Chapter 108: [25] Close Encounters of the Bus Kind 25 [From Beyond Arc]

Close Encounters of the Bus Kind

[25]

Gina offered up the roll of bandages for Louise one last time. She stuffed them in her pockets but didn’t put them on. Louise rocked back and forth on her feet as she adjusted her “disguise”, tested her accent, and took a deep breath. She didn’t know if she was prepared for her mom, or the woman who is supposed to be her mom, to just see her as some stranger rather than her daughter, but she commented that she was probably as prepared as she was going to be.

Leslie joined the girls even though they understood that it was going to be tight in the back with four. She had taken the bus earlier to get here and the timing was rough with getting back. She honestly expected to stay out till late, and nervously admitted that she didn’t really have a plan for getting back home aside from walking.

When faced with their mother’s car pulling to the curb, Gina and Louise did something like a slight dance of cycling to the back and the front with uncertainty about whether they were ready. No immediate signs of screaming and panic emerged from the car as Mrs. Ferris waved at the girls and glanced around. A positive sign. Gina approached the passenger side, which was unlocked, and opened it before opening the other doors for everyone else.

“My goodness, you’ve multiplied. Now, sweetie, I know I’m a good driver, but this is not an Uber service. I’m not gonna leave any of you gals behind, but tell me what’s going on, please.”

The ‘multiplied’ comment brought some immediate tension to the group. Leslie stepped forward first and did her best to monopolize the newcomer attention.

“Good evening, Mrs. Ferris. We are so sorry to impose on you and your family. This an acquaintance of Odessa and they’ll be staying together, but there was some sort of mix-up, and we just figured it would be easier if she went with her since they’re going to the same place. My situation is a bit more complicated… There was a little family conflict and I needed to walk it off and the girls got in touch with me, and it’s been life-changing to just let it all out and find my best self. I would be deeply honored if you could give us a lift.”

Mrs. Ferris wore a faint frown and appeared as though she put together about half of that frantic, energized explanation. She cleared her throat and responded, “Oh! Leslie, dearie. You don’t have to explain yourself. If you want to stay with us tonight or anything like that, whatever you need, you are family. Why, with the absolute care, love, and confidence you have inspired in Regina, it’s the least I could do. Don’t you worry. You vouch for your friend here and that’s as good as this girl is another you.”

Nadia‘s scrunched up her eyes and looked around a little bit, wondering if Mrs. Ferris was pulling one over on them and actually knew the entire thing, if she had some sort of weird intuition going on, or if this was just one crazy cosmic coincidence with what she was saying and them paying far too much attention to every word she said. Gina‘s mother gave a close look at the mysterious blonde girl, gradually narrowed her eyes, and then inquired, “What’s your name?”

Leslie didn’t need mind powers to deduce that everyone in the group was wishing that they had picked out a different name for copy Gina than Gina‘s middle name. It wasn’t the most common or uncommon name, but it felt painfully suspicious as they were all standing there and creeping toward the open doors.

“…Louise. Louise Gale. I am honored to meet you, Mrs. Ferris. Your daughter said a little about you and explained what an amazing Star Trek fan you are. Oh my gosh! This car is so cool. What warp factor does it get?” She went more subtle with the accent, and it mostly seemed fine. She did her best to reasonably gape at the starfield decorating the car interior, as though she hadn’t seen it practically every day.

The tension held for a few seconds before Gina‘s mom cracked a warm smile. “Oh, she gets warp factor 9 in the old system of the original series, but just a hair over warp 7.22 if you’re counting in the 24th century. I did the math. Now she may not be the fastest ship in the Federation, but she’ll get you where you wanna go.”

Louise smiled, even though she shouldn’t have. But she knew that her mom picked out those numbers because they translated closest to Gina’s birthday in multiples of the speed of light because, she liked to say, her daughter was the light around which her universe orbited.

That was a dangerous memory, as Louise realized she was tearing up for no apparent reason as she made her way into the car. Eva quickly shoved a huge wad of tissue from her massive purse into Louisa‘s face to cover up her tears. The best excuse that Louise could conjure up was that talking about Star Trek reminded her of the “The Inner Light” episode and that always made her tear up.

