TEN
They sat around the dining room table sipping coffee liberally laced with Amaretto. The plate of cookies Valarie had baked slowly dwindled as they talked. Desperately needing someone to talk to, Fran was the only person Valarie could count on understanding. Within the first five minutes, she had explained how she had found Robert with a girl in her bed. How she had helped her neighbor from the middle of the vacant lot back into his triangle little apartment. How he had a magnificent body, that she dried and wrapped in blankets. Then she fell asleep next to Evan for more than two days.
Mrs. Bucannon had righteously lectured her about the importance of showing up. The children needed her to be there so she could be in compliance with state laws. Over two hours to tell her that she was fired, no appeal, end of story. The long winded bitch just liked to hear her own voice. She was glad that Fran was the type of person to keep the ‘I told you so’s to a minimum.
The dream and her feelings were another matter entirely. How do you describe gods and goddesses? The images were still fresh, but putting words to her description would have to wait for another time. How being next to Evan in the dream had calmed her; and excited her. She understood that they belonged together. They completed each other. She was Evan’s Other, whatever that meant in the real world. Somehow her world and
Evan’s world were tied together. Tied to the survival of the world itself.
Fran watched as she described throwing Robert out of the apartment. The excitement of helping Evan and putting him to bed. The dream which lasted for over two days. Valarie was calm, and in control. Two things that do not typically go together for her. Valarie’s calm expression and voice, when her typical behavior would have been hysterical, was disarming.
“For weeks I’d been having feelings about Robert. It was bound to happen sooner or later. Now he’s out of my life and I can move on. Now tell me why I’m not devastated, as I normally would be.”
“Because you’re being mature,” Fran said reassuringly. “A positive outlook and you can help things move quickly to the way your life should be.”
“I am worried about what I’m going to do for money. It took me almost two months to find that job with Mrs. Bucannon. I hated working for her, but at least it was a job.”
“You’ll find another job. You said that you had a little money saved.” “Yeah, I can pay next month’s rent, but then I won't be able to eat. Just a small thing. She’s not going to give me a reference, or a good recommendation if I have a new job call. She’s mean and vindictive, thinking that the world should live to her standards. I can clearly see where I’ve been and where I have to go, but I’m not sure how to get there. I
should be in a state of panic, but I’m not. Go figure.”
“Maybe the shock just hasn’t hit you yet,” Fran said.
“Oh wonderful! You’ve made my day. I can now expect severe depression followed by more severe depression. Thank you Fran, my life is complete now.”
They both started laughing.
“Okay, you told me about kicking Robert out. Helping your neighbor get back to his apartment in the midst of the storm. Falling asleep for two and a half days, then having a dream straight from the Twilight Zone. You go to work only to get fired, but you’re not really upset. You come home
and bake ten dozen cookies. Call me up and say I have to come over immediately.”
“Maybe I just wanted you to get fat with me.”
“Right! What aren’t you telling me Val?”
“I slept for two and a half days, and I woke up still dead tired. I’m lucky I drove home without having an accident. I crawled into bed and slept for another couple of hours. If you thought my first dream was the
Twilight Zone, well this second dream can only be the Outer Limits.” Valarie stood and got the coffee pot to refill their cups. Liberal amounts of cream and Amaretto, they were ready once again.
“This dream has me really upset; as opposed to the first dream. In this dream I walked into what looked like the Gates of Hell, and Evan just watched.”
“Alright, you got my interest. Tell me what happened.”
“This dream was just as vivid as the first dream. Evan does something to me, whether I’m awake or dreaming of him. We go to Las Vegas and start winning incredible amounts of money. We bet and we win.
Hand after hand, and the winning is creating a desire in me for Evan. Suddenly this other woman appears and the mood is totally destroyed. I recognize her, but I don’t remember where. I get mad at Evan for letting her destroy our special moment.
“Then we meet this old man, but he only looks old because of his gray hair. He has this cat in his arms that has white whiskers, and the man talks to the cat. He tells us that he can help us and teach us control. He will help us learn how to refine the powers that we got at the last Gate. All that he asks in return is that Evan will join the convocation. That was the old man’s word, convocation. I remember because I thought it sounded so strange.
