The delicate sound of thunder
The sound was an abrupt repercussion, like an orchestra strike, both powerful and momentary. It was some distance off, probably one or two miles. Ashley only had time to blink in surprise, when there was a faint rumbling in the earth and a loud mundane noise, like someone breaking the sound barrier. The fact that the Symphonic Disturbance preceded the sound by one and a half seconds did not escape her.
The man on the ground was looking up at the ceiling at the swinging light. "Ooorthquake..." he muttered. "...eshudgo tside..." his words slurring together. He tried to get up again, but failed miserably, ending up once more on the floor again.
Then there were only the after echoes in the Symphony. What ever it was had happened.
This was getting way too strange for her liking Ashley thought as she contemplated what to do next. Her gaze focused once more on the pathetic specimen before her.
Ashley decided that the first thing she had to do was get it clean and sober; preferably in that order. The sooner it was coherent, the sooner she could find out more about what happened to him... then she would be able to make a plan about finding out what was up with the Symphony.
She knew that all the higher beings must be about as bug crazy as she was right about now; and they would make themselves more known in an effort to talk with others of their kind. It would be her best chance at hunting down the Song to summon... or even someone who might be able to summon a certain detestable archangel.
Ashley snapped out of her reverie and went and retrieved an old blanket to wrap him in so that she wouldn't get herself all dirty again as she hefted him into the shower and got him clean. If he puked.. oh well.
Several minutes, and one rather unpleasant bathroom experience later, Ashley looked at the unconscious man on her bed, and shook her head. She had extracted him from his rags, and made him decent with the spare pajamas she kept for emergencies.
He looked to be somewhere in his fifties or sixties, of Mulatto or Massala background, many different kinds of blood going into his past makeup. You would not call his wrinkled face handsome, but there was something interesting about the complexity of his features.
Ashley left him for an hour or so to relax after the ordeal, then summoned strength again. She decided to wake him up, and did so as best she could.
The man blinked several times as he looked at her. "Whoareyou?" He said, not leaving any space between the words. "WhydontIknowyou? WhydoIknownIshouldknowyoubutdont?"
He refocused his eyes on the room. "WhereamI?" He shook his head. "WhydontIknowwhereIam? WhydoIknowIshouldknowwhereIam?"
Then back to Ashley. "AndwhyarentIdead? Iftheystabyourheartarentyousupposedtobedead? HowdoIknowthatIamsupposedtobedeadwhenIdonotevenknowwhostabbedme?"
He blinked several times more, and frowned. Three sets of three questions asked, he ceased speaking, confused.
Ashley stared at him in confusion... though she began to get the feeling that whatever was done to him probably had created this odd way of talking...
But she simply couldn't pass up the opportunity as great as this one, even though it meant dealing with an archangel.
Ashley grabbed the man by the shoulders and physically sat him up in the bed; deciding that she was going to have to tell him the truth of things... well.... only what he needed to know to make him useful.
"Listen. You are alive... deal with it. I don't know who stabbed you, but you aren�t bleeding, so deal with it. My name is Ashley and you are in my apartment."
"I found you lying in your own puke outside where I work. You are now clean, so deal with that too."
"What's your name?" Ashley finally added in a rather commanding tone.
The man looks decidedly confused. He seemed to try to answer, but it came out as one word again.
"Iamthemanforwhichnogodwaitsbutforwhichthewholeworldyearns."
He frowned.
"I'mmarkedbydarknessandbybloodandbyathousandpowderburns."
As though talking from below water he slowed his speech down, but it distorted the words. His voice became sing-song, as though he was mimicking someone singing, but rather badly. He spoke and spoke, and sometimes snippets of it seem to make sense.
"Lo, here comes the flood. We will say good-bye to flesh and blood."
"Black Hole Sun, won't you come."
"... Hurl'd headlong flaming from th'Etherial Sky / With Hideous ruin and combustion down / To bottomless perdition, there to dwell / In Adamantine Chains and penal Fire, / ..."
"Farewell happy Fields / Where Joy for ever dwells : Hail Horrors, hail ..."
"Should intermitted vengeance Arm again / His red right hand to plague us?"
"Sing the Ethereal Skies."
Finally he finished, as though he had answered the question, and looked with surprise at the television. It was not on, but he moved over to it, and turned it on spontaneously.
A picture of the morning from a helicopter view, with flames shooting into the sky filled the screen. The commentary spoke.