Louise knew that the one that made her mom cry was “The Sound of Her Voice” from DS9 because it reminded her of how desperately she wanted to talk to grandma more and say so many things before she was unresponsive in hospice. A quick mention of the Voyager episode “Course: Oblivion” made Louise cringe, not only because it was hopelessly dismal, but also because it currently hit a little too close to home.

Everyone else felt immensely lost, Nadia in particular, but they nodded and put on the appropriate faces for the moment. Nothing else really needed to be said.

Mrs. Ferris noted that Louisa’s hair was quite pretty, remarked that she seemed like a nice young lady, and promised that she would safely get her to her destination. No obvious suspicion that this girl was the exact doppelgänger of her daughter hidden beneath the barest of disguises. Nadia suspected that despite how much the Ferris family seemed keen on the paranormal, sci-fi, and the unexplained, they were just as likely as anyone else to shrug it off when directly confronted with the impossible.

The seating arrangement played out much the same way as before. Gina got the crew seat at the front. Odessa had the window while Erin and Nadia were again pushed together. In the back, it was Louise right up against Eva, who wore her usual, tight face but with a nervous blush. Fortunately, Luna was small, and she was able to fit right next to Leslie and stretch as far as she could to grab a sliver of her sister. As Mrs. Ferris remarked, with a chuckle, they were filled to the brim.

Their return trek was uneventful and Odessa‘s house was the nearest stop, with Louise joining her. Nadia was awestruck when they drove up on the private road. Horse trails crisscrossed the path. The actual house itself wasn’t too shocking. A metallic horse sculpture adorned the side fence and oodles of drought-resistant plants covered what seemed to be a makeshift front yard. Wide, glassy front doors shimmered with golden light from inside. It reminded her more of a visitor center. Despite the immense swath of its footprint, the fact it was a modest single story made her think it wasn’t too much larger than the Baris house even though it clearly was.

When it was time to get out, Louise lingered, especially by the driver's side with a thoughtful expression and a random hope that it might suddenly click for the woman she considered her mother and she would realize how strikingly similar this strange girl was to her daughter. But it never did. she remained immensely courteous and cheerful as she waved at the girls.

Once the car was down the road, and the passengers were shuffled for comfort, Mrs. Ferris did have some questions for her daughter. Mainly, she was concerned about how “clingy” the foreign kid had been, as well as putting her hair in a style not too far from Gina’s. She made sure that this wasn’t some kind of stalker situation, because she knew that girls could be stalkers of girls just as much as men.

Genuinely and adamantly, Gina reassured her this was not the case and she gently penciled in the margins of Louise’s life with the coy and exacting explanation that she had never even seen a volleyball game before, she’d only known Gina for a few hours, and she had never been to their school. Her mother scrutinized her daughter’s face over those answers, noticing nonverbal cues but not sure what to make of them. She accepted her word and didn’t pursue the matter.

Leslie was the next to go, taking a meditative breath in sight of some white condos, before wishing everyone a great rest of their weekend and then scampering off. Nadia strongly suspected there was more to Leslie’s story, but she couldn’t find the right moment or reason to ask.

The familiar apartment came next with Erin‘s exit. Since they got on the road, Nadia noticed that Erin kept her head down for most stretches but would occasionally peek and take in the fading day. Nadia diligently watched her girlfriend for any signs of distress or tracking something in the air that she didn’t see, but she remained calm throughout the entire trip. Sharon greeted her at the door and actually chatted a bit with Gina’s mom before they headed on their way.

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Just her, Gina, Eva, and Luna. The little girl respected that Erin and Nadia sat together even once there was a free spot because of Odessa and only moved up when Erin was gone. She sat in Erin‘s spot and squeezed her hands in her lap. Somewhere along the way, Nadia bent to her left and gave her little sister a soft kiss on the forehead.

