Her eyes came to rest on a square panel mounted at chest height right next to the opening. Not knowing what else to do, she pressed her fingers against it and grinned foolishly as the door began retracting silently. “Two hurdles down, now I need to find a place to hide!” she whispered to herself.
She turned to the back of the craft and shoved herself behind the two seats. If anyone looked closely, they would easily have seen her. She had to bank on the idea that the boys would be so intent on their destination that they would remain focused on their task at hand and never bother to look behind them.
Time seemed to come to a crawl as Sofia remained huddled uncomfortably against the hull. Her heart was still thumping through her chest, but at least she had ample time to catch her breath from all of her running. Just as she was beginning to think the boys had changed plans and decided not to go, the side door began to descend again. Sofia kept her hands covering her mouth to keep from making any unwanted noises as she realized her dream of seeing Tuala was about to happen.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Behn, are you sure about this? Maybe you should talk through this with Vala.”
“I’m sure, please just take me home,” Behn spoke with a tone which said he had already answered different variations of this question several times before. He entered the telepod and carelessly tossed his bag onto the back seat before continuing through the craft to sit in the co-pilot’s seat. Of course, he had no idea how to operate the craft, rather he liked the view the seat provided. He pulled the seat harnesses around him and said, “I just need to get away from everyone, especially Juila, until I can work through some things on my own.” The buckle clicked and Behn remained silent.
“Okay, suit yourself, but if Vala asks me, I’m going to tell her where you went. And if she asks me to take you there, you know I’m going to do that as well.”
Finally irritated beyond the breaking point, Behn glared at Willian and asked, “Why do you call her that?”
Surprised by the change in subject as well as the tone in which it had been spoken, Willian asked, “Call her what?”
“Vala! Her name is Val or Valentina! It’s so annoying to hear your stupid nickname for her.”
Keeping himself from arguing back, as he would have done only a short time before, he reasoned instead, “My father pointed out how improper it would be to call her Val because people would think she had lost honor without the ‘a’ at the end. I asked Valentina if I could call her Vala for short, and she readily agreed. I’m sorry if you don’t like it.”
“No, Willian, I’m sorry. That was a rude comment for me to make, and your answer makes sense. Actually, it shows me just how considerate of my sister you really are. Please just ignore me for the rest of the trip, I’m sure more stupid things will be escaping my mouth before I use my brain to stop it.”
“No worries, Behn. I wish you’d tell me what happened between you and Juila. If I knew, I might be able to help solve the problem.”
Keeping his lips pursed together to keep himself from speaking in anger, he merely shook his head and turned to stare out of the front window. He did not see the inside of the garage; instead he was seeing Juila sitting on her bed, tears coursing down her cheeks as he told her how horrible of a person she was. He closed his eyes in shame for not keeping his words to himself. He hated how he had lashed out at Juila when she had been victimized the same as he had.
“Okay, Behn, I’ll leave it alone for now.” Knowing he also had a secret from Behn, kept him silent. How would Behn feel if he knew about his plans to leave for Tuala with his father later that day? There had never seemed to be a ‘right time’ to tell anyone he would be leaving. He actually hoped his assignment in Tuala would be short, and he could return swiftly. In the meantime, he had not wanted to sully the last few days he would have with his new friends from Earth, or with the precious time he had to share with Vala.
He spent the next few minutes getting ready for their flight. All of the lights on the plascreen had turned green, and he had programmed in their destination. With one hand poised on the manual control module, his other hovered over the activation button. “Are you ready to travel?”
“Yes, let’s go.” Behn kept his gaze outside the right-hand window. When everything went black with the transfer, he thought it felt exactly like his life at the moment: cold and empty. Behn did not bother to count the seconds since he reveled in the darkness where his problems seemed less significant. When the bright sunshine poured through the windows as they hovered over the beach, it almost felt like a betrayal to his feelings. He shut his eyes against the onslaught of light, wishing he could turn back time to when life was simple again.
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to walk with you to say hi to Vinia. After all, I should try to stay on friendly terms with the mother of the girl I plan on marrying.” Willian unbuckled his harness after he landed the telepod with a slight bump, which had made him wince. He was only thankful Vala had not been with him to witness his poor landing.
“Sure, yeah, that’s fine,” Behn answered offhandedly. He flipped the buckle open and lurched out of his seat. Without waiting for Willian, Behn grabbed his duffle bag off of the rear seat and slapped the palm reader to open the side door. As soon as it was open far enough for him to slip outside, he jumped from the craft and began walking.
“Hey, Behn, wait for me!” Willian called out, not entirely sure if he could find the path on his own. He copied Behn’s leap from the craft and stabbed the button on the remote to shut the door behind him.
Chapter Ten
SOFIA’S HANDS HAD turned ice-cold where they still covered her mouth. Never before had she experienced anything so exciting and terrifying at the same time. Having never known this kind of travel, she had no idea what to expect. Her instinct to scream when the blackness overtook her had somehow been kept silent by her overwhelming desire to remain hidden.
