Rise of the Fallen: Ascensionis

Henry is walking at a slow pace along Griscom Mill Road in Corbin City, New Jersey. He stops to glance down at Peters Creek and remembers holding Eleanor in his arms while standing on this very spot on the 15th of May in 1940. He lights a cigarette and, while exhaling smoke, says to himself, “I kept my promise to come back, Ellie. Just didn’t figure it would take me seventy-one years.”

He finishes the cigarette and discouragingly flicks it down towards the creek. The fact that nothing is left of his old life results in an unbearable emotional numbness. All because of what happened to him on that fateful day aboard the U.S.S. Eldridge. On the bright side, at least he didn’t end up with half of his body sticking out of the inner hull of the ship or suffer from spontaneous combustion.

As Henry continues his walk, he contemplates to himself whether or not to take the risk of going to where she used to live on Route 50. What would happen if she saw and recognized him? He doesn’t have a son, or any remaining family that’s alive for that matter, so he can’t use that as an explanation for the resemblance. There is the ol’ doppelganger thing. Most people believe in the theory that there exists a lookalike for every person in the world. The hell with it. It’s worth a shot just to see how she’s doing.

He finally arrives at Route 50 and, to his surprise, finds the classic and colonial house where Eleanor lived still intact. It is as if the residence got stuck in that time period while everything around it advanced onward. Henry takes a deep breath and makes his way across the street. He sees an elderly woman kneeling on the freshly cut lawn while using her wrinkled hands to search for something that she seems to have lost. Just when she thinks that she has found the object, she realizes that it’s a twig and tosses it away. He asks, “Do you need help, ma’am?”

“I can’t find my darn glasses, young man.”

A woman’s voice startles both of them as she says, “Check the pocket of your sweater, grandma.”

Henry turns his head to look at the young woman holding a grocery bag who just spoke to her grandmother. She has blond hair with light skin and looks to be around the same age as himself. The facial similarity to the Eleanor from his past makes him feel the comfortable warmness that he felt every time he smelled her or when she spoke with that sweet, gentle voice. The old woman laughs as she pulls out her eyeglasses from her pocket.

“There you are, you little rascal.”

As the woman tries to help her grandmother up to her feet with one hand, Henry offers to assist her by carrying the grocery bag. She grins in response to his kindness and hands it over to him.

“Thank you. I’m so sorry. She always does this. Puts her glasses in her pocket after she finishes reading and then forgets that it’s there.”

“No problem. Happens to the best of ’em eventually.”

The old lady puts on her glasses and she takes a look at Henry to thank him. Her smile fades and she asks, “My gosh! Are you Henry?”

He is shocked to discover that the sweet old lady is indeed Eleanor Weller. Time has taken a toll on her. It seems a bit unfair that he has kept his youth while she has lost hers. After an odd silence, the young woman says to her, “That is not Henry, grandma. He looks like him but it’s not him.”

Henry tells her, “My name’s actually Roger, ma’am. Roger Gordon.”

That was pretty quick thinking on his part. He needed to come up with a name so he decided to use a combination of Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon. Popular science fiction icons during those times. The young woman grins and introduces herself. “I’m Dawn McPherson and this is my grandmother, Eleanor Larsen.”

Of course she was going to find another guy, Henry. Don’t be stupid. The Navy probably told her that he died during a mission. She needed to get on with her life and he needs to get on with his. Just as he is about to hand Dawn the grocery bag, Eleanor says, “I just made a fresh pot of coffee. Would you like a cup, Roger?”

Dawn knows what her grandmother is trying to do and shakes her head in disbelief. She is so desperate for more grandchildren that she goes out of her way to set her up with any man that she perceives as nice. Thanks but no thanks. She’s already had her share of alcoholics and temper tantrums over trivial disagreements.

“Grandma! He probably has to be somewhere!”

“Now, Dawn. Show some manners to this kind young man. Come inside, Roger. I won’t take no for an answer.”

Henry shrugs his shoulders at Dawn and says while smiling innocently, “I guess I don’t have a choice. After you.”

