That night, he and Tate got high. The mood was very relaxed. Neither one of them discussed Jonah’s progress. Jonah thought it was because they both knew the real test was about to come. But what Jonah didn’t know, at that point, was that he had no idea what the biggest test of all was going to be.
#
On Sunday, Jonah was a little confused. He had suddenly found himself with free time and had no idea what to do with it. He finally settled into a book and was fine. Monday proved incredible. The obsessions had completely ceased. It was like by not responding to them, he had made them give up, and suddenly, without them, he felt capable of anything. He met Monday’s clients with calmness foreign to him, but so enchanting that he quickly incorporated it. His client’s seemed to react to his calmness in kind. The interviews were a snap, none lasting the full hour, most barely passing thirty minutes. Then, as soon as each client walked out of his office, he was on the phone, calling the report in. He actually found himself wanting more. He didn’t need, as in something he would obsess over, but he wanted more of a challenge, to see just how much he could do now.
Monday night, still fully energized after the long day’s work, he finished reading the book he had started on Sunday. Tuesday, he was up early, not because he couldn’t sleep, but because he felt like he couldn’t resist life. Reading was his passion for the time, not because he was so in love with it, though, so much as it was all he could really think of to do. So Tuesday morning he read the paper until he could see his first client. Reading was enough for now. It was novel now. He was able to focus on what he read, no obsessions pulling his focus away. He got into anything that might draw the mildest of interest from him. He wondered about going back to school, just for the fun of it. He could do it in his spare time, on top of running his clinic, and probably, if he could keep up this energy and this focus, do extremely well at both.
Tuesday’s clients were even better. He actually broke below the thirty-minute mark. On Tuesday night, he went straight from his office to the public library. That night, he started reading a physics book and kept on reading it until 1AM, when he forced himself to go to bed.
By Wednesday night, Jonah was starting to think about the weekend. He had to, because this weekend was going to be three full days, and, with no back-reports to do, he would own those three days. He called Tate to see about the two of them taking off somewhere. Tate said he couldn’t do it, because he was leaving for Florida Friday morning and wouldn’t be back until the next weekend. Mildly disappointed, but undaunted, Jonah was sure he’d figure out something else to do.
Everything so new, increased ability, increased time, a zest for life, Jonah felt like he was being introduced to this incredible new person, and this person lived in his body and kept him happy. Yes, everything was novel and exciting. But it wasn’t until Thursday that Jonah totally shocked the hell out of himself.
#
Everything seemed fairly normal up to the point when the last client left on Thursday night. Jonah picked up the phone and called the number to speak to the tape recorder. He was about five minutes into the report when Steph came into the office. Jonah had never called in the reports from the office before this week. Steph had quickly accommodated, entering his office while he was on the phone, but carrying out her duties quietly. From the looks she had given him, Jonah knew she had noticed the change. He imagined he would probably explain it to her sometime. Steph, aside from Tate, even if their relationship was purely professional, was the person most integral in his current life.
Now, knowing that Steph wanted to restock the desk with the files for next week, Jonah got up from behind the desk and out of her way. He carried the portable phone around the office as he read the report in. Steph was on her second trip into the office when Jonah finished up.
“Done,” Jonah said, turning off the phone and placing it in its unit.
“I’m just about done too,” Steph said. She had three piles spread out on the desk. Two were test forms that Jonah would use next week. The other was Jonah’s client files for next week in the order that he would see them.
Steph’s hours had changed since Jonah took over. She was now in the office for as long as clients were there. That put her well over forty hours a week, but Jonah paid her well for it, and she got a three-day weekend every week, so he didn’t feel too bad. Steph hadn’t complained at all.
“Why don’t you let me take care of that, Steph.”
Steph looked up at him. “Well, I’m almost done. I just have to put them in the drawer.”
“Fine,” Jonah said, as he leaned up against the wall and stared off at nothing, content for a little while just to relish the end of what had to have been the most efficient week of his life.
Steph continued her work on the opposite side of the desk, where Jonah usually sat as he interviewed or tested his clients. With his newfound mental energy and fascination with his ability in intellectual endeavors, most of Jonah’s thoughts were of a platonic quality. That was why, when Steph bent over to place the files in his desk, Jonah barely even attended to it. At least, he thought he was barely attending to it. Then something changed inside him. It was like a sudden drunkenness swept over his entire being. Only he didn’t feel stupid. He just felt like his inhibitions were completely swept away, as if some shield had formed around him that would magically protect him from the consequences of his actions. And he was as horny as he had ever been.
His body felt like it was boiling with excitement. He was a kid in a candy store with carte blanche to take whatever he wanted, and he felt like this total freedom was some kind of ultimate truth, a realization that would change things from now on. He could have it all. He could take all he wanted. He could take.
Jonah moved from his position against the wall to the other side of the desk. He stood a few feet from Steph, who smiled casually at him and continued about her work. She picked a handful of files from the desk. She bent over to place them in the drawer. From his perspective, Jonah saw her skirt, which had been down to her knees, creep up and reveal just a little bit of the upper part of her leg. Not much to see there, he just focused in on her ass and its firm shape.
