PLAY ON

by Marilynn Halas

  “Good Lord! We must be in the belly of the beast. Some big, fat, disgusting, burrito-eating, bean-belching, seething pot of shut-the-heck up. This place stinks worse than an outhouse in August.”

  “Really? We are going to do that whole Southern humor thing now? Did you forget we were born on the outskirts of New York?” Dillon teased.

  “The only reason I was born north of the Mason-Dixon line is because that’s where our poor mother was and I felt it was important to be with her on that day. I tell you what, I just wish we were big enough to fix that rat who left her. I’m going to enjoy this. I trained for a long time. I’m looking forward to putting some of that training to work.”

  “Knock it off. You are freaking me out,” Dillon said as the tunnel began to open up again. Soon they were on their feet and there it was, right ahead of them: the stone wall. This time Dillon knew exactly what to do. He grabbed Danny and together they raced toward it shouting a battle cry into the air. In the last moments, they jumped up and pushed their feet through the wall. Stone and glass and mortar shattered all around them.

  Dillon expected to be in the back end of a tomb. Danny expected to be in Michael’s lair. Both of them were wrong. Instead they discovered that they were in a beautiful garden.

  The Garden

  “Wow, it’s not even a cemetery this time,” Dillon stammered. There were birds singing, bees buzzing, and the sun was shining. Danny tried to step forward, but he discovered he couldn’t. It was too perfect, too beautiful to be real and Danny smelled a trap. Dillon didn’t know what to think. Dillon looked around and saw a small brook babbling in the distance. He thought about following it, but he didn’t. He was distracted by the man in white heading toward them. The man was tall and slim, and he reminded Dillon of a sticky, stretched marshmallow oozing toward them with a sickly sweetness.

  “Gentlemen, so good of you to come.” The man smiled a syrupy grin and held out his arms. “I believe you are looking for someone. Please, allow me to be of service. This place belongs to me, I can help.”

  “Dillon, it’s a trap.” Every hair on the back on Danny’s neck stood up and that was never a good sign. Danny struggled to move, but he couldn’t break free. He could go back, but not forward. “Dillon, don’t trust him.”

  Dillon heard every word, but he smiled a big, happy teenager smile that smacked of “Golly gee, Mister, would you really?” Dillon walked toward the man and joined him at a table laid out in a gazebo.

  The man poured tea and Dillon took the cup in his hands. He had no intention of drinking it, but this nut didn’t need to know that.

  “My brother and I, we’d be real grateful if you could tell Michael we came to see him. He took something that belongs to us and we came to get it back.”

  “Took something? I can’t imagine what you could possibly have that would interest Michael.” The man in white looked intrigued.

  “He took our past, our future, and he even tried to take our family.” Dillon’s voice sounded stronger than he actually felt. The man in white burst out laughing and when he did, Dillon could see a sickening filth on his yellow teeth.

  Danny was frantically trying to break free. What was it that was holding him back? Any second now Dillon might need him and he would be useless. Danny raged against his trap.

  Dillon stood and moved closer to the man. “Bring Michael to me!”

  The man rose and towered over Dillon. He said nothing; he merely looked into Dillon’s eyes, which sent a shock right through him. Dillon was thrown about twenty feet and landed next to Danny.

  “Get up! Get up!” Danny yelled. The man in white walked slowly to where Dillon lay trying to clear his head.

  “Let us remember our manners, shall we?”

  Dillon’s hands were shaking and Danny was frantic. They expected to deal with Michael, but this guy was a whole different matter. Danny never took his eyes off the man. He learned about turning his back on the enemy in Afghanistan and he did not intend to make that mistake again.

  Dillon summoned all his courage and looked him in the eyes again. “So you can push me around. So what? Everyone can push me around. It seems to me like Michael must be worried to send a guy like you to keep us busy.”

  Danny wondered if taunting this guy was really the best way to go, but he couldn’t do much about it now.

  The man raised one arm and Dillon crashed into the remains of the stone wall in ruins behind him. That was it for Danny. He was not going to just stand there and watch his brother get pulverized.

  When Dillon stood he had a wildness in his eyes. That’s when Danny saw it: the man in white was flickering.

  “Fear!” Danny yelled. “That thing is powered by fear!” The moment he said it, Danny could move. Dillon let his rage overcome his fear, and together he and Danny pounced. The man in white laughed as they ripped into him. Danny landed a punch and it was clear that he was seen and felt in this place. It was also clear that Danny’s military training was excellent.

  Dillon grabbed the man by the collar and demanded, “Michael! Where is that evil snake?” The man in white cackled again and then, in a flash he was gone and Michael stood above them.

  “Well, you can thank me later, but it seems to me that my actions have turned you two into quite a tough team. It’s not just anyone who can overcome the latest in the next century’s personal security.”

  Danny was on his feet in an instant. Every soldier instinct was firing and searching Michael for the most efficient vulnerability. Michael, on the other hand, was in the mood for a chat.

  “Come now, boys, vengeance isn’t your style. I’ll share with you. Together we could accomplish three times as much. The crystals are only the beginning unless you let your misguided loyalties obscure your real destiny.”

  Dillon and Danny moved together as one finely tuned machine. They dragged Michael to the ground and knew they had to end this. To let him go would be to condemn them all to a life of looking over their shoulders. There was no doubt that Michael would keep coming until he killed everyone who knew about the crystals and inter-dimensional travel. Danny considered drowning Michael in the brook. He had to be stopped, they knew that, but not like this. Still, Dillon and Danny dragged Michael over to the brook. It gurgled and flowed along over the stones beneath the water. When Dillon looked again, he realized those weren’t just ordinary stones: they were crystals and they were glowing as the ground began to shake. Danny thought there was something familiar about them, like a certain grenade he had seen in Afghanistan, but right now, he didn’t have time to think about it.