�...king at the strip club named the Pleasure Chest as we speak, and you can see the remnants of the fireball that has consumed the entire building. At this point it is not clear either what has cause the explosion or if there have been any survivors, but the fire department confirms that there is some danger to residents of nearby buildings, and is evacuating the area. At this point it is not clear just how powerful the explosion was, but we have been getting in reports saying that people up to five miles distant have been reporting what they thought was an earthquake at the time of the explosion. At the time of the blast, it was guessed that the club was mostly empty, but as yet we have no clear reports saying that anyone has been rescued from the blast. Back to you Geoff."
The man frowned, staring at the screen. "Red Right Hand." He said softly.
Ashley's face grew rather rigid in surprise and would have grown pale except for she pale to begin with. To think... if she had not left when she did... her form would be a scorched puddle on the ground if she even had enough essence to leave it like that.
The man's words barely penetrated the haze of her thoughts as she wondered who had torched the place... and why. Other than herself... what was so special about the club....
The thoughts died in her mind as she stared at the man.
Him.... could whoever twisted him have been coming back to finish the job?
Shaking herself free of the dark thoughts of her mind was a hard process, but she finally managed it. Her voice when she spoke still held an edge of shock.
"Listen.... I don't know who you are.... or who this Red Right Hand is... hell, you can't even talk normal. So I am going to call you Babble. I just want you to nod yes or no to my questions OK?"
Ashley waited to see if he was willing to play this little game.
The man sat up with a perplexed look on his face, then, like a child realizing some secret understanding, his face brightened and he nodded emphatically.
"Ask and ye shall receive..." He quipped in the sing song voice once more, then actually burst into a deep throated song, more spoken than sung, but having the hint of a tune none the less.
"Have mercy on me, sir / Allow me to impose on you / I have no place to stay / And my bones and cold right through // I will tell you a story / Of a man and his family / And I swear that it is true."
He sat back suddenly quiet and looks at Ash intently, as though waiting for her to speak. "Babel-on." he muttered.
"OK... first question. Do you know who tried to kill you?"
He frowned, then nodded once as if half sure.
"Do you remember when they tried to kill you?"
The frown remained, and indeed deepened, but he nodded again, this time less sure.
"Hold up a finger for each day that has passed that you can remember since this happened."
The man looked at his hands then at Ash then back at his hands again, as if lost. Finally, he shrugged. Then shook his head.
"Do you know why they tried to kill you?"
Emphatic nods. "Th'Almighty Victor to spend all his rage, / And that must end us, that must be our cure, / To be no more; ..." He looked up guiltily as he finished speaking, and bit his lip.
"Do you know why the club where I found you was destroyed?"
Nodded enthusiastically. And blurted out; "... the breath that kindl'd those grim fires / Awak'd should blow them into sevenfold rage / And plunge us in the Flames!"
He looked about as if frightened, then huddled closer. "Babble. Babble on." he added guiltily. "... from the Ethereal Sky."
Ashley bit her lip to keep from getting too frustrated before she continued her questioning. The only consolation was that he wasn't puking anymore and at least smelled decent.
"Are we in danger from them right now?"
Emphatic nod. "Seek and ye shall find..." He looked about, frightened. Then, when he did not see what ever it was that frightened him, he relaxed a little again, only to start suddenly and look in another direction. Satisfied once more, he sat back, but was clearly on edge.
"Can you write?"
He looked down at his hands then at Ash. Then he shrugged, blankly. "That which is written, must be done..."
"Can you draw things?"
Emphatic nod. Enthusiastically, he motioned in the air with his hand. "Beauty is truth, truth beauty." he said, sculpting half realized images in the air. Unable to quite follow any of the motions to a complete shape, Ash shook her head in perplexity.
Ashley hoped that perhaps he would remember how to at least write or draw and goes to gather up some paper and a pen.
Ashley handed him the pen.
"Try and write your name." She said as she pointed to the paper.
The man looked at the pen as though it was some kind of intricate puzzle, until Ashley put it firmly in his hand and pressed it to the page. At the appearance of the line his eyes lit up, and he began to write all over the paper with much intent.
After several moments, Ashley looked at his work with mounting dismay. It was just as much rubbish as he had been speaking. There were all kinds of words in all kinds of languages, half of which she did not even recognize. Most of the words were personal pronouns, or combinations that mean very little except "I exist".
