Dreamer

by L. E. DeLano

  Finn gives her a nod. “A pleasure meeting you,” he tells her.

  Ben shifts from one foot to the other. “I better go,” he says. “Thanks for the loan.”

  “No problem,” Olivia says. “Good to see you again.”

  “You, too.” He strides out after us, and once we get outside, the smile drops from his lips. He hands me the box.

  “Let’s get this all done and over with so I can get on with my life,” he says as he climbs into his truck.

  “Thanks, Ben,” I say, stepping back so he can close the door. He turns the key in the ignition, but nothing happens. He tries again, and again, and the engine won’t even turn over.

  “Dammit!” Ben says. “Did I leave the dome light on?” He checks the light switch, but it’s in the off position. “If one of the doors didn’t close tight, sometimes the cab light stays on.”

  “You weren’t in there that long, mate,” Finn points out. “That’s hardly time for a battery to die.”

  Ben pops the hood and climbs down out of the truck to look under it. I stand there watching the seagulls while the two of them poke around under the hood. I decide to copy Finn and enjoy my moment, taking a deep breath of fresh air off the water—which I promptly let out in a huff of panic as the box is wrenched out from under my arm, and the barrel of a gun is stuck hard into my side.

  “Hello, Miss Jessa,” an all-too-familiar voice says. “Thank you for this.”

  30

  Adrift

  I can feel the barrel of the gun jammed against my rib cage. Why doesn’t she just pull the trigger? End it? End me? Eversor answers me as if she could hear my thoughts, leaning in to speak quietly in my ear.

  “Not here, Miss Jessa. I will still live in this world once you are gone, yes? So you see, I must have no messes to clean up. No questions.”

  She looks over at Finn and Ben, who have frozen in place and are staring back.

  “You are looking for the distributor cap. I took it.” She says it almost cheerfully. “I’ll put it back later when I move your truck. But for now, we all go for a ride together.”

  “They’re not going anywhere with you,” I say, trying to turn. She only rams the gun into my side harder, and I can’t help the gasp of pain it draws from my lips.

  “Where are we going?” Finn asks evenly. He’s not looking at me—his focus is entirely on Eversor.

  “She can’t shoot all of us,” I tell them. “I’m not going through this again. I’m not taking you with me.”

  “This is my fault,” Ben says. “She knew we were going to be here because they’ve been monitoring me. I should have remembered that.”

  “I can shoot all three of you now, and deal with the mess,” Eversor says, smiling through gritted teeth. “Wouldn’t you prefer a few more moments together before you say good-bye? Now, step over to your car, Jessa, and Ben will get behind the wheel.”

  “You want me to drive?” Ben asks.

  “Isn’t that what I just said?” Eversor snaps. I guess the friendly act is already wearing thin. She’s aware that we’re starting to look odd, positioned the way we are. Someone’s bound to notice if we don’t get out of here soon.

  “Why don’t you let me drive,” Finn suggests. “I’m a far better driver.”

  “What?” Ben gives him a look. “What the hell are you talking about?”

  Finn raises his eyebrows, and I realize he’s stalling. “I’m only telling the truth, mate. She’s going to kill us, but you’ll kill us faster.”

  “Where do you get off—”

  “Enough!” Eversor recognizes the stall as well and once again rams the gun into my ribs, and I make a sharp sound in response. Finn is looking at me now, and his eyes are blazing with helpless anger.

  “Over to the car, please. Finn, you will be in front with him. But first…”

  She takes a quick look around and then tosses something to Ben. “Put this over his head and help him into the car.”

  It’s a pillowcase, in a dark navy blue. Ben starts to walk with Finn to the car, but Eversor stops him, pulling the gun from my ribs to gesture at him.

  “No! Cover him now, please.” She hands me one, too. “Over your head as well, Miss Jessa,” she instructs. “I don’t want either of you seeing yourself in a window along the way.”

  I give Finn one more look before I do what she asks, and I feel myself being led to the car. She pushes me into the seat and keeps on pushing, forcing me to slide across as she gets in beside me. I hear Finn’s door, then Ben’s close.

