Tomorrow Never Knows by Theo Cage

Author:Theo Cage [Cage, Theo]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781705613894
Published: 2019-12-01T05:00:00+00:00

I WALKED FOR THREE BLOCKS through a brisk wind that was stirring up the fallen snow. In the distance, another few blocks away, stood a Denny's sign, shining out through a grey sky filled with the fog of ice crystals. Open twenty-four/seven. Coffee. A plate of eggs and a hot breakfast courtesy of two drunk assholes who tried to incinerate me.

I crossed the light traffic at 27th and entered the restaurant. A sign said, 'Wait to be Seated'. A squat waitress turned the corner in the dining room, saw me and did a quick reverse back into the kitchen. I looked down at my clothes. I was dirty, oily stains on my parka, one sleeve ripped. Under my arm was an awkward bundle wrapped in an orange tarp.

An older man with white hair wearing a bright green Denny's golf shirt came out of the kitchen, wiping his hands on a cloth: the owner or manager. He didn't smile.

"I'm sorry, we can't serve you," he said.

"I know I'm not your typical customer. But I have money," I said.

"You're going to have to go to the soup kitchen. You can walk from here."

"I know I look homeless. And you probably think I'm a drunk . . ."

He wrinkled his nose. "I could smell you from the kitchen."

"Some hoodlums poured vodka on me. They were going to light me on fire." He frowned slightly but didn't look convinced. Probably heard that excuse before.

I looked across at a table where a lone man was biting into a strip of bacon. I couldn't take my eyes off his breakfast. I was willing to bet my twenty bucks they didn't have bacon like that at the homeless shelter.

"I don't want to call the police," the manager said, his voice low. I raised my right hand up in surrender.

"OK. I'll go. Can you point me in the direction of the soup kitchen?"

The manager pointed east, then put his hands on his hips. I almost felt sorry for him. Guy's just trying to make a living. Once upon a time, in a universe far, far away, I used to have a job too. It's only been a few days since then, but to me it feels like decades.

I reluctantly stepped back outside. East seemed like the end of the world, an industrial zone, a black sky, one distant unreadable sign. If I wanted to eat though, according to the Denny's guy, I didn't have a lot of options.

As I plowed on down Fifty-seventh, an industrial road surrounded by warehouses and storage yards, I thought of Plushenko’s plan. It felt like a dream—which all hypnotic instructions are, I guess. But a dream that demands immediate attention.

I know now why the doctor used hypnosis: he wasn't sure I'd remember everything. Thursday was a tough day for both of us. I had slipped into a universe where the accumulated slings and arrows, as Mr. Shakespeare would phrase it, had put me over the edge. I had become a dangerous offender in that world, locked up in a secure facility.

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