World Down: Episode 1 - River's Rising

by Dan McNeill

  Chapter 9

  The bottled fury of the Fox Lake was unleashed like the mighty buffalo herds that once roamed the Illinois prairie. Their thundering hooves echoed across the dry basin while chunks of debris from the dam collided with the power station near its base. The mighty buffalo, hurling themselves free, were raging towards them from behind the crest of a wave that was at least fifty feet tall.

  Jake shot up from his seat and squeezed close to Po. He stared like a madman at the approaching waves, whipping one arm outside of the boat, gripping its side like he was going to bend it in half. The other arm gripped tightly around Po. The buffalo were here. Holding his head back in a defiant rage, he screamed.

  “Here she comes!”

  The waters cascaded over them with such force that Raymond had to wrap his ankle around the narrow steering column to keep from being tossed into the chaos. He hardly imagined how the others could still be there. Part of him hoped that one of them wasn't.

  Like Raymond's take on Abe, the boat refused to budge, stubbornly keeping its pontoons planted in the now churning river bottom. But then, a chunk of something solid brushed against the boat’s side and it had a change of heart. And like the cork from the champagne bottle Coach Salerno popped when their football team won state, the boat shot to the surface.

  Raymond sucked in the returning air. They were flying now, careening over the moonlit waters faster than a drunk speed boater on old Lake Como. The passing shoreline was a blur of weeds and occasional back porches. Raymond didn’t even know if his attempts at steering were making any difference. And he didn’t care. They were free. Looking down at the sparkling clear waters carrying them away, Raymond smiled. The river was happy to be free too.

  Po stood up tall. “Whooooooo, hoo!” he proudly cheered. While Raymond pretended to steer, the others celebrated with high fives and hugs. Raymond took a glance back just as Abraham planted a long kiss on Salome’s lips.

  She could have him. He had to carry them through this. All of them. Though it appeared for the moment that the river was carrying him. As they burst around another bend, the river began to straighten out and widen. After a time, the currents began to slow.

  “So, do you think they survived?” Salome said. “Jehu and Zephaniah?”

  “They couldn’t have,” Raymond said. “I saw their bodies hit the floor of the power station at the base of the dam. It had to have been like a hundred foot drop.”

  Po shook his head. “The bad guys never die that easy Waymond,” he said. “Don’t you know that by now?”

  Abraham smiled as he cuddled closer to Salome “That’s right Po, they don’t. We’ve seen the bad guys die before. Only to come back even stronger. But that’s all gonna change now Po.”

  Po peered over at Abraham a bit suspiciously. “Weally Abey?”

  “Sir,” Jake said, getting Abraham’s attention. He then leaned over, whispering something in his ear.

  “What are you two talking about?” Raymond said.

  “Nothing,” Jake said flatly. “None of your business kid.”

  Raymond had had enough. “Hey asshole," he screamed back. "My brother. My business. Every time your precious prophet gets an idea into his head, someone gets hurt. That ain't happening again.” He clenched his fists, ready to tango with this cat just like he did with the quarterback in high school who made fun of Po. "Ever. Again."

  Jake started to stand but Abraham pulled him back down. Closing his eyes, he leaned against the torn leatherback seat cushions lining the benches along the side of the boat and lifted his head. Opening his eyes, he stared up at the moon and the sparkling stars while he looked back at Raymond with a steady grin.

  “Yes, I suppose you’re right,” Abraham replied calmly. Keeping his balance as the pontoon boat continued to sail the rapids, he stood by Po.

  “You heard what Jehu said Po, about Dad being alive?” he said, still looking off towards Raymond. "Well it's true."

  “Weally Abey?” Po said with a startled smile.

  Raymond swung around. “Stop lying to him!” he shouted. “God!" he continued, punching the side of the boat. "Nothing’s changed with you Abe! Still always trying to get people to buy in to your bull-”

  “WAYMOND!” Po scolded. “Watch your potty mouth!”

  Raymond turned back around, his attentions drawn to the rapidly swelling waves. “Sorry Po," Raymond shouted. "But whatever Abe tells you, it’s a lie. You know that, right?" ”

  Abraham shook his head, looking back over at Jake and Salome.

  “Jake,” he said. “Do you mind telling the group what we know?” He sat next to Po and let out a deep sigh. “It seems that my credibility is being called into question.”

  “Not by me sir,” Jake said sternly, looking over at Raymond whose back was turned towards them. “Your dad was working on a cure for Down syndrome.”

  "Oh please!" Raymond shouted. "We already knew all about that. That's why the guy was gone so much. Trying to work on a cure for someone who was already perfect. Bunch of bullshit if you ask me. And none of it means the old man's still alive."

  “It does when we learn that he didn't die Ray!"

  Raymond got up from the resin backed chair, stomped past the remnants of a tiny tiki bar and smacked Abraham hard across the side of the head.

  "Bastard!" he screamed as Abraham jumped to his feet. "You lying sack of-"

  But Abraham had already grabbed Raymond's arm and swung him around. Kneeing him from behind, he pushed Raymond face-forward over the side of the pontoon boat.

  "It's no lie Ray," Abraham shouted. "I was there that night too. That night dad left."

  "Yeah," Raymond said, his head locked down inches from the river's currents. "Bet you cried like a baby seeing your hero walk out like that."

  "I did. I won't lie. For a few minutes I cried like the child I was. I cried out every last of those child tears. Then I chased out after him. I ran like a lunatic down Lincoln, then Lark. I ran past houses on fire with the stench of corpses and past half-buried bodies." He pulled Raymond's arm so tight now he thought it was going to snap. He pushed him closer to the water. Raymond thought it was beautiful.

  "Then you know what I saw Ray?"

