Chapter 22


    The 5th Dimension''s, ''Up, Up and Away'', rang out triumphantly throughout the glorious, blue sky as


    Isaac sat calmly in the Indian style upon a huge rock.


    Surrounding the rock were ten children of varying races, all seated Indian style as well. The little girls


    were wearing pink dresses while the boys were adorned in ck and white tuxedos.Isaac was wearing


    a ck and white tuxedo himself, the same one that Lynn noticed in the window at ncy''s.


    Upon his face, in the warm mountaintop, Isaac wore a peaceful smile, one that perhaps he wore long


    before he and Lyte ever had a falling out. A serene smile that he took with him everywhere before


    ever meeting Karyn.


    All ten children that sat below Isaac were all holding hands while rocking back and forth to the


    melodious tune that just would not stop ying.


    For Isaac, it was a song that he hadn''t heard since his youth, and yet adored with all his heart.The


    young man sat with his hands folded as his normal looking eyes took in all the spacious and wondrous


    surroundings that were the mountains; mountains that he had never once visited in his entire life.The


    man pondered on and on until he heard the soft pattering''s of what resembled feet creep up behind him


    on the rock he was sitting on. Isaac subtly turned around to see a ragged looking German Shepherd


    trot up beside him.


    The animal stood for a moment before turning to Isaac and saying in a male''s human voice, "I see you


    made it this far."


    Unfazed by the uncanny creature, Isaac, with his head still pointed at the beauteous mountains ahead


    of him simply replied, "I guess so."


    "I can''t say that I''m surprised, you were always a trooper. Your mother even knew that."


    Smiling ever greater, Isaac said, "Yeah...I remember her saying that, too."


    The dog looked down at the children below before turning back to Isaac. "How long do you think it''ll be


    before you fucking die?"


    Still smiling, Isaac dropped his head and exhaled, "Oh, I don''t know. I figure I have at least another


    week or so. How long do you think I have?"


    The dog began to pant before saying, "It is unknown, my friend."


    Isaac wrapped his left arm around the dog''s body and patted it on the side while humming the song


    that he loved ever so much.


    The two enjoyed each other''spany for as long as the intruder that was creeping up behind them


    both would allow. It was the naked phantom, and unbeknownst to both Isaac and his canine


    companion, its ghastly presence was lurking closer than expected.


    "Don''t look at him, Isaac." The dog warned.


    But all the animal''s warning seem to do was incite curiosity inside the young man. Without thinking,


    Isaac gradually turned to see the phantom''s face, a face that he had never managed to see in times


    past.The man had red eyes and fangs that were drooling blood all over the rock that it had ascended.


    Isaac looked over to see the dog gone. He then nced back to see the phantom''s hands.


    With the same hands, the phantom grabbed Isaac by the throat and proceeded to strangle the life out


    of him.Isaac tried with all his might to pull away from the thering demon, but no matter how hard he


    tried, the phantom was entirely too strong to withstand.


    Suddenly, and without warning, both the music and children all vanished. With every passing second,


    Isaac was finding it more difficult to grasp even a single breath.


    "I don''t know where Isaac is!" Isaac unexpectedly heard Lyte''s hysterical voice scream out loud.In


    fact, the sound of her voice was so clear and audible that it sounded as if she were right behind him, or


    at least very near.


    Isaac shut his eyes and re-opened them to see nothing but total darkness all around him. Gasping and


    spitting for air, the man looked up to see the phantom pull away and sink into the wall behind it until it


    vanished awaypletely.


    Isaac couldn''t tell if he was asleep or even alive at that point, all he wanted was to breathe again.


    Hearing Lyte and Isaiah scream and cry caused Isaac to fight even harder to regain his breath.


    Unexpectedly, he decided to hurl himself off of the soft foundation that he found himself lying on. Once


    his body connected with something hard, Lynn''s screaming ceased, and a series of footsteps slowly


    began to creep towards his direction.


    Isaac wallowed about on the ground like a wounded animal, unable to even let out a simple grunt, let


    alone a word. He coughed and panted while listening to his helpless son cry out for his mother to


    return.


    Isaac heard what sounded like something twisting. He held his fleeting breath and waited until the


    sound ended. Like an explosion, stinging light from an opened door sted into his eyes. Isaac


    covered his face for a second or two before removing his hand to see Lynn standing at a doorway with


    a baseball bat in hand.


    "Who the fuck is in here," she shouted out.


    Without hesitation, Isaac opened his mouth and muttered, "It''s me, Lynn. It''s me."


    Lyte cut on a light. Isaac covered his face all over again and only removed two fingers to see that


    he was inside the warm confines of Lynn''s bedroom. He himself waspletely naked.


    "Isaac!" Lynn hollered wildly as she dropped her bat to the floor and ran to Isaac''s aid.


