“What’s too many friends?” Christine quickly calculated how many pictures she had. There must have been at least three dozen people.
“I don’t know. There’s simply no way to judge that.”
“I see.” Christine rubbed her temples, feeling like a headache was coming on. “Is there nothing you can tell me?”
“I can tell you about the dimension itself. I have it right here.” Walker reached out, as if plucking a string from the air. She drew it in close to herself and then grabbed it with her other hand, pinching it between her thumb and index finger.
Christine leaned over, trying to see what Walker held, but she saw nothing. It was as if Walker held an invisible thread.
She let go of the thread and placed her hands in her lap. “Be aware, time moves more quickly here than there. I don’t know what the delay is, but it isn’t great. You were only missing a few hours.”
The news just added to her frustrations. Christine had wanted to spend more time there, get to know the place, but she had school and family to deal with. If she left for too long, her family would start to worry, especially after her recent absence.
“You need to travel there, as I showed you, and explore the dimension. You’ll have control, but not as much as you might expect. The beings who live there will be able to help you, but be warned: your own dimension can kill you, if you aren’t careful.”
“My friend, Allison, was there, but she died a long time ago in an accident. Was that really her?”
Walker gazed down at her hands. “It’s a piece of her, but it is also how you saw her in life. It is not so much her as it is a memory of her.”
“She didn’t seem to know a lot when I talked to her.”
“She is still learning, I imagine, but she should have figured out some things by now.”
A knock came from the door before it slid open. Raptor waited there, her head tilted to the side. Dynamos stood behind her, wearing a bright smile on his face. Right beside him was Andrew, who gave Christine a little wave and a sad smile.
Walker inclined her head and turned to Christine. “That is all I can tell you.”
“Thanks. I know you need to rest, but that was a big help.”
“Take your time with this. You’re young and these powers are new.”
“I will.” Christine could not wait to get home and try them out. She stepped out into the hallway with the others and followed them toward the teleportation room.
“Christine,” Dynamos said. “We talked a while ago about doing a memory wipe, as you called it.”
“It’ll dampen my emotions, right? Make all of this seem like a dream?”
“Well, you’ve been here longer than I expected. It’s not going to be quite that effective, but yeah.” Dynamos pulled a small green pill from his pocket and held it up.
Cautioning her, Raptor said, “No matter how much you recall, no matter how certain you are of it, you need to keep it to yourself. There are people out there, dangerous people, who might take what you say seriously—people like Venom. He doesn’t know you’re a Quester, and it’s best if you keep it that way.”
“Christine?” Andrew stopped her.
“Say your good-byes. We’ll be in the teleportation room when you’re ready.” Stepping around the corner, Raptor and Dynamos left.
Andrew went on. “I really am going to miss you.”
“I know. You said that, remember?” She had worried when Walker pulled Andrew’s picture out of the locket that he would hate her, but nothing had changed. It was obvious he was still her friend.
“What are you going to tell everyone?”
“That story the Keepers came up with, about me hearing the bang and not remembering anything. I think it’s better this way. You get to have your adventure, and I get to become someone.”
Andrew shuffled his feet as he muttered, “But you’re going to forget our date.”
“I won’t forget. I’ll make myself remember.” She leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Promise.”
His heart fluttered for a moment as he turned a bright shade of red.
Grabbing his hand, Christine walked with Andrew to the teleport room. As they entered, she said, “Dynamos? I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.”
Dynamos pulled out the green pill and offered it to her. “Just put it on your tongue.”
Christine picked it up and threw it into her mouth. It dissolved as soon as it touched her tongue. She wobbled, the room spinning around her. Andrew caught her before she fell and helped lower her to the ground.
“Sorry, I also put a tranquilizer in there,” Dynamos said.
Christine started to let her eyes close, but Mouse came skidding around the corner. “Rappy!” He shouted, grabbing hold of the doorframe to stop himself. His eyes were wide and his face ashen.
“Mouse, what’s wrong?”
The darkness started to close in around her, but she forced herself to listen.
“The virus. I know where it’s going!”
Despite her eagerness to hear the rest, Christine could not hold on any longer. She let out a sigh and lost consciousness.
* * * * * *
“How many did we lose today?” Venom asked, turning his gaze down to Tor.
Thinking for a moment, Tor held up three fingers.
“And the ones in the ward?”
Tor held up eight fingers.
“How many Questers were captured?”
Tor held up four fingers, and then he held up six.
“Forty-six. Very impressive.” Touching the ridge of his nose, he said, “Unfortunately, the device was destroyed.”
The crystalline creature had come from another dimension, though he did not know what one. It was not a Quester, just a creature capable of navigating through different dimensions and about as bright as a dog. His people had taken advantage of its natural hunting instincts, given it a few mechanical upgrades, and then created a remote control to send it orders.
