Nick woke in the early hours of Monday
expecting to find his wife asleep beside him but she wasn’t there. He lifted his head from the pillow. Merlin sat at the table by the window, a pad
of paper in front of her, and she was scribbling furiously by the glow of a
small pocket flashlight. He
watched. Every so often, she paused,
her eyes narrowing, then either nod or rip the sheet from the pad and crumple
it before tossing it on the floor.
“What you doing, babe?” he asked
softly.
“Making plans. Trying out ideas. Go back to sleep, Nicky.
I’ll come to bed soon.”
“Promise? You need sleep as much as I do.”
She looked round. “I promise,” she smiled.
Nick lay back and closed his
eyes. Her promises were good enough for
him.
When he woke again, pale daylight was
spearing thru the gap in the drapes.
Motels were all the same. Some
manufacturing plant somewhere churned them out … Same layout, same decoration
and furnishings. Same gap in the
drapes.
Merlin was sleeping beside him, her
face peaceful. Resolved. Nick raised his head to check out the
table. It was empty. The floor around it had been tidied of the
non-starters or those ideas which hadn’t quite made the grade. Knowing that she’d put in a few hours last
night settled any remaining concerns he had about doing this. Nick couldn’t, hand on heart, say he was
actively looking forward to walking boldly into a trap but he didn’t fear it. He knew the trap was there so it wouldn’t be
the same as walking into an ambush.
Besides, he had reasons for going in – Alex, Philip, Liz, her children,
Kevin, in that order .. or so he told himself.
What he feared was what was already
happening to those people.
He felt rested. He felt ready. He wondered what Alex was doing, if she’d had a good night, if
she was still alive, if any of them were …
Maybe going in wouldn’t achieve anything. Maybe just the act of crossing the threshold was enough to
kill. In which case … There again, it wouldn’t be the first time
Nick had woken thinking today’s the day I’m going down.
He woke Merlin with a kiss. “Time to face the day,” he murmured.
*****
Alex paced, dark smudges beneath her
eyes. This was a hateful place, she
decided. Horrible and hateful. She wondered if she could go back to the man
at his bench by the edge of the park and ask him – if he was still there – what
would happen if she refused to choose one side over the other.
Philip, on the other hand, had slept
soundly all night. She couldn’t believe
he was capable of doing that, not when he had such a dire challenge facing
him. Twenty four hours. She’d noticed the time at sunset and it had
been six o’clock. Sunrise had come at
six o’clock in the morning. Exactly
twelve hours of day and night. There
has to be balance, she thought cynically, so why not balance in everything?
This .. town .. is evil so how can any
choice be fair? It forces people to be
selfish. I’d choose to be good but that
means Philip has to be evil, and he’s a priest so he can’t be evil which means
I have to fight my friend .. and we’re not enemies but we’ll become them. This town will force us to. It forces sacrifice on us. It forces us to fight in a war which is ages
old, yes, but, in the real world, it’s subtle.
You don’t face it every day. You
can choose to walk away from it, live in a nicer neighborhood, keep out of that
side of town. Here .. every evil
imaginable will be working openly.
Temptation will surround us and there’s no way out. No wonder Derek felt such terrible emotions
of despair and hopelessness.
“Alex … ”
She turned away, hugging her
shoulders. “I don’t know what to do,
Philip. I’ve thought all night .. and I
can’t decide.” She half laughed but
there was a shade of hysteria in it. “The easiest choice of my life .. and I can’t make it.”
“We’ve got till sunset.”
Alex turned. “So what?” she
accused. “What difference will a few
more hours make?”
“Some decisions come more easily when
pressure is upon us,” He sat up and
stretched. “Are you hungry?”
She stared at him. “Philip, listen to yourself. This is, for us, the last day of peace
before we enter the war. We have to
decide which side we’re going to fight for.
How can you even think of – ?”
“I can’t think on an empty stomach,
Alex. You’re right. This is a decision which demands personal
sacrifice and therefore a lot of thought.
But we have time. Time to look
around. Time to think and ponder what’s
best for everyone.” He took her arm and
swung her around. “Don’t forget why
we’re here. Digging in our heels and
refusing to go along with the rules won’t get us very far. In fact, if we don’t choose, we may both
have to die and that really doesn’t achieve very much, does it? Now, are you hungry?”
