Head Rush (36 page)
Authors: Carolyn Crane
“I couldn’t zing him,” I announce. “I can’t zing anymore!”
There’s a twinkle in Packard’s eye. He gets it. The fear was outshone. “You beat it,” he whispers. “And I love you so goddamn much.”
Tears mist my vision—happiness, sadness, it’s all mixed in. I’m dimly aware of Fawna, saying something else about the psychophysics of fate—“Three plus one is four, unless you change that one into a two. Or that three into a one. Profound and complete transformation of one of the subjects changes the outcome…”
I’m in the hospital for three more days. It takes practically that long to get caught up on the upheaval caused by the wedding.
It turns out that Otto and Stuart the dream invader were indeed working together. Stuart had gotten all of Otto’s enemies under dream control, particularly Otto’s political enemies. The big plan was for them to attack us
en masse
in front of the cameras during the wedding. Otto had planned to fight them—quite publicly. He would have won too; Otto’s force fields made him invincible. And nothing ruins a politician’s credibility like being a sleepwalking cannibal on TV.
But as far as we can tell, Stuart brought in dozens more cannibals than he was supposed to.
According to the coroner’s report, Otto died of head trauma, not vein star. Specifically, a shard of skull pierced his brain. His
inner circle
was his skull.
The day after the almost-wedding, Otto’s body went missing, and the old pogo-stick-and-stilt factory by the river went up in flames. Packard is convinced it was Fawna who was responsible for that. He believes that she’d somehow gotten Otto’s body to the one place he’d ever been happy, and set it ablaze. I’m glad for it.
I find out Shelby was in jail overnight for attacking Otto, but let off on probation as evidence of Otto’s link with Stuart and the cannibals emerged, and especially his guilt in Avery’s murder.
The papers were full of crazy pictures, some of which even made the national news. The reports that there were sleepwalking cannibals was chalked up to mass hysteria. People say Shelby and I both attacked Otto because we’d just learned that he’d killed Avery. People say that’s what she whispered in my ear. The glasses remain unexplained. To most people, anyway.
Packard’s there all through it, or at least, he’s never far. And I’m getting gourmet meals and very attentive care, and Packard is allowed in the room at all hours; overall, the entire staff seems more interested in earning his approval than in enforcing rules. I call him on it one evening. “Are you using your mastermind powers to run this hospital wing?” I ask accusingly.
Packard smiles, just a little bit evil. “You’d rather have Jell-O?”
“I’d rather have buttered popcorn,” I say.
Epilogue
My toes sink into the warm sand of the Midcity public beach. The August breeze whips my sundress around my knees as I look across the bright expanse toward Packard, who waits on the shore in jeans and bare feet and a billowing white shirt. His hair shines like an old penny, and behind him stretches clear, blue sky, and the waves of Lake Michigan, speckled with sun diamonds. All our friends are here, and somewhere, a lone violinist plays a simple little rondo. We wanted everything simple for our wedding. Just simple and easy and free.
I start my bridal stroll, grinning over at my pals—Shelby, Carter, Enrique, Simon, Vesuvius, Helmut, Jay. Cubby’s there with his new wife. Francis and Rickie and my old dress shop friends have shown up, too. Professor Teufelsdrock leans on his cane beside them; he’s helping to administer a university endowment in Avery’s honor. Nobody wants the antihighcap glasses to be manufactured again, but some of Avery’s wave theories have proven highly valuable to the physics community. Assisting with the endowment and the students seems to have helped Shelby immensely.
I smile over at Fawna, who is looking as wild and pretty as ever, holding a large picnic basket. She has a little apartment now, and is working with therapists. She promises to tell what happened to her…someday. But she’s adjusting, aside from the strange hostility between her and Simon. Apparently the reckless gambler and the prognosticator are natural enemies in the wild.
Dad’s in a Hawaiian shirt—he’s not even wearing a surgical mask.
Seymour, the mutt Packard and I adopted a few months ago, races around, weaving in and out of the crowd.
Off to the side, telekinetic jugglers decorate the air with colorful balls, flowers, and silver stars.
I beam at Packard as I near him. It’s all I can do not to run to him and jump into his arms.
