Crumbly Writer’s Stories
		“Normalcy Is Harder Than It Looks”
		Book 3 of “The Catalyst” Series
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Chapter 20:  Exposure

           

The next morning we got an early start. Everyone was very concerned about me, and they fixed a large breakfast, but they also didn’t want to focus too much attention on what was already obvious. I knew what last night represented as well as anyone, and I think they all knew I’d internalize it, which would only increase the pressures on me and likewise increase my own tensions.

Melissa asked if she could come along and watch what we did, and I didn’t feel we could deny her after what we’d gone through the previous night, so we invited her along. We decided to take two cars. I’d take Cate and Kitty with me, while Gail would take Melissa with her.

We arrived at the Alice Lovett Center for Reproductive Medicine just shortly after they opened. There were already people waiting inside. When I entered there was a different girl behind the counter. I wrote down all of my information and told her why I was here. She looked over my notes while I waited for my specimen cup.

“Uh, excuse me a moment,” she said, which instantly set me on edge. She picked up the phone.

“Dr. Lovett, he’s here,” she said simply, looking at me the whole time.

“Is there a problem?” Gail asked walking up to the counter.

“It seems the good doctor wants to speak to us,” I told her.

Dr. Lovett came out about three minutes later. She ushered us over to the side so we could talk somewhat privately. The other girls came along as well. She glanced at them before turning to me.

“Yet another new girl?” she asked, arching her eyebrow curiously.

“Actually it’s at least six since we were here last week, and that’s not counting all those who would like to be included,” Cate corrected her.

She looked at me and shook her head.

“Actually I had Linda call me because I didn’t want you to have the same trouble you had the last time. Somehow I figured you’d likely have just as unusual a request as you did before. I figured I should take care of you personally.”

“Actually, if he needs someone to take care of him, I’d be glad to volunteer, though I was told I wasn’t allowed to assist with the ‘procedure’,” Kitty teased.

“You know, I do have an additional unusual request,” I told her. “Let me give you a little background on why we have so many people interested in my genetic material, as it were. These girls and I share a number of unique genetic anomalies which work together in some unusual ways. They each depend on me to find and activate these traits, thus they are anxious to make sure nothing happens to me. While there are many of them, there’s only one of me.” At this point I stopped to see just how well she was taking this. She nodded, seeming to consider it seriously.

“Now, at some point, it’s likely news of our little group might leak out to the general public. As you might imagine, there may be many who wouldn’t be very appreciative of us. What’s more, there are a good number of people—and corporations—who would be very interested in gaining access to my DNA. I can imagine that, in such a situation, they’d apply pressure on certain government officials to act, and they’d likely find a sympathetic judge who’d give them a court order to do whatever they wanted. Especially if they wrapped it up in a Domestic Security wrapper. What I’d really like to ask you, knowing what I’m asking you is completely out of bounds and could put you in a world of trouble, is if you could, say, accidentally mislabel my samples. Thus, if they were to come here looking for my samples for their own research purposes, they’d only find an unidentified sample from a normal guy.”

She cocked her head and regarded me for a moment, which caused her hair, which was in a bunch of loose curls, to jiggle enticingly. Down boy, I told myself, you’ve got enough. You don’t need to be looking for any more. Although I had to admit, for as much as I loved Kitty, Chalise and Cate, I had really developed an appreciation for more mature ladies.

“You know, you just get to be more and more fun each time we talk. You just can’t invent stuff this entertaining. While what you are asking is completely unethical, illegal and immoral, I doubt we could be held responsible for an honest administrative mistake. I’d have to think up a good story for who should handle the samples. Not that I’d ever do such a thing you understand. You realize DNA is pretty easy to lift nowadays. They can probably grab it from a comb, dead skin from a bedspread, or they could simply compel a blood sample.”

“Yeah, I’m aware of that,” I conceded, holding my hands palms up. “I’m not looking to avoid all potential troubles, I’m just trying to reduce the few risks which are within my control. Anyway, I’m sorry I asked you to potentially compromise your ethics. We won’t speak of this again. Now can I have my cup please?” I asked her with a smile.

She laughed, pulled one from her lab coat and handed it to me. “Do you want to modify your authorization list?”

“Nah, the same people are in charge. They can look after the rest. Thanks for everything you’re doing for us, Doctor Lovett. I really appreciate it.”

“Thanks, Alex. I think by now you can call me Alice. I think I’m going to grow quite fond of you. If you need a list of sympathetic clinics in other locations, just ask and I’ll get it for you, although you’ll probably need to make your own arrangements with each of them yourself. I’ll look forward to treating your various ‘girlfriends’ in the future, hopefully with you in attendance to check over my work.”