Dawn steps closer and warns him in a low voice, “I swear to God, you better not be a fucked up psycho.”

Her crystal blue eyes places him into a trance-like state and he simply nods. The resemblance to Eleanor when she was young is, for lack of a better word, uncanny. The slight difference being that Dawn’s lips seem to be much fuller. With each step that he takes toward the front door of the house, the more terrified he becomes. It’s as if he is about to come face to face with a ghost.

Dawn steps through the front door and turns around to look at Henry. He looks very pale and is hesitating to step inside of the house for some reason. She asks, “Are you coming in or not?”

He whispers to himself, “This isn’t right.”

“What?”

Henry shoves the grocery bag into her arms and says without looking into her eyes, “Sorry, Ellie. I just remembered that I do have to be somewhere.”

He shuts his eyelids tightly upon realizing that he just referred to Dawn as Ellie. He turns around and walks faster and faster...to the point that he is now jogging. He needs to get away from there. What was the point of that? Shouldn’t have went there. Pointless. Frustrating. Pathetic.

Henry can’t run anymore. His eyes are stinging from the sweat. He stops, takes deep breaths and hears the sound of a car approaching from behind. Much to his dismay, it stops right next to him. He tries to ignore the driver and continues walking.

“Hey!”

It’s Dawn. She turns off the engine and opens the driver’s side door. Judging by way she slammed it shut, she is extremely angry at him. He stops walking and prepares for the worst. She also stops walking and they both just stand there in silence. Dawn finally asks, “What was that all about? Do you want to be him?”

Henry becomes somewhat offended by her insinuating that he is suffering from a mental disorder and slowly turns around. With sincerity, he replies, “No, El...uh, Dawn. Let’s just forget the whole thing. I’m leaving and you’ll never see me again.”

Dawn takes out an old photograph and walks toward him. She stands about a foot away and raises the picture until it is right next to his face. The image of Henry is identical to the man standing in front of her.

“Did you get plastic surgery or something?”

“No. I’ll be on my way now.”

Not being able to resist, she grabs his right wrist and raises the sleeve. There it is. The scar on the lower left side of his palm from when he punched the window of his neighbor’s locked door. Henry had chased a kid into that house because he had made fun of him. The kid locked the door and was taunting him from the inside. Out of rage, he punched the window with all of his strength and it shattered into hundreds of pieces. He saw that the boy was staring at his hand in horror so he looked down at it. One of the shards of glass had embedded itself deep into his hand. One of many stories her grandmother had told her of Henry’s childhood.

Dawn gasps and feels herself become dizzy. She faints and Henry holds her just in time thus preventing a potentially ugly fall to the hard pavement.

“Shit. You really are stupid, Henry.”

A half hour later, Dawn opens her eyes and finds herself in the driver’s seat of her Honda Fit. She turns her head to see that Henry is sitting beside her and begins squirming in fear of what she is witnessing. After coming to the realization that what she is witnessing is indeed reality, she takes a deep breath.

“You’re Henry but...”

Henry finishes what she is about to ask. “How is it possible? Is there a quiet place so we can talk? It’s a long story.”

Her hand is trembling as she reaches for the ignition. The Honda turns on and before shifting the gear into the drive position, she says without looking at him, “There’s the Belleplain forest in Woodbine.”

“Good.”

The vehicle’s engine becomes louder as it accelerates and departs from the area. Dawn is still in denial over what is happening to her at this moment. She gives him a quick glance just to make sure that she’s not losing her mind and hallucinating it all. She would always ask her grandmother to tell her stories about her beloved Henry and would sit there fantasizing and hoping that she would be able to find a gentleman like him. At times, she even became envious of the fact that her grandmother did experience true love in her lifetime.

Henry looks out of the passenger window to appreciate the scenery and enjoys the soothing comfort of having the New Jersey wind blow against his face. He is amazed at how much things have changed. That is to be expected, though. Time marches on. A restaurant comes into view and Dawn says, “The chicken quesadillas are pretty good there.”

“Really? I’d like to try them, then. One of these days.”

