Dichotomy

By P.B. Cannon

Evelyn, Connor, and Valerie, friends bound together by a psychic connection since before they were born, mourn the loss of their friend and soulmate, Shane. They are left with the task of telling his parents that he won’t be coming home. They also have to tell them that Anotrothe, the imaginary friend from their childhood, was not make-believe and is the reason Shane is gone.
It isn’t easy - or believable.

Facing skepticism of their tale of being the next step in the evolution of the human race, they reveal the differences that prove it.

Then, the world learns of them and goes into an uproar. Living a normal life doesn’t appear to be possible. To further complicate matters, others like themselves begin appearing and they too aren't welcome.

The first of the successors find themselves trying to effect rescues even while they are facing ostracism.

Meanwhile, on a world of pale yellow skies, a lone figure with an empty mind wanders across a featureless plain. Is he a savior - or a monster? Or could he be both?

• Language: English
• Publisher: P.B. Cannon
• Release date: Sep 1, 2020
• ISBN: 9781005235079

P.B. Cannon

P.B. Cannon was born and raised in Charlotte, NC, and though she has visited other cities and states, she has a preference for Charlotte and expects to live there for the rest of her life.She is a teller of tales who enjoys concocting yarns of science fiction, fantasy, paranormal, and other stuff. She relishes reading, drawing and painting, walking, working crossword puzzles, and she likes to dance.She is a retired electronics technician and admits to having worked at a variety of other jobs during her life, including being a dishwasher, a busgirl, a housemaid, a motel/hotel maid, working in a fast-food joint, a telephone operator, and a store clerk. There have been other, even-less-glamorous jobs.She also daydreams a lot.

Book preview

He stumbled along on a flat, featureless plain, his eyes blank, his mind empty. From deep within his brain, a single cell somewhere beneath the emptiness put forth a small wisp of consciousness that wormed its way through the obscured window of his mind. He gradually came to a stop and slowly examined the static landscape. Nothing broke the endless view.

His staring pupils narrowed, and his eyes filled with confusion. He didn’t know where he was or even who he was. He turned his face up to the just-as-featureless pale yellow heavens and peered with no comprehension at the nothingness above for a full minute. Then, he focused on the ground. No rock or pebble, or blade of grass interfered to break up its dull surface. His dirty bare feet blended into the dry, ash-colored soil on which he cast no shadow.

He turned and looked behind him. A ragged trail of footprints followed him, retreating out of sight and giving no indication of how long he had been lurching along. He turned back to face the direction in which he had been going. His brain tried to bring forth a thought, and a profusion of jumbled and disjointed images filled with blazing pain inundated him. His mouth opened, and a low moan escalated into a howl. It spewed forth, and, with nothing to contain it, filled the quiet world and hung in the air like the shockwave from a detonation. His mind reeled and rebelled, emptying itself again, and his pupils expanded as his eyes returned to vacancy.

He stood in silence for an indeterminate time; then, an autonomic response set in, and he plodded on. The never-ending pale light pulled silvery highlights from the hair of the dusty nude figure trudging to nowhere, toward a horizon of nothing.

Chapter Two

Missing Piece

Evelyn, Valerie, and Connor left the lake in Shane’s car, taking only the knitting basket and their phones.

They went to Evelyn’s apartment and huddled together in her bed, as the four of them did when they were small. It was comforting, but there was no way of getting away from the absence of Shane. It was an emotional hurt that left them feeling depleted physically, as though they had suffered through a long illness.

They spent the next day down the hall in Valerie’s apartment while she cooked food for which none of them had an appetite. After picking at it and realizing they simply couldn’t eat, they moved next door to Connor’s place and drank the beer he’d stashed away.

Do you think he was in pain? Valerie asked after two beers.

It was the first time anybody spoke about what happened in the woods.

Connor stared into his third beer with dark brown eyes that were dull and muddy. Yes. He knew there was no point in trying to pretend anything else. You heard the screams through the barrier. There were two distinct voices, so you know it wasn’t just Anotrothe. In spite of himself, a tear slipped out. That’s why he… why Shane… broke his link to us. He didn’t want us to feel what was happening to him.

