by J. Thorn
Major walked up and placed a hand on the man’s shoulder. He smiled. “It’s speeding up, Kole.”
The man shook his head and nodded his chin toward Samuel, who stood behind and to the right of Major.
“Find him in Aokigahara?”
“Yeah,” replied Major. “He landed in the Sea of Trees, like the rest of us.”
“We don’t need his help,” said Kole.
The woman stared at the top of the path, through Samuel, as if he did not exist.
“Posturing,” replied Major.
Samuel watched as Kole put two hands on his hips. His dark, rich hair crept far enough down on his forehead that it could have been fake. He wore a tattered, white T-shirt that accentuated the taut muscles underneath. A black belt fastened black jeans on a slender waist, and he wore black, leather boots. A sleeve of tattoos circled his right arm, and a needle track ran up his left. The top three punctures sat atop a blue, swollen vein that oozed pus. Two red lines bisected both of his earlobes where earrings had once hung.
“We’re wasting time. Did you find anyone who can slip?” the woman asked Major, clearly indicating that Samuel could not be the man for the job.
“I was hoping someone else here would, at the Barren.”
“Well, nobody’s here but us,” said Kole. He kicked at the dirt with the toe of his boot.
The woman stepped past Kole and Major until she stood face-to-face with Samuel. He caught a whiff of vanishing fragrance, masked by natural body oils, and then it scuttled off, leaving the vacant emptiness of the locality with its silent stillness. He felt her eyes latch onto him again, and he could not turn away. Samuel’s mouth went dry, and he felt a tingling in his feet.
“What’s yer name?” she asked.
“Samuel.”
The woman nodded. “I’m Mara. That charmer over there is Kole.”
Samuel dropped his head to Mara and then turned to look at Kole.
“He’s a dick. You’ll get used to it.”
Kole glared at Mara. “Fuck you,” he said to her. “And fuck you,” he added, pointing to Samuel.
Major laughed, tossing his head back and grabbing his abdomen with both hands.
“Kids, kids, stop. You’ll have time for your schoolyard scraps tonight. For now, we need to get our supplies in order. Kole, make sure we have enough wood. You know how hard it is to maintain a fire here. Mara, get the gruel going. I think it’s been days since Sammyboy here ate, and he’s going to start feeling it soon.”
Kole waved a hand at Mara and Samuel. He shuffled past the cabin and toward the edge of the tree line.
“Whatever you say, old-timer. Apparently someone put you in charge when we weren’t paying attention.”
Major smiled and put his arm around Samuel. Mara turned and headed into one of the cabins, shutting the door behind her.
“You and I need to examine some things, see if we can punch a hole in this locality. Based on the speed of the death cloud over there, we’re running out of time.”
Samuel shook his head, trying to use the physical motion to make sense of the situation. After several more attempts, he realized it was not working.
“We have to get out of here,” he said.
Major turned and looked at the cloud, then toward the cabin with Mara, then beyond the path to where Kole was picking up firewood.
“Without a doubt,” he replied.
***
Major poured the steaming liquid into a filthy, clay mug, where it bubbled with a light froth.
“Drink,” he said to Samuel.
Samuel sniffed the mug and wrinkled his nose. “A hint of licorice?” he asked. “I hate licorice.”
“It’s one of the few things in this locality that you’ll still taste. That’s gotta be better than a colorless, bland drink?”
Samuel shrugged and sipped. The tea burnt his lip and caused him to inhale.
“I want you to try something,” said Major.
Samuel set the mug down on the table. He looked through the greasy window of the cabin and saw Kole and Mara facing each other, arms gesturing back and forth.
“What are they doing?”
Major grabbed Samuel’s right wrist with his left hand. “I need you try something.”
Samuel nodded.
“There’s a man that might be trapped in the ether. It’s a nowhere place, a void. He might have the ability to punch a hole in this locality.”
“Slip.”
“That’s right,” said Major. He let a smile creep into the corners of his mouth.