“He said ‘Evan has this Power and has to take his rightful place so that the seven can help him. Evan is the Chosen One and I’m Evan’s Other’, but I already knew that we belonged with each other.
“The cat jumped from the old man into my arms, purring. And I immediately understood what she was saying to me. The dark man and woman were evil, and we needed to be careful. We had the ability to be evil or good, the decision was always ours. We, alone, had the powers to prevent the cataclysm. I told the cat that I knew about the coming fight, and we would do what was right, for us and the Code. She just purred and rubbed her body against mine.”
“What is this code?”
“The Code of the Star Gates applies to all that pass through the Gates. Their number is seven. Seven is the number of Gates. Seven is the number of the elders that lead to the Ancient One. Seven are the wonders of the Universe. Seven are the wonders of the world. Seven is the number of times the power may be multiplied upon itself. Seven is Seven and never has there been another number like Seven. Those who pass the Seven must protect the Seven, or the power of the Seven shall be consumed by the Darkness. That Darkness shall prevail until the Light of the One. The Code must be honored or the wrath of the Ancient One shall fall upon the Desecrator and his minions for all of their generations to come.” She replied as if reading.
“Where did you hear or read that?”
“Would you believe the dream I had in Evan’s apartment?”
“And just what does it mean or are you supposed to do with it?”
“I guess just what it says. I really haven’t thought about it since it was just part of a dream.”
“Was there more to your dream?”
“Tons more, the next thing that I remember we were standing on a mountain cliff, high up and across a vast gorge I could see another woman and man, on the opposite mountain. There was a strange symbol inside a circle carved into the mountain beneath our feet. I could feel heat and energy pulse through this symbol into our legs and up our bodies. I felt alive and powerful.
“Across from us, the other couple glowed with the vitality of life. I knew that these were the people that were trying to open the Dark Gate.
They stared back. Suddenly the man raised his arms in the darkening sky. Strange bald little flying creatures appeared around the man and woman. Fire sprang from their mouths. The creatures began to quickly fly towards us.
“Evan said a word and clapped his hands above his head. The creatures burst into little balls of fire and disappeared. Another word and Evan’s right arm swooshed forward. Lightning struck the mountain directly above the man and woman. Giant boulders flew down upon them. Another second and the man stood sending the boulders down the mountain.
“A voice rang in my head saying to stop this stupid fighting and join them. Rule the world and enjoy all of the power of gods. It was Evan’s voice that answered, ‘To join with you would be an abomination.’
“Beams of energy shot from the man’s hands directly towards us. The energy stopped two feet in front as if hitting an invisible shield. Evan shouted ‘Enough’ and clapped his hands. The beam of energy disappeared and the man and woman tumbled down the side of the mountain.
“‘Are they gone?’ I asked Evan, as his arms closed around me. ‘Not for good. It will be much harder than that to rid the world of that couple.’ Evan kissed me and in my mind I heard him say to think of home.
“Home was a beautiful huge house up in the hills above Tucson. Marble halls with gold trim and gossamer cloth hanging from the walls, reminded me of the first dream. I raced from room to room, struck with wonder while looking for Evan. Suddenly he was right there with me in the center of a huge room with ten sides. Pulling me into his body, he kissed me again, and there was no question about his desire for me. He undressed me and we made love there on the floor. Slowly, passionately but with very deliberate actions to heighten my desire. I thought Robert was a wonderful lover, but when he was compared to Evan, he was nothing more than a fumbling teenager. Everything was so right in that moment of time, as if we were complete. Do you know what I mean?”
“Maybe,” Fran said softly, entranced by her dream. “Go on with your dream.”
“The next thing I remember, Evan and I, with the old man, were standing in this huge cave before a tremendous Gate made from the blackest jet, set in a wall of fire. The Gate pulsated as if breathing, growing a little bigger and then shrinking again. I felt the Gate pulling on me, trying to draw me closer and closer. The old man grabbed me as I got closer and closer to the Gate, yelling at me to stop. He was dragged along with me.
