Part III. Help from Friends
"The Shift has to be someplace that the Vanguard won't be watching," April
thought. One place they might not think of was inside Sarah's apartment, since
Sarah would be at work this time of day. April was getting more confident she
could go anywhere she'd been before that she could picture. She Shifted.
"Uggh! That was rougher than I thought. I haven't been here in quite a while,"
thought April. She had stayed with Sarah for a few days when she first arrived in
Newport. Then they'd had a big fight and Sarah kicked her out. That's when
April met Charlie at the Fringe Café and he told her about the Border House
where she could rent a room from Fiona and Mickey.
First order of business was to check Sarah's FACT terminal. Unlike the one in
the Border House it had a working voice interface.
"Computer, give me police bulletins on April Ryan."
"Thank you," said the syrupy voice of the Free Access Terminal. "April Ryan:
wanted for questioning about the disappearance of the Jacob McAllen, leader of
the Church of the Voltec. Wanted for breaking into the Metro West Police
Station and removing a classified data cube. Wanted for entering the mid-level
status zone with a black-market false identification card. Wanted for breach of
colony contract with Bokamba/Mercer. Considered extremely dangerous. This
data has been brought to you by Bokamba/Mercer and Bingo! Cola, makers of the
world's favorite soft drinks and handguns. Bingo! It's not just the best cola, it's
the only cola!"
"Ouch!" said April.
"For all your pain needs consider Rapture Revisited, by SweetDreams
Pharmaceuticals. Twice the high at half the price," droned the computer.
April cut in with a new question. "Computer, give me current medical
information for Emma Trevors."
Luckily for April patient privacy was a thing of the past, at least for
lower-income patients.
"Thank you. Emma Trevors was admitted to Goren General Hospital for a
blaster wound on August 6, 2209, now in Room 991. This data has been brought
to you by..."
April stopped listening and went to Sarah's bedroom to think. The situation in
Stark was hot, red-hot. She hadn't been as clever at covering her tracks as she
thought and now a new life in Arcadia looked like her only option. But she was
still determined to talk to Emma and Charlie before she left, if she could. She
decided to go everywhere by Shifting rather than risk a genetic scan for the
subway that might set off alarms.
April had been to the emergency room of Goren General with a sprained ankle
once after tripping on the stairs at Border House. After waiting several hours
because of the huge backlog of gang shootings and drug overdoses, she had given
up and gone home. She had been sitting across from a supply closet while she
waited, and several times she had looked inside while it was opened. She hadn't
been inside but it should still be possible to Shift there. Art had helped her focus
her Shifts before. She got a piece of paper and a pencil and sketched the waiting
room and the closet until she felt the connection. She Shifted first to Arcadia to
where she had left, rested several minutes, then stared at the paper and Shifted
again. The effort was less using the paper.
In the closet, hanging from a hook, was a white nurse's coat. She put this on and,
trying to look confident, stepped out of the closet and proceeded around the
corner to the main elevators.
She found Room 991 quickly. She spotted Emma in a bed in the corner and
walked slowly over to her. Emma had bandages wrapped around her chest. She
didn't look great but it wasn't as bad as April had imagined.
"Emma, don't yell or anything. Keep your voice down. It's me," whispered April.
"April!! Where have you been? They haven't caught you?" gasped Emma.
"No, and I don't plan on letting them. I just had to see how you were. I'm so sorry
you got caught in the middle of this," said April.
"Do you have any idea how much trouble you're in? You were on 'Corporation's
Most Wanted' on the Screen last night," whispered Emma.
"Fame at last."
"It isn't funny, April. You're in a whole world of trouble."
"Only half a world, fortunately."
"Huh?"
"Never mind."
"You lied to Charlie and me! We asked you what was going on and you fed us a
bunch of bull. You said you hadn't done anything criminal, when you had broken
into the police station and stolen records just that afternoon!"
"I was going to tell you more the next day, the whole story. But something came
up and I had to leave," said April.
