Then, on their sixth day in Memphis, Johnnie-O approached him with some news.
"She's coming," Johnnie-O said. By the tone of his voice, and the look on his face, and the way he cracked his knuckles, Nick knew he didn't mean Allie. "Somehow Mary knew we were here!"
Nick stood from his chair. It was getting increasingly harder for him to rise, and as he walked forward, he dragged his feet, leaving chocolate skid marks on the ground.
"How close is she?" Nick asked.
Johnnie-O cracked a knuckle, the sound as penetrating as a sonar ping.
"Stop that," Nick said. "For all we know she has a kid with big enough ears to hear that a hundred miles away."
"Sorry." Johnnie-O looked deeply worried, and he was not an Afterlight who was easily intimidated.
"How close is she?" Nick asked again.
"You're not gonna like it," Johnnie-O said.
"Just tell me."
Johnnie-O let his large hands fall limp by his side. "She's already in the city. Less than two miles away."
Nick stared at him incredulously. How could that be? Everywhere they went, they sent scouts out for ten miles in all directions, searching the skies for the Hindenburg . If there was one thing Mary Hightower could not do in an airship, it was sneak up on them. "How could she get so close?"
"I think maybe we were all looking too high," said Johnnie-O, nervously cracking his knuckles again.
Two miles away, a hundred Afterlights holding ropes heaved themselves forward, dragging behind them a giant airship. Inch by inch it moved, its belly practically crawling across the ground.
Mary had been unconvinced that the western wind was the obstacle others claimed it was. Still, she had Speedo conduct the airship due south from Chicago, and didn't turn west until they were over Tennessee airspace. As Memphis had begun to loom in the distance, their airspeed slowed, and the airship's rudder strained hopelessly to keep them on a western course. When it became clear they would get no closer by air, Mary had Speedo set the ship down, and arranged for an alternate method of propulsion.
A hundred Afterlights were chosen for the team that would pull the Hindenburg forward toward Memphis, straining against an increasingly powerful wind. It was amazing how a ship that was supposed to be lighter than air could feel heavier to drag than a stone obelisk.
Fortunately, obstacles in the living world were not obstacles at all, for the airship passed through living forests and buildings--and although it was difficult for the team of pullers to struggle for traction in the bog of the living world, Mary's children always did what they were told. Within the airship, the rest of Mary's kids filled the rigid aluminum frame, resting on catwalks, finding space between the huge hydrogen bladders. Mary had briefed them personally on their part in the upcoming mission, and now an air of excitement filled the hollow spaces of the giant craft, like the static electricity that brought the airship to Everlost in the first place.
She had left behind a dozen of her most well-trained followers in Chicago to tend to the sleeping Interlights--more than two hundred of them when she left. She didn't know when she would return to Chicago, but when she did, there would be a fine community of Afterlights, all brought up with the benefit of her teachings.
As the grounded airship crawled toward Memphis, Mary tried to quell her own anticipation by taking the most frightened of her children to her in the Starboard Promenade, and telling them whatever comforting stories she could remember from the living world. Fairy tales with endings she tweaked toward the positive. Happily-ever-afters fabricated where none existed before. Still, the children were on edge.
"What if the Ogre attacks us before we get there?" one of her children asked.
"He won't," Mary told him, for as much as Mary wanted the world to think that Nick was a ruthless monster, she knew he was not. He would try diplomacy before waging an all-out war. In fact her whole strategy counted on it.
At noon, she could see from her windows that the airship was no longer laboring forward, for the many Afterlights straining to drag it had reached an impasse against the wind. This was as far as they would go ... which meant the time had come to finally make an opening gesture to Nick. A letter--which she wrote and rewrote until she was sure it was just right. She crafted it to make sure he could read nothing between the lines. It would not reveal the feelings she still had for him--mainly because she couldn't be sure he still felt the same way for her. And besides, after today, those feelings would no longer matter.
Once the letter was ready, she sealed it with old-fashioned sealing wax stamped with an M, then she called for one of her fastest runners.
