by Rik Johnston
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
I
FAITH RESTORED
SATURDAY, AUGUST 2, 1980
Tuesday reappeared in Bellingham Washington in the year 1980, Megan Ackerman was still waiting in her hiding place, still looking scared. Tuesday had aligned her departure and arrival so that they were almost seamless events, so to Megan’s point of view, she had returned at almost the same second she left. Megan seemed both relieved and perplexed at the same time, running out from her hiding place to greet Tuesday.
“Is that thing gone?” Megan asked, somewhat frantically. “Will it be back?”
“No.” Tuesday chuckled, feeling a sense of relief herself. “I don’t think we’ll ever see that thing again.”
“Who are you?” Megan questioned Tuesday excitedly.
“Look, we don’t have a lot of time together.” Tuesday explained, trying to impress upon Megan the importance of the situation. “There are things that I need to talk to you about.”
“I don’t even know you.” Megan said dismissively, trying to understand what the urgency was all about. “Why do you have to talk to me so badly?”
“There are just some things you have to take on faith.” Tuesday said, recalling something her mother once told her. “This is one of those things.
Megan suddenly seemed less suspicious and more relaxed, open to conversation with Tuesday. Looking at the girl now, Megan felt a familiarity with her, one that she didn’t share with a lot of people. She realized that this girl, whatever it was she came to tell her, might be important enough to listen to, so she opened her mind and decided that faith would lead her.
“Okay, first thing you need to do is not go to that party tonight.” Tuesday said in a tone of authority. “If you continue the path that you’re on, if you go to that party, you will find nothing but pain and suffering. This is a moment that will define and change your life for the worse.”
“I don’t understand.” Megan queried, prying for a more obvious answer. “What do you mean by a defining moment?”
Tuesday knew that she was going to have to spell it out for her. It seemed as if whatever had happened with her before ConcepTech had already taken hold. Doctor Frederiksen said that the test subjects he picked were all drug abusers that nobody would miss. She hated to think that her mother could have already been that far gone. “If you go to that party, you will be kidnapped and gang raped.” Tuesday announced, hoping that Megan would take the meaning of it clearly and plainly.
“Don’t be so dramatic.” Megan retorted, feigning ignorance of the thought that such an event was within the realm of probability.
“I’m not being dramatic.” Tuesday countered, trying her best to bring Megan up to speed on the situation. “You’ve been taking this experimental drug, and the experiment is a failure. Those guys you came here with, they were hired to rape you and throw you in a ravine to die.”
“Wait? What?!” Megan asked, shocked by the conversation that this girl was having with her. “How do you know all of this?”
“The man you were dating, Daniel.” Tuesday explained, trying not to sound insensitive. “He didn’t leave you because you were on a drug. He left because the two of you were pawns in an experiment, and he cared about you too much to let that company hurt you by forcing you to have a child together and taking it away. He decided to leave to protect you. And they killed him for it.”
“How do you know about Daniel?” Megan questioned Tuesday, becoming a little frightened. “Who are you?”
“I am your daughter.” Tuesday answered, the truth reflecting in her eyes.
Megan started to become anxious, as if the events of the evening had taken their toll on her. “You can’t be my daughter.” She stated, trying to make light of everything. “I’m not old enough to have a child your age.
“Again, faith.” Tuesday commented.
Megan sat quietly for a moment, considering everything that Tuesday had said to her, running the possibilities through her mind. In the end, she decided that after all she had seen tonight, listening to a girl who fought a giant black monster with flaming fists was in her best interests.
“The next thing you need to do is kick the drugs.” Tuesday commanded to Megan. “You’re not just hurting yourself, you’re hurting everybody around you.”
“You don’t know what I’ve been through.” Megan replied, trying to justify her actions to Tuesday. “It hurts too much, and I’d rather not deal with it.”
“You have to deal with it!” Tuesday continued, “My life depends on it.”
“So, let’s say that you really are my daughter?” Megan asked, looking for answers to Tuesday’s existence in her world. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m trying to rescue you!” Tuesday said, frustrated. “If you go to that party, these guys will rape you and you will become pregnant with me.”
“Oh, I see.” Megan responded, looking Tuesday up and down. “You seem like the kind of kid that a parent would be proud of.”
“If you have me, one day I will be forced to kill you.” Tuesday lamented, expressing the sadness of her loss. “I can’t let that happen. I love you too much to let that happen when I can save your life right now!”
“You’ll kill me?” Megan asked quizzically, wondering what Tuesday meant by that. “Isn’t it your choice if you kill me or not?”
“No! I won’t have a choice!” Tuesday replied, feeling anxious about reliving the whole event over again. “You will die, and I will be adopted sooner or later by the man you loved, and I must continue to deal with a manipulative psychopath.”
Megan suddenly went into full-blown panic mode, as she realizes that the information she is being given is too much for her to process. Tuesday continues to urge her to not attend the party.
“Take what things you have with you, don’t go home.” Tuesday cautioned Megan. “Move south to a town called Cadence Falls. There is a police officer there that frequents a diner called Tuck’s named Douglas Downe. He will fall in love with you, but only when you are clean and sober. He can protect you. Do not come back here for any reason.”
Megan suddenly realizes the truth of the matter. “If I don’t go to that party, you will never exist.” Megan said, sharing her epiphany with Tuesday.
“That’s a necessary risk.” Tuesday confessed, tears welling in her eyes a little bit. “But I need to do this to save you! Please, Mom. Understand that I have to do this.
“I can’t allow you to trade your life for mine!” Megan shot back, trying to level with the teenager in front of her. “No matter what the cost is.”