I managed to do my business quickly and efficiently. Cate and Melissa found another Watcher outside, so we invited her with us when we returned to the downtown area. We decided to vary the location, but only slightly. We figured we’d focus on more than just tourists by situating ourselves at Aloe Plaza, a little park with some nice water fountains and sculptures just outside Union Station, so there should be plenty of people passing nearby while we waited. While we drove there I contacted Clara, figuring it would take her a little while to get organized and meet us there.

We parked at Union Station and got situated at the public park by the fountains. Melissa volunteered to get us some coffee from a shop inside Union Station—they all seemed to think it might be too difficult for me to try to handle anyone inside the crowded terminal—so we set up shop sitting around the fountain, giving Gail a nice overview of the surrounding area. While we waited for both Clara and the coffee to arrive, Cate and I talked to the new Watcher, Kelly. Kitty watched without saying anything. As Cate went over specifics, I glanced around to see if anyone was paying any attention to me. I spotted a couple of people watching me standing outside of Union Station, so I pointed them out to Kitty to try to round up. Just as she set off, a plain white van pulled up in front of Union Station. I wouldn’t have paid it any attention, but the door slid open and Clara burst from the open door to come running full tilt towards me.

“Master, Master, please Master!” she cried loudly enough for everyone around to hear. There were a lot of people still coming to and from the terminal, so she attracted a lot of attention. Cate and Kelly both looked up, and I saw Kitty stop as we all watched Clara running towards me. I sent a quick ‘Shhh’ to her, but it was only partially successful. She ran up and threw herself at my feet again, silent now, eyes averted, awaiting my reaction.

‘Red Alert! Red Alert!’ I distinctly heard Gail’s warning in my head. Sitting up I scanned all around me. Seeing my motion Clara raised herself slightly.

“I brought people,” she stated proudly. “Now everyone can see just how mighty you are, and you can strike fear in all your enemies.”

“Oh Shit,” I groaned to myself. Looking back at the van, I saw two cameramen and a female reporter with a mic in her hand.

“Cate, interference,” I hissed as I jumped to my feet. In order to set up a watch over the area, we’d decided to situate me right in the center of the fountain, meaning I’d have to walk half the length of the fountain to get away. Figuring it would be close, I broke into a run trying to get away.

“Master! Master, what’s wrong?” I heard Clara calling from behind me.

‘You idiot,’ I mentally hissed at her. ‘You don’t ask Jesus to appear on a Roman Early Morning News program the day before he’s to appear in Jerusalem!’ I hated to both flat out reject her and call her names, but I couldn’t help it. I was seriously pissed. I knew her unstable personality was going to get us into trouble, and now she’d proven me right in the worst manner possible.

Shit, I hadn’t expected for Clara to arrive so soon. She must have been waiting nearby for me to contact her. Now all my plans to find new followers here were trashed. I certainly couldn’t reach out to anyone when there was a news crew looking to chase me down.

‘I’m not a friggin’ Avenging Angel, Clara. In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m just a kid,’ I insisted, while running full tilt, something I could only do telepathically. ‘I’m not here to strike down nonbelievers, I’m not here to become famous, and I don’t operate on YOUR schedule,’ I continued angrily as I tried to figure out how to respond.

“Excuse me, Sir, Sir!” A feminine voice called out from the direction of the street. I glanced over and saw the reporter closing in on me. She was a very attractive, well dressed blonde, but I had no intention of spending any time getting to know her any better. I just hoped I could get away before they got a clear picture of my face, so I tried to cover my face with my arm. But then I figured I’d look even guiltier doing that. Seeing her catching up with me, I took a short cut through the fountain, hardly the kind of thing to make me look good on television, and splashed my way to the other side, attracting yet more attention and soaking myself in the process.

Running away, I couldn’t see any more behind me, but I could see what was happening through Gail’s eyes. Actually it was strange, because instead of the bouncing view you get when running with a video camera, I got the sharp focus on select regions of Gail’s vision, so I could easily discern what was happening.

As the news crew ran after me, Cate ran and stopped directly in their path. Kelly, following her lead, threw her purse at the lead videographer. I could see from the images she broadcast to me that Gail was covering a lot of ground as she came up on them from the side, while the two women Kitty had been on the way to speak with followed the news crew. I had no idea what these last two planned, but I hoped it worked.

The newswoman collided head on with Cate, who yelled at her and called her a stupid, clumsy bitch, which I’m sure made for captivating television but didn’t make the news crew look very professional. The lead cameraman almost lost his camera due to Kelly’s purse, and had to stop to steady it. The other one didn’t want to outdistance the star of the show, so he pulled up short as well, filming the newswoman sprawled on the ground. By then Gail had reached them.