She'd had to leave all right. She'd accidentally opened a Shift in her closet while
she was sleeping and it pulled her into Arcadia. She couldn't control her Shifts
back then and it took days to get home. By the time she returned, Gordon
Halloway (the evil, emotionless version) had traced her and he was threatening
her friends with his power-armored Vanguard agents. When April returned to
Border House the situation escalated and Emma was shot. So was Zack, the creep
across the hall who had betrayed her to the Vanguard. She wasn't as sorry about
him as about Emma.
"It's all the fault of that Cortez!" said Emma. "He's some kind of terrorist, isn't
he? They said you were working with someone to kidnap Jacob McAllen. They
said you lured McAllen to the roof of the IMF building and then someone must
have taken him away in a hover car. April, how could you have changed so much
in such a short time?"
"You don't know the whole story. McAllen is really bad news. He's, like, out to
take over the world. I was drafted to help stop him. But I didn't kidnap him or
anything."
"I know he's bad news! His creepy employee Halloway had me shot! But why are
you the one trying to save the world? Are you on Rapture? I've heard it can cause
delusions of grandeur."
"No drugs, I swear. But if that's what you want to believe..."
"I believe you. But still don't understand. How did you get away from Border
House after they shot me? There were guards all over the place."
"I got out my window and jumped into the canal -- which is more like an open
sewer. I got out downstream. Then a little old lady opened her door to me and hid
me from the Vanguard agents."
"Really? Sounds pretty lame to me."
"It's a bit more complicated than that but I don't have time to tell you all the
details. You wouldn't believe them anyway."
It was a _lot_ more complicated than that. April had gotten out by way of the
canal, all right. But she had taken an invisibility potion that came from an
alchemist's laboratory to elude the agents. As for the old lady, that was even
weirder. A mysterious door near the Fringe Café had suddenly opened and April
found herself Shifted to a cozy cottage with a fireplace. The old woman had
introduced herself as Lady Alvane and said the place was her home, the House of
All Worlds. Like all the Arcadian mystics April had met, Lady Alvane delivered
all sorts of predictions and advice about April's future. April would have to make
great sacrifices and there would be a pain that would remain in her heart forever.
She told her that Emma wasn't dead (as April had feared) but was in the hospital.
She told April that her friends were angry with her for not telling them the truth
but to let them help her. April wasn't about to ask them for any help that would
put them in any more danger, but there was one thing they could help with...
"Emma, what do you really think about me? Am I a monster?"
"April, no matter what you've done, I know your heart's good. You're an
inspiration to me. I don't know where you've gotten all the courage, the guts you
have. I wish I had your kind of strength. If you think you can save the world, I say
-- go for it. You can't make it any worse than it is now."
"I hope not. Cross your fingers for me. By the way, do you know what happened
to Fiona and Mickey?"
"They came by to see me yesterday. They're closing down the Border House.
Fiona is going back to England and Mickey says she's going with her. They're
really a devoted couple in spite of how different they both are. The Happy
Hedonist and Iron Woman -- opposites attract."
"What about Charlie?"
"I was wondering when you'd get around to him! He's still working at the Fringe
Café and hanging around outside Border House, hoping you'll come back. He says
the Vanguard goons have gone for now. I don't know what's up with that."
"They've lost their leadership and that's probably thrown them into a mess."
"Be _really_ careful if you try to see him. I wouldn't if I were you. The Vanguard
may be gone for the moment but there's still the police and Bokamba/Mercer
after you."
"I've got to try. I have a place to hide out if it gets too dangerous."
"April, be careful. I'm so scared for you..."
April gave her a big hug and then found a deserted corridor where she could Shift
back to Arcadia.
The best place to find Charlie at this time of day was the Fringe Café. People
might recognize her there, so she put on the slit goggles. She turned the nurse's
coat inside out and put it back on. Now she looked either like someone trying to
set a new fashion trend or a druggie.
All this Shifting was wearing her out. She decided she would need to do a couple
more drawings. She sketched the bathroom in the Café on the back of the paper.
For good measure she drew the Venar's tree to help her return.
