by Marita Smith
“So, what, they’re going to remember being different people now, too?” Derek said. His bowl clattered to the ground.
Fletcher butted in. “Yeah, though not all at once. Lenti says it’ll take time to unlock our past memories.” Appealing to Robyn, he said: “You remember my dream, right? When we were … after my house.”
“Yes, the three walkers.” Robyn propelled Fletcher out of the memory, trying to reconcile the boy who had glowed green and decimated the soldiers with the quiet boy who now sat cross-legged by the fire.
“Mmm. Well, we know where the third walker is now. The air walker.” Fletcher tapped his spoon against his bowl.
“Beijing.” It was Catherine’s voice, flat and level. “They’re in Beijing, aren’t they?”
Fletcher nodded. “His name is Eli, and we need to get him out of there.”
Derek rose to his feet and strode out of the clearing. Robyn started to get up, but Catherine grabbed her arm.
“Let him cool off.”
Robyn watched Derek walk back toward the earthship, head down, kicking at loose rocks. She wondered if he expected her to follow him.
“What then? When you’re all together?” Robyn returned to the circle. Catherine shuffled closer to her, sealing the gap Derek left.
“Lenti says there are spirits in our world we need to find.” Fletcher screwed up his nose. “To guide us.”
Robyn shivered. When she was little she used to run and jump into bed to avoid the monster she was convinced lived beneath it. Yet somehow, when Fletcher spoke of spirits, she knew he meant the good kind.
Terence poked the coals with a stick. “This is big, guys. Bringing the earth back into balance. Can it really be done?” Robyn wasn’t sure if he’d meant to speak out loud. Nobody answered, they just studied the coals flickering to life with new oxygen.
Ariana put her bowl down and lay back on her elbows. “I need to go to the sea. There’s someone I need to meet.”
“I’ll take you,” Robyn said. She wasn’t sure she was up to a morning hunched over the gas chromatograph. “Terence?”
“Of course,” Terence grinned, stacking the sticky bowls. “Jeez.”
Terence and Robyn stood by the shore, soaked to the knees, watching the horizon instead of the foaming waves. Robyn shivered beneath her coat as the wind picked up. In the surf, Ariana showed no signs of discomfort. Terence raised his head for the tenth time to scan the beach, but they were still alone. This was one of the remotest beaches Robyn knew, with only gulls for kilometres of windswept sand. She used to collect sand dollars after storms while her mother added to her basket of ridged shells that had been brought up from the depths, announcing how incredible it was that those delicate Fibonacci whorls survived the crashing journey to the shore.
Ariana bobbed in the midst of a pod of dolphins whose sleek, silver bodies dipped in and out of the water. Behind her, Robyn saw the telltale eruption of a whale. Blue whales could be enormous, hundreds of thousands of kilograms. Steamrollers.
“Do you think she’ll be all right?” Robyn clutched the edges of her coat tighter.
Terence stared straight ahead, eyes narrowed against the wind. “She’ll be right.”
Ariana floated in the swirling, dark abyss, skin prickling with the familiar blue energy. She broadened her mind to the animals around her and began to lose feeling in her extremities. Merging her mind with Jericho’s, she hovered on the brink between both worlds. The result was electric – flashes of fishing trawlers, bright coral, dawn penetrating the deep. She whirled along a spectrum of thoughts, all clamouring for her full attention. Abruptly, the voices stopped. Ariana returned to herself as the dolphins backed away, taking up a respectful distance as a much larger presence shifted into focus. The whale hung suspended as if in a dark sky, eyes glittering like stars. Ariana’s head filled with a gentle humming that built in pressure as the whale lifted a flipper to graze her forehead. The chorus built to a crescendo as Ariana closed her eyes and embraced the sound that reverberated in her chest. As the whale stroked her temples, a flash of light erupted behind her eyelids, searing her retinas. Ariana inhaled on instinct, the salt water rushing into her throat. Mentally she prepared to splutter, but the reflex didn’t come. She reached her hands to her neck, where she felt deep, parallel slits. Gills. Blue light surrounded her body, and Jericho rocketed upward in his dragon form.
