by Chad Morris
Carol, Rafa, and Derick met her just outside the Bridge room. They had been careful with so much security around.
Abby wore her heartstone and had her visor in her hand. She had run back to her room to retrieve the visor after the security team was finally done with them. “I’m not really sure what’s going to happen,” Abby admitted. She was hoping to learn just exactly how to see the future.
Abby stepped in front of the others, and they went into the room with the Bridge. Nothing happened. No appearance from her grandfather. She put on the visor. Through its lens, one brick in the wall stood out. She walked over to it and it shifted, opening up like a drawer. The inside of it was hollow, similar to the thick drawer the visor had come in.
“Place the object you made in my laboratory into the brick,” Grandpa instructed, appearing in front of them. He looked mostly solemn, but with a tinge of excitement around his eyes.
Abby dropped the heartstone into the brick drawer and it closed. She heard some mechanical sounds and something whirring inside.
When the compartment opened again, the heartstone seemed like it shone a bit more. Apparently it had been changed somehow in the drawer. Abby remembered a similar thing happening with the sphere she had been given that authorized her to see the present.
Grandpa appeared again. “You have now discovered one of my last secrets,” he said with a tired smile. “After you have inserted three keys and a sphere, hold your object near the Bridge console, and a place to insert it will appear. Inserting your object will allow you to see the future. If you want to interact with the future, you will need three keys, three spheres, and three objects that were made in my laboratory and sanctioned as yours has been.” Carol and Derick still had not finished their objects. Rafa had also started, but only Abby had completed the task.
“As always,” Grandpa continued, putting his virtual cane to the floor every few feet as he paced, “I give you a warning that you may not like what you see. Or you may feel great relief at your glimpse of the future. Either way, remember that I don’t believe the future is unchangeable. I believe our decisions can make a difference, can change what would have been.”
“You will notice,” Grandpa said, his image walking toward the Bridge, “that the machine is not able to tolerate showing the future for long. Showing the future puts much more stress on it than showing the present. You only have somewhere between five and ten seconds. After that, I don’t believe the Bridge can take the pressure. It will destroy itself.” Abby had seen it come dangerously close when she had used the Bridge to look into the present.
“It is also nearly impossible in five to ten seconds to find any specific moment in the future,” Grandpa said. “You often don’t know what you’re looking for, and don’t have much time. If you are trying to see a certain moment, my advice would be to overshoot slightly, and then quickly backtrack to the event you want to see. Even if you don’t see the actual event, the aftermath often gives more clues than the moments just before.
“Oh, and one more thing,” Grandpa said, pointing with his cane. “After you look into the future, please let the Bridge rest. I believe it will need an entire day to recover, a full twenty-four hours. Anything less would do it harm.”
That was a long time. This was a level above just the past or the present. And if they saw into the future tonight, they wouldn’t have time again before the last event of the Race tomorrow. They would only get one shot.
Abby walked over to the invention that looked like a giant metal tree. She gazed at it a moment, taking in its grandeur. Her grandfather had really made something spectacular. It was unfortunate that others wanted to use it for terrible purposes. She thought of the future she had seen through the saturn. She thought of the Ash.
“Maybe we should plan this out a little,” Derick suggested, stepping toward Abby.
“I agree,” Abby said. “I think that, first, we should spy on Muns in the present. We need to know if he’s awake and if he has any more plans. Then we should try to see the future, because afterward it will take so long before we can use it again.”
Everyone agreed.
In a few moments, they had turned their keys and Abby had put in her sphere. They peered into Muns’s mansion, another place in the present. Abby tensed. Muns’s bed was empty. She had been hoping he would still be recovering.
After some searching, she found him at his desk. He was wearing a full suit, dark blue with a silver vest. His hair was slicked back, every strand in place. He was still pale, at least experiencing some aftereffects of his time unconscious. He moved his fingers, controlling his rings. His eyes moved back and forth. He was reading something. He half-smiled and then seemed to be thinking.
“You look good,” a voice came in from out of view. “You wanted to see me?”
“I don’t pay you to flatter me,” Muns spat. The half-smile was long gone. “I pay you for your connections. Everything seems to be in order, but I want you ready just in case. Even if the plan fails, it will give me the opportunity I need.”
Everything was in order? Didn’t he know that Mr. Silverton and Mr. Sul had been caught? He obviously hadn’t received word that Chief Shar was arrested and security was waiting to confirm her involvement. That had happened too recently. And she wouldn’t have had a chance to communicate with him.
But what if he did know?
“I have a hundred and fifty soldiers from various pasts ready to make their fortunes,” the voice from behind their perspective said.
One hundred and fifty? That was a small army!
Muns eyed the man carefully. “Double it!” he barked.
Abby could hear the man gasp. “I don’t have the weeks or even the days to make that happen.”
“And I don’t have the patience for you if you do not.” Muns glared back. “No more games. I’m going to end this.”
The Bridge started to rattle and Abby turned the keys. They had to save the Bridge for a look into the future.
“Why does Muns need an army?” Carol blurted out. “Because I’m really not very fond of that idea.”