April Shifted. She was nearly exhausted but she arrived there safely. She came
out and stepped up to the bar where Charlie was working. He was a 20-year-old
bartender with ambitions to be a dancer, tall and dark-skinned with a ponytail,
with a trace of a Jamaican accent.
"Could you take a break so I can talk to you in private for a little while?" April
asked.
His eyes widened when he saw her, but he gave no outward sign that might give
her away. He nodded.
"Meet you in the alley behind the Café in a few minutes," she said. "I'll go first so
we aren't seen leaving together."
The alley wasn't the most clean-smelling place for a meeting but it was at least
private for the moment.
"Have you been OK, Charlie?"
"April-girl, I've been so worried about you. I've been fine. The police asked some
questions but I didn't tell them anything. I couldn't have, because you didn't tell
me. Don't you know you can trust your friends?"
"I do, Charlie. And I'll tell you everything now." She gave him the whole story:
Cortez, Arcadia, dragons, and all.
"Do you believe me?" she asked at the end of the story.
"I have to, because I believe in you," said Charlie. "I've seen weird things
happening, too. There was that night a little creature appeared in place of the
jukebox, playing a pipe. And today I saw a strange-looking guy appear out of
nowhere beside the Café, look around for a moment, and disappear again. Like
those Shifter agents you said the Vanguard is cloning, I guess."
"Oh-oh, that means the Vanguard is still looking for me, just keeping a low
profile so we'll drop our guard. I don't dare stay here much longer. Just one thing
I'd like to know before I go."
"Yes, girl?"
"Now you know I'm n-not human does that change how you feel about me?"
"April, you're the most human person I know. I care about you more than ever.
You're a real hero, you know?"
"There's another mission I'm supposed to do in Arcadia, to help stop a war. If it
works out there's a chance things will be peaceful there. It's a beautiful place,
Charlie. Not like this trashed-out world. Maybe we could... start a new life there.
There's nothing left for me here except jail or the colonies."
"I'd do it in a flash, April-girl. And I bet they have a bigger market for dancers
since there's no Screens."
"I've heard it's really hard for a non-Shifter to get across. It took Brian
Westhouse years and it nearly killed him. It's easier through the Guardian's
Realm. I'll find some way, I promise. But there's one thing that worries me."
"What is it?"
"The prophecies were on my side before. Now they're against me. And
prophecies are real there, Charlie. They come true."
"April, you just do what you know in your heart is right. Don't worry about
prophecies -- let them take care of themselves."
"Ok, Charlie, thanks. Just knowing you support me helps a lot."
They embraced and shared a long kiss. She let him go and watched him walk
around the corner back to the Café.
Suddenly, a man appeared at each end of the alley, out of nowhere. Vanguard
Shifter agents! Each had a blaster pointed at her and they advanced towards her
steadily.
She tried to Shift and found she was so drained that it wasn't working.
"Come on, you can do it!" she thought desperately.
She grabbed out the drawing of the Venar's tree and with the last of her energy
she Shifted there.
But the two agents Shifted right along with her, following her path. They raised
their weapons. She stared at them hopelessly, knowing she had no more energy to
Shift again.
Suddenly Abnaxus and Abbinus popped out from behind trees, each behind one
of the agents. They held large wooden clubs and they struck the men down before
they knew anyone was there.
"In the nick of time!" said April.
"Before time nicked," said Abnaxus. "We see this future for you and are
prepared."
-----------
April's Diary: August 8, 2209 Tuesday night
I'm sooo tired I can't write much tonight. But I feel a lot better after talking to
Emma and Charlie. Like that song from the Middle Ages I heard one time, "I get
by with a little help from my friends."
Tomorrow I'm getting started on the new quest. I'll have to figure out how to get
to Baksheva without a ship. I have an idea how to get part way there, at least.
Maybe I can get some help from some other friends there.
The Shifter agents are dead. I didn't think they hit them that hard. It could have
been a self-destruct that the Vanguard put in to prevent their capture. Such
NICE people. I wanted to send the blasters to help the army but Abnaxus said it
would increase Chaos, so we'll destroy them. There's no way to recharge them
here, anyway.
