‘This is incredible,’ she said, astonished at the display of radioactively enhanced dexterity he had shown her. ‘With these powers you can change the world...for the better. Something I could never do.’
‘You want me to go public with this? Won’t that attract the people who’re searching for us? The bad people.’
‘No, Jimmy, you misunderstand. I never said you should go public. When I say that you can change the world, I mean one life at a time. Just by focusing on the small things. Helping people – like the woman you saved from the muggers.’
His blood ran cold as he was reminded of the day he had committed the worst crime possible. Helping the old lady had come at a price. His radioactively enhanced reflexes had led him to killing one of the muggers.
‘I don’t think that’s a good idea,’ he warned her. ‘Didn’t you listen to what I just told you? I killed a man. How can we be sure it won’t happen again?’
‘Faith, Jimmy. You just need faith.’
‘I’m not religious. Never have been. With all the bad things that happen in the world, it seems to me that God isn’t doing such a great job.’
Emmy smiled.
‘I’m not talking about religious faith. Quite the opposite, in fact. The faith I’m talking about has nothing to do with believing in God. True faith is about believing in ourselves. When you have that kind of faith, you don’t need God.’
He scratched his head. It did not help.
‘Okay, say you’re right and I can make a difference. Where will it end? I can’t keep running forever.’
The scientist’s eyes glazed over and her voice took on a more confident, assured tone.
‘It will end where it started,’ she told him. ‘With Jackson’s Hill. With your family.’
An image of his mother flashed before his eyes, snapping him back into his present state of mind. Then the echo of Emmy slowly faded until he found himself back in the town – back in Jackson’s Hill.
He was now standing at the centre of a deserted Main Street. As acceptance of his new surrounds set in it brought greater clarity with it. The town was almost exactly as he remembered it, but not quite. He was unable to place his finger on exactly what was different. Was something missing or was there something there that should not be? It was impossible for him to tell. Before he could further dwell on the matter, noises emanating from the Sly Fox caught his attention, distracting him. It sounded like a party was in full swing.
‘Jimmy!’ called out Mindy, the landlady, upon seeing him enter. ‘I thought you were out of town. Was the trip cancelled?’
‘Trip?’
He approached the bar and took up a stool. As Mindy placed a freshly poured beer on the counter for him, he desperately searched his memory for the place this current re-enactment was from. No matter how hard he tried he was unable to recall ever going on a trip out of town.
‘Where’s Mom?’ he asked.
‘Carol? – I expect she’s at home. Doesn’t she know you’re back in town?’
‘I don’t know what you mean. Where do you think I’ve been?’
Mindy eyed him suspiciously, trying to gauge if he was playing a trick on her. Jimmy was no prankster, but he was often manipulated by others for that purpose.
‘Is this some sort of a joke, Jimmy, because I for one aren’t finding it funny if it is?’
‘No jokes. I’m as serious now as the night this place caught fire.’
‘Fire! Jimmy, have you gone mad? This place has never been on fire. You’re starting to worry me. I’m going to call Lucas.’
‘Call him. While you’re at it you can ask him...’
He paused and glanced around the bar. Everybody had stopped what they were doing and were now watching him intently. This was no memory. This was happening in the moment. People were actually responding to what he had to say rather than what he had once said before.
‘On second thoughts,’ he told Mindy, ‘don’t call Lucas – call Emmy.’
At first the landlady was confused, but then it hit her.
‘By Emmy, you mean Dr Rayne from the observatory, don’t you?’
‘Who else? Just call her, please.’
Mindy opened a notebook she kept under the bar and after consulting it, she dialled a number.
‘There’s no answer,’ she told Jimmy. ‘I’m not surprised. She and her grandfather are extremely busy and they rarely have time for us folk down here.’
Jimmy took a step back from the bar.
‘Her grandfather – you mean, Jackson Fox?’
One of the regulars seated at the bar who had been listening in, burst into laughter.