"I need a brave messenger," Mary told her. "Can I count on you?"
The girl nodded enthusiastically, thrilled to be able to please her.
"I need you to go to the Ogre's train as quickly as you can--Speedo will tell you the way--and bring the Ogre this letter. You must hand it to the Ogre personally, and to no one else."
The girl no longer looked enthusiastic but terrified, so Mary put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "The Ogre is a terrible creature to be sure--but this letter will keep you under my protection. As long as you are brave and true, and do not accept anything the Ogre offers, I promise you will remain safe."
"Yes, Miss Mary."
After the girl was gone, Mary took some time to revel in her plan, and to mourn over it as well, because much would be lost today. Milos and the skinjackers were already out in the world, using their talents, and manifesting their own destinies on her behalf. The trap had been set for Nick, and all that remained was to spring it. "I'll set out on foot," Mary told Speedo. "You know what to do while I'm gone."
Speedo didn't look pleased. "Why do you have to go alone?"
"An entourage will invite suspicion," Mary answered. "I know what I'm doing."
"Do you? I agree it's a good idea to meet with him on neutral ground--but why meet him at a vortex? Aren't vortexes dangerous?"
"Vortices," corrected Mary, "are only dangerous if one doesn't understand the danger, and I do. We have reliable information on the Memphis vortex, and it is exactly what we need."
She turned away from Speedo then, for she knew her face gave away certain emotions she preferred to keep to herself. She comforted herself with thoughts of her larger purpose in Everlost. All those chosen to lead were asked to make painful sacrifices to prove themselves worthy. And today Mary would sacrifice her love. In her book Caution, This Means You, Mary Hightower devotes the following bullet point to vortices.
"Vortices are both the bane and blessing of Everlost. On the positive side, unexpected objects have been known to cross into Everlost through one vortex or another. However, on a less pleasant note, vortices will affect Afterlights in very undesirable ways. If you suspect that you've come across a vortex, it is best to steer clear of it, and report it to an authority."
CHAPTER 33 Suspicious Minds
In the varied and multilayered quilt of creation, one might say that vortices are the points where the surface is attached to the lining. In other words, a vortex is a spot that exists both in Everlost and the living world simultaneously.
Who can say what creates them? Perhaps it is the constant attention of the living that does it--for all vortices exist in spots that are the focus of human scrutiny. The living, of course, have only the slightest clue about the supernatural nature of these black holes of consciousness. Rare sightings of Afterlights, visible only in infrared light, perhaps--or recorded Afterlight voices that can only be heard at twenty times the normal volume. Odd smells, or unexpected chills--but nothing more than that.
In Everlost, however, the effect of a vortex can be immense.
Any Afterlight that steps on the pitcher's mound in old Yankee Stadium will be sent flying toward home plate at 107 miles per hour--the speed at which Billy Wagner threw the world's fastest pitch on that very spot. Any Afterlight that stands directly beneath the capital dome in Washington, DC, will suffer the simultaneous bombardment of
every speech ever delivered in Congress and the House of Representatives, causing instant and irreversible insanity. And any Afterlight that enters any Department of Motor Vehicles in the western world will discover that time doesn't just stop, it ceases to exist entirely.
The Memphis vortex is a unique one, because it affects every Afterlight differently. One boy, for instance, had walked in on a dare. His most prominent feature was a sizeable Afro that was his pride and joy--even larger in Everlost than it had been when he was alive. He stepped into the vortex, and ten minutes later rolled out as a six-foot furball with eyes.
An Afterlight girl so self-conscious about her braces that they had already doubled in size in her mouth, stumbled into the vortex to satisfy her own curiosity. When she left, she found her entire head encased in wires, brackets, and gum-bands.
And then there was the Afterlight who was somewhat sensitive to odors. He passed through the vortex, and emerged with a supernaturally acute sense of smell, along with highly irritable sinuses.
