October 16, 1988

14 days remaining

Agitated. Constant shifting. Clearly distressed about something.

"She was just standing there in the middle of the road, frozen. So I got out of the car and I walked over to her to see if she was okay. And she... leaned over and whispered in my ear."

"What did she say?"

Resignation? Unclear. Looking up into random corners of the room. Restless.

"I think Frank wants me to go talk to her, because the last time I saw him he asked me if I knew about time travel. And she wrote a book about it, so that can't be a coincidence. Right?"

Desires reassurance. A lost look.

"Donnie, what did Roberta Sparrow say to you?"

Hesitation.

"She said that... Every living creature on Earth dies alone."

Eyes darkening. Slumped in his seat.

"How did that make you feel?"

A faraway look. Remembering. "It reminded me of my dog, Callie. She died when I was eight... She crawled underneath the porch."

"To die?"

Convinced. "To be alone."

"Do you feel alone right now?"

Lost again. Gesturing futilely. "...I don't know... I mean, I'd like to believe I'm not, but I just... I've just never seen any proof so... I just don't debate it any more." Voice stronger. "It's like I could spend my whole life debating it over and over again, weighing the pros and cons, and in the end I still wouldn't have any proof. So I just don't debate it any more. It's absurd." With finality. Hands collapse in lap, gaze straightforward. Pain.

"The search for God is absurd?"

The patient's eyes glisten.

"It is if everyone dies alone." Sorrow.

"Does that scare you?"

"...I don't want to be alone." Agony.

"...And it has been a disappointing night indeed for these Super Bowl champions..."

"...You're right Dan. Coach Joe Gibbs is on the sidelines, water dripping off his glasses, but he's gotta be thinking 'What happened? What went wrong tonight?'..."

The images of burly men playing football was briefly obscured by Samantha, who was skipping in a circle around the room. She disappeared into the kitchen while Eddie swore at the television. "Shit, we need a quarterback."

"And a miracle," added Dr. Fisher, who had brought his son over to watch the big game.

"We need to go for a safety," Ronald insisted.

Donnie dozed in the halfway zone between sleep and awake. The sports announcers sounded fuzzy and disconnected.

"Mark Rypien certainly has some big shoes to fill, that's for certain."

"He sure does. So what does the future hold for this Super Bowl MVP..."

Donnie turns to his left and to his amazement, there's a spear protruding from his Dad's chest. A big, liquid, spear-shaped soap bubble, iridescent with otherworldly colours.

The spear suddenly elongates; and in the seconds following, Eddie Darko grunts and stands up.

"You guys want anything?"

"No."

"I'm gonna get a beer."

The spear stretches impossibly long, reaching into the kitchen. Eddie follows the path it makes until he gets to the fridge, where the spear collapses back into his chest. 'Vote Dukakis' is the new fridge board memo. Eddie snorts and the spear ripples faintly. It floats back to Eddie's seat, Eddie trailing behind moments later. Nobody seems to notice except Donnie.

"Darrel Green again with a display of amazing speed…"

Another spear comes into view, this time a jagged waveform shape. It disappears back into Samantha's body as she skips into it, and both spear and girl vanish into the kitchen. She's singing tunes from 'The Wizard of Oz'.

"Follow the yellow brick road..."

"First down and 10..."

"Good evening ladies and ghouls. Join us at the Middlesex Pavilion Hall for the Middlesex Halloween Haunt..."

Donnie feels something separate in himself, a dissolution of space and time. His own spear, growing out of his chest like a scene from 'Alien'. He laughs, watching it rise from his body into the air, turning to beckon him with one long shimmering finger...

He follows his guide up the stairs to his parents' bedroom. The spear hovers near the closet, pulsing with the rate of his own heartbeat. He opens the closet doors, kneels down. Finds a shoebox. Within the box, an object wrapped in greasecloth. Inside the cloth is a handgun.

A present? For me? You shouldn't have. The spear shrinks, back into his chest, an invisible presence...

Eddie looked up as Donnie came back downstairs. "Where were you? You missed the kick-off."

Donnie shrugged and took the Cheezies Ronald was proffering. "Bathroom."

Samantha skipped by the TV again. "The sooner you get out of Oz altogether, the safer you'll sleep, my dear," she said...