by Matt Ryan
“Yeah, basically,” Julie said with her hands on her hips.
“I’m not some hundred kilowatt broadcasting tower here, we aren’t talking about reaching the whole world, or even the whole nation.”
“I know, but if this can reach anyone, we have to try,” Julie said.
Poly looked at her Panavice, trying to force a text from Evelyn.
“Great, let’s do it,” Trip said and went to turning dials and flipping switches. “What’s the frequency?”
“My Panavice will take over the controls,” Julie said. “It’s not a normal kind of radio frequency. I went through Evelyn’s notes on the structure she built, and I think we can achieve something similar here.”
The house rumbled and they all looked to the ceiling.
“Another one of those buggers. A guy in Tallahassee and another in Minnesota said they saw them spawn a tower, sucking in everything around in a matter of minutes.”
Poly knew the towers well. She shook her head at the thought of Hector. What a crap deal he got. They freed him from one hell, only for him to experience it all over again.
Julie spent the next ten minutes setting up Trip’s equipment, and attaching several electrical leads from her Panavice to Will’s head. Lucas paced nearby and didn’t look happy.
“You sure about this?” he asked.
“No, but what choice do we have?”
Lucas tossed up his arms and then pointed in the direction of the Alius stone. “We have a freaking ticket out of this place.”
“Would you stop talking about that?” Julie said.
“Fine, but if this doesn’t work. We’re gone.”
Julie made eyes at Poly, then grunted and got back to work. She set up the last lead on Will’s head as he swiveled on Trip’s office chair, smiling.
“Don’t worry. I’ll save them,” Will said.
“You know what to do, right?” Julie asked.
“Yes.”
The radio crackled and a panicked voice came across. “Something’s happening. Green lights are glowing on the tower and the cubes are flooding out. You there, Trip?”
“Got a low wattage for a backup,” Trip explained, as he rushed to the radio on the other side of the room. “Yeah, buddy, I got you. What’s going on?”
“They’re pulling people into those cubes. Their sucking them in. Hundreds of them!”
“Now,” Julie said, and Will nodded. He closed his eyes and Julie pressed a button on her Panavice.
Will sucked in a deep breath and his eyes went wide. Lucas ran to him, but he held up a hand, telling him to stop. “So many. . . .”
“Buddy, you there?” Trip said.
“I reached him,” Will said. “I’m . . .” he paused for a few seconds, “connecting with them.”
The house shook again, but this time, it didn’t stop. Poly looked at the ceiling and then to Julie.
“Those things read our thoughts, we have to run away from Will. They’ll tear this house apart. Go!” Julie yelled.
Poly ran out the door, across the family room, and into the front yard. She spotted the cube, hovering high above the house.
“Lay on the ground and blank out. Think of nothing,” Julie instructed, before falling to the ground. A glazed looked came over her eyes.
Lucas did the same and Gretchen followed suit.
Poly laid down, but all she thought of was Evelyn. She slammed her eyes shut. Blank. Blank out. Come on. The ground below her fell away, and for a brief second, she thought she’d entered a state of total disconnect; then she opened her eyes and realized she’d floated a few feet above the ground. Rotating, she faced the black cube pulling her in.
The soft humming sound, along with the wind blowing through the trees, made a peaceful setting. Before Joey’s death, she might have screamed and fought to get away. But what was the point? The thing had her.
“Like hell,” Trip bellowed.
She turned and saw him standing on the porch, holding a shoulder-mounted rocket launcher. He fired and the missile shot toward the cube. She watched it fly by and strike the cube in the sky. The thin shell shattered, falling to the earth in pieces. She struck the dirt driveway hard.
Julie jumped up and ran to her. “You okay?”
“Where the hell did you get that bazooka?” Lucas asked Trip.
He laughed. “When the world collapses from a deadly contagion, things go unnoticed from certain stockpiles.”
“You crafty dog. What else you got stored up in there?” Lucas pointed to the house.
Julie leaned closer to Poly and examined her body.
“I’m fine,” Poly assured.
“I don’t think we’re safe here,” Julie said as another chunk hit the ground.
Poly saw three cubes descending upon them, and had to agree.
TRAVIS WALKED BEHIND JACKIE. THE woman had to have known of the sword at his side, the gun on his other side, and even the various blades around his body. Yet, Jackie walked with such confidence that Travis suspected the woman either had no fear, or was foolish—both dangerous attributes. He’d ride the middle until he found out. “So, have you asked the queen where your best friend is?”
“You think she’ll just turn her over to me?” Jackie laughed. “The only thing I ever got from her was that she was keeping them safe until the next phase of existence.”
“What does that mean?”
Jackie sighed. “I don’t feel like explaining our entire history. Why don’t you just keep leading me toward her?”
Travis looked down at the screen and pointed ahead. Evelyn hadn’t moved since he first got the message. As much as she bothered Travis, she felt like another daughter to him. If this Jackie girl hurt Evelyn in any kind of permanent way. . . .
“How much further?” Jackie asked.
“Just keep walking.”
“Are you going to tell me who that girl back there really was? A sister?”
