“Where?” Armstrong asked immediately standing.
“Utah…” Agent Collier answered, still a little breathless from her run from the trailer.
Armstrong frowned. “Utah…are you sure?”
Collier beamed at him and nodded. “Seven bikers were killed in the Goblin State Park region,” she said quickly. “Thugs…criminals and thieves,” Collier continued, all eyes upon her. “One died from a gunshot wound, but the others died of wounds caused by sharp edged weapons…probably swords,” she finished as Armstrong gasped. “In fact, the biker who was shot also had his hand sliced off at the wrist.”
“When?” Armstrong asked breathlessly.
“Two hours ago.”
“Get on the horn,” Bradley snapped to Garcia, “have Utah’s finest lockdown the area until our men arrive. No one in or out,” he ordered and Garcia nodded and sprinted from the room.
“I’ll have the jet prepped,” Sanders added. “It’ll be ready to go by the time we reach Lambert.”
“Jesus, we finally caught a break!” Armstrong said with a smile. “Good work!” He added to Collier as they left the office and headed toward their rolling trailer to inform the others on the team.
Three hours later they landed and taxied along the landing strip at the Green River Municipal airport. Four large black vehicles belonging to the Utah State Highway Patrol sat idling along the edge of the runway waiting to take their visitors to Goblin State Park which was just under an hour away…if you were not too particular about the speed limit.
“Name’s Walters!” Hank Walters of the Utah State Police yelled over the scream of the jet engines as Armstrong, Collier, Garcia and Kyle Sanders made their way over to waiting vehicles. “This way,” he added unnecessarily. Sanders climbed in next to Armstrong forcing Collier to take the next vehicle in line with Garcia.
“How fast can you get us there?” Armstrong asked as they roared down the service road which ran parallel with the runway.
“Oh…an hour or so,” Walters answered from his seat in front. He was riding shotgun while another, much younger trooper named Jennings drove…and drove fast.
“Great,” Armstrong said. “Are the grounds secured?”
“Yes sir,” Walters answered jovially, “but the bikers are long gone. Best we can tell they split up and fled in all directions. We caught a couple outside Moab, and we cornered another three suspects near Ticaboo.”
“Ticaboo?” Sanders asked with obvious amusement.
“I know, I know,” Walters said with a laugh. “Damn Indian names, they sound crazy, but it means “friendly” so I’m told. Nice little town…and I do mean little.”
“I could care less about the bikers,” Armstrong interrupted leaning forward and noticing that they were doing near ninety, despite the fact that it was completely dark. Luckily Hanksville road was flat and very, very straight.
“We’re more interested in the campers…especially the ones wielding swords?”
Walters frowned. “Well they’re gone too,” he admitted and could tell that the two feds in back were none too pleased with the news. “They disappeared just as the first troopers arrived.”
“What do you mean disappeared?” Sanders asked but Armstrong’s stomach turned. He knew exactly what Walters was saying and he knew it meant Dawkins and his group could be anywhere by now.
Walters paused and glanced at Jennings, who ignored him, his full attention on the road ahead, which suited Armstrong just fine. If a tire blew now all four of them would be just so much blood and guts spread over a quarter mile of “god knew where” fucking Utah.
“Well…” Walters said slowly and Armstrong could tell he was thinking hard of a way to explain the situation without sounding as if they were all smoking way too much peyote. “From the reports, several people stepped into a bubble of some kind and disappeared when the bubble popped.”
“Bubble?” Sanders said incredulously.
“I know it sounds crazy but their story was corroborated by over a dozen campers. They stepped into what looked to be a very large soap bubble,” Walters added.
“Bubble?” Sanders repeated then glanced at Armstrong for support. He didn’t get it, which was not at all what he expected.
“You know what he’s talking about…” Sanders exclaimed, utterly shocked.
Armstrong considered lying, but nodded instead. “It’s how they escaped us in St. Louis the first time. But perhaps we can get a hint of where they were going from one of the campers.”
“And you were going to tell us about this bubble thing when?” Sanders asked, suddenly very pissed off.
“When I wouldn’t sound like Mr. Utah here,” Armstrong snapped back, but Sanders was not intimidated and did not back down.
“You DOE boys have been up to something pretty dicey,” Sanders said softly. “We’ve looked into Cryogen’s activities. I suggest you come clean, it will be better for all of you in the long run.”
“Take it up with Kwan,” Armstrong replied staring blankly at the NSA agent. “You realize she’s a cabinet member.”
Sanders bristled. “I don’t give a shit who she is, if she’s funding activities detrimental to the security of the country, I’ll beat her ass personally.”
“Most of the campers are gone. My boys cleared the majority of any wrong doing. Most left…jittery from the killings. They would be little help, but we do have a lead. We think they went to Chicago,” Walters finally added, hoping to cool the tempers in the back. It worked; both men fell just as silent as if they’d had a bucket of water thrown on them unexpectedly.
“Chicago?”
