Static Mayhem

by Edward Aubry

  "Where did you get this stuff?" Harrison asked.

  "The tunnel opens out on the side of a mountain," said Alec. "About two klicks downhill, there's a flat. It appeared to be uninhabited, so I helped myself to the coats. It's heated, so we should probably relocate there as soon as we can."

  Somewhere in there, Harrison got lost. "A flat?" he said. He was picturing a heated plateau.

  "Sorry," said Alec. "Uhhh, an apartment building."

  "An apartment? Where'd it come from?" He had assumed that the island would be totally undeveloped. It hadn't existed before, so there should have been nothing left over on it.

  "New York, I suspect. We'll have to take a closer look if you're that curious, but my best guess is that it was dragged here by the mayhem effect."

  "Well," said Harrison. "That's new."

  "I think I know where we are," Alec said.

  "Counterbomb Island?"

  Alec frowned. "Yes, actually. I thought you'd be at least a bit surprised."

  Harrison looked back at the boat. "Apryl's still out," he said. "We should wait until she's able to move."

  "Suit yourself," said Alec. "You should be aware that it's winter here, and the sun has already set. Not that you asked, but I pegged our position by the constellations. The coats will help, but it's not going to get any warmer in here."

  "Or any colder," Harrison countered. "We're pretty far removed from the elements. I'd like to be sure we're not endangering her by moving her." He looked over his shoulder at his crew, who were gratefully donning their coats. "Why don't you and Hadley take the kids down," he suggested. "I'll stay here with Apryl and Jeannette."

  "Right," said Alec. "What about the pixie?"

  Harrison looked at Glimmer. "Leave her here," he said. "We need to have a talk." There was a tinge of bitterness in Harrison's voice that Alec let pass without comment. He rounded up Claudia and Jake, and took them back down the tunnel.

  "You coming?" Jake asked.

  "Soon," Harrison said. He was watching Glimmer warm her nine fingers over the fading rock. Once everyone else was out of earshot, he joined her, extending his hands and rubbing them together. He did not look at her face.

  "How long have you known that setting off the bomb would kill Apryl?" he asked.

  She did not respond. He waited for her to deny it, silently pleading for her to pretend, at least, to be shocked.

  "I figured it out the day after we set sail," she finally said.

  They stood in cold silence for a while.

  "When were you going to tell me?"

  "Wasn't. Didn't see the point."

  "Ah. I thought we were past secrets, you and I."

  "Really? What's that on your finger?"

  Guilt and rage competed for the prize of being his primary state of mind. Rage won. "This isn't about me."

  "Oh, bullshit!" she said. "Everything is about you! You think I haven't noticed that little toy? You accepted a faerie gift! From the Queen, no less! I've been fretting about that ever since we left Faerie, but have I said anything? Now you're on my case because I didn't say, 'Hey, Harry, by the way, we have to kill your girlfriend.' How the hell was I supposed to handle that?"

  "I don't know."

  There were glitter stains on her face. "Well, me, either," she said. "Are you going to tell her?"

  He did not want to think about that. "No."

  The pixie looked up at him. He sat down on the cold stone floor so she wouldn't have to look so high. "Do you love her?" she asked.

  He sighed. "I don't know," he said. "I was hoping for a chance to find out." He brushed a tear from her face, gently, with his pinky. "How did you figure it out?"

  "The Queen told me we weren't all coming back," she said. "I assumed she meant me. I think I would have been all right with that." She looked away. "After we got to the ocean, though, I started to notice little things. Magic things. I don't think I could explain it." She looked back up. "I'm really sorry, Harry."

  "I know," he said. "I know it's been eating you up. Is that why your wings faded?"

  She shrugged, and looked away. "I'm the last pixie," she said. "It's a wonder I was able to keep them up as long as I did."

  "Harrison?" Jeannette called. He marveled at her exquisitely bad timing.

  "Yes?" he said.

  "Apryl's stirring."

  He looked at Glimmer. "Go," she whispered.

  He hopped up and jogged back to the boat. In the dim light, he could see Apryl sitting up. She yawned. "Hey, Sleepyhead," he said.

