Century Traveler

Mel opened her mouth, but all she made were some unintelligible squeaks, so John pressed on.

"Mel, you've told us you come from a very large family. You have your grandparents and parents and sisters and brothers and cousins and aunts and uncles and have years of interacting with them very closely, intellectually and emotionally. How can you relate to someone who was an orphan? Who spent his time in multiple foster homes? Someone who had very little continuous interaction with other people? Who had no one to form those close emotional bonds with? Can you truthfully say you understand how such a person would react to emotional cues they've never been exposed to? Please don't get me wrong. I'm not looking for pity. Just a little consideration. I'm doing my best. If I hurt Satomi's feelings, I'm deeply sorry. She's a beautiful and sweet young woman, and I wish her all the love and happiness life can bring. She certainly deserves it. But I don't think I'm the one to bring her that when I can't even recognize the signs."

Mel was staring over his head, and he realized that Satomi and Mel shared coffee in this shop every morning.

He looked over his shoulder and saw Satomi standing two feet away.

"How do you know if you do not try?" she said before she turned and left the shop.

"How long was she there?" he asked tiredly.

"She arrived when you started talking about my family," she said with a wince. "Sorry. I should go after her."

After she left, John put his face in his hands and leaned back into the cushions. The day was going from bad to worse. He finished his coffee, then headed across the street. There was no sign of Mr. Sass, so he walked around to the alley behind the store, but he wasn't there either. Of course.

John walked back to the front and went inside. Deron was standing at the cashier's desk, looking stern. John really didn't feel like repeating the story again, but this was his boss. So, he gave him the short version, and from the shocked look on the man's face, he guessed it was enough. John went back to his desk and tried to fill his day with work.

Deron didn't ask him to share his story when they had their usual group meeting, and John kept his eyes down throughout it so he wouldn't have to immediately deal with questions. Even Kelly, the Queen of the Oblivious, understood that John was off-limits today.

He called Detective Molina, who chuckled when he heard how long the doctor had made him wait to be discharged. John didn't clue him in with his suspicions that Mr. Sass had somehow expedited the process. The detective said that he'd have John's stuff dropped off at the store later that afternoon. He wished John well, and they hung up. Sure enough, a large paper bag arrived three hours later, and John had his wallet, phone, keys, clothes, and hiking gear back.

He worked through lunch and left an hour earlier than usual. Still no sign of Mr. Sass, but then again, he wasn't there every day. Just most days. John missed his bus, so he started to jog to the next bus stop, then the one after that. He had all this pent-up energy, and the jog turned into running, which felt good, so he just kept going. He was amazed when he finally ran up the street to his door. He used his keys to let himself into his apartment, immediately shed his sweaty clothes, and jumped into the shower. He felt amazing! He'd really needed that run and was seriously considering making it a full-time thing. He couldn't run to work as there were no shower facilities there. But if he brought running gear, he could run home, saving him half of his bus fare. He couldn't wait to get a new commuter bike.

"John? Are you home?"

He heard Anna calling him, so he shut off the water and stepped out of the shower. He called out that he was just freshening up and dried himself off. Then he realized he hadn't brought any clothes with him into the bathroom. She normally stayed out of his space, as she called it. He listened but couldn't hear anything. To be on the safe side, he wrapped his towel around his waist before stepping out of the bathroom. Anna was sitting on his couch, but she was facing the other way, so he was good.

"Just a minute, stay there. I'm getting dressed." He walked over to his dresser and pulled out a t-shirt, jeans, and some underwear. He dropped the towel and tugged the underwear on. As he struggled to get the jeans on, he saw Anna's face in the full-length mirror on the far wall. She was in full blush mode.

"Sorry, I'll wait upstairs," she said as she quickly left the apartment.

He thought of where he'd been standing when he dropped the towel and realized she'd gotten the full Monty. Great.

He picked up his towel and dropped it in the laundry bin with the sweaty clothes he'd run home in. He'd have to do a wash tonight.

He walked upstairs and found Anna sitting in the kitchen drinking tea.

"Hi," he said.

