The Three: A Novel

by Sarah Lotz

  (10 June)

  I hand her her supper she says, Uncle Paul, does Stephen smell as bad as these fish fingers now? (I scream, she laughs). I leave she turns channel to the news. I hear her laughing at something else. Almost throw up when I see it’s a report that Bobby Small has been killed in a car accident. I ask whats funny she says, he’s not dead he’s just playing silly-billy. Like mummy and daddy and polly.

  (I’m in the kitchen, thinking about the pills again ie how many would it take to be sure). She glides in without me seeing her. Moves too close to my face. She says, am I special paul? They say I am at school. It’s so easy.

  (14 June)

  It finds me crying. Do you want to come play my little pony with me? You can be princess luna again and stephen can be princess celestia (laughs).

  1) POSESSION: FOR: she alwaqsy seems to know what I’m thinking, knows things she couldn’t know like about sexual ortienattion, knows aboput the stephen dreams ssays she sent them

  2) POSSESSION AGAINST: NOT RATIONAL I KNOW THIS WHAT AM I THINKING and she doesn’t have fits or anything like on the checklist on the inetrnet or speak in funny voices and that prick gerhard said it was unlikely although i don;t trust his opinion

  3) HORSEMAN THEORY FOR: colours of the planes, signs lots of no way thwy could have survived, other children acting weird too there’s Bobby’s seniles granddad talking and Hiro talking through a fucking robot and how can so many be wrong because so many believe this is the truth and nw they have found the fourth child altho that could all be more bullshit

  4) HORSEMAN THEORY AGAINST: batshit crazy, even archbishop of canturbury and that top iman say it is utter bullshit and they also believe in sky fairies and if there is a horseman inside her wehere is the real jess and why does she look like hersefl. Signs they have put on the website could have happend anyway and the foot and mouth thing blown over now anyway and aniomals bite people all the time anyway same as floods etc etc

  5) CAPGRAS SYNDROME FOR: my history of mental illness although that was stress related only and would be nice as is a medical cpondition that woould explain why i don’t think shes jess evben though she looks just like jess amnd sometimes talks like her. I wish it is this

  6) CAPGRAS SYNDROME AGAINST: never had it before, no head injury (unless I was drunk and hit my head and didn’t realise it) its very very very fcking rare

  7) ALIENS FOR: same as possession and would explain how some-tiems she seems to be watching me like i’m an expriment

  8) ALKIENS AGAINST: because it s not rationla altho the eveidence can be persuasive and this is the only one I haVen’t discounted yet needto look into moerew okay paul

  To: actorpc99@gmail.com

  From openyreyes.com

  Subject: RE: Advice in confidence

  Date: 14/06/2012

  Paul, thanks for your email, happy to help in any way I can.

  As I said when we spoke telephonically, the commonest way in which they work is by implanting a MICROCHIP inside the subject. I believe that at the moment of the crashes, the children were put into stasis, which is why they were not injured. Then they were implanted. Through ‘voice to skull’ manipulation, the Others (ALIENS) are able to control and influence those they have chosen. This is a new type of technology that is LIGHT YEARS away from what we can yet do in our realm.

  You say you have checked out all the options and have proved this is NOT a case of demonic possession. I applaud you for being so thorough.

  I’m not at all surprised that Jess is showing disturbing symptoms, or out of character behaviour–this is to be expected. Remember, a change in PERSONALITY is NOT actually a symptom of PTSD. As you say, look at what’s happening with the boy in Japan (talking through a mechanism, a ROBOT) and the boy in America, who was no doubt experimenting with his grandfather’s cognative [sic] functioning. It is very unlikely he is dead. This is a government ruse as they are in cahoots with the OTHERS. They receive immunity from experimentation and have made a treaty with the aliens so that they can have free rein to feed off our energies.

  Your questions about the Pamelist theory are very interesting. I believe that there are a LOT of similarities with the truth. Very close to what WE believe. They are wrong, but MORE RIGHT THAN THEY KNOW.

  And what you are feeling mustn’t be confused with Capgras syndrome. That is a psychological anomoly [sic].

