Simple was hardly the word that came to Aspen’s mind. Just thinking about time travel was giving her a headache. But she was willing to try just about anything if it meant saving the lives of Felix and the other Myriads. “How do I get this time travel thing to work?”
“That’s the easy part.”
“I beg to differ.”
“The hard part will be coming up with a plan that works. We won’t be able to talk once we leave this room, so we’ll need to do this here.”
Doing her best to move past the seemingly insurmountable obstacle of time travel, she pitched her idea. “I’ll travel in your pocket as a mouse. You’ll release me wherever the others are being kept. Once you and your prison guards leave, I’ll shift into human form, get each Myriad out from stasis—however that’s done—and go find you. Then we’ll all work together to get our asses out of here and live happily ever after.”
“Well done. Succinct and to the point,” he said, glancing at his watch. “Now for the easy part.”
Aspen realized she was about to put her faith in a Shroud she knew nothing about. She took a deep breath to steady her nerves and found herself craving a Butterfinger. King-size. She sighed. “Tell me what to do.”
* * *
Tora led Skye and the newborns into the main room of chamber one. The entire Alpha Genesis team was seated around the fire, drinking coffee. “The tunnels have been breached,” she announced.
“Showtime,” Tony said, driving his fist into the palm of his hand.
Oscar stood from the massive circular sofa and pierced Tora with the unyielding gaze of an alpha. “Bring up video surveillance,” he said, his voice calm, his demeanor relaxed but alert. “Let’s get a good look at these soldiers, see what we’re up against.”
Tora nodded, wishing Aspen wasn’t so far away right now. She tapped her watch to raise the television screen from the floor, zoomed in on the soldiers, and counted them. Four.
Despite the labyrinth of tunnels with endless twists, turns, and forks from which to choose, the soldiers were steadily making their way toward chamber one with alarming speed and navigational accuracy. Armed with assault rifles, they were using weapon-mounted flashlights to illuminate the tunnels. But what made Tora’s heart beat double-time were the fully encapsulated Level A personal protective suits they were wearing. Each suit was equipped with a self-contained breathing apparatus. She knew from her hazmat training that Level A suits offered the greatest protection from toxins.
“We’ve been invaded by yellow space men,” Hank said, squinting.
Skye stepped closer to the screen. “Those canisters they’re carrying have biohazard symbols on them.” She looked to Tora. “That’s bad, right?”
“Great. They’ve graduated from bullets to chemical warfare.” Hank nervously fidgeted with the ball cap in his lap. “How are we supposed to defend ourselves against that?”
“We have Level A PPE suits with respirators in chamber five.” Tora kicked herself for not thinking of them earlier. PPEs should have been stocked in every chamber. “There’s enough for everyone here.”
Oscar set his hands on his hips. “Do all the chambers in the sanctuary share the same air filtration system?”
She shook her head. “No, but the tunnels do. We’d have to go through each chamber in numerical order to get to chamber five,” she reminded them.
Skye was still studying the screen intently. “If the soldiers release whatever they have in those canisters while we’re traveling between chambers, we’re all goners for sure.”
Oscar cast his eyes to the floor in thought. “I guess we have some decisions to make,” he said finally, looking up. “We’ll make them as a family. Everyone’s vote counts.”
The newborns were sitting in rapt attention, their eyes on Oscar, as if waiting for him to go on.
“Option one: we stay put, do nothing, and hope the soldiers aren’t successful in their attempt to break in. Option two: we put a little distance between us and them and relocate to chamber two now, before they get any closer. Option three: some of us go to chamber five, get the gear, and double back here.” Oscar looked around at the group. “Those are the three options that give us the best chance for survival. Let’s vote. Those in favor of option one, raise your—”
“There’s a fourth option,” Tony interrupted. “Some of us shift and take out the soldiers in the tunnels before they break into chamber one and launch their chemical attack. Like Aspen wants, I’ll try not to kill anyone.” He shrugged. “But I may not have much of a choice.”
