//------------------------------//
// Act 2: Chapter 6 
// Story: To See Her One More Time 
// by TheMessenger 
//------------------------------//

Act 2	

"D-d-do I have t-t-to go d-d-daddy?"

"It's your actual home...You don't belong here. You need to go back to where you belong."

"I belong here, with you!"


Chapter 6

Everything had faded to darkness. It was as if Eva had fallen into a sea at night and had been swept away with the current. She felt nothing, heard nothing, saw nothing. Eva would have questioned her existence had she not been so aware and so frightened.

As she drifted, Eva clung onto a single question that acted as an anchor for her sanity:

Where was Neil?


*****


"Hallelujah, I can see! It's a Christmas miracle!"

Eva opened her eyes at the sound of that familiarly obnoxious voice. She winced at the sudden brightness and blinked several times as she waited her eyes to adjust. Neil was standing right next to her, rubbing at his eyes and polishing his glasses.

"You alright?" she asked.

Her partner nodded. "Haven't got a clue what happened though." Neil tapped at his wrist. "When we get back I'm going to have a little chat the guys down at the maintenance department. And by a little chat, I mean a twelve page rant."

"Remember the last time you sent a complaint to those guys? We ended up having to buy coffee from Starbucks out of our own pockets for weeks." Eva sighed. "Then again, this is far more important than sub-par coffee machines. I'm a little surprised we're still alive. Where are we?"

The two looked around. They appeared to be in someone's living room. A few armchairs and a couch were present, as well as a few pictures on the wall. Crouched in front of a recliner was a young man.

"Hey, it's Robert," Neil exclaimed. "Wow, I almost didn't recognize him without the beard."

"We must still be in his memories," noted Eva. She pointed at the recliner, which blurred as if covered in a fog. There was mist surrounding all sides of the room, where they could see the outlines of outside figures, but nothing more. "I think there are still some missing parts. The audio's pretty missed up too; I can barely hear what he's saying."

"Here, let's just adjust the audio and-hey!" Neil shouted as his coworker slapped his wrist.

Eva shook his head. "I don't want to mess with this memory anymore than we need to. Let's not have a repeat of whatever happened earlier."

Neil shuddered in agreement. "Yeah, I don't wanna go back to the void."

"...God, I wish it was, but-" Robert was saying. He sounded on the verge of tears.

"I understand," came a voice. It sounded as if someone had spoken through a busted microphone or through an emptied paper towel roll. Static and white sound threatened to drown it out. "The...now makes sense."

The static grew. Robert's lips were moving but no audible words could be heard.

"...my little...you have brought me so much joy in...life that...can't possibly...thank you..."

Robert's shoulders began to shake. So did the recliner.

"...don't care what...or if you ever even...me, but...now, you being my...I want..."

Tears fell from the man's eyes and did nothing to stop them. He struggled to keep his balance and leaned forward. He lifted his hands and stretched them toward the chair in front of him.

"I belong here, with you!"

It was the clearest, most coherent phrase they heard yet. It did not below to Robert, but to a young, heartbroken girl, one hidden from Neil and Eva by the fog.

"...are limited here, only able...around the house. You have no...or other...relate to. I was only taking care of you until this time would..."

Minutes passed in silence, broken only by sniffs as Robert cried. Whatever Robert had been holding, with his arms out stretched, he held tighter.

"...love you, Daddy..."

The room began to spin suddenly and the living room was replaced by a crumbling urban environment. The walls of the nearby buildings were in a state of disrepair and vandalized by streaks of graffiti. 

Robert, even younger now, stood on the decaying sidewalk. He stood there, staring at a plain cardboard box that sat amid the broken concrete and over-grown grass. He drew closer and looked inside.

There was a flash of light and a beam of color, then everything faded to white.


*****


It took all of Eva's willpower not to toss her helmet off in frustration like the sweaty and uncomfortable headgear it was. Neil had less regard for the company's expensive equipment and his equipment landed on the floor with a clatter.