“We can slip into another locality. That’s not to say we escape the existence and drop into our home locality. That might be lost forever. You know that, right? Mathematically speaking, odds are you’ll never see that place again.”
“Now you’re a statistician?” asked Samuel.
Major released his wrist and rocked back on his chair. “When you’ve sat at as many table games as I have, you get to know the odds.” Major continued, not allowing Samuel the time to respond. “This guy may be able to punch the hole if he’s not damaged.”
“Damaged like us?”
Major laughed.
“Yeah, like that. Let’s hope he doesn’t swan dive from the top of a skyscraper or shove the end of a shotgun in his mouth. That’s what I call damage.”
Samuel looked at Major, not sharing in his lighthearted giggles.
“Is this hell? Are we dead?”
“Depends on how you define ‘hell’ and what you mean by ‘dead’,” replied Major.
Samuel fought to remain focused on the conversation. He felt like his head was buzzing with thoughts he could not quite catch.
“What do you want me to try?” he asked.
Major raised one hand and let it fall to the table. “I almost forgot.”
He turned as Kole entered the cabin, followed by Mara. They stood shoulder to shoulder and leaned against the cabin wall. Major looked at them, and then back to Samuel.
“I’m going to put an object on the table. I want you to hold it in your hand. Don’t talk, don’t ask me questions. Just pick it up. Can you do that?”
“He’s a fucking newb,” said Kole.
Mara was shooting him red-hot daggers. She pushed a lock of hair behind one ear. “Give him a chance, Kole,” she said.
Major looked at Kole and Mara, waiting in silence for them to finish their verbal sparring. “Are you ready?” he asked Samuel.
Samuel shrugged his shoulders and laid his right hand on the table, palm up and open. Major’s hand disappeared underneath his robe and returned with a clenched fist. He opened his hand and dropped a metallic, shiny object into Samuel’s hand.
The cabin disintegrated, and the accelerated rush of lights filled Samuel’s vision. He looked up and to the right and was met by the reflection of his own eyes, but they were not his. He noticed large red eyebrows on pasty skin and touched a finger to a widow’s peak that retreated back toward thinning, red hair tainted with fine, gossamer strands of silver. His hands gripped the steering wheel of an Italian sports car as it blew past the other metal coffins in the right lane of the expressway.
Samuel looked to his left and was met with a darkened reflection of his foreign container. The body appeared to be mid-forties, paunchy, and pampered. The silk tie sat askew on his collar, while a diamond stud penetrated his left ear. The whine of the engine caught Samuel’s attention as the speedometer pushed past ninety-five on the gauge.
“Death wish,” said Samuel.
Major looked at Samuel, his eyes closed and his palm wrapped around the ignition key with the blood draining from his fingers.
“Do you know where you are?” Major asked.
“In a car, on a highway.”
Before Major could reply, a force snapped Samuel back into the shell occupying the driver’s seat.
He saw the glow of brake lights ahead, like the eyes of angry monsters. Samuel caught a glimpse of the off-ramp approaching in the interval between wi
ndshield-wiper swipes. He guided the car onto the shoulder amidst the sound of horns trailing off behind him. Samuel turned the wheel to the left and pulled his foot off the accelerator, bringing the car into a controlled fishtail on the rain-slicked pavement. He snapped the wheel into the turn and straightened the vehicle out as it approached a congested intersection trapped within four walls of suburban, strip-mall hell.
“Running it into a wall or bridge?” asked Kole.
Major shook his head. “No. He’s headed somewhere. The driving is reckless, but that’s the emotional state. He has other plans.”
Samuel felt the car lurch as he downshifted from second to first gear. His breathing felt shallow, as if he were drowning in air. He followed the flow of traffic while checking his rearview for flashing lights. It would be miles before they caught up, and even then they wouldn’t know which exit he had taken. Samuel made several turns, until he passed the sparkling new sign for “Golden Meadow” development. The guard station sat trapped in the middle of the gate, the plump man inside smiling at those escaping from the gated community.