When she tore her gaze from Jericho, the whale had left. A name lingered in her mind: Atlantis.
She’d just met the water spirit.
Robyn stared at the blinding flash of blue light, her knees buckling as the dragon soared above the water. It had a long, slender body with a whip-like tail. Jericho. He was magnificent.
Terence stood rigid at her side, his gaze not wavering from the small figure at the foaming epicentre of the blast. He didn’t relax his shoulders until Ariana breached the surface and waved in delight. The dragon disappeared back into the dark water.
“She’s okay,” Robyn exhaled.
“I know. I just, wow.” Terence hunched further into his jacket that still smelled faintly of Catherine. “I can’t protect her like I used to.”
“She can handle it,” replied Robyn, watching Ariana emerge from the surf, eyes gleaming.
“That’s what I’m worried about,” Terence said.
“Guys, check this out,” yelled Ariana over the rumble of the waves. She turned sideways, watching for their shocked expressions. “I got me some gills!”
Ariana’s grin remained plastered on her face the whole bumpy trip back. Wrapped in towels in the back seat, she was almost too blissed out to talk.
“Everything is connected.”
Robyn glanced in the rear-view mirror. Ariana traced a pattern on the window, where it clouded under her breath. The gills had retracted into three narrow slits on her neck, fading more and more as they travelled away from the ocean.
“There’s so much damage. I saw it. I mean, I know I’ve seen it on TV before, but this … it’s really happening.”
Robyn turned onto the familiar red driveway. She knew about the floating islands of debris, whole continental shelves devoid of nutrients, decimated fish populations. But she didn’t have to confront it every day. A documentary paled in comparison to Ariana’s experience.
Ariana’s grin slipped away as they pulled up in front of the earthship. “It’s us. Humans are ruining everything. I never knew it was so bad, how many living things it affected.”
Terence swivelled in the front passenger seat. Robyn bit her lip.
“You were chosen for this, Ariana. It’s time the world was put back in balance,” Terence said.
Ariana swatted away her tears. “Damn right.” She sighed. “I’ve got so much to learn, and Lenti says I’m already late.”
18
Decisions
“Late. What do you think Lenti means?” Terence said.
A valid question but one with a rather obvious answer. During the night, Robyn had given it some thought, gazing at the cracked ceiling as she listened to Catherine’s even breathing, moonlight catching all the divots in the rendered earth and sending shadows twisting across the surface. Everything is connected. If the walkers were some form of custodian, they were cutting it fine. In less than two centuries, humans had managed to screw up nearly every natural cycle on the planet.
Robyn examined the huge sheet of butchers paper under her elbow. Ink smeared her forearm as she drew another compound. She added a benzene ring, then rubbed it out. It was too heavy. Nothing fitted the two strange peaks.
“Well, if they’re supposed to be keeping the balance, then sure, they’re late. Soon there won’t be much left to balance.” Robyn gnawed on her pencil as she lay on her stomach on the cool tiles. Maybe a carbonyl group instead? She swatted away the mess of eraser shavings.
“Environmentally,” said
Terence. Robyn kept drawing.
“We’re already at the brink for carbon emissions, habitat destruction and marine resource depletion, and plenty more,” Catherine added. Exactly, thought Robyn.
Catherine’s book fell to the floor with a heavy clunk. Robyn swivelled under the heat of Catherine and Terence’s combined gaze. To them she probably looked about ten years old, scribbling on the floor in an old smock.
“What?” Robyn said.
Catherine gestured to the ceiling. “This whole place. The garden. Your family is really into this stuff.”
How could she capture the dichotomy between her green-thumbed mother and her academic father in a sentence? Robyn chewed the inside of her cheek. “Yeah. Self-sufficiency was the dream, though we never even got close.”
Terence poured another round of tea. Earl Grey, she smelled the bergamot. “My parents run a market garden,” he said. “I grew up like this, too. Mum’s a bit of a hippy. Was, I mean.” He sipped his tea. “She died in an accident a few weeks ago.”
