Chapter 116

The scene is someone's car. It's a late eighties sedan and smells of fast food and sweat. The backseat is covered with assorted garbage: broken CD cases, old towels, candy wrappers, batteries. If we look out the sort-of-clean passenger window, we can see the pretty girl embracing the young man goodbye. His companion is already half in the car, anxiously tapping his foot on the pavement. The stiff one stands on the porch awkwardly.

And as the car finally pulls away and we look to see the young driver of our car, we see a smile cross his face. But it's not a smile of happiness...it's a smile that chills the spine and causes the stomach to inside-out itself. It's a smile that, once seen, can't be unseen.

Chapter 115

"Steve, this is ridiculous!" Jen said, following him out the front door. Blake had already loaded his bags into the trunk and was ready to go.

"Jen. Listen. This is something we need to do. We're past the point of where what we thought we knew makes sense. We're being...guided. And I'm being guided to Africa."

"Steve, how are you going to pay for a plane ticket to Africa? They're ridiculously expensive."

"I got it," Blake said. "Money's not a problem."

"What? How can you say that?"

"Jen, one of the things we learn about where I come from is the Super Bowl. Culturally, it's more important to know the Super Bowl winners than any of your presidents. So I placed a bet or two..."

"See, Jen? Things are good. I'll call you when I get there."

Chapter 114

"Steve, what's going on?" Jen said, following Steve into his room.

Steve paused, folded T-shirt in his hand. The bag he was packing was already half-full in the time it had taken Jen to finish her conversation with Humbot.

"It's the dreams."

"The what?"

"I've been having these dreams - Blake has too, I can tell. There's a man, and he's in trouble. There are hyenas, and, if someone doesn't help him -"

"So we're going to Africa?"

"No. You're staying here with Humbot."

"Why?"

"Have you been having the dreams?"

"Not that I can - "

"Then you aren't meant to go."

Chapter 113

"What are you watching?!" Blake was nearly frantic.

"I don't know," Jen said, "some nature show?"

Steve's face had drained of its color. Without saying anything, he slowly turned to Blake. A brief look flitted between them, and then an almost imperceptible nod. Steve turned up the volume.

"...the brown hyena is native to Sub-Saharan Africa. They hunt in packs, and..."

"Africa," Steve repeated. He got up and went into his room.

Blake had also left the room.

"Humbot, what's going on?"

"They've been sharing dreams, Jennipher. And their dreams feature these hyenas. And so they're going to Africa."

"Africa?"

"Sub-Saharan Africa, to be precise." And Humbot fell silent on that point.

Chapter 112

Blake and Humbot came through the door, still a little frustrated by their unsuccessful day. Jen and Steve were in the living room, watching a nature show, and turned to greet them (and maybe because the beef sandwiches smelled delicious). Jen's hair hung loose and looked amazing with her baby blue shirt. Steve was distracted by her, but ultimately tore himself away in time to grab a sandwich.

"So," Jen said, between bites, "what's next?"

"What do you mean?" Blake said.

"What she means," Steve said, "is what do we do now? Where do we go? How do we achieve this mission?"

"I don't really know. Priority A number One was to make sure you two were safe. We were hoping you'd have some clue as to what to do next."

"We don't."

"Oh."

Blake buried his face in his hands, running the heels of his hands down his jaws, a technique he often used to relieve stress. A technique he had used too often in the past few months.

"Blake?" Steve said.

"Yeah?" Blake looked up - and saw something that made him forget his stress.

Chapter 111

Blake and Humbot were not happy. The service at the local Papa John's had been so bad, they had eventually given up and gone somewhere else. Blake pointed out that Jen probably wouldn't want pizza because of its association with the Colonel. They picked up roast beef sandwiches and headed home, half an hour later than they wanted to.

Chapter 110

Light filtered in through a crack in the ceiling. The dust motes danced thickly above the writhing mass on the floor. The smell of shame hung in the air like wet sulfur. Old and broken furniture lay scattered across the floor, occasionally shifting with the movements below.

And just when the mind would dismiss the mass of creatures on the floor as rats, they began to form up. Biting each other with razor sharp teeth, creature after creature climbed over each other, forming a vaguely human shape. It limped to the closet (door askew) and crammed itself into a suit, shoes.

The creature (composed of other, smaller creatures) grabbed a sheet of what appeared to be parchment off the broken vanity. Slowly, it dipped its head toward the parchment, until it became apparent that it was not parchment - it was, in fact, human skin. The human skin of a man once known as the Colonel.

And so, with that, the Creature prepared to meet its leader.

Chapter 109

Blake and Humbot were, at the time, outside of Alligretti's Pizza, looking for any clue toward where they could find the Colonel. Blake wasn't at a hundred percent - he had hoped that with the kids saved, his nightmares would stop, but no. Humbot was off following a trail of what could have been blood or sauce from a drippy Italian Sausage sandwich.

Blake sighed. Five years in this time. They had done what they needed to do, but it didn't feel done. And, as his preschool teacher, Sergeant Bagley, had said, if something didn't feel done, it's probably because it wasn't done. Granted, that had referred to bathroom behavior, but the principle was the same.

"Let's go, Humbot. We're not finding anything on this guy."

"Sounds good, Blake. It's been a long time, anyway."

"I just wish we knew more about this Colonel guy."

Chapter 108

How do you wake up the girl who is your destiny? Steve wondered as he watched Jennipher sleep. He considered talking, but it seemed like such an indelicate way to wake up someone so...important to him. He considered and quickly dismissed kicking the couch. And it wasn't the tranquil sleep of Snow White, so kissing was out of the question - it was just a normal girl, asleep on the couch of a time-traveling soldier sent back to save mankind - from what, he hadn't said.

Briefly he considered throwing a bucket of ice water on her - a smile came to his lips as he imagined her reaction, but then he immediately felt guilty. Drenching your one true love in ice water to wake her up seemed wrong, too. Still, there were worse decisions to make then how to wake someone you cared for.

Steve reached out, slowly, and gently rubbed Jen's back. She stirred and he almost stopped.

"Jen - time to get up. It's almost noon."

She opened one eye and smiled.

"Was I grinding my teeth?" she asked shyly.

"No - you grind your teeth?"

"Sometimes."

Steve smiled again. "I find it amazing that you aren't perfect."

Jen groaned. "I am so not perfect."

"We'll worry about it later. Come on. Let's find something to eat. Blake and Humbot went out early this morning."

Chapter 107

Blake was restless. The dream had come back, stronger and more realistic than ever. Sometimes he envied Humbot, for his dreams of electric sheep or whatever he had. Nothing about the pack of - Blake shook his head. Not tonight.

Chapter 106

Jen couldn't sleep. Blake's couch - while comfortable - was not her bed at home. She had left a note for her parents when she went home to throw some supplies into a bag, but still worried about their reaction. And their safety, when she allowed her mind to wander.

Blake's house didn't sound right. Jen realized she was used to the familiar sounds of home that had become subaudible - things she heard without hearing them. The sound of her ceiling fan and computer monitor. The train horn at the crossing by the Little League field. Even her father's trips to the bathroom.

She kicked off the sheet and got off the couch. Maybe Blake had some Yogi Tea to help her get some rest.

Steve didn't seem as worried. At least, he had no problem falling asleep in the recliner in Blake's living room. Jen passed him on the way to the kitchen and smiled. Now, without the threat of destiny hanging over their heads, it was easier to think about him.

Sadly, there was no tea to be found in Blake's kitchen. Jen settled for a glass of water and headed back to her room. As she passed Steve again, he seemed to be struggling with something. Jen approached cautiously, hoping it wasn't something serious.

Steve was dreaming, that much was obvious. He was moving his right arm in circles like he was digging. His legs kicked feebly under the blanket and he was almost whimpering. Without realizing it, Jen was standing over him. A drop of condensation on the outside of her glass trickled down, paused, then fell onto Steve's face.

He woke immediately, startled.

"Are you okay?" Jen said, concerned.

"Yeah. Just a weird dream, I guess."

"We've had a weird day."

"Yeah. Yeah we have. What are you doing up?"

"Couldn't sleep."

"You should try. Any sleep is better than no sleep."

"I know. Have a good night, Steve."

"Night, Jen."

Jen headed back to her room and closed the door. She set the glass of water down and laid down on the couch. Somehow, knowing she was in this with Steve made it a little better, and she fell asleep without a problem.

Chapter 105

With a great effort, Stares-At-The-Sun pulled himself to his feet. He had done what was asked. As to healing...that wasn't up to him. With effort, he began shuffling to shelter, allowing himself only the slightest hope for aid. If it would be his death, there were far worse ways to die.

Chapter 104

Jen and Steve followed Blake to his car. The plan was to head back to their homes, get some supplies, and then move in at the hideout while Humbot did some research on the Colonel. Jen stopped short when she realized what kind of car Blake had been driving.

"A black Audi? Were you the ones following me?" she asked, on the edge of hysterics.

"That was us," Humbot said. "Did you get Blake's flowers?"

"Wait, those were from you?"

"Yes," Blake blushed, "Humbot was driving and got a little carried away."

"It's true," Humbot said, "I am a bad driver."

Chapter 103

The room was furnished with a deep couch, dark green and inviting. Jen sat on the edge of the couch wearily and looked up at Steve, who was pacing the room.

"We've seen some strange stuff tonight, haven't we?" she opened.

"I knew something was off when Liz's mom was nice to me."

"What do we do, Steve?"

"I don't know. We have a psycho trying to kill you, this guy claiming to be from the future - with an android who speaks hypertext - and a mysterious...something driving off the psycho. Your ex-boyfriend is probably dead in Flower Gardens, and the prom afterparties are starting and Gar is going to wonder why I haven't met them at the bowling alley."

"Are you seriously concerned about your afterparty?"

"No. Just talking without thinking," Steve said absently.

"Here's what I think," Jen said, "I think we have no recourse but to trust Blake."

"Blake Blakesly."

"Yes, Blake Blakesly. We think he's crazy, yes, but we KNOW what his psychosis is - the Colonel, on the other hand, is apparently a psychopath. With glass-exploding powers. Who is not even trying to help us." Jen was at a loss. The couch was, however, ridiculously comfortable.

"So you're for putting our trust in Blake Blakesly?"

"Considering the alternative is to be killed by the Colonel, yes."

