***
Lucy was pouring a cup of tea when she was overcome by a sudden feeling of extreme nausea. Her vision went out of focus and all immediate noises were replaced by the sound of rushing water in her ears. The sensation vanished as suddenly as it had come on and she found herself on her knees in the centre of the kitchen surrounded by a puddle of vomit.
She attempted to stand, but doing so sent her head spinning once more. Rather than try again she instead slid herself across the floor until she was able to put her back up against one of the kitchen cabinets.
Emmy had given her a mobile phone, which she kept in her pocket. She was pretty sure that under the rules of the facility it was not allowed, but being the girlfriend of Dr Emmy Rayne came with certain special privileges. She pressed the quick dial for her lover but it went straight to voicemail.
‘Shit – why do you have to be so busy?’ she said.
The only other person she could think to call was the doctor in charge of her rehabilitation program. She had his number written down in her diary and it was on speed-dial on the apartment phone. The diary was in the bedroom, which was closer, so that is where she went. In her current state she wanted to lie down as soon as the call was over with.
She did not make the call.
Her diary also contained the details for her diet and exercise regime as well as notes the doctor had given her regarding her three years spent in a comatose state. It was the latter that now caught her attention. She soon forgot about the nausea and the doctor became the last person with whom she wished to speak.
***
‘Emmy?’
The voice was familiar, but it was not Charlie’s.
‘Lucas?’
Her old friend was standing in the doorway to her laboratory in Jackson’s Hill. He had always been superstitious of that room and she could only recall one time that he had crossed the threshold. That had been the day he died.
Lucas was dead. The observatory was gone. This was another echo.
‘I’m sorry, but I can’t stay and chat – not that you can even hear me anyway,’ she said as she pushed past him and into the hallway.
‘Charlie?’ she called out.
There was no answer from within the observatory and she was not about to waste time walking into town to look for him. She closed her eyes and concentrated on a place, a moment where she knew he would be. Somewhere not so close to her dreaded past.
When she opened her eyes she was back in her current laboratory. Charlie was talking to her about bringing Dr Stark back onto the team. It was another rerun, but that was not important. All she needed was Charlie. She placed her hand on his shoulder and was transported in an instant into the heart of his time-stream.
Something was wrong.
As with when she had performed the same act on Lucy, she found herself surrounded by many depictions of Charlie throughout his life. The problem was that there was not nearly enough and they were all memories. There was no live feed adding to it. Then she realised why there were too few of him. The only moments from Charlie’s life that she could see were from the times that she had been with him. He was still alive and therefore his memories had not yet uploaded to this place. He was now present only as a part of her memory – which meant that...
A crash of lightning interrupted her thoughts and then she was back in the projection pod.
‘Emmy, are you okay?’ called Charlie.
She slid out of the unit and saw her friend standing at the control station with Dr Stark and two of the lab technicians.
‘I’m fine,’ she replied. Then added; ‘I am back this time, aren’t I?’
‘Yes,’ replied Charlie. ‘This is all real. Where did you go?’
‘Where did I go? – Where did you go?’
‘Nowhere,’ he said. ‘Once the wormhole opened I woke up. I thought the alien must have somehow rejected me and forced my consciousness back. I assumed the same would have happened to you, but when I saw that it didn’t, I pulled you out myself. Did it work? Did you go to the alien afterlife?’
She shook her head.
‘I went to the same place as before. I ended up back at Jackson’s Hill. No aliens there.’
‘We must have missed something,’ said Charlie. ‘What could we have done wrong?’
‘I don’t know. And right now I’m not in too much of a hurry to find out. Three levels of consciousness in as many minutes really takes it out of a girl, don’t you know? I think I’ll take the rest of the day off.’
‘That’s fine by me,’ said Charlie, who then turned to Dr Stark for her input.
‘Would my opinion matter either way?’ Constance asked.
‘Not one iota,’ replied Emmy.
‘Then for what it’s worth, I think you should go home too. Oh, and you got a call on your mobile while you were away. You may want to check your voicemail.’
‘Thanks,’ said Emmy.
She checked the device. There was a missed call from Lucy but no voicemail. She did, however, have a text message from the same. It simply read; sorry.
‘Are you okay?’ asked Charlie, noticing the worry in his colleague’s expression.
‘I’m fine, it’s probably nothing. I better give Lucy a call though, just in case.’
She dialled the number, but received no answer. A feeling of unease deep in the pit of her stomach was becoming more and more persistent.
‘Are you sure you’re okay?’ asked Charlie. ‘You don’t look it.’
‘I’m fine, I just need to get hold of Lucy but she isn’t picking up her phone.’
She tried ringing both of their apartments, but got no response on either line.
‘Something is definitely wrong,’ said Charlie. ‘The colour has drained completely from your face. Do you think Lucy may be in trouble – is that it?’
‘I don’t know. I just know that something isn’t right. I feel like...’ she tried to clear her mind and recall the last time she had experienced this kind of feeling. Then it hit her. It hit her hard. She felt just like she used to when projecting the tulpa.
