"Good morning, Miss Anderson," Crius said in a formal tone.
"Please, call me, Linda," I replied.
"Only if you call me, Crius," he answered. The Titan God
smiled, but I detected no warmth to it.
"Okay, Crius." I returned his smile with some reservation.
I couldn't put my finger on it, but I didn't feel at ease
with him. When he had asked me out to breakfast, I had been
tempted to say 'no', but my curiosity had gotten the better
of me. "So, what can I do for you?"
"Nothing, I just wanted to talk," he replied in a dry tone.
Our waitress, who happened to be a temp, came over and
asked if we wanted some coffee. I noticed Crius seemed
annoyed by the interruption, and struggled hard not to lose
his temper. We both ordered a cup and she hurried off.
"I'm sorry," he explained, while tugging on the collar of
his shirt. "I'm not use to these clothes, and it's making
me rather cranky."
His comment made me laugh. "Believe me, Crius, I understand
completely."
He laughed too, and this time the feeling seemed genuine.
"Yes, of course. I keep forgetting who you were before my
brother had you changed."
His words stuck like a knife in my back. I knew who I was.
I was Linda Anderson. Then I cursed silently. That wasn't
right - not totally.
Crius seemed to notice my discomfort over his words. "I'm
sorry, did I say something wrong?"
"No," I replied, then smiled. "No, I'm fine. Anyway, what
would you like to talk about?"
Crius laughed again, only this time it seemed rehearsed.
"You get right to the point - I like that. The reason why I
asked you here was to thank you for getting me out of my
prison cell. I understand you were the one who negotiated
with Jup...oh, I'm sorry. My brother tells me I can't go
around using his name here. What I mean is, I understand
you were the one who negotiated with Judge Jasper for our
release."
"I had minor role," I told him truthfully. "To be honest, I
was surprised he went for it. I guess he didn't want to go
to war."
"You would be surprised, " Crius shot back with fire in his
tone, "at how much they enjoy war. None of their people can
be trusted. You should never turn your back on them,
Rammona."
"Who?" I asked.
Crius blinked his eyes for a moment as if he were
surprised. "I'm sorry, I forgot you didn't know." He
quickly changed the subject. "Anyway, I'm in your debt,
Linda. If I can ever return the favor, please, just let me
know."
"How about telling me what's really going on here?" I
suggested
The old god smiled. "I don't think my brother would like
that if I did. To be honest, Linda, you probably know more
about what's going on than I do. As you may have guessed,
my brother is very secretive about things."
"Yes, so I've learned. Has he always been that way?"
"No, not always," Crius confessed. "A long time ago he used
to be very open with his feelings, and his plans. The war
changed him, and made him less trusting of others."
"That's too bad," I sighed. "Dennis isn't a bad guy to work
for, but sometimes his logic frustrates me to no end. It's
like pulling teeth trying to get him to explain his
reasons."
Crius laughed. "Yes, I understand what you mean, Rommona."
I looked at him carefully. "You called me that name again -
Rommona. Who is she?"
"No one, my dear," he told me. "Just someone I once knew."
"And I remind you of her?"
A thin, tight smile crossed his lips. "Oh yes, very much
so. Not so much by how you look, although there is some
resemblance. It's your personality that reminds me of her.
I can see why my brother likes you so much."
His words rattled me a little. "What do you mean by that?"
"Why nothing," he replied with a waxy smile. "It's just,
when I'm talking with you it's like talking to Rommona all
over again."
"Who was she?" I asked carefully.
"I really shouldn't tell you," Crius replied. "My brother
would be 'very' angry with me if I did."
"Please, Crius," I pressed. "I promise I won't tell him you
told me."
The Titan God put his hands together as if he were praying,
and thought about it for a moment. "Very well, if you
insist. I guess I do owe you a great deal. Rommona was my
brother's daughter."
"His daughter!" I shot back.
"Yes, his daughter," Crius confirmed. "You see, my brother
loved her very much, but Jup...I mean, Judge Jasper,
murdered her to break his spirits. Since then, he's been
searching for someone to replace her."
"And he found me to take her place?" I threw out. My temper
grew at the thought that I had been mislead and used by
Dennis once again.
"Well, I suppose he did," Crius agreed. "Of course, Rommona
dressed a lot more um, what's the word, 'girlish', than you
do. No offense, Linda."
"None taken," I answered. 'At least not against you.'
Our talk was interrupted when Leo, one of the people
assisting Crius, came walking into the restaurant. I wasn't
sure, but I had reason to believed he was a Titan God too,
at least an offspring of one. He whispered something into
Crius' ear, and the god nodded.
"I'm sorry, Linda," Crius said deeply concern. "A problem
has arisen, and I must see to it. Perhaps we can share a
meal another time."
"I look forward to it," I told him formally. There was
something unsettling about him, only I couldn't put my
finger on it. It was almost as if you could sense trouble
in his nature.
"Good. I'll have my assistant call you to reschedule."
He flashed me a smile; one that seemed forced, and left the
restaurant in a hurry. I sat there stewing in my own anger
at what a fool I had been. No wonder Dennis liked me so
much, I reminded him of his dead daughter. The son of a
bitch had done it to me again, only explaining half of the
truth to me and leaving out the best parts. Sure he had me
turned into Linda so I could be with the Andersons - but
that was only part of the reason. As it turned out, I was a
replacement for his daughter as well.
'DAMN HIM! DAMN HIM! DAMN HIM! How dare he treat me like
some object for his pleasures!' I thought to myself. Every
part of me wanted to pick up the phone and rip Dennis a new
asshole, but that would be letting him off to easy. No, I
would wait until we met in person to give him a piece of my
mind - 'again'. I was so wrapped up in my own little world
that I didn't notice someone new sit down across from me.
"Hello, Linda," the voice said to me. I looked to see who
it was and gasped.
"What the hell are you doing here?" I asked.
Fade out...
***
Voice of Judge Jasper: We are the Roman gods, who fell to
the world long ago when your people were still learning how
to crawl. We have guided you through the years, rewarded
you for good deeds, and punished you when needed. With our
leadership, we helped you defeat the Titans in a terrible
but glorious war. Once your path was set, we went to sleep,
waiting for the day you would reach for the stars and take
us home. But the Titans interfered, and turned you away
from your destiny. When we awoke, we found much work to do;
so we established a base and called it Peace River.
The Titans, with our help, established their own base later
on. It's a town where we can work together, a last ditch
effort to avoid another war that may destroy the human race
forever. Some would like to see the town and your people
destroyed, others would like to see it work - to have peace
at last. There is much hatred between our people, and the
road ahead won't be easy but the rewards if we do are
great. The name of this last chance for peace is
Andersonville.
***
Andersonville 21 - Sins of the father, sins of the son.