Chapter 102

Jen had to admit - as far as hideouts went, Blake and Humbot had a pretty nice one. From the outside, it was a kind-of-run-down suburban home. The inside, however, was full of luxurious decor. High-end electronics dominated the room in which they rested. Humbot happily served her and Steve some hot chocolate while they listened to the (frankly ridiculous) story of banishment and time travel, of an absurd military theocracy government, of a mine collapse...it was too crazy to not be true.

"...and that brings us to tonight." Blake concluded.

"Wait a second," Steve said, "what about the purple nurple? Explain that!"

"Of course," Humbot said, "that was the test."

"What fricking test?"

"Steve, remember how I said we didn't know where to go until the newspaper article about you being a star scholar? Well, a few years ago - right when we got here, in fact, we thought we had located the star scholar. I mean, that's what the Reverend-General sent us back for, among other things. So we found an astronomer, as that seemed like an obvious choice, and gave him the test. He failed and died during the test. We left town for a while and then came back to set up shop and wait."

"Wait - you killed the astronomer with a purple nurple?"

"It wasn't intentional, Steve. We're not here to hurt people. We're here to help people. All people."

"Riiiiiggggght. Jen, can I talk to you in the other room?"

Chapter 101

"Where are you from, Blake Blakesly?"

Blake laughed off Steve's question and turned to his companion. "Humbot - is the coast clear?"

The other figure walked back to Steve and Jen. "I will make no weather jokes, Blake. We are safe for the moment."

"Wait, did he just speak in hypertext?" Jen said.

Blake sighed. "He did."

"What is going on here?"

"I'll be happy to explain, but we need to get you to a safe place."

"We're not going anywhere with you!" Steve said.

"He's right," Humbot said, "not until we test you to see if you are the one."

"Test? What?"

Without another word, Blake walked over to Steve and grabbed both of Steve's nipples and twisted.

"Ow! You son of a-"

"It's okay," Blake said. "He passed the test."

Chapter 100

The sound of the Colonel advancing on them struck Steve and Jen dumb with fear. His footsteps crashed in the night, coming down the hill from Flower Gardens. Then, from another direction.

"Thank goodness they're here! Quick, you two, follow me!"

A light shone from the forest to their left. At its appearance, the Colonel's footsteps quickened, sliding a little on the hill but growing louder by the second.

Weighing her options (in a fraction of a second), Jen grabbed Steve's hands and they took off toward the light. Two figures were in front of them, sprinting as well as they could through the tangled overgrowth. The Colonel's steps burst into a run behind them, thundering. Trees shook and dirt geysered from under his feet.

Without warning, the four being pursued came into a clearing. One of the figures tripped and went sprawling through the tall grass. Jen and Steve skidded (like the cartoons, Steve thought) to a stop to help him. The other figure stopped unnaturally quickly and spun around.

It was then that Steve noticed the sound of pursuit had stopped; not because the Colonel had given up, but because he had caught them.

His face looked terrible under the feeble light, with shadows like writhing creatures just below the surface. He laughed - a cold, high, dark laugh, and Steve knew it was over.

"Jen? I just want to say I l-"

And a ray of sun EXPLODED into the clearing, staggering the Colonel. Steam rose from his skin, and his shrieks were unworldly as he fled back in to the darkness of the forest. Steve looked back, blinking to clear his eyes, to see Jen helping the fallen stranger up.

"Hi. I'm Jen, and this is Steve. Thank you so much - I don't know what - who he - what he is..."

"No problem. I'm just glad we got here when we did," the man said, wincing as he put weight on his ankle."

"How did you guys know where we were?" Steve asked.

The man smiled and turned to his companion, still a few yards off. "That's a long story."

"We've got time, man."

"Okay, okay." The man looked Steve up and down, judging him. He stuck out his hand. "My name is Blake Blakesly. I'm here to help."

Chapter 99

As Steve hurried through the forest, dodging hanging branches and stumbling over protruding roots, he heard the sound of someone else crashing through the underbrush. He stopped short.

It's funny, the way the mind works. Time slowed down, and part of Steve's mind noticed that he was back on the bomb shelter. The place where he and Jennipher had seen their future. Another part of his mind knew with certainty that it was Jen crashing through the forest. And a third part of his mind was certain it was something that would kill him. And finally, a small part of his mind had dropped into his gut and was screaming for him to run and never look back.

Steve stood his ground, waiting for whatever (It must be Jen) was coming to kill (or be saved by) him. The trees cut off most of the moonlight, and the ground was darker than the lowest level of hell. The only light, feeble in the overwhelming darkness, was Steve's flashlight. He raised it and saw Jen, panting, come into the clearing.

"Steve! We've got to run!"

"What's going on, Jen?"

"The Colonel! He's after me!"

"Who's the Colonel?"

"We've got to go!"

"No! Not that way! That's to Liz's house!"

"Where do we go?"

They paused, staring at each other. If this was their destiny, it was a lousy destiny.

Chapter 98

The Colonel reached through the window, the shadows flickering on his hands, making them ripple intensely. Jen shrieked, trying to scramble backwards over Kevin's bloody body. The Colonel's hand moved steadily closer, unceasing and fixed in its pace.

"Come on, princess."

With a heavy grunt, Jen kicked at the Colonel with all of her strength. His hand, momentarily diverted, smashed against the dashboard. Jen took advantage of the moment to finally get Kevin's door open. She somersaulted backwards onto her feet, planting and spinning with an agility she didn't know she possessed. Quickly, she sprinted into down the hill and into the woods.

Behind her, the Colonel sneered, and followed her into the dark, dark night.

Chapter 97

Steve swept the backyard with the flashlight. When Liz's mom had handed it him, he had a momentary urge to put it to his forehead and shout "I'm a unicorn!," but it passed. There didn't appear to be anything amiss - the pool cover was securely on, there were no signs of animals or intruders - just a chill in the air that seemed wrong. Unwittingly, Steve shined the flashlight into the trees and was painfully reminded of Jennipher Semmes.

His heart dropped into his stomach. Tonight was supposed to be their destiny, and here he was, skipping prom to comfort a woman who hadn't even liked him before he complimented her brownies. He could picture Jen at the dance, in a navy blue dress, her hair spilling down her shoulders as she danced. Her smile lighting up the room - and really, there was no way she couldn't be prom queen. A vision of her attacking him with a fierce hug after coming down from the dais. And maybe, just maybe, at the end of the night, a soft kiss. Her lips tasting like breaking glass. Her breath like - wait! Breaking glass?

Steve bounded over the chain-link fence and headed into the woods.

Chapter 96

"What's going on?" Jen asked.

The Colonel showed nothing on his face - he merely extended one bandaged finger and pressed on the glass. Up close, it looked terrible. The bandage was dirty and stained with old blood, and the visible portion of the finger didn't look much better.

"Kevin, what's going on?" she asked, voice rising.

"I told you that you'd be sorry, Jen. This was supposed to be our night. And it was nice, it really was. But you can't treat me like that and expect to get away with it."

"You're doing this because we didn't go to prom together? That's absurd!"

The Colonel tapped on the glass.

"No, it's not just prom, Jen. It's everything. You walk around like you're so important. Like you're something special. Like you're a princess. Well, guess what princess?! You're in for the longest night of your life!"

"What does The Colonel have to do with any of this?"

A second tap on the glass.

"He has some reason to want you; I didn't ask questions."

"Really?! Because that seems like something you should ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT!"

Kevin laughed, a cold laugh that did nothing to assuage Jen's fears.

Several things happened at once. Kevin spoke. Jen turned to look at him. The Colonel tapped on the glass for a third time. The window exploded inward, a hail of glass shredding Kevin but leaving Jen untouched.

Kevin's screams ripped through the night. Jen turned to face her window, only to see the Colonel reaching in...

Chapter 95

With the fire burning bright, Stares-At-The-Sun raised his arms high. With that, the fire ascended into the sky, leaving no trace behind. The wood was still stacked in its pyramid shape, unscorched and unscarred by the heat. Even the dry grass he had used to start the fire was unharmed.

With that, he shut his eyes.

"I pray that will be enough."

Chapter 94

Steve waited impatiently on the front steps of the Bogners' house. His iPod was inside and Liz's mom was taking forever to answer the door. After an interminable time, she opened the door slightly, saw who it was, then visibly relaxed as she opened it the rest of the way.

"Steve! Thank heavens it's you!"

"What's going on?"

"I don't know - I guess you're here for your iPod."

"Actually, I couldn't resist your delicious brownies. And the iPod, yeah."

"Oh, Steve! You can come by for brownies anytime. It's just - " she stopped herself, looking unsure of herself as she did.

"Seriously. What's going on?"

"It's just one of those nights. It seems darker than normal - that it got darker sooner, I mean. The night where...things happen. And it terrifies me that Liz is out there in it."

"Everything seemed fine when they got in the limo. Actually, it didn't seem bad until...until I got here."

"Would you mind - I feel like such an idiot for asking this - would you mind taking a look out back for me?"

"Yeah, no problem."

"I'll have some brownies ready for when you get back."

"Thanks."

And so Steve headed out into the extra-dark night that came extra early, unaware of how much his life was about to change.

Chapter 93

Jen was pleasantly full of roadside diner cheeseburger. The wind coming in off Lake Michigan had blown her sorrows and worries about Kevin away. She had apologized for not going to prom with him, and he couldn't quite meet her eyes when she did. It was possible - just barely possible - that she saw tears in his eyes as he re-focused on the road. She had thought they were headed home, but...

"Flower Gardens? The make out place? Seriously?" She was nonplussed.

"What?" he asked, full of false innocence.

"I'm not going to make out with you to make up for not going to prom with you!"

"Jesus, Jen, we're just here to talk."

"We can talk somewhere else, can't we?"

Kevin didn't answer. His gaze drifted over her shoulder to someone blocking the feeble light shining through the passenger window. Immediately, Jen's mind assumed it was a cop, and that she was going to be disgraced for being arrested in "Deflower Gardens." A million reasons came to mind about why she shouldn't be arrested - the main one being that they weren't DOING anything - but then looked at the figure as it leaned over.

It wasn't a cop.

It was her least favorite pizza customer.

It was the Colonel.

Chapter 92

Steve laughed as he watched the crew pile into the limo. True to form, Bobby B was making disgusting gestures behind the backs of all the girls in the group. Stoner was smiling awkwardly (why a kid with an orthodontist for a dad would have such a dorky smile amused Steve on a level he couldn't quite identify), and Gar was trying to impress everyone's dates.

As they pulled away, Gar and Liz popped out of the sunroof for one final wave goodbye. The limo abruptly stopped, and Steve could almost hear the driver remonstrating them for going through the sunroof while the car was moving. The two of them dipped back down out of sight, and Steve smiled and dorkily waved at the departing car.

