Ruby sat with her hands folded on her lap, and felt very small in the
deep cushions of the couch. The room was familiar, but the furniture was
strange, making it even weirder. Her eyes flicked back and forth between
the couple sitting in the two chairs facing her. They didn't speak, at
least they hadn't in the last ten minutes. They smiled at her, looked at
each other, then smiled at her again.
She offered them a thin, nervous smile of her own.
Knife stabbing in the dark, glint of steel, blood.
"Like something to drink, dear?" the woman, Mrs. LaMotte, was asking.
Ruby blinked, wondering if she'd imagined... a knife?
"No, thank you," she said softly.
Blades whistling through the air, screaming woman.
Ruby jumped like something had bitten her. The whistling continued. "That'll be my tea," Mrs. LaMotte said, pushing herself to her feet. "Are you sure I can't get – "
Huge snake rearing up, venom dripping, hissing, spitting.
Mrs. LaMotte was still watching Ruby with concern.
"N-no thanks," she managed.
As his wife left the room, Mr. LaMotte leaned forward. "Everything will be find my dear. You'll see. "Your brother will be here soon."
"What's Jamie – "
Man standing by chalkboard, points, students raise hands, teacher speaks, students laugh.
Ruby gave her head a shake. "I'm sorry. I'm so confused."
Mr. LaMotte nodded. "James said you probably would be. There'll be nothing to worry about – "
Airplane plummeting, screams, smoke, breaking apart.
"– he gets here. He's a good man, your brother. You know he let me and Alice stay here for just – "
Boat damaged, oil spilling, sticky black beach, people yelling, raincoats slick with water.
"– which is really very reasonable in this day and age. I don't know what's happened to the world. But thanks to James, we – "
Bodies piled, waiting to be burned, flies buzzing, staring eyes.
Ruby gasped, cutting Mr. LaMotte off.
"I'm sorry," she said in response to his puzzled gaze.
"You're eyes look red, dear," he informed her. "My wife has some eye drops – "
Hot skin pressing against her, naked bodies, shimmering kisses, smoky eyes, long slow caresses.
Ruby felt her whole upper body head in a blush.
She buried her face in her hands. "No... thank you... my eyes, they're just strange." She rubbed them, bewildered by this onslaught of imagery. This had never happened before – she'd had visions, but never so vivid, never so short and sharp... and never so continuous.
Burst of gunfire, screams, vomiting, men running calling fighting.
The gunfire seemed to go on and on long after the sights cleared, until Ruby realized the sound was far too regular and growing louder.
Mr. LaMotte got up to look out the window. "There's James now," he said. "Good thing it's a big lawn."
She didn't understand, until she stood beside him at the window, watching the helicopter land and the grass thrashing around at this black intrusion.
She watched as a tall, slender man got out, made some gestures at the pilot and, ducking low, ran toward the house.
Ruby's vision blurred and for a moment she saw three helicopters speeding away from a fiery ball of orange and red heat. She could feel the blaze against her skin.
The man walked more slowly, his hair still whipping in the chopper's wind. He looked familiar – Ruby thought he looked a lot like her father.
"Jamie?" she whispered, pressing a hand against the glass of the window.
Mr. LaMotte went to let him in.
Ruby stood with her back to the window, regarding the tall stranger with her brother's eyes behind narrow glasses. She felt a tremble go down her body.
"Ruby...." He took a hesitant step toward her. His voice reminded her of Dad's.
"You can't," she choked out, "you can't be Jamie."
"Ruby... why don't you sit down? I can explain everything." He spoke calmly, soothingly, as he gestured for her to be seated, as though he was afraid she might bolt. She wasn't entirely sure she wouldn't.
Outside, the helicopter blades slowed and quieted. Ruby scampered for a seat, feeling like a frightened animal.
"Where's Dad?" she asked sharply. "Where's Mom?"
The slender stranger took a deep breath, eyes closed. He sat on the far end of the couch, near her but not too near. "Wow," he said, not looking at her. "I've imagined this moment thousands of times. I never thought it would be so hard."
"Where are my parents?" Ruby asked again, desperately denying what she knew with increasing certainty must have happened.
"What do you remember?"
She saw a flash, a man in dark clothing pointing a gun at her mother. "There was a man," she said haltingly. "He shot at me – Dad pushed me out of the way, and I stumbled. Then Mom and Dad, and the man, they all disappeared. I got a little dizzy, and I started seeing things."
