Pawn's Gambit

by Darin Kennedy

  “Your lungs bad?”

  “No worse than anyone else who smoked their way through the fifties and sixties.” Archie hawked the products of a wet cough into the cup by his bed. “Now I’m stuck down here on The Green Mile while the head docs try to figure out what to do with me next.”

  “The Green Mile, huh?”

  “The movie was showing in the common room the night I was brought in. Name fits this place pretty well, don’t you think? Especially considering my current predicament?”

  “All that’s missing are the bars and a trick mouse.” Steven found himself warming to the old man, his initial misgivings fading into grudging fondness. “I take it you saw my first encounter with the Black Queen.”

  “She’s cunning, that one. You’re fortunate to still be alive and kicking.” Archie rose from the bed and walked to the door, his shuffling gait slow but sure. After peering up and down the hallway, he turned and shut the door. “You think well on your feet, you know.”

  “Thanks.” Steven raised an eyebrow. “So, you’re saying you’ve followed everything that’s happened to us over the last three days?”

  “With a few exceptions, yes. You’ve had quite the eventful week.”

  “So, what’s going to happen now? Do you know how all of this is going to turn out?”

  “Unfortunately, no. While the clarity of my visions so far has been beyond reproach, I usually see things no more than a day or two in advance. Also, after today’s events, everything gets muddier.” Archie’s face melted into an impish grin. “I did, however, experience a touch of déjà vu during our little talk.”

  Steven took a moment to process what the old man said, his face breaking into a similar grin as the implication became clear. “You’ve known everything I was going to say this whole time, haven’t you?”

  “More or less. I saw all of this a couple nights ago. Talking with you now is sort of like following along with a movie I’ve already seen. Believe it or not, I was half-afraid I might forget some of my lines.”

  “So you sat here for a day and a half and waited for me to walk by your door?”

  “Well, you know, it’s been pretty busy, what with all the group therapy and Jell-O breaks, but I was able to pencil you in.”

  Steven rose from the blue recliner and gazed out at the brightening Virginia sky. “Then I take it you know why we’re here.”

  “I do. The girl, Lena, she was hurt pretty badly last night.”

  “She was still in surgery last I checked. Her boyfriend’s here too, recuperating up in the ICU. I’ve got someone up there keeping an eye on him.” Steven checked his watch. “Man, I’ve been down here forever. Audrey’s probably hunting all over the hospital for me.”

  “Audrey. I assume that’s the name of your lovely new Queen?”

  Steven nodded. “Yeah. She’s up there all by herself. I’d better go check on her.” Steven half-opened the door. “Would you care to join me?”

  “Certainly, but aren’t you forgetting something?”

  Steven stared blankly at Archie for a moment.

  “Remember,” Archie added, “I’ve been waiting for this a very long time.”

  “Oh, of course.” Steven untied the silver cord from his waist and the pouch answered with a deafening pulse of sound. Though similar in many ways to his initial encounter with Emilio, the tone was subtly different this time, louder and more dissonant. Archie shed a tear as Steven opened the pouch, its glow filling the room with silver-white radiance.

  The priest’s hand trembled as it approached the shimmering light. “No turning back.”

  “From what I understand,” Steven said, “that was never an option for any of us.”

  His fingers resting at the brink of discovery, Archie hesitated.

  “Go ahead,” Steven said. “It doesn’t hurt, but be ready for whatever you might find.”

  Archie looked on for a moment longer and then dove his hand deep into the pouch’s silver scintillation. His blind grope was fruitless for several long seconds, and frustration mounted on his face. As the moment unfolded, however, the priest’s puzzled expression faded into a look of wonder, then rapture, as he brought forth his hand from the mouth of the pouch. His fingers, no longer twisted with years and arthritis, held an icon much like Steven’s but larger and more ornate. The burnished marble surface of the bishop piece shone with fiery intensity, illuminating features of a man suddenly unmarked by time’s relentless advance.

  “Am I imagining this?” Archie asked, studying the fluid motion of his rejuvenated fingers. “Is this really happening?”