He turned to get back into his own car and abruptly realized - he had left his iPod at Liz's house. As he knew that this was a night for music to say what he couldn't, he knew he'd have to go back. Though the trip might not be entirely wasted - maybe there were brownies left.

Chapter 91

"That was delicious," Jen said. She was sitting on the trunk of Kevin's car, licking the remnants of a cheeseburger off her fingers. They were at a diner just off the highway - this diner, like several others, claimed to be the home of the original Maxwell Street Polish Sausage. Kevin had barely touched his burger (Jen's stomach rumbled as she thought of trying to eat that one, as well), instead eating one fry at a time out of the brown paper bag.

"Do you believe in karma, Jen?" he asked over the sounds of highway traffic.

"Instant karma's gonna get you," she said, smiling.

"No, I'm serious. Do you believe that good things happen to good people, and that bad things happen to bad people?"

Jen paused, pursing her lips. She fought back a belch and answered, "I believe that all things happen to all people. When good things happen to good people, we think they deserve it and put it out of mind. But when bad things happen to good people, we think 'Why?'"

"Do you believe in an eye for an eye? Tooth for a tooth and all that?"

"I'm not sure where this line of questioning is going, but no. Wasn't that Hammurabi? Didn't he pioneer that way of thinking? That was forever ago, and I'd like to think we've come far in the past several thousand years."

Kevin forced a smile. "Odd that you mention a thousand years."

"What does all this have to do with a cheeseburger?"

A semi blasted its air horn, cutting short Kevin's response. When it had passed, he said "I just really wanted to come here with you tonight. I feel badly about what I've done, and - this place was always special to me, and I wanted to share it with you tonight. To kind of say 'I'm sorry for being a jerk.'"

"Well, you're lucky that cheeseburger was so good." Jen smiled.

Chapter 90

Steve watched from his car as Liz scampered up the front walk to Gar's house (hampered as her scampering was by her almost-disturbingly high heels). He felt a little melancholy, but reasoned that it, too, would pass. As the gaggle of people spilled out through the front door onto the lawn, Steve offered a halfhearted wave. Gar returned it enthusiastically and motioned for Steve to join them.

He opened the car door and stepped out, careful to wipe the brownie crumbs from his shirt onto the driveway and not into his car. A few steps later he was surrounded by hugs and shouting friends, clamoring for him to join them, that he'd find a date at the prom, that it wouldn't be the same without him, that they loved him and appreciated him, that he was wonderful...

It was, to that point, the best moment of his life. The day, however, was far from over.

Chapter 89

As Kevin merged onto I-94, Jen looked nervously at the cars passing them. Kevin usually drove fast, and tonight, he was driving...reluctantly was the best word she could think of. They were headed to Chicago, that was obvious...but where?

"Where are we headed?" she asked.

"A few places."

"Okay. So you expect me to keep asking where we're going, and it will build up the mystery?"

Kevin smiled, a thin, tight smile.

"Okay." Two could play at this game. "Wherever. We can go wherever."

Chapter 88

Steve pulled up at Liz's house to pick her up. He unplugged the iPod from his stereo and walked to the door. A wry smile crossed his face as he imagined taking Liz to prom - she was a sweet girl, but best in small doses, as far as Steve was concerned. Taking her from her house over to Gar's would be plenty.

As he rang the bell, he nervously shifted his weight from foot to foot. His hands were sweaty and he switched the iPod from right to left. Finally, Liz's mother opened the door.

"Hello," she said coldly, "come in."

Unsure over whether she was angry with him for existing or if he was walking into a powder keg holding a lit fuse, he followed. The living room smelled like potpourri and hairspray. The couches, pink and aqua, were covered with lace and didn't look comfortable.

"Liz will be right down," her mother's voice came from behind him (scaring him more than he would readily admit), "you can have a seat."

Steve moved slowly toward the uncomfortable couches and sat down gingerly, setting the iPod down on a coffee table.

"Would you care for a brownie?"

"No, thank you."

"Nonsense. I insist."

Steve reluctantly took a brownie and moved it mechanically to his mouth. He took a small bite from the corner, and - it was delicious!

"This is really good, Ms. Bogner!"

Did her face soften?

"Thank you."

"I mean it - these are the best brownies I've ever had!"

Her face definitely softened then. "Thank you! Take some more!"

"Mom! Leave him alone!"

Steve, who was busy loading up with brownies, looked up. Liz looked overly-made-up, but her dress did show quite a bit of skin - Gar would be pleased.

"Let's go, Steve."

Steve, hands full of brownies, smiled once more at Ms. Bogner and followed a swishing Liz out the door.

Chapter 87

Jennipher walked slowly to Kevin's car, idling in front of her house. She leaned over and peered in the passenger window. The scent of onion rings hit her - not her favorite, but certainly a guilty pleasure from time to time.

"Come on. Get in the car, Semmes."

"Let's just drive your car," she half-smiled.

"We can drive all day. Well, what's left of it. I've got a surprise for you."

"It's not those onion rings I smell?" she said, sliding into the seat.

"No - we've got a little drive ahead of us. Is that okay with you?"

"Sure." What went unsaid (but definitely flashed through Jen's head) was that the reason she had the night ahead of her was that she had canceled her prom date with the guy she was about to go out with...on prom night.

They drove off into the evening.

Chapter 86

School had dragged on forever. The second half of the day was even worse, as many of the senior class girls had left early (with permission) to get ready for prom. With half their classes missing, one would think the teachers would take it easy on the remaining students, but no - things went on as they would have. Except, of course, there was no one to keep Steve's attention off the teachers and, as such, he had to actually listen. It was dreadful.

As Steve walked to Gar's car, he noticed Gar in a heated conversation on his phone. As he approached, Gar's voice rose.

"It was five years ago. Don't tell me she remembers!"

A pause.

"Fine! We'll have someone else pick you up and bring you around for pictures. But your mom seriously needs to let it go! No one even remembers the Unicorn bit!"

Steve smiled, sure that Gar was deep into a conversation with Liz Bogner.

"Okay. We'll send someone by around six. Be ready. Bye."

Gar clicked off the call.

"Trouble in paradise?" Steve taunted.

"Yeah. Her mom won't let me or Bobby B near the house on account of-"

"The unicorn. What do you mean, no one remembers? Everyone who was there remembers."

"I know. Listen - I know it's short notice, but - "

"Sure, I'll pick her up."

Gar's face visibly brightened. "Thanks, man. This saves me all kinds of trouble."

"And I'm sure it won't cause me any."

Chapter 85

The room was dark.

"The message has been sent."

"Excellent. We can preserve things as they were meant to be."

"Did you want me to deal with the other?"

"No. If they aren't together, they're nothing."

"And my payment?"

"In due time, son. In due time."

Kevin left.

Chapter 84

Sarah felt her cell phone vibrate in her pocket. Although she knew she shouldn't check it, Mrs. Kotoly was engrossed in grading their essays, and there was no way she was getting caught. And even if she did - what were they going to do? Ban her from prom? She wasn't going anyway.

Slowly, she slid the phone out. It was a text message from Kevin. Slowly, ever so slowly, she flipped the phone open to read the message.

"J - we need to talk. I'll call you later. -K"

That was odd. He had never referred to her as "J" before, but maybe the break-up did strange things to him. Boys were crazy anyway.

Chapter 83

It was the morning of prom, and the tension in Steve's shoulders was at an all-time high. Either something amazing would happen tonight...or it wouldn't, and the idea of destiny would shatter.

Either way, what would (or wouldn't) happen would (or wouldn't) happen, and that was all he could do. He finished his Watermelon Dr Pepper, tossed the cup into the recycling bin, and headed off to class.

Chapter 82

"So that's it, Jen? The day before prom and you dump me?"

"I'm sorry, Kevin - I wish I had a better explanation for you. But I don't."

"No, this is ridiculous. I spent $110 on the limo, another hundred on the tux, forty on your fricking flowers, thirty bucks on new gel for my hair, and don't even get me started on the hotel room in Chicago!"

"I'm sorry."

"You're sorry? That's all you have to say?"

"Yes."

"No, you're not sorry now, Jen. But you will be."

And with that, Kevin hung up.

Chapter 81

"...and then, after Kevin left and STILL wouldn't tell me what was wrong, Lance just avoided me for the rest of the day."

Jen looked up at her mother, who was standing next to the stove. Her mug of cocoa hat long since cooled, as Jen had delved into all of the details of her day. She had listened, questioning in the appropriate places, to the entire saga, with the same half-smile on her face.

"What do you think, Mom?"

"I think I'm glad I found your father."

"Gee, thanks for your help."

"Honey, you know we love you."

"I do, Mom. Can I ask you what you think of Kevin?"

"That's kind of blunt, Jennipher."

"It's just that - I don't know. I like him and all, but..."

"Worried about remembering him forever as your prom date?"

"Well...oh my goodness...I am."

Chapter 80

"Hey mom," Jen said, as she walked in her house. Her shirt smelled like the restaurant and she couldn't wait to get it off. Absently, she thumbed through the day's mail - nothing special. She heard her mom in the kitchen, putting away the supplies from her nightly cup of cocoa.

"Hi honey. How was work?"

"Ugh."

"That bad, huh?" A knowing smile.

"Why are boys so dumb?"

Another knowing smile. "Tell me about your day."

Chapter 79

Blake took off through the trees, stumbling on tree roots and discarded cans. Branches lashed at his face, his shoulder crashing into one old oak tree hard enough to send shivers all the way down into his fingers. He heard Humbot behind him, gaining. Not knowing what the problem was only made the situation worse.

Chapter 78

Blake woke up on a warm patch of grass. He sat up slowly, effects of the Official Sleep Pill wearing off more rapidly than commercial pills. Light filtered through the trees, and a gentle breeze played across this face. His entry point was unstable - that much was obvious from where he sat.

He took a deep breath and immediately went into a coughing fit. As his body struggled to regain control, his mind raced - was the air here poisonous? And what was that smell?

As he finally regained his breath, a crashing in the undergrowth took it away again.

"Humbot?"

"Blake Blakesly! Is that you?"

"Yeah. I'm-"

"No time! We have to hide!"

Chapter 77

Stares-at-the-Sun had been out for days. During the day, he patiently studied the sky, living up to his name by staring at the sun for hours at a time. During the night, he rested, found what food and water there was to be found, and considered all he had seen during the day. Great things were in motion. Terrible things were in motion. The world was at an intersection, and he could see much. But not all. And that is why he stared at the sun.

