Is it Live, or Memorex?

The rosy light of the dawning sun was playing across the eastern horizon and I was still far west of the Mississippi. There was no damn way I’d make it to Michigan in the timeframe that the Tree had given me.

But there was a way that part of me could get there in time. And strangely enough, it was the part of me that would be the most comforting and acceptable to my family who knew I was dead...my Spirit. I didn’t know if I would be able to communicate with him, or anyone else for sure, but it was worth a shot.

So I pulled off the highway at an exit where I had spotted a cheap motel that had advertized 24 hour check in service on one of their many billboards, probably for less than honorable reasons, but that didn’t matter to me at the moment. I needed to find a place to store my body where no one would bother it too much and where I wouldn’t have my shit stolen again.

I paid the clerk of the motel for 2 days worth of sleep time, pulling out a wad of cash that we had confiscated from the Dr. Geek’s crew. I paid a little extra so that I wouldn’t be disturbed by housekeeping and parked the car in the back, out of easy sight of any passing cops.

I brought all of the stuff I might need from the car, including my computer, batons, and even the strange bottles of red liquid that were yet to be tested. As I turned the car off, I yanked one of the starting wires completely out of the ignition, effectively disabling it--I planned on renting another one from the rent-a-wreck place next door anyway. I planned on leaving a note in vehicle for the local yokels to deliver to the nearest FBI branch, after I was gone.

Once inside the room, I locked the place up tight as a drum, using every one of the four various locks, chains and deadbolts to secure the place. Then I got down in the increasingly familiar lotus position and prepared myself metally for the long journey ahead.

I wasn’t sure if I could actually enter the Spirit World and then exit it somewhere else, so I planned to do this the hard way, fly like an eagle straight home to Michigan. It would be the first time I would fly myself home, hopefully I wouldn’t get lost. Somehow I felt though, that I wouldn’t have any trouble, something told me that I would be able to feel my way home.

I slipped out of the body, this was getting easier every time I did it. I leapt through the door as if it wasn’t there and found myself soaring into the sky with a mere wisp of my Will.

I don’t think any airplane ever made has flown as fast and as sure I flew that morning. I felt almost like a missile in flight, locked into a set of coordinates that I could feel more than see, as I whipped through the sky, unaffected by air currents, storms, turbulence or any of the other hazards of normal flight.

If I hadn’t been so locked into getting home and trying to save Kenny, I might have enjoyed the freedom that this mode of travel offered me or I might even have thought about the possibilities inherent in being able to travel so quickly to anywhere in the world. But those things didn’t occur to me then.

I had no way of telling how much time that had elapsed, but the it was still morning according to the Sun when I felt the tug downward that told me I was approaching...home. Damn, what a weird feeling.

Like a kid on a plane ride, I was able to spot my old house from far above. I dove down towards the house, intent on finding my son and saving him from the mistakes I had made!

I passed through the roof and down into the family room, barely taking note of the many changes that had been made in the intervening...years...damn. The TV was on, but no one was watching it at the moment. It felt so strange to be in my own former home, that was driven home even harder when I saw the photo that was sitting on the mantle. It had been one of the last family photos taken before the divorce, but there it was-all four of us smiling the plastic, family photo-smile of fake happiness. It brought back all sorts of emotions seeing us all there together in one place. I stood there for a few moments, almost forgetting what the Hell I was doing there in the first place.

Coming back to reality, well as much reality as one could have while walking around his old house more as a ghost than anything else, I started moving towards Kenny’s room.

I found him there, getting dressed. My first sight of his face was just like the image I had seen in the pool beneath the tree. He was so much older now! It was hard to believe he was actually this grown up now. He was beginning to lose the soft curves of youth, the future harder lines of his jaw and cheekbones were beginning to show now, giving a glimpse of the man he would soon be.

Just being so close to him now, I could feel his youthful energy nearly bursting forth from his body. But something had caught his attention. He was looking right at the spot where I was standing in, his eye slowly widened. I heard his soft whisper. “Dad? Is that you?”

I shouted at the top of my non-existant lungs, “Yes! I love you!”

But he couldn’t hear me, not in the way that I needed him to, he just shook his head like he was trying to shake himself out of some weird feeling, “Just wishful thinking I guess.” He then began speaking to no one in particular, even as I jumped up and down trying to attract his attention. “I wish you could be here Dad. I think you would be proud of the choice I’m making today. I almost can’t believe I’m gonna get a full scholarship to the University of Miami. A criminal justice major!”

The doorbell rung, he perked up a bit and walked right damn through me on the way to the front door! By the time I turned to follow him, feeling a sense of dread at just who might be there, I saw Kenny rubbing his arms as if he was cold.

He openned the door as I came up behind him. Just like in the image of the pool, I was standing behind him, seeing the back of his head. He was talking now, “Hello Mr. Kampmann, I’m really surprised to see you here yourself. Please come in!”

I heard the evil, oily voice. “Well, on occasions such as this, I like to do this personally. It’s not often in my line of work where I can actually give out good news. Thank you for the offer, but no, my time here must be very short.”

“Wow, Mom would kill me if she knew I had an important guest and didn’t at least offer you something to drink. Are you sure you won’t come in?”

I was absolutely frozen in place, unable to stop what was happening, but unable to look away. This was playing out just like the image in that damn pool!

“No, son, I’m sure. I do however have something for you. I wouldn’t want you to make such a big decision without at least making one trip to Miami to see things for yourself. I just know your father would have wanted the best for you, he never rushed his decisions, and I’m sure he’d want you to do the same. It is spring break next week, as I understand it, so please accept this envelope as a token of my appreciation and in memory of your father.”

Oh that bastard! I finally was able to shift my perspective, just like in memory of the pool image, and as able to see that bastard’s face as he handed the envelope to Kenny.

Kenny took the envelope and openned it tentatively, seeing the ticket inside and the small stack of bills, topped by a $100 bill, just as I remembered. Kenny looked back at that slimy bastard, “Thank you, Sir! This will be a great chance to check out the school. I know Dad would be honored to think of me following in his footsteps. This is a great opportunity!”

Drake looked past Kenny directly into my naked soul, smiled that bloodless, evil smile of his, and replied. “Yes, it’s as if he’s watching over us now, beaming with pride. I know he’s watching out for you, son. You couldn’t have a better protective angel.”

Kenny beamed back at the praise, “Yeah, it’s like I can sense him here as well. I know I’m on the right path Mr. Kampmann. Thank you so much!”

“Don’t think of it again, it is entirely my pleasure to help the family of someone who continues to mean so much to me.” The son of a bitch smiled right at me as he said this.

With that Drake turned on his heel and headed back to the shiny black SUV that waited for him in the driveway. I caught the smallest glimpse of Papa Locks getting out and openning the door for that bastard. As he passed the Haitian, Drake seemed to stop for just a moment, whisper something to his servant, and get in. Papa Locks flashed a quick smile as he shut the door and climbed back into the front passenger seat.

Kenny closed the front door, locked it, and started counting his Spring Break cash windfall.