‘Did you hear that, fellas? – Jimmy is on first name terms with the professor!’
More laughter followed, from a broader source this time. Jimmy stepped farther away and as he did so, he could see that Mindy’s concern increased in proportion with everybody else’s amusement. She was still holding the telephone receiver and he noticed that her free hand was subtly keying in a number. A number just three digits long.
‘I’m sorry,’ said Jimmy. ‘I’ve got to go.’
He staggered towards the door as if in a daze. Most people returned to their drinks and conversation, but a few kept staring at him. Doubt and half buried memories creased their faces.
Once outside, he hurriedly walked up Main Street. He barely made it ten yards before a vehicle swung onto the pavement, blocking the way ahead of him.
It was a police car.
‘Lucas, I can explain,’ Jimmy said, holding his hands up defensively as the policeman got out of the car. ‘I understand, I’m not supposed to be here. So I’m going. I’m leaving right now, there doesn’t have to be a problem.’
‘No, you’re not,’ replied Lucas. ‘You’re not going anywhere. Now that you’re here, you can never go back.’
‘You’re wrong. I’m not even supposed to be here. Mindy told me. I’m supposed to be on some sort of a trip. I’ll go back there right now.’
Lucas relaxed a little.
‘Some sort of a trip? You always were a terrible liar, Jimmy. There is no trip.’
‘What do you mean? Of course there’s a trip. Mindy said so.’
‘Mindy was simply repeating a lie that I told her. I said that Davo had taken you on as an apprentice and the two of you were headed out of town for a few days to work on a job. Out of the pair of you, I would’ve expected Davo to be the one to expose my deceit – not you.’
‘I don’t understand,’ said Jimmy. ‘Why would you lie about me?’
The policeman was just about to answer when something behind Jimmy caught his attention. He let out a dejected sigh.
‘Here we go again – groundhog day.’
Temporarily forgetting about Jimmy, Lucas approached the confused person leaving the pub.
‘Jack, what seems to be the problem – you appear troubled?’
‘A fire,’ the man replied. ‘There was a fire. I remember it now, clear as day. Except, nobody else does. It’s as if I imagined it. But I know that I didn’t. It was real. Jimmy knows. I just heard him talking about it to Mindy.’
Lucas turned back to look at Jimmy. He rolled his eyes, showing frustration more than anger.
‘Don’t you worry about Jimmy,’ Lucas said. ‘Just go back in the pub and have another drink. You’ll feel better after a drink.’
‘Feel better – am I ill? Wait a minute, I am ill. Everybody is. This whole town is infected with madness. The army – they’re coming for us. I have to warn everybody.’
Jack’s face lit up with panic. His eyes bulged and his jaw dropped open. He turned and attempted to break into a run back towards the Sly Fox, but he never made it. The bullet blew apart the back of his head, dropping him to the floor.
‘Holy shit!’ said Jimmy. ‘You killed him.’
‘Not really,’ replied Lucas, perfectly relaxed in spite of the violent action he had just performed. ‘It’s just the quickest way to quieten someone down. A shame r
eally. If I could, I would’ve put this sorry bunch out of their misery long ago.’
Jimmy did not know whether to stay where he was or to run. He was so gripped by fear that he could not even focus enough to attempt transporting his conscious thoughts elsewhere, like he had earlier when searching for Emmy.
‘Come with me,’ Lucas ordered him. ‘You and I have a lot to discuss.’
Jimmy looked at the gun and then down at the still twitching body of Jack Fareshot. He decided it was not wise to argue with Lucas.
As the two men made their way to the pub, Lucas pulled out a smartphone. After swiping to unlock the touch screen, he keyed in a sequence of digits. Almost immediately the entire street was filled with music. It was coming from speakers mounted onto the street lights. Something that Jimmy was fairly sure did not exist the last time he had been in town.
‘Creepy, isn’t it?’ said Lucas, as the two men entered the pub.