He looked up with a smile, finished. "Iam" he said, pointing at the garbled palimpsest of multiple language and writing style. "Babble." He smiled broadly, happy to have helped, and pleased with the name she had given him.
Ashley resisted the urge to simply throw him out of her house and out of her life. Whatever had been done to him ran very deep and she had to keep reminding herself that it would be worth it to get him help.
With the sharp mind that Lilith had gifted her with, she set about figuring out what had to be done. For one, he couldn't wear pajamas for the rest of the time and the clothes that he had come in were just plain disgusting.
And despite the fact that she loathed his company, she couldn't let him out of her sight lest some other find him and steal away her prize.
Time to call in a tiny favor owed her by one of the regulars of the now defunct Pleasure Chest. Looking at the late hour, she knew Simon would still be up and not quite drunk.
Picking up the phone, she looked through her small address book and called his house.
Simon answered his own phone, with somewhat tired voice and coughing. "Who is it?"
Ash replied.
She could practically hear him sit up and pay attention. "Oh... Hello! How are you, beautiful? Still working for the PC? To what do I owe the pleasure of this call?"
"Well Simon... good thing you weren't there tonight. Some joker turned it into a grade A fireball... should be on the news if you are interested."
"You're kidding..." Shocked silence. Sound of TV being clicked on in background. "Oh, shit..."
"Listen... I need to ask you for a small favor. I need you to get me some clothes for an old friend... the guy doesn't have any and I am not about to take him shopping in my spare PJ's."
Silence continued for a second or two more, then, "Old friend? ... Damn, there goes my chance. And here I was getting hopeful..." He says, but his voice remained a little disturbed, probably by whatever he was seeing on the TV.
"No... he isn't ~that~ kind of friend... but he is about your size... a little shorter in the pants maybe by an inch or two. Can you swing me buy an outfit... nothing new or anything."
"Sure, sweetie! Anything. Jeez." distracted pause. "Wow." pause again. Finally, "I'll be right there. I have some old clothes that will probably fit fine. Are you sure you are OK? Was anyone your friend in that mess? If you need a shoulder, I'm your man, love. Anyhow, I will be at your place in five." He sounded genuinely concerned for Ashley�s feelings, which was kind of sweet, really.
"Thanks Simon.... you're the greatest." Ashley said as she hung up the phone.
Hanging up the phone, Ash looked up to see Babble with both hands on the television screen, unblinkingly watching the reports of the explosion. There was an interview with a couple of police and emergency services, speculating on how the fireball happened. Abruptly Babble pointed at the screen just as a police officer was approached by the camera. The female officer in question was of medium to short build, and walked about the ruins with authority. Curly read hair tucked up tightly, cigarette, trenchcoat. Something familiar about them that Ashley could not place.
"Red Right Hand..." said Babble, pointing at the screen, as an aid distracted the camera man from the obviously important figure. Ash heard the interviewer ask if she could speak to "Officer Anastasia Logos." but being drawn aside, leaving the officer to examine the site.
Ashley took note of the information and was about to question Babble more when the door knocked. With a flicker of irritation she went to see who it was.
The peep hole revealed Simon with a large bag under his arm, his face unshaven, but practically radiating helpfulness from behind his glasses and rather intimidating build.
It never ceased to amaze her how much like dogs the human race were. Throw them a bone and scratch an itch they can't quite reach and they would love you for life. Oh well... they had their uses.
Ashley plastered on a somewhat sad smile as she undid the locks on her door and let him in; closing and locking the door behind him.
"Thanks for coming over Simon... you didn't have to come tonight you know."
"Well, after all the stuff I saw on TV, I thought you might have needed it sooner rather than later." he said, trying to make the comment light.
Ashley shook her head and relieved him of the bag; walking over to hand it to Babble.
"You can go try these on." She said as she gestured towards her bedroom.
He blinked several times at the bag, as though considering how to wear it, until Ashley pulled out a top. His face became clear and a beautiful smile dawns on his face. He began to remove his clothing, and would have no doubt become naked in front of the bemused Simon, if Ash hadn't pushed him into the bedroom and firmly shut the door.
Once Babble had left she turned back to Simon.
"So how are the eyes?"
He grinned a bit sheepishly. "Much better. You can have /no/ idea how much easier everything is. I am saving up to get contacts now, and the head has cleared right up."
