by Richard Lord
“You’re quitting, Adam?” Ronald turns in his seat without standing as he watches Renfield walk out of the door.
Renfield turns as he pulls a cigarette from his jacket pocket and lights it. He grins at the sound of panic in Ronald’s eyes because it is more so over the fact that he is smoking in a public place than the fact that Renfield just quit the company he created. Renfield thinks to himself how ironic and yet predictable that illogical fact about Ronald is. “No, Ronald, I’m not quitting.”
Ronald begins to relax and he reaches for the paperwork on Renfield’s desk when he hears Renfield behind him add, “I already quit.” As he turns to continue his journey out of the confines of the office he says over his shoulder, “Also, it would be easier if you just walked around the desk and sat in your new seat.”
At first he can hear Ronald smile a bit. Then he hears the panic again as Ronald yells to him, “I don’t know how to do most of what you do! How can I run this?”
Renfield replies, “Figure it out and do it well. My bank accounts depend on it.” Renfield stops for a moment and turns to watch as Ronald stands and swats at the smoke as if it will go away like a gnat. Ronald walks around and sits in the chair behind the desk. Without taking time to enjoy his new position, he looks at the paperwork. Then he looks up at Renfield, “How did you get this many accounts in so many places?”
Renfield looks back at Ronald. “It takes time.” Then he walks down the hallway towards the lobby. As he opens one of the glass doors he thinks to himself, “I gotta get me a cool limousine and a driver!” He walks over to the parking garage nearby and hands the attendant his ticket.
The attendant notes the vehicle and says to Renfield, “Sir, since it’s a motorcycle, we won’t pull it up. It should be right over there.”
“Thanks, man. I know where it is.” Renfield replies as he reaches for his wallet and adds, “What’s the bill this time?”
The attendant’s eyes widen a bit as he calmly says, “Three thousand, four hundred and sixty dollars, sir.”
As Renfield hands him a card to charge the fee to he comments, “There should be a law against the prices of parking in this town.”
The attendant laughs and replies in a thick accent that is hard to place, “What are you going to do? Land is land, parking garages are built on land. Land ain’t cheap.”
Renfield laughs, “It is in the desert.”
The attendant quips back, “Who wants to live in the desert? I’m going to retire and move to Florida.”
Renfield grins at him and responds, “Not all it’s cracked up to be, but if you get a percentage off of what you must take in, you should be able to afford a nice chunk of that swampland.”
The attendant hands Renfield the receipt as he says, “You know they ship dirt in on the coasts?”
“Yeah, ocean on three sides swamp still in most of the middle. Sounds like a great plan.” He starts to turn and not being able to help himself he turns back and adds, “Did you know people complain about welfare down there. Yet strangely, the people who buy the expensive places get their beach dredged by government money? It’s about 20 times the amount of what the state pays in welfare. Funny, the people with those homes could afford to dredge their own beaches. The state does it for them for free. Who’s really on welfare in this country? The sand and dirt they dredge away is naturally being added to the state but they take it away and ship in dirt from other states.”
“You really don’t like Florida, do you man?”, asks the attendant.
“Sunny in winter, who wouldn’t love it. I have issues with hypocrisy.” Renfield grins and the attendant grins back. Renfield walks to his bike, starts it up, gives a thumbs up to the attendant who waves back. He guns it out of the parking garage into the veritable parking lot that is the traffic of the city. Then he laughs at himself.
CHAPTER 8
“When you realize it’s too late, you’re right.” -- from the book of Brian
“Can’t we get closer? We HAVE to recover that body!”
Everyone looked at Detective Brady and thought to themselves, “No sir, this was your idea. It’s your ass is on the line if we can’t find that weirdo’s corpse!”
Brady felt the thoughts around him and said, “OK, put us down as close as you to where you can approximate where he landed. We’ll search from there.”
The pilot, being responsible for everyone on board when he took off, including the jerk who jumped, was being extra cautious and chose a clearing in a valley far from the cliffs.
