Free Lost Signals by Josh Malerman, Damien Angelica Walters, Matthew M. Bartlett, David James Keaton, Tony Burgess, T.E. Grau Page A

Pamela doesn’t like it, who cares, the movie is good, the book is good, the pizza he has in a box (box) upon the black filing cabinet is good, too . . . no worries on the job, nothing to get upset about, getting paid to sit in a stone cottage, do whatever he likes to do, take a piss when he needs to–
    FLASH   !
    . . . lightning only heard, Michael in the pisser, sitting down in the dark, rising when he’s done   ; back through the little hall, back to the desk with the small television, the papers, the chips, and his phone . . . his phone letting him know someone wrote him, someone said they’re here, I’M HERE, Pamela already   ?, and Michael sticks his head out the little window and sees (yes) Pamela standing at the gate, alone, anxious, no doubt, by the way she sways . . .
    FLASH   !
    . . . Michael out of the office, the green wooden door slamming shut behind him, racing to greet Pamela, nodding to her through the bars   ; follow me, he’s saying, this way . . .
    . . . behold . . .
    . . . Michael letting Pamela in through a small door in the brush, Pamela remarking on it, saying how cool, a fucking door into a graveyard at night . . . Michael nodding yeah but come on it’s raining pretty bad now and the office is dry, come on, you’re gonna like this . . . and they run through the rain and she’s laughing and Michael doesn’t care if she makes too much noise, doesn’t care if he does either, let someone notice, let him get fired, there are other cool gigs like the night watchman at a hospital, the night watchman at a train station . . .
    FLASH   !
    . . . in through the green door, damp wood, and into the office and she looks so wonderful drenched like this and Michael notices for the first time she’s carrying two beers on the end of a six pack plastic thingie and he says,
    “ah man I probably shouldn’t drink here”
    and she says
    “just one, each”
    and he shrugs and shows her around the office   ; shows her the letterhead SAMHATTAN CEMETERY, shows her the file cabinet with all the dead records and the little radio and the television and realizes he’s run out of things to show her then remembers the Givens Sensor Board, and turns around and shows her that, too . . .
    “if one of these lit up . . . ”
    FLASH   !
    . . . they’re kissing, not the way he had planned but so what   ; she’s not straddling him in the office chair, but their lips are together, two sets, warm and wet, he’s the one against the wall and she’s the one making this all happen—and with his eyes closed he hears one of the beer cans open and she’s handing it to him and now they’re drinking beers and kissing and dogs and cats are making a bunch of noise on the television and Michael is in young man’s heaven . . .
    FLASH   !
    CRACK   !
    . . . they’re watching the movie together, eating pizza   ; Pamela uses the bathroom and Michael likes that, feels for a second like they live here together in this really cool place . . . they take turns looking out the one window   ; Pamela says the rain and tombstones look like the Old West together and Michael shrugs and then they’re laughing at her jokes, Pamela’s funny, Michael really likes her, likes that they only kissed and nothing else is going to happen   ; he isn’t sure what he would do, isn’t sure how to do things like that   ; glad enough for the kiss and receives a second flurry of kisses when it’s time for her to leave, here in the office, their lips together, so good, then a goodbye at the door in the brush and Michael scurrying across the grass, then pavement, back into the office where the movie has ended and it’s an hour past midnight and he already has a message on his phone that says THAT WAS FUN and Michael howls with delight and pumps a fist in the air and gets up on the chair and changes the channel . . . new movie . . . how about a black and whiter   ? . . . an old one . . . a funny one   ?