Written by Kelly Davidson
Edited by Geoff, Nelson T.
This story dedicated to Mindy, the founding mother of
Fictionmania. If it weren't for her insight and hard work,
we would all be much poorer. She spent thousands of dollars
of her own money and time to keep FM running - and all I
have to repay her with is this story, and my gratitude.
Thanks Mindy!
Fade in...
I couldn't believe my eyes. Sitting across from me was the
last person I expected to see - Jerry Kohl. About a year
ago he had wandered into Andersonville with his friend,
Rodney Allen (read AV 6), and together they had figured out
the secret of Andersonville. Fortunately, Judge Herns had
allowed Jerry to leave after removing the memories of his
visit. Obviously, something had gone wrong.
"It's nice to see you too," he chuckled at my reply.
"This isn't a laughing matter!" I scolded. Then I added
more forcefully, "Now what the hell are you doing here,
Jerry?"
"I thought I would stop in and visit with my friends for a
while," he answered as if nothing was out of the ordinary.
"Are you crazy?" I gritted my teeth. "Do you have any idea
what they'll do if they find out you're here? Speaking of
which, how in the hell did you get into town without them
knowing about it?"
"That wasn't a problem," he smiled calmly. "I parked my car
at a truck stop east of here, and hiked in."
"That's almost twenty miles through solid woods," I
replied. "How in the hell did you keep yourself from
getting lost?"
"I was a Boy Scout," he grinned. "The troop leaders taught
us how to use a compass in the woods. Once I got close
enough, the lights from the town led me in the rest of the
way."
"Well if you don't leave right now, Judge Herns will turn
you into a 'girl' scout," I warned him. "Come with me, I'm
getting you out of here."
"No," he replied firmly. "I'm not going until I see
Rebecca."
I looked at Jerry in disbelief. He had to know what Judge
Herns would do if she discovered he was here. What I found
even more disturbing was that he had picked a very public
spot to meet with me, not even trying to hide his presence
from the people below. It was almost as if he wanted to be
caught.
"It's not Rebecca anymore, it's Jane Harper," I explained.
"Remember, you gave her your life - and if you don't leave,
Jerry, you may end up being her sister. This isn't a game
we're playing here."
"I know that, Linda," he answered. "But I didn't spend two
days walking through the woods so you could send me away.
Like I said, I'm not leaving until I see her."
"This is suicide, Jerry. You have a life out there, don't
blow it. Oh SHIT!" I noticed my waitress was staring at us
very carefully.
***
Inside the bunker an alarm went off at the computer of temp
number 1A135, known to everyone else as Toby Storm. The
temp switched over to the alert and saw that the waitress
had spotted someone unfamiliar in town. Toby looked
carefully at the man, and didn't recognize him either. He
had the computer do another search of their residents (the
waitress had already done one), and couldn't find a match.
Convinced it was a stranger, he pushed his supervisor
button. A few seconds later Jeff Summers appeared next to
him.
"Hi Toby, what have you got?" Even thought Toby wasn't a
real person, it was hard for Jeff not to see him as one.
Toby, in theory, had a wife and two kids, and spoke about
them often. Even Toby believed he was a real person, and
not one of those computer images he watched over all the
time.
"Julia at 'Bakers restaurant' spotted a stranger. I
checked, and he doesn't come up on our files."
"Let me see," Jeff said leaning forward. It was a middle-
age man talking to Linda Anderson, his ex-girlfriend.
Suddenly Jeff felt a slight pain in his heart. Had he made
the right decision to break up with her? He pushed the
thought away and concentrated on his job. The man looked
very familiar to him. Then Jeff remembered. He picked up
the phone and punched in the extension number.
"Colonel Myers, I need you to look at something - code
two." Moments later the colonel approached; concern written
all over his face.
"What is it, Jeff," he asked.
"Recognize him?" Jeff pointed to the screen. Colonel Myers
looked carefully, and then his mouth drew tight when he saw
who it was, and what it meant.
"Jerry Kohl," he replied. "What the hell is he doing back
here?"
"I don't know, sir," Jeff answered. "He didn't come through
the front gate, so he must have sneaked in somehow."
"I'd better have him picked up," Colonel Myers frowned.
"Keep an eye on him - and get some backup to watch him."
"Yes sir," Jeff said as he turned back to his man. "Toby,
who's the nearest temp in the area?"
***
I was relieved to see our waitress turn away and go back to
her job. Maybe they hadn't spotted Jerry after all. In any
case, I knew it wasn't safe for him to be out in the open
like this. I had to get him away from the temps and their
prying eyes.
"Jerry, I have to get you some place where they won't find
you. There'll be a train leaving tonight, and you're going
to be on it."
"Only if I get to see, Jane," he argued.
"Look, that isn't a good idea. Trust me, she's doing fine.
Now come with me."
"Only if I get to see, Jane," he stated again more firmly.
"Damn it," I swore in frustration. "Okay, if I promise you
a visit with your friend, will you come with me?"
"Sure, as long as you promise."
"Alright, I promise. Now lets go before it's too late." But
it was already too late. Just as we stood to leave, Officer
Candy came strolling into the restaurant. Normally the cop
wouldn't have given me the time of day, but this time he
turned and gave me a big smile. It wasn't a friendly smile
either; more like one of those 'You're in big trouble now'
smiles. He approached us slowly.
"Good morning, Miss Anderson," he stated in a rigid tone.
"Who's your friend?"
"No one you know," I told him curtly. "Joe's here to repair
my computer, and we were just having a cup of coffee before
going to my office. In fact, we were just leaving."
"Strange, I don't know anything about some repairman being
here," he smirked. "Perhaps I should accompany you back to
your office so we can talk to the judge." He reached over
and firmly grabbed hold of my arm.
"Let go of me you 'jackass'," I responded in a raised
voice. "You're hurting me."
"I don't like it when people lie to me," the cop hissed
back.
"Officer, she was only trying to protect me," Jerry
interrupted in a calm manner. "Please, let go of her. I
won't give you any trouble."
"I'll get to you in just a moment, Mr. Kohl," Officer Candy
shot back. "You're not the one I'm worried about running
off."
"Like I would get very far, you 'idiot'," I answered.
"Where in the hell would I run to, Officer Candy? They can
follow my movements where ever I go. Maybe you should try
using the brain between your ears once in a while, instead
of the one between your legs."
"You have a smart mouth, little girl," the cop growled.
"And you're an asshole, Officer Candy," I answered right
back.
"Let go of her," Sergeant Williams ordered as he walked
into the restaurant and saw what was going on.
Officer Candy looked like he wanted to defy that order, but
thought better of it. He released my arm and glared at me,
as if hinting that this matter wasn't over.
Sergeant Williams gave Jerry a curious stare. For a moment
there was an awkward silence, broken when the cop said,
"Mr. Kohl, I can't say I'm happy to see you. I'm sure Judge
Herns won't be any happier."
