Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Date Published: 01-06-2024
Publisher: 44th Morning LLC
Meanwhile, recruited by the grandchildren of her forgotten friends, Susie confronts a murder investigation intertwined with her purloined past and teams up with a private eye to unravel a perplexing link between her stolen recollections and a man who taunted her nearly a century prior. Racing against the possibility of total memory loss, Susie and the detective navigate time and space to follow a lead and venture into the future of an alternate Earth.
Susie’s quest intertwines self-discovery, justice, and a high-stakes race into a tangled web bridging past, present, and parallel worlds.
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Chapter 1: Misty Susie’s Detached Memories
August 17, 2050
Midnight in a cemetery on the outskirts of
Tucson.
“ALL
THESE DEAD PEOPLE,” SUSIE said to no one. “I didn’t kill any of them.”
Flashlight in hand, she aimed the beam toward one of the graveyard’s older
sections. “Scratch that. I see three headstones for guys I murdered. Hmm.
I thought the caporegime had them buried in Phoenix. In fact … I know I have
three dead guys there. Just not the same fellows.”
Soon,
the illumination carried across a tombstone bearing a more recent date. “Sacha
Fitzpatrick Ahern. The last of my Earthling friends. Gone at ninety-one years
of age. You lived a long, full life. Why’d you have to leave me?”
Did she
expect an answer? There wasn’t any other human around, living or deceased.
Trilling insects, yes, and maybe a fox or coyote.
During
the act of transferring the lantern from one hand to the other, the light
weaved over something which made her perform a double-take. She held the torch
firmly by the handle, scoffing as it poured across the anthropomorphic form.
“A
full-sized granite angel. Wings, too. Nice.” Spotting a bronze bench located in
front of the statue, she eased down upon it. “Me in the presence of a carved
occupant of heaven. Who’d’ve thunk it? Let me introduce myself. Oh, yeah, I do
talk to myself and inanimate objects a lot. More than I do people.” She quickly
patted the figure’s forever-praying hands. “Are you asking something from God
or me? Ha! Not a lot I can give you. How about a fast rundown of who I
am? Good, because it’s all I got time for.
“I’m
Susie Drake. I was born in 1902. Yep, I’m one hundred and forty-eight years
old, and I don’t look much older than twenty-one. My parents had powers. I
inherited some myself. Besides being almost immortal, I’m practically
impervious to harm, can manipulate people’s will and memories by touching them,
run short distances very fast, and am very strong. My pops was a nutcase. He
killed my mom and almost done me in. In the aftermath, I had memory problems
for a long time.
“What
does someone with a face compared to a long-ago actresses do for a living?
Model? Act? Not I! Assassin! It became my profession for half a decade or so
before I met some people whose kind ways changed me. This led to my working for
the government, doing greater good stuff.
“Later,
I wander into a war between my friends and an army of alien wizards. It’s a
battle unknown by ninety-nine percent of the world at the time—the 1970s. Not
long after the fighting ended, I became a soldier of fortune. Many times, I
used my strength and speed to save people, tampering with their recall, as I
don’t want publicity. Make that … didn’t want publicity.”
Drake
directed a shimmer at Ahern’s resting spot. “My late friend testified before
Congress about the secret war after being the first to publish a book on the
subject. The Joint Chiefs reluctantly backed her story, and then all hell broke
loose. Uh, sorry, all heck broke loose. By then, all but a few of my
friends’ children survived, except for some exceptional off-world pals and
myself. The press hounded me, made me a superstar. Poor me, yeah.
“Tiring
of the attention, I traveled incognito into most every country before receiving
an invite from Sacha. She and her hubby have a guesthouse, and would I like to
stay? Indeed, I did for seven years … until she passed six months after him.”
Rising,
she paced the ground between her and the sculpture. “What do I do now? On her
deathbed, Sacha recited the same ol’ lecture. Make new friends. Understanding
others, she insisted, will make me understand myself better. Sweet old gal she
was, but I already know me as best as I ever will. I. Don’t. Make. New.
Friends. Very. Well. Too much trouble.” Susie halted, moving her face close to
the stone object. “You’re stuck in mid-prayer. Pray me an answer. I need one.”
Drake
scanned the night sky. A shooting star streaked diagonally before burning out
above the angel’s head. Rather than admit grief overwhelmed her, Susie
interpreted the meteor’s movement as a sign.
Nose to
nose with the stone spirit, she attempted communication. “You got an answer to
the prayer, didn’t cha? Tell me. What do I do now?”
Silence
… until something clicks.
“E’tatanya!
Of course. She’s an Exile. I’ve been in exile from living for years. I know
another Exile whose name is Angel. It all fits!”