  She smiled. "Hey, Beautiful."

  Harrison felt his throat constrict. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

  "Groggy. I must be fighting something off."

  He nodded. "Can we move her?" he asked Jeannette.

  She shrugged. "Anyone's guess, but I don't see why not."

  "Well then," he said, "Alec found us a house. Let's get you into a proper bed." He looked down at the pixie. "Glimmer knows …" He caught himself, and almost forgot what he was going to say.

  "Glimmer knows the way."

  Chapter Forty-Two:

  Gryphon Tower

  Harrison emerged from the cold, dark cave to the colder, darker outdoors. He felt a momentary unease. It was early winter where they were, and the middle of the night. The bitter cold and stinging wind had not been able to touch them in the cave, but now they were exposed to it, and, worse, the light from Gizmo and Glimmer, which had been sufficient to lead them through the tunnel, was now being swallowed by the sky. The faint sliver of moon was no help at all.

  "Whoa," said Apryl. She had been leaning on him, and now faltered, leaning harder.

  "Shh," he said. "I've got you." He held her close for a few moments, concerned that she was fainting again.

  "I'm all right," she said.

  Hearing her, he realized she was only reacting to the cold and the dark. She couldn't have known that he was worried about more than that. He winced, grateful that she couldn't properly see his face. Keeping her situation secret from her while keeping them all safe was pulling him at right angles. He could already feel himself losing his balance.

  They said nothing else the rest of the walk. Breathing evenly was trouble enough. That was the excuse, but Harrison was happy to grab it. Glimmer was still able to give directions, because she didn't need to breathe to talk and Jeannette carried her. After nowhere near as long as it seemed, they came to the building Alec had discovered. In the dark, in fact, they managed to get very close to it before Harrison got a good look at it. It startled him.

  At first he thought they must have found another building altogether, perhaps even gotten lost and separated from the rest of the group. He was looking up at a small, three-story building. It was blocky, with a stoop and identically placed windows on all three floors.

  "We're here," said Glimmer. Jeannette kept walking, right up to the stoop. Harrison stopped. He almost contradicted her. Surely, he thought, this can't be what Alec meant by a flat. Then he realized that Alec had been referring to the apartment where he found the coats, not the entire building. Harrison had been expecting a one-story house. One more mistake, he thought, but at least I'm learning how to make them without anyone else knowing. They all went inside.

  The warmth inside curled around Harrison like an electric blanket. He breathed it in deeply, and saw the others doing the same thing. The building turned out to include three apartments, each taking up an entire floor. They were small, one-bedroom affairs, fully furnished, and had obviously been inhabited before the building and its occupants had been sundered and relocated. Hadley was waiting for them just inside the front door and explained that he and Alec had already decided on their sleeping arrangements. The two of them, plus Jake, had already claimed the first floor, Jeannette and Claudia got the second floor, and the top floor was for Harrison and Apryl. He appreciated that they had given him whatever honor they imagined the top would represent, but all he could consider right then was Apryl having to climb three flights of
stairs.

  "What about me?" asked Glimmer.

  Hadley looked at Harrison. He had left that decision to him, by design or accident. His calm expression made Harrison think it must be the former. Harrison's relationship with Glimmer was undeniably complex, and his people had finally come to understand that. No one would dare presume to bunk her with Harrison and Apryl, and no one would dare presume to bunk her anywhere else.

  "Why don't you stay with the women?" he finally said. Jeannette was already holding her, which afforded at least one less bit of awkwardness. Glimmer nodded, and offered Harrison a smile, but even at her small scale, he could see it was a sad one.

  "G'night," she said, and blew him a kiss. It sparkled off the palm of her hand, and made it about halfway to his face before dissipating. Jeannette took her upstairs.

  Hadley climbed with Harrison and Apryl up to their apartment. "There's a bed and a foldout couch," he told them. "We changed the sheets on both. There are also plenty of blankets. We left them out in piles, so you can make your beds up as you like them." Harrison continued to be impressed with the thoughtfulness of his team. He would have remarked on it, but all he wanted to think about was getting Apryl upstairs into a warm bed and letting her sleep. That, and one other thing.