Evelyn stifled a wail, and her voice came out hoarse and breaking. "I… I hope to God it didn’t last long."

Valerie and Connor rushed to her and embraced her, sending what comfort they could. That night they all slept in Connor’s bed.

The next day, they thought of going back to the lake to get their picnic items, which were still in the clearing where Shane made his stand with the ex-guardian, but they were unable to bring themselves to return to the place yet, so they went back to Evelyn’s apartment.

Again they didn’t eat, only having coffee. They didn’t talk much.

They all felt the severed threads of the connection ripped away when Shane initiated the end of the alien who had sought to force them to kill their world. The monster who had been their lifelong guardian, mentor, teacher. Lover. Shane had destroyed him, but destroying him also destroyed Shane.

He had seemed so full of confidence, but now they understood he’d known he wouldn’t survive the encounter. Telling them that he would be careful had simply been his way of making them think he could do it and come out of it okay. It was merely to allay their fears and keep them from forcibly trying to stop him.

He hadn’t wanted to die any more than they had, but he knew he was the strongest of the four, the only one with a chance of succeeding. Nobody really grasped what he meant when he said he would do what it took. So, he sacrificed himself to save them. In doing so, he saved Earth from what the ex-guardian would’ve forced them to do.

They each felt his absence like a missing piece of themselves. For Connor and Valerie, it was a deep, underlying emptiness. For Evelyn, it was as though there was a gaping, bleeding hole in her soul.

Connor and Valerie glanced at each other, then back at Evelyn sitting quietly on her couch and staring down at her knitting basket.

Finally, Connor cleared his throat. He spoke softly as he held tears in check. We have to tell them, Ev.

Evelyn raised her head. Her face was pale with dark splotches in the skin beneath her sunken, blood-shot eyes. Her short, disheveled blond hair had little wisps flying off to the sides.

One of Valerie’s thick black braids slipped over a shoulder as she dipped her head in a nod, her eyes glistening with tears. We can’t just leave them in the dark, Ev. They have to know. It’s been two days now. We can’t hole up in here forever. She traded glances with Connor again, and he nodded for her to go on. We haven’t been answering our phones, and Shane’s phone has been going off too. Somebody’s going to come checking soon.

They hadn’t been able to bear going into Shane’s apartment yet, but they had brought his phone back with them when they fled the lake.

Connor added, And, we’re going to have to tell them everything, or they won’t understand anything. They’ll have to hear about Anotrothe, too.

Evelyn jerked at the sound of their ex-guardian’s name, and for a moment, her face twisted with pain and fury. Then she grabbed her emotions. That was a waste of energy, and she needed to think. She gazed into her knitting basket. The large, cobalt blue, leathery egg lying on a heating pad with the tiny sleeping being within, reminded her that she had a child to consider. And to live for. Hers and Shane’s.

She looked up at her friends sitting in the love seat across from her.

How do you tell someone their son is dead? How do you do it when you have no tangible proof? There was no body, and furthermore, there would never be one no matter how hard or long the search.

But she knew it had to be done.

Her voice was calm as she spoke. Yes, you’re right. It’s time we did. She studied them. And not just his parents. Our parents are going to have to know, too. We-- she swallowed a sudden lump-- Shane’s folks should hear it first. Then, we’ll tell ours.

Connor said, When do you want to do it?

We should tell them today. Now. She sighed. We should’ve told them already.

They hadn’t been able to. Pain and grief had rendered them unable to do more than try to hang on.

Valerie studied her friends. We’ll have to give a few demonstrations, and they still might not believe us.

Connor fiddled with his empty coffee mug. Maybe not, but we have to do it anyway. He set the cup down. Tell you what, rather than have to go through it more than once, we should get all our folks together. We’ll tell Shane’s parents first, but we’ll make sure ours show up too.

Valerie added, We can have them come after we get there. That’ll give us time to talk to Shane’s mom and dad.

Their families would be lolling around, not doing much of anything on a lazy Sunday afternoon. This was going to shatter their calm, but it was something they knew they had to do.

Evelyn picked up her phone.

Chapter Three

The Parents

James and Doris Anders ushered the young people into the family room.

