So Many Paths© Copyright 2001-2009 Michael J. Ahlers. All Rights Reserved. |
Chapter 2: The Joy of Chocolate |
Chapter 2: The Joy of ChocolateCaption: Earth Negative Y422, Independent City-State of Chicago, Warehouse District. Saturday 19 April 1980. 5:46pm GST. [4:46pm local] <Tatiana is in a dark place. She has been crying, nearly soundlessly, since she found herself here. She crawled until she found a corner and has been sitting in it rocking back and forth. There is just a hint of light coming from somewhere nearby but she hasn't found the courage to go searching for it. She isn't sure how long she's been here, long enough to start getting hungry, more hungry than she'd been in a while. And she has been hungry for much of her young life. She hears the sound of machinery and worries about what infernal devices are making the sounds and how long it will be until the devices find her. As dark as the place is where she sits, it suddenly becomes as bright. There is a loud thump against the metal floor, just as the darkness returns.> Voice: Ow! That hurt. <The voice is quiet for a moment though the source of the voice is clearly moving around. When the voice resumes, it does so nervously.> Where am I? Tatiana: We're in Hell. Now shut up before they find us. <Tatiana can hear the other person moving towards her. There is another thump against the metal, the wall this time.> Voice: Ow. OK, so, Hell is a small unlit metal box. Remind me to bring a flashlight with me the next time I die. Tatiana: Shh. Please. Voice, whispering: OK. Sorry. I'm Mekul. What's your name? Tatiana, whispering: Tatiana. Mekul, whispering: That's a pretty name. <He pauses.> Are you sure this is Hell? Tatiana, whispering: Well, it's not Heaven and I must be dead, so where else could it be? Mekul, whispering: Oh. <He pauses.> OK, so you remember dying too. I mean, I remember that I couldn't breathe, and I remember the doctors were right there at my bed. I could hear them and they were arguing over who was going to have to tell my Mom I was dead. <His voice cracks.> I wasn't dead yet. <Tatiana hears him crying softly.> Tatiana: I think they shot me. In the back. I'm just fourteen years old and they shoot me in the back. Mekul: I'm fourteen too. <Tatiana reaches out and finds Mekul's hand. They sit holding hands for a moment and then pull each other into a hug and start crying.> Caption: Heaven, Conference Room 23. Saturday 19 April 1980. 5:57pm GST. <The Conference Room is being converted into the headquarters of the Lost Souls Task Force. Two Ophanin are adding gold filagree to the new sign over the door. Archangel Raphael glances at the sign for a moment and then strides into the room. The dozen or so Angels stop talking and quickly take their seats.> Raphael: As you all know, HE has reassigned you from your normal tasks to form the Lost Souls Task Force. Contrary to the rumors, however, this assignment is not a punishment. You, and I for that matter, were given this assignment based on the fact that our actions two days ago took a potential catastrophe and reduced it to a minor crisis. But, no matter how minor a crisis it was, we still have a big problem. We lost track of an unknown number of Souls. Needless to say, HE is displeased. The parties responsible are being dealt with. You wouldn't be here in this room if you shared any of the blame. HE has the upmost confidence in our abilities and I have assured HIM that we will retrieve the lost Souls no matter how long it takes. That being said, where do we actually stand? Programmer-Seraphim #2: I have been able to refine my simulations and the likely number of lost Souls may not be as bad as we initially suspected. I now believe that there were likely no more than 92 Souls, though as many as 108 is still a VERY remote possibility, and there's approximately an 82% probability that there were only 21-30 Souls lost. Raphael: Thank you, Saphrael. Have you been able to narrow the parameters any? Saphrael (Programmer-Seraphim #2): Unfortunately no. We still have a window of 2 minutes, 29 seconds during which any children who were within a four and half month age bracket who died on any of 2,859 Earths would have been lost. Raphael: Any progress on identifying the children? Watcher Cherubim Angelica Blue: Well, knowing the Earths they were from and that they were all approximately fourteen years old, we've begun interviewing the Souls already here in Heaven in hopes of finding relatives, likely grandparents, and then comparing their memories against the actual populations of their Earths. Unfortunately we won't be getting any new information as other Souls are called home from these Earths. You see when the children were deleted from tracking system they were completely erased, retroactively, from their worlds. Only those of us in Heaven at the time of the incident have any knowledge of them. Even the Guardian Angels assigned to those worlds are unaware of what's happened. Raphael: That's a very small number of needles in a very big haystack. Angelica Blue: I'm not sure "very big" even begins to describe the task ahead of us. But here's the best part. We found one. <Everyone in the room is momentarily stunned.