Page 34 of Concluded
And to think that until recently, he would have called Jackie and her pack monsters.
“I think I can do that,” Dee said.He glanced around for something to use as a charm, since he was out of Ashley’s pearls.He wouldn’t have been comfortable using those anyway.When his gaze fell on the empty beer can, he smiled.
While Jackie watched closely, he stood and picked up the can.He concentrated as he held it, and the now-familiar thrill ran down his spine, making him feel warm and tingly.Reminding him how handsome Achilles was, and how nice it had felt to hold him.Which wassonot relevant.
With some effort, he turned off his internal power and handed Jackie the can.“Just hold it and make your wish.”
She looked skeptical.He didn’t blame her.But she clutched the can and closed her eyes, and in a clear voice said, “I wish my sister Tammy could sing as well as she used to.”She made a surprised little yelp when the can crumbled to ashes that then fell onto her lap.
“I don’t know how permanent this is,” Dee warned.
“Don’t matter.Even if it’s for a few hours, it’ll be real nice for her.For all of us.”She stood and brushed her hands clean.“You can have the other bed in Achilles’ room.You need anything more to eat?”
He answered with a jaw-cracking yawn, making both of them chuckle.“No thanks.I’m going to catch some shut-eye.”Tomorrow Achilles’ boss was going to arrive, and gods only knew what that would mean for Dee.
“All right.Sleep well.I’m gonna go find Tammy.”
Thirty minutes later, tucked comfortably in bed, Dee listened to Achilles’ soft snoring and, from outside, the sounds of coyotes accompanying a human voice in song.Dee fell asleep smiling.
* * *
“No!Gods, stop it!Don’t!”
Dee woke so suddenly that he nearly fell out of bed, and for a moment he sat twisted in the blankets, heart racing.Then he remembered where he was and who else was in the bedroom, and he realized that Achilles had been doing the shouting and thrashing around.It was too dark to see what was going on, so Dee reached over and switched on the light that sat on the little table between the beds.
Achilles cried out again, jerked upright into a seated position, and then groaned and clutched his belly.“What’s wrong?”he demanded, squinting from the light.
“Nothing,” said Dee, his heart settling into a more normal rhythm.“Sorry.I think you were having a nightmare.”
Achilles let out a long sigh and his shoulders relaxed, although he still gripped his midsection.“I’m sorry I woke you.”
“It’s okay.”
Dee turned off the light and lay down again.He heard Achilles make small pained noises as he did the same.Now both of them were very clearly awake, lying just a few feet apart in the darkness, and it was awkward.
Finally Achilles spoke.“If I do it again, just throw something at me.”
“You’ve been through a lot these past days.I wouldn’t be surprised if Ashley haunts my dreams too.”Dee shuddered at the idea.
“I wasn’t dreaming about her.”
Achilles sounded so bleak that Dee wasn’t sure he should say anything else.He wasn’t accustomed to comforting others and had rarely been comforted himself.But the silence felt oppressive, so finally he ventured a quiet question.“Then, what?”
“The bear.He got to me first, and I couldn’t do anything but lie there and bleed while he killed another agent, Santiago Bautista.He was a good man.”A ghost of a chuckle.“But honestly, there’s a cast of thousands waiting to ruin my sleep.I’ve seen so many fucked-up things.”
Dee had experienced a few horrible things too, although probably not as many as a Bureau agent.The odd thing was that Dee never had nightmares.Ever.Not even when he was a kid.In fact, he never had dreams at all, at least not that he could remember when he woke up.He’d always figured that this was another quirk of his weird brain, maybe related to the same brain chemistry that made him avoid alcohol.Possibly a mental illness so rare there wasn’t even a name for it.
Now, though, he wondered if the cause wasn’t something else entirely.Like not being human.
“Look,” Achilles said.“Tomorrow’s going to be a bitch of a day.I’m going to try to get more sleep.I feel like I could sleep for a week.”
“When this is… all over, you could take a vacation.”People did that, right?Even Bureau agents.
But Achilles gave another humorless laugh.“It’s never all over.We might win this battle.I hope we do.But there will always be more battles in the future.We’re Sisyphus, man.”
“So then what’s the point of fighting?”
“Well, maybe we can’t win, but I don’t want to lose.Besides, I guess we can find meaning in the struggle.Glory, even.When I die, I’ll know that at least I tried.”Then he yawned, rustled around a bit, and was silent.
