It was too late for Jimmy to back out as his screen flashed the read receipt. Paul knew Jimmy was available to hang out, but afternoon drinks would mean a bar, and a bar would mean potentially being watched.
Jimmy’s imagination ran for a moment to some guy in a trench coat and hat stalking his every move. He glanced outside and saw a couple jogging on his street, a maintenance man loading equipment from the back of his truck, and a girl he may have recognized from his apartment building walking her dog.
How many people could Mr. Haldrin have watching him?
“I’d love to get together. Kind of drinked out at the moment though,” Jimmy wrote back. It was true, and it got him out of going to a public place. Paul’s reply was near instant.
“That’s actually better. Jean and the kids want to see you too. How about dinner?”
Despite the morning and afternoon, Jimmy smiled. Not only did this get him out of a public place with Paul, he would be out in the suburbs. Easy to see strangers there, less places to hide when sitting on a back patio.
“Sounds great,” he wrote back. “What time and what can I bring?”
Hours later, armed with homemade salsa and store-bought potato salad, Jimmy caught himself smiling as the skyline traded apartments and offices for mature trees and two-story homes. Aside from stop signs, there was nothing for anyone to lurk behind at these corners.
The stairs to Paul’s front door never felt easier, and the smell of grilling hamburger beef no doubt coming from the backyard made them attractive. He had no sooner knocked when a cacophony of screaming children and a barking dog erupted from the other end.
Over it all, Paul’s voice erupted. “Settle down!” The children stopped, but the dog persisted. The door opened, and Paul met his friend with a smile.
“Come on in, I’ll take those,” Paul said as he grabbed the salsa and salad. “You know the drill.”
“Mr. Jimmy!” two young voices shouted before he was nearly barreled over by Paul’s children. This was made worse by the medium-sized mutt that wove between his feet as it begged to be scratched.
“Nora, Isaac, let our guest in!” Jean’s voice was playful but firm.
“Why don’t you make Zeus stop?” protested Nora.
“Because he knows when to stop,” Paul answered, scooping up the dog in his spare arm. To the dog’s credit, he did stop attempting to get to Jimmy. “And he’s easier to pick up.”
“Papa!” shouted both kids. Ages five and seven, they were still tiny.
“Don’t worry kids, your godfather is still strong enough to handle you two.” Quick as a flash, Jimmy scooped the two up over his shoulders. They kicked and giggled as he carried them into the kitchen. “Brought two sacks of potatoes for you, Jeannie.”
“Oh, you can toss those in the living room,” Jean answered, pointing toward the couch.
“No problem.” The kids now screamed playfully as Jimmy dramatically, but safely, plopped them onto the couch cushions.
“Can I get you a drink?” Paul asked from the kitchen. Jimmy turned to see his best friend test a pair of tongs with a dopey expression on his face. “I got burgers and brats outside, should be ready in about five.”
“Water sounds great for now,” Jimmy answered. Jean pulled out a glass and set it next to a pitcher. Paul bowed his head and stepped out into the backyard.
“It’s good to see you, Jimmy,” Jean said, reaching out for a side hug. “It’s been too long.”
“Tell me about it,” Jimmy answered. “I mean**,** look at the kids!”
They were still small, but not small. When had he last seen them, and why did they feel twice the size as that distant image in his head?
“How have you been?” he asked.
“Oh, living the dream. Nora starts homeschool this year, and you know Isaac, he’ll probably want to start too, can’t be left out.” Jimmy chuckled with her. “Paul’s new job keeps him busy, but pays him enough that I can stay home, so I can’t complain.”
“Oh?” Jimmy caught himself in surprise. He hadn’t known Paul had a new job.
“He didn’t tell you?” Jean asked.
“Well, you know, we see each other at the gym, at my place. The topic never comes up.”
“You men,” Jean shook her head. “How you’ve guys been friends for so long but not ask questions is beyond me!”
“Does a man who finds a lost dog ask questions?” Paul asked as he entered back inside. He had a plate full of grilled meat. He adopted a burly, macho voice. “No. Jimmy adopted me as an introvert in high school, and that’s how we became best friends—not through your silly, feminine questions!”
“Oh, knock it off,” Jean slapped Paul’s chest and, though the big man winced, the two shared a smile. “Kids, who wants to help set the table?”
Jimmy took up a handful of silverware, helping the young children to set the forks and spoons. Soon, a full spread of a proper backyard grill-out was set before them, more than enough for Jimmy to have seconds—and marvel as Paul had fourths.