Chapter 27
Leaders are not chosen because they make the right decisions. Leaders are chosen because they make the quick decisions. Being a policeman is no different. A good cop does not always know how to act, but a good cop should always know when to act. Hesitation is the downfall of all who possess power.
Lucas’ long wait was over. Emmy Rayne was standing right in front of him. She was real. She was in the moment. She was within his grasp. And then...
...He hesitated.
He allowed Emmy to walk straight past him and out of existence. Well, this existence anyway. Jimmy had been telling the truth. There was a link between the two states of being. Emmy had found a way to travel between these worlds at will.
The boy was in The Sly Fox. Most of the town was in The Sly Fox. In establishing order Lucas had created a town full of alcoholics. It may not have been his best decision, but it was one that he had made. That was all that mattered, after all. When decisions were required, he had only to make one – right or wrong, it made no difference.
‘Hey, Jimmy, do you have a moment?’
‘Sure, Lucas, anything for you,’ the boy replied. He then quickly added; ‘I’m not in trouble, am I?’
‘No, Jimmy, you’re not in trouble. I actually have a gift for you. I can’t give it to you here though. We have to go to the station.’
‘Okay. Are we going in your police car?’
‘Not today. I know how you always like to ride in it, but I thought we could walk this time.’
Lucas led the boy out of the pub and fell into step alongside him as they walked up the hill towards the police station. It was a slightly overcast morning. Warm not hot. To the town’s residents it was a rare respite from the usual intensity of an unshielded sun in this remote part of the outback.
‘Are you happy?’ asked Lucas.
‘I guess so,’ replied Jimmy.
‘You
shouldn’t have to guess. If you had to give a definite yes or no, which would it be?’
Jimmy stopped for a moment. Moving and thinking were often mutually exclusive in his world.
‘In that case, I would have to say no. The way I see it, we aren’t supposed to be happy. Is that the right answer, officer?’
‘There is no right or wrong answer, Jimmy. I’m intrigued as to why you think we aren’t supposed to be happy though.’
‘Well, take Christmas. Everybody says it’s the happiest day of the year, but I always find it a little underwhelming. Every day leading up to it gets more and more exciting, but when the actual day comes I always kind of wish I could go back to the day before. I like the excitement – the knowing that something amazing is about to happen.’
‘But you just said that Christmas isn’t amazing. That it fails to live up to your expectations.’
‘I know, but we never remember it that way. We always remember the feelings we had beforehand. That’s why it’s always exciting each time even though we’ll be left disappointed on the day.’
‘So you’re saying that life is really all about expectations and memories; that the moment itself doesn’t really matter?’
Jimmy stared back blankly.
‘I thought I was talking about Christmas.’
‘You were, Jimmy, I just got a little ahead of myself. I do have another question for you though.’
‘Is it about Easter?’
‘No, it’s not about Easter. I want to know if you are happy today- just this one day.’
Jimmy looked around before giving a definite answer this time.
‘No.’
‘Why not?’ asked Lucas. ‘It’s the weekend, the weather is great and you don’t have to go to work. You’re free to spend it however you want.’
‘No, today is like Christmas,’ said Jimmy. ‘I wait all week looking forward to the weekend, but when it comes I never know what to do with myself and I end up just doing nothing. In a way, yesterday was better because I was looking forward to today. Tomorrow, I’ll be looking back wishing it was still today, but now I’m here it doesn’t seem all that special.’
‘The bad days define the good,’ added Lucas.
‘I didn’t say today was a bad day,’ replied Jimmy.
‘I know.’
They continued the rest of the way without talking any further and then as they got to the door of the station Jimmy turned to Lucas and asked; ‘Will this gift you have for me be like Christmas?’ he asked. ‘I’m starting to get excited, which means whatever you have might be a let-down.’
‘I assure you that this particular gift will not disappoint.’
‘What is it?’
Lucas smiled, but his eyes were faraway, not focused on the boy in front of him.
‘I’m going to give you back your yesterdays. It’ll be Christmas eve again.’
Jimmy did not understand, but neither did he question it. They were at the station now and Lucas would explain it all soon enough. The policeman gestured for him to enter the building first. As Jimmy turned his back to do so he neither heard nor saw the gun as it ejected a bullet into the base of his skull.
***
The door to the apartment had been left ajar. Emmy ran inside and rushed through each room in turn. What she found merely confirmed her suspicions.
‘Is anything missing?’ asked Charlie, who entered after her with less urgency.
‘Yes,’ replied Emmy. ‘Lucy is missing. She’s emptied out most of her drawers and there has been some food taken from the fridge. She may have left in a hurry, but it’s obvious she’s not planning to return.’
‘This makes no sense – did you guys have an argument?’
‘No. The past few weeks have been going better than I could’ve hoped. We were happy together. At least I thought we were. This just doesn’t make any sense.’
‘It might not be what you think. You should try calling her again.’
Emmy took out her phone and hit the quick dial. Immediately, a ringing could be heard from the bedroom. Emmy threw down her phone in frustration and collapsed onto the sofa. Charlie went to the bedroom. Moments later he came back with Lucy’s phone and an open plastic box.
