Redemption: Supernatural Time-Traveling Romance with Sci-fi and Metaphysics (3 page)

“Yes, physical things.” She
brought the car to a stop and turned off the engine. “Like this place.” She
pointed through the windshield towards the large building in whose shadow they
now sat. Light glinted off of highly polished windows, and around them the skyscrapers
slowly rotated like sunflowers turning to face the sun. On the raised bank
ahead, a myriad of brightly colored blooms spelled out the words: Paradise
World Amphibia. Ann smiled at the beauty of what she saw. “Nevertheless, keep
looking into the spiritual stuff for me, Rob,” she said. “We’ll talk more about
it later. For now… I’ve got some working out to do!”

~

Paradise World Amphibia was
housed in a massive building that squatted among the Chicago skyscrapers.
Unlike its looming brothers, it was not especially tall, but its footprint was
vast, covering an area the size of a shopping mall, parking lot and all. As
impressive at it appeared from the outside, it was nothing compared to the
wonders within. The glass doors slid open as Ann approached them and, despite
the fact she had seen it many times before, the view took her breath away.

Fantastic! I love this place!

Beyond the reception area, where
the face recognition system lit a green light at her, the gym rooms rose in
layers to either side, filled with the latest and most advanced equipment
available. But it was in between these, stretching away into the distance, that
Ann’s eyes were drawn, to the aquarium. She had one in her apartment, an
average-sized tank which was home to a pair of Siamese Fighting Fish, but that
was to the Amphibia aquarium what a marble was to the moon. To call the
aquarium large would be little more than ludicrous.
It’s just gigantic!

The acrylic viewing panel was
over two hundred feet wide and sixty feet tall, which provided a clear view of
what looked to Ann to be at least a hundred thousand marine organisms that
swam, glided, crawled and bobbed in the water beyond.

“Hello, little fellas,” she said,
bending down to look at a cluster of brightly colored seahorses that were
gliding slowly on their way towards a patch of coral.
Amazing, s
he thought, straightening up again; s
o many colors and such incredible variety. Whoever came up with the
idea of this place is a genius!

Despite its exclusivity, Amphibia
was usually crowed with people, but in the early afternoon it was very quiet
and, after a brief warm-up in one of the gym rooms, Ann made her way to the
aquarium changing premises. Slipping into a swimsuit that was perfectly
designed to show off her slender figure, Ann fastened a miniature aqualung to
her back, strapped on a pair of flippers and headed up.

“Morning, Jake,” she said to the
lifeguard, as she emerged onto the top deck.

Jake looked flustered at being
addressed so unexpectedly. “Oh!” he said. “Er… hi there, Ann. Good to see you
again.”

Apart from Jake and another
lifeguard a short distance away, there was no one else around. Ann sauntered up
to the edge of the pool and stepped onto the top rung of the ladder.

No,
she thought, pulling her foot
back.
I don’t want to use the ladder
today. Since it’s only me here, I’ll dive straight in.
She pulled the mask
down onto her face and launched into the water, barely making a splash.

The underwater world that met her
was simply incredible. It was one thing to look at it through the viewing
screen, but something else entirely to be a part of it. It was like being in
another world. Stretched out before her was a reef, a wall of colors and
movement. There were orange and white clownfish, swimming among purple-tipped
anemones, glistening tendrils of seaweed interspersed with flashes of gold,
blue and red as fish darted among them. Seahorses, mollusks and starfish moved
almost imperceptibly on the surface as crabs and shrimp crept across it, their
feelers touching and tasting everything they encountered. Everywhere there were
shoals of fish of all shapes, sizes and hues.

This is the life
, she thought, as she
eased her way through the water.
This is
the kind of recreation I need. I should come here on all my days off
.