This morning, Packard tied a pristine white bandana around Seymour’s shaggy black neck in honor of our beachside wedding, even though there’s nothing virginal about our union. We have spent a gloriously unvirginal spring, followed by a totally unvirginal summer, together in our fabulous apartment we picked out.
I reach Packard and take both his hands.
Midcity’s new mayor, Henry Felix, starts the ceremony; he insisted on performing it himself. He’s quite grateful to us, being that he was one of the cannibals under Stuart’s control.
Henry Felix calls for rings. Shelby gives me mine; Simon brings the other to Packard.
Our vows are simple: we’ll love each other always.
“I’m so happy and excited,” I say.
Packard touches my cheek and kisses me. Henry Felix objects—we’re going off script. “You mean we have to kiss
again
?” I ask. Packard gives me a sultry look. I can’t wait to be husband and wife.
Finally, the mayor does the you-may-kiss-the-bride line and we enjoy a long, dipping mash of a kiss while everybody applauds.
Later, the picnic blankets are unfurled, and feasting begins. Mayor Felix’s assistant hands out the champagne and people do toasts in our honor, which is nice, though a bit embarrassing. Afterwards, Shelby and Simon wander over and plop down on our blanket.
“Too many rainbows,” Shelby says. “Always so many rainbows.”
Simon snorts and takes a swig out of his champagne bottle.
Shelby says. “I hear your little family is expanding.”
I narrow my eyes.
Packard gives me a sly look that makes me want to kiss him, and I do.
As if on cue, because she’s always on cue, Fawna walks up with her picnic basket. She sets it down and takes out a scruffy little gray dog. “She was searching for you.”
“Aww!” I scratch the little dog’s head.
“Thank you, Fawna,” Packard says.
“Was she searching for them in the
pound
?” Simon asks.
“Yes,” Fawna says. “She has always belonged with them, and sought them in the pound.”
Simon rolls his eyes.
Shelby pets the little dog’s floppy ears; there’s a softness in her face I haven’t seen in a long time. I catch Packard’s eyes; he sees it too. Suddenly I know she’ll be okay. I know we’ll all be okay.
I lie back with my head on Packard’s stomach, staring up at the blue sky, careful not to look directly into the sun, which shines and shines like crazy, outshining the darkness.
About the Author
Carolyn Crane lives in Minneapolis with her handsome husband and two daring cats.
When she’s not writing novels or working at her day job as a marketing writer, she can be found reading in bed, running, helping animals, eating Mexican food, or staring out the window, trying to figure out what all the drama is between the neighborhood crows. Find her at
www.authorcarolyncrane.com
; twitter
@CarolynCrane
; also, Goodreads, Facebook, YouTube & Google+.
Look for these titles by Carolyn Crane
Now Available:
The Disillusionists Trilogy
Mind Games
Double Cross
Wild & Steamy anthology
Coming Soon:
Simon (Spring 2012)
Head Rush
Carolyn Crane
Justine Jones faces her ultimate enemy: herself.
The Disillusionists Trilogy, Book 3
In an attempt to put her unhappy past behind her, Justine Jones throws herself into nursing school and planning her wedding to Otto Sanchez, the man of her dreams. But something is off. Random details aren’t adding up…and is it her imagination, or are her friends and fiancé keeping secrets from her? And what’s with the strange sense of unease, and her odd new headaches?
Justine tries to stay upbeat as Midcity cowers under martial law, sleepwalking cannibals, and a mysterious rash of paranormal copycat violence, but her search for answers leads her into the most dangerous mind game yet.
With the help of unlikely allies, including her paranoid dad and best frenemy Simon, Justine fights her ultimate foe…and unravels the most startling mystery of all.
Warning: This book contains high-speed rollerblade chases, a mysterious green dashboard ornament, a father of the bride in full hazmat gear and a delicious kebab.
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This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
11821 Mason Montgomery Road Suite 4B
Cincinnati OH 45249
Head Rush
Copyright © 2011 by Carolyn Crane
ISBN: 978-1-60928-625-5
Edited by Heather Osborn
Cover by Kanaxa
All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
First
Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
electronic publication: December 2011
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