River: Ghosts Of Our Fathers Part 15

"Yes, Sean is here," Roy said, motioning to the rat.

Steven introduced Garth to Eliza and they shook hands.

"What your brother is doing is a very kind thing," Eliza said. "You're kind to help, as well."

Garth smiled at her. Her charm was immediately disarming, and Steven could tell she'd won another convert. Everybody likes Eliza, Steven remembered Daniel saying.

"Let's do this," Steven said.

"All right," Roy said. "First, the salve. It's ready, Eliza?"

She reached to the nightstand, retrieving the salad bowl. "Here," she said, extending the bowl to the three gentlemen. None of them reached to take it from her. She looked back at them.

"Oh, never mind, I'll do it," she said, approaching Daniel. She dipped her hand into the substance and began to spread it over his body. She took care to make sure it covered all of him, including his hair and under the towel. She had Steven help her lift Daniel so she could coat his backside as well. Steven was grateful the substance had no smell. As Eliza applied it, he thought of the young man, so distraught over losing his son, and how he'd sc.r.a.ped the matter from his legs. That matter was now coating Daniel. He pushed the thought from his mind and returned to the task at hand.

"I think that's it," Eliza said, wiping her hands with a towel. "He's pretty much covered."

"The next step," said Roy, "is for Sean to fuse with Daniel. This will bring Daniel back to the present. I do not know how long he'll stay, however. The parasites might begin affecting Sean as quickly as they affected Daniel, so be ready to inject the protection quickly, Eliza."

Eliza produced a large syringe that she dipped into the Mason jar and slowly filled. Then she positioned herself near Daniel's head. She unplugged a cap that was on the end of a small tube taped to Daniel's cheek. She inserted the head of the syringe into the tube. "I'm ready," she said. "Once I inject it, it'll be in his stomach within a few seconds."

"OK," Roy said, and removed his blindfold. "Steven, if you would." He handed the blindfold to Steven, who stepped behind him and wrapped it around Roy's head.

All eyes were on Roy. He remained in the trance for several minutes before the rat began to act up again, screeching and running around the cage in a panic. It climbed the walls of the cage and stuck its nose through the bars, desperate to get out. Steven saw it push with such force that its eyes began to bulge, and he was afraid they might pop, or the thin bars of the cage give way. It continued to press, but then Steven saw the hind legs go limp, and the body of the rat slumped, lowering to the bottom of the cage. The rat's nose remained wedged in between the bars.

As the rat stilled, Daniel began to move. Steven saw his fingers extend and his elbows s.h.i.+ft.

"Now, Eliza!" Roy said. Eliza turned her attention from Roy and focused on the syringe. She pressed the plunger and watched as the liquid ran out and into the tube, disappearing down Daniel's mouth.

For several seconds they watched as Daniel continued to move. He wasn't jerking; it was small, deliberate moves as though he was testing out his muscles. His toes curled. His neck s.h.i.+fted his head slightly. He continued these small movements for a couple of minutes, and then he was still.

After that, nothing. Steven feared that the procedure might have failed.

"Eliza, move back," Roy said. "They're emerging."

Steven and Eliza slipped into the flow and observed. They saw four different white centipedes chew their way out of Daniel's lower stomach. As each emerged and reached the surface they began to turn translucent. They didn't make it more than an inch or two from the hole they'd emerged from before they slowed and died.

Eliza left the flow and checked on Daniel. His breathing and pulse seemed normal. Steven and Roy remained in the flow, watching the centipedes until they had completely faded from view. Once it appeared they were gone, they exited the flow. Roy removed his blindfold.

"What happened?" Garth asked, standing in the back of the room, observing. "The rat is dead."

"Yes," Roy said, "and the fusing is complete. The parasites were driven out. As far as I can tell, we did everything according to plan."

"How is he?" Steven asked Eliza.

"Same as before," she said. "Body is perfectly fine. Whether he's made it to the present or not we won't know until he revives. How long does this salve need to stay on, Roy? The parasites are out."

"I think you can wipe it off and clean him up," Roy said.

"So now we wait," Steven said.

"Yes," Roy said, "that's all we can do for now."

It was late, and everyone decided to turn in for the night. Garth asked if he could stay, and Roy offered to put him up for the night at his place. Steven offered to sleep on the couch and give Eliza his bed, but Eliza said she'd sit up with Daniel for a while to keep an eye on him.

When Steven woke the next morning, he found Eliza sitting with Daniel in the living room. Steven walked up to Daniel and gave him a big hug. "Welcome back," he said, squeezing him. "We thought we'd lost you."