  How to proceed? I would be cautious around Jess, it’s unlikely she will do anything to harm you. The dreams and visions you are having are probably interference from the chip. I would advise you to watch her carefully, and be careful what you let on to her.

  Let me know if there’s anything else I can help you with.

  Best,

  Si

  Noriko Inada (not her real name) resides on the fifth floor of the apartment block opposite Chiyoko Kamamoto’s house. This account was collated by Tokyo Herald journalist Daniel Mimura, who interviewed her two days after Hiro Yanagida’s murder. (Translation by Eric Kushan.)

  I usually wake very early, at around five, and as I wait for daylight to come, I often watch the clock next to my bed. This is how I knew the exact time of the first gunshot. Although my block is situated only two hundred metres from the busy Hatsudai expressway, it’s well insulated from noise, but that sound made its way into my room. A muffled bang, which made me flinch, then another, then two more. I had never heard a gunshot before, except on television, so I did not know what to think. Perhaps that it was fireworks? And I couldn’t be sure where it was coming from.

  It took me several minutes to climb into my wheelchair, but gradually I made it over to the window where I spend most of each day. I don’t go out very often. There is a lift in the apartment building, but it’s hard to get through the door without help, and my sister can only find the time to visit me once a week, when she brings me groceries. I lived here for many years with my husband, and when he died I decided I would stay. This is my home.

  It was not yet light, the sun was still struggling into the sky, but because of the streetlights I could see from my position that the Kamamoto family’s front door was open. It was too early for Kamamoto-san to leave for work; he left every day at six, so that did give me some cause for concern. No one else in the neighbourhood had stirred. When I was questioned by the police later that day, they said that my neighbours who’d heard the gunshots assumed they were hearing a car back-firing.

  I opened my window to let in some fresh air, then waited to see if the sound would come again or if anyone would emerge from the house. Then, I saw two figures walking towards the house from the direction of the Hatsudai. When they passed beneath my window, I recognised the girl as Chiyoko Kamamoto and I could tell by his long hair that her companion was the boy I’d seen hanging around in the children’s playground many times before. Once, I’d seen him spray-painting a message on the pavement, but he’d cleaned it off, so I did not complain. Those two were very different types of people. Chiyoko walked upright as if she owned the streets; he would hunch over as if he was trying to appear smaller than he was. I had seen Chiyoko slipping out of the house many times at night to meet him, but this was the first time I had seen her returning. They were talking quietly, so I could not hear the details of their conversation. Chiyoko laughed and nudged the boy with her elbow and he bent down to kiss her. Then she playfully pushed him away and turned to walk into her house.

  She hesitated when she saw the door was open and turned back to say something to her companion. She went inside and thirty seconds later I heard a scream. Not just a scream, a howl. The anguish in that sound was terrible to hear.

  The man, who was still waiting outside, jerked as if he had been slapped, then ran into the house.

  Several neighbours started emerging from their doorways, disturbed by the screams, which sounded as if they would never stop.

  Chiyoko staggered out into the street, the boy in her arms. I thought at first she was covered in black paint, but as she stumbled into the light beneath my
window, it became red. The little boy, Hiro, was limp in her arms, and… and… I couldn’t see his face. Just blood and bone where it should be. The tall boy tried to help her, as did the neighbours, but she screamed at them to leave her alone. She was yelling at Hiro to wake up, to stop pretending.

  He was such a dear little boy. Whenever he left the apartment, he would always look up at me and wave. My sister didn’t believe me at first when I told her that the miracle child was living in the house across the street from me. The whole of Japan took that boy into their hearts. Sometimes there were photographers waiting in the street; once, one knocked on the door and asked if he could film the house from my apartment, but I refused.

  It couldn’t have been more than five minutes later that I heard the ambulance arriving. It took three paramedics to take Hiro’s body away from Chiyoko; she fought and hit and bit them. The police attempted to drag her towards one of their vehicles, but she twisted out of their grasp, and before they could stop her, she started running away, still drenched in blood. The long-haired boy sprinted after her.

