OTHERBORN: THE CREVASSE

EPISODE THREE, PART SIX

Yep!

She continues. "And, I've certainly never been undercover like you supposedly have. That's a very old and bad joke now, Cor!"

"My acting is for a theme park at their Egyptian tomb hunt reenactment these days. One day they'll need me in Vegas. You already know this!"

She's freaking out by now, so I freak out first: "You are not. You were kidnapped! And I found a clue where."

She hisses at me now to be quiet. She seems oddly, distorted as I peer up at her.

I hear her say, "I had moved to the new park!! I left Dustin with our new work address for you to find the place...so I could show you our home..." She trails off now, turning, so I won't notice her voice breaks.

I don't like when she's freaking, and say, "But the house was all empty."

Now, I've done it.

"That's because we'd moved!" Angie makes frustrated animal sounds. "You didn't come to the new place! You didn't pick Dustin up. You forgot about him... about us. You never showed!"

It's her arms...her arms are flapping...

I try to prove it. "And you catching hold of that kid? How did you do that?" I refer to the kid who tripped over the orderly's foot in the hall: nearly pitched on his face, but Angie had just moved like a cat – like she had eyes in her ears, while talking to me—and reached out to save him, smiling, like nothing was wrong, and setting him upright.

"You already know this...already...so much!" She's hissing again. Then she tries to calm herself down and speak slowly, "I am a stunt woman these days...for promotional videos too. You know that I am. I do wilder stuff than just grabbing a kid all day long." Then she adds my least favorite words, "I give up."

I don't say anything now for a time. I'll let her do the talking, so she can't get any madder. I don't even listen, really, but my attention comes back to hear her saying:

"Sure you are, hon! I'll bet you "aren't permitted to tell me"... Right? That's it, isn't it?" She's at the point where she tries to sound like she is believing me, just so she can get onto more civil terms before she has to leave.

But I retort, "You've been reassigned or some thing. And you didn't want to tell me?"

She fills in my blanks and gets annoyed all over again...

And sarcastic. "Right. I just took the kids and relocated to spite you."

Then adds...

"I wasn't your type."

And almost on top of that...

"Just never mind."

I at last try to talk. "You could tell me. I wasn't a good enough spy for you?"

"You're a detective!"

Her arms are up in the air again, now.

I don't know where I am in the argument. And I hear myself making excuses: "You had me bumped down the ladder. That's it. You had them wall me right out of the Forces..."

"Not good enough for you then, eh? OK, Colonel." She's shaking her head. "I've had enough for today."

My stupid voice is still talking. I don't have control over it since the...crevasse. "Well, that's it, then," I say, "I'm getting back in! I'm going to show you."

"And that's what you want?" Now Angie is mad, and then she gets hold of herself, as if for the four-hundredth time. "You know...THIS is where you ALWAYS drift off when your try telling the story, no matter which way you spin it...You're stuck in your head, Cor. You're in a head injury glitch. You just need to get out."

Then her voice is weak, the way it always sounds by the end. "Here."

Her hand kinda shrugs on its way to reach into her purse. "Every time you get stuck in your thoughts and your memories start replaying again, I am to give you this letter." She adds, "You told me to...so here you go."

She passes me worn papers and sighs, "You read this."

"Again." She crosses the room to the window. "While I'm gone...out. I'll make you some tea and then I'm leaving for groceries... Kids are in town. I have to make dinner. Supper should be ready by the time Katie joins us." Angie's parting the blinds. "Dustin is here."

"Who is Katie?" I drawl.

Then she shakes her head and adds, "And there's really no Sasquatch! Truly. Try to remember?" She kisses me lightly over my eyebrow. "I'll visit soon."

So, I watch her leave, then read my own handwriting. Check over the letters. It's my accounting.

I read. And I read. And I think.
I might truly remember the Fire Man.

I really must find him. He's out there somewhere. I'm sure that I'm sure that he's somewhere out there.

I get up and get dressed in my warmest clothes now. "Oh, I see. I only have these." The narrow hospital closet is virtually empty. I grab my still dusty and torn pack. "I'll head out to dinner myself."
Perhaps, I'll have time before dinner's all done.

I close the door across from the empty nurses station softly behind me, and I head for our house.

It looks the same, now with a paint change. Just as I left it.
I go round the side and climb onto the porch, glad to be home. All looks like before, except no Trogg on the porch. I tuck the hospital gown back into my jeans, where it's begun sneaking out, and I smooth my old plaid wool shirt, about to go in.

A lawnmower starts up, briefly, on the far side of the house, and then quits. I listen awhile. I think, Dustin's stopped mowing the lawn for a rest in the hammock out front.

I tiptoe back off down the back steps, again.

I'm sure I'll have time. I'll go to find...

Second. That was his name. Said he wasn't from here.

So I try not to limp as I walk.

Ahead now, the desert looks red, and I think about what I'll say to Second when I explain why I've been missing this time.

~~~/

And here we pause (a bit longer) with this last chapter in Cornellius's background, for now, while we introduce you to other folks in the Otherborn Wastelands.

The next origin story is Kai's! All of them took place, roughly ten years before Otherborn: Earth's Crust Survival, on Kindle Vella, which then segues to begin, Alone in the Wastelands, Wattpad's edition of the continuing journey, after The Mag. (While on Vella will continue this fall 2024 with Otherborn: The Canyon.)

We're sorry about asking you to ponder what the heck went on in poor Custer's life.

We will get back to his point of view later on and fill in the blanks, if you haven't figured all of it out long before then, that is.

All of these stories lace together.

For now we would love to learn what you think so far? Where exactly did we leave you hanging for now?

Love to see you next week for Kai's cover reveal of, "Otherborn: The Dig"! 😁🥂
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