North knew he was fucked when he looked at his watch.   He rubbed his groggy gray eyes with the backs of his pale hands and blinked at the blurry computer screen.   He`d sat down to play Thanatos` Call with his friends from Maranda U a little after midnight.   That had been eight hours ago, and now he was fucked.        The soup-making engine was just so damn robust that he lost himself in it.   His guild was tops, when it came to soup making.   They were just that good.        He dimly remembered getting up to use the bathroom once, sometime around three in the morning, and had found himself in the kitchen experimenting with some kind of spicy curry from The Sivan, rice that said Augustamos on the side of the bag, and tasty beef from Ticondera somewhere to make some kind of heretofore unknown uber-soup before he realized that he would get no in-game credit for achievements in the bland-world.        Now he hastily swallowed his late-night concoction [and finding it on the kitchen counter of his small flat was really the only thing to tell him it hadn`t all been a dream] and ran out the door, pulling a woolen took over his unruly hair and shrugging into a ratty black jacket as he went.        He blinked at the bright morning sky, and shivered against the biting cold wind that blew down the street.   Outside was not the place for him.   He decided that while he half walked, half ran down the street to the bus stop.   Half a block away he saw the bright red bus pull away from the curb and trundle on down the street.   It never moved very fast, so he started to run after it.        Of course, North wasn`t any better at running than he was at making soup.   All activities that involved the Outside were a little beyond his grasp.   Then his shoe got caught in a crack in the sidewalk, and he fell on his face.        The bright red bus belched a plume of black soot as a goodbye, or maybe it was mocking him.   Then it passed around the corner and was gone.   And North, of course, was fucked.        He stood up and jammed his hands deep into the pockets of his ratty jacket and started walking.   He didn`t know where he was going now.   His savings were nearly depleted.   He`d spent it all on Thanatos` Call and buying music off the Omninet, which was funny since a year earlier he`d been downloading it for free.        A year earlier, though, he`d been living in his parents` basement and hadn`t needed to worry about making rent, or getting a new job after being canned for being an incompetent dumbass moron, or being able to eat things that weren`t pot noodle and ice.   Lately he didn`t really like the taste of pot noodle anymore, and ice wasn`t so good if it didn`t have the Gentleman Jack Daneels poured over it.   Which he couldn`t afford either.        He turned a corner and started walking down the avenue.   He walked slowly and without any real purpose.   The low hanging cloud cover was beginning to burn off, and he could see the tall buildings of downtown Astoria stretching up towards the still gray sky.   For being the capitol of Bresdon, there weren`t that many of them.   Downtown Astoria really was only about five streets on either side of the east and west banks of the Ancholme.   There were bigger cities in the country, but Astoria was probably the oldest.        The avenue stretched out before and behind him.   By and by it would lead to the downtown core, and that was where he was now headed.   It wasn`t his destination, though.   He still didn`t have one of those, so to speak.   Being fucked, as he was.        A man who had previously been slumped in the jaws of shadow formed by a doorway to his right unfolded and began to follow him.   He ignored it, as the man was dressed even more shabbily than he, not to mention the fact that he`d been sleeping on a stoop, or doing something else there.   Either way, that`s not behavior that warrants a lot of attention.        A block down, and the man was still following him.   Since he was really going nowhere, he ducked into a random storefront and slammed the glass door behind him.   When he looked around, he saw that he was in a small discotheque, the sort of place he usually avoided like the plague.   What with the wanton interpersonal contact one is likely to be subjected to in such places.        It was still the middle of the morning though, and the place was nearly empty.   There were a few booths in the back and a few tables with two chairs each in the front, and all of about five people in the place, all huddled in the booths.        He looked behind him, and the vagrant had his scraggly bearded face pressed up against the glass door.   He shuddered.   The rather smelly man was probably as sketchy as anyone he`d ever met, and apparently stoned out of whatever mind he ever had in the first place.   So he stepped further into the dark, smoky cave of a building and looked around for the barista.   Failing in his search, he sat down into a cloud of his own gloom at one of the little tables in the front, with his back to the windows.        He put his head down on his arms, staring at his watch.   That only reminded him of how fucked he was, though.   He`d never been very good at keeping appointments, and hadn`t gotten any better with the advent of broadband and games that could simulate the kind of personal interaction he was so shitty at in the bland-world.        This was probably the second most colossal fuck-up he`d ever done, though, if it didn`t in fact qualify as number one.        He`d catch hell for this, of that he was sure.   There was nothing to be done about it, though.   So he sat there with his head down, staring at his back-lit watch as it mocked him silently, and wishing he could find someone to get him a cup of black coffee.        ÒDid you know that there`s some bum licking the window behind you?Ó * * * Ê Ê Ê ÊNorth looked up to see a rather dumpy young woman staring at him in disgust, hands on her ample hips. Ê He groaned as her face lit up with recognition. Ê Ê Ê ÊÒNorth! Ê You fucking shit! Ê Why the fuck didn`t you call me?Ó Ê Ê Ê ÊNorth mumbled something under his breath that even he didn`t understand. Ê He didn`t really feel like making the effort, right now. Ê Or ever, really. Ê Ê Ê ÊÒThat`s not going to cut it, you asshole,Ó the girl said, sitting down at the table across from him. Ê Her anger seemed to be at odds with her revulsion at the continued presence of the bum, creating a strange conflict of expression on her face. Ê Ê Ê ÊÒI thought I did call,Ó he said weakly. Ê Ê Ê ÊÒLike hell you did, you fuck. Ê You probably were playing those fucking computer games of yours for a week straight and forgot to do anything but piss and drink your fucking energy drinks. Ê And you probably lost your fucking job because of it.Ó Ê Ê Ê ÊNorth didn`t say anything. Ê He wished he had a cup of coffee. Ê Partly so he could throw it in someone`s face and run away. Ê Ê Ê ÊThe girl`s eyes widened and a hand shot to her open mouth. Ê ÒOh. Ê My. Ê God.Ó she said. Ê ÒYou did lose your job, you fucktard! Ê What in Deus` name is wrong with you?Ó Ê Ê Ê ÊÒWell, I`ve got pretty shitty taste in women,Ó North said. Ê Ê Ê ÊThe girl`s eyes narrowed. Ê ÒOh? Ê What`s that supposed to mean?Ó Ê Ê Ê ÊÒWell, you`d probably look less like a fucking sack of rocks if you got a nice haircut, learned how to put on makeup like a non-whore, quit taking dressing lessons from the girl down at the fucking thrift store, and maybe started to skip between-meal-snack-cake numbers one through five hundred goddamn hojillion.Ó Ê Ê Ê ÊÒAre you saying I`m fat?Ó the girl asked. Ê Ê Ê ÊÒNo, Mercy, I`m saying your ass is the second largest zip code in Great Bresdon. Ê Do you know how the fuck I can get a coffee in here?Ó Ê Ê Ê ÊÒI know where you can shove a coffee,Ó the girl said. Ê Then she turned over her shoulder. Ê ÒHey, Daryl, look at this fucking loser I found over here.Ó Ê Ê Ê ÊNorth groaned as three girls stepped out of the shadow of their booth and came over to see the loser Mercy had found. Ê When he looked up at Daryl, he winced. Ê She looked so much like her sister that it was a punch to his gut to even see her. Ê Ê Ê ÊDaryl`s family wasn`t from Bresdon. Ê They originally came from the west of Esper. Ê Daryl`s sister was there right now, with her spinster aunts. Ê Her parents were still in Astoria, though, and so was her brother, who would probably kick North in his ass if he knew where to find him. Ê Ê Ê ÊÒWhat`s this fuck doing in here?Ó Daryl asked. Ê Ê Ê ÊÒHe said he wants coffee,Ó Mercy said. Ê Ê Ê ÊÒOh, I can help him then.Ó Ê Daryl came around to North`s side of the little round table and upended her saucer-like cup into his lap. Ê When it hit, he found that it was incredibly hot and burning. Ê At least that took his mind off other things though. Ê Ê Ê ÊHe tried not to grimace, but mostly that just forced one of his eyes half closed and a strange, crooked smile on his face. Ê He smelled the drink that was now seeping into his favorite, most sensitive places, and burning as it went. Ê It smelled distinctly minty. Ê ÒThanks,Ó he said, Òbut I said I wanted coffee. Ê That`s coffee. Ê C-O-F-F-E-E. Ê Not a latte, or a fucking mocha, or a goddamned queer peppermint smelling cappu-fucking-ccino.