She shook her head.
“Then get some sleep. Let your subconscious pace and worry for a
while. I’ll wake you in a few
hours. I promise.”
“Are you going outside?” Alex asked.
“Just to take a look around. I can’t make my decision without seeing the
advantages and pitfalls of both sides.”
“Philip, you can’t seriously be
considering … ” She swallowed, tears
sparking into her eyes and burning them.
“But I have to,” he replied
gravely. “And so do you.”
*****
Nick and Merlin met up with Derek and
Rachel in the parking lot prior to going for breakfast. As they walked in silence, a car pulled in
and Derek recognized it. He halted.
Jon Redding climbed out and trotted
over to them. “Morning.”
“Detective,” Derek nodded. “The remaining members of my team – Nick and
Peri Boyle. This is Detective Redding.”
“Derek’s told us about you,” Nick
said, holding out a hand.
“And he’s mentioned you to me,”
Redding responded, shaking Nick’s hand and regarding Merlin. “You’re the people .. who are going in. I asked him if you were crazy but he said
you’re experts. Are you?”
“That depends, I guess,” Merlin
replied.
“On what?”
“What we find inside.” She smiled at his expression. “You could say we’re experts in coping with
dangerous and unknown situations. Nick
an’ I have a rep for thinking on the move.
If all the missing people are having a church picnic an’ getting along
like a house on fire, quite content to stay there, we’re gonna be seriously
bored. I don’t think for a second that
is going to happen, do you? Not if
people are having their heads cut off.”
Redding nodded slowly. “I think you’re right. When are you planning this little escapade?”
“Tomorrow,” Merlin said. “There’s something you could do for us. Something which’ll help.”
“What’s that?”
“Close the road,” Nick replied.
“Tell people .. there’s a gas leak or
an escaped con, or something. I don’t
know what’ll happen when that thing collapses, detective. I don’t want innocent people caught in any
fallout, and I especially don’t want any more people following us in,” Merlin
added.
“There’s a town full in there
already. We really don’t want any more
recruits to this cause,” Nick concluded.
“Whatever that turns out to be.”
Redding glanced at Derek who was
nodding his support.
“It would be safer,” Derek
agreed. “Nick and Peri must have the
freedom they need to work effectively.
My own feeling is that it will become very violent. Casualties cannot be prevented, but they can
be limited.”
“Okay. I’ll make up some excuse an’ close the road. How long?”
“That we can’t answer,” Rachel told
him. “It all depends on the situation
inside the phenomenon. It could be
hours, it could be days.”
“I can’t close the road indefinitely,”
Redding protested. “It’s the only route
over the mountains to the Interstate.”
“Do what you can,” Derek pressed. “We wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t vital.”
“Okay. Dr Corrigan, we’ve managed to reassemble some of the
skeletons. We’d like you to take a
look.”
“Sure. I’ll come by later today.”
He hesitated. “Some of ’em are kids.” Redding sucked in a deep breath. “When you find out who’s responsible for
that,” he told Nick, “you have my permission to get extremely violent.”
“Count on it,” Nick promised in a
level voice.
“Well, that’s why I called by. I’ll leave you folks to your breakfast an’
wish you good luck for tomorrow. See
you later, doc.”
Rachel nodded and Redding walked away.
“Kids?” Nick queried.
“There are rules to this construct,”
Derek commented, going on to the diner.
“Bizarre and sadistic. But I
also know you’ll see justice is done.”
“Like Nick said, count on it,” Merlin
nodded.
“You told him tomorrow,” Rachel
pointed out. “You lied.”
Merlin smiled quickly. “To him, this is an escapade. He doesn’t take it completely
seriously. To be fair to the guy, I don’t
suppose he can. It isn’t in his
mindset. If he knew when, he’d trail
along behind us. I don’t want a police
escort, Rachel. I don’t want
witnesses. But what I really don’t want
is someone getting pulled in with us.”
“You get your plans straight?” Nick
asked.
“The start, yeah. After that, well, I guess flexibility is the
name of this particular game.” She
looped her arm thru his. “I’ll explain
but first I need food.”
They sat down and ordered, and, over
the coffee, while they waited, Merlin leaned forward.