PEANUT
BUTTER CRACKERS, BEEF JERKY, and vanilla cream soda, Susie had stocked her
cooler with these snacks. Seated at a picnic table on the outskirts of Lambly
Lake, twenty-two miles northwest of Kelowna, British Columbia, she finished a
package of beef links. The sun’s reflection on the water added a halo around a
green-haired woman who sparkled from the ether into reality.
Susie
burped after sipping the soft drink. “’Bout damn time you showed. Why didn’t
you meet me at Bunyan’s Flapjack Restaurant like we
agreed? Y’know, I worked there for a short time back in the 1960s.”
Both
hands rested firmly on the newcomer’s hips. “Everyone in town, including the
tourists, knows you worked there. There’re photos of you plastered on
the wall. Journalists and opportunists scour the forests searching for
Lointain. They harass older Kelowna families rumored to be the Exiles’ allies
and trample the protected forests looking for a world they can’t possibly see.
Sacha’s confessional books altered all of our lives.”
In the
early 1800s, the Exiles had begun inhabiting a magically manufactured floating
world above the woodlands outside Kelowna, invisible to the eyes of Earthlings.
These once prosperous inhabitants of a farther-away realm had provoked its
ruling class by seeking eternal life (only partially achieved) and revealing
their planet’s existence to Earth (accomplished centuries later via Sacha’s
testimony). To keep the forced expatriates mum on where they had originated
from and other cult secrets, a spiritual patriarch had placed a curse on the
Lointainians. Every few years, demons and unimaginable creatures attacked the
colony as a reminder to the citizenry to maintain secrecy. These skirmishes had
produced injuries and property damage, but seldom any deaths. Both the
atmosphere inside the fabricated globe and the elixir for near-immortality
instilled a variety of powers in its residents, providing an edge over the
bizarre invaders.
“You
know there’s no longer a curse on Lointain. My long-dead friends ended it for
you. Don’t worry about the news media and other thrill-seekers; they’ll never
get past the false entrances and other wussified decoys.” She bared her teeth
then eased up on the bitterness. “Sacha passed away. She won’t cause you any
more harm.”
Relaxing
her arms, E’tatanya cocked her head. “I’m sorry about Sacha. She was your final
mortal connection with a bygone age. You do still have others who care about
you. Forgive me my petty concern about annoying outsiders. I’m not accustomed
yet to the changes in my people’s outsider status.”
Drake
patted the wooden plank on which she sat, long legs stretched outside the
table. “Come sit. I have two favors to ask.”
After
tying her emerald hair into a wavy ponytail, E’tatanya positioned herself a
half-foot from Susie. “I hope you request my transporting you into Lointain.
There are many who long for your company again.”
“Listen
to me.” Drake leaned an elbow on the table, adding a civilized, “Please.” After
a pause, she continued, “Tell everyone … I said hello. It’ll have to do.
First favor: I want you to send me to another world, dimension—whatever.
Somewhere not very populated. A place in dire need of help. A job which’ll take
a long time finishing. You know all the sorcery stuff. Should be easy, right?”
“I’m not
a sorceress. I’m a healer, a shamaness. I don’t dabble in the dark arts.
Contradictory as it may sound, I do what I do in the name of Jesus Christ.”
Serious-eyed, she added, “I can do as you ask. I know the perfect place. Let me
explain it.”
E’tatanya
resituated her body on crossed legs. “Nearly three million persons currently
dwell on the old planet. Over a hundred times, many died when a spaceberg
collided with the world. I’m alluding to a living galaxy-iceberg, or Galacteeq.
Normally, these creatures splat on a globe and birth one frozen tundra. Here,
after decimating a majority of the population, it created two living polar
shelves; a huge one in the north, a smaller one just above the equator. Alive,
yes, and both create a thick, unbroken ring around the sphere. Baby Berg is
moving ever so slightly north to join its buddy. Unfortunately, the human
survivors are stuck in the dry plains between the monsters and will end up
squashed no matter where they venture.”
“Teleport
the people over the ice. There’s your solution. You Exiles exceed at it.”
“Only
certain powers work on this world. Teleportation is not one of them.”
“How do
you plan on taking me there if teleporting doesn’t work?”
“A
three-seat spaceship, given to Lointain by a world in another dimension. I
worked there as an exchange shamaness.”
“Okay.
Can’t they use explosives and blow a hole through Baby Berg? How wide is it?”
“At its
narrowest point, thirty-five miles. That section is also the most jagged with
high- velocity winds. Even if munitions worked, I couldn’t do it. These shelves
are living beings. They aren’t hostile. They seek survival like all of us.
