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"Nothin' Could Be Finer Than Some
Lovin' In the Diner" |
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The Twilight Divide
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“Why don’t you go home, Marcie? Agent Bibby will escort you. You can clean up. You’re covered in blood. I promise to let you know everything we find.” His brother’s blood. She couldn’t imagine how awful this was for him but she couldn’t go. “I can’t right now. Not until this place is thoroughly searched. The key is here. I know it.” John tightened his lips and then stared at her. “This is a crime scene, Marcie. You have no business here.” “John, you need to see this.” They both turned and saw Jeffrey Snead, who had been identified earlier as a biological expert, whatever that was, rushing toward them. John turned toward him slowly. “Can’t leave just this second, Snead. Can you just tell me what it is?” “Yeah, but I’m not sure you want this announced.” “Okay,” said John. He looked at Marcie and tipped his head slightly. “Excuse me.” He motioned Agent Bibby over, whispered something in her ear and then he and Snead moved out of earshot. Agent Bibby looked at her with enormous sympathy. “I know this has been a really hard day. I have to check on one thing then I’ll take you home. Want to come with me.” No way in hell was she leaving now. “I’d rather stay here for a few more minutes. I feel closer to him here.” Agent Bibby nodded and touched her on the arm. “I understand he was on his way to being a great surgeon and a fantastic researcher. I’ll be right back.” Marcie eased close to John and Snead. They were talking to each other in furious whispers. She prayed they would not notice her. “Suspended animation?” “Yeah” said Snead. “That’s exactly what it is. I just decoded this readout. The system is maintaining what amounts to life support but just barely for three biologics. The thing is I swear it is calibrated so that they are suspended right between life and death. If there is such a thing as an edge, somehow Michael was able to find it and sustain it.” “How?” “I have no freakin’ idea but this is so exciting. I mean people have talked about this for years, centuries, but your brother seems to have actually done it. Bloody brilliant is all I can say. Thank God you got me and my team down here just in time for this. I would have kicked somebody’s ass all over the place if I’d missed this one.” “Why would Michael do this?” “Maybe because he was a genius at work on the playing field of the gods.” “English, Snead.” “Not really sure but I suspect it has something to do with The Twilight Chronicles.” “The what?” “It’s this sci fi book…” “Science fiction? Snead, this is real. I don’t need some theory based on fiction.” “Shut up and expand your mind for a minute here, John.” John gritted his teeth then exhaled. “Talk to me.” “Jeremiah Foregate wrote a book at the turn of the last century, the last century, John, in which he wrote about how life and death are a single thread and that there is a point where each can be reversed.” John sucked his teeth and arched his eyebrow. “Okay. Yeah. So what’s the point?” “The book was called The Twilight Chronicles and see the way he presented it, well, lots of people—scientist, academics, industry people and your usual assortment of fringe crazy folks all thought it was more real than fiction. And…” “Cut to the chase, Snead. Why would this twilight thing be so important?” “Because it holds the promise of eradicating death.” Marcie rocked back on her heels. Suspended animation? The Twilight Chronicles? What had Snead seen that made him bring all of that up? She had to find out but if they noticed her there was no way they would let her see it. She had to take a chance. She held her breath and tiptoed past John and Snead and then slipped through the door that led to a circular staircase that ended at a floor below. She rushed down the staircase but balanced on the balls of her feet to move as silently as possible. Once she hit the floor she heard voices and followed them around a corner to the right. There was a long corridor that seemed to stretch for miles. She moved along it quickly. She had somewhere to go but she wasn’t at all sure of where. The wall to her left suddenly gave way to a huge glass window that looked into a chamber. There was a young woman seemingly suspended in midair and there were tubes attached to her body. Marcie’s heart almost stopped at the sight of her. She studied her for a long time but then forced herself to move on. Once she passed the chamber, the wall was again solid, opaque. She rushed forward. After a few minutes once again the wall gave way to a huge window that looked into another chamber. There was a young boy suspended in midair just like the young woman. She held her breath. Somehow she knew there was a third chamber. She ran. The corridor seemed to stretch for miles but there were no more windows. She had been wrong. She was out of breath. She slowed down. Had she really thought it was possible? Had she really believed that much? She walked for a few more feet and tried to catch her breath. Had Dr. Wu been right? Was Natalie right? Had she imagined all of those things that happened with Al? Had it all be one enormously complicated delusion that allowed her to deny that Al was really dead? He was gone and Michael had been just smart and evil enough to play on her hopes and fantasies. He had pretended to be Al just to make a complete fool out of her and to take every shred of faith she had managed to hold on to and grind it into dust. She stopped and bent forward and held her knees. There was nothing else in this life to hold onto. Nothing else to believe in. She slowly straightened up. It was time to go. Time to face reality. She turned around and found she was standing directly in front of another large window. She looked in and saw that like in the other chambers someone was suspended in midair. She sank to her knees as the breath was knocked out of her. It was Al. Al He was back in his own body. He had no idea how he knew that but he did.
And he was alive! His heart was beating and his lungs were expanding and
compressing. He was alive.
