by S. S. Segran
“Very touching. I didn’t get any miscalls from you, though. But the signal’s been spotty for a while, so that’s probably it. What’s up?”
“I, uh . . . It’s about Gran and Gramps.”
Jag slowly sat up straight. “What’s happened?”
“You know the crop virus has been spreading, right? Did you check the news last night?”
“No . . . ”
“Concordia has been hit. I don’t know if Gran and Gramps’ crops made it through. I’ve been trying to call them, but no one’s answering.” When Jag didn’t respond, he said, “Jag?”
“I—I’m here.”
“Listen, I’m still trying to reach them. When I get ahold of them, I’ll call you back and get you up to speed.”
“Yeah . . . Okay. Mom and Dad know about this, right?”
“No. They’re on a plane to Switzerland right now.”
“Switzerland? Why?”
“They were called in for an emergency meeting at the UN. They’re flying in microbiology experts from all over.”
“But they always tell us in advance when they’re going.”
“I said it was an emergency meeting.”
“Oh.” Jag stared down at his fingers.
“Try not to worry about Gran and Gramps just yet. Maybe it missed them.”
Though Jag highly doubted that, he said, “Yeah, maybe. Hopefully.”
“Alright. Talk to you soon. Say hi to the others for me, okay?”
“Sure. Take care, bro.”
“You too, kiddo.”
Jag hung up and rubbed his hands over his face.
“What’s up?” Aari asked.
“Tristan says hi.”
“That’s not it. You look like you’ve just lost a hand.”
Jag turned around and quickly filled his friend in on his conversation with Tristan while Marshall listened attentively. Both Aari and the Sentry were grim. When Kody returned, head shaking, Jag brought him into the loop as well. Kody instantly adopted the same look Aari and Marshall wore.
Not eager to linger on the subject, Jag asked, “So no luck with the girls here, huh?”
Kody held his head in his hands. “No. I’ve lost count of how many houses and buildings I’ve checked, but it’s in the hundreds for sure. There’s still no sign of them.”
“They’ve got to be around here somewhere,” Jag said. “Aari’s calculation has to be right.”
Kody leaned back beside Aari. “Alright, big guy. Alright.”
Jag faced the Sentry. “Marshall?”
The man nodded. “Let’s keep going.” He put the car into drive and headed back into town.
They searched a few more houses. At one property, Kody had been spotted and consequently chased away by a plump, angry woman brandishing a spatula like a sword.
An hour later Marshall made a comment about needing to refuel and pulled into a gas station. While the Sentry was paying for the gas at the checkout counter, the boys zoomed through the aisles, picking up food and drinks. As they went to join Marshall at the counter, the muted television overhead caught Jag’s interest, though his curiosity soon turned to dismay.
On screen was a live newscast of a riot outside of a grocery store in Florida. Men and women were pushing each other to the ground and kicking one another while appearing to be shouting.
“What’s going on over there?” Jag asked, appalled.
The Hispanic clerk behind the counter glanced behind him as he passed Marshall his change. “Haven’t you been following the news?”
“We haven’t turned on the news since last evening,” Jag said.
The clerk pulled a face. “Boy, oh boy. Well, that’s the sixth riot they’ve shown today. They’re saying that folks are getting real worried about a shortage of bread.”
Kody opened a pack of Doritos. “Bread can do that to people?”
“It’s a staple food, Kody,” Aari said. “Wheat’s the second or third major crop grown in the USA, and the global trade for it is bigger than every other crop combined.”
“But people are rioting over bread?”
“It’s not just bread, It’s all wheat-based products. What would you do if you ran out of them and found empty shelves in your local grocery store?”
“I’d probably go look at another place.”
“And what if that store had run out as well?”
Kody shrugged. “I’m sure I’d find them at the next store or two.”
“Let’s say you get lucky and you eventually find a store that, has, say, a few loaves of bread left. Then you notice that the price of a loaf is now, maybe ten bucks.”
