by Matt Ryan
Evelyn knew how to handle this type of person. “What’s your name?”
“Jackie.”
Good, already giving honest answers. “Why don’t we go inside and discuss the end of the queen?” She looked to Harris and then to Gladius and Hank. At first, it surprised her to see them all in the purge world. Most curious indeed. If she hadn’t showed up, what would have been their end game? Kill these purge people, maybe torture the girl with the braid until she squealed like a pig?
“Sure,” Jackie said and motioned to her friends. She stepped further onto the porch and looked back, biting her lip.
This Jackie person might be more difficult than Evelyn first thought. Her thoughts bounced around, with a constant trail of sarcasm, as if she argued with herself as much as anything else.
“What are you doing here?” Harris asked.
Evelyn hadn’t had too much interaction with Harris, but he had one of the strongest minds of anyone she’d come across. “Saving the world,” she said. “The better question is, what’s in that bag?” She glanced down at Harris’s bag and then to Travis, who had yet to make eye contact with her.
“You know,” Travis whispered.
Evelyn had suspicions, but if they brought that thing to this planet, then they had a lot more on their mind than simply killing the queen.
She walked with Harris and led the group up the stairs. They entered the open door of the cabin. “Nice place.”
The main room looked like a log cabin. A large main room with an oversized fireplace, rustic furniture, and a large table with carved edges and timber chairs. A barrel sat in the middle of the room, filled to the top with water and a single stone floating in the middle.
Jackie leaned against an old oak table with her arms crossed. “It’s a shit hole, but we keep these safe houses all around the world. We found a few stones to protect us from the queen. They can’t detect us in these places, yet we still need to be cautious.”
“Just give us her location and we’ll go there now,” Harris said.
Evelyn frowned at his abrupt demands. As smart as the man appeared, he didn’t know people as well as she did.
“Evelyn knows. She was there, not long ago.”
“Yes,” she said, trying to understand the purpose of the barrel of water. “I have already engaged in the queen’s compound. It is unlikely I would be able to use the same entrance point. The queen isn’t foolish. She’ll have closed off that entrance by now.”
“Just show us on the map,” Harris said and pulled out his Panavice.
“I didn’t log it. I—I had trouble there.”
“Trouble?”
“She was able to do the things I can do.” A flash of the queen’s control over her made her wince. When they met again, things would be different. She would be prepared. She saw into the mind of the woman and knew her secrets. Soon, Evelyn would have the one thing she held most precious. “If we are to beat her, then we need to get closer to her without her knowing it. Her daughter has been mentioned. Who is she?”
“She’s my best friend.” Jackie’s lips thinned. “And she’s been missing for a long time, her and her man.”
“Is she alive?”
“Yes.”
“Where is she?”
“The queen sent her somewhere, maybe another world. I think she did it because she didn’t want her to see what was coming. I believe her daughter is the only person in the world who might be able to get the queen to lower her guard. And for that reason alone, she’s hiding her from us.”
“Maybe she’s hiding from you,” Evelyn said, then regretted it. People had a way of perceiving a valid argument as an attack.
Jackie pushed off the table and took a step closer to her. “If she could get back here, she would. She’s one of the most honest, decent people I’ve ever met. If she saw how her creation was being used, I’m not sure any of us, including her mother, could stop her.”
“What do you mean? What did the daughter create?” Harris asked.
“She’s the one.” Jackie stopped and turned to face the barrel of water. The water shook in it, and ripples rolled out from the stone. Evelyn sensed a change in her demeanor. Her whimsy switched to hyper focus. “They’re here,” she whispered.
The stone in the barrel floated to one side and butted against the wood. It pushed over the top and bounced along the floor, toward the door.
“Everyone, jump. They’ve found us.” Jackie turned to Harris. “Was it you?”
“No.”
Jackie leapt next to Evelyn. “We need to go.”
“I don’t need any help.”
“I need to show you the next jump location, and how I think we can get the daughter back,” Jackie said, then faced the front door. “Jump location four,” she screamed. “Everyone pair up.”
Evelyn thought of slowing down time to assess this threat, but she didn’t want to run into the queen just yet, and Jackie intrigued her. She’d let the event play out at normal speed.
Jackie grabbed her and clasped a stone between their hands. Evelyn tried to pry her hand free, but the world fell out from under her feet. The falling sensation, mixed with the swirling world, left her breathless. What was this technology? Could these people travel around their world with just the use of these stones?
The idea made her sick with excitement. Traveling took up most of her time; running from one Alius stone to the next. To have the ability to leap across great distances with the use of a stone . . . it would change her world entirely.
The ground firmed under her feet and Jackie held tight to her hand, keeping her from falling.
Evelyn had jumped a thousand times using the Alius stones—this was different. The Alius stones were more of a light switch, even in slowed time; you were in one place, then another.
Wide eyed, she took in her surroundings, and for the first time in a long time, felt an amazement about the world. “You have to tell me how these stones—”
A gloved hand slapped an object on her arm. “Sorry, I need you in order to get my friend back,” Jackie said with a sympathetic look.
