THE CONSTRUCT: In The End

PART SIX

8.

A man enters the drinks carriage where Nigel and Josh are sitting over a whiskey each. Josh sees this man enter, pass them both then take a seat at a table across and a little down from them. Right away from that man's entry, Josh becomes uneasy. He touches his lower lip expecting to find blood on his fingers after having done so, but there is no blood.

There should be blood, and of course, there isn't. the expectation comes with the recognition of that man, but the relevant information isn't there such is the nature of this construct. It wasn't ready. There are gaps in knowledge and memory. Upon arrival, the person having arrived is not what he ... or she ... was going in. Moving his attention, Josh sees that Nigel is also uneasy.

'What? What is it?' asks Josh quietly.

'That fellow over there. He kinda murdered a lady I spent some time with; except she wasn't dead ... I did see her disappear though ...'

'... Like some sort of glitch happened?'

'Yeah ... for some reason, I'm not sure, I don't like that term ... glitch.'

'Slim white lady, late twenties, dark shoulder length curly hair ...?'

'Yeah, that's her.'

'I think he busted my lip too.'

'Your lip looks fine ...'

'In here it is, but out there it's not.'

'Outside the train?'

'No, ... outside the construct.'

'Oh, right ...'

'He wants something, but I can't remember what. I think he might just be the leader of whatever group has come for us ... or at least some sort of representative.'

The man stands; directly looks at Josh then leaves the carriage.

'I guess that was a friendly warning' Josh says.

'What exactly is it he wants? Besides the technology, which seems kinda obvious, but it does seem as if something else is going on. He could have done something now. Maybe he is two minds ... I don't know. Something really does seem off.'

'It does, doesn't it? I wish I could remember. I can't do anything about it if I can't remember.'

Josh looks and sees that Steve the barman is no longer here in the carriage.

'Perhaps we can stay here for a while and just help ourselves to the whiskey.'

'If this place isn't real ...' Nigel says thinking out loud, '... can we even get drunk?'

'I'm game for finding out, if you are. Having said that, I'm worried about the barman.'

'Steve?'

'Yeah, I think he is one of us. That other fellow might just have him. We are not actually here physically but if you are hurt here, depending on the nature of such, you will be hurt out there. Die in here and you're dead out there.'

'So, if Steve is one of us, that other fellow could hill him to prove a point. Though shouldn't that fellow have memory issues too?'

'I don't know, to be honest. It didn't look like he had any memory issues. At that, he looked as if her belonged within the construct, or perhaps this particular program.'

Now, isn't that one heck of a thing to hear?

'That lady ...' Nigel queries out loud. 'Una, you said her name was. How come she is not actually dead? I'd seen her. She was gone, then she ... wasn't.'