Ó Ê Ê Ê ÊÒYou get what I give you,Ó Daryl said. Ê Ê Ê ÊÒYeah, thanks for trying,Ó North said. Ê ÒDo you even fucking work here?Ó Ê Ê Ê ÊDaryl sneered, shook her head, and muttered faggot under her breath as she turned and walked away. Ê Ê Ê ÊÒYeah, I didn`t think so,Ó he said. Ê ÒLook, this has been real fun and all, but I can be abused by people I don`t give a fuck about out there.Ó Ê He thumbed over his shoulder, hoping the bum wasn`t there anymore. Ê ÒSmell you later.Ó Ê Ê Ê ÊHe pushed back from the table and walked away. Ê Ê Ê ÊÒAre you trying to say I smell?Ó Mercy asked. Ê Ê Ê ÊNorth shrugged. Ê ÒWhatever gets your motor running,Ó he said, and left. Ê Ê Ê ÊHe was unsurprised to see that the bum was waiting for him, asleep on the sidewalk. Ê At least he`d stopped licking the window. Ê Briefly North allowed himself to glance at the man, and saw he was even more scraggly than he`d thought. Ê His pants were actually some kind of rucksack split down the middle halfway and the legs tied up with twine, and his shoes had no soles. Ê His feet were a weird orange color, and there was steam rising from them. Ê Ê Ê ÊWhen he started walking down the avenue again, he heard the bum get up and start to follow him again with his disturbing shuffling gait. Ê Ê Ê ÊPeople were starting to stare at him, like they thought the wreck of a man and he were together. Ê The smell didn`t help matters, either. Ê And so far, all North had eaten in probably the last twenty four hours was a bowl of nasty curry rice soup, and some peppermint cappuccino on his groin. Ê His stomach started to rumble. Ê Ê Ê ÊÒHey, buddy, I`m probably going to ralph if you don`t beat it, okay? Ê You smell like feet and ass, or feet in an ass, or something.Ó Ê He held his stomach with one hand and didn`t look back. Ê He still didn`t know where he was going, but he knew somehow that puking in the middle of the avenue wouldn`t do much for his reputation. Ê Not that he had one anymore. Ê Ê Ê ÊThe vagrant said nothing, and continued to shuffle along behind him. Ê He ducked into another storefront, but the pissy clerk informed him that the bathroom was for customers only, even for puking. Ê He was then told, in no uncertain terms, to take his smelly bum back outside. Ê Ê Ê ÊHe was tempted to puke on the only car in the lot, presumably the clerk`s, but settled for popping a hubcap off of it before continuing down the ave on his newly discovered quest: to find a place to puke. Ê Ê Ê ÊIn the meantime he took a piece of twine out of his pocket and made a necklace out of the hubcap. Ê There was a lightning bolt with a Z in the middle of it stamped into the cheap sheet metal, denoting that the shitty little car was a Leury Zed. Ê Ê Ê ÊMostly he did it to draw attention away from the fact that a disgusting bum was following him around, but he also did it because he had nothing better to do. Ê Ê Ê ÊA group of Shiroan businessmen, dressed impeccably in smart black suits, gave them wide berth as they passed, speaking in hushed tones as they went and looking pretty much scared out of their wits. Ê That made North laugh. Ê Ê Ê ÊÒHey, stink-o,Ó he said. Ê ÒHow about I give you ten bucks and you find some no-tell motel off the ave to wash up in?Ó Ê Ê Ê ÊThe bum didn`t reply again, and suddenly he was possessed with the overarching need to empty the contents of his stomach the wrong way. Ê His eyes scanned, and he saw a park a few blocks down the way. Ê He broke into a sudden sprint, and leaped over a bench and behind a tree before covering three squirrels with partially digested curry, rice, and chicken stock. Ê Ê Ê ÊHe felt immediately better, despite the sour taste in his mouth. Ê However, the squirrels didn`t seem to like his soup any better than he did. Ê As he leaned against the tree for support and tried to catch his breath, the dazed little rodents started chittering madly. Ê One of them shook his tiny fist, and leaped into the air with murder in his beady, black eyes. Ê Ê Ê ÊNorth rolled out of the way just in time, and the animal embedded his claws into the rough trunk of the tree instead of into flesh and skull. * * *        ÒHoly shit!Ó North exclaimed.   ÒWhat the fuck?Ó        The other two squirrels started running towards him in a bum rush though, while their leader sought to extract himself from the tree, and North thought it better to start running in the other direction rather than wondering at the logic of being attacked by puke covered squirrels.        He passed the bum at the edge of the park, and looked back as he ran to see the surprised expression on the man`s face as the squirrels jumped him, only to realize they`d missed their mark and jump off.        ÒDeath squirrels!Ó North screamed, as he careened down the street, arms pinwheeling.   ÒPuke covered death squirrels are going to kill me!Ó        Not bothering to look where he was going, he ran headlong into Mercy and fell on his ass.   She was quite a lot shorter than him, but had a low center of gravity, and could probably have kicked his ass anyway.        ÒWhat the hell are you spewing?Ó she asked.   ÒWell, at least you lost the window licking bum.   Look, I feel kind of bad for laying into you back there.   I know we didn`t part on the best terms, really, but you`re not as bad as all that.   And I know that what happened between you and Tuesday wasn`t all your fault.   I shouldn`t have let Daryl scald you like that.Ó        North`s eyes were wild, and he barely comprehended what Mercy was saying.   All he knew was that the squirrels were coming, and they were coming for his blood.        ÒCan`t talk,Ó he said, standing up.   ÒDeath squirrels.Ó        ÒYou`re still on that?Ó Mercy asked.   ÒHey, are you on crack?Ó        North shook his head.        ÒOr are you on speed, or meth-amphetamine?   Let me look at you.Ó        ÒWhy are you rhyming?Ó North asked.        ÒI`m not,Ó Mercy said.   ÒIt`s true.   You`re the one talking about fucking death squirrels, whatever the fuck that is.Ó        ÒNo, you`re singing,Ó North said.   He looked down at his hubcap necklace, and shuddered.   ÒThe squirrels,Ó he said.        He turned around slowly, and all three squirrels were standing there on the sidewalk.   All three had tiny top hats on their heads, and all three held tiny gentleman`s canes.        ÒA one, a two, a one two three,Ó said their leader.        North screamed and started running.        He left Mercy behind, and the squirrels, and the bum, and found himself standing in front of another storefront on the ave.   His breathing was heavy, and a cloud of mist formed around his head, as cold as it was.        The storefront was filled with televisions, and all of them had a pretty blond woman, probably from Trestice, on them.   She was standing in front of a map of Great Bresdon and pointing at it with one long, tanned finger.        ÒExpect the cold snap to come to an end today,Ó she said, smiling widely.   ÒWe have a low pressure system coming in, and warmer air from the south will be forced into the area, creating rather balmy temperatures tonight.   There will be a 10% of precipitation tonight, and through the morning.Ó        North turned away from the wall of televisions and started walking again, somewhat calmed down.   He tried not to think about the death squirrels, or that Mercy had found him and apologized Ð despite the fact that he had been quite a lot more rude to her than she to him Ð and then started to sing randomly, not to mention that fucking window-licking shoe-soleless bum.        He decided that this was not a good day.        Part of him wanted to return to his flat and get in a few extra hours of Thanatos` Call before his friends from Maranda U got off class and signed on.   But the rest of him remembered Mercy`s words.   He was a fucking loser, and he probably would have to move back into his mom`s basement if he didn`t get a new job soon.   At least they`d moved his grandpa out of it and into a nursing home.        The second part won out, and he kept on walking.   The buildings of the downtown core loomed larger against the skyline, and he could smell the river on the cold wind.   Somehow he doubted the weather girl`s report.   It didn`t seem like it could ever warm up.        He thought about the smelly vagrant, and how cold it would undoubtedly be tonight.   He wondered how the man had survived through the past few arctic-cold weeks.   With such shitty non-pants, a coat that looked like it had been taken off a dead man`s back, and soleless shoes it was no small wonder he wasn`t long dead already.        Maybe he should go back and give the poor guy his jacket, or a spare pair of his shoes or something.   It wasn`t like he was anyone`s rich uncle pennybags, or that he even had a surfeit of shoes in anything approaching good condition hanging around his place.   But he was pretty sure he could find a pair that had soles.        He turned around, and the fucking hobo was standing right there behind him.   