He turned through several streets designed after the old, inner-ring suburbs of the twentieth century, complete with tree lawns, sidewalks, and street lamps. Samuel spun the wheel into the slick, wet asphalt driveway at 1329. His plump finger reached up to the sunshade and punched the button that opened the double-car garage. Samuel pulled the car into the silence so the rain could no longer pummel the roof. With the car’s engine idling in neutral, Samuel hit the button again, which dropped the garage door behind him.
He sat in the front seat as the song on the CD player came to an end. Samuel let the song fade before hitting the power button. As if in cosmic alliance, the overhead light of the garage-door opener clicked off, leaving Samuel blinded by the reflected rays coming from the car’s headlights. He slammed that button too until he sat in complete darkness. Samuel’s ears adjusted as he heard renegade raindrops crashing into the steel roof of the garage, while the engine continued to idle in neutral.
“He can’t do it. I told you he can’t. Pull him out,” said Kole.
Mara looked at Samuel, and then to Major. “Kole’s right. Pull him before it’s too late. You know he can slip.”
Major shook his head. “No, I need to know if he can get back on his own.”
Mara huffed. “No you don’t. That doesn’t matter. Pull him!”
“I’m not watching this,” said Kole. He opened the door and walked from the cabin into the eternal dusk of the locality.
“Do it or I won’t retrieve him.”
“Is that a threat?” asked Major.
“Yes,” replied Mara.
Major rubbed a hand on the stubble covering his chin. He pushed back from the table and stood in one motion, causing Mara to step toward Samuel, still seated. He chuckled and shook his head.
“I woulda spanked your ass, back in the day. Taught you some manners, missy.”
Mara opened her mouth slightly, hesitated, then closed it. She narrowed her eyes without taking them off Major.
“Go on,” he said with the wave of a hand.
Samuel felt his head become lighter. He blinked once or twice as the raindrops running down the windshield zigged and zagged through his vision. They came off the glass in vivid, neon colors, intersecting the cabin of the car and jutting out into the blackened garage surrounding it. His head felt light, as if he were swimming in ether. He turned the CD player on again and it kicked back around to the first track. Samuel felt the guitar waver through the air and he reached out, almost touching the notes. The engine ran with a smooth, steady purr.
Samuel tilted his head back until it struck the headrest, and he looked at the dull reflection of this other body in the driver’s-side window. He saw the eyelids drooping and felt a heavy sleep pushing him down into the leather seat. Samuel blinked and closed these eyes. He could feel the sounds of the car slipping away in the distance, surrounded by the comforting silence.
He felt the car shake and opened one eye. Another shake came along with a muffled thump.
“Samuel!”
He opened both eyes, and a shiver ran across his neck and down his spine. A woman stood on the other side of the glass, pounding it with the meat of her fist. Her jet-black, shoulder-length hair fell across her face. Thin eyebrows narrowed and came together at the top of her thin, pointy nose. Samuel followed the lines of her high cheekbones.
“Samuel!”
This time he heard it clearly and knew the woman had called his name. He searched in his mind for her name but could not unlock the mystery. Samuel’s mouth was dry, and a dull ache grew from the back of his head, coming forward like a storm cloud.
“Mara?” he heard himself ask.
She smiled and said one word. “Duck.”
A split second later, a red brick crashed through the driver’s-side window. Mara took a step forward, reached through the gaping hole, and unlocked the power doors. She took another step forward and yanked open the driver’s-side door. Samuel sat there with a grin, amused at the amount of activity around him. Mara turned the ignition off with one hand and slapped the button on the garage door opener with the other. Within seconds, cool, moist air flooded the garage, and the carbon monoxide oozed into the night. She reached down and released the seatbelt that was holding Samuel tight.
“C’mon. Let’s go.”
Samuel tilted his head sideways like an old drunk. He grinned again and slapped one knee.
“Not sure how I got here, but thanks for helping me out.” He slurred the words at her.
