- Doubled Duplicity - "Hul? Hul honey? Are you all right?" Mimi stared. Her big, dark eyes more prominent than ever as she examined her husband's blank face for any sign of life. It had been more than half an hour since the gang had pulled him out of the surf and across the beach to the driftwood fire burning fitfully in the gusting wind at the base of the chalk cliff. "Ed? Eddy! C'mon buddy! Are you in there?" Peter shook Ed's shoulders. He licked the sea salt off his lips and glanced worriedly at Mimi then back at Ed. There was nothing there. Limp limbs under the still damp wet suit and closed eyes under the wispy blond forelock. Nothing indicated any sign of life except for the far too shallow, far too irregular rise and fall of Hulvers abdomen. ~~~~~ Ed took a long pull from the pint glass in front of him. He glanced at his wristwatch "Damn!", he thought, "How the hell am I going to explain this to the wife?" It had been a long day. Interviews, lunch, more interviews, and then that -- He shuddered and took another quick pull. "Damn! Damn damn damn damn damn!" If only he hadn't decided to make a shortcut down that alley. Then none of this would have happened. What would he tell Meg? "Sorry honey. I think I was assaulted by gnomes in an alley and I think they're trying to take control of my body. Can you get me to a doctor?" Yeah. That'd go over real well. The opening in his back felt strangely cold. He wondered if anyone could see its outline through his light shirt and jacket ~~~~~ Matt played compulsively with his cell phone, repeatedly flipping it open and closed. He looked at the display inside each time but by now was seeing nothing there. With his other hand he stroked his beard. "You sure you don't want me to call for an ambulance?" He asked again. "I've got a signal here." "No. No. Not yet." Mimi stroked Ed's forehead, smoothing out his hair as she stared at his face. "Wake up! Wake up damn you!" she screamed to herself. She continued to gently stroke his forehead. "Look. He's not going to come out of whatever it is. We gotta do something!" "We know Boz. But Mimi isn't ready to just dump him into a health care system that they can't afford and that'll probably just spit him out as a high risk anyway. It's gotta be something he picked up when we were in the water. You work up his left side and I'll work up his right. C'mon. Let's go!" "OK. I'm with you." Boz and Dana knelt down by Hulvers' feet and slowly, gingerly, worked their hands over his feet and ankles. "Watch for spines. It could have been coral -- or a jelly fish." "Yeah, yeah. I know. Just take your time. Here, what's this? Eh, just a patched hole." They worked slowly up the calves over the knees and started up the thighs. ~~~~~ He pushed the unfinished pint away, grabbed his bag and headed out the door. The streets were still bright with low, harsh late afternoon sunlight. He turned squinting to the west down the street toward the train station. Everything around him reeked of normalcy: People hurrying home from work singly or in small groups, other groups, loud and happy heading to pubs, couples walking to dinner arm in arm, others heading to the station in a rush just like him. Everything normal but him. He glanced at his watch again. The last train would leave in eight minutes. He picked up his pace. ~~~~~ Mimi hadn't moved from where she knelt over Hulvers' head. Claire slipped up behind her and whispered in her ear as she hugged Mimi's shoulders. "Don't you think it's time? I mean, everyone else is getting desperate. We've got to let them in on it soon." "No." Mimi shook her head, still staring at Hulvers' face. She whispered back: "No. Never. We'd lose everything we've worked for." The two women leaned back in unison as Boz and Dana worked up Ed's shoulders. "Soon! We've got to make it happen soon!" Claire hissed in Mimi's ear as the other two worked back down Ed's arms. ~~~~~ Without looking or caring, Ed flopped down in a seat in the middle of the last carriage, others still piling in behind him as the doors hissed shut. He closed his eyes, leaned his head back and breathed a deep sigh. Done. Forty-five minutes of quiet with no worries, then a five minute walk home and then finally try to figure out what was going wrong inside. "Whut wi' you? You won o' dem? Eh? Won o' dem you are!" The filthy grey bum sitting across from him half-stood, his whiskered face red and twisted in anger. He screamed at Hulver: "Why? Why why why why why? Basta'd! Get yersel' gone! YAHHHH! Away fr'm me! Go!" The carriage filled with the smell of liquor and foul body odor as the bum continued to yell. Other passengers looked nervously away. "Evil thing! The bum