Awakened

by K. G. Duncan

  Abby jumped up out her bed and padded over to the table. She clicked on the desk lamp and saw the guitar picks that Michael had given her. The ones she had decorated with Dr. Kinsey-inspired Celtic patterns.

  Michael.

  With Michael, she also knew something else. She knew that if she ever needed to get away from CHNOLA, Michael would be her ally, and he would help her. He would cover for her when it was time for her to go. That was the story played out multiple times in the myriad pathways of the Fold: Michael was a constant, like Dr. Kinsey.

  Joanna.

  Yes, the good doctor, whom Abby had by now spent countless mornings with chatting into a recording device, whose tapes no doubt Dr. Kinsey had spent endless hours pouring over and taking notes. Her diligence and commitment were admirable. More than that, Abby had never met anyone so willing to listen and be open to possibilities. Except for maybe Momma Bea, there was no one with more empathy and compassion. It made Abby smile to think of Dr. Kinsey’s clinical mask of objectivity, which she wore so well, while all the while a roiling tumultuous passion of emotion and nearly uncontainable energy bubbled just beneath the surface. Her heart fire was just as bright as Abby’s, and Dr. Kinsey, Joanna, didn’t even know it.

  Abby was crushed by the inevitability that one day, and that day was coming soon, she would have to betray Joanna’s trust. She would have to leave the good doctor behind, and in so doing, Abby would place Joanna in a situation where her professional reputation would be left in shambles, desperately defending a case that no one else would believe. At least it would be that way for a long and painful while. Abby had searched the pathways to try and find a way forward where Joanna would be there, gladly, by her side, free and clear from the blame of others within the institution or the powers that be who worked for the ulterior and darker purposes of the government. But none of those existed in this world. Not yet.

  And that was because of people like Agent Novak.

  Agent Dmitri Novak. Yes, really. Dmitri. Like that shouldn’t have been a warning sign to the powers that be within the FBI. Agent Novak was an uncomfortable, relentless shadow that had been spreading on the edges of Abby’s awareness ever since she had begun her sessions with Dr. Kinsey, and ever since she had started going deeper within the Fold in her nightly sojourns, there he was, rearing his shiny bald pate in multiple pathways, demanding, cold-hearted, vicious in his tenacity to control and possess anything that would serve his greater, twisted purpose and misplaced loyalties to a State and a system that existed only for its own sake… But for Abby, his was a purpose that was no longer valid in this world or any world, for that matter. Agent Novak would find that out sooner or later.

  Abby was just waiting for the trigger. For the moment of action to arrive. She knew that Agent Novak would enter the picture some day in the not-so-distant future, and when he did, well that would be when the proverbial shit would hit the fan. She would only have to wait a few more weeks. Until then, it would be daily sessions with Dr. Kinsey, art room discoveries with Melody, and as much time as possible anywhere near the vicinity of dreamy and delicious Michael. That couldn’t be all that bad, right?

  So, it was on a muggy and wet summer day on the first of July, one day after Abby celebrated her twelfth birthday (A cupcake and a candle with Michael serenading her with David Bowie songs), that Agent Novak finally arrived. It was a day that was beautiful in a streaky blue and gray after-a-rain kind of way; Abby was watching out the window when the black government-issued Ford sedans had pulled up. Then three figures, FBI agents, emerged from the cars, stereotypes in dark suits and dark glasses, Agent Novak’s glistening bald head among them.

  It wasn’t much longer after that that Michael came to retrieve Abby for her morning session with Dr. Kinsey. Only they didn’t go to her office like they usually did. This time, Michael led her to a larger conference room with video cameras in all four corners. He smiled slightly, sat her down, and was unusually quiet. He wasn’t his usual, chatty self. He went to a side table and poured a glass of sweet tea, came back to set it down in front of Abby, and smile once again.

  “The doctor will be in to see you soon,” he said. “It’s a different day today, isn’t it?”

  “No one day is quite the same as the one that came before it.” Abby smiled back at him.

