Days of Fury (Future Men Series Book 1)

by B. J. Castillo

  “Which?”

  “I cannot tell you.” Tadhg smiled. “I’m sorry. The only thing I can tell you is that this place barely exists at the time I come from.”

  Evelyn looked at him from landmark to landmark. She could not imagine New York without Central Park, it’s like a heartless man, no man can live without a heart, and that was the place for Manhattan.

  She and Tadhg kept walking. People did not seem to notice their presence, but there they were. The summer breeze was cool, and waved the treetops every time it split it. There were kids skating, couples kissing near the fountain and others walking their pets. Everything had a beautiful, sublime shine; Eve had not noticed how much she missed the colors and the feel of the air until that exact moment.

  “Will they ever return to their time?” Evelyn asked.

  “Yes,” Tadhg replied. “Our mission was three years. Next year that anniversary will be fulfilled, and from the future there will be a breach... a portal, so that Rhys, Juno, Dawit and I can return to our time. There, then, will also have been three years.”

  “And you do not miss your family?” Evelyn heard herself say before she could understand the nature of her question. She swallowed.

  The question had also taken Tadhg by surprise, for she caught a glimpse of his slightly raising eyebrows. She had seen her father do that several times, and Evelyn could not help thinking how much Tadhg looked like Mr. White.

  “I miss my family, yes,” he said belatedly. “I miss Rob and the rest. At least I have Rhys with me, and that's my only consolation.”

  “How is he?” Evelyn snapped.

  “Who?”

  “Rob.”

  Tadhg smiled to himself.

  They reached a bank, on the asphalt road flanked by the vegetation of Central Park, and sat down.

  “He's..." He paused, looked at Evelyn, and added, “You'll meet him someday. You know the laws...”

  “I already know what the laws are!” Angry, Evelyn waved her hand and wrinkled forehead and lips. “What harm could it do to know what your brother is like?”

  Tadhg looked at her intently.

  “How much has Rhys told you about Rob these days?” He asked Eve.

  She thought.

  “That is the director of the Agency” she said at last. “That he is married and has a small daughter. That he is the sweetest man he knows. That he had been furious when he knew you would be the travelers. And that is very handsome.”

  “Apparently all your children are,” said Tadhg, with a long smile. “But seriously, I'll have to talk to Rhys about how he should control the language.” He sighed smilingly. “And Rob did not get upset, by the way; Queslove, one of the most experienced agents, and his brigade, who was at his level, were supposed to make the trip. But the board made the decision to send us Rhys, Dawit, Juno and me, since no one would do their duty better than we do given the connection between us and the mission. This sudden change of plans was led by my brother.”

  Evelyn thought about her next question.

  “And why do you hate Caleb?” She said. “Has he not been a good father?”

  Tadhg tensed.

  “Do not.”

  “For real?”

  “At first, yes,” said Tadhg; his face was somber, his eyes ahead and his eyes opaque. “After, all change.”

  “After what?”

  Tadhg blinked and tensed even more. He looked back at Evelyn and glared; apparently he had just realized that he had talked more.

  “No more questions,” he said, then got up and started walking.

  Evelyn jumped to her feet, and followed him, walking at a military pace with his shoulders tense and his eyes narrowed in front. Eve reached him, exhausted, and kept walking his step. The breeze brushed her hair and some strands of hair streaked her face. She pushed them away with a snort.

  “Do not insist,” Tadhg warned without seeing her or stopping walking. “There are things that are better not to know.”

  “I was not going to," Eve said. “I think you're right, sometimes I cannot control my tongue. Maybe I'm like Rhys too.”

  Tadhg stopped and looked at her with his forehead wrinkled.

  “Are you serious?”

  Eve nodded.

  “I think I know more than I should,” she said. “I’m sorry.”

  Tadhg relaxed his frown.

  They continued walking through the park surrounded by the cool breeze and the bustle of the people. The sky had dimmed a little, as announced some precipitation.

  “Where would you like to go now?” She heard Tadhg say.

  She looked at him, attentive.

  “I would like to go with Tabita.”