  Michael noticed it too and he looked worried. He knew what the glowing meant because he had seen it once before, just before he threw it in Afghanistan. Michael was a time traveler. He had already lived this moment once before and he never expected to face it again. He thought he had handled this when he abandoned the twins in the first place. Michael had never guessed that Rosa’s blood in their veins made Dillon and Danny natural time travelers and spirit walkers.

  When Danny died, Michael was sure he was in the clear. The insurgents loved his crystals and thought they were some kind of concentrated grenade. When he threw it in the warehouse that day in 2004, Michael was sure he would never have to worry about facing Danny again. As for Dillon, Michael never expected Dillon to survive the Leber’s once it attacked his heart. He never expected their trip to the future to actually cure Dillon. Now, here he was, fighting his own sons to survive.

  They were surrounded by these unstable crystals and Michael knew there wasn’t much time. If that day in Afghanistan was anything to go by, the glowing would lead to explosion in about thirty seconds. Danny looked at them in the water and realized exactly where he had seen them before.

  “My own father?” Danny finally understood what happened on the day he died. He let go of Michael, grabbed Dillon and ran for what was left of the stone wall. Dillon didn’t understand until the crystals began exploding behind him. One crystal set off another until the gr
ound shook with the release of the massive force of energy. A tidal wave of light and heat crashed over them, but Danny and Dillon ran on. The tunnel was collapsing in on itself from the force of the first blast and still they ran.

  “We have to get to the crevasse! We have to get them out!” Danny yelled as they rounded the corner just ahead of Michael. The tunnel was lit with the crystals they could now see all around them. The crystals were glowing and the heat that was coming from them was overpowering. A second blast went off behind them and threw them onto the side of the crevasse. Michael ran past them and Dillon and Danny dropped down into the hole to free the others. At that moment, there was an explosion bigger and hotter than all the rest. The whole cave shuddered and began to fold in on itself.

  Dillon and Danny found Rosa and the others on their way up through the debris. As the cave collapsed, the ditch rose up from below and Rosa began to chant. Not sure what else to do, they clasped hands and waited for the fall. This time though, it was different. The wind that surrounded them lifted them up, and as the last parts of the cave fell around them, they began to move. Higher and higher they flew until they could see only the stars. Everything was strangely peaceful. Danny was mesmerized. He saw a magnificent light that sparkled and had even more colors than a rainbow.

  “Do you see it? That light, is it the sun?” Danny asked Dillon.

  Dillon wondered if the explosions had hurt Danny’s eyes. The only light he saw was from the Empire State Building that was coming into view as they returned to their own time. When they touched down a few minutes later, Dillon couldn’t believe it was over. He was sure that Michael was somewhere far away buried under the rubble of the crystals he loved so much. Marie held him and Dillon breathed in her perfume. They made it. Michael was gone, and they were safe. Everyone was talking and checking on each other to make sure no one was hurt. Ryan held a crystal in each hand and then tossed one to Thomas. “Here’s a little something for your research.” Ryan smiled. Dillon couldn’t take his eyes off his sweet Marie, even as he spoke.

  “Danny, I can’t believe it. We made it!” Dillon cheered. “Danny?” Dillon looked around and saw that his brother was nowhere to be found. Maggie and Ryan looked confused, Clint and Sara looked concerned. Rosa smiled and pointed to the stars. She knew Danny was finally where he needed to be.

  That night in his room, Dillon pulled out the old guitar. He played for a while, but he knew Danny was long gone. Still he played on.

  “Will the circle be unbroken? By and by, Lord, by and by . . .” and in the distance Dillon always swore he heard Danny answer.

  “There’s a better home awaiting, in the sky, Lord, in the sky.”

  Today

  Dillon never saw Danny again, but he had no doubt that Danny was alive and well and that they would one day be reunited. Years later Dillon would see his brother’s grin on his own son’s face, and Marie liked to say that it was just proof of what they already knew. When it comes to family, love will always play on.

  Acknowledgements

  Writing is all about relationship. I have been blessed by a beautiful constellation of talented people willing to help light my path, and now it is my pleasure to offer my thanks.

  To David Rust who believed in this project from the first word to the final edit. Your faith, humor, and skill helped to make the dream of this book come true. To Carla Jablonski, editor, mentor, and teacher: working with you has been both an education and adventure requiring the courage to grow as a writer and storyteller. To Renata M. Brunner Jass, copyeditor extraordinaire whose attention to detail is unparalleled. To Virginia Anagnos, gifted in public relations and generous in friendship. To Jennifer Marcus for welcoming me to the world of social media. To Jennifer Brod for energy and enthusiasm, and to Caroline Capute for time and talent. To Goodman Media for rooting for the underdog. To Vic Lau for skill as a web master and vision as an artist. To Elizabeth Lezama for being the world’s best intern and a treasured friend. To Mike Dominguez for making video my friend. To Stephen Bosak and Elena Bosak for lending a hand and reading an early draft. To Stephanie Weller for willingness to enjoy the sport of extreme proofreading.

  To my children, Katherine, Elizabeth, Alexandra, and George, you are my inspiration, my motivation, my favorite readers and my living proof that dreams come true. To my dear husband, Stephen, the brightest star in my darkest night, your faith in me fuels every word. There would be no me without us. I love you. Lastly, to my mom and dad, Kay and Pat Melville, who taught me that the love of my family will always play on.

  About the Author

  Marilynn Halas lives in rural Connecticut with her four children, two dogs, and one husband. As founder and creative director of 4 Sunflowers Media, LLC, Marilynn believes wholeheartedly in celebrating and supporting families and empowering the next generation.

  Visit her on the web at www.4sunflowersmedia.com/teen