by Brian Harmon
Chapter Fifteen
Eric had assumed that this tunnel had something to do with the Creek Bend Water Works building that was conveniently located nearby, but as he made his way into the tunnel, his cell phone’s flashlight illuminating the way for him, he didn’t see any pipes. In fact, he saw very little of anything for the first forty yards. There were lights mounted overhead, strung together by a heavy piece of conduit pipe, but that was all. And they weren’t even on. The only purpose they were serving at the moment was to force him to watch where he was going so he didn’t bang his head on one.
What was this place? Where was he? And was he alone in here? His mind kept returning to the open gate with its loose chain and smashed lock. It obviously wasn’t just left open by a careless caretaker. Someone forced their way in.
MOST LIKELY YOUR NEW FRIEND FROM THE ART GALLERY
Steampunk Monk. It made sense. He had those glasses that allowed him to see even the most unseen of structures and that weird device that somehow measured psychic energy. And he and Karen had seen him wandering around the city. He was obviously looking for something.
But why would he come down here? Did his tools tell him this was a place of interest? Or was this a place of interest to agents in general?
Hopefully he was here before he visited the Aberration Station and not in here somewhere waiting for him.
“Could you feel anything about that guy? Did he feel like an agent?”
I DIDN’T FEEL ANYTHING UNTIL HE WAS RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU, AND EVEN THEN NOT MUCH. THERE’S DEFINITELY SOMETHING UP WITH HIM. LIKE WITH THE AGENTS, I GET THE FEELING HE’S BEEN TOUCHED BY SOMETHING DARK, BUT HE’S ALSO DIFFERENT FROM THE OTHER AGENTS YOU’VE MET
“Have you ever heard of anything like that device he had?”
I DIDN’T KNOW ANYTHING LIKE THAT EXISTED. MACHINES WORK ON ELECTRICAL ENERGY. YOU CAN USE THEM TO MEASURE ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS, RADIATION, HEAT, PHYSICAL STUFF LIKE THAT. BUT PSYCHIC ENERGY IS A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT THING. IT’S LIKE TRYING TO MEASURE TEMPERATURE WITH A TAPE MEASURE. SAME WAY WITH SPIRITUAL AND MAGICAL ENERGY
“Apples and oranges.”
EXACTLY
“So what did he mean when he said I was absorbing psychic energy.”
I’VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT THAT SINCE HE SAID IT. YOU KNOW, I’VE ALWAYS WONDERED HOW OUR CONNECTION WORKS. I KNOW IT’S PSYCHIC IN NATURE. MAYBE WE COLLECT PSYCHIC ENERGY TO POWER OUR LINK
Eric stopped walking and cocked his head. “What? Like, from the air around us?”
AMBIENT PSYCHIC ENERGY. IT’S EVERYWHERE, BUT THERE’S USUALLY TOO LITTLE OF IT TO DO ANYTHING. SOME PEOPLE GENERATE IT. SOME ANIMALS DO, TOO. AND THERE ARE A LOT OF OBJECTS AND PLACES THAT GIVE IT OFF. NO ONE KNOWS WHY. BUT I’VE NEVER HEARD OF ANYONE ABSORBING IT BEFORE
He continued on. There was something up ahead, a room of some sort. As he approached, he found that it was a small, square space, only about ten feet across. It was completely empty. Two more tunnels like the one he’d just entered from branched off of it, one to the left, one to the right, running parallel to the river behind him. On the fourth wall, directly in front of him, was a heavy-looking steel door. There was no handle, only a metal plate, making it impossible to open. Or impossible from this side, at least. Whatever was behind it obviously wasn’t what he came here for.
He turned his attention to the two gates instead. The one on the right was still chained and locked. The one on the left, like the one through which he entered this strange labyrinth, was open. The chain lay in a pile on the floor. The lock was smashed.
This time, he bent over and examined the damage. The metal was twisted and crumpled, but not scarred up the way it would’ve been if someone had simply beat it with a hammer, which would’ve been hard to do while it was hanging from a chain anyway. And it didn’t appear to have simply been shot with a bullet, either. The damage wasn’t localized to a single point of impact.
Steampunk Monk had an impossible device that measured psychic energy, spectacles that would allow him to see things no one else could see, and a squirt bottle filled with some kind of super-trippy hallucinogenic cocktail. Did he also have something in one of those many pockets that could make a lock explode? Or was this someone else’s handiwork?
