Installment 11

The orange-tinged sky had grown darker as the witch-doctor continued his dance.

The Prefect had also found that he could not move away or move forward, since the witch-doctor would move and circle him, regardless of what he did. So sitting and watching from his boulder seemed the simplest solution.

It was interesting to him that the statue had seemed to have taken a glow of it's own, quite regardless of the lighting it had gotten from the sky.

The problem was more that he was getting wet. Rain had started and the area he sat in was also the low part of the canyon, so water was collecting by his feet. Fortunately, he could see that it was running off, but unfortunately, it was also running in from up-canyon. Even the witch-doctor was splashing in it now.

The thunder had been increasing and was now nearly the entire lighting for the canyon other than the glow of that statue.

Rain was fairly pelting down now, and the prefect had to keep wiping his glasses in order to see at all. If this kept up...

Then he heard it. A thunderous roar. Behind him. He turned and saw something large and black welling up and coming toward them.

THEY - WERE - DOOMED...

He jumped up to run downstream way from it. The witch-doctor was already their to cut him off. It didn't matter now - he put his hand out and tried to grab the native's mask, but he wasn't there. Fine. So he started running again, and then fell flat on his face as something hit and tightened around his ankles, bruising them.

Turning over, he could see the witch-doctor behind him holding a bola, which had twisted around his legs - and behind the witch-doctor was a huge wall of water, drowning out every noise the native was screaming and about to drown them, too.

Raising his arm in front of his face, he prepared for the end --

And it all went quiet. And light.

Beneath him was sand. Around him was a clear, blue sky, which  met a clear blue ocean.

Rising to his elbows, he saw the bola still held his feet, but no one held it. Untwisting it and rubbing the spots where the stones had hit, he got to his feet.

And found he had no where to go.

A surreal landscape, it was a small hump of sand in the middle of the ocean. The waves lapped from all sides and a single palm tree grew from the apex. He had no way to tell which way was north, or where he was at all. What ocean, what part of it, what trade routes were near by, nothing.

If that weren't weird enough, two concentric circles moved around the island. One was clockwise, the other counter-clockwise. Something out of Beetlejuice - two rows of shark fins. Always circling, always the same direction, always the same distance. Sharks.

Turning back to the island, he was more than surprised to find the witch-doctor turn from behind that tree and start dancing in circles around him, screaming and yelling, interrupting any pattern with unexpected moves.

The prefect turned his head to the heavens and started screaming...

- - --

Sue sat up on her elbows. Now what? She looked down and found herself in a hospital gown, covered by one of those thin, nondescript blankets.

Looking around, she saw another bed in the room. Looking back at her, on one elbow and turned on his side facing her, was Roger. "Hello."

Sue sat up fully and looked around again. The room had two visitor chairs and a curtain which could be pulled between them. Typical buttons for the call nurse and plug-ins. No other equipment in the room. Robe at the foot of the bed and slippers on the tile floor just below where she sat on the bed.

"Recognize it?" Roger was almost smiling, but had already realized something.

"It couldn't be." Sue was astonished as the idea dawned on her.

"Yup, one of our dreams."

"No."

"Got a better explanation?"

"How did this happen?" She swung her feet down from the bed and pulled the cover off with one move. Reaching for the robe, she became aware that Roger was following her moves and hadn't changed his own position. She covered herself with her robe hastily. "What are you looking at?!?"

"You know, Sue - I'm sorry, but I've never really appreciated you for what you are. I've treated you like another grad student and can see much more now with our current situation."

Sue's face flushed beet red.

"Oh, I have to apologize again. Let me help you."  Roger sat up and turned away from her, moving to get his own robe.

As he turned, Sue could readily see that he was in the same condition as her, nothing on but the gown. She had to smile at the joke.

Sue was first to get her robe tied around her and into her slippers. She stood and made her way over to the ends of the beds.

"No charts!"

