The Man with All the Answers - Speculative Fiction with a Twist: Science Fiction In Kindle Unlimited by Luke Smitherd

Author:Luke Smitherd [Smitherd, Luke]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Flying Body Press
Published: 2020-05-14T16:00:00+00:00

Year Ten

***

It had become almost a taboo subject the closer they’d gotten to New Year’s Eve, and once they were ten days into January, Rachel could wait no longer.

“Is it soon? Can you feel anything?”

Dan had said for years that he didn’t know exactly when The Bullshit ran out. He said that he knew things but none of them felt particularly seasonal. I guess I’ll know nearer the time, he always said. Right now, they were in the frozen food section of the supermarket, Dan reaching for a bag of broccoli from the freezers below. She almost expected him to ‘go away’ when she asked, but instead he froze mid-reach and turned his head to look at her. She stared back. He looked as if he was waiting for her to pick a fight—she did that more and more these days, she knew—and so she cleared up the confusion. “I’m sorry to ask. Maybe now isn’t the time. But I’m going crazy thinking about this. I have to ask.” They didn’t even talk about The Bullshit anymore. Since her mother’s death, doing so had become nearly unthinkable.

Dan was still staring at her.

“What?”

“Holy shit,” he said. “Holy shit, I can—wait—”

His mouth worked as his brow twitched, his eyes blinking rapidly in confusion.

Rachel gasped, her hand clapping over her mouth. She had never seen him like this.

“Rachel,” he said, slowly straightening. Rachel became terrified as she realised that Dan was shaking. “I… can… tell… you…” His eyes continued to twitch, and then Dan made a strange choking sound.

“Dan?”

His eyes rolled back in their sockets and spittle began to bubble in his mouth. His knees gave way and Dan dropped straight downwards, his bones connecting with the supermarket’s tiled floor with a heavy thud. He remained upright, though.

“Dan! Oh my God, someone help!” Rachel screamed, running around behind Dan just in time to catch his torso as it fell backwards. His whole body began to spasm and Rachel heard the sounds of running feet. Someone was shouting but Rachel couldn’t make out a word of it. “Dan! I don’t care, I don’t care!” Rachel babbled. “You don’t have to tell me, just please stop—” Dan’s convulsions ceased and his larger bodyweight flattened on top of Rachel, who fell backwards onto her buttocks, unable to support his weight any longer. “Call an ambulance!” she screamed, then remembering that she had a phone herself, fumbling it out of her jeans pocket with her free hand.

*

The meeting cleared out slowly, as usual. Those present had mostly known other attendees for years and were having the usual brief check-in chats, while recent newcomers were making their first, difficult forays into small talk. The older hands on the receiving end of this were extra-friendly, having been in the same position themselves once, and knowing just how important a welcome and a sense of safety would be. Dan had always kept talk to a minimum with everyone except Clarence, even though Dan would now be considered a relative veteran of the group.

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