Unmoving Unseen

By Frederick Krause

John Keller is seconds away from a horrible death, but dying is something he will not easily accept. John has a power that he was unaware of. A power few people possess. Through a combination of fear and an extreme degree of self-preservation, John wills himself out of his body. He is now a member of a small group unknown to the living world. He is a "Bail-out." This can only happen if a person bails out in a moment they were sure death was eminent, but they wouldn't have actually died. Their physical body remains in coma while they are left to wander naked and invisible until their body dies. One thing separates John from the rest of the Bail-outs. His body is not in coma. His body is walking and talking and - killing. John's wife takes her children and goes on the run and the physical John hunts them. The real John sets out on a quest to acquire a body and stop the imposter before it's too late. He will have to overcome dangerous obstacles and deceive trusted friends. Who will find his family first? Two men determined to affect opposing outcomes. One is driven by love and revenge, the other, by pure hatred and an uncontrollable desire to kill.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Whiskey Creek Press
• Release date: Dec 1, 2005
• ISBN: 9781593743789

Book preview

Chapter 1

A drop of sweat slid off John Keller’s brow and into his eye. It stung, and he rubbed it until it stopped. He smiled at his wife, and then kissed her forehead. He always did that when he knew she was scared or worried about something. This time, like so many others, she was worried for his safety.

John the daredevil was what she knew he was, and she called him Superman. He was always looking for exciting and dangerous ways to get his blood pumping faster, harder and today was the final day of John’s latest blood pumping adventure. He’d built a vehicle he believed would break the land speed record. He stood next to his torpedo-shaped rocket with wheels, looking through the endless heat waves stretching out and dancing across the desert, blurring the horizon. His wife Kathleen and five trusted friends helped him haul the vehicle he’d named ‘Lightspeed’—and Kathleen called the ‘Bomb’— out to the Black Rock desert in Nevada. It was a hot day and the air was still; a perfect day to test the bomb.

Kathleen ordered John and his adrenaline-junkie buddies to pose next to their design while she focused her camera. She winked at John. Everyone say ‘dead meat’! They all did, and she snapped the picture.

John stared at his wife. He truly loved her, everything about her. Her black hair falling just past her shoulders and shining like an onyx stone in the brilliant sunlight. Her bright crystal-blue eyes and white skin, which she protected from the sun. She’d stopped trying to tan because the result was always a burn. He even loved the scar on the back of her neck, extending from her right shoulder to just under her left arm pit. When she was seventeen, some friends had talked her into jumping off a forty-foot cliff into a lake. She’d hit the water perfectly straight, like a dart being dropped—only to be cut open badly on an old sunken automobile that nobody knew was there. That squashed any desire she might have had to join Superman on one of his daredevil antics.

John was especially in love with her quick wit and humor, which kept family and friends on their toes, afraid that they might be the object of one of her harmless, but embarrassing pranks.

They’d met while John was in his last year of college. She was a freelance photographer getting pictures for a skydiving magazine. She’d zoomed in on an especially creative free faller, who turned out to be the man she would fall in love with and marry. That was eleven years and two children ago.

Shortly after they met, John started calling her Kat. For some reason it didn’t bother her when he said it, but it was like fingernails on a chalkboard coming from anyone else.

John was a very intelligent kid. He’d graduated at age seventeen and went straight to college. With degrees in electrical engineering and computer programming, John didn’t have any trouble finding work. But he didn’t care to work for others, so he started a software company of his own. They struggled for several years, living on Kat’s freelance photography until their company, which they named KELTEC, took off. The business grew quickly, and so did their family.

First born was Bryon, and at age twelve he was in some ways a carbon copy of his mother. He had her black hair and blue eyes—also her optimistic outlook and never-ending sense of humor. Next to come was Christine. Chris was nine and she too looked like her mother, though she had her father’s personality. She was inquisitive to a fault and always looking for new excitement.

Chapter 2

John was sweating in his flame-resistant overall. He was day-dreaming, totally unaware of the activity around him. A film crew from the local TV station was there, as well as an emergency medical team. Kat had seen to that. They were almost ready to blast off. Chris tugged on her daddy’s pant-leg, but he didn’t notice. He was still lost in a daydream, staring out across the vast desert. Daddy, Chris said again, a little louder this time. Yes honey, what is it?

I want you to have this. She handed her dad a little four-leaf clover made of silver.

Are you sure? he asked. You won that at the 4H fair.

I’m sure, she answered, as she tried to put the chain over his head, but it was too small.

I’ll just put it in my pocket for now, he said. She hugged him and ran back to the air conditioned SUV. Bryon gave his dad a thumbs up and smiled.