Chapter 76

Gar was sitting on the step in front of the tux shop when Steve returned.

"Stupid cummerbunds," was his greeting.

"Yeah. Let me tell you what just happened." And Steve relayed the whole thing, starting with the apparently-injured old man and ending with Kevin's jerkiness.

"Does this guy think he's a Lifetime movie bad guy?"

"That's what I'm saying. 'Stay away from Jen.' Doesn't he realize that only makes it more likely that I won't?"

"Yeah, he's an idiot all right. Come on, I got my tux fixed. Let's go - I still have half an essay to write."

"Ah yes - The Foundation for the Foundation: A foundational report brought to you by the Gar Foundation. Catchy title."

"I'm hoping it counts toward my word total."

Chapter 75

"I'm sorry," Steve said, "did you just tell me to stay the hell away from Jen?"

"Yes, I did," Kevin responded, "and did you have something to say back?"

Steve paused, thoughts of his recent fight with Christian flashing in his mind. He had read somewhere that no one ever started a fight they thought they would lose - and while he really, really wanted to punch Kevin - he wasn't going to fight Kevin here.

But in the future...

"Steve? Did you want to say something?" There was just a hint of condescension in Kevin's voice now.

"Listen, Kevin. I don't know what you're talking about. With Jen, it's...it's complicated. Sure, I think she's pretty...but she's dating you. And I respect that..."

"Damn right you respect that!"

"...even if I have no respect for you. And think you're a jerk. And a terrible person. And...well, you get the point."

"Whatever, dude."

"Laters." Steve turned to walk back to the tux shop, half-expecting to feel a rock or something hit him in the back of the head, but no. Nothing. Just a ball of fury in the pit of his stomach that grew as he walked back to meet Gar.

Chapter 74

"All right, Mr. Blakesly, you're going to feel a sharp prick in a second - "

"What kind of shot is this?" Blake joked feebly.

"- and when you wake up, you'll have gone through."

Chapter 73

"Hey...Kevin? Is it?" Steve knew full well what the jerky jerk's name was.

"Yeah. Steve?"

"So, visiting Jen, or just grabbing some 'za?" Steve paused, wondering if he had just referred to pizza as 'za.

"No, I stopped by to see her, but she got into a big argument with a coworker. I could tell she didn't want to talk about it, so I'm splitting."

"Oh?" Steve said, thinking that a supportive boyfriend would stay with her through this alleged big argument.

"Yeah. I mean, I know a supportive boyfriend would stay, but I do plan to call her later and see how she's doing. I'm not a complete jerk." Kevin smiled.

"Yeah, I saw a guy who looked like he was hurt, so I came down here. My buddy's back at the tux shop getting his cummerbund arranged or something."

"What happened?"

"The cummerbund was too small."

"No," Kevin laughed again. Who did this guy think he was? Laughy McLaugherton? "What happened with the guy here?"

"Oh - sorry. Yeah, he got picked up and drove away. I guess something's taking care of him."

"Good, I guess."

There was a moment of silence so long it could have been packaged and sold. Awkward turtles crawled around awkward turkeys on the Awkward Farm. It was rough. Finally, Steve spoke up.

"See ya, man."

"Yeah - and Steve?"

"Yeah?"

"Stay the hell away from Jen."

Chapter 72

As Steve stared in the general direction of Alligretti's, thinking, of course, of Jennipher Semmes, he noticed someone walking out of the treeline next to the restaurant. The man (it had to be a man, didn't it?) was limping and clutching his chest. It seemed he was angry about something. Instinctively, Steve took two steps forward, but halted, remembering Gar in the tux shop.

He ducked into the shop, signaled Gar over, and told him he'd be right back. Quickly, Steve went back outside, only to see the mysterious man - now wearing a black fedora to match his black trenchcoat - hail a car and climb inside. Concerned for the man's safety, Steve started toward the car. Before he got close, the car carefully turned out of the parking lot and headed off down the street. Steve found himself alone in Alligretti's parking lot, feeling foolish for thinking this man was in any trouble at all.

"Hey, man."

Shocked by the sound of a voice, Steve turned. Oh frick...it was Kevin, Jen's friggin' boyfriend.

Chapter 71

Gar was taking forver inside the tux shop. Just two days before the prom, he had tried on his tux only to find that the cummerbund didn't fit properly. Incensed, he had raged at the clerk (failing to hear his reassurances that they would make a small adjustment and everything would be fine) until Steve got so fed up he left.

Now outside in the warm spring air, Steve examined his surroundings. To his left - traffic coming down the busy road. Across the street, trees blocked his view of the pricey houses. To his right - best not to think of that now. Steve took out his phone, paging through his contacts to see if he could call anyone to kill time with for five minutes.

Inextricably, though, his eyes were drawn to his right. Alligretti's sign lights came on as he did, whether through divine providence or divine comedy, he didn't know.

Chapter 70

"Why am I dating Kevin instead of you? Well, for starters, he asked!"

"So you would have gone out with me if I had asked?"

"Lance, it's not like that -"

Lance's face was beet-red, and, despite the chilly temperature of the walk-in cooler, he was sweating.

"It's always like that! Guys like me-"

"Listen, Lance. You can stand in here and yell at me all day, but the fact of the matter is this," Jen said, "all of this started because I noticed a change in your voice. I didn't think that was normal, so I asked. I was concerned. But what isn't normal is you acting like a jerk. You're better than this." She stopped for breath, then abruptly said "I need to get back to work."

She left Lance in the cooler, alone with his thoughts.

Chapter 69

After taking a deep breath to calm herself, Jen headed back into the restaurant. Torn between retunring to Kevin (which she wanted to do) and comforting Lance (which she felt she had to do), she mentally flipped a coin and went to find Lance.

"What happened to Lance?" one of the cooks asked, "He came storming in here and went into the walk-in."

Jen mumbled something about how she didn't know and headed in behind Lance.

The walk-in cooler was cold, as one would expect. The floor was filthy, with years of shredded cheese and dirt matted into a kind of perma-crud. Kegs of beer and tubs of cheese lined the left wall. Racks of balled dough and sliced beef occupied most of the right; the back wall was blocked by Lance, who faced away, shoulders shaking.

"Lance, I'm - I'm sorry."

"Is that all you think of me? Just a fat kid who lisps?" he asked, without turning around.

"No! That's not it at all! It's just that you used to lisp and now you don't. I noticed it. That's all!"

"So I'm just a fat kid who used to lisp?"

"No! Lance, you are a sweet guy who works hard and takes care of his friends. You're fun to be around and smart, too."

"So why are you dating Kevin and not me?"

Chapter 68

When nothing had happened for several minutes, Jennipher got nervous. She considered getting Kevin to reassure her (although what form THAT would take kind of embarrassed her), but finally went outside. Lance was standing just outside the door, facing the woods behind the parking lot.

"Lance? What happened?"

"Oh, hey Jen. I set it down, it scratched me - just a little - and kind of half-scampered off into traffic, dragging one if its back legs."

"Not into the woods?" Jen was puzzled. Wild animals usually ran away from civilization, didn't they?

"No. I think it was scared or something. I didn't see what happened when it ran into the street, but I didn't hear anything or see any cars swerve - I think it made it across the street."

"Lance?"

"Yeah?"

"Your lisp - it's gone. Has that ever happened?"

The look that crossed Lance's face demonstrated so much hurt Jen felt stunned by it. He turned wordlessly and stalked back into the restaurant, slamming the door behind him. Jen hurried to catch up.

Chapter 67

Jennipher was flattered. She had never considered herself particularly kind, or intelligent, or beautiful - it always amazed her when others complimented her on something like that.

"Okay, I'll take a look," she said, leaning over the cart.

Immediately she wished she hadn't. Instead of the hairy rat she expected, this one was much slimmer than she expected. The hair could best be described as "patchy" and looked like the rat had seen better days. The trap was holding it pinned down, its paws feebly scratching at nothing. This trap didn't appear to be the first to catch this creature, as scars crisscrossed its body, forming a weird symbol that looked like it belonged tattooed on a jock's bicep.

"It's suffering!" Jen said, horrified.

"Yeah, that'th why we got you. What should we do?"

"Take it outside. Set it free. If it runs off, let it go. If it struggles...it might be kinder to kill it." Jen heard herself saying the words and didn't believe it.

"I got it," Lance said. He reached down and gingerly picked up the whole trap, sickly rat-creature and all. Holding it at full arms' length, he walked out the back door. Jen shut her eyes and listened for the THUMP! that would end the rat's life.

Several minutes passed.

Chapter 66

The area around the dough baller was normally covered with flour. Unused pizza pans sat on the bottom shelves of the stainless-steel tables, with just a hint of disuse on them (although the night before they had, in fact, been used repeatedly for teh weekend rush). A small cart had been wheeled out and the cooks and busboys were standing around it, peering behind.

"Guyth! I brough Jen!"

"What's up?"

"We caught a rat!" Ben exclaimed. He was hopping gleefully back and forth from one foot to another, as though catching a rat were the equivalent of winning a game of "Trivial Pursuit."

"That's gross! Lance, why would you bring me back here for this?"

"It'th juth that...will you take a look at it?"

"No!"

"It's not dead!" one of the cooks said. "We were waiting for you to tell us how to handle it."

"Get it out of here!" Jen was horrified.

"Right - but should we just kill it now - which Ben's in favor of - or do we let it go, knowing that in its wounded state it probably won't survive very long?"

"Why on earth would you ask me?"

The other workers looked at each other.

"Because you're the kindest person we know."

Chapter 65

Work was slow for a Sunday afternoon. Jen was alone in her favorite booth, trying to finish some pre-calc homework (and resisting the urge to ask Lance to do it for her). As she chewed her pencil's eraser and stared at the calculator, willing it to find the correct answer, someone slipped into the booth across from her.

"Kevin!"

"Hey. I knew you'd be bored at work today, so I thought I'd drop by to say hello."

Pre-calculus momentarily forgotten, Jennipher laughed at the sheer joy of having someone who would stop by just to keep her from getting bored. He could be out at the beach or off with his friends, but no - he chose to spend time with her.

"What's so funny?"

"Shouldn't you be at the beach or something?"

"The only reason I ever wanted to go to the beach was to look at girls. And the only girl worth looking at is working at Alligretti's. So I came here."

Wow, Jen thought, he's good.

