Dead Man's Hand

by Steven Meehan

  “Mostly, but if your plan is going to work then it’s all we’ve got. Just don’t skimp with the heat sources. Right now both of us are better off running our bodies too hot then playing it safe. We’re going to need to ride ourselves as close to 108 as possible.” He switched off the electric kettle as it reached a rolling boil and dropped some Lipton tea bags in before closing the lid. “How strong do you like your tea?”

  “I guess we’ll find out soon enough.” I said hoping to elicit a laugh from him.

  And Alexis replied with a heartfelt chuckle. “Well in that case I hope you like it strong and sweetened with a just a little bit of honey. I’ll keep Dempsey unconscious in such a way that no one will be able to detect it.”

  “You mean through forgery?” I asked hopefully.

  With a small scowl crossing his lips Alexis looked more annoyed than angered. “You’ll learn everything I know about forging later. As far as I’m concerned you’re dabbling in way too much as it is, but I can’t help that now.” His scowl deepened just enough to let me know I better stop asking about all the forgery tricks he knew. “You will learn more than enough for now, okay? And every question you ask, you delay this plan of yours and time is not something we can afford to waste.”

  “Okay, I’ll try to keep my inquisitive nature in check.”

  “There is nothing wrong with asking questions, Francis. You just need to hold them in for now. Once this is over you’ll have plenty of time to ask all the questions you want. And eventually, I’ll answer them all.”

  With that said there was nothing else for me to do but try and think of an appropriate substance to make a body out of. What would be similar enough to simulate a body? How often does that question come up in someone’s life? Whatever I thought of, it would probably help the transmutation if it was living. Would an animal’s body work as a substitute? It was a possibility, it could work, or rather, I hoped it would work. But catching an animal in such a short amount of time wouldn’t be easy. Unless we raided a zoo or a shelter and I had a feeling that wouldn’t go over too well with Alexis.

  So what else would make a decent starting point for a body? What else was alive? Then an idea struck me. I was hesitant to mention it, but I was pulled out of my thoughts when Alexis handed me a rather large mug of tea. I silently accepted the mug and took a small sip of the hot liquid. I was pleasantly surprised at the sweet taste. There was a little bit of a bitter aftertaste but other than that, it was very good, and it did warm me up better than just the few hand warmers I had made.

  Looking up from the mug, I saw Alexis huddling over Dempsey’s still unconscious body. I was about to ask what he was doing but I managed to corral my loose lipped tongue just as my mouth opened.

  Alexis must have sensed my ever-present curiosity as he asked without looking back at me. “You had a question, Francis?”

  “I did, but it’ll wait. But I was thinking…”

  “Yes?”

  “Would a tree work?” I asked a little sheepishly.

  Still engrossed in whatever he was doing Alexis replied, “Would a tree work for what?”

  “Sorry. Would a tree work as a starting point for my body?”

  “A tree?” Alexis repeated to himself while he was still focusing upon Dempsey.

  Hearing the disinterest in his voice I assumed it was a bad idea, so I started to backtrack, “Yeah, it’s a silly idea…”

  “No, it’s not.” Alexis broke in as he finished doing whatever it was he was doing. “I’m sorry if I gave you that impression, I was concentrating on what I was doing.”

  “And what was that?”

  I was about to try and retract the question when Alexis halted me by placing both of his hands up in the universal motion for stop. “You can ask what I’m doing. I can tell that it will be impossible to stop yourself completely. Just don’t ask me to explain how I do it just yet. Will that be easier for you to accomplish?”

  “A little.” I replied with a smile.

  “I healed all of the little injuries that our guest had, and ensured that he wouldn’t be waking up any time soon, which of course benefits us.” He took a sip from his own mug before going on, “Now as to your suggestion, a tree, or at least a large enough part of a tree should be sufficient. Besides when the body reverts back it should only help ensure his guilt in the public eye.”

  “How will it help ensure his guilt in the public eye?”

