Distinct

by Hamill, Ike

  A few of the people, like Robby, were simply sitting on the rocks. Those people were given lowest priority.

  Ty found both Cedric and Murphy as they were playing tug-of-war with the cuffs of Tim’s pants. Tim was struggling to get to the edge. The dogs were holding him back. Ty simply picked up Tim and hauled him over to Carrie so she could talk some sense into him.

  One or two people slipped away.

  Lisa screamed when a young woman pulled free from her grip, tripped, and then tumbled over the ledge. Lisa threw herself down to the rock and peered over the edge to see the woman’s blood trailing down the face of the cliff, into the gorge.

  Romie and Brad tried to talk people out of their trances. It didn’t work. Even if they could get them to appear awake for a second, the person would simply slip away again until Carrie addressed them directly. She had the magic touch.

  Robby was one of the last people saved.

  Carrie was talking to a couple who were right at the edge of the cliff. Nobody could reach them without fear of accidentally knocking them off, so Carrie kept her distance and called to them. Someone approached Carrie from behind and gave her the names of the couple.

  Brad, Romie, and Lisa lifted Robby and brought him to Carrie just as the couple were released from their hypnosis.

  ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪

  In his dream, Robby was on his feet. He wouldn’t move until he could figure out what was wrong. It took him several minutes to put an explanation to his discomfort.

  Although he was standing, he could still feel the cool rock under his butt and legs. He had two sensations simultaneously. It was almost like peering around a corner when each eye had a different view. If he focused, he could tap into one sensation or the other. At the same time, the two blended into a weird, disorienting state.

  To fix the problem, he sat back down.

  “I’m not here,” he said to himself. “How do I fix this?”

  He hung his head and propped up his chin with his hand.

  “You ruin everything,” Jim said.

  Robby looked up and smiled, glad that his friend was back.

  “I know. I ruin everything by thinking too much,” Robby said.

  “That’s exactly right,” Jim said.

  “I was tricked,” Robby said. “I was somehow tricked by that kid, Liam. It’s the only explanation that I can figure out. I don’t even understand why it was different for me than the others. Brad said that this guy would show up, remind someone of a memory, and that person would be consumed by the idea that they could go back to the past.”

  Jim didn’t say a word. He only stared at Robby.

  “But with me, I just saw that little kid and I thought it was you. I never even talked to the guy. Why was it different for me?”

  “Maybe you’re just dumber than everyone else and you fell for the thing way more easily.”

  Robby smiled. “I suppose. Could be.”

  “Can we get out of here now?” Jim asked.

  “Maybe. Let me just think a little more. Do you think that everyone else is in their own little dream world, just like me?”

  Jim shrugged.

  “Do you think that this whole dream is just a ploy to get me to put my physical body at risk?”

  Jim shrugged.

  “Do you think…”

  “Stop, Robby,” Jim said. “Quit asking me questions I can’t answer.”

  Robby sighed.

  “I wish I could figure it out,” Robby said.

  “Me too.”

  “You know, back when we had all those problems, a lot of people were getting stuck in their memories. Some people said that the plants induced them. Some people blamed it on the loud clicking sounds that seemed to come from the rocks. This can’t be like that, can it?”

  Jim shrugged.

  “I guess it makes me wonder if those memories were coming from the Elementals at all. If we’re stuck in memories now, could it just be that they’re caused by the movement in the higher dimensions?”

  The wind kicked up and Robby heard the ribbon of a faint voice on it. He looked around and then to Jim.

  “Did you hear that?”

  Jim nodded.

  The next time, it sounded like his mother calling.

  “Robby!”

  He held perfectly still, waiting to see if she would yell again.

  “Robby, we need you back here now. Come on.”

  Jim put up a hand. “Be careful,” he said. “It could be another trap.”

  “How do you mean?” Robby asked.

  It was too late. The sunlight flared bright, reflecting off the water until it was too bright to look at. When Robby blinked to clear his eyes, he saw that he was back on top of the scenic overlook, standing with his body supported between Brad and Romie.

  “Welcome back,” Romie said.

  ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪

  “That’s everyone who was still up here,” Brad said. “A couple of people are climbing down to see if anyone survived the fall. They’re going to need first aid equipment, ropes, and stretchers if they find anyone. We’re going to head down the hill to grab what we can out of the buses.”

  Brad and Lisa headed out.

  Carrie glanced around at the people surrounding her. They had all turned to her as their leader.

  “Who knows the area?” Carrie asked. “We should send another pair out to hunt down the equipment we need that’s not on a bus.”

  One man raised his hand. He elbowed the man next to him and he raised his hand as well.

  “Good. You two go with Brad and Lisa, take a bus, and get the supplies.”

  The men turned and started to go before Carrie called them back.

  “Wait! Wait!”

  She dug in her pocket.

  “Take these,” she said, holding out sets of keys. “See if you can match up the keys to the buses and leave them on the seat.”

  After dismissing them, she turned back to the others. “How many people climbed down? Have they signaled about any survivors yet?”

