We walked the rest of the way to The Lacard at an uneven pace as we had to step over fallen poles and debris. It looked like a bomb had gone off and I hadn't even seen the worst. A large crack in the ground, ten feet wide, ran straight toward The Lacard Casino and then diverted around it, like a crazy weird moat. The Lacard stood there, in the mist of rubble, a pristine bastion, untouched. It was the only building I'd seen that appeared to have no damage whatsoever.
Buzz laid a large piece of fallen steel over the gap as a make shift bridge for us to cross. I found it humorous that Dodd carried Abby across. I felt a little woozy crossing it and grabbed on to Buzz's arm in front of me while Cormac followed behind. I couldn't see how far down the crack reached but I couldn't look for very long, without getting wobbly, either.
"Why didn't this crack run right up through the middle of the casino? Why is The Lacard untouched?" I asked.
Dodd answered from somewhere behind me. "Because the ground The Lacard stands on, and the ground surrounding the basement, is a fifty feet thick steel alloy of some sort. I don't know the exact mixture - it's something Cormac came up with. The building itself is made of some other type of metal he created."
"I can't believe it's still so perfect."
"Cormac always told me that this building would withstand anything."
I hung back a minute, still trying to get my bearings on what Vegas had become. Cormac walked in the main entrance with Buzz. Dodd, Dark and I entered a few minutes later and I was stunned to see a crowd of people all huddled in the main gaming room; there had to be at least five hundred of them. They weren't playing cards or games, they just sat, huddled in corners, some on the floor because of lack of chairs.
"Holy shit!" Dodd said next to me.
"They must have been forced from their hiding places when the earthquake hit." I scanned the room and saw evidence of cuts and bruises on many. Their clothes were torn and dirtied from the fallout.
When Dodd went still, I noticed him staring at something in the corner. It was Sabrina working on a cut on a little girl's arm. "She's a good woman. I wouldn't hang on the sidelines too long."
"You, of all people, should not be dispensing romantic advice."
"Fine. Suit yourself. In the meantime, what are we going to do with all these people?"
Kever walked through the crowd toward us and stopped by Cormac's side. "Why are these people huddled on the main floor?" Cormac asked.
"I didn't know what to do with them."
"Tell the staff to get them in rooms," he told him and then the two of them walked back toward us, out of the earshot of the crowd. Buzz walked over as well from where he'd been surveying the new guests in the corner.
"Any word outside of Vegas?" Cormac asked.
"No," Kever replied. "We haven't been able to get a line out. Everything is down. Cable, internet..."
"I know we said we weren't going to revisit this," I said, "but what happens when we close the space hole in NY?"
Everyone was speechless. There was only one way forward where civilization even had a chance of surviving. I looked again at the people in The Lacard, now being directed to different places by staff. Slow confirmed death or a chance at a future, but with pretty bad odds; I wondered which way they'd bet?
"NY it is. Let's just hope that maybe the damage is localized to where there used to be portals. We didn't see anything driving in, other than the tornado."
"Oh, yeah, you mean the F5? No biggie," Dodd said on the verge of hysteria.
I understood. The pressure was enough to make anyone crack.
"Kever, we're going to need everyone for this," Cormac instructed
"Even the Doc?"
"No," Dodd answered.
Cormac looked at Dodd for a moment and then turned back to Kever and shook his head. "She stays. Too many hurt people here. Tell everyone to be ready to leave for NY in five hours. Dodd and I are going to go get the 747."
He paused by my side before he left. "Rest." It might have been endearing if he had stopped there, but he didn't. "You're going to need it."
Chapter Twenty
I lay on my bed in the penthouse and actually did try to rest, but I might as well have had coffee running through my veins, instead of blood, for all the good it did me. I tossed and turned until I heard a rap at my bedroom door that alerted me that it was time to go.
I threw on a pair of jeans and a shirt and grabbed the bag I'd packed in case we managed to live past tonight and I needed a change of clothes. We piled into the SUVs that would take us to the desert landing strip. We could've been headed to a funeral for all the enthusiasm I felt among the Keepers with me. How quickly things change. After the first space hole we had closed, we'd been walking on air. But, like so many things in life, we hadn't known all the details, and the full picture wasn't quite as pretty up close.
I'd thought killing the senator would be the hardest hurdle to cross. That turned out to have been a small stepping stone. Dodging the police was a nonissue. What police? I hadn't seen a single soul, other than the huddled masses on the casino floor, since the latest round of environmental disasters had begun. Those people certainly weren't in any position or desire to turn me in. They were clinging to survival; in life, that trumps pretty much every other want.
The large plane sat ahead of us on the paved strip in the middle of the deserted desert. It was quite nice, with the name Lacard painted across the side in gold lettering; probably the genuine thing. A plane this nice seemed like overkill to bring high rollers to a casino that was more of a front than anything else, but like everything to do with Cormac, nothing was ever what it seemed.
I climbed the stairs up inside and discovered the interior was even nicer. Leather lounge chairs and sofas were all around, with a bar in the corner of the large room. A gigantic flat screen was playing the news and I wondered how it was even getting a signal, since the entire area had gone dark.
