On Love, and Life (After Death) - PART IV

[truthtruthlie]

Ryan woke with a start.  His dreams were making less and less sense and he was getting headaches from them.  He sighed and rolled over, and could hear music pouring from within the house.  It sounded vaguely familiar.  He listened to them for awhile, revelling in the comfort it provided, until his eyes started to slide shut again.

“Ry?” He heard Brendon ask from the bunk above.

“Mm,” Ryan responded.  “You’re awake?”

“I’ve been thinking,” Brendon’s face appeared over the edge of the bed.  “If I’m going to find the People in Charge I’m going to have to keep looking.  I’m not gonna find them here.”

Ryan nodded.  “Yeah,” Ryan focused on a point beyond Brendon.  “I think I have to look elsewhere for Keltie, too.”

Brendon nodded solemnly.  He paused and music filled the room again.  “We can’t wait on Pete forever,” he said sadly.

They sighed simultaneously and Brendon rolled out of sight.  Ryan stared at his mattress and considered dozing off again, when he heard the front door bang and someone shouting.

“I found him!  I found him!  I saw Gerard!”

Ryan scrambled out of bed, Brendon close behind him.  They joined Lindsey and another camper named Kitty on the stairs.  They discovered Pete and Ashlee had greeted Jimmy, and were trying to get him to calm down, to no avail.

“The Oracle!  He’s with the Oracle that’s on the other side of the mountain!” Jimmy was shouting.  More campers descended from their rooms.

Lindsey gripped Ryan’s arm and looked sad.  “The Oracle?” She asked.

“Yes!  There are all these people there, to see all the attractions and witness the miracle she’s going to perform tomorrow!”

Kitty asked, “What sort of attractions?”

“All these people are performing the ways they killed themselves!  It’s all so dramatic,” Jimmy was still unable to catch his breath.

“That is seriously fucked up,” another camper named Steve called from the kitchen.  “And who the fuck cares that she’s performing a shitty miracle?”

“Not like our miracles!” Jimmy called back.  “A planned, significant miracle!”

Brendon appeared and handed Jimmy a glass of water, which he drank in several gulps, ignoring Lindsey’s panicked questions about Gerard.

“Gerard’s fine,” he replied after finishing the drink and taking a dramatic pause.  “He likes it there, and says he won’t come back.”

“No!” Lindsey gasped in horror, letting go of Ryan and covering her mouth. Her tone changed from horrified to determined as she announced that she was driving to the Oracle’s camp that exact moment.

“I only know how to get there on foot,” Jimmy said.

“Well, how far is it?” Lindsey asked.  Ryan saw the perfect opportunity to leave the camp, and quickly glanced at Brendon, and they nodded.

“I’m not sure, I got lost.  But five, six hours, I’d say.” Jimmy replied.

“All right.  First thing in the morning.” Lindsey bit her lip and looked extremely sad.

Brendon spoke up.  “Hey, do you guys mind if Ryan and I tag along?”

“Why?” Pete asked.  “You wanna go see freaks off themselves?”

“No,” Brendon didn’t look at Pete.  “We’re dying to see the miracle.”

The sun had barely risen when Lindsey was poking Ryan’s side.  “Wake up, sleepyhead!  We have to go find my husband.”

Ryan really wanted to go back to sleep, but he also wanted to find Keltie.  He and Brendon packed their bags, and they set off with Lindsey and Jimmy.  They hiked for hours, over hills and creeks, passing water towers and abandoned everythings.  Ryan wanted to go back to sleep.

“Jimmy, are you sure this is the way?  It’s been six hours...” Brendon called to the front of the line.

“Yep!  We should be there soon,” Jimmy called back.

Of course, he was wrong, and the sun started to set eventually.  They decided to set up a campsite.  Ryan and Brendon wondered off to grab more firewood.  They made small talk, when Brendon suddenly stopped Ryan.  He snapped a twig in his attempt to move closer, and earned a harsh hushing sound from Brendon.

“Do you hear that?” Brendon asked.  Ryan strained his hearing.  He could hear water.

“Yeah.”  They looked at each other and dropped their wood.  Brendon grabbed Ryan’s hand and ran towards the sound.  They came up to a cliff, and sure enough they were staring at the ocean.

