How Bizarre, How Random, How.....

Chapter VIII--Listen, all.

"I think I hear a siren wailing."

"Yes, I think you do."

"I hear it too."

"Our fellow cops."

"What'll they say?"

"Who knows? Lets stay put. Wait."

"They're already here."

"Yes they are. They're climbing inside."

"Holy shit, what's going on here?"

"Oh Officer....."

"No, no don't oh officer me. Tell me. What's all this? The stink? You people puked all over each other? Why? I've never seen anything like this, and I've never smelt anything like this. Oh God, this is terrible."

"You wouldn't want to join in, would you? Go ahead, if that's what you want. I always thought I'd redecorate my truck one of these days. Go ahead, its already been redecorated a little, go ahead, add your own touches. When I get back to Georgia, oh what fun it'll be...."

"Listen, man. This is no joke. This really stinks, okay. I mean, a cop's supposed to have a stomach for bad smells I know, but this really stinks. Okay, I've smelt worse in my time but this really stinks. How can I put it to you?"

"You mean its powerful?"

"Yes, if you want me to put it that way. Powerful. Jesus Christ, powerful, yeah, its powerful, and I don't want to......its so powerful, its even made me forget what I came here for, its that kinda powerful, now why did I come here for, let me remember....."

"And you, cops, that's what you are, right? From the next county, what are you doing here, anyway? And you," he pointed to Flaherty, "you're the worst of the lot. Look at you man, its like you're bleeding puke. Man what happened to you? I mean, if you're a police officer, you don't happen to look like one. Glum, glum, you look depressed man. Of course, if I was as covered with puke as you were, I'd have reason to look glum too but cheer up. We'll get it out. I mean, not we, but someone will. We'll give you a nice shower. We'll make sure you have a new set of clothes. That sound good? Huh? C'mon, you're a police officer, where's your cheerful temperament? Cheerfulness in the face of all adversity, where's that then? Huh? Its just a little vomit that's on you, that's all, as I said, we'll get it out. Come on then, come on, hey man," and he looked at Graham, "come on, cheer him up, you're the partner, that's what partner's are for, what sort of partner are you if you don't make your buddy feel all warm inside, huh? What sort? Oh, come on, I wouldn't want a partner like you, never, ever. God, I thought that guy was glum, you're worse. At least he has reason to be, he's all covered in puke, but you? What reason do you have? Hey, answer me. Cop to cop. You're in my jurisdiction, remember? I could kick your butt right now for entering my jurisdiction, my turf, but I won't, I'll speak to you like a brother policeman. Hey, speak up, man.....brother. Come on brother, what's up? Oh, they give jobs to the mute these days, eh? Lets see, two mutes, one dwarf, sorry man, heh, heh, we cops aren't supposed to be so rude but we're human right, human too, and when we see a dwarf, we're as likely as the next fellow to want to look. But I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings, guy. Here...."

The policeman went and patted McGraw lightly on his head.

"God, but what am I doing? As I said, If forgot. Did I say that before? That I forgot why I was sent here? Now that's really funny, because I don't generally forget why I'm sent places. But this time, I just did. Its clean out of my mind, would you believe it, clean out, my mind, as regards why I was sent here, is a blank. There's nothing written, zilch. I'm lost, I'm totally confused. What am I doing here? For Goodness sake, I'm a cop, I'm the arm of the law, I bust the bad guys and protect the good, I bust dopefiends and pimps, I've even stopped a bank robbery or two, honest to God, I have. I won't get into the details, but I did stop two bank robberies. But that's history, I feel that today, I may be on the verge of doing the most important thing I ever did, I don't know why, but its a feeling. A tidy little feeling that I can't get out of me mind and has anybody ever felt like this? You two, sitting there silent like statues, have you? As a brother cop I'm asking you, as nothing else. Have you ever, ever on any day felt like you were on the verge of doing the most important thing in your life? Come on, you won't even answer me on this one? Brother cops, oh brother cops, please, do you want me to get down on my hands and knees for you? Is that what you want? Come on then, and answer. Have you? Oh, you won't. You won't answer,eh? Fine, goddamnt it, godfuckingdamnit, if you don't want to, I won't press you either."

"And goddamnt it, if I only knew why I was here in the first place, with two mutes, one of them covered in puke, the other strangely silent, and a dwarf, forgive me. What's a top dog policeman like me doing here with you weirdos instead of doing what I'm paid to do? That is to say, chasing crooks and child molestors and internet pornographres, that's who I should be going after, all those sleazy scum, but here I am."

"Okay, I'm going, I'm going, you don't even seem to want to talk and I don't even know what's going on, God my head, what's happening, hello hello, is that someone there, guys, something really weird's going on, I felt like someone was calling me inside my head, very strange, never felt like that before, like someone called me up to tell me....."