She knew she needed to get off of the aircraft as fast as possible, yet her body still did not want to heed her mind. Removing her hands from her face, she could see they were shaking uncontrollably. Sofia could hear her heart in her ears as it pounded as hard as if she had just run a marathon. It took several attempts before Sofia managed to leverage herself between the wall and the seat to achieve a wobbly, but standing, position.
Several deep breaths helped to calm her heart and allowed oxygen to once again circulate into her extremities. She kept her hand on the backs of the seats as she moved through the cabin to reach the side door. As she had done in the garage on Earth, she touched the square panel and jumped back slightly as it began to drop open, not knowing what to expect outside.
Sofia squinted in the intensely bright sunlight while she also felt the stiff breeze blowing through the rapidly widening crack. She simply stared at the view, hardly believing it to be true. No longer were they in the garage, they had landed on the most beautiful beach she had ever seen. The turquoise water rolled toward the shore, and the sound of the small breaking waves was the most tranquil she had ever known.
Before she knew it, she stood within feet of the water, breathing in the clean sea air and taking in the panoramic view surrounding her. This world was even better than she had imagined, certainly more peaceful. Then a realization struck her which effectively ended her solace: Jon had lied to her.
Not only did she still recall everything about her life on Earth, but she also knew who she was. He had claimed she would lose her memory and not be able to cope with the transfer. She had just proven all of his objections to be false which led her to only one conclusion: he did not want her to be a part of his life in Tuala.
She closed her eyes to the beauty around her, feeling her heart contract with the betrayal she felt to her core. What had begun as a great journey had ended in an even greater heartache. More than ever, she wanted to return home to tell Jon she knew the truth. However, thinking this would probably be her one and only opportunity to experience this world, she wanted to see everything
she could before she had to leave.
Turning her back on the gently breaking water, she began trudging up the loose sand, moving toward the tree line. She was fairly certain it was where the boys had headed so she decided to investigate in that direction first. Walking became easier once she reached the underbrush. She felt some relief from the sun overhead as the palm trees grew thickly around her. The foliage was slightly different from what she had grown up knowing, but nothing seemed dangerous so she kept pushing through the lush growth.
After quite a few minutes had passed, Sofia came to what she thought was a clearing only to discover it was a path, probably the same ones the boys had used. Wishing she had found it earlier, she turned to the right and set a brisk pace for herself to get to some civilization in a reasonable amount of time.
She heard voices before she ever saw any people. Again, she wondered if she should take cover and avoid being seen. Looking for a place to hide, she soon realized the people were actually walking through the village for which she had been searching. Glimpses of the settlement could now be seen through the underbrush since she knew where to look. She kept walking, more careful than ever, to get a closer view of who these people might be.
Several seconds passed where she no longer saw any people, even though she could still hear them. She looked ahead, looking for any sign of buildings and discovered there was a cabin not too far from the path. Deciding to risk it, she rushed forward until she rounded the corner of the building. The vegetation came right up to the exterior of the house, allowing Sofia to lean against the wall and sink to the ground to minimize her chances of being seen.
Only an instant after she got settled, she jumped at the sound of Behn’s voice coming from immediately behind her. She glanced up and noticed the open window above her head. Unknowingly, she had taken refuge beside the same house where Behn visited with his mother. Curiosity overrode her dislike of eavesdropping, and she strained to hear what was being said.
“I told you, Mom, I’m not going back for a while. It’s just too painful to see Juila and know that I can’t be with her. We were close…very close…and I just can’t.”
“What about your adoptive parents? Aren’t they going to be worried? This isn’t going to help my case for saying I won’t interfere, you know.”
“I’m sorry, Mom, but I’m staying. Besides, I can’t leave even if I wanted to since Willian has already left. You’re just going to be stuck with me for the time being. If you don’t want me here, then I’ll ask Ozian if I can stay with him.”
Sofia’s felt a sickening sinking feeling inside her at Behn’s statement of Willian having already left. She had planned on returning with him. This outcome had never even occurred to her when she was working out how she would get to see Tuala for the first time.
Surely there was a way to catch a ride with someone else. Right, she thought, because there are so many people who travel to Earth from here. I’m so stupid! I should have just jumped out from behind the seat while the boys were still in the telepod. This whole thing could have been avoided had either of them known I was there. STUPID! STUPID! STUPID!
Pushing herself away from the side of the house, Sofia lunged forward and ran headlong to the trail she had used to come to the town. It no longer mattered who might see her, she had to get to the beach. She hoped that by following the wide path, she would be able to catch Willian before he actually did leave. Clinging to the hope that maybe Behn had only been bluffing when he said his ride was already gone, she kept running.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Stephen had been so sidetracked with his office being torn apart that he barely had time to register the idea that his patient had gone missing without any trace. He wracked his brain for any reasonable possibilities and only came up with one unfavorable conclusion. Somehow Amanda or her interfering husband had managed to break her out of the facility.