She is keeping her eyes straight ahead as she drives but can feel Henry’s eyes studying her closely. Everyone tells her that she has in fact inherited her grandmother’s looks but she asks anyway.

“What?”

“Sorry about that. It’s just that you look so much like Ellie.”

Dawn gives him a quick glance while grinning and focuses straight ahead afterwards. She says in a tender voice, “You really did love my grandmother a lot. Didn’t you?”

Henry pauses for a moment and replies, “With all of my heart. I would’ve done anything for her.”

Her heart beats faster and her grip on the steering wheel tightens upon listening to the verbalization of his sincere adoration. The temptation to use her appearance in order to obtain what she wants is so hard to resist. All of the men that Dawn has been in a relationship with have always let her down in one way or another. If it’s not alcoholism, it’s infidelity. If it’s not physical abuse, it’s mental abuse. Then came the depression after losing her baby as a result of an altercation with the one that gave her the physical abuse. Why did all of the bad things happen to her? She was always nice to everyone and never used drugs. She remembers falling down to her knees one night and, while pulling her hair, shouting with tears in her eyes, “What have I done to deserve all of this, God? Why?”

A few minutes later, they arrive at Belleplain Forest. The engine shuts off and the doors open. Henry and Dawn exit the vehicle and close the doors. The sound of the beep when she pushes the button on her key to set the alarm fascinates him. He has seen it many times before but still cannot prevent himself from getting that feeling of awe whenever he witnesses modern technology at work. While walking along a dirt path that leads into the forest, Henry offers Dawn a cigarette. She refuses it and says, “I don’t smoke.”

She can’t help but admire him as he lights his cigarette and exhales smoke. It is as if she has come face to face with her childhood hero. The person she would think of to stay positive whenever she felt that the world was nothing but a ball of shit floating in space. All the while, holding on to that hope that there had to be someone decent out there.

Once Henry is absolutely certain that they are sufficiently away from people, he stops walking and says, “I think we’re fine right here.” She stops walking as well and gives him her undivided attention.

“It was the summer of 1943. I was a sailor aboard the U.S.S. Eldridge. For reasons never explained to us, our ship docked at the Philadelphia Naval Yard to be fitted with some kind of experimental equipment. Rumors began floating around that it was alien technology that was being tested to make the ship invisible. I found out later that the equipment had the ability of fusing electromagnetic radiation and gravity into one field. Whatever that means. Anyway, on October 28, 1943, the test was conducted. What happened after that was scarier than any monster movie. We all began suffering nausea...throwing up everywhere. A few of us actually puked blood. A few days later, strange things began to happen. Some of us would disappear into thin air...then reappear minutes later. A few would reappear with half of their bodies sticking out of the hull. Others would burst into flames while others would go completely bananas.”

Dawn is utterly shocked and at a loss for words. She covers her mouth with both of her hands. She remembers that the Philadelphia Experiment was proven to be a hoax.

“In my case, Dawn, I disappeared one day and reappeared on October 30th...of the year 2012. I felt normal but something about me changed. I’m going to show you because I trust you. Just don’t scream, okay?”

Dawn lowers her hands slowly and nods in an insecure manner. Her biggest fear is that he’ll mutate into something similar to John Carpenter’s Thing creature and she’ll then get absorbed into his body. She gathers up her courage and prepares herself. Her whole body begins to shiver uncontrollably at the sight of Henry fading away...little by little...until he’s gone. Dawn inches her way backwards until she comes into contact with a tree. The sound of her purse opening startles her. Mainly because it wasn’t her that opened it. A pen floats out and, seemingly by way of a magic trick, hovers inches away from her eyes. She whispers, in the fashion similar to that of a spectator witnessing a dramatic circus performance, “Whoa.”

Henry gradually materializes in front of her and places the pen back inside of her purse. He grins and says, “Please don’t faint again. Carrying a woman isn’t as easy as it looks in the movies.”

“Um...okay. Give me a minute to process what I just saw.”

Dawn folds her arms and begins pacing back and forth attempting to rationalize what just took place. Is this a dream? The kind that feels real but isn’t?