“For the same reasons, Derek, I want
you an’ Rachel to stay in town later today,” she said quietly. “The interface could be huge. Let’s not take chances, huh?”
He struggled but agreed. “Very well.”
Merlin squeezed his hand. “Thank you.
You know it’s for the best. Nick
an’ I need you both out here.”
Derek nodded. “What are your plans?”
“The main thing is to keep control of
the ingress.” Like Derek the day
before, Merlin sketched out a map on a napkin.
“Alex may have determined the size of the interface but we haven’t been
out there yet to check an’ I don’t suppose any of us will risk that just
now. My guess is that we won’t be able
to sneak in. Not with rain, thunder,
lightning, you name it, heralding our arrival.
Everyone who’s gone in before us has been coerced, not given any choice
.. or very limited choices. We change
that. Nick an’ I won’t drive
there. We’ll park beside the highway a
few miles away from what appears to be the epicenter an’ hike the rest of the
way. We’ll get very wet so we take a
couple of backpacks with a change of clothes plus some food an’ water.”
“And weapons,” Nick added.
“We’ll try but don’t get mad if they
disappear. Weapons may get thru the interface, maybe they won’t. Phones won’t so we don’t pack things we know
we won’t be able to use. It’s just dead
weight. We’ll leave things like that in
the car so, if we need to call for help when we get out, it’ll be nearby.”
“Won’t you need the car to trigger the
storm?” Rachel asked.
“I’m banking on the fact that it’s
me. If I’m pre-selected just by my
previous exposure, just getting in the vicinity of the epicenter should be
enough to open the interface,” Merlin replied.
“And when you get in?” Derek inquired.
“We go into the barn. No point in hanging outside waiting to see
what happens. I’m guessing that the
barn is also part of the town. It’s the
portal between the interface, the storm, and the interior of the construct. If it isn’t, I’ll have to switch to Plan B
.. an’ I don’t yet have a Plan
B. But, if it is, we hide the backpacks
in the barn and protect them so, if we have to, we can go back an’ help
ourselves to valuable items of equipment.”
She looked up. “That’s where you
guys come in. I want a complete set of
research notes. Everything we’ve
discovered so far. Every scrap of
detail from your visions, Derek.
Anything that’ll give us an edge.
The names of all the missing people, from the very first disappearance.”
She hesitated. “I need to know who I’m supposed to bring
out. The town might have more residents
than are reported missing. Let’s not
introduce any more pain an’ suffering into the world, huh? Let’s leave it where it feels right at home.”
“I’ll cover that one,” Rachel
nodded. “I have to go over to the
morgue today anyway. I’ll speak with
Officer Houseman.”
“Okay. Nick an’ I will see to the acquisition of equipment and the
packing of it. We’ll meet up again at
one, eat, hit the road around two thirty.”
Merlin glanced round at them.
“Be inside by four.”
*****
Seven hours. It seemed plenty of time but it was nothing. The first thing Nick did was visit a camping
store to get two good quality, hiking capacity backpacks. Then he went to the grocery store and bought
a supply of food which could be consumed on the move plus bottled water. Then he returned to the motel.
Merlin had laid all their clothes on
the bed and set aside her selection. A
change of jeans, T-shirt, boots, and jacket for when she got soaked and a
plastic bag to stuff the wet clothes in.
Nick did the same. The clothes
they wouldn’t take were put away again.
Then they began packing, sharing
things between the two backpacks. That
was the basics completed. Now for the
specialist equipment.
“Money,” she said. “We need to take a lot of money.”
Nick’s eyebrows rose. “Why ..?”
Merlin grinned. “I don’t suppose they’re geared up for
credit cards. Seriously,” she went on,
“money is recognizable. The design of a
dollar bill hasn’t been changed in quite a while. Plus money talks. We may
need to bribe people for information.”
“Okay, I’ll go to the ATM.”
“Take some change too. Just in case.”
He nodded. “Weapons.”
“What do you need?” she asked.
Nick considered. “Ammunition for my 226. I got some with me but probably nowhere near
enough, not to get extremely violent,” he remarked. “How about explosives?”
“C4?”
“An’ detonator caps. Remote control activated. We may have to set up some diversions.”
“Okay.”
“Ka-bar. Nothing better for a silent kill.” He glanced up. “What
about you, what are you taking?”
