World Revolver

by Gina Ranalli

  Even though I’m not thrilled about the reason for it, I eat my stew quickly. I would definitely have preferred to savor the food, despite my hunger. When I’m finished, I look up at Luna, who’s seated across from me.

  -Does it ever stop?

  She doesn’t have to ask what I’m referring to.

  -Not so far.

  -But you…you’re a spinner too, right? I don’t see you falling on the floor and drooling like a zombie, off in some alternate dimension for an hour.

  -No, you don’t.

  Her face becomes grave, her green eyes losing some of their glint.

  -You’re the only one who spins this much, Eon. That’s why you’re unique.

  -So far.

  Circe gestures at us with his dripping spoon.

  -We’re just starting here, man. There will be more of us.

  -Someday.

  Luna agrees.

  -But we don’t know when. In the meantime, Eon, you’re the one who gives us the best chance of finding…someplace…safe. And when you do, other revolvers will be found and Atropos will make the bridge. We’ll be able to start all over again.

  -And not fuck up so bad.

  Circe adds.

  -Exactly.

  I sit back in my chair.

  -But, why? Why do I spin so much?

  -Think of it as your destiny.

  We all turn to see Atropos in the doorway. She has snuck up on us yet again.

  -Destiny?

  Circe snorts, as is his custom.

  -There’s no such thing as destiny, Atropos. There’s alive and there’s dead. I’m here because I want to stay alive and I don’t give a shit where that happens. I want to be alive and as comfortable as possible.

  Atropos slowly walks around the table towards Circe and I’m half hoping she’s going to give him the Vulcan grip or karate chop his head off, but she only places a hand on his shoulder.

  -With any luck, you will be. It’s what we all hope for, isn’t it?

  I’m anxious to hear his reply—this is an interesting conversation—but unfortunately, I miss it, spinning away into the ether.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO—The Bartender

  Sennacherib’s is swamped with people tonight. Even by a regular Saturday night’s standards, it’s busy and Hoop and I work the bar like magicians, almost dancing around each other as we grab different bottles from the shelves on the wall behind us and snatch cash from outstretched hands waving bills like flags of surrender.

  I have to admit, it’s a bit of a rush. Doing what you’re naturally good at makes it all the more enjoyable and while I might not be able to wield an axe like Ace Frehley or whip out a novel like Kerouac, I’m a fucking wizard when it comes to slinging drinks and offering up service with a smile. The tips I get bear this out but, as fun as this is and everything, I’m looking forward to the end of the night and waking up tomorrow to go car shopping with my best girl, Daisy.

  The fucking jalopy I’ve driven into the ground for the last six years needs an upgrade and I’m going new. Not new to me new, but new. New car smell. I can’t fucking wait.

  I notice Harvey sauntering in, but pretend I don’t, moving quickly to the other side of the bar. Let Hoop deal with him. Ever since I got clean, his attitude towards me has been shitty. He acts like he’s my wife and caught me fucking around on him. Always tossing me dirty looks and snide comments. I’m not in the mood to deal with it tonight. I’m feeling good and I’m not about to let his petty bullshit ruin it.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I see Harvey pushing his way through the crowd, following me down the bar, making it pretty obvious it’s me he’s after but then I see a blonde dressed in black leather and I’ll be damned if everything else doesn’t just fade into the background for a few seconds. Even the juke, blaring something by that shitty punk band Green is the Enemy, has its volume reduced by half as I watch her approach the bar, hips swinging.

  I glance over at Hoop and notice him noticing her and think, figures. Hoop is pretty smooth with the ladies and knowing him, he’d steal her out from under me anyway, even if I did stand a chance with a chick like that. Hell, if I even attempt to talk to her, he’s liable to run and tell Daisy on me, playing it off like a joke, but she’d be pissed and he’d secretly be pretty fucking happy with himself. To say we’ve been down this same road before would be an understatement.

  A red haired guy with a Mohawk bangs on the bar with the side of his fist.

  -Another round over here, man!

  -You got it.

  I reach into the cooler beneath the bar and bring up two dripping bottles of Andromeda for him. When I look up again, the blonde woman is standing beside the redhead and Harvey is coming up behind her.

  I hand the guy his beers and meet her eyes.

  -What can I get for you?

  She leans over the bar and almost shouts to be heard.

  -How about five minutes of your time?

  I’m pretty sure I must have heard her wrong and so, I lean in towards her, meeting her halfway across the bar.

  -What’s that?

  -I asked if I could have five minutes of your time.

  Yep. Definitely heard it right the first time. I look at her more closely, thinking she must be yanking my chain—someone put her up to this shit—but her green eyes show not a bit of humor. Which doesn’t necessarily mean anything other than she’s good at keeping a straight face.

  I hesitate for only the briefest of moments, look over at Hoop, whose attention I don’t even need to get as he’s already looking this way and flash him a five signal. He nods and turns back to the thirsty crowd.

  When I get to the other side of the bar, the blonde presses her lips to my ear.

  -Outside, okay?

  -Sure.

  Harvey tries to grab me as I pass him, but I shake him off and keep following the woman in leather.

