Emery drew open her desk drawers, searching ravenously for her spare car keys. After a few frustrating minutes of probing, her fingertips finally grazed a familiar oval-shaped key ring. Smiling, she pulled the keys out of the drawer and darted back down the stairs to the parking garage, realizing that she had no idea where she last parked her car.
She clicked the panic button, the alarm sounding in the back row about fifteen feet away. She ran toward the flashing tail lights, then slid into the driver’s seat and turned on the ignition. Her car had three-quarters of a tank left, which was plenty for the three hour drive to her house.
The great thing about a world frozen in time? No traffic.
She should have known it’d take less than three hours to make it home, seeing as the world was at a complete standstill and all. There had been a few stopped cars on the road, and she’d swerved through them like a crazed racecar driver whose eye was on the checkered flag. There had been long stretches of road where it was a complete ghost town, void of both cars and people. She’d been surrounded by nothingness, like she was the only person who existed.
In a sense, she kind of was.
As she pulled into her neighborhood, Emery did her best to shake off the eerie feeling of being the only living, breathing thing for miles. She passed one of her neighbors who had been walking her dog, the toy poodle mid-prance, just as the world had stopped. She pulled into her driveway and stepped out of the car.
As she approached the door mat, she couldn’t help but feel like she was about to commit a crime in her own home. She paused midstep as her eyes landed on the front door. It was slightly ajar. She pressed on the door lightly and entered with caution, her senses on high alert for any abnormal sounds, but it was dead silent.
She switched on the nearest overhead lamp, watching as the area before her illuminated with fluorescent light. Just like Darden, it looked exactly the way she’d left it. She was about to call out for her mom and sister, then realized that they probably wouldn’t be there. Or worse, they’d be immobile too. That wasn’t exactly something she wanted to witness at the moment.
Emery checked each of the rooms, preparing herself each time for what she might find, but her mother and sister were nowhere in sight. Knowing that she wasn’t going to stumble into a lifeless version of her family members eased her mind a little, and she began to relax more as she continued walking through the house.
Don’t forget why you came here. Clues. Look for clues.
The kitchen seemed like a good place to start, so she started rifling through drawers full of spoons and spatulas, dishtowels and oven mitts. It was hard to know what to look for, but she had a feeling she’d know when she found it. Ten minutes later, it was clear that the kitchen was a dead end.
Next stop: her mother’s bedroom. She searched through the closet, nightstand, and the bathroom, but there was nothing out of the ordinary.
Trying to keep her feelings of defeat at bay, she climbed the staircase to her room, tearing dresser drawers from their hinges, socks and undergarments flying through the air. Nothing, nothing, nothing!
I know I’m not wrong about this. I can’t be.
A little over an hour passed and the familiar feeling of failure was nipping at her heels once again. After searching her mother’s bedroom twice, she faced no other option than to give up. She fell into an oversized armchair in the living room and laid her head against the cool leather, kicking her feet up on the ottoman. She turned to switch on the lamp when something caught her eye. The one area she hadn’t searched.
The coffee table.
Emery bolted upright from the chair and sat down in front of the coffee table. Images of getting ready to leave for Darden and her mother retrieving the metal box from the coffee table flashed through her mind. This has to be it.
She closed one eye as she slid the coffee table drawer open. Right there, in all its glory, was a letter marked with her name, in her mother’s handwriting. Emery snatched the letter from the drawer and retreated back to her seat, carefully sliding her index finger along the seal. She unfolded the letter, feeling somewhat disappointed when she realized it was only one page long. As much as she wanted to skim the contents for the most important parts, she knew it’d be best to read it all the way through:
My dearest Emery,
I’m sorry I didn’t give you this letter the day I gave you your gift, but it was too dangerous. I knew you’d be smart enough to come back looking for it, and that eventually, you’d find it. By now, you’re probably aware that the gift I gave you, the alpha ring, is not only special to us as mother and daughter, but also to external parties.
During my sophomore year at Darden, I was recruited by a private company to design a program called Alpha One. This program was responsible for developing chemical technologies for our army base. I was given the directive to create two serums—one to debilitate and one to heal—with the guarantee that these serums would be used to train soldiers for battle in a safe simulation-type environment. Hence, I created what is now known as Dormance. The purpose of lethargum was to render soldiers comatose, while sanaré could bring them back to life with no wounds. This was, by far, my greatest scientific achievement . . .
Until it fell into the wrong hands.
During the laboratory trials, a group of test subjects overthrew the experiment and stole all of the lethargum and sanaré to use for their own agenda—for evil instead of good. I’m sure you’ve met the members of the Federal Commonwealth by now. I’ve hidden all of the components and the formulations in an undisclosed location, so the FCW only has a finite amount. It’s inevitable that they will run out, and soon.
I’m sure you’re wondering what the alpha ring and omega pendant have to do with all of this. There are two mainstations, one in 7S and one in Dormance. In short, the ring and pendant are both keys that I created to completely override the system and destroy Alpha One altogether, in case of an emergency. Both the alpha ring and omega pendant must be secured into either one of the mainstations in order to fully deactivate Dormance.
