Femme Jesse

The very beginning of a thread done before it even got started.

***

You come to consciousness in a wheelchair speeding along a downtown city sidewalk. The jostling of the wheels hitting the cracks and the fresh cool night air had woken you. Judging by the complete lack of traffic or pedestrians you were guessing it must have been in the wee hours of the morning. Behind you is the pat-pat-pat of running feet and heavy breathing.

Your head lolls feebly upward. "Wh...what's happening?" You say...in a high lilting voice that wasn't your own.

"Shut up!" You hear your older sister hiss. "Be quiet Jesse."

So it was Fiona pushing the wheelchair. But why? What was happening? How had you gotten here? Your head is spinning and everything is hazy and confusing. You felt so very weak.

You struggle mightily to sift through your swirling memory and grab onto to something solid. Fiona takes a hard turn down a dark narrow alley. You grab onto the armrests with hands you didn't recognize. They were...small, slender, delicate. They were women's hands! You try to look at them closer but the dim light of the alley and your wavering vision made it impossible.

"What's happening?" You ask again in that strange voice.

"Quiet I said!" Fiona says.

There is a single vehicle, a big steel gray Range Rover. She slows down, but remains walking at a brisk pace, and rolls you up to the SUV. She opens the front passenger door and scoops you up in her arms before gently placing you down in the seat. She buckles you up, slams the door shut, then you watch her toss the wheelchair into a nearby dumpster.

You look around the cab of the vehicle. It wasn't brand new but it was very nice. Where had this come from? Why wasn't Fiona driving her Honda? At last a glimmer of memory sparks to life. That's right...that's right...she lost the Honda when your mother kicked her out of the house. Your mother was making the payments on it. You remember yelling, screaming, Elsie was crying, it was ugly...but...you couldn't put it all together. Was that the last time you had seen your older sister? How long ago was that?

Fiona hurries back and jumps into the driver's side. She looks over at you with wild eyes, like an adrenaline junkie at the height of their rush.

"If we get stopped your name is Sarah. We were at a club. You are drunk. I am driving you home." She reaches over and with a surprisingly delicate touch brushes a stray bang of hair from your face. "Got it?"

"Wh...why...?"

"Got it!?" She insists.

You nod without even thinking. "Yes. Got it."

Reaching across Fiona opens the glove compartment and pulls out a black semi-automatic pistol! She tucks in beside her seat and starts the Range Rover.

"What's that!?" You peep in a shrill frightened voice.

"Don't you worry about anything Jesse. Just sit there and be quiet. We've got a long drive ahead of us." She gives you the strangest of grins. "Don't worry baby brother. Do as I say and I promise you won't be hurt."

"Hurt!?" You shrink back in your seat. "Don't hurt me!" Your emotions swell, fear and helplessness grip your heart, and tears fill your eyes. "Please don't hurt me!"

She chuckles softly. "Shhhh." She wipes a tear from the corner of your eye. "Just do as I say. Okay?"

"Okay!" You nod. "Okay, okay, okay!"

The chuckles fade, the smile disappears, her eyes stare into yours both soft and hard at the same time. You weren't sure whether to feel comforted or frightened. One thing was certain though, it was good to see her again. As your memories slowly form again you now knew that you hadn't seen Fiona in quite some time. A year? More? She hadn't been there for Elsie's graduation. She wasn't there in the aftermath of the tragic accident that befell your girlfriend Allison. And she wasn't there for your awakening as a woman.