“Why, hello champ,” Frank said and grabbed me by the shoulder, putting a hand over my mouth. He spun me around and wrestled me into a choke hold. With an elbow around my neck, he managed to keep his hand over my mouth. He was strong. I couldn’t get free. He stood taller than I, even bending over, probably because his leg still buckled from the self-inflicted gunshot.
“Where ya been, friend?” Frank asked and tightened his grip more, cutting off oxygen. “Come on, let’s have a chat, huh?” He dragged me backwards. I couldn’t see where he was going, but we passed through a doorway into a small room. I glanced to my left, understanding the barrier was only a short distance away.
Frank tossed me like trash to the floor. I hit my head and the room spun. I felt sick to my stomach. I had nothing to defend myself with besides the sphere in my pocket, but felt it not necessary to show him my one and only device that I needed for this journey. Escaping was my only choice.
The room appeared to be an old shop with wooden floors and walls, just like the bar where I’d met Eve. There were three windows, each one broken with jagged glass sticking out of the frames. A staircase lead upstairs, but I wouldn’t know where to go on the second floor.
“Jackson, stop,” Frank ordered, as he readied his large dagger once again, “Take a seat.” He nodded towards a table before walking over and plopping down in one of the two chairs. He waved his dagger at the seat opposite, and pushed it out with his foot. I didn’t expect this, nor did I want to do anything.
“What do you want?” I asked, stunned.
“I want you to sit your ass down now before I cut your tendons at your ankles and you can’t walk anymore,” Frank hissed as he slammed the blade down, sticking it into the surface of the table. He leaned back in his chair, putting his feet up, as he stared out the window.
I followed orders, thinking, or not thinking, that this may be my end. Whatever this was, it was strange as hell.
“Where ya going?” he asked as I sat down.
I didn’t know what to say.
“Come on, bo-yo,” Frank said and slammed his chair down, resting his elbows on the table. Those black eyes burrowed into mine.
“You should know, Frank,” I said and kept my distance.
“What?” Frank laughed out loud. “What’d that mean?”
“It means…” I looked at the floor. “I have nowhere to go. So maybe you should tell me, considering what you did to my home.”
“Ohhhhh…” Frank leaned back again. “Well, cause and effect.” He shrugged. “Cause: you came back here. Effect: you can’t go back home. Furthermore…” Frank hesitated. “You somehow managed to escape that cage. Still trying to figure out that one.” Frank reached up and stroked his black, greasy, hair.
I failed to answer back. Looking around again, there wasn’t a good away of getting away from Frank. I slipped my hand back into my pocket. The metal surface of the sphere was cool to the touch. Gripping the ball, I didn’t know what my plan was, but at least I still had the sphere.
“You know what,” Frank said and grabbed his knife. He slammed the blade down near my hand. I didn’t have time to react, nor would I. The blade was close enough where if Frank tilted it just a bit closer it would cut flesh. “I don’t like this…” Frank twirled his finger my direction. “I don’t like that even after all of this, you’re still out here, doing whatever the fuck you’re doing. You, and your conniving, scheming, under-handed bullshit should have ended when I killed what you had left. I mean, are you even human? No, no, no, you can’t be, can you?” Frank withdrew his dagger and placed it on his side of the table.
“What?” I could feel the rage fill my stomach. “You talk about being human? Who the fucks hurts an innocent girl that can’t even defend herself? What the fuck about you!” I wanted nothing but to grab that knife and stick it between his ribs. Olivia was all I had. Frank had ripped that away, along with Susan and Kyle, in the most brutal way possible.
“You speak like you’re innocent yourself. I know the truth, and so do you,” Frank said and glared.
I was too angry to speak.
“Let me tell you a little something, Jackson,” Frank said and stood, moving toward the front door. “About the first time when I realized and came to understand our destiny. You know how tragic it is to realize the exact moment you die? But even that I can appreciate. It’s not like I can change that fate, right?”
Frank leaned against the doorway that lead outside. For whatever reason, he had left his dagger behind. Keeping one eye on the blade, I followed his movements, thinking that even with all the time in the world, he was still too quick for me to make the initial move.
“Don’t forget for a second that I know that damn timer is ticking away to your birthday, you wretched piss-ant,” Frank said and laughed.
I remained mutely shocked. No one else knew this, and how he’d uncovered this truth was far beyond my limited knowledge.
“So?” I asked and went along with it. No reason to hide what he already knew.
“And you’re the reason why I’m here right now. Isn’t it?” Frank gambled.
I thought back to my vision in the desert. Frank may not be far from the truth, as absurd as I wanted that fact to be.
I shook my head.
“Damn you, Jackson. Damn you and all your… familiarity. Your aptitude. You make me sick. You make all of us sick. Why don’t you just admit it already? No one has memories like yours, dreams like yours. I sure as hell don’t. Neither does Greg. Neither does Lin. Neither Paul, Sarah, Juan, Travis, Heather, nor Rachel. You’re it!” Frank yelled.
I didn’t know how he’d figured out all my truths. It was like he’d followed me ever since the beginning. And maybe it was just that. He knew where I lived. He knew my relations. He recalled my strange ability to gain memories, more than the rest in this wretched city. Perhaps he was always there, watching, waiting.
“You think I wanted this?” I said and felt off balance, weak. I couldn’t overplay my hand, and I shouldn’t bring out the worst in him, but it was going to happen anyway. “I never asked for this. You think it was a good life to lead, hiding away, praying for all of this to end? You believe that watching all the people I love die or walk beyond that barrier was a choice I happily made? You know what, fuck you, you dirty son-of-a-bitch.” My anger spilled out and caught Frank by surprise.
“I think that is exactly it. Why else? I don’t want to be here. We don’t want to live here. Yet I’m not the one being hunted by all the others of this damn city. Thankfully, I’m not you.” Frank smiled.
“Thankfully, I’m not you, either,” I retorted.
Frank pointed at me, wagging his finger like the comeback was so well timed.
“So, we’re not each other. Well isn’t that just what I also hoped for, Jackson. Oh to trade places though, wouldn’t that be a treat? To know exactly what your plan is? Or, at least, what it was, right? I mean, hell, it looks like you’re trapped in your own end. That timer is close enough, isn’t it?” Frank said and smiled as he returned to his seat.
He grabbed the knife and started scratching his neck with it. He must have nicked his skin, as it started to bleed. He noticed the wetness and reached up to touch the spot. He smiled, and showed me his red hand.
“I would do it, ya know?” he asked, waving his knife. “But… really… I just can’t bring myself to do it. I wanna see how this plays out. I wanna watch as you cross that barrier as that timer hits zero. Whatcha going to be thinking then, huh? You think, you’ll even be able to think? Fuck, I think it’s just all over from there. But, what will it mean to you?” Frank placed his knife back in its holster and crossed his arms, waiting for his question to be answered.