  “Remember the rule: do not visit family or friends.”

  “I thought that, as an aspiring agent of the future,” Eve commented, “I would have certain privileges.”

  Tadhg smiled as if he had heard the worst joke ever said.

  “You're right,” he said. “We will go to the house of Tabita and thus they will be able to converse relaxed while we waited for the arrival of the pyxis” he added with sarcasm; “by the way, and it is important that you know, Tabita could also become a target of the pyxis if they discover your social visits. And Becca... oh, she would be furious if she knew you had certain privileges as an aspiring agent when she didn’t.”

  Eve sighed and waved her hands.

  “I understood your point,” she said reluctantly.

  “Good.”

  “But maybe if we did not go to her house...”

  “I knew you would not give up so easily!” Exclaimed Tadhg laughing.

  * * *

  An hour later, Tabita met with them in Central Park, in a seemingly random area, where rocky mounds were found near a clearing bordered with green grass. There were rocks of all sizes. One of them —which Tabita knew in advance specifically which one—, very large and leaden, had been determined as a meeting point.

  Tabita was sitting on it with her legs crossed, very quiet. Evelyn and Tadhg came out from the back of a tree, after having observed it for about fifteen minutes. They had to make sure nothing had followed her. Evelyn pulled on the hood of her jacket as she approached the rock where the girl was, then started up and sat next to her.

  She noticed from the corner that Tabita had her eyes closed and her face carefree, as if she were using some yoga relaxation technique.

  Evelyn wondered if she had already noticed her presence; after a minute, she made a gesture to speak but Tabita went ahead of her.

  “He's coming with you, right?” She asked without looking at her.

  “Who?” Then she knew that he was referring to Tadhg, who was watching them from the shadows of the tree it had made for them as a hiding place. “Yes, he is here.”

  Slowly, Tabita opened her eyes and tilted her eyes slightly.

  “Who is he, Evelyn?” She said. “And why he’s look like your father?”

  So she had noticed it. Of course Tabita do, she thought. Eve did not know anyone with the keen ability to fix herself minutely on people like Tabita. And even then, she could not help but feel like an idiot for not having noticed that first before anyone else. Perhaps if Tabita knew Dawit, she would realize their kinship; although, certainly, Dawit was more like his father.

  “His name is Tadhg,” Evelyn began. “And he is here to protect me.”

  “Of what?” Her face did not flinch, she did not frown or squint. Her voice also had a calm, impassive tone.

  “From...” she paused before saying “… the pyxis.”

  “What are pyxis?”

  “Tabita.” Eve took her hands and stared into her eyes. “If I tell you, I will be exposing you to the danger that lurks around me. You must understand that, whatever the reason, what...”

  “I know,” she interrupted in a calm tone, “you do it to protect me.”

  “So is.” Evelyn smiled.

  “What about your f
ather?” She wanted to know. “Have you talked to him like I told you?” Evelyn shook her head, and Tabita continued, “Mr. White calls my house every day and asks if I've seen you or if I've talked to you. And no, I did not tell him about our last meeting. But I insist that you must talk to him and calm his discomfort, he has not stopped looking for you in the last month. And also, lately, your photo has appeared a lot in the news.”

  “I know,” thought Evelyn.

  “Strange things have been happening here in Manhattan, and everything seems to indicate that you are another victim of these events. Mr. White and the governor are doing everything possible to clarify the case and find you. And they'll find you, Eve—and maybe you should protect them, too.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “A very strange old man came to visit me a couple of weeks ago,” said Tabita. “He did not tell me his name. He limped; I noticed him as I was leading him to the room where he proceeded to ask me questions.” She paused. “About you.”

  “What kind of questions?”

  “I wanted to know everything about you. I thought it was strange, but I just answered the most essential, without going deep. He asked me if I knew where I could find you, and I said no, because it was the truth, and even if it was not, I would say the same, because as I told you: it seemed strange to me.”

  Evelyn frowned.

  “You’re sure he did not tell you his name?” she heard herself say, full of curiosity.

