Friday, November 4th, 9:00 a.m.
Vergil's rage mounted the longer he sat there.
The air reeked of stale coffee and a microwave that had cooked far too much ramen. An unforgiving plastic chair dug into his tailbone while he listened to a man whine at him and ten other people sitting in a circle. The man, Vergil thought he had introduced himself as Harold, was about to be responsible for homicide, because Vergil was on the brink of killing.
Everything about Harold infuriated him. Harold was drowning in a mustard colored shirt two or three sizes too large. A paisley tie with a brown stain that had probably withstood numerous rinse cycles hung around the man's neck like a noose. Harold sniffed in irregular intervals as tears traveled down his face. His pasty complexion and fiery red hair combined with his comically pathetic outfit made him look like the perpetual sad clown.
"It all circles back to my mother. She's always loved Ollie more than me and isn't afraid to admit it. When he got promoted, my mother threw him a party and bragged to all her friends, but when I get promoted, I don't even get so much as a congratulation Good job Harold. So what if I only work in a real estate office. I've worked there for twenty years, and she can't even be happy for me? It was all too much for me, so I..."
"You've got to be fucking kidding me," Vergil interjected standing up. The motion was so sudden his chair squeaked against the pseudo-tile floor.
"Sit down Vergil, now is not the time for you to become unhinged," Albert said into his mind.
"Vergil, you haven't lived in Harold's shoes. All of our struggles are different. What you've felt doesn't demean what Harold is feeling now," said Tracey, the meeting's self-appointed arbitrator and leader.
"It doesn't huh? What if your mom is dead? You're telling me mommy not giving a shit about a dead end job ranks up there with dead mom? Something doesn't add up." Vergil said.
"You can't-" Harold stammered.
"Shut up, Harold. It's my turn. I'm in a sharing mood today."
"Divulging your inadequacies and shortcomings to this collection of derelicts will hardly solve anything," Albert huffed.
Harold sat down, his head cast downwards.
"If you would like to share Vergil, I'm sure we would all love to hear it after Harold is finished," Tracey said, her voice cool, calm, and collected. Soothing vibes radiated off her in waves.
Stop being reasonable, let me be pissed off.
"No offense Tracey, but I've waited long enough," Vergil replied, "And if I have to listen to one more whiny syllable, I'm going to lose my thirty days sober chip."
"Talking sense into a brick wall would be easier," Albert muttered.
"You all want to hear about problems? Buckle up. This is going to be a tough act to follow. You tell me if you'd have a drink after this one. It all started about twelve years ago when my friends and I made a pact that we would never leave Lancet Falls. We decided right then and there we were going to be best friends for life, and we sealed the deal with a good ol' fashioned loogy handshake. How stupid was I for thinking it actually meant something? The second those sons of bitches graduated it was like our pact meant nothing to them, and to top it off, the love of my life left that same year.
Thank god I have my family right? Not really. Not when you're a sperm donor baby. Grandpa was a movie star back in the day and disowned his sweet baby Karen when she refused to have a celebrity marriage with some up and coming hotshot. He tossed her his winter home as a parting gift with a couple hundred thousand dollars to keep her going. Don't despair, Karen was a resourceful one, and before she knew it, she was making good enough money she'd never have to worry about it again. Money didn't matter much to Karen though. She wanted something more, a family. Our not so young Karen wasn't gung ho about getting married. She was a free spirit, so why not have a sperm donor baby? How could she have possibly known that twenty-two years later she was going to die of fucking brain cancer and leave her baby all alone? How could she have known she would be the only person to ever love him fully and deeply, and her loss would leave him a broken, bitter alcoholic?
Guess what? Her baby boy is standing before you folks today. Twenty-four years old and everyone that ever loved him is dead. I wish that was as bad as it got, but that's just the appetizer. My mom left me everything and I'm so goddamn pathetic that I decided living homeless was better than drowning in our memories."
