World's End

by Jake Halpern

  "I don't know," said Alfonso. "That's why we have to talk with Josephus."

  Bilblox sighed heavily.

  Neither of them spoke for a while and the only sound in the airplane was the drone of the Otter's engines. Bilblox found himself in a quandary. Of course, the sensible thing to do was to say no. The chances that Leif Perplexon was alive—and that they would find him—were infinitesimally small. Not to mention, it seemed inconceivable that they would even find their way back to Dormia. Then there was the matter of Judy Perplexon. What would she say about all this? Bilblox knew that the whole plan was utterly boneheaded from start to finish.

  And yet...

  And yet Bilblox felt a powerful desire to help his friend. Nothing mattered to Bilblox more in life than loyalty. Riches meant very little. Sure, it was nice to have comforts, but what meaning did they have without companionship, without brotherhood? Truth be told, ever since he had to stop working as a longshoreman because of his blindness, he had been unbearably lonely. He desperately missed being part of the Brotherhood of Magrewski Longshoremen back in Fort Krasnik. He missed the singing, the joking, the rough horseplay, and even the sound of his fellow brothers snoring away in the night. Above all, he missed the feeling of devotion and loyalty that existed among the Magrewski longshoremen. He missed the feeling that if one of them got into a fight, or lost a bet, or suddenly grew ill, that all of them would close ranks and come together. This was the stuff of life—not luxury planes and fancy cars. This was the same feeling that connected him to Alfonso. Again and again, Alfonso had stuck up for him, even when all others believed that Bilblox had become an untrustworthy villain who was addicted to the purple ash of the Dormian bloom.

  But there was more to it than just this.

  There was Estonia and what had happened there all those years ago, when he was just a boy. This is what really gave Bilblox pause.

  Bilblox had grown up in the port town of Väike Kunda. He lived with his mother and older sister, Loviise, in a ramshackle cottage on a cliff overlooking the Gulf of Finland. His father, Hillar, had left them when Bilblox was a baby to seek his fortune in Fort Krasnik. Whatever he earned, he sent back to them, and it was just enough for all three to survive.

  Väike Kunda was a poor town and the only real wealth existed in the home of the local sheriff. He was a corrupt and ruthless man, who was known simply as the Käskija, which simply means "lord" when translated directly from Estonian. The Käskija was an older man, in his late sixties, who had been married five times and had outlived all of his wives. Rumor had it that he had beaten several of them to death. The Käskija had an eye for pretty girls, and eventually he set his sights on Loviise, who was a striking beauty. As carefully as she could, Loviise tried to avoid the Käskija, but when it became clear that this would be impossible, her mother made arrangements for her to join a Bridgettine convent in the mountain town of Tam-salu. The convent had been in operation since 1412 and it had a tradition of taking in girls in trouble. The abbess general of the Bridgettine order had taken a special interest in Loviise's situation.

  Loviise was to leave by bus in the middle of the night. Bilblox accompanied his sister to the town's small bus station that night and, to their horror, they found the Käskija and several of his goons waiting for them there. They grabbed Loviise roughly and threw her into the back seat of a nearby car. Bilblox tried to intervene, but he was just eight years old, and the goons quickly stuffed his face into the dirt.

  As soon as the Käskija's car had motored away, Bilblox began to yell for help. "Appi, appi, appi!" Frantically, he knocked on the door of every house he could find. He explained what had happened and demanded that they help him rescue his sister at once. The neighbors listened patiently, shook their heads sadly, and uttered the same words: "Pole midagi parata." It cannot be helped. Bilblox was enraged. This wasn't true, of course. It could be helped. All they needed to do was take action together, as a town, but this required more courage and initiative than any of them had. So Bilblox set out at once on the long winding road that led to the mansion where the Käskija lived. Bilblox arrived at dawn and was greeted at the door by one of the Käskija's thugs, a large oafish man with a pockmarked face.

  "Mis see on?" asked the thug. What is it?

  Bilblox demanded that his sister be let free.

  "Tehke, mida iganes vajalikuks peate," said the goon with a laugh. Take whatever actions you deem necessary.

