FIC: Forward into the Past and Present

A year ago, I wrote a story called Friends of Past and Present. They've been living in my head this whole time, growing, and developing. Then they demanded to be written. They are kind of a part of the Gliese world. There's a link there that is hinted at in this story but will be revealed more in later stories. I'm just having fun writing these guys and seeing where they will go!


Title: Forward into the Past and Present
Characters: Sasha/Lennon
Series: Another Life/What Lies Between
POV: Lennon

What the hell was he doing?! Lennon thought to himself as he leaned forward. Following a man, he didn’t know, on a road he didn’t know, to a strange town, and some hole in the wall restaurant he’d never heard before. Glancing down, he groaned out loud. Not only was he following a stranger to a strange destination, but he was also dangerously close to running out of gas. He hoped he made it to a gas station.

Lennon leaned forward in a futile attempt to see better. Sasha drove a jacked-up Jeep which was kicking up dust, dirt, and rocks as he drove the dirt road. Lennon didn’t want to lose him, but he also didn’t want to be so close to risk a rock through his windshield. Absently, he reached up to scratch his neck.

“Aaaaug!” Lennon screamed when he felt the tiny body with stick-like legs. A tick had been crawling along his neck. “Oh, my GAWD! A tick! Come on, come on, come on. Drive faster!” Lennon wanted to get somewhere, anywhere fast, and check the rest of his body for the little blood-sucking insects. As he followed, Sasha’s car, his imagination ran wild with him. He felt little legs climbing all over his body. He almost shouted with joy when they finally turned off the dirt road onto the paved one. Their speed picked up on the county highway. Wiggling around on the seat, reaching to anywhere he could, Lennon kept scratching at his body. He did shout for joy when Sasha turned into the parking lot of Cooky’s Diner.

Lennon pushed on the gas and all but flew into a parking space. He slammed it in park, turned the car off, and jumped out. Without waiting, he ran into the restaurant. A sign with the word RESTROOM pointed toward a small hallway in the back. Lennon dashed around the tables, silently sending out desperate pleas to the universe that the men’s room was empty. Lennon turned the knob and pushed on the door, which slammed against the wall and swung back at him.

Lennon stepped aside and let the door slam shut. It was a one-seater bathroom so he wasted no time and unzipped his jeans. He grabbed the sink as the pants got tangled in shoes. Leaving them at his ankles, he pulled his shirt over his head. He lifted his arms and looked in the mirror. He knew ticks liked to bite in the creases and crevices of a warm body. He didn’t see any of the little blood-sucking insects.

He twisted to see as much of his back as he could in the little mirror. Then almost fell again as Sasha knocked on the door.

“Lennon? Are you alright?”

Lennon reached over and opened the door. “Quick. Get in. Are there any ticks on my back?” He turned, not caring that the other man was getting a show of his bare backside. Nothing mattered except making sure there were no ticks on him.

“Um, no. I don’t see any.”

Lennon huffed. “You didn’t look! Really look! I found one on my neck as we were driving in. I can feel them crawling on me!” He felt his body start to calm as Sasha ran a hand over this back.

“I’m looking. It’ll be ok. I’ll make sure to get them all off.”

The heavy pressure in his chest was finally gone as Sasha methodically helped his search his body. Only one tick was found and that one was trying to burrow into his sock.

“You’re good. All gone.” Sasha picked up Lennon’s shirt and shook it. “No ticks in your shirt. Come on. Let me help you get dressed. You’ve had a fright, haven’t you?”

He knew he should be embarrassed but he felt such overwhelming relief that all the bugs were off him and that he had someone there who seemed to genuinely care. Or at least, didn’t make fun of him.

After his clothes were back on, Sasha gently ordered, “Go on and wash your hands. Splash some of the water on your face. You’ll feel better.”

Lennon turned on the faucet and splashed the water on his face. Then he reached over and squirted some soap on his hands. As he rinsed them, a wad of brown paper towels was handed to him.

“Thank you. You know, for checking,” Lennon mumbled as they walked back into the restaurant dining area.

