by Dan McNeill
"Noah says to go to Oz," Po said. "Oz we go. Noah says. To Oz we go."
Raymond looked awkwardly back at Abraham, unsure of what to say next. He was just happy it was over and that Po returned. He put his hand on Po's shoulder, flashing him a nervous smile. "Uh, that was quite a story there Chewie. You almost had me worried that-"
"Carousel!" Salome said, cutting him off. She looked at Raymond. "I thought you said you never told him about the 19?"
"The 19?" Raymond said. "I didn't!"
"The hell you didn't!" she snapped. "How in the world does he know about the carousel?"
"The what?"
"The carousel!" Salome yelled. "The merry-go-round!" She looked like bad sex manic. Pacing back and forth like in an alternate universe where something had gone real wrong after they did it back on the train. Pissed beyond pissed. Angry like she were going to swing. "Abraham!" she said in a horrifying squeal. "Tell him!"
Abraham sat motionless for a few long moments, just watching Po. "Oh yes, Carousel," he said coolly. He shook his head. "It's nothing," he said, waving her off. "I mean, it's everything, of course," he continued, stressing the word everything like he were a preacher giving a sermon. "The whole talk of the carousel or simply carousel. It's all wrapped up into 19 lore. A oneness with the divine. Like climbing Mount Olympus or seeing the Burning Bush. A spiritual ecstasy that only a handful have experienced. But none of that is going to mean anything to Raymond here Salome so don't waste your breath." He paused, putting his fingers to his lips as he continued to look at Po. "So, Po," Abraham said with a cautious grin. "How do you know Noah?"
"Po don't know the answer to that one Abe," he said. "Po just knows the story."
"The story of what Po?" Raymond asked.
"Oh come on Waymond!" Po snorted. "Does Po have to burp it back to you? Of the 19, of course!"
Raymond looked uneasily around the empty clearing. "But we never talked about the 19 Po."
"No, but Po's friends did Waymond. They told Po all about the 19. And Noah. And the Merry-go-round. And Oz, Waymond. To Oz we go, Noah says."
"Your friends Po?" Abraham asked. "Do you mean Jake and Salome?"
"Not at all Abe," Po replied. Widening his eyes, he looked over to Salome and Jake as his face went red. "Oh sorry guys," he mumbled embarrassingly to himself. "Of course, Po does think you two are his friends!" Jake offered back a befuddled nod while Salome grinned.
"Nope," Po continued, suddenly looking perky. "Po's talking about the voices that talked to him when he was playing Stormtrooper in his dreams..." Slowly, Po lifted himself up and started walking around to the edges of the clearing in the cornfield.
"We need to go to Oz guys," Po said, peering through the cornstalks. "To Oz we go!"
"You think he's talking about when he was droned?" Abraham asked Jake.
Jake nodded. "Yes sir. Looks to me like an echo memory."
Raymond raised his hands up into the air. "Echo memory?" he snapped. "Noah? What are you guys talking about?"
"Noah was one of the 19 Ray. At least we think he was. Only people who've had long, significant interactions with the 19 can ever recall anything more than a few details. But when they do, it's a name. Noah." He crossed his arms and observed Po with a curious grin. "My question now is what happened to him when he was droned for him to retain this."
"So, what, you think Po picked up this memory when he was in the suit?"
"Perhaps," Abraham said, studying Po as he spread out his windbreaker like a cape, racing around the edges of the clearing.
"To Oz!" Po shouted gleefully. "To Oz we go!"
Abraham raised his eyebrows, watching Po as he zipped by. "Or perhaps someone purposefully implanted it."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Abraham shrugged his shoulders and frowned. "I don't know Ray. Could be a lot of things. This isn't like me trying to help you cheat on your chemistry exam. I don't always have all the answers you know."
With a final lap around the clearing, Po slowed down and returned to his brothers. Raising his arms, he patted them both on the shoulders, letting out a long yawn.
"Po's pooped!" Po said. With another yawn, he lowered himself to the ground, covered himself with his lime-green windbreaker and curled up into a ball. In a few seconds, he was snoring. Raymond was jealous of Po for a lot of things. But nothing more than how easy it was for him to fall asleep.
"At the drop of a hat," Raymond said, looking down at his snoring brother.
"Yes, I see some things never change," Abraham said. "All right people," he said, looking around at the others. "I suggest we do the same. Who knows when we'll get another chance. Jake? What do you think?"
Jake looked around the edges of the clearing. "Seems safe enough. But I still think we should take turns keeping watch."
"Agreed," Abraham replied. "I'll take first."
"No," Raymond said. "I'll go first. You just got out of prison. I'm thinking you need to rest more than I do."
"Gee Ray," Abraham said, eying his brother a bit suspiciously, "Thanks? And what's the catch? Are you going to shave my eyebrows and put a mouse in my pants? Again?"
Raymond laughed. "No, not tonight at least."
"Fine then," he replied. He nodded to Jake and Salome. "I'll go after Ray. Jake, why don't you go after me. Salome, you take last watch. I'm quite sure you need the rest more than me my love."