  "No asshole," Raymond yelled back, grimacing in pain. "Tell me."

  "I saw dad get into the passenger seat of a Ford Fairlane and drive away." With that, he quickly snapped loose Raymond's arm and pushed him away.

  "What?" Raymond said, rubbing his arm.

  "He was tired Ray, exhausted. Near death, perhaps. But he didn't have the Rap. And whoever he was with didn't have it either."

  Both brothers turned from each other, standing inches apart near the cushioned seats along the side of the boat. Salome took Abraham's hand into her own and sighed.

  "Tell him my love," she said softly. "Tell him why we're here. And where we're going."

  "What is it Abey?" Po asked.

  "Jake," Abraham said. "Tell my brothers what you came to me with."

  "Yes sir," Jake replied with a tinge of pride in his deep voice. "Your brother here saved my life. I was in a dark place. A place no man should ever be. And he came to me and without any care for his own safety, saved me. After I was healed, and after I realized the truth to his preachings about the 19, I came to him with what I knew."

  "What was that Mr. Jake?" Po asked.

  "That your old man was working on something that would do a heck of a lot more than just cure people with Down syndrome. A helluva lot more," he said, looking at Raymond now, who had returned to pretending to steer the boat. Keeping it centered, he turned back to the conversation.

  "Nanobodies. That's was dad's expertise was in. I tried explaining it to you once but you were too busy figuring out who you were going to call to buy beer for the party you were planning."

  "Yeah," Raymond laughed. "Explains why I needed to drink all the time - to tune out your annoying voice."

  Ab
raham ignored him. "Dad wasn't just thinking about a cure for Down syndrome. He was looking at a range of disorders that had to do with the 21st chromosome. Alzheimers, Parkinson's Disease. Down syndrome was just one of them." He paused for a moment and looked at Po. "It just so happens that the first subjects given the nano treatments happened to have Down syndrome."

  "What happened to them Abe?" Po asked.

  Abraham smiled. "They developed powers that far exceeded anyone's wildest expectations Po. They became gods. Superheroes. Powers that would make Superman look as weak as...well, as Batman. And there were 19 of them. It's my belief that the reason for Dad's condition when we last saw him was that he took them some place. Some place safe. Some place hidden."

  "Or, maybe you're just crazy," Raymond said. "Even if what you're saying is true, why would he hide them? Wouldn't he just want them to keep helping people?"

  "Don't be naive kid," Jake growled. "You see what it's like out there now with the Chosen and the Elected. Well, let me tell you, in the weeks and months after the Rap it was even worse. Especially for those of us who didn't have the luxury of a Lake Como." He shook his head and looked out to the burned out houses on the other side of the dark river. "When those that kept on living had to fight nightmares worse than an inferno of blood sucking demons..." He shook his head and frowned. "The Rap killed billions, sure. But we who survived? Man, we did a pretty good job killing what was left."

  Abraham turned fully around, placing his hands on Po's shoulders. He looked at him and smiled before looking up to Raymond. "Dad had to know that these 19, as powerful as they may have been, that they just weren't up to the fight yet. Not a fight like that one."

  "So, what?" Raymond said. "You're saying that dad's got them in some Fortress of Solitude or something? Keeping them tucked away until the time's right to reveal them to the world?"

  "Perhaps," Abraham replied.

  "And what if there's no world left when he decides to bring them back?"

  Abraham shook his head. "I understand your doubt Ray, I truly do. But consider this. The Chosen are growing stronger by the day. We can't keep on protecting Po from them. Not me..." He lowered his head. "Not even you. But the 19, if there's even a chance that what I'm saying is true, they could. They could keep Po and people like him safe from the Elected forever."

  "Are you so sure about that?" Raymond asked. "Even if these 19 are real, they can't be everywhere at once. And what makes you think that if you do find them that you'll be able to convince them to fight for you anyway?"

  "Because Ray," Abraham said. "We have faith. They just need to know that we believe in them, that we-"

  "Enough!" Raymond shouted, pounding his fist against the boat's Plexiglas steering column. "You just think that if you pray your rosary hard enough and sprinkle on some fairy dust that these 19 Tinkerbelles will fly out and save the world from the wicked? Faith? Is that what you think this is about? Did having faith save our friends and neighbors? You know what faith is Abe? Faith is shit!"

  Abraham looked at him like he was going to cry or throw a bunch. Raymond couldn't tell.

  "Faith saved dad, Ray," he said softly.

  "Yes," Raymond said, letting out a laugh. "It's just too bad his wasn't a life worth saving."

  Raymond thought quick about another comeback to a jab that Abe was sure to return with. Something that crushed him. Something that won the argument.

  But nothing came. Just icy silence as the boat drifted along, passing empty shacks and dead dormant trees, their spindly grey branches reaching down to a river that had been cut off - but was now returning. Passing by their skeleton-like trunks, Raymond wondered if life would ever return.

  The silence festered as they moved down river. And Raymond enjoyed it. He was too exhausted to continue a sibling rivalry that could never be settled anyway. Looking ahead at the moonbeam ripples, he continued navigating the pontoon boat around a bend in the river. All along the sides of the slowing currents, Raymond could see rocks and debris kicked up by the water's return.

  Raymond had no idea where he was at. By his calculations, they could be anywhere near McHenry by now, maybe even further south. Moraine Valley was one of the places he and his friends would fish at. If that were true though, they would have seen felt it. The last time Raymond was there, the river was plugged by a dam. Unless those chunks of debris he had spotted earlier was what was left of it.