“That’s a suicide mission,” Oscar said firmly, the note of reprimand clear. “I will not send anyone on a suicide mission.”
“You don’t have to,” Tony said. “I volunteer.” He looked at Tora. “If you cut the lights in the tunnels so the soldiers can’t see me coming, I’ll take out as many as I can.”
Miller, Oscar’s second-in-command, set a hand on Tony’s shoulder. “I’ll go with him, boss.”
Each member of Oscar’s pack stepped forward. “We’ll all go, boss,” Beckett said.
“You know I’d never send you out there.” Oscar scowled. “Not like this.”
Miller nodded. “I know you’d never send us. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t.”
He and Oscar locked eyes.
“Look around, boss. Makes the most sense for us to go,” Miller said. “This is a job for the pack.”
“Then I go, too,” Oscar said, standing up straighter.
“You can’t.” Skye came up beside Oscar and hugged his arm. “We need you here.”
“She’s right, boss. We’re willing to do whatever’s necessary to protect you, the newborns, and everyone else here. This is the only shot our people have for any hope of a future.”
Tora hated to admit it, but Miller was right. It had to be done. Oscar knew it, too. She could see it in his eyes. But she could also see the agony there. He would never send his own pack on a suicide mission. She recognized the dilemma for what it was. He’d rather die than watch his pack sacrifice themselves.
“We don’t have much time,” she said, stepping between Oscar and his men. “If you’re going to do this, you need to do it now.” She glanced at the video feed on the screen. The soldiers were making steady progress. “Four of you, Team One, leave through the front entrance—the door you came in when you first arrived. The other four, Team Two, you leave through the back. I’ll monitor your progress on the screen and guide you through the tunnels. Since you won’t have your earbuds once you shift, I’ll lead you with the lights. It’ll be subtle, so you’ll have to pay attention. I’ll also cut the lights along the way to give you cover.”
“Copy that,” the pack said in unison.
“You don’t take orders from Tora.” Oscar tore off the Spider-Man earmuffs and threw them across the room. They struck the rock wall with such force that they snapped in half. “You take orders from me.” He stepped forward, almost nose to nose with Miller. “This plan stops here. Now.”
Miller held his ground. He met Oscar’s gaze with equal ferocity. “We’re not your pack anymore. This is my pack now. I’m in charge. That”—he pointed to the newborns and the rest of Alpha Genesis behind Oscar—“that’s your pack. You’re their leader now. So lead them.”
All pack members exchanged eye contact and gave almost imperceptible nods. They waited as Beckett hugged his son, Liam, one last time. Then, under the direction of their new alpha, the pack shifted in the blink of an eye. Miller led Rivera, Derby, and Barnes to the front door of chamber one. Beckett, Rivera, Kennedy, and Malenko trotted off toward the door in Aspen’s bedroom closet.
With tears in his eyes, Oscar watched them disappear.
“Where do you want me?” Tony asked, turning to Tora.
“I’m sending you out the front door, ahead of Team One. You’re our first line of defense.”
“First line of defense, huh? I like that.” He smiled proudly. “Hey, when Aspen gets back, tell her I know she’ll
make one hell of a leader. She was my best recruit at the academy.” With that, he shifted into a tiger and bounded off to join Team One.
Eight wolves and one tiger. Working together, Tora predicted they would do some serious damage.
Chapter Twenty-eight
Following the old man’s advice, Aspen took a deep breath and exhaled. The same blue particles of light that had appeared at each newborn’s blessing returned with a fury. They spilled from her mouth and danced in the air around her.
Aspen reached out, palms up, and gathered the light in her hands. She molded and shaped it into a glowing, pulsating sphere. Imagine what you’ve just planned and then ask the question, How does this journey conclude? Felix had instructed her. She asked herself that very question and, as she did, expanded the sphere by pulling her hands apart until it was large enough for her to step inside.