“Hold it right there!” she called out to them in her authoritative cop voice, despite being dressed in her civilian attire.

The reporter looked at her as she attempted standing without losing her grip on her microphone. She glanced at my retreating form, and then turned to Gail. She quickly tried to compose herself, giving up on catching me.

“Hmm, a Smith & Wesson concealed pistol, official bearing, you must be a cop,” she announced, proving she wasn’t as incompetent as she’d initially appeared. Even though I hadn’t recognized her, it appeared she’d been dealing with the city’s police on a fairly regular basis, and knew when to recognize them. “What does the city have to do with this?” she asked, shoving the microphone at Gail, trying to continue her ‘investigative reporter’ coverage. This put Gail off a bit, but only a bit.

“I’m off duty, but I’m not going to let you badger an innocent civilian—” Just then they were interrupted by a scream, and they turned to see the cameraman wheeling, covered in dripping coffees thrown by an angry Melissa. The two women from the terminal surrounded the three members of the news crew, as they didn’t look any more pleased than Melissa had been. Gail couldn’t let this get out of hand.

“Everyone STOP!” she shouted. The various women halted, not sure of her status in this fiasco, but taking her take-charge attitude into account. Kitty looked around, panicky.

“Get the hell out of here,” Gail demanded, and both Cate and Kitty took off, running back towards Union Station in different directions. The two cameramen looked around in confusion, one still cursing as he tried to wipe his camera dry. The other cameraman was caught unprepared and with nothing to film but fleeing backs.

“What’s going on here?” insisted the reporter, as she closed in on Gail. “What’s this all about? Why are you protecting that man and these women?”

“Listen, I’m not involved,” Gail insisted, not very convincingly, as her eyes starting darting around, looking for some gracious way out of this predicament. She’d allowed everyone else to escape, but now she was stuck on camera as a representative of the city’s finest. “I just—”

“Right, and you just happen to be here, ready to step in at the first sign of trouble, but you don’t attempt to stop anyone else but me,” the newswoman countered. Gail looked hesitantly at her.

“Look, everyone is already dispersed. I don’t know what this was about, but it’s over now. If you can identify who attacked you, you can press charges, but you’ll have to counter your own attack on the other woman you ran over. Now, since this is over, I’m leaving,” Gail said, starting to back up.

“Wait, don’t you think we deserve an explanation?” the reporter pressed, doggedly advancing on her.

I sent a quick ‘Shut the fuck up and get the hell out of there!’ to Clara, along with a follow up ‘And don’t talk to the press.’ But by then I was gone from sight. I’d continued running down the street, blocked by traffic and a line of trees until I rounded the corner where no one could track me. Luckily Kitty and Cate had enough presence of mind to not head for the car, but ran into the terminal building, slowed down, and calmly walked through it at a leisurely pace. I wasn’t sure about the others, but since Gail had dismissed them they each started to back away as well. I also had no idea of what Clara was doing, since Gail wasn’t facing her, but I could hear the sound of her crying receding, so apparently she was heading away as well.

“You can’t impede the free press from filming in a public park and then just disappear,” the reporter protested, waving for her two cameramen to capture Gail’s shaky stand. Gail finally succumbed to panic, realizing she couldn’t gain anything from remaining to argue with the reporter on air, so she beat a hasty retreat.

“Hey, I’m talking to you!” called the reporter, taking off after her leaving her camera crew behind. Realizing she was being chased, Gail weaved through traffic, trying to get away. Soon Aloe Plaza was left with dozens of very confused people, probably all hungry to describe their confusion in full details in follow-up interviews, since the news crew now had nothing else to report on.

I continued heading north, away from the area. I talked with Gail, who told me she was still circling around and was heading for our cars. She told me to head to a diner she knew which wasn’t far away, and to wait for her there, making sure I kept a low profile as the reporters might drive around the area looking for me.

‘I contacted Shani,’ Gail informed me. ‘I had her call Cate. Hopefully the girls are together by now.  I don’t want to directly contact anyone because if this gets back to me, I don’t want anyone to link me back to you. In fact, I can’t even call Melissa for fear it will tie her to this.’

‘That’s OK,’ I told her. ‘I’ll have Brooke call her and tell her to wait for the girls at her car. They can meet us at your house. I guess we’ve lost touch with the new Watchers there, but that’s a minor concern at this point. Do you think they’ll run with this?’ I asked.

