House of Cabal Volume One: Eden by Wesley McCraw

his feet, angrier than ever, wanting me dead? Will I see
him at my gym? I can never go back to my gym ever again.
    Shit, I’m freezing!
    I was saved by a bunch of fags. I want to
fight them and everyone.
    A hand grabs my shoulder from behind. I jump,
fear taking over, and I spin around.
    “Sorry. Didn’t mean to startle you.” It’s the
blond woman that gave me the change for the newspaper box.
    She’s maybe five years my senior and
intensely attractive, yet I still don’t want her to touch me. She
wears a long black coat that comes in at the waist and red high
heels. She pulls me under her umbrella.
    The umbrella creates a private space, and as
she gazes into my eyes, the world beyond us falls away. My stomach
spins. I touch her shoulder to steady myself. Heat radiates against
my freezing hand, and now I want her whole body against mine. Her
eyes are lush with autumn colors amid blue. Her familiar features
express a fierce kindness. I’m safe, a protected child.
    She leans in and breathes into my ear, “Need
a ride?” Her citrus perfume is me inside her, curled up in her womb
or penetrating her to plant my seed.
    What is wrong with me?
    People on the street try not to stare.
    “Yes,” I tell her. “A ride would be
good.”
    Is this woman the slut Carrie was so worried
about? I want to breathe her in. I want to be a man again, instead
of some fragile thing about to fall apart. Was she waiting for me
here?
    She points to a sleek sports sedan down the
block. “The red one.”
    Rain spatters the car roof. She strides
around to the driver’s side, hurrying because I’m getting wet. She
must be an angel. Please take me away from this God-forsaken
city .
    I hear the passenger door unlock.
    “You getting in?” she says over the car
roof.
    Around us, the rain washes the color out of
the city. The lights drain into the sewer system.
    The woman and I don’t seem to notice the
shifting city around us.
    “What’s your name?” I say.
    “Dana Parr.”
    The black sky fades to gray. The buildings
bend and swirl upwards into the hovering nothingness. No one sees
what is happening except you, and you hug yourself to hide your
amazement and fear.
    I see it too, Chuck. You don’t have to worry.
You and I, our first session is ending. We’re waking up.
    You sit in the back seat, and with a
comforting yet sad smile, you convey that you’ll see me through
this. As you wait for the future to become the present again, I
tell you thanks. I need you.
    Now stop the tape recorder.
     
     
     
    Chapter 6
     
    I
    A year before the regression, in early 2014,
Chuck Pointer thought everything in his life was running smoothly.
His relationship with his wife had reached a comfortable
equilibrium now that they were grandparents. His career felt
secure. Then his son Bobby tried to commit suicide.
    Instead of reaching out to his son or
supporting his wife through the difficult time, Chuck buried
himself deeper in his research.
    While he had a knack for analyzing other
people's problems, Chuck had a blind spot for his own issues. Why
was his relationship with his son so difficult? He suspected it had
something to do with his own father issues. That was about as deep
as he was willing to dig.
    He was more comfortable digging through the
public record.
    In mid 2000, the National Earthquake
Information Center reported a seismic event on the coastline near
Monterey. This was the moment the House of Cabal estate fell into
the ocean. It was a huge event, talked about for months, and yet no
one had explored the subject in a book. Chuck wanted to know more,
and he was sure the reading public was just as curious.
    The research, while distracting, was more
frustrating than he expected. The news reports contradicted one
another. The quake was naturally occurring or a planned explosion.
The first reports stated there were no casualties, only property
damage, but the collapse was massive, and weeks after the quake,
dead bodies were still washing up on