He wondered why he hadn`t smelled the old man, and realized it was because his nose was frozen solid. * * * Ê Ê Ê ÊÒHow long have you been there?Ó he asked. Ê Ê Ê ÊThe bum stared at him blankly. Ê Ê Ê ÊÒWell, Mercy`s favorite thrift store is right around the corner,Ó North said. Ê ÒLet`s go get you some shoes with soles.Ó Ê Ê Ê ÊHe started walking, and the bum followed him. Ê At the door of the thrift store, he paused and wiped some haze off the window to look inside. Ê It didn`t look like anyone inside was dressed much better than the bum, but on the other hand he doubted any of them smelled quite as rank, and he didn`t really feel like getting kicked out of another business today. Ê Ê Ê ÊÒLook, maybe you should hang out here, outside, while I go inside,Ó he said. Ê Still, the vagrant said nothing. Ê ÒUm, do you understand me?Ó he asked, gesturing for the man to stay on the sidewalk. Ê ÒLook, you like sidewalks right? Ê Stay on the side-walk.Ó Ê He said the last very slowly, while gesturing to the sidewalk. Ê Then he entered the store and was instantly assaulted by the rank smell of mothballs and old cheese. Ê Ê Ê ÊStill, it was nothing like the unique stench of the bum. Ê Ê Ê ÊÒHey, I`m looking for a jacket and some shoes to fit that smelly guy out there,Ó he said to a clerk who was busy restocking dusty pink feather boas and worn down platforms. Ê Ê Ê ÊThe clerk squinted to see through the murky windows of the storefront. Ê Ê Ê ÊÒThat guy your dad?Ó she asked. Ê Ê Ê ÊÒMy dad`s dead,Ó North said. Ê ÒThat`s just some fucking hobo I felt sorry for, with the cold and all.Ó Ê Ê Ê ÊÒOh,Ó the young girl said, scratching her head that was hidden under an unruly mess of purple and green hair. Ê North wondered if it was dyed, or if she was just an unfortunate mix of Mysidian and Toroian. Ê But then, what would someone with a background like that be doing in Astoria selling used crap to smelly losers? Ê Ê Ê ÊÒYou know, the cold snap is supposed to be ending anytime,Ó she said, returning to her feather boas. Ê ÒMaybe you should just let him wait it out. Ê It`s supposed to be like fifty by tonight. Ê Nobody ever died in weather like that.Ó Ê Ê Ê ÊÒLook, are you going to show me the fucking coats and shoes or what?Ó North asked. Ê ÒI didn`t come in here to talk to you about the weather, in case you were under that impression.Ó Ê Ê Ê ÊThe girl shrugged. Ê ÒSuit yourself,Ó she said, and pointed to the far corner of the store. Ê ÒMen`s coats are over there, shoes are over there.Ó Ê Ê Ê ÊÒThanks,Ó North said. Ê ÒYou`re a real fucking gem.Ó Ê Ê Ê ÊHe pawed through nasty, mothballed coats and jackets until he found a relatively non-disgusting trenchcoat that looked pretty warm, and it had a removable lining in it, in case the cold weather really did end. Ê Then he found a pair of yellow galoshes, which seemed to be relatively non-decayed, and a pair of heavy black boots that still had the soles intact. Ê He threw in a few pairs of oder-eaters for good measure and then grabbed a flannel blanket that smelled like sour milk. Ê He thought the vagrant would probably think it smelled like fine cologne, though. Ê Ê Ê ÊHe stood in line at the checkout for a good five minutes, and then found it was his good luck that the mouthy clerk with the purple and green hair was standing there. Ê Ê Ê ÊÒFind everything you want?Ó she asked blandly. Ê Ê Ê ÊÒYeah,Ó North said, dumping everything on the counter. Ê ÒWanna make out a little?Ó Ê Ê Ê ÊÒYou`re disgusting,Ó the clerk said. Ê Ê Ê ÊÒWell, that`s why I thought you might like to. Ê Seeing as how you are too.Ó Ê North smiled, and dropped a few bills on the counter before picking up his purchases. Ê ÒKeep the change,Ó he said, and left the store. Ê Ê Ê ÊThe vagrant was on the sidewalk, staring at a little gray pillbug that was struggling to get across the massive, crack-strewn expanse without getting stepped on. Ê The man briefly looked up at North, but quickly turned back to the little bug. Ê Ê Ê ÊIt scurried this way and that, and quickly rolled into a ball and down into a crack just before one of those Shiroan businessmen from before could unknowingly crush it beneath his well shined black shoe. Ê Ê Ê ÊAt length the bug crawled back out of the crack, and made a mad dash for the other side. Ê But just before it reached the relative safety of the gutter, a three inch platform shoe came down and crushed it into oblivion. Ê Ê Ê ÊNorth thought he heard strange music swirling in the vague distance, but he shook his head to clear it and looked up. Ê Mercy was standing there, hands on her ample hips. Ê Ê Ê ÊÒWhat the hell are you carrying now?Ó she asked, and then seemed to smell the bum for the first time. Ê ÒYou`re still hanging out with that stink-o?Ó Ê Ê Ê ÊNorth shrugged, and handed the things to the vagrant, who looked confused at the gift. Ê Ê Ê ÊÒAnything is possible, I guess, if you`re following me around the city.Ó Ê Ê Ê ÊMercy scowled. Ê ÒI`m not following you,Ó she said. Ê ÒI was coming to the store here to buy a new boa. Ê My old one got set on fire, somehow.Ó Ê Ê Ê ÊÒSorry.Ó Ê Ê Ê ÊÒYeah, whatever. Ê Just try not to get lice from your fucking hobo, okay? Ê Just because we`re broken up doesn`t mean I want to see you hanging out with vagrants.Ó Ê Ê Ê ÊShe stalked past him and into the store, and the music swirled around him briefly. Ê He felt a sense of impending vertigo, and staggered away from the storefront. Ê He couldn`t see anything, for some reason. Ê Darkness was wrapped around his head like a shroud, and he stumbled blindly. Ê Then he abruptly felt a strong grip on his shoulder and was yanked backwards. * * *        An air horn sounded loudly, and a rush of wind buffeted his face.   He blinked, and saw that he`d wandered into the street and nearly been run over by a tractor trailer.   He turned around, and the bum`s hand was on his shoulder.        ÒUm.   Thanks,Ó he said.        The vagrant smiled, and peculiarly his teeth were straight and bright white, framed by his scraggly beard and worn, lined face.   North noticed for the first time though that his eyes weren`t glazed, or blank, but full of a sad kind of light.        ÒWho are you?Ó North asked.        The vagrant remained silent.   He was wearing his new galoshes, though, and had both the trenchcoat and the blanket on over his hole filled jacket.   He looked even more odd for it, with the bright, yellow, knee-high galoshes peeking out from underneath the red and brown flannel blanket he had draped over his shoulders like a wrap.   But at least he looked warm, now.        North took off his woolen took, and handed it to the man, whose head was covered by nothing but his greasy hair.   The man looked at it oddly, and then pulled it on, and down over his reddened ears.        ÒThere,Ó North said.   ÒNow maybe I can find you a mission or someplace to get a warm meal.Ó        He looked around, and started walking again.   There was the strangest feeling in his gut, and he wasn`t sure whether it was hunger, or lingering nausea from having sicked up earlier.   Or maybe it was something else, something he hadn`t felt since Tuesday`s parents had sent her to live with her spinster aunts in Esper seven months ago.        There was some place around, on the ave, called the United Children of Halcyon Mission, if he remembered correctly.   In highschool he`d needed to do community service for a graduation requirement, and since his mom and grandpa were Unitarian Halcyonics, he`d volunteered there.   That had been a while ago, though, since he`d gotten all his community service out of the way early.        He considered asking someone, but everyone seemed to be steering clear of him and the hobo for some unknowable reason.   So asking for directions was right out.        ÒDo you hear that?Ó he asked the bum.   Of course, the scraggly man didn`t reply.   ÒThe music,Ó North said.   ÒWhere the fuck is that music coming from?Ó        He stopped, and looked down at the hubcap that hung from around his neck.   From upside down, the Z in the lightning bolt was still a Z in a lightning bolt.   He looked up, and Mercy was there again, wearing her new feather boa.   It was yellow, and hung down either side of her neck and crossed her chest.   Somehow, she looked less dumpy that usual.        ÒWhy the fuck do you have a hubcap on some twine around your neck?Ó she asked.        North shrugged.   ÒA guy pissed me off, so I stole it, but I had nowhere else to put it.Ó        ÒYou make about as much sense as an umbrella in a shitstorm.Ó        ÒThat comment makes about as much sense as an umbrella in a shitstorm,Ó North muttered halfheartedly.        ÒWhatever,Ó Mercy said, shaking her head.   ÒWhere the hell are you going with that stupid hobo, anyway?Ó        North shrugged.   ÒI thought I`d find a mission where he could get a hot meal or something.   Do you know where the United Children of Halcyon Mission is?   I thought it was around here somewhere.Ó        ÒYeah,Ó Mercy said.   ÒIt`s two blocks down the avenue, and then you`ve got to leave the avenue because it`s a block to the west on Stone.   Maybe you should be out looking for a job or something, though.   