Evelyn had called. All she’d said was, Mrs. A, I need to come over to talk to you and Mr. A.

Sure, dear. Er, what is this about? Will Shane come with you?

She’d hesitated and then said, It’s not something I want to discuss over the phone, so I’d prefer to wait until we get there. And no, Shane won’t be coming, but Connor and Valerie are. And, Mrs. A, please make sure Shane’s brothers and sisters are out of the room while I talk to you.

They thought it an odd request, but that wasn’t going to be a problem because the three younger kids were away visiting their grandparents and cousins in North Carolina. Ben, Shane’s seventeen-year-old brother, was at a friend’s house, and his fifteen-year-old sister Kira was at the mall with a friend. So, James and Doris had the house to themselves. They had, in fact, been enjoying having an empty house for a few hours until the teens got home. It was rare.

They were concerned because Evelyn had sounded so serious, and for them to come without Shane was unusual. Really, it was unheard of. They were the quad squad; they always came together. Looking at her, they knew something was wrong. They peered at Connor and Valerie and noted their somber faces.

Doris brought one of the straight back chairs over from the card table and sat down across from the couch where the three had settled. She glanced at the knitting basket Evelyn set on the coffee table between them.

What are you working on, dear? She knew the young woman always had a project going and took the basket everywhere she went.

Evelyn took a deep breath. I’ll show you what’s in the basket in a minute, Mrs. A, but first--

James, who had placed a chair beside Doris, was watching them with an unsettled feeling. He leaned forward, his voice quiet. I think that, first, you should tell us where Shane is.

Evelyn held herself tightly - but it wasn’t tight enough to stop the tears that slowly slid out and trickled down her face. She didn’t notice them.

Alarmed, Doris tensed. Please, Evelyn, just tell us what’s wrong! Did you and Shane have a fight about something? Are… are you… pregnant? It was the only reason she could think of why Evelyn wouldn’t want the other kids around, though, she didn’t understand why Shane wouldn’t have come with them.

Evelyn couldn’t control her tears, but her voice was calm. No, ma’am. We didn’t have a fight, and I’m not pregnant. She took another deep breath. Shane-- she swallowed-- He’s gone, he’s… never coming back. He’s… Her blue eyes, surrounded by reddened whites, were hollow. There was no other way to put it, so nearly choking on the words, with her voice barely above a whisper, she said, He’s dead.

Doris’s eyebrows shot up. The three saw the shock followed by disbelief in her eyes.

James went still. For a moment, his mind blanked. Then he frowned and sucked in a breath. His stomach jumped. "What? What are you saying? Is this some kind of sick joke? Why would you--"

We’re not joking, Mr. A. We wouldn’t do that, not about this. We have a lot to tell you--

Doris’s face was turning red as first fear, then anger flared. She rose from her chair and stood over them, folding her arms. "You three should know better than to come here with something like this as old as you are! It’s not funny! Why, just wait until I tell your parents!"

Evelyn kept her voice quiet. Our parents are on their way. We called them before we left and told them to meet us here. They should start arriving in about ten minutes. We thought we should tell you first.

James caught Doris’s elbow and pulled her back to her seat. His heart beat fast. He had a sick feeling that they weren’t kidding around. His fear made his voice sharp.

Explain!

Connor took a breath. Yes, sir. Shane died Friday night while we were at the lake. We didn’t tell you then because--

James leaned back and regarded him with narrowed eyes. He shook his head. "You’ve got to do better than that, Connor. It happened Friday? If he’d drowned, we’re down as next of kin, and we’re well known in town; the police or rescue squad or somebody would’ve notified us!"

Valerie gave a quick headshake. He didn’t drown, Mr. A. He died… another way. We were too upset to tell you until now, and we thought you should be the first to know.

His face had turned pasty, and now it flushed with red splotches. He came up out of his seat. He was almost shouting. "What do you mean? That was two days ago! Deaths have to be reported immediately, and you’re saying you didn’t tell anybody ‘til now? Why wouldn’t you have called the police or called us if something happened? What’s--?"

Doris caught his hand. Wait, James. She turned to Evelyn, her eyes glaring. If he’s dead, where’s his body?

