LMI

Owen drove his Oldsmobile west. Abby lay buried in a sleeping bag in the back seat. She made no sound. She did not appear to be breathing. Owen had no idea if her four wounds would heal or not. He had long since cried himself out, however. He concentrated on the road. It was 1:13 AM, August 3, 1984.

What Alvirez appreciated most about Owen was that the child enjoyed ideas. Most people didn't like ideas. Owen wasn't one of them. This distinguishing trait rendered the boy's training not merely possible but propitious. It was a delight to teach him.

"All a person needs is love," Alvirez said. "Abby receives love from you. Therefore, Abby has everything she needs."

"Valid syllogism," Owen replied, fidgeting in his seat at the kitchen table. "The conclusion follows necessarily from the premises. But…unsound?"

"Why?" the agent asked.

Owen heard a knock on the kitchen door. "You're late," he complained as he received twelve bags of blood from Alvirez. He disappeared into Abby's bathroom and emerged a few minutes later, glad that the agent had acceded to gathering samples only after nightfall. It was hard enough trying to prick Abby with a needle without having to do it during the day.

"You were supposed to be here yesterday," Owen protested, joining Alvirez at the kitchen table.

"Eight days instead of seven," the agent demurred. "Does it really matter?"

Alvirez kept his rifle pointed at Owen's feet. The boy held his position for a long time. The agent waited. Eventually Owen advanced, shotgun aimed downward.

"Your girlfriend tends to leave you in the lurch," Alvirez observed.

"She doesn't deal well with surprises," Owen replied.

"Like an animal."

"Like an animal," Owen agreed.

Alvirez nodded, impressed. Owen didn't just know that Abby spooked easily. He knew it and accepted it.

"I liked your collection of books," Alvirez noted. "The only brothel in New York with its own library."

Owen opened his eyes to discover two things: he was in a sleeping bag, he was alive. He sat up in the Chevy's back seat. The car was surrounded by snow-covered trees. The sun was just coming up.

He shivered violently, realized the cold had awakened him. He emerged from the Chevy onto a rocky hillside. A tent containing Abby was set up in the snow. Wood had been arranged on a bare patch of ground. More sticks sat in an adjacent pile. Owen discovered a can of lighter fluid and a box of matches sitting on the hood of the car. He lit the fire and started warming himself.

Chapter Four: Prelude to Puella Aeterna

The genesis of the impending dawn began to creep slowly over the tops of the trees surrounding the nearly abandoned road. Abby, still crouched down beside the small stream, had managed clean most of the blood from her extremities. Though her clothes were still soaked and badly stained from their encounter, her angelic beauty was no longer cloaked beneath a viscous coat of blood. She looked up towards the sky and smiled as she noticed the shade of dark blue beginning to color the sky.

"I want two adjoining rooms for a week," Owen announced.

"We rent by the hour," the night manager informed him.

Owen placed a thousand dollars on the counter. "A week," he insisted, picking up the keys and hastening outside. He led Abby from the car. She entered her room quickly and closed the door in Owen's face. Owen knew she couldn't last much longer. He slung his duffle over his head and went foraging for blood.

Who is Eli? is a story that is set directly following the Let Me In film. Owen casually finds one of Abby's puzzles and notices the name "Eli" etched upon it. Abby decides the time is right to reveal more of her mysterious past.

Abby flew north. Owen, arms wrapped tightly around her neck, could see little except crisp stars shining in the desert air. He drank in the cool breeze, laughed and cried in turn, exulted in his dreams coming true. It was great to be free.

After a ten-minute flight, Abby landed next to a Buick parked several hundred feet off a highway. Owen felt his bare feet crunch into sand, but Abby did not let him go. Instead she pressed him to her with crushing force, repeating over and over again, "I missed you so much, Owen. I missed you so much."

"You're sure he said that?" Alvirez asked.

Timothy Shell, Owen Wheeler's roommate at the Bernalillo Detention Center, nodded for emphasis. "He said he called out to the policeman, got him to turn around. Then Abby attacked him from behind. That's what he said," the boy maintained.

Alvirez exchanged looks with his partner, rubbed his eyes. He was getting tired of the trip between Denver and Albuquerque.

"Excellent," Alvirez affirmed. "That's very good, Tim. You're doing a great job. Keep up the good work." A pair of New Mexico state troopers appeared and escorted Tim from the office.