Instead of, you know, hanging out with a vagrant.Ó        ÒMaybe you should be minding your own business,Ó North said.   ÒGo hang out with those death squirrels, or something.Ó        ÒWhatever,Ó Mercy said.   ÒDon`t come crawling back to me, though.   Even though our relationship was so-so, I thought we had something special.   But I guess I was wrong.Ó        North frowned.   ÒWhy the fuck are you singing a song?Ó he asked.        Mercy frowned at him, and left.        ÒOh fuck it,Ó North said.   ÒWhat the shit?   That rhymed too.Ó        He turned to the bum.   ÒWhy the hell is Mercy singing now?Ó he asked.   The bum stared at him, so he started back off down the avenue.   The buildings of the downtown core were looming large in his vision now, until he turned off the avenue and down fifty-second.   A block down he saw the mission, and smiled.   At least Mercy was good for something.        ÒLook,Ó he said.   ÒThey`ll give you some stew here, or soup.   Or some bread.   I`m not sure.   Just go in, and they`ll take care of you.Ó        He opened the door, but the hobo didn`t go in.   Cold air swirled in the doorway, and he felt heat escaping the warm little building.        ÒYou`ve got to go in,Ó he said.   ÒYou can`t get food if you don`t go in.   Aren`t you hungry?Ó        A small man came to the door, and cleared his throat.        North turned to him.   ÒYeah?Ó        ÒUh, well, you can`t stand there with the, er, door open,Ó he said, fussing with his crappy looking comb-over.   North remembered him from his days of volunteering.   His name was Mr. Corey, and he was a transplant from Les Bresdon.   He was a complete wank, but he meant well.        ÒI brought this guy here,Ó North said.   ÒI think he`s hungry.   Or something.   But he won`t leave me alone.Ó        ÒOh,Ó Mr. Corey said.   ÒWell, it`s supposed to be warming up, but it`s still rather cold outside.   Sir?   Might you come inside for some warm food?Ó   He took the bum`s arm, and gently pulled him inside.        When the door closed, North breathed a sigh of relief.   Of course, this meant that his mission was over, and he once again was without purpose, cast into the city without a rudder or direction even if he had a rudder.        He turned around slowly, and blinked. * * * Ê Ê Ê ÊThe run-down seven story building across from the mission had Shady Rest Nursing Home painted on a dilapidated sign that hung over the front door. Ê That was the place his mom had put his grandpa, a few weeks ago when the man fell and broke his hip. Ê He wasn`t capable of getting around on his own anymore, so he`d gone from the hospital to the nursing home instead of back to North`s mom`s place. Ê Ê Ê ÊHe hadn`t been to visit, yet. Ê Places like that depressed him. Ê There was too much dying in them, and they reminded him of hospitals. Ê His father had died in a hospital, when he`d still been a young child. Ê Ê Ê ÊHe shoved his hands into the pockets of his coat, which he`d retrieved from the vagrant earlier. Ê It smelled a little, but it was too cold to worry about things like that. Ê He looked both ways up and down Stone Way, and then crossed to stand in front of the nursing home. Ê It was like some invisible force was drawing him to it, beckoning him to enter, but another invisible force was stopping him on the sidewalk. Ê Ê Ê ÊThat second force was his subconscious, he was sure. Ê He didn`t like nursing homes, and had no interest in entering one. Ê Ê Ê ÊStill, there was that first force, the one that had drawn him across the street. Ê Maybe it was the same thing that had made him buy warm clothes for the vagrant and then lead the man to where he could get some food. Ê Ê Ê ÊHe grimaced, and pushed the door open. Ê Ê Ê ÊThe place smelled like medicine and urine. Ê Ê Ê ÊHe walked past the front desk unquestioned. Ê There was some kind of fat nurse in white sitting there, but she seemed to be asleep. Ê He stopped at a directory on the wall and traced it with his finger until he found his grandfather`s name. Ê Seventh floor, third hallway, room 737. Ê That seemed easy enough. Ê Ê Ê ÊThe elevator smelled worse than the entryway, if that was even possible. Ê With the smell and the harsh florescent lights and the incessant hiss and click of the elevator climbing upwards, even some lame elevator music would have been a relief. Ê There wasn`t any, though. Ê He thought about a game he`d played as a kid, where you were some kind of spy or something dropped on the roof of a building and you had to take a series of elevators and escalators down to the basement where a car was waiting for you. Ê Ê Ê ÊThat sounded like more fun that riding a smelly elevator up to talk to an old man who probably smelled too. Ê Also, being a spy was probably more fun than being a loser without a job about to lose his flat because of a colossal fuck-up he`d somehow managed to forget for the last couple hours. Ê Ê Ê ÊOf course, the impending dread of the fallout from that fuck-up now came rushing back to him like he`d just pounded a gallon of icecream. Ê Ê Ê ÊHis shoulders slumped, and the doors of the elevator slid open. Ê Ê Ê ÊThe hallway was empty and barren, and smelled the same as the first floor hallway had smelled. Ê He wondered if they just didn`t bother to clean it up when people pissed on the floor, or if piss is just one of those smells you can`t get out no matter how much you scrub. Ê Ê Ê ÊAcross from the elevator there was a closed door marked ÒMEDICATION.Ó Ê He tried the handle, but it was locked. Ê Just as well. Ê Even if there was something in there to ease the pain of his life, it`d probably just fuck him up more than he`d already fucked himself up. Ê Ê Ê ÊHe shuffled down the hallway, turned down the number three hallway, and started counting doorways until he came to 737. Ê The door was closed, and there was a bronze nameplate next to it that said ÒCHARLIEÓ on it in all capital letters. Ê He shook his head. Ê His grandpa`s name was Charles. Ê His closest friends had called him Chuck. Ê Somehow, this seemed demeaning. Ê A final insult to a once proud man. Ê Ê Ê ÊHe knocked out a pattern that he and his grandfather had used when he was a child, and then entered. * * *        The room was dim.   The lights were off, and the curtains were half closed.   North squinted, and he could see that the bed was made, nice and tidy, smooth sheets and military corners.   It obviously hadn`t been slept in.        He stepped further into the room, and saw his grandpa sitting in a little chair next to the exterior wall, peering through the pane of the picture window that wasn`t obscured by curtains.        ÒBoy,Ó he said, gruffly.        ÒGrampa,Ó North said, hesitantly.   The old man hadn`t turned or removed his gaze from the outside world before speaking, and there wasn`t enough light in the room to make a reflection.   ÒHow`d you know it was me?Ó        ÒKnew you`d come by eventually,Ó Charles said.   ÒBesides, boy, I saw you out on the sidewalk before you came inside.   You should be a fucking actor or something.   I`ve never seen a more convincing display of indecision over whether to actually visit an old man or not.Ó        North approached the man, and saw that his room faced the United Children of Halcyon Mission, and that his grandpa had undoubtedly had a clear view of him delivering the vagrant into the warmth of that building, and his resulting indecision.        ÒI always meant to come earlier,Ó he said.        Charles nodded.   ÒSure,Ó he said.   ÒEveryone always means to come.   Nobody does, though.   Who can blame them?   Who wants to watch an old man waste away to nothing in a shit-hole like this?Ó        North sat down in the twin to Charles` chair next to the old man, and stared at the wall in the darkness.   He felt like shit for never visiting the man before; he had been like a father to him, after his own father had died.   He knew it had been hard on Charles to lose his son, and that having his Grandson around was probably one of the only things that kept him going.   And North really appreciated it.   He really did.        But there was always so much to do.   Work, relationships, scrimping rent together.   Making fucking soup in fucking video games.        God damn, he was a fucking loser.        ÒLook, I`m sorry,Ó he began.        ÒI know,Ó Charles said.   ÒThat`s not why you came here, though.   You didn`t come here to apologize.   I already know you`re sorry, boy.   We`re closer than you know, you and I.   I was never really close to your father, not like I`d have liked to have been.   But you and I, we always got on just fine.Ó        ÒSo... why am I here?Ó North asked.   ÒReally.   I don`t know.   I don`t know anything anymore.Ó        Charles nodded.   ÒThe cards are in the top drawer of my nightstand,Ó he said.   ÒYou came to play a game of cribbage with the old man, didn`t you?   The board is in there, with the cards.Ó        North smiled, and retrieved the cards.   Of course, he`d never set out that morning to play cards with his grandpa, but right now he could hardly think of anything else he`d rather be doing.        