Full though he was, Jimmy refused to turn down the brownies Jean had made, serving as a perfect treat to eat as the night moved out to the back patio. Nora and Isaac ran Zeus around the yard as the adults talked.
“So, you seeing anyone lately?” Jean asked.
Jimmy faltered for a minute.
He couldn’t remember her face, but the voice was allowed to stay in his head.
Perhaps we’ll meet again.
“No, not really,” he answered, hoping Jean hadn’t caught his pause. Thankfully, Paul interrupted before she could press for more.
“It’ll happen, one day. Girl, wife, kids—it’s a good life.” Paul raised his cup and gestured toward the kids. “Then they become the priority.”
“Sounds like a fair trade,” Jimmy said.
“Anything for them, for her, is a fair trade,” Paul answered.
Jimmy watched as his best friend stared at his own kids and let out a long, contented, but tired sigh.
There was Jean, the kids. Other families. Other people.
Had the woman’s power allowed her to make sure certain memories stuck as other ones faded?
A high chirping sound blared from Paul’s pocket, and Jimmy caught Jean as she pursed her lips into what was clearly a controlled acceptance.
“Dang it,” Paul said, reaching for the phone. “I told the office I needed the night off tonight.”
“It must be important if they’re going to call anyway,” Jean said soothingly.
Paul tensed as only his eyes moved back and forth reading a text. “This is bad. No real time to explain.”
“Gotta jet?” Jimmy asked.
“The price of being crucial, I guess.” He looked up at Jimmy, a sardonic grin on his face, then back to his wife. “Sorry, honey. This is important. Jimmy**,** hopefully I’ll see you Sunday?”
“No promises.” But Jimmy nodded as he said it.
Paul gave his wife a kiss, hugged the kids, and shook Jimmy’s hand before grabbing his keys and taking off through the house.
“I’ll help clean up before I get going,” Jimmy offered, and Jean happily accepted. It was only a few dishes, and then Jean and the kids walked Jimmy to the door.
“Thanks for coming over, Jimmy,” Jean said. “Thanks for being a friend to my husband.”
“What do you mean?” Jimmy asked at the odd question.
Jean shooed the kids back into the kitchen before she answered.
“I don’t want to complain. Paul is a good man, a hard worker, but this new job seems to be taking a lot out of him. He just seems tired all the time, and the training at the gym seems more intense than ever.”
“Has it been?” Jimmy mocked surprise in his question. While a small part of him felt relieved to learn his friend was receiving some sort of compensation, there was no question why Paul was tired.
“Yes.” Jean crossed her arms. “And last week he came home with bruises on his stomach. They were gone by the next day. He swore it was just the lighting, but I used to be a school nurse. I know bruising.”
Jimmy scratched his head uncomfortably. “I don’t know what to say, Jeannie.”
His best friend’s wife let out her own drawn-out sigh.
“Just keep being the good friend you are. I’m his wife, but I know there are some things he won’t tell me. I don’t mean anything bad, I mean maybe some stress he’s trying to save me from. Maybe he won’t be that way with you.”
“Maybe.” And before he could stop himself, Jimmy added, “I’ll see what I can do for Paul.”
Jean smiled and gave Jimmy an appreciative pat on his shoulder.
“Take care of yourself, Jimmy—and don’t be a stranger.”
Jimmy said his goodbye and walked toward his car. The sun was dipping toward the horizon, and by the time the tree line gave itself up to the steadily rising buildings, it was fully dark. Maybe it was the food, but the city felt peaceful, in its own way, and unusually empty.
Jimmy was only a few blocks away from his apartment when he noticed a crowd.
“Strange,” he mumbled. There was no public event he knew of, especially so late, but why else would so many people be standing there? Was there live music? “What the?”
An unseen thing surged through his body, causing every hair to stand on end and prickle at the back of his neck. A split second later, every window in his car cracked and shattered. Instinctively, he shut his eyes and ducked.
His power steering locked up, and though the motor had died, he had to fight to direct the rolling vehicle to the side of the road. Coming to a stop against a parking meter, he looked to see that nearly all the windows on the first three stories around him had suffered the same fate as his car.
Then he looked up. He could see only a grim gray cloud of dust rising where the crowd was. Without thinking, he got out of his car, sprinting toward the unseen wreckage. There was no fire, no electricity, just whatever that shock was.
There had to be survivors.
Closer to the scene, he could see chunks of cement and bricks scattered everywhere. And people waving and calling.
“Help me, please!”
