The Best of All Possible Worlds

by Richard D. Parker

  Adam did not have time to ask just what she meant, before Avigail reached him.

  “Food,” Vio muttered and Avigail’s eyes widened but she hurried off back toward the Newton’s camper.

  Galen arrived a few seconds later, his face a mask of concern.

  “I think she’ll be alright,” Adam told the boy.

  Galen smiled a little sadly at him then. “Yes…she’ll be fine. She just needs to eat…a lot.” He turned and walked beside Adam, who spotted Christine hurrying his way.

  “Then what’s the problem?” He asked curious about Galen’s sober demeanor

  “I think they’ve found us,” Galen answered ominously.

  †

  “He was at the pavilion,” Avigail assured them later that night, after Adam and Blue returned from carrying the body out of the campgrounds and hiding it along the banks of a small creek nearly a half mile south. “I saw him up the hill in the bushes. He had a long gun.”

  “A long gun?” Christine asked, bringing Vio more food. As the rest talked about the events of the night, the woman just ate and ate and ate until Marigold began to giggle. It didn’t take long for everyone to realize that her appetite was not quite natural.

  After the excitement only the Carter’s, the old couple from Wisconsin, left and returned to their own campsite, the rest hovered around the fire watching everything with an almost morbid fascination and for some unexplained reason no one even mentioned calling the authorities. They all heard the gunshot and they all felt in their hearts that it was meant for Galen. No one at the campsite wanted the strange boy to die and so they sat quietly, not uttering a word. It was as if the entire group was afraid that if they spoke, it would reveal their continued presence and then someone would send them away.

  Galen smiled sadly and Avigail tried to explain.

  “You know a gun you hold here,” she said and mimicked the position, “and the gun sticks way out to here.”

  “A rifle,” Galen told her.

  “Rifle! Yes, that’s the word,” Avi nodded with a slight smile though she was far from happy. “He killed N’dori,” she added.

  “And Paula,” Christine said to no one in particular and then began to cry. After a moment, when no one else moved, Dorothy glided over and sat next to the sobbing woman and placed a gentle hand on her arm. Christine turned to her and buried her face in her shoulder. She cried softly for several minutes until Dorothy broke free and moved into the RV. She returned after a few minutes with four more ham sandwiches, another bag of chips and canister of potato salad. She placed it all before Vio, who was still eating ravenously. The strange, otherworldly woman was quickly becoming Dorothy’s favorite.

  “We definitely need to get her in a hotdog eating contest,” Ned quipped and Blue laughed.

  “Avigail,” Christine asked ignoring the cheerful banter. “Who are you? Who’s Vio and how can she eat like this? It shouldn’t be possible.”

  Avigail shrugged and Christine suddenly grew very angry. “Who in the hell are you?” She yelled at nearly the top of her lungs. Everyone around her came to a sudden stop, very surprised. “She can’t eat like this…it would kill most people. I don’t care how happy it makes Dorothy!”

  Galen broke away from Avigail and moved to Christine. He placed a calming hand on her forearm but at the moment she didn’t feel like being comforted.

  “You helped create them Christine,” Galen finally said and she jerked her arm away from him abruptly.

  “What the hell are you talking about Galen? I don’t understand any of this!”

  “Sis…calm down,” Adam interjected, sitting at Vio’s side. He was more surprised by the outburst than most. Christine was rarely irrational, even when they were kids. But even though he was shocked by his sister’s anger and frustration, he could understand it. Vio continued to eat as if she were starving…hell she’d been eating very fast for nearly an hour now. If it wasn’t so strange and creepy, it would be laughable.

  “You calm down. I want answers and I want them now,” she insisted and cast a hard look at Galen. “Do you know?”

  Galen nodded. “There are worlds upon worlds upon worlds Christine,” he answered softly and everyone around became dead silent. “They come from one such world,” he continued and most still sitting in the area glanced at Avigail and Vio, who was still eating rapidly, oblivious to all those around her but Adam. Christine just stared at Galen, frowning.

