Into the Light

Chapter 24

Chapter: 24

"Civilization is what makes you sick."

Paul Gauguin

The city of windows has become stale with dying air, an autumn bereft of on shore breeze. Juli, burdened by the thoughts of Blake, sifts through the dust of decomposing, discolored foliage in Central Park, her Ugg boots fading with use, and she realizes that her dreams that once shone as polished platinum are now corroded with a layer of rust. Other problems assail her at ever minute and how could she have known Cyn was a felon stealing identities of men and women alike. She is tired of talking to the police everyday. First Mr. Garew, then Blake, and now this. A familiar number calls her, another anxious hello.

"Ms. Cessare?"

"Yes, is this Detective Marlowe?"

"Yes, I have some news. Blake Moxley's parents have not been contacted about ransom demands and our informants haven't heard anything. He may have had a breakdown like you said and left. The attack on Mr. Garew might have been a trigger and he might be hiding out somewhere for awhile. If there is anywhere you can think of that he might go or had mentioned in the past few months that would be a real help. Also, you have been cleared in all wrong doing and we still need your help."

"Thank you and I'm sorry I can't think of anything right now, but if I do I will let you know. I have the number, bye bye."

Her thoughts turn inward as her toes turn outward and kick the dirt. Her phone rings again. It can be only one person.

Cyn asks her to meet her on the WilliamsburgBridge. Wind swoops down from Canada reaches the city of windows and the temperature drops fifteen degrees in fifteen minutes. Juli takes a cab and stops before the bridge so she can see what she might be walking into. After a few frigid gusts of wind off the river's thick black water, she puts on a confident face and walks up the painted covered pedestrian path to the middle of the bridge.

Cyn waits wearing black pashmina smoking a thin hand rolled cigarette. Juli lifts her finger and points.

"I'll get you bitch," Juli says.

Shouts are masked by the traffic, cell phones are pulled out to take pictures, a gun falls to the path and spins by a pile of cigarette butts. There is struggle. The scream is masked by the traffic.

The local news reports later that evening. Two women in their late twenties were found dead from apparent gunshot wounds. There is a possibility that it was a suicide pact or a crime of passion. Juli's body turns cold as the river. Her skin tints blue on the metal corner's table.

...

The Pittsburgh skyline is framed by the illuminated hill top homes as the stars descend to greet the gables. Blake wolfs down a French fry stacked sandwich at Primanti Brothers near the 16th street bridge as Stiggy and Darius hover over the counter. A chill strikes Blake and he looks at his hands dry from the constant face washing. He stops eating. He puts down the massive sandwich and takes a sip of his IronCity beer. A feeling of remorse churns in his stomach and he imagines a switch being flipped off. Then, he feels nothing. He just lets Stiggy and Darius talk. It's sort of annoying him as they keep ranting. He almost wants to clang their heads together but holds back.

"Sure, Fundamentalists love the idea of Adam and Eve, it is totally acceptable. Helps out when first cousin lovin issues come up. But the fact is that a few thousand people survived a cataclysm and became a bottleneck population not unlike Noah and his family. But if Noah were the case there wouldn't be enough genetic diversity to sustain the population. Inbreeding out of control. Funny enough though, that there is more diversity within a single race itself than between all races. All races have the capacity to become the other. It's just pigment. The whole race thing is another ploy to keep humans from evolving. But maybe some of us shouldn't evolve," Stiggy says.