Ferdie and The Seven: Book three: Fractals

by Larry Buenafe

  Arnie chuckled mildly. “If it’s any consolation, I feel worse than I look. I don’t have long, guys. I did what I came here to do; to get you through, and to take out The Master or die trying. I’d say mission accomplished.”

  The tears started falling, of course, and I was tapping my head, but softly. “Arnie, don’t go. I can fix you; I can go in and fix whatever is wrong. Hang on.”

  He was shaking his head as I spoke. “No, I don’t want you to fix me. I did what I was meant to do, and now my time has come. Don’t worry, Ferdie. We’ll be together again one day. In the meantime, I’ll remember you to Gabriella, and Old Leo, and your uncle Mark, and your cousins, and Marshall’s parents, and his uncle, and most of all to your parents. We’ll all be there waiting when you’re ready. But take your time, no need to hurry.”

  “Is… is it over, Arnie? The suffering, the evil? Did we really do it?”

  Arnie smiled, but his teeth were clenched in pain. “It’s over for now, but it will always be there. We did do it, though… you did it… somehow a redheaded, emotionally disturbed teenager assembled the team that pulled it off. You needed all of us, but we would not have come together if it wasn’t for you. Ooohhh…”

  Arnie moaned in agony, convulsed for a moment, and… that was that.

  We all rose, looking at one another and not knowing what to do. “Ling, Denise, Ariel, we have to go see him off. Sorry, the rest of you, but we’ll be back in a minute.” We quickly joined hands, and faded into the in-between. There he was, as if nothing had happened, and he clearly was waiting for us to arrive before leaving.

  “Thanks for coming. Look at that… it’s quite a sight, isn’t it? The whole universe, all the constellations, quasars, black holes, everything. I wonder what color I’ll be when I… well, I’m not one for speeches, as you know.”

  Ling seemed especially upset. Through tears, she said, “Arnie, I have the idea. Why is it that you cannot stay here, like the Marsh-dog has to been? Then we could come to see you for your advices. This is a good idea.”

  “Yeah, why not? We’re not whole without you around. What do you say, Arnie?” asked Denise.

  Arnie smiled, this time one of his rare, full grins. “That is a lovely thought, but I have the feeling that things are going to change for all of you very quickly. The band is breaking up, kids. Long live the band.”

  “Then before you go, as Ling would for sure request, one last high-five, ok?”

  “Of course. Come on.”

  We gathered together, our hands raised. We made contact, and Arnie turned. He was gone in a flash, streaking out, the brightest, most alive orange any of us had ever seen; as we watched, he reached the Good Line, and soon we could no longer make out where he was, and that is how it’s supposed to be.

  We faded back into the desert, and Marsh-dog was holding court. “…yeah, man, aliens, like from outer space. Crazy, right? Anyway, I’ve been schooling them about humans for ages, and… oh, here you are. Circle up, because I need to give you the four-one-one and we don’t have much time, because Ol’ Flashy’s buddies want to get a move on.”

  “Ok, but first let’s fill everyone in on how all this happened. I’m sure they are more than curious. So, I walked into the desert, and I was thinking about the concept of fractals, and some things just clicked in place. I knew one of us was still reporting to The Master, so I expected that he would ambush us before we got to our final location. That was his pattern, and he didn’t disappoint us. By the way, it was pretty clever of them to use electronics to do their snooping. I bet if we check the RV we’ll find a transmitter or two still hidden there. Anyway, I heard Marsh telling you about the Time Flies. I knew they could easily stop The Others if we could just convince them of the concept of good and evil and how it applies in our world. That was definitely going to be the hard part. I went to visit Marsh to talk to him about it, and of course he had already been working on the same plan. We wanted to get all of The Others, so we knew we would have to wait until we were sure they were all here, and obviously I couldn’t tell any of you about our plans in advance, or our trap might be spoiled, and I really felt like, with all the stuff going on in the world, this was our last stand. In the end it worked, although I sure wish they had come in a little sooner. We can’t mourn for Arnie, though. He was a warrior; he did what he was meant to do, and he died like a warrior, with both of his hands untied. Oh, crap.”