“Oh, I take my weapons everywhere, all
the time,” she replied. “I travel light
an’ always get by airport security.”
“Can you resupply us?”
She nodded. “Shouldn’t be a problem.
Enforcers create what they need to do the job effectively. You need C4, a knife, ammunition,
electronics and detonator caps .. you got ’em.”
It was all on the table. Nick whistled quietly in admiration.
“An’ there’s an endless supply where
that came from,” Merlin said.
They packed those as well, sharing it
as before, padding it in the clothes so it wasn’t so immediately obvious in
case they were searched.
Then it was down to items like a
compass, a transponder – just in case, a penknife, a couple of
flashlights. Pen and paper. Two thermal blankets.
They tried zipping the backpacks and
testing them for weight distribution, adjusting the straps till they felt
comfortable.
Derek knocked on the door at eleven
twenty. “The research dossier,” he
said, handing over the file. “I’ve put in
everything I can think you’ll need.”
“Thanks,” Merlin smiled. “Rachel back yet?”
“No,” he replied.
“Why don’t you stay an’ keep us
company? You might think of something
we’ve missed.”
Nick doubted that, just as he knew
they didn’t need company. But he knew
that Derek did. He was about to send
his right hand man into the thick.
Being alone now would not help him deal with that decision.
Derek nodded. “I think my first duty should be to go to
the diner and get coffee to go.”
“Great idea, boss,” Nick grinned. “Need a hand?”
*****
Philip walked steadily to the end of
the fence separating the halfway house from the town itself. From this vantage point, he could see the
road separating the two halves. It ran
straight, slicing like a sharp knife to divide the community. He stretched his neck but he couldn’t see
any people. There was a definite
atmosphere of apathy hanging over everything.
Stagnation.
Then he glimpsed movement and, after a
moment’s inspection, felt his expression lighten and a smile curve his
mouth. A child was playing on the
sidewalk. The smile didn’t last
long. The child was in rags and smeared
with dirt. She wore no shoes. The tenement behind her was gloomy, dark
with filth. Discarded newspapers
stirred in a fetid breeze. The sun
didn’t shine on that side of town.
As he watched, frowning at the
squalor, a woman emerged and grabbed the little girl, picking her up and
hurrying back inside.
Philip turned his attention to the
sunny side of the street. As far as he
could see, there were beautiful, elegant homes. Shady trees and immaculate flower beds gave a splash of color
against the lush emerald lawns. There
were no vehicles parked in any of the drives.
Again, as he watched, he glimpsed
movement. A lace drape was held back an
inch or so by a shapely, manicured hand.
He saw a sliver of face but the expression on that face was one of
misery. Then the drape fell forward and
the face was gone.
Well .. it’s a trap with only one way
in, he mused. I’ve been here less than
a day and I’ve yet to decide my fate.
If they’ve been here years .. they would feel miserable. I know I would, finding myself forced to
take part in a war when all I’d wanted was to get home.
He turned and headed toward the park,
aware that he should return to waken Alex like he’d promised, but he wanted
more information from the man at the bench and Alex could certainly use a
little while longer to refresh her mind.
To his surprise, the man was there and
playing a game of chess against himself.
“Good morning to you,” Philip called
as he came up the gravel path.
“And to you,” the man responded.
“Is it all right if I ask some
questions?” Philip inquired.
The man frowned as he thought. “I can’t influence your decision in any way,
you understand. That has to be solely
yours.”
“All right .. but I need some answers
if I’m to make the right decision.”
“You shouldn’t be asking me. You should be with your companion,
discussing it with her.”
Philip ignored his comment. “Is the weather always like this? You can answer that, surely? It won’t influence me.”
“Yes, it is.”
“So the sun always shines on one half
of the street and never on the other.”
“No.”
“Does it rain over there? It looks like it should,” Philip remarked.
“Not what you’d call torrential
rain. It’s .. little but often.”
Philip nodded. “How long have you been here working the
admission gate?”
“A long time. From almost the first day.”
“Do you have a name?”
“George.”
“I’m Philip.”
“A pleasure.”
Philip looked around casually. “So .. which side do you fight on?”
“I don’t. I’m neutral.”
“But .. I thought you said … ”
“I’m not a resident,” George
smiled. “I’m staff.”