She paused to shudder, watching in her mind as a car came to a screeching halt, but not soon enough, and a body flew forward, blood spraying in a red arc across the car and street.
"I keep seeing things. And Mom and Dad are gone." Her voice shook and she pressed her hands against her knees in an effort to steady herself.
The man sitting across from her – the man who was, impossibly, her little brother – squeezed his eyes shut again.
"Ruby...." He reached a hand toward her, then let it drop. "When Dad pushed you out of the way, he pushed you forward. In time."
Ruby shook her head as he confirmed what her mind had been so busy denying.
"Just like the cat. You disappeared. For a while the police thought you'd been kidnapped, but they never found anything. Eventually you were presumed dead."
"But what about Mom and Dad?" Ruby persisted.
He sighed. "They were killed. The man that attacked you that night killed them."
Ruby shunted that aside – that wasn't possible. She had seen her parents so recently. They'd been talking, laughing. Just hours ago.
She looked at her brother, horror dawning slowly in her eyes. "How long?"
He regarded her steadily as he said, "Forty-one years."
She let out a little choking sob, her eyes darting to the floor and back to Jamie's face. "What about Richard?"
Jamie moistened his lips. "Well, it's – it's been forty years. I don't... ah.... We'll find out where he is, get ahold of him. Okay?"
She nodded mutely, seeing in her mind Richard standing in a church with a tall brunette in a brilliant white wedding gown.
"Ruby." Jamie touched her shoulder tentatively. He said her name over and over like he was afraid he didn't have her attention. "I'm going to take you home, all right? To my home. I have some of your things there. To help you feel... better."
Ruby saw flames dancing before her, smelled scorched flesh, heard coughing and angry screams. When her vision cleared Jamie was thanking the LaMottes.
He escorted her outside, a hand at her elbow in a protective gesture. The blades of the helicopter were picking up speed.
"Where are we going?" she called over the noise.
"Westchester," he yelled back.
Ruby stumbled as blood splattered windows cracked, hiss of gas, flashbang bombs exploding....
"What's wrong?" Jamie's hand steadied her.
She shook her head and gestured forward. He helped her into the helicopter then climbed in behind her. He moved slightly stiffly, and she thought, Jamie can't be that old. Jamie's younger than me.
"Are you okay?" he asked once they were in the air with headphones on.
"I just... can't make sense of what I see." She stared out the window, not wanting to look at the man who shouldn't be her brother.
She thought about Richard, about his proposal. She wished she'd just said yes and gone away with him. Or something. She felt a headache like a vice at her temples as she tried to reconcile that a few hours were actually years for everyone else.
She stared at the landscape moving below them fluidly. The thwack of helicopter blades turned almost hypnotic, and she barely noticed the time passing. The irony of that was not lost on her.
She must have dozed off, because Jamie was shaking her awake. He helped her out of the helicopter, which, to her surprise, was underground. The blades were barely turning and she wondered briefly why Jamie hadn't wakened her sooner.
The pilot was climbing out behind her. He was a short man with wild hair, and the force of his presence was briefly blinding to her. He gave her a fierce grin – it wouldn't have taken much to make the expression into a snarl, but she could sense it was well meant.
A thousand images flashed before her eyes in that moment.
He frowned a little. "Y'okay, kid?"
She nodded. "Just... disoriented."
"Ruby," Jamie called. "This way."
She gave the man a quick smile and followed her brother.
Jamie pointed things out to her as they moved down corridors and up several staircases, but she could scarcely hear him. Images, sounds, and sometimes smells overwhelmed her in flashes. She did notice him leading her out of one building and into another.
Finally he stopped. "This is where I live." He showed her into a suite. "I kept a room for you – I knew you'd get here eventually." He pulled her along and opened a sliding door.
Ruby stepped into her own room.
At least it was very similar to her own room. Same posters on the wall, same bedspread and curtains, same books on the same bookshelf. Things were arranged differently but here at least was something familiar.
"I just wanted you to have something of your own. Help you adjust," Jamie said.
"Thank you," she said, but couldn't manage anything else.
He coughed, seeming suddenly a bit awkward. "Well, listen, I'll leave you alone for a while, to think or sleep or whatever you need. I'll be just outside," he pointed, "so if you want anything else, or get hungry, just let me know."
"Thank you," she said again. She waited until he closed the door, then sank onto the bed.
She couldn't think about all this, not now – couldn't wrap her mind around the enormity of her displacement. She lay on her side, hugging a teddy bear that Richard had gotten her last Valentine's Day. Well, Valentine's Day forty-one years ago.