" I don't even know what he called me to tell me. Matter of fact, I don't even know if it was a he. Phone just rang in my head and I sort of picked it up. I say sort of because when its in your own head, how can you really go and pick it up? And it was ringing and ringing, and it must have been ringing even as I was talking to you. Hell, it was, just that I was so busy talking to you I didn't hear it. But then I heard it, I did, and I picked it up, or sort of picked it up, and someone spoke to me. Weird voice, sort of male and female at the same time but sort of neither too. Sort of weird, you might say, and then what it told me....."

"But I gotta get going. Before I get the phone ringing in my head again, and let me tell you, I don't really want it to. You've never had that ring in your head? Never? Well, I didn't either, not until right now, but this I'll tell you, if I could have it ring in my head, you could have it ring in yours too. Don't forget that. Always remember that. Remember, remember, remember, there are many things in this world that you have to remember. For without rememberance, the world's just a disjointed series of events, you need to remember, you need to connect past with present so your future doesn't get to be so bad. And anyway, that's enough lecturing for one day and the thing is that its ironic that I should lecture to you about rememberance seeing that its me who just had a memory loss. Now what the hell am I doing here? Again, that question raises its head, and oh, I'm unable to look at it. Its eyes are blazing, and its tongue forked and its fangs......."

"Damn it, I'm being called again, by who knows who. Damn its like theres a telephone exchange in my head because now its not one phone going off but twenty or thirty. All these people trying to make their connections, and what am I to do? Damnit, damnit I've got to keep picking up this phone and that, telling......this and that, and then, God, how do you expect me to do that, what, I've got ten arms or something, look, I, whoops I dropped that, see, that was no fault of mine at all, what could I be expected to do when I'm so overwhelmed? Come one, please....oh, and that one's for me? That's my personal phone call? Ok, I've picked it up but I really don't know if I want to hear it, no I don't. Can't say why, but I feel kinda scared, you know, I'm trembling a little. Why'd I tremble just to pick up a phone? God, but I'm shaking. Why, why? I'm a macho man cop, this, ok I've got it to near my ear and I hear....."

"Okay guys, I'm out. I'm out. Can't say why. The voice on the phone finally came through crystal clear but I can't tell you what it said. As for you, I'd really like to see you in a better state. Man, but you look sad, very sad, and its as if its not just all that puke, but something else on your mind. And your partner looks worse, but I've got to go. And I just wandered here, look, I'm trying to connect things, its seriously important to connect things sometimes, now ten minutes ago I walked here for a reason and now I don't know why I walked in here. I'm telling you, the world we live in, its positively Orwellian sometimes, what do you guys think? You think, when I was little, a baby maybe, someone implanted something in my brain? So that with the press of a button I forget why I'm sent to do what and instead a telephone goes off in my head? I don't discount that possibility. Why should I? Stranger things happen all the time. And maybe it was implanted in my brain too, that I was to be a career law enforcement officer, how about that? If I really have a chip in my head like that, I'd love to take it out and look at it under a microscope. What would I see? Sophisticated computer programs, no doubt, which I couldn't understand, but then I'd take that with me to some computer whiz and he'd have it figured out. How much of my life, as it were, would be directly due to that chip, and how much not?"

And with that he left as quickly as he'd come and the three of them remained silent.

"I don't even think he was a cop."

"All the same, the idea of him having a chip in his brain, that sort of hit home."

"Why, you think someone's put some implant in you too?"

"Sometimes, life just seems odd, the way it shouldn't be. And I find myself doing things that I shouldn't be doing. I didn't say anything about a chip, but its weird, neverthless."

"All these Hollywood movies. I didn't know it affected even cops."

"And what are we going to do about me? McGraw, lets go."

"Where?"

"I don't know. Home, my home. I need a change of clothes. And we'll help you clean your truck."

"You're mighty kind and thanks. Much appreciated here."

"Somehow, I can't help thinking that our murder is connected to all this."

"Of course it is. Everything's connected to everything. A butterfly fluttering its wings here can affect wind movements in Alaska. That's what they say."

So the truck with its stinking inside finally moved.

"Does anyone want to listen to music?"

"No, no one does. I don't think anyone does."

"No, no one does."

So in silence they travelled, with none of them breaking it with so much as a word. Flaherty and Graham spent the time looking outside, as if there were really interesting things going on out there. No, not really, they both had curious expressions, but you could clearly see that was not for the landscape.

They left the side road and came to the main highway. Arby's, McDonalds, Subways.

Flaherty turned his head away. He didn't want to come back. That country road with trees on either side and no sign of humanity around was much better.

Graham kept looking out, his glasses reflecting the various signs. Springbok Township, resident population 57. And he knew every one of those people.

The lights turned red. The truck came to a quick halt. Flaherty jolted, then wiped some puke from his mouth and wiped it on his pants. He looked outside. Just people on the move, inside cars. He saw someone he recognized inside one and waved. No one waved back. He turned away, grouching and sat down more comfortably on the sofa than before.