“Are there any other staff here?”
Philip asked next, his voice mild.
“Some. You may get to meet them, once you’re a resident.”
“And there’s no way out?”
“Not that I’m aware.”
“Can I go back to the barn?”
“Why would you want to?” George
frowned. “There is everything anyone
could ever want or need right here. The
barn’s just a barn.”
Philip nodded. “Why small change and grass seed?”
“Those are the rules. Six cents and a handful of seed per
person. Adult or child, makes no
difference.”
“Do many people enter the community?”
“I’ve been getting busier, I know
that.”
Philip paused. “There’s one question I have to ask and I
must insist on an answer. What happens
if I can’t choose?”
George pursed his lips. “Well .. then you must leave.”
This sounded promising but Philip was
cautious. “I thought you said there’s
no way out.”
“Not living, no.”
“Ah.
So, if I can’t choose, I automatically select death. That’s the rule.”
“Yes, Philip. You’re right. You choose that for you and your partner.”
“Well, thank you for your time.”
“You’re welcome.”
Philip studied the board. “Queen to queen’s bishop three,” he said and
turned away. Time to wake Alex and
share what he’d learned.
*****
Rachel nodded slowly. “Definitely evidence of sheer injury. These surfaces should be slightly curved,
slightly concave. Y’see how they’re flat? Something sliced thru them.”
“So it’s definitely some maniac with a
sharp blade,” Redding commented.
“Yes,” she confirmed, thinking that
the term ‘maniac’ could be applied equally to a human being or something not
born of woman. “My guess is that each
victim was forced to kneel and his, or her, hands were bound behind their
backs. The head was tilted forward
slightly to expose more of the neck.
That would correlate with the angles I’m seeing here. Of course, with no flesh on the bones of the
wrists to examine, it’s supposition that they were tied. But I don’t believe any intelligent being
would simply just kneel down and let someone slice off their head. The survival instinct is too strong. They’d struggle at the very least and have
to be subdued. As a matter of
interest,” Rachel asked, “are any of
the victims women?”
“Just one. Emma Oliver. She was with
two girlfriends returning from Fresno during summer recess from college. Seventy nine.”
Rachel nodded. “What about children?”
“Would you believe nine kids?” Redding
replied quietly. “Some were with aunts
an’ uncles, cousins. Some were with
grandparents. Others were with their
parents.” He hesitated. “You got kids, doc?”
“Little girl, only she’s not so little
anymore. Fifteen.”
“I got three. Two boys an’ a girl. Six, nine an’ eleven. I couldn’t stand by an’ let one of ’em be
taken from me an’ … I just couldn’t do
it.”
Rachel put a hand on his forearm. “Detective, we don’t know the
circumstances. It could be the parents
or guardians were restrained and unable to act. It could be they didn’t know
until it was too late.”
He glanced at her. “Do you really believe that?”
“I want to, because the
alternative is too horrible to contemplate.”
“Whatever gets you thru the night, huh?”
“Something like that,” she agreed with
a small smile.
“Okay,
well, thanks, doc. This makes that area
officially a crime scene an’ gives me my excuse for closing the road.”
“Glad
I could help. Oh, a couple more things,
detective. One, can you let me have a
list of names of all the missing people?”
“Sure.”
“Thanks. The other thing is .. an’ this’ll sound a
little weird, but, before you send any more people out to examine the crime
scene or to set up a roadblock, can you ask them if they’ve ever had some kind
of paranormal experience? Seen a ghost
or thought they had, an’ I don’t mean at Disneyland. Strange noises in their houses.”
“Which
wasn’t the plumbing.”
“No. If they called in a priest to bless a house
for whatever reason would also possibly qualify. Derek thinks that paranormal experiences is what is pre-selecting
the victims. What separates one
automobile from the next. So, if any of
your people have had a strange experience, something they can’t explain, don’t
let ’em go out there. Anyone else
should be okay.”
He
nodded. “Can’t hurt, could help,” he
commented, shrugging. “Thanks for the
tip off.”
“You’re
welcome.”
“I’ll
get you that list. Do you want for me
to deliver it?”
“It’s okay,” Rachel smiled. “I’ll wait.”
*****
“What
time is it ..?” Alex murmured as she woke.