  And then I commenced to crying in earnest.

  After a brief bit of commiseration, Marsh-dog continued. “It’s time to tell you about the next part of this mission, and there’s no way around it; the Time Flies are giving each of us one of two choices, and once we make it, that’s it. They have stopped the conflicts in Japan, Panama, and everywhere else in the world it’s been happening. Memories have been wiped, and the people have been sent to their homes. There is mass destruction and millions dead; memories of those people will also be eliminated and the dead disposed of. The Time Flies have taken care of all that already. It’s hard to understand just how powerful those dudes are. They like me, though; they even assigned one of their members to me permanently. Come on, show yourself, Ol’ Flashy.”

  Just next to Marsh-dog’s left ear, there was a diminutive twinkle, and in a moment it retreated… into his immense ‘fro.

  “I know, cool, right? Anyway, here’s the deal: you can choose to join the rest of the world, and have your memory wiped. That would mean you would return to your regular lives, and have no memory of any of this ever happening. Or, you can choose to go directly to the Good Line. If you make that choice, only the memory of the Time Flies would be eliminated. Bottom line is, they are not comfortable with any of us knowing they exist, because they want to observe us as we are naturally. They’re scientists, and they want to see us in our normal state. They still don’t know how to account for The Seven, so they’ll keep watching them, but they’ve decided to discontinue the placement of angels and demons. They would only bring them into the picture if it becomes necessary in order to manage some crazy Seven dude, like The Master.”

  Denise frowned with frustration. “Those are our only choices? Forget everything or go to Heaven?”

  “Yeah, well, there is one other option. Tell ‘em, Marsh.”

  “I wanted to save this for last, because it’s kind of… dude, crazy is what it is. They like ‘Nando all most as much as they like me. I’m not sure why, maybe they feel sorry for him because he’s so ugly. Anyway, they have agreed to allow him to go looking for answers. To find out who or what created The Seven, and what their real intent was. It’s quite a quest, because the Time Flies haven’t been able to figure it out, and as far as we know they’re the most powerful beings in the universe. They will also allow any or all of us to go with him if we want. The only caveat, oh yeah, another big word for the Marsh-dog, is that if we go, we have to really go. Like away from earth, out into space, and we have to stay gone for a significant chunk of time. That’s it, and we have to choose now, because Ol’ Flashy is getting antsy.”

  I gazed around at all my friends, the people who had become my family. I don’t want to leave any of them, but it has to be their choice… I need to pull them aside one at a time, and not put them on the spot in front of everyone…

  “Aunt Martha, do you want to take a little stroll?”

  We walked a short way from the group, and she said, “I know what you’re going to ask, Ferdie. I don’t want to forget any of this, it’s been the greatest and most terrible adventure anyone could have. But I want to get back to my normal life. I’m not made for sailing among the stars. I’m sorry, Ferdie.”

  I felt sad but put on a smile, and said, “I thought you were going to say that. It’s ok, I’ll remember it all for both of us, and someday I’ll write it all down. When you read it, something in your mind will click, and you’ll see yourself in the story. I love you and I wouldn’t have wanted to go on this journey without you.”

  After a fervent hug, we returned to the group
, and it was time for the next person. “Hey, Terry, can I have a moment?”

  We repeated the walk away from the group, and before I could say anything, Terry’s words came out in a rush, as always. “I have to stay, Ferdie. I have work here that is important to me, and I don’t think I would be much help out there in the universe. On the other hand, what an experience it would be… unprecedented. No, sorry, but I must stay. You must promise me, though, that you will return to visit me one day. Even if I don’t know who you are.”

  “You got it, Dr. Reyes. Sorry, I just never got comfortable with Terry. We couldn’t have done it without you, you know.”

  He grinned proudly. “Thanks, Ferdie, I hope I get to remember that at least.”

  We walked back, and it was on to Pasquale. We only walked a few feet, but he blurted out, “Please, friend Ferdie, I wish to return to my home, to help the, how you say, rebuild. I want to go to university, help other people. The space trip is not for me. I am sorry, my friend. And sorry that the bad guy was to use me against you. This is my biggest… in Italian is remorso.”