"I'm sorry for intruding like that. I never meant to invade your privacy," Anna said, getting right to the point as she always did.

John sat down across from her at the small table. He looked at her blush and tried to think of a way to get past this. He didn't want any awkwardness between them, but this wasn't exactly an area of strength for him. He knew she preferred directness, so he went with that.

"You don't normally come downstairs looking for me. I wasn't expecting you to be there, or I would have brought some clothes into the bathroom. Why the change in your pattern?" he asked.

"You left very early this morning. I was worried that you had decided to move out, after all," she replied.

"No, not yet. I'm still not convinced that it's a good idea for me to be here, putting you at risk. I don't know what's happening to me except that it terrifies me. What's most terrifying is that I might hurt you or one of my co-workers. I can't go to my doctor because he already wants to lock me in a lab to study why I'm a fast healer. I'm not ready to surrender to imprisonment. I have no idea who I can safely talk to about this," he said.

"Did anything happen to you today? Did you have another episode?" she asked.

"No, except for a momentary flash of gold eyes when I was upset and Mel surprised me. I managed to convince her it was just a reflection in my contacts," he explained.

"You have contact lenses?" she asked.

"No, but Mel doesn't know that. But there's something else I learned about myself today. I no longer need glasses. My eyesight has never been sharper. How did that happen? No idea. Oh yeah! I can also run across town without my heart bursting out of my chest. I couldn't run more than a few blocks before without puking. I was never much of a runner, but now I can't get enough. That kind of improvement can't happen in one day!"

"None of these things sound the least bit dangerous, and truthfully, they sound good!" she chuckled.

"Do you not recall the little wrestling match we had in this very room?" he reminded her incredulously.

"Which I won!" she protested.

"With my help!" he rejoined.

Anna sat facing him, her eyes searching his face for something. Finally, she seemed to come to a decision. "I'm not ready to be alone," she said quietly.

"What?" John froze, thrown by what she'd said.

"I lost my husband too soon. We had no children. You know I'm pretty self-sufficient, but I've realized in the four years you've been my tenant that I need companionship. Please don't be offended, but I've come to think of you as the son Ron and I could have had. I know you'll leave one day. You'll meet someone and start a family of your own. I know it's terribly selfish of me to say this but... until that time, until there's a real reason to compel you to leave, could you please stay?" Her voice was almost a whisper when she finished.

John reached out and took her hands in his. He knew how hard it must have been for her to say that. She looked up hopefully. He just smiled at her as he couldn't trust himself to speak. He was touched beyond words, and he didn't know how to deal with the emotions he was experiencing.

It took a moment, but he got himself under control. "I don't have many good examples in my life, but I know you would have been an awesome mother," he said with a smile. "I'll stay, but you have to promise me that I have to go at the first sign I've become dangerous to anyone. I'd never forgive myself if I hurt you."

She nodded, tears in her eyes, and stood up with her arms open for a hug. He stood up and walked into her embrace. He'd never had a mom who hugged him, and he really liked it. It felt... like home.

Chapter 7

The next few mornings, Mr. Sass was in front of the shop but never stuck around for more than a friendly hello. John tried to catch him at the end of each day to find out if something was wrong, but the old man proved to be as elusive as ever. It left John with the feeling that he'd somehow wronged the man, but he couldn't figure out what he'd done for the life of him.

Avoiding his other passenger, he poured himself into his work and managed to broker a very sweet deal for three rare cookbooks for one of their better customers and an Egyptian scroll for a new customer in Seattle. The scroll was a bit out of the normal realm of their business, but Deron was very pleased with the commission John brought in, and the customer promised more business.

Satomi stayed away from John, and he only caught her watching him once or twice before she'd dart away. He would have to talk with her at some point, but he didn't feel up to it just yet.

Melanie started dropping by his desk more frequently. It was a definite role reversal, and she was well aware of it. She wasn't pleased that she was no longer the focus of his attention and wasn't sure why that bothered her. John was friendly and polite, which was more than she'd been. However, she could tell he wouldn't regress to his previous behavior of not-so-secret adoration. If she wanted his attention, she would have to earn it. Mel really didn't understand why she couldn't just let it go.