“Around
noon.”
“Oh
my God .. only six more hours.” She sat
up and felt her heart squeeze with fear.
Philip
sat on the end of the bed. “Alex, don’t
panic. Six hours is plenty of
time. We make decisions in an
instant. And .. when the time comes,
we’ll know what the right choice is.
It’ll come from our hearts.”
“God’s
never spoken to me, Philip. I can only
be guided by what I feel I should
do,” Alex retorted in a sour voice.
“Maybe
you’ve never spoken to Him in the way He understands. Do you want to hear what I discovered?”
“Does
it help?”
“It
all helps somehow. Alex, we may be
alone here but we’re not alone. Derek is aware of where we are. He’ll send help. We have to do what we
can on the inside, remember?”
Stung
by the reminder, she nodded. “But,
Philip, we never knew we’d have to choose good or evil.”
“We
have to choose, yes, but not for another six hours. Listen.”
Philip
related what he’d seen of the town – the child, the woman, the miserable face
at the window. The gloomy aspect and
the sun filled homes. Then he repeated
his conversation with George.
“So
.. you were right,” Alex remarked. “The
only way out is death.”
“I’m
thinking that’s how the bones got in the field,” he nodded.
Alex
glanced up at him. “Is that some form
of suicide?”
“I
don’t think so. You can choose not to
choose, and you’re killed. That’s
murder, not suicide.”
She
sighed. “It doesn’t make it any
easier. Did you see the Bromptons?”
“No. And I pray to God that they didn’t end up in
the field.”
“Then
.. they must have chosen to take sides.”
Abruptly,
the enormity of their situation hit Philip between the eyes. “How could they have done that ..? They’re good Catholics – ”
“And
so are you, Philip. They made the
choice because they couldn’t face the alternative. Because the alternative is death. Fighting .. well, it’s life, in a way.”
“But
their souls – ”
Alex
rose to pace. “Philip, you’re closer to
God than I am but .. wouldn’t He understand about a choice you’re forced by
outside influences to make?”
Philip
smiled thinly. “Like crossing your
fingers behind your back?”
“Something
like that, yeah. A choice which ..
comes from the heart is different from words on the lips.”
“Lip
service.”
“Exactly.” She glanced round. “What did George mean by staff?”
“Neutrals.”
“Could
we volunteer?” she suggested hopefully.
“We
could try, I suppose, but I have the feeling we’d be refused. I think the staff were created by whoever
built the town .. or they were imported from another place not in the world we
know.”
“You
mean demons.”
“I
can’t believe they’re angels. God wants
people to fight evil, Alex, but He doesn’t snatch them away and force them to
fight on a daily basis. We have to
choose to do it.”
“Isn’t
that what we’re being told to do here?” she queried.
“Yes,
but .. told to choose isn’t the same as choosing of your own free will.” Philip smiled at her. “Which is what you’ve just pointed out to
me. You must be hungry. Let me fix you something. It’ll help.
Honestly.”
Alex
wasn’t convinced but she surrendered.
“Okay.”
*****
Rachel
found everyone in the diner just starting lunch. “Here it is. The
list. It’s split into two. The names down the bottom are the identities
of the dead victims.”
Nick
took it and scanned it quickly. When he
read Liz’s name, his eyes hardened.
“Thanks.”
“Are
you set?” Rachel asked.
“Yeah. Everything’s packed except for that,” Merlin
replied.
“What
did you learn from examining the skeletons?” Derek inquired.
“Definitely
evidence of decapitation. As Detective
Redding so aptly described it – definitely some maniac with a sharp blade. Watch your backs in there.”
Nick
nodded. “How many were kids?”
“Nick
… ” Rachel warned. “I know you have a
trigger mechanism when it comes to child abuse but – ”
“How
many?”
“Nine,”
Rachel said. “Don’t let it throw you a
curve ball.”
“I
won’t.”
“Peri?”
Rachel invited.
“I
won’t,” Merlin nodded. “I’ll keep him
on the straight an’ narrow.”
“You
have enough to eat and drink?” Derek pressed.
“Not
quite enough to feed an army,” Nick commented, “but I’ll ration myself.”
Rachel
smiled. This was so typical. People knowing they faced danger joked
around while they could. It was a
surface way of coping. Inside, they
were deadly serious. To her relief,
both Nick and Merlin appeared in good spirits.