Creepy was just the beginning, Jimmy thought. Another speaker, this one mounted above the bar, continued the music playing from outside. Every single person in the bar apart from Lucas and Jimmy were deathly still. It was if they were all sharing in a collective trance. The place was like a wax museum.
‘What’ve you done to them?’ asked Jimmy.
‘The kindest thing possible,’ replied Lucas. ‘Contrary to what you may think you’ve just witnessed, I’m not a monster.’
To prove his point, Lucas gestured for Jimmy to look to the door. A moment later, Jack Fareshot entered the pub without a scratch on him. Once inside, he positioned himself by the bar before freezing in position like the others.
‘I don’t understand,’ said Jimmy. ‘You just killed him.’
‘No, I already told I didn’t,’ replied Lucas. ‘Although, he is dead all the same. As are you and I. Something tells me you already knew that, am I right?’
Jimmy nodded.
‘I’m not sure if that‘s a blessing or a curse,’ said Lucas. ‘It does at least make what’s to come a lot easier. You see, Jimmy, I’m going to give you a choice. It’s a choice I never had, but put in your shoes, it’s one I’d gladly take.’
Moments later, Lucas returned to his office. He had done what he had always done – kept the peace. Order was restored to the town of Jackson’s Hill and it had brought one new resident with it. Although something told Lucas that Jimmy would not be the last. Maybe there was still hope for him – for them all. Until then, he would just keep on doing what was necessary. Even in purgatory, he had a job to do.
Chapter 10
The first week passed relatively smoothly compared to what both women had originally envisaged. Constance and Emmy’s working relationship was built on shaky foundations, but it was workable nonetheless. Together they made steady progress through the reams of astral data.
On the final working day, Charlie complained that he was not feeling one hundred percent and left the lab shortly after lunch time. Once he was out of the picture, Constance noticed a marked change in Emmy. The younger scientist repeatedly cast nervous glances around her and seemed particularly on edge toward the end of the day.
Constance was finishing up her final chapter of the shift when Emmy strolled over.
‘Why don’t you knock off early today,’ offered Emmy. ‘I just have a few loose ends to tie up myself and then I’ll lock up.’
‘I don’t mind staying a little longer,’ Constance replied. ‘I’m almost finished anyway.’
‘Really, it’s not necessary,’ Emmy told her. ‘It’s the weekend. You deserve a break.’
To emphasise her resolve, Emmy slid her hand under the cover of the file Constance was working on and flipped it closed. She only just stopped short, it seemed, of turning off the workstation and handing Constance her bag.
‘I guess an early finish wouldn’t go amiss,’ Constance said. ‘If you want, I can hold on for just a few moments and we can leave together. There are a few things I want to go over with you.’
‘That isn’t necessary,’ replied Emmy. ‘There’ll be plenty of time for us to catch up on Monday.’
‘I see. Well, in that case, I’ll see you then.’
She gathered her things and left along with the lab techs, Carl and Stuart – Marie had finished early, offering to drive Charlie back to his apartment.
When she was out of the lab, rather than head straight to the exit, Constance took a detour via the ladies’ restroom and entered a cubicle even though she did not actually need to use the facilities contained within. After a few minutes she heard the door open and close.
Being careful not to make a sound, she raised her feet off the floor as she heard footsteps slowly, systematically, walk alongside the cubicle doors. She had left the cubicle unlocked, hoping that the vacant signifier would be enough to deter anyone from checking if it was empty. Then just moments after entering, the other person left.
She’s making sure that she really is alone, Constance thought.
Was this her opportunity? If she was to make the most of it, her timing would have to be perfect. She waited for fifteen minutes in the restroom before exiting back onto the corridor. The laboratory was locked, but peering through the window, she could see that a couple of desk lamps had been left on. She swiped her keycard to unlock the door and cautiously entered.
Where are you, Emmy? she thought to herself.