"I thought I was lost," Daniel said. "Literally."

"Looks like you found the coffee," Steven said, returning to the kitchen to pour himself some.

"Tastes so good," Daniel said, staring at his mug.

"How is he, physically?" Steven asked Eliza.

"Seems fine," Eliza said. "All of his vitals are normal."

"I don't feel fine," Daniel said. "I feel...different."

"Eliza told you what we had to do?" Steven asked.

"Yes," Daniel said, "and he's here. I can access all of his memories. He hasn't tried to take control, but I'm afraid to just turn things over to him and let him do that."

"Garth offered Sean as a solution," Steven said. "He's staying at Roy's. I'll call them and let them know you're OK. I expect they'll want to come over and see you."

"Sure," Daniel said. "I guess Sean saved me, in a way. So I guess I'm grateful he's here. But it's strange, you know, having someone else inside you, knowing they're there."

"I'll bet," Steven said, trying to imagine it.

"Can't tell you how good this coffee is," Daniel said, taking another long sip.

"He's been drinking it all morning," Eliza said. "This is the second pot."

Steven rose to call Roy and Garth, and while waiting for them to arrive he took a quick shower and got cleaned up. As he dressed he could hear Roy and Garth arriving, chatting with Eliza and Daniel. He joined them in the living room.

"Thank you, Garth," Daniel said. "It's really quite extraordinary."

"You're welcome," Garth said. "But it was actually Sean's idea. I told him what had happened, and he offered. He wanted to do it."

"Why do you suppose that is?" Eliza asked.

"Sean died young," Garth replied. "He was about your age when he pa.s.sed. I don't think he felt he'd done all he wanted to in life. He became a ghost almost immediately; he started visiting me the week after he died and has visited ever since. Part of it was his natural inclination to protect me, which he'd been doing his whole life. But part of it was regret, I think. Missed opportunities. I'm hoping that he's able to enjoy life for a few more years with you, Daniel. I'll pa.s.s on soon, so that'll remove that excuse. Whenever your day comes, Daniel, I'm hoping he'll feel OK with just moving on."

"He wants to talk to you," Daniel said. "I can feel him. But to let him, I'd have to give up control. I'm scared to do that. I don't know if I'd get it back. It's like agreeing to let a stranger drive your car, but in this case it's your life how do I know he'll return it?"

"I know Sean," Garth said. "You have nothing to fear. He will give it back."

"I've begun to let it happen a couple of times this morning," Daniel said, "because he's anxious. I can tell he really wants control. But the feeling as you let it happen it's like what I imagine dying to be."

"Like what we saw with the rat in the cage," Roy said. "The fear of dying, of losing yourself. Very frightening."

"You take it in your own time," Garth said. "Sean will understand."

"What was it like before you came back?" Steven asked.

"Hard to describe," Daniel replied. "I guess I'd call it like being in a huge house of mirrors. All the options looked the same, like reflections of myself. I'd choose a path, walk down it, and find myself somewhere. No idea where. No idea what year or time it was, no idea what place. I could observe what was going on there, but I couldn't interact I had no body. I could back out of it and be in the house of mirrors again. That's why I felt lost. I knew I'd never find you all. But it was absolutely fascinating from an academic perspective."

"For someone like you, all obsessed with time," Eliza said, smiling, "that might have been heaven for you. Maybe we should have left you there. For a while longer, at least."

"Wouldn't have mattered," Daniel said. "I felt like I was there for an instant and for an eternity. Time completely lost meaning in the house of mirrors. Once I went into a moment I felt time return, as I saw people and things moving through time. But when I pulled back time disappeared. So I felt like I was there forever, from the first moment I was there. Kinda hard to explain."

"Kinda hard for our linear-thinking brains to comprehend," Steven said. "But I think I get the drift."

"Well, the main thing is that you're healthy and you've survived it," Garth said. "I think I'll go back to Olympia. You take your time with Sean. I'll leave you my number so you can reach me if you want to."

"I'm sure Sean will emerge at some point," Daniel said. "Thanks for being patient."

Garth said his goodbyes to everyone while waiting for the car to pick him up. Soon he was out the door and on his way back home. Eliza made another pot of coffee. Between Roy and Garth's arrival and Daniel's craving for it, the coffee maker was getting a lot of use. Roy said he'd go out and pick up some donuts, and Steven went into another room to call Jason.