“No problem. I have bug spray you can use when you come to work tomorrow.” Sasha held up 2 fingers to the waitress.

Lennon looked at Sasha. Thank God, he still had a job. He may be homeless, because he didn’t have the money to pay rent, and he was already behind, but he still had a job.

“A booth alright?” The waitress asked standing by an empty booth.

“Yes, this will be fine. Thank you,” Sasha said politely.

Lennon just slid onto the seat. He felt as if every eye in the room was on him. Glancing up, he decided he was wrong. Not every eye was on him. There was one little kid who was twisting and turning trying to figure a way out of the high chair he was strapped into. So that was all good, Lennon thought. There was one person in the place that didn’t think he was crazy. Wait! He wasn’t the only crazy one. Sasha told him he’d been talking to a ghost.

“You said Greer was a ghost!” Lennon accused.

Sasha smiled tightly. “Let’s order first. Then I’ll explain.” He smiled up at the waitress. “What’s today’s special?”

In a thick country drawl, the woman recited, “Chicken fried chicken, 3 or 4 pieces. Mashed taters, veggie of the day, and a white roll.”

“Sounds good to me. I’ll have the 4-piece.” Sasha turned to Lennon. “You want the special?”

“What’s the veggie?”

“Sweet peas.”

Lennon grimaced. “I’ll just have a burger and fries.”

The waitress wrote it all down and asked. “What’ll you all have to drink? We have coke.”

“I’ll take a coke,” Lennon answered. A nice cold coke sounds great after the morning he’d had.

“Just a water for me, thanks.”

Lennon waited until the waitress walked away and then said, “A ghost? Is this like some sort of sick joke?”

Sasha sighed. “No, it’s not a joke. And believe me, I know it’s hard to wrap your head around. It took me the longest time to finally believe.”

“So what happened? Greer just walked up to you and said, hey, I’m a ghost?”

“No. Listen and I’ll tell you the whole story, ok?”

Lennon nodded. “Ok.”

“I just started the study a year ago. I’d been given a grant from the university I work at to study the Osage village. I set up a tarp and started mapping the area. After a couple days, Greer showed up. I was a bit surprised because it’s kind of an isolated place. I don’t think many people go there. There’s no facilities, no marked trail, just the small information board.”

“And the road is crap,” Lennon added.

“And the road is crap. So, I asked him where he came from and he said he lived around there. I took him at his word because of the way he’s dressed. I thought he was one of the Mennonites that farm around there. He showed up every day and he’d offer suggestions of where I should dig. Each place always had some artifacts. Something left behind from the Natives that once lived there. I thought the kid was just incredibly lucky. Then one day he had me go the river to dig. Down past the park’s boundaries. There were so many things. A bit of a wagon wheel, a small china doll head, things like that. I asked him why he hadn’t gathered the stuff up to protect it from the weather.”

“Or sold the stuff! I bet he could have put it on the internet and made a fortune.” Lennon knew he’d have probably sold it.

“Yes, or sold it. That’s when Greer told me he couldn’t have any physical item. I asked what he meant by that and he told me he was a spirit. Of course, I laughed at him. I’m a scientist of sorts, an anthropologist, I don’t believe in ghosts. No matter what he said, and he said a lot. He knew the whole history of the place. Where the women washed the clothes, where the Shaman’s house was, he knew it all. I just thought he knew about legends from living in the area.”

“Here’ you go. One special,” the waitress set a plate in front of Sasha. Then one in front of Lennon. “And a burger and fries for you.”

Sasha smiled up at the woman. “Thank you.”

“Thanks,” Lennon mumbled around a mouthful of hamburger.
Sasha picked up a piece of chicken and took a bite.

“Is that what it is? The kid just knows stuff from the people who live around there?” Lennon asked, squirting ketchup over his fries.

Sasha took a sip of water. “That’s what I thought. Until one day a school bus full of kids came for a field trip and history lesson. None of the kids or teachers even looked at Greer. He was dancing around them. And at one point, it looked like he even floated through a rather large teacher.”