  Once we’re outside, I wish I’d remembered to grab my jacket but that’s the only complaint I can come up with. This woman is gorgeous and, yeah, I’ll admit, I have a little sex fantasy pop into my head. Beautiful stranger dragging me into the alley next to the bar to unzip my jeans and kneel before me, just begging for it.

  But it doesn’t happen.

  Instead, she asks an odd question.

  -Do you know me?

  I look at her and I’m sure she can tell I’m pretty puzzled.

  -Excuse me?

  -Do you know me? Do I seem…familiar to you?

  -Uh…

  I feel like she’s given me free reign to look her up and down, which I do, with pleasure. I try not to focus too long on her body but dragging my gaze to her face again proves to be more difficult than I would have expected.

  -I don’t think so, no. should I?

  She shakes her head and looks past me.

  -I guess not. It’s just that…

  Trailing off, she shifts her weight from one foot to the other.

  -Just that what?

  -Never mind. I’ll just sound like a complete lunatic.

  I laugh but quickly bite it back when I see she isn’t amused in the slightest.

  -Lunatic?

  She shakes her head again.

  -I guess it is funny only because of my name. Luna.

  Her green eyes search my face, I think, for a sign of recognition.

  -That’s a pretty name.

  -Doesn’t ring a bell though?

  I pause, thinking about it.

  -No. Sorry. What is this about?

  -Like I said, it’ll sound nuts.

  -I’m a bartender. I’m used to nuts.

  She surprises me with a smile.

  -It’s just that…well, I’ve been dreaming about this place.

  She gestures at the plate glass window with Sennacherib’s name stenciled on it in fancy gold lettering.

  -The bar?

  Luna nods.

  -The name of it. How it looks, both inside and out. And…you. I’ve dreamed about you.

  I’m taken abac
k but try not to show it too much.

  -Really?

  -Yeah, that’s why I think we must know each other somehow. But, I just can’t remember where we’ve met before. I’ve been having the dream for weeks and I’ve watched this place from across the street a few times. Saw you coming and going. I thought it would jar my memory to see you, but when it didn’t I figured, what the hell. Just ask him, you know? So, that’s what I’m doing. But…

  She sighs and tucks a long strand of blonde hair behind an ear.

  -I guess not.

  I notice Harvey watching us from inside the bar, which doesn’t make me at all anxious to get back to work even though it’s damn cold out here.

  Instead, I try to make Luna feel better.

  -Well, you’ve been here before, haven’t you? At some point? I mean, everyone’s been here at some point. This place has been around forever. And I’ve been hanging out here for years. Long before I started working here. We’ve probably crossed paths before and just don’t remember it.

  -No. I’ve never been here, except, like I said, to check it out. I never come to this part of the city.

  So much for that theory.

  -Well, not sure what to tell you then. I still think you must have seen me somewhere. Maybe just walking down the street. Who knows, right? Dreams are funny that way.

  She nods, but I get the feeling her mind has wandered away. Maybe she is just a crazy person, after all.

  I clear my throat.

  -I guess if there’s nothing else, I should get back to work. Packed house tonight.

  -There is one more thing.

  -Yeah?

  -Do you know a black girl with blondish dreads and really pale blue eyes?

  -Uh…

  I don’t just pretend to think about it, I really do.

  -Not that I can recall. Why?

  -She’s in my dreams too. Both of you. But there’s no place in particular. I mean, with you, there’s this bar, but when it’s the three of us, we’re just in a room together. Like, a fancy room in a big house. It has a fireplace and burgundy furniture. Does that sound familiar?

  I shake my head.

  -I’ve never been in a fancy house in my life. Sorry.

  She looks more than just disappointed. I’d say she looks totally crushed. I try to cheer her up.

  -Hey, maybe it’s something from a movie? I dream about shit I’ve seen in movies before.

  -I don’t think so. It’s driving me crazy.

  I try to give her my most sympathetic look, but I’m not completely sure how to give one of those and hope I’m not grimacing.

  -I really should get back inside.

  -Okay. You must be freezing.

  -Yeah, pretty much. It was…uh…nice meeting you.

  -You too.

  I start back to the bar’s door.

  -Eon?

  -Yeah?

  I glance at her.

  -You didn’t tell me your name.

  I’m not positive, but I think she might be right.

  Her eyes go a shade of sad.

  -Pretty good guess on my part, isn’t it?

  Wrapping my arms around myself, I nod.

  -It’s a damn good guess.

  -Still think I’m nuts?

  -I didn’t say—

  -You didn’t have to. I saw it on your face. But it’s okay. I’d think I was nuts too.

  -I really didn’t though. Like I said, I just think dreams are weird and we don’t understand them.

  -Okay. There is one more thing though. That guy?

  She lifts her chin toward the bar window and when I look, Harvey is still there, still watching.

  -Watch out for him, Eon. He’s not a friend.

  I chew my lower lip for a moment.

  -You know him?

  -I’ve never seen him before in my life. Not my waking life at least.

  -Right.

  -I have a feeling we’ll see each other again.

  I’m not sure if that’s good or bad but I smile just the same.

