14

The Pit

"Quantum existence"  he has called it. A term foreign to me and to many men who study the natural world and the sciences. And yet, I believe what he says to be true. he says his people are beings that do not exist in the same way that the human being exists until they are observed. but then how do they relate to one another, or interact and build societies? he explained it that the explanation is the only way a human mind would comprehend their existence in this dimension they are from. I have thought on the matter, as I have no laboratory nor away to conduct experiments, and the being who conversed with me is gone and has not reappeared in some time, and i believe that they are semi-quantum beings - this quantum is a queer word, and they want to exist in our world. They once existed here as beings very much like us and it was said, had evolved to the position they are in now. it would seem they are unhappy as they are now. They evolved toward a point through the use of odd technologies to a state where they would be seen as angels or demons, but they seem to have come to hate their higher ordered existence. 

And the machines! They have created these insidious devices to infiltrate the human population. There are times i think the whole world has gone mad. perhaps now i see a connection. This one being who found me and looked, walked and spoke as well as any country gentleman here, is he benevolent? Or a malevolent being? I did not feel any sense of dread or fear as I have with some people. but yet, as the Scriptures say: "Satan keeps transforming himself into an angel of Light". . . how much more so would his disciples, human or otherwise do the same? I wonder. . . 

He'd guessed that this journal was written some time in the late eighteenth century. Jack pondered the writings in his mind, over and over again. he wasn't used to such thinking. he was more of a "think-on-your-feet- kind of man. But this journal had some fascinating things revealed in it. They would need to meet and simply discuss the journal, and soon. The writer was unknown but Andrew had kept this book hidden, rescued it from a trash bin at a con and this book might very well hold the key to defeating these redshifters. What surprised and excited him even more was that there were also drawings in this journal and among them was a drawing, crude thought it was, of the same symbol Dan had described at their last meeting, the ringed planet with out-sized rings. Andrew allowed him to come to t bookstore on an odd and very early Monday morning, to study it on his own again. Andrew wouldn't let anyone remove it from the room in the store. Jack would try to convince him again, as he wanted to study it at home. But right now it was time to do some investigating on his own. He wondered what Dan and Mary and Trillion were up to. They really should call more often, he thought. We need to keep up with each other. Jack  decided that he would do just that after his own private investigation. He had a few friends he wanted to quizz about the symbol. See if anything turned up.

. . .

When he needed information, Jack went old school. Years ago when he was still in high school he would turn on a red light and shine it in his bedroom window when he wanted to talk to Frankie or if he wanted Frankie to show him around town. Franki Valon was a mysterious guy who knew a lot of people in the underground. he'd met Frankie at a kegger when he was fifteen. Jack had often hung out with people much older than himself. The underground consisted of all sorts of characters, some weird, some dangerous, all on the underside of society, that seemed to come out of the night and fade away at dawn. They lived in a whole different world and existed it seemed in a different time and and space. Parties in the underground, if one were invited which was a feat unto itself, were legendary. Some so much so that those poor people who were naive and didn't understand the rules never survived the night. The more people who died, the more legendary the gathering and its host, it was said, but Jack wasn't interested in any parties today. He'd had his share of them in the past. He was on business. With the amount of weird going around Frankie was bound to know or have heard something about the redshifters, even if he didn't know what or who they were. Besides, Jack had a taste for one of those drinks they served at The Pit called the red hot.
Frankie's number always led to a voice answering service. He never answered. Jack dialed the number on his phone. The messaging service picked up.
"Yeah, Frankie, it's me, Jack. I know I haven't talked to you in a while. But I've got a question for ya. I think you might be interested in this." That would be enough. If Frankie wasn't too busy, he'd be by sometime this week. If he didn't find it of interest, he just wouldn't show.
It was Tuesday morning, two days later when he heard the special knocking pattern on his door. He strode to the door and opened it. there was Frankie, his hefty body dressed up in his well-worn, dark brown leather jacket, tailor made to fit his soft flesh like a glove, with large jowls and those merry gray eyes that missed nothing. Behind his jolly demeanor hid a lethal ruthlessness.
"Hey man. Long time no see. How you been, Jack?"
"I've been alright, how about yourself?"
"Things have been weird, man, weird, But it's always weird."
'That's what i want to talk to you about."
"So I heard. What about it?"
"Let's go to The Pit and talk about it there." Frankie' grays eyes lit up.
"That serious, huh?"
"Well, I also wouldn't mind one of those red hots." Frankie smiled.
"Car's waiting outside." He grabbed a jacket, got his wallet and shoes, and made his way down the stairs behind Frankie. Down below in the alley in the back of his apartment complex was the old Monte Carlo, gleaming and polished. Frankie had had that car since he'd first known him. jack was never really sure of its color. Just that it was dark. The car was empty, passenger's side door wide open as if someone had just dashed inside a house to grab something. The keys were in the ignition. 

