Distinct

by Hamill, Ike

  Ty was crouching in front of Romie. They had settled her down into one of the outdoor chairs.

  “She’s fine,” Ty said.

  “Of course I’m fine,” Romie said, pushing his hand away from her wrist. “Can I get up now?”

  They all looked to Ty.

  When he nodded, she refused his help and stood up on her own. Brad watched her carefully as she moved to the door to look in on Tim. The man was still stretched out on the sofa, muttering up towards the ceiling.

  “Don’t you remember what he said?” Lisa asked. She re-wrapped the blanket around herself.

  “Of course I do,” Romie said. When she was upset, her accent took over. The sentence sounded more like, “Cuss ado.”

  “Well?” Lisa asked.

  “I’m not going to repeat any of it,” Romie said. “Brad was right. I said it before and I’ll say it now. Those people had a virus. It’s not the kind that comes to you on the wind and lodges in your sinuses, it’s the kind that worms its way in through your ears.”

  “Just give me the pills, Brad,” Ty said. “I’ll give him another dose so he will be quiet.”

  Brad shook his head. “No. I still say that there’s another way.”

  “Well? What’s your bright idea?” Romie asked.

  “If it’s a virus, then we need to find an antibiotic,” Brad said.

  Ty shook his head. “Antibiotics don’t work on viruses.”

  Brad threw up his hands. “Okay, fine then. We need to find an antiviral. They wormed into his head, we just have to find a way to worm them back out.”

  “But the analogy is still sound,” Ty said. “The mistake you just made is one that we’re sure to make. We’ll just be guessing at the appropriate treatment. If we miss, and he’s contagious, then we could all be infected.”

  “Maybe,” Brad said, “but I think we can say with certainty that he didn’t get a full dose of whatever it is. Those other people are completely brainwashed, right? Tim is in a trance. He’s not fully activated. That means we have a better chance of reversing the infection.”

  “It sounds dangerous,” Lisa said.

  “Listen,” Brad said. “I got just a taste of it back at the restaurant. They were talking to me about… What they were saying was something that, deep down, I really wanted. Ty said that hypnosis is giving permission to do something that you want to do anyway. The people who get up and cluck like a chicken really want the attention, but maybe they’re too shy. When that guy was talking to me, I had the sense that what I wanted was within my grasp.”

  “Yeah,” Romie said. “That’s a good way of putting it.”

  “So what’s your antibiotic?” Ty asked.

  “We either have to convince him that what he wants isn’t possible, or we have to find something that he wants more. And I don’t think we can do either of those things if we drug him into oblivion. He’s our chance to figure this out. We can’t waste this opportunity.”

  They stood in silence.

  Lisa shivered, despite the blanket. The gulls on the edge of the water called and argued as they looked for their sunrise breakfast.

  “He said a name,” Ty said. “I’ve heard him say that name before.”

  “Don’t say it,” Romie said.

  Brad frowned. “What do you know about that person?”

  “Just bits and pieces,” Ty said.

  ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪

  “Tim was old when he came out. He didn’t admit that he was gay all through high school or college. He said that he had managed to convince himself that it wasn’t true if he didn’t act on it.”

  “That sounds so lonely,” Lisa said.

  Ty shrugged. “There was a guy who he worked with. Tim developed a big crush on him, but of course he couldn’t say anything. Then, one day he discovered that the guy was gay too. Before Tim could make a connection, the guy met someone, started dating, and then moved in with him. Tim was so crushed that it took him another year to get up the nerve to try dating for himself. He always thought that the first guy was the person he was supposed to be with. Tim never got over that missed opportunity.”

  Brad took in the information and leaned on the bannister, looking out at the water.

  “So The Origin convinced him that it was possible for him to have that relationship?”

  “If he did, it was quick,” Romie said. “I didn’t hear him say more than a dozen words to Tim.”

  “Less than that. I don’t think he said more than four words,” Ty said. “The corpse came back from the dead to say that Tim’s old crush was still waiting for him.”

  “And you think that Tim is willing to give up everything else in order to have another chance at lost love? That seems a little farfetched,” Lisa said.

  “Why would he have to give everything up?” Romie asked. “That’s not the sense I got.”

  They all looked to her.

  “I don’t want to talk about it,” she said.

  “Can you just tell us in general terms? Would that be okay?” Lisa asked.

  “I’m telling you, this is dangerous stuff. I can feel it,” Romie said. “There’s a big black well and these words spiral right into it. It’s not something I care to trifle with.”

  “Anything at all,” Ty said. “Tim’s life may depend on it.”

  Romie folded her arms and leaned against the railing. She sighed.

  “What if there’s a place where you’d never made your worst decision? It would be like waking up from a nightmare and realizing that it was all going to be okay.”

  “What do you mean a place?” Lisa asked. “Like, not here?”

  Romie shook her head.

  “I’m guessing it’s a version of this place,” Brad said.

  Romie pointed at him.

  Ty moved over to the sliding door and looked through at Tim. “He’s in there, fixated on that life that he doesn’t have. We either have to convince him that he doesn’t want it, or can’t have it.”