His vivid imagination was more than willing to offer its own hypothesis: Another agent, with the power to make things explode with only his mind. It was a terrifying thought, and not entirely irrational. He’d met men who could summon monsters, create complex illusions, control predators from other worlds, disappear at will and even refuse to die after being torn to pieces. How much harder would it be to believe in a man who could make anything from a padlock to a human brain explode with only a thought?
He pushed the gate all the way open and entered the next tunnel.
It was identical to the last one, long and narrow, too short to walk entirely upright without banging your head on one of those useless light fixtures, except that this one wasn’t straight. It was curved to the left, back toward the river. He could see only a short distance ahead of and behind him, which was a problem because he’d already run into three monsters today. (Counting Steampunk.)
In short: It sucked.
In search of something to distract himself from the unnerving anticipation of the tunnels, he said, “So is everything okay in Tokyo. You sounded kind of distracted when Karen asked you about it earlier.”
EVERYTHING’S FINE
He stared at the screen, waiting for more.
REALLY
He continued waiting.
HOW ARE YOU DOING THAT?
“Doing what?”
HOW CAN YOU TELL WHEN I’M HOLDING SOMETHING BACK?
“I’m not sure. I just know you, I guess.”
SOMETIMES I THINK THIS PSYCHIC CONNECTION THING ACTUALLY DOES GO BOTH WAYS AND YOU’RE JUST TOO THICK TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO WORK IT
“That’s entirely possible. I am pretty thick. What is it? What’s going on over there? Are you okay?”
There was nothing for a moment. Then, finally, she said, WHEN I FIRST ARRIVED HERE, I MET A YOUNG WOMAN NAMED YUNA. SHE’S TRAPPED HERE, LIKE ALL THE PEOPLE I MEET. BUT SHE WAS DIFFERENT. SHE’D ONLY BEEN HERE A FEW DAYS
“You mean she hadn’t lost her mind yet?”
NOT MUCH OF IT. YOU KNOW THAT WHEN I MEET TRAPPED PEOPLE I KIND OF ABSORB THEIR KNOWLEDGE
“Yeah…”
WELL, IN HER CASE I ABSORBED MOST OF HER MEMORIES, TOO
Eric stopped walking. “Really?”
HER MIND WAS STILL ALMOST COMPLETELY INTACT. HER MEMORIES WERE STILL WHOLE. I’VE PRACTICALLY LIVED HER LIFE. I KNOW HER LIKE SHE KNOWS HERSELF.
“Wow.”
BUT AS THE DAYS GO ON, AND HER MIND DETERIORATES, THOSE MEMORIES ARE RAPIDLY FADING. NOT JUST FOR HER, BUT FOR ME, TOO. I’M ACTUALLY EXPERIENCING THE LOSS OF HER HUMANITY
That sounded terrible. Bad enough to watch someone waste away, but to experience it on such a personal level… To actually share the loss of someone’s memories… He wasn’t sure he could deal with that.
WE’RE INSIDE A DESERTED OFFICE BUILDING LOCATED ON A BUSY STREET. I DON’T THINK ANYONE ELSE CAN SEE IT
“It’s unseen?”
I THINK SO.
Most of the places she visited weren’t unseen. They were something different. Located on places where the border between this world and another was thin, they existed in a state of duality, simultaneously occupying both realms. Sometimes the half that was in our world was a perfectly normal place, with people coming and going as they pleased, never noticing Isabelle or any others who might occupy the other half. But more often they were remote and hard to find. Sometimes they were places that simply didn’t get used anymore for one reason or another. But there was always a way to get between the two halves of such a place. And anyone who had the misfortune to enter the wrong half was doomed to stay there forever.
Only Eric had ever escaped one of those places. And only because Isabelle saved him.
YUNA STUM
BLED IN BY ACCIDENT. THERE WAS A RAINSTORM. SHE FORGOT HER UMBRELLA. SHE JUST RAN INTO THE WRONG DOORWAY
The wrong place at the wrong time.
“Is it safe?”
WE’RE ALONE. WE’RE NOT IN ANY PHYSICAL DANGER. BUT SHE WAS FUSED TO THE PLACE BEFORE I GOT HERE. WHEN I FOUND HER, SHE WAS TERRIFIED. STILL IS. AND RIGHTFULLY SO. THERE’S NOTHING BUT MADNESS HERE AND NO WAY OUT
Eric wasn’t sure what to say. He knew how this worked. Isabelle was free to roam from place to place, using a mysterious door that manifested itself wherever she went. Neither of them knew why it was there. It just was. Maybe it was some kind of physical manifestation of whatever it was that linked those places together. Whatever the reason, it was only available to her. She’d met dozens of people in her travels, all of them trapped like her, but unable to move around in the same way. And unlike her, they all spiraled hopelessly into madness, a process that began almost immediately.