Walters nodded as Jennings turned off the county road and onto Highway 24 heading south. “One of my boys, Sergeant Caldridge recognized the scene in the bubble, grew up there. Says it was definitely Chicago.”
“God damn it!” Armstrong shouted. “Why didn’t you tell us this right away? Turn this piece of shit around and take us back to the airport?”
“You don’t want to question Caldridge or the other campers?”
“Fuck Caldridge,” Armstrong said trying to stay calm. “And you said most of the campers have gone….I hope you got their names…addresses…plates.”
“Of course,” Walters said with a frown. He and his men were not stupid. They followed proper procedures and they were good, no matter what a couple of puffed up feds thought.
“I want that list,” Sanders said and Armstrong agreed. “We need it now…and get us back to the airport!”
†
One week after their initial try, Arnot woke up lying on his back in the rocky field near Northpoint and as he tried to sit up he found the High Zarina Monde draped across his legs. The Traveler was still unconscious. Arnot glanced around. His father was sitting a dozen feet to the north, shaking his head, obviously woozy and the Solitary Nyx was standing over him on shaky legs. Jess na Massi was also unconscious, her face serene as if she was sleeping peacefully under the quickly darkening sky of the early evening. Across the field several dozen people were moving quickly their way, while thousands of horsemen looked on.
“We were there,” Arnot croaked but no one heard him.
Nyx staggered over to Arnot, reaching him just as Monde began to come around.
“We were there,” he repeated, this time his voice a bit stronger.
Nyx nodded. “Yes, the bridge was within a hairs breath of opening,” she said. “We did not have the power. Too much searching drained our strength.”
“We…we failed?” Monde asked as she pulled herself off of the young prince.
“You were close!” Elin yelled and actually jumped into the air and landed with a stop directly in front of Arnot. Her hair flew forward to cover her smiling face for an instant, but she quickly corralled it and pulled it back out of the way. “I saw the other side Arnot…I saw it!”
Arnot glanced up at her bewildered, but happy to see her nonetheless. He glanced at his mother who was close behind.
“Yo
u saw it?” He asked them both. Both women nodded.
“It was never clear, but I could make out trees…and buildings and even a few people moving about,” Samantha replied very disappointed with the failure but trying hard to conceal it. She was growing very worried for her missing daughter. Gwaynn however, could read it in her body language as he slowly walked over to join her and began to eat from the platter she carried. Traveler Na Massi had also come around and was standing weakly behind him.
“We will try again,” Gwaynn told his wife and looked to Nyx for confirmation. The Solitary nodded.
“We can make it…I’m sure,” she told him. “Next time…Arnot will search alone. We will not join him until he finds the right world. I believe if we wait, together we will have the strength to connect the two worlds.”
Monde groaned but shook her head in agreement. “I feel like a student again,” she said to no one in particular and began to eat ravenously
Jess laughed. “You are High Zarina, you are. You’re a student learning to Travel between worlds, as we all are.”
“We will make it next time,” Arnot said confidently, and despite their past failures no one disagreed with him.
†
“Follow me,” Adam said once they’d materialized in Chicago and the bridge winked out of existence. Though still light out, it was very late in the evening, the sun just below the horizon. He reached out and took hold of Vio’s arm as the woman staggered. As far as he could tell, only the little girl near the bean noticed their unusual arrival, but he wanted to get out of the open before the two Travelers began to eat like there was no tomorrow. Avigail took two steps and then her knees buckled. Blue immediately scooped her up into his arms before following along after Adam. As he walked, he spun about trying to take in the full measure of downtown Chicago.
“Holy shit!” Blue exclaimed loudly. “They did it…they really did it!”
“Keep your voice down,” Christine hissed then reached out and pulled the big man along behind her.
Dorothy, who was glued to Galen, was smiling like an idiot and mumbling. “I knew it; I knew it,” over and over to herself.
Adam led them south along Michigan Avenue for several blocks before turning east and heading toward the waterfront as the evening faded into night. Vio stumbled along, only vaguely aware of her surroundings. The evening was cool, and there was a strong breeze blowing off Lake Michigan and despite the growing darkness there were still people everywhere, jogging, rollerblading or just strolling along Lake Shore Drive. Adam forced Vio to remain standing until they crossed the busy thoroughfare then he allowed her to collapse on the ground in small grassy spot very near the water. He dropped to his knees beside her and began to rummage around in the bag of food while Blue gently placed Avigail on the tall, soft grass. She coughed, but smiled up at the big man.
Adam handed the two Travelers a bottle of fruit juice each. They finished them in less than three seconds and would have been the envy of any young man entered in a chugging contest. Blue whistled his appreciation as Adam handed them another. He glanced about to see if anyone was watching, but no one seemed to be paying the group the slightest attention. The crowd was not static but instead flowed past them like a gentle stream.
As the Travelers ate, the rest of the group just sat and waited, trying to look inconspicuous and digest the fact that they’d just moved from Utah to Chicago in an instant. Only Galen seemed to be completely unfazed by the feat as he handed Avigail her third Snickers bar.