Another reason is just as important. To strike against them, separate or
together, they would release a toxic gas for defensive purposes. The poison
would wipe out thousands of natives. I can communicate with Baby Berg
telepathically, gaining its trust—Galacteeqs are
peaceful when not provoked. What I propose you do is lead parties over its
flattest region, a length of forty-four miles.”
“If you
can speak with it, tell it to stop moving or have one or both shelves back up.
They’ll meet eventually.”
“I tried
negotiating those points and failed. The smaller piece will slow its pace if it
detects us transporting people.”
Susie
snorted. “If the Baby burps, it’ll swallow us, right? Okay, seriously, how will
we travel? We’ll need traction cleats, ice axes, special harnesses, yada, yada,
yada. You got all that prepared?”
“The
human leader will provide everything you need. You and those crossing with you
will ride inside procophants. They’re like a combination kangaroo and elephant. Each can tote four
people and adequate supplies inside their pouch. Resistant to cold, they have
cleated feet, can detect ice cracks miles away, and leap onto safe formations.
On the downside, only ten of these intelligent animals have given their cooperation
for the transport. They only jump when necessary, so don’t force them. I
mention this because they travel slowly. Forty people, including yourself, out
of a few million at thirty-five miles one way. You said you wanted a job
‘long-time finishing.’ This is it.”
“Intelligent
ice, intelligent procophants. I like bossing around dummies. Who are the
dummies on planet … whatchacallit?”
“Planet Ouspenskrankyla.
Breathable air. Nice people, not dummies. When you show up, Susie, they will be
in awe of you. The Ouspenskrankylaians have only one race, one culture. Each
person is amber-skinned and white-haired. One look at you, and they’ll beg to
obey.”
Tapping
her foot, Susie exhaled. “I don’t want fans. Guess I’ll have to whip ’em into
shape. I’m definitely in, no matter how long it takes.” Hiding a grin, she
said, “Ouspenskrankyla, huh? You chose a world with
the word ‘kranky’ in it. Did you pick it on purpose as a reference to my
personality or was it merely a Freudian slip?”
The
near-immortal blinked, never certain how to deal with her friend’s always
off-kilter disposition. “It’s ‘kranky’ with a ‘k’. You needn’t search for
hidden implications that don’t exist. I’ll write it off as part of your grief.
So, what’s the second favor you ask?”
Hesitation
mounted a skirmish across Susie’s face before she found the words. “I want
certain memories severed. Not eliminated, just stored away. I know you can do
it. You’ve told me so yourself. If I could do it correctly with the memory
adjustment part of my suggestive power, I would. But it’s too tricky using it
on myself.”
E’tatanya
turned her head in the lake’s direction, biting her lip, wishing she hadn’t
been open with Drake regarding her skills. Then, facing her companion, she
said, “I know what you’re asking pertains to the deaths of your friends. The
simpler, easier approach would be making new ones. Like it or not, people feel
drawn to you.”
“New
friends who’ll live and die while I won’t age an iota. I know I gotta face
those facts and start over. First, I need a break from the grief.” The former
assassin stood, kicking at the ground. “It won’t be forever. Remove
remembrances of specific people while I’m away. You gotta admit, it’s not
everybody who’s forced to live beyond the lives of their friends and their
friends’ children.”
“Withdrawing
recollections can alter your personality. You were once a very violent person.
I don’t want you reverting back to her.”
“I’ll
keep the proper reminders so that it won’t happen. I’ve made a list of who
stays, which is everyone I’ve murdered, and who goes, namely all my friends.”
From a satchel on her motorbike, she removed a pad of paper, handing it to the
Exile. “I’ve thought this over for months now. I’m not changing my mind.”
The
healer read the names to herself. She knew Susie well enough to know arguing
represented a waste of breath. “I’m very much indebted for your agreeing to
help the Ouspenskrankylaians. I had no other option regarding their relocation.
Assisting them across the berg and remaining long enough for their
resettlement will pay for the second favor. I’ll check in on you now and then.
When you’re ready again for Earth, I insist on restoring your memories.”
“No
problem. Where will you store them?”
“There
exists a universe which, when first formed, projected massive-sized cliffs
alongside a steep, congruous galaxy. Quite unique. The planets within are very
small, all uninhabited, each orbiting its miniature sun with a singular bluff.
I’ve claimed one for a storage facility and a place to practice any magic I
shouldn’t attempt on Lointain. I’ll keep your remembrances there, inside one of
the enchanted pouches I always carry with me.”
“All you
had to say was somewhere far away. When will you remove the memories and when
do we leave for Ouspenskrankyla?”
“Now and
immediately after. Have a seat. It won’t take long. Though I must warn you
about something.”
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