Ryan looked at Brendon.  The moon was up and it illuminated all of his features beautifully.  Ryan swallowed.

“Let’s go!” Brendon nudged Ryan and started following the path to the beach.

“I wonder why nobody at camp ever mentioned there was a beach so close.”  Ryan mused.

“Maybe they don’t know,” Brendon replied.  His voice sounded hopeful.  “Maybe we’re the only ones who know.”

They spent hours skipping rocks and talking.  Ryan suspected they would have been laughing.  Ryan missed laughing, and wondered what Brendon’s laugh sounded like.

“Brendon,” Ryan said softly.  Brendon was drawing happy faces in the sand a few feet away.  He quickly turned to acknowledge Ryan.

“I miss me.” Ryan announced.

“What were you like?” Brendon called back.

“I was happy.”  Ryan started.  “Well, at a time.  Before.  Before I came here, obviously.”  Brendon still didn’t look back.  “It weirds me out that I can feel that way.  I’m dead.”

“Most of the people I knew before I got here were either half-dead or completely dead already,” Brendon finally looked back at Ryan.  “Completely dead.  Compared to them, Ryan, you’re doing pretty good.”

“You think so?” Ryan asked.

Brendon just stared in response.  They stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity.  Ryan swallowed.  His lips ached.  His heart ached.  Brendon took two steps towards him and he was so close.  Ryan swallowed thickly again.  Brendon grabbed the front of Ryan’s jacket.

“Can I kiss you?” He asked quietly.

Ryan’s mind went blank and his body acted on impulse.  He dipped down and kissed Brendon, who inhaled sharply.  They wrapped their arms around each other’s hips and kissed for a very long time.

When Brendon broke the kiss, he brought Ryan back to reality.  “I think we should sleep soon.”

“Oh, right,” Ryan replied, suddenly remembering how tired he actually was.  “Shall we head back?”

“Well, no.  I was thinking...  We could sleep here?” Brendon asked hopefully.

“Okay,” Ryan agreed. “Yeah.”

They settled down on Ryan’s coat and Ryan stayed awake long enough to feel Brendon cuddle closer, then he drifted off.

“WHAT?!” a scream woke Ryan up with a start.  “What are you doing down here?!” A shrill voice he recognised as Lindsey’s came from above.

Ryan blinked away sleep and sat up.  He looked up to see Lindsey, but the sun was too bright and he looked down.

“Shit!” he cried when he realised what they were laying on.  Needles, beer bottles and condoms were scattered everywhere.  “Brendon, shit, get up.”

“Wha?” Brendon asked, sitting up with his eyes half-closed.   “What’s happened?” He rubbed his eyes with his fists like a child.

“Get up, get up,” Ryan stood up.  “Fuck, watch where you step.”

Brendon slowly peeled his eyes open and freaked out.  “Oh my god, what the fuck?  Fuck!” he stood up too and grabbed Ryan’s coat.

“What are you two doing?!” Lindsey screamed, though she was beside them now.  “We’ve been worried sick about you, and here you are, getting SICK.  This is the beach where intravenous drug addicts and prostitutes came, before it got too disgusting for THEM!  Can we go?” Lindsey finished impatiently.

“Yes!  Please!” Ryan answered hysterically.

“I hope Jimmy hasn’t gotten himself lost,” Lindsey muttered and hiked back up the trail.

Jimmy did, of course, get lost.  They had resorted to calling his name, when they saw a figure running towards them.  “I FOUND IT!” a voice cried.”THE ORACLE!!!  JUST OVER THAT HILL!”  They ran to greet him.

“There’s music!  Cold drinks!  And dancing girls!” Jimmy was vibrating with excitement.  Ryan’s mind raced.  Dancing meant Keltie.  His knees grew a little weaker.

They got over the mountain and stared at the sight.  A medieval castle stood with hundreds of people in red crowded around it.  There was a gong on the roof, and two girls performing dance moves that even Ryan could master.  His heart sunk a bit.

They dispersed into the crowd.  Brendon and Ryan hit up the food table first.

“Excuse me, hi,” Brendon said to two women standing near him.  “I’m wondering, who’s in charge here?”

“The Oracle, of course.” The woman replied.  “Do you have any idea how blessed we are?”

“Hmm,” Brendon looked interested.  “Why is that?”