FCW’s leader, Victor Novak, is the one you need to watch out for. Do not let him get his hands on the ring or the pendant. The minute he does, he’ll destroy them so that Dormance will continue to exist and remain under his control. In the back of this drawer, you’ll find a decoy omega pendant—it doesn’t have the special abilities the real one does, but I know you’ll find a way to use it to your advantage. Good luck, my sweet angel. I love you.
Love,
Mom
Emery reread the last paragraph, her eyes focusing on one phrase, and one phrase only: FCW’s leader, Victor Novak. She scanned the letter again, checking to make sure there wasn’t a more detailed description. Then again, how much more detail did she need? The Novak her mother mentioned had to be Chief Novak, her father’s new Secretary of Defense. Surely, her father, the Commander of 7S, had known of the Alpha One program. Maybe this was the secret he’d so urgently wanted to tell her? Until . . .
Until Chief Novak had stepped into the picture.
Emery balled her fists in rage, her grip so intense that her knuckles turned white. Somehow, Victor had found a way to control her father—his actions, his responses, his mind. Does Novak know that the portal’s been reopened?
She brushed the disheartening thought from her mind, then folded the letter into a small square and swiftly tucked it into the side of her boot. She grabbed her car keys and walked out the front door, feeling even more determined now that she knew the truth. She had to find the alpha ring. And thanks to her mother, she now knew exactly where to find it.
17
The airwaves held nothing but static, and Torin was starting to panic. “Emery, are you there?”
Silence.
Oh god, she’s stuck there. I sent her back and now she’s stuck there forever. This is all my fault. Why did I listen to her?
Just as his mind started spiraling down the rabbit hole, a f
aint voice sounded through the lousy connection. He could tell it was Emery’s voice, but he had no idea what she was saying.
“Emery, I can’t understand you,” he said, frantically swiping screens left and right to try and reset the connection. “Just stay where you are.”
He could feel it in his gut. Something isn’t right. He gazed up at the screens, then looked over his shoulder at the T-Port. What did I miss? The connection has never been this bad before.
His thoughts shifted to the night before when he’d helped Mason travel back to Dormance. Was it possible that Mason had messed something up without knowing it? There was no way. How could that be possible when he’d gotten him out just fine? Torin groaned and scratched his head as multiple terrifying scenarios entered his head.
Stay calm. Clear your head. Focus.
He steadied his breath before speaking. “Emery? Can you hear me?” More garbled sounds came from the other end of the line. The only solution that came to mind was one that had worked in the past—but it was risky.
Is it too risky?
Torin took another deep inhale before reciting his idea out loud. “Emery, I have no idea if you can hear me or not, but I’m going to talk anyway. I have a plan. You’re probably not going to like it, but we’re going to have to disconnect.” His mouth went dry as the words left his lips. “The connection is awful and there is no way I can get you out of there with it the way it is. I promise though, as soon as the lines click off, we’ll reconnect again. There may be a thirty second lag, but it will happen.”
Something that sounded like an “okay” came over the line. Hopefully, she’d heard him and trusted that his plan would work. If only I was absolutely sure of it myself.
“Okay, here we go. About to disconnect.” Torin squeezed one eye shut as he ended the call. The screens powered down, leaving him engulfed in darkness that was so pitch black he couldn’t even see his own five fingers wiggling an inch from his face. He restarted his phone and turned each monitor back on, one at a time. A bright glow lit up the room again, restoring some of his faith in this ridiculous plan. He located Emery’s device and typed in the code to establish a new connection. He waited patiently as the blue lights on the screen blinked steadily in their rhythmic pattern. When they finally stopped blinking and all lit up at once, he let out a huge sigh of relief.
“Emery, are you there?”
There was a short bout of silence before he heard her voice. “I’m here, I’m here.” She sounded out of breath. “That was freaky.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I just couldn’t hear the majority of what you said,” she managed through pants. “Only bits and pieces, so I’ll admit, I did panic a little. What happened?”
“The connection was poor, although I’m not sure why.” Without warning, his thoughts suddenly whirled back to the night prior with Mason, to the moment right after he’d tumbled through his window. Mason had mentioned something strange, something that Torin had shrugged off as nothing at the time: that he felt like someone had followed him. A shiver ran down Torin’s spine. Although it seemed highly unlikely, there was always a possibility. Did someone from 7S follow him? Or someone from the FCW? Do they know that we reentered Dormance?
“Earth to Torin,” Emery cooed.
At the sound of her voice, Torin snapped out of his paranoia. It’s probably best not to freak her out more than I already have. “Sorry, I’m here. Let’s get you out of there. Sound good?”
“Please. Plus, I need to show you what I found at my house.” Her voice sounded both tense and excited at the same time.
Torin hit his palm against his forehead. He’d been so worried about getting her out of Dormance safely that he hadn’t even thought to ask if she’d had any luck back at her house. “Okay, as much as I want to know right now what you found, we’ve got to get you out of there. Working on it now.”
“While you’re working on that, I guess there is one thing I can divulge.”
Torin regarded her with an absentminded, “Yeah, go for it.” He was not at all prepared for the words that came out of her mouth.