‘I doubt it. They didn’t really get any good incriminating footage and it makes them look fairly incompetent, but it depends on what Clara told them beforehand. If they smell a story, they could be all over it. But I think they’d need something specific to interest the public, something more compelling than people interfering with an obnoxious press corp. But I think it best if you got out of Dodge,’ she warned me.

“Yeah, I guessed that much. We’ll meet at your place and decide what’s next.”

---

When we finally regrouped, everyone had to detail what they knew of events and what had happened to them. Luckily Cate already had Kelly’s phone number, though no one knew anything about the two girls who had helped us. Kitty and Cate had gone looking for the coffee shop which Melissa had visited, figuring it to be a decent meeting point, and that’s where Melissa had found them. So they didn’t arrive too late.

Everyone finally agreed that I’d been correct in my evaluation of Clara, that she was in fact dangerous to us.

“I guess she thought everyone in America wants to be on television,” Kitty said.

“Hell, if I wanted media attention, I could have gotten it myself. What I’m looking for is the freedom to move around. Being hounded by the press isn’t going to help with that,” I complained.

“Man, what’s wrong with that woman?” Cate asked, lacking her usual regard for others. “Here I was, starting to feel sorry for her, and then she goes and exposes us, thinking she’s doing us all this great favor.”

“Guess she thought the second coming needed a little media help to get started,” Gail unhelpfully offered.

“We will not do that again,” I insisted. “That woman is officially off limits.”

“You don’t have to tell us twice,” Cate answered.

“And I’m sorry for pushing you to give her a second chance,” Gail said, looking like she blamed herself for what happened.

“No, you said what you felt. It was me who decided to give her a second chance. I hadn’t spoken to her long enough to realize how deep seated her pathology was. I was hoping we could bring her around, but just as I’d feared, she was acting on her preconceived notions of how I should act, rather than trying to understand what I was trying to tell her. We just don’t need anyone that reckless. I need support and good advice, not someone who decides how I should be leading my own movement.”

“Well, Gail’s not the only one who’s sorry,” Melissa added, looking down at her feet. “I’m sorry for getting you into trouble as well. I really shouldn’t have damaged their equipment,” she said, glancing up as the words began to pour out as she attempted to explain herself. “It was stupid, but it was all I could think of at the moment. I realize it could involve criminal charges, but I was just so angry at them for being so aggressive I couldn’t help myself.”

“I wouldn’t worry about it,” Gail reassured her. “That gear is built to withstand wind, sun and the occasional rain. Hopefully it just annoyed the cameraman,” Gail responded. “Still, you don’t want to destroy several thousand dollars’ worth of equipment, you simply want to get away from a situation like that. That would be considered willful property damage, as well as personal assault, and it would have had multiple witnesses and possibly additional camera footage.”

“Yeah, I’ll remember that for next time,” Melissa responded, looking a little dour. “Sometimes you just react in situations like that.”

“Hey, I’m not pointing blame. What you did was natural. I’m just letting you know the possible repercussions,” Gail said as she gave Melissa a hug. That eased Melissa’s mind quite a bit. I would have done it myself, but both Cate and Kitty were busy hugging me at the moment. Seems everyone was much more concerned about me than about anything else.

Kitty turned on Gail’s TV, scanning the news channels for any mention of us.

“It wouldn’t be on now, since it’s not breaking news,” Gail suggested. “If anything it would be a little piece on either the six o’clock or the late news.”

“Just sit down and take it easy,” Cate told me, pushing me into a chair. “You tend to burn up even more energy when you’re stressed. Just sit and relax and I’ll fix you something to eat. The last thing we need is you having another reaction because of this.”

“Don’t worry, I’m fine,” I assured her, although I wasn’t sure anyone believed me.

“We’re all sorry we pressured you to try again,” Cate called out from Gail’s small kitchen as she fixed me a snack. “You told us she was unstable, but we just couldn’t imagine how unstable she was.”

“There was no avoiding it. I didn’t think to ask what stupid things she may have pulled since we’d last spoken. She planned this all ahead of time.”

“Actually, Cate, I was the one who pushed him into it,” Gail confessed to my sister. “I gave him a hard time about how I could see her falling apart over his response to her. If anyone is responsible for this fiasco, it’d be me.”

“No, that isn’t true,” I told them both. “I got it from a few people, but principally it was Nikki who told me how she’d have felt if she’d been in Clara’s place. She struggled without me for months, which was hard enough. But to be rejected by such a significant figure in your life would have been too much for her. However the fault is mine. I didn’t anticipate how she’d react. As I said, I should have asked her what she’d been doing and if she had any more surprises for me. When I spoke to her the last time, I didn’t want to have a long conversation since she was so busy pleading for forgiveness.”

