CHAPTER 21

KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE

I arrive in Knoxville in the dusk hours. The sky has a strange coloration that ranges from a deep blue to a very light lilac.

The radio has been silent for the past few hours. Truth be told the voice on the radio doesn’t say anything interesting. I really don’t know why I am going all the way to meet him. Well! I know why. The need to see and speak to another human being. Maybe he has already disappeared, maybe I am also going to disappear at any moment.

I exit the I-158 towards Downtown. There are cars on the road with their lights turned on. It looks like they were abandoned not long ago. Is the Disappearing happening at different times in other places? If this is true, maybe there are places where it hasn’t happened.

I enter Cumberland Avenue, turn right to S Gay Street and keep driving till I see a Crowne Plaza to my left. I rather sleep in hotels. I still feel that it isn’t right to enter a private home.

I park in front of the hotel and let Zeus out. I enter the lobby with the AR-15 ready. For some unknown reason, I don’t feel as relaxed as I was before. call it gut feeling.

I scan the lobby with my eyes. Everything seems quiet. I search for the back office. It’s empty. As was expected.

I sit in one of the lobby sofas. I am tired and starting to doubt my resolve in going all the way to Patagonia. I close my eyes and fall asleep.