  Carrie organized another contingent to communicate with the climbers and then suggested that some of the mildly injured folks start to make their way down to the buses.

  “We don’t know how long we’re going to be here, but I don’t want anyone to feel panicked about getting down that hill.”

  When the bulk of the group had dispersed, Robby approached. Romie stood close behind him.

  “Carrie, I think we need to start gathering information on the larger problem,” Robby said.

  “The Origin?” she asked.

  Robby nodded.

  “We don’t know where he is or what he’s planning next, but I think it’s safe to assume that he’s not going to give up on his plan,” Romie said.

  “It’s possible that this is all part of his plan,” Robby said. “We shouldn’t make any assumptions.”

  “Let’s start by gathering information,” Carrie said. “Can you do that?”

  Robby nodded and looked to Romie.

  The two of them headed off to track down people before they moved down the hill.

  Carrie found a stump and sat down with a groan. Her body was battered, bruised, and exhausted. She rested her hand on her belly and wished that she could feel the tiny heartbeat inside of herself.

  Her break didn’t last long. The commotion started near the cliffs. People had positioned themselves near the edge and on the sloping face of the rocks so that they could communicate with the climbers below. Those intermediate people began to shout and scramble up over the edge. They were followed by others, clawing their way up over the face.

  Carrie stood slowly as she watched in stunned silence.

  The last man to come up over the side was Dr. Matthew. People pulled him to safety and helped him walk. One of his feet could support his weight and he was trailing blood behind him.

  Carrie started to move towards him when shouts came from the other direction as well. Soon, some of the injured folks who had headed
down for the buses came back from that direction. She watched a stream of people. There was too much shouting for her to get a clear sense of what was going on.

  The last people up from the trail were Brad and Lisa. They had two first aid kits from the buses.

  Carrie rushed to them.

  “What’s happening down there?”

  “The churn,” Brad said.

  CHAPTER 60: CHURN

  “WAIT, PLEASE, ONE AT a time,” Carrie said. “We’re not going to figure this out with everyone shouting.”

  “What’s to figure out?” someone yelled. “We have to find a way to get the fuck out of here. They’re going to kill us all.”

  The comment brought a flood of shouted responses. Some people agreed with him, but the majority yelled at him to keep quiet.

  Carrie put up her hands. She was standing on the stump, commanding their attention. They quieted down.

  “Did anyone see a way out of here? Are we cut off from the buses?” Carrie asked.

  Brad stepped forward.

  “We might get to them, but it’s not going to do us any good.”

  His announcement was followed by more shouts.

  “Lisa got a better look at it than I did.”

  She spoke slowly at first. “Bishop and Wes got the keys sorted and decided to take the bus on the end because they wouldn’t have to turn it around. The engine made some kind of weird sound when it started. I could hear them argue for a moment about whether they should take it or switch to another bus. I guess Wes won. He was driving and they started to pull out. The weird noise didn’t last all that long. A second after they pulled out, the bus backfired and then sounded fine.”

  “Get to the point,” a woman said. She was quickly shushed.

  “They pulled out to where the drive met the road and then they were attacked. The first animal ran directly in front of their bus and when Wes slammed on the brakes, another jumped at the glass door. He didn’t break it, but it folded in enough that the second one was able to squeeze inside. By that time, Wes was trying to accelerate again. It was too late.”

  “What was it?” a man asked. He was one of the climbers who had come up from the other direction.

  “It almost looked like a cross between a wolf and one of those bullmastiff dogs,” Lisa said.

  “But that’s not the worst part,” Brad said. “I was getting the second first aid kit when Lisa yelled. From my position, I saw the blood inside their bus. But the thing that was chasing the pack of dogs was much worse. When that thing hit the side of the bus, it rolled right the fuck over.”

  “What hit the bus?” Romie asked. “We only saw the dogs.”

  “Coyote-things,” Robby said.

  “I don’t know how to describe it,” Brad said. “From the horn and color, I would guess it was some kind of rhino, but I don’t think that herbivores have teeth like that.”

  Murmured comments ramped up quickly into a loud debate amongst factions of the group.

  Carrie had to raise her hands again to quiet everyone.

  “It’s the churn,” a woman said.

  “Yes, I think many of us have memories of The Origin talking about the churn, but what does it mean? Does anyone have an understanding of what the churn means?”

  “I do,” a young woman said. “I’m Corinna, and this is Liam.” She raised the little boy up onto a higher point in the rock. As people turned towards him, he shrank back against Corinna’s side and tried to hide his face.

  “The Origin told Liam quite a bit about it to keep him quiet, and my grandfather told me even more in my dream. Brad and I even saw lots of it down in New York.”

  She had a natural command of her audience. She stood up straight and spoke. The group listened in silence.

  “When the alien came to Earth, it punched a hole through space in order to get here. That’s the way that it infests a new planet. The graffiti down in the city told of it, before it was wiped clean. As it came through the hole, it brought debris. It’s like when you get an infection from a needle. Most of us are that debris. There are a ton of varieties of this world, and the thing punched into all of them, collapsing them. When The Origin followed through the punch hole, he set the whole thing spinning.”

