The Book of Masks (Vol. 2)

Face Facts

Previously: "Dark Histories" 

"I guess I could take over for Keith," you tell Carlos. "But I was planning on going with you guys on this raid."

"You were?"

"Is that a problem?"

"No, it's just a surprise," he says. "Tell you what, I'll talk it over with Philip. There's other ways of handling Keith."

He turns away, then turns back around with a grunt. "Here," he says, taking a shiny metal strip from his pocket. "I forgot to give this to you earlier."

"What is it?"

"It's a copy of my dear brother's brain." Carlos gives you one of Jessica Garner's cheekiest smiles.

* * * * *

It's a metal strip a few inches long and about an inch wide. It's flexible and bends easily without creasing, and over one side of it float large blue letters like a hologram. MARC DAVID GARNER, they say.

"Just put it on your forehead," Philip tells you later when you catch up to him. "Make sure you're laying down, because it will knock you out for about ten minutes. When you wake up, you'll have his memories and a whole bunch of other stuff."

That sounds very weird, and you ask him how weird it's going to be. "You'll get used to it," he says. "It may be a little disorienting at first, but you'll get it sorted out. I don't know how to describe it," he continues as you frown at him. "Just trust me that it's not that weird. You don't have anything to worry about."

Uh huh, you think.

That's at the tail end of your stay at the storage complex; there's nothing else for you to do to help, so you go home shortly afterward. Philip says that he and the others will figure out a way to handle Keith and Cindy. "We'll also take care of getting you a mask to use when we go out to the professor's. We're better suited for it," he says, and tosses Lucy's hair behind his ear.

So by four o'clock you're home again. You hide Marc's "memory strip," as Philip calls it, under your mattress, and finally get started on the weekend's homework.

But along about seven you get a text from Keith asking you to meet him at the closest McDonald's for a talk. which tilley is this? you text back. the real me, he says. how do i know? you challenge him. fuck you, he replies. That's not good enough, but you do meet him. He's in his own face again.

"So I'm back to being myself," he moans. "God, I feel ugly."

"You look ugly."

"Fuck you."

"Well, it's all relative. When was the last time you were, uh—" You look around. "Outside of Cindy's skin?" you ask in a very low voice.

He makes a face. "Seems like forever. It's not a good idea getting out of the masks. You lose the memories and stuff almost instantly, and it takes hours and hours to get them back when you put the mask back on. Oh, by the way, did Carlos give you the thing for Marc?"

"Yeah, I'll put it on tonight. So what happened to Cindy?"

"It's complicated. Basically, that mask I was wearing? We put it on her."

You blink. "How does that work? You disguised her as herself?"

"More or less."

"You mean that's the real Cindy out there now?" you gasp.

"Well, she's her own beta. I told you, it's complicated. So why didn'cha put Marc's thingummy on this afternoon?"

"Lucy— Philip," you correct yourself, "told me it would knock me out. I figure I'll wait till I go to bed."

"I guess that makes sense. And you're going with them out to that professor's?"

"Sure. You?"

"Nah." Keith hunches in his seat. "Philip and Carlos and Mike are running things. I figure they can run that thing too." He rubs his arm. "This thing is getting too intense for me."

"Oh, so it was fun when you were just pretending to be a cheerleader, but when the shit hits the fan—"

"Fuck you, man. I ain't scared. It's just Philip and them only want to take four guys along, and you're the fourth."

You roll your eyes. "A minute ago you said it was because they were in charge and they could do their own dirty work," you remind him.

"Yeah, I got lots of reasons to stay in the rear. But they're gonna bring you a mask, huh? Bet they bring you one of Marc to go with the hoobity-jooby, so you can be him if you want. Mike and Carlos been talking about that, how it'd be perfect if someone rigged himself up to be Marc so they'd have three of a kind out there. But no one's real hyped to go sliding their dick inside of some other dude's."

"No, you guys just want to slide it up inside a pussy."

"Damn right. Fuckin' right." Keith bobs his head. "Word. But I told Fairfax he should try to get a copy of Seth into one of those masks," he continues as you roll your eyes again. "Beside his meat sack being a good choice to wear if you're gonna go busting in on someone, it might be fun having it on hand if we want to make trouble for him. You know, send a doppelganger out to make trouble for him." You agree it might be useful. "I'll mention it to them, then."