I WANT TO SAVE HER. I’VE BEEN TRYING, BUT I DON’T KNOW HOW. SHE’S LOST HER FAMILY. HER FIANCÉ. HER WHOLE LIFE
Eric waited for her to continue.
I DON’T THINK I CAN. FOR THE FIRST WEEK, IT SEEMED LIKE I COULD. BUT THEN THE MADNESS BEGAN TO SET IN. AND IT CAME ON A LOT FASTER THAN I EXPECTED
I DON’T KNOW HOW MUCH LONGER SHE HAS
“I’m so sorry,” said Eric. “I wish I could help.”
I KNOW. BUT EVEN IF YOU COULD COME HERE, YOU’D ONLY END UP TRAPPED LIKE US
AND THEN
WELL…
“I know.” And then she’d have to lose him to the madness, too. “You should’ve told us. We’ll always be here for you.”
I DIDN’T WANT KAREN TO KNOW. IT WOULD ONLY UPSET HER
He supposed she was right about that.
AND I DIDN’T WANT YOU THINKING ABOUT IT EITHER. I KNOW IT BOTHERS YOU THAT YOU COULDN’T GET ME OUT THAT DAY WE MET
“Yeah…” He still considered it one of his greatest failures.
IT’S OKAY. I’M GOING TO STAY WITH HER AS LONG AS I CAN. I WON’T LET HER BE ALONE
Eric didn’t know what to say. The whole thing sounded heartbreaking.
I THINK I’M HELPING. A LITTLE, AT LEAST. I’VE BEEN TELLING HER ABOUT YOU
“Me?”
I TOLD HER THE STORY ABOUT HOW WE MET. AND I TOLD HER ALL ABOUT YOUR ADVENTURES
He wasn’t sure what to say to that. It was a little embarrassing to imagine anyone telling stories about him.
SHE LIKES HEARING ABOUT YOU. SHE SAYS SHE WANTS TO MEET YOU SOMEDAY. I KEEP TELLING HER IF SHE JUST STAYS STRONG THAT MAYBE SHE WILL
“Maybe so,” he agreed.
YEAH
They were both silent for a moment. Was there really any way out for poor Yuna? And if not…
No. There had to be hope. He couldn’t think for even a second that there wasn’t a way out for Isabelle. She couldn’t be trapped in that awful state forever.
He couldn’t stand the thought.
IT’S OKAY, she said again. MAYBE THERE’S A REASON IM STUCK IN THIS PLACE. MAYBE THERE’RE PEOPLE WHO NEED ME. IF ONLY SO THEY DON’T HAVE TO BE ALONE WHEN
…YOU KNOW
“Maybe.”
ANYWAY, YOU NEED TO GET YOUR HEAD BACK IN THE GAME. FIND OUT WHAT THAT PLACE IS AND GET OUT BEFORE SOMETHING TRIES TO EAT YOU
Sound advice if he’d ever heard any. He shined his light both ways, making sure he was still alone, and then continued onward.
His battery was low again. He forgot that he’d unplugged it from the travel charger with less than half a charge. The light was draining it way too fast. He turned it off and switched to the light from the screen instead. It wasn’t as bright as the flashlight. In fact, it barely illuminated anything beyond the length of his arms. And he wasn’t able to read texts from Isabelle while shining the light away from him. But it might keep him from getting stranded in the dark, which to him was really the most important thing at the moment.
Life was simpler with his old phone. Not as simple as it was when he didn’t have to have a phone at all, but certainly simpler than it was now.
At the end of the corridor was another room. It was nearly identical to the last room, except that there was no tunnel leading back toward the river and no gates to block entrance into the other two. Also, there was a metal box mounted to the wall, next to the metal door that, like in the previous chamber, had no means of opening it, so that the only options were back the way he came or onward through the next tunnel. Except that back the way he came wasn’t really an option. He had no choice but to go forward, really. He had to keep going until he found whatever it was he was looking for. The voice in his head told him so.
No reason to think that wouldn’t hold up in court if he was caught trespassing down here.
