Experiment in Terror 09 Dust to Dust(22)

Dirt. Brown, smelly, earthy dirt under my hands and knees. I breathed it in deep, taking a moment to be grateful for this world.

Then I looked up – remembering what this world was willing to accept. There was old lady on the bench across from me, reading a book and staring at me with her mouth open. I quickly looked around. Ada was standing beside me, offering her hand, her face both worried and sheepish. Behind us was the coffee kiosk, blocking our view from most of the park. It seemed that only the lady had seen me materialize out of thin air.

I let Ada help me to my feet, her grip solid again, and I dusted off my jeans before I gave the stunned lady my most winning smile.

“Magic trick,” I explained to her with a slight shrug. “Looks like we got it right this time.”

Then I led Ada away from her and to the other side of the kiosk. In seconds we were joined by Maximus, breathing hard from running across the park.

“What the hell did you do, Perry?” he asked, though he put his hand on my shoulder and squeezed it affectionately. “I told you.”

“I know you did,” I said. “But it worked! I found Dex! Quick, we have to hurry.”

He didn’t smile at that, nor did he remove his hand. “Ada had to go after you. I couldn’t stop her. If she hadn’t, you might have been lost in there forever.”

I swallowed hard and looked them both in the eye. “I know. I wish you wouldn’t have,” I said to Ada. “But you got me out and you seem fine too. You feel fine, right?” Good lord, I hope she felt fine.

She nodded and gave me a crooked smile, though I had noticed she was being more quiet than normal. I forgot that a trip to the Veil can you leave you slightly shell-shocked for a while.

“Did you really find Dex?” Maximus asked, turning my attention back to him.

“Yes!” I cried out, feeling the hourglass tipping over again. “I saw him and I think he heard me. It was like a window opened up and I was able to see into this world, but not cross over. He was on the Brooklyn Bridge. Alone.”

“Just like your dreams,” Ada mused blankly, still sounding a bit out of it. “Or whatever they were.”

“Exactly. I should have known to go there, but it didn’t occur to me. But he’s there. And he’s alive. If we hurry, maybe we can catch up with him. At the very least, at least we know he’s in the city and he’s got to be looking for us.”

Maximus sighed, though he was relaxing a bit. “All right. If you ladies are both feeling okay to hightail it to the bridge, I reckon it’s worth a shot.”

He could barely finish his sentence. I was already on the run, heading to Dex.





CHAPTER SIX


Dex


“Excuse me, sir, are you all right?”

The quiet but concerned voice brought everything into focus. I found myself staring into the eyes of a hipster. That was my first thought, anyway. She was wearing a plaid, short-sleeved collared shirt, had close- cropped hair and lime green glasses that didn’t seem to have lenses. Oh and a septum nose ring.

I blinked at her a few times, stupidly. Behind her the brown buildings of Brooklyn gradually appeared, like the whole world was being painted into place. Well, Brooklyn certainly explained the hipster.

It did not explain why I was standing on the middle of the Brooklyn Bridge, hands gripped to the railing of the pedestrian walkway like a fucking loon.

“Are you tripping?” she asked.

The polite, earnest way she said that made me laugh.

I most certainly was tripping. I had no fucking idea why I was in New York City. In fact, I think I finally, finally lost my damn mind. I’d been waiting for this moment for a very long time.

“Doctor put me on new meds,” I lied. “Can’t seem to figure out how I got here.”

She smiled at me, a lot warmer now. I’d wrongly assumed she was a lesbian, now she seemed to be into me. “Where are you from?” she asked slyly, which only cemented the suspicion.

“Seattle,” I said. “I’m on vacation with my girlfriend,” I added quickly as I felt the blood drain out of me. Jesus crackers, where the fuck was Perry? How the hell did I get here? I had way too many questions to keep inside my brain and I was afraid that if I spent another minute with this woman, I was going to say something that would get me committed. Unless being tits-up crazy was suddenly cool. It wasn’t when I was young.

She smiled still, though not as open as before, shot down. “Cool. Well, hope you enjoy the city. And I hope your new meds work out.”

She gave me a wave and continued on her way toward Brooklyn, lost in the stream of people walking to and fro.

Now that she was gone, I could breathe. AKA, not breathe, AKA freak the fuck out.