I settled in closer to the TV to listen as the reporter spoke as we all settled in for takeoff.
"Someone change this?" one of the Keepers in the room with me yelled out, but I grabbed the remote before anyone could change it. I'd never been a news watcher but I would've beaten the guy to a pulp before I let him change the channel. I knew it was going to be bad but I had to know.
Picture after picture of destruction was being displayed on the screen. There'd been a tsunami in California that had devastated the coast and ten miles inland. Chicago looked worse than Vegas, with half of its skyscrapers now rubble on the ground. It wasn't just the U.S. either. They showed a picture of where the Eiffel Tower had stood, now a pile of scrap metal. Australia's Sydney Opera House was gone. And they were just buildings.
The reporter started to cry on screen when she said that no one had been able to get a human death count since what everyone was now calling the apocalypse had begun.
I heard the same Keeper who'd wanted to change the channel, Donald, laughing at something on the other side of the plane and I wanted to kick him in the teeth. The world was falling apart; there should be no laughter from anyone. I knew I needed to keep my anger in check. Donald, like so many others, was in denial. I knew that game. I'd tried it myself a couple of times. Just because I wasn't any good at it didn't mean I should deprive someone else of their relief from reality.
Cormac walked in and out of the main cabin several times during the flight and my feelings were as conflicted as ever. I wanted him in the most primal of ways but I wanted to kill him as well. I was still so angry about so many things. Having sex with him and then stabbing him to death just didn't seem like a good idea, and we're talking end of the world logic. If I couldn't rationalize it now, you know on a normal day it was seriously bad thinking.
I leaned back and spent the next hours of my life just watching what had become of Earth. What I'd helped make it.
We landed the giant plane in the middle of the NJ turnpike, which was devoid of cars. In horror movies, they always show highways packed to the gi
lls with abandoned cars, but this was different. When NYC had first been swallowed by the massive space hole, everyone had thought it was localized. Now they knew the disasters were everywhere. Where were they going to drive? There was nowhere to escape to. There was nothing left for anybody to do but board up their windows and sit by the door with a rifle, or a baseball bat for those that were a little late to the game and hadn't had time to stock up.
We made our way over to the same dock in Middletown, but this time, instead of a yacht, we took a small cruise ship. The defectors were on deck already. This was the largest group we'd had yet, at close to seventy, and I still wasn't sure if it would be enough. After watching the destruction on the news, I didn't want to admit it, but I was starting to hope it wasn't.
If I weren't capable of closing the hole, then I wouldn't be the cause of even more damage. The big problem with that was that the world would eventually die anyway. So there's the rub, did I cause more destruction and try to explain to human kind that I did it to save them, or did I pray I couldn't save the world and we all died together - but at least I wouldn't be the evil villain who ruined the Earth. Lucky for human kind, I didn't feel like I had a choice. I figured I would try to do what I knew was right, while I prayed I'd fail. Even if it meant I might go down in history as the woman who destroyed the world. There would be no historians left to repeat the tale anyway.
We sailed over the ocean until we dipped into the bay. Linus got his crew in line, along side ours, before we took the last jog to close the final gap and get us within striking distance of the hole.
Cormac took the place beside me. I was selfishly glad he was there. He took my hand in a firm grip, lending his support.
"I have to tell you something," I said to him.
"What's wrong?"
"I'm mad about a lot of things."
He didn't say anything, just waited for me to keep speaking.
"But if we die here, I want you to know… I don't hate you. I mean…you know."
He said nothing for a second and I thought he didn't understand at all. I was just about to open my mouth and take another bungled attempt when he smiled.
"I know. I don't hate you, too."
I nodded and looked down at the ocean waves, slightly embarrassed now.
"You ready?" he asked, bringing the dire situation back front and center.
Can you ever be ready to possibly destroy the Earth? I couldn't even get the words out. I was sure my face was tinged green from nausea at the thought of what might happen.
"Good," he said, in a normal tone, which I'm sure was for the sake of people listening on. Then he leaned in closer to me and whispered. "Just don't throw up because there's no way I'll be able to play that one off."
He raised his hand and I heard the engines roar as the boat started its slow churn forward. His fingers kept their grip on mine and I felt Dodd take my left hand, lending his own support. It was going to be a joint effort, but I'd be the lead as I was the strongest at this by far. Ultimately, the failure would rest on my shoulders.
We were within ten feet when I felt the silver strands start to wind up my legs. They were the last thing I needed.
I looked down at the strands weaving around my ankle. "I get it, you don't like this, but I'm doing it, so cut it out."
The god damn things pinched me then.
"I said, cut it out! It's happening and no amount of carrying on is stopping it. I don't have a choice."
"What are you doing?" Cormac asked.
I looked down at my ankles and the strands were gone.
"Nothing." I didn't have the energy to explain something unexplainable right then.
We dropped anchor at the edge of the abyss.
"On the count of three," I called out to everyone and began the countdown as we all linked together.
This was the biggest group of Keepers yet and the additional energy that was pouring into me almost made me feel high. I reveled in it for a selfish moment and then directed it toward the hole. Like the others, the edges rebelled against being closed. This hole was massive. I realized quickly I wasn't going to have enough juice.