  The boat approached an overpass, a road leading to some dark town that Raymond couldn't recognize. The overpass itself seemed to be freshly clear of the grass and weeds that covered most of the roads he remembered seeing back in Lake Como.Peering east, he could almost make out the dim flicker of candle light behind the family room window of a river's edge mansion. In front of a shed at the back of the yard, Raymond could see a raccoon scrounging around for a late night snack. Raymond heard a rumbling roar.

  It was Po, snoring. The others were sleeping too. Everyone but Abraham. Slowly rising, he walked over and sat on a bench next to Raymond.

  "Sorry brother," he said in a hushed tone. "For this. For everything. For things that both of us probably can't even remember anymore. I'm sorry."

  Raymond just shook his head. He started to say something and stopped, looking out at the raccoon as it took a tentative sip from the river's edge.

  "What did that guy want with Po's blood?" he finally said.

  "Hard to say for sure, Ray. Could be he know's something we don't. Of course, all of the elected are insane. Chances are, he's delusional. You can't trust anything that the Elected say Ray. Whatever we do, we need to keep Po away from them."

  Raymond nodded in agreement. "I was a little rough on you out there," he added. "I'm sorry too."

  Abraham smiled, looking out at a stretch of farmland opening up to the south. Raymond turned towards it, releasing a long sigh as a bat shot out from the stalks of corn, darting across the meandering river.

  "We'll need to park this beast soon," Raymond said with a yawn. "I suppose you and your friends will be leaving us in the morning. Got any idea where you'll be going?"

  "Youngstown, Ohio, Ray. And I assumed you and Po would be coming with us."

  Raymond looked up at Abraham. "No," he said firmly. "Me and Po aren't going to Youngstown."

  "But you have to Ray. It's where dad grew up. Think of the clues we may be able to dig up there. At the very least, with everyone migrating to Illinois to join the Elected's New Eden, places like Youngstown are pretty empty. We'd be safe there."

  "Doubtful," Raymond said.

  "But Ray, together, we can do so much. It's what Po would want you know. To be together."

  "This matter's closed. If I have learned anything these past few days it's that the only way to keep Po safe is to find a better place to hide."

  "Seriously Ray? Is that really all you've learned?"

  "No, not all," Raymond replied. "I've learned that people don't change. I've learned that the world was uglier than I thought. I learned you can't trust anyone. I learned..."

  Raymond stopped, his voice trailing off as he stood up.

  "What the hell is that?" he shouted, pointing up to a quickly moving set of lights he was tracking as it flew across the sky from the north.

  "Pull this thing over man," Abraham said. "Looks like a Chosen helicopter. Could be searching for us."

  Raymond quickly nodded. "Doing it now," he shouted, turning the wheel hard. The boat's rusty rudders responded painfully, moving the boat in the direction of the shoreline. "Go wake the others! Let them know to brace for impact!"

  "Everybody up!" Abraham yelled.

  "What's happening?" Po said, rubbing his eyes.

  "Just found a place to rest for the night," Abraham said, putting his arm around Po as he took a seat next to him. He was still tracking the lights.

  "Sir?' Jake said.

  "Search chopper. Be ready."

  Jake nodded, gripping the handrail on the back of the boa
t. Salome did the same.

 

 

 

  Somehow, the boat veered successfully to the shoreline, crashing harmlessly into a line of more mostly dead trees. Behind the trees Raymond could make out traces of a brick path leading up to another empty cottage. It's roof had caved in and by the pairs of low-to-the-ground moonlit eyes staring back at them, it appeared to be inhabited. Everything else around them was wide open field.

  "Come on," Abraham said, already on the ground beyond the trees. He flipped on a flashlight. "We need to find deeper cover."

  "How about that?" Po said, pointing at something just up the hill.

  Walking uphill, they looked out at the edge of a vast cornfield. While weeds and brush lined the edges, the inner stalks seemed quite tall and healthy. A nondescript white sign stood in front of the field. The wind was starting to kick up now, carrying with it a potpourri of autumn leaves and debris as Raymond squinted to read it.

  Glorious Shekinah Meaning of Life Farm 42

  "Odd name for a farm," Raymond said, shrugging his shoulders. As he started into the cornfield Salome grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back.

  "Are you crazy?" she stammered. "We can't go in there!"

  "Why not?"

  "This is the Mother's farm!"

  "The who?"

  "The Mother! Are you stupid?"

  "No, I'm not," he replied, staring peevishly at Abe. "Just uneducated."

  "The Mother is the leader of the Chosen," Jake said. "The leader of the Elected. The Bride of God and all of that bullshit? The one Zephaniah said was wacko? You trying to tell us you never heard of her?"

  "No, I haven't." Raymond replied. Looking around at the field, he started to walk. "Come on. It seems dead."

  Before he had even set foot past the sign, he could hear it. He could always hear it before Po could. From far beyond the fields, Raymond's nightmare whistles echoed. He crouched in front of the sign and froze.

  "What are you doing kid?" Jake asked, looking around. He looked up and down the line of the field, checking out every movement.

  "They're coming!" Raymond shouted back.

  Po ran over to him. "It's gonna be all right Waymond!" he said. Do you want Po to tell you a story?

  "No Po," he said, trying to shake off the embarrassment. The whistling turned now into a blaring alarm. The men on horseback were close. Painfully close for Raymond.

  "Dammit," Abraham said. "Everyone, into the cornfield! Hurry!"

  Charging into the field, the cornstalks rose around them like emaciated ghouls growing up from the inky black soil. They ran, faster and faster as the stalks tried blocking their advance. They were so tall and tightly packed, Raymond wasn’t even sure what direction they were heading. And he didn't care. All he knew was that they were heading away from the shrieking winds.

  They stepped out suddenly to a small clearing in the field, where the stalks of corn had been flattened. Po screamed. Abraham aimed his flashlight on something directly ahead.