  “Come now can’t you figure that one out?” When I shook my head he went on. “We are going to have him standing over a dead body with the gun in hand. After a couple of days when the body is swapped out for a tree trunk people will assume that Dempsey just tried to have the right people paid off to eliminate the body in an attempt to get rid of the case against him.”

  “Okay, that makes some sense. But I don’t suppose you happen to have a tree just laying around that we can use?”

  “No, I don’t. But that shouldn’t be much of a problem.”

  “Let me guess you have a tag in the middle of a forest or something.”

  With a broader smile he replied, “Why, yes Francis, as it turns out I do have something along those lines.” As he shifted his gaze I was able to see the glint in his eyes as he asked, “What’s that famous motto? That’s right. Be prepared.” The snap of his fingers was timed just right to punctuate the motto that apparently guided Alexis’ life.

  “So when do I go?”

  With a light touch to the doorframe beside him Alexis said, “How about now?”

  “Now?” I asked with more than a little bit of shock. “What am I supposed to do?”

  “What do you mean what are you supposed to do?” He said with just a hint of scorn. “What do you think you’re supposed to do?” “You walk through the doorway, find and chop down a tree that will be your approximate size and weight, and then wait. I’ll check in with you every fifteen minutes or so.”

  “And while I’m chopping down my tree what will you be doing?”

  “Getting both Dempsey and myself ready to carry out this little charade. That is, unless you’d rather switch jobs?” Alexis asked with a smug smile.

  “So I’ll find us that tree then.” I replied as I grabbed an extra hand warmer and walked through the doorway that Alexis had prepared for me. I immediately found myself in a rather dark and dank, but dry, patch of land. Was this another one of Alexis’ safe houses? If it was I’d like to know where the actual house was located. Looking around I began to see that this might just be the man’s lumber yard; there were a number of stumps as well as saplings. Then I took a moment and began searching beyond the immediate area, and noticed that this spit of dry land was surrounded by water, and not crisp, clean water either.

  I had been dumped in a swamp. Great, well there was no use wasting time. Before moving out I opened the bag covering the hand warmer and secured it just over my heart. Using the warmth of the little package, I picked up a sturdy branch and, after creating a clear picture of an axe in my head, I gathered the warmth needed and forced it into the branch. In the blink of an eye the branch was a solid axe, complete with a razor sharp edge. With my tool in hand, I started looking for an appropriate tree.

  It took me about five minutes to locate a tree that, once felled, I would be able to be cut down into the right dimensions. I went to work and soon the tree was falling over. A part of me wanted to yell “timber,” but I figured now wasn’t the time. Soon I was stripping the limbs from the tree’s trunk and having cleared a section of the correct size, I cut the necessary length from the tree.

  When I was done I realized that now I needed a way to drag the log back to where I first entered the woods. I held the axe loosely in one hand and forged it into a length of rope I could use to drag the tree. Finally back where I had started, I sat down on top of the log and waited. I was beginning to think I had made a mistake and that I was waiting in the wrong spot when I heard Alexis call out to me. “Well, did you want to just skip the rest of the plan?”

>   I spun around and smiled as I replied, “What and miss all the fun?”

  With a hearty laugh Alexis rolled his eyes as he spoke. “If this plan of yours is what you consider fun, then you have some very serious problems, Francis.”

  “That may be so, but it doesn’t change my mind.” I patted the log under me and asked, “Will this one do or should I go find another?”

  Alexis spent a few moments studying the length that I had appropriated and finally said, “No, I don’t think you’ll have to go cut another one down. This one should be more than sufficient for our purposes.”

  “Good, then you can help me carry it back through your portal.” I said as I stood up.

  “I’d rather not drag that through my home.” Alexis said before he knelt down to place his hands upon the tree. “Now listen very carefully, Francis. Normally I wouldn’t even begin to teach you this technique for a few years but necessity being what it is you’re going to have to be a very apt student.”

  “I’m all ears.”