> Raphael: Tell me I heard you right? You found one of the lost Souls? Angelica Blue, sliding folders across the table to each of the others: Meet Sandra Elizabeth Hamburgh of San Diego, Free California, Earth Positive J002. She was called home when a drunk hit her with his car while she was riding her bicycle. Throne Angel Daelotial: What was she doing out riding her bike? It was after midnight her time. Angelica Blue: Unfortuneately we'll never be able to answer that until we find her. As expected there is absolutely no trace of her ever having existed on J002. Raphael: But you found a relative of hers here? Angelica Blue: Her maternal grandfather was called home a little over a year ago. We got a fairly good rendering of what she looked like. He says he liked to look in on her at night because she always seemed so peaceful when she was sleeping. That fact that he was watching is the only reason we have the cause of death. We got more information than we had any right to even hope for. Daelotial: Listen. These are fourteen-year old CHILDREN. They've got to show up somewhere. And when they do someone's going to find them. We need to watch orphanages, child welfare groups, runaway shelters even. They've got to pop up on radar. Angelica Blue: Exactly, they're fourteen. Fourteen-year olds think they're old enough to not need help. They think they're invincible, and having died and not stayed dead will probably just make that attitude worse. Raphael: And besides Daelotial, we just don't have the resources for an operation on that scale. <He looks towards one of the other Angels.> Plus I understand that we may have another problem. Floater Cherubim Paquel: When HE saw fit to allow HIS creation to be shattered into the miriad alternates, HE created the Nexus Gates to allow HIS servants to travel from one Earth to another without having to traverse all the intervening Earths or having to return to Heaven first. Daelotial: We all know this, so there must be an "and" coming. Paquel: There is. And it's a big one too. <He takes a deep breath, lets it out then takes another one.> We're almost certain that these children will be able to sense when a Nexus Gate is opening, to see it when it does, and that they'll be able to traverse the Net. We're fairly certain that they won't have any real control over where they're going, but they WILL be able to go. Saphrael: Which means that even if I am able to figure out which Earth they got bounced to initially, they may not still be there by the time I find them. Daelotial: I thought Angels weren't supposed to get headaches. <They all laugh, but it is a humorless sound.> Caption: Earth Negative Y422, Independent City-State of Chicago, Warehouse District. Saturday 19 April 1980. 6:00pm GST. [5:00pm local] <Tatiana and Mekul are still sniffling and still holding hands but they are quieter now. When they hear a loud whistle, they both hold their breath. Within moments all the sounds of machinery have faded. Voices can be heard, not loud enough to understand, but hardly demonic in nature. Finally silence reigns.> Mekul: Tatiana? Tatiana: Yes. Mekul: We're both pretty sure that we died, right? Tatiana, sniffling: Yes. Mekul: What if, well, what if this isn't Hell? Tatiana: It can't be Heaven. Mekul: No. Definitely not. But maybe it's not Hell either. Maybe it's ... I don't know, somewhere else. Tatiana: But where else IS there? Mekul: I don't know. But I think we ought to find out. Tatiana: Wha-what? Mekul: That little bit of light over there. It looks like it's a door. I'm going to try to open it. <Mekul and Tatiana work their way over to the light. Mekul feels around and finds what seems to be a handle. He hesitates.