Somewhere Else

Chapter 23: Jessica

Brecker knew that he’d eventually have to know how she died in this life. His ultimate fear was that in the process of getting everything together, he bumped her out of the way, knowing that he’d never come across Kray if he’d already met her.  After Kray fell asleep, he entered that dark world in search of one bright face.

She came to him instantly, her face full of life, eyes sparkling with anxiety. By now he should know more than before, he should have remembered plenty more, and he should be well on his way to putting a stop to all of this. She was proud of how far he’d come. Moving between realms at will was the biggest improvement so far.

As they found somewhere to sit, somewhere out of the way, he’d felt this excitement radiating from her. That smile was contagious as well. After situating, he took her hands in his own. “You look just like an angel to me. A bright star in a dark universe. I need a few answers from you.”

“Anything to help.”

“I need to know about every night you’ve died. I need you to tell me with hindsight.”

She looked baffled. Of course, she was willing to oblige. He was almost positive that some of her radiance and enthusiasm dimmed, but death was never a particularly happy subject.

“January 15th, August 3rd, March 22nd, August 2nd, December 14th, and April 1st.”

“That’s quite a few times for someone your age. If you don’t mind me asking, what was the cause?”

“Car accident.”

“Across the board?”

“Pretty much. Died on impact, in surgery, complications from surgery, waiting for help, and then there was the coma.”

“Odd. Anything familiar about the accidents?”

“Always the same car, in hindsight. I can’t see the driver. Why?”

“Just looking for similar patterns.”

“Maybe you should know then, that I’ve only died in the realms that I know Nick. In the others, I seem to be fine.”

“Can you put together three scenarios for me?”

“Sure Brecker.”

“Coma – still alive; happy relationship; and if possible, one where you haven’t met yet. Maybe you exchanged numbers but never met.”

“How long do I have?”

“I’ll be back tomorrow to gather the information I need.”

“It’s so dark here. I don’t know when one day ends and another starts. The life in which I haven’t met him yet, you want me to make contact?”

“You’re brilliant.”

“You flatter me. Leave so I can get my work done.”

Brecker laughed, glad her enthusiasm returned, even if it wasn’t the same as before. “Thank you.” Now it was his turn to gather evidence. Returning home, right next to Kray, he felt a pang of guilt, but not enough to drown out the comfort he felt.

Malachai, Elijah, and Todd

The next morning, Brecker had arranged to meet with his friends, try to relax a little before all the trouble came. Maybe they could offer him insight on what he’d done for the past couple of years. He knew Malachai least of all, so put him last. He needed to go to school after all.

The only chance he’d have to talk to him would be if he got himself down to the theater. Right now, needing to be out like he did, that was fine by him. He was there by noon, ready to catch up with an old friend.

Rather than mingling with the few kids that were hanging out in the first room, Elijah led him to the back, to his office, and let him in. The door was locked behind them, but he wasn’t bothered by it. He didn’t especially want the world to know his business.

“I’ve got an odd request for you, Elijah.”

“Working where I do, I get odd requests every day.”

Just as he opened his mouth to speak, he heard the sound of someone’s sneakers slapping against the tile in the hallway. Turning slightly in his seat, he stared expectantly at the door. Two seconds later, he heard the frantic knocking against the locked door.

“Elijah! Costume closet!”

There was such an urgency in that voice that though Elijah looked confused, the wasted no time in getting to the door and unlocking it. Brecker was right behind them.

Elijah entered the room first and Brecker was right behind him. The room was where they kept all the costumes for the performances, along with some of the props. Now, as they two and another entered that closet, the hangers hung empty, and almost all the props were gone. The wall on the far side offered the only explanation.

“You’ve let a dangerous man in your house.”

It was no secret that most who went to the theater thought of it as home. There were no weapons allowed, of course, but weapons didn’t make a man dangerous. While there was no list saying who had permission to enter and those banned, everyone knew one another. There’d only been two new faces: Lucky and Brecker. Each were joined by knowing Elijah. If the man had a womb, he would have literally birthed this establishment.

The message had several meanings to Brecker and he knew he needed to get to the bottom of it quick. Maybe Malachai could help him out. He was a man of multiple talents. Much to the surprise and relief of those in the theater, Brecker excused himself, leaving behind suspicion in the minds of many.

Brecker checked the physical address of the apartment before knocking on the door. Surely he had the wrong address. He wasn’t sure anyone could live in this dump. The door opened and he was forced to look up to see Malachai. There was a dark red star around his left eye, outlined in black.

At first he almost looked upset that he was on his doorstep. Then he spoke. “Mr. Brecker, I didn’t think you’d so much as glanced at me in that club, yet here you are on my doorstep. Pardon me if I’m not throwing myself at you. How the hell did you get my address?”

Luckily, he’d only made one mistake like this one. He didn’t actually know him all that well in this life. “Elijah. I mean, Kenneth, of course, but Elijah’s who I know.”

“Ah.”

If he didn’t stand like a giant and if he didn’t have so much silver all over him, he could easily imagine Malachai as a southern gentleman.

“What can I do you for?”

“How’d you get that star around your eye?”

“Tattoo. Like any other.”

“Huh. I don’t remember you having it at the club.”

“It’s newer than that. Did you come all this way to ask about my tats?”

“Nah. I came to talk about what’s going on.”

“I once heard all famous people are crazy.”

“Me crazy? That’s as absurd as me being famous.”

Malachai hardly looked amused. In fact, his eyes were a little bloodshot and he looked tired. Maybe humor wasn’t going to help him out here.

“Each star represents a time in your life that you should have died but didn’t. Colors are usually influenced by mood; size by severity of incident. You were obviously angry when this star was created. You’re the one we call Lucky, but your gift is more of a curse than anything.”

“I’m immortal! How do you figure that’s a curse?”

Brecker reached out to touch against Lucky’s forehead, right where the point of impact had been, though there was no visible mark.

“When you saw her hate for you in her eyes, you wanted nothing more than to die, and you couldn’t.”

There was a flicker of something in his brown eyes, and he stepped forward, onto the porch. “You only came here to buy him more time. You told him, he told me. He should be done by now though. Go home.”