“That’s nuts! Nobody would buy bread at that price.”
Aari clicked his fingers. “Wrong. When supply runs out, demand goes through the roof and prices skyrocket. Only those with extra cash can get what they need, but there’ll be countless others who won’t be able to afford it. What are their options to feed their families then?”
Kody stopped munching on his Doritos. “No . . . no. This can’t be happening here. This is America, man. It can’t happen here.”
“Dude, take a look.” Aari nodded up at the television. “It’s unfolding right before our eyes. Seems like it’s happening sporadically right now, but if they don’t find a solution quick it’s most likely gonna spread across the country.”
As the Sentry and the boys got back into the car, Jag couldn’t help but fear that the riots would only worsen. He had a feeling that they were staring at the tip of an iceberg that was set on a collision course with humanity.
28
Sitting on a chair with her hands tied behind her back was more than a little uncomfortable, but Tegan wasn’t expecting kindness or luxury from her abductors. She eyed the conference room that she and Mariah were in. It seemed recently built and, except for paint and electrical fixtures, was nearly complete. A new hardwood floor was covered with thick plastic sheets, presumably to protect it from damage during construction. The girls were seated at the end of a long mahogany conference table, away from the door.
A few minutes prior, the pair had been hauled out of the storage area by Elvis and two other men and brought to this room. They’d then been left on their own but Tegan had a feeling that Elvis and the others weren’t far from the other side of the door.
Two lamps hanging from the ceiling vaguely reminded Tegan of the interrogation rooms in old television shows. Probably temporary until they install proper ceiling lights, she supposed. The thought didn’t ease her apprehension.
The door suddenly swung open. In walked a round-faced, bespectacled man no taller than five feet, with no eyebrows and greasy black hair plastered to his scalp. He held a mug of coffee in one hand and carried a large briefcase in the other. His dark trousers had prominent creases and his white poet shirt was tucked in loosely. The girls watched him as caged tigers would an unwelcome zookeeper.
The man completely ignored them as he set his briefcase down—the case being half his height—and pulled out three dark gray spheres the size of tennis balls. He clicked a button on one of them and rolled it to a corner of the room, then proceeded to do the same with the others. The spheres hummed faintly and hovered a few inches above the floor once they’d positioned themselves equilaterally in a triangle. Like the eyes of an alligator, shutters on the spheres opened, revealing curved green lenses.
A figure, over six feet in height, appeared. Mariah shrank closer to Tegan. A hologram? Tegan thought. Though the image was dark, as if the figure was standing in the shadows, the resolution was too perfect for the pair’s liking. It was as though the person was in the room with them. The figure was adorned in a long black coat with a golden hood pulled low over the face.
The short man turned to the holographic image. He spoke strangely, and it was as though there was sandpaper stuck in his vocal cords. “’Ello and good evening, Boss. I’m glad you could join us today.”
The shadowed figure gave a short nod.
The man turn
ed to Tegan and Mariah. He readjusted his glasses and flashed the girls a crooked-toothed smile. “I am Dr. Nate. This will not take long, but only if you cooperate.” He grabbed his briefcase and walked to the girls’ end of the table. He sat across from them and rested his briefcase on the chair beside him. “Now,” he said, “you must be wondering why you’re ’ere. I’ll keep it short and sweet. The memories you lost ’ave come back, and we are interested in those memories.”
Tegan felt her legs tremble in fury. She cursed under her breath and muttered, “Tony.”
Dr. Nate didn’t seem to hear her. “You can willingly give us those memories but, if not, we ’ave the means to extract them from you.”
Tegan could feel the blood draining from her face. Her eyes darted to the man’s briefcase. What else does he have in there?
“So, dears, what ’appened after your plane crashed?” Dr. Nate asked, leaning over the table. His eyes bulged, frog-like, behind his glasses.
Tegan kept her mouth sealed, but Mariah, spunky as ever, snapped, “We’re not telling you anything. You tell us where we are and why we’ve been abducted.”