"It can't be helped," he shrugged his shoulders. Dave
Williams nodded, and motioned for us to follow him to his
car. We did, with Officer Candy following right behind us.
Dave placed Jerry Kohl in the back of his car, and let me
sit in front.
"Does she know?" I asked Dave in a low voice so Jerry
wouldn't hear.
"She knows," he replied.
Once we got to the courthouse, Sergeant Williams took Jerry
to my office and sat him down. It wasn't too long after
that when Dr. Green showed up. She gave him a slight smile.
"Hello, Jerry," she said softly, and with some sadness in
her voice.
"Hi, Dr. Green," Jerry replied back in a pleasant tone. "It
looks like I'll be needing your help after all. I may be
here for a while."
Carol Green frowned. "We'll see."
My phone buzzed, and I picked it up. Judge Herns was on the
other end asking me to send Dr. Green in. I motioned her
inside, then followed her in.
"Good morning, Carol," Judge Herns greeted the doctor. "I
think you can see the problem we have." The judge looked at
me curiously and said, "That will be all, Linda."
I held my ground and didn't move. I was determined not to
let it end like this for Jerry. I couldn't let this happen.
He wasn't a criminal; he was an ordinary Joe, and a family
man. I was going to fight for his right to leave
Andersonville unharmed.
"Linda," Judge Herns said a little more strongly, "I said
that was all. Please wait outside."
"I'm sorry, Judge, but I can't." I swallowed hard, and
stood there scared over how Judge Herns would react to my
refusal. I was a little relieved to see she took it rather
well."
"Why can't you leave?" she asked gently.
"Because...because I don't want you to change Jerry Kohl,
Your Honor." I looked over at Dr. Green, who gave me a look
of agreement. "Please, Your Honor, don't do what I think
you're going to do. Please let him go."
"I haven't made up my mind yet!" she explained calmly. "In
fact, I'm just as torn about what to do as you are. I'm not
my ex-husband, Linda. However, we do have a real problem
here, and I must explore all my options. Do you know how
Jerry was able to remember his previous visit to
Andersonville?"
"No," I shook my head. "I didn't get a chance to ask."
"I see," Judge Herns sighed. "I suppose we'd better find
out then. Please bring him in."
I opened up the door, and motioned for Jerry to come into
the office. When he saw the judge, he actually gave her a
big smile. The man didn't seem to realize that his life was
on the line here.
"Judge Herns, how nice to see you again." Jerry walked over
to her desk and shook her hand. "I've been wanting to thank
you for healing my heart. My cardiologist told me it's
stronger then ever. You should have seen the look on
his..."
"Mr. Kohl," Judge Herns interrupted strongly. "What are you
doing here?"
"Well, I came for a visit, Your Honor," he laughed
joyfully.
"We don't allow visitors," she told him firmly. "In fact,
you weren't supposed to even remember being here. Would you
please explain to me how that came about."
"What?" he questioned. "Oh, my memories - sure, sure."
Jerry pulled up a chair and sat down in front of the judge.
"Well, Your Honor, it's like this. About three months ago I
was in a very bad car accident. I got knocked around pretty
badly, and was in a coma for 23 days. When I came too, I
remembered everything about being here, including the gift
you gave me."
"I see." Judge Herns thought about it for a moment. "That
doesn't explain why you snuck into my town, unless you knew
you would be in trouble if you did come back."
"Well, I didn't think you would be happy with me," he
grinned. "But then I wasn't really sure this place did
exist. I mean, after all, I was in a coma for more than
three weeks. Maybe I just imagined it. So I had to check it
out, to be sure. I mean, I didn't want to build up the
hopes of the others."
"What others?" Judge Herns demanded to know.
"The others in my support club, Your Honor. I was thinking
I could bring some of them back with me the next time. You
could change them into real women for a day or so - or
longer if they prefer."
"There WON'T be a next time, Mr. Kohl," June said
forcefully. "Andersonville is not a transgender resort town
for 'you' and 'your' friends. What we're trying to do here
is very serious work. In time your people will find out
about this place, but not now."
"Come on Judge, give me a break. I came all this way to
work out a deal with you."
"There will be 'no' deal, Mr. Kohl," Judge Herns replied.
"Yes, there will be," Jerry shot back in a disrespectful
tone. "You see, Judge, I remember everything about
Andersonville now. You can send me away, but I'll be back
with others."
"Jerry, what the HELL are you saying," I almost screamed.
He was giving Judge Herns no options but to keep him here.
He turned and gave me a cold stare. "I think I've been very
clear here, Linda. I'm not going to let this place go to
waste on a bunch of criminals when you have people out
there who would appreciate being here. I have friends who
would kill for a chance to be a woman for a day, week, or
the rest of their lives. I'm putting them first."
"You're not well, Mr. Kohl," Judge Herns announced in a dry
tone. Jerry laughed out loud at the suggestion.
"I know what you're thinking, Judge. You think that this
bump on my head has affected my thinking. Well you're
wrong. I've made a full recovery from my injuries - you can
even ask my doctor if you want. I know exactly what I'm
doing here."
"If that's the case, then you know I won't do what you're
asking," she replied.
"I don't see how you have a choice!" he shot back. "You
see, I don't think you have the guts to tear me away from
my family. If you did, you would've done so already - and
even if that happens I have a backup plan. I wrote a
complete paper about Andersonville before I left, and hid
it so it wouldn't be found for about a month or so. If for
some reason I don't return home, my documents would cause a
great deal of concern among my loved ones. Enough concern
that they would investigate my accident, or whatever you
come up with to end my life. No, I think you'll consider my
deal, and accept it."
"Jerry, don't do this," I begged.
"Don't bother, Linda" June Herns interrupted in an
irritated tone. "Mr. Kohl has already made up his mind, now
it's my turn."
"Your Honor," I started to beg, but she held up her hand to
stop me. Then she turned to Jerry with anger registering on
her face.
"You made a mistake by coming here, Mr. Kohl." She closed
her eyes and raised her hands.
"What?" Jerry stated in surprise. "Judge...Your Honor,
WAIT! We can still work something out."
It was already too late. A blue ball rose out of the
judge's hands and raced toward Jerry. As soon as it was
absorbed into his chest, the changes started to occur.
Jerry started to shrink, as his hair grew longer. He got
younger, much younger. His face changed from that of a man
with 3 days worth of growth to an angelic little girl who
was maybe 9 years old. The judge hadn't forgotten about his
clothes, and had decided to dress him in a short, yellow
dress with puff sleeves and a skirt that flared out.
Jerry's muddy boots changed into a pair of black Mary
Jane's. Ribbons mysteriously appeared out of no where, and
tied themselves to his now, long brown hair. Jerry stood
there with his eyes popping out in shock. That quickly
turned into anger.