John was sweating badly now. It was ninety degrees with no breeze. Roger walked up to him. Are you ready to make history? he asked. Roger was John’s best friend—they’d known each other in college, but hadn’t hung out together. Roger was an attorney and John had hired him as the company was growing. Since then, Roger had become a close friend of the family. Bryon and Chris called him uncle Rodge.

As ready as I’ll ever be, replied John.

"Well I’m not ready. I want to forget about all of this and go play some golf."

Okay, hop in, I’ll drive. John motioned to the Lightspeed.

Me and the crew are gonna head to the half way point, Roger said. The film crew and EMTs are already there. We’ll wait for Kathleen and the kids. Good luck. He gripped John’s hand tightly and thumped him on the back encouragingly.

John was just about to get into the Lightspeed when it hit him. He had to pee. I must have drunk to much coffee this morning, he muttered.

* * * *

Kat looked over toward John. He’d moved to the other side of the Bomb, and was frantically trying to get out of his sweat-soaked overall while doing what looked like an Irish Riverdance. She started to laugh, and walked over to help free her panicking husband.

John completed his little mission and put his suit back on. He climbed into the Lightspeed cockpit, buckled himself in, and was pulling on his helmet when Kat stopped him.

Okay, Superman, she said. Be careful. I love you.

John smiled at her. You wouldn’t send Superman off to risk life and limb without a dose of kryptonite, would you? Kat looked around to see if anyone was paying attention. She saw that everyone was busy. She leaned into the cockpit, pulled open the face shield, and stuck her face inside John’s helmet. She gave him a long, passionate kiss.

There, she said. That ought to be enough to get you through this safely. And when you’ve broken this record, I think we’ll have to find you a little less dangerous hobby. Something like fishing.

P-lease! John gave her a frightened look, then smiled teasingly.

She shrugged in resignation and walked back to the SUV. She sat down behind the wheel, told the kids to buckle up and before she took off for the half way point, she looked back at her husband. Then she looked up and said, God, take care of that man, ’cause you and I both know that kryptonite isn’t going to do it. Then she drove off.

She didn’t have the heart to tell him that kryptonite was actually bad for Superman. And he didn’t know it, but she was dead serious about the fishing thing.

* * * *

John sat in silence, buckled securely into the Lightspeed, or was it really a bomb? It had all come to this moment. Four and a half years of research, building and preparation went into this project. They had been on site for two weeks. He put his hand on the steering wheel just like he had done a hundred times before. Now all that was left was to wait for the green light.

John was ready. He loved this stuff. He had always loved danger and excitement. But this time he felt something else. Fear. There was always an element of fear, but this time was different. This time he was so frightened, he wished he had an eject button he could push, just to get his ass out of the damn bomb!

Okay John, he said out loud. This is it, so shake it off and stop acting like a chicken shit. The sweat was really pouring now. I should have rolled around in baby powder beforehand. His clothes were clinging to him so bad, it felt like he was immobile; like he was wrapped in plastic food wrap.

Stay focused, son, his father’s voice, warm and comforting, sounded in his head. Don’t let your mind wander.

But that was exactly what he was doing.

* * * *

His mind wandered back; back to the woods; back to a cold day in a dark wood. He was twelve years old and on his second deer hunt with his father. His first had been a year before and—for the most part—four days of slow walks through the woods, with his father talking to him quietly, telling him about deer and their habits, their signs and the respect the two must have for them. He lectured firearms safety whenever John made an infraction carrying his father’s one-shot black powder rifle.

But the next time he was hunting for real; sitting in a blind he and his father had quietly put together with dead branches. He was warm, with his dad sitting beside him. Close. So close he could feel his father’s breath on his ear when he whispered, Stay focused, son. See the big picture, don’t get tunnel vision. Let your eyes see the whole forest and stay focused. That had been a happy time for John. He missed his father and often thought of him. Don’t get tunnel vision. Stay focused.

* * * *

The green light above the steering wheel came on. It startled John, and he jumped in his seat. Then, Dave’s voice came over the radio in his helmet.

Dave was another of John’s trusted friends. He worked for an electronics company where the Lightspeed project people were sourcing many products. Dave became interested in—no, actually obsessed—with John’s endeavor, until it got to the point where Dave spent more time working on the Lightspeed than he did at his own job. John had then hired him because he’d become quite an asset, and he liked Dave’s enthusiasm. They’d become very close friends during the past four years.

John took a deep breath, let it out, and started the after-burning turbofan. He slowly ran through the check list, just as they had rehearsed what seemed like a thousand times. Everything was okay. Well, boys and girls, we have a go, he said. I’m ready when you are.

Good luck, buddy, replied Dave. "We’ll catch you in the winner’s circle.

