The Permutation

Breakthrough (Part 14) Vergil

Friday, November 4th 8:00 p.m.

The search for Rachel Durant had ground to a screeching halt. Every human being Vergil, Lisa, and Albert could think of had no idea where Rachel had run off to. The enthusiasm that had driven them was starting to wear thin. The gang had worked until the late evening without anything to show for their efforts, and Albert made the astute observation that they'd had nothing to eat since the stale bagels at Vergil's AA meeting.

That's how Vergil and Lisa found themselves sitting across from each other at the Pho King Palace, the place Lisa had taken Vergil on their first date. Albert was lying on Lisa's shoes drifting in and out of consciousness. Vergil hadn't consciously been there since Lisa left. The familiar sights, smells, and sounds reminded him why.

Blinding lights accentuated a garish red decor that coated everything from the wood of the tables to the cheap torn upholstery of the booths. The smell of pho clung to the room like it had long since sunk into the walls. Pho King Palace wouldn't be complete without the King family yelling and arguing in the kitchen like it was rush hour even when the three of them and one family of four were the only patrons that evening.

And the Ghost of Vergil Past

Vergil could almost see the specter of his seventeen year old self sitting across from Lisa, falling in love with her, completely unaware that they were going to be the best times of his life. He wished he could go back to that Vergil and warn him, temper his enthusiasm, so when the harsh reality of life hit, he would be prepared. Past Vergil wouldn't have listened, high on life and young love, the invincibility complex promising him the good times would last forever.

"Those were good times weren't they?" Lisa said.

"Am I that obvious?" Vergil replied. The specter dissipated into the air like a fine mist.

That Vergil is dead, I'm all that remains.

"Lad, the only way your mental state could be more obvious is if a rain cloud were constantly drifting over your head," Albert chimed in.

Lisa met Vergil's eyes and shrugged. The corners of her mouth were tilted downward and her eyes were brimming with sympathy or pity; the two words were synonymous in Vergil's mind.

"Vergil."

He waited for her to continue, but she didn't. The silence gaped between them. In another day, another time Vergil may have had something to say to articulate all the emotions cavorting inside him waiting to break free, but he'd locked them away in a steamer trunk and threw the key into the ocean.

"Why do you hate yourself so much?"

"Look at me. I'm a worthless drunk, stuck in the tar pit that is Lancet Falls, and I'm no good for anyone. It should be obvious," Vergil replied avoiding her eyes.

"That's not what I mean, and you know it."

"I'm not sure I do Lisa, you tell me. Everyone was so sure I'd become something. 'Oh Vergil, you're so smart,' 'Oh Vergil, you can do anything if you set your mind to it,' "Oh Vergil, I can't wait to see what you make of yourself,' Look at me now. What is there to like?"

"You chose this, no one forced you to stay here and mope around pissing your life away."

"We were all supposed to stay here!" Vergil shouted raising his voice, causing heads to turn, "We all promised, every single one of us, to stay and make Lancet Falls great. I thought everyone loved it as much as me, but I guess I was wrong. You, Danny, Luke, and Quinn. We all chose this, but I'm the only one who followed through."

"That pact was made by a bunch of kids that didn't know what they were saying. Kids with a fear of the unknown that wanted to stay young forever, but we grew up. We didn't put our lives on pause for a stupid promise."