by James Sperl
Andrew further clarified. “Not just the truck, but actually see her?”
Evan sat up. “I don't know...I mean, I wasn't thinking about it at the time. Everything was happening so fast. We heard the shot and Dad yelled for me, so I just ran over. I assumed that since we were close by...” He searched the space in front of him before looking up at Clarissa. “Holy shit,” he said then glanced apologetically at Elenora. “Sorry, El.”
“In this case, I think holy shit is warranted,” she deadpanned. “So are we saying what I think we're saying?”
No one responded, the truth apparent to everyone except Rachel; she looked desperately from person to person for an explanation. Clarissa would have given her one, but she was too floored to formulate a cohesive summary.
“What we're saying,” Andrew began, “is that if our theory's right, it means that not only is it necessary to have someone present while you sleep, that person needs to remain in direct line-of-sight.”
“So it's not just proximity that's important,” Jon said, simplifying. “The sleeping person needs to remain in view at all times.”
Cesare moved beside his grandmother, contemplative. “I can't honestly say I've always done that. I've been in the room, sure, but...” He considered this. “Have we just been lucky so far?”
“Maybe,” Andrew said. “Or we've been smart enough to take the right precautions. Keeping sleeping areas small and enclosed with more than one watcher. But I'm curious about something. Valentina.” Valentina raised her head uncertainly. “If we're right, and Elenora and Evan were too far away from you to have been effective, then something had to have woken you up. Do you remember anything?”
Valentina lifted her chin further, her eyes wet with guilt and remorse.
“Yeah. Yeah, I do. I remember shooting awake and seeing Elenora and Evan. I didn't say anything to them, but they were right next to the car.”
“Oh, honey,” said Elenora, saddened by the confession. “Why didn't you tell us you had such a fright?”
Valentina hung her head. Clarissa understood the reason for her silence even if no one else did—any mention of troubled sleep, i.e., scary dreams, would have been immediately attributed to her drug use. She knew her friend. It was easier for her to hold in fear for something that happened rather than to seek comfort from people whom she felt thought it was undeserved.
Jon palmed his mouth, the ramifications incalculable.
“So once Ev and Elenora stepped back into Valentina's line of sight, she woke up? Is that what we're saying? That her dream was disrupted by the proximity of a physical being?”
Andrew crossed his arms, equally confounded. “As hard as it is to accept, that's what it sounds like.”
“Whoa,” said Evan.
“This is big,” Jon said. “If this is right, this is...” He glanced at Valentina. “If Ev and Elenora hadn't walked back to the SUV when they did...we might have returned to an empty vehicle.”
Valentina sprang to her feet and snatched up her purse.
“I need to go to the bathroom,” she said, palming runners from her cheek. She started to tramp out of the room but only got three steps before she realized it was pitch black beyond the living room doorway. She reached clumsily for a lit candle then plodded off into the dark house.
Jon looked into the room apologetically. “I could've probably worded that a little less harshly.”
“She'll be fine,” Andrew said. “Maybe hearing how she could have been personally affected by her decisions will straighten her out.”
“Come on, Andrew,” Clarissa said. “Don't you think you're being a little unfair? The girl's struggling. She made a mistake, and she's doing the best she can to cope with it. Cut her a little slack.”
Andrew couldn't believe what he was hearing. “Are you seriously defending her? She could've gotten you killed.”
“We don't know that people are dying.”
Andrew dropped his shoulders in disbelief. “Clarissa. There's no benevolent angle here. Nothing has made contact with us and no explanation has been given for the disappearances. To vanish is for good, which is why I'm floored that you'd be so quick to stand by Valentina's side.”
“Because we're friends,” she replied sternly. “That's why. That's what friends do.” She checked the doorway Valentina had passed through. When she was certain her friend wasn't immediately returning, she faced the room.
