ISBN: 9781623095413
ONE
Lena dances as if in a higher dimension, moving effortlessly through this one. She is light coalesced, brilliant, white, sparkling. Long blond hair dazzles like a swirling flare on the dance floor. Her short thin translucent white dress proclaims a slender lithe athletic body that instinctively embraces the music. Her pale white face, free of make-up, concentrates on the sound waves passing into her, through her, setting her into a singular frantic vibration. She shimmers in the pulsing dance beat, lightly-shod feet barely grazing the floor.
The floor is packed. But Lena dances alone, gracefully avoiding contact, physical contact, eye contact. But her influence in the room is wide. Eyes are drawn to her fluid brightness. Heads turn. Bodies maneuver toward her. Yet she remains oblivious as she dances.
A short, solid, muscular young man steps forward, shaved head, with a dark scowl on his face, plainly clad, not looking any different from any of the others in the crowd he emerged from.
He dances up to Lena, unable to match her nimble moves but not for lack of trying. He is energetic and all over the place.
“Hi, babe. I’m Lex Lepton.”
Lena dances away. Lex pursues. The chase continues across the dance floor, off it.
Lena bursts out a door. She finds herself in a dark alley, which she illuminates. A flyer posted on a wall catches her attention: REWARD OFFERED FOR INFORMATION LEADING TO THE DISCOVERY OF HIGGS BOSON.
Lex Lepton emerges through the door. They glare at each other, she with loathing and he with anticipation.
“Lena. We are destined to interact. Don’t fight the attraction.”
Lena lopes easily down the alley toward the street. Lex Lepton chases after. “Can’t you feel the electro-magnetism?!” But it’s no contest. She easily outruns him.
Just before Lena reaches the street another man appears at the alley entrance. He looks and is dressed just like Lex. He grabs her arms and slams her against the wall. Lena stares down in terror at the fierce little skinhead with the iron grip who has pinned her to the filthy wall.
Looking over his shoulder, she sees a mob of identical men. The crowd from inside the club that Lex had emerged from. Her brightness dims.
TWO
Lena no longer glows. She lies in a heap on the filthy pavement, her dress dirty and torn. She is alone.
She opens her eyes to discover a huge older man in bulky plain clothes towering above her. Concern creases his face.
“Are you all right?”
Lena looks herself over, rearranges her dress. He reaches down and offers an open hand. Lena gazes curiously at him. Then grasps his hand. He gently pulls Lena to her feet. She steps away, brushing her hair with her hands, smoothing her dress. She loses her balance and starts to fall. He grabs her, steadies her. Lena smiles appreciatively.
“I feel weak.”
He slips a supporting arm around her.
“Do you need to go to the hospital?”
“I need to go home.”
The man leads Lena out of the alley. She leans heavily on him, shuffling at his side.
“By the way, miss, I’m Newt.”
“Lena here.”
Lena swoons. Newt catches her as she slides back toward the pavement she had just risen from. He effortlessly sweeps her up in his powerful arms and walks down the sidewalk with her.
Lena opens her eyes. She finds Newt staring solemnly down at her. She looks around. The tiny room she is in is barren except for the small bed she lies upon. And black. The bare walls are painted black. The floor and ceiling are black. The sheets, the bed itself, are black.
Lena looks back to Newt. “I meant my home.”
A massive obese woman steps up alongside Newt. She is much older, with long thin grey hair around a deeply wrinkled flaccid face. She appears as solemn as her partner. “How are you, dear?”
“Who are you?”
“Pro.”
Lena sits up. She notices three small children just beyond Newt and Pro. They are tiny, one smiling brightly at her while the other two scowl darkly. They are each clad in different colored clothes - green, blue and red. “Your children?”
Pro frowns as she replies. “His. Mine are out of sight. Like good children should be. Heard but not seen.”
Lena starts to rise, but becomes dizzy. Newt and Pro each take an arm and help her to sit back down. “I feel so weak.”
Newt tries to smile reassuringly. “The event took a lot out of you. You are not the same as before.”
Pro doesn’t bother to attempt a smile. “You were annihilated. Now just rest a while.”
Newt and Pro push an unresisting Lena down onto her back. Then Pro turns fiercely on Newt. “Get your brats out of sight!” Newt herds the three little ones out the door.
Pro smiles thinly as she turns back to Lena. “Just pretend you didn’t see the little Q’s.”
“The little what?”
“That’s right, dear.” Pro walks out, closing the door behind her. The room is now pitch black.
“It’s too dark!”