“I wonder how she ever convinced a news crew she was legit?” Kitty asked, trying to change the topic to avoid all the recriminations. None of us had a clue so no one responded.

We continued to sit in an uncomfortable silence imagining the unpleasantness we may have avoided. Cate brought me a couple sandwiches, some juice and a peanut butter/graham cracker sandwich, which curtailed any further attempts to thrash it out, although we all continued to consider it. I certainly hoped we’d avoided exposure, but only time would tell. The reporter had gotten a good look at each of us and Clara probably gave her pretty good descriptions. What’s more, they undoubtedly got video footage of me, although there was no telling how clear it was. I felt it unlikely they could track me back to my home in Shawneetown, although if they broadcast it here, certainly quite a few people in Carbondale would see it and recognize me. Things could get ugly pretty easily.

“We’d better get out of here,” I suggested, finishing off my first sandwich, wondering whether I should eat the rest in the car on the way home. We’d been waiting for early evening for the news programs to come on, but I wasn’t sure that was a wise decision. “We don’t want to be observed around the city after today, especially if they show any of the video footage. I’d suggest you keep a really low profile for a while as well,” I told Gail. She agreed, and we all started straightening up and getting our stuff organized. Just before we were ready to go there was a knock on the door. We all looked at each other.

“Were you expecting anyone?” Melissa asked, glancing at Gail.

“No, although sometimes one of my friends will stop by unexpectedly,” Gail advised us.

“You realize it’s just as likely a nearby Watcher or Seer who’s felt me nearby since yesterday, and has only just now built up the nerve to stop by,” I suggested.

We looked skeptically at each other and Gail finally straightened her shoulders and headed for the door. “Stay back and out of sight, Alex. I’ll let you know if it’s safe to come out.”

“We could simply not answer,” Kitty mentioned hopefully.

“The lights are all on and they’d know we’re hiding. They’d just wait us out,” Gail pointed out. She opened the door a crack and spoke through the partially open door. It was clear almost immediately it was the same reporter. I instructed Cate to call Bev and Julie and gave her their numbers after getting them from Gail. Both she and Kitty got busy dialing.

“Head into the bathroom and try to slip out the window after you’re done,” I instructed them. “Have the girls pick you up. Their cars won’t be recognized by anyone. Make sure you put on dark clothing and cover your heads. Meet them outside, away from us, so you can exchange cars if you need to.”

“What about you?” Kitty asked.

“Everyone knows this is about me. I’ve got to try to minimize the damage as best I can. Now get going.”

‘I’m about to bring her back without the cameras, boss man, are you ready?’ Gail asked. I responded in the affirmative and shortly Gail came back in with the woman reporter. Like most female video reporters, she was quite beautiful, with blond hair, nice makeup and beautiful clothes. She looked confident, but she also looked curious, which I hoped was a good sign. Hopefully my apparent luck with women would pay off this time.

“This is Lisa Woodall, a local television news reporter,” Gail introduced our guest.

“How are you today, Lisa?” I politely enquired.

“A bit curious but otherwise quite fine,” she pleasantly replied. “To whom do I have the honor of speaking?”

“I’m sorry, but I have no desire to be publicly outed. I’ve taken off from college to visit a girlfriend here in town, and I certainly don’t want either the college or my parents to find out or I’ll be up the creek without a paddle.”

“Oh, a college boy with a civil tongue in his head, I like that,” she replied, not pursuing my name. “Tell me, is your girlfriend one of those girls I saw you with today?”

“Again, I’d really prefer not to say. It could get us both in a world of trouble.”

“And why would a local policewoman be taking such an interest in protecting a young college boy from getting into trouble?” she asked, emphasizing the college boy in the sentence.

“We’re kind of related. I’m actually her godson.”

“I’ve never known an adult woman to put so much effort into taking care of an adult godson,” she observed.

“It’s a long story,” I sighed as if I’d had to repeat it numerous times. “She made friends with my mother, who had a falling out with my first godmother. So she offered to take over. Since she stepped into the role at a later point, she takes it more seriously than most.”

“Very nice story,” she practically cooed at me. “I also notice you didn’t mention Officer Knowles name; very cagey.”

“We like to look out for each other. I don’t want to jeopardize someone willing to help me out.”

“And yet you’d let her risk her position in the police force by hindering a TV news crew?”

“She didn’t stop you in order to ‘hinder’ you, she was merely looking after me as a member of the public being aggressively pursued by people he had no interest in interacting with,” I tried to explain, though I doubted it would win me any points in the current context. “Look, that woman, whoever she was, seemed to be a bit nuts. She came running up to me out of the blue shouting ‘Master, Master’. What was I supposed to do? Stop and speak to her? Ask a news crew why they’re following her around when I’m not supposed to be here? Doesn’t sound very sensible to me.”