For his part, John was seeing the world from a new perspective. Perhaps it was due to his near-death experience, but the little things didn't seem to bother him anymore. His self-confidence got a boost, which helped develop his negotiation skills in his job. He seemed to be able to sense when a seller was reaching his actual bottom limit. He read their voices to know when to stop and never took them completely down to the minimum as that would put him at risk of souring future transactions. In the process, he got better prices for their customers. He threw himself into his work to take his mind off the changes he experienced.

He ran home every night. He'd never really been heavy. Soft was a better term to describe his previous condition. Now, his muscles were gaining definition and hardening. He'd started doing upper body workouts, too, and was surprised at how quickly he lost the softness. He didn't bulk up much, but he was beginning to get that ripped look. He just had so much extra energy these days.

Anna insisted he start taking yoga with her at night and was delighted that he took to it so readily. The biggest satisfaction was how tranquil his mind felt after a good session. During those moments of mind and body unity, he began to come to terms with the wolf inside. There was a mutual circling at first, each unsure of the other. In those initial days after he first discovered the beast, the wolf had been in a rage, lashing out. It seemed terribly agitated, but day after day of the stress management yoga, John felt that the wolf was getting as much out of the sessions as he was. It also LOVED to run!

What John was most grateful for was being able to describe this to Anna and not be judged. She was delighted that her yoga treatments were having such a beneficial impact. She was a little disappointed she couldn't speak with the wolf inside him. However, she let John know that this was proof to support her convictions of spiritual connectivity and said his pragmatism would have to take its licks this time. He had to gracefully accept this evidence but insisted this wasn't proof for the other odd phenomenon she'd mentioned over the years. That earned him a grin.

They ate their meals together when neither worked a late shift. They shared their news of the day, and home life was good. Anna relaxed about John's threat of departing, and John grew more comfortable that he wasn't as dangerous as he'd first thought. He started to appreciate the benefits the wolf appeared to be having on his life. That appreciation seemed to get through to the beast as it became comfortable with him.

John noticed the wolf was becoming edgier as the days went by. Not angry, not violent, just... restless. John's running seemed to help, but the wolf always seemed to want more. He wished he could speak with it, but that level of communication seemed beyond its ability.

The next morning, when John walked in the shop door, Deron let him know he had a special request in his inbox from a new buyer. It was a referral from the buyer who bought the Egyptian scroll. He was all grins, and John walked to his desk. He opened his terminal and read the request. It seemed straightforward enough, and the budget for this particular item was really high. He'd never brokered a deal for something this expensive. The commission for the store was going to be sweet indeed. No wonder Deron had such a big grin and was practically drooling.

Before he started, he suddenly craved a sweet coffee from across the street, so he put his jacket back on and strolled past the cashier's desk.

"What? You already fulfilled the request?" Deron sputtered.

"Nah, I'm not feeling it today. I think I'll just call it a day," he said casually, glancing over at Deron. The man's eyes widened, and he started to build up a head of steam before John's wide grin let him know he was just teasing him. "Oh, you nasty man!"

John laughed and offered to pick him up something from the coffee shop, but Deron refused to be bribed. He said he would have his revenge and grinned maniacally.

Once John returned with his coffee, he settled in and began his research. This time it was a small tablet from Ethiopia. He reached out to a few of his more obscure connections and asked them to connect to their contacts. He delved into every public online resource he could access for hints regarding the item and found very little information. He still had a private access account to the university he attended in Boston, and through that, he was able to connect to a few professors who had knowledge of these kinds of antiquities. By the end of the day, he'd picked a few brains, generated a few new requests for the shop at discount prices as favors to the professors, and had what he felt were very promising leads to follow up on tomorrow.

As he left, Deron was eyeing him with suspicion. "Well?"

John smiled. "I made good progress and sent an update to the buyer that I'll have news in the next day or so."

"That's wonderful! Who knew you'd be so versatile? Books, scrolls, tablets, the next item will be the Ark of the Covenant!" he playfully gasped at John.