"Yea, I know. We are in an information black-hole here. But you notice that these are the same details we programmed into our subjects' rooms for this scenario." Roger was out of the bed now, the sash on his robe hanging nearly to the floor as he padded barefoot over to the window. "If you look carefully, you can just make out - nothing. Nice day, though."

"It's always a nice day, remember?" Sue padded over next to him and also looked out.

"Now what?"

"I don't know. There are a ton of options for this scenario. It depends..."

"...on who's running the program." Roger finished her sentence and looked down at her. "Looks like we are in this together, much as it's been for the last year. Not much of a life, unfortunately."

Sue was amused and looked up at him as she spoke, "But if you noticed, it hasn't been much of a life for the last year, has it?"

"Tell you what, I'll treat you to a pre-packaged juice in the Dining Hall and then we can take a leisurely walk in the Garden, followed by a movie in the rec-hall. What do you say?"

"Sounds like you're asking me for a date."

"Could be. Mathematically, the probabilities of that being the case approach '1'."

Sue giggled at that. "Well, it's the same old Roger - more or less. I accept. But let's get you dressed." She closed his robe and tied the sash around him. "Get your slippers on. Daylight's burning - so to speak."

"So to speak."

As he got his slippers on, the door slowly opened.

In the doorway stood Helen, in a nurse's uniform. "Hello, you two. Glad you could make it. We were just about to leave when we noticed your names on the roster, so we came down to say hello."

"Who are you and who is 'we'?" Sue was apprehensive at this change of affairs.

I moved into the doorway from where I had been standing.

"You can call me Helen. This is someone you should be very familiar with." She looked up at me and winked.

I pulled down the mask. "Hi, guys."

"Joe!" they both said at once.

"And I'm glad to see you, too." Giving Helen a light shove forward, I got us both clear of the door and shut it. Taking down the mask, I began to explain - as best I could.

"Now you know what we are doing here. And you are now officially part of the Anomaly. Helen was showing me how to get out of here when we decided to come and get you two for the ride. Seeing that you're here and all, it made more perfect sense. Well, Helen had to explain it to me..."

Helen interrupted. "It's a karma-type of thing, Golden rule and all that. We couldn't actually leave you here, regardless of what you've done to both of us. Because you are us, more or less - as you say. Roger could probably quote the symbolical algorithm - but never mind that."

Sue and Roger looked at each other, remembering that first 'white room' dream.

"Our next deal is getting out of here." Helen continued. "And now, you two can help."

Sue and Roger were rapt, but puzzled.

"Look," I said. "Every program has a back door, right? And you two know this program better than anyone else."

Light dawned on the couple's faces.

"It's in the furnace, by the service elevator. Of course there are trips and triggers between here and there. What you need is a walkthrough - and we both together can speed this whole thing up." Roger's mind was racing now, as if this had just became a giant 3D Multi-User Role Playing Game - just in real life - more or less.

"I know the other persona's and he knows the gates and sequences. Perfect."

"Oh, we brought you a present, something a bit more comfortable and less revealing, perhaps." Helen brought two bags from behind her back and threw one each to the couple. "Clothes to fit you. Nurses and Doctors don't walk around in skimpy gowns , robes and slippers.

Sue and Roger smiled. As Roger tore into his package, Sue got first dibs on the bathroom.

Shortly, they were both dressed with white smocks and operating masks. Below those were tasteful slacks and regular hospital shoes.

"Now we are set to go - what would you suggest first?" Helen smiled.

- - - -

I had just started my second mug of java and pan-fried bread when Doreen came back with her Land-Rover. Sitting on the ruins by the road, the sun had just started to lighten the sky, but Doreen had turned her lights off and was being as quiet as possible. Since I was sitting in the darker section of some overarching wall, she probably hadn't seen me.

Doreen swung her legs out of the driver's seat and slowly closed the door as silently as possible.

Behind her, I asked, "Ready for some coffee?" And watched her jump. "How was town?"

