SIGHT

Chapter 17 of Senses

When he regained consciousness, the first thing Jim noticed was pain in his right side. He felt his side to make certain that nothing was broken, then he opened his eyes. The only lighting in the room came from the door to A.J.'s gym, which had been torn off the hinges.

Jim sat up and checked his right side for bruises. None had formed yet, so he knew he had not been unconscious for long. Then he remembered hitting his head. He looked up at the light fixture and saw that it was broken, and felt the top of his head. There was some bleeding, but not enough to worry about.

It took Jim two attempts to stand because of the canvass floor. Once he was up he walked to the door of the gym and looked out, expecting to find A.J. waiting with an explanation. What he found instead was a disaster.

The interior of A.J.'s house was in ruins. A piano was on its side, an aquarium full of exotic fish had been shattered, and most of the furniture had been damaged. A.J.'s computer had been completely destroyed. The front window had been smashed, and Jim could see that the gate to A.J.'s driveway was bent open.

Jim went to A.J.'s bathroom and retrieved some aspirin for the pain in his side, then went to find A.J.'s phone among the mess. After a five minute search he did find it, but only because it rang.

Jim picked up the phone. "A.J.?" he asked.

"Not even close," came the response.

"Carrie?" Jim asked.

"That's right Jim," Carrie responded. "I assume that A.J.'s not there."

"Good assumption. I wish he was though. The place looks like a tornado hit it."

There was a silence and Jim realized that he had said a few words too many.

"Anything stolen?" Carrie asked.

Jim thought furiously for a moment about what story to tell. "Doesn't look like it," he finally said, "but the place has been ransacked."

"Have you called the police?"

"Not yet. I just discovered this a few minutes ago."

"All right then, I'm on my way over." Carrie had hung up the phone before Jim could respond.

"Shit!" Jim yelled, dialing Karen's office. When Karen answered her phone Jim said, "We've got a problem."

"What's up?" Karen asked.

"I'm at A.J.'s."

"He's back?"

"Yeah. Problem is, we just tried an experiment based on his latest findings and I think he freaked out. He knocked me out and appears to have ransacked the place."

"Shit! You okay? Any sign of A.J.?"

"I'm fine, and none. I've also got no idea how long I was out although it couldn't have been long. How fast can you get here?"

"About twenty minutes."

"Try for faster. We've got to find him."

"On my way." Karen hung up the phone.

Jim walked out the front door of A.J.'s home, and walked to the gate before the house. The gate opened, although it complained due the damage it had suffered. The sight on the street beyond the gate amazed Jim.

Of the seven parked cars on the street, five were dented in some fashion. Several trees had broken limbs, and there were two houses with broken front windows. A stop sign at the end of the block had been ripped from the ground and was lying in the street.

As Jim surveyed the damage he could hear a police siren in the distance. The siren got progressively louder, so Jim sat down and decided to await the arrival of the police. When the squad car rounded the corner to A.J.'s street, it slowed as the occupants of the car surveyed the damage. Someone in the car spotted Jim, and the car sped up to reach him.

As two officers and a third man got out of the car, another police car rounded the far corner. While the uniformed men looked at the neighborhood in wonder, the third man approached and said, "You're Jim Christopher, correct?"

Jim looked up. "Yes," he replied.

"I'm Lieutenant Tate, Los Angeles Police Department. Would you come with me please?"

Jim shook his head. "I'm waiting for my brother to come home. His house has been pretty badly damaged by whatever did this."

"It is your brother we need to discuss. Right now we've got him cornered in a supermarket near Sunset and Pacific Coast Highway. The damage he's causing is amazing."

Jim stood. "Fuck! Is anybody hurt?"

"Not so far, but there are people trapped inside. Your brother is an imposing man, after all, and those people trapped are a bit frightened."

"Can't blame them."

"So what we've got here is a man bigger than Kareem Abdul-Jabbar stark raving mad loose in there."

"Mad?"

"The only talking he's done is complete gibberish. We've tried talking to him and he just growls. I'd like you to try."

"Jesus! Get me there."

"Hop in the car, Mr. Christopher."

The parking lot of the supermarket was covered with police cars. A line of policemen were arranged behind the cars, with rifles trained on the front of the store. A special weapons and tactics team was preparing for an assault when Jim arrived. He and Lieutenant Tate ran to the officer coordinating the team.

"Jonas!" Tate yelled. "What the blue blazes is going on here?"

The officer turned to face the Lieutenant. "Tactical," he said. "We're going to take the suspect out."

"I left orders for no advancement!"

"We have a hostage situation here. For the safety of the innocents concerned, we're going to remove him while the hostages are disassociated from him."

"You're treating him like a goddamn television suspect," Jim said. "This isn't fucking Hill Street Blues. He doesn't even know those people are in there. My brother is a responsible man who's having problems..."