Then there was this tremendous clap of thunder and flash of light.” “Then what happened,” Fran asked desperately.
“I woke up drenched in sweat and terrified.”
“You do have good dreams. Mine are never so vivid or action filled. Compared to what you just told me, mine are just boring. I don’t understand why you are so upset?”
“First I don’t dream.”
“Everyone dreams. It’s the subconscious release of tensions and
anxiety.”
“Maybe, but until last night I never, ever remembered any of my dreams. Then today’s dream was so real, like it was predicting the future or something.”
“No one can see the future,” Fran said with absolute confidence.
“Anyone who says they can is just a fraud, looking for money and publicity.
It was a dream Val, and a dream can’t hurt you.”
“I know, but I’m confused. Everything is topsy-turvy. What should be important like losing my job and Robert isn’t and what should be meaningless seems so important to my life now. The only time I feel reassured is when I think about Evan. I don’t understand why? I don’t even
know the man except to say hello. I haven’t even seen him since I left his apartment, but I keep going next door to knock on the door. Hoping that he’d be back and my life would feel better.”
“It sounds like this Evan can make quite an impression even in a dream.”
“That’s just it, they’re dreams. Only dreams! I think I'm going crazy.”
“You’re not going crazy, but maybe you should get away for a while, maybe come stay with me, just until you get things sorted out in your mind.”
“I can’t. I have to find a job. I have just enough money to pay the rent and one utility, and that’s it. No food, or maybe water, or maybe telephone or gas for the car.” Valarie began to cry.
“Don’t cry Val, I’ll lend you as much money as you need. You’ll be okay,” Fran promised.
“It’s not the money or the bills. I don’t care about them.”
“Then why are you crying?”
“I don’t know,” and she sobbed harder.
The strong knock on the door caused Fran to jump at the unexpected noise. Valarie shrugged her shoulders, “You’re the only person I’m expecting.”
“Okay, just sit there and try to calm down.”
Fran opened the door and immediately recognized who stood before her. Tall, standing self assured, piercing dark eyes and unkempt hair with a touch of gray at the temples, created the presence of calm. Evan Cooper. She instantly understood why Valarie felt the way she did about Evan. An unmistakable sense of sexual energy surrounded him along with his self-assurance and calm demeanor.
“I’m Evan Cooper; is Valarie home?”
His voice was soft, but strong. His physical presence stimulated her, and she had to remind herself that she already had a boyfriend. She quickly wondered if he understood what he did to other people, especially women?
“Come on in,” and Fran stepped aside.
Valarie looked over towards the door watching to see Evan enter. Relief swept through her body. How could the mere sight of him make her feel so much? Quickly she was out of her chair and halfway across the room before he put his arms around her. The tears began to ebb, the sobs a little softer.
“Oh Evan,” her voice the merest of whispers in his ear, “what’s happening to me?”
His hand moved up and down the center of her back very briefly, coming to rest in the center where his fingers settled into a small round rubbing pattern. She felt heat radiate from his palm to her back, and she relaxed and felt calm. The sobs quieted and the tears stopped.
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“Everything is going to be alright now,” he whispered into her ear. The warmth of his breath on her neck made her feel weak and wishing that Fran was someplace else so they could be alone. He led her back to the table and had a seat next to her, so he could continue to hold her hand. Fran took her seat on Fran’s other side.
“I stopped by to see if I couldn’t thank you for everything you did for me during the storm. I’m going on a little trip tonight, and thought you might want to go with me.”
“Before she goes anywhere with you, I want to know where you’re going, why and when you will be back. Then you can explain a few more things.”
“I’m sorry, but we haven’t been introduced. You must be Valarie’s mother.”
“I’m her best friend Fran, not her mother!”
Evan extended his forefinger and began to tap the table in a very discernible beat. Fran began to relax.
“From the top of your questions. I’m flying to Las Vegas in a few hours and was hoping to take Valarie as a thank you for what she did for me the other night. I’m feeling lucky, and when you get this kind of feeling, Las Vegas is the best place to be. We’ll win some money. See a few
shows and then come home. What do you say, do you want to have some fun?”
