He never should’ve come here. He should’ve just accepted the explanation that Miller had tried drugs and that it went very badly for him. He should never have continued playing that game. And he never should’ve gone to Arcadia. The truth wasn’t worth dying over.
Lewis turned around and opened his eyes.
Then froze.
He was standing in the middle of a dark forest road, a starry sky high above him.
25
Lewis blinked multiple times, but he was still there. An overturned SUV lay in the middle of the asphalt. A cool breeze sifted through the leaves of the tall trees above. There was no sign of the woman or her crying son. He turned back to the door, but it was gone. Somehow, he was really here.
That’s bullshit, he told himself. You’ve passed out in a storage closet. This is some kind of dream, wake up.
And it did feel as if he could snap back to reality at any moment, but something nudged him to stay. Slowly, he began walking toward the vehicle. The other car, the red Chevy Trailblazer, was just up the road with its trunk against the tree, a single high beam blazing out of the gloom. He didn’t want to look inside it; he already knew the evil that awaited within.
“Lewis…”
It was the Miller-astronaut’s synthesized voice again, sounding like a breathy whisper. He spun around. It seemed like it had come from all around him.
“For Christ’s sake, what do you want?” he asked.
No answer.
“This place is in the past, there’s nothing left here.” There was a nervous edge to Lewis’s voice.
“We both know that’s not true.”
“I won’t let you hold this over me, it was too long ago.”
“Was it really? My, time does fly…” The voice gave something akin to a chuckle, then sighed. “I want you to remember how it all went down.”
“No.”
“You see Lewis, you may have locked these memories up and tossed away the key, but I’ve found that key. And you know what? It really wasn’t that hard to discover. I just had to push the right buttons.”
“I can leave any time I like.”
“Sure, go ahead and try.”
Lewis stood there, staring at the wreck and clenching his fists. Tears started forming in his eyes, his breath coming in ragged gasps.
“That’s what I thought,” the voice said. “You don’t have the will to leave. This is what happens when you don’t dwell on the past.”
He forced a laugh. “That’s terrible advice.”
“I want you to immerse yourself in this night, remind yourself how it went wrong. Remember the pain you felt. Know that you don’t deserve anything better than to feel this pain every waking second of your life.”
“Fuck you, I don’t need to hear this.” He turned and began walking up the road, which lead into pitch blackness.
“Everything’s gonna be alright.”
Lewis stopped. He slowly looked back over his shoulder. The woman and her boy had appeared in their usual space, still trapped in the same loop. He walked back toward them, tears streaming down his face now. It all felt so surreal.
He crouched down beside them. The boy didn’t notice him, but his mother gradually twisted her neck in his direction. Lewis jumped back in horror. Her eyes were completely black and glowing blue veins ran across her face.
“This is all your fault.”
Desmond Lewis screamed.
A violent shudder convulsed through him and he opened his eyes, suddenly very awake. He stared into complete darkness and a cold, hard surface pressed against his back. He shot to his feet and threw open the door, stumbling back out into the hallway of the Orbital’s lower level, gasping for breath.
Lewis looked back at the darkened closet. He’d have to find somewhere else to hide. No way he was going back in there.
After closing the door, he began walking toward the main concourse. The cut on his leg where the bullet had grazed him barely bothered him anymore. Once he reached the corner, he looked both ways for any sign of the men in black, and, seeing none, continued off to the right toward the shops.
Where high-fashion boutique stores reigned on the upper floors, here he saw window displays full of science fiction themed clothes and accessories. Video game franchise names from Halo to Dead Space to Half-Life to Deus Ex were featured prominently. As he moved on, he saw the focus shift to movie titles including Star Wars and Alien.
Tourists ambled in both directions, some entering and exiting the shops. Lewis spotted the sign for a public restroom up ahead and slipped into the men’s. Nobody else was in here. It was pristinely white and lit by snowy fluorescents running the perimeter of the large mirror wall mounted above all the sinks.
He went into the biggest stall, locked it, and placed his hands on the edge of the sink inside. There was another mirror in here, a vertical rectangle unlike the horizontal one outside. It too had white fluorescent light emanating from each side. Lewis stared at his own reflection. He looked haggard and on edge.
Sighing, he turned on the faucet and splashed some water on his face. He had no idea how he was going to find Jenna and Gonzalez with the people from Arcadia scouring the city for them. He considered calling them, but realized they’d probably have access to his phone calls. That also meant they could track him on GPS.
Shit. Frantically, he fumbled for his phone and turned the location setting off. He realized he should’ve done that before he came in here. If any of their people had hacked into any of the casino’s surveillance equipment, he’d be a dead man. There was an ungodly number of cameras all over Las Vegas so it wouldn’t take long for them to locate Gonzalez or Jenna either.
He slammed his fist against the wall and swore.
Maybe a payphone would work. He had Jenna’s number on his phone and had kept Gonzalez’s card in his wallet. Of course, Jenna might’ve ditched her phone for the same reason he wasn’t going to use his, but he should be able to contact Gonzalez. If he couldn’t reach either of them, he was fucked.
The door to the bathroom opened. The new arrival didn’t make straight for a stall or a urinal. Instead, there was silence for several moments, then one carefully placed footfall after the other. One stall door creaked as it was pushed open, then another.
Lewis froze. There was no point in trying to climb up on the toilet seat. He’d locked the door, they’d know someone was in here. And even if he left it unlocked they’d still look inside. He was cornered.
Maybe he could take them. He could use the element of surprise, grab their weapon. Of course, these people were highly trained professionals. There was no telling what–
His entire body tensed up.
A blue glow swept across the floor. Slow, deep breaths through a muffled respirator reached his ears. Very slowly, he looked down and saw white futuristic boots approaching along the tile.
No way, no fucking way.
The figure drew nearer. He heard it opening the stall right beside him.
It’s not possible. You’re seeing things again.
A shape moved in front of the door, blue light shining in through the tiny gap between the door and the stall’s outer wall. Lewis’s entire body became immobile; he could barely breathe. Then an acute pain exploded in his head, burning from a single point inside his skull.
The latch slid open and the astronaut entered, it’s breathing now deafening in his ears. He collapsed onto the pristine white floor, panting, his vision blurring. The migraine was unbearable now. He could pinpoint the source, he could feel it. He just wanted someone to slice open his head and cut it out.