In his own body! But he was trapped. He couldn’t move. Paralyzed. He had to come out of this blackness. He had to move. He had to tell them what was going on. Marcie rushed back down the corridor and flew up the staircase to the main floor. John had to know it was Al. She careened into the control room. Her breathing was heavy and she could barely catch her breath. No one was there except Snead and John. They were practically shouting at each other. “Are you saying you think we should leave this the way it is?” “I can’t convey to you how extraordinary this research is,” said Snead. “Sometimes we must make sacrifices in the name of the greater good. No one has to know beyond the two of us in this room. It may be the path to eradicating diseases. Don’t you understand?” Marcie felt a wave of sheer panic. What was wrong with them? “I don’t know about this, Snead,” said John. “If we leave it on…” “No,” Marcie screamed. “You will not do that. Don’t you understand that the reason this turned out so horribly was because Michael was trying to play God? Don’t you get that! And you sound just like him.” Snead glared at her. “What are you doing in here? I thought you made everyone leave, John?” "I’m not going anywhere. And I will start screaming in a moment and bring everyone rushing back in here if you don’t listen to me.” Snead narrowed his eyes but then said in a soft voice. “Look, you don’t understand what is involved at all. You can’t possibly grasp the significance of this.” I don’t understand? I understand you’re an idiot. “Shut that stuff off and bring him back,” she screamed. “NOW!” John moved next to here. “Who, Marcie?” “It’s Al. Don’t you understand it’s Al!” "Al Holden? Your boyfriend?" John studied her for a minute then nodded his head. He turned to Snead. “Do it and do it now.” “John, we need to think about this.” “You are losing it, Snead, already. Nothing but misery will come from this. You are already willing to put your soul on the auction block. And you have more integrity than anyone I’ve ever worked with before. Shut it down.” Snead exhaled. “Okay, you’re right. There’s something about being this close to the final answer that clouds your mind. But, Miss, I can’t guarantee you anything. Your boyfriend is caught in a twilight plane between life and death. When I shift these conditions he could go either way. Are you sure you want to do this? I mean do you even have the authority? What about his parents?” “Shut it down, Snead,” said John, “and bring him back. Is that understood?” “Yeah, but this is going to take some time.” What had happened? He found all of the secrets but then he felt a blinding pain. He felt like he was in a vacuum. Not like before. He was floating. He was flying. Marcie twisted the hem of her sweater into a knot as she watched Snead. Please bring him back to me. Snead glanced over at John. “I am sorry but the woman and the young boy did not make it. The signs are not looking good for your friend’s boyfriend either, John. And this is, at the very least, a moral quagmire. I don’t want to be the ethicist trying to work this one out. All of these people were already classified as dead. Are we obligated to try to bring back the dead? Any second thoughts?” Marcie gasped and swayed back on her heels. John moved next to her and put his hand on her shoulder. “I appreciate your ongoing debate with your conscience, Snead,” said John, “but do what you need to do to bring him back. We will deal with the moral tightrope later.” John looked at Marcie. “We’re going to do the best we can. Maybe fate is on our side.” She tried to breathe but she felt like she was choking. John wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly. “He has to come back,” she whispered. “He has to. Al was not supposed to die.” Snead shrugged and manipulated several buttons. “All right, here we go.” There was some kind of movement. Something was changing. He could feel it. His arms and legs felt as if he had a bit of control over them. Something clamped down on him and drew him back. He was moving so fast that the small points of light that had been around him now looked like flickering lines. He couldn’t stop it. He had no control. He was being drawn back into the darkness whether he wanted it or not.
“We’re losing him.” John pushed Marcie away and walked next to the console. “Don’t let that happen, Snead. You understand.” “I am doing everything I can.” “Do more.” “I’ve got four doctors down there with him. And…” Marcie rushed out of the room, down the staircase and raced to chamber three. Al was stretched out on a table draped in purple sheets and four men dressed in purple surgical scrubs were working on him. One of the doctors spotted her and moved toward her quickly. “You must leave. Now.” “No. He will come back for me. Don’t you see? He needs to know I’m here and which way to come.” “Let her in. Right now.” She turned and looked up at John and tried not to cry. “Agent McBain, your authority does not extend to cover this type of situation.” “Did you hear me? Let her in dammit and do it now.” The doctor glared at John but then stepped aside. Marcie rushed beside Al and began to stroke his arm and finger his hair. “I’m here, Al. Please, come back. Please don’t leave me again. Come back to me.” All movement stopped.
Colors whirled around him—navy blue, steel gray with streaks of white.
It was like he was walking in the sky at midnight.
He could hear Marcie calling for him.
He focused on the sound. All he had to do was get back to her.
She was the light that was leading him to the
place
He followed her voice. “We’re getting something! The pattern is reversing. He’s coming back.” Al’s eyes flickered and he slowly opened them. The light was so bright. Everything was blurred as if he was walking through fog. The light bounced off of the moisture into one big fuzzy optical array. He couldn’t see anything but it was like he was seeing everything and everything was bathed in white light. Just like before. Had he made the wrong turn? Had he made a mistake? Or had it all been one cosmic joke on him? Slowly her face came into view. She was so beautiful even as tears streamed down her face. He reached for her hand. “Don’t cry, baby. I’m home.”
(*Lyrics: “Everything” by Lifehouse)
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