Calm. Ready for anything. There was a certain stillness about them, as
if they were conserving energy, but they weren’t silent or withdrawn. Their initial plans were in place. Right now, they were enjoying cherished time
with their friends.
Lunch
passed by too quickly and soon it was time for them to leave. Then the moment became awkward. They all stood in the parking lot, loitering
by the Mustang, hands in pockets, unsure what to say or where to look.
“Well,”
Derek began.
“If
anyone says anything like goodbye, it was nice knowing you, I’m gonna get very
cranky,” Merlin said. “This is a
fieldtrip. A mission. And we will be coming back, an’ we’ll have
Alex an’ Philip with us. Hell, it’ll be
like the rescue in 101 Dalmatians only we’ll have people, not puppies.”
“Take
care. Can I say that?” Derek asked.
“Sure. That always goes down well.”
“We’d
best get going,” Nick commented. He
embraced Rachel. “See you soon.”
“You’d
better,” she warned in a light voice.
Her eyes, however, were serious.
He
punched Derek lightly on the arm. “Keep
a tidy ship while I’m gone.”
“Naturally,”
Derek agreed.
Merlin
winked at Rachel. “I’ll keep a close
eye on him, I promise.” Then she turned
to Derek. “There’s no way I could ever
say that I’m psychic, Derek. I got some
kinda power but it’s a physical thing.
I just want you to know that Aquila will try her hardest to get messages
out to you. They may arrive as dreams,
or visions, or not get thru at all. But
we’ll try to keep you apprized of progress.”
“I’ll
be waiting,” he nodded.
“Avoid
going out there, if you possibly can,” she concluded. “Later.”
She
got in the car and Nick started the engine.
Derek and Rachel waved until the Mustang had turned onto the street.
“Well
.. now all we can do is wait,” Rachel said with a slight shrug.
“Wait?”
Derek frowned. “Wherever did you get
that idea? We’ll be too busy to
wait. We have a family support group to
organize.”
*****
Alex
checked the time again. She didn’t feel
quite so panicked now. Philip was
looking more concerned and that, she felt, was a positive step forward. Plus food had been a good idea.
It
was a quarter before three.
“Philip,”
she said, putting coffee on the table and sitting opposite him, “we have to
talk.”
He
moved, shifting, disturbed from his thoughts.
“We
have three hours. We have to discuss this. If it was an individual choice, we both know
what we’d choose. It wouldn’t be any
kind of contest. But, this .. while we
choose for ourselves, it affects both of us.”
Alex paused. “I want to be fair. I need to .. think out loud and really tear
this apart. And I need to know what your thoughts are.”
Philip
drew back. “I’ve thought about it,
Alex. I’ve made my choice.”
She
blinked. “Without discussing it with
me?”
“There
was no point. You’ll be all right. I’m choosing evil.”
“Oh,
Philip.” She felt relief and yet a
towering wave of horror. “Are you
sure?”
He
smiled quickly. “Do you want me to
change my mind?”
“Yes,
but no,” she admitted. “And that makes
me feel so guilty.”
“Don’t
be. You were right, what you said
before. I never really understood. A choice from the heart or lip service. My heart knows what I am. A good man.
And, as a priest, maybe I can help redeem those who have also chosen
evil because their hearts have said they must.
Your place is with the good.
Rally them. Stir them to new
battle, fresh resistance.”
He
sipped his coffee. “Alex, you know I
believe that everything happens for a reason.
It’s all part of God’s great plan.
We may not know until after the fact what the plan is but .. we’re here,
now, and there’s a reason for that.
What we can’t do is resist being here.
We have to .. figure out what God wants us to do next, how best we can
serve Him. And, if that means making a
painful choice, I’ll do it.” He
grinned. “And now that’s all decided,
what do you want to do to fill this vast amount of time we have left?”
*****
Nick
began to slow. “Where should we park?”
Merlin
was watching the road and the sky.
“Keep going for now. We’ll
know.”
The
Mustang maintained a steady thirty miles an hour and was the only automobile on
the highway.
“Here,”
Nick decided.
“Go
for it,” Merlin agreed, nodding.
The
sky was filling with angry, black cloud.
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