  It was Jehu. Wielding a sword, he hovered over them with his stringy orange hair and demonic scowl. Po let out another horrific scream and jumped back behind the stalks of corn. Raymond stood his ground. If Jehu wanted them dead, Raymond wasn’t going to make it easy. He and the others would fight long enough to give Po a chance to escape. He was confident of that. Raymond crouched into a defensive stance as Abraham put the flashlight back into his pocket.

  Because it wasn’t Jehu. Stepping closer to the figure he noticed it wasn’t anything human, or whatever Jehu was, at all. It was a scarecrow.

  “Po, come here!” Abraham laughed, calling into the surrounding stalks.

  Trembling, Po stumbled slowly back into the clearing. “Oh my god!” he shouted, pointing at the macabre scarecrow.

  “What?” Raymond asked, puzzled.

  “Are you cwazy Waymond?” Po yelled. “Don't you remember Planet of the Apes? We have to get outa here! They’re coming!!”

  From somewhere close by they heard another high-pitched cry. Not a whistle this time. But a whimper.

  "What the hell was that?" Jake said, looking out towards the spot where the sound came.

  "Sounded like a cry," Salome said. "Like a child's cry."

  "Come on," Abraham said, charging into the stalks of corn. Po was right behind him.

  Raymond followed. Within a few moments, they tripped into to another wide clearing where the stalks had been flattened. Only this time, they looked to have been violently smashed down. Stalks had been torn from the ground and fresh husks were tossed about. Many of the ears of corn had gashes bit out of them. Raymond froze.

  "What in the hell is that?" Raymond bellowed.

  "Abraham..." Salome let out slowly. "We need to run."

  It was a little girl. But she wasn't alone. Three...others were hunched over her. The shadows. Rapid raspy breaths produced a thick steam that circled the frightened little girl. Wearing a pink University of Wisconsin sweatshirt and dirt-stained white sweatpants, she cowered beneath them, trembling. Clutching a ragged brown teddy bear, she recoiled into the flattened stalks, condemned.

  "Ragers," Raymond said.

  "Yeah kid," Jake said, reaching for his pistol. The Ragers turned and smiled. "And they look hungry."

  Raymond cocked his rifle. "Hey!" he shouted, stepping into the clearing. "Move away from the girl or I-"

  They turned at once, their mouths in wide pointed smiles, and charged.

  A slender woman in a threadbare hospital gown led it. She cackled as her gown flowed behind her like a tattered pirate's sail. All Raymond could see before he pulled the trigger were blood red eyes, a manic smile and thick bunches of bloody tumors covering her head. She hit the ground laughing while the blood poured from her chest.

  Threat of gunshot did nothing to stop the other two. They were on them. A guy in ripped army fatigues and wisps of a white afro, smashed his tumor-covered skull hard into Raymond's chest, launching him into the corn stalks.

  On his back, Raymond looked up to see the third creature ready to leap on them both. But all he could hear was afro-guy's teeth clicking, trying like hell to gnaw into Raymond's thigh as Abraham desperately tried to hold it back. Somewhere, past the fog of battle, Raymond thought he could see Po protecting the little girl.

  The third rager, a woman in a red coat, leaped instead on Abraham, her blood-stained lips curled up in a devilish grin. She let out a demented high-pitched wail as she cracked her head repeatedly on Abraham's back until he lost his grip.

  Everything was moving faster than Raymond could keep up with. He felt like he was about to slip into Wonderland. But something was holding him back.

  It didn't matter. Afro-guy, his jaws wide open, had him pinned. He shot his head down in several quick bursts, his jaws snapping at Raymond's neck. Each time, Raymond was just a second ahead. Anticipating. Rolling to the right, then to the left. Centering himself, Raymond kicked loose and jumped to his feet. Sliding Remmy off his shoulder, he fired.

  Instead of scaring her off, the rager woman holding Abraham suddenly let go and leaped at Raymond. She was laughing hysterically now, bouncing and bobbing her head like a hyper toddler. Giddy in a violent rage, she grabbed Raymond’s approaching fist and pushed it into her mouth, knocking out a couple of festering teeth still remaining on her upper jaw. Purposefully? Raymond didn’t think so, as she tried to sink what was left of her jagged teeth into Raymond's neck. She didn’t have a chance.

  Another man grabbed her by the coat and flipped her off of Raymond, whipping her onto her back in the center of the clearing. The woman, still laughing, bounced back with a moan and charged.

  “Watch it!” Raymond screamed.

  But it was too late. The woman had already dug her long, unkempt nails into the man’s leather coat, flipping him onto his back. Like afro-guy, she was strong too. Stronger than her delicate frame would suggest. The man had a good fifty pounds of
bulk on him and was still losing the fight. She was about to bite down on his exposed arm when she had a change in plans.

  The woman saw Po and the little girl again and immediately jumped off the man on the ground. She whipped herself around, looking Raymond in the eye. She seemed to be asking him something. Wishing. Begging for Raymond to open fire. With a desperate laugh, she leaped towards the little girl.

  Before Raymond could react, Po pounced on the woman. She was surprised for just a moment before sinking her teeth into his arm. Po grimaced but was too busy to cry out. He was spinning.

  Moving faster than Raymond could ever remember Po move before, he lifted her up with a powerful bear hug up above his head, whipping her over his shoulders. He swung the woman blindly around in a circle, so fast, that the woman’s head was a wailing blur. After several twirls, Po let her go, spinning her off like a runaway Tilt-a-Whirl car. Doing an uneasy twirl like a drunken ballerina, she snapped around to face the cornstalks, bent herself over and ran into the shadows, disappearing the way she came.