Ann kicked out towards the bottom
of the aquarium, reveling in the sense of freedom and weightlessness as her
strong legs propelled her downward. Long strands of seaweed reached out to her,
stroking her skin as she swam past. To her right a large eel poked its head out
from a deep cavern and eyed her suspiciously, and overhead a cloud of bright
silver fish darted backwards and forwards, the light flickering off their
scales. She swam towards them, reaching out to touch them as they shot past.
Suddenly, the fish were gone, retreating to another part of the aquarium. On
the reef ahead of her the clownfish hid in their anemones and, below, the eel
retreated into its den.

Odd,
thought Ann, peering at the
suddenly deserted reef.
Something’s
spooked them all.

She span round in the water and
her vision was filled with teeth as an enormous shark passed mere inches over
her head. Behind her mask, Ann smiled. The shark was an old friend, or rather
an old foe, with whom she often sparred during these sessions. It was not
dangerous, constructed as it was from some of the most advanced animatronics
available, and contained one of her company’s more limited AI chips. With a
flick of its tail, it turned its lithe body back to face her and Ann tensed.

Come on then,
she thought, narrowing
her eyes at the creature.
I’m ready for
you!

The rush of adrenalin helped her
to focus, ready for action. The shark shot forward straight towards her left
shoulder. Ann kicked away to the right, jabbing out with a fist and catching
the shark in its side. She watched it slip past and it flicked her, playfully,
with its tail before coming round for another pass. Again and again Ann and the
shark sparred together.

Take that,
she thought, as she kicked
out with a flipper.
I’ll show you who is
king of the sea!
She reveled in the experience, feeling a childish sense of
delight as her whole body worked hard. The feel of the water as she span around
and the joy of the play-fight brought to Ann’s mind an occasion when her
parents had taken a group of school friends to a swimming pool for her eighth
birthday.

Eventually, she had had enough
and, as if sensing her diminished interest, the shark slunk away. As the other
fish and sea creatures returned or emerged from their hiding places, Ann wound
down from the excitement of the fight.

Wow,
she thought, as she began to swim
lazily around the aquarium, chasing and even touching some of the fish, her
senses drinking in the exotic surroundings and the feel of the cool water
against her skin.
I love this sea world.
It’s like paradise!

~

“Now that was a workout!” Ann
lay on one of the lounge chairs scattered around the deck of the aquarium,
towel across her middle and mobile device in her hand. Palm trees swayed above
and from somewhere came the gentle sound of an orchestra.
Ah, I’m not sure I can think of anywhere more relaxing. Seems crazy to
think I was getting all flustered about some stupid dream. I’m at peace with
the world
. She sighed deeply, savoring the stillness.

“Nina’s calling, my lady,” said
Rob’s voice from the device. Sitting up and tapping the screen, Ann found
herself looking at the face of her friend, Nina, smiling out from the screen.

“Hello, Ann, darling. I just
heard. Congratulations on the vacation.”

Ann blinked at her in surprise. “You
too, Nina? How on earth did you hear about that? I only found out this morning,
myself!”

“Oh, I have my sources,” said
Nina, pushing a stray piece of light blonde hair away from her face, which
immediately fell back again. “Let’s just say, a little E-A bird told me.”

Ann shook her head in mock
irritability. “Between Rob and the Mikes it’s a wonder I have any secrets left.”

“Come now, sweetie. You surely
don’t keep any secrets from me?”

“Well, you’ve caught me at just
the right time,” said Ann, ignoring Nina’s question. “I’m in a great mood after
my work out here at Amphibia, so how about we go out this evening for a drink
at the Tower? I’ll buy you a super ice cream too, if you’re really good.”

“Ice cream? Sounds perfect. My
new boyfriend likes plump girls. Gives him something to grab hold of, he says.”

“A
new
boyfriend? What happened to Steve?”

“Steve is old news, darling.”
Nina waved a hand dismissively, as though swatting away the memory. “What can I
say? We didn’t really have that spark, you know? Don’t worry yourself about it.
It’s all in the past. And this new model’s much more up to scratch.”

“Well, that definitely calls for
a celebration. Pick you up at nine?”