Out of desperation, I had to go beyond just directing the flow of energy and actively try to pull it from the other Keepers. I wasn't even sure how I was doing it but I felt it working.
In my peripheral vision, I saw many eyes looking toward me but nobody broke ranks as I forced them to offer up more than they had initially been willing to part with.
"Careful," I heard Cormac say. "Pull too much and you could kill them."
"Pull too little and we all die anyway," I replied.
"She makes a good point," Dodd chimed in on my other side.
I blocked them out as I used everything I had inside me to feel for the edges again and tried to force them to close. Just a little more. I just needed a touch more power and I knew I'd have it. I pulled on them and I felt the strain. I also felt the edges moving. Slowly, finally, the hole started to shrink.
The winds around us kicked up a notch, and whipped my hair into my face but I ignored it. I also pretended the boat wasn't rocking, dangerously close to capsizing, as the air started to howl. I felt the energy straining as Keepers became distracted but I pulled at them to make up for the difference.
Finally, after what had felt like hours, the edges of the tear in our universe touched. The city was gone for good; all its buildings and all the lost souls lost forever, but so was the space hole, filled in by ocean now. I released Cormac and Dodd's hands in our human link and collapsed on the deck of the boat in utter exhaustion. I heard a sigh of relief as everyone released each other's hands.
"How did you do that?" Dodd asked as he sank to the ground, looking as depleted as I did.
"Do what?"
"Force our energy from us? I swear, I don't think we could've let go if we had wanted to."
"We couldn't. I tried. That wasn't cool. You could've killed us," Linus said from his seated position against the other side of the boat.
"I didn't know I was doing it, but I would do it again." I cringed the minute I said the words, as I realized how much I had just sounded like Cormac in one of his overbearing moods.
"Something's wrong," Cormac said, the only one of us left on their feet as he paced the boat. Then he started to float and hover, clearly trying to get a better view of whatever he thought he was seeing. A bolt of lightning hit the water feet from us, as if in case anyone was doubting his instincts.
I gripped the side railing and dragged myself to my feet. I expected to see tornadoes in the distance, giant bolts of lightning and fires. It was all of those things and worse.
Chills ran over my skin and I couldn't find any words to describe the horrors in front of my eyes. I'd had happier nightmares. Besides the fires that were raging on the coastline, I could see creatures, for lack of a better word, walking the area. They weren't fully in existence, but they weren't not, either. They appeared, like ghosts, with a translucency to their features.
A large grayish one noticed us and glided toward our boat, skimming the ocean surface as it headed straight for us.
"What the hell is that?" a Keeper screamed.
"Start the engine, move this thing!" Dodd yelled.
"We couldn't outrun it anyway," Cormac said as he was standing next to me.
It closed the small gap and hovered over us a moment with a curious stare, sniffed the bow and then hissed before it moved away, not caring to be near us. The sky looked strange as well, with a shimmer that had nothing to do with stars.
"What the hell is going on?" Dodd asked.
I hadn't noticed him standing next to Cormac and I until he spoke.
"You know when you think you see something in the corner of your eye but you tell yourself it isn't real?"
"Yes."
"I think we just made it real."
"That is exactly what you did," a voice echoed in the air, everywhere and nowhere all at once.
We all circled and looked for t
he source. A cyclone of air started to blow and Keepers were thrown from the boat by the violent winds. Cormac, Dodd, everyone…thrust overboard several miles out to sea. The angry ghost like creatures moved out of their paths as they sailed through the air. At least whatever new form of creature they were, they had no interest in us.
The deck was clear except for me, I stood, without feeling even the smallest breeze, as the wind tunnel headed straight toward me.
I stood my ground and waited. It stopped five feet in front of me. The winds dropped off and a golden Adonis stood, looking at me from the same spot, blond hair flowing gently in the ocean breeze.
"Who are you?"
"Don't you recognize me?"
"What are you?" I asked him.
"You knew me as Senator Core," he said as he stood toe to toe with me.
"But what are you?"
He smiled. "I'm what the Keepers created. I'm the very core of our existence, of all existence, at the very smallest level."
"I don't understand."
"Of course you don't," he said as he laughed aloud in a giddy manner. He spun around with his arms outstretched to the sky as he took a deep breath. "Oh, to be alive and free," he yelled to the sky.
He turned back to me. "You don't know what it was like, being stuck in that human form."
"Why were you? I thought I killed you."
"You killed my host. The body I needed to live here, until now that is. You're not as stupid as I thought. The pieces are starting to fit together. I can see your mind working," he circled me now, examining me like a lab rat. "Every plane in the universe has its own requirements to exist. Your Keepers tried to destroy me but they couldn't. You can't destroy energy. The best they were able to do was rob me of my ability to exist on this plane. In essence, they maimed me. That is why I needed you to alter the physics of this universe in order to dwell here again. There are so many planes of existence, but you humans only see a fraction of what exists. Yes, you might unknowingly draw energy from the other planes, but you could never see what really existed all around you. The other planes weren't as strong, but once you thinned this world, that all changed."
Keepers & Killers (The Alchemy Series) Page 17