A mild buzzing sounded in her ears as a steady low-level vibration coursed through her body. She watched the scenery change as she was transported to a point in the future. It was like being held underwater for the briefest of moments before popping to the surface for air.
Looking around, she began taking inventory of her new surroundings. She was surprised to see herself sprinting down a long corridor in sleek panther form. The other Myriads followed closely behind her, their human appearance cloaked by their primary animal. She counted—all four were there. The only one missing was Felix’s dark-maned lion.
She was the first to reach the end of the corridor and stopped short, apparently realizing she had led them to a dead end. Nothing but walls and windows. Instead of stopping, the Myriads behind her increased their speed and, one by one, jumped through the plate glass window with a resounding crash. They shifted into birds before they hit the ground and darted off into the sky.
Aspen looked down at the other end of the corridor as an army of security guards approached with Felix in the lead. Intrigued, she noticed immediately that Felix’s cane was absent. A balding man in an expensive-looking suit and tie had Felix at gunpoint. He looked to be the man in charge. She heard him as he barked an ultimatum at Felix: use his powers to apprehend Aspen or die.
“Go!” Felix shouted. “Now!” The words were barely out of his mouth as the man in the suit pulled the trigger. Felix dropped, lifeless, to the cold linoleum.
She watched her panther leap through the window and shift into the same bay-breasted warbler body she had used to journey there. Her eyes returned to the balding man as he kicked Felix’s body out of the way, his expression devoid of compassion, his soul devoid of humanity. Prestwick took a knee beside Felix with tears on his cheeks.
Looked like Felix was the only one who didn’t make it. She was determined to get everyone out alive, especially Felix. After all these years, he deserved to have his freedom restored.
The solution was simple: she’d just have to go back to the drawing board and start over.
* * *
Tora divided the television screen into fourths to monitor Tony, Team One, Team Two, and the soldiers at the same time. Since both teams were now in animal form, she’d have to open the doors remotely. “Skye, on my mark, I want you to open the door for Team One,” she said without taking her eyes from the screen. She checked several cameras in the vicinity to make sure the coast was clear. “Now.”
She watched as Tony and the wolves from Team One stepped into the tunnels. Tony pulled ahead of the wolves and quickly began closing the gap on his way to the soldiers.
“On my mark, open the door for Team Two.” She checked the tunnel cameras in the immediate area. “Now,” she told Skye, looking on as the wolves from Team Two entered the tunnels.
She looked over at Michael and Skye. “Come stand beside me. Michael, you’ll lead Tony with the lights. Skye, you’ll lead Team One. I’ll take Team Two. We want to time it so Tony gets there just a few seconds before the others.”
“Copy that,” Skye said, already swiping through the screens on her watch.
“On it,” Michael said, doing the same.
They all watched in silence as Tony stealthily approached his quarry, his massive paws silent on the tunnel floor. Tora swiped to the screen that controlled the speakers in the tunnels. She still remembered the day her dad had gone back and forth about whether or not to add them. Installing speakers along miles and miles of tunnels was both expensive and labor-intensive. She remembered questioning his decision, wondering if the money might be better spent elsewhere in the sanctuary. She suddenly found herself grateful for his extravagant spending habits on state-of-the-art equipment. The advantage of having this particular sound system, she knew, was that it worked both ways.
She glanced over her shoulder at Hank. “I need you to growl into my watch.”
“That’s a new one,” Hank said, shifting into a formidable-looking grizzly.
She didn’t dare ask Oscar. His eyes were glued to the TV screen. He was too busy watching what would likely be the last moments of the lives of his men.
Tora held out her watch as Hank obliged with a ferocious growl that reverberated through the rock floor under her feet.
