Page 68 of The Society of Unknowable Objects
“So your artefact...” Henry probed, eyes narrowing. “Not only does it stop bullets, but it lets you eat whatever you want without any consequences?”
“It might just be good genetics,” James conceded. “Although I do eat a lot... so it’s probably the pill.”
Behind him, Annie carried a plate to the teenage boy in the booth at the far end of the room, a burger and fries. The boy looked up shyly, Magda saw, and she wrote a quick story in her mind of unrequited love. The boy was smitten with Annie and probably came to the diner every night just to be near her, dreaming of her one day falling in love with him. Magda smiled to herself as the boy watched Annie walk away, not a passing thought for the food she’d placed in front of him.
“I am not much of an eater at all,” Henry admitted, rearranging bangles on her arms. “Never that fussed, if I’m honest. Find the whole thing a bit of a chore.”
“Well, that’s something I can’t understand,” James admitted. “I am either eating or thinking about what I am going to eat next. Those are my two states of being.”
“Same,” Magda admitted. Happiness washed over her as James met her eyes, as they shared that sentiment. She remembered walking with him in Hong Kong, sharing noodles in the noisy restaurant, and it felt like an eternity ago. But those were good memories, and they comforted her, just as she felt comforted by the way James looked at her now.
In her rush of joy, Magda suddenly and irrationally believed that nothing bad could happen to them. She was with her friends and that was her power, not the magic things they carried.
Annie returned with three mugs of coffee, the smell filling Magda’s nose. As the girl deposited the drinks on the table Magda asked her, “Is there anything out of town, north from here?” She pointed between Henry and James, parallel with the road outside. “Any buildings or anything? Anything of interest?”
Annie turned her head in the direction Magda had pointed, as if she could see through the wall, and hummed thoughtfully. “There’s not much out that way, no,” she said. “That’s the old county road. If you follow it long enough it takes you all the way to Georgia, I guess. But it’s just the backwoods for miles and miles.”
Magda nodded but didn’t know if the answer made her feel better or worse.
“There’s the old Methodist church,” Annie added, one hand on her hip. “But that was abandoned years ago. I don’t think anyone goes out there now. I don’t even rightly know if it’s still standing. Everyone just uses the church across the street. Y’all looking for something?”
Magda noticed the man on the stool turning slightly to look their way, and then the teenage boy in the booth down at the end lifted his eyes from the burger in his hands to watch them. Before she could speak Henry answered for her.
“Not at all.” She smiled. “We’re just passing through, on our way to Atlanta. Just thought we’d take a break from the highway for a while, you know? See if we could see anything.”
“Oh sure,” Annie said. “Well, there ain’t much to see but trees and bushes out that way, sorry to say. Your food’s coming right up.”
They waited in silence, the tension returning, until Annie returneda few minutes later laden with plates. Magda played with her food and James ate like it was his last meal, while Henry sipped her coffee. Outside the darkness seemed to come all of a sudden while Magda was distracted by her food, like someone had suddenly flicked a switch to dismiss all of the light from the sky. She glanced up and saw only the black of night and the eerie blue glow from the sign in the diner window. It was already well after midnight in London and she felt sleep pulling on her thoughts. She took a big mouthful of the coffee, needing the caffeine.
Across the table James finished his meal and wiped his mouth and hands with paper napkins. Henry was silent, seemingly lost in her thoughts, and as Magda watched, the other woman picked up and put down the saltshaker, her teaspoon, and then spent a few moments folding napkins. Magda wondered if beneath the confident exterior Henry was as nervous as she was.
“So what do we do?” Magda asked, pulling both James and Henry’s gaze to her. “I can’t bear just sitting here fearing the worst for much longer. We need a plan.”
Neither of them rushed to answer, and in the silence, Annie returned to the table to clear the plates. The man who had been perched at the counter got up and left, exchanging a few pleasantries with Annie as he did so. Magda watched him walk out into the evening and across the street to one of the other cars in the empty lot. A moment later headlights dazzled the street and the car pulled out and headed south.
“It’s dark,” James noted, nodding out the window. “Personally I’d rather do anything we want to do in the daylight, when we can see.”
Magda nodded quickly, loving that idea, loving that James had been the one to suggest it.
“Although darkness might give us more cover for a stealthy approach,” Henry countered.
Annie returned with their bill and a quick “Thanks, y’all.”
“Maybe we just drive up to where the Impossible Box is,” Magda suggested. “Just see if we can see anything? We can make a plan once we know more. Like you said, Henry, best to gather intelligence.” She slid out of the booth to her feet. “But I agree with James. I’d rather do this... whatever this is... in the daylight.”
Magda paid the bill with cash she had taken out of an ATM at JFK, adding a large tip for Annie because she’d liked the girl, and then the three of them ventured back out into the evening, leaving the teenage boy alone in the diner with Annie. Magda glanced back and saw his pale face through the window, his eyes following them across the road.
“So we drive up towards where the box is,” Henry said, waving a hand up the road, “and see what we can see. Then we go find a motel and get a good night’s rest.”
Magda pulled the map from her pocket. The last time she’d checked, just before they’d driven into Masters, the box hadn’t been far from the town. She unfolded the map, waving a hand to discourage the bugs that were once again gathering around her, and tilted the paper to read it in the light from the diner’s window.
What?
Something was different.
“Wait” she said. Both James and Henry stopped and looked back at her. “It’s moved.”
Magda looked north along the street, past the diner and the church and the houses and other buildings. Further ahead, beyond the illumination of the streetlights, the woods thickened into shadows, swallowing the road.