Evelyn pulled away and felt the dull pain entering her hand. On instinct, she went into slow motion. Jackie stood there, frozen and gazing at her. Evelyn wished she could enter people’s mind in that state, but they came across as blanks. She wanted to ravage Jackie’s mind and find out why she just slapped this thing on her hand, and what it did.
Evelyn moved and her legs responded with great difficulty, sending her heart racing. What had this woman used on her, and where was the rest of her group? Had this been a trap? Evelyn gave it only a twenty percent chance Jackie and her friends were working with the queen. How could she have miscalculated so badly?
The first step felt like lead had encased her leg. She grunted in pain and even in the tiniest of time that passed, she felt the poison of whatever Jackie struck her with work into her, constricting each of her muscles and pulling on her mind to stop.
Looking back, she spotted Jackie, still frozen in her time. She needed much greater distance. An Alius stone couldn’t be too far away. She trudged through the forest and called out in pain as her left leg locked up entirely. Supporting herself with her right side, she pulled out her Panavice and located the nearest stone.
She gazed at her location, northern China. She knew the language and could probably get around with some planning, but a handicapped little white girl roaming the street of rural China would stand out. If she got that far.
Gripping the Panavice with her right hand, she pushed on. The next five minutes were as if someone was shoveling sand onto her back, while another person injected a new body part with a paralyzing poison each passing minute. Everything in her body screamed for her to stop. Half her body now felt numb and dead. Her arms dangled to the side and she had to swing her leg around to get a step forward.
“Come on, Evelyn. Don’t be a damned quitter.” Forty more miles and she’d get to the jump point.
Her face beca
me numb and drool dripped from her open mouth. Breathing became ragged, as her chest wouldn’t allow deep breaths. Even her eyes blurred, and the dull hum of the world diminished to almost nothing. She cried out, but it sounded more like a groan. Her body gave up on her. She landed on the grassy bank, next to a small stream. Her legs wouldn’t move and her left arm had long ago lost its usefulness. Her right shoulder had some muscle left in it, and her neck.
If she lived, she’d find a way for this whole planet to pay.
She pulled her Panavice up to her face and used her nose to flip through the screen as drool ran down her mouth and froze in the air as it dripped from her.
Jackie would be far enough away now, she doubted they’d ever find her body. She had to send Harris, Travis, and Gladius one last note. The fate of the world might depend on one of them getting the message.
If she passed out, would time continue on? Would the world snap back and leave her there, or would she be suspended forever, with seconds ticking by like years, and her body perpetually frozen in slow motion? A thousand years may pass for her while it took them days to find her.
She shut her eyes and struggled to get her heavy lids back open. She thanked the heavens her neck still had a hint of feeling and responded to her commands. She texted them, using her nose. Hopefully, they would be able to follow the message and find her body.
If they all failed, the purge people and the queen would take Earth, Vanar, and continue their rapture of the worlds. If she failed, the mutants would die. If she failed, none of the wrongs she set out to right would happen. The balance of the worlds would shift.
She wished she had the strength to tell her mom she loved her, but her neck finally gave in and her face rested on the Panavice, unable to move. She closed her eyes and heard the sounds of the world come alive. Then blackness, as whatever Jackie struck her with took hold.
A TALL DOOR WITH SYMBOLS etched around the perimeter stood in front of Kris. He rubbed his chin and tried to find any meaning to the symbols, but failed. It hadn’t taken them long to find the door, as it stuck into the bottom of a rocky hillside. It didn’t have any right to be there, and it seemed odd for anyone to put such a door in the middle of nowhere.
“It’s probably a riddle, written in some crazy language from this planet,” Maggie said.
“I don’t know, I’ve seen this somewhere.” He pointed at the bird at the top of the door.
“Just let me melt it,” Maggie said and held up her glowing red hands.
“No, Evelyn said there would be traps. Something very valuable is inside and we must be cautious. I’m not losing any more people today.”
Maybe they didn’t even need to open this door. Maybe it didn’t matter what treasure Evelyn needed inside. They had the real treasure of this new planet; a fresh start, to be their own people. Away from the world that treated them like freaks and second rate citizens based solely on their genetics.
This was their promised home. He pressed his lips together and looked at the ground, angry at his selfish thoughts. Evelyn had given this gift to them, the least they could do was help her.
“Get your dad,” Kris finally said to Maggie.
Her eyes lit up and she grinned. It didn’t take her long to find her oversized dad. A man who could single handedly pull down a tree and carry it back to camp. The big man walked up to Kris, with his fiery redhead of a daughter skipping along next to him.
“Char,” Kris addressed the big man. “I want you to watch this.” He showed him the smooth rock in his hand, then faced the door. He loosened his shoulder, and spun his arm. It spun so fast, it became a blur, yet he still felt the motion and had control. He released the rock and it cleared the thirty feet to the door in a fraction of a second. The door shot out an electrical bolt and destroyed the rock midair. Nothing but pebbles pelted the door.
Char’s eyes narrowed. “Need a bigger rock.”
Kris laughed at the simplicity of it. But he was right. “You think you could put one through that door, from this distance?”
“Just get me a rock worth a damn and I’ll blow the hinges right off that tin can.”