Vergil paused and took a deep drink of stale coffee in its complementary styrofoam cup. The faces around him were rapt with attention intermingled with dashes of pity. Tears dotted the cheeks of a woman with a thick scarf and sunglasses she'd worn to mask a hangover. He debated letting his story sit, but now that he'd started, he knew he needed to finish. This random circle of losers were taking a little of the weight he'd been carrying with him his whole life.
"I had a pretty sweet gig for a homeless guy. I got to live in the projector shack over at the Nueva Vista Drive-In, as long as I agreed to get paid under the table. My mom's ex boyfriend, Saul, let me work out at Gold's Gym free of charge. Oh, and I had a pet mouse named Jerry. That part is important later. It was hardly an ideal arrangement, but beggars can't be choosers. Eventually, the owner decided he was too old to be competing with the big chain theaters, and it was time for the Nueva Vista to close up shop for good.
As I wallowed in misery, waiting for the power to get shut off for good, this fucking purple light shows up from God knows where, and now all of a sudden I have superpowers. Neat huh? You'd think so, but you'd be wrong, because Jerry got hopped up on steroids and growth hormone and decided to make my mom's ex boyfriend a midnight snack. I had to put Jerry down and Saul died in my arms anyways. Even with superpowers, I still couldn't keep him from dying.
Now, I've been running around at night like a chicken with its head chopped off trying to keep a deranged serial killer from striking again, because I couldn't stop him the first time. While I'm dealing with my self-loathing over that whole incident, the purple light shows up again, and two aliens in suits from The Godfather show up, and I let them give me the slip too. So here I am, because I promised my talking dog and my dead mom I wouldn't drink anymore.
Oh, I almost forgot, Hi I'm Vergil, and I'm an alcoholic."
Harold stood up tried to pat Vergil on the back.
"I'm sorry-"
"Shut up Harold," Vergil said knocking his hand away and striding towards the door, "Let's go Albert. We're done here."
When the door clicked behind them, Vergil spread out his arms and let the Sun's rays sink in.
"I don't know about you, but I feel better." Vergil said with a crooked smirk.
"Relapse is looking like it may have been the better of the two options," Albert replied, "Anything short of defecating in the middle of the floor would have been better than that sorry display."
"Come on, it wasn't that bad." Vergil said kneeling down and patting the dog on the back.
"Do you have the slightest clue what you've done? You've revealed our secret to a crowd of sodden drunks, and your days of failing at saving people are numbered. We'll both be squirreled away in a government facility never to see the light of day."
Vergil laughed, "Is that what's got you all bunged up? Relax. It's anonymous. They won't say a word. There's a code of honor among us drunks. Besides, they think I'm off my rocker and probably drunker than a skunk to boot."
"I suppose you're right. You don't tend to inspire a great deal of confidence in people." Albert sighed, shaking his head.
"Now you're talkin!" Vergil exclaimed as he heard the heavy door shut behind him.
"Talking dog huh? You're worse off than I thought," a silvery voice said behind him.
It can't be.
Vergil spun around to see the woman in the scarf and thick sunglasses. She stood about eight inches below Vergil's 5'10", but height didn't mean a thing against her. She'd changed her hair again. When Vergil had known her, she was a fan of cerulean blue, but now, she wore shade of royal purple that ran down to her shoulders. Even with the changes to her appearance, Vergil didn't know how he hadn't recognized her cheeks. He'd always loved those cheeks. They looked like nothing more than a chipmunk storing acorns, and they gave her face a cherubic quality that didn't prepare people for the tiger within.
Lisa Baker, the love of his life.
"Lisa," he breathed.
"The one and only," she said with a flourish and a mock curtsy.
"Why are you here?" Vergil asked trying to conceal any visible reaction. A cauldron of roiling emotions bubbled beneath the surface and one slip would blow the lid sky high.
"My mom told me about Saul. I was worried about you." she replied.
She sought to make eye contact with him to convey her pity, but Vergil decided to look at the sun instead.