  Bilblox nodded, reached behind his back, brandished a crowbar, and hit the goon as hard as he could on his right kneecap. The goon wailed out in pain. Bilblox ran past him and into the mansion, calling out frantically, "Loviise, Loviise, Loviise!" She never appeared. Other goons eventually found Bilblox and beat him to within an inch of his life. Bilblox was in the local hospital for three months. When he was released, his mother sent him to live with his father in Fort Krasnik. This was for his own safety. And as for Loviise, she was released only years later, when the Käskija died. She was immediately taken in by the Bridgettine nuns and was never seen again.

  This story haunted Bilblox. He still shivered when he pictured the Käskija's face. But he saved his greatest contempt for the townspeople who wouldn't help him. Their words still rang in his ears. "Pole midagi parata." It cannot be helped. Bilblox knew that this was the lie that facilitated the greatest evils. It was also the tonic of the spineless wretches who would rather be safe than do what was right.

  "Let's just suppose Snej could find a way to land this plane in the Urals—in the height of winter. What's your plan for getting into Somnos?" asked Bilblox finally.

  Alfonso smiled.

  "Do you remember that the gates to Somnos only open once every twelve years for Great Wandering Day?" he asked.

  Bilblox nodded.

  "When we left Somnos, Hill told us that the next Great Wandering Day was just three years away. I even remember the exact date because it's nearly two weeks before Christmas—December twelfth. Well, that was three years ago, and it's now December eleventh. The gates should open tomorrow."

  Bilblox whistled.

  "You think that's a coincidence?" he asked.

  "Not a chance," replied Alfonso.

  ***

  After considering Alfonso's story, Bilblox announced that he would take him to Somnos on one condition: Alfonso needed to tell his mother and receive her blessing. Alfonso used Bilblox's satellite phone to make the call. As he dialed, the Twin Otter headed due north across the Mediterranean, passing above the Greek islands, which appeared as dots of brilliant white against a backdrop of sparkling blue-green waters.

  Judy was, of course, incredibly relieved to hear from her son. She had been beside herself with worry. Alfonso assured her that he was okay. Over the static and crackle of the phone, he tried to explain everything that he had learned in the past few days.

  "This is madness," said Judy. "Absolute madness!"

  "Come on, Mom," said Alfonso. "Didn't the thought ever cross your mind that Dad might be alive?"

  "Of course it has," replied Judy. Even across the crackle of the satellite phone, her anguish was apparent. "But that doesn't mean that I want my only child—who's just fifteen years old—to run off on some fool's errand. What if something happens to you? Then I have lost my husband and my son."

  "Nothing will happen to me," replied Alfonso. "My sleeping-self..."

  "Your sleeping-self!?" said Judy. "Enough of all that!"

  "Mom," Alfonso replied. "I'm begging you—you've got to let me do this."

  There was another long, static-filled pause.

  "Somehow I have the feeling that I don't have much of a choice about this," said Judy with a sigh. "I really don't know what to tell you. If you're asking me what I want, I want you to come home right this instant."

  "What about Dad?" asked Alfonso with exasperation. "He may be alive and I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who can help him. We can't just forget about him. Is that what you want?"

  Alfonso wished he could take back th
ese last words as soon as he had uttered them.

  "I can't believe you would even suggest that," said Judy with a choked sob. "Of all the hurtful things you could have said."

  "Mom, I'm sorry. I didn't mean..."

  "I love you very much, Alfonso," said Judy coldly. "Now go ahead and put Bilblox back on the phone."

  Alfonso handed the phone over to Bilblox and, as he did, he felt about as low as he had ever felt in his life.

  Bilblox pressed the receiver to his ear and listened intently. He nodded his head repeatedly and said "yes, ma'am" no less than a dozen times. Finally, he clicked off the phone and dropped his head, as if he were in pain.

  "What happened?" asked Alfonso.

  "She made me swear on my honor that I wouldn't let any-thin' bad happen to ya," said Bilblox.

  "So why are you so upset?" asked Alfonso.

  "Because," said Bilblox wearily, "I got no business makin' a promise like that."

