Forsaken Ties
Page 7
lost girl’s angel, Isaiah, is.
This is why Jim appeared so pleased to see me once again.
With the loss of my Aspects my face too has become blank.
The developing site is time lapsed. The ground is leveled and excavated 6 stories deep.
The structure’s blueprints depict 12 floors.
The 2nd floor from the top remains undrafted.
Words to Mom’s favorite song repeat in my head.
If I get to the cafeteria while that song plays over the intercom, she’ll reappear.
Then I can retrieve my mother, Kathrin.
There’s a mirror image of the realm I’m in directly beside me.
My reflection transitions into an image of Glen.
He is in a parallel place, and has begun recreating the Voltaire Facility also.
At Voltaire the primary focus of the facility is to study the science of music.
This makes it possible for Mom to come back, using technology that pinpoints an individual.
My stepbrother Glen plans to destroy a particular song, eliminating all those tied to it.
I need to get to Mom before he succeeds.
The extraordinary redevelopment completes with the finalization of a surrounding parking lot, which fills the once-desolate land mass. I then design my own outer appearance.
I approach the building’s entrance disguised as a lead supervisor, and enter undetected.
The sophistication of the environment within is nothing like the technology I’m familiar with.
Jim is doing janitorial work with earphones on, and appears absorbed in his task.
I feel his sharp gaze on me after I pass by.
Mom’s song is playing as I step off the elevator. Its gripping tune draws me to the break area.
She’s looking forward to having a sip of hot tea. The cafeteria assistant tells Mom,
“I’ll have that ready for you in a sec. Just ran out of boiling water, Kathrin.”
I hesitate to share with you the name, even a phrase from this song.
I know that if I were to avoid sharing it with you, you would hate me for doing this.
Sometimes it’s best to be left in wonder, rather than to know everything. But…
It’s not my song to keep to ourselves, so I’ll share with you the title: How He Loves by DCB.
Only true love can trigger the powerful emotions tied in with the message of this masterpiece.
I’ve let down my disguise, yet Mom appears unmoved by seeing me.
She must know this is the song for both of us, and may be unaware of her extended absence.
“Come sit down with me, Grayson,” she invites.
Hearing the name she uses conjures childlike feelings.
It’s the name I went by when I was young, while she was there during my early years.
Gently I answer in an adult manner, “Mom. That’s not my name anymore.”
“I know, Hon. But I’ve missed using it.” I feel I have to be the one that takes charge.
“Mom. We have to get you out of here. We don’t have time to sit and chat.”
“I’m waiting for my tea, sweetie. Then we can leave.
“I haven’t heard this song since you were little.”
My nerves are tense.
Here this facility, that uses its employees to sustain itself, is becoming more confusing.
If I can’t get Mom out of this timeframe, I’ll become trapped in a similar time warp.
Old memories will distort present knowledge, leading to a loss of focus and direction.
Then Glen will succeed by recapturing Mom’s essence, and I will be eliminated.
How could anyone turn down such a loving gaze as my mom tenderly pleads:
“Grey. We may never have this opportunity again.
“Please come and sit down, and honor this moment with me.
“When the song’s over then we can leave.
“I’ll make my tea to take with me. I promise.”
I imagine swooping her up into my arms and fleeing, but give in and sit down beside her.
The amplified words, “How He loves us all” echo in the kitchen as the song nears its finale.
Glancing in the direction I entered I visualize our departure.
The cafeteria repeats where the four walls of the room once were.
Each area is an exact reproduction. The only thing different is I’m not in them.
I stare at Mom sitting at the table in each of them.
Multiple chefs are there also, each one busy…working on a way to get out.
The kitchen chef in our area comes carrying a coffee pot full of hot water.
Balanced in his other hand is a dining tray with an coffee cup on a plate, and a styrofoam cup.
“Would you like to have your tea here, Kathrin?” he asks.
“I told my son we would be going after this song, so I’ll have it to go…Thank you!”
His focus is now turned to me. Intently the man gestures to his wedding-finger before going.
Here in Mom’s purgatory the only way out is for her to lead us.
Slipping off the promise ring from my hand, its size adjusts, and I place it into Mom’s palm.
“Mom. If you put this on then the One who David Crowder sings of will guide you.
“You’re going to have to get out of here on your own.
“If you don’t then we’ll both be lost.”
My spirit is being pulled like elastic, while my body drifts away from her.
“Promise me you will make it out?” I ask.
Cold fear spreads from my heart through my body.
I reach to take Mom’s hand…hoping to break the daze she is in.
My surroundings blur as I’m stripped away.
I feel empty when my feet land onto the street surface of the 1950’s neighborhood.
The upper story rooms of the houses now appear unoccupied.
The plain-metal dog tag that’s chained around my neck seems useless.
I open a mailbox and toss the item inside.
“Why is my left arm dark?” I quietly mutter.
My nerves shake from a thunderous rumble. Turning, I freeze.
An enormous, rich-brown wave is crashing down on top of me.
Submerged in a mixture of liquid and dirt I tumble against rocks, cars, and pavement.
When the tide subsides I’m staring out the window of a second story house.
Something menacing is inside the room behind me. I’m justly terrified to turn around.
From the corner of my eyes I notice pale individuals lined up and facing the wall also.
The one on my right hesitantly turns to look back.
They’re snatched by a monstrous claw and violently yanked away.
There is another soul standing beyond the empty spot.
The pale individual to my left lunges to escape through the window.
They’re grabbed and pulled away.
I recall up and down and moving forward, but can’t associate it with this situation.
Then the sign comes back to my memory. Down, Up, Down…Forward must fit in also.
If I continue to focus and keep my thoughts active, then bits of my memory return.
It’s exhausting, mentally. I want to take a moment to stare absently out at the street.
I force myself to keep thinking objectively, to avoid forgetting the clues.
Furthermore, I’m not ready to find out what happened to Soul 1 & 2.
I drop low. The monstrous claw flies overhead…then retracts.
In that split second Soul 3 moves to observe, and is snatched way.
I imagine seconds as minutes and realize that through this method time is relative.
I feel the metal claw graze my feet as I gracefully lift into the air.
I’m comfortable at this height, and lose sense of weight. I’m able to ignore the pull of gravity.
My vision is crystal clear. I’m creating my own re
ality as I hover in the air.
Looking down I find the extraction device is fixed in place.
I turn and find the metal arm reaching from a rippling wall of water in the center of the room.
It dawns on me why my arm is dark. I remember my missing guide…Sentel.
An additional frame of water extends from the liquid formation.
Looking down at the machine I question, “Could this contraption be my guide, Sentel?
“If so, then what has become of my other faithful companion, Rufus?”
Staring at the block and sizing up the fully developed six sides, I grasp its construction.
Key individuals in my life make up each side.
I’m sick from realizing there are two missing components.
I feel as though I have abandoned Adelle; and have failed her partner Charlie also.
Glen and Jim are their replacements. Yet one portion remains unsolved.
A phrase comes to mind. “There has to be a way to make it. The only way is if the water falls.”
* * * * *
[Still to Come, Part 4: Inferno’s Hold]