Chapter Fifteen

As tired as the day had left me, I still laid awake for much of the night, recounting everything that had happened. One day earlier, I had worried myself over economics exams and English essays. Today, I had a ruined painting in my closet and a potentially schizophrenic old friend in my living room. And I couldn't sleep.

I tried to figure out what my next move should be; there was one possibility which I had been mulling over since Charles and I had started reminiscing earlier that evening. While I was recalling Daniel's extensive comic book collection, I remembered that he had told me his brother was pursuing a degree in criminal psychology; I guess reading so much about super-villains and evil geniuses had sparked something of a fascination.

Daniel himself had moved more than halfway across the country to attend the University of Iowa's creative writing program, and we'd exchanged a few e-mails since then but hadn't really kept in touch. Silently thanking whichever of my neighbors didn't bother securing their wireless network, I reached for my laptop. 

Daniel,
Haven't talked to you in a while. How are things? Still haven't seen your name on the New York Times Best Seller list. I assume it's a typo.

Anyway, something weird came up. Charles called me today, and now he's staying at my apartment, but I think there's something going on with him. He's acting really strange. I remember you saying your brother was getting a psychology degree, and I wonder if there's anybody he knew from back here or if he has any advice. If you could give him my phone number or just ask him to send me an e-mail, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks. Good luck with all the novels.

Adam

Before hitting send, I gave the letter a quick proofreading. For Charles' sake, I had tried to keep from revealing too much about the situation, but seeing the basic facts laid out in writing only seemed to emphasize just how absurd things were. I was sending a letter about one friend to another, both of whom I hadn't seen in over four years, and both of whom were now playing a significant part in how my immediate future was going to play out. Trying to push the thought from my mind, I hit send, turned off the computer, and made another attempt at sleep.