“You can’t tell anyone about this, Dawn. Not even Ellie.”

The request takes her by surprise and she stops to look into his eyes. He trusts her more than her grandmother? No...she just can’t take him away from her.

“Henry. No. My grandmom has to know. She’s the one that you love so you need to tell her. You don’t even know me.”

“Really? And have the poor woman die of a heart attack? I do love her...and that’s why she can’t know.”

He does have a point. Her grandmother has already lived her life with her father. She has experienced the joys of motherhood and the precious gift of having a grandchildren. The past should be left alone and not be revisited. Henry gives her a slight bow and turns around to walk away. She has met the only person she’s ever admired just to say goodbye to him.

“Will I see you again?”

Henry stops walking and, without looking at her, says, “My life is complicated, Dawn.”

“I know.”

Taking the hint that she doesn’t want him to leave, he turns around and takes a moment to admire her beauty. It has been such a long time since he last gave himself time to socialize and have fun.

“I guess you can take me to that place to try out the quesadillas.”

This makes her feel the happiest she’s ever felt in a long time. She smiles at him and they both proceed to walk back to the car.

Hours later, Henry and Dawn are at the restaurant sitting at a table. They are both drinking beer and laughing at Henry’s experiences during his first few attempts at getting accustomed to the current time period.

“I remember trying to look for the knob of the water faucet to wash my hands in the men’s room of a movie theater. I practically missed the whole movie that night.”

Dawn laughs and, after sipping her beer, asks interrogatively, “Be honest. Have you ever sneaked into the ladies room?”

The question makes him blush and he begins coughing from inhaling the beer instead of drinking it. His eyes become watery as a result of not being able to cease his sudden coughing fit. While smiling, and wiping the tears from his eyes, he manages to utter between coughs, “No!”

Dawn believes him but just to taunt him says, “Yeah, right.”

“Seriously! I would never do that. I have been tempted, yes. Never went through with it, though.”

Dawn’s mood suddenly shifts from happiness to sadness. Henry becomes concerned and asks, “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know. Sometimes I feel as if I was born in the wrong era. I never really fit in with the other kids my age. When I was fourteen, I would look at grandma’s photo albums and become so obsessed with the fantasy of being there with them. I even watched all of her favorite movies just to escape the real world.”

“Which one’s your favorite?”

“Hmmmm....That’s a tough one. I’ll go with Casablanca.”

“Good ol’ Humphrey. ‘Here’s looking at you, kid.’ That one was great.”

“You know what else I used to like looking at? The pictures she had of you. I remember how she would sit there knitting and telling me those stories of the moments that she shared with you. You became something of a role model for me being that my dad died when I was four and my older brother’s gay.”

“How about your granddad?”

“They got divorced when I was ten. I haven’t heard from him since. Things are so different now compared to your time...uglier.”

Henry cannot find anything to say that can comfort her. Judging by the way she is staring at her mug, it looks as if the conversation has made some of her bad memories return. He decides to drop the topic and drink more of his beer.

Two hours later, they both exit the restaurant and takes a few steps forward until Henry stops walking. She turns around and knows right away that Henry is going to leave just by the look on his handsome face. He says to her warmly, “I really have to go now, Dawn.”

“Okay, Henry. It was a pleasure to meet you. Really.”

“Maybe we can catch a movie sometime?”

“Sure. I’d love to. Can I give you a ride?”

“Nah. I feel like walking back. Thanks.”

Henry moves closer to her until his lips are merely inches away from her right cheek. He closes his eyes to sniff the sweet scent of her perfume and kisses her cheek softly. The urge to taste her luscious lips is incredibly hard to resist...especially as he feels her warm breath sensually flowing around his ear. He resists, out of respect, and takes a step back.

“Here’s looking at you, kid.”

Dawn giggles and says, “Bye.”

She watches him walk away and wonders if she will in fact get a chance to watch a movie with him. Or if the same thing that happened to her grandmother will happen to her. She takes a minute to take out her cell phone to answer a call and when she looks up...Henry is nowhere to be seen.

“You didn’t just do the invisibility thing on me.”