"I'm supposed to believe that?" He asked, a painful, bitter laugh scraped against his throat.
"There isn't a day that goes by that I don't worry about you Vergil," she said reaching out to touch his shoulder.
Vergil took a step backward, "For someone so worried about me, you've done a bang up job showing it. When my mom died, you couldn't have been bothered to show up at the funeral. Sorry if I seem a bit skeptical."
Lisa's cheeks reddened when Vergil mentioned his mother, "I loved her too ya know? I just..." Lisa trailed off.
"Just what? Just too busy for us country folk now that you're a hotshot doctor in training? You couldn't spare a moment for a woman who thought the world of you? I get it. You traded up lives, and we're all just the hand-me-downs."
"Just couldn't see her like that, and I still wasn't over you," Lisa finished.
Wait, she still had feelings for me? Does that mean she doesn't now? Either way, it's not relevant.
"Well all that's water under the bridge now. As you can see, I'm just great. Sorry you wasted your time. You can stop pretending you care," Vergil said.
"I hate to rain on your pity parade Vergil, but the only person who doesn't care about you is you," Lisa said.
"I'm afraid the boy is immune to all common sense my dear, but maybe you'll have better luck getting into that thick skull of his," Albert interjected.
"You just couldn't keep your mouth shut could you?" Vergil asked shaking his head.
"Do you have any earthly idea how exhausting you are? I leapt at the chance to converse with someone that is not a complete reprobate," Albert said before padding up to Vergil and sitting at his feet.
Lisa stared at the two of them, her eyes wide with disbelief.
"Is she aware of how unconscionably rude it is to stare?" Albert asked.
"I think she is probably still hung up on the talking dog thing," Vergil replied.
Lisa's mouth worked up and down a few times before she was able to form words.
"Everything you said in there, was that true?" She asked.
Vergil didn't know how to respond. A part of him was overjoyed that Lisa had shown up. If he told Lisa everything, he wouldn't have to bear the burden alone, and Vergil wanted nothing more than to share it with her, like they used to, but when Vergil opened his mouth to share, something gave him pause.
He imagined Lisa gasping in the middle of the street with her stomach ripped open.
Vergil closed his mouth.
No one else is going to die because of me.
"Of course it's true. The lad may be an idiot, but he isn't stark-raving mad," Albert answered,
"Also, superpowers may have been a stretch. He fumbles around like a newborn calf half the time."
"Vergil?" Lisa asked.
He made the mistake of meeting her steely, gray eyes. Vergil's resolved washed away like a twig in a flood.
"It's true. All of it."
"Superpowers?" She asked with her eyebrows raised.
"Unfortunately," Vergil said with a sigh.
Lisa pursed her lips and looked him up and down and then looked to Albert again before replying.
"Saying I believe all of this, which I'm not sure that I do. Why do you think you saw aliens instead of your garden variety weirdo?"
"I don't know how to explain it. That violet light. It changed me. It changed Albert too. I don't think I'm human anymore, and he sure as hell isn't just a dog. Whatever happened wasn't of this world, and those guys came out of the light Lisa. I know how it sounds. I really do, but it's true and it scares the living hell out of me," Vergil replied. Despite how crazy he must sound, releasing it felt refreshing.
"I have no explanation for the talking dog, literally none, but this violet light is a classic paranoid delusion. The only way for you to deal with your grief is to create an alternate sequence of events to explain the bad things that are happening to you. As far as your superpowers go, delusions of grandeur. A way for you to feel in control of your life and give it some sort of meaning. I believe you believe all of this Vergil. You aren't crazy you just need help. Serious help," she replied with a patronizing compassion that made Vergil sick to his stomach.
Vergil felt the sun's rays trickle into him at a steady rate, most times he didn't even notice it anymore, but her doubt made him hyper aware of the infusion of energy.
