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Chapter -5- Broken Prophecy

April 11 - 4pm PDT San Francisco, California ...

** "Since you found me, I'll answer your question." Cybil smirked** and slumped down onto the dusty sofa of the low-rent apartment with a sigh. "You should take this apartment and use it. You'll need it for its proximity to ... well, you'll see."

Rufus pursed his lips.

"Okay, about the succubus, then. She had no surname and was known only as 'Keturah' until Nathaniel came along and saved her. Nathaniel means 'gift from God.' She was a vile, sinful creature of lust - an offspring of Azazel, who tried to tempt Abraham from the sacrifice. Some say they're not the same, but he is. He's that old. Keturah was named for Abraham's concubine, the sixth to bare him child."

"Karla's daddy was in the Old Test?" Rufus traced his fingers over the stitches in his torso and sighed.

Cybil looked up then back down at a bible in his hands. "So much is right in this book, yet so much is wrong. Some was written incorrectly. Some was ruined by misinterpretation; some was ruined by modernizing the scripture for the purposes of allowing modern and meek to read a rendition of the word of God. But in the end, it doesn't matter because these 'meek' still inherit the Earth."

"Does that mean poor people, spiritually misguided people, or ignorant people, hoss?"

Powalski ignored Rufus' inquiry. "The real question is how will they inherit? And at what cost? And will anyone remember humanity's mistakes, so that they are learned from? Or ... will the meek inherit the Earth, live in peace for a thousand years in an aura of_ignorance_, only to make the same costly mistakes again one day in the future? It's much to ponder the possible future burdens of our race. Especially since the train was switched to an entirely wrong set of tracks. It's shit. And we're shitting fucked. It's all ass."

"Who in the Sam-hell are you talking about?" Rufus ran his hands back through his hair. "You bounce around topics like a little kid."

"Karla, of course." The Oracle sighed to relax himself. He offered a wan smile. "Azazel is Karla's daddy. He named her Keturah, after Abraham's concubine - a kind-hearted succubus who bore Abraham's sixth child. She was killed during the Spanish Inquisition because she was a sex demon, regardless of her good heart. The children survived, but rumors are that sex demons are extinct."

Rufus ground his teeth together. "I don't want to talk about Karla Howard." He began pacing and sighed. "I was really out of it at the time. But while I lay there on the floor bleeding out, I remember Falcon standing over me. He spit on me - the bastard. Then he got cocky as hell with that there braggin'."

"Anything else that you remember?"

"Ayup. He told Eric to kill a bunch of people then take his own life. So, unfortunately, I need to get to Karla and tell'er."

"Did Aris expect you to die?"

Rufus offered a wan smile. "He knows I can change into a werewolf. But he said I wasn't worth his time to study. Had he looked at me closer, he'd have found out that I regenerate damaged tissue. It ain't fast, but it sure-as-shit kept me alive 'till you showed up. Eric used a goddamn magnum. I should'a died from a bullet that damn big."

"Yes, the slug was fired from a three fifty-seven. In Baltimore, I saw my share of gunshots, but the city wasn't quite as bad as it's reputation." Cybil cleared his throat. "Back in the olden days, doctors used maggots because they would eat dead and damaged tissue, but leave healthy tissue. It kept infection down. Ah, wait, I see now - you're older than you look to have known that bit of trivia first hand."

"Ayup. Granddaddy was a Confederate soldier. Pappy was a 'shiner. Only thing I cain't understand is ... they aged. They aged well, dun' get me wrong. But they aged. I's born in 1907. Hell, I'm almost the same age as that leach kid, Kalen. Good guy, by the way. You maybe thinkin' I'll cross his path again soon?"

"Ah, yes. Quite soon. Just as surely as the meek will inherit the earth. Did you know that, by 'meek,' the Bible actually meant humans? Immortals and their creations, the Esoteric Community, came before modern humans began writing and passing down stories. Homo sapiens-sapiens are the evolved creatures, not us."

Rufus ignored the topic jumping and smiled. "Really? I'll see Kalen again soon?"

"He's no replacement for Collobulous, but the two of you will make quite a team. The two of you will cross paths with Karla while she's on her mission."

"What mission?"

"The one you give her," said The Oracle.

"I give her a mission? What is it?"

Cybil put his hands on his hips. "Rufus. Rue-dee-poo. Rue-Bear, as she calls you; you're the only one who knows that Aris Falcon took her son. Other than me, of course. But I knew everything already, right? How else could I have shown up out of the blue to save you from being shot? You can heal a bullet wound, but you cannot heal an infection caused by the bullet in the wound. That bullet hit the cellphone in your hoodie pouch, RIGHT?! It slowed the velocity of the round. At point blank; it got STUCK in you - that's how physics works! It took its time tearing into you; and I took it out. Did you know I was a doctor in Baltimore? Very steady hands - I kept that. Now, it's too late to do right by ole' Green Eyes, but that doesn't mean you can't clean up some of the mess."

