Novice by Jon Auerbach

Author:Jon Auerbach [Auerbach, Jon]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: ARC Worlds Publishing
Published: 2018-12-01T22:00:00+00:00

“Jen.”

The word almost roused me from my slumber, but I was content to remain in this dream version of the coffee shop. The sun was warm and my drink was cold. I looked down at the newspaper I was holding and read the story above the fold.

“Kate O’Laughlin, 19, found dead facedown in dorm room,” the headline on the page read. I folded the paper and put it on the table, as the chipper redhead I had already seen in the prior replay of this memory around ran up the street and sat down across from me.

“JEN.”

The name sounded familiar, but I couldn’t quite place where I knew it from. The redhead in front of me’s name was Laura, that much I knew.

“Sorry I’m la-”

A hand smacked me hard in the face and I opened my eyes.

Beatrice stood above me. No, wasn’t I Beatrice? And where did Laura go?

“W-hat’s going on?”

Beatrice frowned.

“What’s going on is I found you here in front of the coffee shop, your head tilted back and drool dripping down your mouth.”

“Oh,” I said. I looked at her. She was wearing a full-length jacket with a fur-adorned hood, a stark contrast to my own outfit. A cold chill suddenly swept through me and my teeth began to chatter.

“Come on, let’s get you inside.”

Beatrice extended her hand and I took it but nearly fell forward into her. She steadied me with her other hand, before hooking her arm around mine and guiding me into the shop. After setting me down at a table, she returned a few minutes later with a steaming mug, which I slowly brought up to my lips.

“So, it looks like you’ve had an interesting morning. Please tell me you didn’t take the focus and speed buffs at the same time.”

“No,” I said softly. “Just the latter. It ran out just as I got here. But I think…”

I tried to recall what had happened during my run, but it was like someone had hit fast forward times 10 in my mind, whole scenes skipping by in an instant.

“You figured out what the numbers mean but now you can’t remember. It’s my fault. I should have told you. Your brain at normal speed can’t process what your brain at superspeed was experiencing. It’s all a big blur, isn’t it?”

“Y-yeah. Exactly. I can make out bits and pieces. I think I ran through most of lower Manhattan. It was incredible. Like I was the Flash. There were lots of stores and ... “

“Take your time. Keep thinking. Maybe a detail will crystallize and that will be the trigger.”

“OK, I’ll try.”

I tried again. I remembered there was a biker, and he had run into me? Well, almost. But then I was blocks away in SoHo and there had been a window and…

“A map,” I said.

“What?” asked Beatrice.

“I saw a map. In a window. It was … it was old. Wait a minute.”

I pulled out my phone and brought up the twelve numbers.

“I think it’s a place,” I said. “A set of coordinates.

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