  CHAPTER 9

  INTO THE STORM

  AFTER CROSSING THE GREEK ISLANDS, the Twin Otter headed up along the western coast of the Black Sea. They skimmed along at a low level to avoid radar and landed for fuel and supplies on the outskirts of the Romanian harbor town of Constantja. The Twin Otter touched down in the early evening in a farmer's field that was encrusted with a thin layer of snow and ice. The ever-resourceful Snej took off on a bicycle that she stored in the Twin Otter. She carried a basket, a rifle, and a bag full of cash. She returned two hours later followed by a heavy truck filled with drums of high-octane airplane fuel. In her basket she had several different types of Romanian cheeses, grapes, warm flat bread that smelled like olive oil and oregano, and several links of pencil-thin smoked sausage. Alfonso, Bilblox, and Snej ate dinner in the airplane. As they ate, Alfonso stared out the window as the two truck operators filled the Twin Otter's extra tanks with fuel.

  Before boarding, Bilblox said grimly, "Alfonso and Snej, take a good look around—and do some lookin' for old blind Bilblox as well—cause this is the last peaceful scene we'll be lookin' at for quite a while. The Urals'll be nasty this time-a year."

  "But think about Somnos," Alfonso replied. "Imagine what it looks like, now that the Founding Tree is fully grown. It ought to be a paradise."

  "Yup, should be nice," said Bilblox grimly. "Assumin' we can make it there. I sure hope that you remember the right coordinates."

  "I'd never forget them—64° North latitude by 62° East longitude—they were encoded in Uncle Hill's old watch," declared Alfonso confidently. "Don't you remember? From there it's just a few hours' hike."

  "Hmm," said Bilblox. He was visibly worried.

  Neither of them spoke for a while and eventually Alfonso opened the rosewood box that he had taken from the crypt in Alexandria. He wanted to check on the floating seeds. The glass vial containing the bluish liquid was intact, but to his dismay, the seeds were lying on the wood, dried out and cracked. One of them had partially disintegrated into gold-colored dust. An hour or so later, Alfonso checked on the seeds again—hoping foolishly that their condition might have improved—but instead he discovered that the seeds and the gold dust were gone and all that remained was a light-colored stain on the wood. It was as if the seeds had simply evaporated or melted into the wood.

  "Not good," muttered Alfonso.

  "What's the matter?" asked Bilblox.

  "Well," said Alfonso, "the seeds that were in the rosewood box seem to have decomposed and then kind of evaporated or something."

  "Hmm," said Bilblox with a yawn. "I hope we didn't need 'em fer anything."

  Alfonso was about to close the box when he noticed something. The bottom of the box was pockmarked with thousands of minute indentations. At first, the indentations appeared to be arranged randomly, but, upon closer inspection, Alfonso sensed that they formed a pattern. But he couldn't grasp its complexity. It was like a puzzle with too many pieces. It would take a computer to analyze something this complicated. The only other solution was for Alfonso to enter hypnogogia, that magical state of mind in between waking and sleeping in which he was able to tap in to his special powers as a Great Sleeper. But he wasn't ready to do that. Not yet. The last time Alfonso had entered hypnogogia, nearly two years ago, it had almost killed him.

  ***

  It was mid-morning on December 12 when the Twin Otter neared the Urals. December 12! It was Great Wandering Day! At this very moment, the gates of Somnos were ajar and Wanderers were parading out onto the snowy slopes of the Urals. And, in all likelihood, Hill was standing there, just waiting for Alfonso to arrive.

  Alfonso's thoughts snapped backed to reality as the Twin Otter began to shake with turbulence. The view out the window of the plane was enough to make the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. As far as the eye could see there were dark, billowing clouds, which were illuminated every few seconds by brilliant flashes of lightning.

  Bilblox and Alfonso crept up to where Snej was sitting. Her normally cool demeanor was gone. She muttered Persian curses under her breath, and Alfonso could see that her knuckles had turned an angry red from the strain of keeping the Twin Otter on course and level.

  "Very bad weather ahead," said Snej in a voice that strained to keep calm.

  Bilblox nodded. "Should we turn around?" he asked.