“And you’re all about being sensible, aren’t you … what should I call you, Mister X?” I simply shrugged indifferently.

“What college did you say it was you were attending, Mister X?”

“I don’t believe I did,” I told her simply.

“No, you’ve got a particular aversion to names, don’t you?” she asked with a penetrating look.

“Look, you may be used to getting your way with your pretty smile and your famous TV face, but I’m not a big fan of television, and I’m not particularly eager to have my face plastered on TV, so I’m not particularly impressed. If you want to ask a question go ahead and ask, but I’m not telling you anything about myself.” She simply looked into my eyes for a few seconds.

“Ah, yes, the intellectual who eschews the idiot box, I’m sure you impress all the young girls with that.”

“If they’re so easily impressed then I’m not particularly interested. I happen to like a bit more of a challenge.”

“Oh ho, someone who disapproves of TV and appreciates girls for their wisdom and maturity. I also noticed the younger girls with you weren’t particularly large breasted. Is that another atypical male behavior of yours?”

“What does this have to do with anything?” I asked her a bit pointedly.

“It should be obvious, I’m testing you. I don’t think anything you’ve told me yet is honest.”

“So far I haven’t told you anything, so I’d have to agree with you. Did you have a question, or do you just like trying to make people look stupid so you’ll appear smarter?”

“Oh, touché. Have you ever met Clair Thomkins before, the woman who approached you today?” she asked, clearly expecting me to jump on this mistaken usage of her name.

“No, I’ve never met the woman before. Personally, she kind of terrifies me. I’ve been held up on street corners by ranting schizophrenics before and I always have a hard time getting away, so I’m not real eager to spend time with them.”

“So, an intellectual who appreciates smart women, who attends a no name school, and who doesn’t like to deal with disadvantaged individuals?”

“I don’t dislike anyone,” I calmly replied, “I just don’t know how to address them. They have a tendency to get carried away, so I tend to avoid them unless I’m around someone who knows more about dealing with them than I do. And I’m an Engineer, not a Psychology student,” I told her, inventing a lot of little details to make my lies more believable. However, she was still trying to trip me up and catch me in a falsehood.

“Ah, an Engineer? Say, what do you call those drawings you do with those little computer programs?”

“They’re Engineering Diagrams and they’re made with a Cad program. I’m an Electrical Engineer by the way.” I knew I was really testing my luck, but I didn’t think this woman was as smart as she liked to think. She was persistent and quick witted, but not always on the top of her game. “Do you think we might eventually find our way to a point at some time?” I asked her. There was a sudden honking of a car’s horn outside, causing us all to turn and look at the door for no apparent reason.

“Maybe those are your other friends now?” she asked.

“Point?” I asked simply.

“She seems to know you quite well,” she said, returning to our discussion about my knowledge of Clara. “Described you to a T, in fact.”

“I seriously doubt that, Miss. Woodall, as I’ve never met the woman.” I knew she was lying because Clara would not have been able to see me, aside from the initial vision, but I was hoping to pick up a tell from her.

“She tells quite an interesting story, much like yourself. Seems she felt drawn to someone she’d never even seen, drawn from some distance away. When she finally saw him, she says the ‘holy spirit came over her’ and ‘revealed the world for what it really was’. She says he was a young man, much like yourself, though she thought he was the lord Jesus, but when he commanded her to come unto him he corrected her and sent her away, telling her she was mistaken about God and his word by her church.” I simply listened without any comment. I didn’t need to be drawn into this conversation because she spent all her time trying to trip me up for no apparent objective. Eventually she began again.

“Seems she then went back to her church and tried to press the issue. The church leaders told her she was delusional and filled with the devil, because she spoke of having visions, seeing angels shimmering walking the Earth, and seeing colors dancing all over.”

“Sounds pretty familiar, I’m sure I could pick a nearby nursing home which housed a few patients with similar complaints,” I observed.

“The story goes on, don’t worry. Seems she was so distraught at having them doubt the word of the resurrected Jesus that she proceeded to tear the church apart. They promptly called the cops and had her arrested. Seems the cops aren’t particularly set up to handle anyone like that, so they let her go. That’s where I came in. I thought I might get an interesting side piece out of it.”

“I doubt it, sounds like a pretty cut and dried case of delusion to me.”

“Yes, spoken like a promising Psychologist,” she told me. I couldn’t guess whether she was goading me or still trying to trick me. I hadn’t been able to read her facial expressions yet.

