Panthera Spelaea

I woke when I heard voices through the closed bedroom door. I didn’t know whether it was the apartment construction or my improved hearing, but I could hear Anna and Svetlana talking like I was sitting next to them. Understanding their rapid-fire Russian was a whole other thing. I could pick up bits here and there, but not enough to make sense.

I sat up gingerly; luckily, the pain and soreness was much improved. I sounded a lot like my dad getting out of his chair when I stood up, bones cracking and muscles protesting. I raised my hands towards the ceiling, feeling my back crack as I stretched out. Much better.

The conversation stopped when I opened the bedroom door. “John?” Svetlana came running towards me, her eyes checking me from top to bottom.

“I’m good, Svetlana,” I told her as I opened my arms to her.

She moved into my arms, wrapping her own around my waist and pressing her scrub-clad body tight to mine with her face pressed to my shoulder. “I was so worried.”

I kissed her hair as I rubbed my hands up and down her back. “I slept the whole time, and I feel better now.”

She looked up into my face. “Can you remember what happened?”

“Not yet,” I said. “Why don’t we sit down.” She led me to the living area, sitting me on the couch before sitting next to me. Anna sat on the other side. “I’m sorry about last night.”

“I’m worried about you, John. Blackouts aren’t a good sign.”

“And showing up naked on the deck isn’t normal either,” Anna added. I had to agree with that. “What did you do last night?”

“At first, I just wanted to walk and think, so I headed to the park. As I got closer to the pond, I started to sweat, then I got really hot. It got so bad I went off the trail, stripped, and headed for the pond. As soon as my foot hit water it was debilitating pain, then blackness. I don’t remember anything after that until I woke up by the sliding door.”

Svetlana was doing the math. “He left here at ten minutes after eleven, and I found him at five. Figure twenty minutes to walk from here to the pond? That leaves five and a half hours of blackout.”

I nodded. “Beats a week. You found my clothes?”

She pointed towards the closet by the door. I saw my clothes folded over my shoes with my wallet and keys. “Right where you said they were. You were right to send me for them; someone else would have found them by now.”

I was so glad she did that for me. The last thing I needed was to lose my cash and credit cards. “Did you see anything in the park? Or by the pond? Anything to show what happened to me out there?”

“I think I found where you got the blood and feathers. There was a swan carcass by the edge of the pond, and there were feathers everywhere.”

“That makes sense,” I said.

“I’ve been watching the news, and there were no murders or attacks in the area, so that’s something,” Anna said. “I’d have turned you in if I thought you hurt someone. I can’t risk my best friend getting hurt.”

“And I would turn myself in before I’d let either of you get hurt.”

“I can see that in your eyes, and I feel that in my soul. You are a good man, and that is why I searched for you,” Svetlana said as she leaned into my side. My stomach picked that moment to growl. “You haven’t eaten since last night? Hungry?”

I didn’t want to impose on them to cook. “I buy. you fly? If I give you money to buy dinner, Anna, can you go bring something home for us?”

“Sure, I have a few hours until I head out again,” the bubbly brunette said. “What do you feel like?”

“I don’t know the food or the local places, so surprise me?”

The two talked in rapid-fire Russian before they agreed on something. Svetlana brought me my wallet, and I gave them more than enough cash to buy dinner. While we waited, Svetlana told me about her work and the research she’d done into blackout episodes. Blackouts were a potentially serious health condition, and there were dozens of potential causes to them. They were caused by strokes, brain injuries, heart conditions, epilepsy, brain infections, dehydration, tumors, and more. “Most of these we can rule out based on the tests we did in the hospital,” she told me. “Your symptoms don’t match up well, and we need to see what triggers it and what happens during your blackout period to find out why.”

“What would the doctors tell me if I went to them?”

“They would want to run more tests; comparative scans, blood work, and a spinal tap to look for infection.”

Spinal taps were on that ‘things I never wanted to have’ list. I’d already scratched off ‘catheter’ and didn’t want more. “It’s only happened once since I left. Can they diagnose me if I don’t have another episode? What if the next one isn’t for a month?”

“I know,” she said. “I was thinking about what you said about Viktor. You are right; he would look at blackouts as an alibi for your criminal activities and use that to get you institutionalized for ‘treatment.’ I can’t make you go to the hospital, John.”

“I appreciate that.”

“If it happens again, it’s a medical emergency, and I’m calling an ambulance. Your life is more important to me than a police investigation.” She moved her hand to my cheek. “I don’t think you should be alone, just in case this happens again.”

I didn’t expect that. “How?”

“You need someone with you all the time. Anna would help, but you’d have to move in with us.”

That didn’t sound bad at all. My hotel room was nice but lonely, and I’d much rather spend time with my Svetlana. “Does Anna know about this?”

“I talked to her on the bus ride home. She wanted to see what happened when you woke up, and you passed that test.”

I thought about it for a minute while I moved Svetlana to my lap. “A few conditions,” I started. “One, you let me pay for room and board.” She began to object, but I stopped her by putting my finger on her lips. “I’m sure it will be much cheaper than my hotel. I also want to hire the two of you to provide medical care.”

She didn’t like that as much. “I can’t accept that!”

“Too bad. I’m taking your time away from other things because I need medical supervision, and it is only fair to pay for that. It also covers me, because I can work with my lawyer on this to make sure what I tell you remains in confidence as you are part of my care team.”

She thought it over. “Not too much money,” she said.

“And finally, if I bring you or Anna out with me, I pay. It’s not fair of me to expect you to go with me and pay for it as well.”

“You drive a hard bargain, Mr. Cantwell. It’s like you are dating both of us!” We both laughed at that. “Fine, but we promise not to take advantage of you.”

“I won’t promise the same, Svetlana. I want you too much.” I started to kiss her, and she let out a soft moan and wiggled in my lap. Our makeout session quickly heated up, and clothes might have started flying if Anna didn’t come through the door with dinner.

She’d gone to an Arab eatery nearby and brought back shawarma. Similar to gyros, the roasted lamb and vegetables in a bread wrap were tasty. I had two of them as we talked and ate.

Anna was fine with the arrangement, saying it would help her finances. She could still go out at night when Svetlana was with me, and I promised not to keep her awake if I wanted to leave the apartment. “We should go in the morning and check out of my hotel,” I said.

“Why don’t we go back tonight and check out in the morning,” Svetlana said as she reached for my hand. “I’ve never stayed in a place that fancy.”

“As you wish, my lady,” I said to her.

We caught a cab back to the Marina, and I arranged for Svetlana to get a spa treatment while I packed up. I had to use the bathroom, and with her out, I could stink up the place and get away with it.

My heart skipped a beat when I looked down before flushing, finding two small white feathers floating in the bowl.