Chapter #16Keep looking for Diana. by: Seuzz   You finally see Diana between classes and clutch her by the arm as she passes you. "Hey, come find me after school. Out by E wing. Okay?" She looks baffled and confused, but you've got your bright-and-hungry smile on, so she says yes, and you give her arm a quick and happy squeeze before rushing off to your final period.
She'll be expecting you to have a cigarette, so you have one going when she comes up to you. There's no one else around, so as soon as she is close you seize her by the arms and kiss her deeply. She stiffens in surprise, but opens her mouth just wide enough that you can drop some goo into her. You get her steady, then smooch just a few seconds more, then release her, wipe her memories of the kiss, and then release her. You then laugh and gossip with her for a few minutes before asking her what she thinks of James Black.
"James?" she says blankly. "He's nice, I guess. Real quiet."
"Still waters run deep," you grin. "He likes you."
"What do you mean?"
You turn very serious. "Look, I'm not shitting you, and I'm not telling you this for your sake. I've been hanging out with him some and he's opened up a little with me and ... Well, he likes you. I don't how much. But I know he wishes he could talk to you."
"What's stopping him?" You hesitate over her question, and she turns pale. "Oh my God, he's not, like, got a super crush on me, has he?"
"No. I don't think so." You twist awkwardly. "Look, Diana, the guy is incredibly shy and skittish. But I like him, and ... Shit, I'd like to help him."
"You're not trying to set us up, are you?"
"No." You sigh heavily. "I just wish he could feel like he could talk to you, without worrying that you're going to laugh at him or brush him off."
"I wouldn't do that to him."
"I know that. But, you'd be surprised what counts as 'laughing at' or 'brushing off' with this guy. I mean, he is really insecure."
She looks a little aghast.
"Just ... Can you be friendly? Interested? Receptive? I'm not asking you to party with him or invite him to your house. Just be happy to see him if he comes up to you and your group."
"This is weird."
"No, not really. You don't have to treat him any differently than you already do. Just be careful that you're nice to him, that's all. I'll have you covered on the other end. I won't let him think you're interested in him when you're not. This is just about helping him build up a little confidence in himself. Cuz he's got, like, negative confidence in himself.
She still looks queasy.
"Please? For me?"
She sighs heavily. "Okay, Adam," she says heavily. "For you."
You grin and bite your lip with pleasure. "Thanks!"
"This is out of character for you, isn't it?"
"What do you mean?"
"You're not normally this interested in people."
"Sure I am. If it's the right people. Then I can be very interested. And James ... James needs a friend."
He sure does, you think as she walks slowly away. He will be a perfect conduit between you and Diana, since you're not sure how long you will be in possession of Colonel Lord. The guy terrifies you, and you have no confidence in your ability to possess him long without his noticing the fact. And you don't want him noticing you hanging around his daughter.
* * * * *
You bombard your mom with the thought that she should take any money she has left and treat herself to a nice hotel room for the night, and she obliges. Then you go home yourself, because you're expecting—dreading—Colonel Lord's showing up.
Sure enough, he knocks at about supper time. "She's not back," you tell him curtly, without preamble, after you open the door.
"Ah. Is there any chance I could wait here for her?"
You shrug. "You'd have a better chance of finding her if you went looking through all the bars in town.
"Still, I'd like to wait," he says. "You and I could visit a bit more."
You wince—not an act—and open the door wider. He doesn't step in immediately, though, but looks around. "The office is very close to your trailer," he observes. "I'm not surprised that you— that Mr. Llewellyn would hear you. He probably heard you even if you didn't raise your voices."
"Like I said, he was a prick and liked looking for things to complain about."
"Did you ever complain to him about the dogs?"
"Getting in the trash, you mean?"
"Or anything."
"No. I didn't like talking to him."
"It's a very peculiar thing," he says, as he finally enters the house. He looks around. It's still a mess. You gesture him toward the couch, and he sits.
"What's peculiar?"
"Hmm? Oh, those dogs. There aren't any like that around here."
"I know there are dogs getting in our trash."
"Oh, I know that. You're not the only person in the park with that problem. What I mean is, there aren't any dogs around here like the sort that would attack a man."
"So you mean it was wolves?"
He shoots you an odd glance. "No, what I mean is, I think someone must have brought them here. And then taken them away."
You look away and rub your nose. "You're thinking someone killed him?"
"Are you surprised, Mr. Karter?"
"That someone would kill him?"
"No, that that's what I'm thinking."
