Stasis (Part 2): Iterate

by E. W. Osborne

  The video shifted rather quickly, however. Up until this point, he’d kept the audio muted, afraid someone would hear him watching from the hall. But the view whipped around to a door at the far end of the cabin. A dark silhouette was cast against the bright white snowy backdrop. The user shifted protectively, putting himself between the intruder and the woman.

  Okay, a little hero thing going on, Christopher thought as he watched the scene play out. But he soon realized it was more than that.

  The man in the doorway confidently strode in. He was handsome, tall, muscular. He dropped a heavy jacket on the floor as he approached, his broad shoulders bulging under the fabric of his shirt. The point of view looked up, the man towering above, looming. His lips moved. The user looked back to the woman and shook his head. The man replied, reaching out to put a hand on the user.

  Christopher was involved at this point. He switched on the audio to hear a clip of the last sentence.

  “…your wife.”

  “Please, no,” the user begged.

  The man pushed him out of the way, hard, onto his ass. From a vantage a few feet away, the user watched as this beast of a man approached the beautiful woman.

  “I can please her better than you,” the man growled.

  Christopher’s hand flew over the controls, thinking that surely watching your wife be raped and not doing a thing about it was out of the ordinary. I’d never let something like that happen to Kristine. The very thought boiled his blood.

  The user whispered, almost too faint to understand. “Oh yes.”

  “Yes?” Christopher blurted to the empty room. His fingers wavered over the button.

  The woman, presumably the user’s wife, moaned. As she looked over with with an open-mouthed smile, she said, “He’s so much bigger than you, darling.”

  The user groaned in response, settling into place for a better view.

  Christopher hastily reduced the video and moved on, feeling like he was covered in a thick coat of slime. It made the fading erection in his pants uncomfortable and awkward for a host of different reasons.

  Compared to the last one, the Dreamscapes on the wall appeared normal. One user was playing out some action hero fantasy, driving a sports car down a night street, shooting out of the window with his left hand. Another user was obviously older, judging by the surroundings. The house or unit reminded Christoper of their upstairs neighbor, a deaf woman in her mid-eighties. The user was making dinner, a complex dish.

  Probably practicing, Christopher surmised. He kicked his heels up on the lip of the desk and leaned back. This wholesome Dreamscape was a welcome change to the majority of the others he’d been watching. He scanned the images hoping to find another. His faith in humanity needed a top up.

  His eyes glazed over the majority of them until he spotted a sunny scene. It was a location he didn’t recognize, at the beach but somehow high above the sea. A thick white haze concealed the horizon, but Christopher could tell it was probably an amazing view on a clear day. The user was watching children fly kites in a strong wind. The girl was seven or eight, her brother five, their clothes indicating it was a warm day. The spring green grass between them was littered with toys, balls, frisbees. The user turned and said something to his wife or girlfriend. She smiled back.

  Christopher crossed his arms and allowed himself to delve into this fantasy, imagining Kristine and their children running around. An ache grew in his gut, a fear and worry he never realized he carried. I’m going to be a better dad to them than my father was to me, he thought. I’ll be there for them, take them places and teach them what little I know. I want to read nighttime stories and be a good memory for them, not an angry shadow who was rarely home.

  He hastily wiped at a tear he was surprised to feel rolling down his cheek. The children on the screen let the kites fall and came running toward the user. The looks on their faces were priceless; pure, carefree. They were obviously excited about something as the user stood.

  Christopher covered a goofy smile with his hand as he watched the user’s wife lift the little boy over her head and onto her shoulders. The user did the same with the girl, her hands playfully covering his eyes for a moment. They were happy, laughing. It was a perfect day, one he couldn’t wait to create with Kristine and their little family.

  His gut tensed as they walked closer to the edge of the grass, which he now realized was a cliff. All he could see was a vast expanse of blue water, a sea fog hiding its true size. The user looked to his right, to his wife and son, rolling white cliffs fading into the distance behind them. The wife had an odd look on her face, serene yet… absent.