He grabbed a tv tray and set it between him and his grandpa, set up the little ivory board and shuffled the cards.   ÒYou want first deal?Ó        Charles shook his head.   ÒYou`ll need all the help you can get, unless you`ve gotten a lot better than the last time we played,Ó he said.   ÒYou take the first crib.   I`ll win anyway.Ó   The old man looked at the cards he was dealt, smiled, and tossed one to the crib.   ÒHave any change?Ó he asked, setting a coin on the tray.        North dug around in his pocket, and retrieved a matching coin.   His hand, of course, was less worthy than his grandpa`s of inspiring a smile.   He studied the cards carefully, before throwing one to the crib.        ÒI guess I just came to talk,Ó he said.        ÒNo place better to talk than over cards.   What`d you want to talk about?Ó        ÒI don`t know,Ó North said.   ÒLife, I guess.   I`ve fucked it up real bad, grampa.Ó        ÒI know,Ó Charles said.   ÒI`m in a nursing home, I`m not deaf or dead, yet.Ó        ÒI don`t think you know how bad.   Do you remember my girlfriend in highschool, Tuesday?Ó        Charles nodded thoughtfully.   ÒPretty, petite little number, right?   Short black hair as dark as her skin was pale, big, brown eyes.   Always hanging all over you.   You two were a cute couple, boy.Ó        ÒYeah,Ó North said, pulling at his collar with one finger.   ÒWell, we thought so too.   Then I got her pregnant.Ó        The old man was silent, seeming to gauge his grandson with his large, watery eyes.   He scratched his nose.        North looked into the man`s cold, steel gray eyes, the same eyes he saw in the mirror every morning.        ÒWe were careful,Ó he said, Òbut it happened anyway.   I don`t know.   I was fucking stupid, like always, I guess.   I thought it`d be alright.   I asked her to marry me, after highschool of course.   It would have been before she started to show.   I wanted to do right by her.   And I love her, grampa, really I do.   And I thought she loved me.   But her parents decided she was too young.   They were afraid of what people would say.   So they sent her away, to her aunts in Kohlingen.Ó        ÒThat`s hard,Ó Charles said.        ÒSo... what should I do?Ó        ÒWhat do you want to do?Ó        North played into a fifteen two, and moved his peg on the little ivory board.        ÒI don`t know,Ó he said.   ÒI want to follow her to Esper and marry her there if I have to, or bring her back here if I can.   I don`t want my son to grow up without a father.   I know it was stupid, what we did.   But that doesn`t change what happened, and I can`t live with myself like this.Ó        ÒMaybe that`s what you should do,Ó Charles said.   He smiled as North`s amateurish playing of his cards led him into pegging three points, and then two more.   ÒSometimes you have to follow your heart.Ó        ÒThat`s not all, though.Ó        ÒSomehow, I didn`t think it would be.Ó        North laid his cards down, and started counting them.   There wasn`t much there, and he pegged what there was.   His grandfather smiled slyly though, pointed out what he`d pissed, and pegged the points himself.   When he was a child, they`d never played cutthroat.   It seemed that, at least in his grandfather`s eyes, he was no longer a child.        ÒMy life has gone to shit, since then,Ó he said, picking up the cards his grandpa dealt him.   ÒI haven`t been able to make sense of anything.   I moved out, because mom`s new husband wouldn`t let me stay with them anymore.   He said no fucking loser step-son of his would be allowed to mooch off him.   So I got my own place, but I can`t keep a fucking job.   I`m always late, and my mind`s never on it.Ó        ÒFifteen two, and a go is three,Ó Charles said, pegging his points.        North shook his head.   ÒThen fucking Alaster gets me a job interview, and I fucking miss it.   Mom`s going to kill me.   How the fuck could she marry a guy named Alaster anyway?Ó        Charles shrugged, and started counting his points.   ÒThe heart wants what it wants,Ó he said.   ÒBut why is it such a big deal that you missed your interview?Ó        ÒAlaster said he was putting his job on the line to get it for me.   He said, `if you fuck this one up, you`re out of the fucking family you little shit.`Ó        ÒHard words.Ó        ÒHard fucking ass,Ó North said.        ÒI don`t think he`s a bad man,Ó Charles said.   ÒHe`s no fit replacement for my son, but honestly I doubt one exists.   And as long as you mother is happy, that`s what`s important.Ó        ÒYeah, but I fucked up.   So that`s the end of it.   He`ll shut me out of the family.   I`ll never get to talk to mom again, or my sisters.Ó        ÒSo all you have left is the old man.Ó        North smiled a little.   ÒThere are worse things to be left with.Ó        An orderly knocked on the open door and then came in with a tray that had some food on it.   He set it down on the foot of the bed and then left without saying a word.   North set his cards down, face down, and retrieved the tray.   He set it on the edge of the tv tray, and picked up his hand again.        Charles transferred his cards to one hand adeptly, and picked up a little thing of gelatin from the tray.   He sniffed it, and pounded it like a shot.        ÒHungry?Ó he asked.   ÒI can`t stomach any of this other shit.Ó        ÒMaybe you should at least take the pills,Ó North said, gesturing to a little paper cup with pills and a little paper cup next to it with water.        ÒAll they do is make me forget who I am and stop caring that I`m in this shit-hole,Ó Charles said.   ÒYou take them.Ó        North picked up the paper cup, but Charles` old, gnarled hand lashed out and knocked the pills from his hand.   The old man made a noise of satisfaction, and turned back to his cards.   North ate a little applesauce, and gnawed on a hard piece of bread.        ÒHow do they expect you to chew this without any teeth?Ó he asked.        ÒI`ve got my teeth, boy,Ó Charles said.        ÒYeah, I know.   I meant in general.Ó        Charles shrugged, and won the game.        He retrieved both coins from the table and slipped them into his shirt pocket.   ÒGood game, son,Ó he said.   ÒAt least you didn`t get skunked.Ó        ÒI sure got skunked in life,Ó North muttered.        ÒQuit feeling sorry for yourself, boy,Ó Charles said, and turned towards the window.   ÒLife has a funny way of dumping on you until you think there`s no other way out there, and then when you least expect it stuff can start to happen.   Maybe you don`t even notice it, because you`re not looking for it.   But if you do look for it, you can take a hand up and get out of your mess.Ó        ÒI don`t know what you`re talking about.Ó        ÒWell, for instance, do you know who that was who was following you around earlier?Ó        ÒOh, you saw him?Ó North asked.   ÒSome hobo.   He`s been trailing me all day.   I felt sorry for the old bastard, so I bought him some shoes and a jacket and a blanket, and gave him my took.   I don`t know why.   I guess I just didn`t like the thought of someone freezing to death on the street if I had something to do about it.Ó        ÒHmm,Ó Charles murmured.   ÒWell, I know who that is.Ó        ÒYou know the old codger?Ó   North looked out the window, and saw that the bum was sitting on the sidewalk outside the mission.   ÒDo you want me to invite him up?Ó        ÒNo, I don`t know him,Ó Charles said.   ÒI just know who he is.Ó        ÒWho?Ó * * *        Charles smiled.   ÒYoung kids these days, they don`t know anything.   Boy, that`s your king.   Or at least, he used to be, before Roan came.   That`s Diarmad King, son of Curadhan, last of his line.   After he surrendered to the Roanese without a fight, he was deposed before the official envoy could arrive from the Empire.   By that time his Chief Senechal was the only one left in the Palace to keep order, and he was named Aegis of Province Bresdon.Ó        North shook his head.   ÒYou`re shitting me,Ó he said.        ÒI wouldn`t think of it.Ó        North got up and peered out of the window.   The bum looked nothing like the regal pictures he`d seen of Diarmad King, ruler of all Great and Les Bresdon for all of his life, up until a short time ago.   He was so small and pitiful.   But then he remembered the man`s eyes, and it kind of made sense.        ÒYou know, the weather is supposed to be changing,Ó Charles said.   ÒI don`t have much to do these days but watch the world go by from my window, and watch the weather channel.   They say the pressure system is changing, and it`s going to warm up.   He`ll probably be alright if you leave him be where he is.Ó        ÒI dunno,Ó North said.   ÒSomehow, I don`t think it`d be right.   Sure he had everything in his life handed to him, but that doesn`t mean his job was easy, and it sure wasn`t appreciated.   It doesn`t seem right for him to be left on the streets like this.Ó        He moved away from the window and cleaned up the cards, board and food tray before going to leave the room.   He paused in the doorway though, and looked over his shoulder.   ÒGrampa?Ó        The old man looked up.   ÒYeah?Ó        ÒDo you want to come live at my flat?   