  “You know what I mean, now, don’t you?” His grin broadened to the dazzling smile that made Abby’s heart flutter. Michael chuckled, then as he opened the door to leave, he sang in a quiet voice: “Ch-ch-ch-changes! Turn and face the strange, Changes!” He pointed at Abby, winked, then shut the door.

  David Bowie songs always made her feel better. She was still smiling when Dr. Kinsey came into the room several moments later.

  Kinsey was outwardly chipper and talkative as she bustled about the conference room. She kept running her hand through her hair as she went through some morning pleasantries—she was always genuinely happy to see Abby, and today was no different—but today, as she poured herself a glass of sweet tea and pulled out the tape recorder to begin their morning session, she was a bit strained in her eagerness, concealing a tension that lay beneath. Something was bothering her. Abby knew this immediately, and as she offered to top off Abby’s iced tea, as Abby took back the glass and drank, she knew what it was. Special Agent Novak. He was waiting with his team in another office room, watching them on camera, waiting for the right moment to come in.

  Dr. Kinsey turned on the recorder and began in the usual way. They were talking about several things: the interconnectedness of all things within the Fold, the need for being honest with each other, the results of the many tests the doctor had run, and so forth. It was a bit more scattered than usual, and the whole thing was just evasiveness. There was something else that was the real point of their discussion here today. Dr. Kinsey was, for the first time in Abby’s experience with her, beating around the bush.

  So, as Abby was listening and bandying back and forth in the usual way they had together, she decided to avail herself of one of the new tricks she had recently learned in her forays into the Fold.

  Time wasn’t linear, remember? All points in time existed simultaneously within each discrete moment of time, so Abby just decided to “roll the tape back,” so to speak, and eavesdrop on the conversation Dr. Kinsey had been having with Agent Novak before she came into the room. It wasn’t hard to do, as it had been a heated exchange and was still first and foremost in Dr. Kinsey’s mind, which definitely helped to explain her distracted and scattered focus this morning.

  So, while Abby talked and jousted in her usual manner, she multi-tasked her way through the previous half hour before the good doctor had come into her room. Now, as manipulations of the space-time continuum go, they don’t really occur in standard time as we usually experience things, and Abby was able to comprehend everything that had happened in a matter of moments.

  Feeling slightly guilty, Abby also knew that Kinsey would have no idea that she was doing it—in fact, as Abby listened to and answered her questions, she also ran back repeatedly a particular piece of the conversation between Dr. Kinsey and Agent Novak. It took her only moments to listen to and play back three times the following conversation, which actually lasted over two minutes at the time it took place, 24 minutes and 16 seconds before the current conversation she was having with Dr. Kinsey.

  In that conversation, Dr. Kinsey and Agent Novak were in Dr. Kinsey’s office. Joanna was seated behind her desk, arms folded somewhat defensively.

  “I want to see her,” Agent Novak was saying leaning in toward Dr. Kinsey, both hands placed territorially and aggressively on her desktop. His wedding ring was a large, ostentatious gold band with several diamonds inlaid. It constricted his finger and actually looked painful, like it was doing much more harm than simply cutting off his circulation.

  “Today,” he continued. “I want to sit in on today’s session.

  “Well, t
hat can be arranged, of course,” Dr. Kinsey replied, staring up at him from her seat behind the desk, somewhat annoyed by his posturing. You are nothing but a thug, Agent Novak. The doctor kept her opinions to herself, however, as the special agent from the FBI continued.

  “If even only half of what you say in your report is true, then we’re gonna want to bring her into the program,” he released himself from his alpha ape position and strolled over to gaze out the window and down into the courtyard. “You understand, of course, that this isn’t my decision alone. It comes from the very top. We’re eager to see what she might be able to do for us.”

  Kinsey was immediately combative. “I understand what it is your superiors might want from A.B., but I’m here to tell you that I will officially object, for the record, to your interference in my ongoing therapy with Miss Rubideaux. We are at a critical junction. I’ve nearly broken through to a fuller understanding of what is going on in A.B.’s head. I fear that any disruption to her therapy right now may do irreparable harm.”