John heard an electronic voice start counting down. It started at fifteen, and when it hit ten, that feeling of fear rushed over him again. When it hit five, he was almost panic-stricken. He didn’t even hear the rest of the count. The Lightspeed shot from a stand still and the g-forces slammed his head against the seat. He shook off the fear and came back to his old self, zeroing in on the task at hand. His gaze shot around to everything of importance. First the view ahead, then the temperature gauges, then the speedometer. When he saw the speedometer, he remembered why he was where he was, breaking the land speed record.

The record stood at seven hundred and sixty-three miles per hour. John was shooting for eight hundred. He knew that Dave would be monitoring all of the Lightspeed’s gauges via remote link, so he decided to concentrate on keeping the craft in a straight line, and rely on Dave’s voice commands. The Lightspeed was working perfectly. It seemed to be flying six inches off the ground. He could feel the g-forces growing constantly and everything was a blur. All that he could make out was a small red dot, miles off in the distance. He felt a hard thump vibrate once through the whole vehicle, but it still appeared to be gaining speed.

Dave’s voice came through the small speakers in John’s helmet, counting the miles per hour. They were close now. Seven hundred twenty. Seven hundred forty. Seven fifty—sixty—seventy—we’re almost there John. Seven ninety. Eight hundred! Break her down, John, you did it! John flipped the switch on the steering wheel to start the braking sequence. He felt the craft slowing slightly, but the engines continued to roar on, and Dave’s voice came back. John! John, can you hear me? Shut it down. Shut it down now, John!

I did, but the engines are still hot. She’s starting to shake. I can’t keep her in a straight line. Help me out here, Dave.

I’m trying, but it’s not responding.

John could feel an intense heat around his legs. He knew the engines couldn’t get much hotter before they would blow out! As the thought came to him, a small explosion on the right side of the craft sent a piece of metal the size of a silver dollar crashing through the cockpit. It struck John’s helmet, destroying the communication system. His eyes blurred, and he felt the Lightspeed start to roll toward the side of the explosion. Still going hundreds of miles per hour, the cockpit filled with smoke. The runaway vehicle rolled completely to the right, off of the wheels. The Lightspeed was now sliding on its side. John was being shaken violently, and his legs felt like they were on fire. He caught a glimpse of a fire engine and the paramedics. They were going in the same direction as he was, but he passed them like they were standing still. The pain in his legs was excruciating.

He was going to die. Superman was going to die. I can’t die now. I won’t die now.

By now the cockpit was choked with smoke, and John could hardly breathe. His head was shaking and he could feel the intense heat coming through the protective material around his legs. Still John fought death—refusing it. With everything in him, he refused to accept the inevitable fact. Then John did something he’d never done before. He passed out.

Chapter 3

Light filled his eyes and his head gradually took control of his balance. He slowly regained his senses. When he was fully aware, the first thing he saw was a pillar of black smoke about a quarter of a mile away. He was standing, looking straight ahead, in the same direction he had been traveling in the Lightspeed.

The Lightspeed, that’s where I was. I missed something here. I must have passed out. Or maybe I crashed and the paramedics pulled me free.

He was confused now, and the confusion deepened when he realized he was completely naked. Okay, now I’m really lost. If this is some kind of joke…well it’s not very funny and I’m getting mad. It has to be those paramedics. They’d been good for at least one prank per day since arriving at the Black Rock desert site.

Just as he thought of them, they roared by him, sirens blaring and lights flashing an eerie red across the sand. They were three feet away from him and going at least a hundred miles an hour. They were racing toward the pillar of smoke and their sudden appearance from behind scared the living hell out of him. He stumbled sideways and fell onto the hot desert sand. Hey! he shouted as they raced away without even slowing down. He sat there watching the truck get smaller.

This must be a dream. I can’t even feel this hot sand on my bare ass! He stood up, and slowly looked around. Behind him, coming from the same direction as the EMTs, were his wife and kids. They were in the family Pathfinder with Roger at the wheel. John threw his arms in the air and waved.

Finally, some answers, he said out loud. Then he remembered that he was completely nude. His hands shot down to his crotch and he did his best to cover his groin. This is definitely not funny, and heads are going to roll for it! He stood there waiting to be picked up, desperately needing an explanation as he watched his family fly by him, without looking in his direction. It’s as if they didn’t even see me.

His mind started racing through the possible reasons why his family would ignore him while he stood stark naked in their path. Then he hit on the only reason that made sense.

He was dead.

No matter how hard he tried, he could not justify or explain what was happening with any other plausible reason.

Oh my hell, I’m dead! John fell to his knees, sat back on his feet and looked into the mid-morning sun. He sat there for what seemed like an hour, but in reality was just a few minutes. Again, he noticed that he couldn’t feel the hot sand. He finally stood up. He seemed to be a quarter of an inch off the desert floor, like he wasn’t really touching the ground.