"I had to go get something." She looked me in the eyes, as if to see what I had figured out.

"That's pretty much what I thought. Meet anybody we know?"

"I don't know what you are talking about! Are you accusing me of doing something?" Doreen was a storm cloud now, ready to peal thunder.

"Oh, just let it go. There's nothing valuable here, so your business is your business." I noticed the photo cases were gone from the back seat. "You have to try this native coffee. With the bread, it's like one of those high-priced coffees with donuts." I took her arm and lead her back to the church ruins.

She relaxed as she walked.

The Father met us at what was the main doors with her mug. "Here. Just poured it. Hope you like goat's cream."

We all trooped into the main sanctuary toward the center, where a small fire was being tended by a native woman. The smell of fried bread, eggs, and sausage all filled the air from her frying pan. A big pot of coffee was suspended from an iron hook and swung away from the fire to keep it hot, but not cooking.

Alphonse was all smiles as usual, and stood as we returned. "Ah, so the prodigal daughter returns in one piece - with a mug of java to boot! No better way to start the day, in my estimation - a beautiful, intelligent woman and some spicy native brew - the two most valuable items a man could enjoy, in my humble opinion." Al gave a small bow as he said so.

Doreen, used to him and his Latin flattery by now, smiled in return.

"Joe was worried about you, but knew you could handle yourself. Meanwhile, our little lady here showed up to make coffee and sweetbread for us - so life is perfect once again." Al sat on a nearby stone and sipped his brew, adding a dollop of rum from his flask for more flavor.

"Well, father, what's up today?" I asked.

Father George broke into his habitual smile. "Well, we have to meet some visitors at the figure today. They are coming in with some heavy equipment down the trail you both used. It's taken them about three days to get here and they'll finish setting up about noon, which is just enough time for us to get back into the valley and have a nice lunch."

Doreen coughed and almost dropped her mug, but caught it in time, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. "Wrong pipe." she explained.

Al and I looked at each other. The father was just looking into the small fire, seeming to just enjoy the interchange as he did the sun rising in the east.

- - - -

"What's this Trickster all about, Joseph?" I asked him while I looked over his chalkboard in the library.

"The trickster is very similar to the shape shifter, in that he or she is an agent for change, but the difference is that the trickster will poke fun, while the shape shifter is not who he or she pretends to be. Either could lure the hero to his doom, or act as an ally - depending."

"Depending on what?" I asked.

"The plot of the myth, the character of the hero." Said Joseph.

- - - -

The sand was just as pure. The ocean and sky just as blue in their own ways. And the sharks still circled the island, one set counter-clockwise, one clockwise - the same distance always.

In fact, everything was the same - except...

Alone on the island was the witch-doctor, bound and gagged, struggling to free himself.

There was blood on the sand near him, but it wasn't his.

The sharks continued to swim, the sun beat down from the sky.

- - - -

We made our way back to an upper floor. Roger had managed to get a piece of paper and a pen off one of the carts and was making a list. "This is what we'll need to get through this level - er - dream." He was cool, almost excited.

Helen had led us up to an elective surgery room. "I know this is the next step, but what are we to do in here?"

Roger replied, "We need a scalpel, a clipboard, and the extension cord from one of the spare power supplies."

Sue rejoined, "Here we meet one of the main characters, so we have to play this cool. Helen you are going to distract him and put up with his advances. Don't lead him on, but give him your phone number."

Roger added: "245-6537."

Sue told me, "You are going to be looking at the x-rays. Try not to let anyone get a good look at you. Get that clipboard and act like you're making notes, but don't let anyone see it. Roger and I will get the scalpel and the extension cord."

Roger finally told us, "Enter the room 2 by 2. Sue and me first, then you two. Helen, you move around the doctor and manage to 'bump' into him, dropping something for him to pick up. Joe, move directly over to that x-ray display and keep your face to it. OK? Let's go."