  Raymond returned Remmy to his side as the little girl's father stood up and ran to her. Making sure she was alright, he turned around, to look Raymond over. He seemed to be considering him, determining whether or not Raymond was a threat.

  The silent seconds seemed like an eternity. It was uncomfortable to look at the man. The severity of his Rapture wounds reminded him of his own mother's last days. Bulging tumors and dried over scars littered his face. He looked nearly identical to the Ragers that had just tried to kill them.

  The girl's mother ran out from the stalks now to attend to her husband. Her Rapture scars were much less noticeable. Or maybe it was because she held her beauty so well. Raymond thought it was the latter.

  She exchanged some words with her husband before she took a silver flask from the inside of her coat and ran towards Po, who was sitting on the ground with his right hand wrapped around the bite on his arm. Without saying a word, the woman softly coaxed Po's hand away to examine the gash.

  “Unlike us," the woman said, "your kind are immune to Rager bites.” With a cloth, she dabbed more of the solution from the flask over Po's wound. “But not immune to whatever bacteria it might have been carrying. This ought to clean it but you'd be good to keep an eye on it for a few days.”

  Po smiled back his thanks to her, looking at the woman with that eternally grateful grin he would give to their mom every time she patched a scrape or hugged him after a difficult day at Glenside. Raymond wasn’t even the slightest bit resentful of the fact that it was also a look he never quite gave to Raymond, even though he did all of the same, and more, these past three years. He could never be their mom.

  Still smiling, Po stood up and walked over to the little girl. She was softly sobbing, futilely trying to cram the stuffing back into the back of her teddy bear, which had been ripped open. She froze as Po approached.

  Po stopped and smiled down at the girl, reaching into the lining of his lime-green windbreaker to pull something out. Without hesitation, he handed it to the little girl. It was his prized Superman doll.

  The girl looked back up to Po’s gentle face with a simple mixture of surprise and wonder. “Are you Santa Claus?”

  Po looked confused before letting out a hearty laugh. “No, Po not Santa wittle girl. Santa's not as chubby as Po!" he said with a laugh, smacking his belly. "Nope, Po's just Po.” He looked over at Raymond for a second then back at the girl. “Sorry about your teddy bear.”

  “That’s ok mister”, the little girl replied softly, brushing the tears from her face.

  Po stepped forward, pulling a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe the remaining tears from underneath her eyes. “You're a sweety-pie,” Po said solemnly. “God always takes the most care of sweety-pies.”

  “What do you say Sasha?” the father stated.

  “Thank you,” the girl said to Po, who was still standing next to her. Overlapping sores and pockmarks did nothing to stomp out her sincerity. The little girl's soft blue eyes, wide open in wonder, were filled with an innocence that Raymond found jarring. Like praying to a god that never answered, he couldn't believe that a girl who grew up knowing only fear and despair could still shows sign of...hope.

  Nodding back in silence, the father and his family ducked into the cornstalks, disappearing.

  Salome walked up behind Raymond, laying her hand on his shoulder. He didn't make an effort to push her away.

  "Lowlies," she said softly. "Don't see much of them anymore."

  "What did that guy mean by saying we're immune?"

  "Well that's why you don't see many lowlies," Abraham said. "You see Ray, there's people like you and me. You know, people who look normal and all. Then there's people like the lowlies. People who have the virus. I mean we all have the virus, right? But with the lowlies, it's bad in a different way. One bite from a Rager and a lowlie turns."

  "Turns?" Raymond said.

  "Yeah kid," Jake added, "into a Rager."

  Raymond wanted to cry. He turned around, looking past Po at the tops of the stalks trying to find evidence of the lowly family. Gone. Or gone enough. While a light wind fluttered the leaves of the moonlit stalks Salome stood on her toes, rubbed her chest against Raymond and kissed him on the cheek.

  Salome pulled back, looking over at Abraham and Jake with a laugh. "We're a good team," she said, letting out a sigh. "All of us did pretty good here tonight."

  "Yeah," Jake added. "We lived another day. Of course, the night's still young and we have plenty of time to run out of luck."

  Her smile faded as she saw the look on Raymond's face. Already, he was looking away from her and the others. He looked back at her with a frown, slowly shaking his head.

  "What?" Salome asked.

  Raymond stared down at this feet, pretending to inspect the barrel of his rifle. "Me and Po are leaving in the morning."

  "Why in the hell would you do a thing like that?" she snapped back at him.

  "Because Salome, there's too much danger. And you all seem to attract it."

  "Oh man," Jake said, letting out a long sigh. "What kid? You think you'll be able to go back to Candyland and hide out?"

  Raymond hesitated. "Sure," he replied. "Why not. It worked out just fine for me and Po before."

  Jake shook his head and laughed. "You might think that hiding out under a rock will keep you safe but it won't. They'll find you. They will always find you. Now that Jehu knows you're alive? He'll flip over every rock in New Eden until he finds you. "

  "Abraham!" Salome shouted. "Tell him he needs to stay!"

  "I can't Salome!" Abraham shouted. He swatted down a cornstalk and turned his back on them. "Ray does what Ray wants," he said. "That's the way it's always been."

  "Well sir," Jake said. "It ain't like we're talking about going to the mall for a frozen yogurt. The Elected want you sir. They want you, they want jocko over there," he said, waving off to Raymond. "And they want Po. Zephaniah especially. He has a jones for him. Don't know why, but he does. We know that. And Jehu? You can bet all our sorry asses that he's made damned sure to burn all our cute, pretty faces into the mission memories of the drone collective."

  "Uh, guys?" Salome suddenly said, a tone of worry in her voice. "What's he doing?" She was pointing at Po.

  Everyone turned to see Po holding his head back like he was looking at the Man in the Moon. With his head jerking side to side, his blue eyes shot up, leaving a bloodshot white. The next moment, he was on his back.