“Eventually,” Dr. Nate said, smiling again, “you will get your answers. But first, give me what I need.”
Tegan lifted her chin. “No.”
“As I mentioned, there are other ways for me to get the answers. But they will be excruciating.”
Mariah stared silently at the greasy-haired man. Tegan glanced at the hologram. Though the eyes and most of the face weren’t visible, she felt as if the figure’s gaze was drilling holes into her mind.
She swallowed and turned back to Dr. Nate. “Fine, here’s what we—I—recall. Basically what happened was that my friends and I were on our way to Dawson City in Northern Canada for our summer vacation. We got caught in a freak storm and our plane crashed. When we woke up, we found ourselves in a Native village. We were nursed back to health. The next thing we remember, we were in some small hospital in Yukon.”
The man slammed his fist down on the table with a bang. The girls jerked back, frightened.
“You lie!” Dr. Nate screamed, spittle flying from his mouth. He pulled his glasses off and his bulging eyes became bloodshot almost instantly. His face twisted into a hideous snarl that was as disturbing as it was terrifying.
“We’re not lying!” Tegan hated how small her voice sounded.
“Then you’re not telling the ’ole truth! I want the entire story! We know you were involved in the attack on our mining operation! What were your roles? You were kept by the Elders for a reason—you were in Dema-Ki for many weeks!”
The room was dead silent save for the quiet humming of the holographic projectors. Tegan was flustered. How does he know so much?
“I will ask you one more time,” Dr. Nate said. His eyes seemed to get redder by the minute. “What were you doing in the village?”
“I told you,” Tegan answered. Again, her voice sounded so small. “We were being treated. The Elders and the villagers were kind enough to take care of us.”
“Why were you involved in the attack, then?”
“They felt like . . . like family. We wanted to help them because whatever you were doing in your operation, it made the people so sick they died. It was the least we could do to show our appreciation.”
“What in ’ell made you think that five kids could fend off grown men with weapons in an all-out fight?”
The room went quiet again. Dr. Nate leaned farther over the table. Rancid breath reeked out of his mouth as he bellowed, “Enough stalling! Tell me now!”
He picked up his coffee mug and flung it across the table. The mug flew through the narrow gap between the girls and hit the wall behind them, shattering, its pieces spraying everywhere. Mariah shrieked as the pair flinched out of the way.
The holographic figure watched the proceedings, unfazed.
Tegan’s heart was beating fast against her chest. That could have hit us! she screamed silently. Fatheaded freak!
Dr. Nate put his glasses back on, took a long, deep breath, and then smiled gently. He called for water and Elvis came through the door almost immediately with three bottles. Dr. Nate uncapped two bottles and inserted drinking straws then placed them in front of the girls as Elvis left the room. Neither Tegan nor Mariah made a move.
Folding his hands over the table, Dr. Nate spoke in a calmer tone. “Something ’uge is ’appening, dears. The world is on the verge of collapse. The people in that valley, the Elders, know this, but they do not understand the extent of this cataclysm. Those of us ’ere—what we’re doing, everything we’re building—is for the future of mankind.”
The girls listened guardedly while willing their heart rates to return to normal.
“You may think the people of Dema-Ki are nice—and you know, they probably are in their own way—but the problem lies in the fact that they are archaic in their solutions. We agree, them and us, that the world is in a very precarious situation. The solution we are creating is for the benefit of ’umanity and the Earth. We’re out ’ere. We know what’s going on. They are the ones who are hidden away from the rest of the world, so they are comparatively ignorant to what’s happening. ’Owever, they are very capable of causing problems for us.”
Tegan and Mariah continued to sit in silence, still ignoring the drinks in front of them.
Dr. Nate sighed. “This is why we need your ’elp. We need to know what the Elders are up to.”
Ignoring the discomfort, Tegan leaned back against the chair. How do they know about the valley and the Elders?