  “Okay, the first step is pretty much what you’ve come to expect. You need to gather all the warmth that you’re going to give me. Once you have that, you’re going to place your hand somewhere on my exposed skin, like the back of my neck for instance. That should be pretty simple for you, so why don’t you get started.”

  Without a word I did as I was instructed and gathered all the body heat I could spare. Then I decided to pull just a tad more, but not too much. Once that was ready I moved around the fallen tree and placed my right hand on Alexis’ neck and waited for the next step.

  “Okay now that you have the heat readied, you need to focus your mind on the part of your hand that is touching my skin. What you’re going to do is mentally picture a tunnel leaving your hand and entering my neck. Then you’ll force the gathered heat into that, but be sure to do it slowly. I cannot stress that enough, you have to slowly force the heat out. If you do it too fast what you’ll get is a nice fireball instead of the transfer we’re trying to create.”

  Understanding dawned and I began forcing the heat into him. “Is that what you had in mind? Nothing’s happening.”

  “You’re doing it right and you’re doing well for a first attempt. Good, you’ll know it’s working when the heat you’ve gathered suddenly begins to drain from you. Don’t fight the swiftness of the transfer, instead, just allow it to happen or you’ll just waste part of the heat you’re trying to transfer.”

  “But you said I have to push it out slowly.”

  “Yes you have to push it out slowly at first but once it begins to flow faster, let it flow.”

  I closed my eyes and began to focus on the mental connection between us. It took all of my concentration but the heat began to flow and he was right, it began to flood out of me. I must have gathered more heat than I realized because as the heat was rushing out I fell to my knees. Somehow my hand remained in contact with Alexis’ neck despite the odd angle. The tunnel must have been a little more real than I thought.

  When my vision went black I knew I had transferred just a little too much heat. When I finally regained consciousness I awoke to find myself not in the swamp but rather back in Alexis’ home. Looking around the room I found Alexis huddling next to two bodies, one of which must have been the transformed log. He must have made a couple of trips back and forth. “Alexis, what happened to me?”

  “You prepared too much heat,” Alexis replied without looking around. “Be more careful in the future. But fortunately I’m pretty sure I was able to make that forgery permanent.”

  “Wait, that wasn’t part of the plan. How is that going to hold up in court?”

  With a patient smile Alexis glanced up at me as he answered. “In my youth I was a very talented doctor, and as such, quite the student of anatomy. With the power you transferred to me I was able to make an anatomically perfect copy of you. Your own mother wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.”

  “So that log is now a clone of me?” I was absolutely floored by Alexis’ little revelation.

  “Yes. But like I said, the next time you transfer heat to someone be more careful, you almost died.”

  Confused I shook my head and asked, “I don’t remember gathering that much energy from my body. I only gathered what I thought I could spare. How did I end up passing more?”

  With a shrug Alexis turned around as he started answering my question. “Don’t worry about that, most people over transfer their first time or two.”

  “What?!” I exclaimed.

  “Most people forget about the heat required to power the transference, but you gave me more than that anyway. Like I said, we now have a nice permanent copy of your body.” Smiling, he paused and looked down at me. “It’s an honest mistake that has gotten some young forgers killed before. Fortunately for you I didn’t pass out from my forgery, though, to be honest, it was a close call.”

  “You nearly passed out?” I asked with rising alarm.

  With a small chuckle Alexis explained, “Yes. This was the most dangerous part of your plan. I shouldn’t have to tell you what would have happened to both of us had I passed out.” I forced a lump the size of a watermelon down my throat and simply nodded my understanding of what could have happened.

  When he saw the fear in my eyes, he finished his thought. “But I didn’t pass out. In fact not only did I manage to get us back inside my house I also managed to warm us back up safely.”

  “So now what?”

  Alexis smiled and mockingly replied. “Now to follow your plan, we quickly and roughly prep the room for my, or rather for Dempsey’s, grand entrance.”