“I’m going to kill Chief Novak.”
18
All was well in the world with Emery. Or so Mason had thought. Over the past week, they’d spent a lot of time together (four of the seven days), which was a huge step up from fourteen consecutive days of not seeing her at all. It finally felt like they were connecting again—like they weren’t hiding anything from each other.
Even though he felt relieved at the progress they’d made, it was hard not to feel frustrated every time he thought about his failed attempt to find the alpha ring. Finding it would have solidified something for him, albeit he didn’t know exactly what. All he knew was that finding the ring would have been the icing on the cake. He would have returned victorious, a hero, and all eyes would have been on him.
Mason took a sip of soda that he’d ordered from the SmartMeal machine in the Seventh Sanctum dining hall. Headquarters was actually a fascinating place the more he wandered around. There always seemed to be new places to venture into, places he didn’t even know existed before—like the pub in the dining hall. The pub was hidden in a back corner behind a faux-bookshelf door. At the time, he’d questioned what skilled architect would place a bookshelf in a dining hall, but when he’d touched it, the bookshelf had magically turned into a doorway that led to a bar.
Mason frequented the pub as of late, seeing that it was a good place to clear his head—away from the chatter and hustle and bustle that surrounded him on a daily basis. Ice cubes clinked as he downed the rest of his drink. It occurred to him that he hadn’t talked to Torin since the night he’d reentered Dormance. As much as he wanted to hate Torin and his close friendship with Emery, it was difficult. All in all, Torin was a pretty decent guy, but that didn’t necessarily mean he was trustworthy. He was determined to keep Torin at arm’s length and would encourage Emery to do the same. Not surprisingly, the latter had been more challenging than he’d anticipated.
With this in mind, Mason decided it was as good a time as ever to stop by Torin’s apartment. Part of keeping the hacker at arm’s length was knowing what he was up to. For Emery’s sake.
Mason strolled out of the dining hall, through the faux-bookshelf, and into the common area. As he made his way toward the sliding glass doors that led outside, he noticed two shadows at the far end of the elevator shaft. He quickly crouched down and pressed himself against the wall, making sure he hadn’t been spotted. He deliberately worked his way closer to the shadows until he was close enough to be within earshot. The voices were quiet, but still audible.
“I’ve wanted to tell you this for a long time . . .”
Mason strained his ears. It sounded like Torin, but it was hard to tell.
“What is it? And why are we hiding in a dark corner?”
Now this voice he knew. It was unmistakable.
Emery’s.
“Because I don’t feel comfortable saying this out in the open.”
She’s definitely talking to Torin, Mason deduced. Who else could it be?
“Well then, just say it already. Otherwise, people are going to think we’re up to no good,” she giggled.
“Okay, here it is . . .”
Mason’s heart stopped as he listened to the next three words. Anger swelled inside him so quickly that he felt like a balloon that was about to burst. Love her? How could he love her? He barely even knew her!
“I’ve wanted to tell you for so long,” Torin continued, his voice shaky, “but I know things have been complicated with your . . . situation.”
So now I’m a situation? Gee, thanks, Torin. Even though Mason could only see the back of Emery’s head, he could easily imagine her reaction: her lips curling into a sly smile, her cheeks flushing a rosy pink. The image infuriated him even more.
“To be honest,” she whispered, “I’ve noticed a change in my feelings for you, too.
” She shook her head. “But I can’t act on those feelings. It wouldn’t be fair. I’ve made so much progress in my friendship with Mason and I can’t risk that. He’s important to me, too.”
Mason couldn’t help but smile as the words danced into his ears. What a nice surprise. He hadn’t expected Emery to have him on her mind, but she did.
Torin nodded, a solemn expression clouding his face. “I understand. I just had to tell you. I couldn’t keep it a secret any longer.” He gulped, then forced a small smile. “So, what is it you wanted to show me?”
Mason had to give it to him—the guy had just been downright rejected, but he was already making the best of the situation. Good for him.
“I found it,” Emery beamed as she unfolded a piece of paper. “I finally found a clue. It’s a letter. From my mom.”
A letter? Mason leaned in closer, desperate to hear every word.
“Your hard work has finally paid off,” Torin gushed. “Tell me what it says.”
“Here, you read it.” She gently placed the letter into his hands. “I’d rather not read it out loud.”
There was a moment of silence as Torin read through the letter. “Holy smokes.” His eyes grew wide. “This is bad. Really bad. We have to find that ring.”
“I know,” Emery grunted as she retrieved the letter. “But what are we going to do about Chief Novak? He must have found a way to control my father. It’s the only thing that explains why he’s been acting so strange.”
Torin furrowed his brows. “I need some time to think. Let’s meet at my place tomorrow night and figure this out. We need to come up with a plan or something.”
“Works for me,” she agreed. “Eight o’clock?”
“Make it a quarter past eight.”
Mason watched as Emery handed Torin something, although he couldn’t tell what, and just as he made a mental note of their meeting time, his body went slack, eyes closing against their will.
The Order of Omega (The Alpha Drive Book 2) Page 10