"Now what?" he asked. "We didn't run over any rabbits on the way here so that idea's scrapped."

"I doubt it would work a second time. We'll be needing a different catalyst this time." Eva untied her ponytail and let her hair run down to her shoulders. "I'm going to make a few calls, see if we've got anything on his past, medical conditions and the like. Maybe we'll get lucky and find a clue."

She turned to Dr. Turner who sat next to the collection of monitors. "How's our patient doing?"

Marianne sighed. "I don't want to alarm anyone or rush you two; you guys are the professionals after all. It's just..." The doctor sighed again. "A couple of hours at best, maybe three."

Eva nodded as Neil paled. "Three hours?" he whispered. "We really need a miracle now."

"That's why we're called in," Eva said, brushing her bangs to the side. "We're too...what was it...awesome to fail?" She gave Neil a small smile. "Come on, we've got a job to do."

"You two can go ahead," the doctor said. "I'll let you know if anything changes up here." She took a sip out of a mug that sat on the nightstand next to her.

Neil sniffed the air. "Is that...the scent of the greatest gift God has ever given to man, made from the golden beans of Heaven itself?"

"...it's coffee, yes. Jessica has a few cups for you two downstairs."

Neil broken into a crazed grin. "Things are lookin' up," he said before dashing out of the room.

Marianne Turner blinked. She took another sip from her cup. "Guess he really likes his coffee, huh," she said to Eva. There was no response and when Dr. Turner looked up, the room was empty, save for herself, Robert, and some fancy machines.


*****


"What's this? A cartoon?"

"Hmm?" Eva looked up. Neil had wandered off and joined Andrew and Peter on the couch.

"This is your sing telegram, I hope it finds you well!"

"Oh, this! My dad and uncle used to watch this with me all the time."

Neil gave Eva a incredulous look. "Seriously? Like, you made them right?"

Eva shook her head. "Apparently, this show had quite the cult following and was real popular with young men at the height of its popularity." She raised her eyebrow. "Funny, as worldly as you are I'd assume you'd know more about it."

Neil laughed. "You kidding? I'm too busy watching 'Ahnold' films and pumping iron for this. Okay, lying about the iron part. I've got nothing against cartoons but pink ponies and purple Unicorns? I mean, maybe it's okay for these fellas," he said, glancing over to his side, "but grown adult men? C'mon, you've gotta be pulling my leg."

"Shh!" Peter and Andrew hushed, their eyes completely glued to the television screen.

Eva shrugged. "It's got some really good voice acting and the animation's surprising fluid...as nice and nostalgic as this is, we're on the clock and we're out of time. I'm going to make a few phone calls, check maintenance on our equipment and see if they've got any information we can use."

"While you're up, see if you can find any more coffee." Neil handed his empty mug to his partner.

"Neil..."

"Thanks."

Eva took the cup and set it on the stand next to the couch. Rolling her eyes, she got up.

"Where can I find a phone?" she wondered aloud. "I don't think we can consider cellphone use as a business expense anymore, thanks to Neil." Eva sighed. "Do you guys have a phone I can borrow?" she asked the boys.

Peter shrugged. "Ask Mom, she's in the kitchen."

Eva pursed her lips and frowned. She tried rationalizing the children's lack of cooperation as a result of ignorance but continued to struggle with her irritations. It was amazing how easily kids could live on in proximity with death.

Shaking her head, Eva walked to the kitchen with her own coffee-less mug. She found Jessica sitting at the table, wiping at her eyes.

"Hey."

"Huh?" The caretaker looked up. Her eyes were red. "Oh, hi." She blew her nose and got to her feet. "Do you need more coffee? I can make some more if you need."

Eva shook her head. "We're fine, thank you. I...I understand this is hard for you. Death is never easy, especially when it's someone close. I've done this so many times and it hasn't gotten too much easier."