"I noticed you've been treating me like a suspect or something. Are you a cop?"
"I used to be one. It's hard to lose the mannerisms. Well?"
"Well, what?"
"Are you surprised I'm treating you like a suspect?"
"I don't know what you're thinking, so I don't know what I should be surprised about."
"Did you see anyone when you went out that morning?"
"No."
"No strange cars or trucks?"
"No."
"What did you see?"
"I told you, I saw what looked like dogs or wolves, and I saw Llewellyn."
"You didn't look around?"
"I ran inside and tried not to throw up, and then I called the cops."
He looks at you with the same hungry expression. You hang your head and flush. The silence is oppressive.
"You know what I think, Mr. Karter," he says slowly. You look up. "I think you did it. I think you have or had a pack of dogs someplace, that you know or that you've trained. That's where those scratches and cuts come from. And I think you brought them here that morning and I think you made noise that would bring out Llewellyn—noise that wouldn't disturb anyone else, because he is so close to your trailer—and you set the dogs on him, and then led them away, and then you invented that ridiculous story about wolves in order to try to cover up your deed."
You gape. The man can't be serious. He can't possibly. Can he? You know the truth, and maybe you're projecting. But he must have seen with Clark and the wolves ... Is it a trap? Or can you get him to believe something like this ...?
"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard," you say at last.
He holds your eye for the longest time. Then he grins. "I agree, Mr. Karter. A freak wolf attack would make much more sense than that, and a freak wolf attack makes no sense whatsoever. Thank you for being so patient with me. I know it was a strain." He stands and starts to go.
"Do you still want to talk to my mom?"
"You say she was pa— asleep the whole time?"
"Yeah."
"I don't think it will be necessary, then. But here—" He puts his hands in his pockets. "I seem to have left my cards behind. Do you have a piece of paper?" You hand him a loose bit of notebook paper and he writes on it. "You remember anything or think of anything—even very small, but anything ... strange ... please give me a call. This investigation will be open for a long time, I'm afraid."
He starts to leave then turns back on you abruptly. "You said you were in the state park yesterday morning."
"Yeah."
"Except for yesterday, when was the last time you were in the park?"
"Um ... I don't remember. I don't go up there that often."
"Why did you go up there Sunday?"
"Just because. I was bored."
"That early in the day you were bored?"
"No one I knew would be out doing stuff until later."
He glances around your spartan living room. "You made your own entertainment in the meantime?"
"Something like that, I guess."
"Huh."
"Something wrong with that?"
"Not at all. It's a habit more people should cultivate." Then he leaves.
* * * * *
You sit passively in Diana's mind all night, daring nothing. Her father is still out when you put her to bed at her regular time, but even through her dreams you keep her ears open, and when you hear the front door you take her and get up and put on a gown and go downstairs. The light is on in his study, but you go into the kitchen and heat some milk. He likes warm milk at night.
He looks very tired when you go in to see him, but he smiles warmly when he sees you. He takes the milk gratefully but doesn't drink it. "Are you alright, Daddy?" you say, and curl up in the chair opposite his desk.
"I'm fine, sweetheart. It's just been a long couple of days." You look fondly at each other.
"Can I stay up a little while with you?"
"Sure. I'd like that. I've got to finish this report, but I'd like to have you here with me."
You smile and drop your eyes, and snuggle deeper into the chair and watch him through your lashes.
He puts his half-rim glasses back on and goes back to the open laptop. A few minutes pass and then he looks up and asks, "Do you know a boy named Adam Karter?"
"Adam?" you say sleepily. "Yeah, I know him. Not well, but ..."
"How would you describe him?"
"He's nice. Kind of wild. Plays in a band."
"Wild?"
"I mean, crazy. Not bad. He just likes to have fun." You raise your head and look at him with mild curiosity. "Why? How do you know him?"
"There was a wolf attack right outside his house the other day. Didn't you see about it?"
"No."
"Oh, I forgot. Kids don't read the newspaper these days. It's all text messaging."
"Dad."
"Okay." He pulls out a newspaper and tosses it to you. It's folded back to an account of the attack. "Oh my God," you say, sitting up and reading it.
"Didn't he tell anyone at school about it?"
"No."
"That's strange. I wonder why not."
You shrug. "You know Adam."
"No, I don't, actually."
"Oh, right. Well. He always plays it cool. He wouldn't say anything. He'd wait for others to ask him about it."
"But kids don't read newspapers."
You smile and tuck a stray hair back behind your ear. "Then he's probably dying for someone to say something."