Tears still running down, Evelyn said, There’s not one, Mrs. A. Please, we’ll tell you what happened. She took a shaky breath. It’s going to be hard for you to believe, and it’s going to be a long story. It’s one our parents have to hear, too. That’s why we called them to come over. She rambled in her purse and pulled out a tissue. She wiped her eyes and blew her nose.

What-- started James.

The doorbell rang, and Doris practically bolted from her chair. I’ll get it, James. You three, don’t say another word until I get back! She stalked out.

Evelyn’s parents, Janet and Harry Bryce, looked puzzled as they came back in with her. James, who was pacing by then, gestured vaguely at the overstuffed couch across the room.

Have a seat. No, wait. You’re going to want to be closer. Get the other two straight chairs and bring them over. The others were going to need chairs too. Let me get out the fold-ups. He almost ran from the room.

The doorbell chimed again, and Doris turned around and hurried back to the door. Valerie’s parents, Karl and Nancy Worthy, had gotten there at the same time as Ted and Thelma Helmuth, Connor’s parents. James came back in, dragging four fold-up chairs. He jerked them open, and everybody sat. The teens stared at their parents, whose varying expressions indicated they were wondering why their solemn sounding children had insisted they come to the Anders’ home. James and Doris looked frightened.

Janet noted how pale and unsettled the three looked. Especially her daughter. Care to tell us what’s going on, Ev?

The three young people looked at each other.

Connor sent to Evelyn, *You want to start?*

She didn’t want to, but she sent, *Yeah.* She turned to the parents.

Shane is… dead.

Amid stunned gasps from the other parents, Doris burst into tears. "Quit saying that! How can he be? The only thing you’ve told us so far is that there’s no body! You haven’t given us anything!"

A white-faced James reached over and took her hand. Wait. They said they’d explain. Let them talk. He threw his eyes to the three. But I don’t want to hear any bullcrap!

Evelyn sighed to herself. She knew that what they were about to tell them was going to sound exactly like bullcrap. Initially.

Chapter Four

Telling the Tale

Evelyn began. Do you remember our imaginary friend from when we were little kids?

Her father, Harry, frowned. Yes, we do. What does that have to do with why you’re saying Shane is dead?

Connor’s lips tightened. It has everything to do with it, Mr. B. His name was Anotrothe, and he wasn’t imaginary.

Connor’s father, Ted, eyed him. His forehead fell into creases. "What do you mean he wasn’t imaginary? Of course he was!"

Harry’s eyes narrowed. Wait, hold on, wasn’t that the name of your old teacher that was killed down on the highway three weeks ago?

Evelyn’s face went tight. Yes. He was one and the same, Dad. And he wasn’t dead. Not then. At their questioning looks, she held up a hand. Please wait. We’re here to tell you everything.

And they told them about Anotrothe.

Their parents sat in quiet disbelief.

Finally, James cleared his throat. "So you’re telling us that an alien from another dimension came to this world when you were babies - wait, you said before you were born - because you have some kind of psychic connection to each other? He pretended to be your friend and guardian but was going to use you to wipe out everybody, and that’s why Shane is dead? Because he died killing this… this… this alien?"

Harry’s expression was one of total disbelief. And he taught you all kinds of psychic abilities, right?

Evelyn looked at her father steadily - and assumed her non-corporeal form.

To everyone except Connor and Valerie, she disappeared.

Valerie’s mother, Nancy, gasped, Oh. My. God.

Janet made an inarticulate noise, and Connor’s mother, Thelma, sat staring with her mouth open as her breath caught in her throat. Doris moaned and began to pitch forward. James, his face ashen, jumped up and caught her. He carried her over and placed her on the other couch, then sat with her head in his lap while he gaped at the spot where Evelyn had disappeared.

Evelyn popped back in, trembling. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you like that, but you didn’t seem to be believing us. Is Mrs. A all right?

Janet said, her voice unsteady, Got any wine, James?

Wordlessly, he pointed out the family room door, and she hurried down the hall. She’d been there numerous times since the Anders moved to the rambling house after the birth of their fourth child, so she knew where it was. She came back carrying a tray that held a bottle and glasses for all.