There is no reply.
“Why are you doing this!”
Silence.
Lena screams!
THREE
Sounds of Lena sobbing in the dark.
Which abruptly stops when light seeps into the room. Lena’s face quickly appears in the light, looking hopefully toward the source. “What’s going on?”
A shaky male voice replies from beyond the black wall. “Get out while you can.”
“How?’
“Hurry. Another chance might not come before the end of the Universe.”
Lena lunges toward the faint light.
And lands in a splat on a sidewalk staring back at a solid brick wall. She is outside, looking back at Newt and Pro’s house.
Above her towers a huge muscle-bound young man dressed in rags. His skin is covered in sores, some seeping. Although young, his long hair is thin and scraggly.
“How did I do that?”
“You tunneled out.”
“But there’s no hole.”
“Tunneling doesn’t require a tunnel. Don’t you know anything?”
“I don’t know anything about what has happened to me tonight.”
“Feeling sorry for ourselves, are we? Look at me.” He stands fully upright, spreading his arms and exposing all his many sores.
Lena scoots away from him. “What’s wrong with you?”
“I’m decaying.” Lena scoots further back. “Don’t worry. I’m harmless. Unless you ingest or inhale me.” Lena stands unsteadily, on the verge of fleeing. “Not even a thank you. I just rescued you.”
“From what?”
“A black body. There’s no way you could have escaped by yourself. You were totally absorbed.”
Lena relaxes. “Who are you?”
“Alf.”
“Why did you save me?”
Alf shrugs. “It just happened.”
“You must have a reason.”
“I have probabilities. Or I am a probability.”
“That doesn’t make sense.”
“Hey, if your head doesn’t swim when you think about it, then you haven’t understood it.” Lena takes a tentative step toward him. He shies away. She reaches out to him. He steps back. She steps toward him. “Go.”
“I’m too weak.”
“Go!” Alf stomps his foot, shattering the pavement.
Frightened, Lena flees laboriously down the sidewalk to the corner. She stops, uncertain. Then she stumbles back, past Alf, to the other corner. Where she stops once again, still confused. She looks back to Alf. “Which way should I go?”
“You don’t have to choose. Go all ways.”
“That’s crazy.”
“Seems that way. But it works.”
Lena shakes her head doubtfully. Then limps away.
Alf sags down into himself as he watches her disappear into the dark. There is only the slightest glimmer about her now.
FOUR
Lena wearily wanders a dark city side street devoid of people. She pauses to rest before a flyer pasted to the side of a building she leans upon: REWARD OFFERED FOR INFORMATION LEADING TO THE DISCOVERY OF HIGGS BOSON. It is identical to the one she saw before.
A cheerful female voice calls out of the dark. “Let’s play a game.”
Lena looks all around, but can see no one. “I’m too tired for games.”
A faint indistinct vaporous pretty young woman in a gossamer gown appears before her. A happy ghost. “Too tired to race?”
Lena sags against the building she was leaning on. “Yes.”
“I think you’re scared to race me. You’re afraid I’d win.”
Lena straightens, confronting the wraith. “No one is faster than me.”
“I am.”
“Okay, let’s race.”
“To the end of the block and back.”
Lena drops into a sprinter’s stance. “Okay, say when.”
“Won.”
“I said when”.
“Too late. I won.”
Lena raises from her sprinter’s stance. “What?”
“I’m back, and you’re still standing there.”
Lena leans wearily back against the building. “That’s silly.”
“And you had the advantage. I wasn’t even tired.”
She stares critically at the apparition. “How is that an advantage?”
“I get faster as I grow tired.”
Lena shakes her head, trying to clear it. “Who are you?”
“I told you.”
“No you didn’t.”
“I told you my name is Tacky. And you said your name is Lena.”
“When did I tell you my name?”
“When is a tricky question.”
“What is wrong with you?”
“It gets confusing.”
“What gets confusing?”
“Slicing into the loaf of time at odd angles. Besides, I’m only a speculation.”
“I’m real.”
“You don’t look too real. Want to get back that energy you lost to Lex?”
“How did you know about that?”
“You told me.”
“I did not.”
“How else would I know?”
“Maybe you’re psychic. Or you know Lex.”
“Know what?”
“That I had an event with Lex and he took all my energy.”
“See? I told you you told me.”
“But I just now told you.”
“What the hell does now mean? How about playing a game?”
“I told you I’m too tired. Didn’t I?”
“Play a game with me and I’ll help you get your energy back.”