"Jus' to be on the same page, son ... Green Eyes is Eric, right?"

"Eric's eyes turn green?"

"Uh. Yup. When he activates 'er whatever. You didn't know that?"

"No. It's not important for me to have seen it. Sorry if shitting details have fucked you. Shit. Damn, ass."

"It's okay. So I guess you mean Karla."

"I've slept with her. Before she was married, of course. Before my telepathy manifested. Before YiaYia passed away. Yes, I sure did. We played 'doctor.' Yes, we sure did. I had no idea that was her until just now. Yes, I saw it. That was her. I remember she was hot, naked. Now she's a mommy." Cybil shook his head rapidly. "That's ... just weird to me. Just a seer with weird dreams, but good at my job! God, that was 2019 - seems so long ago, now. But I sure enjoyed...!"

Rufus shook his head with a sigh and ran his hands back through his hair. "Jesus."

"You messed up with Green Eyes by letting her fall for Eric! And worse, you messed up with Green Eyes by not saving Peri Lynn, your sister. She died. She was supposed to have saved Chance. Now do you see? It was Marcus Senior's son who was supposed to have been abducted, but everything happened wrong. And so now we have this alternative path laid out before us. No turning back, no, not now! Eric shot you and Donovan was taken. I'll be honest, were-mutt, I never saw that coming. I only saw you shot. And so I came. Imagine my surprise when I learned that everything happened wrong. That's why I was so upset about it earlier. I've come to terms, now, that I'm seeing parts of the 'right' fork. This makes me useless. I could 'see' us right into danger, or lead us away from the action - I've decided to hang up my title as The Oracle because I'm broken."

"Hey, now, son." Rufus gave the man a firm pat on the shoulder. "You're not broken and you really helped me out. Why would you think you're all messed up?"

"The Red Sox win the World Series this year. I know, I know - been a while, right? Their dry spell didn't last a hundred years this time. Good for them!"

Rufus blinked. "Thee, uh ... say what? Maybe you haven't noticed but, well, now that Maine and Greenland are touching each other..."

"Yes, I know. Stop thinking about it and just say it."

"East Coast baseball teams have all disappeared. The Red Sox, the Mets, the Orioles 'n Nats, the Braves ... every damn team; all gone, son."

"I KNOW! That's why I'm broken. I'm seeing The Red Sox win the series this year. So I'm useless. Although, just to remind you, the Yankees moved to New-New York. I want to make a Doctor Who joke about that."

"Ayup. Th' city that sprang up half-way between Binghamton 'n Syracuse. Only part of New York left on the East Coast, I reckon. Either way, you're not useless."

"I..." Cybil fetched gloves out of his pockets and put them on then rubbed his hands together. "You're being nice. Thanks 'n all that. I miss being a doctor; I'm glad I still got it. I haven't operated on a bullet wound since 2021. Am I keeping it together, now?"

"Well, yer not cussin' up a hell of a storm about it, like earlier; you're doing real good, pal. Damn, though ... so it's been almost three decades since you've been a doctor?"

"Um, well, no. I just didn't have any bullet wounds since then. My last surgery was right after the quake that ripped the coast from the continent in 2025 ... when? 2025? It seems like I can't keep dates right since I keep seeing the wrong things. Shit. Fucking 2025 shit. It was ass-tastic. So fucking much fucking death. Fuck. Shit-dammit, bitch ass."

"Hey, hoss, relax. Take a deep breath. You did real good."

"Well."

"Same different. But you's right. I cain't talk right fer shit anyhow, hoss. But you was right on the money, bucko. The quake happened in 2025, bud."

Cybil took a moment to collect himself, breathing off his frustration.

"You good?"

"Ah, yes. Sorry. When I get frustrated, I lose self-control. When I've had time to calm down ... I'm less ... flighty. I saw myself upsetting a middle-aged man named Evan Balmoral, but he's supposed to be gone now. I'm one of the last few seers left. When Aris Falcon, whose birth-name was first name 'Aris' and last name, 'Sokolov,' began the Silent Inquisition twenty-five years ago, most seers walked away unscathed. Aris could not round them up and study their ability because they were always several steps ahead of him."

"Why're so few of y'all left?"

"Unfortunately, Krys Monroe was helping him track people who had not yet manifested yet. And one of them was a seer. In the end, he still got his hands on one. And he learned that they ... that we see a frequency. And he learned, later, that there was a machine beneath the Atlantic that was designed to operate on that frequency; God only knows if seers are seeing what the machine wants, or if the machine was made to understand the seer's gift. Needless to say, he sent out a pulse that caused most of our kind to experience brain hemorrhaging. Most died. Me? My stroke caused that blasted low-level telepathy to become unlocked. I've lost my social skills and my bedside manner, bitch-ass shit. I can't control my shit. I'm fucking fucked. He did this ass to me. It's fucked! Frustrating I mean! Damn hell, that cunt bitch. I hate his ass; all of him - I hate him. He did this terrible thing and now I'm coo-coo for Cocoa Puffs."