It was the first of many voices, but he turned and spotted the girl he’d seen walking her dog earlier. Now her leg was trapped under the broken base of a fallen streetlight. Without hesitation, Jimmy began to heft the broken pole enough for her to shimmy away.
“Where’s your dog?” he asked, not bothering to explain why.
As if in answer, the pup darted from under a dented car, shaking in the woman’s arms.
“If you can move, get as far away as you can.”
A sudden roar from somewhere deeper in the dust offered more encouragement, and with no time to say thanks, the woman and her dog were gone in a crowd of fleeing survivors. Jimmy steeled himself and ran against the crowd. His home was that way, after all.
It did not take long for the chaos to deepen. Around him, Jimmy saw the shadows of people running in every direction. Some stumbled, others clutched at spots of blood even the dust couldn’t hide. Others simply froze on the spot in shock.
Now there was a metallic groan and a booming, though familiar, voice.
“Everyone back!” came the shout.
Ahead, the second story of a building was missing its fire escape, and now the wall seemed to sag. The collapse, however, never came. Through the dust, Jimmy squinted to see someone pressing against its base, trying to hold it up. Though a hood covered his head, Jimmy recognized the build.
“Move!” Paul’s call boomed over the din. “I can’t hold it much longer!”
The last of the stragglers ran away, but one woman struggled. Like many, she appeared trapped under debris. There was a loud grunt, and for a moment the wall swayed back and up. Quick as he could, Paul lifted the rubble pinning her down.
Jimmy saw a slight figure dart forward, grab the woman and get her to some unseen safe place. While she was safe, the strain was too much for the wall. A second cloud of dust filled the air, swallowing Paul.
Snapping at the sight, Jimmy sprinted toward his friend. He was about to shout, not caring for secrecy, when movement from within the downed building caught his eye.
A heartbeat later, something stirred within the dust. Then Paul stepped out. The hood that hid his face was torn to shreds, but a thick layer of gray dust coated every inch of his exposed skin.
He rolled one shoulder, it was a move Jimmy had seen him do in the gym, and immediately turning back toward the wreckage, carefully searching for any survivors.
“Paul,” Jimmy whispered to himself, but if his friend heard, whenever looked at Jimmy. The hero was searching to make sure no one else was caught in the damage. It was then that Jimmy noticed not everyone who remained standing was in shock.
A cold shudder rippled through Jimmy’s spine, almost like the shock before the windows broke.
Everyone who hadn’t fled stood in place. Their eyes fixed, almost hungrily on Paul. At the same time, his ears picked up on something new. Someone was speaking. With the screaming beginning to thin, the word became unmistakable.
“Congregabis.” It echoed like one voice from many mouths.
As the chant grew, Jimmy saw a little boy moving toward one of the people chanting, a wicked smile growing on her face. Jimmy ran to grab the kid, not knowing what was wrong but knowing no child should be witness to it.
But as he reached to scoop up the boy, a hand grasped his wrist. He turned to see the unknown woman.
Now a new chant began. “Found another.”
Terrified for himself and the boy, Jimmy screamed for him to run, but he was stuck in place. Another smiling person approached. Then another. And another. Though none were in a hurry. Each had the same vapid grin.
Desperate, Jimmy called for someone, anyone to help. Where were the Vigilant now? Was this crowd even a threat to Paul?
Wham.
The grip on his wrist broke as the woman fell to the ground. In his haste to pull away, Jimmy fell too. More heavy thuds sounded around him, and a familiar voice cut through the dust.
“I’ve seen privates with better self-preservation instincts, Farmer.”
Mr. Haldrin emerged through the dust, his sleeves rolled up and fists clenched, alongside the two men Jimmy recognized as the bouncers.
“Can you move?”
Jimmy stared stupidly from the ground.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” With a snap of his fingers, one of the men hauled Jimmy to his feet.
“How did you?” Jimmy began.
Mr. Haldrin never looked back. “I’ll explain in the car. Let’s go.”
The bouncers each grabbed an arm, guiding Jimmy through the chaos. He looked back for his friend one last time.
Emergency crews were already nearby, their red and blue lights piercing the dust. He caught flashes of shadows, some unseen, and the sounds of an unheard fight. But there was one silhouette he recognized. The biggest one.
Paul wasn’t dispatching whatever was going on. He was on his knees, lifting broken concrete and pipes, calling for anyone still trapped.
Whether it was sweat or tears cutting through the cement caked on his face, Jimmy couldn’t tell.
A firm hand shoved his head down into a car, and he had just enough time to hear the door slam shut.
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