  Steven looked on, barely believing what he was seeing. The man before him was still Archibald Lacan, but a younger, more virile Archie, as he must have looked in his prime. He stood tall and proud, the mild hunch in his back absent and his previously gaunt shoulders now broad and strong. Only the eyes were the same, filled with a look of wonder usually reserved for children on Christmas morning.

  “Holy… It’s like you dropped forty years.” Steven put his hand on the man’s shoulder. “How do you feel?”

  Archie’s newly young face broke into a wide grin. “It’s indescribable. It’s like I’m— oh…” With the advent of his awakening into the Game, Archie’s perceptions were no longer obscured by Steven’s cloak. “Your face.”

  “Don’t worry,” Steven said. “I’ll heal.” He ran his battered fingers along the cut above his brow. “It looks a lot worse than it feels.”

  “Right. I don’t believe that for a second. Did you get one of the doctors to—”

  “Archie?” A woman in her mid-forties, dressed in blue and green scrubs poked her head into the room. “Are you doing—oh, I’m sorry.” The nurse checked to see if she was in the right room. “Excuse me. Where’s Mr. Lacan?”

  “He’s taking a break.” Archie thumbed at the bathroom door. “Prostate’s not what it used to be.” The nurse gave Archie’s hospital-issued pajamas a quizzical once-over.

  “We’re down from the seventh floor,” Steven said. “John here is a friend of the family. He wanted to come visit with Father Lacan for a minute.”

  “Tell Archie to buzz me when he gets out of the bathroom,” the nurse said, her confused tone colored with mild annoyance. “It’s time for his morning meds.”

  “Will do, Gladys,” Archie said. “Will do.”

  The woman’s face clouded over as she left the room, her mind making a connection Steven guessed she would deem impossible.

  “Are you ready?” Steven asked as the door clicked shut.

  “My clothes are all locked away down the hall.” Archie ran his hands down his blue pajamas and gestured to his plaid slippers. “No belts on the psych floor, you know.”

  Steven reached into the pouch and produced a cloak fashioned of sheer white fabric. “Here, put this on. It’ll make this a whole lot easier.”

  Archie fastened the cloak around his neck and brought up the hood. The silvery threads shimmered in the fluorescent light for a moment before the entire garment faded into obscurity.

  “Fascinating,” he said. “Can’t wait to see what else I can do.”

  “We’ll get you some real clothes once we’re out of here, but your pajamas and cloak will have to do for now.” Steven’s gaze shot to the door. “I get the feeling Gladys didn’t like our answers very much.”

  “All right,” Archie agreed. “Let’s go.”

  Steven headed for the door but Archie paused a second longer.

  “Wait,” he said. “One more thing.” He rummaged in the drawer of his bedside table and drew out his rosary, crossing himself before stepping out into the hall.

  “He’s gotten me this far.” A glimmer of excitement flashed in his eyes. “Shall we?”

  Steven and Archie moved up the hall toward the door to the main hospital hallway. At the nursing station, Gladys sat at the desk working on a chart and sipping her morning coffee.

  “Is the good Father done with his business?” Her mouth turned up in
a half-smile.

  “Almost,” Archie said. “He said it might be a few more minutes.”

  “Anyway, we’ve got to go.” Steven pointed to the door. “Can you let us out of here?”

  “Sure, honey. I’ll buzz you out.” Gladys punched a code into the keypad on the wall, and the door leading off the unit clicked open. “Have a good day.”

  “Don’t worry about that,” Archie replied. “It’s already a great one.”

  24

  Miracle

  Steven and Archie stepped off the elevator onto the ninth floor and made their way toward the ICU waiting room. As Steven approached the double doors, he spotted Audrey huddled in the far corner of the room talking with a nurse he didn’t recognize. Her hunched shoulders heaved with sobs and her eyes appeared even more puffed up and red than before. Rushing the last few steps, Steven caught the tail end of what the nurse was saying.