  “What world?” Buck, the eldest son of Arny and Lori Stadler asked. He was just thirteen and was in the middle of the most exciting night of his life.

  “Earth of course,” Galen answered calmly. “An Earth very close to ours, but different. There are millions and millions of them.”

  “Whoa!” Buck, his younger brother Troy and Lauren all said together.

  “Whoa!” Ned repeated a few seconds later, and suddenly everyone laughed, including Christine, the tension was finally broken.

  “But why are they here?” Christine asked and cast a quick glance at Vio. At the moment, she was busy scooping out the bottom of the potato salad container having polished off the four sandwiches in record time.

  Galen glanced over at Avigail and smiled. She was beautiful beyond anything he could have hoped for. “They are here because of me…and you. I’ve been to their world before,” he admitted, and held up a hand when Christine made to argue. “I went there a very, very long time ago. I moved there from an Earth very, very similar to this one…but not this one. Test them you…will see. Both Vio and Avigail have the R89 gene you designed. They are my past and my future. In a way, they are both my progeny…and so yours.”

  The entire camp went quiet again; even Vio had stopped her eating. Christine remained utterly still for a long moment and Adam thought to go to her, but then she leaned over and threw up her supper all over the ground.

  “Eeewwww!” The children all yelled together and scattered. Christine retched a few more times and held up a hand indicating she was alright.

  “I’m fine,” she told them as Adam finally reached her. “I’m fine,” she added just for him. “But I think we should go soon.”

  Ned looked to Dorothy, slightly alarmed.

  Dorothy glanced at Galen and over to Avigail before smiling at her husband and nodding. “We can go…he’s done enough here.”

  Blue frowned as a feeling of desolation washed over him. “It’s safe here,” he argued, suddenly very intense. Although unsure as to why, he did not want these people to go. “I’ve scouted the area, there’s no one else out there; the bald man was on his own.”

  Marigold, who sat next to her mother, watching everything with her impossibly large eyes suddenly spoke up, her first words since the gun shot.

  “Mother…I don’t want them to leave,” she said, looking directly at Galen the entire time.

  “I know dear,” Camille answered softly, feeling much the same. “You could stay the night…if Blue says it’s safe…”

  “I’ll keep watch tonight,” Blue interrupted. “Stay,” he added, not truly understanding the panic that was coming over him at the thought of the boy leaving. It was a feeling many around the campfire shared.

  As always Christine looked to her older brother for guidance. “I can help him,” Adam answered. “I can sleep tomorrow when we’re back on the road.”

  “I can help as well,” Arny, the father of the family from North Dakota piped up.

  “Can we help to Dad?” Troy, his youngest asked excitedly.

  “Arny…” Lori interjected softly…almost reluctantly. She found that she wanted the Newton’s to stay…wanted it more than anything in the world at the moment, and for a brief time she even wanted it so much she was even willing to put her own family at risk, but then she came to her senses.

  “Arny…we should go back to our camp. We need to get an early start in the morning,” she added and could hardly face the looks of deep disappointment that were aimed in her direction. Suddenly she felt dirty…almost like a tra
itor.

  “Yes…Mr. Stadler,” Blue added. “Adam and I will keep watch; you go and look after your family.”

  After a moment Arny nodded, though no one present made any move to leave.

  “It’s settled then, we’ll leave in the morning,” Ned said happily and everyone agreed.

  As it turned out, Adam and Blue had company deep into the night. In fact everyone but Vio stayed huddled around the fire until after two in the morning. They sat, just talking softly among themselves and listening to the bugs serenade one another, and to Galen when he spoke. Everyone was just happy to be around him. Vio, her body exhausted from manipulating time and from digesting her prodigious meal, could not even make it to the witching hour. Dorothy, always the conscientious hostess, took pity on the woman as she fought to stay awake, her head jerking from time to time during the battle, and excused herself to make up a bed in the rear of the RV. Adam would have liked nothing more than to follow Vio inside, but with a sigh remained outside, then caught his sister grinning at him. She stood and took a seat next to him.