Chapter Three

T
he Tower was one of the tallest buildings on the Chicago skyline.
Most of its seventy-two floors were used as office space for various
businesses, but on its top floor was the Tower Bar. The floor of the bar
projected about ten feet beyond the rest of the building below, and its walls
and floor were made of glass, offering an unparalleled view of the city and
surrounding countryside as the room revolved slowly on its axis.

Ann and Nina stepped out of the
elevator and were shown to their table. As they walked through the bar, heads
turned to watch them, men staring open-mouthed, women gazing in open envy. Ann,
as always, looked stunning in a small red dress that perfectly showed off her
shapely body and exuded allure. Nina, though almost a head shorter than Ann,
drew many of the eyes, her mesmerizing smile, ample cleavage and seductive walk
causing one man to spill his drink into his lap. Nina winked at him and the
woman sitting opposite the man jabbed a finger at him and said something
crossly under her breath.

“Stop getting people into trouble,”
said Ann, trying to conceal her laughter.

“I know.” Nina flicked her hair
from her face again. “The poor dears. It’s just so easy. I can’t help myself.”

“Huh. The problem is that you
do
help yourself. To any man that
happens to be available.”

“I don’t know what you mean!”
said Nina, taking her seat at the table, momentarily unnerved by the vast drop
visible through the floor below her. Ann sat down, completely unfazed by the
view, and looked across the table at her friend.

Since they had first met, at a
strategic thinking conference in New York a few years earlier, Ann had grown
increasingly fond of Nina and loved hanging out with her. And though her friend
seemed to go through men at a rate that was almost impossible to keep up with,
she knew that, behind it all, Nina was simply looking for her ideal life. Her
goal was to meet her perfect man, Mister Right, the one who would not only be
able to handle her fiery passions, but with whom she could settle down and have
the family she always wanted. “A proper family should have at least seven
children,” Nina would often say, and Ann suspected it was not meant as a joke.
That perfect man, however, was proving somewhat elusive and Nina felt it would
probably be easier to find seven men to produce one child each than one man who
would be prepared to settle down with her and produce seven children.

“So what are you going to have?”
Ann asked, as Nina considered the ActiveMenu screen set into the tabletop. “Obviously
we’re having margaritas, but what about the ice cream? It’s divine. The best in
the city.”

Nina glanced up from studying the
screen. “Such a sweet tooth, darling! You should be directing that passion more
towards finding yourself a good man.”

“Oh, it’s much more fun watching
you, my dear. I’m sure the right man will come my way soon enough.”

“And how’s that going to happen?
You don’t spend any time around men, sweetie.”

“
Very funny!
Have
you seen how many men there are in my office? Apart from me and a handful of
other women, it’s an entirely male workforce. Let’s go for two margaritas,” she
added, tapping at the ActiveMenu screen. “And I’ll go for the pistachio ice
cream. What are you having, Nina?”

Nina glanced down again at the
images on the screen. “I really shouldn’t. . . but I will have honey
and ginger, I think.” As Ann tapped in the order, she continued. “Anyway, darling
I’m not talking about colleagues. Is that Tomo still trying his luck?”

“Of course.” Ann smiled
mischievously. “He’s only human, after all. But he is also a colleague… and
nothing more than that, really.”

“Unlike the other man in your
life? Don’t you ever get tired of hanging out with super-smart Rob?”

“Hardly. He’s wonderful. He’s interesting,
useful, entertaining… What more could I want?”

Nina looked unimpressed. “I think
we have a different definition of entertainment, darling!” She leaned forward
on the table and gave Ann a wink that would have made a statue blush.

“Huh. So what do you actually get
out of all those sleepless nights with your endless stream of men? Besides satisfying
some of your basic needs, of course.”

“Basic needs?” Nina gave her a
reproachful look. “Eating is a basic need, sweetie. So is sleep. But sex is so
much more!”

“But there must be more to it
than just that. Don’t you ever talk to these guys?”