A casual visual inspection suggested the laboratory was empty, but she knew better than that. The one place with which she did not have a clear line of sight was the projection chamber. If her suspicions were correct, this was also where Emmy was most likely to be.
Attempting to pull the plug on the pods themselves could be dangerous if Emmy was inside one of them, so instead she went to the primary control station, but it did not appear to be in operation. The machine was powered down with no sign of an active projection taking place.
For a moment, she wondered if her instincts had betrayed her, but before she was able to dwell on doubt too much, she noticed an artificial glow emanating from the floor behind a bank of processors in a far corner of the lab. It was a laptop computer.
It did not take her long to figure out that Emmy was using this to hack into the pods; bypassing the main network and thereby ensuring the projection would go unrecorded.
‘Do not touch that!’
Before Constance turned around she knew that it was Emmy. Who else could it be?
‘Dr Rayne, I didn’t realise you were still here. I just called back to pick up my phone.’ She held up the device to reinforce the lie, but she knew that Emmy had probably been watching her the whole time, rendering the gesture pointless. ‘I noticed a light in the corner of the room. What are you still doing here?’
Emmy swallowed hard. Now she was the one being placed under scrutiny and she did not like it.
‘I’m just running a diagnostic check to work a few bugs out of the system. It’s nothing for you to be concerned about.’
Sensing this was the opening she had been looking for, Constance decided to take the direct approach.
‘Diagnostic checks? It looks to me like what you’re actually doing is trying to perform an unlogged astral projection.’
Emmy tried to dismiss the accusation by twisting her face and letting out a derisive snort.
‘Preposterous,’ she said.
‘Preposterous!’ Constance repeated with malevolent glee. ‘Where did you learn to lie - from your grandfather?’
The reference to Jackson Fox caught Emmy by surprise and her inability to come up with a timely response allowed Constance to make her move.
‘If you let me help you, Charlie never needs to know about what you’ve been doing. Otherwise...’ She turned over her palms, indicating that what followed would be out of her control.
Emmy’s eyes narrowed.
‘You’re blackmailing me?’
‘I’m doing nothing of the sort. I only want to help. If we crossover together we can add an element of objectivity. It could prove o
nce and for all if your townspeople really can be saved.’
‘How can I trust you?’
‘I have nothing to hide. Besides, I remember your joint trips with Esteban. As I recall, you were able to read one another’s minds.’
‘What makes you think I would want you poking around in my head? If we do this, we keep a separation between us at all times. No exceptions.’
‘So you’re willing to give it a shot?’
Emmy paused to think it over. The idea of working so close to Dr Stark revolted her. Even with the no contact rule, there was still a chance that her most personal memories could be exposed for the other woman to see. As far as she was aware, the landscape they planned on travelling to would be composed of nothing but memory.
‘Okay,’ she said. ‘But you have to understand that this is a one-time deal. You also have to accept my direction at all times. If I think you’re about to break these terms I’ll pull you out instantly. Do you understand?’
‘I agree, but I’m not sure I understand. How can you pull me out if you’re in there with me?’
Emmy smiled. She was back where she preferred to be – one step ahead of her rival
‘Stand aside and I’ll show you.’
Constance did as asked and Emmy quickly started entering code into her laptop. When she had brought up the graphs she was looking for, she rotated the screen for the other woman to see.
‘These scans were recorded while I was engaged in astral activity. As you can see, the brain remains responsive even when the mind is light years away.’
Constance nodded, but she was unsure what she was supposed to be seeing.
‘What this basically means,’ added Emmy, ‘is that I can still perform actions in the material world whilst on an astral trip by tying up a set of commands to my brain function. It’s no different to the thought operated technology being designed for paraplegics. In this instance, it’s linked to a particular emotion triggered by a code word. When I focus on that word it will engage the abort protocol. It will be our only way out so if you lose me out there, you lose yourself. Are you okay with that?’
Diamond Sky Trilogy Box Set: Books 1-3 Page 69