"Do you think he's the type to make up stories?"
"You think he made all this up?"
"Well, there's a dead man, so he didn't make the whole thing up. But, do you think he would have made up the part about the wolves?"
You think. "Couldn't they tell by teeth marks and stuff?"
"Maybe it was dogs."
"Oh. Would he know the difference?"
"I don't know, would he?"
"I don't know." You look at each other. "Why are you interested in this?" you ask.
"It just caught my attention. I need a distraction, something that's not work-related I can think about. It's a nice little mystery."
"Oh. Well ..."
"Well, what?"
"Well, he might shout 'Wolf!' if he thought it would get him some attention."
"But he hasn't been getting any attention."
You yawn and lean your head against the back of the chair. "Oh. Well. But that would be another reason he wouldn't say anything about it at school, right? You shout 'Wolf!' so people will look at you. You don't shout 'Wolf!' and then run up to them and say 'Hey, did you hear that I just shouted 'Wolf'?' That's ... That's dorky."
He looks at you and you see something like pride in his eyes. "Thanks, Di. You know, I think you've got something there."
You smile shyly, then get up and go around and kiss him on the cheek and press your forehead fondly against his. "I love you, Daddy."
"I love you too, sweetheart." He taps you lightly on the side. "Get to bed."
You pad back into her bedroom and put her to sleep. Before she's under you feel her father's mind and body coming under your control.
* * * * *
You hardly dare stir. You let his eyes drift down to the laptop in front of him and go out of focus while you try to find your say down inside his mind. As his vision slips away and his mind comes to life, you mentally hold your breath.
But he doesn't notice you. At least not instantly, which is a relief. He's preoccupied, but he's preoccupied with stuff you need to know, so you drift and just read his thoughts as they well up. You don't even go looking, for fear the act of searching will alert him to your presence.
This is a terrible, frustrating investigation, comes the thought: one that has him baffled and more than a little scared. Everything that happens raises dreadful new possibilities, and there are dead ends—literally, in some cases—wherever he turns. Diana's idea just now, for instance. It would explain a lot, but only at the cost of shutting down the one really fruitful line of inquiry.
He sighs and goes back to reading and correcting the report he has been preparing.
"... residue of less than 10% the mass of the original specimen, but continued to exhibit independent, self-propelling, locomotive behavior. Exposing the residue to inorganic or desiccated remains yielded no results, so subsequent tests were made on other lab specimens.
"It must be regarded as a tremendous fortuity that the first test was made using such different species. The original specimen had been a hare, but its residue was placed in proximity to a snake. The residue, acting in its independent manner, attempted to avoid the snake, and exhibited what resembled like defensive behavior only when cornered. The residue disappeared inside the snake via its mouth, and the snake was subsequently noted to become extremely still. After ten minutes, a technician attempted to retrieve the snake in order to ascertain if it had died, whereupon the snake went into peculiar spasms. The spasms continued each time an approach was made, and even afterward, and at no time did the serpent act in a manner that one might have expected from the reptile. Only after a hour of observation, test and speculation was it suggested that in making these spasms, the snake was attempting to jump. [Here, Colonel Lord tapped at the keyboard, highlighting and italicizing the word '"jump."]
"Five more specimens of various types—a mouse, a sparrow, a cat, a snake, and a monkey—were similarly exposed to Prof. Harding's compound and were subsequently reduced to a residue. (In all cases, it was noted that approximately 90% of the subject's mass disappeared in the reaction.) These residues were exposed to varying animal types, and in most, though not all cases, the exposed specimen took on behavioral characteristics that could easily be interpreted as the behaviors of the residue's original species type. The most atypical reaction of the bunch, though, was exhibited by a dog that was exposed to the snake residue, and which appears to have been completely unaffected by the exposure, at least behaviorally.
"After examining these results, Prof. Harding offered the preliminary conjecture that the residue contained, in some manner, neurological information from the reduced specimen, with the result that animals exposed to the residue were influenced to one degree or another to take on the residue's original characteristics. The changes varied, she suggested, with the complexity of the two subjects' neurophysiologies, so that the comparatively simple animals (like the snake) were highly susceptible to the characteristics of the complex animals (like the hare) while the complex animals were apparently immune to the influence of the simple animals. It remained possible, she said, that the complex animals acquired information from the lower animals, but that only more thorough behavioral tests would be able to show whether this was the case.
