The Participants (15 page)

“Who are you?”

“My driver’s license says Jerome
Whittaker.”

Hess narrowed his eyes. “Who are you?”

“I'm the twelfth Observer, Hess. The rest of
you took the name of the identity you wore when you first met
another, so I guess that makes me Jerome.”

Hess glanced down to Elza. Her wounds were
closing quickly. All about them, Creation continued to scream its
two-toned swan note, rumbling and screeching as if it were tearing
itself apart. “I don't believe you. How could an Observer hide from
us all this time?”

“Because my job is to prevent situations
like the one you had last Iteration. I get the executive summary of
your lives planted in my head every Iteration. I know the twists
and turns of every Observer's long life. I know where each one of
you is inserted at the moment of Creation. Avoiding your attention
is easy. I stay hidden because mingling doesn’t serve my
purpose.”

Hess hesitated, then lowered the gun. “What
happens if we stay here?”

“The twelve of us are pieces of the Creator.
The Creator cannot awaken and draw back Its essence from creation
without all of us. I imagine the world would continue to turn so
long as one of us remains in it.”

Elza pushed to her feet. “We can't stay
here, Hess.”

“It's my fault he ended the world.”

“You hate all the worlds, Hess.”

“But
they
don't. They screw up everything
again and again because they are stupid and selfish, but they love
their lives, Elza.”

She turned to the twelfth Observer. “Does
this noise ever stop?”

“I don't know,” Jerome said. He pointed at
Hess. “But he might.”

“Hess? How would Hess know?”

Jerome smiled. “You never told her,
Hess?”

“Told me what?”

“That he stayed behind on that first world,”
Jerome said.

Elza met his eyes. “You went back to the
tent.”

“I had to. We left things unsaid.”

Jerome spread his hands. “And does the sound
ever stop? I only get a summary, Hess, not the actual
memories.”

“It ends after five minutes or so,” Hess
said.

“Then I wish the two of you the best.”
Jerome vanished.

All around them, the horrible sound reached
a crescendo and ceased. “I like him,” Elza said.

Hess took her hands in his. “Elza, I am so,
so, so sorry for turning them against you. I never meant for you to
be hurt.”

She placed a finger over
his lips. “I will face imprisonment a hundred times, Hess, but you
can
never forget me
.”

“Never. I swear.”

Elza looked around the empty farm. “So what
are we going to do with this world? There's no one around to stop
us from any insanity you can conceive.”

“This might sound crazy, but I just want to
watch them.”

“Before we get to that, I have a stolen car
with my prints all over it.”

Hess held her handgun out to her. “How does
this sound for a plan? Find a key for these handcuffs. Meanwhile I
berate you for carrying a revolver instead of something with a
clip. Then we wipe the car for prints and abandon it in a bad
neighborhood with the doors unlocked.”

“You know that clips jam.” Elza pulled a
universal handcuff key out of her pocket and released him as she
talked. “Usually at the worst possible moment.”

“That happened once in a hundred and
forty-four Iterations.”

“It happened the first time I needed to
shoot someone,” Elza said. “And it wasn’t my fault I had to charge
into a gunfight today. So drop the issue. We need to take care of
some things and then I want to eat real food. I’ve been eating out
of vending machines for days now.”

Hess looked in the direction the others had
carried Lacey's body. “We're not doing any good here.” As they
walked towards the car, Hess placed an arm around her shoulder.
“Considering Jerome’s revelation, I think it's time to tell you
something.”

“Let me guess.” Elza waved at her figure.
“This body is your favorite.”

He nodded.
“
I was going to say that. But I want you
to know
why
this
time.”

“Because it's flexible?”

“Because this body is the one that’s with
me.”

Elza raised up on her toes
to place a soft kiss on his lips. “Are you sure that's the only
reason? I know you are partial to curves, but this body is
flexible
.”

“How flexible?”

She flashed a smile. “I'll
show you l
ater, Hess. We have to dump a
stolen car and get some food and maybe a drink or two or
ten.”

Hess snapped his fingers.
“
I know just the place to eat. The Penn
Brewery is just half an hour away. Their food is supposed to be
good and I know their beer is amazing.”

“Is that a microbrewery? You're a beer snob,
aren't you? It's Iteration twenty-six all over again.”

You have reached the end of The Participants. Part II
of the Participants trilogy, Agents of the Demiurge, is available
for purchase at all major online retailers. If you enjoyed this
book, please consider leaving a review at your favorite online
retailer. Thanks for reading.

Brian Blose is
an Army Veteran, husband, father, software developer, and writer.
He has a Bachelor’s in Computer Science and an MBA. In his spare
time, he pursues interests such as rock climbing, skiing, kayaking,
ethnic cuisine, and reading. He likes flawed characters, unreliable
narration, and moral ambiguity.

Visit his author website at
www.brianblose.com
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