Brady wasn’t happy about the choice because even he knew that body did not fall so neatly into such a fine clearing, but he fought the urge to push knowing that wouldn’t get him anywhere in the long run. He had a pretty good idea where they needed to head and while it may take more time than he would like, they’d fine Renfield’s remains, take them back and then he would have a lot of explaining to do. He couldn’t focus on the explanation until he at least could bring back the body.
As they started to set up camp he was astutely aware of the basic process of checking weapons being on everyone’s mind. That clearly meant they were thinking about how angry they were at the situation, but trained well enough to ignore it in their own way.
“Small blessings” Brady thought, as he looked up at the moon. Just then a hawk flew over and he wondered what it did for a living. “It couldn’t be worse than this, could it?”
He felt like he should give some speech, but he kept his mouth shut knowing he had nothing to say. Not until they found Renfield’s body. But then, what would he say? He wondered. “Hey all, I talked big brass into this mission, we came all the way out here. The man killed himself and I wasted your time. But hey, instead of hanging with your family and friends tonight you’re stuck out here. Isn’t this a great boy’s night out?” He smiled at the irony, and yet worried about the reality of how bad a mistake he had made.
“We have supplies sir, but I suggest we live off of what’s provided by nature before we rely on those.” reported Officer Cavidge. That statement made their reality strike deep in Brady. This wasn’t a three-hour tour anymore.
“OK, see what you can find. Build a fire, if there’s food out here, we’ll want to cook it, no?” replied Brady.
“Sir, we’ve already started looking. It’s pretty sparse out here, ya know?” Cavidge looks at Brady with a look that was representative of the entire team. Then he turned and looked at the great expanse of sand and architecture around them. Then he looks back at Detective Brady again, this time with some pity for the fool.
“Cavidge, nature will provide, I’m sure of it! Now please, just continue on.” Just as Brady was finishing the sentence a torn rabbit fell from the sky at his feet. With shock clear on his face, he turned to the rest of the officers and said, “See what I mean?”
Cavidge, looking dumbfounded at Brady who begins to chuckle to himself. The Brady picks up the rabbit and displays it to everyone around, “Well there must be a god up there somewhere smiling down upon us!” Brady smiled for the first time that day and replied, “That’s what I’m counting on.”
Cavidge looked at Brady with sympathy for his dilemma and thought, “How could anything get you out of this?”
Brady looks back at Cavidge the way a man who is sentence to the noose looks at an old friend. He simply grits his teeth and then asks the team. “One of you must know how to cook up rabbit stew, right?”
Jacobs stands and says, “I do. You gotta skin it first, then everyone should pee on the skin to help preserve it. Then we…”
Brady holds up a hand. “Ok, so make the stew Jacobs. We don’t need a speech on how the chef makes the meal, we just want to eat.” Then Detective Brady looks at Jacobs, “Why would we preserve the skin?”
Jacobs looks at Brady confused and replies, “Sir, it’s the desert. It gets pretty cold out here at night. We get enough of these and it’s a blanket, or mittens or something.”
Brady’s first reaction is to be dismissive but
then he asks, “How cold?”
“Well sir, I don’t really know. What I know I seen on the TV, but it seems it gets mighty cold for a place so dang hot.” Jacobs can’t resist the involuntary reaction to his own sentence and wipes the sweat from his brow as he picks up the rabbit. “The good news is, this didn’t come from no buzzard. It’s a fresh kill so we can eat it. If it was rotting, well, I’d reckon our stomachs wouldn’t handle it well.”
Brady gets a semi-disgusted look on his face as he realizes that stepping down to rabbit stew was not as far a fall from grace as he initially thought. Brady feels humbled as he stands and asks of his team, “Do we have a fire going yet?” He hears miscellaneous, “Yes, sir’s.” and looks back at Jacobs. “Besides water, what usually goes in rabbit stew?”
“Well, depends on what you have on hand. It all works as long as it’s got flavor.” Jacobs replies.