We`ll get you set up at a physical therapy place nearby and you`ll be up and around in no time.Ó        Charles smiled.   ÒYou don`t need an old man cramping your style.   Don`t worry about it, son.Ó        North walked back into the room and clasped his grandpa in a tight embrace.   He slapped the old man on the back, and left.   As he passed through the door, he said, ÒSee you tomorrow, Grampa.Ó        He took the smelly elevator down to the smelly first floor, and passed by the nurse at the front desk who seemed a little confused at his presence.   When he hit the street again, he was a little surprised to see that it actually had warmed up.   Where it had been somewhere near freezing all morning, it was now had to be a balmy fifty degrees at least, under the gray cloud cover.        After a brief look around and a deep breath to enjoy the non-piss-smelling air, he started down fifty-second.   Before he`d gone half a block, the vagrant was behind him.   Diarmad King, one time ruler of all the deep blue seas and rolling green hills of Bresdon.   Penniless beggar with no soles on the bottoms of his shoes and a moth-bitten jacket.        North still had no idea where he was going, but he felt a little better about it after talking to his Grandfather.   As he walked down fifty-second and turned back onto the avenue, he thought about what the old man had said.   The heart wants what the heart wants.        He smiled into the balmy wind, and didn`t notice the black stormclouds rolling in behind him from the south.   He had his fourth purpose of the day, and he wasn`t going to fuck this up.   He would finish his walk into the city, he would buy a bus ticket from the depot under Palatial Place, and he would go to Esper.   He tried to do the math in his head as he walked, but he wasn`t too sure.   Maybe he`d even be able to get to Kohlingen before his son was born.        And if the King wanted to come along, then that was his own business.   North was done trying to tell the old man what to do.   If he wanted to follow, he would follow.   If he wanted to stay, he would stay. * * *        North stopped abruptly, as Mercy stepped out in front of him.        ÒWhere are you going in such a hurry?Ó she asked.   ÒAnd why the hell is that hobo still following you?Ó        ÒI don`t have time to talk to you right now,Ó North said.   ÒAnd that isn`t a hobo.   He`s the King of Bresdon.   Or at least, he was.   Show a little respect.Ó        Mercy smiled, and was obviously doing her level best not to start laughing.   ÒOh, that`s the King, is he?   Wow.   Forgive me, your highness.   I had no idea.Ó        Diarmad stared blankly at her, and she laughed herself out before long.        ÒLook, I`ve got to get downtown,Ó North said.   ÒI don`t have much time left.Ó        ÒMuch time until what?Ó Mercy asked.        ÒI don`t know,Ó North said.   ÒI have to get downtown though.Ó        ÒFine,Ó Mercy said, shaking her head.   ÒLook, if you`re in that much of a hurry I`ll drive you.   I`ll probably regret it, but whatever.   You only live once.Ó        ÒYou don`t have to do that,Ó he said.        ÒShut-up.   Just get in the car, North.Ó   She grabbed his hand and pulled him into a nearby parking lot and towards a little mint green Leury Zed.   It was missing one hubcap, and North blinked rapidly when he saw it.        ÒOh, shit.   I`m sorry Mercy.   I didn`t know this way your car.Ó   He untied the twine that held the hubcap around his neck and pounded it back onto the left front wheel with the but of his balled up fist.   He stood up, looking sheepish.   ÒI thought it was that asshole clerk`s.Ó        ÒWell, it is, kind of,Ó Mercy said.   ÒThat asshole clerk is my new boyfriend.   I let him drive it to work this morning, because I knew I`d be coming to the ave with Daryl and I`d be able to pick it up after.Ó        ÒOh.Ó        ÒCome on, dumbass.   If you just stand around with a blank stare and your mouth open all day, birds are going to make a nest in there.   Get some class.Ó        ÒYou`re rhyming again,Ó he said.        Mercy shook her head and opened the passenger door.   ÒGet in, fool.Ó        North climbed in, but when Diarmad tried to she barred his way.   ÒHey, nobody rides in my car if they smell worse than dogshit.   Got that, Kingy?Ó        She slammed the door, and left Diarmad standing forlornly in the parking lot of the taco stand.   He waved weakly as they drove out of the distance, and North was put in mind of the last time He`d ever seen Tuesday, when he`d sneaked down to the bus depot without the knowledge of her family [her father had threatened to tear off his arms and beat his head like a drum if he ever saw him again].   He`d waited until the bus pulled away, and then chased it down the street waving to Tuesday as her little face in the big back window of the bus grew smaller and smaller until the bus vanished altogether.        It had traveled south to The Sivan where, thanks to a recent treaty signed between the two countries, it had passed through a Gate on its way to Kohlingen.   That had all seemed so out of reach, not long ago.   Now he would be making that strange journey, though.   It would take all of the savings he had left, but he`d do it if it was the last thing he ever did.        Mercy turned on the radio, and the little car filled with a pulsing backbeat.   North`s head throbbed, and he blinked through suddenly watering eyes.   The music was very similar to what he thought he`d heard on and off all day, and he wondered if maybe it was what he`d heard.   Maybe he wasn`t going insane after all.        It sounded like a heartbeat.        ÒWhat is this music?Ó he asked.        ÒWhat music?Ó   Mercy frowned at him.   ÒMy radio had been broken for a week.Ó        ÒThen why`d you turn it on?Ó        ÒI didn`t.   You know, sometimes I wish you just wouldn`t speak.Ó        ÒYou`re rhyming again,Ó North said.        ÒI`m going to throw you out of the car without, say, stopping if you don`t shut up about that.   I swear North, it`s like your brain fell out when you gave away your hat.Ó        North bit his tongue and watched the buildings rush past at speed.   This was the route he`d been supposed to take hours earlier, on the bright red bus.   The bus he`d missed, as the crowning piece of his biggest fuck-up ever.   His destination had been different then, but the route had been the same.        That destination had been mediocrity and misery.   Now his destination was happiness or destruction, no room for middle ground.        ÒWhy are you in such a hurry to get downtown?Ó Mercy asked.   ÒReally.Ó        ÒI`d rather not say.Ó        Mercy rolled her eyes.   ÒI can`t bring you where you`re going if you don`t tell me where that is,Ó she said.   ÒIt`s simple logic, North.Ó        ÒPalatial Place,Ó North said shortly.   ÒDrop me off outside.Ó        ÒPalatial Place?   What the hell`s at...Ó   Mercy frowned.   ÒNorth.   Tell me you`re not going to the fucking bus depot.   I know shit has been tough for you lately, and I haven`t made it any easier, but what you`re planning on doing is just going to make things worse.   Not better.Ó        North folded his arms across his chest.   The Leury Zed turned off the avenue and onto Hollister, and Palatial Place came into view.   He really had no interest in debating this with Mercy, or with anyone else.   That`s why he hadn`t wanted to tell her.        ÒDo you smell that?Ó Mercy asked.        ÒSmell what?Ó        Mercy rolled down her window and sniffed the air, as her little car trundled down the broad street.   ÒIt smells electric,Ó she said.   ÒLike rain.Ó * * *        ÒI guess it could rain,Ó North said.   ÒI mean, with the pressure change.   But I haven`t seen a rain cloud in two weeks.Ó        As North spoke, it was like Roan herself had drawn a cloak over the sun.   The bright midday streets of downtown Astoria darkened to twilight, and a big, fat raindrop fell on the windscreen of the Leury.   Another fell, and another, and Mercy turned on the wipers.        She was forced to slow to a crawl, as the handful of drops turned suddenly into a torrential downpour.   North couldn`t see but a few feet in any direction for the gloom and the sheeting rain.   Then he had the misfortune to glance in the rear view mirror, and his eyes bugged halfway out of his head.        ÒHoly shit!Ó he exclaimed.        ÒWhat?Ó Mercy asked.        ÒThe Ancholme,Ó North said.   ÒIts banks are broken.   It`s fucking coming!Ó        He kicked his door open and fell out onto the slick asphalt, knees skidding and jeans tearing.   When Mercy failed to follow him, he tore her door open and pulled her out into the deluge.   She looked dazed, and when she saw the wall of water coming for them she just blinked.        ÒGet to Palatial Place!Ó North shouted, shoving her in the direction of the enormous mall.   It was the biggest of its kind in all of Bresdon, and inhabited the tallest building in the immediate vicinity.   It was also several blocks away.        ÒWhat?Ó Mercy asked.   ÒMy car!Ó        ÒThere`s no time!Ó North shouted.   The wall of water had passed second street, and they were on fifth.   