‘I found this,’ he said. ‘It looks like medical supplies. She wasn’t taking any psychotropics, was she?’
‘No, nothing serious. That’s just the standard kit they have in all the rooms. Headache pills, plasters, antiseptic cream – they even threw in a pregnancy test. Like we’d need one of those.’
‘Not in this one. There are condoms though. I guess whoever packed this really didn’t know you guys.’
‘Let me see that.’
Emmy snatched the kit from Charlie’s hands and rummaged through it, spilling much of the contents onto the floor.
‘This makes no sense,’ she said. ‘It has to be here.’
Clearly vexed, she put down the medical box and then went into the bathroom. When she came back out, Charlie noted that she appeared to be in a state of shock. She was carrying something in her right hand.
‘Emmy, are you okay?’ he asked.
‘It’s positive,’ she replied, her face ashen and her voice weak. ‘She’s pregnant. Lucy is pregnant!’
***
‘Did you just shoot me?’ asked Jimmy, stroking the back of his head.
There was no wound. No scar. Not even an itch.
‘Maybe a little,’ replied Lucas.
‘A little? What does that mean? Am I dead?’
Lucas placed his hat on the stand and sat down at his desk. He reached into the bottom drawer and took out a full bottle of whisky and two glasses, which he filled almost to the brim. The bottle was still full when he placed it onto the desk top.
‘Don’t worry,’ he said, handing one of the glasses to Jimmy. ‘It can’t get you drunk. It does taste good though. Really good.’
Jimmy was hesitant at first, but once the liquid touched his lips he had an overwhelming urge to drink it. He downed the contents in one and held out the glass for Lucas to top it up. Once more he noted that as the liquid filled his glass it did not lower the level in the bottle.
‘Why do you refill the glass?’ Jimmy asked. ‘Can’t that just be never-ending too?’
‘Very observant of you,’ replied Lucas. ‘To tell you the truth, I don’t really know the answer myself. I asked the professor once and he just told me that sometimes expectations will override the cleverest self deception.’
Jimmy glanced uncomfortably over each shoulder.
‘You mean Professor Fox?’
Lucas nodded.
‘What do you know about him, Jimmy?’ he then asked.
‘I...don’t...know,’ replied the boy, struggling with his memory as well as his words. ‘I know that he was dangerous though. Is he here?’
‘No, but I know where he is. Don’t worry, he can’t hurt anybody. We took care of that.’
‘We?’
‘Everything will be clear in a moment. Drink some more whisky. That usually helps. It’s never taken you more than a couple of minutes in the past.’
Jimmy did as he was told and by the time he got to the end of his third glass most of his memory had returned. Lucas had done this before. Jimmy knew it was because of loneliness. Lucas would always pretend that he was checking on people to see if they were okay, if they wanted to carry on deceiving themselves, but Jimmy knew that Lucas was really worried about himself. He was the one that needed monitoring.
Jimmy studied the policeman for a moment, trying to figure out what could have changed. One of the benefits of not being tied to his physical body was a drastic increase in his IQ. Back in life his brain was not wired quite how it should have been. In death he no longer had a brain or the constraints that a faulty one brought with it.
‘Just before you pulled the trigger, you asked me if I was happy,’ said Jimmy.
Lucas shrugged, inviting the boy to elaborate.
‘You’ve never asked t
hat question before and I think I know why,’ continued Jimmy.
‘Go on,’ urged Lucas.
‘It’s obvious. You don’t ask if we’re happy because you know that we have no real choice. You can’t change anything.’ He then paused for a moment, before adding; ‘unless this time you can.’
‘And how do you think I might do that?’ asked Lucas.
Jimmy thought for a moment. Lucas only changed things when he was forced to do so. When somebody new turned up in his ghost town. Since every one of the infected townspeople was now a part of Lucas’ elaborate fantasy world this could mean only one thing.
‘She came back, didn’t she?’ said Jimmy. ‘You’ve found Emmy.’
Chapter 28
Though Lucy was not a prisoner and no laws had been broken by her leaving, the entire complex was put on high alert following her reported absence. Emmy insisted Lucy be treated as a missing person and that a search be conducted to ascertain her whereabouts. The scientist was also in a state of shock, which did not go unnoticed by Charlie.
‘You should try to get some rest,’ he told her. ‘You’re still a little groggy from this morning’s session. You’ll be able to function much better with a clear head.’
‘No, I need to do something,’ she replied. ‘I need to find Lucy.’
Charlie could see the determination in his friend, which merely reinforced his own conviction to urge caution. He had witnessed first-hand the trouble Emmy could cause when she let her emotions rule her. Back in Jackson’s Hill she had once overloaded the town’s power supply because of a homophobic taunt. That was playground stuff compared to what she was now going through.
He needed to deter her from doing something stupid. It was clear that in order to do so he would need words as powerful as her determination. Their friendship was strong, but sometimes with even the closest of bonds, it was necessary to walk a line.
‘Have you considered that maybe she doesn’t want to be found?’ he asked.
Diamond Sky Trilogy Box Set: Books 1-3 Page 78
