C20 Chauncey in Billy's DugOut

Chauncey wasn’t seeing very clearly. He wasn’t thinking very clearly. His life had gone from king of the mountain to gutter- snipe in a matter of twenty-four hours.

He lay in the dark, thinking he had gone insane, that all the images that spun around in his mind, like a speeding cartwheel, were hallucinations.

There hadn’t actually been a China Girl. He was not in a dark rat-infested hovel. His life was not under threat by one of the most violent men in the city. He had slipped through time and space for a fleeting moment, but all would be restored in the blink of an eye. He would wake up and quickly get dressed in the brown herringbone suit and blue silk shirt. He would drive off to Nora’s parents’ house for Christmas dinner. He would present the diamond ring he carried in his pocket after her father made his annual Christmas toast.

He was startled by the sound of the bottom of the door scratch- ing against the earthen floor. He heard the metal wheels come in through the door and cross the earthen floor. He watched the shad- owy figure close the door.

The shadowy figure became one with the darkness as it crossed to the small table and lit a candle with Chauncey’s lighter. The human rat wearing Chauncey’s clothes began to unload all of Chauncey’s belongings from the car.

There was a tool set. There was a laptop. There was a traveling kit.

There was a cellphone.

There was a copy of the Sarah Palin Playboy issue.

There was the big bag of coke from the glove compartment. There was a silver metal suitcase.

It placed all Chauncey’s belongings on the mat against the wall, rearranging them several times until he was satisfied by some absurd sense of order.

When it was finished, the human rat blew out the candle. It hurried to the door and was gone.