Jo-el

Chapter 7 TEST

“I’m going to shower and I need something to eat.” It was almost noon and I’d missed breakfast.

“Okay.” She said and vanished. I shook my head. This was going to take a while to get used to.

The hot water surrounded me. I felt enclosed, away from the scrutiny of Ka-el and Sally. I could let my thoughts empty, stop worrying. It felt refreshing. I stood naked enjoying the heat from the water, trying very hard not to think of what was happening to me. But it didn’t last, I worried about the risks to my family and then I came back to the one fundamental question that I couldn’t escape which was why? Why had these people come here now? They had been watching us for all this time and now in 2016 they had decided to initiate contact. What did they want? What was their purpose? If I’d been chosen to save the world. From who? From what? Why did they care? What’s in it for the people of Cirion? I tried so hard to ignore my thoughts but I just couldn’t avoid the anxiety of those questions. As the water cascaded over me I called up Sally.

“Sally, why?” I inquired by thought.

The heads-up screen appeared in front of my face, unaffected by the downpour. Sally was on the screen, maybe a foot tall. She showed no sign of embarrassment due to my nakedness. But then, did she actually see me? I guess she did, but what did I mean to a computer? I left that thought for another time. Then suddenly Sally grew to full size and pushed back against the shower glass. Her clothes disappeared. She was naked. Oh jeez! She was moving around erotically, touching herself, breathing deeply, her mouth pouting. Moving her head from side to side. Oh God! What could I do? I was aroused, I must have glowed like a red beacon, the heat I felt. No! I thought. Then I screamed “No!” She stopped, her face folded, she was distraught. Her clothes jumped back onto her body and she vanished. Oh crap! I turned off the water and reached for my towel. The reason why would have to wait.

Twenty minutes later I was dressed and heading out the door. The rain had stopped, the wind from the ocean was breezy and cold, I pulled my coat collar a little tighter. The Plum Blossom Café was not too far, maybe a quarter of a mile. They did a tuna sandwich on sourdough bread with large slices of tomato and today I was going to add French Fries. I passed several people on the street but no one stared at me or paid me any attention. On reflection, why should they? I didn’t look any different than any other day. I felt conspicuous for no reason.

The café was mostly empty, the lunch-time crowd already back at work. An older couple were by the window and a couple of tables were occupied by single guys who looked like contractors of some ilk. They were both examining their cell phones between bites. I found a table for two on the side wall toward the back and took the seat looking out at the front entrance. I waited patiently enjoying the peace of being away from the craziness that had invaded my home. A young couple entered the café and sat at a table close to the front, cattycorner from where I was sitting, the guy with his back to me. The girl had long, dark hair, she seemed concerned about something and shivered noticeably as she sat down. She had a round, pretty face, with wide brown eyes, that were very red, as if she lacked sleep. She wore tight jeans; her cut-off pale blue jacket pulled close around her. She seemed familiar, maybe I’d seen her on the street before? I relaxed, I thought about Sally in the shower and laughed inwardly. What would Jimmy say, my motorcycle buddy, if I told him I’d got horny over a computer image in the shower. Then I guessed it wasn’t any different from viewing porn on your computer. Not something I did. Well, not for a long time, anyway.

The girl with the long, dark hair was fidgety. She would glance around the café and stared at me a couple of times. I wondered if I could use Sally to find out who she was? But then why? Would I be prying? No-one else would know. No-one could see the heads-up display. But wasn’t I trying to take a break from Sally? It was infectious, this power to delve into anyone’s past.