Salome kissed Abraham on the cheek while Jake spread out a spot on the flattened cornstalks and laid down. Raymond was surprised at how much respect his dickish brother commanded in this world. How in a place where giants and supermen and freakish angel droids, Abraham seemed to be able to keep it together. To lead them. Raymond took a seat with his knees up, Remmy held across them, while the others tried to rest.
And Raymond thought. Thought how long it would take for the others to fall asleep. Thought how he could do it. How he could wake Po without anyone else hearing. How he could convince him to take a walk with him, maybe by turning it into a game. It would be a lie, Raymond knew that. But it'd be a worthy lie, as lies go.
Raymond remembered passing a town just north of here as they sailed down river. Maybe they could get there while the night still covered them. A few days of sleeping during the day and traveling by night? They could do that.
West. They'd travel west. Maybe once they got across the Mississippi, they could revert to a normal sleep schedule again. That's only if they could find another Lake Como of course. They might need to go farther west. Like Nebraska, west. Or South Dakota, west. The Badlands. Those were places that would have to be safe. Hell, those were places that didn't have people even when there were people.
Devil's Tower. That's it. That's where they'd go. Devil's Tower. The giant monolithic rock formation that punches up from the center of an oval-shaped mesa somewhere in Wyoming. The landmark that Richard Dreyfus recreated out of mashed potatoes in the movie, Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Po loved that movie and always wanted to go there. That would be enough to keep him going. That would be their goal.
Raymond turned suddenly to the sound. It was the wailing again. The high-pitched sound made by the men on horseback. Raymond grabbed Remmy and stood up, facing the western sky where the wails seemed to be passing. The sound was fading away. Fading westward.
Raymond sat back down next to Abraham. It looked like he may have opened his eyes. Knowing someone was else was awake and hearing the sound made the fear bearable for Raymond. Even if that someone were dickish Abe.
"Hey," Raymond whispered. "You awake?"
"Yes," Abraham said in a quiet, even tone. "I don't sleep much. And after what happened here tonight? I'm too jacked up to sleep." He turned towards Raymond, who was still looking at him. "What's up?"
"The story Po told."
"Yes Ray?"
"Grandpa Frank didn't bring me in the house. You and Po did."
"Oh yeah," Abraham said, nodding to himself. "I suppose we did, didn't we."
Raymon
d paused, letting out a relaxed sigh as the sound of the wailing faded away entirely. "Were you pulling a Grandpa Lou or did you just make it up on purpose?"
Abraham smiled, shaking his head. Grandpa Lou was senile. Not Alzheimer's senile but forgetful to the point of it being dangerous - especially in terms of it making his family dangerously angry with him. Grandpa Lou's senility seemed to always work out in his favor.
"I don't know," Abraham finally said. "I suppose a little of both. It was a long time ago Ray."
Raymond rolled over onto his back, placing his hands behind his head. He looked up at the stars and shook his head.
"So you had a chance to make yourself look good," Raymond said. "And you passed on it."
Abraham let out a laugh. "Please," he said, "they call me the Prophet. Do you think I need a bigger head?"
"I dunno," Raymond said, lifting his shoulders in a shrug. "It's just weird to me, that's all I guess. I mean, growing up, you were always..."
"Always what?"
"Well, always not there. I mean, you were there, of course. But I barely noticed you. You had a way of staying under the radar. Do you know, I had friends in high school who didn't even know you existed? Most of my friends thought I was an only child. I mean, I can see them not knowing Po. But you and me? Hell, we had gym class together!"
Now it was Abraham's turn to shake his head. "Do you even know why I left?"
Raymond looked at his brother, then looked back up at the wide open star-sparkling sky. He stayed silent.
"You know Ray, you never did like to say yes to me. Anytime I ever asked you anything, no was the only answer I'd get out of you. Whenever you meant yes, you'd just ignore me."
Raymond let out a sigh. "If someone'd asked me a couple days ago why you left, I would have told them it was because you were a chicken-shit coward."
"And now?"
"Now," Raymond paused. "Now I'd say it's because you're like Po. You're curious."
Abraham turned over onto his back and placed his folded his hands, placing them on his stomach.
"I think it was dad," he stated.
"You think it was dad, what?"
"I think it was dad that implanted the memory into Po."
"When Po was a drone? How would he have done that?"
"I think dad was droned."
"How's that possible? You were there tonight! You heard what Jehu said! He controls the drones, right? And he's looking for dad too, remember? Don't you think if dad were droned he'd know about it?"
Abraham shook his head.
"Not necessarily. Jake and I have some experience with the de-droned. When you go under the suit, your identity is stripped. Completely. You become one with the hive and nothing of your old self remains."
"So?"
"So." Abraham said simply. "Ray, do you know how many drones there are?"
"Hundreds, I don't know."
"Try thousands.
"What do you think we should do?" Raymond asked.
"Po is special Ray. We've always known that. The connections he could make. The worlds he could believe in. If anyone knew how to cut through the drone chatter and preserve himself in the hive, it would have been Po."
"So what are you saying?"