  “Jesus this is an ugly building!” Agent Novak interrupted her, still looking outside. “You must get a lot of wrist slitters around here. This place is pretty depressing.” He turned and faced Kinsey, who had risen from her seat and now glowered back at Agent Novak. He smacked his lips and smiled without mirth.

  “It doesn’t matter what you think, doctor,” he continued. “I already have the paperwork and the Justice department has already sent over the judge’s release.”

  Kinsey was furious. “I’ll challenge it. And this just isn’t about what I think. There are any number of ethical and legal issues related to this matter. A.B. is still a minor, and she has rights. Furthermore, it’s impossible in her current situation to get any legal guardian’s consent.”

  “Two things,” the special agent spat out. “One: She doesn’t have any parents or legal guardians, so to speak. She’s already a ward of the state. That’s my domain. And two: She’s no little girl. She’s an extraordinary girl, in fact, a girl with access to the entire scope of human history through all time. A psychic phenomenon the likes of which we have never encountered before. Nothing that the Bureau represents or proposes to her would come as a shock to her system.”

  Dr. Kinsey was horrified at his callous cynicism. He was a cog in an enormous, indifferent bureaucracy. He could only see a tool—a weaponized possibility in Abby. He literally had no idea what Abby was all about—what she was here to do. She decided to make one more appeal, knowing that it would still, in all likelihood, fall on deaf ears.

  “That may all be true,” she began. “But you’re overlooking a few things. Most significantly, that A.B. may very well decide to check out at any time. I truly believe she’s only here because she chooses to be. What you propose will, in all likelihood, be met with a giggle and immediate dismissal. You’re in way over your head, you know. Besides, A.B. probably already knows what you are up to. She’s exhibited the ability to acquire knowledge and information remotely before. She’s already ten moves ahead of you, Agent Novak.”

  “Precisely!” Agent Novak blurted out. “All the more reason to bring her in immediately. Transfer her to a high security facility.” He held up his hand as Dr. Kinsey drew in her breath about to interject passionately. “Hold your horses, Dr. Kinsey! We’re not prepared to go there yet. I’m a little bit ahead of myself. I assure you we’d much rather have her complicit and in full cooperation. Totally on board. So, what’s the harm in asking her to come in? That’s all I want to do today. Put a few cards on the table. See if she’s game.”

  Kinsey regarded him for several moments before replying. “Be careful what game you play, special agent. She has cards you’ve never even seen.” She paused to look through her files briefly. “Give me half an hour. I will find the right time to bring you in. I think I know our subject a bit better than you, Agent Novak. Trust me on this. I’ll get her ready to meet you.”

  End tape. Roll it back. Repeat two times.

  Our subject? Did Dr. Kinsey say that for Special Agent Novak’s benefit, or did she truly see Abby only in this way?

  Abby was now anxious to move forward and get this meeting over with. She now gave her full attention to Dr. Kinsey, who sat on the other side of the table from her. The doctor was finishing up an observation.

  “So, there you go, saying things and knowing things that you simply shouldn’t know or have any inkling about. You have proven this to me again and again.”

  Abby smiled, and tried to still the beating of her heart. Joanna had betrayed their confidence. Of course, Abby knew that she eventually would, but not because she wanted to. It was because she was bound by her duty. A misguided objectivity that refused to listen to the connections within her heart. Oh, and the fact that the FBI and Special Agent Novak had been pestering her since the beginning.

  “Do you mean to say, doctor, that you are coming to believe that I might be telling you the truth?” Abby fell back into sarcastic mode, a game the doctor was very familiar with.

  This time however, she didn’t play along. The doctor replied, “Well, that may be one of the reasons we’ve changed our venue today. But what I believe in this instant, is irrelevant.”

  Ah. Here it comes. The rub—the true order of business. You’ve been dancing around it for a while, dear Joanna.