Lennon choked on a French fry. “Oh my Gawd, he can...what? Morph inside you?” The thought of that creeped him out.

“That was my reaction too. But no, he can’t morph through anyone. He just...I guess transports himself from one point to another. He’ll disappear and then suddenly be somewhere else. That’s when I thought I was losing my mind. I thought I’d gone completely crazy.”

“Yeah, I can see why.” Lennon wasn’t sure that the other man wasn’t crazy. This all sounded so insane.

“I took a couple of days off. Went up to a cabin I have and just chilled out.” Sasha shrugged. “I decided, crazy or not, I was getting what I came for. What the grant was paying for. So, I went back. Greer was hurt I’d left him without telling him I was going. But I talked to him about the cabin and how I needed time to gather my thoughts. He smiled a strange smile and said he was glad I had the cabin.”

“Why would he be glad you had a cabin?” Lennon asked.

“I’ve no idea. But I told him about the grant and how I needed to get back to work. He’s been with me almost every day since then. He directs me to places to find things. He talks a lot. Sometimes he tells me of what his life was like before and living with the Natives there. Sometimes he says things I don’t quite understand. But it’s been nice having company out there.”

“How’d he end up there? At the village?”

“His family was part of one of the very first to try to go west. His parents got sick and died. He and his sister tried to make it but Greer and his sister, Isabella, both got sick as well. The place where Greer took me where I found the wagon wheel? That’s where they’d stopped. Some of the women in the Osage village found their wagon. They went back to the village and told the council. From what Greer told me, the Shaman knew that he had a ‘higher purpose’ and to bring them to the village. They nursed Isabella and Greer to health, but they never got completely well. The two spent the summer and fall with the Osage. But when winter came, both Isabella and Greer got sick again. This time the women couldn’t nurse them back. Isabella passed first and according to Greer went to the other side to stay. Greer passed away next but said he had to stay with the land. That he had a purpose, a destiny, and that he’s guided by another.”

Lennon felt his mouth drop open. “Like God? Greer has seen God?”

Sasha laughed. “No, I don’t think it’s God. It’s someone else. Greer says his name is Enoch, that he hasn’t been born yet, but this Enoch has been talking to him and directing him.”

Lennon shook his head. This was all so crazy.

“You all want some pie?” The waitress asked.

“Um,” Lennon debated saying yes but didn’t want to appear greedy. He wasn’t the one paying for this.

“Sure, what kind you got?” Sasha asked.

“Apple crisp, peach, apple cobbler, and cherry cobbler,” the waitress recited.

“I’ll take a slice of the apple crisp, Lennon, what do you want?”

“I’ll take the cherry cobbler.”

“You want a scoop of ice cream on that?”

Lennon didn’t think if it was alright with Sasha, instead nodded vigorously. He loved ice cream. And figured after spending part of the day with a ghost, he deserved a special treat.

Sasha interrupted his thoughts. “You still want the job? I really need someone.”

Ghost or not, Lennon needed a job. He was flat broke. “Yeah. I still want the job. How much are you paying? Can I get an advance? I’m about to be evicted.”

“If you’re willing, I have a decent camper sitting in my driveway. You could live there rent-free. And you’d be closer to the site. The pay is just minimum wage, but you won’t have rent or utilities or anything like that.”

The waitress came back and set their desserts in front of them. Lennon smiled. Just when he thought life had stalled and he had no way out, an opportunity landed in his lap and he was moving forward.

“Sounds great! If I have enough gas to get home, I can pack up and move in tomorrow.” Lennon knew he could find enough loose change to put some fuel in his car, but was grateful when Sasha pushed a twenty his way.

“Here, you can pay me back after you get your first paycheck.”

Lennon tucked the money in his pocket. The two men exchanged phone numbers and Sasha sent him the directions to his house.

Leaving the restaurant, Sasha pointed west. “Look at that. Isn’t it beautiful?”

Lennon looked to where he was pointing. The setting sun had painted the sky in brilliant reds, oranges, and pinks. He took it as a sign that good things were coming his way.

TBC