The Memphis vortex is a place of excess. That is to say, whatever you bring in with you, you leave with tenfold.
While in Everlost it is known as the Intolerable Nexus of Extremes, the living have a different name for it.
The living call it Graceland.
The Mississippi wind kept most Afterlights away from Memphis, so only a few Afterlights knew of the strange and curious properties of Graceland, and the rumors faded the farther one got from the place. Mary Hightower, however, was now privy to firsthand information. After hearing the Sniffer's account of his own personal experience there, Mary concluded, with both excitement and remorse, that this was the place she must meet Nick. In fact, she believed it was the destined place for their meeting, chosen, perhaps, by the Almighty himself.
Mary had no fear of the vortex, because the way she saw it, she could not be any more right than she already was.
Dearest Nick,
It appears our paths cross again. While I detest the very idea of putting my children at risk, I will defend what I know to be true. It would be foolish of you to battle us, however. I have more than two hundred loyal Afterlights--certainly we outnumber you.
I propose a meeting at a neutral location. I have been advised that the mansion at Graceland is a comfortable place for such a meeting. I will be there waiting for you today at five o'clock PM. I feel confident we will be able to either resolve our differences, or reach an acceptable compromise.
Most humbly yours,
Miss Mary Hightower
The girl who had brought the note looked terrified. Nick smiled to ease her fear, but he knew his smile no longer appeared comforting. Most of it flowed into a dark dripping frown which made the girl back away into Johnnie-O, who stood behind her. Used to be kids were more frightened by Johnnie-O and his power-knuckles than they were of Nick.
"Thank you," Nick told her. Then he reached for the bucket, which he still kept close, and with his good hand he pulled out a coin. "As payment for bringing me this message, I'm going to offer you a reward." He turned the coin in his fingers. "Do you know what this is?"
"Mary says it's evil."
"Do you believe that?"
"Yes," said the girl quickly. Then after a moment. "I don't know ..." She regarded it for a moment more, clearly tempted. Then she asked, "What will you do to me if I don't take it?"
"Nothing," said Nick. "Just because I'm offering it to you doesn't mean you have to take it." He was surprised by the question, but he supposed he shouldn't be. The lies that Mary must have told her children about him were woven so deeply into their minds, it would take more than a chocolate smile to win them over.
"I'm not supposed to take anything from you, sir."
"I understand. Go back to Mary and tell her the Chocolate Ogre says yes. I'll meet her."
The girl left as quickly as she could, and Nick showed the note to Johnnie-O.
"Two hundred Afterlights?" said Johnnie-O. "If all she has are two hundred, we outnumber her two to one! We could take them on right now!" He pounded his fist into his palm. "Sneak attack!"
"We could, but we won't. This is about freeing, not fighting--never forget that."
"Yeah, but you got an army back there waiting to bust some heads."
"We're in Everlost," Nick reminded him. "Heads don't bust." But Johnnie-O still wasn't satisfied. Nick sighed. "You'll have your fight," Nick admitted--as much to himself as to Johnnie-O. "Mary's got them so brainwashed, they'll fight us rather than take their coins."
"Then we'll force 'em" said Johnnie-O. "We'll make 'em take their coins, and if they don't, we'll push 'em down into the dirt. Good riddance!"
A surge of anger raged through Nick, and for a moment his chocolate ran as dark as licorice. He grabbed Johnnie-O by the shirt, and his voice became a deep liquid roar. "That's not the way we do things around here!"
Johnnie-O was not intimidated. "You're the one who wanted an army," he said. "What did you think an army was for?"
Johnnie-O's point struck deep. The idea of gathering a fighting force was one thing--but actually using it was another. Nick might have been a good leader, but he was no warlord.
His anger faded, and he let his chocolate arm slip from Johnnie-O's shirt, leaving behind a nasty brown stain in the middle of his chest.
"Once Mary's defeated, we'll free the ones we can," Nick said. "And if they won't take their coins?" Johnnie-O asked.
"Then we take them as prisoners of war," Nick told him.