“Because of the miracle!  She will ensure our loved ones a safe passage to our world, and we will all be reunited!”

Brendon’s eyes widened as he replied, “Oh, I see.”

Ryan subtlety grabbed his arm and dragged him away.  “Lovely,” he muttered darkly.

“Oh, just,” Brendon agreed.

They looked around.  Surrounding the crowd of people were several platforms.  Ryan could make out someone dragging a katana across their stomach as fake blood spilled all over his stage.

“Um what the fuck, that guy just electrocuted himself using water and a bass guitar.  That is not even fucking possible,” Brendon pointed out, clearly offended.

Ryan watched in horror as a man in a black bodysuit lit and match and set in on his lap.  His entire body soon burst into flames, and stayed that way for longer than Ryan could handle.  He then heard high-powered spray, and looked over to see the flames being doused by people bearing fire extinguishers.  He felt slightly queasy.

Jimmy suddenly burst in front of them.  “Guys, uh, I think you should follow me,” they looked at each other and followed behind Jimmy.

They passed a set of women joined from the shoulders down.  They were holding guns to the other’s head with grim expressions.   They pulled the trigger and a gunshot rang over the crowd.   The smoke cleared and the girls bowed.

They were led into the castle and to the top floor.  They entered a room and could see a woman sitting on a lavish throne, gripping a glass of red wine, surrounded by two men.  A tall, muscular man prevented them from going any further.

“But our friend-“Jimmy tried, but the man shook his head.

“I’m sorry, I haven’t the faintest clue who you are,” One of the men near the throne was saying.

“Gerard, please,” Lindsey pleaded, her eyes lined with tears.  “This is ridiculous.  We have a life together, don’t you remember?”

“I’m sorry, but, if he doesn’t remember you, and I don’t know you, then I have no idea why you’re still here,” The seated woman looked down into her glass of wine as she swirled its contents.   “I’m tired and I need my rest,” she sighed, glancing back at Lindsey with a bored expression.  “My work is no easy work, I must tell you.”

Ryan’s eyes darted over to movement in the corner, and something made him look again.  A blonde woman had emerged from a side room and was quickly limping up to the throne.

“Amanda, we’ve had some last minute requests...” She held out several sheets of paper.  Ryan’s heart stopped beating altogether.

The woman sighed again and took the papers.  She then looked past the girl and straight at Ryan, and raised a delicately painted eyebrow with a knowing smirk.  The girl followed her gaze.

“Ryan?” She asked after a deafening silence.   “Ryan!” Keltie ran over to him and hugged him.

“Hi, Keltie,” he stammered.  He wrapped his arms around her and breathed her in.  He revelled in her familiar scent and shape.  He had missed her.

“Oh, God, Ryan.  I can’t believe you’re here!”  She took a step back.  “You haven’t changed a bit!” She sounded surprised.  Ryan stared back.

“Well, neither have you,” his voice was hoarse.  “I mean, your hair-“

“I know, I know you always loved this haircut.”

They stood for a moment, simply staring.  Ryan waited for the fireworks.  He waited for the weight to be lifted off his shoulders.  Nothing happened.  Keltie finally grabbed his hand and started dragging him away.    Ryan looked back at Brendon, who urged him on.

His heart hurt when he heard Lindsey start to plead with Gerard, and his throat caught when she began sobbing.

Keltie led them out onto the roof, and started explaining how sorry she was, and that she forgave him.  She explained her own suicide- she’d “flown” off the roof of her dance studio- but Ryan wasn’t really paying attention. Keltie kept touching his face and pulling into hugs, but he felt nothing.  He started scanning the crowd below.  The lavender hoodie finally caught his eyes and he unconsciously relaxed his body.  He watched Brendon sit down in front of a sign that read SAVE US ORACLE.  Brendon pulled something out of his backpack and wrote something on the sign, making it read SHAVE US ORACLE.   Ryan snickered and focused on a stage where a man was inserting something into a toaster.

“And then I found the Oracle- and she’s really helping these people, Ryan.  She’s giving them hope.  I’ve done all I can to help her reconnect all these people with their loved ones- she’s a true Medium, Ryan.” Keltie stroked his face again.  He looked at her briefly before he started scanning the crowd again for Brendon.   He couldn’t see him anywhere.