"Not afraid of coming out here and finding it gone?" Frankie just grinned that wicked grin of his. 
"If somebody's bold enough to steal my car they'll find out soon enough what will happen to 'em. I've had a few try it. They end up in a place they don't want to be." 
The walls were very thin at his place. Folks heard all manner of business in the building and some did anything but mind their own affairs. Other tenants looked out into the alley, a few peeking out of their windows gawking with curiosity. If they only knew the real truth. he thought grimly. They got in. The car's engine purred softly. Frankie slammed his foot on the gas and drove off. 

“You should have been a drag racer, Frankie." Frankie opened up a small case fixed into the lower dashboard and then glanced up into the rear view mirror.

"Looking for something?"
"I don't know. Sometimes I get the feeling I'm being watched or something. And other times I get the feeling that I'm sleep walking through life. Like somebody else is control of me. It's something I can't really explain. I've been into some hard stuff, but. . . I don't know. It was interesting that you called wanting to talk." Jack felt alarm bells going off in his mind but he said nothing for now. He'd wait until the reached The Pit. He took out a long, elegant, cigar from the box and lit it, the smoking end glowing fire red. Wispy tendrils of smoke uncurled and floated from the cigar spreading out through the window beside him. The warm air inside the car smelled heavily of cinnamon and copper. He settled in with his cigar. It would be a while before they reached The Pit. He sat back and enjoyed his smoke, taking peeks out the rear view mirror every now and then himself. 

Frankie was into a lot of weird stuff and helped run a small underground world. That world was rough. If Frankie felt weirded out, it was time to really pay attention. The redshifters were up to something new. Jack could feel it. Alienpocolypse, indeed.

. . .

They got out of the car and walked into the old Chinese storefront. The Pit was built under old Chinatown. Inside was an old elevator with an doorman.

"Good night to you, sirs. Good to see you again Mr. Frank," he said cordially. Frankie just grinned. it was the same old doorman he remembered when Frankie first brought him here back when he was still in high school. he was old then too. It seemed the man reached seventy and had stopped aging. Jack nodded to the doorman. They went down three levels far underground and when the doors opened they were at the massive black door, carved to look like a hell mouth, of The Pit. The underground was far larger than The Pit and extended throughout the city in hidden tunnels, some well lit, others not so well lit. One of the larger underground tunnels led from The pit into many other places. The Pit was a large and luxurious and club. It was Tuesday. Not a whole lot was happening which was fine for Jack. Frankie led him to a private table.