“I didn't want to talk about this while Val was here because I didn't want to freak her out any further, but...” Clarissa checked one more time. Still no Valentina. “There's something about that place. That...that dream space all of us saw. Something happens in there. You can feel it. It's like, I don't know, a sense of finality or something.”
“No offense, Clar,” Jon said, “but we kind of put that together.”
“Right, I know, but there's something else. Some other feeling. Kap mentioned that wormholes, those Einstein-Rosen bridges or whatever, were fixed points. Like a pathway or a road.”
“Fixed in theory,” Andrew corrected.
“Right. Okay. But until we know beyond a doubt that they're something else, it's what we have to go on. I can't explain why I feel this way, but I think that whatever's coming through into our world and taking people is coming through in that dream place. It's like it's a staging area or something. I know it sounds crazy, but it just feels right, especially after all the stuff Kap told us. And because of that, I think the only way we can stop what's been happening is...is if we can find a way to blow up the bridge, so to speak, in that dream world.”
Cesare laughed, but Clarissa didn't think he meant to.
“Go into a dream and destroy something imaginary? Something otherworldly that we not only don't know what it is but also doesn't even really exist? Just how in the hell do you suggest we do that?”
Clarissa flopped back into a chair. “I have absolutely no idea.”
Andrew paced a lazy pattern. “This is nuts,” he grumbled. “All of it. But the craziest part about your theory is that it almost makes some se—”
“Has someone been in my purse?”
Valentina stood in the doorway. She held out her handbag in an accusatory manner. Her eyes were alight with panic of the deepest sort. She glared at everyone, her shamefulness replaced by determination.
“Someone's been in here. Something of mine...” She glanced about the room but was unable to sustain eye contact with anyone. “Well, it's missing.”
Clarissa shot Rachel and Andrew a covert glance before she sat up and eyed her friend. The time had come. She hadn't planned on holding an intervention now, but perhaps it was for the best. Valentina would have smelled an organized sit-down to address her dependency issues from a mile away. Having it spontaneously arise like it appeared it was, wouldn't give her the opportunity to avoid it. Clarissa didn't want to squander the moment.
“What's missing, Val?” she asked.
“Just something of mine, okay? It's personal.”
“If you told us what it was then maybe we could help you look for it.”
Valentina wrestled with a response. She fidgeted and swayed from side to side.
“I...it was...I just want to know—”
“Oh, enough of this.” Andrew said. He took a stride toward Valentina. “We know about your drugs. We've known about your habit. But it's done as of today.”
Clarissa shot out of the chair. “Andrew!”
“Why are we pussyfooting around with this? We know she's got a problem, and I'll bet she knows we know she has a problem. Let's just cut to the chase already.”
Clarissa stormed up to him.
“You can be a real asshole, you know that?” She spun on Valentina. “Look, Val, I know you've been struggling, okay? We all do. You're scared. And that's totally okay. I'm scared too. But you're going about it the wrong way. What you're doing to yourself, it's only going to hurt you in the long run.”
Valentina plastered on an unconvincing smile. “I...I don't k
now what you're talking about.”
“Come on, Val. Let's not do this. You can't hide it anymore, okay? The secret's out. Let's just deal with it.”
“I'm serious,” she persisted. “I really...I don't know what you mean.”
Clarissa sighed. “I found your pills.”
Rage flashed across Valentina's face, but even in her moment of anger and betrayal, she refused to acknowledge it.
“You went in my purse?”
“Yes, I did. Because I love you. But don't change the subject. You had Road Rage, Val. Road Rage. Why would you take that?”
“I didn't,” she said, continuing to play dumb. “I mean, I got some aspirin. At Orion. I'd been having headaches, so...I don't know anything about Road Rage.”
“Val,” Clarissa said curtly. “The pill was red. 'RR' was stamped on each one. Are you seriously going to tell me you thought it was aspirin?”
“Please,” Andrew muttered.
Clarissa whirled on him. “Andrew, hush!”