"Who's obviously on drugs, you mean."

"A.J. doesn't do drugs."

The officer shook his head. "You rock stars are so hypocritical, it sickens me. The suspect is obviously on PCP. He's exhibiting all the superhuman strength and agility traits of a large dose."

"How many seven and a half foot men have you dealt with before?" Jim asked. "He's ordinarily super strong and agile!"

There was a loud crash from the store. All three men turned and saw A.J. leap to the top of a shelf, eight feet off the ground.

"You were saying?" officer Jonas said.

"Look..." Tate began.

"You look, lieutenant! I am concerned about the hostages! We're taking him out."

Jim shook his head. "Fuck this," he said, and he ran towards a squad car. Changing gravity slightly, he vaulted over the car and ran towards the store. He ran at the front window and vaulted through, shattering the glass and crashing among the shards on the market floor.

Jim scrambled to his feet. As he looked around to get his bearings, he saw several shelves worth of items spilled on the floor. Although he could see no one, he knew there were several scared people hiding somewhere in the store, as well as his brother. He asked himself where he would hide in a supermarket, and headed for the produce section. Jim's first thought was for the people trapped by his brother's rampage; he wanted them out so he could handle A.J.

On his way to the market he came to the realization that A.J. had no control over himself. When he had redirected his thought processes something had been shut off or out, Jim reasoned. A.J.'s attacks would therefore be random at best, constant at worst. Jim might have to use his abilities to stop him, so he had to get the others out of the store.

Above everything else, Jim wanted no witnesses.

As Jim reached the produce section of the store he heard some scuffling sounds. He saw no one as he rounded the corner, so he called out, "Anyone there?"

There was no answer.

"I'm Jim Christopher," he called out. "I'm in here to help you."

There was still no answer.

"I need to get you out of the store, so I can handle my brother. If you stay in here you could get hurt."

There was still no response.

"Look," Jim said, "that crash you may have heard a moment ago was me breaking the front window to this place. It's maybe a hundred feet from where you are. Get that far and you're home free."

"Getting that far is the hard part," a voice called out. "And shut up! You're going to bring him over here!"

Jim pinpointed the source of the voice and walked towards it. He rounded a produce table and found five people hiding behind it.

"Five, huh?" Jim asked. "Look, I'm sorry you all got caught up in this, but my brother's not out to get anyone. He's flipped out, but he's not homicidal. Let me get you out of here and I'll handle him."

"How?" one woman asked. "That brother of yours is a monster!"

"True," Jim replied, "but he is my younger brother. I have over twenty years of experience in handling him. I can do it." Jim stood and held out his hand. "Please? I could get hurt doing this, but there's no reason for you to."

It took a moment, but the five of them stood and they all joined hands, led by Jim, to walk to the front window. The group got there without a problem, and three were outside of the store before A.J. rounded a corner and spotted everyone. A.J. growled.

Jim looked to the others and yelled "Run!" The others, needing no prompting, did so. Jim spun to face A.J. and ran at him. He lunged at A.J. and caught him mid-chest, knocking them both to the floor.

A.J. recovered quickly, scrambling to his feet. He flew at Jim as Jim stood up. A.J. grabbed Jim and both flew twenty feet, stopping when they hit a back wall. Jim hit his shoulder, A.J. his head. Jim stood, winded, and backed down the aisle as A.J. recovered.

A.J. looked around for a moment, confused. When he spotted Jim, he flew directly at him. Jim waited until A.J. was airborne, then rose into the air himself, back flipping into the next aisle. Jim heard A.J. try to change direction and crash into the shelves in the aisle he had just left.

Jim looked around, trying to figure out what to do next. He didn't get the time to figure out anything, as he became aware of the sound of metal bending. Jim looked around to find the source of the sound and realized that the shelving next to him was tilting towards him. He ran down the aisle as the shelving fell, and was forced to slide the last ten feet as space became too cramped.

As the shelves hit the next row of shelving in the store, a domino effect began. In a series of loud crashing sounds, every shelf in the store was knocked down, creating such a cloud of dust that no one could see in or out of the store. Jim, getting an idea, began scrambling over the fallen shelving.

A.J. made a lunge at Jim, who in turn ducked as A.J. flew past. The next time it happened, Jim had to jump, and again A.J missed. Then Jim found what he was after. He had to act fast, as the dust was starting to settle and he wouldn't be able to pull what he had in mind off.

Jim stood and faced A.J. "Hey," he shouted, "you big ox! Can't you do any better than that?"

A.J. faced his brother and growled.

"Come on you stupid son of a bitch! Take me out!"

A.J. flew at Jim. Jim waited until A.J. was only ten feet away, then threw the sack of flour he had found at A.J. It exploded upon hitting A.J.'s face. Jim jumped out of the way as A.J. crashed to the floor.

