Chapter 2
Jon emerged from his room to find the main living space trashed. He paused only for a moment. He identified something he wanted. He went and picked up a bag of Pizza Rolls, navigating the mess without apparent concern or despair. He was aware of Heather, her back against the wall, leaning into the side of couch, hugging her knees. She seemed exhausted, unfocused. Eos was present against another wall, out of Heather’s line of sight. The fact that she was still manifesting a light body interested Jon, but he didn’t ask questions. Jon went to the designated kitchen space, and summoned the ‘island’ from the floor. As it rose, some groceries that were on the edge fell. A cabinet was opened to reveal dishes. He retrieved a good size bowl and placed it on top of the newly found, hexagon tile counter. He tried to open the bag by pulling on it. He gave up. He found scissors in a drawer, opened the bag, dumped the entire contents into the bowl, wiped the scissors on the shirt and put them back into the drawer, and then fed the plastic to a hungry waste compartment. The habitat, controlled by Eos, would digest it and use it for 3D printing material. He made motion over the bowl with his fingers, palm up, summoning motion, and light illuminated the bowl- heating the contents but not the bowl.
He found a plastic bottle of water, labeled ‘love’ in his own handwriting, and picked it up. Eos joined him as he leaned into the cabinet and studied the floor; he was not interested in the floor, but was studying Heather indirectly.
“She took that well, I guess,” Jon said.
“I didn’t tell her,” Eos said.
Jon considered the mess. “Really?”
“You have a message from Namid. Also, there is a proximity alert, with potential infringement risk. It’s your turn to respond,” Eos said.
“Why are we still playing this game with Earth,” Jon asked, irritated.
“I am not in charge of that,” Eos said.
“Are you in charge of cleaning?” Jon asked.
“I am not your fucking maid,” Eos said.
Jon met her eyes, turned around and touched the food.
“Why do you bother heating it when you’re just going to wait for it to cool to room temperature?” Eos asked.
“I don’t know,” Jon said. “Personality quirk, I suppose.”
He took the bowl and his water in the direction of Heather. He took a wide birth, not coming at her directly. He sat down with his back to the wall, scooted till he was close enough he could hand the bowl to her, but not so close he was obviously infringing on her space. He sat crisscross apple sauce- facing the room. Heather was on his right. He took a sip more of water, then set his water on his left. He ate one of the pizza rolls, tentatively as if afraid the inside might still explode a temperature that would be unpleasant. Satisfied he could eat without danger, he chewed with abandoned, and ate another. About five in, he extended the bowl towards Heather, offering her some. Her eyes acknowledged the bowl, but she didn’t take it.
Jon brought it back to his lap, ate another.
He spoke first: “I like what you did with the place.”
“I want to go home,” Heather said.
“Okay,” Jon said.
“Just like that?” Heather asked.
“Yeah, why not?” Jon asked.
“You’re not going to make me clean this up?” Heather asked.
“No,” Jon said. “I think it would be helpful if you did. Not for me, but for you. Sorry, ‘not for me’ is not precisely accurate, as I benefit from the recommendation, and that could decrease the therapeutic value of the activity. We could clean together. That’s also therapeutic, but that is also a relationship fortifying activity that could result in bonding.”
“I am not bonding with you!” Heather said.
“Oh, yay,” Jon said.
She turned to him and put her back to the couch. “What?”
“You’re clearly a mess, and I don’t want to be your hero,” Jon said. “No, more specifically. I don’t want to be a hero in general. Unfortunately, the thing I did puts me in the hero box, which is really a bad box to be in for long term, stable relationships…”
“I don’t want a relationship with you…”
“Oh. Yay. I don’t want one with you, so we’re okay,” Jon said.
“I want to go home,” Heather said.
“Okay,” Jon said. “Can I finish this?”
“You’re going to eat the whole bag?” Heather asked.
“Yes,” Jon said.
“In one sitting?” Heather asked, disgust in her voice.
Jon considered the amount of food in the bowl. He sighed. “You’re expressing concern. That’s nice, thank you. You could help minimize the harm by sharing it with me.”
“I don’t want to eat. I want to go home,” Heather said. “Now.”