Even though Andrew lacked tact, she felt his frustration. She knew Valentina would deny her addiction—didn't most addicts?—but Clarissa was woefully unprepared for the difficulty of getting her friend to fess up. In Valentina's mind, as long as she didn't acknowledge the problem, there technically wasn't one. Clarissa needed her to get past that. She needed her to admit her dependency openly. If she didn't, she couldn't move forward. No one could.
“I don't know what to tell you,” Valentina said. She swallowed dryly, her throat jouncing. “I thought they were aspirin, so...”
Clarissa nodded without satisfaction. “Okay. If you say it was aspirin then okay. I believe you. I'm not sure why you would get more since we already have a decent supply of it, but fine.”
Clarissa felt the confused looks from the others in the room, but she was too focused on Valentina to explain her tactic. Valentina regarded Clarissa suspiciously and almost seemed to smile.
“So...do you still have them? The aspirin, I mean?”
Clarissa steeled herself against the response that was sure to follow what she said next.
“No, I dumped them in the road while you slept.”
The levy broke.
“What?!” Valentina railed. “You got rid of them?”
“Every last one.”
Valentina's eyes swelled with immeasurable dread.
“Why would you do that? Why would...I thought you were my friend! How could you do that to me?”
“I didn't do it to you, Val,” Clarissa pleaded. “I did it for you. You have to know that.”
“You intrusive bitch! That was none of your fucking business.”
Clarissa suspected Valentina would resort to name-calling and blame, but even though her words came from a place of despair, they still hurt. She tried to convince herself that what her friend did and said in the next few moments didn't come from the Valentina she knew. It didn't make it any easier to hear.
“Look, I know you're mad at me,” Clarissa said. “And I know you think I had no right to go into your personal things, but I'm terrified for you. I've never seen you like this. I mean look at you after just one day.”
Valentina seethed and fought to contain her anger.
“We only left Orion yesterday, and look how much that shit's already affected you—and I'll bet you've only taken a couple doses, at best three. Do you truly not see yourself?”
“What I see is the person that I thought was my friend is a fucking traitor!” Valentina spat. “What the fuck do I do now, huh? I don't have anything to help me!”
“Of course you do. You have us.” Clarissa reached for Valentina, but Valentina yanked her arm away violently.
“You can't help! No one can help!”
Rachel was by Clarissa's side. “You know that's not true, Val. We're your friends. We're your best friends, which is why we're talking to you about this.”
Valentina's lip curled into a snarl of disgust. “You're not my friends. My friends would never do this to me. My friends would let me live my life and do what I want, not interfere.”
“But, Val, don't you see?” Clarissa said. “Doing what you wanted nearly got me killed. I know what you did in the bathroom that day when you left me alone in the garage. The guilt was all over your face. But I forgive you. Why? Because you're my friend, and I know you have a problem. Let us help you fix it.”
“And you have other friends now too, don't forget,” Elenora chimed in. “There's a whole team of folks here willing to help if you'd just let us.”
“What don't you understand?” Valentina shrieked, hysterical. “There is no helping against those things! They'll keep coming and coming until everyone is gone! We can't count on each other. We can only count on ourselves!”
Andrew moved up beside Clarissa.
“Valentina.” Clarissa shot him a look, but Andrew held up his hands in a gesture of peace: I'll be good. Clarissa blinked a reluctant go-ahead. “I know you're a smart girl,” he said, “and I don't ask this to belittle you, but don't you see the flaw in your plan?”
Valentina crossed her arms defiantly but uncrossed them just as quickly.
“You can't avoid sleep, and not only that, taking what you've been taking only exacerbates the sleep process, as I'm sure you're well aware of by now. When you crash, you're in such an unconscious state you become even more defenseless. You may feel invincible while you're high, but the price you pay on the back end, especially now, could cost you dearly.”
“It's worked for me so far,” she sneered.
“Yeah, so far. But we've managed to achieve the same result you have by watching over each other, which is to say without the aid of drugs.”
