by Glen Krisch
Before setting her free, Mr. Freakshow had run a claw gently under her chin. She had backed away from the beast and slumped down behind the park bench in the center of her enclosure. Her hair had been slick with rain, but the clouds had parted and the sun gleamed high in the sky.
"What nature of dream are you, fair one?" Mr. Freakshow had asked, only his head visible to Juliet. "I see no abnormality, no weakness, weirdness or blight, and still, you are housed with the nightmares. I will enjoy finding out."
She had covered her face with her hands, waiting for an attack that never came. After a long time, she opened her eyes. The Freak had left her alone. The enclosure stood wide open. She was reluctant to leave the cell, but soon the noise and commotion of the other dreams faded. Juliet hoped the nightmares had vacated the museum as she tentatively gambled a few steps outside her cell. She quickly learned the truth. Lucidity was empty, destroyed.
She found the clothing the women wore who came to see her fascinating. The different styles and colors were astounding. No one person could come up with such beauty. From her memory, she was able to morph her simple summer dress to approximate a hodgepodge of the styles that she liked the most. She wore slacks in a splendid purple color. Soft green ruffles waffled the bodice of her blouse. She doubled a brown scarf around her neck. She felt so human. Hopefully, no one would notice her.
She stopped at the edge of the parking lot, the last step before entering the human world. Her feet felt rooted to the asphalt parking lot. She had to get going, but was torn as to what she should do. She wanted to find Maury, wanted more than anything to be in his arms once again. She also understood the cold fact that Mr. Freakshow would want to track down her dreamer, Barbara. He would eventually track down all of the dreamers and destroy them. He wanted a world where he alone could bend and change its physical laws.
Police lights flashed in the distance. She put her hands in her pants pockets, kept her head down, and quickly moved to join the people milling on the sidewalk. There was confusion in the air.
Much to her relief, no one gave her a second glance. For the moment, she put aside her thoughts of Barbara, and focused her attention on finding Maury.
Chapter 16
Agnes woke early like she always did (six hours of sleep was a blessing these days), and listened to classical music on the radio while waiting for her coffee to brew. The house was chilly and she rubbed her hands together for warmth. The summer's heat was leaving quite abruptly, and it was most noticeable during the mornings when the house was quiet. She prepped her coffee, a small dose of half and half and a squeeze of honey from the plastic bear bottle, and took a sip. Feeling more awake, she went to see if Kevin would help her make breakfast. Agnes had always wanted a helper in the kitchen, and growing up, Carin had proven both disinterested and without skill. She was delighted to learn that Kevin was usually happy to lend a hand.
She would be able to tell how deeply he was sleeping by the way the room felt. If he was close to waking, she would nudge him along, maybe tickle his feet some. If she sensed a deep slumber, she would leave him be. He was finally getting the sleep he needed since Carin took him to that doctor. Even if that Dr. Bennett wasn't her own Dr. Edwardson, whatever he did for Kevin's nightmares was obviously working if he was getting his rest.
When she eased open Kevin's bedroom door the room had no feeling to it at all. It felt as empty as before he moved in. She was suddenly reminded of the haunting moments when she discovered her husband of thirty-seven years dead of a massive stroke. Howard had fallen over in the garage, obviously in some pain. When she had gone out to tear him away from his wood working long enough to grab a sandwich, she first thought the garage was empty. Howard had probably gone off to talk to a neighbor, or shoo away a squirrel from one of his bird feeders. Trusting her instincts that Howard was not in the garage, she slyly went in to run her fingers over his latest creation. While thinking she was getting away with finding out what he was making her for Christmas, she nearly tripped over his legs. She would never forget how cold his cheek felt when she touched it with her trembling fingers.
Kevin's room felt that empty.
"Kevin, honey, are you awake?" Agnes walked over to the bed. She didn't want to find him dead, didn't want to reach out to touch his cold corpse tucked under the blankets. Expecting the worst, she ran her hands across the comforter. The bed was empty and wasn't even warm. She sighed with relief that he wasn't there. But then a chill swept over her, and Agnes pulled her terry cotton robe tighter.