He wasted no more time. He didn’t feel like he could wait. He didn’t feel like he wanted to wait. Before Steph could lean back up, Jonah walked up behind her.
He felt nothing but his want, and he knew he was going to take. There were no ramifications. There were no concerns for what Steph might desire. There was only take, and Jonah took. He reached forward and grabbed Steph’s hips. She jolted a little, but didn’t have time to otherwise respond, before Jonah pulled her back into him. Steph gasped, but Jonah held his position, feeling her firm ass against his throbbing cock. Jonah reached forward and cupped a breast in his hand.
The sound of the phone ringing took whatever had come over him away and brought him back to a reality with consequences. He backed away from his bent-over office manager.
The next second seemed to last a minute, as Jonah fretted about how Steph would react. He expected she would storm out. Or maybe she would start yelling at him and threaten a sexual harassment suit. Or maybe she would come at him swinging her arms and yelling about what a pervert he was.
Steph did none of these. She leaned up and answered the phone. “Singer Center,” Steph said in the same voice he had heard her say it in a hundred times. A few seconds later, she said, “Oh. That’s okay.” She sat the phone in its unit. She looked over at Jonah, blushing. “Wrong number,” she said, then laughed.
Steph wasn’t angry. She was embarrassed and probably shocked. But she wasn’t angry. Relief washed over Jonah.
“I can’t believe you did that!” Steph said.
“I’m sorry,” Jonah said. “I don’t have any idea what came over me.”
Steph shook her head as she laughed some more. “I just never would have expected you to do that.”
“I know. I wouldn’t have expected me to do that either.”
They both just
stood there for a few seconds. Steph was still blushing. Jonah had no idea what to say. Steph finally said, “So what do you got going on this weekend?”
Jonah was even more shocked. Steph had asked him that a few times back when they both worked for David. But she had eventually stopped.
Jonah shrugged. “Well, my reports are all done. But I haven’t made any alternative plans.”
Steph gave a phony sigh. “Me neither. I’ll probably just be hanging around home with nothing to do.”
Again, Jonah had no idea what to say. But now, the way Steph was looking at him, he knew that he had to say something. He said, “Well, all right then. I guess I’ll see you on Monday.”
Steph shrugged. She walked up to him and gripped his arm, then laughed again. “Okay, boss. I’ll see you Monday.”
That night, Jonah and Tate got high. Jonah told him how his week went, and it seemed to satisfy Tate. In fact, he gave Jonah shit about how much he owed him for helping him through this. Jonah agreed. He was grateful for what Tate had done, and he intended to do Tate a major favor sometime in the near future. But, on this night, Tate’s work with him done, Tate wanted to play, and tonight’s game was “remind Jonah how much he is indebted to me.” Tate hinted around or bluntly stated this about twenty times.
Maybe it was Tate’s mood, and Jonah’s weariness to give him any more ammo, but Jonah didn’t tell Tate about what had happened with Steph.
Chapter Six
Jonah had taken a physics class in college. He had made an A but struggled, having to read the complex material several times before he could comprehend it. But now, even with his pot hangover, the physics book was light reading. Jonah had started at 9AM, planning on reading for an hour. But now it was 1PM, and he still lay on his bed, looking up at the book, whipping through the pages.
The thoughts were his now, and he did what he wanted with them. Jonah had had the thought, Look at how many years I wasted getting to this point. But he hadn’t dwelled on that thought. It was treated like any other useless thought. It came in, was observed indifferently and allowed to pass through his mind without any consequences, and because he didn’t exert energy on the useless thoughts, his mind was able to take in and observe the information he wanted. He was smarter now.
With another chapter finished, Jonah laid the open book beside him on the bed, just to take a mental breather.
He got up. He quickly slipped off the pajama pants and T-shirt he was wearing, then went into the closet, where he put on a pair of jeans, a fresh shirt, and a cap. He went into his room and grabbed a pair of socks from the dresser and put them on.
This is going to be so fun, he thought as he made his way to the living room. He slipped on a pair of shoes right by the front door. He reached for the door handle.
He stopped. For a few seconds, Jonah had a sense of disorientation. What had he just been thinking? Why had he gotten dressed? Where was he going?
#
That evening, Jonah was in the shower. He had finished the physics book and decided to get up early the next day and drive down to Michigan State so he could use a better library than what Stanton had to offer. Letting the hot water relax him even more as it bombarded his skin, Jonah thought of what he would study next. He could continue with physics, delving into a more specific area than had been offered by the general physics book. He’d found Relativity Theory fascinating. Maybe he could go there. But then again, Quantum Physics and String Theory had been cool too. Or maybe he would drop physics and come back to it later. He could even get away from science. Maybe history would be fun. If nothing else, it would make him better at trivia games. But, thinking about it, history didn’t feel right. There was too much opinion there. Not enough fact. The curricular history books would be too conformist, and the alternative ones would be too defiant, making each too focused on its agenda to be objective.