> Tatiana: Are you sure about this? Mekul: No. <He twists the handle and the door swings outward. At first the light is so bright that they have to shield their eyes. As their eyes adjust, they find that they have been sitting inside of a large metal cargo container in a warehouse full of such containers. The warehouse seems to be devoid of activity. They turn and look at each other, seeing each other for the first time. Mekul has medium brown hair combed straight back from his forehead and bright green eyes. He's wearing a slate grey shirt with blue sleeves, jeans, and bright blue athletic shoes. Tatiana has a slightly darker complexion. Her dark curly hair is restrained in a ponytail save for one lock hanging down in front of each ear. She's wearing a brown tunic over a floor-length dark green woolen dress. A dark brown coat and scarf are laying on the floor near the corner.> Tatiana: Let's make this official, <She holds out her right hand,> I'm Tatiana Gorbov. Mekul, shaking her hand: And I'm Mekul James, and it's very nice to meet you. Tatiana: It's nice to meet you too. <They stand there smiling for a moment and then start giggling.> Tatiana: Well, wherever we are, I don't think it's Heaven or Hell. Mekul: Probably Detroit. Tatiana: What? Mekul: Detroit. It's a joke my friend Talbort told me once. The punchline had something to do with dying and going to Detroit. Tatiana: But Detroit's in America. Mekul: Well, yeah. North America. The Michigan Territory. Tatiana: That's where you're from? Mekul: Not too far off. I'm from Zinzinnati, in the Ohio River Province. Tatiana: Then why are you speaking Russian? Mekul: I'm not. I'm speaking Anglican. <They stand there staring at each other, looking confused.> Tatiana: But I'm hearing you- You're speaking Russian. Mekul: Wait a second. I'm speaking Anglican and you're hearing Russian. Tatiana: And I'm speaking Russian and you're hearing English, or, um, Anglican. Mekul, looking back out at the warehouse: God, I hope we're not in Detroit. Tatiana: Why? Mekul: Because the jokes on us if we really have died and gone to Detroit. <They stand and look out at the warehouse some more. When they look back at each other they start giggling again.> Tatiana: Should we go exploring? Mekul: I think we should. Tatiana: Let me get my coat and scarf. <She goes and picks them up then stands looking around the container.> Mekul: Lose something? Tatiana: My hat. I think it fell off when the soldiers shot me. I guess it's gone. It was my favorite hat. Mekul: That's too bad. I'm sorry. Tatiana: Well, it was actually my only hat. My Mom always felt bad that she couldn't get me nicer clothes so I always told her I didn't need another hat because that one was my favorite. <She starts crying again.> The soldiers were hurting my Mom and Dad and Nikolai. <Mekul walks over and puts an arm around her shoulder> Mekul: I'm sorry. <When she stops crying, they walk back over to the door. It takes them a while but eventually they figure out that there are handholds built into the sides of the containers that they can use to get down. They reach the ground and are just starting to walk around when Mekul stops and looks around.> Tatiana: What is it? Mekul: Do you smell that? Tatiana: What? Mekul: Chocolate. Tatiana: When I turned twelve, Nikolai spent almost a week's pay to buy me a chocolate bar for my birthday. Mekul: What? You mean that's all the chocolate you've ever had? Tatiana: Yes. Mekul, taking her hand: Oh you poor girl. Come with me. <They run over to one of the cargo containers and Mekul pulls open the doors. Inside are boxes of Chicago Pure brand Chocolate Bars. The smell of chocolate sweeps over them.> Tatiana: Now I remember how hungry I am. <FADE OUT> Caption: Forty-five minutes later. <FADE IN> <Mekul and Tatiana are lying head to head inside the cargo container. Scattered all around them are candy bar wrappers. Their hands are smeared with chocolate.> Tatiana: If I eat one more, I may puke. But it might just be worth it. <They both laugh.> Mekul: I love chocolate. Tatiana: I do too. I just never knew it until now. <They lay there holding their stomachs for a moment.> Tatiana: The sun's going down. We can't stay here, no matter where here is, we'll get in trouble for taking the chocolate. Mekul, sitting up: You're right. But where? Tatiana: I saw a ladder going up to the roof. We could go up there and see where we are. Mekul: Well, I don't like heights, but it's still a good idea. <They get up and start to walk out of the cargo container.> Tatiana, smiling: We should take some chocolate with us. Mekul, smiling too: Yeah. <They are both giggling as they go back inside and lay her coat out on the floor. They pile several armloads of chocolate bars onto it and use her scarf to tie it shut. They head over to the ladder. Mekul looks up it to the roof access door, several stories up, and gulps audibly.> Tatiana: I could go first. Mekul blushes: You're, uh, you're wearing a skirt. Tatiana blushes too: Oh yeah. <Mekul starts up the ladder.> |