“There’s a time for talk.” Nina
leaned back as the robotic waitress, with her long, curly hair and pink
mini-skirt, arrived with their drinks and ice creams. “But night is a time for
action!”

“Action?” said Ann, eyeing her
ice cream hungrily. It was an outrageously bright green and she briefly
wondered just how many calories it might contain, and how many she had burned
at Amphibia. “If you want action, why don’t you go to the gym like me?”

“That’s not the same at all!”
said Nina with a frown. She spooned a little ice cream into her mouth and
closed her eyes, savoring the taste. “Imagine. There you are snuggled up with
some gorgeous guy. A little candle-light. A nice glass of red wine. Can’t you
feel the passion? The desire? The promise of wonderful pleasures to come?”

“I have to admit,” said Ann,
enjoying the image as much as the ice cream, “it sounds pretty good! So when
was this?”

“Last Saturday, after my house
party.” She waved her spoon dramatically as if to conjure the party out of the
air. “It was simply splendid, darling! You should have been there.”

“I wasn’t really in the mood,
Nina.”

“Not in the mood? That’s exactly
what parties are for,
improving your mood.”

“Maybe,” said Ann, looking out of
the window at the view south across the lake and city. “I’ve had some strange
moods lately… dreams that disturb my sleep.”

“What you need is someone to
sleep with. That’s the best cure. Take this guy, for instance.” Nina pointed
towards the bar where a tall, handsome man in his late thirties sat alone with
his beer. Ann glanced at him briefly.

“I don’t think so,” she said. “That’s
not really a cure. These dreams have been very strange, and they’re always the
same.” Ann leaned forward, lowering her voice. “In these dreams, I’m being absorbed
by this huge spiral. It’s carrying me in its grip, and it appears to keep going
on and on along an endless path. I can’t describe how distressing it is. It
makes me feel trapped and frightened and… out of control.”

“Well, aren’t you just full of
surprises!” said Nina, raising her eyebrows and pushing the errant hair away
from her face again. “And there I was thinking you were nothing more than a
woman of steel. You’re not worried about these dreams are you?”

“I don’t know,” said Ann, her
voice still hushed. “I feel like there is this uneasiness gnawing away inside
me, holding me back somehow, and I have to get rid of it. It’s like there’s
some sort of puzzle I need to unravel, but I have no idea what it is…”

“I know what you mean,” said
Nina, finishing the last of her ice cream and picking up her margarita. “I’m
tense as well, frustrated. Look at me, darling. I’m already thirty-three and
I’m yet to have even one baby, let alone seven, which you know is my dream. By
my reckoning I need at least a year to conceive and produce a baby, following
another year’s recovery, which means seven children is going to take thirteen
years in total. Even if I started tonight, I’d be forty-six before I’m done.
And I’ve still not met the man for the job. It’s frustrating!”

“What about twins?” asked Ann, sipping
at her drink to hide her amusement at Nina’s concerns. “You could be done in
half the time.”

“True, but even with the latest
advanced methods there’s no guarantee I’d produce twins.”

“So what are you going to do,
then?”

“What
have
I been doing, you mean,” said Nina, peering mysteriously over
her glass. The piece of hair that kept falling across her eyes spoiled the
effect slightly by choosing that moment to flop into her drink. She flicked it
out and continued, “I went to see a psychic!”

Ann nearly spat out her drink. “Seriously?
A psychic? So, what happened?”

“She was this small, old lady,”
said Nina dramatically, smiling at her friend’s amazement. “She took her third
eye and peered into the fourth dimension.”

“What on earth are you talking
about?”

“That’s what they say, isn’t it? Psychics
have a third eye to see into the invisible world, the one which extends from
our distant past and through into the future. It’s called the fourth dimension,
and when…”

“Enough,” said Ann, downing her
margarita and consulting the ActiveMenu again. “Let’s get another drink and get
on that dance floor. And no more of this third eye, fourth dimension, psychic
nonsense!”