A gong rang out. “Shit!” Keltie cried.  “C’mon.  I have to help Amanda prepare.” She hobbled away too quickly, and Ryan was finally honest with himself; he didn’t much care.  He went downstairs and scanned the crowd for Brendon, but found Lindsey instead.

“You two made up?” He asked once he noticed she was holding hands with Gerard.

“Yeah, well, forgive and forget,” Lindsey sighed contentedly.  “Have you seen Jimmy?”

“No,” Ryan replied.  They heard another ring of the gong, and people around them raised their arms.  Ryan shaded his eyes.

The Oracle appeared, shadowed by her bodyguard, a man with wild hair and Keltie.

“Welcome, comrades!” The Oracle spoke into a microphone.  “The time has come. If your heart aches for your loved ones!”  She took a dramatic pause, and Ryan looked to his right and spotted Brendon sitting on the roof of a covered picnic area.  Brendon waved.  Ryan waved back.  “If you do not wish to spend eternity alone!”  She cried.

“Why don’t you tell him?” Lindsey asked.

“Tell him what?” Ryan asked, confused.

“Tell him that you love him.”

Ryan didn’t even think before answering.  “He’s too far away.  I don’t think he’d hear.”

He pretended he was joking.

A drum roll rang out over the crowd, and The Oracle began raising her arms, fingers spread.  Her lips were moving, and her eyes were closed.  The drum roll progressed until her arms were straight up in the air, her face turned skywards, when she let out a wail.  She then gasped and collapsed.

Ryan glanced over at Lindsey and Gerard.  Lindsey had curled up into Gerard, and was holding something to her mouth.  She was muttering something and stopped as soon as she caught Ryan’s eye.  He looked away quickly.

Keltie grabbed the mic and yelled “Look!  There they are!” and pointed skywards.  Ryan looked up and saw parachuters descending.  He felt uneasy about the amount of parachutes that appeared in the sky.  The crowd watched them slowly fall.  Ryan looked beside him, and Gerard and Lindsey were gone.

“Lindsey?” he asked, but couldn’t see her anywhere.

A voice rang out from above.  “THIS IS THE PEOPLE IN CHARGE.   PLEASE LEAVE THE PREMESIS IMMEDIATELY.”

The parachuters closed in on the crowd.  Trucks pulled in.  The crowd scattered.  People in white suits appeared everywhere.  They were requesting that people go home.   “THIS IS THE PEOPLE IN CHARGE.  PLEASE DISPURSE.”  They went up to the roof, where Keltie was standing alone and looking confused.  They led her downstairs.  Ryan was looking for Brendon.  “I REPEAT, THE P.I.C. PLEASE LEAVE IMMEDIATELY.”  He saw Lindsey and Gerard, dressed all in white, directing people.  He finally caught sight of the lavender hoodie, and struggled to reach it.  People kept walking in the way.  When he finally got there, the car Brendon was in was already driving away.

“THIS IS THE P.I.C.  PEOPLE IN CHARGE.  PLEASE LEAVE THE PREMESIS.”

“Ryan!” Brendon called through the glass.  “Ryan!  Ryan, I’ll be right back.   Five minutes!”

Everybody else was gone.  He’d watched the P.I.C. put up police tape.  Gerard and Lindsey made sure nobody bothered him, and promised they’d keep him updated on Brendon.  It was now dark.  He’d found a chair to sit on, and was waiting.  He could see lights of a city in the distance.  He waited.  Nobody came back.

Finally, a car pulled around the corner.  Ryan’s heart filled with hope.  He realised it was Pete’s car.  He could make out Ashlee in the passenger seat.

Pete pulled up and got out of the car.  “What are you guys doing here?” Ryan asked, standing up.

“Came to pick you up, man,” Pete replied.

“Did Jimmy tell you what happened?”

“Lindsey did.”

“Was Brendon with her?”

“Nope.  Jump in.”

“I can’t.  I have to wait for Brendon,” Ryan sat back down.

“How long are you going to wait, man?  He’s a big boy.  He’ll find his way.”

“C’mon, Ry,” Ashlee called.

“We gotta train to make," Pete tilted his head to the back seat.  Ryan glanced once more at the city lights and climbed in.