“Okay, Jacobs, there are MRE’s. Find one you think would go well, but only one. Use that as flavoring. I don’t see many carrots nor celery popping out of the ground here. Just make sure to add enough water that everyone gets a share. That means chopping that thing into pretty small bits. Understand?”
“Yes, sir.” Jacobs begins to think as he turns to the area where the rest of the team is building a fire.
Brady leans to looks past Jacobs wondering what his team is building the fire from, since there doesn’t seem to be many trees around. As he sees, he groans but ignores the reality. Then he stands and announces, “Hold your bladders, gentlemen. Once that thing is skinned we’ll play target practice.”
CHAPTER 9
“Anyone who suggests you not look back is already a pillar of salt.” -- from the book of Christina
As he clicked in, they both heard him and ran to the door. With an arm swooped down he kissed the young one on the forehead, and with the other arm he pulled her mother to him. While kissing her he swooped the younger around in a wide arc as she laughed. Both kissed him back and Renfield wished, at that moment he could stop time. But, he knew both should be free to grow, free to have their own will and free to do the things they chose. One had betrayed him once, but he had mostly let that go by now. It was a strange sensation knowing he was in his own future, but that it would happen and it would be by his hand.
He looked around at all he had and again just wished that he could stop everything, forever and just be in that moment. He put down the little girl as he asked her to show him what she had been working on. She ran off excited to show off her latest work. The woman looked at him with pride in her eyes and then back at the younger girl speeding away. Then the younger girl clicked and she turned back to Renfield with a frown. Renfield held up a hand and grabbed her closer to him as he aggressively grabbed her but to get her even closer. Stuck in a long and lingering kiss, the little girl returned holding up a drawing. Renfield pushed the woman from him using her breasts as he grinned at her. He could hear her think in her standard square of opposition. It was ironic and therefore funny, but obnoxious, but so like him, that the little one couldn’t see so it was mostly harmless and that it did have the effect on her mood he was aiming for. She turned trying to get the thoughts from her head as Renfield said to the little girl, “You drew all that out?”
The little girl nodded in reply to the question. Renfield’s brow furrowed, “Who helped you?”
The girl looked up at Renfield as her face sank slightly. “No one helped me. I just thought about it and I want to make this. I am pretty sure it will work.”
Renfield grinned at her, “I’m pretty sure there isn’t anyone who could have helped you. And yes, I think it will work too. Where are you going to get the parts? Do you have a job yet?”
“I’m four. I’m not even done with first grade yet. Be patient!” The girl replied.
Renfield laughed and kneeled to her, “Does that mean I have to wait 12 more years for you to earn your keep around here?”
“One day, I’ll be a mommy and I have to do it too. Plus, I want to go to college also, so more like two more decades.” The little girl responded.
Renfield looked at the woman and they both took deep breaths. Renfield then replied, “How about you find a college somewhere you haven’t been before?”
“Nice try. I’ll be here for awhile. Also, watch this…” The girl vanishes and then she returns with an ostrich egg. “I can do that. Eventually, I’ll get everywhere.”
“Yes, I suppose you will.” Renfield stands and then asks her, “But can you make dinner yet? I’m kind of hungry, aren’t you?”
“Nope. I’m not supposed to go near the stove. You told me that.” The girl responds.
“That was”, Renfield stops himself and thinks about his next words.
“Two years ago.” The girl answers. “I heard you think about what you were going to say. Sometimes you think loudly.”
Renfield smiles then turns towards the woman he still has an arm around and he sees the frown on her face grow deeper. He shrugs at her and lets her go.
“OK, so in celebration of your new drawing, you get to choose who makes dinner!” Renfield says as he holds a hand out for the girl to take.
She looks at his hand and then uses her own to point away from him. Then she gets quiet and turns her head to the side and asks the woman, “Why are you frowning at me. Wait you’re frowning at him about me. It’s ok, Mom, if you want him to make dinner. I said that because you do it better. I’m sorry.”
