Torn (11 page)

“They’re playing Release.”

“With a stick?”

“As long as no one gets hurt.” Bret shut the door.

“Hey, Jesse.” Chuck greeted. “Something wrong with the box?’

“I think our box is broke, look at this picture.” Jesse replied.

Chuck paused to check out the picture on the television. “Looks like you aren’t getting a signal at all. Maybe it’s not your box.”

Bret added, “I told him that.” Seeing that Jesse wasn’t paying any attention to Chuck, Bret waved her hand. “So what brings you by?”

“I was on my way down to Morgantown.”

“For what?” Bret asked.

“You’re kidding.
Right?” Chuck asked and waited. “You’re not. Ok, have
you checked your email tonight?
”

“No;
why?”

“Just about right now.
…” Chuck glanced down at his watch. “Darius should be lifting off for Africa.”

“Africa.” Bret said
,
shocked. “Why?”

“That…
I don’t know. Can I smoke?” he pulled out his pack.

Bret nodded.

Chuck continued. “I got a call from Colin to meet him. He wanted to know if I could go to Morgantown, hit Darius’ house, and p
ick up some documents Darius had
put away. Colin can’t go. I said I would.”

“What documents?”

“Just items pertaining to this trip and things he’s dug up.”

“Why do you have to get them?” Bret asked. “Does Colin need them?”

“Get this. Colin wants to copy them and have them put in safe places. He doesn’t think anything is that important, but d
own the line, some sort of read
outs Darius did may be.”

“So Colin doesn’t need them, he just wants them in safe keeping.”

“Exactly,” Chuck said. “I guess they aren’t taking any chances. I mean, they l
ocked me up, kept us tight in
quarantine
, right?
”

“Right. So you think you and I can make heads or tails out of these papers you’re picking up.”

“If we can’t, Colin can.”

Bret nodded. “Good point. So why was I checking my email.”

“Darius said he’d email you.”

“Did he say why he was going to Africa
?
”

“He was vague.” Chuck said. “Only that something occurred there that he felt was going to end up covered up.”

“Hence our securing his findings.”

“Yep.”

“
You think it’s
a
plague? A lethal virus?” Bret asked. “You know Africa is famous for them.”

“Could be a number of things. Colin said he’d explain what he knew when he met us for lunch tomorrow. He also said it isn’t much.”

Bret rubbed her chin. “This…
this is weird.”

Before Chuck could say anything, Jesse did. “Tell me about it.”

Bret gave a motion of her head backwards. “He probably is talking about the television.”

“No,” Jesse said. “I’m talking about this conversation you two are having. Chuck’s going all the way down to Morgantown for papers to hide. Papers that he hasn’t a clue what they are, all because some wacko takes
a
trip to Africa
on a whim
.”

Bret gasped. “Dar
ius is not some w
acko. He’s a very brilliant scientist.”

Jesse rolled his eyes. “I don’t even think he went to Africa. Let’s all just drop what we’re doing and r
un for Dare whatever his name is
.”

“Darius.” Bret corrected, “And yes, we will. He knows things. Why are you being so cynical? You should take this more serious
ly.
”

“Like you?” Jesse asked.

“Um
,
yeah.”

Chuck intervened. “Jesse, though I think the man is an arrogant ass, he makes sense. This is serious.”

“Tell me why.” Jesse requested.

“Because,” Bret was adamant. “Darius followed this to Africa. This is serious because this is about surviving.”

“Surviving what, Bret?” Jesse asked.

“Whatever is
happening
to our planet.”

“An
d you don’t think these two men
and you two might be taking it too far?”

“Not
at all. I’m not a scientist;
they are. If they’re right, this is just the beginning of a long line of strange things that will take place.” Bret said.

“Strange things?” Jesse questioned.

Bret nodded. “Yes, like the ants. The roaches. They are strange.”

“And he thinks they are leading to what?” Jesse asked. “Chuck
,
do you know?”

Chuck shrugged. “Specifically, no. We will.”

Jesse breathed out. “Things have been quiet. Maybe it’s over, or it died down.”

At that instant, Casper flew into the house. “Mom. Hurry. Come outside. Bring the camera!”

“What’s wrong?”

“The moon’s on fire.” She flew out the door.

Bret looked at Jesse
then the three of them
quickly
followed Casper outside. The entire brigade of neighborhood children st
ood on the front lawn peering up at
the sky. At
her first step
it couldn’t be seen, but as soon as Bret moved down the stairs it
w
as in view.

The moon wasn’t ablaze, but
it looked it. Gone was the whitish-yellow color;
it hadn’t even the hint of red a summer moon often projects. It was orange. The roundness of it
was
distorted and encircled by a strange cloud of gasses. The mist absorbed the new color making streaks acr
oss the sky,
like shooting flames. With
the
background of a clear dark sky, the moon looked like the reflection of
the setting sun on rippling
water.

A remarkable sight.

“Jesse,” Bret whispered, then swallowed the lump in her throat.

“I’ll get the camera. You can send it to your science buddies.” He spoke dazed
ly
, staring up. “Because this would be one of those strange things you were talking about, right?”

