A Tale of a Guardian

Delilah grabs Esther’s arm and plasters them both to the side of the elevator as the doors glide open. Delilah peeks out to the seemingly empty floor, and then turns back to Esther.

“I need you to do four things right now.” She exclaims softly.

Esther nods her head in understanding. Delilah raises her index finger close to Esther’s face.

“No more questions.” Esther opens her mouth to protest but Delilah shakes her head. “I will answer them but not now.” She lifts the second finger and points both to the elevator doors. “Keep those door open or I won’t be able to get back in.” Esther nods so Delilah lifts a third finger and points them at Esther. “Stay hidden or what I’m about to do is meaningless.” Delilah leans back over to see into the vestibule. “A guard is usually posted behind the counter but they are switching shifts and doing first walk through right now so we should be good.” She turns back to face Esther. “I promise I’ll be back before the guard.” She reassures before taking a calming breath and raising her pinky. “And finally, don’t freak out.”

As Esther’s face scrunches in confusion, Delilah evaporates. Esther gapes at the empty space, paralyzed in disbelief. Her eyes search the compartment for any signs of reason and find nothing to explain how a person can just disappear.

“What the…?” She exclaims but huffs in frustration because it is just one more question that she won’t get answered.

She paces the three steps in her allotted hiding spot for what seems like a millennia, but is actually about three minutes, before Delilah reappears suddenly on the far corner of the elevator.

Delilah hunches over in pain. Beads of sweat collect on her forehead as her hands dig into her knees for support. Her breath is quiet, yet irregular, like she has forgotten how and only remembers when her lungs ache for air. She starts rubbing at her skin like it’s a tight shirt needing to be stretched before she remembers her audience.

“Man, I’m out of shape.” Delilah replies nonchalantly like Esther didn’t just see her in utter agony.

Esther stares at her with a mixture of horror and worry with a question on her brow.

“Okay, then” Delilah says back to business, ignoring Esther’s unasked question. “The corridor cameras are no longer a problem so now we just walk around like we belong here.”

Delilah steps out of the elevator and turns to Esther still in the corner.

“Come on.” She beckons. “I thought you said you were in”

“I am.” Esther utters softly. “But… what about the lab cameras?”

“That is a question.” Delilah claims crossing her arms at her assistant and friend.

“Yes. A valid one at that!” Esther declares in defiance of Delilah’s show of dominance. “Which I doubt is the kind of questioning you want to avoid right now.”

Esther’s eyes narrow at Delilah as a smile spread across Delilah’s face. Delilah walks back to Esther with pride in her eyes and rests her hands on the brave woman’s shoulders.

“I have thought of that, dear Esther.” Delilah consoles. “The only thing that will tie you to this is your key card and an email explaining your presence in a restricted zone.”

“An email?” Esther asks feeling irritated the lack of information and Delilah’s apparent manipulation.

“I need you, Esther.” Delilah pleads seeing Esther’s qualms.

After a second of self-deliberating, Esther shakes Delilah off and walks out the elevator.

“Let’s get this over with.” She turns back to Delilah with a determined glare. “And then you will answer my questions. All of them!”

Delilah nods with a Cheshire cat grin and follows Esther into the vestibule. Esther glances to both sides of the room to the key padlocked doors. She gestures between the two.

“Which way?” She directs to Delilah.

Delilah walks to left entrance.

“This one.” She proclaims confidently.

Esther shrugs and strides to the door. She swipes her card and inhales deeply. The red light turns green, and the door clicks. She exhales and opens the door.

They walk into a hallway with two more key padlocked doors on either side. Following Delilah’s lead, they walk to the far door passing the only wooden door in the antechamber. Esther peeks in at what appears to be an employee lounge similar to the one on their floor before continuing on. Once they reach the door, Esther repeats her ritual: swipe, inhale; click, exhale; and then open.

The two women enter a wide sterile corridor. In front of them, spanning down the entire length of the passage is glassed-in labs space. They look at each other with a sense of victory already in their grasp until they hear heavy footsteps. Esther’s eyes widen in fear at the same time Delilah winces in remembered pain and vanishes leaving Esther to deal with the guard coming around the corner.

Esther straightens as a short man in a white uniform turns the bend and sees her. He examines her suspiciously as he approaches.

“Miss?” He starts with a pucker in his caterpillar brow. “Can I help you?”

“Hey.” Esther squeaks before clearing her throat of the nerves. “I’m Dr. Prudhomme from biotechnology on the third floor. I’m here for some samples.”

“Uh.” The guard groans shifting uncomfortably with confusion. “I wasn’t told about anyone coming in for samples.” He states almost as a question.

