The crowd hushes, and Shane starts his speech.
“Thanks Don. You the man, and all dat shiiii.”
Laughter comes from the crowd. The man Shane called Don, who has taken a seat to Shane’s right, comically stands up and nods his head in acceptance. The laughter becomes stronger, then dies down.
“All right already, it’s my turn now, so I’ll do the jokes,” Shane says. Again, there is laughter. Shane motions for more and the laughter turns to loud cheers.
After the cheers die down, someone in the crowd shouts, “Thank you, Dealer!” The cheers start again. Then a chant starts up. It’s quiet at first and then grows steadily louder, teasing Jacob, like the slow onset of a good high, or the tongue of an experienced partner.
“Dealer, Dealer, Dealer . . .”
Jacob slips away until the chant stops. Now Shane has moved a few steps away from the microphone, as if to take it all in. He nods his head triumphantly and then moves forward.
“I guess you should hear the whole story, just as it really happened. It all started in my hometown, a little place known as Nescata. You see, I had wandered into a local bar there, just to have a few beers and play some pool. I thought I might be able to hustle some drunks out of their money. Well, low and behold, there was this guy there who I was able to hustle more than money from.”
A few hands clap as Shane nods his head.
“He was sitting at the bar, bragging about how he was a good friend of this big time brain named Dr. Todd Blacklund. Well, I used to know Todd too. He was this real smart kid from Nescata who had gone big time. Anyway, this guy said that he had visited Todd out in the panhandle and that Todd was one of the big wigs at the OPECRC. That was all he said at first. But I got an ear for things. I mean a giant federally funded research facility out in the middle of nowhere and a friend of one of its top dogs; I knew there had to be something the Society could use. So I made friends with this guy. I bought him a few beers, let him beat me in a few games of pool, shit like that. Then, when he wasn’t looking, I slipped some happiness into his beer. Well, it wasn’t long before he and I were the best of friends.”
There is more laughter. It isn’t hard for Jacob to imagine the scene. He had partied with Shane in high school. Shane had always done the most drinking and the most smoking, but he had never once seemed drunk or stoned.
“Well, the old boy just got to laughing and to carrying on. And before I knew it, he was creating a ruckus. Well, it was clear to me and the other people in the bar that this fella was unfit to drive. So I, being the outstanding citizen that I am, volunteered my services as his personal designated driver.”
Someone from the crowd shouts, “Go Dealer.”
There are a few more supportive shouts, and then Shane makes a downward motion with his hands and says, “Please, I know it’s hard, but do try to hold your praise till the end.”
There is more laughter. Jacob is shocked at Shane’s ability to work the crowd. The Shane he had known in high school had been many things, but he was not charismatic.
Something’s happened to him. He’s somebody now. Somebody wicked and deadly. But somebody.
“Well, we were having so much fun, so I couldn’t take the man straight home. First, I took him to get laid. Then we went back to my place for another drink and another sprinkle of happiness. Anyway, I thought I had done convinced the old boy that I was the neatest person he’d ever met. So I planted a thought in his happy head. I started talking about how the government was always tricking us good old boys and shit like that. You know, kind of made it sound like he and I were on the same side and all. ‘Yeah’, he told me ‘blah blah blah’ hook, line and sinker. He spilled his guts about our friend Todd Blacklund. Evidently, he and Todd had put away a few beers together a few weeks earlier, and Todd told him a few things.”
Jacob cannot see this, Todd having a few beers. It seems unbelievable. Unbelievable like the prospect becoming a part of a futuristic door.
“Apparently, old Todd was a little depressed about how things were going. It seems he wanted to work on medicine, but the government had thrown a bunch of money at him to work on something else, a little flu bug so to speak.”
Holy shit! Todd? Jacob thinks. Beer is one thing. Biological warfare is quite another.
“Anyway, that was all this guy had for me, so I made sure he got home safe. I’m sorry to report, though, he did later develop the most hideous case of the flu.”
There are more cheers, not laughter, cheers. Jacob goes away and then comes back.
“Well that’s about enough about me, so I’ll move on to a true friend of mine. When I heard about this bug, I knew I could do some dealing and get my hands on it. The only problem was, I had no idea about what to do once I got it. So I found me a genius. I found this man.” Shane points to the smaller man with the goatee. The crowd cheers. “Then I got another man on the inside of the OPECRC to get all the classified documentation on our little flu bug.” Shane points at the man with the goatee again. “And this man over here got inside the main computer at OPECRC.” Shane pauses for a few seconds. He looks around the crowd before speaking again. “Now, he’s not much on talking to crowds, so I’ll do my best to explain to you whatever the hell he did. He was able to find out for us how we could safely store and handle this little bug. He told us how the bug had been genetically engineered to feed on all animal life. He also said it would die off within one week of killing off the last of the animal life it had access to, which, of course, we figure consists of everything outside of this and the various other bunkers we have located around the world. And oh, by the way, he educated us on what to make these bunkers out of, so the bug wouldn’t have access to us. We blew up the one man in this world who could have stopped the bug, its creator, Todd Blacklund. Then we released the first batch right here in Oklahoma. In fact, it was released only a few miles from this bunker. Once we saw its success in North America, we E-mailed the people we had stationed all over the world to release it in other areas. Of course, this was only to hurry up the process, since the bug would have eventually made it to these places anyway.”
