The Devil Comes Back to Retroville
by Gary D. Snyder
Part 8:
The next morning Cindy was up and out early for her regular morning jog. Her usual course took her through and around her neighborhood, but this morning she felt in the mood for a real workout and decided to take a longer route past the school, through the park, and back through the shopping district. It was too early for any stores to be open, even if it hadn't been Sunday, but she was still thinking about the shoes she had seen on sale and thought that another look might help her decide whether or not to buy them for the dance. Plus, there were other things to think about.
As she jogged she thought about the Retroville Days dance. It was to be the following Saturday and thus far she had not yet asked anyone. While it was perfectly acceptable to go stag it would be a social faux pas to actually do so, as it would imply that she had not been able to find anyone to go with her. She had considered asking Nick or Ernest to the dance but the events of yesterday had relegated those options to faint and distant possibilities. When Jimmy came by later she planned to invite him – casually, of course – and suggest that they perhaps have a few practice sessions. She knew that Jimmy could dance, but wasn't sure just how complete his repertoire was. In particular, she was interested to learn how adept he was at some of the slow dances. It would be –
"Hi, Cindy," a familiar yet unwelcome voice called.
She was in the park now and Cindy considered ignoring him and jogging past, but decided that if Lou really wanted to speak with her he would find ways to harass her until she finally acknowledged him. She stopped, let out a snort of disgust, and turned to face him. "What do you want, Lou?"
"A lot of things. But for the moment, just a little of your time." Lou stepped closer with that infuriatingly easy smile on his face and gestured with this thumb and forefinger. "Just a smidge."
Cindy didn't thaw one fraction of a degree. "Start talking."
Despite the chilly reception Lou's smile widened. "How are things with you and your new boyfriend?"
"None of your business," Cindy snapped, her eyes narrowing to slits. "Now if you don't mind -"
"I guess you're meeting him later today," Lou went on, circling her slowly like a shark homing in on its prey. "He's really looking forward to it. Do you know that he's already up, trying to decide whether or not to wear some of his dad's cologne when he comes over?" He shook his head. "Personally I think I should advise him not to. Hugh Neutron doesn't really have the best taste in fragrances."
Cindy gritted her teeth. "I'm warning you –"
"Actually, I'm warning you." Lou stopped his circling and put an arm around her shoulders, causing her to recoil in disgust at the touch. He pointed into the sky. "See that?" he whispered.
Despite herself Cindy looked up, but saw nothing but some early morning clouds and the blue sky. "No."
"Neither can anyone else. But I'll give you the four-one-one. It's a piece of dark matter. It's about the three hundred feet long and sixty feet across, about half the size of the Washington Monument but with a thousand times the mass." He voice took on a conspiratorial tone. "And it will reach downtown Retroville in about 13 hours."
Cindy shook off Lou's arm. "You're lying."
"Am I? I told you before – I'd never lie to you, Cindy."
Cindy felt a cold lump of fear like a piece of ice forming in the pit of her stomach. Already suspecting the answer she asked, "Why are you telling me this?"
"Because I can do something about it – for a price."
Cindy shook her head. "Never."
"Never is such a long time," Lou replied amiably, and then his voice took on a hard edge. "I'm not asking for much, Cindy. Nothing more than what's rightfully mine. We had a deal. You signed the contract and I kept my end of it. And all I'm asking is that you honor yours."
"That contract was declared null and void," Cindy said hotly. "Jimmy proved that before a judge and jury that you picked yourself."
Lou seemed almost good-natured about that. "That was a mistake on my part, I admit. But I've made sure to eliminate that mistake this time."
Cindy didn't like the tone or implication of what Lou was saying. "What do you mean?"
"It seems," Lou answered in an unhurried, almost leisurely manner, "that poor Jimmy was feeling down about not being very popular with the ladies. I shared a few objective observations with him, and he saw fit to rectify the situation."
"What did you do?" hissed Cindy.
"Me? Nothing. Just as I promised you. Jimmy took it upon himself to balance out the rational and emotive sides of that remarkable brain of his. Well, maybe not so remarkable anymore. He's gained a whole new perspective and range of feelings, but I'm afraid he's lost a step or two in the thinking department." Lou's sinister chuckle made Cindy shiver. "He couldn't come up with a decent geometry proof, much less one of his vaunted brain blasts." He shook his head in mock sorrow. "No, I'm afraid that Retroville can't hope for any help from Mr. Neutron this time. But I really have to thank you for that. If you hadn't wiped his memory of our last meeting he would never have done it."
"You had this all planned," Cindy choked out, her voice shaking with rage and fear. "All the time."
"Well, I can't take credit for everything. There was another time that Jimmy sabotaged his brain when a meteor was headed for Retroville, and I confess that I copied that. But hey!" He grinned, clapped his hands, and spread them like an entertainer. "You can't beat the classics!"
Cindy suddenly felt dizzy and lost, and very nearly collapsed on the spot. Lou steadied her and guided her to a bench, where she sat down and tried to breathe normally. What am I going to do? she thought in a daze. Without Jimmy, what can I do?
Lou watched her closely, seeming to read her thoughts. When she finally looked up at him he spoke very quietly and firmly. "Let's get down to cases, Cindy. The way I see it you have three options.
"Option 1. You do nothing. Maybe I'm lying and nothing happens. Or maybe I'm telling the truth and Retroville and everything for 100 miles around ends up as a new subdivision of Beijing.
"Option 2. You try to get Jimmy to help you again. But in his condition I doubt he could remember his locker combination, much less figure out how to stop something just short of an extinction level event.
"Or Option 3." Lou leaned very close to Cindy, his voice grating like granite as his dark gaze seemed to paralyze her very essence. "You do the right thing, stop this nonsense, and surrender your soul to me."
In the mists around her Cindy found the will to ask a question. "Why start up these feelings between me and Jimmy?" Her voice seemed to come from a great distance, as though she were somehow far away. "What do you get from that?"
"Jimmy got in my way," Lou answered reasonably. "I want him to feel it when you're gone. He and I are really quite alike, you know. We both hate to lose. And I want him to remember that I won every day for the rest of his life." He straightened up. "I can see that you want a few minutes to think things over. I'll give you a little time to consider the situation. Let me know when you're ready. But don't wait too long." He paused to let his words sink in. "The clock is ticking." With that he turned and walked away.
Cindy sat motionless, alone in a silent black void that surrounded her. She somehow believed that what Lou had told her about the dark matter meteor was the truth. Worse, she realized that by erasing Jimmy's memory from before that she was responsible for much of what was happening. And worst of all, there didn't appear to be any way out for her this time. And as for poor Jimmy…
Help me, she thought desperately to herself as the numbness left her and she gave way to great racking sobs. Someone, please help me.
"Sounds like you have issues," she heard a voice say.
End of Part 8