Shifting Life

27. Channel

The old man stopped in front of the second steel door. He sighed.

"Shit, I forgot about the salt. Be a good boy and get it for us, Clyde. Please."

Matt glared at him, but obediently jogged back to get the carton the man had left by the other door.

The old man grabbed Jacklyn's arm.

"Two things from the little dude if you want to keep Clyde alive, Bonnie. One: The coat protects him. Two: Hold. It. In."

Matt was on his way back.

"Got it?" the man said.

Jacklyn nodded, then realized he couldn't see her.

"Yeah," she whispered.

"You must be a sight to behold," the old man said as Matt returned. He turned his face toward Matt. "She's a stunner, ain't she?" he asked.

Matt shot her a glance. She felt it to her core like a heat wave.

With a groan, the old man wiped his forehead with the back of hand, feigning sweat. "Whoa," he said. "That's what's getting you kids into trouble. That was not in the charts. No one saw that coming."

"What are you talking about?" Jacklyn said. "Who are you?"

"I'm the one they use when they want to get a message across. I'm fucking celestial crystal. People around here call me Glass.

"That's why I can't sense you?"

He shrugged.

"I suppose this is as good as any place. Let's get this over with. Come closer, little children."

Matt tried to say something, but Glass held up a warning finger.

"Word of honor, remember?" he muttered. "Stand close and make an unbroken salt circle in one movement around us. You do the honors, Clyde."

They huddled together in front of the steel door.

Matt kneeled and poured a thin line of salt using his left hand. He reached around Jacklyn's and the old man's legs moving the carton over to the right hand to finish the circle.

He parked the salt carton between their feet, in the circle's center.

"Why do you call us that?" Jacklyn asked. "What's with the Bonnie and Clyde?"

Glass grinned. "Chance meeting. Star-crossed lovers turned troublemakers. Whole lotta fun, but never end happy ever after."

Jacklyn remembered the dark visions and her heart sank.

"Don't be sad, Bonnie," Glass said. "I got summoned. We're talking the little dude. As far as I know, he hasn't meddled personally since Troy. What can I say? He's taken an interest. Trust me, there's nothing like divine intervention to even out the odds."

Glass held out his hands. "Close the circle within the circle. Hold hands."

They did as he asked.

He cleared his throat.

"Sorry, forgot something."

Glass shook his hands free. He took off the dark glasses and slipped them into his pocket. His eyes were milky white. "I hate this part," he confessed.

Glass took their hands again. "Close your eyes. Turn your mind's eye to your center."

Glass spoke strange words.

It sounded like poetry, Jacklyn thought. She thought she recognized the sounds, but the meaning was lost.

The air around Jacklyn began to tingle, like on the bridge. A moment of static, but too brief to frighten her. The smell of basement disappeared. She sensed an impact of some sort, like they had jumped from a trampoline and cut through a surface.

She opened her eyes and saw her two feet firmly planted on grass in broad daylight. A breeze touched her cheek. Trees to her left and a city street with heavy traffic beyond the tree line. Birdsong. A green area.

They were in a small park.

Her physical disorientation only lasted a second.

Glass was not so lucky. He turned away and threw up.

Jacklyn took Glass' arm to keep him steady. She glanced at Matt. He was pale as a sheet with the telltale shine of cold sweat on his forehead.

"Head between the knees," she said. "Deep breaths."

Glass straightened his back. He spat. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and dabbed his mouth.

"I'm too old for this shit. How's Clyde holding up?"

Matt shot him a dark look, still fighting nausea from the looks of it.

"I feel you, son. We're not made for that portal shit."

Glass looked around, getting his bearings with white eerie eyes.

"Turn left on Columbus Avenue over there," he pointed, "walk one block. Turn left on Green Street. There's an Italian restaurant on your left. You have a reservation and an open tab. It's in your name, Bonnie Parker."

"That's the message?" Matt said.

Glass pulled up his dark glasses and polished them on his sleeve.

"The message was for the lady. It's been delivered. The lunch is bonus. Best scaloppini in the city."

Glass exhaled loudly. His wiry body shuddered.

When he looked up his eyes were perfectly ordinary brown.

He peered at Jacklyn, looking her over from head to toe while he lit up a cigarette. He nodded thoughtfully, smoke trailing out of his nostrils.

"Alright, a man would go a little crazy with that." He gave Matt's shoulder a pat and walked away.

"That's it?" Matt said. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

Glass didn't turn around, but raised a middle finger. "Extra, pro bono, you got an ally." He raised a second finger. "Extra, pro bono two, you'll need the iron heart. Good news, scaloppini! Bad news, they put up a border to the south. Soon someone will get the idea to move the line north, block by block to flush you out. You're trapped."