plucked at the sleeve of the nearest passenger who pulled away pretending that no one and nothing was there. "You! You! Can't ya' see? He's one o' dem! He needs. He needs. He needs kill'n! Kill'n him he needs!" The train pulled out of the station. Forty-five minutes. ~~~~~ "Well, if he was bit by something, I can't figure out where." Boz sat back on his heels as he squatted over Hulver. There was even less movement in Hulvers' breathing than there had been just a few minutes ago. "We've got to get him to a doctor. Matt! Pete! How're we gonna haul him up this cliff? We've only got the one rope." "No. I've got another up top in the truck" said Matt. "I'll climb up, tie it off and drop it back down. What we really need to do is figure out how to support him on the haul up." "We can tie some wet suits together into a sling of sorts and then tie him into it." Boz started stripping down to his swim trunks. "Come on girls, we need the wet suits and I think right now standing out in a cold breeze here in your bikinis is less important than seeing if Ed is dead or alive." Matt topped the edge of the chalk cliff and looked at the distant downs while he caught his breath. A few hundred yards away a dog sat. It stayed unnervingly still, staring steadily at him as if it was waiting for some sign from him. Matt muttered "Stupid dog! Too bad I don't have my Sigarms handy." He yelled "Buzz off you fucking mutt! Go on or I'll eat your fucking heart, you bastard!" Getting no response from the dog, he turned away and fumbled in his shorts for the keys to the truck. ~~~~~ The bum suddenly turned on Ed. "Die baa'saad! Here! See da' proof! Ev'l he is!" He leapt across the carriage with his arms stretched up high. He landed with his arms hooked over Hulvers' shoulder and head. Grunting and kicking, he slid down Hulvers' back and pulled madly at the jacket and shirt. The other passengers watched, frozen in surprise. The jacket slid to the floor and the shirt ripped down from the collar. The bum shoved his grimy hand into the hole. "See! Ya' see! 'E should be dead anyway! No! Evil! Kill 'im! Kill 'im wi' me!" He pulled his hand out and started pummeling Hulver on the head and back. "Evil I tell ya'! Godless, zombie 'e is! If e's not kill'd dare'll be more! Ye' must. Help. 'stroy 'im!" Ed staggered forward, trying to get to the door at the end of the car. As he made it past the first passengers the reached out and held him. "Thank God! They'll stop this nut!" Then a fresh fist came down. Harder and faster than the bums. ~~~~~ "Please Mimi! Let us tie him up in this!" Peter tried to pull her away by grabbing one shoulder, Boz pushing in next to him. "No! No! Leave him be! Just wait! He'll be fine" Mimi curled forward, covering Hulvers' head and shoulders with her own. "No he won't be! We've got to get him out now!" Peter yanked hard and Mimi rolled to the side and then forward, falling across Hulvers' chest. ~~~~~ Hulver stumbled to the floor, the crowd around him growing. He could not understand what had happened to the formerly passive people on the train. He instinctively curled up into a fetal position, leaving the hole in his back more exposed than ever. Others touched it, saw how impossible it was. The mob began to yell. The blows became kicks. Harder than ever. He began to lose consciousness. Then, rolling over and looking up he saw the folded umbrella stroller coming at his head, the woman swinging it still holding her baby in her other arm. ~~~~~ In a sudden convulsive burst, he started breathing. Deep choking breaths. Coughing, spitting up bile. Mimi rolled off him, down past his hips and he sat up, still gasping and coughing. "What the hell! Where the fuck am I?" "You passed out in the surf when we came in from snorkeling." Claire stood, oddly calm, her arms crossed tightly. "We thought you'd been attacked by something. We thought we'd lost you." Mimi stared at Claire then looked back at Hulver. If anyone had taken the time to notice, her face showed disappointment instead of relief. She said nothing. Hulver squatted, then gradually stood. His breathing becoming normal almost immediately. "Well, whatever it was, it seems to be over for now. But man! Did I have a wild dream! Too bad I can't remember what it was." "OK now that you're back with us, let's get you the hell out of here." the Boz muttered as he refashioned the sling into a shoulder harness. "Quite a surprise you pulled for us there!" chuckled Pete, giddy with relief. "Let's get you up and checked by a doctor. At least there's no reason to make a mad dash to a hospital now." "Yes, quite a surprise" Claire looked knowingly at Mimi again. "I wonder if we'll have any more."