Lena releases a long sigh as she straightens from the side of the building. “What game?”
Tacky offers a cell phone. “Call me in five minutes. I’ll call you back.”
Lena takes the cell. “Okay.” The phone rings. Lena looks questioningly at Tacky. Who smiles encouragingly. Lena answers the call. Tacky speaks over the phone, “What do you want?” Lena looks at Tacky. She smiles back at her, with no cell in hand. Lena watches her closely as she speaks into the cell. “Who is this?”
From the phone, “Who did you call?”
“I didn’t call anyone.”
From the phone, “Then why am I answering your call?”
“You called me.” Lena glances up at Tacky, who is still smiling before her without a cell in hand. “Somehow.”
From the phone, “Not somehow. Somewhen. I told you I would.”
Lena turns her attention back to the phone. “But I haven’t called you yet.”
From the phone, “So call me.”
“But it hasn’t been five minutes.”
From the phone, “Close enough.”
Lena disconnects the call, then looks in memory. There is only one number. She punches it. The cell hums.
“What do you want?”
Lena looks up, as the call remains unanswered.
“You’re crazy.”
“Unstable. Turn my phone off. Don’t drain the battery.”
Lena cuts the cell off.
“The arrow of time only points one way. The slices of the loaf are all there, always have been and always will be. But I can slice into the loaf at a different angle than most. Doesn’t change anything. The slices are still in the same order. What happens happens. It just gives me a different perspective on events. Like the one you had with Lex. Let’s go find him.” Tacky holds out her hand.
“You know where he’s at?”
“Yes.”
Lena offers the cell.
“Keep it, for now.” Tacky grasps Lena’s hand, which still holds the cell phone.
FIVE
Lena and Tacky stand at the edge of the dance floor. Watching Lex and another Lena dance. This other Lena is an identical copy. Lex is not dancing any better than before.
Tacky points. “There he is.”
“Are you sure?” Lena scans the crowd. “They all look alike.”
“Identical. They have no hair. But that’s him. And you.”
Lena grows confused. “We came back? You can do that?”
“It’s speculated I can.”
“What if I kill my own grandfather?”
Tacky looks frantically about. “Is he here?”
“No. But what if he was? And I killed him?”
“They’d never let him in the door. I don’t see any grandfathers here.” Tacky looks back to Lena. “What did he do to you?”
“What?”
“That you want to kill him.”
“I don’t want to kill him.”
“Then why are you talking about it?”
“We shouldn’t be doing time travel. It could muck up everything.”
Tacky waves dismissively. “I’m just imaginary mass. And you’re with me. We can’t muck.”
“What can we do?”
“You can get your energy back.”
“How?”
“Go slam into yourself.”
“Really?”
“Like you’re in a mosh pit. Only harder.”
Lena looks at herself dancing with Lex. “Focus. Be a point. Then ride the wave.”
Tacky looks questioningly at Lena. “What does that mean?”
“Just how I psych myself up. I tap into my duality.”
Lena runs out onto the dance floor. They never see her coming. She slams into the other Lena. Who scatters into a million colorful pixels. That coalesce around Lena. Then are absorbed by her. Lena suddenly glows as brightly as ever.
All the while Lex dances, oblivious. Until Lena head butts him. He sprawls on the floor.
Tacky runs out and grabs Lena by the hand. “Way to go, girl.” She tows Lena off the dance floor.
Lex, stunned, watches from the seat of his pants. Many of his identical companions hurry out to help him up.
Lena runs out the same side door as earlier. To find Tacky waiting for her in the alley. Lena pulls up, surprised.
Tacky smiles. “I told you I’m faster. Now call me.”
“What?”
“It’s been five minutes.” Lena stares at the cell she still holds. “I help you, you play the game. That was the deal.”
Lena punches the only number in memory. Tacky answers, “What do you want?”
Lena speaks into the phone. “To end this craziness.”
From the phone, “It never ends. Until you are annihilated.”
“I’m never drinking that much again.”
“Let me speak to the other Lena.”
Lena looks around. Then looks to Tacky. “She’s gone.”
Tacky cups her hand to her ear. “What?”
Lena speaks into the phone. “She’s gone.”
From the phone, “You absorbed her. Feel better?”
“Much.”
From the phone, “Now get out of here before Newt shows up.”
“He’s coming back?”
“He hasn’t gotten here yet.”
“Thanks.” Lena runs to the end of the alley, with her old speed.
“Hey! My cell!”
Lena stops to look at her empty hands. Then she looks back at Tacky. “I don’t have it.”