She didn’t know and was silent.

“Chuck?” Jesse beckoned for an answer.

“I don’t know either
,
man,” Chuck said. “I mean, it coul
d have been an optical illusion
. But whatever it is, I don’t want to look anymore.” Chuck turned. “It’s too ominous
.
” Without saying any
more, he opened the door and walked inside.

The hour and a half trip to Morgantown could have been more productive
for Chuck
had s
omeone not ransacked Darius’ hous
e. Of course, that was what he initially believed until he placed a call to Colin.

“Is the place totally trashed?” Colin asked.

“Man, whoever was here tore this place apart.” Chuck said.

“Uh
huh, and is there a petrified pizza on the coffee table?”

Pause.

“Yeah, why?” Chuck asked.

“I don’t believe his place has been ransacked. That’s the way Darius lives.”

Chuck was appalled. But just as
he’d been told
, the important documents along with the disk were located under the newspaper on the coffee table—which ironically was under the petrified pizza.

He retrieved what he needed
, made copies, secured several of them in different spots, wrote his assignment story on some old lady and her dog, caught some sleep, and was at the restaurant only five minutes late.

He beat Bret there.

“Coffee, thanks,” Chuck told the waitress as he took a seat. “Colin.” He extended a hand across the
t
able. “You’re dressed differently than I expected.”

“It’s my ‘get down with the people’ look,” Colin said of his black button down shirt and tan pants.

Chuck snickered. “You wear that as a teacher?”

“No, I don’t have classes today.”

“Oh.” Chuck nodded, and then
looked up
when Colin lifted from his chair, greeting Bret.

“You look lovely.” Colin extended his hand to her.

“It’s the lipstick,” Bret said. “Remember you saw me without any make up.”

“Have a seat.” Colin motioned his hand. “Coffee?”

“Yes, please.” Bret sat.

“Coffee for the lady, an
d we’ll have these menus
.” Colin told the waitress.

Chuck kissed Bret on the cheek. “You look tired. Didn’t you sleep?”

Bret’s mouth dropped open. “You know, Colin complimented me. How come you downplayed it?”

Chuck shrugged. “You look tired.”

“I didn’t sleep after work last night.” Bret shrugged. “I couldn’t. Last I heard from you, Darius’ place was ransacked.”

Colin chuckled. “It wasn’t.”

Chuck shook his head. “No, Darius just doesn’t clean. And his place smells.”

“Really?” Bret asked surprised. “He doesn’t strike me like that.”

“Slob,” Colin said. “Always has been.”

“Did you get the stuff?” Bret asked.

“Yes
,” Chuck pulled out an envelope
and handed it to Colin. “Do
you know what that is? I peeked at it; it only looks
like numbers and abbreviations.”

Colin lifted the contents
of the envelope slightly, “Ah….
Yes. Readouts. Figures and such. I’ll go through these and let you know how they break down.”

“What are they?” Bret asked.

“Geological readouts. Odd changes other scientists have noted. Things that will play
an
important
part
in
figuring out what is happening
and where this is going. You know, watch the pattern, figure out what’s next sort o
f
thing.”

Bret nodded. “What about that lady
,
Virginia. Has anyone spoken to her?”

“Yes,” Colin answered. “She wants to get together in a couple weeks. Says she too has some findings she
’s
following up on.”

“Why all the secrecy?” Chuck questioned.

“Take no chances.” Colin closed the envelope. “I
f we by chance discover Mother N
ature is about to throw a hissy fit that will totally disrupt the world, the government is
not gonna want that information getting
out.”

“Why?” questioned Chuck

“Would you?” Colin asked. “If nothing can be done, why say anything. Let people go. Let them live out the rest of their lives without chaos, panic, riots, fear.”

“Oh, my G
od.” Bret gasped. “You mean we
all could die.”

“No, no.” Colin shook his head. “Absolutely not. No.”

“But you just said.
…”
1

“For the layma
n.” Colin lifted
a finger. “We will be informed;
theref
ore, we will prepare. Therefore…
we will live.”

“Even if nothing can be done to stop what might occur—whatever that is?” Chuck said.

“Just because
you can’t stop it,” Colin said, “d
oesn’t mean you can’t work around it.” He winked. “Besides, I think we’ll get a better grip once Darius checks in. He’s following something that either, A,
is nothing along
our lines, or B
,
follow
s
our lines and Virginia’s at the same time.”

After looking at Chuck
,
Bret looked at Colin. “I am so lost.”

Colin explained, “A post appeared on the Harvard site for Darius’ attention. See, Darius posted that he was looking for strange natural phenomenon that would be consistent with permanent geological changes and shifts—along with other things. This post a
ppeared and he followed it. Now…
it could be nothing
along
the geological lines at all, or it could be. Virginia has a
theory that actually helps fill
in the pieces.”

“What theory?” Chuck asked.

Colin
shook a finger. “I hate discussing theories before we get some backbone. Darius can get that.”

“But it could be bad?”
Chuck asked.

Colin nodded once. “Could be, yes. But nothing we can’t work around.” He smiled.

