Chapter Twenty-Seven
As Harry neared the dock, he realized that Al was not alone; there was someone else with him, a woman whom from a distance appeared washed out and insubstantial.
The wind was pocketed on the dock, the water providing no resistance to its passing and the breeze whipped about the woman's hair, which lent to the feel of a lack of physical presence.
It was difficult to tell where her hair ended and the atmosphere began.
Harry began moving towards them but stopped short when he realized that Al was not bleeding, or in any form of pain whatsoever as the specter smiled and wrapped her arms around him.
Their bodies came close together, and though it was clear that only one of them was physical, the intimacy was evident between the two forms.
“I'm so sorry for not being there for you and have thought about you being abused in the hospital everyday.” Al said.
“If only we had treated you with more respect, maybe things would not have ended up this way. I know I can’t undo what has already been done, but I wanted you to know, that I am so very, very sorry.” He concluded.
Though Harry could not see from his position, Al smiled, before allowing the apparition to lead him by the hand, toward the end of the dock.
Harry dropped the rifle to the ground and yelled, cupping both hands around his mouth to form a makeshift megaphone.
“Get away from her! She’s not your sister!” he screamed.
Al's responded with a shout of his own.
“How can we be so sure?” He answered back, “She says I'm innocent, and that we can spend the rest of our time together. Her mind works normally here! We're going to be safe together, finally!
Harry could almost see Al's smile as he announced the news.
Al sends Harry a final wave of gratitude, then turns to follow his sister toward the edge of the dock.
Hand in hand, Al and the specter leap off of the dock, disappearing into the water without so much as a splash.
Harry cried out for Al to stop, but he could not reach him in time. His cries had echoed without reception along the surface of the water; his feet pounding against the grass.
On arrival Harry peered beneath the surface of the water, beyond the dock's edge, expecting to see something, but he did not. There was not so much as a shadow in the water, which was impossible because he knew first hand that the water was only a depth of about eighteen feet.
He considered diving in after them, but without something to follow, there seemed to be little reason to follow through with such a desire. Al was gone, and Harry was coming to the stark realization that he was alone, without any contact or companionship.
The people at the lab appeared to have completely abandoned, or lost contact. His peers had been slaughtered or kidnapped by some faceless, digital, self-righteous karmic distributor and there was nothing Harry could do.
He wanted to destroy something, but couldn't find a proper outlet for his frustrations.
If he hit the ground with his hand, he would likely only injure himself, and there was no way that he could injure the water that had swallowed Al up, without a trace.
Harry felt disempowered; impotent.
Suddenly, Harry felt a presence behind him, and he knew what it was before he even turned around. He didn't know what form it would take, but fundamentally, he knew, the form did not matter.
Harry continued to sit there so that if it wanted to kill him, it wouldn’t have the satisfaction of seeing the terror in his eyes.