“Now, from what I understand, we should be able to resurface in two more weeks.” He looks at the man with the goatee, and the man shakes his head yes. “Then we’ll all meet up in Paris, France to form our new society, the Gray Society.”
The cheers are loud and long, and Jacob reaches even higher levels of sensory experience than he had before. Then, when Jacob returns, he hears Shane close his speech.
“Now I feel like he should say something, since without him, none of this would have been possible.”
Jacob, who believes he knows by now who the man with the goatee is, thinks, Shane, you don’t know how right you are, buddy.
“Ladies and gentlemen, Jeff Limerod!”
The crowd sends Jacob away with its cheers again, and the next thing he knows, the man with the goatee is standing behind the microphone. Jeff Limerod, who many years earlier had blown himself to oblivion with a bomb from his stomach pack, throws his hands in the air, and shouts the last thing Jacob ever hears him say.
“The day of redemption is here!”
The crowd noise sends Jacob away again, but this time he doesn’t come back.
#
Jacob slipped from her embrace.
“Ow! Jacob? Where are you going?”
“I have to meet my family in town.”
“All right.”
Sonnie got out of the bed and threw her arms around his back.
“What’s the matter? Did it happen again?”
He pulled away from her. “Don’t worry about it.”
He saw her look at him, her lips moving back and forth between a half-smile and a frown. He looked away.
“Are you mad at me? Did I do something to upset you?”
“No! It’s Sunday. My family is going to see my grandma at the nursing home.”
“All right. I’m sorry.”
Jacob finished pulli
ng his clothes on and then looked at her again. She was standing a few feet from him with her arms folded in front of her and her eyes glimmering.
He kissed her. “I just got to go, okay. Don’t worry.”
“All right,” Sonnie whispered. “Am I going to see you again? I mean, before you go back.”
“Yeah. I’ll call you.”
“Okay.”
He kissed her again and turned to leave. He felt her wrap around him.
“Jacob, are you okay?”
“Yes. I think so. But . . .”
“But what?”
“But it’s real. It’s all fucking real.”
“Jacob.”
“No! It’s real!”
She didn’t speak. Taking her hand, he led her into the living room. There, he sat her down beside him. He went against his intuition again. He told her where he had been. He told her everything.
Chapter 6
Jacob saw Tyla standing outside the east entrance of the nursing home when he drove by. He didn’t think she saw him, though. Not quite ready for human contact again, he drove down to the west entrance. Then he walked back to the center, where he waited in the lobby with a cup of the pale coffee they always served. For a little while, he was able to sit there, amongst the sweet smelling flowers that adorned the entryway. A couple of different residents passed by in wheelchairs. One called him by name as she waved. The other turned away quickly after making eye contact. Jacob had not seen her around here before. She smelled so strongly of urine that it drowned out the fragrance of the flowers.
Jacob thought a little more about Sonnie. She hadn’t really responded when he told her about the last vision. That had made him nervous. And now he felt sick and authoritative for how he responded.
“You have to promise that you won’t tell anybody,” he had said. “Do you realize what this could do to me if other people found out?”
He thought he might try to apologize the next time he saw her. But he still didn’t want her to tell anybody about anything. Finally, he decided to deal with it all later. He got up to go find his family.
His grandmother’s room was on the east wing. That was where they kept those who were either not crazy or not mobile. Jacob’s grandma, Oletta Putman, was the latter.
The door to the room was closed. Jacob gave it a knock and then heard the voice of her roommate.
“They’re not ready yet. She’s still getting her dressed.”
Jacob’s mom came to the door and cracked it open enough to stick her head out. “Hi, sweetie. Give me just a second to pull a shirt on her.”
“Okay.”
“Where’s your sister? I asked her to wait out front for you.”
“Oh. I thought I might have seen her, but I wasn’t sure. I just came in the middle way.”
“All right, babe. Give me just a second here.”
Jacob waited for less than a minute before he heard the roommate again.
“All right. I think she’s done.”
Jacob opened the door. “Is she ready, Mom?”
“Yeah. Come on in.”
Jacob walked in and saw the lady his grandmother shared a room with. She was sitting over a plate of half devoured biscuits and gravy. When she smiled at him, he saw little pieces of her breakfast stuck in the wrinkles of her face. His mother pulled back the curtain that separated the two old ladies’ areas. Jacob’s grandmother sat in a recliner beside her bed. Her back was arched straight, her body motionless except for her right arm, which bounced up and down in spastic movements.
“Look, Mama. Jacob’s here.”
Jacob thought he might have seen her eyes shift just a little his way, but if they did, the movement was so subtle that he couldn’t be sure.
“I think she’s glad to see you, honey.”
“Oh yes. Oletta loves her grandchildren very much,” the roommate said.
Jacob’s mother smiled at the old woman. “Sara, look at you,” she said laughing. “Do you want me to help you clean up?”