  "I'm afraid not," said Snej. "I've been listening to military cargo planes a couple hundred miles behind us, and they're in much worse shape than we are. They report hail and hundred-mile-an-hour winds. We really have no choice but to continue on. If we find a place to put down near the coordinates you gave me, I'll do it, because we are quite close actually. Otherwise, I'll just keep going east to Nizhnevartovsk. We've been there before."

  "All right," said Bilblox. "Do you need anything?"

  The plane fell abruptly and then evened out. "Just sit down," said Snej.

  Bilblox smiled and clapped Snej on the shoulders. "You bet-cha," he replied.

  They made their way back to the main cabin and strapped themselves in.

  "I'm always getting you into trouble," said Alfonso quietly. "This is my fault."

  "We both made the decision," replied Bilblox with a shake of his head. "We're in this together."

  The plane rattled fiercely and both of them fell into a prolonged silence. Alfonso looked out the window and watched the storm clouds draw closer. He imagined the ferocity of the blizzard that was raging below. The blizzard made him think of all the times that he had used the sight of swirling snowflakes as a means of entering hypnogogia.

  The last time Alfonso had tried to enter hypnogogia, he had ended up in a coma. The memory of this awful episode still gave him the heebie-jeebies. It all started with Alfonso catching a bad flu. That night, his mother sent him to bed early, put a humidifier in his room, and covered him with blankets. As hard as he tried, however, Alfonso couldn't fall asleep. Eventually, out of pure boredom, he decided to enter hypnogogia. He focused on the mist that was coming out of the humidifier until he could see each individual particle of moisture. The particles flowed and swirled around him and Alfonso studied the intricate patterns that they made. Every time he reached out to them, he was overcome with a delightful feeling of weightlessness. And then suddenly, without warning, everything went black.

  Alfonso woke up several weeks later in the hospital in St. Paul. He had been in a coma the whole time and had fractured his collarbone. His mother told him that he had fallen out of bed and hit his head on the floor. The impact of this blow to the head had put him into a coma. But this made no sense because his bed was only two feet off the ground. Besides, it wasn't Judy who had found him. It was Pappy. According to Pappy, he had walked into Alfonso's room and seen his grandson "floating" near the ceiling.

  Afterward, Alfonso was rushed to the hospital. Pappy repeated the story of what he had seen, but Judy and the doctors dismissed this as a figment of his imagination, saying his mind wasn't as sharp as it used to be.

  One morning in the hospital, toward the end of hi
s stay, Alfonso awoke to the sound of the chief neurologist whispering to his mother. Alfonso was tempted to open his eyes, but for some reason he didn't. The neurologist was whispering, "...And so your son is very lucky to be alive. It was a very severe coma. We use something called the Glasgow Coma Scale, which rates comas in severity on a scale from three to fifteen, with three being the worst. Alfonso experienced a level-five coma. Most patients experience considerable brain damage at that point. Alfonso's chances of partial recovery were less than twenty percent and his chances of full recovery—which he somehow managed—were barely two percent. What I can't figure out is how a mere fall from his bed could have caused such a severe coma."

  "I don't know what to tell you," whispered his mother, exasperatedly.

  At this point, Alfonso opened his eyes. His mother and doctor rushed over to his side and gushed over how well he was doing. There was no more discussion of what had caused the coma and Alfonso decided that, for now at least, this was for the best. It was all too scary to think about.

  Quite suddenly, Alfonso's mind snapped back to the present, as the seaplane began to plunge. Loose items flew around the cabin. A book hit Bilblox in the head and he let out a shout. The plane tilted downward at an ever steeper angle. The sound of screaming engines filled the air. Lightning flashed in the windows. Alarms blared. Oxygen masks dropped from the ceiling. The overhead lights blinked off and were replaced by harsh red emergency lights. Alfonso felt weightless and then nauseous. Snej was yelling something, but it was impossible to hear her. Bilblox's seeing eye dog, Kõrgu, had apparently woken up and was now barking furiously from her kennel in the back of the plane. The plane tore downward through the clouds. The force of gravity had pinned Alfonso into his seat, but he was still able to turn his head to look out the window. It was pure white. Then, for a moment, the storm relented and he could see the rocky, snow-covered ground. It was close—perilously close—and Alfonso knew at that moment that they were going to crash.