  “Drive,” she says to Ben. “Out onto the highway.”

  I hear the ignition, and then we pull out and onto the road. We travel in silence except for the occasional command given by an increasingly more nervous Eversor. Now may be my only chance to reason with her.

  “Ms. Eversor, you have to listen to me.” My voice is muffled under the pillowcase, but I know she hears me. “What you’re doing—it’s going to destroy us all if you keep it up.”

  “Is that what Mario tells you?” She sounds amused. “He’s afraid to lose the control he thinks he has. It is a fallacy. The only way to preserve control is to simplify. Rudy will preserve the origin, through me.”

  “Rudy’s gone.” Finn’s voice is brutally sharp. “Mario has imprisoned him for good. Haven’t you wondered why he’s deserted you?”

  “You lie! He’s … busy! There is much to do to prepare for the convergence!”

  “They found him in my dreams,” Ben says. “And that was a seriously dick move, by the way.”

  “Mario imprisoned him and you’re all alone,” Finn taunts.

  “Be quiet!” she snaps. “I must think. I must think on this.”

  “Listen, I can pull off the road—” Ben offers, but she only shouts at him to be quiet as well. A few minutes later, she’s directing him to turn, and then turn again. Soon we pull to a stop and park.

  “Stay in the car until we get you out. And do not move or I will shoot your friend,” she hisses at me. “Out!” she says to Ben, I presume. I hear his door open, then shut, and then another door opens and I’m being pulled out the way I came in. Once I’m out and away from the car, she takes my pillowcase off, but I know before she does exactly where we are. I can feel the breeze off the water and hear the gulls calling out overhead.

  We’re in front of a medium-size fishing boat at the very end of the marina. With it being the middle of the day in December, there’s almost no one here.

  “Onto the ship,” she says, and then she directs us to stop once we reach the deck.

  “So this is where you’ve been living?” I ask.

  “It’s not much,” she says, wrinkling her nose distastefully. “But it serves its purpose. No one thought to look for me here, and buying the boat was easy enough.” She keeps the gun trained on me and looks over at Finn and Ben.

  “How fast does this ship go?” Finn asks, casually leaning a hand on the deck railing, right next to a tall box that has a scattering of assorted tools resting on it, including a very large and heavy wrench.

  “Fast enough,” Eversor says. “Once I take her out to sea, I’ll do what needs to be done.” She’s talking to herself more than to us, looking off into the distance, and I see Finn’s fingers slide closer down the rail.

  She turns her head to look at him again, but before I can think of a distraction, Ben steps between Eversor and Finn.

  “You won’t get away with this,” he says, getting right in her face. She backs up, waving the gun at him.

  “Step away!” she threatens. “All of you! You can go peacefully in the cool water, or you can die slowly and in agony,” she says in a hard voice. “Blood washes right off the deck. Your choice.”

  I look over at the box with the tools, but the wrench is still in its place.

  “Turn around,” she commands, and she hands me a length of rope to tie Ben’s hands behind his back with, then she forces me to tie Finn’s hands as well. I wonder how she’s planning on tying me up wit
hout putting the gun down, but I get a pair of handcuffs.

  “Please,” I say as she snaps each cuff in place. “You have to listen to me. I have no reason to lie to you. We can get you the help you need.”

  “Oh, Jessa,” she says, smiling as her hand comes out to lightly stroke my cheek. “Such promise you have. It is unfortunate that your potential must remain unknown. I am sorry for this.” She looks at Ben and Finn. “But it must be done. Rudy is right—we must save what can be saved.”

  “You’ve no reason to sacrifice yourself for his mad scheme,” Finn bites out. “And without Rudy to protect you, it’s only a matter of hours before the other Dreamers find out what you’ve done.”

  “He’s right,” I say. “You don’t have to do this. These drugs you’re taking are dangerous.”

  “But they work,” she says, in a tone of near-reverence. “Finally, I’m more than a visitor to the dreamscape. I belong there. I belong with him.” Her eyes harden. “And what better way to prove my love than to finish his great work?”