Jessica nodded. "Y-yeah. I thought I could handle it better, for the kids, let them think everything okay...but they probably know." She sighed and sniffed. "He reminds me so much of my father. Kind, generous, funny, carefree...I never got to say good bye so...so...so I'm thankful I've got the chance now." Jessica turned to Eva. "Does that make me a bad person, for getting some relief from a man's death?"

"The way you've worded that does, yeah, it sounds kind of awful." Eva rested a hand on Jessica's shoulder. "But I know you don't mean it like that. Death brings catharsis; that's our job, after all. You're not a bad person at all. I think Robert wouldn't mind if you got some peace with his death, might help him go in peace a little better." She gave the caretaker a light squeeze and a small, sad smile, one that Jessica returned. "Is there a phone I can borrow?"

"Oh, of course." Jessica pointed to a wireless telephone that hung on the wall. "Go ahead. I'll give you some privacy."

"Thank you," said Eva. She picked up the phone and began to dial.

"Oh, and Miss Rosalene? Thank you."

Eva gave her an understanding nod as she left the kitchen, leaving Eva alone with the phone. For a moment, she sat there, thinking and drumming her fingers against the polished wood. Then, shaking her head, she continued dialing. She had a job to do after all.

"Oh, and Twilight? You shouldn't hit the books. You should really just read them."


*****


Eva closed her eyes and sighed. She set the phone aside and crossed her arms as she leaned against the wall.

"No luck?" Marianne asked. The two were in Robert's bedroom. Eva had retreated upstairs when the volume of the television grew too loud. Even from up here Eva could hear the show's cheery theme song.

Big adventure, tons of fun...

Eva shook her head. "We've got nothing. Nothing on equipment malfunctions or on Robert, a total bust. They said they'd keep looking but we all know that's a lie." She groaned. "Honestly, sometimes my coworkers make me question my choice of career."

Marianne chuckled. "Even your partner?"

"Are you kidding? Especially Neil. While I'm up here trying to figure things out, he's downstairs watching cartoons." Eva threw her hands in the air. "Honestly, it's like working with a seven year old with too much knowledge of old films and an unhealthy habit of shopping at IKEA in bulk."

"But you don't ever think of quitting, do you?"

"Well, no, not really. Besides, if I left, Neil'd be out of a job too. No one else can work with him. Do you know how many partners he had before me? He told me-"

The phone began to ring. Apologizing quickly, Eva answered it. 

"Hello? Yes, Rosalene speaking. Uh huh...is that so...are you sure...of course..." Eva closed her eyes. "Thanks anyways," she said as calmly as she could. As she hung up, her hands shook. "Useless, utterly useless."

"Is everything alright?"

"Honestly, doctor? No, things aren't looking to good. It's getting really difficult to remain positive but we've hit a wall." Eva began to chew the tip of her thumb. "Come on, there's got to be something we've missed, something...think, Eva, think..."

"Is her face gonna stay that way?"

Muffled laughter could be heard from down below, cutting into Eva's thoughts. She released a breath of annoyance.

"All that noise must be bothering Robert. I can tell them to quiet down."

Dr. Turner shrugged. "It doesn't matter at this point. He's...he's too far gone now."

"You guys have gotta get me out of here, I'm gonna climb the walls!"

"You sure? His heart rate just rose at bit. I'm getting readings of a small amount of neuroactivity too."

Marianne jumped to her feet and made her way behind Eva. "Impossible," she said as she examined the monitors. "There shouldn't be any change in heart rate yet or any noticeable brain activity at all."

"Huh, must have been a false reading then. It's gone now."

"Reading's for eggheads like you, Twilight. Heh, no offense, but I am not" reading. It's undeniably, unquestionably, uncool."

"Wait, there it is again." 

"Doesn't look like anything's wrong with the machines," Marianne said over the rapid bleeps of the monitor. "H-he's reacting to something, look!"

"...to get to the other side! Get it?"

"NEIL! Get your butt up here! NOW!"