  "Po!" Raymond yelled, running to him. The others did the same. Abraham knelt next to him, taking his hand while Jake hurriedly looked him over.

  "Could be a seizure," he said, checking his mouth.

  "A seizure?" Raymond yelled. "He's never had a seizure in his life!" Raymond looked down at Po's pale cheeks as spiddle dripped from the corner of his lips.

  Jake shrugged. "Sorry kid, I was a recruited field medic, not a doc."

&nbs
p; "Po?" Abraham said. "You ok?"

  "Give him some room," Salome said.

  With a jarring shriek that filled the empty cornfield, Po sat up straight, his upper body as rigid as a rock . Everyone jumped back as Po closed his eyes, his body jerking in violent convulsions.

  "Po!" Raymond yelled, trying to sound calm but failing. He shot a glance over to Abraham for an answer. Old habit. "What's happening?"

  "I don't know!" Abraham shouted, turning to Jake.

  "Convulsions," he said, sounding unsure. "We've seen it in a couple of instances, you remember. In the de-droned."

  Ignoring the chatter, Po held out his hand, waving it in the air like he was hailing a cab.

  "Hurry back with them root beers Topo!" Po exclaimed. "The movie's about to start!"

  Abraham studied Po with a short gaze before turning back to Raymond. "What's he saying?"

  Raymond shrugged his shoulders, too busy watching Po put on some kind of grumpy face.

  "What the hell ya doing up there Topo?" Po yelled out. "Eating all the ice cream? If little Ray here doesn't get a full scoop he'll cry like a girl again! Those bumps aren't getting any smaller you know!" Po reached out at something, like he was giving the air a play punch before bursting out in joyous laughter.

  "It's Grandpa Frank," Raymond said. "He's being Grandpa Frank. I remember. Something happened."

  "Of course something happened brainless," Abraham said with a smirk. "The hornet attack."

  "The what?"

  "The hornet stings Ray. You were out playing in Grandpa Frank's back yard and stumbled over a hornet's nest. You got bit like three times before Grandpa Frank scooped you up and ran you inside. Po thought it would be a good idea if we watched Star Wars to make you feel better. And, of course, the root beer floats, too."

  Po's eyes rolled back into his head again and he started to shake back and forth.

  "Oh, this little droid! I think he's searching for his former master...I've never seen such devotion in a droid before...there seems to be no stopping him. He claims to be the property of a..."

  Po's voice trailed off into a whispering mumble. With great effort, he seemed to be doing everything in his powers to complete the sentence. Slowly, he opened his mouth. "Of a Noah."

  Abraham turned swiftly towards Salome and Jake, who were standing just behind him.

  "General," Po said, looking frantic. "Years ago you served my father in the Flathead Wars. Now he begs you to help him in his struggle against the Wicked Witch." His voice sounded higher, like he was pretending to be Glenda the Good Witch. Or, someone else. Raymond thought he caught the hint of a British accent.

  "What's he talking about?" Salome asked.

  "Sounds like he's mixing up his stories," Raymond said.

  "Yes," Abraham said, paying keen attention. "The Wizard of Star Wars, perhaps? Heck, I think we may even have played this with Po once."

  "I believe we did," Raymond replied.

  "I regret that I am unable to present my father's request to you in person," he continued. "But my balloon has fallen under attack and I'm afraid my mission to bring you to Oz has failed. This is our most desperate hour. Help me, Noah, you're my only hope."

  "Princess Leia," Raymond said, finally figuring out the accent. "What do you think it-"

  "Quiet!" Abraham said. "Did you hear it? He said it again!" This time, he didn't even bother to look back at Jake and Salome.

  Po paused for a few moments, taking a deep breath as he looked out over the cornfield. Or whatever he was seeing in his make-believe world. Raymond wished he could see it too. He always wanted to see it.

  Looking out at his two younger brothers, Po frowned as his tears began again in earnest.

  "Mommy! Daddy!" he screamed. He was pointing at something, something far away

  With a final, tormented scream, Po threw back his head in another convulsive fit. Bringing his head back down, the tears had disappeared. Another shudder, more of an aftershock, and Po's face changed to a look of frantic worry to a frown of sympathetic loss.

  "There's nothing you could have done, Scarecrow," Po began. "You'd have been killed, too, and the others would be in the hands of the Empire."

  Raymond looked at Abraham. "The scene where Luke's aunt and uncle died. Po used to cry every time he watched it."

  The tears returned and Po tried snorting them back. Wiping his face with the sleeves of his lime green windbreaker, he looked up towards the stars. "I want to come with you to Oz, Noah. There's nothing here for me now. I want to ride the merry-go-round. Like my father. Carousel."

  With that final proclamation, Po's entire body seized up like he had stuck his finger in an electric socket. His lips started mumbling words no one could hear and he started shaking uncontrollably. In a final violent flip onto his back, the shakes were even more chaotic. And they weren't stopping.

  "Grab his head!" Raymond shouted to Abraham.

  Abraham quickly shifted over to help support Po's head, which was flopping up and down now like the fish Po let get away back at the lake.

  "Po!" Abraham said loudly. "We're all here for you Po. It's ok!"

  Salome dropped down to her knees. Leaning over him, she began gently massaging his shoulders as he continued to rock furiously from side to side.

  He seized up again. With his eyes shut tight, he arched his back and let out a long, terrifying scream, at the end of which the shaking stopped. His breathing returned to normal. He opened his eyes.

  Smiling, Po lifted himself so that he was sitting up straight. He opened his eyes and looked around at the clearing like he was seeing it for the first time before resting his eyes on Raymond and Abraham.