“She is my daughter,” Travis said.
“Oh come on, you’re like the same age as her.”
“Not quite. I’m over four hundred years old.”
Jackie stopped and turned around. “Shut your mouth.”
Travis enjoyed shocking her, but he wouldn’t go into details. “How long’s your friend been missing?”
Jackie turned around and started walking again. “A few years now. There’s a chance her mom killed her and is lying to me, but I just have this gut feeling she’s out there, waiting for me to find her. You ever get that feeling?”
“Yes.”
They walked next to a running creak, stomping down a path through the tall grass.
“What makes this girl so special?” Jackie asked. “I mean, how is she the way she is? Did she . . . take something, or use something?”
Travis frowned. He disliked people not getting to the point. “She has two amazing parents. She was born the way she is. Is there any other way?” He knew Vanar far exceeded Jackie’s world in technology, but they had these stones.
“In this world, there’s always another way.”
Travis watched her as she walked. She had some grace when she let some of her walls down. He liked a woman with walls; fun to climb them. But this woman seemed to have more barriers in place than most. She would grab at the stone sack on her hip when she caught herself relaxing, tensing up and looking around in a rush.
“Those stones are a very interesting tech. You guys make them yourself?”
“They are our curse.”
“Can anyone use them?”
“Perhaps, but making them is the tough part. Rubes like you could mix up ingredients until the end of time and never make what we can.”
“And you used one of these stones on Evelyn?”
“Yeah, just a paralysis stone. She’ll be fine.”
Travis stared at the screen. Evelyn’s location sat about a hundred feet behind them. He even spotted some fallen grass and a rock outcropping she’d probably hid in. “That’s far enough,” he said.
This is the part he was dreading. “Why don’t you tell me your end game?”
Jackie’s eyes narrowed. “Is she even out here?”
“She is, but I can’t just let you near her again. You tried to trade her off already. As you said, it sucks to lose someone close.” Travis clicked his shield on.
“I told you, I don’t want to hurt her.”
“No, you just want to trade her to someone who will hurt her.”
“I don’t know what the queen wants with her.”
“Yes, you do.”
“This is stupid. Let’s just get to Evelyn. She needs this stone.” Jackie held a milky stone up.
Travis studied the stone in her hand. He’d figured there’d be something to counteract the effects of whatever this woman did to Evelyn. “You know as well as I do, Evelyn is probably the only person in the worlds who can stop your queen.”
“She’s not my queen,” Jackie said with gritted teeth.
“What if I told you, Evelyn is in the process of procuring exactly what you are looking for?”
Jackie’s eyes went wide. “What do you mean?”
“She is getting the very thing you want.”
“I don’t believe you. How would she even know?”
“You very nearly ended the one person who can finish the job. Evelyn was in the queen’s mind. She knows things, she’s seen things.”
Jackie paced near the water.
Travis spun around when he heard a noise, and saw Evelyn stumble into the creek. She staggered forward and Travis brought out his gun and pointed it at Jackie. “What’s wrong with her?” he asked, splitting his attention between Jackie and Evelyn.
Jackie sputtered. “I—it’s impossible. She should be unconscious. In a coma. No one can get out of that stone.”
“She’s not just anyone.”
Evelyn took another step, glaring at Jackie before her eyes rolled back and she fell face first into the water.
Travis ran to Evelyn and pulled her from the creek. She felt cold and stiff, and briefly, he thought she’d died. He brushed back her wet hair. “Evelyn?” He gave her a light shake and touched her cheek. “Evelyn, you there?” She didn’t respond and he adjusted her limp body in his arms.
“Here,” Jackie walked up and held out a green stone with white streaks. “This should help her.”
“This is different than the first one you showed me.”
She sighed. “Noticed that, eh? I changed my mind. If there is a chance she can help, I have to take it.”
Travis nodded. “You know what I’ll have to do if you hurt her?”
“You could try.” Jackie rolled her eyes. She placed the stone on Evelyn’s hand and it dissolved into her skin.
Evelyn moved; small motions with her limbs at first, and then she lunged out of Travis’s arms, knocking down Jackie.
Seeing her well, sent Travis into elation. He had his doubts about Jackie, but he knew in the end, she’d have to choose her path.
“How could you use such a stone on me?” Evelyn asked, grabbing at Jackie’s throat. “That was an eternity for someone like me.”
“I’m sorry.” Jackie pushed her arms away and backed up.
Travis watched Evelyn disappear right in front of him. He wasn’t sure where she went, until Jackie screamed and fell to the ground.
Evelyn appeared, standing behind her, fist clenched and breathing hard. “I trusted her and she did that to me. Touched me with her stupid stone.”
“What did you do to her?” Travis rushed to Jackie’s lifeless body.
“I put it in her mind that she needed to lay down and not move. I want her to feel what she did to me, only it would take years for her to feel the way I did.”
Travis put his ear next to Jackie’s mouth and felt a faint breath blowing. Her eyes remained open and unblinking. He set her on the thick grass and looked over to Evelyn. She glared at Jackie. “I don’t agree with what she did to you, I don’t. But we can’t just retaliate against people. She wasn’t attacking you. You weren’t in danger.”