With that, the scene moved off like a play. Helen played coy with the gullible and handsome doctor, while Sue and Roger moved to their positions. I got the clipboard and started making notes as I reviewed each x-ray in turn. I couldn't see much of what was going on in the room, as I was facing away from the action. I could hear Helen giggle and carry on, but nothing from Roger or Sue.

"Doctor, can I help you with anything?" A nurse was at my elbow. I pretended to be studying some line on the x-ray. "Doctor, is something wrong?" She grabbed my arm to pull me to face her.

At that point, something sparked in an electrical arc  near the wall across the room. Instead of looking, I turned the other way and made my way to the exit.

"Sorry, so sorry. Looks like I've got to get another one of these. Be back real quick." Roger took a smoldering cord in his hand as he moved across the room, coming out just as I did. Helen was already there and Sue came out shortly.

"Now - this way, quick." Roger led us into an alcove while two emergency personnel entered the room we had just left. "Over here. Follow me." Roger almost sprinted down the hall and to the left, then into an office.

We were all close behind.

"Those emergency technicians were there to check out the smoke and have to find an empty hall way." Sue explained. Timing is key right here." She locked the door behind us.

Roger was around to the back of the desk. "Let's see, it's top drawer, top left drawer, bottom right drawer - OK. Jackpot." From that drawer, he took a comic book and a girly mag, placing the latter inside the former, and rolling it together with piece of surgical hose. He also took a ball-peen hammer, which he handed to me. From the trash, he extracted the daily paper and then pulled the liner, dumping the contents back into the trash receptacle. Pointing to Helen, he said. "Take that smock. It has an ID badge in the pocket. Make sure you don't lose the ID badge. We'll lose the smock in another area, so hold on to it."

To me, he said, "Sit down on that couch and pull your legs up to your stomach, then wrap your arms around them. Good. Ok, get up. Let's go."

I was puzzled, but we all followed him through the adjoining secretary's office. Sue again locked the inner door behind us. Roger stopped to flip the desk calendar to June 16th and remove that page, then turn it back the way he found it. "You wouldn't believe what this does, but we need the distraction in about an hour from now."

With that, he moved to the outer office door and looked both ways. "Too early."

Sue said, "There's a janitor who has to see us, or one of us when we enter the hall."

Roger peeked out again and then quickly left and then re-entered, locking the door loudly. He whispered, "Get ready -- three - two - one." We heard the lock on the other side being opened and Roger silently opened the lock and door to the hall from the secretary's office and then motioned us all outside quickly - he then pointed to the stairs and put a finger to his lips to do so quietly.

He went the opposite direction and dropped the June 16th calendar page in the middle of the hall, continued to the elevator bank to push the button on the center set, then walked in his cushioned shoes in a natural gait back to the stairwell and quickly entered with the rest of us. Sue led us up one flight.

All of this seemed counter-intuitive.

When we got to the next floor, we found the nurse's lounge empty and were able to talk.

Roger spoke first. "I always hated that part. If you run with these shoes, you give yourself away - they make a louder squeak. And any other shoes leave a mark which the janitor finds."

Sue continued. "The janitor is having an affair with the secretary, who is also making moves on the doctor. The janitor is neurotic and jumps to conclusions easily. He's also superstitious. Seeing that date on the floor of the hallway means their date has been discovered. So he assumes the doctor took the elevator down. The janitor is a bit more than nervous, so that is why we took the hammer."

Roger added, "Oh, that reminds me. Put it in the cupboard under the sink. It's safe there and no one interacts with it that way."

I did as he told. Rising, I then asked, "What's next?"

Roger replied, "We wait exactly 15 minutes and then head out the other door."

I looked at Helen and she seemed to be taking this all in stride. Sue was also cool, but perhaps that was because of her post-grad work under the Precept who seemed a bit domineering.

All I knew is that this was going to be a very interesting day.