Johnnie-O nodded, but his expression was still one of worry. "Y'know ... you can't fight her if you love her." All this time it had been an unspoken rule that they never spoke of Nick's feelings toward Mary. But maybe Johnnie-O was right to bring it up.
"I fought her before, and I won," Nick reminded him.
"Yes, but this time, she'll be ready."
Nick closed his eyes, and searched for something in himself more sturdy than chocolate. "So will I."
The note from Mary had come shortly after noon, but it was more than an hour before Nick called for Zin. He wanted some solitude, some silence so he could find a sense of resolve, but the Mississippi wind whistled over the train, making it difficult to feel anything but uneasy.
His good intentions had become like the chocolate devouring him--sweet and rich, but also muddy and debilitating. He had become too much of a good thing. Now he sat with a full bucket of coins that could free countless Afterlights, but how many had he freed since he began to build his army? None. He began to wonder how much different he was from Mary after all.
"So, is this it, then?" Zin asked, as she stepped up into the parlor car. "Do we got our date with the devil today?"
"Sit down," Nick told her.
"I prefer not to, sir," she said. "Ain't no chair clean enough in this train car."
And she was right, so he didn't force her. "Mary has called for a meeting. We'll take a team with us, but once we get there, you and I will go in alone," he told her. "Bring paper--I'll tell her you're there to write up a treaty."
"Johnnie-O's been teachin' me readin' but we haven't got to writin' yet."
"That doesn't matter--because when I give the word, you're going to drop everything, and cram Mary like there's no tomorrow."
Nick had played it out dozens of different ways until he saw the whole thing clearly in his mind. He would be there with Mary, engaged in a polite, but guarded conversation of diplomacy. He would string her along until he felt the moment was right, then he would make his move.
I have a gift for you, he would tell her. The finest gift in the universe, and it's all for you. He would step forward, and he would kiss her. A final kiss. Then Zin would grab her, and begin to push, until Mary was thrust through to the other side, into the living world, just as Zin had done to Kudzu. Mary would be alive, with nothing but the clothes on her back, and the sweet taste of chocolate on her lips.
I will not only save Everlost from you, but I will save you from yourself. I will give you the precio
us gift of life, Mary. Because I love you.
"What if I can't do it, sir?" said Zin. "Crammin' Kudzu was near impossible, and a person's bigger than a dog."
He put his good hand on her shoulder. "Your whole afterlife has been leading to this," he told her. "I have every faith in you, Zin."
CHAPTER 34 Poolside Rendezvous
Several of Nick's scouts had gone down Danny Rozelli's street, and one even walked right through the boy, but they were looking for a teenage Afterlight girl, not a live seven-year-old boy. A needle in a haystack didn't come close.
Within Danny Rozelli were two sets of thoughts, two minds, two histories, and with each day it was getting harder and harder for Danny and Allie to recall whose memories were whose. Now they both fell asleep at the same moment, awoke at the same moment, and when they dreamed, they dreamed as one.
It was late August, and the school year had just started. Life was slipping into a regular routine. Allie tried to imagine growing up, and growing old as a lifelong tenant in someone else's body. Would there come a time when she could accept life as the other half of Danny Rozelli? In these two weeks they had learned each other's rhythms and patterns like Siamese twins, and were quickly adapting to a life for two in a single body.
And what of her own body? It was lying somewhere in any one of a dozen hospitals--and that was just if she was in Memphis. She tried calling a few, but never got very far.
"Honey, why don't you put your mama on the phone?" the receptionists would invariably say. It was hard to get respect as a seven-year-old.
--This is not who I wanted to be-- Allie thought.
--Me neither--Danny thought right back at her, but both of their protests were getting weaker every day. They were becoming resigned to a shared existence.
Then the pool cleaners came.
They came the same day that Mary arrived in Memphis and sent her letter to Nick, but Allie had no way of knowing that, or anything else that went on in Everlost. As long as she was stuck in a living body, all she could see was the living world.
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