The scene before him was a rich, swank, deep red environ. The carpet was plush and the color of healthy blood. On the walls painted frescoes of gods and heroes of myth. An imposing looking man dressed in red leather motioned for him to follow.
“You are expected.” He said to Frankie with an odd, clipped accent Jack couldn’t place.
"Tell him I'll be there soon." The man bowed to them and left. jack sat down, taking off his jacket and setting his cigar down in a tray. It was a vast place for a club, with many rooms and sections, all darkly luxurious. In one room it was full of  tables, crowded with hundreds of people losing or winning their money. Jack remembered that when he'd first come. of course he'd been here a few times more since then. The gambling outfit had only gotten larger. Jack felt as if he was floating through hell; a hell outfitted in high, sophisticated taste.
The room was lit low dark and on the far side, built inside the wall and spanning the length of it was a marble fireplace with a roaring fire. The ceiling was thick, opaque glass and Jack could see the soft shadows of people passing over the glass ceiling, oblivious to this secret place. not even everyone in the underground could get in here.

 A woman in a tight red brocade corset and thigh high black boots came to their table.

"So, what are you having tonight?" But Jack was on business. he waved her away, reluctantly. Frankie gave her an appreciative once over as she moved away before ordering drinks.
"You mentioned that things have been weird. What did you mean by that? You've seen something out of the ordinary weirdness around here?"
"Yeah," he began slowly. "I haven't actually seen anything myself but I hear things. Things about people who aren't people. About people disappearing and coming back different. About people feeling like they've been up to things without their own knowledge, you know? Sleepwalking and stuff. Night terrors. It sounds ridiculous. But more and more people I talk to and hear about these things from than is normal. Sometimes I think something's happened even to me." He said this last part hushing his voice to a low whisper. Frankie rarely got ruffled or surprised by anything. This was serious. Jack nodded his head and took a  piece of paper from his jacket pocket.
"Have you seen this symbol before?" Frankie gave him a puzzled look. He but he picked up the paper and studied it before setting it back down.
"No," he said finally, "it's just a circle with a circle, Jack."
"It's supposed to be a planet with rings."
"Oh, is that what that is?" Frankie laughed and took a sip. "I thought you had something serious to show me, man."
"This is serious , Frankie. A friend of mine saw this symbol in a place he wasn't supposed to be in. He was nearly killed because of it. It doesn't look like much but it means something. I've seen a lot of strange and unexplained things too. Things I can't explain. So, i'm on a mission to investigate. Please, try to remember. have you seen this symbol anywhere? Even if it seems unimportant, trust me, it's very important." Frankie sighed and studied the paper again. Then he shook his head. He drank down his scotch and then made a sound as if he remembered something as Jack was putting the paper away.
"I don't think I've ever run into this but maybe someone else might know," he sad quietly. "Lt me think."
Jack took a look around, this time with interest. He wanted to see whether redshifters had infiltrated themselves in to the underground. So far, it was almost empty, not much was happening. He didn't notice anyone with a red outline glow. Jack's whole body went on alarm when one man walked up. Dressed to the nines, he wore  a well tailored Italian suit with a dark red tie. This red stood out like a beacon making Jack feel nervous. It called to him and repulsed him the way the girl with the pointy red shoes did in the diner. It spoke to him that something was wrong about this person. Jack feigned coolness but inside he was all eyes and ears as he took a slow puff from his cigar. There was no red outline that he could  detect. Perhaps he's a minion then. Doing the work without being one of them. One of their human minions. Or maybe. . . Mary and Trillion had said that there were more than one kind of redshfter and not all f them were aliens. This muddied the waters a great deal. But Jack was was used to swimming in muddy waters.
When the man reached the table Jack had quickly snatched the paper away and slid it into this pocket. The man gave him a questioning look but nodded to them both respectfully, a slight smile on his face as he greeted Frankie. Frankie frowned at him but grinned at the man.
"Ah, Quinn. I'm having a chat with an old friend. I'll be there in a few." Even though Quinn smiled his dark eyes were hard and unreadable. The irises were large and unfathomable, like black wells of ink. jack didn't like this at all. Jack was relieved he didn't see the paper, no matter how obvious he made the whole thing seem.
"What were you two looking at? Am I interrupting something important?" Way to go, pal! Jack thought, wanting to kick himself. He hoped Frankie wouldn't say anything about the paper. Frankie just laughed.
"Nothing you should be concerned with. private business. You know." Thanks, Frankie.
"I see. I'll be in one of the VIP rooms waiting. Oh, and Angela sends her regards, Frankie," said the man.
"How was last night? Where did you guys go?"
"We had a good time over at Ringler's. We might go out again."
"I'm glad to hear it," said Frankie 
"I'll talk to you later," said the man. Frankie grunted as the man turned and disappeared into another room.
"Soooo-" 
"That symbol. I've seen it somewhere now that Quinn mentioned something that jogged my memory." Frankie drew back in his seat, looking around surreptitiously. 
"Didn't you and Angela used to date?"
"I was just getting to that. My old girlfriend, Angela once gave me something with something similar on it. It was some type of charm, she said. She was into all sorts of weird stuff. But now that I think on it, they were cufflinks, actually. And they were strange, unique. She knew that I liked unique things. These cufflinks were like liquid metal. They could shift their shape. She said they were made of a mercury alloy. I thought she was trying to poison me. I wore them a couple of times and never wore them again. I still have them somewhere. But they were crafted into a planet with rings around them. I'm not clear if it was the same exact symbol as this one." 
"Do you remember where she got them from?" Frankie sat back again, thinking. 
"Some place over on Ankeny Street, downtown. Came in a nice lacquered box."

