—mission leader—while listening to the sounds of Taya's car fade.

"Go clean up," John said. "I want a briefing in fifteen minutes."

"Yes, John," Ky replied.