The Reincarnation

“Wake up, sleepy head,” Laura nudged David. “I found a building.”

“Where?” David asked groggily, looking where Laura was pointing and spying a shed in an alcove among the bluffs that was hidden from their sight at the campground.

“You two sleeping? Or just pretending?” Donna was grinning down at them. “Hard to see you guys, the grass is so tall.”

“We were wondering about that building over there,” David said, ignoring the accusation.

“Come on, I’ll show you,” Donna said, waiting for them to stand. “They were filming a movie here awhile back. They liked the bluffs, but they decided they didn’t want the quarry in the picture, so they cut it out,” Donna answered.

“Cut it out? How?” David asked as they arrived at the building.

“Welcome to the modern world – look.” Donna opened the shed and walked inside. David and Laura followed her. Inside was a machine that looked to David like the console of a recording studio, only much smaller.

“What is it?”

“Take these,” Donna said, taking a device from a hook in the shed. It looked like a cross between a pair of binoculars and a periscope. “And use them to peer over the bluffs and I’ll show you.”

David went outside and put the device to his eyes. Even though the bluffs blocked his view, he could see over the rocks to the pit of the quarry. “Amazing,” he muttered.

“So what do you want? A lake?” Donna turned the device on, slid the controls, and over the gorge a perfect lake was projected.

David was astonished. He could see tiny ripples on the surface of the lake. The illusion was too real for him to fathom. He sat down with a thud.

“Or a field?” Donna joked. She slid the controls slightly, and the lake went from blue to green as it turned into a field.

David could see the grass swaying. His mouth was open, the illusion intense.

“My God,” David said. “That’s amazing.”

Donna walked out of the shed. “Amazing, yes. I couldn’t believe it when I found it a month ago. They must have left it in case they wanted to re-shoot any scenes. But they never came back for it, and the movie came out a few weeks ago.” Donna took the viewing device from David, and looked out at the illusionary field. Bringing the device down from her eyes, she handed it to Laura. “A nice parlor trick, but what use is it?”

David’s mind clicked, and he turned slowly to face Donna. “Would the Church have any idea this is here?” he asked.

“I can’t see why. You don’t think I’d let them shoot a movie here, do you? Why?”

“I know how we can trap this Grey guy. Will that thing run for a while?”

“Sure. It’s solar,” Donna answered pointing to the glistening panels on the shed’s roof. “What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking about the perfect trap,” David said with a wide, confident smile.

Grey got a call. They had found the car. It was empty, an hour away from the park. They would come pick him up. Grey tried to get back on track, to turn himself back “on.” He had been enjoying himself in the field all day. Now it was time to get to work.

He got into the van when it came, and told them to hurry. One of his men started talking about a theory Dr. Persey had called them about. He said that Johnny Rotten was the Golden Child’s Other – the two of them were sharing the same soul or something. Grey swished his hand as if to make the man talking to him disappear, and turned to look out the window, daydreaming about the field and the pond and their many wonderful smells.

They drove up to a cabin by a lake. The door was unlocked – in fact, there was no lock on the door at all. After his Army assured him no one was inside, Grey went in. He sat down on the futon in the living room, leaving the lights off. He smelled the room. He smelled the cat’s dander. The cat had been there. He smelled Johnny Rotten’s unique odor; he had been there as well. He smelled the nurse, the Golden Child, and another woman, separate from the nurse, presumably the woman who lived here. He also smelled the slightest hint of gunpowder.

He turned on the lights, scanning the walls, the furniture, everything. A map hung on one wall. A collection of old records was in a crate beneath it. On another wall, near the floor, he noticed a bullet hole. He dug out the slug with his knife.

What happened here? Scrutinizing the room’s contents, he looked for their story. A kitchen chair was in the living room. Why? Grey inspected it. There were patches in the light brown finish that were worn thin. Rope? he wondered. Who was tied up? He didn’t have enough to go on.

Outside, he instructed his Army to scan the area and look for traces of other vehicles. Grey noticed a beach by the lake and was drawn to it. He was overwhelmed by the size of the body of water. He inspected the sand on the beach, scooping some up and smelling it. He could smell the water from where he was standing.

A breeze brought in fresh smells from the lake, the woods.