  “All those women I try to set you up with and you go and fall for some crazy sword carrying killer from another world,” she whispered, but then nudged him gently to show she was kidding.

  “”She’s not crazy,” Adam whispered back, “she’s an angel.”

  Just as Blue predicted, the area was clear of any additional threats and the night passed quickly though Adam was very tired by the time the sky in the east began to take on the first hint of sunrise.

  But before the sun actually cleared the horizon Camille strolled down from the main house, dressed in a fashionable blue sundress and carrying a pot of hot coffee in one hand and four white mugs in the other, her fingers laced through the handles. Marigold, who was still in her pajamas and clearly very sleepy, sauntered slowly behind her mother carrying a few more mugs and a well-loved, long-eared stuffed rabbit.

  “Good morning,” Camille greeted Adam and then filled and handed him a mug of coffee. “Cream or sugar?” She asked and reached into the pocket of her coat.

  Adam shook his head. “Black,” he answered and Blue grunted his approval. Camille then poured her husband a cup and whispered something in his ear.

  Blue smiled at her. “I feel the same way,” he answered, but did not elaborate. The three sat around the smoldering fire, drinking coffee and watching the sunrise as Marigold leaned against her mother and dozed.

  They talked quietly for nearly a quarter of an hour before Ned came out to join them. Dorothy soon followed, then Christine a half an hour later.

  “We’d like to go on with you,” Blue finally spoke up and Ned grinned.

  “I was hoping you might,” the older man answered, somewhat relieved that his friend would be joining them. Blue, though a very gentle man definitely had the look of someone who might be good in a tangle.

  “We can follow behind in the truck; if you can find us a place to sleep at night in that mansion you call an RV, we’d be obliged,” Blue said to Ned, who made a few quick calculations. The RV, for all its size, was advertised as being able to comfortably sleep eight, but with the Johnston’s they would make ten…but it could still be done as long as Goldie slept with her parents and a few of the others didn’t mind close quarters.

  “No need to drive, I believe we can squeeze you in,” Ned said and shook the hand of his friend. “It’ll be good to have you along,” he added just as Galen emerged from the camper.

  As it turned out the Stadler’s from North Dakota and the Woofter family from Arkansas both decided to join them on their trek west. The Woofter’s came mostly at the demands of their daughter Lauren, who insisted her joint pain completely disappeared when she was near Galen. The Stadler boys, including Arny, pleaded with Lori until she finally relented. In some ways it was the easiest decision she’d ever made.

  So just as Dorothy Newton predicted, their following began to grow.

  †

  They drove slowly west across South Dakota, taking their time as they headed up through northeastern Wyoming and then into Montana. They only made three to four hundred miles a day and by the time they reached the Deer Park campsite just outside of the Buffalo, Wyoming, the caravan had grown to over a dozen vehicles. Everywhere the Newton’s decided to stop, they encountered people who were drawn to Galen, many embraced the attraction, but some feared it. After their initial curiosity was satisfied, a few of the more cautious would melt away without a word.

  Galen found the entire situation slightly amusing but he thoroughly enjoyed meeting all the new people and greeted each and every one of them like they were his very best friend in the world.

  Each night curious campers would drift from their campsites and without a word gravitate toward Galen, like insects to light. At first it was spooky but after a while Christine morphed back into a scientist and began to make observations and then scribble down any thoughts that she had into an old note book Dorothy managed to scrounge up for her. She wanted to understand why people were drawn to Galen. It didn’t make sense. Lauren Woofter, the young girl with Lupus claimed that her flare ups lessened when she was near him. When Christine examined her, Lauren’s joints did not appear to be greatly inflamed, but even though she felt better, her Lupus still remained. It was a complete mystery, but Christine clearly remembered Paula remarking on her lack of headaches. Something about being with Galen helped those with chronic ailments. Christine didn’t understand; she needed a lab!