Every part of her fretted about what truth or secret existed with and within Luna, but she believed the kid was telling the truth, as far as she knew it. And no way was she going to punish her for something that felt like such an inscrutable but sincere sacrifice. She hugged her close and smiled. With calm, hopeful serenity in her eyes, Luna reached up to gently traced the necklace around her big sister‘s neck. Hints of tears to challenge  Leslie’s floods gathered in Luna‘s eyes, but she buried them in a fervent squeeze of her big sister‘s body.

Nadia warmly appreciated it as she suddenly felt a pervasive and thought-stealing sense of sleepiness grip her entire body. It wasn’t long till what she now called home and the promised softness of her mattress and sheets. But she didn’t have much choice in the matter as her breathing slowed and her lids clamped shut. Night fell across her vision and then more, followed by a strange sudden sight.

A roaring fireplace in the corner of a room. It spilled waves of heat that Nadia could feel all the way over where she was. And where was she?

She was seated in a massive, dark brown couch that completely wrapped around and enveloped her from all angles. It was majestic and soft but also suffocating. Her parents had a couch like this. Her grandfather died in it.

The room around her was minimally appointed. Tan shag carpet below her feet and a slanted expanse of popcorn stucco above her head. Some old wooden cabinets flanked peach-toned drapes with what appeared to be a dim spill of light pressing its way from outside. The only real source of light was provided by what appeared to be a set of 1960s-era lamps situated on a small table to the left and another to the right. Beside the table on the right was a much smaller couch with claw legs more like a bathtub’s. Looking at the color of that couch, Nadia‘s brain immediately insisted it was burnt umber despite the fact she rationally knew that wasn’t true. No matter what she told herself, she couldn’t dissuade her thoughts from the notion.

Red stockings with white trim were mounted over the fireplace although Nadia wasn’t sure if they had been there a moment ago or not. She desperately wanted to get up from the couch, but all her muscles could do about it was tremble. Bringing her arms up also laced her hands together.

Without her say so, Nadia began to frantically, vigorously, and mindlessly rub her fingers together and scratch them across each other like she had the worst itches she needed to get rid of. Her flesh practically started to ooze and bleed and that didn’t seem like enough, as though it wouldn’t stop until she tore every scrap of skin and muscle from her bones. Everything ached as a spasm reached a crescendo.

“Be there in a moment…” A voice called from around the corner. Suddenly, the frantic scratching shut off and Nadia was left with her sweaty, tired hands and boundless confusion.

Into the room gradually walked a slight, older woman gripping the handles of a silver tray. Upon that tray was placed an ivory kettle with small steaming cups, a matching soup bowl, silver spoons, and some folded napkins. She set the soup and one of the cups over on the table nearest Nadia and then slowly walked over to the other couch, where she set the tray on that table before sitting on the nearby couch.

“Partake.”

Without thinking about it, Nadia took several sips from the tea. It tasted vaguely like wintergreen with honey and hints of orange. She then cradled the soup bowl and sipped the dark broth. It had a sharper flavor than chicken but without the accompanying sourness of beef. Nothing else in the bowl provided her clarity about what she was drinking. Before the surface started to scald her, Nadia set it back where it had been.

“Very good. Do you know where you are?”

Nadia immediately shook her head. She pressed to get out of the seat, but it was like her muscles and body didn’t have any oomph.

“Stay still. Remain there. Look at the wall over here.”

She was able to turn her head to the right and look at the wall by the strange woman. This time, she was absolutely certain that the engraved wooden sign above her head absolutely had not been there several seconds ago.

It read simply, in a plain swoop of script, “Welcome to Beyond.” Nadia quietly protested and asked, “Where am I? Why am I here?”

The older woman, who was dressed all in white, her hands in her lap, responded, “Just what it says. This is Beyond. And we have much to discuss.”

 

[I have a question at the end of the chapter again to help with suggestions for where the story should go. I'm actually not that far ahead this time and I am wide open for possibilities for this particular story. Feel free to add an idea which doesn't show up in the options. Also, if you see any random typos or uncapitalized starts of sentences, please pass them along. I have to cut down on my editing due to release speed and my programs don't seem to be catching lowercase sentences. Thank you for reading!]

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