more in the drawer beneath your beds. I’ll leave it up to you to figure out the bathroom through that door,” she waved toward the small white door, “Also, you’ll find a map on the back of the door we just came through which shows all the main areas of the ship where you are permitted. One of those rooms at the end of the Y-shaped corridor is shaded yellow on the map. That is where you are to go after you get dressed.”
She quickly departed, leaving the three of them perplexed yet again. Declan held out the uniform by the sleeves, allowing the fabric piece to unfurl before him. Other than the single 2-inch “F” on the breast pocket, it bore no markings.
“ I don’t know about y’all, but I’m still waitin’ to wake up from this psychedelic nightmare,” Charlie said.
“ Yeah, this…” Declan paused, moving in a slow circle while trying to process his surroundings, “This is still a little too unreal. But at the same time, it makes sense. I swear - this body still doesn’t feel like my own. You know what I mean?”
Charlie laughed and nodded, “Like when your foot’s asleep and you figure out how to walk on that dead stump. Well, at least before it starts all the tinglin’ stuff. But I know what your sayin’ though. I might be gettin’ better at walkin’, but it’s still like I have to work at it.”
“ Yeah, and to be honest, I couldn’t come up with this kind of stuff in my head,” Delta added, “Heck, I’m still trying to catch up on the part about inputting our brain scans into the brains of a baby.”
Declan found comfort in the fact that he wasn’t alone in his confusion. He motioned for the other two to join him in the center of the room, then drew them into a huddle.
“ I’m willing to play along with all this, but I have no intention on truly submitting to any of this garbage until I learn where we fit in and what’s really going on,” Declan whispered to them, “Basically, I’m going to be looking for a way out at all times. If you’re with me, great, but if you’re not, I understand that too. I only ask that you don’t get in my way if you’re planning on playing ball with these people. Can we all respect that?”
“ I’m totally with you, man. And you can bet they’re watchin’ us right now – maybe even hearin’ some whisperin’ – so we might wanna say somethin’ a bit louder now and then,” Charlie said, “THAT’S WHAT I’M SAYIN’ MAN! LET’S JUST DO OUR 20 YEARS AND ENJOY WHAT’S LEFT.”
Declan and Delta both laughed at the obvious ploy that had to be equally as obvious to anyone who happened to be watching them at the moment. It was still a nice gesture though, Declan thought. He stepped out of the huddle and started putting on the uniform.
“ I’m with you too,” Delta said, “I’m Richard by the way – not ‘D’ or ‘Delta’ or whatever else they may call me. I’m a 53-year old pediatrician who used to have a beautiful wife and two grown sons – one even in med school.”
“ Doctor? Wow, Dr. Delta,” Charlie laughed, retrieving his uniform from the “C” bed, “Well, I’m Preston and I’m just a truck driver from Seattle. I’m 36 and happily divorced, if you know what I mean.”
Declan nodded, then buttoned up the front of his uniform, “I’m Declan Stringfellow, a 39-year old martial arts instructor from-”
“ From Richland?” Charlie interrupted, “The Aqueduct robber?”
Declan laughed and nodded, wishing he didn’t have to always be remembered as a criminal. Unfortunately though, that was what he’d become.
“ I loved the way that you ruined that undercover cop and still kept the nine hundred K from being returned. I mean-”
“ Undercover cop?” Declan sputtered, “What happened?”
Charlie seemed mystified at Declan’s question for a moment.
“ Biggs,” Charlie said, “Your trial was front page for months,