When Eliza returned to the living room, Daniel was looking at the objects Sam had given to him when he gave him the parasites. "I know what these are now," he said.

"Because of your experience?" she asked.

"Yes," Daniel replied. "Because of that. This one is a chronosphere, as I suspected" he said, lifting up one of the objects. "And that one," he said, pointing to one on the coffee table in front of him, "holds a minor demon."

"A minor demon?" Eliza asked.

"It's a time demon," Daniel said. "You know, I'll bet this means I can figure out what each of the items in my collection does." He lit up, excited. "I've got to get back to Spokane!"

"Slow down," Eliza said. "How about we rest up for the day here. I'd like to make sure you're OK first. Then, if you don't mind, I'll drive you back in your car, and I'll fly home from Spokane."

"You don't have to do that," Daniel said. "I'm fine."

Eliza c.o.c.ked her head to the side and stared at him. It was a look Daniel was familiar with.

"Then again," he said, "I sure would enjoy the company on the drive back." He smiled at her.

"Great, it's settled. We'll leave tomorrow morning. The rest of today I want you to take it easy. Your body is adjusting after several days on a feeding tube and IV."

Daniel nodded his head in agreement, then stood up and walked into the kitchen. "Do we have any orange juice? Or maybe some water..."

Steven's call to Jason went well. The nightmares had ended and he was feeling better. Steven was relieved. But Jason wanted to come over and see him, saying he had something important he wanted to talk to him about. Steven felt dread in the pit of his stomach, but masked it and told Jason he could come over anytime. Jason said he'd be there in an hour. d.a.m.n, I made him that promise, Steven thought. I'll bet he's coming over to cash it in.

Steven rejoined Eliza and Daniel in the living room. He wanted to keep an eye on Daniel to make sure he was all right, but with Eliza there he didn't feel too concerned. And he was enjoying the stories Daniel was telling about the different moments he'd accessed and observed. Daniel was energized and excited by the events. He could also tell that Daniel was worried about Sean.

At one point Daniel stopped talking, as though he had lost his train of thought and was trying to remember something. As he paused, Eliza and Steven looked at each other, concerned. Then he resumed talking, on an entirely different subject. Steven wrote it off to the confusion he must feel, having Sean inside him and having gone through what he had in the past 24 hours.

Roy returned with the donuts and joined in on the conversation. Daniel asked Roy how the possession events had occurred, and Roy was describing the process when Jason arrived. Steven introduced everyone to Jason.

"Well, aren't you a handsome young man," Eliza said, shaking his hand. "The apple didn't fall far from the tree."

Steven could feel his cheeks flus.h.i.+ng a little. Jason didn't seem fazed by the comment.

"Dad, could I talk to you?" Jason asked, once the introductions were done and people had returned to their conversations. "Privately?"

"Sure," Steven said. "Let's go in here." He led Jason to the back bedroom.

Once they were both inside, Steven shut the door. "What did you want to talk about?" he asked.

"It's about this," Jason said, holding the rectangular object. "A friend of mine saw it. She wigged out."

"I told you to keep it to yourself," Steven said.

"And I did," Jason said, "but she came across it."

"What, you left it out?"

"No, it was on me, as we discussed."

"Then how did she..." The light bulb turned on for Steven. "Oh. I see."

"So she wigs out," Steven said. "Because she thought she knew what it was."

Steven didn't like where this was going. He wanted to be able to talk to Jason about the gift on his own terms, when he felt they were both ready. This felt like an outing, like he was being forced to either lie to his son or come clean about everything, and he wasn't ready to do that.

"What did she say about it?" Steven asked, stalling for time to think.

Before Jason could respond, they heard Eliza calling from the hallway outside the door.

"Steven! Come quickly!"

Steven looked at Jason and gave him a "hold that thought" hand gesture, then he went to the door to open it and see what Eliza wanted. She wasn't in the hallway, so he went to the living room. It was empty, but the front door to the house was wide open. He went out the door, Jason following him.

"Eliza?" he called, walking down the front deck and onto the sidewalk. Eliza was chasing after Daniel and Roy, who were further down the block. He ran after them. Jason was not far behind.

When he reached the three of them, he could tell something was wrong. Daniel was walking slowly and deliberately, his eyes fixed forward. Roy and Eliza were on either side of him, talking to him.

"What's wrong?" Steven asked.

"No idea," Roy said. "He got up and walked out the door."

"Daniel," Eliza said, "what's going on? Where are you going?"

"I have no idea," Daniel said. "I can't stop my legs. I don't have control of them."