"You want that? Cuz, I know a guy...." John replied with a wink. He threw a salute to his boss and stepped out into the night. Hoisting his small backpack onto his shoulders, he snugged down the straps and began to jog down the street. He noticed the night seemed brighter, and as he passed the intersection, he looked up and saw the moon glowing intensely. It was a perfect disc of silver, lighting the land around him. It drew his eyes, and he felt the soothing silver light expanding into every corner of his mind.

-=-

The trees swayed in the breeze, and city lights glittered in the far distance. His nose picked up the cool, wet scents of life and decay in the forest around him and a... metallic tang he couldn't place. His breathing came in deep gulps, and he realized his backpack straps were cutting into his shoulders and chest. He shook his head to clear the slight daze as he loosened the straps. It became easier to breathe, and he looked around.

"What the hell..." he sighed quietly, blinking in confusion.

He had no idea how he'd gotten so far into the forest, and he wasn't sure how to get back. He pulled his phone out and saw he was barely getting a signal. Then he noticed the time. Two AM. He'd left work at nine.

"WHAT. THE. HELL?" he growled.

He carefully felt for the wolf, and it was resting. For once, fully satisfied after a run. John looked at his shoes, and they were a mess. Torn uppers, lace eyelets ripped, and the bottom rubber layer of the sole of one shoe was peeled back halfway. His running shorts looked torn as well, like he'd been charging through the brush. That's when he noticed the entrails of a rabbit near his feet. He touched his mouth and felt the fur stuck to his bloody face. The metallic tang. Blood.

"Fuck me, I ate a rabbit!" he cursed quietly in shock. He glared inwardly, but the wolf was satisfied, and he felt its pleasure.

The cell signal was so weak he couldn't get a map application to work, so he put his phone away and looked around. From his vantage point at the top of the clearing, he saw a slight glow far below. He set his direction and started walking. Forty-five minutes later, he stepped out of the forest onto the side of a two-lane highway. The glow he'd seen was a gas station, but it was closed at this time of night. He saw a garden hose on the side of the building, and having no other recourse, he used that to wash his face and hands. The gore was pretty sticky, and he had nothing to scrub with, so it took quite some time to clean his face. He was looking down at the mess on his jacket and shirt when a police cruiser swung into the parking lot and pointed its headlights at him. Immediately the two officers stepped out and addressed him.

"FREEZE!" yelled the cop on the passenger side.

"Sir, please turn and put your hands against the wall," the one on the driver's side said.

"What?" John exclaimed, confused.

"Put your hands on the wall!" Angry Cop yelled.

John did as he was told, and soon he felt big hands patting him down. They took his backpack and searched it. Angry Cop got the wallet.

"John Doe? You got something to hide, Mr. John Doe? Something in your history you don't want people to know?" he growled.

"Sorry, should I answer, or was that rhetorical?" he asked calmly.

Before Angry Cop could pop his lid, Quiet Cop spoke up. "You can answer the questions."

"Yes, it's my legal name. No, I didn't change it. It was the name they registered for me at the orphanage." He rolled out his usual answer. "I'm not hiding anything."

"What's all that blood on your shirt, then?" Angry Cop burst in again.

"I was running in the woods. I got hungry. I managed to catch a rabbit... and I ate it," he replied. Would the truth set him free?

"Raw?" Angry Cop blurted belligerently.

"Raw. More nutritious that way, so I'm told," he said matter-of-factly.

"You normally go running at three in the morning?" Quiet Cop asked.

"No, I left work at nine and started running. I must have gotten into the zone. Kind of like a runner's trance. The miles just disappear when that happens," John explained. He was making this shit up as he went, so he really hoped the cops were buying it.

"And where do you work?" Quiet Cop asked.

"Century Traveler. It's a bookstore on the northern edge of downtown Portland," he answered.

"Are you trying to tell us you ran from downtown Portland to Castle Rock in five and a half hours? That's bullshit!" Angry Cop growled.

"Castle Rock?!? Crap! I had no idea," he replied, shaken that he was so far from home. Stupid wolf!

"I think we're going to have to ask you to accompany us back to the station," Quiet Cop said.