“This is it,” Ashlee announced as they pulled up to a tiny shack that had a sign out front that read ‘WILE E. COYOTE TRAIN STATION.’  They ordered supper.

Ryan was still trying to process what had happened.  “So the entire thing was a set-up?”

“Yep.  Gerard was supposed to infiltrate the Oracle’s camp.  It was the plan all along.”

Ryan sighed.

“The Oracle?  Amanda or whatever?  Used to be P.I.C., too,” Pete added.

“What!?” Ryan asked.

“Mhmm.  She and Gerard used to be partners back in the day, but she went rouge.”

“That’s insane,” Ryan shook his head.

“And now, they can’t find her or her entourage.  They completely disappeared.”

“You’re joking,” Ryan deadpanned.

“I’m not.   They managed to sneak away in front of an audience of like, two hundred people.”

“Shit,” Ryan shook his head.  “Probably happened when we were all looking up...” He realised.

“I think that’s the train,” Ashlee squinted at three approaching lights.  She started gathering her things. A small, squished car pulled up on the tracks.  The three of them made their way over.

Pete lit a cigarette and asked, “So what are you doing to do?”

Ryan sighed.  “I don’t know.  I’ll definitely go back to camp and wait for Brendon.  Then... I don’t know.”

“Look.”  Pete lit a cigarette.  “I didn’t...  Lindsey told us, back at camp, that during the whole Oracle business, Brendon talked to the People in Charge.  He got them to look at his file, and, I know it’s crazy, but turns out there was some sort of mistake.  And... Lindsey says he got sent back to life.”

Ryan punched Pete’s jaw and demanded why he’d waited until now to tell him that.

Ashlee cried out but Pete waved her off, cradling his cheek.  “I deserved that.”

“I’m sorry,” Ryan muttered, completely numb.

“It’s what Bden wanted, right?” Pete tried.  Ryan’s voice wasn’t working.

A whistle blew behind them, and they turned to see a man pointing a flashlight between them and the train.

Ashlee squeezed Ryan’s shoulder with a sad expression.  He barely had the effort to acknowledge it.  Pete looked at him with sad eyes for a moment before pulling him into a hug.  Ryan clung to Pete as if his life depended on it.

“I’m going to fucking miss you, kid.”

“Yeah.”  Ryan swallowed back tears.  “Thank you.  For everything,”

“So long, Ryro.” Pete broke the hug and pressed his car keys into Ryan’s hand.  Ryan wiped away the tear that had escaped.

He watched their train for a long time.  He ran after it, at one point.   Eventually he climbed into the car and drove.  He drove to the camp.  He wrecked all he could see.  His hands were shaking as he lit a smoke.  He threw the match away, but it fell up.  Up, and up.  He watched it until it stopped in the sky, a burning dot paired with one other.  He stared at them for a long time, when a memory creeped into the back of his mind.  Brendon, lighting a match and then looking at the sky.  His throat caught and he let out a terrible howl, sending birds flying.

He drove all night and into the next morning.  His mind was racing.  He was jealous of Pete and Ashlee.  He missed Brendon.  He felt so alone.  He had no idea where he was going.

He was waiting at a train stop when the “Gin Joints” tape died.  It started slowing down stretching out words.  He fumbled with the player.  He took the tape out, and his shaking hands lost grip of the ejected tape.  It fell into the foot area of the passenger seat.  He felt around.

Whoosh.

He entered a vortex.  It looked like a tunnel from that show Sliders.  He was surrounded by objects that had fallen before him.  The flowers he bought for Keltie.  A map.  Pete’s sunglasses.

“Oh, sweetie, it pays to have friends in high places.” Lindsey’s voice echoed through the tunnel.

He lost complete control and started doing flips.

He sucked in a deep gulp of air as his eyes adjusted to the brightness.  He fell back onto his pillow and he took in his surroundings.  A tiled ceiling, white walls.  He looked down at himself.  He was wearing a hospital gown.  His wrists were wrapped in terry cloth and he was hooked up to an IV.  He lay his head down again and took a few panicked breaths.  He squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again.  He could see a nurse standing in the hallway.  He looked over at the other occupied bed.  The occupant turned over, his expression blank at first, and then filled with confusion.

Then, Brendon smiled, and Ryan smiled back.

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