She set everything on the card table in the corner and hastily poured a glass for James to give to Doris, who was coming around and struggling to sit up.

The other parents, except James, had one too. After Connor and Valerie demonstrated their ability to become non-corporeal, and the three showed them more things they could do, particularly the telekinesis, James made sure Doris was going to be all right. Then, numb, he got up and went to the basement where they kept the hard liquor, and broke out a bottle of bourbon. Bringing it and shot glasses, he set them on the card table beside the wine. He poured himself a shot and returned to the couch.

The showing of abilities had the side effect of pointing him and Doris to the wretched fact that his friends were telling the truth, that their son was dead. The other parents were nearly as upset. After all, they’d known each other since their oldest children were eight weeks old.

Doris, on the couch leaning against James, began sobbing. "Then it’s true? Shane’s dead? Oh, God!" She collapsed on her husband’s shoulder, shaking.

James held on to her, his eyes dazed as he tried to rein in his jumbled emotions. Honey, do you need to lie down? Should I call the doctor? He poured more wine into her glass. He thought she might need a tranquilizer; indeed, he could’ve used one himself.

Harry poured more liquor into his glass and handed it to him.

N…no, I need to hear everything! She gulped down her wine, her tear-reddened eyes trained on Evelyn.

James felt frozen, but he wanted more information. He knocked back his drink before saying, Why didn’t any of you tell us when you were small?

Evelyn smiled faintly. We did, Mr. A, but you thought he was imaginary, remember? Then, when we were older, Anotrothe told us not to, and by then, we were… conditioned… to obey him. And we loved him and wanted to please him.

James remembered. She was right. They’d all been relieved when the kids grew out of their imaginary friend phase.

Evelyn continued. When we got to high school, we were afraid to say anything because we thought he would punish us. He punished us once for disobeying him, in a way that he knew would hurt us.

Janet’s throat went dry as she locked her eyes on her daughter. How… how did he punish you? She didn’t want to think about what kind of discipline such a monster would’ve used, but she had to know.

He hid our connections to each other from us for a week.

"That’s it?" Ted eyed the three of them. I don’t see--

Connor studied his father. Dad, imagine that someone ripped off three of your limbs, and you had to live with raw, bleeding, open wounds for a week without medical care.

Valerie added, Or try and think of someone tossing you from atop a mountain, or the tallest building in the world, and you know you’re going to hit the bottom. In the meanwhile, all you can do is fall forever.

It felt as though our souls had been torn. It hurt badly, added Evelyn. With Shane gone, that’s how we feel now. It’s… horrid.

Valerie said, Yes. That’s why we couldn’t tell you when it happened. We were… we didn’t have the strength to come until today. The only reason we can stand it at all is because the three of us still have our connection to each other.

Thelma drew in her breath. The other parents sat silent, understanding it was indeed a terrible punishment. James and Doris, on hearing of the death of their son, felt some of what they were experiencing. It didn’t make them feel any better about it, but now they could understand why the youngsters hadn’t been able to tell them about Shane right off.

Ted wasn’t sure if he really wanted to know, but he asked anyway. What did he punish you for?

The three slid their eyes to each other. *Uh, now that we know exactly why it was a punishable offense, you think we should tell them?* sent Valerie.

*No reason not to,* said Evelyn.

*Yeah,* added Connor. *We don’t have to say why he made that rule.*

Valerie figured he was right. She answered for the three of them. At the time, Anotrothe didn’t want us dating each other, Mr. H, but we disagreed and went to a hip-hop concert. He didn’t like it.

Karl’s brow wrinkled. "Just for that?"

Yes, Dad. He wouldn’t allow us to date each other until recently.

That… that seems like a harsh punishment for something so trivial. Karl recalled how relieved all the parents were that they weren’t dating each other. "So, I gather that explains why you never dated before you left for college. All of you went out with other teens. He didn’t care about that?"

No, he didn’t.

Karl was about to ask her why, but James had a different question.

But how... why… would you be able to learn how to do the things you can? What makes you different?

Valerie eyed her father, sensing that he’d been about to ask a question to which he, and none of the parents, would’ve liked the answer. Better to let that one slide until another time.