“Your memories were lost,” Dr. Nate said gently, “and then they returned. Why? The Elders are up to something and we need to figure out what.”
Tegan and Mariah exchanged glances but neither spoke.
Dr. Nate took a drink from his bottle. “Look, there’s a reason your memories were taken. And honestly speaking, would good people do such a thing, especially to kids? We’re glad your memories ’ave returned. You really can ’elp us figure out what they’re doing.”
“If you’re the good guys,” Tegan said, “then why abduct us? Why tie our hands behind our backs like this?”
“We weren’t sure ’ow cooperative you’d be to strangers digging into your memories. We couldn’t chance it. Plus, the information that you ’ave locked away is too important. We will get our answers one way or another. There’s just too much at stake. This is bigger than either you or me.”
The gears in Tegan’s head kicked into overdrive. She had an idea, and hoped Mariah would catch on quickly
“Alright,” she said. “I just need to stress that our memories aren’t fully back yet. A little bit returns each day.”
Dr. Nate’s eyes lit up. “Of course, of course, but tell me everything you know.” Taking a voice recorder out from his briefcase, he turned it on and waited attentively for Tegan to continue.
“Uh, well, as I said, we were taken in by the villagers after our crash. They tended to us and used some herbs and poultices for healing. Their village is . . . advanced, I guess you could say, seeing as they don’t really have the tools that we do for construction and all that. They had these, like, greenhouses and stables and stuff. They had a beautiful temple as well, with a jar of crystals or something. Not sure what they were for, though. But all the villagers each had one on them, so maybe it’s like some rite of passage thing. I dunno.”
At that, Mariah caught on; the girls knew full well what the purpose of the crystals were. “Right,” she jumped in. “And the villagers were really amazing. They had all these skills, like learning a language really quick, super hearing, telekinesis—pretty cool abilities.”
“What else?” Dr. Nate prompted, checking the recorder to ensure it was capturing the conversation.
Tegan thought fast. She feared that either she or Mariah would let slip more than what should be revealed, but they needed to give a little more to convince the short man that they weren’t hiding anything. “There was also something
about a prophecy, but I can’t seem to remember it right now. Do you recall anything about a prophecy, ’Riah?”
Mariah puckered her face as she pretended to think. “No, not really. But I remember they taught us some of their self-defense techniques.”
Tegan shrugged at Dr. Nate. “That’s pretty much all we’ve got, I think. I’d tell you about the battle, but I don’t remember very much about it.” She looked up at the hologram again. It didn’t seem to have moved at all since Dr. Nate had conjured it. Logically, its presence shouldn’t have bothered Tegan, but there was something unnerving about the way the figure stood immobile, staring at them from under its hood in complete silence. It was ludicrous, but Tegan could have sworn she felt cold air reaching toward them from the hologram’s direction.
She faced Dr. Nate again. “I’m sorry, that’s really all I remember right now.”
Mariah nodded. “Me too.”
Tegan braced herself as her next words left her mouth. “What we’ve noticed recently is that every time we get a good night’s rest, we recover more memories the next day.”
Dr. Nate looked over at the hologram and raised a brow. At least, that’s what it looked like to Tegan; it was difficult to say as the man had no eyebrows to begin with.
The holographic figure remained statue-like for some moments. Then it dipped its head slightly.
Dr. Nate turned back to the girls. “Very well, we’ll let you rest for tonight. But”—his words were sharp as a whip—“we will be back tomorrow to continue this. We are far from done.” As he stood up, he added, “By the way, I ’ope you won’t be foolish enough to try to escape again. If you do, the consequences will be severe.”
29
Sausalito.
Of all the places they could have had dinner in the Bay Area, Adrian Black had been invited to dine at The Spinnaker in Sausalito by Jerry Li and Luigi Dattalo, the head of Phoenix Corporation’s Quest Defense division. Dr. Albert Bertram, the company’s Chief Scientific Officer, was supposed to join them but had asked for a rain check at the last minute to take care of private matters.