“I have some questions first myself,” Valarie said timidly. “Let’s start with what you were doing out in the vacant lot behind the parking lot. You’re out there in the pouring rain, then it looks as if you were floating in the air. Another flash and it looked like you were struck by lightning. None of it makes much sense.”
“I'm happy to explain, although you’ll lack the proper perspective to understand the answer. I went into the vacant lot to create enough energy to move my inner being to the Seventh Gate, and since I was passing the fifth and sixth Gates I wasn’t exactly sure how much energy was going to be needed. I was indeed struck by lightning several times to give my body the power needed to accomplish what I had set out to do. I failed to realize I would be so weak by the time you came to help me back to my apartment.
Thank you for the tremendous effort it took to get me back safely.”
“You were struck by lightning multiple times,” Fram asked incredulously.
“Yes.”
“And you’re still alive and without any sort of injury?”
“Not everyone that's struck by lightning is killed. There’s a record holder in England who has been struck over thirty times,” Evan said.
“If we both slept for two and a half days, then why was I so tired that
I had to have a nap this afternoon?”
“The simple answer is that we weren’t asleep, but awake for two and a half days. Our bodies might have lain side by side, but our true being was on a different plane to gain valuable knowledge.”
“Astral projection? You’re trying to convince us that you two were on an astral trip, but your bodies were next door,”Fran said unbelievingly.
“It’s not as if anybody could have come to do us harm. I had called a
Watcher for protection. Valarie, you meet him twice.” “Big black dog with black eyes and a huge flat head?” “That was him,” Evan said with a smile.
“This is bullshit, Val. He wants you to believe that he made that huge storm just so he could get struck by lightning, and then took you surfing through the astral planes with him.”
“It must not be so crazy, you know about astral planes.” “Doesn’t mean I believe in them,” Fran said insistently.
Evan innate understood that in order to get Valarie to go to Vegas with him, he first had to get Fran’s approval and blessings.
“Okay, as man has moved further from understanding and living with the natural world to living and understanding a mechanized world, the further man has moved away from using those natural elements to help manipulate and control the physical world around him.
“And just what are these natural world things that our society has moved away from?” Fran demanded.
“The basics, water, fire, land, wind, the basic elements, the planes and most importantly imagination.”
“Yeah, right imagination is a natural element,” Fran teased. “You can see, touch, smell and taste water, land, the elements and even fire. You can feel the wind but you can’t see or touch it. You can’t see, smell, taste or touch willpower, but you’ve seen evidence of willpower all around you. When somebody stops smoking, loses fifty pounds on a diet, stops biting their nails, they are all visible examples of willpower. I’ve spent years studying it and training my mind, just as you would train any muscle in your body to build it up and make it stronger.”
“I don’t understand,” Valarie said simply.
“I’m sorry, I’m not doing a very good job of explaining. Since I was a child and saw a sideshow magician, I’ve been fascinated by magic. Not the slight of hand or misdirection magic. I’ve perfected those tricks years ago.
No, what I’m fascinated by is the old fashion hocus pocus type of magic.”
Fran laughed with joy and derision. “And how is that studying going?
Find any good spells with eyes of newt or dragonfly wings?”
“Over the years I have studied mechanics to figure out how tricks and things worked. Then I started to go back to the beginning, the very beginning of society with the study hieroglyphics, ancient Egyptian gods, Ra and his whole pantheon, Mesipatanian with Ishtar and Marduk, Mayan and Hunab Ku, or Itzamna, and Incans with Viracocha. Then the study of Phonecian along with their gods and language, Latin and Greek. I’ve studied Qubalism, voodooism, divination, astrology, astronomy, Druism, Hinduism, Taoism and two dozen other subjects if I thought it would lead back to magic.
“For every dozen books I read on the study of magic, I may get a couple of lines of truth, which lead me on to something new. Always more. Then I discovered the astral planes and astro planets. A name was repeated for months from one reference to another. I tracked it down with great difficulty and I learned that the information I wanted to know was
obtainable; just not easily. I have physically and mentally gone where only a few humans have gone before me. I can alter my physical world through the usage of my willpower and imagination. Both willpower and imagination are tangible forces in the universe. It has to do with theta brain waves, but that’s a whole other lecture.”