  "Noah says to go to Oz," Po said. "Oz we go. Noah says. To Oz we go."

  Raymond looked awkwardly back at Abraham, unsure of what to say next. He was just happy it was over and that Po returned. He put his hand on Po's shoulder, flashing him a nervous smile. "Uh, that was quite a story there Chewie. You almost had me worried that-"

  "Carousel!" Salome said, cutting him off. She looked at Raymond. "I thought you said you never told him about the 19?"

  "The 19?" Raymond said. "I didn't!"

  "The hell you didn't!" she snapped. "How in the world does he know about the carousel?"

  "The what?"

  "The carousel!" Salome yelled. "The merry-go-round!" She looked like bad sex manic. Pacing back and forth like in an alternate universe where something had gone real wrong after they did it back on the train. Pissed beyond pissed. Angry like she were going to swing. "Abraham!" she said in a horrifying squeal. "Tell him!"

  Abraham sat motionless for a few long moments, just watching Po. "Oh yes, Carousel," he said coolly. He shook his head. "It's nothing," he said, waving her off. "I mean, it's everything, of course," he continued, stressing the word everything like he were a preacher giving a sermon. "The whole talk of the carousel or simply carousel. It's all wrapped up into 19 lore. A oneness with the divine. Like climbing Mount Olympus or seeing the Burning Bush. A spiritual ecstasy that only a handful have experienced. But none of that is going to mean anything to Raymond here Salome so don't waste your breath." He paused, putting his fingers to his lips as he continued to look at Po. "So, Po," Abraham said with a cautious grin. "How do you know Noah?"

  "Po don't know the answer to that one Abe," he said. "Po just knows the story."

  "The story of what Po?" Raymond asked.

  "Oh come on Waymond!" Po snorted. "Does Po have to burp it back to you? Of the 19, of course!"

  Raymond looked uneasily around the empty clearing. "But we never talked about the 19 Po."

  "No, but Po's friends did Waymond. They told Po all about the 19. And Noah. And the Merry-go-round. And Oz, Waymond. To Oz we go, Noah says."

  "Your friends Po?" Abraham asked. "Do you mean Jake and Salome?"

  "Not at all Abe," Po replied. Widening his eyes, he looked over to Salome and Jake as his face went red
. "Oh sorry guys," he mumbled embarrassingly to himself. "Of course, Po does think you two are his friends!" Jake offered back a befuddled nod while Salome grinned.

  "Nope," Po continued, suddenly looking perky. "Po's talking about the voices that talked to him when he was playing Stormtrooper in his dreams..." Slowly, Po lifted himself up and started walking around to the edges of the clearing in the cornfield.

  "We need to go to Oz guys," Po said, peering through the cornstalks. "To Oz we go!"

  "You think he's talking about when he was droned?" Abraham asked Jake.

  Jake nodded. "Yes sir. Looks to me like an echo memory."

  Raymond raised his hands up into the air. "Echo memory?" he snapped. "Noah? What are you guys talking about?"

  "Noah was one of the 19 Ray. At least we think he was. Only people who've had long, significant interactions with the 19 can ever recall anything more than a few details. But when they do, it's a name. Noah." He crossed his arms and observed Po with a curious grin. "My question now is what happened to him when he was droned for him to retain this."

  "So, what, you think Po picked up this memory when he was in the suit?"

  "Perhaps," Abraham said, studying Po as he spread out his windbreaker like a cape, racing around the edges of the clearing.

  "To Oz!" Po shouted gleefully. "To Oz we go!"

  Abraham raised his eyebrows, watching Po as he zipped by. "Or perhaps someone purposefully implanted it."

  "What's that supposed to mean?"

  Abraham shrugged his shoulders and frowned. "I don't know Ray. Could be a lot of things. This isn't like me trying to help you cheat on your chemistry exam. I don't always have all the answers you know."

  With a final lap around the clearing, Po slowed down and returned to his brothers. Raising his arms, he patted them both on the shoulders, letting out a long yawn.

  "Po's pooped!" Po said. With another yawn, he lowered himself to the ground, covered himself with his lime-green windbreaker and curled up into a ball. In a few seconds, he was snoring. Raymond was jealous of Po for a lot of things. But nothing more than how easy it was for him to fall asleep.

  "At the drop of a hat," Raymond said, looking down at his snoring brother.

  "Yes, I see some things never change," Abraham said. "All right people," he said, looking around at the others. "I suggest we do the same. Who knows when we'll get another chance. Jake? What do you think?"

  Jake looked around the edges of the clearing. "Seems safe enough. But I still think we should take turns keeping watch."

  "Agreed," Abraham replied. "I'll take first."

  "No," Raymond said. "I'll go first. You just got out of prison. I'm thinking you need to rest more than I do."

  "Gee Ray," Abraham said, eying his brother a bit suspiciously, "Thanks? And what's the catch? Are you going to shave my eyebrows and put a mouse in my pants? Again?"

  Raymond laughed. "No, not tonight at least."

  "Fine then," he replied. He nodded to Jake and Salome. "I'll go after Ray. Jake, why don't you go after me. Salome, you take last watch. I'm quite sure you need the rest more than me my love."

  Salome kissed Abraham on the cheek while Jake spread out a spot on the flattened cornstalks and laid down. Raymond was surprised at how much respect his dickish brother commanded in this world. How in a place where giants and supermen and freakish angel droids, Abraham seemed to be able to keep it together. To lead them. Raymond took a seat with his knees up, Remmy held across them, while the others tried to rest.

  And Raymond thought. Thought how long it would take for the others to fall asleep. Thought how he could do it. How he could wake Po without anyone else hearing. How he could convince him to take a walk with him, maybe by turning it into a game. It would be a lie, Raymond knew that. But it'd be a worthy lie, as lies go.