"You change me back right now!" he screamed. However, Judge
Herns was in no mood for his passionate displeasure.
"Keep quiet, little girl," she replied, while holding out
her hand. Suddenly Jerry found himself unable to speak.
"It's only because I have some respect for who you once
were, that I'm allowing you to keep your female name, Jenny
Kohl. Dr. Green will fill you in on the details of your new
life. You will go with her now, and you will not give her
any trouble - is that clear?"
Jerry, now Jenny, nodded his head in fear.
"Good," Judge Herns stated firmly. She paused, and I could
see the pain in her eyes as she spoke the words. "Jenny, I
take no pleasure in what I did. I was prepared to let you
leave, but you left me no choice. You are who you are
because of what you did. Still...I'm sorry it had to come
to this. Go now."
Dr. Green grabbed hold of Jerry/Jenny's hand and gently
pulled him out the door. I watched them go, then turned to
Judge Herns who was looking through some papers.
"You're just punishing him, right?" I demanded to know.
"You don't really plan to keep him here for the rest of his
life?"
"He made his choice, I did what I had to do," was her
reply. She didn't even bother looking up at me when she
said it.
"June, you can't do that - IT'S WRONG!"
"Do you THINK I ENJOYED doing that?" she answered angrily.
"What was I suppose to do, let him go so he could tell
everyone about Andersonville? That's not an option, Linda.
He made his bed, now he has to lie in it!"
"But...but you even said yourself he wasn't well," I
pointed out. "Was that not true?"
"I don't know," she frowned. "I sensed something, but I
can't put my finger on it. It's like he knew what he was
doing and yet...he wasn't himself."
"That's all the more reason to let him go," I argued.
"I'm sorry, Linda, but it's not. As I said before, Mr. Kohl
knew what he was doing. I gave him a way out, and he didn't
take. I don't know why. In any case, judgment has been
made."
"No," I yelled. "I won't let this go. You're just like
Judge Jasper!"
Judge Herns face turned beet red. Slowly she got up out of
her chair, never once taking her piercing eyes off me. Her
lips grew tight as she leaned forward.
"If I was just like my ex-husband, we wouldn't be talking
right now. In fact there is a good chance you wouldn't be
alive, Linda." Her angry expression turned to one of hurt,
and she quickly turned away. "Judge Jasper doesn't allow
people to question his decisions," she explained painfully.
"Don't you 'ever' accuse me of being like that 'old goat'
again."
"I'm...I'm sorry June. I really didn't mean what I said."
She nodded, but still didn't turn to face me. "I know you
didn't, Linda. Leave me now, I have much work to do."
I left the room feeling guilty about hurting her feelings.
In all fairness, it was Jerry who had put her in this spot.
June had told me she was willing to let him go, and I had
no reason to doubt her. If there was one thing I had
learned about Juno, she was up-front and honest about her
decisions. I sat down at my desk and started thinking of a
way to make it up to her.
***
"Are there any question about your new life?" Dr. Green
asked.
"Let's see, I'm nine years old, I'm a girl, and my name is
Jenny Kohl. Oh, and I like to play with Barbie dolls. Nope,
I think that about covers everything, Dr. Green."
Carol frowned. Jenny/Jerry sat there on the couch fiddling
with the ribbons on her dress. The little girl didn't seem
angry about her predicament; in fact she seemed almost
relieved. It just didn't add up.
"Jerry, is there something you want to talk to me about?"
The doctor hoped that by using his male name, the little
girl would open up to her. Unfortunately, it seemed to have
the opposite effect.
"My name is Jenny now, remember Dr. Green. And 'no',
there's nothing I want to talk to you about. If you let me
go I'll tell everyone about this place, and what you did to
me. I wonder what a 'real' judge would say about that."
Her threat caused the doctor to take notice. It was almost
as if Jenny didn't want to leave Andersonville, and was
trying to find ways to make them keep her here. What could
have happened to cause that?
"Alright, Jenny. I'll see you in a couple of days." Carol
Green paused for a moment and gave Jenny a concern stare.
"If you need to talk before then, I want you to call me.
I'm pretty busy these days, but I'll find time to fit you
in. Now, Officer Scott is waiting outside to take you to
school. Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yes, doctor," Jerry nodded.
Carol watched the little girl stand and leave. She sat
there for a moment puzzled but Jenny's actions. Her words
said one thing, but her body movements indicated something
totally different. Something was definitely not right.
Dr. Green glanced at her schedule book. She had another
appointment coming in 15 minutes, just enough time for her
to see June Herns if she hurried. The doctor sighed. They
were supposed to bring in some more doctors soon to help
with the workload. It couldn't come soon enough. Locking
the door as she left, Carol Green headed for the judge's
office.
***
"I don't know, June, it just doesn't make any sense," Carol
Green explained. "For some reason, I believe Jerry wanted
you to change him into someone else."
"I'm in agreement with you," Judge Herns said. "I sensed a
great deal of relief and happiness as he was leaving my
office. His words were angry, but not his emotions. And
there was something else I picked up - guilt. Any idea what
that could be?
"No, none," the doctor shook her head. "I tried to get him
to open up to me, but he refused. Then he got very
defensive at the thought of leaving here. Maybe...maybe the
accident scared him, and he feels safe here."
Judge Herns shook her head. "No, that's not it. It's
something else, something more. Mr. Kohl is not the type of
person to be scared of dying. He has a great deal of faith
in the afterlife, and an even stronger desire to provide
for his family. And his threats to expose Andersonville to
the world, I just don't buy it. Jerry knows his best friend
would suffer greatly if he did that. No, I'm convinced he
wanted me to change him into someone else, but why?
Carol Green looked at her watch. "I have to go, I have a
client showing up in 5 minutes. If you find out anything
can you let me know, June?"
"You'll be the first one I call."
Judge Herns sat back in her chair and thought about what
she knew. She remembered the old Jerry Kohl, and his strong
feelings of caring about others. The person brought in
today had those same emotions, but had tried desperately to
hide them from her. The judge picked up the phone and
punched in a number. After a brief conversation, she headed
for the elevator to go below.
***
The play area was crowded with kids from the elementary
school. Jerry looked around a little bewildered by the
recess activity. Inside he felt a sense of relief - and
sadness. He had succeeded in his plans so far, except for
the fact he was now a little girl. Jerry had hoped the
judge wouldn't make him any younger than a teenager. Well,
it was of no matter. Jerry considered it extra punishment
for his crime. Now it was up to Judge Herns to fix
everything and make it right again.
"Jenny, are you feeling okay," his teacher asked. "Why
aren't you playing with the other kids?"
"I need to use the bathroom, Mrs. Kauff," he told the young
woman. "Is it okay if I go now?"
