Joshua Johnson - 29:16:04:59

“There was nothing there. I don’t know what the hell you guys were freaking out about; the house was empty. Anyway, that’s not my point. After I left that house I went Downtown because I needed supplies. That’s where I saw IT.” She paused again. “It’s on the side of a fucking building, dude! Numbers, big, big, numbers!”

Kelly trailed off, lost in thought as if something mysteriously popped into her head. I struggled to follow, but she wasn’t giving me much to go on.

What numbers?

Ricky waved me over. He had something on his mind that needed to be let loose. I hoped it was more than just a joke. Pushing myself off the wall, I left Kelly behind for a second to figure out what Ricky wanted. He moved away from his sister and looked like he wanted me to follow.

“What is it?” I asked.

“Bats, she’s out of her damn mind,” he said. That was Ricky’s nickname for Kelly. I didn’t exactly get the description, if it had reference or meaning. “She came flying up here this morning pounding on our door like this hare-brained creeper thing. I figured she was going mad. Jamie though it best we let her in before she broke down the door.” He sneered and looked back at his sister. “Bats has been going on and on. I don’t know what she thinks it is but…”

Ricky stopped, as if prying ears had suddenly fixated on him. He glanced around, praying that Bats wasn’t listening. He saw Kelly glaring at him and he cocked his head sideways and trembled. I couldn’t help but laugh, on the inside of course. Kelly was absolutely the most chilling when like this, aimed and loaded, pointing directly at you, and her aim was straight on the little chubby redhead.

“You fat little bastard,” she hissed. “I’m not fucking crazy! I know exactly what I saw, ooooooohhhhhh I swear I’ll bash your skull in!” She came flying with fists raised and ready to rain down punishment.

Ricky backed into me, shaking and wheezing. If he hadn’t yet, I feared he’d might piss his pants. Pushing the little guy away, I caught the frenzied girl in midflight and held her tight. She pulsated with unadulterated anger and her language raised another few degrees. She slapped against my grip, and clawed at my arms, trying to drag herself to the red-haired kid.

“Easy Kelly, easy. Calm down. Focus on me. Come on, settle…,” I said as she thrashed. It was some time before she reached some level calm. Her pulse relaxed, and gained a steady rhythmic thumping. She looked up at me, and I saw clarity and trust.

“You have to go see it,” she said as she became docile, her voice somber. “Look, I realize how I sound, like some lunatic, but there is some serious shit happening Downtown. I’m not talking about the turning—it’s something else, and I just know you’ll understand it.”

I released her, no longer worried she’d jump on Ricky the first chance she got. Her rage was spent. Instead she walked to the front door, unlocked it, and went running into the sunshine. I stood mystified, completely confused by the one-sided conversation.

“Utterly, bat-shit, crazy,” Ricky announced.

I still didn’t understand the reference, but didn’t care.

“Anyway, little miss crazy isn’t exactly alone in what she saw. Word’s been that some crazy shit…” Ricky said, making air quotes while performing a pretty decent Kelly impression “…did happen overnight. Can’t say what it is, but it’s apparently big.”

Ricky stood at the doorway looking outside. His sister joined him, but she didn’t make as much as a peep. I stood behind them, trying to forcibly push them out without physically resorting to that. I was completely done with this interaction.

“Let’s just clear our heads, maybe get some rest, and you two go home,” I insisted as I took another step forward, my aura of unwillingness pushing the two through the door. I wanted them gone, and any story of whatever was happening Downtown was the furthest thing from my mind.

Images of the Palmer’s house still plagued my mind, and nothing could accompany those pictures and thoughts right this second. Ricky seemed to recognize my unwillingness and gave me a look of curiosity, and a slightly crooked smile. Something was brewing inside his thick skull, and it was about to come out.

“It’s a timer,” Ricky said.

I shrugged. It didn’t mean much to me, a timer or whatever it was.

Ricky bit his lip and said, “It’s inside the barrier…”

The statement was simple and direct. Ricky didn’t have to say anything else, and he knew it. He beamed with some sort of self-absorbed pride, as if he’d won a competition. The brother and sister departed without a goodbye, and I was left alone with my thoughts. The declaration stopped me in my tracks, over-thinking, reasoning the words into something logical. Yet there was no reason or explanation. It was simply unthinkable.

The words kept repeating in my mind. It’s inside the barrier. It’s inside the barrier. Ricky’s voice rang out loud even though he’d gone. It made more sense than the entirety of Kelly’s argument, or whatever that was supposed to be. With a few simple words my perception had changed. I was being pulled back Downtown, to everything that I had known and hated, where I was hated.

“Olivia, we’re leaving. Grab some clothes for the night.” I instructed.

I had already decided, or I should say Ricky decided for me. Olivia didn’t question, but disappeared into her room. It gave me the chance to grab my gun. I opened the metal cabinet door with my key, and grabbed the gun and a clip, shoving the clip into my front pocket and the gun into my waistband.

“Where are we going?” Olivia asked as she crossed over the old carpet, coming to halt before me.

She smirked up at me, but I couldn’t even bear a smile in response. Instead I just put a hand on the back of her head, and nodded toward the opened front door. She was a bit taken aback, as she was never allowed to go outside, or at least hadn’t been for a while. Keeping her in arm’s reach, we crossed the road and B-lined it for the only two people I trusted besides myself and Olivia.

“What’s down there?” Susan asked. I had tried to explain the morning’s events. How Ricky, Jamie, and Kelly came to my door in utter disarray, and just how different the Kelly had been this morning after returning from her foray into the city. As I sat there clarifying the ordeal, it sounded bizarre even to me, but I could already feel myself moving into the unknown. I knew I needed to be down there. Whatever this timer was or wasn’t, if it sat within the barrier then it was important, probably the most significant thing to occur since I woke up without any memories two years ago.

Susan was far more skeptical than I. Her eyes narrowed and she was deep in thought. For me to so willingly venture to a place where I was no longer welcomed was beyond strange. She probably thought I’d gone crazy. I offered a glance at Kyle, who still wasn’t himself. He must have been lost in those images from the Palmers. I would be too if it wasn’t for this new development, and yet they still lingered in the background, those memories.

“Kelly wasn’t clear, but Ricky said something too interesting to ignore. I wouldn’t be going if it wasn’t, trust me,” I said as I twisted on the couch, feeling uneasy about the whole ordeal.

I trusted Susan and Kyle, but leaving Olivia with them, even for a day, felt wrong. I knew that, eventually, sooner or later, this would cause a world of trouble. I had to go, though, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to put Olivia in danger.

Olivia looked up at me. She was caught between betrayal and sadness, questioning why I had to go. She didn’t understand why I had to leave her here. Olivia didn’t remember how bad it got down there. The gunshots, the blood, all the things from those early days. She blocked them out and forgot them. Even if things weren’t the same didn’t mean I was going to change my mind about bringing her now.