He stopped and looked back the way he came. He held his breath. He listened.
For just a second there, he thought he heard something. Footsteps in the dark? A rustle of someone’s clothes?
He was paranoid. That was all. This whole ordeal was stressful. He hated this sort of thing.
He continued onward. The next tunnel didn’t go straight, he discovered, but rather curved to the right. It was probably following the banks of the river. But why? Why was this even here? What was this place? What the hell did it have to do with Hector or the gray agents? What did it have to do with those creatures at Goss or the steampunk monk? What did it have to do with Gardenhour? Surely all those things must be connected somehow.
There were no such things as coincidences.
He entered the next room and looked around. It was the same size as the two before it, with the same useless metal door. The same tunnel continued on straight ahead, but this time the gate remained locked. Whoever broke into this place didn’t go down there.
That only left the tunnel to the left. Like in the first room, it led back to the river. He could see daylight down there. But why would anyone just circle back outside? It made no sense.
There was nothing here.
What was he doing here? Had he missed something?
He walked over to the locked gate and peered through the bars at the tunnel on the other side.
What was he supposed to do now?
It was while he was peering into this darkness that he became aware of a presence in the room. He wasn’t alone. Someone was behind him.
Before he could turn, the barrel of a gun was pressed to the back of his head.
“Move and you’re dead.”
Chapter Sixteen
Eric decided not to move. He didn’t want to be dead. Not that dead was the worst thing you could be. After all, everyone did it eventually. But now wasn’t a good time for him. He had stuff to do.
The man with the gun plucked his phone from his fingers and said, “Hands on the bars. Now.”
He did as he was told. He took hold of two of the bars and pressed his face into a gap between two others. Oddly, he didn’t feel any panic as he stood there. He felt frustrated, even embarrassed to be surprised so easily, but not really afraid. Maybe it was because this wasn’t the first time he’d found himself at gunpoint. In fact, it wasn’t even the fifth time. All he felt was a calm sort of cautiousness. No sudden movements. No threatening motions. Just remain calm. If this person wanted to kill him, he wouldn’t have bothered with the tough cop routine. He would’ve just pulled the trigger as soon as he was sure he wouldn’t miss.
A light came on behind him, illuminating the room around him. He saw his shadow slide across the walls of the tunnel in front of him, wavering back and forth. It was a flashlight. A powerful one.
He felt a hand patting him down, searching for a weapon. Very cop-like. But this guy certainly wasn’t a police officer, or he would’ve identified himself as such, rather than threatening to murder him.
He also wasn’t the steampunk monk. The voice was all wrong. And he was taller.
Eric felt him take his wallet from his back pocket.
Maybe he was just being mugged. That would be a nice change
of pace. If the bad guy just took his stuff and ran away… He was pretty sure that would make his day. That wasn’t the kind of luck he had, of course, but it would be nice.
“Why are you here? What are you looking for?”
Hmm… That was a tough one. He bit his lip and tried to think of an answer. “Um…”
“Talk!”
“Give me a minute,” he snapped, “it’s a hard question!”
“It is not a hard question! What. Are. You. Looking for?”
“You mean, like, from life in general? Or—”
The stranger growled. “What is wrong with you? Do you want your brains blown out?”
“Not particularly, no.”
“Then talk!”
Whoever this guy was, he wasn’t a hard-trained killer. He sounded young and naïve. He didn’t seem to know how to deal with the fact that a man at gunpoint wasn’t saying everything he wanted to hear. Eric was growing more confident by the second that he could talk his way out of this. But he had to be careful. He hadn’t forgotten that there was a gun pointed at the back of his head, which meant that he could literally die at any second. (An outcome he was very much eager to avoid.)
“Fine,” he said. “Take it easy. I’m not looking for anything. I’m just curious. The gate was open. I wanted to know what was inside.”
The gun pressed more firmly against his skull. “You’re lying.”
“I’m not lying. What the hell do you think I’m looking for down here? There isn’t anything to look for. There’s literally nothing down here. Look around.”
“I know you’ve been snooping around! I saw you at that rec center this morning!”
“Wait… What?”
“I hate it when people lie to me!”
“It was you… You were the one watching us from that window.” He started to turn around, to look at who was behind him, but the gun barrel pushed more forcefully against the back of his head.
“Don’t move!”
“Knock it off!” snapped Eric. “I’m unarmed.”
“Like I’m stupid enough to take any chances with you people!”