Oblivious to the moment, the world continued. Lance approached their table, obviously excited.

"Hey Kevin. Jen! Gueth what we just found in the back! Here'th a hint: it got caught in the trap we left behind the dough baller!"

"Lance - is this the sort of thing you should be talking about in the dining room?"

"Oh. No, I gueth not. But you should thee it!"

Jen sighed. "I'll be right back, Kevin."

"Take your time. I'll be here, looking for something rodent-free on your menu." He smiled.

Oh, I am so smitten, Jen thought. This could be a problem.

Chapter 64

POLICE REPORT ARRESTS IN FLOWER GARDENS "INCREASING"

Flower Gardens, a popular park by day, transforms itself by night. Gone are the laughing children, the watchful parents. In their place are amorous teenagers, taking advantges of the seclusion of the area to pursue romantic interludes.

One twentysomething resident, who asked not to be identified by name, said that his high school class had begun calling the area "Deflower Gardens."

Lewd conduct arrests are up from last year's record high. Police put the increasing numbers down to increased police presence in the area.

Beverly Bogner, whose property abuts Flower Gardens, said, "I don't know how much difference the police have really made. It's kind of a joke in the area about what goes on up there. But I have a daughter, and she knows well enough to not go up there after dark - especially with a boy."

Chapter 63

Blake was stunned. To be spared death at this moment, by the Reverend-General herself...strange things were afoot. But an unlikely mission at least gave him a chance to escape a shameful execution...

"I'll do it."

Chapter 62

"...and I wouldn't get his cap. That was it."

"Mr. Blakesly, you know that disregarding an order from an officer of the Holy Army is considered heresy, correct?"

"Yes, your Leadershipness."

"And you are aware that the penalty for heresy is death, correct?"

"Yes."

"In addition, you breached security at my palace, entering my private chambers."

"That's correct." By now Blake could feel the axe at the back of his neck.

"And finally, you drank my personal supply of holy water, slaking your earthly thirst with Eternal Water."

"Yes."

Blake waited for the swish of the axe. Briefly, he wondered how long it would hurt before his brain stopped sending and receiving signals for good. Seconds swum by, and Blake finally peeked out of the corner of his eye.

The guards, apparently as silent in movement as in speech, had left the room. He and Humbot were alone with the Reverend-General.

"Do you want to die, Mr. Blakesly?"

"N-No, your Leadershipness."

"Then I have a mission for you."

Chapter 61

The Reverend-General was terrible and beautiful. She stood a shade over 2 meters tall, her flesh quivering at over 200 kilograms. Pasty-white skin jiggled as she moved, somehow maintaining an aura of majesty. She was naked, of course - clothing only got between the individual and God. (The idea of a nonholy person - much less a Heretic - being naked was revolting, even to Blake. As such, he had showered in his clothes for his entire stay at Sharpin.)

Her hair was set upon her head in the intricacies affected only by the wealthy. As God's steward on Earth, riches were at her command, and it appeared she had taken full advantage of that. Her throne was ornate, elaborate carvings and gems competing for the attention of the lucky viewer. She crossed behind Blake and Humbot, sneering as she did.

Nothing had been said since her comment upon arrival, and the only sounds in the room came from her movement to the throne. As she settled into it, shifting her massive body into a comfortable position, Blake willfully calmed himself down.

"You're the heretic and the android that escaped from Sharpin, aren't you." It was not a question.

"Yes, your Leadershipness."

"Describe your heresy to me."

"I beg your pardon?"

"I'll tell you when to beg!" her voice thundered. "Tell me about your heresy! How did it happen?! What were the circumstances leading up to it? And how did this infernal android come to be involved?"

"I'm not infernal," Humbot robosulked.

Chapter 60

The stone floor of the throne room was extra-hard against Blake's knees. He and Humbot had been trussed like actual animals and held awaiting the Reverend-General. Their only company were two heavily armed guards who, as per regulations, had gotten their tongues cut out as part of service to the Reverend-General.

The room was ornate, as befitting the majesty of the position of Reverend-General. Stained glass windows depicting the miracles performed by previous officeholders adorned the wall. For the more modern palate, synthesized re-enactements of miracles ran on continuous loops in the corners of the room. The ceiling, arched and appropriately gabled (due to advances in gable technology in the 23rd century) was hailed as an architectural marvel, a culmination of centuries of human knowledge and, it was said, divine inspiration.

Relics from previous leaders rested on short marble columns around the room. Locks of hair, finger bones, and even teeth from the long line of distinguished rulers were on display for those few summoned to the throne room for social events. As for those summoned for other reasons...less could be said.

"I can't believe you brought us up into the Reverend General's palace," Blake said from the side of his mouth.

"Blake, I recommend you stop talking. This room has perfect acoustics," Humbot responded.

"Oh, because by talking we're going to get into MORE trouble?"

"That's entirely possible," boomed a voice from behind them.

It was the Reverend-General.

Chapter 59

"Did you get arm-boob?" Gar said.

Steve just smiled.

"Arm-boob from Natalie Rose. Nice."

Steve slid into Gar's car, still smiling like a certain cat from Cheshire. Not the one you're likely thinking of...but a cat that just got some arm-boob.

Chapter 58

In-school suspension had not been the barrel of monkeys Steve had secretly been hoping for. It had been, in fact, exactly the amount of fun that the opposite of a barrel full of monkeys would be. He had finished his classwork for the day with no problems and let his mind wander. During these interludes, the supervising teacher - Mr. Weez, would unfailingly be walking by and not-so-subtly cough, jarring Steve from his reverie.

He was walking out to Gar's car when he heard someone calling his name. He turned and saw Natalie Rose scampering to catch up with him.

"Hey, Natalie."

"Hey, Steve - listen, I really have to thank you for taking the rap for me."

"No, it would have been your third strike here. It's cool. I got a lot of work done today anyway."

"Yeah, but this is probably the first time you've gotten in trouble - you didn't even get an in-school for that fight a few weeks ago."

"Well, it wasn't much of a fight - more of a beating, you know."

"Yeah, that's what I heard. Anyways...thanks." And with that, she tiptoed up and kissed him on the cheek. That, coupled with the feeling of her boobs touching his arm, was thanks enough. Okay - moreso the boob thing, he admitted to himself.

Chapter 57

"Well," Denise tittered, "who sent them?"

"I don't know." Jennipher was baffled. If the person who drove the Audi knew where she worked...who could it be?

Denise snatched the card from her. "Wait, is this about the car a few weeks back?"

"I guess."

"Well, who is it?"

"I don't know!" Jen snapped, a little more harshly than she meant.

Denise didn't notice. "I'll bet it's this guy I know...no, wait, he's in jail. Ooh! What if it's the Colonel?"

"The colonel? No, he's just - " Jen stopped as she remembered how he had stared at her the day of the chase. Could it be?

Chapter 56

"I don't know why you tease him like that," Jen said, still laughing at Lance's abrupt departure.

"It's a gift!" Denise said, turning to the opening door.

A group of people came in, chattering away and rearranging their windswept hair. Denise got up to seat them, leaving Jen alone in the booth. Absently, she swirled her straw in her lemonade and waited for Denise to come back. The door opened again - a delivery man, with a hhhyyyuuuggge bouquet of flowers. (It's a gift!) Jen got up and greeted him.

"I'm looking for a...Jennipher Semmes?"

"I'm Jennipher."

"Here you go, miss."

"Wow! Who sent them?"

"You'll have to check the card," he smiled as she signed her name.

"Thank you!"

Jen took the card out and paused before opening it - and Denise came back.

"Did Kevin get you flowers?" Denise teased.

"I don't know - let me check the card."

She opened the card, breathless for anticipation, wondering what Kevin had written.

The card read:
"Sorry about the Audi. My friend got a little out of control."

There was no signature.

Chapter 55

"So," Denise said, flopping down into the booth next to her, "things are going well with Kevin?"

"They are," Jen smiled, sipping her lemonade, "he's a perfect gentleman. Personally, I'm kind of surprised you know him."

"Ha ha," Denise responded, "not all of the guys I know are jerks. Just the ones I date."

Jen smiled and adjusted her ponytail. These were her favorite times at Alligretti's, when they had just opened and didn't have many customers. They could sit in the corner booth and just relax. People would come and the evening would be busy, but for now...

"Anyways, how's school going? Ready to graduate?"

"I am. I have senioritis to the max."

"To the max? What, are you graduating in 1986?"

"Yes," Jen laughed, "I have traveled back in time to graduate."

A snort behind them broke their reverie. It was Lance, the nerdy busboy.

"Time travel'th impothible! You girlth are crazy."

"Really, Lance?" Denise teased. "Tell us all about it. Here, sit next to me."

Lance sat down. "Well, firtht you thtart with Einthtein, and hith Theory of - Denithe! What are you doing?"

Denise had clapped her hand on Lance's knee and was sliding it slowly upward. Red-faced, Lance got up and raced to the back, his love handles jiggling the entire way.

Chapter 54

Blake tripped forward, expecting a stair that wasn't there. As he picked himself up, shaking his head to clear the figurative cobwebs, he looked around and realized - there was something to look at. Some light peeked through a crack in the wall of what seemed to be a very large room.

"Humbot," he hissed, "where are we?"

Humbot, who had followed him up (although minus the trip-and-fall), shone his headlamps around the room.

"We appear to be in a large room. Elevation shows us as about 3500 feet about the bottom of the staircase. My GPS can't get an exact reading - something seems to be interfering with the transmission."

"Wait, shine your light over there!" Blake said.

Humbot turned, and, in doing so, illuminated a plush couch with a bowl of water next to it. As his mouth screamed for moisture, Blake scampered over, threw himself on the couch and lifted the bowl to drink deep.

"Blake, wait - "

"Stow it, Humbot. I know to just sip until my stomach gets used to it."

"It's not that, it's -"

"And I'm sitting down because my feet hurt. We've just walked up 3500 feet of stairs, or had you forgotten?"

"No, it's -"

The lights went on, momentarily blinding Blake.

"Hey, who's this?" came a new voice. "And what are ye doin' in the Reverend-General's bedchamber? Drinkin' 'er Holy Water?"

Chapter 53

Blake's legs were in agony. The stairs, such a welcome change from the caves they had been navigating, had become their own version of hell. Somewhere around the six-hour mark, Blake began to believe that the stairs were moving and that he and Humbot were making no progress to their goal - whatever that was. Humbot assured him they were still moving upward, though, so they continued.