Catherine rested her head on her arms. The book she’d dropped lay cracked open on the floor, spine contorted under the weight of the pages.
“Terence, I’m sorry, I didn’t realise, and we’ve thrust you straight into this –”
Terence shook his head. “No. I mean, it’s good. Being with Ariana – helps.”
Robyn’s right knee cracked as she got to her feet. Every time, without fail. She scooped up the fallen book – Unlocking the Secrets of Matter – and placed it on the coffee table, smoothing out the cover.
Terence gazed into the steam rising from his mug as if it might reveal the secrets of life. Robyn studied her own mug as Catherine stepped around the lounge to look at Robyn’s drawings. At the sound of Catherine’s voice, tea sloshed over her fingers.
“I grew up in the back of a van.” Catherine addressed both Robyn and Terence. “My parents are musicians. Though nowadays the van sits in a driveway outside Calgary, and my Dad has a real job.”
Robyn shook her hand to cool the burn. “Well, that explains a lot. No such thing as normal, is there?”
“You said it,” Catherine sassed, though her face said otherwise.
“Hey.” Robyn turned at the familiar voice, hand dropping to her side. Derek materialised in the doorway, rubbing his face with the edge of his shirt. He hadn’t been at the earthship when they’d carted back the camping gear, and Robyn had felt unsettled all morning. Even distracting herself with the problematic peaks hadn’t helped.
Derek lifted the shirt higher to swipe at his sweaty forehead and Robyn caught a glimpse of smooth, dark stomach. She jerked her head away in embarrassment. Christ. Robyn edged around the paper at her feet and rested an arm on the lounge.
“I’m sorry about this morning.” Derek released his shirt. Catherine had a mildly disgusted look on her face, like someone had just farted.
“It’s just a lot, you know? I’m not really a spiritual person.” Derek pulled a jar of water from the fridge and stared at it for a moment before drinking. She’d be willing to bet Derek had never stored anything in a passata jar. She remembered his terror on realising there was no coffee in the house, an expression Robyn would have reserved for the announcement of a zombie apocalypse.
“But you’re right. Fletcher and Ariana – they’re different. I guess part of me figured we’d be able to rationalise it genetically. But this spirit world stuff?” Derek drained the jar. “I’m not sure.” His arms strained as he leaned back against the counter. Robyn tried not to notice. Holy biceps.
“Robyn’s right. If we’re going to hold our own against the MRI, we need to be looking at Fletcher and Ariana. Figure out where this mitochondrial mutation is. We can figure this out. Why else would they have been watching us all this time? We must be good, right?”
Terence clapped a hand on Derek’s shoulder and did that weird man-to-man shoulder shake, like a fleshy earthquake but not quite. “Exactly.”
Robyn opened her mouth to point out the various flaws in Derek’s plan, first and foremost the shabby condition of their one and only gas chromatograph, but Kate interrupted her.
“Hey, freaks.” Kate strolled into the kitchen, unlaced Doc Martens slapping against the tiles. “I know you just returned from your holiday, Catherine, but we have to go back.”
Robyn froze midway through rolling up the butchers paper. “You can’t be serious.” They can’t go back to Beijing. Kate must be out of her mind.
Ariana pushed her way inside past an irritated Fletcher. “We have to get Eli. I’m coming, too.” Ariana crossed her arms and stared Terence down.
“There’s no way –” Terence began.
“Well, obviously.” Kate flicked three tickets in the air, fanning herself. “You, me, Catherine. The dream team.”
Ariana’s eyes lit up with victory and she stalked past her brother, snatching the tickets from Kate’s grasp. Terence sank into the lounge with a sigh.
“Hey, what about me?” Fletcher flicked his eyes between Ariana and Kate. “I can help.”
How young he looks, Robyn thought, hopeful eyes crinkled up at Kate in that moment of limbo where anything is possible. Robyn turned to Eva, who filled the doorway behind him.
“Oh.” Fletcher followed her gaze. “Right.”