“Okay,” Jon said.
Jon got up and took his bowl and water back to the cabinet. He turned to find Heather standing but still by the couch. He began clearing a space on the floor. Mostly, he just scooted things with his feet to widen ‘the circle’ which was his designated travel spot. He righted the shopping cart and put it in the center. Satisfied, he occupied the center of ‘the circle’ defined by a ring of groceries and a couch cushion. There was no other indication that this space was any more special than any other collection of hexagons. He looked to Heather. She stood there, by the couch.
“What are you doing?”
“Accommodating your request,” Jon said. “You’re going to have to come closer.”
Heather stared, skeptically. She decided. She came forwards tentatively, just entering the perimeter defined by the surrounding stuff. Her eyes didn’t leave his.
“Come closer,” Jon said.
“No,” Heather said.
“You will have to come closer. And I will need to touch you,” Jon said.
“You get off to this?” Heather said. “Kidnapping women. Make them jump through hoops to get close to them?”
“If you want to go home, you have to come closer, and I have to at minimum take hold of your arm,” Jon said.
“No,” Heather said.
“What do you think happened? How do explain where you are?” Jon asked.
“You hypnotized me or drug me,” Heather said.
Jon considered her explanation. He didn’t have a solution set to give her clarity. He looked to Eos. She looked to him, curious how he would solve it. He sighed. He motioned her a little closer. She resisted.
“If this is hypnosis, the greater you resist the more control I have over your psyche,” Jon said.
Heather seemed angry, her eyebrows narrowing. “So if I come closer I am screwed, and if I resist, I am still screwed?”
“Interesting dilemma, isn’t it,” Jon said. “Please, come forwards.”
Heather came forwards. Jon extended his left arm. She was still just out of reach.
“I need to touch your arm, please,” Jon said.
Heather frowned, came forwards just enough he could touch her arm. With his other hand, he touched the cart.
“What’s with the cart?” Heather asked.
“I got to return it to the store,” Jon said.
She seemed skeptical. “Now what? You snap your fingers and I wake up back home?” Heather asked.
“No. But you do have to click your heels together three times,” Jon said.
“You’re fucking with me?!” Heather demanded.
“A little,” Jon said. “Lighten up. It helps.”
“Don’t tell me to lighten up! You kidnapped me,” Heather said.
Jon wanted to ask her if that was all she remembered. “I am sorry,” was all he could manage.
Jon closed his eyes. His face relaxed. He relaxed so much he almost seemed younger, due to the reduction of frown lines and glabella lines. It was a solid transformation that Heather found irresistible to watch. She imagined seeing an aura of energy. His face became suddenly serious, It reminded her of watching a person approaching orgasm, specifically a video like ‘faces of agony,’ which if one didn’t know it was an orgasm coming could construe it as anything- like the pain of a medical procedure. The grip on her arm tightened. His breathing became irregular. His mouth opened to accommodate more air. The cart changed, as if it were captured in a negative film frame, then it was gone.
Jon gasped and let go, retreating.
“What just happened?!” Heather demanded.
Had Heather been paying attention, she might have discerned he was dazed and confused, but she interpreted it through anger and disappointment. She shoved him, yelling at him. Eos issued a warning. Heather punched him. He retreated further, his hands going to the small of his back, clearly indicating he did not want to engage in combat. She continued to flail on him, her knee coming up into his crotch. She hit him again as he went down. Eos stepped up to her, touched her, and she fell instantly asleep. Eos caught Heather as she collapsed, and carried her to the couch. She returned to Jon. He was vomiting on the floor. Eos touched him.
“No, don’t,” Jon said.
“You’re injured,” Eos said.
Jon breathed through it, sat down, and wiped his mouth on his sleeve. “Water.”
Eos handed him his water. He rinsed his mouth and spit on the floor. There was blood in his spit. He felt with his tongue and found the place where his lip was cut on a tooth. He pressed a hand against his mouth, pulled it away to confirm blood. His eye was hurting, but he could still reasonably see. The worst of it was the groin injury. He sat there a good moment before he finally asked for help to get up. Eos helped him to his feet. He staggered to his room. The door shut behind him.