“Me neither,” Derick admitted.
“He could try to attack the school,” Abby suggested, twisting her hair into a temporary ponytail.
“But we have those huge walls and more security than ever,” Derick said. “Maybe it’s okay that we have all those annoying security bots around.”
“But that’s just it,” Rafa said, a few long strands of his hair dangling in front of his face. “Chief Shar was head of security. Muns was probably planning on her just letting him in. She could have done that. She supervised all the guards and the bots.”
The importance of Chief Shar being arrested hit Abby. That had changed everything. Otherwise Muns would have attacked with an army. And during the Race would have been the best time.
“I’m sending a message to my mom,” Rafa said. “She’s doing her own research on Chief Shar. I’ll have her send another message to security to beef it up.”
“The only other possibility,” Derick said, “is that he tries to bring the army through using the Bridge.”
“He does have a Bridge,” Abby said. He had stolen it from her grandfather’s house at the beginning of the school year. “But I don’t think he has enough keys or spheres to bring anyone in through the present.”
“At least we don’t think he does,” Rafa said.
Abby turned back to the Bridge. It had stopped rattling and stood firm. “I guess looking into the future just became a lot more important.” She took in a deep breath. “After I put in my heartstone, where do I look?” She shook her head. “Maybe I should start with when.”
“I think if Muns is going to make a move, it will be during the last event of the Race,” Derick said. “That’s where his plan seems to be leading.”
“Maybe I should set the Bridge for just after the last event tomorrow night,” Abby suggested. “That way we can see what happens after and get better clues.”
“Sounds good,” Carol said, and gave a double thumbs-up. “And we can see my victory dance when we win the Race! Go Spartans!” She karate kicked and then broke out into a dance.
“How can you dance right now?” Derick asked. “This is serious stuff.”
“Like this,” Carol said, and wiggled some more.
Derick shook his head. “The final event is scheduled for seven o’ clock. Knowing when it ends is trickier. They can go for a few hours, but I think most of them last just an hour. Maybe start at eight o’clock and either move forward or back in time from there.”
“Where should I search?” Abby asked. “I need to plug in a place.”
“If we’re afraid of Muns gaining control of time,” Rafa said, “maybe start right here at the Bridge.” He nodded toward the large invention. “And then move to the security wall or the auditorium if you don’t see anything.” All of the student body would watch the final event from the auditorium.
“Sounds good,” Abby said.
“I’ll set my rings and count down from ten seconds so we don’t break this thing,” Carol volunteered. “That would be super-nasty-awful-wretched-no-good terribleness. I’ll set it to count down out loud.”
Abby made sure that everyone was okay with the plan, then took a deep breath. With Rafa’s help, she turned the keys. She put in her sphere. Abby set her heartstone near the console and it vibrated. A small door opened above a keyhole. She slipped the heartstone inside. Rather than wasting any time scrolling, Abby changed the time code for tomorrow night. The Bridge rumbled the moment it accepted the date.
“Ten,” Carol’s rings called out, in the voice of an overly dramatic actor.
A faded ghost of tomorrow night filled the other side of the room, a shadow of what would be. The Bridge showed a realistic image of itself. It almost appeared to be like looking in a giant mirror, except for the people. Abby saw herself. Her future self.
“Nine.”
In the future, Abby wasn’t standing confidently at the Bridge’s console like she was now. She was weeping on the floor, Carol beside her.
“Eight.”
For a moment, Abby was stunned, taking in the scene. Something in the future would go terribly wrong.
“Seven.”
There was no more time to think about it. Abby scrolled back in time. It was like rewinding through a movie. Abby in the future got up from her knees and was gazing ahead, her mouth moving and her arm gesturing at the same time.
“Six.”
“You’re yelling something,” Rafa said.
“Five.”
Abby stopped scrolling to hear what she would say in the future. “Derick, you can’t possibly run that fast,” her future self screamed.
“Four.”
“Derick, don’t! Don’t!” Future Abby cried out.
“Three.”
Where was Derick? Abby made a quick decision between the auditorium and the security walls. If her future self wasn’t in the auditorium, why would Derick be there? Remembering that seeing the aftermath was often useful, Abby scrolled ahead in time slightly as she moved the perspective outside the building.
“Two.”
As Abby moved out through the grounds, she caught a glimpse of Derick sprinting.
“One.”
All they saw was a burst of light. All they heard was Derick’s scream before Carol pulled the keys.
Derick’s voice from the future echoed off the walls.
Everyone stood in silence for several seconds, their eyes acclimating back to the darkness of the basement.
“I hate that light,” Derick said.
“What causes it?” Carol asked.
“I have no idea,” Derick said. “But I guess we haven’t stopped Muns’s plan.”
“We’ve got to try to see the future again,” Abby said, turning back toward the console and the keys. “See how we can stop it.”
“We can’t,” Rafa said. “Unless you want to do Muns a great favor and destroy the Bridge.”