Chuck asked, “What did this post to Darius say?”

“Mere
ly
told of this section of Africa
where nineteen people have died
and seventy five are failing fast. Gave their symptoms. Sounds like plague, but it co
uld be something else, there were
no known plague cases in the village at all.”

Chuck was confused. “Wh
at does plague have to do with g
eological changes?”

“Keep in mind that Darius is ecological
ly oriented
, h
ow our env
ironment works and things that a
ff
ect us. That
is him, no matter what. Plus, there were some other environmental changes that occurred that flagged it.
The
CDC says it’s nothing,
but
he went anyhow.”

Bret sat back. “It sounds scary.”

“
Yes, it does,” Colin said. “Now…
enough gloom and doom. I’m st
arved and I have to stay up
beat. I have a book
-
signing this afternoon.”

Puzzled, Bret glanced at him. “You wrote a book?”

“Yes, I did. Have a signing for it. Ladies
’
tea signing.”

“What’s it about?” Bret asked. “I love to read.”

“It’s called Passion and Vengeance.” Colin replied. “It deals with the fury of woman.” He smiled. “Mother
E
arth.”

“So it’s non
fiction,” Bret said.

“Exactly.”

“Wait. Wait.” Chuck interrupted. “Are these scientific women
that are
coming to this tea?”

“Nope, not at all,” Colin replied. “More than likely,
they’re
everyday housewives.”

“For a geological book?” Chuck quizzed then laughed. “And you expect to sell to these women?”

“I not only will sell to these women, b
ut others in the store. In fact…
I’ll sell out.” Colin pulled out a cigarette.

“You think?” Chuck laughed. “Fifty bucks says no way.”

With an arrogant smile, Colin held out his hand. “You’re on.”

“I have to go to the
ATM
machine,” Chuck whispered in Bret’s ear.

Bret peered
up from the book
. “What was
that? I didn’t hear you. I was,” s
he
held up a copy of Colin’s book, “s
o intrigued.”

“I said I have to go to the
ATM
so I can pay
off
the bet.”

“You think he’s gonna sell out?”

Chuck looked over to the long line of women waiting to greet Colin. “I’d say so. God, how is he doing it?”

“The book is good.”

“It’s about g
eology.” Chuck retorted. “And
…
.” He snatched the book from her hand. “What is up with this cover?”

On the front of the book were a man and a woman
entangled
in a passion
ate
embrace.

“This indicates nothing about g
eology,” Chuck said.

“Colin said it is symbolic of the earth changes. Water, air. See?” She held it up “Plus, he says everything in
everyday
terms. It’s like reading
a
love story.”

Chuck grunted
,
“And have you heard him? He’s lying to these women.”

“He is not.”

“Is too. Come here.” He took hold of Bret’s arm and pulled her toward the table
.
“Just listen to him.”

Perturbed
,
Bret folded her arms.
“Then can I go back to reading?
”

Again, Chuck grunted.

Colin opened the cover to h
is book. “And who should I make.
…” He glanced
to the large
woman before him. “My God, don’t think me forward but that is the loveliest shade of green I have ever seen. Very earthy.”

She
tilted
her head with a blush. “Thank you.”

“Same color as the mist on the cover of my book. Did you notice?” Colin asked.

“No,” s
he said brightly, “I didn’t. Wow.”

“Great sweater.”

“The book looks great.”

“Thank you.” Colin replied.

“Is it a true love story?”

“It is a beautifully true love story.” Colin answered. “Intense.”

“Like the cover and title. I love the title. Sounds like there may be a little tryst in there as well.”

Colin only winked. “Your name?”

“Mary Beth.”

“Very nice name.”

“Thank you. You know it’s a shame it isn’t a mystery. My daughter would love it and you’re such a nice man.”

“Why thank you. And…
there is a hint of a mystery that runs through it.” Colin closed the cover after signing.

“Really, well.
…” She reached and took a book from the stack. “Can you make this one out to Sue?”

“Absolutely,” Colin raised his pen.

“See?” Chuck inched Bret away.

“I think you’re just sore because you have lost the bet and owe him fifty buck
s
.”

“Yeah, I am sore.”

“Go to the money machine.”

“I am. He drives me insane.”

“I thought Jeffers and Darius did.”

“They all do,” Chuck spoke dramatically.

“Well.” Bret snickered sarcastically. “You’re in trouble if the world does end, because you’re stuck with Darius and Colin.”

“You think?” Chuck raised his eyebrows. “If the world ends, there are no more laws. No more laws, I can kill them to make my life more tolerable.”

“Ha!” Bret laughed. “You don’t have it in you.”

“You’re right, y
ou’re right.” Chuck smiled. “I’ll just tell Jesse you had an affair with one of them and he’ll handle it. See ya.” After a pat to her cheek, Chuck walked away.

Even though it was close to sun
down, the heat was still unbearable. Riding in the open jeep helped, adding a slight breeze that blew through Darius’ hair. But he was stuffe
d in the jeep with six others. Their body heat ad
ded
to his discomfort.