    Feeling as though his arms weighed fifty pounds each, Isaac lifted his right hand to touch not only


    Lynn''s hair that was wrapped in pink curlers, but also his own sore jaw.


    Weeping uncontrobly, Lynn screamed, "Isaac, did you just get here?"


    Too stunned and disoriented to reply, Isaac rubbed his mouth and nose and listened as his stomach


    rumbled and churned. "I...don''t know." He pitifully wept, sounding as if his mouth was full of cotton.


    Coddling the man in her shaking arms, Lynn wiped her face and asked, "Isaac, where were youst


    night? The news said that you were kidnapped by that guy!"


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    "I don''t...remember." He mumbled, holding his throbbing jaw. "I don''t remember anything."


    "How did you get here?" She tossed up her hands. "I was just in here ten minutes ago! How did you


    escape?"


    Without answering another question, Isaac slowly got up from off the floor and staggered his way out of


    the bedroom and towards the bathroom.


    Lyte followed and watched as he bounced spaghetti-legged from one end of the hallway to the


    other like a pinball, until he found himself face to face with the toilet. Isaac lifted the lid, knelt down and


    vomited.


    "Do we still got any of that Ben-Gay?" Isaac sobbed, wiping excess waste away from his mouth and


    chin.


    Lyte opened the medicine cab next to her and took out a half empty container of Ben-Gay


    before handing it to Isaac.


    Isaac immediately snatched the cream away from her hand and squeezed out the remainder. He


    lathered his entire sore face with what was left inside.


    "This is it?" Isaac raged before tossing the empty container to the floor.


    Shaking, Lyte wept, "You used the rest of it back in November after...after thest time."


    "Then fuckin'' get me some more!" Isaac yelled into her face.


    Terrified, Lyte stumbled backwards into the sink, holding her hands up in defense. Just seeing the


    fear in her eyes, Isaac quickly reimed what was left of his senses and lurched towards her.


    "I''m sorry...I''m just in so much pain right now." He shivered while crying. "I don''t know what happened.


    It''s like every bone in my body is...broken. I need help!"


    As though she had a choice in the matter, Lyte took Isaac into her bosom and cradled his frail


    body.


    "I don''t know how to help you, Isaac. You have to tell me what happened so I can help you." She


    nervously muttered into his ear.


    "I can''t remember a damn thing." Isaac held on tight to Lyte''s arms. "One moment I was driving,


    and then...everything went ck. I need more Ben-Gay, and some Anacin, too."


    "Well c''mon and lie down for awhile." Lyte said as she aided Isaac out of the bathroom and back to


    the bedroom where she gentlyid him down onto the bed. The very moment Isaac''s head hit the


    pillow, four knocks at the front door erupted throughout the small house.


    "Who''s that?" Isaac looked up.


    "I don''t know." Lyte answered. "Just lie down and I''ll go see."


    Isaacy helplessly and watched as Lyte left the room to go and attend to the door. He listened as


    what sounded like two men entered and conversed back and forth.In Isaac''s ears, the discussion from


    Lynn''s point of view sounded tense and jittery. He could tell that she was searching for words to say to


    the men, words that she had no business trying to conjure on her own.


    With about as much energy as he could assemble, Isaac climbed out of the bed before taking the bed


    sheet and wrapping it around his naked body. From there, he hobbled his way out of the bedroom and


    into the living room to find Bruin and Fitzpatrick and Lyte, with Isaiah in her arms, all standing by


    the door.


    "Here I am, officers." Isaac miserably mumbled as he leaned his sore body up against the wall.


    With their jaws practically hanging to the floor, both Linus and n stared at Isaac as though they were


    viewing a miracle right before their stunned eyes.


    "Isaac...Isaac Mercer?" Linus'' tongue fumbled.


    "That''s me, sir." Isaac replied with his head shamefully hung low.


    "Uh...Mr. Mercer, first off, are you alright?"


    "Yeah, I just feel real tired." Isaac exhaled.


    "We received a report early this morning that you were seen at Scats diner in Cuyahoga Falls."


    Isaac looked up to see Lyte''s eyes connect with his in a manner that suggested she was as lost as


    the detectives.


    "Yes, um, the waitress there said that you seemed to be having car trouble and that you hitched a ride


    with one, Leroy Cummins." Linus exined. "Mr. Mercer, Leroy Cummins was the B.O.D. kidnapper.


    He was found murdered this morning inside his home."


    At once, Lyte crumbled to the floor in tears, nearly dropping the baby along the way. Fitzpatrick


    attempted to help her back up, but Lyte only shoved his hand away while remaining on the floor.


    "We went over to your father''s house. He told us toe here and see if you had shown up."


    Fitzpatrick rified.