Their water supply had run out three hours after that, five hours ago. Grimly, Blake had continued. Driven on by the sound of his feet on the stones, the creaking and popping of his knees, and the not-quite-silent sounds of Humbot behind him, he climbed.

Chapter 52

The only light Blake had seen in the past five days had been that of Humbot's head lamps. Humbot had found an underground spring on the second day, and the water they had taken from it was running precariously low.

Blake had been at peace with the idea of death. As a soldier, he had to be. But to die like this, in the dark, under the earth, where his body would never be -

"My toe!"

Blake had stubbed his toe. In the dark, he knelt to find what had caused it. Feeling along the rock, he came to an unnaturally smooth facing of rock. Inching his hand along it, it leveled off, before hitting another smooth facing.

"Humbot! Can I get some light here? I think I've found some stairs!"

Humbot's lights flashed on and sure enough, there were stairs carved into the rock. Stairs meant people had been here, and for people to survive meant water was somewhere around.

"Do we climb, Blake?"

"We climb."

Chapter 51

Steve waited anxiously for Vice Principal Zientarski to continue. When the door had closed behind Natalie, the noted disciplinarian visibly relaxed.

"Mr. Norcutt, I believe you have had a few scrapes with the rules here in the past month or so. Fighting, and now smoking in the courtyard, correct?"

Steve nodded, unable to speak.

"You escaped the fighting incident without formal punishment, is that also correct?"

Again, a nod.

"We can't let that continue, young man. What message does that send to the other students? No, I think...I think a removal of privileges is in order here."

"Sir?"

"There will no be no extracurricular activities for you. No more Superfans at the baseball games, no more prom committee, and...you will not be allowed to attend this year's Prom."

"But sir -"

"Yes, Mr. Norcutt. Did you want to change your story? Maybe let us know whose cigarette was in that can of Pepsi?"

Steve took a deep breath. "No, sir. It was mine."

"I don't believe you at all, Mr. Norcutt. It's disappointing, that you refuse to tell the truth. Perhaps that is, in fact, why are you receiving this punishment. Perhaps the truth would lessen that punishment..." Vice Principal leaned forward, the overhead fluorescent light winking off his bald spot as he did. "Do you value the truth, Mr. Norcutt?"

"I do, sir. I'm taking the blame for the cigarette. It was mine. It was wrong, and I'm sorry."

"Very well. You'll also be serving an in-school suspension for the rest of the day and tomorrow. Coach Rivers, would you escort Mr. Norcutt to the in-school suspension room?"

Coach Rivers wordlessly opened the door and followed Steve out. As Steve walked, eyes down, he failed to notice Jennipher Semmes, hall pass in hand, watch him go.

Chapter 50

Vice-Principal Zientarski's office hadn't changed in twenty years. The same faded diplomas on the wall, the same wood paneling, the same ugly light fixture, the same smell of Student Fear. Zientarski was known as a fierce disciplinarian, a draconian presence with delusions of grandeur, a real...jerk. This was the first time Steve had met him face-to-face.

"Mr. Norcutt, Ms. Rose. Sit down."

Coach Rivers stood behind them, arms folded across his chest. The aura of intimidation each man gave off caused Steve and Natalie to look at the checkered brown carpet (the same checkered brown carpet that had caught the sweat and tears of so many students over the past twenty years).

"What happened, Coach?"

"I caught these two smoking cigarettes in the courtyard at lunch. Mr. Norcutt was holding the Pepsi can," Coach Rivers took it away from Steve and set it on VP Zientarski's desk, "but I believe Ms. Rose was the one smoking."

"I see," Zientarski tented his fingers. "What do you two have to say for yourselves? Ms. Rose, I believe this will be your third strike, is that correct?"

Before she could answer, before he could even think about it, Steve blurted out "It was all me!"

VP Zientarski raised an eyebrow. Was that a trace of a smile on his face?

"How noble, Mr. Norcutt. But I don't think anyone in here believes you've taken up smoking."

"I just started."

"Really?" Coach Rivers' voice grated behind him. "Then you should be able to smoke a cigarette right now without coughing once, shouldn't you?"

"It's illegal to smoke in school, sir."

Now that WAS a smile on Vice Principal Zientarski's face. But not a good smile, not a smile that anyone would ever want to see. This was the smile of a hyena who had come upon am injured zebra. Steve felt all warmth leave his body.

"Ms. Rose, you may go."

Chapter 49

Natalie was in the courtyard after lunch. Steve excused himself from Stoner and Bobby B's conversation (about the benefits of going commando) and headed over to the group she was standing with.

"Natalie - can I talk with you for a second?"

She followed him to a relatively private bench, carrying her Pepsi can. She had pioneered the art of lighting a cigarette, placing it in the can, then twisting the pop-top around to hold the cigarette in place. To the casual observer, it looked like she was merely sipping a soft drink.

Today she was weating a purple tank top with a hint of a suggestion of a possibility of cleavage. A light breeze drew attention to her generous assets, but Steve willfully ignored the new developments and focused on her eyes.

"Hey Natalie - I heard you broke up with that dude."

"Yeah - are you here to pity me?" She took another drag from her concealed cigarette.

"No! I'm here to see what you're doing for prom."

Nataliecough-snorted, sending smoke into the air. "Prom? Me? Seriously?"

"Yeah, why not?"

"I'm not really the prom type of girl, in case you hadn't noticed."

"I will bet," Steve said, "that you look fantastic in a formal gown."

"Are you just asking me because you think you're going to get - oh, crap."

Coach Rivers was coming through the crowds of students, heading straight for them. Without thinking, Steve grabbed the incriminating Pepsi can and held it behind his back.

"Ms. Rose," the coach's gravelly voice sounded terrible, even at lunchtime, "are you smoking out here?"

"No, sir."

"Then perhaps you'd care to explain the cloud of smoke I just saw from over here."

Natalie was silent. Slowly, ever so slowly, Coach Rivers turned his steely gaze on Steve.

"Come with me, both of you. And kindly bring the can you're holding behind your back, Mr. Norcutt."

Thoughts of prom disappeared as Steve followed Natalie and the coach inside.

Chapter 48

Natalie Rose wasn't the type of girl Steve would normally go for, dating-wise. She was tough, hung out with the auto shop kids, had no plans to go to college. She smoked Marlboro Reds and the occasional joint (some said more than occasional). A tattoo of an eagle was attacking her right shoulder blade, and she had gotten into a fight with another auto shop girl (whom she soundly thumped). Natalie had said good-bye to her virginity during freshman year without a second thought. She had been called to the office more than once to get something to wear to cover up her "inappropriate attire." And on one memorable day, she had taken the sweatshirt issued by the school into a home ec room, stolen a pair of scissors, and cut it to the point where the school just had to send her home.

Despite all that, she got along well with Steve. They had been on friendly terms since the eighth grade dance when he had found her throwing up outside the gym. He had helped her clean up and convinced his parents to drive her home. Since then, they hadn't been friends exactly, but they spoke.

She was, not to put too fine a point on it, the opposite of Jennipher Semmes. And that's what Steve needed.

Chapter 47

Steve walked to his locker, still a little embarrassed about being caught daydreaming in class (although, to be fair, he was daydreaming about poetry in English class, so that's probably okay). He switched books, grabbed a piece of gum, and turned around - and almost crashed into Little Kueny.

"Dude!"

"Sorry, bro. Hey, Jonna wants to know how the food plan is coming for prom. She says you haven't been answering your email."

"Yeah, I've been busy. But I did meet with the event planner woman - does that sound like a title? She gave me a price sheet for meals that fits within our budget. We'll be good. It's going to be a baked chicken with some kind of sauce, roasted garlic potatoes, steamed veggies, and some kind of brownie thing for dessert. And before you ask, yes, there are vegetarian options."

"Cool, man. You know, tickets go on sale this Friday." Little Kueny's massive hands dwarved his history book.

"I know, I know - I've been preoccupied. Tell Jonna I'm sorry - I'll do better about communicating with the group."

"Hey, do you have a date for prom yet?"

"Uh..." Steve felt his stomach drop as he considered Jennipher again.

"It's cool, man. Hey, Becky Smart doesn't have a date yet..." Little Kueny fought off a smile.

"Yeah...no."

"Well, neither does Natalie Rose. I'm just saying, is all."

"Really?" Steve was surprised, with a dash of curiosity. "What happened to that guy from the metal band?"

"She caught him cheating. I gotta get to class. Just think about it. I'll catch up with you after school and we'll play some football."

"Laters."

Chapter 46

Steve couldn't keep his mind on Mrs. Kotoly. She was talking about the chapter of "Foundation's Edge" that the class was supposed to have read. Steve had read the book several times, and so was abstractly doodling in his notebook, trying not to think about the state of his love life. But the harder he tried not to think about it, the more he thought about it. Such is the way of the world.

He flipped back to the start of his notebook. It always represented a fresh outlook for him, the pages and pages of possibilities. Notes on different things they had discussed in class, asides in the margins asking his neighbors about different things, and one super-sweet drawing of a stick figure watching paint dry - that had been during a discussion about "Things Fall Apart." Although not much of the book had stuck with him, Steve couldn't forget the poem that had inspired the title. "Turning and turning in the widening gyre; the falcon cannot hear the falconer. Things fall apart; the centre cannot -"

"Steve? Are you with us?"

Steve snapped to attention. The class was focused on him, some with thinly-discuised smiles.

"Sorry."

"Woolgathering a bit?" Mrs. Kotoly was smiling as well.

"Yeah, something like that. I'm back now."

Chapter 45

As night crept over the village, Stares-At-The-Sun stayed in the shadows. Sneaking around the goat pen, he made his way out onto the veldt. It was time for a conference. Time to begin instructing the participants of their roles in the events to come.

Chapter 44

Jennipher woke with a start. As she regained her breath, her mind flashed back to the dream - trapped underground, no hope for rescue. Her only companion badly injured. And a looming sense of dread about a crime she had, in fact, committed.

As she tried to get back to sleep, she thought briefly about calling Kevin to tell him she had a bad dream. Smiling at what his reaction would be, she drifted off again - but not before an image of Steve Norcutt flashed before her eyes.

Chapter 43

It took some doing, but Blake finally got Humbot's leg unpinned.

"What do we do now?" Blake asked, wiping the sweat from his brow.

"My sensors indicate that there is a cave of some sort to our west. The ground there seems smoothed, as though it were a man-made path."

"Shouldn't we stay put?"

"No, Blake. By the time someone got here from Sharpin, you would have starved to death. We will take the man-made path and see if we can find aid."