“The interesting thing was what came up after we moved past all of that. Seems the resurrected Jesus had a young lady friend who explained all about the woman’s newfound visions. It seems she could detect emotions, basic personalities and even sicknesses.”

“And the point where we discuss non-delusional ramblings would be?” I pressed.

“Strangely, when I tested her, she seemed quite accurate. She told me when I was getting impatient despite my best poker face,” she said cheerily, making fun of my attempts to read her expressions. “She also detected my cameraman’s missing appendix and damaged liver. She diagnosed my missing fallopian tube.”

“Maybe she actually spoke with God then,” I suggested, “Assuming God comes equipped with 20^th century Biology text books and an X-Ray machine. Strange how Jesus never diagnosed missing fallopian tubes during his ministry.”

“She says the girl with you was the one who told her about her vision, and that you’re the one who revealed himself to her.”

“Look, if you’re just going to repeat the same thing over and over, only to intersperse it with silly questions about my background, then there’s really no point in discussing this any further.”

“You’re an odd one, Mister X. You don’t act like any college student I’ve ever met. You don’t look like a college student, and most college students don’t treat threats to their sponsor’s careers very lightly.”

“You’re threatening to damage my godmother’s career?”

“No, I’m just explaining how I found you. I went to the Police Commissioner and asked why a certain unnamed police woman accosted me in a public park and interfered with my job. I told him I wouldn’t press any charges if he could just let me know who she was.”

“That was very manipulative of you, but I think we’ve said about everything there is to say, which is a whole lot of nothing. So far you’ve asked me all sorts of questions about myself which you refuse to believe, you keep accusing me of the same thing, which I keep denying, and you keep quoting your authoritative source who happens to be a hysterical delusional woman. If that about covers everything I’ll have to ask you to please leave.” At this point she just looked at me, trying to figure some way past my refusal to play her game. Finally Gail came up behind her and grasped her elbow.

“This is a private residence and you’ve been asked to leave. I’ll have to insist you do so,” Gail explained to her.

“I could easily have your commissioner bring you in for some basic questions,” she politely threatened.

“Fine. I’ve been planning on transferring anyway; it’ll give me the impetus to speed up my search. I’m not answering any questions, and I’m not as polite as my godson here. Are we finished now?” She finally conceded she was, and Gail escorted her out, only to return moments later.

“She’s likely to just wait for you to leave, so she can confront you on camera,” Gail informed me.

“No doubt, she’s persistent, you have to give her that,” I conceded.

“Not real bright, but persistent and used to getting her way,” Gail agreed.

“I’m guessing the girls got away with the car?” she continued. “Why don’t you do like the girls, put on something dark and slip out the back. I’ll head out in a few minutes and provide you with a distraction. She already knows who I am, so she’ll be hounding me for days. You should be clear if you can just get away cleanly.”

“I’m not so sure, she seems likely to track down her subject. Still, it’s the best option available,” I mumbled as I pulled a hood over my head and entered the bathroom. Just as I did we heard a bit of a racket outside. Gail hurried to peer outside.

“Seems there’s a scuffle outside between a certain news crew and some of the neighbors,” she told me.

“They’re likely sympathetic Watchers who live nearby. They figure they’re helping me.”

“Well, take advantage of it. Slip out now and you may be able to slip away.”

I went out the window, which had a bit of a drop to it but I survived it. While I was climbing out the window, I talked to Nikki and had her call Sara, Gail’s friend from the Abbey. I didn’t want any obvious links connecting everyone together. Hopefully she’d get here soon. I managed to slip away pretty easily, as the sounds of an argument and things being thrown covered the sounds of my escape. I waited around the corner, having Nikki update Sara on my new location, telling her to drive up without her lights on and to keep away from Gail’s house.

‘I did as you asked, Alex,’ Nikki said, ‘though she’s quite curious about what you’re getting into. She knows about you using her two friends, but I told her I had no idea of what was going on. So be prepared for her questions when you see her,’ she advised.

‘Also, I want to apologize for getting you into so much trouble with Clara,’ Nikki told me. ‘I should have assumed you had a better feel for Clara than I did, since I’d never seen or spoken to her. I was projecting my own problems onto her, making her into a poor hapless soul when actually she brought your derision on herself. I’m sorry for all—’

‘Look, Nikki, don’t put yourself down,’ I told her as I glanced anxiously down the street, waiting for Sara to appear. ‘You gave me some legitimate advice. My problem was I didn’t trust my instincts enough. If I had I would have talked to her more and considered her emotional state. If anything the problem was mine. Now let’s not discuss this anymore, as I’m currently on the lookout for any trouble from Lisa Woodall, and I’ve got better things to do than discuss who is and who isn’t at fault,’ I told her.

