(part 4)
The young, bored Korean woman looked at Irving... A 'deer in the headlights' kind of look. Scary, in a way...
"Sir... That empty lot has been there ever since I was a child. When I was 6, my parents bought this shop. One uncle long ago
had a curio shop located there. But when he died... the store was closed up for years... and finally torn down. At least, I think it was."
Irving looked shocked. He nearly felt like he was in a dream world of someone else's making. And that feeling did not agree with him.
"Well, Thank-You, Miss. Am sorry that I bothered you. Is that magazine any good? Guess I'll let you get back to it..."
"Oh, this old pulp relic. This was one of the few things my parents had from my uncle's shop, before it closed forever. I'm done with it.
Here... You look like you need a break... Take it home with you... You might enjoy reading it." She held the magazine out toward him.
"Why, Thanks... I'd like that. After the weird afternoon this turned out to be, some old Sci-fi just might be what I need tonight."
He took the offered dog-eared magazine from an earlier era. Few people read actual books now. They took up too much space. Sigh.
# # #
When Irving got home to his deluxe apartment... He was dumbfounded for the second time this day. The I-god was gone!
He knew he had left the thing there on his dresser, by his ex-wife's photo in the silver frame. But there... It was not.
"Dang, has someone pocketed it? The manager has my door key... Maybe he snagged it... For himself? Bastard!"
But before Irving went banging on the manager's door... He opened the pulp magazine. He found one story in it
that sent a cold and heavy chill all up and down his spine. A chill like he never knew before. He turned to page 22,
where one story started... The story was called: 'The Dream Machine'. The main character's name... was Ethan Jonathan Irving.
He scanned through the story, skipping ahead... A man rents a strange device... From a strange store... In the garment area
of a large American city. Later, the store... and the odd device... soon disappear mysteriously. And then the man as well..."
# # #
The rental manager opened the front door with his key copy, and ushered in the local complex electrician...
"Please, see if there's any electrical issues... The neighbors nearby said they saw a strange, bluish light, very late
on Saturday night... On Monday morning I called on the man, in case there was a problem, but he did not answer.
Notice, the whole place is all clean as a bone... Not a single stick of furniture, or an old sock. Weird, just weird!"
(THE END)