  "I'm going to get Apryl to bed right away," he said. "Then I need your opinion on a few things. Are Alec and Jake asleep?"

  Hadley raised his eyebrows. "No," he said. "Alec is still inventorying the place. He has Jake cleaning out refrigerators. They did yours first," he added. He looked confused. "I'm sorry, but are you saying you want to do this tonight? I thought you'd want your rest. I was about to retire myself."

  Harrison shook his head. "No, I'm fine," he said. "I just want to bounce some ideas around before I crash. Let's meet in your place. I'll be down in a few minutes."

  "Yes," said Hadley. "All right. I … Fine. That's fine." Harrison left him standing in the hall as he took Apryl inside and shut the door.

  "You can take the bedroom," he said, then took off his coat and tossed it into a chair. He looked up to see her staring at him with undisguised shock.

  "What was that?" she asked.

  This baffled Harrison. "What was what?"

  "Hadley!" she said. "You just … I don't know. That was just weird." Harrison looked at the closed door, then back to Apryl. She screwed up her mouth. "That just seemed …" She paused, obviously frustrated. "It's not my place to question your leadership, is it?"

  Harrison opened his mouth, closed it, then took a few seconds to think of an answer. He did not have one. She saved him the trouble.

  "Never mind." She shook her head. "I'm exhausted. You're exhausted." She pointed at the door. "Hadley's exhausted. Whatever you boys need to talk about, just make it quick and get some sleep." She turned and went into the bedroom to inspect her bed.

  "You need any help?" he called after her.

  She turned and smiled at him. "Maybe," she said. "Go have your stupid meeting." Then she winked and closed the door.

  Harrison found Hadley sitting alone at his kitchen table, a notebook under his hands. There were bags forming under his eyes. "Alec and Jake are upstairs cleaning the women's kitchen," the scientist said. "Alec will stall Jake for exactly thirty minutes, so that's what you get tonight. Ask." Harrison hesitated. Hadley stood up and pointed at another chair. "Ask me."

  Harrison sat. He stared at Hadley's unflinching, unsmiling face. "Tell me why she has to die."

  Hadley opened the notebook and turned it so Harrison could see it. There were many, many formulas hastily scrawled on the first page.

  * * *

  On day two, they found what Hadley determined was the ruins of Lincoln Center. This discovery brushed away what little doubt remained that bits of Manhattan had somehow been pulled straight through the Earth and deposited on this island. As with so many such discoveries, the familiar was mixed with the unexpected. The structures appeared to have been abandoned for far longer than the year since they had last stood in New York City. The buildings that had once been Lincoln Center were collapsed, and barely recognizable under the snow on the island. The fragments that remained were smooth, and not at all what Harrison would have expected a demolished building to look like.

  "Wind erosion," said Hadley, apparently to himself. He ran his gloved hand over a section of rubble and blew visible water vapor at it. Wearing their borrowed coats, Hadley, Alec, and Harrison had mounted an early morning expedition.

  "Wind?" said Harrison. He watched Hadley tracing swirls on what looked like a piece of steel debris. "On metal? Wouldn't that take years to look like this?"

  "Millennia, actually."

  Harrison's next question never got as far as his mouth. Somehow, the idea that they were walking through a Manhattan that had come not only from the other side of the world, but also from the end of time, seemed so obvious that it rendered further discussion moot. He couldn't even pretend to find it shocking anymore. He looked at Alec, who shrugged without comment.

  "So," said Harrison, trying to regain his bearings, "is this where everything from New York ended up? All the buildings that disappeared?" He thought back on the view from the flier when they passed over Manhattan. It seemed like an eternity ago already, although it had only been a few weeks earlier. What they had seen were the remains of a once great city. Shattered buildings surrounding an enormous circular hole in the center of the island. Apart from a magically concealed hut, that enormous hole had been completely empty. Harrison pictured the buildings that once stood in that crater being ripped up and transported half a world away, somehow remaining more intact than the buildings left behind to be destroyed.