My family. He looked in the direction of the smoke and as he started to run, he was suddenly there. Did I black out again? One second I’m half a mile away, and the next... He brushed the thought away.

Kat was standing in front of him.

She had her hands over her mouth and a look of fear on her face. Roger was holding the kids as they watched the paramedics and fire fighters trying to free what John knew was his dead body. He couldn’t bear to watch. This is going to kill her. And my kids! Oh God, my kids are going to see this. At that moment Kat bolted for the Lightspeed and was caught by one of the crew. She had tears streaking her face, and she kicked and fought to get free. She screamed at the fire fighters. Get him the hell out of there!

John wanted to comfort his wife. He went to her, and put his arms around her, but his chest and arms seemed to move through her. It was the first time he’d had any physical feeling since he woke up—dead. It was a sort of pain, like an electrical shock. He jumped back, and helplessness swept through him. He yelled, I’m here, I’m here Kat! He stepped in front of her, trying to block her view, so all she would see was him.

Then her terror-stricken face changed. She smiled a smile of relief and thankfulness. The crewman let go of her, and she ran right through him. He felt that stinging sensation again. When John turned around, he saw his body being dragged from the bomb. He saw himself—alive.

This isn’t right. This can’t be right. If that’s me and I’m alive, then why am I here, naked and invisible?

He was really confused now. He watched himself moving and choking from the smoke and heat. They pulled off his helmet, and cut off his overall. He watched himself slowly regain senses. He watched as the man who looked exactly like himself sat up, threw his hands in the air, and screamed out loud, I did it! I did it! I am back, and I’m fucking alive!

It was strange for Kat to hear John use foul language. An occasional ‘damn’, or a ‘shit’, but he never said ‘fuck’. She was so glad he was alive—and sure that he was glad too—that it was almost funny to hear him use the ‘F’ word, even in front of the kids. She rushed over to him, wrapped her arms around him and started kissing him all over his face.

John realized he was smiling. He was so happy to see Kat and the kids happy, he almost forgot about the bizarre events unfolding before him. John Two—or the living John—kissed Kat back, but only momentarily. Then he pushed her away, as if he wasn’t really concerned about her at all. Bryon and Christine ran to their father and jumped on him, but he didn’t seem to notice them either.

Naked, invisible John—or John One as he was coming to think of himself—said out loud, Hug your children! What’s the matter with you, or me, or whoever you are? He was no longer smiling. He walked over to John Two and got close to him. He watched himself. It was him. Everything about this man I’m standing next to is John Keller—me. Why is this man, who is me, so disinterested in my family? That is so totally not...me.

John Two looked at his hands and his arms. He turned around and walked away from everyone, stopping at the Pathfinder. He stared at his reflection in the rear window for a minute then slowly started to smile.

Kat interrupted his moment of self-discovery. John. John, are you okay?

John Two snapped back to reality. He stood with his back to Kat, his mind ticking, thinking of what to say. Then he turned around, held out his arms and smiled at her. Baby, I am great, just like the old John would’ve. It was as if he was an actor practicing a line, and he did it perfectly. John One knew something was wrong.

Why am I acting like that? He looks like me, and he sounds like me, but something isn’t right about him.

Just then all hell broke loose. Champagne corks popped and the sparkling celebration liquid flew everywhere. They picked up John Two and held him high in the air. Roger stuck his hand up to him and said, You did it, John! You broke the land speed record. John Two looked at Roger for a second, not knowing who he was, then he grabbed Roger’s hand and said, Yeah, yeah that’s right I did. Then he shot his hands into the air and yelled at the top of his lungs, I’m alive, I am alive! Everyone was jumping up and down, laughing. They were all so happy. Happy for John, happy for their success, and happy that John was okay.

Off to the side stood John One, naked, invisible, and watching. He knew that the man before him—the man who was him—couldn’t care less about the speed record. He was convinced the man was happy about an entirely different issue. Something was very wrong, and he was going to get to the bottom of it.

* * * *

As the celebration slowed down, John Two felt a tightness growing in his chest, and sensed that he was about to pass out again. He leaned on Kat. Baby, suddenly I don’t feel so great. Kat motioned for the paramedics to come over.

That cockpit was full of smoke, said one of the EMTs. The other agreed and added, He could have some smoke inhalation problems. Let’s put him in the ambulance. He should spend the day in the hospital, to be on the safe side. Kat quickly agreed, but John Two started to argue. She squeezed his hand and he winced a little as he looked up at her. Her expression said, ‘Shut up and go along’. He smiled at her. Okay, boys, the boss has spoken. I’m all yours.

Chapter 4

Kat explained to the kids that it was nothing serious and asked Roger to take