The Permutation

Breakthrough (Part 5) Paul

Despite being paralyzed, Paul's determination to get his revenge had not dulled in the slightest, if anything, he was more determined than ever. He still had his gift. He quested out with his tendrils to the edge of his property and moved small objects when nobody was looking to remind himself of his tremendous power. Paul spent every free moment trying to figure out what went wrong that night at O'Connell's

What was the connection between what had happened at the coffee shop and his breakthrough in the living room? The question plagued him day in and day out until one night, a dream made it clear what he had to do.

In this dream, he was a spider and he'd spread his web out in an abandoned version of Impresso Espresso. A fly with the head of Joseph Banford buzzed in and got itself entangled in Paul's web. Spider Paul had feasted on the insides of Fly Joseph. He woke with a revelation and the taste of Joseph's tasty insides still on his tongue.

He didn't know how he didn't see it before. Along with telekinesis, his power gave him intimate knowledge of his surroundings. The connection between his living room and the coffee shop was familiarity. Both places his gift worked, Paul knew the setting well. Paul spent more time in his living room than anywhere in his life, and he had spent hours waiting and planning in the coffee shop before their meeting. Paul needed to lie in wait and get familiar with his surroundings for his gift to work, like a spider's web. The violet strands were his spun silk designed to ensnare his prey.

The beginnings of a plan started to formulate in the edges of Paul's mind, but first he needed to test one thing.

Joyce made it a habit to to go to bed after Paul, so she knew he was okay and could give him his nightly kiss. One night, Paul insisted on watching Seinfeld reruns late into the night. Joyce hated the pointlessness of it, but didn't want to disappoint her Paulie. While Paul marveled at the brilliance and audacity of a show about nothing, Joyce quietly grew more and more impatient. Around 2 a.m., she caved and went to bed, but made Paul promise that he would sleep in The Rocker and not try to get into bed by himself. He promised her and gave her a kiss goodnight.

Giddy with excitement, Paul summoned the tendrils when he heard Joyce's door close. He sent them in all directions, basking in his omniscience. He knew everything that was going on around him. Even paralyzed, Paul knew he was better than any living human.

The tendrils monitored his mother until Paul was sure she had gone to bed. Paul wrapped one of the violet strands over his beloved Relaxzen Rocker and lifted. The mechanism creaked under his weight, but it still held steady. Paul and the rocker floated inches off the ground. Paul Neiman could fly without breaking a sweat. Who needs legs? He'd thought.

From that moment onward, Paul used his days for sleeping and nights for setting up his web from the comfort of the Relaxzen Rocker. Tackling each area from an aerial view proved to be the best option. Paul was able to familiarize himself with large swathes of land in a matter of thirty minutes or so. Working until dawn for a week straight, Paul was able to cover the entirety of Lancet Falls.

His mother attributed his fatigue during the day as his body's way of healing, and that suited Paul just fine. Paul decided it was better that she didn't know the truth, and it would be more merciful for her to be kept in the dark. Joyce Curts had always been a simple, God-fearing woman. Paul's transcendence would only frighten her.

Once Paul laid his web, he set to work coming up with the perfect date with destiny for Cade. When he decided on killing him with barbed wire, Paul applauded himself for his ingenuity. Paul never prided himself on having a romantic nature, but the symbolism of the barbed wire was damn near poetic. What better way to announce his new form than showing everyone a fly caught in his physical and metaphorical web?