  “Do not.” Tabita looked down. “Well, I do not think that's his real name. Also, when he looked me in the eyes, I noticed that his were very black and I felt chills.”

  “Black eyes.”

  “What name did he tell you, Tabita?”

  She looked up.

  “He asked me to call him Doctor Silence.”

  * * *

  “Silent doctor?” Exclaimed Tadhg when Eve told him what she had talked with Tabita.

  “Yes,” said the girl. “Do you know him?”

  “Do not.” Tadhg had become very tense after hearing that particular name. “Nobody from the Agency has ever seen it. Doctor Silence is the name of the leader of the pyxis'avalh, and therefore, the Supreme Leader the pyxis in our world.”

  Tadhg tightened his fingers on the steering wheel of the van while looking briefly at Evelyn.

  “You should not comment on that with anyone,” he said. “Nobody, not even professor Kerr, knows that pyxis have a leader.”

  “Rhys...?” Eve began.

  "Of course, Rhys and the rest of the agents know it,” Tadhg said. “What they do not know, and I include myself, is that Doctor Silence is in this Time.”

  “Do you mean that he has traveled in time?”

  “Possibly yes”

  “How?”

  “I do not know.”

  "And are you going to tell Rhys and the rest what we discovered?"

  Tadhg thought a little before answering.

  “I must do it,” he said. “And they’ll not like anything.” He gave another brief look at Eve. “Did she say anything else about Silence?”

  “She said he was old and limped,” she answered. “And he had black eyes.”

  Another look on the part of Tadhg.

  “Is it a more intelligent pyxis'avalh than the rest of his lineage?” Evelyn asked.

  “I'm as baffled as you are,” said Tadhg, and smiled in embarrassment.

  Evelyn looked at him with a slight frown.

  “What do you mean?” She asked.

  “Well,” he said, “it's the first time anyone sees Doctor Silence in person.”

  * * *

  The rest of the day went by normally, with no warning of attacks from the pyxis or absurd irruptions of the feminine discomfort that Becca had been afflicting the last few days, to which Evelyn attributed the outburst of anger she had had the night before. Eve and Tadhg had arrived in time for lunch; once they were quiet, they went to the training room, where Dawit and Caleb were in their lesson of the day.

  “Please,” Tadhg said. “Do not stop for us, today I do not want to cause problems; I reserve this for Tuesdays and I only make exceptions when it comes to pyxis.” He grinned from ear to ear with malice. “Continue.”

  Dawit let his guard down, though Caleb remained tense. Evelyn put on her sneakers while throwing glances at them. Dawit was showing him the proper way to strike low blows, although she doubted much that it would be of any use if Caleb came to face a pyxis'olrut given its harsh nature; not even the pyxis'avalh, in human bodies, were prone to feel the slightest hint of pain. Evelyn remembered that night in the edom when Tadhg shot one of them in the shoulder, and the pyxis did not seem to notice it beyond the mess of blood and skin burned by the defibrillator's laser. Evelyn straightened after tying the shoelaces of the last shoe and focused her attention on Caleb.

  He was breathing hard, panting; He was so sweaty that his shirt stuck to his chest and his hair to his temples. Observe him in that way brought her thoughts not typical of a young girl of her mentality, so she shook her head and pushed them away. Beyond his incredible attractiveness, even sweaty, Eve noticed that Caleb projected the blows very well. Although he did not do so well at the time of protecting himself from the punches that Dawit gave him reluctantly.

  “You're making it terrible,” they heard Tadhg say as if he were the voice of the experience and Caleb an ignorant worm.

  Dawit and Caleb shared a look of bewilderment and then turned their eyes towards Tadhg who was approaching them.

  “Tadhg,” Eve called with warning.

  “Easy.” He gestured as if he were frightening a fly. “I just want to show the boy how he has to do it.” He stopped before Caleb. “Put yourself in defensive state.”

  Caleb obeyed him belatedly, throwing apprehensive glances at Dawit and Evelyn.

  “You must raise your forearm more,” Tadhg was advised as he was raised the limb to the right place. “Yes. You must do it at the height of the upper part of the face, when the blow comes from the side” showed him how; “when it comes from the front, you must join them and lean slightly downwards. Yes.”

