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Last week, in chapter 14, Holly exchanged stories with Oliver Dean

Chapter 15: Terms and conditions

The chamber released Takeda like a mechanical exhale. He wasn’t screaming but sweating, panicked, his pupils dilated. He mumbled, “She was there, she was red, she was there….” An employee appeared from a door that slid open, breaking the room’s darkness. Low lights began to brighten the scene. She approached Takeda, heels clicking with authority.

“Can I get another set of hands for Mr. Hill?”

A burly male figure came through the doorway and rushed to Takeda, guiding him to a comfortable leather chair at the back of the room.

“Mr. Hill, Mr. Hill, sir, you’re okay, you’re going to be okay, sir. Can you speak? If you cannot speak but can hear me, please nod your head,” the woman said with pressed lips.

“Mmmmm I, grngh, I… can hear…” he mumbled and gave a weak nod.

“Mr. Hill, I’m going to give you something to help you wake up. I’m putting an eye dropper in your mouth to squirt a little medicine. It won’t taste good, but it will help,” the woman spoke so loud that he winced. “Hold his head.”

The large assistant put his hands on either side of Takeda’s head.

“Please swallow this, Mr. Hill.” His head flopped forward in a manner of acknowledgment.

Takeda felt the crisp taste of the liquid rush in and spread to his extremities. It was like a full-body espresso shot, and he became totally awake.

“What just happened? Where am I? Am I still at The Center?”

“Yes, Mr. Hill, you’re still at the center. My name is Nancy, and I work here. You just completed your Replay and had what we call a situation. It’s not uncommon, and you shouldn’t have any lasting effects. Although, we do recommend a full exam from your primary care doctor as soon as possible to be sure. I’ll give you some literature to take with you before you go.”

“A situation?” he said slowly, his tongue thick.

“Yes, sir. From time to time, a person may become overwhelmed with the power of the Replay that their mind can’t quite handle it, and they, for lack of a better term, pass out.”

“Is this what happened to me?”

“It appears so. But if you don’t mind, I’d like to ask you a few questions.”

“Questions, yeah, sure,” he rubbed his head.

“This might sound a little odd, and there is no wrong answer, but did you see anything unexpected or strange?” She nodded for her colleague to come closer.

Takeda eyed both of them for a moment.

“Yes. I’d say. The last thing I remember, I was talking to this little girl. A girl that I’d seen at work today, and maybe in a dream too. Why was she there? She wasn’t really there, right? I mean, I know the Event is supposed to be real, like a glimpse into our existence, and honestly, it was amazing. But why would this random person I only met once be in my Replay?”

The woman shot a quick and severe look at her colleague, and he left the room.

“Where’s he going?”

“To get the information packet we hand out when this happens. Mr. Hill, might I ask, this girl,” she paused, “was she, or is she someone you know well? What I mean to say is, who is she to you?”

“Who is she to me? I just told you. She’s a little girl that came into the pizza place where I work. I’d never seen her before today, but...” he hesitated.

“Please, anything you can think of that might help us better understand what happened.”

“It’s weird. I think I had a dream about her before we met.”

Nancy raised her eyebrows.

“I’m not really sure; you know how dreams fade? But later today, after I had woken up and gone to work, she was there, getting a pizza with her father.”

“Hmmm. And how did you recognize this girl? I mean, specifically, what did you see?”

“Well, she has a memorable face, if that’s what you mean. But it’s her name that stood out the most. She said her name was Chimera. I’ve never met anyone with a name like that.” He reached into his pocket to retrieve the piece of paper on which he had scribbled her name and handed it to Nancy.

“That’s a new one to me too. Parents are trying hard these days to be different, perhaps too hard?” she said while taking the paper scrap and looking at it before handing it back.

“Yeah, I’d agree. Anyway, during the replay, I guess it was at the end, she appeared. I said hello, and she said, ‘Hello, Takeda.’ It was like she knew me. I’m not sure if I told her my name when I met her, but maybe she heard someone else say it…” he trailed off.

“Mr. Hill, let me help you. It’s clear from your description that what you experienced is something called ‘Time-Bleed.’ You may or may not recall this from the terms and conditions you signed earlier tonight.”

“I didn’t read those.”

“Of course, nobody does,” Nancy said with a smile. “Described in great detail is a warning that you may experience the Time Bleed effect. It’s simple enough, although we’re not clear why it occurs. Recent things that have happened during your day can enter a Replay. It’s similar to a waking dream in that it’s not reality, just your mind adding a memory to the mix. What it absolutely is not is something real happening. Your Replay is real. Through many years of technological development, we’ve captured a way to let you experience your Event a second time, essentially opening up a portal that shuts after your normal birthday Event. The person that you saw in your Replay, Chimera, she was not there, period. It was a projection of your mind. The mind is very good at making things seem incredibly real. It simply was not,” she said with finality and a corporate grin.

“Okay, I guess,” Takeda said. “Am I going to be all right? You gave me some drug...”

“You’ll be fine. That was a harmless stimulant we have on hand for exactly this situation. As I mentioned, you should see your doctor to be sure there are no other effects… the truth is, there won’t be any. We’re legally required to say that. Your paperwork also describes the stimulant we’ve given you in detail.” Nancy stood up and smoothed her skirt.

“Mr. Hill, on behalf of The Center, we apologize for what was obviously not an optimal replay of your birthday event. We can’t control it, but we want you to be happy. With that in mind, we’ve refunded all your costs for the evening, and you’re welcome to spend the rest of the night on the house. You’ll find two vouchers for free evenings at The Center in your paperwork. Please accept them as a token of our gratitude for your business. We hope you’ll come back again,” she extended her hand.

Her colleague appeared and smartly handed her a packet that she, in turn, gave to Takeda. He glanced down at it, suddenly feeling like he was getting the bum’s rush but wanting to get out of there all the same.

“Okay, thanks?” he said. The man ushered him to the door.

He walked out into the hall, and the door with the 42 on it slid shut behind him with a mechanical sigh. He turned to look at it as if he’d forgotten to say or do something, then leaned against the wall and sent Holly a text:

“Hey, whatcha doing?”

He watched the screen for thirty seconds, which was well beyond her standard response time.

There was no reply.

Maybe she went to bed, he thought and walked towards the exit.

Next week in Chapter 16, “Stayin' alive,” Holly’s trust is tested, and it may cost her.

Bill Bradbury's fiction

Song of the Red-Legged Birds: Chapter 15…