  “regret, I think you mean regret.”

  “Yes, yes, that is word. I learn so much from you, Ferdie. I don’t want to forget, but is no choice, yes?”

  “Yeah, that’s right. You have helped more than you know, Pasquale. We needed you with us. Thank you, Pasquale, for everything.” He kissed me on both cheeks, which was only slightly embarrassing, and we returned to the group.

  I looked at Ling, and she held up her hand to stop me from speaking. “I must to speak before the whole group. This has been the great quest and adventure. Many times I think we may die, but we make it through each time. Ferdie, I told you one day you would walk on the moon, and here is the day. I said I could do it as well, but now I must return to my home. I must honor my responsibility to my family. Even though I want to continue on this quest, I must to return. Please, Ferdie, my brother. We are connected, and we stay connected always. Even if I can’t remember, I will somehow. All of you are very brave. Now is my time to be brave, and return home. Is this a good thing to do, Ferdie?”

  I was crying so hard I couldn’t really see her, but I croaked, “Everything you do is good. I love you, Ling. I would have been dead a long time ago if it wasn’t for you.”

  “I feel same way, and in my heart I feel pain. Thank you, Ferdie. Thanks to all of you.”

  We all had to take a moment to get ourselves together after that. Finally, I turned to Ariel, and said, “Well, it’s all out in the open now, so I might as well ask you in front of everyone.”

  “Oh, Fordie, I’ve been gone for so long… I want to go with you, but I just want to go back and stay with Aunt Martha even more. I want a normal life, not the life of a demon. You’ll come and see me some day, won’t you?”

  I couldn’t really answer, so I just hugged her as hard as I could.

  I looked at Denise, and she said, “Count me in. You need me to watch your back, right? By the way, if I go with you, will I get to keep my angel powers?”

  I looked at Marsh-dog, and he was communicating with Ol’ Flashy. “He says why not. Well, that’s not exactly what he said, I’m kind of paraphrasing. Oh, yeah, another big word for the Marsh-dog!”

  She clenched her fist, and exulted, “YES! I’m in, Ferdie. I was always in, right from the first moment, but this makes it even sweeter.”

  She’ll never know how glad that makes me… I’ll have to tell her one of these days… only one person left…

  I glanced at Marsh-dog, and he had adopted his well-worn thinker pose. “Let’s see… I need to compile a complete list of the pro’s and con’s and do a statistical analysis… ok, done, when do we leave? You didn’t think you were going to leave me behind, did you? Who would take care of popping your massive ego, chopping you down to size, and telling jokes? Come on, dude. Remember, we’re in it together, right to the end? Well, we haven’t gotten to the end yet, have we?”

  I had to giggle, despite the somber circumstances. “No, we’re not to the end yet. Not even close.”

  “Ok, it’s settled then. The terrible trio rides again. Oh, Ol’ Flashy tells me time’s up, we gotta go.”

  This is really weird… these people have been my whole life for so long… how do we just leave? In a way it’s good that they won’t remember… I’ll remember, though…

  At Ling’s urging, we all went in for one final high-five, and in a flash, Ling, Aunt Martha, Pasquale, and Terry were gone.

  “So, should we join hands or something? And how are we going to travel?”

  “First of all, sorry, dude, but I’m not holding hands with you, no way. We’ll have to have Denise in the middle.”

  “Ok, settle down. Answer the second question.”

  “Ol’ Flashy is making a bubble of our space/time for us to travel in. Don’t worry, he’s on it.”

  “So where should we go?”

  “Man, I don’t know. Somewhere up there.”

  “Denise? What do you think?”

  “I hear the Andromeda galaxy is nice this time of year.”

  “Ok, punch in the coordinates, Marsh. Here… we… go…”

  In certain parts of the world, were one to look up toward the Heavens at a particular time on a particular date, one might have noticed a curious streak in the sky, heading out into space, smaller, smaller, smaller, and eventually…

  Gone, baby, long gone.

