Free The Sentinel by Jeffrey Konvitz Page A

Allison, she stepped back into the apartment and closed the door.
    Allison swayed, exhausted, her breathing almost convulsive.
    "I warned you! Yes, I did. From now on, you should avoid them. They're evil." The little man stepped off the staircase and took Allison gently by the hand. "Now come, I'll walk you up to your apartment."
    Allison followed Chazen up the staircase. He said nothing, neither did she. Thoughts raced through her mind. About Gerde. About Chazen. Why did the woman stop the way she had when she saw the old man? She was obviously afraid of him. Why? She didn't know. She didn't ask.
    "I suggest you take two aspirin and get some sleep," advised Mr. Chazen as he watched Allison fumble for her key. "Sleep would be most therapeutic. Tsk, tsk, what a terrible incident. I hope you've learned your lesson. Listen to Chazen from now on."
    Allison nodded as she inserted the key into the lock. "Thank you. I don't know what I-"
    "Don't mention it. Just get some sleep."
    She kissed the old man on the cheek and closed her door.

Chapter VII
    "We're about ready to start," said the pencil-thin fashion coordinator with the clipboard. "Is anybody unsure of the order of appearance?" She poked her hairpiece nervously with a nineteen-cent Bic as she waited for a reply. "Then I trust everything will go like clockwork."
    Allison adjusted her pants suit and took a quick sip from the cup of coffee that she had placed moments before in front of the dressing mirror. She was ready.
    "Vicki, if you will? Allison, please."
    Allison was surprised she had gotten there on time. She hadn't wanted to do it; it had been two years since she had done live fashion work. But she had promised and it was for charity.
    She had slept very little the night before. Gerde and Sandra had seen to that. She lay in bed for hours, afraid to close her eyes. Afraid to dream. She knew she reacted badly to nightmares; she had known that since her childhood. There was nothing she feared more. And she had a feeling that- Well, she wasn't sure, but she sensed the same kind of dizziness that she had experienced so often as a child, the dizziness that had invariably preceded a night of terror.
    She tried everything to fall asleep. First she sipped tea, then hot milk. Then she took a hot bath. Nothing relaxed her. She tried to read, but she was so nervous that she couldn't hold the book steady; it fell to the floor. She wondered if the two women below had heard the sound. And what were they doing? Were they in bed together making love? She cringed, got up from the bed to retrieve the book and placed it on the night table. She bent down, her hands extended. Her head swimming, she fell to her knees and buried her face in the blankets. If only the dizziness would go away. She was so tired. All she wanted was some sleep, just like she had wanted so many times when as a child she had knelt in a similar position, her head spinning, her nerves shattered. She lifted her head slightly and clasped her hands in front of her. The position was strange; it had been years since she had crouched this way.
    "Angel of God," she prayed. "My Guardian Dear, To whom God's love, commits me here, Ever this day be at my side." She stopped abruptly. This was ridiculous. She was twenty-six years old. She hadn't been in a church in seven years. And what good would this stupid little chant do?
    "To light, to guard, to rule, to guide. Amen," she concluded.
    Soon she was asleep.
    The alarm had buzzed at ten. Five and a half hours' sleep. Her head ached, her eyelids were heavy and her face was drained of color. But she hadn't dreamed. She smiled as she moved the bright green toothbrush over her gleaming teeth. No banshees. No monsters. No horrors. No matter how bad the night before had been, the fact that she had not dreamed made it quickly fade from her mind.
    She left the apartment at eleven fifteen, giving herself just enough time to hail a cab, scoot downtown and join Michael for an early lunch. She