“You’re still full of shit,” Fran interrupted. “Quit talking and show us the hocus pocus as you call it. I want to see you do real magic.”
“Magic!” Evan said quickly and the room plunged into darkness. Both Valarir and Fran gasped, reaching for the person closest to them. A warm golden glow began to illuminate them as if radiating from the furniture. Fran looked under the table, then screamed. Valarie jumped, grabbing Evans arm tightly.
“We're not sitting on the floor. We’re floating about a foot above the
floor!”
“Watch!” Evan commanded. The glowing lights became stronger and they could see the coffee pot rise from the tabletop. It hovered in midair before tipping to one side so the contents poured out. Wide eyed they stared as the black liquid formed into a floating invisible cup. The coffee pot righted itself and sat on the table again. Small bubbles began to roll in the invisible cup as if the coffee was boiling away. With an audible pop the cup of coffee disappeared and the lights went out again.
Both Fran and Valarie screamed, startled.
Suddenly the electric lights returned and the table and their chairs were once again on the floor. As if nothing had happened. “You did all that with some sort of sleight of hand or hypnosis,” Fran claimed.
“Did you see me touch anything that happened? Did you hear me say anything more than two words? Magic and watch!” “Then tell us how you did it,” Fran demanded.
“I did: imagination. You’re just choosing not to believe me. Let me know when you’ve come up with a better explanation.” They sat in silence for only a minute.
“Can you teach me to do that,” Valarie asked with a giddy laugh.
“I intend to and much more. I’m taking the midnight shuttle to Vegas, if you’d like to go. My treat, just be next door by quarter till eleven.” “You keep mentioning Gates,” Fran asked.
“Yes, the Star Gates on the Ladder of Light. There are seven of them and I have visited five of them.”
“And now I’ve been to the Seventh Gate,” Valarie said bragging.
“You have been to the Gate as a visitor. I took you, but you never passed through the Gate itself. It’s the passage through the Gate, physically with a full set of talismans that allows you to receive and understand the knowledge of the Gate.”
“Why?” Valarie asked. “I’ve never been interested in magic until moments ago. I never casted any type of spell or whatever you call it to go any place, at any time.”
“It was an incantation that I cast to bring you through along with me. It didn’t matter if you laid down beside me or in your own bed, as soon as your unconscious mind took over you’d be transported to be with me at the Seventh Gate. All you had to do was cross into my circle in the vacant lot.
That action activated your part of the incantation.”
“But why? I’ve never had any interest in magic or the occult.”
“It was never a matter of interest. It was and is all a matter of soul
mates. People destined to be together for all time, no matter how many lifetimes it lives through, we are meant to be together. The Universe works on complete cycles, yin and yang, female and male, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. You’re my yin, my counterpart, my soul mate, or Other. I found you about four years ago, at a restaurant we were both eating in for breakfast. It took me four days to figure out what was happening, but in the course of those four days, our path crossed nine times. The Universe was making a statement. One time I followed you home to see where you were living. I needed to bring you closer to me, so I put the idea of a new apartment in your mind. Since then, I’ve watched and waited for the right time to tell you we are meant to be together without looking like a stalker or some crazy guy.”
“So that’s why I moved here. I never understood why I would rent an apartment that I don’t like. It’s too small and expensive. That’s why those people said I was important to you.”
“Exactly. I knew Robert would be leaving shortly after he arrived and I was always planning on introducing myself and hopefully becoming more than just your neighbor.”
“How did you know Robert was going to fuck up?” Fran demanded.
“I saw it. One of the first things that I mastered was divination, seeing the future. Once you look, you’re always tempted to look again and again. I did quite often, but there’s a catch to it, what you see or the answer to a question is directly related to how far into the future you’re going. The further away, the greater the chance for deviation due to outside forces and free will choices. And, all I can see is one possibility of the future.”