“Pack your bags, ladies, we leave in an hour.”
Derek went to say something, but Kate raised a hand. “And you guys are going to stop moping around and start being useful. I found you a lab.”
Robyn dropped her roll of paper. “Seriously?” They needed a proper setup. The ancient chromatograph wasn’t cutting it. If Derek was stir-crazy after three days, then the rest weren’t far behind him. Robyn needed to do something other than read old textbooks and continue losing battles with the chromatograph. She was next in line to crack and the machine knew it. Robyn blinked as she realised Kate was still speaking.
“A ballsy startup that failed. Algal biodiesel. The lab is about an hour from here. You three –” Kate pointed at Terence, Derek and Robyn – “head out this afternoon. Kara’ll stay here with Fletcher.”
Robyn’s mind whirred over the possibilities. They needed to make up for lost time. Barging past Ariana, Fletcher muttered something that sounded suspiciously as though it rhymed with “ducking hell”.
Lucky they were pretty much the same size. Robyn liked big shirts because they reminded her of her mother’s art shirts. They sat just right on Catherine.
Catherine zipped up the backpack and tapped her fingers on her thighs as she leaned against the end of the bed. Even Robyn’s jeans looked better on Catherine. Had they no loyalty?
“I guess that’s everything,” Catherine said. They were alone, properly alone. The door to Robyn’s room closed against the world.
“I wish I was coming with you,” Robyn blurted out. “I mean, I hate the idea of you guys doing this by yourselves.”
Catherine’s fingers stilled. “It makes sense to split up. In case something goes wrong, which I’m sure it won’t.” Catherine plonked down on the bed next to her, and Robyn studied her hands. Had they always been so calloused? Their thighs grazed.
“Kara says they’ve got kids in there. If that’s true, we have to try and free them.” Catherine worked at a loose thread on a button. “It’s worth the risk.”
Robyn nodded. The kids. Who knew what plans the MRI had for them? Who knew what had already happened behind the school facade, without the pressures of ethics committees and free from scientific scrutiny? Her gaze fell on Catherine’s hands, curled into hard fists on her knees as if she was sitting in the front row of a school photo. Robyn had always been in the front row, concentrating on squeezing her legs together while battling to maintain a smile. Somehow she could never do both. Catherine would have been on the top tier, free of the fear of knee gap, smile blazing.
“Good luck.” The bed s
hifted as Catherine stood up, hooking the backpack over her shoulders.
By the time Robyn looked up she was gone.
19
Tags
“They don’t know what they are meddling with. Two worlds, long separated. If there was a way to reunite them –”
“That’s why you’re so keen to catch them all in your web. One, two, three. Little energy machines.”
“Light has no mass, but the energy has to come from somewhere – what the reactionary team described –”
“– the few survivors, you mean –”
“– they described a sphere of crackling green energy. It’s all true. This other world must exist. They can harness its energy. Boundless, high-energy radiation. Can’t you see, Brock? We’d hold the future of every technology in the palm of our hands.”
“It cannot be that simple. Everything is finite, Miranda. Everything. We’ve burned through all the resources this world has to offer. Do we really want to do the same of another? What will run our cities when we drain it dry? What you propose is impossible, especially with only three human generators.”
“This is why we have our little chats. This is why we create more. More children, more taps.”
“Don’t be a fool. I’ve seen Sara’s training. Vulcan will create an army. Energy is nothing to him.”
“Vulcan doesn’t concur with my views. I’m being pleasant … for now.”
“You’ve already given him too much leeway. He’ll suffocate you with your own web.”
“I can handle Vulcan.”
“I’m not convinced you can. And Fang?”
“Fang has no idea.”
“How’d you get this?” Catherine asked as a schematic rendering of the Beijing International School whizzed to life on Kate’s laptop.
“In one of the most regulated countries in the world? Please. This was easy pickings.” Kate tapped the cursor on the main building. Two identical wings branched from a huge, boxy central area. The heart was choked with blue lines. Electrics, Catherine guessed. The wings looked dull in comparison.