Blake considered this for a moment. "Lead on. You've got the lights."

Chapter 42

Like a pearl diver surfacing from the depths, Blake came toward consciousness. At least, he thought he did - it was difficult to tell, as there was no light to see by. The throbbing on the back of his head was something, at least, that let him know he was alive.

Methodically, he patted himself down, checking for massive blood flow, broken bones, or exceptionally painful areas. Realizing he was, for the moment, in one piece, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Blake Blakesly...you are well?"

"Humbot? Is that you?"

"It is."

"Are you okay?"

"My leg appears to be trapped under a large rock, but other than that, yes, I seem to be functioning."

"Can you shine your lights?"

"Absolutely."

The air around Blake got perceptibly lighter, and seemed to originate to his left. Feeling his way blindly across the stones, he eventually reached Humbot. True to his word, the android was sprawled on the ground, right leg pinned beneath a boulder.

"Hello, Blake."

"Let's get that rock off of you."

Chapter 41

It was with reluctance that Blake prepared to leave the mine. The haul of luthracite had been instrumental in his receiving double portions of pizza the night before in celebration of the last day of work in that vein. He had sent Humbot out to clear the mine of workers before walling it off, and now waited patiently for his return. As if his thoughts had summoned him, Humbot appeared through the gloom.

"Blake. I have something you need to see."

Puzzled, Blake followed. The glare of his headlamp lit a narrow path. After a few minutes, he asked Humbot where they were going.

"It's just up ahead," Humbot answered.

They finally stopped. There didn't seem to be anything special about it - just a used-up luthracite shaft.

"What's going on, Humbot? Is there something else down here?"

Humbot turned and grinned a terrible android grin. "Hold on, Blake."

And with a tremendous roar, millions of pounds of earth fell on them.

Chapter 40

Steve and Gar walked back in, their sweat mostly dried. Neither said anything as Gar went to the fridge and grabbed two Gatorades, handing one to Steve, who accepted it without looking at it.

They each took long drinks and stared at nothing. Their breathing slowed, and finally - finally! - Steve broke the silence.

"What are the odds?"

Gar snapped back, "What are the odds of us being tied? Or what are the odds of my shot to win the game interrupted by a group of kids on those stupid rollerskate shoes getting into a huge crash in front of the house? Or the odds that when we come back from checking on them, the ball has gone mostly-flat and my one desperation heave knocks down the backboard, which massively dents the roof of my car? Which one?"

Steve paused. "I guess all of them."

"What's the highest number you can think of?" Gar raged. "Now double THAT to one and you've got the odds against all those happening at once!"

"Sorry about your car, man."

Gar sighed, a long, watermelon ice-scented exhale. "It's not your fault, man. It just sucks. I'm just sorry I still have to listen to you whine about Jen."

"I guess I still don't know if she's my destiny, huh?"

"Looks that way, man."

Chapter 39

Steve paused, stuffed basketball in hand.

"Am I a bad person?"

"That doesn't rhyme at all." Gar said, absently.

"Seriously, man. She's allowed to see whoever she wants, right? So why should it eat me apart inside?"

"Because you're mostly a woman?"

"It's going to be like that? I'm dying here, man."

"Yes, it's going to be like that," Gar considered what he had written, then erased a large part of his poem.

"I just don't want to be a jealous jerk."

"You're not jealous."

"Huh?"

"Yeah, you're envious. For jealousy you have to possess something and then lose it. Envy is when you want something that someone else has. You're basically coveting."

"Shut up."

"You shut up, you envious jerk. There. The poem's done. Let's go shoot some hoops."

"All right."

"Hey," Gar turned back to face Steve, "if you beat me, you're fated to win her heart."

"By prom night?"

"By prom night."

"Sounds like it's up to fate, then."

"No no - when I win, I don't want to hear anything more about Jennipher Semmes. Deal?"

"Deal."

"Right."

Chapter 38

Steve was on the floor. He lay on his back, throwing a stuffed basketball (won at the Freedom Festival a few years ago) at the ceiling. Gar was in his office chair, ostensibly working on his physics homework.

"What rhymes with Gewrzyn?"

"What?"

"Do you think 'newer son' would work?"

"Are you writing a poem for your physics teacher?"

"Yeah. I can't figure out these last two problems, so I figured I'd blatantly suck up."

"Nice."

Chapter 37

Blake smiled as he watched his new vein of luthracite being carted to the surface. Everything was going smoothly, and he could almost forget he had been in Sharpin for two months. As he signalled Humbot to take him to the surface, he heard a brief sound. A groaning of the support pillars, the weight of the Earth settling above his head. Aware that this was normal yet still disquieted, Blake headed to the exit of the mine.

Chapter 36

"Um, dude?" Stoner went on, under his breath, "Are you going to get in a fight? Because maybe we should have kept our clubs. I mean, you did get beat down by Christian like two weeks ago."

"I'm not going to fight. I just want to see this guy."

"Okay, but if you fight...throw coffee in his face first."

They walked across the parking lot of the Arcaditorium to the Starbucks patio. Steve examined Jen and her date without seeming to. He didn't seem to be anything special - thoroughly average. Annoyance grew, as Steve and Stoner walked to the counter without Jen noticing. After ordering their drinks, Steve turned around and feigned surprise.

"Jen?"

"Steve! How are you?"

"Great. How's it going?"

"It's good. This is Kevin. Kevin, this is my friend, Steve. And back there is his friend, Stoner."

"How's it going, man?" Ugh. Steve hated everything about this "Kevin." Especially his stupid voice.

"It's going. Stoner and I were just over at the Arcaditorium."

"Really?" Kevin smirked. "Are you junior high kids on a date?"

Jen laughed and so did Steve - although a little louder than would have been appropriate.

"This guy's funny. Good thing, with a mug like that. No, his girl works there and he wanted to see her. Plus, you know. Free mini golf."

Jen sensed the dynamic and paused, unsure of how to continue. Kevin broke the silence.

"We'll see you, Steve."

"Yeah. It was good meeting you, Ken -"

"Kevin."

"Sorry. Good meeting you, Kevin, see you, Jen."

"Bye."

Steve walked away, seething. In his head, he knew that Jen wasn't his, but to see her with anyone else made his heart drop into his stomach and splash acid all over his insides.

Chapter 35

...the initial wave of nausea passed. Steve was not going to throw up - not now, at least.

"Let's finish the round," he gritted.

The rest of their round went quickly - Stoner didn't even spend time lining up his shots. They played through a group of eleven year-olds without asking - the kids didn't even protest, as they had caught the heat baking off Steve without trying. At the eighteenth hole - the chance to win a free game - Stoner took Steve aside.

"What are you going to do?"

"I don't know," Steve answered. "I feel like I need to go talk with her. I mean, she's allowed to talk with other guys, right? We're not together, and even if we were, it's her life, but...I think I'm most upset because...did she lie to me about prom?"

"Okay. Let's go over."

They returned their clubs to Stoner's girlfriend at the counter and headed over to pretend to be surprised by Jen and her date.

Chapter 34

"Juads Priest, Stoner, will you hit the ball already?"

"Miniature golf is a game of precision, Steve. Precision and perfection. And you can't rush either." Stoner said. Then, after a brief pause, hit his putt. He and Steve both watched it roll, bounce off the corner board and ease its way down the ramp. There it struck one of the pylons and rolled gingerly toward the hole. It paused, then fell in for a hole-in-one.

"You can't rush it, man." Stoner smirked.

Steve rolled his eyes and set his ball down. Friday nights at The Wild West Mini-Golf-And-Go-Kart Arcaditorium were not the best place to hang out (unless you were a junior high kid on a group date, he notes, looking around), but Stoner's girlfriend always let them golf for free, so...here they were. Thinking about perfection and precision, Steve lined up his shot.

"Hey, isn't that Jennipher Semmes over there?"

Ha ha, Steve thought, I will not be swayed by Stoner's Jedi Mind Tricks.

"With some dude?"

Steve couldn't help it. He looked up as he swung, sending the ball careening nowhere near the hole. But yes, at the Starbucks next door, Jen and some dude were sitting outside, laughing together. Steve's stomach dropped and he felt bile rising in the back of his throat. Oh, throwing up would not make Stoner's girlfriend happy...

Chapter 33

The mines were lit by the occasional glowstick; their eerie yellow light caused strange shadows on the walls as Blake and Humbot descended. They passed few other people (or androids). Blake did his best to put the facts that they were a) under thousands of tons of rocks and b) expendable (as heretics and discarded androids who occasionally lapsed into hypertext would be).

"The report states that there is a lode of luthracite up ahead, Blake. However, there is no easy way to get there."

Blake considered. Recovering some luthracite would earn them both extra time in the yard, and possibly the respect of the other heretics.

"Let's go for it," he said.

Chapter 32

Ever since the Android Incident from two years' previous, the heretics had been forced to unload any shipments of androids that arrived at the Work Camp. Blake and the other shunned prisoners worked swiftly, not giving the guards any chance to use their brainstingers. It was the third crate he opened - an android like any other. Humanoid in appearance, distinguishable by its lack of belly button and inability to use inflection in its voice. Brown hair, realistic enough. Blake got his clipboard ready.

"Name?"

"Humbot." The droid pronounced it hyoom-bot.

"Occupation?"

"Adventurer."

"Any known defects?" Blake was bored.

"I occasionally lapse into hypertext when I speak. This has caused damages in courtroom settings. As such, I was marked as defective and sent here."

"Hypertext, huh? No one's used that for a long time." Blake was, despite himself, intrigued.

"I am aware of this. Such are my sins."

"Humbot, could you speak some hypertext now?"

"I certainly could. 'When placing pearls before swine, make sure the pigs won't eat them.'"

Blake frantically looked around to ensure no one had overheard. "A saying from the East? Keep that quiet around here."

"Certainly. What may I call you?"

"My name is Blake Blakesly."

"We are well-met, Blake Blakesly."

Chapter 31

Life at Sharpin slipped into a routine, comfortable only in its familiarity. Shunned by the "mainstream" prisoners, the heretics had the worst jobs and least "free" time of any convicts. They had dangerous assignments in the mines, dangerous missions on the roof, and dangerous assignments in the toiletrooms. Guards were slow to break up fights among the rest of the convicts, but if the heretics scuffled, the guards were quick to break it up, using violence more cavalierly than the prisoners ever could.

A supply of androids in disrepair arrived after about three months. Blake Blakesly didn't know it, but this would have serious consequences on his life.