“You knew that bastard was going to do that to me, and didn’t warn me?”
“And how well would that conversation go? Your current boyfriend will be in your bed with a seventeen year old on such and such date and
time. I would be branded a crazy person, just one step away from a restraining order.”
“Okay, but you should have still told me,” and Valarie realized that her anger at Robert was warping her judgment. Evan was right. “And what gives you the right to look at my future anyway?”
“I only watched to protect you from physical harm. There was a girl’s night last year and I made sure you both got home safely. Other times there were drunk drivers who did not want to share the road, so the best I could do was get you off of the road. Or the time the ten inch chef knife fell to embed itself into the floor close to your foot.”
“I always wondered how I got home in one piece,” Fran said, while Valarie remembered each of the instances Evan mentioned. Her anger at watching her life was instantly gone.
“I never watch to spy or judge, only to protect.”
“If you can see the future, then what’s going to happen?” Valarie asked.
“Ah, as they say, there’s the rub. About seven or eight months ago my life vanished from my view for even the simplest of questions. Your life disappeared from me about three weeks ago. My best guess is that our timelines are now tied to something much larger.”
“So we live out our lives with little to no choice as to what happens?” Fran demanded.
“No, we do have free choice. Divination shows one of those choices, sometimes two possibilities, What is the most likely outcome. At the Gate I was told that our lives are intertwined with what happens at the Dark Gate.”
“You’re saying that Armageddon is coming and the two of you are going to save the world,” Fran said with sudden clarity.
“Maybe. Good and Evil really exist in the total Universe as separate entities. The Dark One, Satan, the devil, whatever you want to call it, does exist and wants to control all worlds, including ours. He is only stopped by something called the Dark Gate. A portal that he was locked behind, keeping the evil and horrors of its world out of ours on a major scale. There is a time coming when that portal can be opened from our side very easily. The alignment will last for forty-eight hours. There are people on our side of the portal that will help the Dark One, thinking they will be rewarded with wealth and power.”
Valarie’s eyes widened at the mention of the Dark Gate she had seen in her dream.
“What happens if you go through this Gate?” Valarie asked.
“I’m not sure. If you can find your way out or are released, it's suggested that you will be under the total influence of the Dark One.”
“You’ve been to the seven Star Gates, but have you even gone to the Dark Gate,” Valarie asked, beginning to panic.
“I’ve been to the Gate, but I have never crossed through for fear of not being able to return.”
“I’m going to hell! And I won’t be able to get out!”
“What are you talking about?” Evan insisted on knowing.
“She had another dream when she took a nap this afternoon. In this dream, Val and this other man with a cat come to a jet black Gate set into a wall of fire. I was breathing, harder and harder as you approached. The
Gate pulled Val through, but nobody else.”
“Valarie, IF you were to ever enter the Dark Gate, I am going in after you! I would never leave you there by yourself, and together we’d find our way out.
“The future is not written in stone, it’s malleable. Until the last second, it can be changed. It has to be that way, or there would be no reason to try for anything.” Evan reassured her.
“So you could save me,” Valarie said hopefully, “they said you have the Power.”
ELEVEN
Her head rested on his bare chest. The warm glow and satisfaction of their lovemaking still radiated through her body. The soft muted drumming of his heart lulled her into a light sleep. It was the kind of light sleep just before the deeper slumber for dream sleep. The thousands of bits of information your mind is constantly filtering was shut out, as the information of the day was sorted and stored. It should have been a moment of pure contentment, but certain facts, images and impressions from the day would not fit snuggly, causing a nagging sensation in the back of her mind.
“Gil,” she called his name softly hoping that he was not yet asleep.
“Hmm?”
“Do you believe in magic?”
“The hocus-pocus pull a rabbit out of the hat type of magic?”
“No. I mean real magic. Make things levitate, with no strings, incantation spouting type of magic.”
“No.” His voice was flat, and making it known that he would broach no debate, having rendered an answer suitable for everyone. Fran suddenly realized what was causing the nagging at the back of her mind. She did not believe in magic either, yet she had observed Evan doing real magic. If she did not believe in magic, what had she seen and how did he accomplish it? She was right there in the middle of what he did. He said only two words.