    "What about my dad''s car?"


    "Our people are having it towed back to Cypress as we speak." Linus stated. "Mr. Mercer, we''d love to


    know just how you were able to escape Cummins'' house. And how were you able to get back home?"


    Wanting to break down and cry himself, Isaac said, "I don''t remember. When I woke up a few minutes


    ago, I was in the bed. Everything else is a blur."


    Isaac observed as the detectives handed each other skeptical nces. The young man held on to the


    wall that he was seemingly attached to with all his might.Isaac then noticed Detective Bruin gawking at


    him from top to bottom as if he were studying a clue.


    "Mr. Mercer, how tall are you?"


    Rolling his eyes, Isaac responded, "Man, I don''t know, six one or two I guess. Why?"


    "Just procedure, sir," Linus inly replied.


    "Are you sure you''re okay?" Fitzpatrick pressed on. "Do you require medical assistance of any kind?"


    "No...I''m fine." Isaac sighed. "I just need to rest."


    The detectives gave each other one more quick stare before heading out the door. "If it''s not too much


    to ask, Mr. Mercer, we would like for you toe down to the station and provide us with a full


    statement. Whenever you''re up to it, that is." Linus said. "Good evening."


    Once the door was pulled shut, Lyte gathered herself and gingerly got up from off the floor. From


    there, sheid Isaiah down onto the couch before boldly approaching Isaac.


    "Lynn, I really need some more Ben-Gay for my mouth and—


    "Stop, Isaac!" She powerfullymanded, cing her right hand in the air and nearly pressing it


    against his face. "Something isn''t adding up. Both the news and those cops said that kidnapper was


    found in Cuyahoga Falls. Isaac, Cuyahoga Falls is an hour from here. What, you couldn''t find a job


    here in Cypress? What were you doing all the way out there?"


    Inside his brain, Isaac searched and plotted, but he couldn''t find the words he needed to exin all that


    was taking ce fast enough. Most of what had urred the day before, much like in past instances


    was a dark haze. He was aware that the small fragments of what he could recall would only get him


    into even more trouble. He stood there, slumped against the cold wall, waiting for Lyte to abandon


    her attack and walk away.


    With a shaking body and red eyes, Lyte hollered, "I''m waiting, Isaac!"


    "I ...gotta go throw up again." Isaac slurred before dragging his heavy body back into the bathroom and


    heaving into the toilet.


    From the bathroom, Isaac could hear Lyte mming cab doors and dishes from the kitchen as


    though she were rearranging the room.


    Once he was through vomiting, Isaac flushed the toilet and stumbled his way over to the medicine


    cab mirror.He had seen his face in the deformed manner in which it was at that moment once


    before.


    He knew that it had happened all over again, just like Karyn said that it would, except, it hurt a lot more


    at that instant than it did back in November. It was hard for him to make a simple fist, let alone lift his


    arms that felt as if they were on fire. It felt as if his bones wanted to explode into dust at any moment.


    In his ears, the blood curdling shrieks and screams of children yed over and over again loud enough


    to where he thought they were inside the bathroom along with him.Isaac shut his eyes and listened to


    his rumbling stomach gurgle like a boiling cauldron. He truly didn''t remember what had taken ce


    after epting the ride from the so called kind stranger, but unlike the urrence three months earlier,


    the physical pain that he was swimming in had taken a backseat.


    Inside of him was growing an unrelenting sense of sorrow the likes he had never experienced before in


    his life. It overwhelmed him to the point where tears just suddenly began to fall from his bloodshot


    eyes. He was no longer weeping for himself.


    Isaac slowly opened his eyes and turned around only to see the entire bathroom floor flooded from one


    corner to the other in nothing but blood.Like a cat, the man jumped backwards into the mirror, nearly


    cracking it in half. His startled face grew a tone lighter. He had hoped that what he was seeing was a


    mere illusion, something that his inner self craved.


    "Here''s the Anacin." Lyte sharply announced as she entered the bathroom with a half full bottle of


    aspirin in hand.


    Isaac watched her face that didn''t appear startled. He looked back down at the floor to see the blood all


    but gone. At once, he breathed a sigh of relief, a relief thatsted only seconds.


    Gazing strangely at him, Lyte asked, "What are you doing?"


    Isaac uncoiled himself and said, "Nothing...I just thought I saw something on the floor."


    Lyte mmed the bottle down onto the sink before moving closer to Isaac. There was a vignt


    appearance festering on her face. Isaac could tell that she was still scared, but curious all at once.


    "Isaac," she gritted her teeth, "what were you doing in Cuyahoga Falls?"


    With his private parts dangling beneath him, Isaac stepped forward and answered, "Lynn... I had to go


    out there and see something with my own eyes."


