the invisible villain

Into the light

Alex had no idea what was coming. She went online. Said hello to her youngest and favourite, something she’d never admit to, friend. Expecting a hello in return before they went on to the regular topics. She did get a hello. Along with something else too.

[Aug] - I have something. Well, for you, in a way.

[Ale] - Go on then. I’m listening.

[Aug] - Remember those novels I used to read and you used to make fun of? The ones in which a reader transmigrates into a novel?

[Ale] - Yes. I do.

August went on to tell her the most fantastic tale. One in which that transmigration from those novels happened to him. He was supposedly in a novel. All of this world was part of a novel. And an Abe had transmigrated into him.

[Ale] - Are you serious?

What else could she say? He couldn’t possibly expect her to believe this ridiculous concoction.

[Aug] - Would you like to speak with him?

[Ale] - Yeah. Sure. And how exactly am I to confirm that I am actually speaking to Abe and not you pretending?

[Aug] - We’ll leave that to Abe. I get the feeling he’s good at convincing people.

Didn’t take very long for her to realise that it indeed was so. Abe, if at all there really was an Abe, was much better at convincing than August on his best day. And as much as she wanted to believe that it was just August pulling prank or something, there was something. The tone. The choice of words. The way of speech. It was all quite different from August. Almost like Abe really was someone else.

And then, August had another revelation.

[Aug] - I’m leaving. Since we’ve got a transmigrator, it means I can leave. To a different place. To a different life. A nicer life, hopefully. I wanted to say goodbye to my darling friend before I leave. And to hand-off the relationship to Abe here, who’ll be me from now. So, goodbye. Miss me. But not too much.

And just like that, he was gone.

She needed a little more time to wrap her head around the idea that the August that she knew was gone. And in his place was Abe. And Abe was just nicer in pretty much every way. That wasn’t to say she was convinced. She only told herself something must have happened. August made no secret of his circumstances. Something must have changed, worsened, she told herself. And that was enough. Until Abe asked for help.

[Abe] - Hey, Alex. I need your help. It’s going to be a lot, so please believe me.

In the last few months, she had accustomed herself to Abe. He didn’t exaggerate and didn’t kid around. He actually always described things as they were, as he saw them. It was just that how he saw things was unusual, putting it nicely. And so, when he said the help he needed was going to be big, she didn’t doubt him.

[Ale] - Alrighty. Go on. I’m all ears.

[Abe] - In two weeks, I will be sent to a new school. Sent away, essentially. The morning of Sunday. Something will happen on the way. It would seem an accident later. But it actually wouldn’t be an accident. The car I am in will be attacked. And I will be quite severely hurt. I won’t die, or course. Unfortunately.

[Ale] - You know this how?

[Abe] - The novel.

[Ale] - Right. The novel.

[Abe] - How about this. Just run with me. If everything goes the way I describe, then you’ll have indisputable evidence. That should be enough, shouldn’t it?

[Ale] - Okay. That sounds good. So, you want to prevent the attack?

[Abe] - No. That attack should happen. Nothing should change about the accident. Except that while I actually escape, it should seem to everyone else that I perished in the accident. That’s how we should make it seem. Because that is how I escape from the plot of the novel. And then I can live my life.

[Ale] - So you’re saying someone is behind the accident, the attack.

[Abe] - Yes. Although I don’t know who. And I don’t think it matters. Not if I manage to escape.

[Ale] - I think I can find that evidence right now. If there really is someone behind the accident, then there should be chatter about it. Someone must have been hired. Someone must have heard. Eavesdropped. I’ll check.

She checked. She discovered that there really was a job. The morning of the Sunday after the next, a taxi would be hit on highway 14, 13 kilometres from the city. It would be quiet and early. No one to act as witnesses. There would only be the driver and a boy. The boy was the target.

She was stunned. August and Abe had been telling the truth all along. She felt terribly sorry for the poor boy. He truly was tragic. And she hated herself for the tiny bit of doubt that still remained.

[Ale] - Okay. A job was commissioned. I’m not entirely sure who took it. You are the target. Let’s do it according to your wishes. Leave the planning to me. You just have to follow my directions. Alright?

[Abe] - Yes ma’am. I will do as you command.

*

Alex drove to Graces on 14th Street, West. It was one among the bigger hospitals in the city. And it just the right distance from the accident, neither near nor far. She was also quite pleased about not having to care very much about the speed limit. A medical emergency was excuse enough for a pardon from any officer of the police who might stop them on the way. Luck was on their side, however. There was no police officer along the way.

By the time she pulled into the parking of the hospital, he was breathing hard. She had given him a painkiller. A white pill that he downed with water and without a change in his expression. As if it wasn’t the first time he was downing a pill that size. As she helped him out of the car, he was wincing from pain, as if the effects of the painkiller were wearing off.

He had to walk only until the entrance of the ER, where she called for attention. A nurse pulled a stretcher. The two women helped the smaller boy onto it. And then, the nurse rushed him in. A doctor rushed over, and Alex filled in the details.

“He got into my old car,” she said, through tears that couldn’t be any realer. “He loves that car. I told him he wasn’t old enough. I promised him he’d have the car when he turned eighteen. Four more years. He couldn’t wait. He crashed the car. Now I’m sure as hell sending that car straight to the junkyard.”

While the doctor and the nurses treated him, she filled in the forms. She had prepared id’s for the both of them. She was Alex Fleur. Thirty seven. Single mother. He was Abe Fleur. Fifteen.

“He’s not hurt too bad,” the doctor told her after the treatment. “He’ll need to stay at the hospital a few days. We want to make sure he hasn’t suffered a concussion, from knocking his head. And there are micro fractures in his ribs, from the seatbelt. He’ll have some trouble for a while. But other than that, he’s fine. And I think you’re right selling the car. I don’t think he’s safe behind the wheel. He had to be driving at some speed to sustain such injuries.”

“Thank you doctor.”

She was sincere with her gratitude. She was so convincing, no one questioned or doubted her.

Five days later, Abe was discharged. Alex thanked every one of the doctors and nurses in the ER, and had him do the same. He even promised the nurses that he wouldn’t drive again before eighteen. They got into the same bright yellow car. He’d learned the name from her. It was as Aspen. A very popular car from eleven years ago. That it was in such a good condition was testament to how much she cared for her machines. And she drove them home.