"Ol' Vergil is off his rocker? I don't know why I thought you would be different, like you would just believe me and everything would be okay, and I wouldn't feel so alone. I should've known better," he said each word coming faster and faster.
He felt his heart hammering in his chest and blood rush to his face.
"Alright Vergil, if you have these supposed powers, show them to me."
"That's not a good idea," Vergil replied with a violent shake of his head.
"It will settle the matter once and for all wouldn't it?"
"Fine, you want proof? I'll give you proof," Vergil's said clenching his fist.
He gathered the energy into his hand and forearm, not all of it, but enough to do some damage.
"Here's where I offer my obligatory word of caution that you'll ignore and do something foolish despite my best efforts to divert you from your chosen path," Albert said in a tired voice knowing the effort to be futile.
Vergil raised his fist above his head and punched the ground. A puff of stone powder rose into the air entering his mouth and eyes. Through coughing fits, he asked, "Are you *cough* satisfied?"
A dent that looked like a meteor had struck was now emblazoned in the sidewalk. Cracks spread outward from the point of impact.
Lisa's silence hung in the air and Albert interjected. "We had better take this conversation to a more amenable location. I do not think we would like to be present when the aforementioned anonymous alcoholics decide to investigate."
Albert started trotting down the street in the direction of Central Park, the aptly named park in the center of town. Vergil followed still wiping at where he'd gotten dust in his eyes, and Lisa wordlessly followed behind them both.
When the two of them were seated on a bench, Lisa spoke, "All the news stories about Lancet Falls, they started happening after the violet light didn't they?"
"Yep, and I think this is all the beginning. Things are going to get a hell of a lot worse before they get better. I don't know what those guys are planning, but I'm going to find out. They left this behind," Vergil said fishing the journal from the waistband of his jeans.
He tossed her the book. Lisa ran her hands over the binding and skimmed through the pages, "We need to find out what this says," she said, the steely resolve she was famous for hardening her eyes.
"What's this 'we' business? Don't you have to be running off back to medical school?" Vergil asked, "Besides, Albert and I can handle this for ourselves."
"Yes, you're quite right Vergil. We have been managing rather swimmingly. Our only clue of note is a book that we can't read. I do believe we've almost cracked the case," Albert said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
"How about you let me worry about medical school?" She said replying to Vergil. That being said, she scooped Albert into her lap and started scratching behind his ears, "I think I may know someone that can help us read this thing. What do you say we leave this Stick in the Mud behind and figure this thing out ourselves?"
"That sounds delightful my dear. It would certainly be a well-deserved decrease in blood pressure," Albert replied nuzzling against her hand.
"Ha. Ha. Very funny. Even if we did want your help, it's too dangerous for you, and I can't be responsible for your safety," Vergil said.
"V, I'm more worried about you being responsible for your own safety at this point, so I'm helping. End of story," Lisa stated.
Vergil knew she wasn't joking, even if he tried to edge her out, she would follow him. It was better if he let her hang around, so he could at least keep an eye on her.
"Fine," Vergil said, "So who's this mysterious alien code breaker of yours?"
"Rachel Durant, she's always been a huge fan of cryptography, and we can trust her to keep a secret. She owes me one," Lisa replied.
A thought struck Vergil, "Do you know what this reminds me of?"
"Do I want to know?" She asked.
"It reminds me of an episode of Scooby Doo," he said with a smirk.
The two of them started to laugh. The palliative nature of laughter thawed the frigid tension between them while Albert demanded to be let in on the joke.
For the first time in years, Vergil didn't feel thirsty.
SaintCole here,
The AA meeting scene is one that's probably resided in my mind for well over a month. I thought his freakout would be fun to do and it was, but the introduction of Lisa scared the crap out of me :P
At this point, I would like to ask you all to pretty please vote.
Alright guys, I know this chapter is only character development and introduction, so there aren't any questions to be asked, but what did you think?
Thanks for reading. :) We are getting to about the halfway point of Breakthrough.