Shadow Stations: Unseen
Page 10
In a lightless part of the woods I came to a small stone building that appeared to be a ranger station with restrooms at one end and a red CLOSED sign on the door, but I knew what it really was. I parked my beloved blue Jeep, got out, and took in the damage with my flashlight. Terrible dents, cracked taillights, horrible remains embedded in the tires.
“You did good,” I told the Jeep and put my hand on the hood. “You got us out of there.”
Us, but not Mike. I forced down a flood of emotion. After Nikki jumped out and we walked to the ranger station, I pressed a stone beside the threshold. The door opened into a sleek black interior that bore no resemblance to a real ranger station: black walls, black tiled floor, and black controls that felt like cool skin when I ran my hands over them. Once we were inside, I led Nikki to another small black room and knelt down beside her.
“We’re off to the Pacific tonight.” I stroked her fur. “I’m going to find Ben and the portal and go back in time and make everything the way it used to be. Just you and me and him, the way we always were. I’m going to stop him from going on the interview and save Mike’s life and fix everything, put it back the way it was.”
Nikki tilted her head. I wasn’t sure I believed it either.
“You stay in here. I love you, Nikki. We’ve been together all these years, but I don’t know who or what I’ll be when I open this door again. If I’ve turned into a monster, then you run. You run far and fast and you find somebody else to love you and take care of you. You hear me?”
I left her there and closed the door. I knew what to do next. Open the roof, take the ship over the trees until we were flying above the cloud cover, and head due west under the stars to the open sea.
“I’m coming, Ben.” I peeled my gloves off and placed my perfect six-fingered hands on the fleshy black controls. “I’m going to fix everything.”
# # #
To be continued…
Shadow Stations (Part Two): Black Friday will be published in late 2012
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I’d like to thank Rachel Cosgrove and April the German shepherd, who appear on the cover, and April’s owners, Ronnie and Tom Martin. My thanks also go to Kathleen Rockwood, Drew Stone, Barbara House, Ian Bontems, Dusty Smith, and Kim Kupperman. Huge thanks go to the madly talented Kealan Patrick Burke for the cover, book design, and editorial guidance. Finally, I’d like to thank you, the reader, for purchasing this book.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ann Grant is a native of Washington, D.C. with a background in advertising and the arts. She now lives with her beloved collie in the Pennsylvania countryside, where she’s finishing the second book of the Shadow Stations series.
anngrant717@gmail.com
http://www.shadowstations.net
ALSO BY ANN GRANT
(Writing as Hollister Ann Grant)
LOST CARGO
HAUNTED GROUND:
Ghost Photos from the Gettysburg Battlefield