Continuation: 415

“Oh---oh okay.” I jabbered nervously to myself as I covered my mouth and nose with the corner of my elbow, blocking the sweet, putrid odor that blasted out of the blue dumpster. “You okay?” I quaked, a ridiculous question, considering. The girl was a skeleton, a limp ragdoll the color of month old milk, covered in dried-brown splotches. She shook her head mutely, back and forth, back and forth back and forth, like a metronome keeping time. I swallowed convulsively. Things like this didn’t happen to guys like me. This was a policeman’s job.

Police. That’s a good idea. What’s that emergency number again? Oh come on, you learn it when you’re three years old! Why can’t I remember?!

My mind raced frantically. Wading through a pool of knee-deep denial, I reached my hands into the dumpster, trying not to notice what else was in there. Gripping her shoulders, I pulled her up. She was cold, limp flesh, as if the soul had been sucked out and there was only a shell remaining. I tried not to look into her eyes. Something told me I would see raw misery if I did, and as I said, things like this weren’t supposed to happen to guys like me. “Oooookay. There we go.” The syllable stretched onward as I tried desperately to still my shaking hands. She wrapped her arms around herself, the threadbare cotton t-shirt hanging raggedly on her thin frame. “You all good now?” I felt as if I was watching a movie still, only the hero wasn’t being heroic. Instead he was acting like an idiot, asking questions which had painfully obvious answers. “K, so I’m just going to go ahead and call the police. You wouldn’t happen to ah,” I swallowed, choking on the words as I took in the obscene state of her hair. “Ahh, know the number for the cops, would you?” My phone trembled in my left hand. Gingerly, I kept my right on her elbow, supporting her. We shuffled slowly along towards the streetlights of the main road. “Don’t you worry now, I’m going to call the cops and, and um, they’re going to be right here in just a few seconds so you don’t worry or do anything, okay, you okay? You look a little bit…well never mind.” I babbled on and on, cringing at myself but too terrified to care.

 At last she opened her mouth to speak.