Rufus stared at the man for a minute. "Jesus. Now what'll we do?"

"We lay low." Cybil began pacing again, trying to get his frustration under control. "I'm not sure why but Ritalin helps my stammering. It shouldn't but it does. It has the side bonus of helping me to breathe off my problems. I focus better. I've lost over forty-pounds, too. I topic-hop, as you call it, no matter what. But it's much worse when I don't take the pill. It messes with my sleep, though. And I'm shit-fucked when it wears off in the evening. But it's better than not sleeping. Sorry if I'm acting up. It's after four in the afternoon. It's wearing off. But I need my sleep at night. So I'm shitting messed the hell up, shit. Very frustrating. Ass. Anyway, we lay low, now. That's what you asked, I'm shitting sorry that I rambled. So yes, we lay low."

"Why?"

"Because I said so and you need to heal. We'll contact Karla when it's time. Right now, Aris is watching her. He promised to leave her alone with her pills. He never promised to stay away from her family - just her. If he sees you contact her ... he will attack. I hate that goddam prick. I meant to cuss that time. Totally on purpose. He's a prick."

"What about Karla?"

"Sorry. It's after four o'goddamn o'clock. Just leave her be for the moment. The little boy is safe because Aris wants to understand him. So, for now, we lay low." Cybil blinked. "Wait. If I'm having false prophecies, does that mean I'm the Whore of Babylon?"

"Nah, I think that's supposed to be a chick."

"Oh. Good, right. Right, right. Yes, a chick. To be honest, I don't mind having a title; I just didn't want a seven headed monster of righteousness to smite me."

"I really need to call Kalen or Karla and tell them about Falcon, and warn them about Donovan's abduction."

"Look, I know I've had some," Cybil trailed off and waved his hands erratically. "Whatever, right? But trust me ... I still have the power of Newton."

"Say what now?"

"Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. I can see that if you took the action of calling them, things would come apart. Your job, if you want to see this through, is to lay low. Jules will pass away soon. It will have a very negative effect on Conner Parker. Conner will need a friend. This is your chance to forge that friendship. Do not speak to Sinopa - she will need to grieve in her own way. San Francisco is where this all happens, were-mutt. Then, when all the dust has settled, you will be the one to tell Karla the truth."

"Is Reno gonna wake-on-up soon? We need'em."

"He'll wake up when the shitting lighting strikes the goddamn ass ... and ... goddamn it. When lightning strikes Paris! This is very frustrating!"

"Jus' calm down and relax. If it's a stimulant tha's helpin' but you ain't tryin' to lose sleep on somethin' like Ritalin, then drink some coffee. That'll wear off by night. It's only four, hoss."

"Coffee, yes. Good idea. Let's make some. Anyway, you'll tell the succubus about what Eric did, and you'll tell her that Donovan was abducted. And when you do, she will take it very badly. And you will work with Kalen, and, for a while, you will avoid Karla. Karla will seek out Conner - did you know Tamamo-no-Mae has a crush on Conner? What is up with that chick and fifteen-year-old boys, anyhow?"

"Christ."

"You don't need to call me that, Rufus. I can't walk on water, but I swim okay." Cybil lifted both of his hands to keep Rufus from replying. "Stay in San Francisco and keep an eye on the Parker residence. The mansion. Home of Conner Parker."

"I told'em all to stay at Reno's parents' house. It's in the middle of nowhere."

"The boy will be found at the mansion because I said so. In both timelines he's there. I saw it. I have to go. Someone I know needs my help." The Oracle reached for his jacket and headed for the door.

Rufus blinked and rubbed his face. He moved to the door watching Cybil hurry out to a car. Rufus sighed then shouted, "Thanks for patching me up!" He paused, watching the car pull out of the driveway then added, "And Conner's last name is Nevada! His daddy is Vincent."

Cybil backed out onto the road then put down the passenger window and shouted, "EH! Wrong! That is incorrect, but thanks for playing, contestant!"

Before Rufus could get in a reply, Powalski floored the accelerator and sped off.

Rufus blinked then shook his head. "Damn," he trailed off, thinking to himself, 'That guy is crazy. I guess he heard me cause of that telepathy business. I wonder what it's like, or how far it reaches. I wonder if that guy is going to call my cell any minute, now, and tell me he can still hear me.' Rufus reached into his pocket and pulled out the cellphone with the bullet hole in it. "Oh. Yeah. Right. I used his phone to call Jules, not mine." Having heard enough cussing to last a lifetime, Rufus opted to say something less trite. He glared at his shattered phone, sighed, and simply said, "Crap."

X

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