  “…but for right now, at least she’s stabilized.” The nurse rose from her seat. “We’ll do our best to keep you abreast of any developments in Miss Cervantes’ condition.”

  “Wait,” Steven said. “Before you go, how is Lena?”

  “I’m sorry, sir, but I have to get back. Miss Cervantes is still in critical condition, and I’ve got one of the other nurses watching her while I’m out here. I just finished updating Miss Richards. She can fill you in. Also, the doctor should be making rounds sometime in the next hour and can probably answer your questions after he’s seen her.”

  “Can you at least tell me if it looks like she’s going to make it?”

  “Steven,” Audrey interjected, “Lena’s in a coma. They’re going to try to let her breathe without the machine tomorrow, but she’s not waking up. The doctors think her brain may have taken too much damage to ever recover.”

  “We do appreciate your concern,” the nurse added. “We’ve had other Good Samaritans bring in people from time to time, but few have taken such an active interest. Let me assure you we’re doing everything we can. The doctors aren’t optimistic her condition will improve much, but we’re going to keep working with her and hope for the best. It’s all we can do at this point.”

  “I understand,” Steven said. “Thank you for your time.”

  The nurse nodded. “Any big developments, we’ll let you know.”

  As Lena’s nurse disappeared into the back, Audrey looked up at Steven, her eyes welling up anew. “I’ve been in and out of hospitals for longer than I care to remember,” she said. “There were times when all I could think about was getting up and walking away, no matter what the cost. Well, if this is the cost, it’s too high. A girl I’ve never even met is in there fighting for her life because she decided to help me.” Audrey wiped the tears from her face. “I didn’t think it was possible to feel any more helpless than I did when I was sick, but I was wrong. A part of me wishes the three of you hadn’t come for me.”

  “Don’t even go there.” Steven rested a hand on Audrey’s shoulder. “We all did what we had to do, and if it came down to it, we’d do it all again. Besides, if anybody put Lena and Emilio in danger, it was me.”

  “If I may intrude,” came a third voice, “the truth is neither of you are at fault.”

  Audrey shot out of her seat and grasped her icon. She spun around to find Archie standing to one side, a bemused half-smile plastered across his face.

  “Lena and Emilio are merely the latest casualties in our grand contest,” Archie continued. “This Game we play is not for the weak of heart.”

  “Steven?” Audrey eyed the stranger warily. “Who is this?”

  “Sorry,” Steven answered. “This is Archie. He’s with us.”

  “My Queen.” The priest lowered his head in a show of deference. “Archibald Lacan, White Bishop, at your service.”

  “Where did he come from?” Audrey asked. “How is this possible?”

  “It seems the pouch brought us to this particular hospital for a reason.” Steven raised a shoulder in a subtle shrug and air escaped his nose in a quiet chuckle. “I didn’t even make it to the ground floor before it went off like a car alarm.”

  “Well, then.” Audrey extended Archie a hand. “Nice to meet you, Archie.”

  Archie took her hand and performed a graceful bow. “The pleasure is mine, my Queen.”

  “Seems you’ve picked up on all this pretty quickly. How did…” Audrey’s eyes shot to Steven. “Wait, are they here?”

  “If by ‘they’, you mean the Black,” Archie answered, “then no. I believe for the moment you and yours have earned a well-deserved respite from their incessant assault.”

  Audrey shot Steven another quizzical look. “What is he talking about?”

  “Apparently, Archie got the only copy of the instruction manual for this stupid Game. From what he’s already told me, he understands more about all of this than anybody has a right to.” Steven took a seat and motioned for the other two to join him. “He’s right, though. I haven’t felt even a glimmer of the Black since we hit Virginia. Let’s hope our luck holds out.”

  “Some luck,” Audrey said. “Emilio’s not going to be up and about for at least a week, you heard what the nurse said about Lena, and as I understand it, the Game hasn’t even started.”

  “We’re going to make it through this,” Steven said. “We don’t have any other choice. Like it or not, ready or not, we’re it. We may have to go on without our Knight, but as of last night, so do they.”