  -I hope so.

  -You might change your mind when it happens.

  She turns away and walks off down the sidewalk and I watch her go with a twinge of regret I don’t understand. When she turns the corner, I go back inside and now I’m looking at Harvey a little differently. I don’t view him as just a sleazy pain in the ass anymore so much as a predator—a cat—and I am most definitely his favorite toy mouse.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE—The Junkie (12)

  This is ridiculous.

  None of this makes a single iota of sense anymore. I sit in my assigned room and stare out the window. Night is falling, as it always seems to be lately. Daylight is only a memory—one that’s fading fast. The sun seems to be receding, as though it’s found a preferable place in space to hang out and give life to more worthy beings than those of us crawling across the surface of the murdered blue planet.

  Fuck the sun and fuck this place.

  I’m tired of it. I don’t want any part of this shit anymore.

  I quit.

  When I told the others about my last spin—how I met an alternate version of Luna who had no idea what the fuck was going on, and neither did I—the alternate version of me, I mean—they all decided to have a meeting and excluded me. Told me to go to my room, of all fucking things. What am I, seven?

  This is bullshit.

  I’m beginning to think I’m just as much a prisoner as Hoop is. Would they let me just walk out of here? Or would those big dudes with the guns block my way?

  For all I know, this could be exactly what happened to Hoop. Maybe he had second thoughts about this shit too.

  And then there’s Halleck.

  Where does he fit in? How did he even come across Satellite?

  I’m beginning to wonder if any of this shit is even real. What if Satellite, as I suspected before, really is just a hallucinogen? Maybe the spins are just what I thought they were in the beginning: regular, old trips. Or just dreams.

  Which brings me back to Luna.

  If she’s so special in this bizarre hierarchy, then why doesn’t the alternate her know what’s happening? That version of her was either fucking with that version of me or…or what?

  Atropos is supposedly not even human, therefore there’s only one version of her. At least that was my understanding.

  Watching the indigo sky deepen to black, I know I have to get out of here. Especially if these people—if they’re people at all—intend on keeping me in the dark.

  I get up from the chair and go to the door, expecting it to be locked from the outside, but the knob turns easily in my hand and when I poke my head into the hallway, it’s surprisingly deserted. I for sure thought one of the armed guards would be standing watch over me.

  Making my way down the hall, I pay attention to the oil portraits decorating the wall between the golden glowing sconces. All the paintings appear to be of people from bygone eras. The eighteen hundreds at the latest, a few men sporting handlebar mustaches but mostly women wearing bonnets, all of them as grim as funeral attendees.

  When I reach the top of the stairs, my luck runs out. Circe is climbing them and sees me right away.

  -Where you going, Eon?

  I stop and debate a moment. Do I play it cool or just try to barrel past him and hope he doesn’t kick my ass or pull a gun on me.

  -Nowhere. Just getting hungry.

  He reaches the top and stops next to me.

  -And curious?

  I shrug, hoping I seem indifferent.

  -Let me give you a piece of advice, little man.

  Circe puts an arm around my shoulder, which I’m definitely not comfortable with but allow it anyway. For the moment.

  -What’s that, Circe?

  -If Atropos tells you to wait in your room, she has a good reason and you should wait in your fucking room.

  Now I shake the arm off me.

  -That’s bullshit. She’s only, what? Seventeen?

  -You have something aga
inst teenagers? Think they’re not as smart as you?

  -Oh, is this the part where you tell me she’s not human and so has wisdom beyond all of us combined? Because to tell you the truth, fuck that. Do I look like I was born yesterday?

  Circe leans against the banister and smiles.

  -You’re getting feisty, there, little man. What put a fire in your belly? Was it being told to go to your room while the rest of us have a private talk? You insecure about what we might be saying—or not saying—about you?

  I glare at him, my hands balling into fists at my side.

  -There’s a method to her madness, Eon. She doesn’t want your brain tainted.

  -What?

  -It’s the truth. If you go spinning off into the stratosphere with certain knowledge in your head, it could be dangerous for everyone.

  -Everyone? Who the fuck is everyone?

  He makes a face.

  -You have trouble with vocabulary, man? Everyone. As in, everyone. The whole fucking planet.

  I hate repeating myself, but I do anyway.

  -Bullshit.

  -You think this is a game? We’re not fucking around here, man. Atropos knows what’s coming and if we don’t get out of here soon, we’re all fucked. And that little spin you just took? Meeting Luna, who clearly knew something was up? That just proves we’re running out of time.

  I’m not usually a demanding guy, but my patience is wearing thin.

  -How does that prove anything? Why the hell don’t you guys tell me what’s going on? Maybe I can help.

  -You’re helping already, man. You’re the revolver.

  -Circe!

  We both turn to see Atropos and Luna coming up the stairs. Circe mutters a curse under his breath and runs a hand over his balding head.

  -You said it was time to tell him, Atropos.

  Circe sounds like a whiny little kid now, about to say it’s someone else’s fault he stole the cookies from the jar.

  Atropos’s eyes blaze with blue fire.

  -I will tell him what needs to be done and in the appropriate manner. It is not your job.