  The crowd of onlookers and reporters grew as the news spread. There was a hush as the bodies, encased in their black plastic shrouds, were removed from the house. That was when I turned away from the window.

  I didn’t sleep at all that night. I thought that I would never sleep again.

  The 2-chan message board erupted minutes after the news of Hiro’s murder was released.

  NAME: ANONYMOUS111 POST DATE: 2012/22/06 11:19:29.15

  Fuck! U guys hear about Hiro?

  NAME: ANONYMOUS356

  Can’t believe it.

  The Android Boy is dead. Fucking bastard American marine broke into their house. Shot the princess’s parents as well as Hiro.

  NAME: ANONYMOUS23

  U seen the stuff on Reddit? Marine was one of those religious freaks. Like the dude who tried to shoot the kid in the US.

  NAME: ANONYMOUS885

  Orz was there. Orz and the princess found the body. I’m cryin inside for Orz. U see the pictures of him? He was fighting to get to the Princess while the cops were tryin to keep him away.

  I was cheering him on.

  NAME: ANONYMOUS987

  We all were, dude. So happy they got away in the end. Go Orz!

  NAME: ANONYMOUS899

  The princess isn’t as hot as I thought she’d be. Orz looks like a typical otaku, just like I imagined him.

  NAME: ANONYMOUS23

  That’s cold. Fuck u 899.

  NAME: ANONYMOUS555

  Where do u think Orz and the princess have gone? Cops will want to talk to them.

  NAME: ANONYMOUS6543

  You think Orz is ok?

  NAME: ANONYMOUS23

  Don’t be such a fucking noob 6543! Of course he’s not ok!!!!

  [Much speculation followed about what this could mean for Orz and the princess’s future. Then, three hours later, Ryu appeared on the board.]

  NAME: ORZ MAN POST DATE: 2012/22/06 14:10:19.25

  Hi guys.

  NAME: ANONYMOUS111

  Orz??? That really u?

  NAME: ORZ MAN

  It’s me.

  NAME: ANONYMOUS23

  Orz, u ok? How is the princess? Where are u?

  NAME: ORZ MAN

  I don’t have long. The princess is waiting for me.

  I showed her yr messages and she says it doesn’t matter now that u know who we really are. She says that u should never forget what they did.

  She is broken.

  I am broken.

  But wanted to say thanx for giving us all that support.

  This isn’t easy…

  Wanted to let u know that u won’t hear from me again.

  We’re going to be together forever going somewhere where they can’t hurt us any more.

  I wish I could meet every one of u. Wouldn’t have had the balls to leave my room without all yr encouragement.

  Goodbye.

  Your friend, Ryu (aka Orz Man)

  NAME: ANONYMOUS23

  Orz??????

  NAME: ANONYMOUS288

  Orz!!!! Come back, man.

  NAME: ANONYMOUS90

  He’s gone.

  NAME: ANONYMOUS111

  Netizens, this isn’t good. That sounded like a suicide note to me.

  NAME: ANONYMOUS23

  Orz would never do something like that… would he?

  NAME: ANONYMOUS57890

  If u think about it, if Orz and the princess hadn’t been out together that night then the marine might have shot her too.

  NAME: ANONYMOUS896

  Orz saved her life.

  NAME: ANONYMOUS235

  Yeah. And if 111 is right, they’re going to kill themselves together. A suicide pact.

  NAME: ANONYMOUS7689

  There’s no proof this is what they’re gonna do.

  NAME: ANONYMOUS111

  Those US fuckers. They were behind this. They murdered Hiro and destroyed Orz’s happiness. They can’t be allowed to get away with it.

  NAME: ANONYMOUS23

  Agreed. Orz is one of us. They need to pay.

  NAME: ANONYMOUS111

  Netizens, for once in yr lives it’s time to do something that counts.

  Melanie Moran agreed to talk to me via Skype shortly after Jessica Craddock’s funeral in mid-July.

  I blame myself. Geoff says I mustn’t but some days I can’t help it. ‘You’ve got enough on your plate, petal,’ he keeps saying. ‘What could you have done in any case?’