  Christopher kicked his feet off the desk and sat up. His heart thumped wildly in his chest. “Move back,” he hissed at the woman. Almost in defiance to his demand, she stepped closer. “Move the fuck back!”

  The little boy kicked his feet on her shoulders. He was just heavy enough to rock her a little. In his shock, he didn’t think to end the Dreamscape. He was too horrified at their stupidity, waiting for the user to pull his wife back from the edge. So when she casually stepped into the void and slipped out of sight, he could only scream.

  “No!” Before he realized what was happening, he was on his feet backing away from the screens as if he too might be sucked into nothingness. He took a step forward, finally remembering he had the power to stop this. It was too late. The point of view shifted. The water rushed closer, the white cliff face a blur. Christopher caught a flash of the young girl’s hair before he ripped his gaze away.

  He fled from the room with a wordless cry, slamming against the far wall of the hallway and staring at the closing door. Three doors down Sophie’s head popped out, along with a few others. “What’s wrong?”

  The faint flicker of the screens danced across a window in the door. His vision was blurry and unfocused. He couldn’t get the words out, even struggled to warn her as she pushed the door open to inspect what he was pointing at.

  He finally managed to push out, “They jumped!”

  A swarm of people appeared, some comforting him, all speaking in low whispers. Christopher slid to the floor and cradled his head in his hands. He vacillated between wanting to throw up and feeling ridiculous for overreacting. He kept apologizing to whomever would listen.

  Jamie was there in an instant, offering a hand and pulling him to his feet. “It’s okay. It’s alright. The first one is always the hardest,” his brother said softly, a comforting hand at his back as he steered him away from the room.

  Christopher was in a fog. His tongue felt too big for his own mouth and the words, when he finally found them, stuck in this throat. “I didn’t stop it. I could’ve, but I… I…”

  “You did the right thing,” Jamie insisted. “I should’ve warned you. I knew you weren’t ready for this.”

  “I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…” he repeated, the words meant for that lovely family as much as anyone else.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Rochester, NY

  THE POUNDING WOKE Neil up at 3:41 a.m. exactly. He cowered under his blanket, a short yell of shock escaping his throat before it could turn into a full scream. It wasn’t his proudest moment. In his drowsy state, it took him a moment to realize the knocking was on both his door and Maggie’s. With the blanket wrapped around his shoulders, he padded to the door and opened it cautiously.

  Wills pushed past with so much force he nearly knocked him over. “Jesus, took you long enough!”

  “Come on in.”

  He glanced into the hall just as a wisp of brown hair disappeared in Maggie’s room. Her groggy voice hit his ear next. “What’s going on?”

  Wills paced the small room in broad, clipped strides. Sweat had already soaked through his shirt leaving a dark wet line down the center of his back. “Not good. So, very not good.”

  “What’s not good?” Neil yawned. Even though he was pretty agitated, it wasn’t out of the ordinary for Wills to blow little things out of proportion.

&n
bsp; He didn’t reply verbally. His wide eyes and another firm shake of the head the only answer Neil got.

  “What is it, man? You haven’t come over here like this in…”

  “You need to go. Like, right the fuck now,” Maggie said behind him, her voice making him jump. Rachel stood beside her, her pale skin flushed from exertion.

  Maggie stormed into the room and flung open his closet and began rifling through his clothes.

  Neil scanned his friend’s faces. A prickly sensation traveled up the back of his scalp when he realized there was a legitimate problem. “What the fuck is going on?”

  Wills waved his hand and, if anything, sped up his pacing.

  Rachel stepped forward and took his hand. “We were cramming in the library,” she nodded to Wills. “You know how they’re paving the path around the back of the Decker building? We had to walk a strange way back to the units. As we…”

  “They’re there,” Wills blurted. “They’re in my room.”

  Rachel glanced at him and filled in the blanks. “We could see his window from the bottom. The light was on, there were people inside.”