  Raymond remembered passing a town just north of here as they sailed down river. Maybe they could get there while the night still covered them. A few days of sleeping during the day and traveling by night? They could do that.

  West. They'd travel west. Maybe once they got across the Mississippi, they could revert to a normal sleep schedule again. That's only if they could find another Lake Como of course. They might need to go farther west. Like Nebraska, west. Or South Dakota, west. The Badlands. Those were places that would have to be safe. Hell, those were places that didn't have people even when there were people.

  Devil's Tower. That's it. That's where they'd go. Devil's Tower. The giant monolithic rock formation that punches up from the center of an oval-shaped mesa somewhere in Wyoming. The landmark that Richard Dreyfus recreated out of mashed potatoes in the movie, Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Po loved that movie and always wanted to go there. That would be enough to keep him going. That would be their goal.

  Raymond turned suddenly to the sound. It was the wailing again. The high-pitched sound made by the men on horseback. Raymond grabbed Remmy and stood up, facing the western sky where the wails seemed to be passing. The sound was fading away. Fading westward.

  Raymond sat back down next to Abraham. It looked like he may have opened his eyes. Knowing someone was else was awake and hearing the sound made the fear bearable for Raymond. Even if that someone were dickish Abe.

  "Hey," Raymond whispered. "You awake?"

  "Yes," Abraham said in a quiet, even tone. "I don't sleep much. And after what happened here tonight? I'm too jacked up to sleep." He turned towards Raymond, who was still looking at him. "What's up?"

  "The story Po told."

  "Yes Ray?"

  "Grandpa Frank didn't bring me in the house. You and Po did."

  "Oh yeah," Abraham said, nodding to himself. "I suppose we did, didn't we."

  Raymond paused, letting out a relaxed sigh as the sound of the wailing faded away entirely. "Were you pulling a Grandpa Lou or did you just make it up on purpose?"

  Abraham smiled, shaking his head. Grandpa Lou was senile. Not Alzheimer's senile but forgetful to the point of it being dangerous - especially in terms of it making his family dangerously angry with him. Grandpa Lou's senility seemed to always work out in his favor.

  "I don't know," Abraham finally said. "I suppose a little of both. It was a long time ago Ray."

  Raymond rolled over onto his back, placing his hands behind his head. He looked up at the stars and shook his head.

  "So you had a chance to make yourself look good," Raymond said. "And you passed on it."

  Abraham let out a laugh. "Please," he said, "they call me the Prophet. Do you think I need a bigger head?"

  "I dunno," Raymond said, lifting his shoulders in a shrug. "It's just weird to me, that's all I guess. I mean, growing up, you were always..."

  "Always what?"

  "Well, always not there. I mean, you were there, of course. But I barely noticed you. You had a way of staying under the radar. Do you know, I had friends in high school who didn't even know you existed? Most of my friends thought I was an only child. I mean, I can see them not knowing Po. But you and me? Hell, we had gym class together!"

  Now it was Abraham's turn to shake his head. "Do you even know why I left?"

  Raymond looked at his brother, then looked back up at the wide open star-sparkling sky. He stayed silent.

  "You know Ray, you never did like to say yes to me. Anytime I ever asked you anything, no was the only answer I'd get out of you. Whenever you meant yes, you'd just ignore me."

  Raymond let out a sigh. "If someone'd asked me a couple days ago why you left, I would have told them it was because you were a chicken-shit coward."

  "And now?"

  "Now," Raymond paused. "Now I'd say it's because you're like Po. You're curious."

  Abraham turned over onto his back and placed his folded his hands, placing them on his stomach.

  "I think it was dad," he stated.

  "You think it was dad, what?"

  "I think it was dad that implanted the memory into Po."


  "When Po was a drone? How would he have done that?"

  "I think dad was droned."

  "How's that possible? You were there tonight! You heard what Jehu said! He controls the drones, right? And he's looking for dad too, remember? Don't you think if dad were droned he'd know about it?"

  Abraham shook his head.

  "Not necessarily. Jake and I have some experience with the de-droned. When you go under the suit, your identity is stripped. Completely. You become one with the hive and nothing of your old self remains."

  "So?"

  "So." Abraham said simply. "Ray, do you know how many drones there are?"

  "Hundreds, I don't know."

  "Try thousands.

  "What do you think we should do?" Raymond asked.

  "Po is special Ray. We've always known that. The connections he could make. The worlds he could believe in. If anyone knew how to cut through the drone chatter and preserve himself in the hive, it would have been Po."

  "So what are you saying?"

  "I'm saying that maybe dad allowed himself to be droned knowing that Po might someday get droned too."

  It was an interesting theory but one that Raymond had nothing more to say about. It was time to change the subject.

  "So you never answered your own question," Raymond said.

  "Excuse me?"

  "About why you left," Raymond said.

  "Well I thought the answer was obvious Ray," he said with a questioning gaze. "To step out of your shadow."

  "You didn't need to leave us to do that," Raymond said.

  "Yes Ray, I did."

  Raymond turned towards his brother, ready to lash out something spiteful Something he'd held up inside for the last three years. Something about having to take care of Po all by himself. Something about having to be the responsible one. But he chose not to say anything. Mostly because having to take care of Po was the greatest thing he had ever done.

  Perhaps noticing the change of heart, Abraham smiled. "Your turn," he said. "I'm wide awake. No sense in both of us being up."

  Raymond didn't argue. Besides, he didn't think there was anything more for either one of them to say. Not without unsettling this temporary peace.

  "And Ray?"

  "Yes?"

  "Stay with us."

  Letting out a long sigh, Raymond didn't say no.

  Abraham smiled as Raymond tried to get some rest.