“I suppose you better. The aids are busy on Sunday morning, with all the people going to church and all.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Jacob saw his mother move toward Sara. But the main focus of his attention was on his grandmother. He wondered if she was truly alive. Mercifully, he hoped not. The way she used to be, she wouldn’t have liked the way her daughter took care of her, and she would have been extremely annoyed by Sara.
The old woman sat there, eyes straightforward, seemingly indifferent to Jacob’s stare. Her upper body started to sway back and forth just a little, as if it were pulled by the movements of her arm. There was a knock, and his mother opened the door.
“Good morning, Uncle Luke,” his mother said, hugging the old man.
“Good morning, sweet lady. How are you today?”
“Can’t complain.”
“And how are you, Ms. Sara?”
“Oh. I’m doing real good. My daughter is bringing her kids up later too.”
“Sounds like a good time to me. And how’s my sister?” He walked past Jacob to Jacob’s grandmother, who didn’t even flinch. “Are you enjoying your visit with your favorite grandson?” He kissed her on the cheek. Again, she didn’t seem to notice.
“And what is the favorite Grandson doing nowadays? Are you still out there conquering the world?”
It might have been the instant of a second that Jacob was paranoid that did it to him. Or it might have been the humorous irony of what his granduncle asked. Whatever it was, it got to Jacob. For a few seconds, he zoned out. When he realized this, he brought himself back to the room and the confused faces.
Three of those faces didn’t matter too much to him. His mother, his granduncle, and Sara all seemed caught up in the awkwardness. The one face that did matter was the one that he would not have expected to respond. But now he was sure he could see a response in his grandmother’s eyes. She no longer seemed to be looking straight ahead at nothing. Jacob was fairly certain she had shifted her head and was looking at him.
“No, Uncle Luke,” Jacob said, staring directly back at his grandmother. “I haven’t been conquering the world. I’ve been saving it.”
The light in her eyes seemed to change. And there was ever so slight of a movement in her eyelids. Jacob nodded.
His granduncle laughed. “Well good. And I know your grandma is proud of you. Ain’t that right, Sis?”
His grandmother’s face had returned to its usual state.
“All right, Nancy. I met your other young one outside. She’s out in the car waiting for us now.”
“Why’s that?”
“Well, I don’t remember the last time I saw you and your young ones together. So I thought you might let me take the three of you for breakfast.”
“Uncle Luke. That’s so nice. I’ll finish up with Sara and we’ll all go.”
“Oh no you don’t. You go on with your family. Let the nurse aide take care of me.”
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely. Now you get out of here.”
Jacob’s mother kissed the old lady on the forehead. Then she came over to his grandmother. “We’ll be back after breakfast, Mama. Then I’ll take you for a walk outside.”
Jacob waited as his mother moved toward the door.
“Are you coming, Jacob?”
“Yeah, mom. I just want to say goodbye to Grandma.”
Jacob felt awkward as he leaned over toward her. He felt awkward because it was not like him to kiss a relative goodbye. And he was aware that his mother knew it was not like him. But he could think of no other way.
He kissed her on the cheek, facing away from the other three people in the room. “What is it Grandma?” he whispered into her ear, loud enough that they would know he whispered but not so loud that they would know what he was whispering. He looked up and saw that her face was still blank. Then he looked at his mother’s face, which was, as he expected it would be, pleasantly shocked.
After his mother shut the
dividing curtain, the three of them walked out. His mother and uncle had their arms locked together. Jacob walked off to the side of them, almost rubbing against the wall, ignoring the weight of his mother’s stare. He felt excited that he might have made some kind of contact with his grandmother. But, at the same time, he was pessimistic. He remembered seeing pictures on the wall, with eyes that seemed to follow him. He hated to think that that was all it was, and his grandmother was no more than a zombie with painted eyes.
They passed the nurses’ station at the end of the hall. An aide at the desk smiled briefly at them and then went back to a big blue chart book. It was when they turned onto the hall that led out to the east door that Jacob heard the old woman’s voice.
Jacob stopped. “Did you hear that?”
“Hear what?”
“I thought I heard Sara yell.”
His mother turned, but Jacob grabbed her arm.
“No Mom. Let me.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah. I think I left my keys up by the front desk anyway. I’ll just stop in on my way to get them. I’ll get the nurse if there’s a problem.”
“But babe, I don’t . . .”
“Oh Nancy,” his granduncle interjected. “Let him go. You do this everyday. The boy gets to see her once a year.”
Uncle Luke smiled at his mother. Then he looked over her shoulder at Jacob and gave him a wink. “We’ll wait out front for you.”
“Thanks.”
Jacob’s mother moved hesitantly to the door with his uncle. While he waited for a few seconds, Jacob heard Sara again. This time he could make out her words—“She’s doing something.”
Right before his granduncle and mother made it out, Jacob turned and hurried back to the room. He knocked on the door, mainly for the sake of the aide standing in the hall.
“Come in. Hurry!”
Jacob opened the door to Sara.
“Would you look at that. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her do that before.”
Scribner Horror Bundle: Four Horror Novels by Joshua Scribner Page 55