  Despite her ignorance, those who visited the campsite nearly always felt better while they were in Galen’s presence. His happy, open and welcoming demeanor would quickly bring down any defensive walls they’d erected in their individual psyches and everyone soon found that they were relaxed and enjoying themselves tremendously. But it was because of the open and friendly atmosphere that their minds were free to forget their illnesses, their allergies or just nagging aches and pains. Some of the visitors, even in the age of science, would insist on the mystical, the wondrous, the divine. Very often they would ask questions, crazy questions, improbable questions of a strictly religious bent, but always Galen would admit that he had no answers. But because just being in the young man’s presence made so many people feel better, at peace, people naturally became to believe Galen was something unnatural…even supernatural.

  Time and again Galen denied being anything other than he was, and certainly he was no Messiah born again, but inevitably the questions kept coming.

  “Even if you’re not the messiah, you do believe in God?” A tall man with red hair asked as though he already knew the answer. The man had traveled east from Portland, Oregon and so was not a part of their caravan from South Dakota. But he was curious, as were all Galen’s visitors. The man’s courage was buoyed by the fact that his severe gout was miraculously giving him no pain. Something strange was going on here…maybe something wonderful and the man wanted to find some answers.

  Galen paused. The question the man asked was dangerous…very dangerous indeed and he took a moment to consider his words. “I don’t know,” Galen answered, which surprised the crowd immensely.

  “What do you mean you don’t know?” A woman yelled aggressively from the very back of the gathering. “You’re a Christian aren’t you?” A chorus of low murmurs rippled through the gathering.

  Galen glanced over at Christine, whose pen hovered about her notebook, suspended in the thick scent of danger. Christine quickly stood up, recognizing the danger, and instinctively attempted to protect Galen.

  “You have to give him a chance,” she said loudly over the noise of the crowd, “he’s not even three years old and much too young to decide.”

  Instantly the crowd noise grew into a low rumble. Christine tried to explain her research to the disbelieving crowd but was shouted down. Anyone could see that Galen was a young man…perhaps seventeen, maybe eighteen. He was clearly not a three year old…he could talk; he could reason. He was not three.

  But Christine persisted and gradu
ally told Galen’s tale, about her experimentation with the aging process and gene manipulation. A good portion of the crowd wandered off, not understanding what was going on, and despite their good feelings toward the young man, they decided they did not want to get involved.

  “Doesn’t look much like you’ve extended his age, looks as if your research has failed. Am I right?” The red-haired man asked from out front.

  Christine nodded, but Galen shook his head negatively and the crowd buzzed once more.

  “Christine was searching for a way to control the aging process,” Galen answered, feeling better about the turn of the conversation. “And she found it through me. Through her gene manipulation I can control the aging process…at least to some degree. I’m not very strong, but I’ll grow stronger with time.”

  “The government know about all this cloning and stuff?” a younger man asked and took off his hat respectfully.

  “Not cloning,” Christine piped up, slightly irritated. ‘Would people never learn?’

  “Galen was engineered from two distinct strands of DNA…just like all of you,” she explained. “Everyone alive received DNA from their mother and father; it was no different with Galen.”

  “The government okay with you growin’ people in tube then?” the young man persisted.

  Christine hesitated a moment and the crowd fidgeted. “No…the Department of Energy was backing my research but then they wanted to pull the plug. They wanted to terminate…to kill Galen. We’re not going to let them!”

  The throng rumbled once again and a few more families moved off, sensing danger.

  The crowd continued to buzz for several long minutes and Adam fidgeted at Vio’s side. She smiled at him. Adam had never been much for crowds, plus it seemed Galen put some kind of charge into them and it made him exceedingly nervous. He eyed the group anxiously, expecting to find an assassin at any moment. He hated the fact that every night a new crowd would try their best to pin the supernatural on Galen. For some reason they were attracted to him, they could sense his wholesomeness and love and wanted to make him out to be something more than he was. It was irritating and slightly unnerving. Thankfully Blue, who’d become devoted to Galen, helped Adam watch over the strangers that appeared nightly around the fire, like moths attracted to a flame. Blue was a simple man, a good man and Adam found that he liked him very much and was beginning to rely on his calm manner and judgment. The crowds were making him decidedly nervous.