“A shame, but it served its purpose, as did those lost. The new Questers will join us, once they understand why I recruited them.” A smirk pulled up the corner of his lips. “I have to admit, it was fun playing the part of a villain.”
Tor grinned up at Venom and motioned to himself.
His eyes lit with amusement, Venom said, “Yes, I have not forgotten you made me watch all of the Indiana Jones films. I will get my revenge, you know.” He grimaced menacingly.
Tor exaggerated a shudder and then giggled.
“The white suit was a nice touch too,” Venom added, looking down at his jacket. He adjusted the front collar and tightened the knot of his tie.
In response, Tor gave him a thumbs-up.
“Back to business. Did the virus implant itself into the Keepers’ computer when they broke into ours?”
Tor nodded in response.
“I thought Mouse might try to do that. He will change the encryption codes on their computer, and the virus will give us those codes before destroying itself.”
Standing in front of Venom was an exact clone of himself. It was surreal, staring into his own blue eyes, his hair combed opposite of how he normally viewed himself in the mirror. He picked up a headset that rested on a table and placed it on his head. A pair of gloves attached to his hands, and a set of cables ran from the gloves over his shoulders and down to his feet.
He flipped a switch on his belt. Then, he lifted a hand into the air. The clone copied the movement after a short delay.
“This prototype is coming along well. How long before it is ready?” The clone opened its mouth and then shut it, but did not speak.
Tor held his hands a short distance apart.
“Soon then? Good. What about the others?”
Moving his hands farther apart, Tor shrugged.
“I see.” Venom frowned to himself. He meant to pressure his people to get the other androids finished as quickly as possible. Flaws had to be worked out, including what Godlin had discovered about their s
usceptibility to dark lightning, but it would be worth the wait. Machines were expendable and much more resilient than people were. No human was capable of facing a Keeper head on.
“Once I get control of Raptor, I will be able to unite the rest of humanity. Then, I can lead the planet in the direction it has to go,” Venom said to himself.
Sitting out there in the void of space was a planet, a Quester Stone stronger than Earth. It had taken Venom a long time to figure out how the Stones in this universe operated. Planets, it turned out, ate one another.
Venom had found evidence of the fact on Earth. It had pieces of the moon embedded in it. The prevailing hypothesis was that a mars-sized planet had impacted Earth and reformed into the present-day planet and moon system.
It should have been an event unique to Earth, but he had found another planet in a distant solar system with a similar story. Then he found another and another after that, each one harboring life on its surface. He had studied these life-sustaining planets and discovered pieces of other planets inside them. Never had he found a dead world made of multiple planets.
He could only speculate what one of these battles must have been like. No doubt violent—the planets attempting to devour one another. Even if Earth was the victor in such a battle, it would kill everything on the planet. Better if the rogue planet was dealt with before it reached Earth.
He needed the Keepers. Once they came under his control, then other humans would follow them, and together, they could put an end to the alien planet.
Venom made a fist and hit his hand on the edge of the desk. His original plan had been ruined because the Keepers had failed to listen. The clone copied his movement, but it had no table for its fist to bump into, so it just hung in the air.
He slowly spread his hand out across the table, letting out a breath as he calmed himself. This time Venom decided to do it his way—the right way.
A bored sigh came from Tor.
Venom scowled. The clone did not copy the subtle facial movement. “Yes, I know you could care less, but this is my home … even if it does not accept me. For now, I have other plans I am sure you will be interested in.” He flipped the switch on his belt and removed the headset, returning it to the table. “We need to play the part of a villain a bit longer.”
Tor gave him a curious look.
“By now, our message of war has reached its destination, and they will be in a rush to train that boy. It would be rude of us not to help him. After all, who better to learn from, than the one whom he is replacing?” Venom held out his hands as he gave a crooked smile.
*.*.* Book 2 coming soon *.*.*
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About the Author
Kimberly Riley grew up in a small town in Southeast Texas and now lives in the outskirts of Austin with her husband, dog, birds, and numerous fish. Originally a high school science teacher, she has taken a break from teaching to become a full time author. Her love of science fiction and fantasy influences her writing and her artwork. She spends her free time painting (mostly dragons), playing D&D, and teaching her birds to whistle the Imperial March.
To connect with her, visit her website at kimberlyariley.com.
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Acknowledgments
Special thanks to my editor, Allisyn, for challenging me to improve my writing skills, to my family and friends for their continued support, to everyone in the #amwriting community for their selfless offerings of time, insight, and encouragement, and to my husband, Matthew, whom I love dearly and without whom I would never have made it to my first published book.
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