  Caleb imitated him perfectly.

  “No,” Tadhg said, and did exactly what Caleb had done before. “Pay attention.”

  Caleb tried again, and this time he got Tadhg's approval.

  “Well,” he agreed. “Now, let's do a test.”

  Caleb paled. Dawit moved quickly toward them, Evelyn at his heels.

  “I think that's enough,” she said firmly. “Dawit can continue from there.”

  “No,” Tadhg insisted. “We have to try once.”

  “Tadhg.” Evelyn took another step and looked at him. “Get away from Caleb.”

  “He is not afraid,” he said. “Look at it, emboldened.”

  Evelyn had seen him, when he paled, and he stayed that way when she looked at him out of the corner of her eye before turning her full attention to Tadhg, who raised his arms and closed his hands in fists. Caleb remained unmoved, it was evident that he did not want to give Tadhg satisfaction by showing him his distrust, which in a certain way required courage; he blinked repeatedly; then, he adopted the position he had just learned.

  “See,” Tadhg said to Eve, laughing. “What did I tell you? Emboldened.” He turned and threw a punch. Caleb dodged it as best he could.

  “Stop now!” Evelyn shouted, and tried to take Tadhg by the arm when he was about to project a second punch. “Stop! Stop! TADDEUS!”

  Tadhg stopped in the act.

  There was a silence that went on, and during that moment there was a tense atmosphere, it was as if everyone held their breath. Evelyn had not realized what she had said until it was too late to remedy it. Everyone had heard it. She looked at Caleb.

  He was frowning.

  “Taddeus?” He whispered.

  Evelyn thought fast.

  “I'm sorry,” she apologized sincerely to Tadhg. “That’s not your name, of
course, but it's similar to my father's name.” She surprised herself by not hesitating.

  “It isn’t,” said Tadhg, perfectly interpreting his offended role.

  Dawit came to the aid.

  “Our time in the training room is over,” he said to Caleb as he led him by the arm outside the room. Caleb did not seem as confused as before. Maybe, after all, he did swallow the lie. “Let them arrange for themselves the issue of unrequited names.”

  Once they left, Tadhg turned his attention back to her; he was furious.

  “Did you go crazy?” He said.

  Eve took a moment to compose herself. Suddenly, she was also furious.

  “Better care of your words!” She shouted at Tadhg. “I am your mother.” That time she did not hesitate either.

  The door to the room opened again, and they both jumped, fearing that Caleb had heard them. But it was only Jim.

  “Evelyn,” Jim said, almost ceremonially. “The professor sent me to send you a message: your father is here.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Her father.

  Evelyn put her hand to her chest as a result of the inscrutable emotion that reverberated inside her after Jim's message. She couldn’t believe it, her father was there. She opened her eyes a lot. She turned to Tadhg, who was staring at her impassively, though Eve suspected it was part of a good interpretation. She turned to Jim.

  “Take me with them,” she asked.

  The boy, a little disturbed, nodded.

  They left the training room promptly, her heart beating in her chest. They were already arriving at the laboratory, where Professor Kerr and her father were waiting, when she realized that Tadhg had not followed her. Of course not, Agency laws prohibited agents from approaching their progenies of the past, and yet she remained an exception. Her father was there. In the agency.

  She passed through the double door of the laboratory, and for a moment held her breath. Neither Kerr nor Mr. White were in the main lobby of the lab, where she had always found the professor when she had to take her lessons. She feared that Jim had been wrong. She turned to the boy, beside her, and he shrugged with a slight frown. Evelyn cocked her head. She heard voices that came from another sector. She sighed deeply.

  The sound of the voices followed; one of them was clearly her father's, and she felt a little chill when she thought how much it resembled Tadhg's. They walked through the corridors that made up Kerr's great machines, which stood at the sides like imposing walls. Finally they came to an open space where the two men were. Evelyn approached silently, coming to hear what the professor, proudly, was saying to her father at that moment: he explained what Sally was and how it worked.