“You’re going to get fat,” he teased, his jovial smile reappearing on his face.
Avigail stuck out her tongue and finished off the candy bar but then snatched up an apple instead.
“We need to find a place to spend the night,” Adam told Dorothy and Blue as the Travelers attempted to eat their strength back. “It’s too late to contact Stanfield tonight. We’ll get him in the morning.”
Blue nodded and glanced around. There was only a hint of light in the west now, but the city was lit brightly with millions of lights.
“Here,” Blue said and handed Adam his cell phone. “We’ll use Dorothy’s,” he added and they quickly swapped numbers.
“Be very careful if you call,” Adam told them. “No names. I don’t know if the DOE’s tagged either of you yet, but we,” he said and motioned to Galen, Christine and himself, “need to be cautious when using cell phones.”
Blue and Dorothy nodded vigorously and then headed off south, both relishing playing the role of fugitive and spy.
They’d only been gone a few minutes when a middle-aged couple strolled past holding hands. They stopped directly in front of the strange group and glanced in their direction. Adam watched them closely, suspiciously.
“They’re good,” Galen said and smiled through the darkness at the couple. Adam looked at Galen, then back to the couple and tried to relax. He was beginning to trust Galen’s instincts. The pair just stood where they were for several long minutes but then the woman moved forward, pulling her reluctant partner along by the hand.
Adam tensed again automatically, but when he saw the woman’s face he smiled and knew in his heart that Galen was indeed correct. Over the past week he’d seen this very reaction in a host of campers from all over the country. Somehow people could sense Galen’s uniqueness…his goodness.
“Hello Erin,” Galen said softly and the woman eyes widened in surprise and the man moved forward protectively. “Thomas,” Galen added also greeting the man.
“We will have to be going soon, but you’re welcome to join us for a moment,” Galen added gently.
Thomas frowned and tried to pull Erin back and continue their walk but the woman was having none of it.
“How…how did you know my name?” She asked.
Galen shrugged. “I don’t know how I do it…I can just…read people,” he explained.
“Erin let’s get out of here,” Thomas whispered forcefully and actually kept her from kneeling down next to Galen. She struggled against him briefly before turning. “Stop it Thomas! Look at him; he’s not going to hurt us,” she insisted.
Thomas studied Galen and felt only peace and love, but when he glanced at Adam his feelings were not quite so fuzzy.
“Just stay calm,” Adam said firmly as Erin finally won out and dropped to the ground in front of Galen. Her attention was momentarily distracted by Vio who finished one apple and took up another, still eating very rapidly with Avigail doing her best to keep up.
Erin frowned for a moment and wondered if perhaps Thomas was correct and these people were best avoided.
“Who are you?”
Galen smiled. “My name is Galen,” he replied as if that explained everything. “I’m new here,” he added, meaning that he was relatively new to this world, but the couple took it as new to Chicago.
“Why have you come?” Erin asked and Thomas grew even more uncomfortable.
“To see…” Galen started but was interrupted by a loud cough from Adam. Both Erin and Galen glanced over at him, but only Galen was smiling. “To see a friend,” Galen continued and then held out his hand.
Erin shook it gently and a wave of contentment coursed through her. The feeling was so strong that when Galen attempted to pull back, Erin clutched tightly to his hand. Galen attempted to pull away again, but still Erin hung on.
“Erin!” Thomas insisted loudly, but a hint of desperation flashed across Erin’s face and she refused to let go. Avigail stopped eating and gave the woman a hard stare and Adam noticed that Vio was also giving the girl her undivided attention.
“It’s alright,” Galen told Avi softly as Dorothy and Blue hurried up to the group.
Thomas, who was already nervous about the encounter, became even more agitated as he caught sight of the large, dark Native American hurrying his way.
“Erin,” he said, openly pleading.
Erin let go of Galen’s hand with a sigh and slowly stood though she refused to move when her husband discreetly tugged at her
arm.
“We found a place,” Dorothy said with excitement. “It’s only…” she continued but stopped as Adam held up a hand.
Adam quickly stood and faced Erin and Thomas. “It was nice to meet you both,” he added in a tone of dismissal though he had not actually met either of them and was not part of the exchange.
“You too,” Thomas said and was finally able to steer his wife away from the group. She at last began to move, but did so with obvious reluctance.
Adam watched them closely as they slowly moved away and then bent over to check on Vio.
“Can you stand?” He asked and she nodded and allowed him to help her to her feet.
Galen then stood and helped Avigail.
“Erin,” Galen suddenly called out loudly. The couple was already a good thirty feet away, but Erin stopped and turned abruptly. “The baby…your baby will be fine,” Galen added and a look of stunned shock fell over the couple.
“Let’s get going,” Adam hissed and with Christine’s help maneuvered Galen and the others down a sidewalk to the south.
Thomas and Erin stood rooted to the spot and just stared at Galen’s retreating back. Christine, who had a hand on the young man’s shoulder, turned a time or two to check on them but the couple was not following.
The Best of All Possible Worlds Page 37