  Looking back now, with the benefit of hindsight and that, I can’t help feeling that I should have seen it coming. Paul had been acting strange for a while, so much so that even Kelvin and some of the others had picked up on it. He’d missed the last three 277 Together meetings, and he hadn’t asked me or Geoff to fetch Jess from school or babysit for a good couple of weeks before it happened. To be honest, me and Geoff were relieved to get a bit of a break. We had a lot on our plate, what with our own grandchildren to look after, especially after Gavin went for the police exams early. And Paul did have the tendency to take over, make himself the centre of attention. He could be quite needy, self-obsessed. But that said, I should have done more. I should have made more of an effort to go and check up on him.

  I heard that social worker of his being interviewed on the radio, trying to explain himself. He was saying how it was no wonder everyone was fooled, Paul was an actor, played different personas for a living. But that’s just an excuse. Fact is, the social weren’t doing their job. They dropped the ball on that one. So did that psychologist. As Geoff keeps saying, Paul wasn’t that good an actor, was he?

  When we first started 277 Together, a few of the others–not many mind–felt that because Paul was the only one of us who had a relative who’d survived the crash, that he should take a back seat, let the others talk. Me and Geoff, we didn’t go along with that. Paul had lost his brother, hadn’t he? And his niece and sister-in-law. The first time Paul brought Jess to a meeting, it was hard for most of them to look at her; how do you behave towards a miracle child? Because that’s what she was. A miracle, only not in the way those fundies say. You should hear Father Jeremy go off about them, ‘Putting Christianity into disrepute’.

  We babysat Jess quite a few times while Paul was out doing what he needed to do. Lovely little girl, really bright. I was relieved when Paul decided to send her back to school. Get her right back into a normal way of life. The primary school where she went, it looked like a good supportive place, they had that lovely memorial service for Polly, didn’t they? I suppose in some ways it was harder for Paul than it was for us. He had a member of his family who was still alive, but then again, he had a constant reminder that the others were gone, didn’t he?

  You can tell I’m putting off getting to the next bit. The only people I’ve told in detail are Geoff and Father Jeremy. It’s what my Danielle would have called a total mind-fuck. She had a right mouth on her. Took after me.

  Don’t mind
me; tears are always close to the surface. I know people think of me as a coper, as a tough old bitch, and I am… but it gets to you. All this misery, all this death. It’s all needless. Jess didn’t need to die and Danielle didn’t need to die.

  I’d turned my phone off that day. Just for a couple of hours. We were coming up for Danielle’s birthday, and I was feeling down. Decided to treat myself and have a long soak in the bath. When I switched my mobile back on, I saw I had a message from Paul. First up he apologised for keeping his distance, said he’d had a lot to think about and deal with over the last few days. His voice sounded flat. Lifeless. In retrospect I suppose I should have felt a sense of foreboding then. He asked me if I could come over to his place for a chat. Said he’d be in all day.

  I tried calling him back, but it went straight to voicemail. The last thing I felt like doing was going over to Paul’s, but I was feeling guilty that I hadn’t called to see why he hadn’t been at the 277s lately. Geoff was over at Gavin’s, watching the little ones, so I went on my own.

  When I got there, I rang the bell, but there was no answer. I tried again, and then I realised that the front door was slightly open. I knew something was wrong, but I went inside anyway.

  I found her in the kitchen. She was lying sprawled, face up, next to the fridge. There was red everywhere. Spattered on the walls, on the fridge and the other white goods. I didn’t want to believe it was blood at first. But the smell. They don’t tell you that on the shows, the crime shows. How bad blood can smell. I knew straight away that she was dead. It was hot outside and already a few big bluebottles were buzzing around her, crawling on her face and that. The places where… oh Lord… the places where he’d cut into her… deep gashes, right to the bone in places. A pool of blood was spreading out beneath her. Her eyes were open, staring up, and they were full of blood, too.

  I was sick. Just straight away. All down my front. I started praying and my legs felt like they were weighed down with cement blocks. I assumed that a lunatic must have broken in and attacked her. I pulled out my phone, called 999. I still can’t believe I managed to make myself understood.