Chapter 30

Jen was stunned. Of all the surprises she expected from Denise...well, a prom date would have been in the top twenty. It was just stunning that Denise would spring this guy on her here, after a long day of working the steam table. Jen self-consciously ran her hand through her hair, turning her head to surreptitiously make sure she didn't have anything in her teeth.

"Are you ready to meet him?"

"Seriously? I'm gross."

"Oh, you're fine. Come on in, Kevin."

And come on in he did. Jennipher was prepared for a greasy slacker in a black concert T-shirt and torn jeans; Kevin was not greasy, but had on a plain black T-shirt and faded jeans - no rips. He wasn't ugly, but he wasn't gorgeous either. Thoroughly average.

"Hi. It's nice to meet you."

Jen stuck her hand out automatically. "Nice to meet you."

"I'll let you two get to know each other," Denise said, with a smirk and a wink, and disappeared back into the restaurant.

"So..."

"So..."

"I'm sorry she sprang me on you like this." Kevin said, hands shoved in his pockets.

"It's okay. But here's the thing - it's not that I need a prom date. It's that...I'm just not going, okay?"

"That's cool. But would you maybe want to go out sometime...not to prom? Just out for coffee or something?"

Jen considered it. "Sure."

Chapter 29

It had been a long day. The steam table had been busy all night, the waitresses had been extra-touchy, and the cooks didn't stop their game of "Kill, Do, or Marry" the entire time. Fortunately, Jen finished at 8:30 and had plans to go home and take a long shower to wash the restaurant smell off of her.

"Hey Denise - I'm out of here."

"Two-shoes! You need to stick around for, like, ten minutes - your surprise is on its way."

"Denise - I don't know. I've had a really long night, and I just want to go home."

"Come on, Jen - this is for you."

"Fine. I'll grab a lemonade - I'll be in the break room."

"And Jen - not to build it up too much, but this could be the best surprise you've ever gotten."

"I'm sure it will." Jen said, unconvincingly.

As she walked through the kitchen to get her lemonade, she tried to ignore the cooks' conversation ("Okay, okay: kill, do, marry: Tina Fey, Princess Leia, and the Hamburglar." "I'd kill Princess Leia for betraying the Empire, do Tina Fey because I love the glasses, and I'd marry the Hamburglar." "The Hamburglar? Really?" "Yeah - he seems like a good provider."). She did not succeed in ignoring the conversation.

TEN MINUTES LATER, IN THE BREAKROOM:

"Jen! Your surprise is here. I got you a prom date!"

Chapter 28

Jen pffffed her hair out of her face as she considered the order tickets in front of her. Two beef sandwiches for a delivery, 4 orders of breadsticks (and two orders of cheesy garlic bread) for dine-ins, and an order of cheese sticks for one of the busboys. Didn't anyone come to a pizza restaurant for pizza anymore?

"Hey Jen," Denise called as she breezed by.

"Hi Denise." Okay, the cheese should be melted on the garlic bread by now.

"Hey, are you all right? I heard you got pulled over a few nights ago."

"I'm fine - can we talk later? I'm slammed right now."

"Sure." Denise smiled. "I have a surprise for you."

"What is it?"

"It's a surprise."

Chapter 27

The guard led Blake down the long hallway to the Trial Room. Silence followed his steps like a wave, as even other prisoners shunned a heretic. Murderers, thieves, Drug-Drug addicts...all turned away. None of the jeering or spitting that other prisoners got - just the silence of shunning.

The door opened into the Trial Room and Blake almost stumbled. The lights were unbelievably bright compared to the cells he had been in for the past month. The steps leading to the center of the room were cut short - a reminder that no matter how high a human placed himself, all differences were insignificant when compared to the All-Powerful.

"This Notification of Trial is called to order." The bailiff was a small man with a weak chin. His skin, the color of old furniture - the kind made of natural wood - was stretched unnaturally tight behind his ears. Presumably, he had been to a Weight Rehabilitation Camp and served his time. The stack of files on the table to his left was over a meter high. The massive calendar book in front of him was pristine and full of writing.

"Sergeant Blake Blakesly, this convening of the court serves to notify you that you will be held without trial for a period not exceeding eighteen months."

"That's it? I don't get to present my defense?"

"Your defense will be presented at Trial. Until then, you are remanded to a work crew in Sharpin."

"Sharpin? But that's -"

"That will be all. You have been notified of your trial. This Notification of Trial is over."

Blake fumed as he was led out. Already, the bailiff had moved on to his next file. Heretics could be held for eighteen months without trial, could they? Sharpin may be notorious for the premature deaths of its prisoners, but Blake knew he could escape. Now, to think of a plan...

Chapter 26

Blake was awaiting Notification of Trial. He had been moved from his private cell to a shared cell. Three other criminals were also waiting for their Notification - an older man in for Robocide, a Punk in for General Conduct Violations, and another Heretic - James Jameson.

"What are you looking at? Shouldn't you be shunning me?" Jameson sneered.

"Are heretics supposed to shun other heretics?"

"You're a heretic?" Jameson seemed surprised. "I had you figured for a military man."

"I am. Was. We'll see how this trial goes."

Jameson laughed, a snortle that chilled Blake's heart.

"What's so funny?"

"I think it's cute that you believe you have a chance of recovering from a heresy charge."

"Why? The Reverend-General gives everyone a fair hearing. That's part of our system."

"Let me ask you this, soldier. Have you ever heard of anyone being found innocent of heresy? Ever? Have you ever heard about anyone receiving their Reptions for false accusation? Ever seen someone be unshunned?"

Blake thought on this - no one had ever been unshunned, had they? As Jameson continued to giggle, a guard came to the door of their cell.

"Blakesly - you're up."

Chapter 25

"That was close."

"I know - if he had died..."

"I don't even want to think about what it would have done to us."

"Us? What about the rest of the world?"

"You're right. I need to get back now."

"See you when I see you."

"That's coming up, isn't it?"

"Bye."

"Bye."

Chapter 24

When Steve came to, the first thing he saw was Vice Principal Rodriguez's some-would-say-oversized nose. Beyond that, he saw the high ceiling and smelled the antiseptic clean of the nurses' office.

"What happened?" he rasped.

"We were wondering if you could tell us, Steve." Vice Principal Rodriguez was all concern.

"Christian was attacking Bobby B, so I..."

"Threw a punch?"

Steve remained silent, focusing on drawing breath. Who knew that being choked into unconsciousness would hurt so much when you woke up?

"Steve? Did you throw a punch?" There was an edge of anger underneath the concern.

"Yes, ma'am. It was all I could think to do."

"You could have called for a teacher."

"I should have."

"And when a teacher came, you kicked him."

"What?"

"You kicked Herr Cottle in the face. He's okay, probably going to have a fat lip, but it is technically assault."

"What?" Steve's surprise dissolved into a fit of coughing. When it cleared, Vice Principal Rodriguez had a small smirk on her face.

"Don't worry, young man. Herr Cottle realizes it was an accident and isn't going to press charges. But there is the small matter of your punishment. Now, Nurse Kats is going to keep you here for observation for the rest of the day. She's also going to recommend you take the next three days off from school."

"I'm suspended?"

"I don't want a suspension to go on your record. But I can't let the other students think you got off without punishment. Having you not around for three days will be enough for them to think you've been suspended, unless you disabuse them of that notion, in which case, yes, a suspension will go on your record."

"Is Bob okay?"

"He's fine. Now get some rest. If you need anything, Nurse Kats is in the next room. I'll see you after three days."

"Bye."

"Feel better, Steve."

Chapter 23

Blake Blakesly was nursing his daily allotment of Parafruit Juice. It was the closest thing to happiness he had experienced during his two months in confinement. The guards who served his meals wouldn't speak with him, gave no sign they heard him when he spoke. That was the way with heretics. They were to be shunned.

Chapter 22

As Steve helplessly watched his fist sail past Christian's chin, time sped up. Specifically, the time it took Christian's knee to drive into Steve's gut. After that it was a bit of a race - his breath leaving him or the pain pulsing through his body. (The race ended in a tie.)

Shockwaves of sound brought Steve back to his senses. Students rushed to watch the disassembling of someone who tried to take on Christian Davis. Bobby B tried to help from his knees, but Christian's Doc Martens' took care of that, snapping a sharp kick and bloodying Bob's nose.

Christian's right hand tightened around Steve's throat. Unable to regain his breath, Steve saw the black creeping in at the edge of his vision and knew he was about to pass out. With a last burst of energy, Steve kicked out and caught a solid mass of flesh with his foot.

"That will show him," Steve thought, as he slipped into unconsciousness.

Chapter 21

Steve watched from outside himself as he threw the first punch of his life that he had truly meant. Time slowed; he watched the veins in his wrist bulge, watched the skin in the crook of his elbow stretch. He noticed his thumb and wondered if it should be outside or inside his fist. He thought about the movie "Fight Club" and if this was the first step on a long and dangerous journey.

Unfortunately, he should have been watching and thinking about Christian, who had taken half a step back.

Chapter 20

It was supposed to be an easy day at school. A nice Friday before Spring Break, a nice afternoon watching movies in class instead of doing work. Of course, when you're friends with someone like Bobby B, nice days have an unfortunate way of ending...not so nice.

"What did you say, punk?" the student in front of his was Christian Davis. His perfectly styled hair reflected the fluorescent lights in the hallway. Christian was the type of person that cheated on everything. Classes, girlfriends, the pot he sold. He was, in short, a douchenozzle.

Unfortunately, his left forearm held Bobby B by the neck against a locker. Also unfortunately, no teachers seemed to be monitoring the situation.

"I said those girls were peaches. You must have misheard me." Bobby B eked out.

"Maybe I didn't mishear you. Maybe you want to get beat down."

Steve looked around - still no teachers. (Do I hit him?)

"Hey!" Steve said. (I should have punched him. Dang.)

"What do you want? You want to watch your friend get beat down?"

"I want you to let him go. Everyone knows he's got a big mouth."

"That's true." Bobby B said, and was slammed into the locker again, then Christian let him go and turned to Steve.

"Maybe I should beat you down."

"No no - don't feel obligated." Steve immediately regretted his words.

Without warning, Christian drew back and swung. His fist collided with Steve's jaw, sending him spinning and down to one knee. As Christian laughed, Steve focused on his hand. Without any signal from his brain - in fact, ignoring the signals telling him to walk away, his fingers curled into a fist.

"Oh my God," he had time to think, "I'm the George McFly to Christian's Biff!"