"Carin!" She was hoping she was simply overreacting, hoping that Kevin had slept in Carin's room last night. "Carin, wake up. Come here, dear."
"What is it? What's going on?" Carin immediately noticed the empty bed. "Where's Kevin?"
"I don't know. I thought he was with you."
Carin became instantly alert and rushed from the bedroom. She yelled for Kevin, searching every nook of the house, but he didn't call back. She ducked her head out the back door and the sky was still predawn purple. She ran to the garage, but that too was empty. She hurried back inside.
"Call the police," Carin said while switching out of her nightgown and into yesterday's clothes.
"Okay." Agnes picked up the phone on the kitchen counter. "What are you going to do?"
"I don't know what I'm doing. I never know what I'm doing," Carin snapped. "That's why my son is missing."
Agnes was not used to her daughter raising her voice at her, but it was forgivable under the circumstances.
Carin grabbed her car keys and headed for the door. "I'm going to drive around, see if I can figure out where he might be. I have my cell with me. Let me know whatever you find out."
Just that quickly, Carin was out the door. She dialed 911, trying to keep her dark thoughts at bay.
The brooding stone mansions seemed to lean toward Kevin as he cut through another unfamiliar neighborhood. One house looked the same as the last, all that changed was the breed of yappy dog that would charge the fence, baring its nubby yappy dog teeth. He kept a watchful eye on the houses, but luckily he didn't come across anyone looking out, questioning why a lone boy wandered their street so early in the morning.
Focusing his eyes on the sidewalk in front of him, he tried to plow through the neighborhood as quickly as possible. The roots of the towering trees surrounding the houses had grown under the sidewalk. The uneven concrete looked like the spine of a mile-long slumbering dragon. A growling Yorkshire terrier pulled back his attention. The little dog seemed so angry with Kevin for walking in front of its house. It was in the process of expanding a hole under the wrought iron fence. Kevin glared at the dog for making so much noise. A man wearing a plush purple bathrobe and sleep-wrestled hair stepped outside. The man paused when he saw Kevin. Their eyes met briefly and Kevin instinctively quickened his pace.
"Gertrude… come on back, honey. Come get your breakfast. Gerty… come on girl…"
Gertrude sniffed the air as if insulted by Kevin before trotting back to her master.
He had to stop worrying about the neighborhood dogs, and instead, focus on the possibility that Mr. Freakshow could come from around any corner at any moment. He crossed a cobbled street and soon left the old homes with the little yappy dogs behind. The buildings transitioned to glass-fronted office buildings surrounded by empty parking lots. The stately oaks and elms of the mansion neighborhood transitioned to efficient, bony-looking shrubs housed in slotted metal skirts buried in the sidewalk.
People started to dot the sidewalk--men in suits, women in skirts or slacks and walking shoes. While Kevin remained a face in the morning commute crowd, the crowd became a wrinkled, depressing blur he could never trust, even if someone offered a welcoming hand. He was on his own, and on his own he would have to figure out how to defeat Mr. Freakshow. His options seemed hopeless. The more he thought about it, the more it seemed like his nightmare would get his wish and steal his immortality by killing Kevin.
An extensive garden opened up a
t the end of the next block. The sidewalk wound through flowery carpets of red and white carnations dancing in the slight morning wind. The path wound clear out of view. A fountain was in the center of the park. Crystal water sputtered down an array of concrete channels, eventually regrouping in a shallow pond at the fountain's base. The garden was empty, and for this Kevin was grateful.
He sat on the ledge circling the pond and immediately felt the strain draining from his feet. He had been on the go at a good clip since two in the morning. When everyone's day was just beginning, fear had been pushing Kevin's every step for six hours. He dangled his fingers through the cool water and was trying to come up with a destination for his journey (or, in the back of his mind, even a stopping point for a last stand). A green leaf twice as wide as Kevin's hand floated over to his fingers. He snagged it from the pond and wiped it dry against his jeans. Its strong veins spread from its core like the branches of the tree from which it came. He opened the front zippered pocket of his backpack and carefully slipped the leaf inside.
