but he didn’t move. So I walked away.
By the time I got back to Tanya and Zoe, the Mad Man was up on his feet again.
‘Big mistake, fucker!’ he screamed. ‘Big fucking mistake. I’m your fucking shadow now, you hear me?! When you’re asleep, I’m going to take
you
out and drink
your
blood, you sleeping motherfucker! I saw that fucking mascara all over your face! And when I’ve done you, I’ll take care of your fucking traitor bitch girlfriend! And then your little bitch demon!’
Tanya glared at me with naked scorn. Zoe sat at her ankles, scratching idly at the asphalt with a stick.
‘Why didn’t you do it, Paul? What? You were man enough to kill the first one when his back was turned, but you didn’t have the guts to take out the second one even though he was begging for it. What if he comes after Zoe? Man up, Paul. This isn’t a joke. This isn’t one of your stupid books.’
She was wrong about that, of course.
The Mad Man was still there, listening.
‘You know what? I’m so fucking glad you didn’t kill me, dude! I just got confused for a second, that’s all. I’ll be seeing you soon. I’ll remember you. You better remember me!’
Then he turned and started walking back toward the city, whistling and swinging his arms. I watched for a while to see if he would try to turn around and follow us. But he didn’t, and soon enough he disappeared around a bend in the Causeway. We pressed on.
Five more minutes’ walking brought us within sight of Lion’s Gate Bridge. Viewed from the woods, the bridge is a spectacular sight. Framed by imperial forest it arches up into the sky like a man-made rainbow. A breeze is always blowing across Coal Harbour and that wind, though invisible, is somehow a part of the picture: the bridge so still, but with invisible motion rippling across it. And on the mountains behind the bridge, the twin peaks of the lions themselves: they were there before we came to North America and stuck a name on them—and they’ll be there long after we’re gone.
The line of abandoned cars extended from where we stood all the way up to the crest of the bridge where a clash of colours caught my eye. Fabric flapped and snapped. Tiny figures moved to and fro as though on the deck of a giant, impossible ship.
‘What the hell is that?’ I asked. Rhetorically. All my questions were rhetorical now, I realized, given that Zoe wouldn’t answer and Tanya saw me as either a useless fool or a dangerous one.
‘I wouldn’t go up there if I were you, Paul,’ a familiar voice behind me answered.
Charles. My shoulders slumped while Tanya froze in her footsteps beside me.
‘There’s an unfriendly city being built up there by some pretty uncompaniable people, Paul. Not like us. They aren’t people of the book.’
I turned around. Charles wasn’t alone. Arrayed behind him were about two dozen of his people, a strange and terrible crew. They’d been rich, they’d been poor. They’d been young and old, but now they were all the same in their greasiness and their gritty, gummy eyes, all stuck on me.
There was more than safety in Charles’ numbers: there was consensus, there was culture, there was reality. Surrounded by a wasteland of isolates, Charles bore the gift of order. When Charles moved, his people moved. When he stood still, they did the same.
‘Are you ready to come home, Paul? Done sightseeing?’
Tanya was staring at Charles, dumbfounded. He accepted her stare with royal bemusement.
‘Hey, Tanya? How’s it hanging?’
‘I’m good. Good.’
She shocked me with the timidity of her reply. I’d expected withering scorn but heard…acceptance.
Charles nodded.
‘I just wanted to say something to you, Tanya. I know we parted on bad terms last week, but no hard feelings? It’s a new day, so let’s make a fresh start.’
Tanya made a half nod, which is to say her chin sank down to her chest and stayed there. I considered our options, but there was no way to escape.
By the time I got back to Tanya and Zoe, the Mad Man was up on his feet again.
‘Big mistake, fucker!’ he screamed. ‘Big fucking mistake. I’m your fucking shadow now, you hear me?! When you’re asleep, I’m going to take
you
out and drink
your
blood, you sleeping motherfucker! I saw that fucking mascara all over your face! And when I’ve done you, I’ll take care of your fucking traitor bitch girlfriend! And then your little bitch demon!’
Tanya glared at me with naked scorn. Zoe sat at her ankles, scratching idly at the asphalt with a stick.
‘Why didn’t you do it, Paul? What? You were man enough to kill the first one when his back was turned, but you didn’t have the guts to take out the second one even though he was begging for it. What if he comes after Zoe? Man up, Paul. This isn’t a joke. This isn’t one of your stupid books.’
She was wrong about that, of course.
The Mad Man was still there, listening.
‘You know what? I’m so fucking glad you didn’t kill me, dude! I just got confused for a second, that’s all. I’ll be seeing you soon. I’ll remember you. You better remember me!’
Then he turned and started walking back toward the city, whistling and swinging his arms. I watched for a while to see if he would try to turn around and follow us. But he didn’t, and soon enough he disappeared around a bend in the Causeway. We pressed on.
Five more minutes’ walking brought us within sight of Lion’s Gate Bridge. Viewed from the woods, the bridge is a spectacular sight. Framed by imperial forest it arches up into the sky like a man-made rainbow. A breeze is always blowing across Coal Harbour and that wind, though invisible, is somehow a part of the picture: the bridge so still, but with invisible motion rippling across it. And on the mountains behind the bridge, the twin peaks of the lions themselves: they were there before we came to North America and stuck a name on them—and they’ll be there long after we’re gone.
The line of abandoned cars extended from where we stood all the way up to the crest of the bridge where a clash of colours caught my eye. Fabric flapped and snapped. Tiny figures moved to and fro as though on the deck of a giant, impossible ship.
‘What the hell is that?’ I asked. Rhetorically. All my questions were rhetorical now, I realized, given that Zoe wouldn’t answer and Tanya saw me as either a useless fool or a dangerous one.
‘I wouldn’t go up there if I were you, Paul,’ a familiar voice behind me answered.
Charles. My shoulders slumped while Tanya froze in her footsteps beside me.
‘There’s an unfriendly city being built up there by some pretty uncompaniable people, Paul. Not like us. They aren’t people of the book.’
I turned around. Charles wasn’t alone. Arrayed behind him were about two dozen of his people, a strange and terrible crew. They’d been rich, they’d been poor. They’d been young and old, but now they were all the same in their greasiness and their gritty, gummy eyes, all stuck on me.
There was more than safety in Charles’ numbers: there was consensus, there was culture, there was reality. Surrounded by a wasteland of isolates, Charles bore the gift of order. When Charles moved, his people moved. When he stood still, they did the same.
‘Are you ready to come home, Paul? Done sightseeing?’
Tanya was staring at Charles, dumbfounded. He accepted her stare with royal bemusement.
‘Hey, Tanya? How’s it hanging?’
‘I’m good. Good.’
She shocked me with the timidity of her reply. I’d expected withering scorn but heard…acceptance.
Charles nodded.
‘I just wanted to say something to you, Tanya. I know we parted on bad terms last week, but no hard feelings? It’s a new day, so let’s make a fresh start.’
Tanya made a half nod, which is to say her chin sank down to her chest and stayed there. I considered our options, but there was no way to escape.
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