"Glad to hear it... as for the PC... hey... I'm just glad I had decided to go home early ya know?"
"There was hardly anyone in there when I left... was a bad day I guess."
He nodded. "I just couldn't believe it, it was so awful. They were saying that no one got out alive... And they still haven't figured out how it happened. Are you sure you are OK?"
Ashley suffered Simon's attention while waiting for Babble to come back out; hopefully he hadn't forgotten how to put on clothes.
"I will probably go down to the station first thing in the morning... see what's to be seen. Who knows.. maybe they will have found the person who did it by then."
He nodded. "Well, assuming that it was a person. I mean, it could have been a gas main or something... although, I did call up the foreman of the gas company, and he said they didn't have anything in the area at all. Weird."
Babble makes his way out from the bedroom. His clothing did not even remotely match, and his jumper was on backwards. But nevertheless, the clothes did fit, and the sneakers were on the right feet.
He walked over to Simon, and looked deep into his eyes, grabbing the man's left hand in both of his. Simon went deathly quiet for a moment.
"Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." Babble said, almost in a whisper.
Simon's mouth dropped open and there was a moment of silence. Finally, he broke away from Babble's intense gaze with difficulty. Babble released his hand gently.
"Who is this guy?" Simon asked Ashley, awe in his voice.
"It's hard to explain...."
"I found him sittin outside the PC when I went home early a few hours ago. He just needed to be cleaned up; some clothes."
Ashley felt almost ill at the thought that all this was going to do was make her appear all that much more 'saintly' in the eyes of Simon.
"You know me... always helping people who seem to need it." Ashley said as she shrugged.
Simon smiled at Ash in that kind of way that made her want to raise her eyes to the heavens... or perhaps lower them somewhere else...
"I don't even know his name... he doesn't quite talk right. So I call him Babble. He doesn't seem to mind though."
Simon nodded, and looked concerned. "Look, you probably shouldn't be taking him in like this, you know. It is just not safe. I mean, what if he is like this because of drugs or a real mental problem, you know? Who knows who might be looking for him, or if he might be dangerous or something." This last he put in to a coarse whisper to avoid Babble hearing it. The strange man, in turn, was absorbed one more by the television, flicking channels until he got to the news and then watching the explosion footage again and again.
"If you liked I could drive him to a shelter or go to the police and ask a few questions, maybe find out if he is a missing person or something... Or whatever." Simon looked at Ash as helpfully as he could.
Ashley simply couldn't let this guy out of her sight and that was that; Simon was beginning to get annoying...
"Tell you what... why don't we all just pile in your car and go together? I don't think he is going to hurt anyone... and I don't like the thought of leaving him at a shelter."
Ashley then dropped her voice to a whisper, though she could care less what Babble thought.
"Simon.. I found him in the alley behind the PC. He was laying in his own filth; drunk and starving. Somebody did something to him and from the reactions that I have seen him have to the explosion, I think that those somebody's might be one in the same."
"His clothes were not what a bum would normally wear, so whatever it was was very recent."
"Look at him Simon.. he can't talk normal, but he remembers some things from being normal.. like how to use a TV and write words."
"Right now I am out of a job and just more than a little curious as to what made me that way."
Simon nodded seriously. "All right. If you are sure. I don't know how all this could possibly be connected, but if you are certain." He looked at Ash a bit blankly.
"Look, you know I would be more than happy to give you a lift, and even Babble-guy here too. But, uh, where do you want to go? If you don't want him at a shelter, I understand... But what about the police? It is probably best to report your suspicions to the authorities..."
Babble abruptly stood and moves over to the two of them. "The song remains the same." He said with a little sigh in the direction of the television. Then, looking at the door as if impatient to leave, he continued. "A man who wanders from the way of understanding will rest in the assembly of the dead."
Simon looked with incredulity at Ash, then shrugged again. "Ah well. Let's get going anyway."
�Let me at least get his clothes on straight. Then we can head out to the PC and the police station afterwards. Maybe hit up the Dunkin Donuts over on 10th in-between. My treat."
Ashley then dragged Babble into her bedroom and re-dressed him like she would a child. Her only thought was that this had better be worth it. If she was lucky that woman that Babble had pointed out would still be there.
Babble let her change him, with a suitably childish expression on his face, watching her every move. When she was done, he looks at himself and smiles beatifically. He followed her as she leaves.
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