  Carrie put up her hand and waited for Corinna to finish before she interrupted.

  “That’s good information, Corinna, thank you. Do you have any grasp specifically on the churn?”

  Corinna’s face stiffened. “That’s what I’m trying to tell you. We’re all churn. You, me, and probably everyone here.”

  “Not everyone,” Robby said. He dug in his pockets until he found the pamphlet.

  ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪

  “Please, everyone, put up your hands,” Robby said. “I’m going to read the Pledge of Allegiance from this pamphlet that I picked up in New York. When you hear a part that you don’t recognize, please put your hand down.”

  Robby started reading. Most hands stayed up until he was two-thirds through reading.

  “Of those of you with your hand still up, please put your hand down if the World Trade Center was blown up with bombs instead of taken down with airplanes. Of those remaining, put your hand down if the World Trade Center was rebuilt into the Freedom Tower.”

  People complied, but whispers and mumbles grew louder as they questioned the exercise.

  Brad interjected.

  “Please be quiet and do as he says,” Brad said. “I think I know what he’s going for.”

  Robby continued for a couple more questions and then looked up to the sky. His eyes were searching for the next piece of trivia to ask about. They still had ten citizens with their hands up, including little Liam.

  Corinna knelt next to him and whispered, trying to gather if he understood what they were doing.

  “I know!” Liam said.

  Carrie called to the people with their hands up. She gathered the small group into a tight circle.

  Brad went to Robby. With approval, Brad asked his question.

  “Do you remember the Woodstock music festival? If you’re too young to remember it, then don’t put your hand down. But if you do remember it, put your hand down if you’re sure that the Grateful Dead did not play.”

  Brad pulled a couple of people from the group.

  “We need to hurry this along,” Carrie said.

  “We’re getting there,” Robby said. His face lit up as he remembered another detail. “Were any of you confused after the apocalypse because the road signs went from kilometers to miles?”

  Dr. Matthew was leaning on a woman for support. His hand was only raised to the height of his shoulder. He practically jumped when Robby asked the question.

  “Yes! I couldn’t figure it out, but everyone else seemed okay with it, so I figured it was just me. When did we go back to English measurements? It doesn’t make sense.”

  Robby nodded and motioned for Dr. Matthew to step from the group.

  “Place names?” Carrie asked.

  “How so?” Robby asked.

  “On my way here, I was trying to follow a map but the place names didn’t match what was printed.”

  “Yes!” Brad said. “Me too.”

  Robby nodded. “Have any of you found a place that’s not named what you remembered? Could be a town, or a street, or a bridge.”

  “Yes,” a woman said. “What’s the capital of New York?”

  “Syracuse,” several people said.

  The woman shook her head. “Not here, it isn’t.”

  With geography, Robby narrowed the group down to a few people. One of the two was Liam. Corinna argued quietly with him, trying to convince him to put his arm down.

  “You don’t even know the capitals, Liam,” she said.

  “I do too!” he said.

  “Robby, what’s next?” Carrie asked. “Robby?”

  He was staring up at the sky again.

  Jackson was one of the people with his hand still up. He glanced around as he started to lower it.
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  “Are we done yet?” Jackson asked. “Should we be going somewhere?”

  Amy Lynne shushed him.

  ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪

  “Robby?” Romie asked.

  He shook his head and snapped out of his silence.

  “Sorry. I just got confused for a second. It occurred to me that I thought the changes would all be in the last seventy-five years or so, but if the names of places and the capital of the… Forget it. I guess I was wrong,” Robby said. “So just these folks and Liam?”

  “Maybe Liam,” Corinna said.

  “I wasn’t totally sure about some of the questions,” Jackson said. “But you said that if we weren’t sure, we should keep our hands up.”

  “What does it mean?” Carrie asked Robby.

  “They may be the only true residents of this version of the world. The rest of us are all visitors here.”

  “Does that mean we get to go home?” Lisa asked.

  Robby shook his head. “I don’t think that would be a great idea. As messed up as this place is, at least we know what to expect. Some versions might be like where The Origin came from. His version was destroyed by a nuclear weapon.”

  Several people nodded.

  “I think what this means is that when we talk about the churn, we’re describing shifts in the world that don’t align with Jackson’s version of this place. Most of us lived in very similar worlds, with only slight variations. The churn that’s going on now is bringing in things that we never dreamed of, and some of those things are so deadly that they would have wiped out people in their versions, or maybe people never evolved at all there.”

  “You have an idea of how to stop it?” Carrie asked.

  Robby nodded. “We’re all tethers who have been holding down the churn. As people moved closer and closer to the center of the churn, it got free to slide faster and faster. With all of us here at the center, the churn is completely out of control.”

  “So we have to spread out?” Carrie asked.

  Robby nodded. “Yes, and most importantly, we have to get The Origin back through the center of the rotation so the versions of the world aren’t polluting each other anymore.”