Her eyes closed. She prayed that she would wake up and find that this had all been a bizarre dream.
She offered them a thin, nervous smile of her own.
Knife stabbing in the dark, glint of steel, blood.
"Like something to drink, dear?" the woman, Mrs. LaMotte, was asking.
Ruby blinked, wondering if she'd imagined... a knife?
"No, thank you," she said softly.
Blades whistling through the air, screaming woman.
Ruby jumped like something had bitten her. The whistling continued. "That'll be my tea," Mrs. LaMotte said, pushing herself to her feet. "Are you sure I can't get – "
Huge snake rearing up, venom dripping, hissing, spitting.
Mrs. LaMotte was still watching Ruby with concern.
"N-no thanks," she managed.
As his wife left the room, Mr. LaMotte leaned forward. "Everything will be find my dear. You'll see. "Your brother will be here soon."
"What's Jamie – "
Man standing by chalkboard, points, students raise hands, teacher speaks, students laugh.
Ruby gave her head a shake. "I'm sorry. I'm so confused."
Mr. LaMotte nodded. "James said you probably would be. There'll be nothing to worry about – "
Airplane plummeting, screams, smoke, breaking apart.
"– he gets here. He's a good man, your brother. You know he let me and Alice stay here for just – "
Boat damaged, oil spilling, sticky black beach, people yelling, raincoats slick with water.
"– which is really very reasonable in this day and age. I don't know what's happened to the world. But thanks to James, we – "
Bodies piled, waiting to be burned, flies buzzing, staring eyes.
Ruby gasped, cutting Mr. LaMotte off.
"I'm sorry," she said in response to his puzzled gaze.
"You're eyes look red, dear," he informed her. "My wife has some eye drops – "
Hot skin pressing against her, naked bodies, shimmering kisses, smoky eyes, long slow caresses.
Ruby felt her whole upper body head in a blush.
She buried her face in her hands. "No... thank you... my eyes, they're just strange." She rubbed them, bewildered by this onslaught of imagery. This had never happened before – she'd had visions, but never so vivid, never so short and sharp... and never so continuous.
Burst of gunfire, screams, vomiting, men running calling fighting.
The gunfire seemed to go on and on long after the sights cleared, until Ruby realized the sound was far too regular and growing louder.
Mr. LaMotte got up to look out the window. "There's James now," he said. "Good thing it's a big lawn."
She didn't understand, until she stood beside him at the window, watching the helicopter land and the grass thrashing around at this black intrusion.
She watched as a tall, slender man got out, made some gestures at the pilot and, ducking low, ran toward the house.
Ruby's vision blurred and for a moment she saw three helicopters speeding away from a fiery ball of orange and red heat. She could feel the blaze against her skin.
The man walked more slowly, his hair still whipping in the chopper's wind. He looked familiar – Ruby thought he looked a lot like her father.
"Jamie?" she whispered, pressing a hand against the glass of the window.
Mr. LaMotte went to let him in.
Ruby stood with her back to the window, regarding the tall stranger with her brother's eyes behind narrow glasses. She felt a tremble go down her body.
"Ruby...." He took a hesitant step toward her. His voice reminded her of Dad's.
"You can't," she choked out, "you can't be Jamie."
"Ruby... why don't you sit down? I can explain everything." He spoke calmly, soothingly, as he gestured for her to be seated, as though he was afraid she might bolt. She wasn't entirely sure she wouldn't.
Outside, the helicopter blades slowed and quieted. Ruby scampered for a seat, feeling like a frightened animal.
"Where's Dad?" she asked sharply. "Where's Mom?"
The slender stranger took a deep breath, eyes closed. He sat on the far end of the couch, near her but not too near. "Wow," he said, not looking at her. "I've imagined this moment thousands of times. I never thought it would be so hard."
"Where are my parents?" Ruby asked again, desperately denying what she knew with increasing certainty must have happened.
"What do you remember?"
She saw a flash, a man in dark clothing pointing a gun at her mother. "There was a man," she said haltingly. "He shot at me – Dad pushed me out of the way, and I stumbled. Then Mom and Dad, and the man, they all disappeared. I got a little dizzy, and I started seeing things."
She paused to shudder, watching in her mind as a car came to a screeching halt, but not soon enough, and a body flew forward, blood spraying in a red arc across the car and street.