    "What?" She tossed up her arms.


    "It''s hard to exin, but—


    "Don''t talk to me like I''m some damn child that can''t understand anything, Isaac!" She screamed out


    loud. "I wanna know now!"


    Isaac deeply exhaled before saying, "I got lost. I just got lost, and then the car broke down."


    "You got lost between Cypress and Cuyahoga Falls?" Lyte suspiciously shrugged.


    "Some of the roads were still covered over." Isaac quivered. "I missed one exit and ended up at


    another. Before I knew it, I was at some diner. I had no idea I was even in another city."


    Isaac watched as Lyte zed over his face with a mysterious frown before she turned her head to


    the sink and asked, "Okay, so how did you get away from that guy? Isaac, he could have killed you.


    How did you get home? Before I found you in there, I was in the bedroom just ten minutes earlier, and I


    never once heard youe in. What, did you just magically appear out of thin air?"


    Being bombarded with one blistering question after another only caused Isaac''s heart to race even


    faster than before. He hated to lie to Lyte, but lies were the only thing that he could dole out


    without hurting her even further.


    "Lynn, you gotta understand, these past few days have been real crazy for me." He stuttered.


    "Crazy for you," Lyte yelled into his face. "Isaac, I''ve been here crying my eyes out all night and


    day wondering where you were! I had to miss my writing ss this morning because of you! Isaac, if I


    miss another ss then I''ll get expelled! On top of all that, your son has a cold, and you just show up


    out of the fucking blue, butt ass naked, and can''t remember anything! Look at your face, your legs! I


    hardly even recognize you! Are you gonna go through that same shit that you put everyone through


    back in November, Isaac?"


    Out of fear, Isaac cringed in the corner behind him, too afraid to even look the young woman in the eye.


    "I don''t know what you want from me, Isaac." She sobbed. "I''m almost out of tears, and I can''t take this


    anymore. I can''t even stand to look at you anymore. That''s how much all of this hurts."


    Isaac stood and reluctantly listened to each and every word. It was all he could do. Lyte''s words of


    pain were all he had left to hang on to.


    "I know you''re hiding something from me. Do you have a disease? Is that why your face looks the way


    it does? Is that why you''re in so much pain? Did you catch something from someone? Are you on some


    of Larry and Marvell''s drugs? I need you to talk to me, Isaac!"


    Feeling the dire need to escape, Isaac pulled himself away from his safe corner before barging his way


    past Lyte and out of the bathroom altogether.


    "Where are you going?" she questioned, following Isaac to the bedroom.


    "I''m going out to the shed for the night." Isaac nonchntly replied while searching for clothes inside


    the cabs.


    "The shed," she turned up her face. "What the fuck for?"


    As though he were in a rush, Isaac anxiously slipped on an undershirt, a blue sweater and a pair of


    blue jeans before saying, "I gotta be to myself for the night. I''lle back inside in the morning." He


    then put on a pair of socks and tennis shoes.


    "What good is sleeping in the shed gonna do? It''s five degrees out there!"


    "I know," Isaac huffed, standing up from off the bed, "but I need to be out there, just for the night. I can''t


    be in here...not tonight."


    Isaac looked on as Lyte feebly dropped herself down onto the bed and allowed her bottom lip to


    hang downwards. Suddenly, much like himself, she had lost her original appearance.


    "Don''te out there tonight, Lynn. I mean it." Isaac firmly warned before kissing her on the forehead


    and walking out of the bedroom.


    He ventured into the living room to gather his coat. As he was slipping his coat on, he happened to look


    back at Isaiah who was steadily snoring away on the couch. There was absolutely nothing in the world


    at that moment that could keep him inside the house a second more.


    He unlocked the front door, and like a rushing wind, he raced out and around to the dark backyard


    where the tiny toolshed was located, just ten yards away from the house. He opened the shed''s door


    and stepped in only to trip upon an empty gasoline canister and awnmower.


    He closed the door and sat himself down on the hard, ice cold cement floor. Even with the door shut,


    the brutal wind still managed to seep its way through just about every crack and crevice that it could


    find. Isaac reached into his right pocket and snatched out a cigarette and his lighter.


    Concealing the me from the wind, he lit the tip and quickly inhaled the intoxicating smoke that he so


    richly savored. The nicotine provided an almost orgasmic, if not temporary,fort from both the cold


    and his aching body.


    The young man sat in the small space that he had carved out for himself shivering and watching


    through a tiny crack in the door the kitchen light that Lyte had left on. He hoped that she wouldn''t


    turn it off.


    His bright eyes shined away in the absolute ckness that he found himself in. Isaac knew what was


    inside of him, even though he would never be able to sessfully exin it to anyone else. For the


    time being, the shed was the safest ce on earth for him to be...away from people.