Renfield knowing the situation is declining, says, “Nah, I need to be spoiled sometimes too. As long as it’s not ‘fajitas”!”
The little girl and Renfield laugh at the joke as the woman lets go of Renfield’s hand and heads to the kitchen.
Renfield kneels down to the little girl again and reminds her, “She really doesn’t like that joke much, does she?”
CHAPTER 10
“All is not lost if you are willing to suffer the temporary effects for the long term goal.” -- from the book of Bob
“Healed a bit. Finally, what the hell is that noise?” Renfield thought. “This is starting earlier than before; they must be learning this trick. Fucking ants!” As he said it, he looked over the cliff wall and he could see that Detective Brady and the other officers were facing a reality they had never considered. He knew he had to get them to move towards his position, but he wasn’t sure how this Brady thought. One slight change in experience and Brady may not chase them as he needed him to do. It was all chance, even if he had seen it before, it happened differently every time. “Just do it already!” He yelled at himself. Knowing he was weak he paused, but he grabbed a rock and used the sharp edge of it to cut his own wrist. He chuckled, “Now they will think I am suicidal too! Oh wait, I suppose jumping out into mid-air already covered that base.” He sliced again to increase blood flow. The beasts, like ants do, turned at the smell of fresh blood. They moved so fast. Always so fast, but he knew he was faster. He grasped for brush and the one thing he brought to cause spark. As soon as it was lit he grabbed the flame in his bare hands and leapt for the ledge above him. He grabbed another rock, and more tinder and the flame grew. It was all he had. He heated the rock and pressed it against his wrist to cauterize the wound. He knew not to scream at the amazing amount of signals his body was sending him to stop. Then they were below him and he went into action. One by one they were confused by the amount of blood on the ground and the sheer speed of something killing them. He had learned and become faster than his enemy. He used bare hands and rocks and they kept coming. Some delivering damage to his already healing body, but he knew he could not fail. This would be a sign to Brady to move towards him. He had to be alive when Brady got there, he had to. He slowed his mind as he picked up his pace and thought, “Why did I make so many rules? I know, but it’s damned inconvenient right now that I can actually die!” He pressed on, bashing and pulling at them to make a huge commotion so Brady would have no choice but to notice. A fool’s gamble, but sometimes he won it. In most pasts he had lost. That
lead him to be faster and he was faster this time than ever before. He had to be careful not to be too fast. If he was, it would seem as if they ran away to die by some phenomenon, not killed by something to wonder about. He remembered that Brady was brave and would investigate. He had to keep telling himself that as he moved faster and yet still maintained his tempo. Time must flow faster for him, but not too fast. He’d pay it back, he knew that. He prayed to the ‘him’ that would be his future self and he apologized, but this was necessary. Then finally he heard shots and saw his attackers dropping. “Brady!” he thought. This version of Brady had come through and risen to the challenge! He had come to where they needed to be. All of the pain and suffering wasn’t futile. Brady was here, this time they had to make it count! Now Brady knew what was out there and so did his team. Over time, he could explain the rest. He knew from experience people don’t want to know it gets worse. At what point would Renfield explain surviving the fall, the massive blood loss, and the seemingly unnatural speed at which he can heal? They will certainly want to know how, but if it was easy, everyone would do it. Then they’d all live and that can’t lead to anything good. Should he explain how far back in time this all began? Should he tell, this version of Brady, about the tunnels? Should he even tell Brady how many millions of miles of tunnels there are and risk Brady going into a state of being so overwhelmed he gives up. This wouldn’t be the first time, but this time had to be different. This time they had to succeed!
As the last one fell he walked towards Brady and gave him a huge hug. He had known the man for so much longer than the Detective had known him, but Renfield burst with thankfulness. “Well now you now this wasn’t a fool’s errand.” He whispered into Brady’s ear.
Brady pulled back from Adam and demanded, “What the hell is going on? How the hell are you even alive? How are you walking? You look like death, but you’re alive. How?”
