|
|
Chapter 13
“So you do know my name then.” Andrea replied somewhat tartly.
“Yes, but only for about the last ten minutes.” He replied, “It’s amazing what people tell you when you’re a pain in the arse.”
“I noticed you were gone for some time. You also looked drained when you came out, but I was expecting you to say something to everyone.”
“What would be the point, most of the passengers are scared of contact with me, as if I’m in some way responsible for what’s going on. Well that and the fact that I can’t keep my mouth shut. Besides, not only would they not believe what I’ve just heard, the majority wouldn’t want to believe it, and those that did would be freaking out more than any of the serial screamers we’ve got going at the moment. There are far too many fully loaded firearms lying about all over this plane to start people off. I wouldn’t mind one or two of them myself before we eventually get off this plane but I need to do it subtlely to prevent anyone realising what I’m doing.”
Andrea knelt down so that she could speak to him at the same level and so they could talk without really being overheard. As soon as she did so, the smell hit him again. He smiled and looked at Andrea. She looked so much like Claire it was untrue, it was all he could do not to lean over and kiss her. He closed his eyes briefly in an attempt to clear his thoughts, and when he opened them again Andrea started speaking.
“I’m not sure which conversation I want to have with you. I’d like to know what the hell is going on here, which I think you now have a fairly good idea of. But at the same time, I also want to talk to you. You looked like you’d seen the devil himself when you dived off the tube this morning, or was it yesterday morning? I’ve no idea what day or time it is.”
“I’d never seen you until I sat next to on the tube. I’d seen photos of you as a teenager, but hadn’t really took a lot of notice, and you’ve changed a fair bit since then. I have to admit that when I sat down next to you I couldn’t help checking you out, but the resemblance to Claire didn’t really click. Then I smelt the Eternity, and that set me off. I can’t smell it without thinking of Claire, and then when I looked at you again, the resemblance was obvious. Then you spoke my name and I lost it. It was like meeting a ghost. I had to get out of there and bolted as fast as I could. The fact you were on the same plane set me off again, it had been one of those freaky mornings before “our meeting”. The strange thing is that the hijacking focused me, and I’ve been sharper and more prepared to deal with anything since then.”
Andrea smiled, “I’d seen photos of you all the time you were with Claire, you haven’t changed much at all over the years, and very little since the funeral.”
He was a little taken aback at this, “You were at the funeral?”
“Yes,” she paused before continuing, “not that you would have seen me, I was there in the distance, but not near enough that any of the other mourners would have noticed.” After another pause Andrea continued, “Apart from Claire, I haven’t spoken to any of the family in nearly 15 years. My parents disowned me after I came to Europe as a teenager and got married. They didn’t approve of my living in Europe, and definitely not of me marrying Thorsten. Their general dislike of Germans, and the 28 year age gap kind of sealed it. The rest of the family fell in line, all except Claire. She thought it was all wonderfully free and romantic, and was so happy for me. All the way through, she wrote, and then in later days e-mailed. I’m quite sure that our parents didn’t know about it, as they would have given her such a hard time. Rachel rang me to let me know the funeral details, and I came to say goodbye, even if it was at a distance.”
“You’re becoming well known now, “ Andrea continued, “I still get news from Philadelphia occasionally, and I have seen you mentioned a couple of times in despatches. I’ve seen your name mentioned in Europe a few times, but never an accompanying photo, so it’s never certain that it is actually you, and not someone with the same name, though it isn’t exactly the most common name in the world. It has to be said that you never seem to change. You don’t look to have aged, and your hair is always the same.”
“That’s all part of what’s going on here.” He replied. “Haven’t you noticed it in yourself? I bet you look exactly the same as you did five years ago, including your hairstyle.”
“I can’t do.”
“If you get a picture from five years ago, you’ll see it’s true. Let me ask you a question. When was the last time you went to a hairdressers and got your hair cut?”
There was a silence that seemed to last for ages, before a confused looking Andrea replied, “You know what, I don’t know. I tried to think when, but I can’t seem to remember getting it done any time recently.”
“OK,” He continued, “How long have you had it styled like that?”
Again there was a pause before a stuttering reply, “I don’t know, quite a while I think. I like it like this. Why?”
“It’s all to do with what I’ve learned today while I was in the cockpit. Seeing as you can’t remember, I’ll tell you that it’s probably five years since you last had it cut, and in all that time it’s been in the same style. Look around the plane. It’s bright white everywhere you look. It hurts to look at anything without wearing sunglasses or squinting. Doesn’t that seem familiar in any way to you? Haven’t you been somewhere like this before?”
“I think I have.” She paused for a while before continuing, “When we got on the plane, I felt a chill come over me, but couldn’t place the reason why. The bright light does remind me of something, but it’s all too vague and hazy to remember exactly what. Are you saying this is related?”
He sighed, wasn’t that what he had just said? Everything was related. He could see it and had accepted it quite quickly, but in this moment he realised just how much of a problem it could be to get anyone else to accept even the possibility of what was happening here. He needed Andrea to understand. He needed someone he could trust. If he was ever to get back to his old life alive, then he needed help, and there wasn’t anyone better suited to being an ally that he could trust than Andrea. He just needed to tell her everything he could, and make her believe it. If he couldn’t convince her, then he’d convince no one. And he needed to do it fast.
He looked at her and started to tell her everything.