"Can't you wait?" Jerry shook his head. "Okay, run along
inside."
She smiled, and Jerry smiled back. Mrs. Kauff was a temp,
but not a bad temp. In fact she seemed very patient with
the kids, almost in a motherly type of way. Jerry felt a
twinge of guilt inside about lying to her, and what he
planned to do next. He went inside and made his way down
the long hallway to the other door. Just across the field
sat the high school.
Carefully, the little girl looked around to make sure no
one was watching. Confident that no one was, he bolted out
the door toward the other building. He arrived inside the
High School just as the class bell rang. Quickly kids
poured out into the hallway, and Jerry found himself
surrounded by kids both older and taller then him. He
looked around for someone familiar, but didn't see anyone.
"Excuse me," he said to an older girl walking by. "I'm
looking for Jane Harper, do you know where I can find her?
"Sorry," the teenager replied and kept walking. Jerry tried
a couple of other kids without any luck. He was about to
ask someone else when he felt a hand on her shoulder.
"What are you doing here, little girl?" the voice asked.
Jerry recognized the voice; it was Mrs. Miller, the school
superintendent.
"I um...was just looking for someone," he replied, hoping
she didn't know who he was. "I should be going now."
"You should be in class, Jenny," she expressed strongly.
"Mrs. Kauff is going to be worried about you. We have rules
here, Miss Kohl"
Jerry hung his head at being caught. "I'm sorry, Mrs.
Miller. I didn't mean to get in trouble on my first day,
but I wanted...I needed to talk with Jane Harper. I...I
couldn't wait."
Mrs. Miller saw tears in the little girl's eyes, and stood
there for a moment deciding what to do. "Come with me," she
finally said.
The superintendent took hold of Jenny's hand, and led her
down the crowded hallway.
***
Colonel Myers observed Jeff Summers working quietly in the
spare office. Judge Herns had asked him to find out
everything he could about Jerry Kohl's accident, and Jeff
had volunteered to do the grunt work. Barry could see him
busily working on the computer searching for information
and taking notes. He liked Jeff, but there was something
odd about him. For one, he wasn't typical of the people who
worked in the bunker. All the others were outgoing and
aggressive individuals, Jeff was a little shy and
withdrawn. He was the type of person who would rather read
a book then watch the Superbowl or World Series. In fact,
Jeff had very little interest in any type of sport.
Stranger still, Jeff's military records were sealed to
everyone, including Colonel Myers, his commanding officer.
That order had come from Dennis Butz, and Barry wondered
what the connection between them was.
If that wasn't enough, of all the people working in the
bunker, Jeff was the only one living in Andersonville. No,
that wasn't right, he was the only one allowed to live in
Andersonville. Others had requested to live in
Andersonville, and all had been turned down - all except
for Jeff that is. Barry had asked Jeff why this was so, and
the young man had explained he was part of an experiment
that Dennis was conducting. Colonel Myers didn't buy his
answer for a minute - although he didn't know what the real
reason could be.
The colonel saw Jeff stand and gather up some papers. The
soldier placed them in a folder and headed for his office
"What did you find out, Jeff?" the colonel asked with
interest.
"Something I think Judge Herns is going to be interested
in," Jeff said as he handed over his work. "Take a look at
the newspaper article I printed off about the accident.
Barry read it carefully. "Damn!"
"Yeah, I thought you would be interested in that. It gets
better. Look at the medical records I included. There's no
hope I'm afraid."
The colonel read the medical report and nodded sadly. He
wasn't sure if this was an important piece to the puzzle or
not, but knew Judge Herns would want to see it.
"Good work, Jeff, and thanks for volunteering. By the way,
are you going to the hockey game with us next month?" Barry
noticed the look of conflict on the young man's face. Jeff
didn't want to go, but this was a unit outing with the
people he worked with. He didn't want to let them down by
not being there.
"I...I guess."
Colonel Myers decided to give his young sergeant a way out.
"You don't have to go if you don't want to, Jeff. They'll
be playing the Columbus Blue Jackets that night. They're
not a prime team hockey team in the NHL yet. The others
will understand if you don't want to spend a $150 to see
them play."
"No, I'll go," he stated a little reluctantly. "It should
be a fun time. By the way, what's a 'blue jacket'?"
"Beats the 'hell' out of me," the colonel chuckled. "I
better take this report to see the judge now." Barry Myers
picked up the folder and headed for the elevator.
***
Jerry was sitting in a small room that served as the
teacher's lounge. He stared out at the town of
Andersonville, his new home. Instantly he felt a twinge of
sadness at the thought. Never again would he see his wife's
smile, or his kids laughing. It wasn't fair, but then there
was no choice in the matter anymore - he had seen to that.
The door opened, and Mrs. Miller walked in with Jane Harper
behind her. The teenager looked at the him in confusion.
"Mrs. Miller, I don't know this little girl," she
exclaimed.
"Jane," Jerry called out. He stood to hug her, then
realized that Mrs. Miller hadn't told her friend who he
really was. Mrs. Miller smiled.
"I'll let 'Jenny Kohl' fill you in on everything, Jane."
She closed the door as she left.
"Jenny Kohl? Jane blinked, and looked at the girl once
more. "Jerry?"
"Hello, old friend," Jerry replied, tears of joy starting
to leak from her eyes.
"My gosh, Jerry? Is it really you?" The little girl nodded
her head, and Jane ran over and hugged her tightly.
"Take it easy," Jerry giggled. "I need to breathe."
"I'm sorry," Jane giggled back. "Oh Jenny, it's great to
see you again." Suddenly Jane stopped hugging her, and held
Jenny away from her. "Wait a minute, what the hell are you
doing here, Jenny? You were supposed to be freed. Did they
bring you back?"
"No, not them. I came here on my own." Jerry saw the
concern in Jane's eyes. "Sit down Jane, this may take a
while."
Both of them took a seat on the couch, and Jerry started
talking. "There was an accident, and I was hurt badly.
Fortunately I recovered, but somehow the accident caused me
to remember my time here, and our friendship."
"So you came to see me?" Jane asked carefully.
"There were other reasons, but yes, you were one of them. I
missed you, Jane. When I remembered our friendship, I had
to find out how you were doing."
"You shouldn't have worried about me, I'm fine," she
smiled. Then she asked carefully, "How's my...my family?
I've been wondering what happened to them. The judge told
me she made sure everything worked out okay, but I still
had my doubts."
"They're doing fine, Jane. They don't remember you of
course, but I still keep in contact with your ex-wife.
She's married to some guy in the insurance field - heck, he
even sold me a life insurance policy. My wife almost got
the chance to use it too."
"What happened, Jenny?"