-----------
"The Shift has to be someplace that the Vanguard won't be watching," April
thought. One place they might not think of was inside Sarah's apartment, since
Sarah would be at work this time of day. April was getting more confident she
could go anywhere she'd been before that she could picture. She Shifted.
"Uggh! That was rougher than I thought. I haven't been here in quite a while,"
thought April. She had stayed with Sarah for a few days when she first arrived in
Newport. Then they'd had a big fight and Sarah kicked her out. That's when
April met Charlie at the Fringe Café and he told her about the Border House
where she could rent a room from Fiona and Mickey.
First order of business was to check Sarah's FACT terminal. Unlike the one in
the Border House it had a working voice interface.
"Computer, give me police bulletins on April Ryan."
"Thank you," said the syrupy voice of the Free Access Terminal. "April Ryan:
wanted for questioning about the disappearance of the Jacob McAllen, leader of
the Church of the Voltec. Wanted for breaking into the Metro West Police
Station and removing a classified data cube. Wanted for entering the mid-level
status zone with a black-market false identification card. Wanted for breach of
colony contract with Bokamba/Mercer. Considered extremely dangerous. This
data has been brought to you by Bokamba/Mercer and Bingo! Cola, makers of the
world's favorite soft drinks and handguns. Bingo! It's not just the best cola, it's
the only cola!"
"Ouch!" said April.
"For all your pain needs consider Rapture Revisited, by SweetDreams
Pharmaceuticals. Twice the high at half the price," droned the computer.
April cut in with a new question. "Computer, give me current medical
information for Emma Trevors."
Luckily for April patient privacy was a thing of the past, at least for
lower-income patients.
"Thank you. Emma Trevors was admitted to Goren General Hospital for a
blaster wound on August 6, 2209, now in Room 991. This data has been brought
to you by..."
April stopped listening and went to Sarah's bedroom to think. The situation in
Stark was hot, red-hot. She hadn't been as clever at covering her tracks as she
thought and now a new life in Arcadia looked like her only option. But she was
still determined to talk to Emma and Charlie before she left, if she could. She
decided to go everywhere by Shifting rather than risk a genetic scan for the
subway that might set off alarms.
April had been to the emergency room of Goren General with a sprained ankle
once after tripping on the stairs at Border House. After waiting several hours
because of the huge backlog of gang shootings and drug overdoses, she had given
up and gone home. She had been sitting across from a supply closet while she
waited, and several times she had looked inside while it was opened. She hadn't
been inside but it should still be possible to Shift there. Art had helped her focus
her Shifts before. She got a piece of paper and a pencil and sketched the waiting
room and the closet until she felt the connection. She Shifted first to Arcadia to
where she had left, rested several minutes, then stared at the paper and Shifted
again. The effort was less using the paper.
In the closet, hanging from a hook, was a white nurse's coat. She put this on and,
trying to look confident, stepped out of the closet and proceeded around the
corner to the main elevators.
She found Room 991 quickly. She spotted Emma in a bed in the corner and
walked slowly over to her. Emma had bandages wrapped around her chest. She
didn't look great but it wasn't as bad as April had imagined.
"Emma, don't yell or anything. Keep your voice down. It's me," whispered April.
"April!! Where have you been? They haven't caught you?" gasped Emma.
"No, and I don't plan on letting them. I just had to see how you were. I'm so sorry
you got caught in the middle of this," said April.
"Do you have any idea how much trouble you're in? You were on 'Corporation's
Most Wanted' on the Screen last night," whispered Emma.
"Fame at last."
"It isn't funny, April. You're in a whole world of trouble."
"Only half a world, fortunately."
"Huh?"
"Never mind."
"You lied to Charlie and me! We asked you what was going on and you fed us a
bunch of bull. You said you hadn't done anything criminal, when you had broken
into the police station and stolen records just that afternoon!"
"I was going to tell you more the next day, the whole story. But something came
up and I had to leave," said April.