  “Finish?” My jaw drops open. “You want to start the convergence? Still? Can’t you see he was playing you?”

  “Walk.” She pushes the gun into my back again. “Down,” she says.

  She herds us all toward a short set of stairs that lead down to a small cabin and shoves us inside, and then she opens a compartment in the wall, retrieving a life vest and something in a large canvas bag, which I’m guessing is a life raft.

  “Once the convergence is complete, I’ll sink the boat,” she says. “It will be quick—I’ll make a hole near the bow. Do not worry—you won’t suffer. With you all in the cabin at the bottom of the river, there will be no bodies to find. I am sorry.”

  She’s saying it even as she closes the door, locking us into our tomb. I beat against it, throwing my shoulder at it again and again.

  I can see Finn struggling with his bonds, and I begin looking frantically around the cabin, using my nose to move a pile of papers and reaching down with my fingertips to open drawers.

  “What are you looking for?” Ben asks. “I don’t see any mirrors.”

  “Neither do I,” I say. “I need a paper clip.”

  “A paper clip?” Ben asks.

  The engine roars to life and we’re all thrown back as the boat races across the water, bouncing along the waves with serious speed.

  I push myself back up to my feet, and Finn is right behind me. “Here you go, love,” he says, pressing a bent-open paper clip into my hand. I force myself to calm down so I can remember, and a few moments later, the handcuffs spring free.

  “How’d you learn to do that?” Ben asks.

  “Later.” I make short work of getting his hands free, then I loosen the knot on Finn’s, but I let out a groan as I stare in dismay at the door.

  “It’s a U-lock,” I say, tossing the paper clip down. “This is useless on a U-lock.”

  “How do you know that?” Ben is swimming in confusion. “So we’re back to square one if we can’t pick the lock.”

  “Then it’s a good thing I managed to nick this,” Finn says. I turn to look back at him, and he’s twirling a screwdriver in his fingers.

  “That’s too big to pick the lock with and not big enough to beat a hole in this door,” Ben says. “You should have grabbed the damn wrench.”

  “I vote for using the screwdriver to remove the doorknob, if it’s all the same to you,” Finn says, pushing past me.

  “Hurry, Finn!” I say, holding onto the edge of a countertop as the boat bounces hard on another wave. The boat is showing no signs of slowing, and this is taking entirely too long.

  “What’s the problem?” Ben asks.

  “The screws are rusted,” Finn growls, and the screwdriver slips, scoring the skin off the back of the hand he has on the knob. “Dammit!”

  He starts in again, just as the engine cuts out, and we’re slowing now, bobbing lightly.

  “You’ve got to hurry,” I urge him.

  “I am, I am!” he answers. “Just a few more turns on this one—there!” The screw falls off, hitting the floor with a metallic clink. He goes to work on the second one as I strain to hear something, anything … even though I know the universe will end in complete silence.

  “Finn…,” I urge.

  “He’s almost got it,” Ben says, bending over him. “It’s fixing to fall.…”

  The second screw hits the floor, and now he’s got his hand inside the opening, fiddling with the mechanism.

  “Just a little … farther…,” he says as he pushes his hand farther in, flexing his fingers to pull on the locking mechanism. “That’s got it! Give it a push!” he says, and Ben slams a shoulder into it, sending the door flying.

  “Ow!” Finn says, and then he lowers his voice to an angry whisper. “You damn well tore my fingers off.”

  “You said to give it a push!” Ben whispers back furiously.

  “You’re a veritable juggernaut of destruction!” Finn says.

  “Guys—” I interrupt. “It’s really quiet.”

  Finn motions me to get behind him, and Ben pulls me back and steps in front of me as well. We cautiously climb the stairs, conscious of every creak and groan. There’s a lot more wind out here on the open water, and I hope it’s enough to cover the noise we’re making. Finn gets up to the deck and motions us to follow, and we edge as quietly as possible along the side of the ship toward the main cabin.