“Major got an opening, but I don’t know how long it’ll last. I don’t even know if it’s going to bring us back to that locality. But there’s no time to discuss it. Let’s go.”
Mara turned, and Samuel stared at her lithe form as she walked toward the open garage door. He saw the way her hair rested on the black biker jacket, the chains and zippers glistening like miniature serpents on her back. He followed the coat where it stopped, at the base of her spine. Samuel gawked at her well-proportioned legs, which looked utterly smooth in the tight leather pants, as if she wore an outfit of crude oil.
“Damn.”
Mara turned and shook her head. She grabbed Samuel’s arm so hard it made him wince, and she dragged him into an upright position and tossed his upper body toward the open door. She blew past him with a blur of black and a hint of perfume.
“Around back and through the tree line,” she said.
Samuel stumbled behind her as Mara bolted down the driveway and to the gate sitting between two segments of chain-link fence. She flipped the horseshoe up and pushed the gate open, running down the sidewalk and past the propane grill to the fence stretching across the rear perimeter of the yard. She stopped and turned to face Samuel; her face appeared to be floating amidst a sea of darkness. Towering trees silhouetted against the rainy night sky swayed above as if daring entry. She waited another second and then waved silently before leaping over the fence. Samuel watched as she swung both legs to one side and vaulted over the top. He smiled again before he doubled over with a fit of coughs. The more he hacked, the less air made it to his lungs. Tears filled his eyes and mixed with the steady drizzle on his face.
“Get up,” she said.
Samuel felt her tug his arm, which sent a jolt of pain into his shoulder. He rolled over and clawed at the manicured grass with both hands until he felt the cold metal of the fence. Mara grabbed his shoulders and pulled him to the top rail while she stood on the other side. Physics and gravity took over, bringing Samuel crashing over the fence and into a pile of wet leaves. Before he could cry out, Mara was moving again, running between the trees.
He stumbled forward until another round of coughing arrested his lungs. He collapsed and looked back at the house. Red and blue lights appeared, splashing the white siding with resplendent color. A back porch light came on, as did the house lights of several neighbors.
“Get up!”
Mara bro
ke him from his gaze, and he scrambled upright and followed her path. The bark of a dog and a bleating car horn reminded him that he was running through a copse of trees separating two streets of a modern neighborhood. He ripped the tie from his neck and focused on the light reflecting from Mara’s wet leathers.
Shouts broke through his hazy head as dark figures burst into the backyard like a black avalanche. He put his hand to his forehead to try to ease the pain. Samuel felt as though a tank had taken a detour through his skull.
“I can almost see it,” Mara shouted back at him.
He followed her farther, until he saw it as well. Samuel rubbed his eyes, turning to look at the flurry of activity coming their way, and then back to Mara. She was there. It was there.
Mara bolted for the door. She lunged and grabbed the doorknob in one motion.
“C’mon! It only stays open for a second.”
Mara waited, breathing heavily and looking from side to side.
Samuel slowed to a trot and placed his hands on his hips. “The cabin?” he asked.
“If you don’t step through here with me, you will die.”
Samuel shook his head. He looked down at his clothes, held a hand up to his face. “This ain’t me. I’m dreaming or something.”
Mara bit her bottom lip. She let go of the doorknob and walked toward him. “I want to show you something.”
Her voice dropped as though she were breathing the words. A hand came up and stroked the side of Samuel’s face. His eyes met hers and his breath hitched as he tried to encourage his lungs to work while keeping his heartbeat in check. Mara took his hand and turned toward the door of the cabin. She looked over one shoulder and smiled at him. She winked.
Samuel allowed her to lead this foreign body to the threshold of the door. He no longer cared about the pursuers. He no longer heard the manhunt emerging a few hundred yards from the tree line.
“Damn. Yeah, sure I’d like for you—”
Before he could finish, Mara’s knee drove upward into Samuel’s groin. Colors exploded in his vision, and before he could cry out, he felt the sickening crunch of her fist smashing the cartilage in his nose.