Jerry frowned, as if it was painful to recall why he was
here. "I was coming home late from a ballgame. I was tired,
and I should've pulled over to rest a bit. But I didn't
stop; I was stubborn. I ended up falling asleep at the
wheel, and wrapping my car around a tree. Fortunately, I
didn't hit anyone else, or they may have been killed. I was
in the hospital for more then a month recovering."
"Well, at least no one else was hurt," Jane said in a
comforting tone. Jerry cringed at her words, but didn't
elaborate.
"Anyway, your family is doing well," Jerry told her. "I
talked to your kids a lot after the accident. They're the
same as you knew them, only some of the things they
experienced with you never happened. Remember when Pete
fell off the ladder while helping you fix the roof? We
thought he broke his back, but he turned out to be okay
except for being a little sore the next day. Well that
never happened according to him. He never fell off a ladder
in his life, even though he still has a fear of climbing
them."
"Interesting, Jenny." A sad expression appeared on Jane's
face. "I miss them sometimes. I don't regret staying here,
Jenny, because I know they would've left me once I
transitioned. I also know this was the best thing for them,
for all of us. Still, I do miss them. Knowing that they're
happy, well, that makes me feel a whole lot better. And
seeing you again." Jane hugged her again with tears in her
eyes. "I missed you the most, Jenny. I missed all those
good times we had."
"I missed you too," Jerry replied.
Wiping the tears from her eyes, Jane asked, "So how long
will you be in town for?"
"Forever," Jerry replied.
"WHAT!" Jane responded with surprise. "What the hell do you
mean 'forever'? What about your family?"
"I guess... I hope the judge will take care of them," Jerry
replied. "It's for the best."
"What are you talking about, Jenny? What's going on here?"
There was a knock on the door, and Mrs. Miller opened up
the door. "I'm sorry girls, but you both need to get back
to class now. You can visit with each other later."
"Yes, Mrs. Miller," Jerry said standing up. Jane continued
to stare at her friend with concern. Something was very
wrong here.
"Jenny, call me after school," said Jane. "I want to talk
with you some more about this."
"Okay, Jane. We'll have plenty of time to talk now." The
teenager watched her friend grab Mrs. Miller hand and
leave.
"Something is very wrong here," Jane whispered to herself.
***
Colonel Myers and Dr. Green were sitting and watching the
expression on Judge Herns face as she went through the
information Jeff Summers had found. There was tightness to
her expression, as she tried to figure it all out.
"So, now we know the full truth," she said to the others.
"Do we, June?" Carol asked. "Guilt may have driven Jerry
Kohl here, but what was he hoping for?"
"A miracle," Judge Herns stated.
"Can you provide him with that 'miracle'?" Colonel Myers
wanted to know.
"No, I can't." The judge told him sadly. "This isn't going
to be easy, but Jerry needs to be told."
"Wait," Carol interjected. "Why tell him at all? Give him
what he wants and make it easy on him?"
"A lie?" Judge Herns raised her eyebrows. "I won't do that.
First of all, I wouldn't be doing Mr. Kohl any favors by
letting him believe his plan worked, if this is what he
intended me to do. Second, he has to face what he did, or
he will never be whole again. He can't hide from his
mistakes forever."
"What do you want me to do, Your Honor?" Colonel Myers
asked.
"Let your men know that Mr. Kohl will be leaving us soon.
In fact, I'll be the one who drives him to the truck stop.
Oh, and thank your sergeant for getting me this
information."
The colonel nodded. "I'll let him know." He stood and left
the room, leaving Dr. Green and Judge Herns alone.
"Do you want me to stay?" Carol Green asked.
"No," June said. "I think this is something I should handle
by myself. Jenny is still in school; I'll have Mrs. Miller
bring her to my office. Thanks for the offer, though."
Carol stood and smiled. "You know June, I think you would
make a pretty good psychologist."
Judge Herns smiled warmly at the suggestion. "I'll leave
the mind puzzling to you, Carol. What I have in store for
Mr. Kohl is some tough love."
After Dr. Green left, Judge Herns sat down at her desk and
went through the medical report one more time. She felt
sorry for Mr. Kohl, she knew this had to be killing him
inside. June took a moment to prepare herself, then picked
up the phone and called the school.
Twenty minutes later Mrs. Miller brought Jenny into her
office. Judge Herns noticed she seemed nervous, and even a
little scared; only the judge sensed it was not about her
own safety. June dismissed her muse, and told the little
girl to take a seat in front of her desk.
"I know," she stated firmly, while crossing her arms and
sitting on the edge of her desk in front of Jenny. She said
it in such a manner that Jenny knew her plan had failed.
"I'll give you points for what you tried to do," she added
sternly, "but I can't let this go on any longer."
"Please, Your Honor," Jerry begged.
"NO," Judge Herns shouted. She pointed her finger at the
little girl who was on the edge of breaking down. "No, I
won't let this continue. You won't use me in this way."
"Please!" Jerry pleaded. "I'll do anything. I'll give up my
life to save his. I swear; you return him back to normal
and I'll stay here for the rest of my life. I won't try to
leave, and I won't cause you any trouble. Please honor my
request!"
"What you're asking for," Judge Herns said dryly, "I can't
do. Why didn't you tell me right off the bat that your son
was injured in the car crash, and now has permanent brain
damage? Why didn't you come to me first, and ask me to heal
him? Why didn't you try to make a deal with me, instead of
attempting to 'TRICK' me?"
"Because...because," Jerry stuttered.
"Because you knew I would say 'No'," she answered for him.
"You knew what my answer would be, so you decided to trick
me into doing what you wanted. I'm not happy about that,
Mr. Kohl, nor do I understand your reasons. Why did you
think your son would be alright if I made everyone forget
you existed?"
"Because the accident wouldn't have happened!" Jerry cried
out. "I wouldn't be in his life, so the accident wouldn't
have happened."
"Using that logic, he wouldn't have been born either,"
Judge Herns expressed harshly. "I can't change past events
- what's happen has happened."
"But that's not true!" Jerry pointed out in tears. "I
checked with Rebecca's son. There were accidents I remember
that he doesn't. Once Rebecca disappeared - those accidents
never happened."
"No, you're wrong, Jerry," she lectured in a calm but firm
manner. "Not every event was remembered because I didn't
take the time to create them in his minds. Sure, you
remember Rebecca teaching his son to skate, and falling in
the process. I removed that memory, but it still happened,
only it was a minor injury with no permanent damage. It
wasn't worth my time or effort to recreate a memory that
didn't affect him or anyone else. Death, injuries, love,
and marriage - those are different. I can't change the past
Jerry, I can only make people forget, or believe someone
else is responsible for an event. What you want me to do is
change history, and that I can't do."
"Then...then heal him," he sobbed. "Make my son normal
again. I'll give you anything you want."