  “You have some very special visitors today,” she continued. “Folks that really want to talk to you.”

  Abby sighed inwardly. There was something sad about what was playing out in front of her. She spoke, “Those wouldn’t happen to be the Men in Black characters that arrived in those very American cars with the government plates, would it?” She forced herself to laugh. She also pointed at the camera in the corner and raised her eyebrows with a wink. “I saw them earlier from my window. I watch, you know. Who comes in and out of the building. It helps to pass the time.”

  Kinsey seemed relieved. “Well, I imagine so. And yes, our visitors do happen to be from the FBI.”

  Abby was now fully engaged, and ready. Agent Novak wouldn’t stand a chance. “They’re not going to poke me, are they? Stick needles in my arms or probe my various orifices? Extract tissue samples?”

  Kinsey laughed, a real chortle this time, just like old times. “A.B., please. I’m going to be right here with you. I would never let them do anything like that to you.”

  “Yeah, until they take me away,” Abby replied looking Dr. Kinsey steadily in the eye. “Which you know they will, doctor. Joanna. He has authority and a different set of rules. There is nothing you can do to stop him.”

  Kinsey was unphased. “Not a chance, A.B. They are doctors like me. They specialize in abnormal psychiatry. And you are still my patient. Under my care. They are here at my request, in fact.”

  Abby sat staring back at Dr. Kinsey, who was running her hand through her hair once again. “I guess that part about confidentiality just went out the window, then.”

  Kinsey was now visibly distressed. “A.B., I asked them to come here because they can help.”

  Abby decided to see how deeply Joanna could deceive herself. She fired back, “Help who? You or me?”

  “Well,” Kinsey balked, then started again. “Both of us, I guess.”

  Joanna was decidedly less attractive when she was lying. Abby decided to apply a different tact—give Joanna another chance to overcome her stubborn denial of the facts that were all laid out in front of her. Facts that she still refused to acknowledge. “I thought you understood by now.”

  “I’m sorry?” Kinsey sat back and once again ran her hand through her hair.

  Abby took a sip from her tea before continuing. “That you won’t find any answers by talking to me or doing more tests on me. If you really want to discover what is going on, let me show you.” She held out her hands to Dr. Kinsey. “All you have to do is take my hands, Joanna. We could start by talking to the very biosphere itself.”
>
  The doctor had to chuckle at that. Now both hands were running through her hair. “A.B., I am not a shaman. I don’t know how to do that.”

  Abby withdrew her hands and calmly laid them palms down on the table between them. “Yes, you are. And yes, you do. You have approximately one hundred thousand billion cells in your human body—that’s one hundred twenty-five billion miles of DNA just inside of you alone! Your personal DNA strands are long enough to wrap around the earth five million times. All of it connected to the biosphere, and to the Fold. You are constantly interlinked. You are constantly talking to the multiverse.”

  Dr. Kinsey glanced up at the camera in the corner before responding, “Well, right about now, we are both interlinked with a government agency. Hold that thought, A.B.! I would like you to have this discussion with our friends from the FBI. Are you okay with that?”

  Abby smiled from ear to ear, “Oh, this should be fun! But, Joanna?”

  “Yes?” Kinsey had picked up a phone from the table in front of her and paused her finger before pressing down on the intercom button.

  “You should always remember one thing,” Abby paused lifted her glass to salute the camera in the corner. She was still smiling. “These people are not your friends.”

  “No, they are not,” Dr. Kinsey muttered under her breath before punching the button on the phone. “Michael?” She spoke into the phone. “Bring them in, please.”

  She hung up the phone and turned to smile at Abby. “You know,” she began quietly, “you don’t need to answer any question you’re not comfortable with. The same rules apply that you and I established at the very beginning of this process.”

  “Oh, I’m fully aware of that, Joanna.” Abby lifted her glass and the doctor followed suit. They clinked their glasses together and took a drink. “Just relax,” Abby continued. “I know what I’m doing. Sit back and enjoy the show.”