She'd had to leave all right. She'd accidentally opened a Shift in her closet while
she was sleeping and it pulled her into Arcadia. She couldn't control her Shifts
back then and it took days to get home. By the time she returned, Gordon
Halloway (the evil, emotionless version) had traced her and he was threatening
her friends with his power-armored Vanguard agents. When April returned to
Border House the situation escalated and Emma was shot. So was Zack, the creep
across the hall who had betrayed her to the Vanguard. She wasn't as sorry about
him as about Emma.
"It's all the fault of that Cortez!" said Emma. "He's some kind of terrorist, isn't
he? They said you were working with someone to kidnap Jacob McAllen. They
said you lured McAllen to the roof of the IMF building and then someone must
have taken him away in a hover car. April, how could you have changed so much
in such a short time?"
"You don't know the whole story. McAllen is really bad news. He's, like, out to
take over the world. I was drafted to help stop him. But I didn't kidnap him or
anything."
"I know he's bad news! His creepy employee Halloway had me shot! But why are
you the one trying to save the world? Are you on Rapture? I've heard it can cause
delusions of grandeur."
"No drugs, I swear. But if that's what you want to believe..."
"I believe you. But still don't understand. How did you get away from Border
House after they shot me? There were guards all over the place."
"I got out my window and jumped into the canal -- which is more like an open
sewer. I got out downstream. Then a little old lady opened her door to me and hid
me from the Vanguard agents."
"Really? Sounds pretty lame to me."
"It's a bit more complicated than that but I don't have time to tell you all the
details. You wouldn't believe them anyway."
It was a _lot_ more complicated than that. April had gotten out by way of the
canal, all right. But she had taken an invisibility potion that came from an
alchemist's laboratory to elude the agents. As for the old lady, that was even
weirder. A mysterious door near the Fringe Café had suddenly opened and April
found herself Shifted to a cozy cottage with a fireplace. The old woman had
introduced herself as Lady Alvane and said the place was her home, the House of
All Worlds. Like all the Arcadian mystics April had met, Lady Alvane delivered
all sorts of predictions and advice about April's future. April would have to make
great sacrifices and there would be a pain that would remain in her heart forever.
She told her that Emma wasn't dead (as April had feared) but was in the hospital.
She told April that her friends were angry with her for not telling them the truth
but to let them help her. April wasn't about to ask them for any help that would
put them in any more danger, but there was one thing they could help with...
"Emma, what do you really think about me? Am I a monster?"
"April, no matter what you've done, I know your heart's good. You're an
inspiration to me. I don't know where you've gotten all the courage, the guts you
have. I wish I had your kind of strength. If you think you can save the world, I say
-- go for it. You can't make it any worse than it is now."
"I hope not. Cross your fingers for me. By the way, do you know what happened
to Fiona and Mickey?"
"They came by to see me yesterday. They're closing down the Border House.
Fiona is going back to England and Mickey says she's going with her. They're
really a devoted couple in spite of how different they both are. The Happy
Hedonist and Iron Woman -- opposites attract."
"What about Charlie?"
"I was wondering when you'd get around to him! He's still working at the Fringe
Café and hanging around outside Border House, hoping you'll come back. He says
the Vanguard goons have gone for now. I don't know what's up with that."
"They've lost their leadership and that's probably thrown them into a mess."
"Be _really_ careful if you try to see him. I wouldn't if I were you. The Vanguard
may be gone for the moment but there's still the police and Bokamba/Mercer
after you."
"I've got to try. I have a place to hide out if it gets too dangerous."
"April, be careful. I'm so scared for you..."
April gave her a big hug and then found a deserted corridor where she could Shift
back to Arcadia.
The best place to find Charlie at this time of day was the Fringe Café. People
might recognize her there, so she put on the slit goggles. She turned the nurse's
coat inside out and put it back on. Now she looked either like someone trying to
set a new fashion trend or a druggie.
All this Shifting was wearing her out. She decided she would need to do a couple
more drawings. She sketched the bathroom in the Café on the back of the paper.
For good measure she drew the Venar's tree to help her return.
