Just down the stairwell, a phone rang—I didn't remember seeing one, but I hadn't exactly been in a position to be observant either. Pushing Sheridan aside, I picked it up, knowing even before I said anything who was going to be on the other end of the line.
"Hello, Artemas. About that favor…"
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
T+ 26 Hours - The Favor
"That was a very entertaining story," said Adam, frowning. "Though, several of the elements were embellished. Would you care to enlighten us as to the point?"
Artemas held Adam's gaze, the aim of his pistol not wavering in the slightest.
"Of course! But not just yet," he said. "There's something that's been itching at the back of my mind since this whole mess began. Something that I couldn't quite place until you called me on that rooftop."
"And what would that be?" asked Adam.
"Just how old are you?" asked Artemas. "I've known you for my entire life, and you haven't changed since the day I first met you."
"Age is irrelevant," answered Adam. "Even more so in this place and for people like us."
"Boys," cut in Ruth nervously. "Let's not get—"
"We've left this alone too long, Ruth," Artemas said. "It's time to air out the dirty laundry." He turned back to Adam. "Now, answer the question."
Adam sighed, letting his face go slack and his shoulders slump. "I can't answer that question. You know why."
"I'm asking it," said Artemas. "So let's hear it, why can't you answer the question?"
"I don't know how old I am," answered Adam. "I've been as you see me for as long as I can remember—as long as the Archive has records of me. I know I was born in this city—just like you—but that is all. You don't understand what it's like—"
"To have the Archive living inside your head?" stated Artemas. "To know things without knowing how or why? That's how I live! That's what I experience every single day."
"But you're different," said Adam. "You were able to suppress the Archive. I'm too close to it for that, and I don't have the Tekcop gift of will that you inherited."
"Is that why you did it?" asked Artemas.
"Did what?" asked Ruth, confused. "Adam what did you do?"
For a moment, he said nothing, sitting quietly staring at his hands. Ruth floated around in front of him, using her incorporeal nature to look Adam in the face.
"What did you do?" she asked again.
Adam shook his head and locked eyes with Artemas. The two stared at each other over the barrel of the forty-five.
"It was the only way," he said quietly. "The only way for me to be free."
"It was you then," said Artemas. "You were the one who created the Phantom, not The Man in White."
"Yes," said Adam.
"It had to be you, he couldn't affect any physical matter in his condition. He needed you to accomplish the grunt work. It was you who suggested he could use me to track down Anne."
"Yes."
"You were going to sacrifice Pocketville and everyone in it," accused Artemas.
"Yes, I was," said Adam unapologetically. Ruth had floated behind Artemas, staring at Adam in horror. "His success would have served both our ends. I'm immortal, Artemas. This body is fixed in time, and I cannot change it no matter how much I want to.
"I've tried everything within my power. Anne would not help me, nor would any of the others. The Man in White was my last and only option."
"What are you saying?" gasped Ruth. "Adam, please!"
"He's telling the truth. Probably for the first time in his life," stated Artemas. "There's no other way the Man in White could have done it. He was as powerless as you are, Ruth—a mere shadow. Adam, I'm disappointed in you. You should have come to me first."
"It wouldn't have mattered," he stated quietly. "You're as self-righteous as everyone else who could possibly assist me."
"But Adam …" started Ruth, the words died on her lips as she saw the expression on his face—cold and uncaring.
"These people mean nothing. Their so-called lives have no value," he said. "They are already dead, they just don't know it yet."
"You're wrong," said Artemas turning to leave. "These people have a right to exist."
"You owe me, Artemas," said Adam. "You don't want to walk away—"
Artemas's shoulders slumped. He spun around and fired one round from his forty-five with deadly accuracy. Ruth screamed and rushed to Adam, but could only wail as his body fell through her arms—a deceptively tiny hole in the middle of his chest. Artemas turned his back on the pair and started toward the door again, shaking his head.
"Artemas," Adam coughed out.
"Yes?"
"Thank you …" said Adam as the light left his eyes.
Artemas sighed. "You're welcome," he said, pausing as Adam's body crumbled to ash.
About the Author
Christopher Salch grew up in South Texas where he spent his time playing with computers and ploughing through old Science Fiction stories. Since then, he has gone on to a professional career as a software developer while spending his spare time writing and attempting to paint.
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The Erasable Man: Chronicles of Zachary Artemas Page 22