A.J. took a moment to stand again, during which time Jim jumped onto a light fixture above him. When A.J. stood, he tried to brush the flour off his face, unable to see.

Jim looked down at his brother and shook his head. "I'm sorry about this, Alec," he whispered. Jim dropped from the light fixture and hit the top of A.J.'s head. A.J. fell, out cold.

Jim looked at his brother, who was breathing shallow. "Get a doctor in here!" he screamed.

He cradled his brother in his arms. "You dumb son of a bitch," he said quietly. "You should have known better."

"Mr. Christopher, can you hear me?"

A.J. opened his eyes. He was in a hospital bed, strapped down. He looked around the room, seeing the doctor who had awakened him, a police officer, and Jim and Karen. He felt a pressure on his right shoulder and turned his head to see Carrie sitting to his right.

"I'm in a hospital bed under observation and arrest, correct?" he asked.

"Yes, Mr. Christopher," the doctor replied. "Are you aware of why?"

"I remember everything up to the point Jim hit me with the sack of flour. Good shot, Jim."

Jim smiled. "Thanks, A.J.," he said.

"Knocking me out as the best thing you could do. Otherwise,I was beyond control." He paused for a moment. "How bad a shape am I in?"

"Serious concussion, broken left shoulder, stone bruise on your left hip, some cuts and abrasions. You've been here two days now."

"Whew! That was some party. I'm in pretty deep shit, aren't I?"

"That's the truth," the officer in the room said. "I'll go get someone to read you your rights, and inform you of the charges."

"Thanks," A.J. replied. The officer left the room.

"Why did you do it?" the doctor asked. "Off the record. You weren't drunk or on any drugs, so why?"

A.J. stared at the doctor. "I haven't the slightest idea. It seemed the thing to do. Crazy, huh?"

The doctor shook his head. "I wouldn't say that Mr. Christopher, at least not yet."

A.J. smiled. "Covering your butt. Good man. I would though. It's almost like I was watching it, not doing it."

"May we have some privacy for a moment?" Jim asked. "Just the four of us?"

The doctor checked the straps that was holding A.J. down. "I suppose so," he finally said. "You're not going anywhere." With that the doctor left the room.

Jim looked at A.J. "All right, what happened?" he asked.

A.J. laughed. "A lack of biology," he said. "I never saw it that way before.

"Like I told you earlier," he continued, "that last experiment redirected formulae through the brain. The problem was that no matter how much preparation I did, and I did a lot, we don't know enough about the processes of the brain to know what is interactive or what is not.

"Karen, you were right about losing reasoning. Reason and emotion must be tied hand in hand. I redirected emotion and lost reason entirely."

"Not entirely," Karen returned. "You would have been unable to make a move with reasoning entirely gone. You just became a cave man."

A.J. sighed. "Yeah, I suppose. I destroyed my computer, didn't I?" he asked.

"Yes, you did," Jim said. "And you destroyed the files with the formulae you never told me."

"Fuck the files. Jim, I finally realize why you get so damned cautious. That's going to have to wait until we're ready."

"The genie's already out of the bottle," Jim noted.

"And Larry's got the key," A.J. shot back. "Can you think of a better gate keeper?"

Jim shook his head. "No, I can't. I'm sorry that further work is stymied, A.J."

"I know. I'll adjust. Any estimates on the damage I did?"

"A couple million. I don't know how to keep you out of jail on this one."

"Me neither. If I pay for everything I damaged plus 'pain and suffering' that will help. Between that and Paul I'll probably manage."

"What the hell is going on?" Carrie asked. "What's this about experiments?"

A.J. turned his head. "You don't know what's going on," he stated.

Karen suddenly turned to Jim, startled. "He's going to tell," she said.

Jim looked at A.J. sternly. "Are you sure you want to do that?" he asked.

A.J. nodded.

"Be honest with yourself, little brother, and with me as well. How serious are you?"

A.J. turned his head back to face Carrie. "Are you aware of the fact that I love you?" he asked.

As both Jim and Karen looked on in amazement, Carrie nodded. "I love you too you dumb son of a bitch. I know there's some big secret you two have, and obviously it has something to do with all this, but I figure you'll tell me in your own sweet time."

"Good. It's time." A.J. turned his head to Karen. "Make sure that no one comes in for a few moments, all right?"

Karen left the room, promising to knock if someone needed in.

"It's involved from this point forward," A.J. said. "Jim, I'll need you to do the demonstration. I don't think I can lift this bed."

"I know," Jim said.

"My dear, my brother and I have a story to tell."

Jim nodded, and folded his legs under him, floating three feet off the floor. "Please stop us," he said, "if any of this becomes too incredible to believe."

"It begins," A.J. added, "when we were kids..."

(Continued...)