She turned to James and gave a crooked smile. Well, our so-called guardian tried to convince us you aren’t our biological parents, that we’re different because we’re the result of a biological experiment.

James was outraged. What? That’s bull! We--

We know, Mr. A. It was just one of his many lies. She tossed her hair back. That particular line he tried to feed us was one of several mistakes he made, and it was the one that really got us into doubting him. As much as we loved and trusted him, we loved you too. You’re our moms and dads. Anotrothe had no sense of empathy, so I don’t think he ever really got what our parents meant to us. Anyway, we weren’t willing to buy his tale of our mothers being implanted with thawed out embryos without their knowledge.

Janet’s eyebrows rose. How in the world did he think you’d believe something like that could’ve happened?

Oh, he gave us some bullsh-- uh, sorry-- some story about it being done during a pap smear. We didn’t buy it, but we wanted to be absolutely certain, so we set out to prove him a liar.

Thelma, who had been quietly listening, raised an eyebrow. How on Earth did you do that?

Valerie admitted, It was my idea. We put all of you in a stasis hold when we were at the cookout in June. Then we did cheek swabs on you and sent them, along with samples from us, for DNA testing.

Connor’s tone was apologetic. We couldn’t think of any other way to get samples without you knowing, and we couldn’t ask without telling you, something we couldn’t do because--

James frowned. Wait, what, exactly, is a stasis hold?"

Oh, it allows us to hold someone still for a few minutes without them knowing. It’s another of our abilities.

I want a demonstration, said Ted. Hearing about something wasn’t the same as seeing, and he wanted to see.

I’ll volunteer, said Karl. Er, it doesn’t hurt, does it?

Valerie smiled. "No, Dad, it doesn’t hurt. She looked at him, and he went quiet as she put him in the hold. She released him after a minute, and he blinked at everyone staring at him.

He raised an eyebrow. Well, are you going to do it?

Valerie smiled faintly. I already did. That’s what the hold does. You don’t remember it because, for you, no time has passed.

Karl, said Nancy, You were just sitting there like a frozen statue for a full minute!

Doris, her face pale, said, Is that how we looked when you did that at the cookout?

Valerie nodded.

Karl studied his daughter. And you froze everybody at once? There were a lot of people there that day. Aside from the eight of them, there had been six other adults, along with fifteen kids of varying ages.

"Yes. Well, I didn’t do it, Dad. Ev, Connor, and I can’t put that many in hold at the same time. Shane was best at it, so he did it."

None of them liked it. James said, I understand why you did it, but don’t ever do it again.

Valerie, observing his expression, suspected that if they did, and he found out about it, they would be in considerable trouble. Yes, sir. It won’t happen again.

Chapter Five

Egg

Ted eyed the three. Okay. Once you verified you’re not experiments, weren’t you confused as to why you could learn these… these psychic abilities?

Evelyn answered. We were at first, Mr. H. We wondered if we were some kind of mutants, and I suppose we are, but we reasoned that the odds were against four people from four different states with different parents cropping up at the same time with the exact same attributes. So, we speculated that we might simply be the first of a new species. It turned out we were right. It’s a mutation, all right, but one that’s breeding true. That makes it evolution.

Connor said, "Yes. That means that eventually, everybody will be like us, successors to the old species. That’s why Anotrothe wanted to wipe us out. He was a power-mad ass… um, excuse me, degenerate, and didn’t want competition. Earth’s not the first world he came to. We were lucky. We found out in time. There are planets that he finished off." He stopped, trying to wet his dry throat by swallowing. He needed to watch his language, though none of the parents said anything about his little slip.

He gazed across the coffee table at his father. Anotrothe killed a lot of people, Dad. We believe he mostly left our area alone, though we think he killed one woman here three years ago. He probably caused most of those mysterious deaths that’ve been in the news. He was a kind of vampire, and we only found out about everything a month ago.

Ted screwed up his face. "Why didn’t you tell us about him then, son? We would’ve--"

No, Mr. H, said Evelyn. "We thought about it, but we were certain Anotrothe would find out we told. He… he would’ve killed