Kevin was intelligent, and in some cases, his teachers even labeled him as gifted, but he was still a ten-year-old boy. He collected things. The pocket in which he stashed the perfect leaf held a collection of oddities that only a boy would find fascinating. From his parent's driveway, he had taken stones that looked as if they were carved by hand. He had a blackbird's feather that was as long as his forearm. There was also a wide rubber band that he hoped to one day fashion into a slingshot, and an oblong chunk of metal that he had once thought was gold, but still was intriguing enough to lug around. At the bottom of the pocket, safely sealed inside a Ziploc baggie, he'd hidden a picture of his family at their last Christmas together. His mom wasn't in the picture since she was holding the camera, but Kevin knew she was a part of it. Kevin was in the center of the picture and his expression was of utter joy. Of course, he would be happy, he had just opened a gift from his grandma, an Albert Pujols model baseball glove. Kevin had jumped up and down and had temporarily lost the ability to speak.
He originally carried the Christmas picture because of the happy memory of opening the gift. Now, he kept the picture close at all times because his dad was off to one side, stooped over to kiss his grandma on the cheek as she clapped in excitement over her grandson's reaction. The picture was perfect, capturing a perfect moment. It had become one of his oddities. Something that represented something else. It stirred something deep inside him that he wouldn't fully grasp until he was older. Just like the rubber band and black bird feather.
When he turned his attention back to the pond, a few coins glimmered in the sunlight. He had only seven dollars in his pocket, so he hiked up his pants to his knees and took off his windbreaker. The water was refreshing on his skin but was deeper than he expected. It licked at his rolled jeans and he nearly slipped on the slick bottom. He scooped up a handful of mud, and when he sifted it, he counted seventy-four cents. Not a bad haul. He dried the coins on his shirt and pitched them into his pocket. He kicked at the mud, trying to unearth more booty.
After about half an hour, Kevin climbed out of the pond. His clothes were soaked, but his pockets were weighed down with what felt like a limitless treasure. He gathered up his belongings, and went behind the fountain to change into a dry shirt. He had his new gym shirt with him, and it would have to do. He didn't have a change of pants, so he squeezed as much water out of his pant legs as possible.
He wanted to count his money, but knew he should at least wait until his clothes were dry and he was clear of the park. As Kevin left the park, he noticed the traffic had thickened on both the roads and sidewalks. People seemed on edge, even more so than any normal morning.
"Can I help you son?"
A hand grasped Kevin's shoulder and he knew that when he turned around he would see the unstable eyes and slathered mouth of Mr. Freakshow.
Actually, it turned out to be a policeman, but a policeman was almost as scary as Mr. Freakshow. The policeman could have seen him take the coins from the fountain. A policeman would ask questions. A policeman would take him home to his grandma's house, making his whole family sitting ducks. Kevin's chest constricted.
"I'm fine, sir." Kevin tried to turn away, but the policeman's hand seemed as firm as Mr. Freakshow's claws.
"Where's your mom? Did she go into one of the shops?" The officer looked around to see if any stray parent was coming to claim him. Kevin could see the man was just trying to be a nice guy. "You know, it's not safe out, especially this morning, all that shit going on."
"What's going on?"
The policeman looked at him as if Kevin had just crawled out of a cave. "That damned museum. They let wild animals out, or whatever they had displayed. Been all over the news. Been causing all kinds of havoc."
"I turned in early last night. We left early to shop. We don't even own a TV," Kevin rambled. He didn't need to hear anymore. He thought Mr. Freakshow would have escaped alone, but it made even more sense to let all the dreams loose. It provided him with a perfect cover.
"Where did you say your mom is?"
