Ann Marie Tajuddin
(amkt111177@aol.com)
The leapee was arguing with a nurse. Al stopped just inside the room to study her and gather any information he could for Ziggy. It was a woman. She looked young, maybe only 19 or 20, and was about 5'4" with short blonde hair and fiery blue eyes. In addition, the passionate manner in which she was arguing with Verbena's staff brought a few thoughts to Al's mind which would have been thoroughly inappropriate to voice. "I'm telling you, somebody's in trouble and I don't even remember _who_!" she was saying, her hair swinging over her shoulders as she expressed her frustrations. "I'm sorry, sir, but-" "_Sir_?" "Ma'am," the nurse corrected herself without hesitation. "What the hell kind of place is this?!" "Maybe I can help you answer that," Al interjected calmly. Once her attention was diverted to him, the nurse took her opportunity to slip out the door behind him. Verbena stood to his right slightly behind him. The woman's eyes narrowed slightly. "Who are you? For that matter, who am _I_?" She sat down hard on the table in the center of the room and, for the first time, Al noticed she was shaking. Either way, she wasn't letting her fear show in any obvious manner and his respect slipped up another notch. "My name's Al. I'm in charge around here and I heard you were making trouble for my staff." He smiled to take the sting out of the words. "Finally," she said, her voice trembling ever so slightly. She cleared her throat. "I don't know why I'm here or where here is, but I have to get back. It's a matter of life and death!"
The Day After That