  “Easier said than done,” Lisa said. “It’s not difficult to imagine a better world than this. If Tim really believes in something better, I don’t see how we’re going to talk him out of it.”

  CHAPTER 33: VIRGINIA

  ROBBY BANGED HIS HAND against the fence and pointed his flashlight back into the night. The map hadn’t shown the big fence around the construction area. Robby should have guessed that they would have a way to keep the park visitors out of the excavation.

  “Keep watch,” he said, pointing to Gordie.

  He put the map on the ground and knelt in front of it. He was praying to the park gods to show him the way. There must be a place where he could get fuel or a vehicle without having to leave Gordie alone.

  “The only other way in is the maintenance entrance, and that’s outside the park, where the pack is.”

  Gordie started to sniff the air. Robby froze and listened. The dog settled down again. There was nothing yet.

  “But it won’t be long. We can’t stay here. Come on.”

  Robby started running again. The nearest attraction was a roller coaster. He and Gordie ran under the arch that read, “The Wolverine.” A wide wooden ramp led up to a building. It was a big, open-sided structure with ropes set up to form a serpentine line to the coaster. Gordie ducked under while Robby stepped over the ropes. They went through the last gate and came out to the platform.

  Gordie’s nose went back into the air. Something was out there.

  Robby spun the light every direction, looking for some way to block the chasing pack. It was only a matter of time before they opened the back doors of the lobby, or found another way in. The entrance for The Wolverine wasn’t going to do it. It was meant to let huge numbers of people find an orderly way in, not prevent weird coyote-things from chasing after them.

  When he pointed the flashlight down the tracks of the rollercoaster, Robby finally had an idea.

  ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪

  The wooden structure of the rollercoaster was meant to look like t
rain tracks, from what Robby could figure. He carefully stepped from timber to timber, getting his balance on each one before he moved on. Beside him, Gordie bounded between the sleepers. He stopped ahead, where the supports were grouped tightly in preparation for a turn.

  Robby tried to keep his flashlight pointed straight forward. Below them, the ground had fallen away.

  Gordie barked and Robby almost lost his balance. He had to drop down and put his hand on the cold steel track to steady himself. Gordie started to growl. Robby pointed the flashlight back towards the platform. Several sets of glowing eyes reflected the light. The coyote-things were in the park and they hadn’t taken any time to catch up.

  The only good news was that they didn’t seem to have the nerve to venture onto the tracks. Compared to the coyote-things, Gordie was either brave or stupid.

  “Stay there,” Robby said. Gordie looked like he was going to come back to Robby, just in case. “Stay.”

  Robby reached for the next sleeper. The timbers were spaced just far enough apart for a long stride. The dog had made it look so easy—he never stopped on a single timber, he just kept his momentum and jumped. Robby had one hand on the next beam, one hand on the rail, and his weight was suspended over the gap.

  His flashlight pointed down. One of the coyote-things was down there, tracking his progress and waiting for him to fall.

  Robby pushed back to his feet and swayed. His fear of heights was ridiculous—he knew that. There was no reason he couldn’t stand on a piece of wood that was at least eight inches thick. If it were just a rock on the ground, he would have no problem. It wasn’t like there was much wind, or anything else trying to knock him off. If he could just forget about everything else, he should be able to walk normally and catch up with the dog.

  Gordie barked again and Robby’s arms went out to catch his balance.

  Back at the platform, the coyote-things were testing their feet on the first timber.

  Robby looked straight forward and started to walk.

  ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪

  “You did that last part. That was the hard part. Now, you have to do this,” Robby said. He didn’t know if he was talking to himself or the dog. The flat roof of the utility building, painted to look like a rustic cabin in the old west, was a short leap away from the tracks. If they could get on top of that, they would be even with the top of the fence that separated them from where the tractors were stored.

  “You ready?” Robby asked.

  The dog seemed to have no idea what the question was, but he also seemed ready for anything.

  Robby glanced back down the tracks. The coyote-things were even more frightened by the tracks than he had been. Still, they were beginning to make progress.

  With a few deep breaths, Robby counted himself down and jumped.

  His foot came down on the lip and slipped off. That knee glanced off the roof as his other foot came down. Gordie sailed over his head, landing easily. Robby slid backwards, clawing at the tar and pebbles that surfaced the flat roof.

  The dog was barking right in Robby’s face, unable to help and frantic as Robby slid slowly. His belt caught on the lip, stopping his slide.

  Below, one of the coyote-things jumped. Robby felt a brush on his foot. A second later, the jaws clamped around his shoe. The extra weight was just enough. The belt popped over the edge and Robby felt the lip of the roof dig into his belly as he slid back again. Gordie barked and came to Robby’s hand. Robby grabbed his paw and Gordie tried to back away from his grip. The dog’s barks turned to whines and cries. He dug in his feet and pulled.

  Robby couldn’t bear to hear the pain in the dog’s cries, but his grip on the dog’s foot was the only thing keeping him from falling.

  With a pop, the coyote-thing’s grip on his shoe was broken. Robby swung his legs up onto the roof just in time, the coyote-thing jumped again, snapping at his laces once more.

  “Sorry, Gordie. Let’s see if we can get off this roof.”

  ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪

  The next part turned out to be easy. The back of the flat-roofed building was right along the fence. Just beyond that, it wasn’t far to a pile of sand. Robby ran to get speed and jumped. This time, the dog wasn’t with him. He pointed the flashlight back and called as Gordie stood at the edge wiggling his back end and getting ready to leap.

  “Come on, Gordo! Come on!”

  Robby was panicking, but tried to make his voice sound light and encouraging. Somewhere back there in the dark, the coyote-things must have been close to catching up with the dog, and they didn’t have any place to hide.

  “Come on! Right now!”

  Robby swung his flashlight around. The new construction area was fenced in. He was surrounded by locked gates and high fences. If the dog did get in, he would be trapped with Robby. The best bet was the interior of one of the tractors or excavators, but that would just be a jail cell. Once inside, they would be trapped.

  Robby was starting to re-think his situation. Maybe if he climbed back up the fence and got on the roof, he could defend that patch of flat roof from the coyote-things. They would have to jump from the tracks to get to him. Perhaps he could drive them back and send them falling to the ground below.

  Halfway up the mound of sand, Robby saw the instant that Gordie changed his mind. The dog looked behind himself, back to Robby, and then jumped. His paws hit Robby square in the chest and they rolled backwards down the hill of sand.

  There was no time to waste. Robby scrambled to his feet and ran.

  He climbed the tracks of the tallest excavator. Some of the construction equipment had cabs that were surrounded by soft canopies. This one had a cab made of solid metal and glass. Robby opened the door as Gordie jumped up from the tracks. They piled inside and Robby closed the door tight.

  Gordie was already growling.

  Robby shed his backpack and pointed his light through the glass. He had to press it to the pane to see anything without the reflections blinding him. Sure enough, pairs of glowing eyes were bouncing down from the flat roof, hitting the sand, and then dispersing. They were flanking him before the leader came. That animal was bigger than the rest and stalked straight towards the excavator.

  “Shush,” Robby said.

  Gordie stopped growling and worked his tongue in his mouth. The dog wasn’t afraid to fight. Robby was.

  “We’re trapped in here. This was a bad idea. The batteries of these things probably went bad a year ago, and who knows if they have any fuel. Even if the coyote-things get bored, it’s going to be difficult to for them to get out of this construction site. Although they do seem to jump pretty high.”

  Robby clicked off the light and sat back against the seat and sighed. Gordie started to pant as he looked through the rear window.

  “Stop drooling on me.”

  The coyote-thing’s nails clinked on the metal when it jumped up on the tread.

  Gordie growled and Robby tapped him on the ribs to make him shut up. They listened as the animal started to climb over the surface of the excavator, looking for a way in.

  Robby clicked the flashlight on again. The animal froze. For the first time, Robby got a good, up-close look at one of them. The short face and rounded nose weren’t the only strange things about the animal. As it breathed, little slits in the cheeks of the coyote-thing flared, almost like gills. The pupils of its eyes weren’t circular, like a dog, or even vertical slits like a cat. As the light hit its eyes, the pupils contracted to form a star pattern.

  The coyote-thing yipped at Robby and jumped down, flashing its short tail.

  “That’s creepy.”

  His thumb moved to click off the light again. He didn’t want the coyote-things to grow accustomed to it. Maybe he could use it to scare them off again later. Before he found the switch, he spotted something on the lower tractor next to them.

  “Gordie, do you think…”

  There was a black mat rolled out on the vinyl roof of the nearby tractor. At the edge, it had a l
ogo that read, “Solar Tender.”

  Robby pointed his light up. Snaked between the door and frame on Gordie’s side was a black cord. Robby followed it down and across the floor mats. The ends were bolted onto two terminals, labelled, “Charging Posts.”

  “No way,” Robby whispered.

  The keys were in the ignition. He clicked them from Stop to Run. The gauges on the right lit up. He held his breath as the fuel gauge climbed. The more full, the more likely that the fuel was still good. It rolled all the way up until the needle was just shy of the F.

  Robby didn’t let himself feel any relief until he clicked the key one more position. The starter cranked for a few seconds and then the engine roared to life. Outside, the coyote-things scattered to a safe distance.

  “Now we just have to figure this thing out.”

  CHAPTER 34: NEW YORK CITY

  FRANK UNDERSTOOD JUST AS much as he needed to. He had a job to do. If he did that job successfully, then everything would be in order. He and Luke would be neighbors, the group would all be happy, and everyone would understand that his sacrifice had led to their prosperity. He could picture it all so clearly—it had to be true.

  The part that he didn’t understand was how he knew all these things.

  He was driving too fast. It made him feel safe to be moving at such a speed. Any slower and he might…

  …get caught in the churn.

  He didn’t know what would happen, but it could be bad.

  …There are bad things in the churn…

  As he traveled south, the information would simply appear in his brain. One second, he would be wondering which of the old bridges might still be intact. The next second, he would have a clear memory of The Origin telling precisely which way to go.

  It wasn’t like he was hearing The Origin’s voice in his head. He was remembering a conversation that had happened a while ago, back in that room, but the memories were appearing in just the moment that he needed them.