"I can't," June stated sadly. "Even if you brought him
here, I can't fix what has happened. I'm sorry, I wish I
could Mr. Kohl, I really do. But his memories are gone, and
that's one thing I can't replace."
"Nooooo." Jerry fell to the floor bawling. Judge Herns
almost broke, she almost showed compassion - but didn't.
"Stand up!" she ordered. "I said stand up NOW!" She reached
down and with great strength pulled him to his feet. "This
pity party has gone on long enough - and we still have
business to attend to! Now I want you to tell me what is
really going on here. This is only part of it. I want to
know the 'entire' reason for why you're here!"
"I'm my fault," he continued to cry. "It's ALL my fault. My
sins caused this. God is punishing me for my sins."
"WHY!" Judge Herns roared. "Because you're a CROSSDRESSER?
Do you really think your God is that shallow? Do you think
wearing a few items of clothes would cause him to punish
you by killing your son? I thought your God was a God of
love, not vengeance!"
"I...I don't know," he sobbed.
"Well I DO!" She grabbed his chin and pulled it up so she
could look him right in the eyes. "This accident was just
that, an accident. It was 'poor' judgment on your part, not
your God's doing. You want to punish yourself then FINE,
but not in MY TOWN, MISTER. You're leaving!"
"No, wait!" Jerry begged. It was already too late. Judge
Herns had been prepared, and with a few words a ball of
energy rose out of the palm of her hands and struck Jerry
in the chest. Almost instantly he started to change back
into his original, male form. In less then a minute he was
Jerry Kohl again. He sat down on the floor and leaned back
against a wall sniffing.
"It's all my fault," he whimpered. "I failed him...I failed
my son. There's nothing I can do to fix it."
Judge Herns got down on her knees and faced the broken man.
"There is something you can do, Jerry. You can pray for his
healing. Miracles do happen, if you believe hard enough.
Right now you need to go back and be the father your family
needs you to be. You need to be strong during this time, so
they will be strong."
June softened just a bit. "What you're doing, Mr. Kohl, is
running away from the people that you love so you can
punish yourself - and that's wrong. It's a noble act to
come here and try to sacrifice your life to save your son,
but your motives aren't pure. You need...you need to
forgive yourself for what happened and move forward."
"I can't," he cried.
"You must," Judge Herns countered. "This self-condemning
serves no one - not your family, or your God, or most all,
you. We all make mistakes, Jerry, and sometimes we have to
live with them for the rest of our lives."
"Even you?" he sniffed.
Judge Herns smiled slightly. "Especially me - just don't
let anyone around here know that. Come on, stand up now."
She grabbed Jerry's hands and helped him off the floor.
"Mrs. Miller is going to take you to see Jane now. I'm
giving you an hour to say goodbye to her."
"What...what about my memories of being here."
Judge Herns frowned. "That's a problem. Because of your
injuries, and how the memories came about, it would be
impossible for me to make you forget them again. What I can
and will do is make you forget where Andersonville is. I
can't have you coming back here again, Jerry. One day our
town will be known to your world, and then you will be
allowed to visit your friend - I promise. But right now our
town needs to grow without any interference from the
outside world - and sadly that includes you. Enjoy the
memories of your time here, Jerry, but respect my wishes if
you ever do remember how to get back here again."
Jerry hung his head and bit his lip. "Judge...thank you.
I'm sorry...sorry for trying to trick you."
"I'm sorry I had to be so hard on you, Jerry. It wasn't
personal, my child. However, I couldn't allow you to go on
like this for the rest of your life. Go now."
***
I saw Jerry come out of Judge Herns chambers with tears in
his eyes.
"Good luck, Jerry," I said to him. He stopped to give me a
hug and whispered 'thanks' into my ear. Quickly he followed
Mrs. Miller out the door. I waited for a moment, then
peeked inside the judge's office. June Herns was standing
at her window looking out.
"Come in, Linda," she said without turning.
"June...can I get you anything."
"That was hard," she whispered. "Jerry Kohl is a kind soul.
You want to do so much for people like him, and yet
sometimes doing very little is the best thing you can do."
"The intercom...the intercom was on," I explained. "I heard
what you said to him."
"It's okay," she turned and smiled softly. "I turned it on
so you would hear what I had to say. Jerry didn't know, and
that's all that matters. I didn't mind you listening, but I
think he would have."
"His son...I wish you could heal his injuries."
"I just did," she said.
"But...but you told him you couldn't."
"No, Linda," she said gently. "I told Jerry I couldn't
return his son's memories, and I can't. What I can do is
fix the damage to his brain cells, at least to some extent.
His son will have to start over again, learning how to
walk, and talk, use the bathroom. It may take years, but
one day his son will get back most of what he lost. Jerry
will think of it as a miracle from God, and who knows,
maybe it will be. Scientific research has shown that those
injured who are prayed over, heal faster than those who
aren't. Faith can do great things at times."
"Maybe, but I'll know the truth," I smiled. "I thought your
people only did things that you got something out of."
"I will get something out of this," Judge Jasper stated.
"What?" I asked.
"Satisfaction, Linda," she smiled. "Satisfaction."
***
It was quiet the rest of the day. Judge Herns had left to
take Jerry back to his vehicle, leaving me with a fairly
light workload. I was just getting ready to leave when
Dennis walked into the door.
"Hi Linda," he smiled. "I heard you wanted to speak to me."
'Why did he have to come in now?' I asked myself. I was
actually in a fairly good mood over today's events. Now he
had to walk in and spoil things. I thought about postponing
our talk for another time, but decided to go for it.
"Close the door, will you Dennis," I said. He did, and
faced me unaware of what I knew.
"So Linda, what do you need?" he smiled
"Don't you mean Rommona, Dennis?"
He frowned in discomfort. "No, I don't. Rommona - Rommona
is none of your business, Linda."
"Oh, but I think it is, Dennis!" I shot back. "Once again
you played me for a fool, and you know what the sad part
is? I believed you when you told me why I became Linda
Anderson. Now it seems there were other reasons - reasons
you didn't bother to tell me."
"You're not Rommona!" he stated firmly. "I told you the
truth, I did it to keep you, Al, and the Anderson's
together. And if I recall, you were given a chance not to
remain in this body. You're Linda because it was your
choice, not mine, 'young lady'. If you want to blame
someone, go look at yourself in the mirror."
"Don't give me that line of crap," I replied, suddenly
finding myself getting very angry. "I remind you of her,
don't I?"
"Yes, a little," he said with some bitterness. "So do a lot
of people. Take your brother's girlfriend, Sally, for
instance. She has the same walk and hair style as my
daughter did."
"Yes, but I have her personality, Dennis. Every time we
talk, you think I'm her. That's why you take me out to
lunch all the time. Hell, Dr. Jensen once told me you were
a skirt chaser. Maybe you're hoping to be the one to
'crack' my cherry one day."
