CHAPTER FOUR

“Owww” Tina moaned as she started
to come out of the zone.  She slowly began
to flutter her eyes open and saw Bette lying belly down on what is now her very
numb leg.  Slowly, she nudged Bette’s
shoulder with her foot, “Bette?”

Bette started moving her head
slowly then shook it a little.  Her curls
fall all around her face, showing no signs of tame-ability, “Ah my head hurts
like a tennis ball in a Williams sister duel out”

“You’re dripping blood from that
cut above your eyebrows,” Tina pointed out.

“Yeah?  You were probably the cause of that hey
Tina, I guess I evened it out with a black eye” Bette observed.

“No way” Tina said touching her
eyes softly.

“Hmm looks like those guys are
gone can you believe that?” Bette said standing up and glancing around the
office.

“Did we scare them off, what did
they want?” Tina said now not so afraid or mad anymore.

Just as she said that, a faint
light flashed before them and started to come their way. 

“Tina, get that trash bag from my
desk drawer and be ready to cover on my call,” Bette whispered. 

Tina quietly got the bag out and
took her position next to a cubicle wall while Bette started to reach for her
heavy-duty eco-stapler.

“On the count of three, one two
THREE!” Bette said.

Tina bagged the victim and Bette
gave the bag a good whack near the head region. 
The bag started to fall backwards on the floor and Tina lost her own
balance and could not help but fall on top of it.

“Son of a bitch!” came a familiar
voice.

“Alice?!” screamed both Bette and Tina.

The two scrambled to remove the bag
from the victim on the floor.  When they
pulled of the plastic, Alice
was holding her nose with blood oozing down her hands.

“Oh shit, Alice! 
I am so sorry, we didn’t know it was you!” Bette explained.

“Al, this wasn’t even my idea!  I am so sorry, we thought we were protecting
ourselves,” Tina explained through furrowed eyebrows.

“Oh?  So this is my entire fault then, huh?  Trying to save us again for the second time
today and this is what I get?” Bette angrily said.

“Save US?  I was trying to save you
today and you deliberately ruined my plans!” Tina retorted.

“You know what?  Those guys would have left as soon as they knew
that they couldn’t get anything out of me, you just made it worst and then even
more so by picking a fight with me!”

“You are so nave to think that
they would have left you alone!”

“Tina?  You’re calling ME nave??…”

“Guys!” a rough voiced called out,
“what the hell is going on in here?, Alice
you’re bleeding” Shane appeared immediately kneeling down to try to help Alice.

“No shit Sherlock, I’m telling you,
those two are crazy insane-os!  They
bopped me upside the head and then started fighting with each other while I sit
here bleeding to death, trying to remember my name and getting all faintly lightheaded”
Alice shrilled.

“All three of you all look like
shit, what the hell happened?…  Alice was worried about
Tina so she asked me to come with her to the office,” Shane said.

“I was afraid that you forgot our
plan for tonight and didn’t keep track of the time when I got here the
building was unusually dark and I saw that the doors where opened, so we did
what all stupid people do in horror movies. 
We came trudging in” Alice
said, “and then look what happened” she says dryly, pointing to herself.

“The storm blew out the electricity
and the fire exit was malfunctioning so we stayed here for a while, then a
little later two strange men came into the office looking for something and
held Bette hostage.  Somehow, Bette and I
got into a little fight and the next thing we knew, we were struggling to
regain consciousness while giving you a broken nose” Tina rushed through the
explanation.

“Guys, all the buildings around
you have electricity and we actually came from the stairs in the fire exit” Shane
said with eyes wide open.

Alice held on to her nose and nasal-pitch-ly
said, “This is spooky shit! I’m calling the cops!”