Grabbing up the receiver on his phone, he stabbed the security button and waited for the call to be answered. “Get me the security footage for January fourth!”
“What cameras?’
“All of them! A patient has escaped, and I want to find out how!”
“Right away, Dr. Gascon!”
Stephen dropped the receiver in the cradle, seething with renewed anger at the disastrous events of the day. Of course, Vinia had probably done him a favor by disappearing, but he hated mysteries, and most especially, he hated being made to look like a fool.
Nobody ever left his facility without his permission! Then he had to amend his blanket statement to exclude Shemalla, Nealand, and now Vinia. All three of them had been part of his multi-dimensional disorder study. It seemed strange to think there might be some personal connection among them, yet he had to keep his mind open to all possibilities. This new idea was going to have to be investigated, and he had just the team of people in mind for heading it up.
He glanced over to the wall hiding all of the MDD study documents, and he suddenly had another idea. Again, he picked up the receiver of his phone and dialed his receptionist. After the first two rings, he remembered he had fired the incompetent woman the week before and he slammed the receiver back down onto the cradle. He turned to access his computer before recalling it had also been part of the seized material by the AFOSI team.
A fresh wave of fury rolled through him, he hurled himself up from his chair so fast it caused his massive chair to topple over backward. Fishing the key from his jacket pocket, he kneeled in front of his bookcase and opened the secret compartment. It took several minutes of frustrated searching, but Stephen finally located the phone number of the woman who had reported Vinia to him in the first place.
He shoved everything haphazardly back into the opening, slammed the shelf closed, and carefully locked it before he stood up. He returned to his desk, where he had to pick up his chair before he could be seated. Once resituated, he put the phone to his ear and dialed the number from the scrap of paper.
The answering machine picked up, but he did not want to leave a message. Still holding the receiver to his ear, he hung up and dialed the second number, which had been left. This time he was rewarded by the woman answering the call.
“Is this Mrs. Wilson?”
“Yes. Who’s this?”
“This is Dr. Stephen Gascon. You reported a suspicious person to me by the name of Vinia.”
“Yes, that’s right. That woman is certifiably crazy. Please tell me you were able to pick her up.”
“Yes, I was. Unfortunately, however, she has managed to escape. Have you heard anything from her?”
“Escaped? When did this happen?”
“Four days ago. I’m reviewing the security footage as we speak,” he looked up and waved to the guard who had appeared at his door. He gestured for him to put the large box down on his desk. Realizing he had no way to watch the footage without his computer, he put his hand over the receiver and demanded, “Get me another computer. How do you expect me to see this without one?”
He removed his hand and said, “Sorry about that, like I was saying, I’m reviewing the footage to see if she had any accomplices. If you hear anything on your end, please let me know right away.”
“Absolutely! This is terrible news. Why did you wait so long to warn me?”
“We’ll get it figured out. In the meantime, keep track of your children, so she doesn’t get the opportunity to speak with them again.”
“Do you think she’s that dangerous?”
“I do. We don’t know what we’re dealing with at this point.”
“Thank you for letting me know what’s going on.”
“Right.” Stephen dropped the receiver on its cradle, having nothing more to say, and not wanting the woman to think he was going to be a therapist for her as well. No, he had much more pressing concerns at the moment.
Chapter Eleven
EVEN THOUGH IT was unethical, Debbon scanned the minds of the people around him, knowing they all potentially had the information he needed. He
had long suspected the actual origin of the employees were actually old souls, rather than Tualans who were interested in expanding the technology of their world. As he continued to walk through the facility, stopping in various departments as his interest warranted, he realized his suspicions had been false.
In fact, he actually only encountered four people, three of whom were women, who had thought patterns that were distinctly different from what he was used to knowing. It was impossible to tell their exact origin with his cursory encounter, but he was interested in hearing more from the man in particular.
“Do you have some time to talk right now,” Debbon asked the worker.
“Sure,” he replied uncertainly, obviously confused.
Debbon gestured for them to go into one of the private conference rooms he had seen on his way in. They sat in the two chairs. The man’s gaze kept returning to the door, which Debbon had shut behind them, looking ready to bolt at the slightest provocation.
“What’s your name?”
“Ian.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ian. My name’s Elder Debbon.”
Ian nodded to acknowledge the introduction, yet not knowing what to say.
“How do you like working here?”
“It’s great, I mean they really value my input.”
Debbon nodded encouragingly. “That’s good, I like hearing about happy employees. Where did you learn your particular skills?”
Ian’s answer was less forthcoming as he fidgeted and glanced again at the door.
“It’s okay, Ian. I’m not going to judge you, no matter what your answer. The truth is, I’m looking for someone in particular, and I’m hoping you might be able to help me.”
Ian’s gaze immediately darted up to meet Debbon’s.
“Tell me, do the names Vinia or Jinya sound familiar?”
He shook his head slowly and answered, “No, I’m sorry, neither name sounds familiar. Who are they? What did they do? Did they work here?”
Ascension Watchers Page 8