The End: Bryce, We Hardly Knew Ye

So here's where we learn what Bryce Droher wasn't but still aren't sure who he was and what he was doing, although clues are offered. Set your phasers on spooky and follow me...

You see, it turns out that Bryce Droher, the erstwhile Tarot Killer has vanished off the face of the earth, perhaps literally. On Friday last, I and some Sentries had some fun in the Big Apple and by "fun" I mean freezing our petoots off and visiting with various loons around the city. I was more surveilling, really.

Since then, I've received some emails that illuminate some of what I witnessed in La Grande Pomme in that while Bryce Droher is indeed the person I thought to be the TK, he is not and never has been, a killer. At least not of humans. He did off a whole bushel of squab, though. In fact, according to an email I received from a Sentry named Rose, Bryce was trying to resurrect his dead friends. Crazy? Once you read this whole issue, you might not think so....

Rose goes on to write that Bryce "made a heroic choice to sacrifice himself to save the world from chaos." Not sure what to make of this. How about a Bryce Droher checklist:

1) Nuttier than a Nutty Nut bar in a nut factory on extra nuts day.
2) Violent-Killed dozens, if not hundreds of harmless birds. Unless of course they were demon doves. Then it's ok.
3) Unnatural love for pie.
4) Made me pee myself at least once.
5) Apparently saved the world. Jury still out, here.

Ok, so #s 1-4 make it pretty unlikely he's a hero (although pie is tasty), but if 5 turns out to be true, I'd have to say that pushes him over into bona fide hero status.

So here's how it (apparently) happened, according to written and video evidence presented by Sentries: While I was on my ass in the 190th St. station, the Sentries, along with Art and Bryce, apparently went to the entrance of The Cloisters in UPPER Manhattan (didn't even know it went up that far!) and met some creepy little guy called the Gatekeeper (yeah, yeah. I got the joke...). The guy demands the cylinder Art found near Atlanta (remember...) but they don't give it up. Turns out someone has to go into The Cloisters with the cylinder and wouldn't return, having vanished into an alternate dimension called the "dreamscape" or something. (see? I told you the resurrection wouldn't sound so crazy!). Bryce wants to do it, so Art puts on his skirt, changes his name to Bettie Lou and runs away like a little girl, leaving Bryce to his fate. I knew Art would turn out to be a pussy.

But I digress....

So Art buggers off like a big girl's blouse and Bryce walks into The Cloisters with the Gatekeeper, presumably to make what Sentry Rowan Lambelle called the "final sacrifice".

No word on whether the Gatekeeper was Zuul or just a friend of his.

The rest of my day is in another piece in this issue. I hung around the city for a few days, hoping to catch wind of Bryce. Even went back up to The Cloisters, but there was no one there and no sign of the GK or Bryce. My pals in the NYPD didn't find a body, either. Even had a buddy do some snooping up there on his off duty hours, but no go.

Over the weekend I had a chance to look back at my notes and try to piece things together and noticed something I'd forgotten. In a post on her website, Lizzie Riley identifies several Manhattan "points" and one of them is at the Cloisters. I wonder if Lillian was around. I would assume so, but then why didn't she come forward? Are these points somehow gates into this apparent alternate dimension? From what I've seen, I refuse to rule anything out and it's clear that there's something going on here beyond some crazy guy whacking pigeons in the park.