More science. Yeah, that would be fun.
Sooner or later, he suspected, he was going to want to increase his social contact. But that could wait a little while. It wasn’t that he feared it in any way. It was just that now, with everything else feeling so new, he didn’t really desire contact with other people too much. Except Tate, of course. Tate was as fascinating as science.
Jonah got out of the shower and dried off. He brushed his teeth, and then brushed his hair. He went into the bedroom and put on a fresh pair of underwear and a fresh pair of pajama pants.
He took them off, and put on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. He couldn’t wait to kick some ass, and he was getting laid, one way or another.
Jonah got the rest of the way dressed, grabbed his keys and wallet and rushed out the door. He could see the blood splattering already, and he could smell the pussy. He got into his car.
“What the fuck!” he said.
A few seconds of disorientation passed. Then he laughed. “I’ve got to slow down. I’m using my brain too much.”
Jonah got out of his car. He could not remember why he’d gotten into it in the first place.
He decided he would just stick around Stanton tomorrow, and maybe he would just do some light reading, maybe a paperback horror novel or something else that wouldn't require so much thought.
#
The jumbled thoughts are spinning, trying to sort themselves out.
He drives past the gas station, the houses, and the church. He glances at the tower, which has fewer letters this time: mpmoowerrmeaytotn, oikltahommae. But again, the letters start jumping around and more fall away.
There is a thump.
Jonah turns onto Main Street, then into the parking lot of his clinic. Everything blurs out of focus, but he is still moving, getting out of his car, walking. He enters a door. Inside, things start to come into focus.
There is the thump, and with the thump, the focus goes away, but Jonah is still moving in the blur. He enters another door.
There is a sudden change, like he has been lifted up and transported somewhere. Suddenly, he’s back in his office, giving some woman the measure. This is not the same woman as before, and he does not have her in the same position. This one has red hair. She’s lying sideways on his desk, and he’s standing beside the desk, sliding the snake in and out. He dwells on none of the details. He can only think of how good the snake feels.
The room fades. Both he and the room are changing, just like before, into somewhere and someone else.
There is a thump. Then he is lifted up again, out of this scene.
Jonah is being torn apart. The pain is unbearable. But it doesn’t last long.
There is a crash.
#
Jonah came to fast. It took him only a few seconds to deal with the afterthought of the pain that he’d just been in. He could feel the air hitting him. He knew the crash had been real. He sprung from his bed. He flipped on the overhead light and immediately saw what had entered his room. It was just a little sparrow, and it was as dead as could be, dripping blood on his bedroom floor. A few feet away was the broken window the sparrow had crashed through.
Instinct taking over, with his newly sharpened mind, Jonah quickly went to investigate more. Standing in front of the window, he scanned the lawn behind the apartments. In the moonlight, a cat scampered away with something in its mouth. Jonah surmised that it was another sparrow that the cat was carrying. He decided to investigate more.
Jonah, already wearing his pajama pants, grabbed a T-shirt and left his bedroom and the dead bird. He was a little bit afraid, but even more than that, determined to find out what was going on. In the living room, he whipped open the front door. He started to open the screen door and go outside but stopped when he heard one of the cats growl. Jonah looked outside into the night. Standing in the parking lot lights, on the grass and on the sidewalk, a dozen or so cats were scattered about, all of their eyes trained on him. One of them, the orange-stripped cat Jonah had met before, had a dead sparrow in its mouth. Most of the cats were quiet, but a few hissed, daring him to come out.
; Jonah shut door.
#
The hole in his bedroom window became Jonah’s obsession, and he let himself regress for the time being. He sat in his lit room, focusing on the window all night. He left the sparrow on the floor, motionless, dead. It served as confirmation that this was all real, not something that had happened in his head, or something he had done himself in a dreamlike state. If it were a part of a dream, or some type of psychosis, the faulty perception of the dead bird would not maintain itself all the way through the rest of the night. At least, that seemed like a reasonable conclusion.
The light of morning came, and the sparrow was still there. The light brought a mild sense of invigoration and diminished Jonah’s fear somewhat. He got some tape and tore up a cardboard box, then used these things to cover the hole the sparrow had made. Jonah cleaned the sparrow off his floor, but left it at the top of his trashcan, just in case he needed more confirmation later. He called and left a message with apartment maintenance that a bird had flown through his window.
Jonah knew he could probably sleep now. He could just lie out on the couch and wake up when the maintenance man came. But he felt like he needed closure on this before he could sleep. He knew this attitude was obsessive, but for now, he was willing to give in.
Chuck, the maintenance man, showed up around noon. There were a couple of maintenance people that worked at the apartments. Chuck was the one Jonah was more familiar with. He was a tall man with a blonde mustache. He had a nasally accent, like he was from somewhere further north than Stanton.
“Hello, Dr. Singer,” Chuck said, walking inside.
“Hey, Chuck,” Jonah replied.
“Hear you’ve had some bird troubles,” Chuck said, laughing, but not incredulously.
Scribner Horror Bundle: Four Horror Novels by Joshua Scribner Page 10