Seeing his discomfort, Esther proceeds with the lie more confidently.

“I’m sure someone just forgot to tell you.” She says casually. “You know how bad communication can be here.” She rolls her eyes for emphasis.

The guard chuckles a second before remembering his duties.

“I don’t know.” He replies. “They are usually more informed here than other floors.”

“So they slip on the intel once.” She presses on unwaveringly. “The sample is right there.” She declares pointing just past him to what looks to be the lab prep room. “I’ll be in and out without anyone the wiser except you and me.” She explains putting a flirtation tone at the end to seal the deal.

The guard’s brow raise slightly in response returning the interest as he visibly surveys her body. Esther resists the eager to shudder in disgust at the appraisal. She plasters on a fake smile when his eyes return to her face hoping it is one of lust instead of repulse and sends a silence prayer of forgiveness to her husband, who will probably laugh if he ever finds out.

“So?” She coos.

“Okay. Sure.” The guard nods. “But only in and out.” He states firmly but raises his brow to allude to his crude double meaning.

Esther flinches away uncontrollably. The guard doesn’t seem to notice since the smile is still her face.

“Okay.” She utters quickly with revulsion still in her throat.

She heads for the prep room doors before the guard can continue his affront. As she passes him, his arm grazes the sleeve of her shirt. A shudder escapes her, and she picks up speed to the door.

Not caring about her ritual or if invisible Delilah is close, Esther swipes her card and launches into the prep room. She leans against the door with a sigh of relief, thankful to be away from that creep of a guard.

“That was gross.” Delilah says after materializing in front of Esther.

“You telling me.” Esther shudders again.

“Sorry.” Delilah replies.

Esther shakes the apology off and steps farther into the room.

“What next?” She asks.

“I just need you to open that door.” Delilah says pointing to the glass door on the right. “Open the storage closet for a minute and walk out.”

“Won’t they know if you take something?” Esther asks, no longer trusting Delilah’s ‘thought out’ plan. “And think it’s me.”

“Yes. But what I’m taking they won’t even notice is gone.” She reassures bluntly.

“Okay.” Esther mutters as she puffs up for courage. “Let’s go.”

Delilah disappears again as Esther walks to the door. As she swipes her card, she feels a cool gust of air over her shoulder and shivers at the new realization.

“You know that feels creepy.” She exclaims to a vaporized Delilah before opening the door to the lab.

She heads straight to the far wooden doors of the storage closet and opens them. The glass vials in front of her start to tilt and clink together perceptibly on their own. Some vanishes completely for a second, only to reappear visibly unchanged. As her heart races with fear and exhilaration, she starts counting out loud.

“1…2…3… I’m leaving when I reach sixty.” She says to her specter friend.

She continues counting. When she reaches fifty, the vials stop moving. The room feels unnaturally quiet after the supernatural rustling. Getting the hint that Delilah is finished, Esther closes the door and returns to the prep room.

After Delilah doesn’t appear immediately, Esther starts to worry and looks back into the lab. When a cold breeze passes through her towards the corridor doors, Esther sighs and heads to the door. She pauses at the door, moves across the room and grabs an empty vial from the dry storage closet.

“Proof for the sleazebag.” She announces before leaving the room.

She marches through the corridor and the antechamber without incident, the cold air still hovering over her shoulder. When she reaches the vestibule, the guard is sitting behind the counter grinning from ear to ear.

“Got what you need?” He asks with a throaty voice and winks at her suggestively.

Esther lifts the vial in her closed fist and turns to the elevator.

“Got it.” She broadcasts slamming the down button.

Esther hears the chair screech as the guard stands and leans on the counter.

“So how about…” He starts as the elevator doors open.

“Gotta go.” Esther chimes as she gets in.

She slams the lobby and the door close buttons repeatedly until she can no longer see the ogle of the guard’s unibrow.

As the elevator glides down, Delilah resurfaces. Her face is still tainted with pain but she remains upright. Her forehead only has a layer of sheen, and her breath is normal.

“Oh, that was one hell of a workout.” She states and she leans against the back of the elevator.

They reach the lobby and walk towards the front exit, Delilah in the lead. As Delilah grabs the door to leave, Esther’s phone chimes indicating a text message. She takes out her phone and reads the message right there in the entrance before looking back at Delilah with guilt.

“What?” Delilah asks, knowing she won’t like the cause of Esther’s expression.

“It’s Zac.” Esther says frankly. “He told Joshua’s partner that you weren’t in the house during the fire.” She continues, not looking Delilah in the eyes. “She wants to bring you in for questioning.” She says, finally glancing up into Delilah’s confused, tear-filled eyes.