"I keep seeing things. And Mom and Dad are gone." Her voice shook and she pressed her hands against her knees in an effort to steady herself.
The man sitting across from her – the man who was, impossibly, her little brother – squeezed his eyes shut again.
"Ruby...." He reached a hand toward her, then let it drop. "When Dad pushed you out of the way, he pushed you forward. In time."
Ruby shook her head as he confirmed what her mind had been so busy denying.
"Just like the cat. You disappeared. For a while the police thought you'd been kidnapped, but they never found anything. Eventually you were presumed dead."
"But what about Mom and Dad?" Ruby persisted.
He sighed. "They were killed. The man that attacked you that night killed them."
Ruby shunted that aside – that wasn't possible. She had seen her parents so recently. They'd been talking, laughing. Just hours ago.
She looked at her brother, horror dawning slowly in her eyes. "How long?"
He regarded her steadily as he said, "Forty-one years."
She let out a little choking sob, her eyes darting to the floor and back to Jamie's face. "What about Richard?"
Jamie moistened his lips. "Well, it's – it's been forty years. I don't... ah.... We'll find out where he is, get ahold of him. Okay?"
She nodded mutely, seeing in her mind Richard standing in a church with a tall brunette in a brilliant white wedding gown.
"Ruby." Jamie touched her shoulder tentatively. He said her name over and over like he was afraid he didn't have her attention. "I'm going to take you home, all right? To my home. I have some of your things there. To help you feel... better."
Ruby saw flames dancing before her, smelled scorched flesh, heard coughing and angry screams. When her vision cleared Jamie was thanking the LaMottes.
He escorted her outside, a hand at her elbow in a protective gesture. The blades of the helicopter were picking up speed.
"Where are we going?" she called over the noise.
"Westchester," he yelled back.
Ruby stumbled as blood splattered windows cracked, hiss of gas, flashbang bombs exploding....
"What's wrong?" Jamie's hand steadied her.
She shook her head and gestured forward. He helped her into the helicopter then climbed in behind her. He moved slightly stiffly, and she thought, Jamie can't be that old. Jamie's younger than me.
"Are you okay?" he asked once they were in the air with headphones on.
"I just... can't make sense of what I see." She stared out the window, not wanting to look at the man who shouldn't be her brother.
She thought about Richard, about his proposal. She wished she'd just said yes and gone away with him. Or something. She felt a headache like a vice at her temples as she tried to reconcile that a few hours were actually years for everyone else.
She stared at the landscape moving below them fluidly. The thwack of helicopter blades turned almost hypnotic, and she barely noticed the time passing. The irony of that was not lost on her.
She must have dozed off, because Jamie was shaking her awake. He helped her out of the helicopter, which, to her surprise, was underground. The blades were barely turning and she wondered briefly why Jamie hadn't wakened her sooner.
The pilot was climbing out behind her. He was a short man with wild hair, and the force of his presence was briefly blinding to her. He gave her a fierce grin – it wouldn't have taken much to make the expression into a snarl, but she could sense it was well meant.
A thousand images flashed before her eyes in that moment.
He frowned a little. "Y'okay, kid?"
She nodded. "Just... disoriented."
"Ruby," Jamie called. "This way."
She gave the man a quick smile and followed her brother.
Jamie pointed things out to her as they moved down corridors and up several staircases, but she could scarcely hear him. Images, sounds, and sometimes smells overwhelmed her in flashes. She did notice him leading her out of one building and into another.
Finally he stopped. "This is where I live." He showed her into a suite. "I kept a room for you – I knew you'd get here eventually." He pulled her along and opened a sliding door.
Ruby stepped into her own room.
At least it was very similar to her own room. Same posters on the wall, same bedspread and curtains, same books on the same bookshelf. Things were arranged differently but here at least was something familiar.
"I just wanted you to have something of your own. Help you adjust," Jamie said.
"Thank you," she said, but couldn't manage anything else.
He coughed, seeming suddenly a bit awkward. "Well, listen, I'll leave you alone for a while, to think or sleep or whatever you need. I'll be just outside," he pointed, "so if you want anything else, or get hungry, just let me know."
"Thank you," she said again. She waited until he closed the door, then sank onto the bed.
She couldn't think about all this, not now – couldn't wrap her mind around the enormity of her displacement. She lay on her side, hugging a teddy bear that Richard had gotten her last Valentine's Day. Well, Valentine's Day forty-one years ago.
Her eyes closed. She prayed that she would wake up and find that this had all been a bizarre dream.