  “That’s far enough,” Eversor says from behind us. We put our hands up and turn slowly to face her. The hand that’s holding the gun is shaking—she’s shaking all over. Her eyes are filled with tears and her nose is running as well. She’s taken her coat off and I can see now that she’s lost even more weight since I last saw her, to the point that she’s nearly skeletal.

  “Did you think I didn’t hear you?” She laughs and she keeps on laughing, too long, until it evolves into a wail that makes the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. “So alone…,” she sobs. “So alone. Emptiness and nothingness.” Her eyes meet mine. “All because of you.”

  She raises the gun, and it wobbles wildly in her hand as she points it straight at me, but before she can fire, Ben knocks me out of the way and Finn dives straight at her. They’re wrestling, slamming into the railing, and she’s got the strength only madness can lend her. I see Finn’s head jerk back as she slams him into the wall of the wheelhouse, and then his hand closes over hers on the gun. For a moment I’m not sure what I’m seeing; it looks like he’s trying to point the gun at her head.

  “Finn! No!”

  And then I realize he’s doing the opposite—he’s trying to pull the gun away, but she’s laughing, then sobbing as she yanks the gun hard to her temple and pulls the trigger. She falls backward into the water, and Ben and I rush to the rail to grab Finn before he falls in after her.

  Finn recoils, stumbling and falling to the deck, and I scramble over to him.

  “I’m all right,” he gasps.

  “Is she…?” I look over at Ben, and his face tells me what I need to know.

  “She’s dead,” he says, looking over the rail.

  “I knew we hadn’t seen the last of her,” Finn says with a grimace. “But I wasn’t expecting this level of delusion.”

  “Oh my God, oh my God…,” I repeat as Finn helps me to my feet. “Where are we?” I ask, glancing out at the water. I can see the shore off in the distance, but I have no idea what that translates to in miles. We seem to be the only boat out here at the moment, though, and that’s a good thing.

  “I know where we are,” Ben says, pointing off toward the shore. “That’s Founder’s Hall Clock Tower over there. That means the marina is down that way, around that bend in the river.”

  I stagger over to the wall of the boat cabin and lean against it. And I finally look at the water, at Eversor’s floating body.

  This is the woman who killed someone dear to me. The woman who killed me, again and again, in so many horrific ways. The woman who
was nearly responsible for the destruction of millions of lives. I should feel vindicated. I should feel like justice has been served, even though I know her one death will hardly atone for all she’s done.

  I feel none of that. I just feel sorry for her.

  She loved a man who was literally nothing more than a dream, and for that love, she gave it all. The deck was stacked against her from the beginning.

  I look through the wheelhouse window at Finn as he starts up the motor on the ship, guiding it into a turn. The afternoon sunlight glints off his dark hair, catching the planes of his face. He’s in his element here, and the wind ruffles his hair as the ship flies across the water.

  Ben puts an arm about my shoulders, leading me away from the cabin.

  “You okay?”

  “I will be. I’m just glad it’s over. It’s finally over.”

  “Just stay here,” Ben says. “And hold on to this.” He hands me the box with the mirrors.

  I numbly take the box, and I watch the water churn behind us until Ben comes back up the stairs.

  “I found this in the cabin, along with Finn’s watch,” he says, holding out my compact mirror. “He’s fixing to pull us into the marina in just a minute.…”

  I give him a shaky nod. Finn slows the boat, inching it back into its berth. He cuts the engine and Ben jumps down onto the dock to secure the mooring line.

  “We’ll run you back to the museum,” Finn says to Ben. “You’ll need to collect your truck.”

  Ben makes a disgusted sound. “It’s going to need a distributor cap. She took it, remember? Might as well drop me home.”

  “We need to call the police.” My voice is shaking, just like the rest of me.

  “And tell them Eversor tried to kidnap us?”

  “You think they’ll believe that?” I ask.

  “You said that they believe her to be enamored of me,” Finn says. “And she’s a known drug addict who recently robbed a local business. I would imagine it’s not too much of a stretch to play her as a scorned and unbalanced woman. We just need to be sure our stories match. Perhaps it’s best if we don’t split up just yet.”