She rolled away from Gil. Sitting up she turned the bedside lamp on so she could see in the drawer. Rummaging through the drawer finally resulted in a crumpled package of cigarettes. She placed one of the three remaining cigarettes in the package between her lips, then started to rummage in the drawer again. Finally retrieving a lighter, she lit the cigarette and took a deep breath. With a satisfied groan she exhaled.
“What’s the matter Fran?” Gil asked softly and cautiously.
“Nothing, go back to sleep.”
“Yeah, fucking right I’m going back to sleep,” Gil said sitting up in bed. “You’ve gone a week without a cigarette, then light one and tell me, ‘oh, it’s nothing’. Like anybody is going to sleep for a while after that. What’s going on?”
He did not believe in magic. Hell, she did not believe in magic. That was the problem. She was there. She experienced something, but her mind could not categorize it into a neat little box with a label on it. The box things kept getting shoved into had a label that screamed MAGIC. Evan Cooper could and did perform magic.
“Last night, while you were at the base, I was over at Val’s place because she threw her boyfriend out for cheating on her and lost her job all within three days. Then she told me about a few weird dreams.” “Everybody has nightmares at times,” Gil said rationally.
“No, these dreams were straight from the Twilight Zone.”
“And her problems are why you’re smoking again?”
“Kind of. Do you remember that big storm we had three nights ago?”
“Yeah, the boys in the tower said it was a real freak. It literally came out of nowhere to develop into what could have been classified as a category two hurricane if it had started over water. It was pure luck that there was no damage on the base or in the city.”
“Valarie said she had seen her next door neighbor out in that vacant area behind her parking lot during the storm. She said she saw him floating in the air and then struck by three different bolts of lightning. She went out to help him out of the rain. Then she laid down and fell asleep for more than two days, having the first of her dreams.”
“I’ve heard of people having the same or similar dreams for a few nights in a row.”
“No, this was all one dream. She’s saying she slept for more than
fifty hours straight.”
“I think she needs to talk to a shrink about her boyfriend. The human body is not designed to go that long with bathroom breaks and a certain amount of exercise.”
“The neighbor said they weren’t asleep for fifty hours, but were on some astral plane with a special Gate that he took her to.”
“And just how did he manage this little trick?”
“He said it was magic.”
“Yeah right, and he created the storm while he was at it.”
“Actually he said he did. He needed the energy from the storm to project him to this higher plane of consciousness.”
“Sweetheart, there is no magic. It’s all skillful mechanics with slight of hand or diversion. Maybe really skilled people could use mass hypnosis.”
“And that’s the problem. I don’t believe in magic either. Yet I sat in the middle of watching and experiencing him cause the lights to go out. Then created a golden glow of light around us and levitated us a foot off the ground. Next he poured coffee into a nonexistent coffee cup and brought it to a boil. Then puff, the cup of coffee is gone and we're back on the ground with the lights on. He said magic.”
“And did he offer an explanation as to how he accomplished this feat of magic?” Gil asked snidely.
“He says he only used his willpower and imagination. According to him, magic is and has always been the ability to bend the physical world to one’s own will and imagination.”
“He had to use hypnosis.”
“He has to be the best there is then, because I only remember him saying two words, ‘Magic, watch.’.”
“Who is this guy?”
“Evan Cooper.”
“Okay, I’ll look into him, now put out the cigarette and come to sleep.”
With her head once again on his bare chest, his arm around her waist, the even rhythm of her breathing told Gil that she was asleep.
He absolutely did not believe in magic, but the development of the human brain, that was a different story. An Air Force intelligence report said that the human mind may be able to be trained to develop telekinetic powers. That report had thrown all the top brass into a tizzy. Somehow, the general had gotten a five million dollar grant to study the feasibility of the subject. Gil made a mental note to see where things stood with the feasibility study. He’d also ask a few people he knows about what they can dig up on Evan Cooper.
He closed his eyes until the light of dawn filtered into the room and he called it quits on trying to sleep.