Just as she had hoped, the four soldiers stopped dead in their tracks and swung around to confront the phantom bear behind them. Waiting nearby, Tony now had his opening and sprang into action. Instead of killing a soldier as Tora had expected, he galloped down the line, simultaneously knocking the rifles from their gloved hands and tearing at their protective suits with four-inch claws. Tony was smart. He was giving the wolves behind him a fighting chance by disabling all four soldiers. Without weapons or flashlights, the soldiers were easy prey. Their suits compromised, they were now just as susceptible to whatever was in those canisters.
Four wolves sprinted in, scooped up the rifles with their teeth, and darted out of sight before the soldiers knew what hit them. They were now cast in total darkness. Since all video cameras in the tunnels were equipped with infrared, Tora and the rest of Alpha Genesis had a clear view of the soldiers. She waited to see what their next move would be as Tony crouched nearby, his striped tail flicking from side to side.
“Weapon’s gone, and my suit’s torn.” The tallest of the four soldiers ripped off his helmet and facemask and threw them to the ground.
“Mine, too.”
“Same here.”
“Anyone hurt?”
“Can’t see shit, Sarge, but I think we’re all okay.”
“Anyone missing their canister?”
Each soldier frantically reached behind his back to feel for the canister attached to his backpack. Tora heard a collective sigh of relief as they realized all of the canisters were accounted for.
“How do we know the canisters weren’t compromised, along with our suits?” the tall one asked with a note of panic.
“’Cuz we’d all be dead right now, dummy,” someone else answered.
“Roll call,” their sergeant barked.
Each soldier called out in alphabetical order.
“Grubbs.”
“Lattimore,” the tall one said.
“Steiner here, sir.”
“Anyone’s suit not torn?” The sergeant was greeted with silence. “I’m calling HQ to tell them we’ve been compromised. They’ll have to send another team.” He removed his yellow gloves and tapped a button on his headset. “Falcon 866 has been compromised. Retreating now to the entry point. Request pickup.” He waited, listening. “No casualties, sir. We’ve been disarmed and our suits have been compromised…Yes, all canisters are still intact, sir…Proceed with the mission? But our suits…Yes, sir. Copy that. Over.” He tapped the button on his headset to disconnect the call. “Mission’s still a go,” he told his men.
Lattimore sighed. “But that means—”
“We’re dead men walking,” Steiner finished, shaking his head in disbelief. “Come on, Sarge, this is crazy.” He shoved his helmet under one arm and held it like a basketball. “We won’t even make it to the nest before one of those freaks takes us out. We’ll
all die for nothin’.”
“We have our orders, Steiner.”
“Lattimore’s got a kid at home, Sarge. And I got one on the way,” Steiner pleaded. “Never thought I’d die before he was born. Shit. My wife’s gonna kill me.”
“I can’t believe this.” Grubbs set his hands on his hips and began pacing in small circles. “I’m going to die a virgin.”
Everyone suddenly grew quiet. They all stared in Grubbs’s direction.
“You’re twenty-two years old, man. What the hell have you been doing all this time?”
“Saving myself.”
“If you were saving yourself for Jesus, then today’s your lucky day.”
Lattimore and Steiner had a good long laugh at Grubbs’s expense.
“Nice.” Grubbs ran a hand through his hair. “Thanks for your support, guys. Really appreciate it.”
Tora couldn’t help but smile. This was the opportunity Aspen had said would present itself. She just prayed Tony and the wolves were on the same page.
She watched Tony shift into human form and raise his hands in surrender. He stepped closer to the four blinded soldiers and glanced up at the video camera. Hoping she was making the right decision, she followed his lead and switched on the tunnel lights.
* * *
The old man hadn’t instructed Aspen on how to return to the time she had left. He’d assured her she would know what to do and had simply advised her to follow her instincts. He was right. Instinct took over as she exhaled once again. Breathing the blue light directly into her palms this time, she had already molded it into a sphere by the time she was finished exhaling. But instead of expanding it and stepping inside, she simply let it go as she thought about returning to Felix in the bathroom. Before she knew it, she was standing with the old man once again, as if not a second had elapsed.
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