  Epilogue

  Ariel Jordan pulled her car into the garage and plugged it in, then hustled around to the backseat to extricate her three-year-old daughter, Mikayla, from the confines of the automatic child restraint system. She hoisted her squirmy bundle and walked to the front of the house, marveling at how real the new synthetic yard appeared, with its season-change system of coloration. At thirty eight, Ariel still retained a lithe, youthful appearance, and with the recent advances in medical technology, she would remain so far into the future, given the means to afford treatments.

  She ambled to the front door, triggered the retina scan, and in a moment, recognizing that her hands were occupied, the door popped open to allow her to enter. Her husband of ten years, Fernando Jordan, was away at work; he was rather successful in the field of renewable energy, and they lived a relatively comfortable life. She was first attracted to him in college when she heard his friends call him ‘Nando, although she couldn’t say why.

  Ariel set down her daughter, who toddled after her as she entered the bathroom. She checked herself in the mirror, and although everything looked right, she took out a barrette and pulled back her long, blond hair. She picked up Mikayla and moved to the kitchen, thinking about what to do for lunch, when a knock came at the door.

  She checked her tablet, and the door camera revealed a tall, red-headed teenager waiting there. Thinking that he may be selling fundraising items for one of the local sports teams, she went to the door; she and her husband had long ago determined to help youngsters in any way they could.

  She opened the door, and was surprised to find that the young man began crying, and making a strange tapping motion on the side of his head. “Are… are you ok?” she asked.

  “Yeah, I’m sorry. Are you Ariel Shamley?”

  She was surprised again to hear the young man using her maiden name. “It used to be, but my name is Ariel Jordan now. I’m sorry, do I know you?”

  “Well, yeah… I mean, no, I mean, sort of. It’s… I just wanted to make sure that you are ok, and that things are going well for you. It looks like they are.”

  “Yes, things are fine. May I ask who you are?”

  “Oh, it’s not important. I’m sorry to have bothered you. I…”

  And then there was a call from out on the sidewalk; she had not noticed a small, African-American teenager with a very large afro hair style, a skateboard under his arm, and a tall, muscular Hispanic female with strikingly long, shiny, ebony hair.

  “Hey, ‘Nando, we gotta get going. We don’t have much time, and we have other stops to m
ake, dude.”

  Ariel peered more closely into the eyes of the red-haired teenager. “Your name is ‘Nando?”

  “No, it’s really Ferdinand, Ferdie for short. He just calls me that to annoy me.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “Do I know you?” she asked again.

  “Do you think you know me?”

  “I… well, I can’t think of any reason why I do, but there does seem to be something familiar about you.”

  He reached into his pocket, pulled out a tiny memory dot, held it up, and called to his friend on the sidewalk, “Marsh, is this the tech they’re using now? I want to give her the right one.”

  “Yeah, that’s it. Hi, Ariel, by the way. Let’s go, dude.”

  Her eyes narrowed even further. “He knows me too?”

  “Yeah, sorry, it’s nothing weird. Well, that’s not true, it’s totally weird but it’s not bad. Just use this memory dot after we leave, but don’t share it with anyone. It’s for you only. You’ll see why after you watch it. Ok, gotta go. Take care of yourself, Ariel.”

  “You too, Fordie. Fordie… where did that come from?”

  The boy smiled, and said, “Forget about it. ‘Bye.”

  Ariel Jordan continued to watch the three as they walked together down the street. She heard them speaking, albeit faintly: “Ok, dude, who’s next? Aunt Martha, Dr. Reyes, Ling?”

  “Ling… yeah, let’s go see Ling next.” After a few steps, they joined hands, shimmered momentarily, and then… simply faded away.

  Hi! It has been one of the true joys of my life to bring you the story of Ferdie and his friends. I hope you enjoyed this final leg of the journey as much as I enjoyed writing it. As you may know, authors rely on readers who are willing to leave a review of their work, so please take a moment and use the link below to submit one. It’s easy and tremendously helpful. Thank you!

  Now… read on for a sneak peek at Singular, book one of an upcoming series!