"Discussion then turned to the Johnson case, and on the consequences, given the above conjecture, of the residue of a human subject interacting with other organisms. (Residues in their natural state have been shown to be stable for at least sixty hours, and those residues that have not been exposed to other organisms have shown no tendency to break down.) The residue left by the reaction between Johnson and Harding's experimental compound escape left no trail during its escape, but its preliminary track led off in the direction of the nearby state park, and it seemed unlikely that the residue could continue long in that direction without encountering wild life. Prof. Harding could only conjecture that any wild life that absorbed the David Johnson residue (henceforth, "DJR") would acquire, in some form, characteristics latent in the former subject. She expressed skepticism that higher consciousness could survive, however, and was of the opinion that only habits and tendencies—such as a tendency to walk upright or a desire to copulate with other human beings—would remain and manifest itself in the affected creatures.
"(I will at this point enter into the record a note that Prof. Harding, though obviously brilliant, tends to exhibit a degree of familiarity—not to say irreverence—that is not entirely conducive to well-ordered discipline. At least three of my subordinates had to be reprimanded after her speculations for making remarks unworthy of their station.)
"Tests continued, but a sense of urgency was not acquired until it was discovered that the residue could be divided very finely without losing any of its potency, even in degree, which suggested that the DJR could infect and alter the behavior of a large and diverse array of wild life. Attention was also seized by a Saturday morning newspaper report of a wildlife attack deep inside the city, in which animals of a canine or lupine kind killed a man and escaped without detection. Witnesses quoted in the report suggested it was the work of wolves. Medical examination did show it to be the work of a large number of individuals—at least three and perhaps more.
"The attack in the city, if borne out as the work of a highly motivated and efficient wolf pack, would suggest the work of a well-targeted malice. A subsequent colloquy with Prof. Harding led her to admit that disjointed but nevertheless 'higher' nervous system functions might be passed on to lower-form animal life, including feelings of malice and ill-will. Preliminary questioning and investigating, however, turned up no history between the unfortunate David Johnson and the attack victim, Edgar Llewellyn, that would explain why animal life exposed to the DJR would acquire a malicious interest in the latter.
"However, the decision was made to launch an inquiry at the state park, to determine if animal life there had been observed to be behaving strangely. An interview with the two park rangers, Vincent Gallegos and Brian Clark, returned negative answers, but the author of this report, who conducted the interview, was struck by the forcefulness of the denials emanating from Clark and his vehement hostility toward the investigators. A brief call to his superiors confirmed that Clark would have been in the park when the DJR made its flight, and the possibility that Clark had encountered and been afflicted by the DJR was discussed with Prof. Harding. Again, she revised her opinion, noting that exposure of the DJR to a human might cause odd and unpredictable effects, such that tendencies in the DJR might influence and themselves be influenced by [here he italicized "and themselves be influenced by"] the higher brain functions of a human subject. She also noted that subsequent tests suggested the existence of "sympathetic communication" (her terminology) between specimens exposed to separated parts of a single residue. She theorized that animal life affected by the DJR might find itself in unconscious communication with a similarly affected human and prone to act out the human subject's unconscious or subconscious promptings. In the present case, she suggested, Clark—if he were in fact exposed—might have acquired a heightened suspicion of the military from the DJR; in turn, other DJR-exposed wildlife might act out Clark's unwitting urgings, such as by striking at an individual—such as Llewellyn—with whom Clark was out of sorts.
"Investigators, including the author of this report (see attached Appendix J for detailed summary) re-interviewed Clark, and suspicious behavior was noted, including a tendency to prevaricate. Clark, however, showed no marked reluctance to return to the compound for examination until the actual arrival at the gate, at which point he made a successful escape, in no small measure because of a wolf attack that gave all the indications of being staged in order to facilitate such an escape. A subsequent search found Clark's body—he had been killed by wolves, almost certainly the same whose appearance aided his flight. Examination of the corpse found no residue—as has been found when other animal specimens have been killed. (See Appendix F.) A woman at his apartment, identified as his wife, Trina Underwood, was questioned, but showed no behavior that could be described as suspicious. She insisted that nothing in Clark's behavior had struck her as being unusual in the last week.
"The markedly purposive and coordinated behavior shown by Clark and the wolf pack, however, have led us to tentatively endorse a new interpretation, though Prof. Harding shows a scientist's reluctance to fully agree. We are now working on the hypothesis that David Johnson's higher cognitive functions do continue to operate in the DJR and to directly manipulate the behavior of animal forms, including humans. Our interpretation is that the DJR was exposed to a number of animal life forms, including at least one human (Clark), during its transit of the park, and that Clark's flight and death were the result of the DJR consciousness attempting to escape detection in a human host.