April Shifted. She was nearly exhausted but she arrived there safely. She came
out and stepped up to the bar where Charlie was working. He was a 20-year-old
bartender with ambitions to be a dancer, tall and dark-skinned with a ponytail,
with a trace of a Jamaican accent.
"Could you take a break so I can talk to you in private for a little while?" April
asked.
His eyes widened when he saw her, but he gave no outward sign that might give
her away. He nodded.
"Meet you in the alley behind the Café in a few minutes," she said. "I'll go first so
we aren't seen leaving together."
The alley wasn't the most clean-smelling place for a meeting but it was at least
private for the moment.
"Have you been OK, Charlie?"
"April-girl, I've been so worried about you. I've been fine. The police asked some
questions but I didn't tell them anything. I couldn't have, because you didn't tell
me. Don't you know you can trust your friends?"
"I do, Charlie. And I'll tell you everything now." She gave him the whole story:
Cortez, Arcadia, dragons, and all.
"Do you believe me?" she asked at the end of the story.
"I have to, because I believe in you," said Charlie. "I've seen weird things
happening, too. There was that night a little creature appeared in place of the
jukebox, playing a pipe. And today I saw a strange-looking guy appear out of
nowhere beside the Café, look around for a moment, and disappear again. Like
those Shifter agents you said the Vanguard is cloning, I guess."
"Oh-oh, that means the Vanguard is still looking for me, just keeping a low
profile so we'll drop our guard. I don't dare stay here much longer. Just one thing
I'd like to know before I go."
"Yes, girl?"
"Now you know I'm n-not human does that change how you feel about me?"
"April, you're the most human person I know. I care about you more than ever.
You're a real hero, you know?"
"There's another mission I'm supposed to do in Arcadia, to help stop a war. If it
works out there's a chance things will be peaceful there. It's a beautiful place,
Charlie. Not like this trashed-out world. Maybe we could... start a new life there.
There's nothing left for me here except jail or the colonies."
"I'd do it in a flash, April-girl. And I bet they have a bigger market for dancers
since there's no Screens."
"I've heard it's really hard for a non-Shifter to get across. It took Brian
Westhouse years and it nearly killed him. It's easier through the Guardian's
Realm. I'll find some way, I promise. But there's one thing that worries me."
"What is it?"
"The prophecies were on my side before. Now they're against me. And
prophecies are real there, Charlie. They come true."
"April, you just do what you know in your heart is right. Don't worry about
prophecies -- let them take care of themselves."
"Ok, Charlie, thanks. Just knowing you support me helps a lot."
They embraced and shared a long kiss. She let him go and watched him walk
around the corner back to the Café.
Suddenly, a man appeared at each end of the alley, out of nowhere. Vanguard
Shifter agents! Each had a blaster pointed at her and they advanced towards her
steadily.
She tried to Shift and found she was so drained that it wasn't working.
"Come on, you can do it!" she thought desperately.
She grabbed out the drawing of the Venar's tree and with the last of her energy
she Shifted there.
But the two agents Shifted right along with her, following her path. They raised
their weapons. She stared at them hopelessly, knowing she had no more energy to
Shift again.
Suddenly Abnaxus and Abbinus popped out from behind trees, each behind one
of the agents. They held large wooden clubs and they struck the men down before
they knew anyone was there.
"In the nick of time!" said April.
"Before time nicked," said Abnaxus. "We see this future for you and are
prepared."
-----------
April's Diary: August 8, 2209 Tuesday night
I'm sooo tired I can't write much tonight. But I feel a lot better after talking to
Emma and Charlie. Like that song from the Middle Ages I heard one time, "I get
by with a little help from my friends."
Tomorrow I'm getting started on the new quest. I'll have to figure out how to get
to Baksheva without a ship. I have an idea how to get part way there, at least.
Maybe I can get some help from some other friends there.
The Shifter agents are dead. I didn't think they hit them that hard. It could have
been a self-destruct that the Vanguard put in to prevent their capture. Such
NICE people. I wanted to send the blasters to help the army but Abnaxus said it
would increase Chaos, so we'll destroy them. There's no way to recharge them
here, anyway.
-----------