Abby froze. Nothing they had done had changed the future. Even though Mr. Silverton and Mr. Sul were caught. Even though Chief Shar was arrested—it still turned out the same. Derick was going to die. Maybe they all would. Maybe this was the moment that would lead to Muns taking over and striking anyone who stood in his way with the Ash.
All their efforts meant nothing.
Nothing.
Abby wished her grandfather was awake, that he could tell her what to do. But even if he was, what could he say?
“This is crazy,” Carol said. “But like Rafa suggested a long time ago, maybe we should use the Bridge to attack Muns. You could tranquilize him again.”
“We can’t until tomorrow night,” Derick said. “The Bridge has to rest, and it wouldn’t be ready until about the same time as the Race ends.”
Abby twisted her hair into another temporary ponytail. “And even if we did, someone else is working for him inside Cragbridge Hall. Their plan would still happen.”
“What if we go back in time and change something?” Rafa asked. “We could do something to Muns.”
“We shouldn’t,” Abby said. “It’s too dangerous. That’s what we’ve been trying to keep Muns from doing. We might give the Ash to someone else. Maybe a lot of someones.”
“Plus,” Derick repeated, “we can’t use the Bridge until the end of the event, unless we want to risk destroying it.”
It was hopeless.
No. That wasn’t right. At least not according to Grandpa.
“Wait,” Abby said. “Just because we see something in the future doesn’t mean that it will happen. We can make different choices. We can do better than we would have.” Her eyes welled up with tears. “This isn’t going to happen. We’re going to figure something out.”
• • •
Derick lay in his bed. This could be his last night alive.
He had so many questions about what Muns had planned, about what the next day would hold. But he knew Muns had someone working for him inside Cragbridge Hall. He knew Muns had an army. And he knew there were only a handful of people who knew the secret, people he knew he could trust: his sister, Carol, Rafa, and Rafa’s mother. Sure, there was a chance his parents, his grandpa, and a few more teachers might wake up, but even then, how could they possibly stand up to Muns?
His thoughts churned over and over in his mind. They would have to do something different. He would have to do something better than he would have before.
Derick had an idea. There, in the dark, lying in his bed, he had an idea. It was a bit bold, unexpected. Maybe it was enough to change the future. He synced up with Abby, Carol, Rafa, and Rafa’s mother to see if they agreed. They discussed it for nearly an hour before consenting.
Derick synced up with all of the Spartans, several of them very nearly asleep. In fact, he may have woken a few of them up. He took a deep breath. “I know it’s late, but we’ve been thinking. Tomorrow is the day of the last challenge, and we hopefully have a chance to win it.”
“And that’s when we’ll get to learn the secret,” Piper said and yawned.
Derick nodded.
“If we win, we think we’d rather have you hear the secret from us that from whomever else has offered it,” Abby said.
“And if we don’t win, there’s a good chance we may need your help,” Derick added.
Derick started at the beginning. He didn’t tell it all, but he told about the Bridge and how it could really go into the past and how Muns desperately wanted that power. He mentioned that some people have keys and Muns would stop at nothing to get them. He told of all the ways Muns had threatened lives to try to gain the keys. He steered clear of the spheres that allowed those who had them to look anywhere into the present, and the heartstone Abby had that allowed her to see the future. When he finally stopped, he waited for their reaction.
“Whoa, that is crazy,” Malcolm said.
“Yes, it is,” Derick admitted.
“I told you this secr
et may be a burden,” Rafa said.
“I still don’t know what to say,” Nia mumbled. “That was all real, right? You didn’t just give us your creative writing term paper, did you?”
“Nope. It’s true,” Abby said.
“Are you sure?” Malcolm asked. “’Cause that would be mean to wake us up for y’all to tell us some crazy lie. Plus, my mama doesn’t approve of lies.”
“It’s all true,” Derick promised.
“It totally, totally, totally is,” Carol said. “And it’s a really hard secret to keep.”
“It brings a whole new level of importance to our last event,” Anjum said. “Though I admit I will need time to think through what this means, I know I don’t want just anyone knowing this information. It’s potentially very dangerous.”
“If things don’t go as planned,” Abby said, “and Muns has something more up his sleeve, we would really appreciate some help. You are some of the most talented students at this school. It’s because of kids like you that my grandpa founded this school, that he took the chance on his inventions. He thought what he could help kids learn would outweigh the dangers. Perhaps we can prove him right.”
March 29
Abby woke up again.
She couldn’t sleep. Too much to haunt her. She checked the time: 5:30 am. She might as well get up.
March 29.
Today was the day of the final challenge. And the day the saturn said Derick would die.
While Carol snored in the background, Abby took a quick shower and then put in her contacts and put on her rings. A message was waiting—a message from Derick.
She clicked on it, and saw her brother sitting on his bed.
“Hey, Sis,” he said. “I can’t sleep.” She heard some light snoring in the background. He had to deal with the same kind of roommate as she did. He must have filmed this sometime late last night after they spoke with the Spartans. “I’m glad we told them all about the keys and the Bridge. I think it was a good move.” He paused, opened his mouth, shut it, then opened it again.