  “Let’s get started then.” I replied with a smile of my own.

  “Are you recovered enough to help?” Alexis asked, genuine concern in his voice.

  With his mention of recovery I unconsciously hugged myself and began rubbing out a phantom chill. I forced my hands back to my lap and stood as I said, “I think I can help you stage the room. Besides, it’s not like I need to do any more forging. At least not right now.”

  “Fair point.” He stretched his arm down to indicate the body lying on his couch. “Then help me pick you up and drag you over in front of the fireplace.” I had known that the body we were going to make was supposed to be a doppelganger of myself. But now that it actually lay there, lifeless on Alexis’ couch, I was taken aback. “Francis, you all right?”

  It took me a moment to collect myself and another second before I could to trust my voice enough to speak. “No, I’m okay. It’s just an odd feeling seeing your own corpse lying on a couch.”

  “I can only imagine your discomfort.” Came the slightly testy response.

  I dismissed Alexis’ annoyance and started to lift my motionless duplicate off the couch. With a sharp glance I politely asked, “Were you going to help me Alexis?” We wordlessly maneuvered my corpse into its final resting place. Then we moved on to prepping Dempsey, who was now fully dressed in a suit. Alexis must have made his first trip back to Dempsey’s home while I was chopping down the tree, that or he could have done it while I was unconscious.”

  I quickly shifted my gaze over to Alexis and asked, “By the way, how long was I unconscious?”

  “It took you long enough to ask about that?”

  “Yeah, well I have, now how long I was out of it?” I asked, my voice tinged with irritation.

  Shaking his finger at me Alexis scolded me, “Don’t take that tone with me young man. You’re here at my sufferance don’t try my patience with comments or a tone like that.”

  Abashed, I looked down before replying, “Sorry.”

  “Do you see that open door behind your corpse?” I nodded and waited for Alexis to continue. “Once I get back you’re going to have to go into that closet and close the door.”

  “Won’t the cops try and look inside?”

  “No, they won’, because they won’t see a closet door. Everyone but me will see just a stretch of wall. From the other side of the door you’l
l be able to clearly see into this room just as if it were glass. But, once you enter that closet you have to stay there until I let you back out, if anyone were to see you then our illusion would be pointless and all this hard work for naught.”

  “Got it. Keep my head down and stay out of sight.” Looking away from Alexis I muttered, “I can manage that.”

  Sensing my misgivings at placing all the risk upon Alexis, he reached for my arm. “Francis, this is a good plan. It takes you out from under the eyes of the Dempsey’s goons, not to mention places their boss in jail.”

  Alexis waited until I looked up to meet his eyes before continuing. “Yes I am taking a remarkable risk to myself. But that’s part of what I do. There is no reason to fear for my life because nothing will happen. I’m in no danger of dying. If Dempsey manages to actually pull the trigger on his own to try and take me with him, he’ll miss. Trust me.”

  The words did nothing to help ease my guilt even the smallest bit. I was fine taking risks with my plans, always have been. But I was never comfortable with others shouldering those risks for me. Even when there was no other choice, like now. I would just have to hope Alexis was right. “Either way we should position Dempsey so you can get started.”

  With a halfhearted smile he said. “Sounds good to me.” With that, we positioned Dempsey he was pointing his gun right at my double’s chest. “This should be as good as we’re going to get. Just hold the fort until we get back.” Alexis finished with a broad smile across his face.

  Alexis walked towards his front door. He quickly laid a hand on the frame and, without breaking stride, he walked through a portal straight into Dempsey’s bedroom. Now I just had to wait for Alexis to run a car through his own front door. I’m sure that wasn’t going to be easy for him to do. While I waited I tried making a few more air marbles. I was determined to become well-versed in forging air.

  The process was getting easier. I made and then unmade that one marble over and over again, until I no longer had to think about the strange new procedure. Of course then I got a little too cocky and had to completely walk through the new steps in order to make a quarter sized marble in my hand.