  Audrey buried her face in her hands. “Dammit, Steven, I didn’t mean to do what I did.” Her voice cracked as she broke into heaving sobs. “I didn’t mean it.”

  “I’m sorry, Audrey,” Steven said. “I wasn’t trying to—”

  “My dear,” Archie interjected, “don’t waste any emotion on their fallen Knight. Death, unfortunately, has become an intrinsic part of this Game, and for all his talk of noble intentions, his fate was no less than what his dark master meant for you. Had the Black awaited the Game’s appointed time, their Knight may well have survived this time of upheaval. His fall is an unfortunate consequence of their King’s hubris and greed.”

  “I don’t want to play this godforsaken Game. I just want to go home.” Audrey’s teary eyes shot back and forth from Archie to Steven. “Or whatever’s left of it.”

  “Make no mistake,” Archie answered. “Though the Game proper has yet to begin, going back is not an option. Until this is over, we are all no more than Pieces on the great Board. Beyond what the Game provides, we can rely only on our strengths, our wits, and each other. The opposition may think they hold all the cards, but last night the four of you fought as one and achieved victory despite impossible odds.” Archie took Audrey’s hands in his. “When I saw what these three did for you last night and you for them—”

  “What do you mean ‘saw’? You weren’t there.” Audrey shot another puzzled look at Steven. “Was he?”

  “Archie can see things.” Steven met the priest’s earnest gaze. “He’s been having visions and dreams about the Game for years. Lately, they’ve been previews instead of recaps.” He shook his head in disbelief. “He’s known we were coming for days.”

  Audrey’s eyes grew wide. “Then you must know what’s going to happen to Lena. Is she going to be okay? Is she going to wake up?”

  Archie’s expression turned solemn. “Some visions are clearer than others,” he said. “Sadly, my insights into the events that fall after my conscription are far vaguer than the others. A mechanism of the Game, no doubt.”

  “But you do have some idea, right?” She looked on with strained, yet hopeful eyes. “I mean, she’s going to make it, isn’t she?”

  Archie cleared his throat and studied the floor for a moment before answering. “Her fate is unclear.” Archie met Audrey’s pained gaze. “The only thing I know with any clarity is that I have some role to play in the outcome.”

  Amaryllis fluttered at Steven’s neck.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Steven asked.

  “
As I said, each of us brings certain abilities to the Game, some intrinsic to our nature and others associated with our position on the Board. I’ve gleaned from glimpses of the other iterations that the Bishop’s role is more than being simply another combatant, but also advisor to the King, and perhaps healer.”

  “You mean you can help her?” Audrey’s eyes grew wide with hope.

  “I’m not sure. From here on out, nothing’s written in stone. Still, I can’t escape the notion I’m supposed to minister to her in some way.” Archie’s voice grew quiet. “Actually, to all of you.” The priest looked away, his already trademark zeal and confidence at a low ebb. “Not as easy to charge ahead full steam when you don’t know what lies across the next hill.”

  “Welcome to our world.” Steven slapped Archie on the back. “Lena’s waiting. Ready to give it a shot?”

  “No time like the present, I suppose.” Archie rose from his seat, a concerned cast crossing his features. “What if I can’t help her?”

  “Then she’s no worse off than she is right now,” Steven said.

  “The way I see it,” Audrey added, “you’re the best chance she’s got.”

  “All right then,” Archie said. “It’s settled. Let’s do it.”

  The trio moved to the entrance of the intensive care unit. Steven pressed the button, and the motorized double doorway opened revealing one of the physicians he’d seen earlier headed their way. His head buried in a chart, the slim man in the long white coat nearly knocked Archie over as he rushed past.

  “Sorry about that,” the doctor said. “Need to watch where I’m going, I suppose.” When the trio wouldn’t let him pass, his expression grew frustrated. “Can I help you?”

  “Yes, Dr. Atkinson,” Steven said, glancing at the man’s badge. “We were hoping to go back and see Lena Cervantes.”

  “The girl from the motorcycle crash? She’s in critical condition. Are you family?”