Station, стр. 3

the sink, Hadder ventures tolook up for the first time, fearful that the mirror will revealfurther, perhaps more visible, changes. He looks up, but a curtainof steam prevents him from observing his reflection. Hadder hitsthe fan switch, and steam rushes towards the ceiling like achoreographed flock moving south, giving Hadder an unencumberedview ahead. Completely fogged over, a single word has been clearlydrawn on the bathroom mirror with an oily finger, waiting for theheat to reveal its secret. Hadder stares blankly at the reflectivecanvas, at a loss once again, a recurring theme. He traces eachletter over and over in his mind, feels the word burrowing into hissoul. What did it mean? Who had written it? Why him? What was it?Station.

"Son, you in there?" Shirley's words were like icewater thrown over the hot embers of memory. Hadder sat upright in ajolt. Maybe the simplest form of narrative would do best.

"I puked it up. That's how the key came to me." Itrang ridiculously in his ears. Another knife was sure to make anappearance.

But a second blade did not appear. A shadow ofempathy touched Shirley's words. "That must have reallysucked."

"It did."

Shirley chuckled. "Still, you should count yourblessings. It could've been much worse. The last person who came inwith one of these, a pretty girl, had to carve it from herforehead. Poor girl had a goddam key-shaped lump sitting atop hereyes for days before she worked up the nerve. Cut was still freshwhen I seen her. Still lovely, though. Lady before that, well,let's just say Brad fucking Pitt himself couldn't have gotten herpants off anytime soon after that ordeal."

Hadder's stool became unstable as he fought toprocess this new information. "You mean, there are others? Otherswith keys like this? That came here?"

Shirley placed the key on the bar between himselfand Hadder. Hadder felt strangely relieved that it was out ofanother's possession. Shirley reached for the pack of cigarettes inhis shirt pocket, took out a Marlboro Red, and lit it. "Well, ofcourse, there are others." A judgmental eye was sent Hadder's way."Did you think you were special? Did I hurt your feelings?"

"I didn't know what to think. I don't even knowwhat's real anymore."

Another laugh escaped Shirley, this one lastinglonger, uncomfortably so. "You might want to get used to thatfeeling. And don't worry, you are special. Just not that special.There are others, to be sure, but not that many. And none haveentered this hallowed ground in quite some time. To be honest, Ibelieved no more would. But here you are, as sad and confused andresigned as all that came before you. Unsure if this is an end or abeginning."

"And which is it?

"That's entirely up to you, son."

"So, what now?"

Shirley bent down and began to rummage behind thebar. Hadder heard clinking as he shuffled through bottles of booze.Rising back up, Shirley held an indeterminate bottle of caramelliquid. He placed two relatively clean glasses between Hadder andhimself and filled them both with two fingers of the swirlingfluid. "Now, we drink."

"I still have my beer."

"That ain't drinking. I make this myself. Cheers. Toclose calls." Each took long sips. Although it was remarkablysmooth, Hadder felt its effects almost immediately, tickling theinside of this skull. Shirley let out a long breath, took one lastmoment to admire his creation, and set down his glass. "Now I haveto render a decision. Your key checks out. Your hangdog expressionand overall shit stain demeanor check out. And your responses, eventhough you don't even know what the fuck you're saying, check out.That means that YOU check out. And since YOU check out, it's timefor you to discover why you're here."

"I'm here because I Google Mapped the coordinates onthat vile key. This is the only building in the vicinity."

"That's HOW you got here. It ain't WHY you'rehere."

"Mister, I haven't understood shit in my life forthe past few years." A flash of a woman's bloodied face and achild's unmoving hand amidst twisted steel and gore-coveredconcrete assaulted Hadder. His hands went reflexively to his face,rubbing hard as if he could physically remove the painful image,the annihilation of a once-beautiful life. "Please help me. Eitherwith explanations or with that knife of yours. I didn't come allthis way for homemade whiskey and secondhand smoke."

"Very well, son." A sense of seriousness drapeditself over Shirley. He straightened, ran his hands down his shirtin an attempt to look more presentable, and breathed in deeply."Stay calm, son. It gets a little strange from here on out."

And strange it got.

Clouds of white assailed Shirley's eyes,transforming them into milky marbles staring into the distance.Shirley's mouth slowly opened and continued to open well past theintentions of human biology. Hadder, wide-eyed and tense, winced atthe sounds of muscles tearing and ligaments snapping filling theempty room, echoing off bare walls to bombard him from multipleangles. The lower jaw continued to drop as Shirley's head tiltedback, creating a cavernous maw that looked as if it could swallowthe world.

Just as Hadder thought he could take no more, thathe would run from the building screaming, searching for a stonewith which he could bash out his ruined brains, the terrifyingtransfiguration ceased. Both men stood unmoving, one set of eyesglued to one giant mouth.

"Shirley?"

As if in response, noise began to emanate from deepwithin Shirley, a needle being dropped on the human phonograph. Avoice boomed from the living speaker, containing none of Shirley'scountry twang or cigarette roughness. Instead, it was distinguishedand ancient, with a cadence that lulled Hadder like a cobra in theface of a seasoned charmer. The words filled all - room, ears, andmind, alike.

Greetings and salutations, my invited guest. Youhave been chosen amongst millions to receive the greatest gift thatcan be bestowed upon an individual of your ilk – a second chance, anew life. I know it has been hard for you, struggling with issuesboth unique to yourself and common to all. For whatever reasons,real or imagined, significant or trivial, you have proven unable tocope with that which has been presented to you by this currentworld. Your recent actions have demonstrated your contempt, or atleast apathy, towards this existing life of yours. I do not judgeyou