"I thought you said you already did."

"I'll emphasize it, then," he says as he pops the last nugget into his mouth.

* * * * *

So, all in all, he hasn't got a lot to say, and pretty clearly only wants to hang out with you because he's lonely and freaked out to be himself again. You keep him company until a little after nine, then plead that you've still got homework to do. "I'll see you at school tomorrow," you promise him.

"Yeah, and shoot me the face, it really is gonna be me," he says with the same mournful expression as when he greeted you.

You wind up staying up past midnight to finish your schoolwork, and your eyes are heavy when you crawl into bed after brushing your teeth. Almost you forget about the memory strip, but remember in time to dig it out. You finger it for a few minutes as you anticipate what is to come, then press the strip to your forehead.

It's likes someone has set an anvil on your head. It crushes your skull, falls through the bed, and drags you along as it plunges into the dark, hot earth below.

* * * * *

It's dark when you wake, but that doesn't surprise you. What does surprise you is that your cell phone isn't where it's supposed to be when you grope for it. You flip over and stare at the ceiling, trying to wake up. Fuck it, you finally decide. If I fall asleep on the floor doing my stretches, then I'll fall asleep in the floor. Maybe I'll find my phone under the bed,you add as you roll out from under the sheets.

It's after you've stretched your quadriceps and are bending forward to grasp your toes that you first notice something is wrong. The muscles in your back and legs are way too tight—you can barely reach your toes, let alone grasp them. You suck in a breath with a hiss and try again. Dammit! You fall back and stare again at the ceiling. Why are things so weird? You must have had strange dreams; it feels like someone opened your skull and turned your brain back to front. It's getting late, too; there's a glow on the ceiling from the morning light. You clamber to your feet to shake yourself loose—

And that's when you discover that you're not in your bedroom.

You wheel around in shock, trying to place yourself. The adrenaline hits you—

And thank God it does. You double over as the sluice gates of memory open and overwhelm you with another personality ...

* * * * *

Eva Garner is waiting next to the gym as you come sauntering out of the student parking lot at 8:05. She grins at you. "How are you doing, Will?" she asks, and rubs her forehead with a forefinger.

"Doin' great, now. Freaked myself out hard when I woke up in a strange bed, but I got it sorted out."

"Uh huh." She bites down a smile. "How is it?"

You roll your shoulders in a shrug. "Like looking at a magic-eye puzzle." You glance around. "The world looks one way, then you tilt your head and it looks like something. Hey, Blake!" you shout at a burly guy in a red t-shirt who's loping over. It's the football player who rescued you from The Warehouse Saturday morning. To Eva you murmur, "You guys copy anyone last night?"

"Marc and Seth," she murmurs back. "Gonna get two more today. Have any preferences?" But she falls silent as Blake draws up.

"Hey man," Blake says. You exchange a series of complicated hand-slaps that would be cryptic to you but are second nature to Marc. "Didn't kill yourself getting home, I see."

"Shit," you reply. "I got home, took a twenty minute nap, hit the shower, was stoked for another party. Whadja do Saturday?"

"Partied. I was off-duty. You didn't come in."

You poke your tongue in your cheek and grin at Eva. "I had a coupla dates," you tell Blake. He guffaws.

Eva crimsons, says, "I'll see you later," and strides down the breezeway toward the main building. You stare at her butt until she disappears inside.

"So, you got any fuckery planned for after school?" you ask Blake. You mime taking a hit off a joint. "I'd be up for a thing."

"Not sure. Talk to me in English, come find me after eighth. What've you got last period?"

"Phys— Astronomy," you correct yourself; it's Marc who has AP Physics II. "You?"

"Practice. Come look for me in the gym, we'll figure something out."

"Cool." You clap him on the arm—how strange it seems, but also how natural—and follow Eva inside.

As you head to the library, you think about possible faces to use for the upcoming raid.

Next: "Mind and Muscle" 

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"Table of Contents (Vol. 2)" 
"The Book of Masks (Vol. 2)"