  Neil’s heart jumped to his throat. He whipped his head around to Maggie who was already zipping up his bag. “What exactly are you doing?”

  “You’re leaving. Both of you. You have to get out of here.”

  He dropped the bag to the floor as she handed it to him. “And go where exactly?”

  “They were waiting for me,” Wills mumbled. He stopped moving, maybe for the first time since they’d rushed over from across campus. “What if we hadn’t seen them? What would they be doing right now? What they did to you?”

  Neil felt himself slipping into Wills’ panic. He saw that same terror he’d felt mirrored in his eyes. Rachel squeezed his hand and brought him back to center. “You should listen to Maggie.”

  His mouth opened but nothing but a few fragments of words came out. Maggie thrust the bag into his arms, jogged out of the room, and quickly returned with a small device attached to a string of blue lights.

  “You’ll want this,” she said, cramming it into his bag as he held it. “I’m guessing you’ll actually use it this time.”

  Neil held her gaze. “This is crazy.”

  “This is what happens when you stick your fucking nose in crazy,” she snapped without much venom. It scared him to see the fear in her eyes. “You have to get out of here.”

  “She’s right,” Rachel said. Neil looked down at their hands, still entwined. It was odd but comforting. In any other circumstance he would’ve felt odd holding her hand but it felt right.

  Wills started fidgeting along with the pacing. Clicking his fingers, biting his lips. “This is taking too long. We need to go. We have to go! They’re gonna know we’re here. Where else would they look?”

  Neil dropped the bag, Rachel’s hand, and closed the door to his room. With as much serenity as he could muster under the circumstances, he addressed the room as a whole.

  “Where are we supposed to go? How are we supposed to get there? I don’t have a car. None of us does, for that matter. Mags, I don’t know how to use whatever the that Pyrous or Helius or…”

  “Hypnos,” she whispered.

  “Right, sure, cause that’s the most important part of this story,” he snapped. “I didn’t trust the fucking device before and now I’m supposed to trust it while being chased? We don’t even know for sure if it was the same guys.”

  Wills completely stilled. The constant scuff of his shoes and muttering had become white noise. It’s absence brought all their attention to him. “I looked at the site again. The countdown.” His eyes rose to meet Neil, welling with tears. “I couldn’t stop myself. It was a moment of weakness but that’s all it took and then… then…” he choked up, shoulders hunched in silent sobs.

  Rachel rushed to his side to comfort him. Neil took the opportunity to speak with Maggie privately. “This isn’t good.”

  She cocked her head sarcastically. “Good of you to catch up with the rest of us.”

  “I don’t know how to use to this thing. I’d need you there to troubleshoot if something goes wrong, or at the very least get in touch with that guy if we need help.” He glanced over his shoulder to Wills. “Between you and me, I’ve been barely holding it together since the other day. I can’t concentrate on anything, I can’t eat.”

  “Okay, I’ll come with you,” she sighed, as if feeling utterly put-out. The sparkle in her eye said something different. She was loving the adventure of it.

  “If you don’t want to, I totally understand. Mags, you really don’t…”

  She smoothed down her curls with one hand and smirked. “I know you can’t live without me. It’s okay to admit it.”

  Neil hated that he’d dragged her into this whole mess, but felt a real burden lift from his shoulders. “Then we need to move fast. We can only get so far on foot and if they’re watching public transport, we’re screwed for a couple hours.”

  Maggie was already heading to her room. “Let me pack. I know how we can get a car. Rach?”

  “Yeah?”

  “You coming with?”

  Wills made a little squeak. She patted his shoulder, looked to Neil, and nodded. “Yeah.”

  Maggie slapped the flat of her hand against the door like a judge with his gavel. “Great. Get a bag and meet us at the back gate as soon as you can.”

  Neil followed her into her room as Rachel tried to pry herself away from Wills’ grip. His fear was catching and it took everything he had in him to stay remotely calm. A few questions buzzed through his head but in the end, he didn’t ask one. As he watched her collect her things, one thought dominated the rest. “You’re so prepared for this.”