“But how do you know?” Valentina was almost crying. “How do you know we haven't just been lucky? Those things could be waiting for the right moment. They could be watching, just looking for the right time to take you! But they can't do it if they don't have the chance.”
Andrew gave Clarissa a look of pure hopelessness. Valentina would not be swayed. She was too far gone, too convinced of her illusion to see it for what it was.
Clarissa was despondent. If Valentina couldn't accept base logic, what hope did she have? Eventually, her body would give out from exhaustion, and when that happened, it was anyone's guess what effect it would have on both her mental and physical health. She would require help, and hospitals weren't exactly readily available. Valentina needed to recognize the seriousness of what she was doing to herself, and Clarissa was running out of ways to convince her.
“You're right, Val, we don't know for sure,” she said. “No one does. We're all doing the best we can, just like you. But unlike you, we're not hurting ourselves to assure that nothing happens to us. Whether or not watching over one another while we sleep actually works, the reality is that we're all still here. That can't be luck. It can't be. I believe it's because we've learned. We've adapted. And we can continue to do so. We'll get through this.” She stepped toward Valentina, who flinched and backed away. Clarissa stopped and held up her hands: I won't come any closer.
“We've got a lead that lots of other people don't have. We know where Rosenstein is. We know that they may have an answer to all of this. Is it a long shot? Sure. But it's better than nothing. We just have to stick it out and trust that we'll find a solution to our problems.”
Valentina giggled, but it was the laugh of lunacy. “It's a ruse, Clar. Don't you see that? No one can help us. No one's got any answers.” She slipped the purse strap over her shoulder. “We're all on our own.”
Valentina pushed past Clarissa on her way to the front door.
“Whoa,” Clarissa said, taking her arm. “What're you doing?”
“I'm leaving, that's what I'm doing. You don't need me, and I sure as shit don't need you.”
“Val, you're talking crazy. You can't leave. Come on.”
“Fucking watch me.”
Valentina wrenched her arm free, but Andrew blocked her path before she could take ano
ther step.
“You're acting irrationally,” he said. “Take a minute to catch your breath and think things through.”
“I don't need to catch my breath! Get out of my way.”
Andrew didn't budge. Valentina's eyes flitted wildly to each person in the room, all of whom were now on their feet, their faces flush with distress.
“Am I a prisoner now?” she hollered. “Is that it? You going to lock me up?”
“Of course not,” Clarissa said, tears of desperation forming in her eyes. “We're just looking out for you. That's all.”
“Well, I don't need anyone to look out for me!”
Turning from Andrew, Valentina charged over to the room's fireplace. She crashed into its toolset, knocking it over, then groped like a madwoman for the poker. Once she had it in hand, she stood and held it out threateningly.
“Val!” Clarissa admonished.
The intervention was over.
“Out of my way!” Valentina shrieked. She swung the poker and nearly hit Rachel in the head. Rachel stumbled backward and fell beside Elenora, who clutched the baby protectively to her chest. “I don't need you people anymore! You hear me? I don't need you!”
She swung again and connected with a lamp, which arced across the room.
“Val, please,” Clarissa begged. “Think about what you're doing. Think about what will happen to you if you leave—”
“I'm done thinking, and I'm done talking! Now move!”
She stepped up to Andrew and hoisted the poker over her shoulder. Andrew glared at her, stone-faced. Perhaps he thought she would wind down if he stood there long enough, but Valentina was committed. She held the poker aloft and flinched a few false starts to get across her seriousness. When it was clear no one would dissuade her, Andrew stepped aside.
She double-timed it to the door, snatching up a backpack that contained her belongings along the way. Without another word or a final glance, she ripped open the door and charged into the darkness of late evening.
Clarissa exploded with grief. “Val!”
She sprinted headlong for the door, but Andrew was there to intercept her. She flailed and kicked and fought against his hold. When it appeared she might free herself, Jon stepped in to offer a second pair of overpowering arms.