He didn`t even want to think about what the river itself looked like, if was raging high enough to spill that much water into the city in such a short time.   It had never flooded to this extent in his lifetime, but he knew what to do.        His soup-making clan had faced a very similar dilemma, once.        ÒFlood!Ó he shouted, running after Mercy.   ÒGet to high ground!Ó        He didn`t know if anyone could hear him over the sound of the rain, or if they could hear the sound of crashing water over the pouring rain, but he yelled anyway.   He grabbed several people as he ran and sent them after Mercy.   Then the first wave of water hit, and he was knocked from his feet.        In three feet of muddy, dirty water, North stood up.   He was soaked to the bone, and despite the warming weather he started to shiver.   He looked up and down the street, desperate to help anyone who might be left to get indoors before the bulk of the river was dumped on Hollister.   And then he saw her.        Across a torrent of water that now flowed down the street in both directions a feminine form stood on the bulwark between lanes of traffic.   She faced away from him, and a strange phenomenon of light refraction framed her in a halo of warm light surrounded by the murky grayness of cloud cover and pounding rain.        She was as drenched as him, and wearing only a light sundress, white with a cherry print on it.   She held her middle in a tight embrace with both arms, her dark hair plastered down her back in slick rivulets.        Then she half turned, and in the halo of warm light North saw her profile.        ÒTuesday...Ó he whispered. * * *        A great, rolling thunderclap crashed overhead, and lightning lit up the sky.   North felt his pace quicken, and the music that had been following him all day pounded in his ears.   As the wall of water bore down on him, he felt himself lose control.        ÒTuesday!Ó he shouted.   ÒYou`re not safe!   We have to get to Palatial Place!Ó        The girl looked at him sadly, and turned sideways to start walking down the bulwark.   North paced her, and saw her belly swollen heavy with child.        ÒIn one more hour, I will be gone,Ó Tuesday sang sweetly, her voice sad.   She continued to walk slowly down the bulwark, hand on her stomach.   ÒIn one more hour, I leave this world.   That dress I wore, those pretty shoes, these things I leave behind for you.Ó        North chased after her, the sound of water roaring in his ears.        He felt himself start to sing, a deep tenor he hadn`t known he was capable of producing.        ÒThere is freedom within, there is freedom without, try to catch the deluge in a paper cup.Ó   He felt fear climb up his spine, and stopped Tuesday`s progress down the bulwark with his eyes.   ÒThere`s a battle ahead, many battles are lost, but you`ll never reach the end of the road when you`re traveling with me.Ó        He smiled.        ÒAs long as we`re together, the road goes on forever.   But if we wait another hour we`ll both be gone before long, swept to sea in a deluge of tears, take my hand now and wash away my fears.Ó        Tuesday reached out her hand and North`s heart leaped, but then the wall of water came down.        He couldn`t breath, or see, or even sing for that matter.   He felt himself carried up on the water and crashed down, and saw Tuesday standing, untouched, on the bulwark.   Somehow he came up on the bulwark, and took Tuesday in his arms.   He turned around and saw what had to be the rest of the Ancholme coming at him, and he ran.        ÒI would walk five hundred miles,Ó he sang, as he ran, Òand I would walk five hundred more just to be the man who walked a thousand miles to fall down at your door.   I was coming for you today, and I was coming for you tonight, and you came to me without a fight.Ó        ÒOur love is the size of,Ó Tuesday sang, and North harmonized with her.   ÒThese feelings inside us.   Our love is the size of this child we have made, and this path we have laid.   We took different trails, our lives were derailed.   But now in this storm, we`ve found what is true.   A final reminder that we`ll receive our due.Ó        The lightning pealed, the thunder clapped.   North set Tuesday down on the steps of Palatial Place, water already rising up the long flight of stairs and lapping at the door.   They walked in the door, and the massive mall was filled with people milling around looking worried and confused.        ÒThe water comes, climb the stairs, escalate your bodies above your cares.   You`ll all drown if you remain here,Ó North half shouted, half sang.   The people looked at him, and started singing.        ÒWhat is this flood?Ó sang a fat old man, shaking his belly.        ÒI`m covered in mud!Ó screamed a young girl.        A middle aged woman stepped onto the escalator, and half-turned.   ÒThis is not my beautiful town.Ó        Three death squirrels scampered up the down side, squeaking in high pitched voices.   ÒHurry or we`ll all drown!Ó   They twirled their canes when they reached the second floor, and started to dance.        On the far side of the open foyer, a door burst open and Tuesday`s father stepped out.   ÒIt`s the parking garage,Ó he said gruffly.   ÒSomeone`s trapped.Ó   Daryl spotted him and embraced the man, fear painted on her face as heavily as her makeup.        North blinked, and spotted Mercy.   He looked Tuesday in the eyes.   ÒI`ll be back,Ó he whispered.        There was fear in Tuesday`s eyes.   ÒDon`t go,Ó she said.   ÒI hurt.   I think...Ó her breathing was heavy now, and her face was as wet with a cold sweat as with the swollen waters of the Ancholme.        North took her hands in his.   She looked up at him, large brown eyes full of sadness and something else.        ÒYou are the burning, the flame that is turning my smoldering ash into a bird,Ó she sang.   ÒSo stay close my lover, I couldn`t stand the loss, you are the bridge and I need you to help me cross.   I need you to help me, so when you break my heart... I take hold of you.   I know your heart is a hand that takes hold of me.   The hand that is breaking, the hand that is making all the dead things in me grow.        ÒThe gift of a holy loss is burning at the dross, so when you break my heart I take hold of you.Ó        He squeezed her cold hand.   ÒOur love is the size of...Ó he sang.        ÒThese feelings inside us,Ó Tuesday continued.        North smiled.   ÒI imagine the ring on my finger... so tight it turns blue.   If you died in this room, I would die in this room.   Days go by so... slowly.   Time goes by so... slowly.   In a hospital room, in a box built for two.        ÒI`ll come back for you.Ó * * *        He left her in Mercy`s arms, and sprinted for the door her father had come out of moments earlier.   He felt the wind knocked out of him though, before he could reach it.   He was knocked to the ground, and looked up to see Tuesday`s brother and sister standing over him.   Her brother was rubbing his balled fist.        Outside, the lightning pealed and the thunder crashed.        ÒShe wore a dress with cherries on it,Ó Daryl sang sweetly, tears in her eyes.   ÒGoing somewhere where she`d be wanted... a town this small, all they do is talk.Ó        Tuesday`s brother growled.   ÒNo wedding ring, chipped fingernail polish,Ó he sang deeply, Òshe always wished she could go to college, but some dreams fade... they just slip away.Ó        North struggled to one knee.   ÒI never sent her away, it was never my choice, I would never have made her pay for my mistakes.   Her life would have been hers, everything I could do, everything I could give, it`s what I wanted.Ó        Daryl put a hand on his shoulder.   ÒShe started to show, and it was time for her to go.Ó   Tuesday`s sister smiled at him, and then slapped him with all the strength she had.   Then Tuesday`s brother grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and made to strike him again, but he swung his own right hook first.        Tuesday`s brother dropped, and it was North`s turn to rub his balled fist.        ÒDo you see her face, when she`s gone?Ó he sang.   ÒSometimes so bright, your heart just stops.   Did she answer you, your other half?   You know they say... she comes just once.Ó        In the distance, in horrible pain, Tuesday sang quietly.   ÒI am the girl... I am the ghost... I am the wife... I am the one.Ó        North grimaced.   ÒDo you want to forget, living in the dark?   Was she just too close to everything?Ó        ÒI am the girl... I am the ghost... I am the wife... I am the one.Ó        North knelt and put his hand on the man`s shoulder.   ÒWe almost had it,Ó he sang.   ÒDidn`t we almost have it, almost have it, almost...   Didn`t we want it?Ó        ÒDid you want it?Ó Tuesday`s brother asked.        North nodded, and then he ran for the open door.        The stairwell was nearly full of water, and he dove into it.   The parking garage was down a flight of stairs, around a corner and past a blind hallway.   And when he emerged, he emerged into the domain of Roan, if she`d preferred water over fire and brimstone for her works.   