  She shrugged without pausing. “When someone I know gets kidnapped in the middle of the night by some shady government agency, I perk up a little.”

  “You knew this was going to happen?”

  “I didn’t know jack shit. The difference is I didn’t bury my head in the sand,” she tossed back with an accusatory eyebrow. “If you need anything else, I suggest you get it now. We’re leaving in five minutes.”

  The command in her voice moved his feet before he realized it. He held himself back at the door frame, one last question on his tongue. “How are we getting out of Rochester?”

  “I know someone with a car,” she grinned.

  It was the darkest point of the night. The moon had long disappeared, either behind the clouds or dipped below the horizon. Wills calmed a bit when they moved away from Neil’s unit. It was like he expected the men in black to burst into the room at any moment. But covered in the cloak of darkness, he apparently felt safer.

  “I can’t believe how many people are still awake,” Maggie muttered. They stuck to the shadows, avoiding the pools of light along the pathways.

  “Finals,” Neil replied. He allowed himself a drop of despair at his failed semester, and maybe degree.

  They walked the rest of the way in silence, save for Wills’ heavy breathing. He was carrying a bag of Neil’s clothes, things he offered to lend him since they couldn’t retrieve his stuff before leaving.

  The stone wall and metal gate came into view through a small grove of trees. Bright lights illuminated a sign for the University just out of sight, on the other side of the wall. The small group hung back a little distance away from the light.

  Minutes stretched like hours. Every sound made them jump. The crickets lazily chirped in the damp, late spring air. Neil knew it was his imagination, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that they were being watched. On more than one occasion, he spun to peer into the darkness behind, half expecting to see a pair of eyes looking back.

  “Someone’s coming,” Wills whispered.

  They pressed themselves deeper into the shadows. Alone, burdened by a small but obviously heavy pack, Rachel walked right down a brightly lit path.

  “Girl doesn’t have enough sense to—” Maggie hissed.

  Nei
l cut her off and gave a sharp whistle. Rachel responded as though it was a pre-determined signal, diverting from her course and plunging into the darkness toward them.

  “Sorry I’m late. My roommate wouldn’t stop asking questions.”

  Wills gasped. “You didn’t tell her—”

  “I didn’t tell her anything. Don’t worry.”

  “There’s nothing to tell,” Neil mumbled. “We don’t even know where we’re going.”

  “Anywhere is better than here,” Wills replied.

  “Will you all shut the hell up? I think a car’s coming,” Maggie whispered.

  They watched as a car rolled through the gate from the road and slowed to a crawl. It was difficult to tell if it was merely abiding by the new speed limit or if the driver was looking for something. When it rolled to a stop, its lights cutting through the darkness, they all held their breath. The door opened. Every muscle in Neil’s body tensed, ready to run.

  Maggie was the first to sigh. “It’s him. It’s okay,” she declared, striding toward the car.

  Neil let the bag drop from his hand almost in defeat. Of course, he grumbled internally. He slung the pack over his shoulder and trudged to the car, wondering if he shouldn’t just take his chances with the mysterious government soldiers. As he got close to the car, the others already inside, he forced a smile. I hate this guy so much sometimes…

  “Hey Ian. Thanks for this.”

  Ian nodded grimly, giving Neil’s shoulder a firm, brotherly squeeze. “Anything to help, man. Anything.”

  He joined the others. Five people and five bags made for a tight fit, but everyone squeezed in. Ian shut the door and scanned the others. “So. Where are we going?”

  Everyone looked to Maggie who let out a cry. “What? I’m supposed to do everything?”

  “You said you had a plan!” Neil squawked, finally losing his grip. “You didn’t stick your head in the sand!

  “No I didn’t! No! I said I knew someone with a car.” She gestured angrily to the space around them.

  The longer they sat in the still vehicle, the more of a sitting target they became.