Sara picked me up a block and a half away, and we didn’t see any signs of the reporter’s van. Sara didn’t ask anything until we were leaving the neighborhood.

“Guess you’d like an explanation?” I asked to help fill the awkward silence in the car.

“That would help. This isn’t the usual kind of thing Gail’s friends get into.”

“It’s part of my attraction. The wrong person felt attracted to me and she invited along a news crew. As you might imagine, I like to keep a low profile, seeing as how I’m underaged and many of those attracted to me are adults. The reporter managed to track Gail down, so we’re trying to avoid her.”

“Is this going to impact Gail?” Sara asked, concerned for her friend.

“Quite probably, yes. As you know, she was already leaning towards alternative employment opportunities. I just made her my own job offer last night. Since the reporter has been telling the police commissioner about her afterhours activities, she might be asked to leave in order to head off their perception of a hard-to-explain problem. If so, I plan on giving her that job.”

She turned and regarded me before turning back to the road.

“Thanks for being so honest. I don’t know what a teenager could offer a cop in the way of employment, but if Mark Zuckerburg can become a multimillionaire while in college, then I guess it isn’t any more unbelievable than the other things we know about you. By the way, we’re all meeting at the Abbey. It’s an out of the way spot, and no one is likely to report anything they see there. We’re pretty protective of our own.”

“Thanks. I think the plan at the moment is just to get out of town. Right now the reporter doesn’t have any idea of who we are, but they might piece things together if we stay around too long. Since Carbondale shares TV space with St. Louis, I’m afraid a lot of people who know me may recognize me if they air anything on television, so it might be a while before I can afford to come back.”

“After we drop you off, we’ll double back and pick up your car. I assume it’s in front of Gail’s house, correct?” When I nodded, she continued. “It should be easy enough, but just let me say this. It’s a pretty fanciful story you tell, but if we find you’re involved in anything questionable or illegal, and you put our friend Gail in any kind of trouble, we’ll go to the authorities and the press with everything we know. You realize that, don’t you?”

“Sara, I wouldn’t expect any less of you. After all, Gail is your friend, and I respect the value of both family and friends. You wouldn’t be here if I didn’t believe in the value of friends,” I told her, feeling a bit of a hypocrite since I had so few of my old friends left. I guess that’s why they are so important to me. Those who had little in their youth learn to value those things as treasures, whereas those who had free access to them tend to belittle them.

When we arrived at the Abbey the girls were glad to see me, and we hugged as Sara and Bev took off to retrieve my car. Julie stayed to watch out for us. The girls were full of questions for me, so I did my best to recount my conversation. However that required a full description of what happened earlier, for Julie to understand what was happening. You couldn’t have pried Cate and Kitty from my side with a crowbar while we were sitting there. We were still talking when Bev and Sara returned. We thanked them, and they said they’d watch out for Gail and let us know if she needed any help. We gave them each multiple hugs and invited them to come visit us if they got the chance.

“It’s a bit crowded sometimes, especially with new people showing up all the time, but it’s also a lot of fun. And you wouldn’t believe the amount of naked women around this guy,” Cate teased.

I also told them that Lisa Woodall was intent on this story, and they’d better lie low and tell their friends not to answer any questions as well. They promised they would as we all drove off into the night.

It was a long silent drive home, much different than the drive up on Friday. We didn’t talk much, I planned to provide a full recounting when I got home. Instead Kitty called Chalise, and Cate called our parents, while I spoke with Gail and Shani, giving them a basic overview of what happened, asking Brooke and Rebecca to check the news for any reports of me on the TV.

It seemed our flakey newest follower, Clara, might have exposed us all. So far Lisa knew about me, but didn’t know much about me yet. Hopefully we could keep her from discovering more. I sent a follow up message telling my girls to move into the apartment they’d gotten until further notice. I suggested they might want to go back home to visit until this blew over, as we don’t want to expose too many of us if we could avoid it. I also suggested Nikki visit her parents, but she refused to go without me. I simply told her to either go with Brooke and Rebecca to Carbondale, or go to the apartment with the other girls, but I only wanted the family at home tonight. I thought any more would risk too much exposure. They weren’t happy about it, but they agreed to follow my instructions. I told them we’d figure something out, but for now we just wanted to minimize the risk to everyone. If I was exposed, it would help me if my girls weren’t as well.

All in all, things were looking pretty bleak.

           

Note: Check out smashwords.com or vincentberg.net for eBooks of the entire series.

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