"Now look here," he stated angrily. "I take you out to
lunch because I'm a good boss, and I want to show my
appreciation for the good job you do. I do this with all my
secretaries. If you think there's some hidden motive in all
this then you're reading too much into it, 'Linda'. I'm
showing you my appreciation, nothing more. Okay, I enjoy
your friendship, so sue me. But let me make one thing clear
here. Our lunches are not about my sexual desires or my
dead daughter! It's about me being a decent, human being."
"You're not human, you're a 'Titan'!" I shot back. Dennis
actually stood there with his wide mouth open, unable to
replay. "All these centuries, and you still don't act like
us."
"You're right, I don't act like you," he explained calmly.
"I'm what your race should be, and isn't. I'm the best of
humanity, and you can't stand that. I have a code I live
by, values I cherish, and am willing to admit my faults and
mistakes while not pointing them out in others all the
time. So I'll take that as a compliment, Linda, even if you
didn't mean it as one."
"You know, I'm getting real tired of your smugness,
Dennis."
"And I'm getting real tired of your 'holier than thou"
attitude," he answered back. "Ever since we've met you've
been trying to condemn my people for our mistakes. Well I
hate to break the news to you, LINDA, but your race is even
guiltier of the crimes you accuse us of. Your people murder
each other in cold blood for money or other objects they
consider precious. Drug dealers sell poison to their
brothers and sisters to make a quick buck. Someone with
AIDS will still have unprotected sex with unsuspecting
partners just because they're too lazy and selfish to wear
a condom. Organized crime, hate groups, pollution, greed,
lack of empathy for other people - SHOULD I GO ON, LINDA?
If you want to judge all Titans based on the past bad
actions of a few, then you better be willing to do the same
thing with the human race!
"Do you know how many of times I've lived to be an old man
without having to be in a war? Three times, Linda - THREE!"
He held up three fingers in front of my face. "You accuse
my people of being war mongers, but your race has had so
many wars that you've forgotten most of them. When we were
in charge there was no war or injustice, only peace and
prosperity. That was before the Olympians came, and we
screwed up. Instead of accepting them into our world as
brothers, we started hunting them down. WE MADE SOME
MISTAKES LINDA - ALL RIGHT! Now get over it!"
"I want to know who you are," I snapped, trying to get my
momentum back. Dennis was starting to turn my argument back
on me, and I wasn't going to let him. "You're Cronus,
aren't you? That would make sense. Jupiter himself even
referred to you as their leader.
"I am 'not' Cronus," Dennis stated firmly. "Cronus was a
great leader, who ruled with wisdom and understanding.
Jupiter has him locked up underground with the rest of our
people. Do you really think he would allow our leader to
walk around free? Use your brain, Linda."
"I 'am' using my brain, Dennis. I think this is another one
of your head games to throw me off the trail."
Dennis rolled his eyes. "I don't have time for this. You
want to believe I'm lying, fine - but I'm leaving. I grow
tried of your need to argue with me every time we meet."
He started to open the door but I slammed it shut. "Don't
you dare 'fucking' walk out on me, Dennis. I'm not some
airhead little girl you can treat as such."
"Yes, I know, you're Tom McClain," he sneered
sarcastically. "How could I forget, since you blame me all
the time for being Linda Anderson. Well we all have our
cross to bear, don't we, 'Tom'."
I grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and turned him
around, just like I had done with Judge Jasper. Only Dennis
didn't seem affected by it. He stared at me calmly, as if
waiting to see what I would do next.
"You know what I'd like to see," I spatted out. "Once, just
'ONCE', I like to see how you react to being turned into a
woman. I would love to see you experiencing this from my
side of the tracks - to be trapped in the wrong body and
not be able to do anything about it you - you cold,
heartless, Titan bastard!"
Something inside Dennis broke; I could see it in his eyes.
His lost his temper, and grabbed hold of my blouse. In his
anger he ripped it open as he pushed me against the wall.
Then he got within inches of my face and hissed, "I AM
trapped in the WRONG body! YOU WANT TO KNOW WHO I AM, TOM?
FINE THEN, I'LL TELL YOU! You're wrong, I'm 'not' Cronus -
I'm RHEA!
I stared into his eyes that were filled with fire. "Oh
shit," I whispered. According to myth, Rhea had been the
wife of Cronus, and in her own rights was a queen of her
people. She had been on the same level and status as Juno,
AKA June Herns, had been.
"That's right, 'TOM', old buddy old pal! Just when you
thought you had it all figured out, I get to prove how
wrong you are. You've been living as the opposite sex for
less then two years; try living as it for over 10,000 years
like I have. Every time I die, every time Mercury leads me
to the new person Jupiter picks out for me, I pray it's a
female body. Once in a while I get to live as a woman, but
I think Jupiter does this to torture me - to remind me how
much I've lost. Living as a man all this time is 'his'
punishment for what I did 'after' the war. You think you're
the only one who has suffered here, TOM? WELL THINK AGAIN!
He paused for a moment to shake his head in disgust. "Now
that you know, 'Tom', you'll forgive me if I understand how
you feel, but at the same time don't rush to comfort you
every time you cry about it. You had your chance to remain
as Tom McClain, and you decided against it. For better or
worse, it was your choice to be turned back into Linda, not
mine. I was 'never' given that chance - so think about
that!"
I stood quietly, trying to think of something to say. His
revelation had taken the fight right out of me. This was
not how I had expected things to go, and I realized that I
had pushed him to far. At the same time, I wasn't willing
to back down and lose face. I tried to think of a way to
end this, but Dennis solved the problem for me.
"I'll leave you, 'Miss' Anderson," he said distantly. "From
now on I'll stay out of your way as much as possible.
Here's some money for the blouse." He pulled out his wallet
and threw a fifty on my desk. "For what it's worth, I'm
sorry I lost my temper and ripped it. Oh, and one more
thing, Miss Anderson, in case you didn't notice. Humans
aren't the only ones who feel pain and sadness. Even we
'lowly' Titans have feelings too. Goodbye, Miss Anderson."
He opened the door and quickly walked away. I felt my knees
growing weak as I grabbed my ripped blouse and sat down in
a nearby chair. For a moment I thought I was going to cry,
but managed to stop myself. Every part of me wanted to run
after Dennis and beg him to forgive me. I knew he would,
but suddenly my pride got in the way. He had lied to me; I
didn't know how but I knew he had. Crius, his own brother,
had even told me so. Damn it, Dennis was the bad guy here,
not me - he should be the begging me to forgive him.
Everything he did revolved around helping 'his' people. If
that meant screwing the human race to do so then so be it.
I wiped the tears from my eyes, refusing to break down. If
only Judge Herns were here to talk too. I put on my coat
and locked the door as I left. It was going to be a long
night.
Fade out...