  "Oh my, no," said Hadley. "My best estimate is that no more than five percent of the structures in the initial blast radius were carried here. The rest were certainly vaporized. What you see here is just a sample. Anomalous leftovers. Probably random. We were extremely fortunate that one of the surviving buildings included such convenient living quarters."

  "We're done here," said Alec. He noted something on a pocket memo pad, then tucked it into his shirt pocket. Harrison nodded. It took him a second to remember that Alec's comment was just an appraisal, and that he was waiting for his next command.

  "Then let's keep moving," he said.

  They found three more buildings. One was wrecked, but the other two were still standing and had the electrical power and running water that were the inexplicable norm these days. One was a house that looked like its previous occupants had been very badly off. They found bare mattresses on the floors of several rooms, a refrigerator with a single (nearly empty) jar of mayonnaise in it, dirty clothing strewn almost everywhere, and many, many cockroaches. The heat, which was baseboard electric, still worked. Alec turned the thermostat down to its lowest setting.

  "That'll freeze these poor tenants," said Harrison, indicating a family of roaches that was crawling over an article of undetermined (but obviously soiled) clothing.

  "It will also freeze the smell," Alec commented.

  The other building they found was a tobacco shop. The wares appeared to be unspoiled, and Harrison thought back to his observation that tobacco would soon be gone from New Chicago. He briefly imagined himself bringing this cargo home and being hailed as a hero by thousands of nicotine addicts. That vision lasted as long as it took him to remember that if it were spoiled, he would never know it, and he might be vilified for poisoning those same thousands. Apart from that, he knew that no matter what he brought home, he would still be the man who had led the mission to assure that the world would never again be the way every survivor remembered it. For the first time, he wondered if he would be regarded as a hero or a goat. He felt a brief, tiny wave of nausea and shook it off. It didn't matter what people thought of him when this was all over. It couldn't.

  "Whoa!" Harrison heard from another room. Startled, it took him a second to recognize Hadley's voice. "You two should see this," Hadley called out.

  They found him tw
o rooms down the hall, standing at a window and using two fingers to pry apart the slats of a window blind. Harrison walked over and reached for the cord. "You'll want to leave those down," said Hadley. Harrison stopped himself, then pushed a slat down to peer through. The building they were in was close to the top of a hill, and the floor they were now on gave them an excellent view of the other side of the hill. It was less steep than the side they had climbed up, but it ran a great deal farther down. From this vantage point, Harrison could see a few more scattered ruins. And lots and lots of snow.

  "What am I looking at?" he asked.

  "The very bottom of the valley," said Hadley. "Do you see the structure?"

  Harrison couldn't see any structure. He was actually having a hard time seeing the valley. Covered in white, the size of the area at the foot of the slope was difficult to gauge. He scanned, looking for some kind of marker to give him a sense of distance. After studying a rock or two, he spotted an animal standing in the snow. It looked like some sort of cat, but its head was too narrow. And it had wings. It was standing perfectly still, staring at some point in a direction comfortably removed from their position. It was standing in a flat patch of earth, which had an almost gridlike pattern of stones set into it. "Are you talking about that critter?" asked Harrison.

  "It's a gryphon," Hadley told him. "A cross between a lion and an eagle."

  Harrison watched it. It continued to do nothing but stand and look. He could appreciate why Hadley would find it shocking. If the island were crawling with monster bird-lions, his people would need to be cautious. "How big is it?" he asked, hoping to hear that it was the size of a small dog, but expecting to hear that it was the size of a rhino.

  "It's hard to say without getting closer," said Hadley. Harrison didn't want to know that badly. "But it must be at least two hundred feet tall."

  Harrison squinted. "Are we talking about the same-oh my God!" Just as he was about to question Hadley's estimate, he saw a bug move past the Gryphon's foot, and all at once he realized that what he thought was a bug was a jeep. Harrison's sense of perspective drastically readjusted itself. The gryphon wasn't an animal. It was the structure Hadley had been trying to point out: a giant building in the form of a fearsome beast. The grid of stones was actually a small complex of low buildings. Houses, perhaps. No, not houses. Barracks.