 Jack remembered that certain little lacquered boxes held something deadly to humans. The aliens used them as a pathway into someone's life. It was one way they controlled humans. How they worked he wasn't clear on but the answer to Frankie's troubling night terrors had just been found. Mary had nearly succumbed to opening a box. The redshifters were here in the underground too. jack knew he shouldn't have been surprised by this. Jack fingered his cigar and took another puff, remaining cool.

"Ankeny," he said. "Thanks Frankie. You've been more help than you know."

"What's the big deal about Ankeny?"
"I'm not sure yet until I check some things out but I suspect there's a lot more to what the owner of that shop is selling than what most people are aware of."
"You think he's into some illegal business? Drugs?"
"Could be. I think it may be more than that. I just don't now exactly what, yet. He may know something about that symbol. Look Frankie, that symbol is connected to dangerous people. watch your back. and don't take anymore odd gifts or offers from anyone anymore. it's for your own safety. These odd tings aren't unconnected coincidences. I'm sure of that."
"You think these things are related?"
"I do. That's what I'm investigating." Jack didn't know how else he could help Frankie if the redshifters were already using him without his knowledge. He'd try his best.
Jack wondered if he really should divulge anymore information at this point.
"You know how it is. Other people just don't pay attention. But we do notice the extraordinary. You said yourself thing s were kind of weird."

"Yeah."Frankie sighed and drained the rest of his drink. "You ever get that feeling that you're drowning and you don't have a lifeline to hold on to? I have to say, that feeling appeared when I started dating Angela. In fact, when i think of it, a  lot of unusual things started happening to me around that time. Stellar woman, and hotter than hell, but boy she brings the drama and the pain. Turned everything upside down."

"Women like that usually do." Angela might be one of The Others. Or a minion. Jack thought. "You're mad that she's with this Quinn now?" jack asked. Frankie glanced around the room carefully. 

"Actually, no. I'm kind of relieved. I could barely handle her. She was something different. And not in a good way."
Jack hadn't seen Angela in years but she had the kind of dark, wild good looks no man ever forgot.. She'd never expressed an interest in him and now he saw that that was for the best. he was getting somewhere, he just hoped it wasn't a dead end. he would have to pay another visit the The little old shop on Ankeny again. Very soon. And a secret investigation on Angela would also be in order. But first he needed a little more information and Frankie had given him a generous foot in the door. People who brought on strange and dangerous happenings in a person's life needed looking into and since he was now a blueshifter, fighting against the coming redshift invasion, he had a job to do. Jack finally picked up his drink and sipped it. Then he set it down as Frankie was preparing to leave the table.

"If you don't mind Frankie, before you go, tell me a few things about Angela."