"A Monday morning colloquy brought word that no connection between the two deceased humans—Llewellyn and Clark—could be found to explain why Llewellyn should have been victimized by a Clark/DJR-influenced wolf pack. It was then further hypothesized that Llewellyn was killed to cover the presence of a second DJR-influenced human host. Under the cover of an insurance inquiry, investigators then began looking directly into the Llewellyn incident.
"Only one eyewitness to the incident has been found, however, and the information offered only tends to confirm the mysterious nature of the incident. The behavior of the witness, Adam Karter, initially raised suspicions that he might be the second host, but no clear time line can connect him to any incidents in the park. Moreover, he has made too many highly damaging admissions and failed to seize too many opportunities for misdirection (see Appendix M for summary) to lend comfortable credence to the notion of deliberate prevarication on his part. Close examination has also shown just how thin is the evidence that Llewellyn's death was caused by a wolf attack and not an unrelated dog attack. [At this point Colonel Lord pauses and types in a new sentence: "It is also possible that the one eyewitness deliberately inserted the word 'wolf'—the only element that would even attract our interest—in a deliberate attempt to attract the attention of his peers. Karter is a student in high school, and may be inclined to self-dramatization." Deep inside Lord, you smile to yourself.] Only Clark's death corroborates the notion that Llewellyn's killing is connected to a malign DJR-inspired vendetta, and that only through the odd conjunction of wolves in both cases. Failing independent confirmation that wolves were involved in the Llewellyn incident, it appears we must tentatively withdraw the conclusion that Llewellyn's death is related to the Johnson incident.
"My initial recommendation is that an agent be put in the park under cover to observe its tenants. Karter should continue to be given priority, but no resident should escape scrutiny. All state park employees should also be re-interviewed; and specialists, in the guise of daytrippers, should be rotated through the park to observe wild life.
"Meanwhile, Prof. Harding's tests have not yet yielded a method that can detect the presence of residue in a living host; however, the destruction of a host shows that the residue can reconstitute itself even out of a corpse. This suggests that certain chemical compounds might be administered that will force the separation of the residue from its host. Whether such separations will cause behavioral abnormalities to cease, however, is something that can only be tested when such compounds are found. It goes without saying that the development of such compounds must be pursued with the utmost urgency."
* * * * *
Back in your trailer, you jump off the bed and dance around the room, whooping and punching the air; out in the woods, your wolves howl joyously. You're not safe yet, but if you can stay undetected inside Lord until he puts an agent in the park; if you can get inside that agent and maybe inside the Harding professor or someone else; if you can just keep an eye on the hunters from a blind they themselves can't see: you have every chance of escaping serious further scrutiny.
The next morning you stay quiet inside all your hosts while you go about your usual daily school fun and listen to Lord. His nine o'clock report is met with subdued but palpable disappointment, but the best consensus is that, pending further evidence, to treat matters as though the "David Johnson residue" is still confined to the state park. Everyone is surprised, then, when Professor Harding, of all people, suggests it is too soon to rule out "Adam Karter" as a second host. Her argument—which Lord finds plausible—is that they have overlooked psychology: If (and Lord notes the "if") the "David Johnson residue" still possesses an integrated personality, then it would be likely to seek out a peer as a host. When asked to account for a connection between Karter and the residue, she observes that they are only assuming the residue stopped in the park rather than continued on, leaping from host to host, or leeching into multiple human bodies. She tries to still the sudden pandemonium this causes by observing that such a hypothesis can only lead to "paranoia" and for that reason should not be taken as a starting point. But having descried a plausible host in Adam Karter, she urges that this person be watched carefully. Plans are then firmed up for the placement of an observer in your trailer park. A Lt. Harrison—plausible as trailer trash—is chosen for the job.
By afternoon, you're antsy to move, but you're not sure in which direction. You want to get out of Lord, but know that the move out will be even more dangerous than the move in, and don't see a clear way to accomplish such a move. You could stage the retreat at the Lord house, moving out of the colonel and reuniting that bit with what is still in Diana. Or you could try moving out of the colonel and into another member of the military: into Professor Harding (though she sounds frighteningly tough-minded as well) or into Harrison (before he's even in place in your park) or into someone else. Alternately, you could lie still, move James and Diana into a romance, and just keep watching for the time being.   indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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