"I'm saying that maybe dad allowed himself to be droned knowing that Po might someday get droned too."
It was an interesting theory but one that Raymond had nothing more to say about. It was time to change the subject.
"So you never answered your own question," Raymond said.
"Excuse me?"
"About why you left," Raymond said.
"Well I thought the answer was obvious Ray," he said with a questioning gaze. "To step out of your shadow."
"You didn't need to leave us to do that," Raymond said.
"Yes Ray, I did."
Raymond turned towards his brother, ready to lash out something spiteful Something he'd held up inside for the last three years. Something about having to take care of Po all by himself. Something about having to be the responsible one. But he chose not to say anything. Mostly because having to take care of Po was the greatest thing he had ever done.
Perhaps noticing the change of heart, Abraham smiled. "Your turn," he said. "I'm wide awake. No sense in both of us being up."
Raymond didn't argue. Besides, he didn't think there was anything more for either one of them to say. Not without unsettling this temporary peace.
"And Ray?"
"Yes?"
"Stay with us."
Letting out a long sigh, Raymond didn't say no.
Abraham smiled as Raymond tried to get some rest.
Chapter 10
A single shot from a rifle blast tore Raymond from his slumber. With a slight trail of smoke drifting up over the field, a flock of crows flew off from the tips of the stalks they had been feeding on.
"Get up!" an angry voice snarled.
Raymond jumped to his feet. Salome was standing next to him, her head drooping low to the ground. She must have fallen asleep. Raymond couldn't blame her. They'd both been on the run since Lake Como. Raymond wondered how long she'd been on the run by herself before that.
It didn't matter now. Because now there were three men on horseback, facing them. The man in the middle wore a tan Stetson hat and carried a black rifle. As he drew nearer, the two men flanking him came into focus. The light of the morning sun cast sleek shadows off their white armor plating. They weren't men at all. Drones. They raised their rifles, aiming them at Po.
A fourth rider approached, his horse galloping calmly in from behind. Stopping, his big black steed stood firm while its steamy breath escaped through its nostrils like the contrails of a jet. Over his head, the man wore a sleek silver helmet with coiled flourishes on each side. The sides of the helmet melded down like a flexible chain mail, encircling his neck and padded shoulders from his purple trench coat. It was Zephaniah.
“The reward money is yours, tracker," Zephaniah said sourly. "What you do with the woman and the mercenary is of no concern to me.” He removed a fist-sized felt sack from his cloak and tossed it to the ground. “But the Beans are mine.”
The thick-bellied man with the cowboy hat let out a huff, dismounting from his horse to inspect the sack. “A true pleasure doing business with you again Lord Zephaniah,” the man said, tipping his hat. Removing a pair of cuffs from a sack tied up to his horse, he approached Jake with caution.
"Now don't do anything stupid, big guy," the tracker warned. "We got you covered eight ways to-"
Jake reached out, grabbing the tracker's arm with both hands. With a practiced motion, he snapped it back like a stick. Not stopping, he pulled his pistol from his holster, aiming it at the first drone as the bullet ripped through his chest. Clutching his heart, Jake tumbled backwards into the cornfield. He was spitting blood.
"Jake!" Abraham screamed.
It was crazy town. With no time to think, Raymond swung Remmy off his shoulder and aimed it at Zephaniah. The drone that killed Jake turned and fired at Raymond, hitting him in the shoulder. Biting his lip trying to hold back the pain, he got the shot off, blasting it wide left.
While it missed its target, the shot spooked the horse Zephaniah was on. The black horse whinnied, rearing itself up by its back legs as its front hooves punched at the air. With a frantic cry, the horse hurled Zephaniah into the air, out of the clearing and into the stalks. He landed with a soft thud, marching right back into the fray.
“Get them!” Zephaniah shouted, gesturing now to his two drones.
But nothing could move. Nothing could get past the light. The light was everywhere.
And it came from Po. A brilliant white light, shining so bright it made the day look like darkness. It shot out now, spreading forth across the field in all directions.
Raymond cringed in fear as the light shot past him. It was cold. But comfortably cold, like stepping into Lake Como on the first day of spring. Everything was silent as he fell back. Silent and slow like a fading d
ream. As he hit the ground he saw Salome crying out something in tears. Silence.
Raymond suddenly grew flush while the cool light began to cleanse away his fears. More than anything, he wanted to sleep. With all of his remaining energy, he tried to fight it off, tried to crawl towards Salome and Po. He needed to get to Po. He needed to get to Abe. They had to help Mom. Mom would know what to do. Ask mom.
There was a howling sound. Howling like the wind, like the high-pitched howls of the men on horseback. The same howls that made him want to run back into his cottage and hide under the covers when he was supposed to be guarding Po. A single howl now. The horses were dancing. There was nothing else to fight. Abe's tears at the loss of his friend were almost enough to keep the sleep from overcoming him. But not quite. Raymond made it to Salome and laid his head on her chest. Before letting sleep overcome him, Raymond gave one last glance across the clearing in the corn over to Abraham.
And saw Jake open his eyes.
END OF EPISODE ONE