"Well… I think she's…" Kevin had never been good at lying, so he did what he had seen in any number of kid movies--he stomped on the policeman's foot. To his surprise, it worked and the policeman went down to one knee and his hands went to his injured foot as he cried out in pain. Kevin didn't think twice. He charged between two women, and after nearly stumbling over a baby stroller, turned a corner and was in an alley. His backpack jostled around on his shoulders and his back started to ache, but he kept sprinting down the alley, across an intersecting street and through to another alley, dodging errant garbage and dumpsters, before he allowed himself to look back. He took a deep breath. It had worked.
The city was strangely quiet, as if it had collectively paused to ponder Kevin's indiscretion with the officer. Then he noticed the sour smell of the alley. Spilled beer and spoiled food. He approached the next cross street cautiously, just in case the cops had set up a roadblock for him. He felt like a fugitive, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing in his mind.
When he figured the coast was clear, Kevin casually walked out of the alley, his hands in his pockets, jingling his stolen coins. He felt like an adult, or maybe an older kid, like Reid--doing bad things just because he could. He felt like he could pass for twelve years old.
Sophie noticed Kevin from a block away. There was no way she would forget his face, not after seeing him just after Maury Bennett had taken that monster from the boy's mind. He'd been woozy and unsteady on his feet, and his poor mother had barely been able to keep him upright. Seeing him now, he no longer had dark circles under his eyes. At the museum he had looked half-dead, now he looked half-scared to death.
He looped his thumbs through the straps of his backpack as he gawked at the skyscrapers. He looked entirely vulnerable, either to Mr. Freakshow, or anyone else who might prey on a child's weakness. She closed in on him, gripping her purse tightly. With him still looking to the sky, she let him run into her.
"Excuse me--" a woman called out after Kevin had run into her.
"I'm sorry, ma'am." Kevin wanted to get by the old lady, but she pinched the sleeve of his gym shirt with her doll-sized hands. He probably hadn't seen her as he walked since she was barely bigger than him and was out of view when he was staring at the buildings. He noticed her small canvas bag was heavy with canned goods. Her gray hair fell out from the corners of her wide-billed summer hat.
"It's perfectly okay young man, but you might want to be careful walking around like that. People will think you've never seen the city before. Some people would want to take advantage of that."
"I've been to the city before." Kevin felt like he was lying to his grandma.
"I didn't say you haven't. I've just been around a while and I've seen the bad side of people. Since you're a big strapping fellow, would you mind walking with me? I would feel safer that way."
Kevin didn't know this woman, but he already liked her. She had called
him young man, and she thought he was strapping, whatever that meant. She also had a friendly, inviting face.
"Sure I will."
"If you need to be somewhere, I don't want to take you away from it."
"I don't have any plans 'til tomorrow," Kevin said, trying to sound like he had any control over the direction of his life.
"I guess that's good for me. I would greatly appreciate it, especially with all the happenings in the city," she said, staring at him. "There's been all sorts of fires and looting on the far side of town. Even heard of rioting tearing apart whole city blocks."
"Sounds bad. Must be that museum I've been hearing about," Kevin said.
"Yeah, that's what I heard, too." They walked for a while before the woman spoke again. "You know, I once read a newspaper article about a group of forty monkey's escaping from a zoo in Austria."
"Really? What happened?"
"Well, I can't remember what kind of monkey they were, but just that they didn't come from that part of the world. They only recaptured about a dozen of them. Another dozen died because they couldn't adapt to their surroundings."
"What about the rest?"
"That's the interesting part. They didn't come from that part of the world, but that also meant they didn't have any natural enemies. They adapted to their new surroundings. They blended in, and now they're thriving."
"Wow. That's cool. I wonder if that's going to happen to the dreams that escaped…"
"Looks like we're going to find out soon enough."
"By the way, I'm Sophie Marigold."
They continued walking, and Kevin apprised this woman from the corner of his eye. His grandma had told him that she trusted her instincts when it came to people. Sophie could well be Mr. Freakshow in disguise. But his instincts told him that she was just a nice old lady. He concentrated on the outlines of her face, waiting to see the illusive "hidden color" that his grandma had mentioned. He didn't know why he trusted Sophie, but he did know he felt safe in her presence.