An Entire Year of You

Chapter 20: Buying Time

Night Vale after sunset could be in an entirely different universe to Night Vale in the light. Though it was only a small town, the streets were always alive during the day, mostly figuratively, occasionally literally. There was always something going on. At night, the buildings were ghosts of their daytime selves and the streets were icy cold even in the middle of the desert. The creak of the main door pierced the frosty air. Carlos' footsteps echoed as he headed towards the empty lab and turned on the lights, filling the room artificial yellow. The room was far from clean, he couldn't remember the last time anyone cleaned up after anything, except maybe a few mopped up chemicals after Cecil's visits, but there was a lot more space to breathe now that his team had taken their personal belongings home. It wouldn't have mattered anyway. He didn't have time to care about the room. Carlos was on autopilot. His vision was locked on the phone and he was being pulled towards it as fast as he could possibly go. He punched in Mr Markson's phone number and waited as it rang.

Please pick up. Please pick up.

"You've reached the office of Diego Markson. We're afraid he's not currently available to take your call." Of course, he wasn't at the office. Why would he be? It was the middle of the night. "Please leave your name and number and we'll-"

"Hello, D Markson speaking." Carlos jumped as the phone clicked.

"H-hey, sir, it's Carlos."

"Urgh, Carlos. What do you want? Do you know what time it is?" Mr Markson snapped.

"10.30."

"What? No, it's 3am." Carlos looked at the clock. It was reading 10.30. Maybe it was broken. He grabbed his mobile and checked the display. Definitely 10.30. "Carlos? You still there?"

"Yes, sorry." He replied, shoving his mobile back into his pocket. "I urr...I just wanted to talk to you about the deadline."

"What about it?"

"I...I'd like an extension." Silence hung so heavy in the air that Carlos felt as if he could choke on it. It seemed like Mr Markson had felt a way to glare at him through the phone, forcing his judgement right into Carlos' soul.

"Why?" Mr Markson finally asked after what felt like hours.

"I think I could just work better if I had a little more breathing room to look deeper into the...urr...well..."

"Kid, you really think I've got the money to keep you hanging around for no reason?"

"Considering you paid of the police, yes." Carlos muttered.

"You know what, I probably could, but I'm not going to. Your research isn't meeting my purposes as it is."

"I don't even know what your purposes are." Carlos shouted.

"Look here's what I want you to do, find the dangers, explain the dangers, neutralise the dangers, and then leave. You got that?"

"That's not the job of a scientist."

"Well it's the job I'm giving you." Mr Markson snapped.

"I can do two of those things. I'm not changing any part of Night Vale, not for you, not for anyone, especially if you're not going to tell me why." Carlos explained calmly.

"You'll do what I say, and you'll do it in the time I give you." Mr Markson growled. "You're getting too attached Carlos, that's not good for you."

"I'm not, I swear, I just-"

"Get everything done in six months, what happens after that isn't your problem. Now let me get some sleep. It takes a lot of energy to deal with your nonsense." The line went dead. Carlos sighed and placed the phone down. Now what? He was even more tied up now than ever. He spun around to leave, only to find another face staring right back at him. "How long have you been standing there?"

"About a minute." Replied Jess. "I forgot my jacket."

"Right..."

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah...I was just..."

"Arguing with our boss?" Jess smiled.

"Ha, yeah that." Carlos nodded. "Crazy ugly ass."

"That's not very nice."

"I know." Carlos grumbled.

"I always thought he looked a little like you." Jess commented.

"What?"

"Well, not exactly like you. Like you if you were older and had been left in the sun for...a thousand years."

"I just wish I knew why we're here." Carlos sighed. "I mean why we're really here, and I wish I had more time here to...understand everything."

"I warned you against this. You're getting too attached."

"Why do people keep saying that? I'm not attached. I'm worried. This is a nice town. Why are we trying to change it? Why are we being rushed out of it?"

"I think we should talk about this in the morning. You'll feel better after you sleep."

"Fine, goodnight, Jess." He checked his mobile a second time. Cecil would probably be starting to worry about him by now. The time display read 2am. Carlos raised his eyebrow. "Hey, Jess, how long did you say you were there?"

"Just a minute or two." Jess called from halfway down the stairs.

"Huh." Probably another Night Vale. Maybe he could buy time another way.