Tuesday suddenly realized that it was going to take more than pleading to make Megan see her point of view, she needed to give a full explanation of what the problem is. “I have a gift, which is more like a curse.” Tuesday began, trying to explain it thoroughly in as few words as she could. “But it can be exploited and used in evil ways. I don’t want to live my life like that. They are coming and when they figure out how to get to where I am physically at, they will wake me up and I will be arrested and tried for murder. Don’t you understand, I’ve killed people! I’ve tainted my soul, and this is the only way to cheat the Devil. He cannot own a soul that never existed! Please, Mom. Just go to Cadence Falls and spare both of our lives!”
Megan sat down, thinking long and hard about what the girl claiming to be her daughter just told her. She knew there was truth in Tuesday’s words, and knew what had to be done, even if she didn’t have the courage to do it. Megan knew if that was a pivotal moment in her life, where a change had to be made, this was going to be the moment. And it would be something she would hold onto for the rest of her life.
II
A RACE AGAINST TIME
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1995
After deliberating over what should be done about the water in the corridor, the police decided that the best course of action was to bust through a wall on the opposite s
ide of the corridor, unlock the door and bridge the water with some heavy two by fours, so they could use the battering ram to get the door open.
The police used the battering ram on the wall, breaking a large hole in it, allowing them access to the adjacent office. Douglas Downe arrived on the scene shortly after Doctor Frederiksen’s tragic tumble down Cadence Falls. The other officers explained to him that Tuesday was allegedly responsible for the death of the therapist, but he would not believe that. They had primarily called him on scene to see if they could convince her to open the door and surrender.
The Captain handed Douglas the bullhorn and told him that it was imperative that he convinced her to open the door for them so they could process the scene of the crime. Reluctantly, Douglas took hold of the bullhorn and began talking to her while the other officers began bridging the gap to the office of Doctor Frederiksen.
“You know, Tuesday.” Douglas began. “I’m sorry about what went down with your Mom. I wished I had gotten a better opportunity with her, to see who she really was. I was just finding out about her, and about you when she died. So, you do what you gotta do, and I’ll have your back out here, okay? I love you, kid!”
The Captain immediately ripped the bullhorn from Douglas’ hand, as the police just finished bridging the gap to bring in the battering ram. Michelle smiled, relishing the thought of Tuesday Moxley finally getting her comeuppance at long last.
III
A DAUGHTER’S LOVE
SATURDAY, AUGUST 2, 1980
Tuesday’s thoughts turned toward Doctor Frederiksen’s office for a brief second, and realized that they were getting close to breaking down the door. When that happened, the only obstacle left in their way would be the door to the hypnosis chamber, which was still being protected by The Nightmare as a last line of defense. She sent a thought to The Nightmare and instructed it not to harm a single soul coming into that room, only to frighten them away.
“Look Mom, we haven’t much time, so I need you to listen.” Tuesday began, time was ticking by quickly, and she hoped that she would have the opportunity to say everything that needed to be said. “Promise me that you will get off the drugs and get yourself back into school. Find a good career doing something you love to do.”
“I won’t disappoint you, I promise.” Megan said, tears starting to stream down her face.
Back in the corridor, the police broke through the door to Doctor Frederiksen’s office with the battering ram and streamed into the area to arrest Tuesday. They found no sign of the young girl, but instead found two other things they did not expect. The first was another door, sealed tightly, almost as if the wood had fused itself together and had become one solid piece with the wall. The second, and this was the more disturbing of the two, was a large ghastly white creature, covered in what appeared to be human blood, and it was guarding the door. In all their years on the police force, they had never seen anything like it, nor would they ever see such a thing again. Gathering their courage and their nightsticks, they charged headlong into the creature, pounding away at it, and until enough of them could keep it occupied to get the door open. It didn’t seem to have any inclination toward harming the police, but it certainly wasn’t going to allow them anywhere near that door.
Tuesday could sense that her time with her mother was drawing to a close, and if she couldn’t accomplish her task before the police reached her, then her life was going to become more unmanageable than it had ever been. She would not allow that to happen.
IV
ANOTHER TOKEN FOR THE FUTURE
Megan Ackerman exhaled a deep breath, and she knew that it was time to make her decision. Tuesday looked down at Winston, who she had almost forgotten was with her the entire time, and realized that this was something that needed passed down to Megan’s children one day. Though Tuesday might not live on, that ratty old bear certainly would.
“One day, you’re going to have another child.” Tuesday promised Megan, her eyes full of tears. “You will be a great mother, and your daughter will bring you joy! I want her to have this.”
Tuesday extended her arms, in a moment of complete selflessness, and offered Winston to Megan. Megan gently plucked the teddy bear from Tuesday’s hands, as tears rolled down her cheeks. “Thank you.” Megan simply said, fighting back the full flow of her tears.
“His name is Winston.” Tuesday explained. “I named him after a pack of cigarettes you bought the same day you bought him. I know your daughter will take excellent care of Winston. Every time you look at him, remember your promise.”
Megan can no longer contain her emotions, as she lets go of the pain of her past, letting it run down her face in salty streams of emotion. She gripped Winston tightly, turning to walk away from the block where the party was happening. “I will always remember.” Megan called back to Tuesday. “I will remember how you gave your life to save mine!”
Without thinking, while there was one last minute of time left, Tuesday ran to Megan Ackerman and hugged her tightly. The two of them let go of one another and shared some tears as they walked toward the Amtrak station that would take Megan south to Cadence Falls.
As soon as Megan stepped up and bought the ticket for the train, Tuesday vanished into the night.
“Can I get a name for the ticket, please?” The ticket agent asked Megan, getting everything in order.
Megan thought about it for a second, and then replied.
“Megan Moxley, please.” She answered
The train arrived and Megan took a leap of faith that led her to the most wonderful times of her life, stretched out ahead of her in ways that she couldn’t imagine.
EPILOGUE
A NEW DAY DAWNS
(SIXTEEN YEARS LATER)