Kris smiled and looked back at the terrain. A rock outcropping sprung out of the forest. After searching for a while, they found a rock that made Char and Kris happy.
They made it back to the same spot, with Char carrying a boulder that would have crushed any normal man by the sheer weight. Char waved to the rest of the tribe and a group gathered around to watch the spectacle. Kris wasn’t exactly sure what to expect, so he urged people to stay away from the door.
Getting the tribe settled behind Char, Kris nodded to the big man. “Give it a good throw.”
Char reached back with both hands, as if throwing in a ball at a soccer game. He ran forward a few steps, and threw the large rock with a roar. The rock struck the door, dead center, and a bolt of electricity danced around it, zapping it. The rock fell to the ground below the door.
Kris hadn’t expected the rock to penetrate the door, but it solved another mystery. He leaned forward and saw the dent. “We need an even bigger rock.”
A longer search led to a boulder ten times as big as the first rock Char threw.
Kris looked up at the big man holding onto the rock like a bundle of laundry. He cupped the sides of his mouth and yelled, “Throw it.”
Char heaved the rock into the air, and out toward the door, hitting it hard enough to make the ground shake. It blew open the door; the blackness beyond appeared.
“Yes, Dad! You did it,” Maggie yelled out.
“Stay back, we don’t know what’s next,” Kris said. He tossed a rock and it sailed past the doorway. No electrical current. He edged closer to the opening, keeping a hand up for protection. Nearing the door, he braced himself for a shock. Nothing. He stepped over the fallen door.
The features of the dark room came to as he entered and stepped out of the light. He wasn’t exactly sure what to expect, but nothing as plain as the next room. Simply another room with a door, much like the first, stuffed into the stone wall. But it wasn’t exactly the same door. The markings were different.
“What’s past these doors?” Maggie said and Kris jumped at her voice.
“A treasure important to Evelyn.”
“How do we open this one? I don’t even think a boulder big enough to break it could fit in here.”
“No, I suspect this door is going to be tougher. Look at the steel jamb, twice as thick,” Kris said and squinted at the door. “Stay back.” He put a hand on Maggie’s shoulder.
“I could melt it.”
“No.”
“Think I should try and break this one down?” Char asked from the broken doorway.
“Let’s be patient.” Kris picked up a few pebbles from the dirt floor and threw them.
The pebbles hit the door, and the unexpected happened. They didn’t fall to the ground, nor cause an electrical charge. They disappeared. He picked up a handful more and tossed them again—same result. The door seemed to absorb the material.
“Get a bigger rock,” Kris said and Char brought him a hefty rock.
He heaved the rock and it struck the door. Small ripples formed on the surface, then the rock sank into the door like falling into honey.
“You think it melts into the other side of the door?” Maggie asked.
“Good question. I have no idea.”
In a few minutes, they gathered some jungle rope and attached it to a rock. Kris swirled his arm a few rotations and sent the rope and rock into the door. He held onto the rope and felt the tug as the door pulled it in. The rope tightened and slid through his hands. He tried to keep his grip, but it pulled harder.
“Char, grab the rope,” Kris said.
Both men formed a tug-of-war line, but they might as well have been wearing skates because the rope pulled them across the floor toward the door. Halfway across the room, Kris let go and Char followed. It fed into the door at the same pace, until the end of it disappeared.
>
“You hear that?” Kris said, turning his ear toward the door. “I thought I heard a clunk. Get Lupe, please.” He said it, but she didn’t need to be summoned. The woman heard everything, yet kept a tight lip. He always admired her for that.
Seconds later, Lupe came through the door, looking around as she adjusted to the darkness.
“Lupe, I need you to listen to this.” Kris tossed a stone at the door.
“Listen for what?” Lupe said.
“Wait for it.” The rock disappeared and Kris raised a hand for silence. The distinct sound of a rock striking more rocks came through.
“It fell for a few seconds. The air is thicker in there and the rocky bottom is solid rock. I heard it bounce several times,” Lupe said. “I hear something else as well. A humming sound. Very faint.” She leaned closer to the door.
“Stay back from the door.” Kris grabbed her and pulled her back. “We don’t know what that thing is capable of.”
“It fell for a few feet, but landed on a solid bottom.”
“This is stupid,” Maggie said and her hands ignited. She slammed her hands against the door and then fell through.
“Maggie, no!” Char said and charged at the door.
“Wait,” Kris called out, but the big man plowed into him, sending them both into the door.
The door moved over his head. He closed his eyes and mouth as it moved over his face. He felt the door free him and he turned to the blackness of the next room and fell. He wasn’t sure how far, but definitely more than a few feet. He grabbed at the darkness, as if it had matter, and slammed against a pile of rocks. He felt his left arm break from the impact and then his knee hit another rock and jammed his leg. He cried out in pain.
Kris would need medical attention. He felt around the break; the bone hadn’t gone through the skin. His knee hurt, but he thought he could stand on it. The blackness around him took on a life of its own, and he thought he heard things.
“Hello?” he called.
“Bit more than a few feet, Lupe,” Maggie yelled. “You okay, Dad?”