Several cars had been carried off of the upper levels to crash on the lower, and fast moving water cascaded through the whole place.   North scanned it, and saw a small child crying silently on the second level, somehow caught on a guardrail that had been partially rent by a falling car.        ÒStay there!Ó North shouted.        He had no idea what he was doing, but for the first time, in the bland-world, he was the star of his own story.   He was writing the lines and then doing them.   And he was going to save this child.        He forded the water, narrowly avoiding a Leury Zed that had been picked up and carried by the deluge.   On the other side, he climbed up an access ladder, and swung over to the main level.   From there he shimmied down a broken guardrail, and reached out for the child.        ÒTake my hand!Ó he shouted.        The child blubbered.        ÒTake my hand!   There isn`t much time!Ó        The child looked up, fear in his steel gray eyes.   But there was hope there, too.        ÒAre you here to save me?Ó the boy asked.        ÒI`m here to take you upstairs, where it`s dry,Ó North said.        The boy reached out his hand, and North grasped it.   He coiled the boy into him and swung down the access ladder back to the first floor.   The boy crawled onto his back, and he half-waded half-swam back across the parking garage to the stairs.        ÒTake a deep breath,Ó he warned, as they dove together into the watery stairwell.   Moments later they came up together on the other side, and North ran up the stairs to throw open the door.        The Ancholme was pounding at the front doors, and everyone was retreated to the higher floors.   North ran to the now silent escalators with the boy still hanging around his neck, and ran to the second floor, then to the third, then to the fourth.   Through the massive glass windows of the building he could see the storm raging all around, and though it was still early afternoon it was midnight dark out, save for the pealing lightning.        When he reached the fifth floor, North set the boy down and ran to Tuesday and Mercy.   Tuesday was on the ground, face glowing and a small smile on her face.   There was something different about her, but North couldn`t quite put a finger on it.        ÒShe`s radiant, she`s the best,Ó North sang quietly, as he walked towards her, his heart beating wildly in his chest.   ÒI cannot lay my heart to rest.   She is selfish, she is kind, none can say `she is mine.`   Like water, like spring, fickle fancy... fickle girl.Ó        He stopped at her side, and went down to one knee.        ÒCome down from the sky, when I need you the most,Ó he sang.   ÒCome down to my waiting arms and to my call.   Without you, I`m nothing.   Without you, I`m nothing at all.Ó        ÒNorth,Ó Tuesday said.   ÒI want you to meet someone.Ó   Her smile widened, and she gestured to Mercy, whose smile was just as broad.   Her eyes were bright, and she was lit up like a pinball machine.   And she was holding something.        North looked down at the bundle of rags, and then Mercy offered it to him.        ÒIt`s your son, North,Ó Tuesday said.   ÒIt`s your son.Ó        North took the bundle, folded it back, and swooned.   In his arms was a tiny human being, a tiny little piece of himself, and the next part of the chain that stretched back through him to his father, grandfather, and off into an unknowable past.        ÒMy... son.Ó        Mercy`s smile faltered, and she put a hand on his head.   ÒOh my god, North.   Are you alright?Ó        ÒI`m better than I ever have been before,Ó North said, but the strength suddenly went out of his legs and he sat down roughly.   ÒI have Tuesday, and I have my son.Ó        ÒYou`re burning up,Ó Mercy said.   ÒBut you`re shivering.   Your pupils are all wonky... have you eaten anything funny today?Ó        Mercy continued to talk, but North didn`t continue to hear.   His vision started to blur, and he finally felt the shivers that Mercy had seen.   He spasmed, and quickly handed his son back to Mercy before collapsing on the hard floor of Palatial Place, tumultuous waters raging below.        The last thing he saw was Tuesday`s smiling face, inches from his own.        ÒI am the girl... I am the ghost... I am the wife... I am the one,Ó she whispered, but her lips didn`t move. * * * Ê Ê Ê ÊThe next thing he saw was Tuesday`s smiling face, sitting in a chair. Ê Her son was in her arms, and when she saw his eyes open she nearly squealed. Ê Ê Ê ÊÒHe`s awake!Ó she shouted, her voice hoarse. Ê Ê Ê ÊÒI... my whole body hurts,Ó he murmured, and rolled over. Ê The ceiling was strange, blank and white. Ê It was the ceiling of a hospital, and he was in a hospital bed. Ê He felt like his fever had broken, though, and he heard neither song nor rain. Ê Ê Ê ÊÒYou had botulism,Ó Tuesday said. Ê ÒThe doctors said they`re surprised you made it. Ê You should have been out cold sometime around noon. Ê There`s no reason you were still walking when you saw me in the street. Ê I have to admit, I was a little worried when you kept singing to me... but at least now I know why.Ó Ê Ê Ê ÊÒI was... singing?Ó Ê Ê Ê ÊÒNorth, I don`t know what you were doing,Ó Tuesday said. Ê ÒI`m just glad you`re okay now.Ó Ê Ê Ê ÊNorth furrowed his brow, and suddenly his heart jumped. Ê ÒThe boy,Ó he said. Ê ÒIs he alright? Ê Did someone find his parents?Ó Ê Ê Ê ÊÒWhat boy?Ó Tuesday asked, her voice laced with confusion and trepidation. Ê Ê Ê ÊÒThe one I saved in the parking garage. Ê The little boy with the steel gray eyes.Ó Ê Ê Ê ÊÒNorth...Ó Tuesday said. Ê ÒThere was no boy.Ó Ê Ê Ê ÊMercy came into the room. Ê She was pushing North`s grandfather in a wheelchair, and the old man smiled. Ê Ê Ê ÊÒIt`s good to see you up and around again, boy,Ó he said. Ê ÒI could tell there was something wrong when you came by, but I had no idea. Ê I thought you were just lovesick, I`d never have guessed you were food-poisoned.Ó Ê Ê Ê ÊÒNeither did anyone,Ó he said, glancing at Mercy. Ê Ê Ê ÊÒHey,Ó the girl said, holding her hands up. Ê ÒYou always act weird, if you ask me.Ó Ê She looked to Tuesday, then. Ê ÒSorry, no offense.Ó Ê Ê Ê ÊTuesday laughed. Ê ÒIf you don`t want him, that`s just less competition for me,Ó she said, and took his hand. Ê North smiled. Ê Her hand was warm, which it hadn`t been before, the last time he`d held it. Ê It felt good. Ê Ê Ê ÊCharles cleared his throat. Ê ÒI was thinking, boy,Ó he said. Ê ÒAbout your offer, before. Ê I know you`ve got this whole family of your own now, and there`ll be a lot of work to do what with taking care of the kid and planning a wedding and all. Ê But do you still want an old gaffer hanging around your place?Ó Ê Ê Ê ÊÒOf course!Ó North shouted, without thinking. Ê He immediately regretted it, as his chest began to stab him with pain. Ê ÒI mean... my place is pretty small. Ê But I`ll get another job, and we`ll be able to get bigger place sometime soon.Ó Ê Ê Ê ÊÒOh, I don`t imagine that will be a problem,Ó Charles said. Ê ÒI was talking to an old friend of yours in the waiting area. Ê He`s been here since shortly after they brought you in, but they wouldn`t let him in to see you, even though he`s all showered up and wearing new clothes. Ê Seems you did him a favor, and now that he has his thoughts together he`s remembered several... royal treasury account only he has access to.Ó Ê Ê Ê ÊÒRoyal?Ó Tuesday asked. Ê Ê Ê ÊNorth blinked. Ê ÒThat wasn`t... the fever?Ó he asked. Ê Ê Ê ÊÒNo, my boy, you actually did buy yellow galoshes for Diarmad King, and give him your woolen cap. Ê And one good turn deserves another, according to your hobo friend. Ê He`s given me a figure, and he won`t take no for an answer.Ó Ê Ê Ê ÊÒBring him in,Ó North said. Ê ÒIf he`s talking now, I mean. Ê I`d like to thank him.Ó Ê Ê Ê ÊÒI think he`d like to thank you,Ó Charles said. Ê ÒMercy? Ê Take me back out?Ó Ê Ê Ê ÊÒOf course.Ó Ê Mercy pushed the wheelchair out the door, and turned over her shoulder. Ê ÒI`m glad to see you`re okay, North. Ê No hard feelings, right?Ó Ê Ê Ê ÊÒNo hard feelings,Ó North said. Ê Ê Ê ÊShe shut the door behind her, and North was alone with Tuesday and his son. Ê She stood up, obviously still a little weak, and set the boy into the crook of his arm. Ê He looked down at the tiny, wrinkled human being whose eyes were closed and breathing was even. Ê Ê Ê ÊÒHello,Ó North whispered. Ê ÒI`m your daddy.Ó Ê Ê Ê ÊHe felt Tuesday squeeze his hand. Ê Ê Ê ÊÒYou`re so beautiful,Ó he said to her, and then to his son, Òand you`re so perfect.Ó Ê Ê Ê ÊÒWhat do you want to name him?Ó Tuesday asked. Ê Ê Ê ÊÒYou haven`t named him yet?Ó Ê Ê Ê ÊTuesday shook her head. Ê Ê Ê ÊÒI was thinking Verril,Ó North said. Ê ÒAfter my father. Ê Verril Charles Verces. Ê If that`s alright with you.Ó Ê Ê Ê ÊTuesday nodded. Ê ÒIt sounds perfect,Ó she said, and bent over the bed. Ê Their eyes met for a moment, and then she kissed him. Ê It was the sweetest thing he had ever tasted. Ê Ê Ê ÊAnd when she leaned back, and they both looked down to their perfect son, the infant`s eyelids fluttered open briefly, and he stared up at them from steel gray eyes.