I used my thoughts. “Hey Sally, who’s the girl with the long, dark hair in the far corner?” I checked around café, there weren’t any other similar looking girls. Immediately the heads-up display appeared in front of me. It was so clear, I was frightened, it looked so easy for anybody to see. But no-one noticed. Her name was Claire Forman but she used the name Sissy. She was born on June 13 1998; she was only seventeen years old. Her home address was in Ohio. She had run away in March. Oh, Jeez! Did I want to know this? I told Sally to scroll down. Parents, brothers, sisters, schooling. I asked where she was living in San Francisco? And the computer said Gerard St. Okay. And who’s the guy she’s with? Bobby Raith came on the screen with a mug shot. Short dark hair with a quaff in the front. Intense eyes, set back, but not an ugly face. He was twenty-four, from Las Vegas, currently unemployed. Then a whole bunch of stuff appeared that I truly didn’t want to see. Raith had done time in Nevada for pimping and selling drugs. Multiple offenses that finally resulted in a year at a Federal Penitentiary. Just reading this data completely changed how I saw him. He’d walked into the café as a stranger and now, to me anyway, he was an unsavory character, who I obviously didn’t care for. Imagine how often we are in a restaurant or bar oblivious to the backgrounds of the people around us. Maybe you sat next to a serial killer yesterday, the next Jeffrey Dahmer. Maybe he was checking you out as his next victim. It was an amusing thought, because that scenario would be very unlikely, but people like Raith were probably everywhere. Then again, he’d paid his debt to society, maybe he’d reformed? I asked Sally to review his last two days and whether he’d done anything illegal. That brought a frown to my face, just as the waitress put the Tuna sandwich and real potato fries down in front of me.

“Not what you ordered?” She inquired, seeing my frown.

“No, I mean, yes. Perfect. I gave her my best smile.” She twisted her face and I could read, ‘stupid old fool’ in her eyes.

“Ketchup?”

“Yes, thank-you.” She left and was back in seconds with the ketchup.

At least she showed no sign of seeing the heads-up screen.

Back to spying on Raith, while enjoying my sandwich. This was fun, even though maybe it was wrong in some way. Seems that our boy was back to his life as a pimp and Claire was a prostitute. Dang! Seventeen and already on the streets. Maybe I should do something? Inform the police, I knew where he lived. I considered the implications. He would be arrested, I guess. What do I know of vice? She would be on the streets, maybe in a worse situation. Probably just find another pimp. I glanced over, I could tell they were having a heated discussion and they didn’t want anyone else to hear. They were doing the shouting whisper thing. I asked Sally if I could hear what they were saying? Immediately their voices were loud in my ears.

“…… this anymore.” Clair’s voice.

“You owe me rent Sissy. Pay me and I’ll cut you loose.”

“You know I can’t.”

“Well when you can, I’ll be waiting.”

Her head bent lower down toward the table, maybe she had started crying, I couldn’t tell. She was quiet. He was eating. Nothing was said. She picked up a half sandwich, her face was fraught, she wiped her eyes.

“That last guy was disgusting.” Clair again. “His breath smelt like a dead fish, I don’t think he’d washed for a week. He tried to put his tongue in my mouth, I nearly fucking barfed.” Raith was quiet. “I can’t do it anymore Bobby. It’s not fair.”

“Two more and you can take the rest of the day off, go to a movie.”

“Fuck you, Bobby!” It was a whisper. They both continued eating, they were quiet. They left shortly after, I let them go.

I asked Sally if any of the other people in the café were bad people. She asked me to define bad. Hmmm… I guess there are all levels, we would have a different perspective. I said, murderers, rapists, pedophiles (I hoped there were none of those, didn’t want to see their lives), beaters of women or children, oh and terrorists. Then I thought of anybody who’d been in jail and anybody who’d stolen more than ten thousand dollars. That will do I thought to myself. None of the other patrons fitted my criteria, which was good I guess.

I left the Plum Blossom café confused and elated. Should I have intervened in the life of Clair Folsom and Bobby Raith? I don’t know. I told Sally to keep an eye on Clair, let me know if she was threatened in any way. That at least made my decision not to get involved seem okay.

I was amazed at my new gift. I wanted to understand what it could do and I truly didn’t want to go home. It was a new toy and I was going to play with it, just like a kid at Christmas. I walked toward the Muni Metro on Judah. It was mid-afternoon, the sun was playing hide and seek with the clouds. The clouds were fluffy, not indicating any major rain. The wind had risen and blew strongly from the west, I hid my hands deep in the pockets of my warm coat. March was a beautiful month in the Bay area. The tourists hadn’t yet come out to play and warmer climes were just around the corner. While I waited for the train, the crucial question still hung heavily on my mind. Why? Why had the people of Cirion contacted us now? What was the threat to earth that had triggered this wild ride? Had Sally intentionally avoided answering me in the shower? If so, what were they hiding? Was that why she had stripped off? I decided it could wait until I got home later in the day. I just wasn’t in the mood for confrontation and I wanted to test out this new power that I’d been given. I took the Metro to Downtown. It was a mistake. I should have gone home and continued with my instructions.