~

“What do you know about
psychics, Rob?” It was morning and Ann was sitting on her bed, massaging her
temples to ease the slight headache she had following her evening with Nina.
The apartments in her building rotated on a central column, each apartment
staggered from those above and below to create a constantly moving spiral
effect. Since they completed a full rotation every twenty-four hours, the sight
across the west of the city and the lake was the same each morning, except, of
course, for the changes in the weather. Sighing at the clouds and the brisk
wind that stirred up the surface of the lake, Ann turned back to look at her
mobile device.

“One moment please, my lady,”
said Rob from the screen. “I’m just collating the requested data.” Ann waited
patiently. “Interesting!” said Rob, after a few seconds of research that
covered over a hundred terabytes of data. “Why do you ask?” He looked at Ann
quizzically, a single eyebrow raised.

“Just something Nina said last
night.” Ann stood up and made her way to the washroom. “Apparently she visited
a psychic to find out about her future.”

As Ann brushed her teeth, Rob
explained to her the wide range of abilities that psychics claimed to have. Ann
listened carefully, hoping that Rob might have dredged up something that she
didn’t already know.

“There’s fortune-telling and
predicting the future, mind-reading and telepathy, hypnosis, exploring past
lives, spiritual healing and pretty much anything else that involves looking
into and manipulating the spiritual realm.”

“I was hoping they might have
something to do with interpreting dreams,” said Ann, drying her face with a
small towel. “I’ve been having those weird dreams for the last few nights and I
just can’t shake off the feeling that my brain is trying to tell me something.”

“Like what?”

Ann shrugged, slipping off her
silk chemise and stepping into the shower. “I have no idea, Rob. Hence asking
you about psychics. I guess what I really want to know is, can they
really
do the things they claim they can
do?”

“That is not an easy question to
answer,” said Rob, speaking louder to be heard over the sound of the shower as
its jets burst to life. “These are intangible, spiritual matters, outside the
realm of empirical testing and scientific research. Not only that, but there
are countless accounts of so-called psychics who were nothing more than
charlatans and con artists. However, there are even more accounts of people
claiming to have had genuine, spiritual experiences when visiting psychics. In
the end, there is really only one way to find out.”

Ann stopped the shower with a
wave of her hand. “Are you suggesting I visit Nina’s psychic?”

“That, my lady, is entirely your
decision. But what have you got to lose?”

Ann turned the jets back on and
considered this question.
What’s going on
with me,
she wondered.
Where did all
this spiritual realm stuff suddenly come from?
Part of her felt that it was
nothing more than a load of wishful thinking and nonsense, but she just
couldn’t shake off the feeling that there was some kind of spiritual message
behind her dreams, and it was getting more and more insistent. At this rate, if
she didn’t do something she was going to go mad. But visiting a psychic? That
just wasn’t the sort of thing she did.

~

“I can’t believe you’re actually
going to visit my psychic, darling,” said Nina, looking across at her friend as
they made their way through the city. “It just doesn’t seem the sort of thing
you’d do!”

Ann had called Nina as soon as she
was dressed, before she changed her mind about seeing the psychic. Twenty
minutes later she had picked Nina up from her apartment building and headed
towards the north of Chicago.

“Trust me,” said Ann. “It’s not.
But I don’t know what else to do.”

“Well, I think it’s wonderful,
sweetie. Getting in touch with your spiritual side; you won’t regret it. You
want the next left.” She pointed to the road in question.

The area they were traveling to
had suffered in recent years, mostly following the riots a few years earlier,
when many of the inhabitants had fled, leaving their homes and businesses at
the mercy of the mob and, before long, the city’s more notorious gangs. Now it
was an area that most people, even the police, avoided, and the gray light of
the day did little to alleviate the sense of oppression about the place. Ann
turned her car down the indicated road and pulled up against the sidewalk. She
looked out of the window and noticed that, though this had long been a
commercial area, almost all the shops had windows were either broken or boarded
up. Tattered posters flapped in wind. It began to rain.