“She’s strong, Travis. I don’t think you realize it, but she could have hurt us both. She already tried to hurt me once. Why would I take a chance on her?”
“I believe she was going to help us.”
“I could have killed her like nothing, if I wanted.” Evelyn snapped her fingers. “Nothing more than stepping on an ant. But I didn’t do it because of you, Travis. I knew you’d disapprove.”
“People can make mistakes, then learn from those mistakes.”
“And do you feel Harris has learned from his mistakes?” Evelyn asked.
It stung, and Travis winced at the reminder of his history with the man. “That’s different. Harris hurt my family, time and time again.”
“Starting with Maya?”
Travis stood and from that height, Evelyn looked like one of his little girls—Compry maybe—but her eyes held so much intelligence, the little girl persona felt like a lie. “Yes, it started with Maya, and ended with Compry. Your mom is the only reason Harris is still alive today.”
“Oh yes, the famous duel. The one I know of through tales told by the Six. Yet almost nothing remains of your past when I dig. Harris’s virus wiped everything off the servers.”
“You could ask me.”
“People tend to embellish, manipulate, project, and outright lie when it comes to telling of their past. Their minds are polluted with partial truths and self-delusions. I find if I gather enough information from many points of view, I can come to a general consensus of truth. I haven’t asked you because I don’t want a slanted story.”
“You speak as if you’re not human yourself. Stories people tell are just that, stories. If you want to hear my side of the story, you only have to ask.”
Evelyn stretched out her fingers and looked down at Jackie laying in the grass. “Another time, perhaps.”
Jackie hadn’t moved and Travis wondered what they should do with her body. He looked around and in the distance, he saw a car driving down the road. They weren’t too far from civilization, but who knew where the nearest Alius stone was.
“She probably has more of those portal stones,” Evelyn said and pulled Jackie’s sack from her waist. She opened the bag and looked at its contents. “I see a purple one.” She took Jackie’s glove off and put it on her own hand. Then she pulled the purple stone from the sack and held it up in the sky.
“You think it’s safe to use that thing?” Travis asked.
“One way to find out, put your hand next to Jackie’s.”
Travis didn’t like it, but he kneeled and placed his hand next to hers.
Evelyn did the same with her bare hand. “Here we go.”
COLDNESS SEEPED INTO HIS FINGERS, and with each breath, Harris felt a pain shoot through his lungs. An orange light came from the three purge people gathered in a tight circle. The light came from a small orb, dangling from a string that Kylie held. The purge trio opened their circle and motioned for the other three to come over.
Harris felt the warmth from the orb, like an inviting embrace. He staggered toward the group, with Hank and Gladius following close behind. Each step brought more warmth, and its glow warmed him from the inside as well. He felt as if some of the miles and centuries of weight that’d piled on him through his life were lifted off.
What is this magic?
He slapped his face and the pain sent some of the warm fuzziness away, renewing the weight slumped on his shoulders. He pictured his first wife, and then flashes appeared of her being killed in the basement of MM’s bunker. He should have never brought her there, but she knew the systems better than anyone in the world. Without her, they would have never gotten past the first door.
The orb moved and he moved with it. They all were guided by its glow. It swayed with Kylie as she walked. The purge people spoke, but the wind and cold just outside of the orbs power, threatened to ove
rtake them. He just needed to stick close. It felt good to look at it. He wanted to get lost in its softness and heat.
He slapped his face again.
They walked past trees with frost for leaves, and the wind pushed against them, sending chunks of ice to pelt their skin. The thick trees thinned out to nothing, and they crossed a frozen field. The orb beckoned them to continue and Harris gazed at it more than anything.
Before too long, Kylie stepped onto a wooden porch of a house and opened the front door. She entered the house, and Harris lost sight of the stone. He blinked and shook his head.
“Gladius, Hank, you guys all right?”
They didn’t answer, and walked into the house.
“They’ll be fine. That stone just has an effect on people. That’s why we use it in three’s,” David said. “Come in and we can plan our attack.”
Harris nodded, gun in hand.
The house wasn’t more than a hunter’s shack. The main room had a small pot belly stove with a skillet on top. The only door in the room led to a bathroom, he suspected. The six people made for a cramped space, and the orange glow from the stone heated the whole room. He averted his eyes from the light.
“Just don’t look at it for too long. It . . . makes you feel things,” Kylie said and covered the stone.
Hank and Gladius took a step back, then hugged each other. Harris looked away from the affection and stared out into the darkness beyond.
“We’re in Siberia,” Kylie explained. “Those dead things won’t make it in the cold, and the queen thought this planet held potential not to be found by travelers.”
“Travelers?”
“Sure, people who use the portal stones.”
“You’ve met others?”
“I haven’t, but the queen alluded to it. She said there would be people who’d pop in and out of worlds, looking for something, but she wasn’t sure what. That’s why she liked this planet. On the surface, it appeared ruined. No one would look in Siberia on a dead planet.”
“You didn’t create these Alius stones, did you?” Harris said.