Wake the Dead

by Victoria Buck

  “Things are changing. But you know that, don’t you? You’re part of the change.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Come to the meeting room in my basement. I’ll bring you some tea and cookies. There are towels in the bathroom, clean clothes in the closet. I’m set to fit all sizes—you’ll find something there. Clean yourself up and get some sleep.”

  “I really just want to go to Blue Sky Field. I’m sure I must have passed it on the way here, but I didn’t know where to go. Is there an old house or a barn?”

  The woman shook her head. “Do you think that’s where you’re going? To a literal field?”

  “I saw it in my…”

  “Your what, son?”

  “What’s your name?” he asked.

  “Molly. May I call you Chase?”

  He nodded. “What is Blue Sky Field?”

  “You’ll see. But for now, come with me.” She led him to a paneled wall and pushed a button hidden behind a painting. Stairs that one minute weren’t there, the next were descending into a dark cavern.

  “I’ll get the light for you,” she said.

  “No need. I can see.”

  “I’ll be back in twenty minutes with cookies and tea, Chase. Bathroom is to your left.”

  “Thank you, ma’am.”

  Just as Molly had said, Chase found clean clothes to fit him. He stood under a spray of hot water and relived every moment since he left Robert. What could he do to help his doctor, his friend? Nothing, he decided. Not now. He prayed Jimmy or Patty could do something.

  He dried off and picked up a razor from the counter by the sink. But looking in the mirror, he decided to let the few days of growth go, and he simply trimmed the edges of his beard. He pulled on worn jeans and a blue sweatshirt. Tennis shoes replaced the guard boots. A sofa against the far wall of the basement welcomed him, and he stretched out and closed his eyes.

  Before he could find sleep, Molly came to the stairs with her cookies and tea. She turned on the light. Chase put his feet to the floor and sat on the sofa.

  “Sorry,” she said. “Maybe you can see in the dark, but I can’t.”

  “Thank you for the snack.” Chase sipped the warm tea and ate a butterscotch shortbread. The little woman stared. “Is something wrong?” he asked.

  “I like the beard. Let your hair grow out and wear some dark shades, and pretty soon people will forget what Chase Sterling looked like. Then you won’t need that silly old mask.”

  Chase laughed. “I feel ridiculous walking around in that thing.” He picked up another cookie. “Will people come here after dark? My mother and Mel?”

  “They come on Tuesday nights. This is Friday.”

  “I’m not waiting that long.”

  “I know. After it gets dark, I’ll tell you how to get to Blue Sky Field. It’s easy—right in the middle of town. But I won’t go with you, Chase. I’m too old for such adventure.”

  “An augmented game show host in your basement is enough for you, is it?”

  She giggled. “More than enough.”

  “You must see plenty of adventure if you’re willing to keep a church house going here.”

  “The Lord protects me. He knows I’m old. You go be the hero, and I’ll stay here and pray for you.”

  “A good lady in Atlanta told me I was a hero. But I think she was mistaken.”

  “I heard you saved some people down there. Rumor was they all perished, but then we found out they’d just relocated. Thanks to you.”

  “You can thank Mel for that—she’s the one who programmed me.”

  “You’re the one facing danger to rescue our people. That makes you a hero. But heroes are not infallible. You can’t save everybody. Fact is you can’t save anybody—not really. Don’t get it into your head that you can, Chase. Only one can do that. Only Jesus.”

  “I won’t let it go to my head. Thanks for the advice, Molly.”

  “Rest now. After dark I’ll tell you where to go to find your mother and Melody.” She clasped her hands and smiled wide. “They will be so happy.”

  Chase lay back on the sofa. “Don’t let me sleep too long.”

  “I’ll be back in three hours.” She left the tray with the cookies and tea on a table, and walked up the stairs. The light went out, and Chase closed his eyes.

  54

  “Blow it up, boss. You can do it.”

  “No, I can’t, Mel. I can’t stop this from happening.”

  “If I tell you a secret, then will you blow it up?”

  “Mel, this thing is coming, and I can’t save your people. Telling me a secret is not going to change anything.”

  “Yes, it will. It changes everything.”

  “Then tell me, Mel. Tell me now.”

  Chase opened his eyes wide and sat straight on the sofa. His breath came in gasps, and his body was drenched. He pulled off the sweatshirt, went into the bathroom and splashed cold water on his face. Dabbing himself with a wet towel, he quickly felt the chill of the basement. The closet gave up another sweatshirt—a black one. He grabbed a black windbreaker as well, and put on both and headed up the stairs.

  Molly sat in her parlor, staring out the window. She turned when Chase approached. “It’s not time yet, son. You mustn’t hurry.”

  “I need to go. Something’s wrong.”

  “How do you know?”

  “I can sense S-drones. They’re close.” Chase walked to the window and looked at the dark sky. “And I had a dream.”

  “S-drones are manufactured nearby. Did you know that?”

  The exoself had not revealed this. “Do they test them at night?”

  Molly shook her head. “I really can’t say, Chase. Could be. Maybe that’s why you picked up on them.”

  “I think there’s something else coming. Something bigger, more powerful.”

  Concern showed in Molly’s eyes. “All right, Chase. Go to Rue de Saint Paul. Can you find the street with your programs?”

  “Yes, I’ve got it.”

  “There’s a building that was a painter’s studio. It’s called Musee de Nouvel Art. It was never a museum but the young proprietor fancied himself a great artist. The sign still hangs there—not a digital thing. It’s just an old printed sign by the door.”

  “OK.”

  “Go behind the building, and you’ll find a door with no handle, no knob. You must knock on the door, and your knock must be in code.”

  “What’s the code?”

  Molly made a fist and pounded on the little table at her side in a series of bursts. The exoself told Chase what it meant.

  “Christ our Lord,” he said.

  “That’s right. You know Morse code.”

  “Apparently.”

  Molly stood and walked to a closet by the front door. She pulled out a black knit cap and dark glasses. “Leave the mask behind, Chase. It’ll only attract attention in this small town.”

  The cap covered his hair, and he pulled it down almost to his eyebrows and then slipped on the glasses. The flight pack waited by the front door—Molly had plugged it in to charge. Chase strapped it on. “I wouldn’t know it was Chase Sterling under there,” she said. She pulled on the cap and patted his cheeks. “Now be careful.”

  “Yes, ma’am. Thank you for taking me in.” He went out the door and walked a hundred yards before he took flight. His drone sensor registered activity, but nothing came into view. The menacing dream faded as the brief flight came to an end.

  Nightlife in the little town was practically nonexistent. A café took up a corner with patrons eating and drinking. Lights came from apartments above closed stores and businesses. A few people walked the streets. No cyber-guards, not even a local policeman patrolled the place.

  Chase found the abandoned art studio and walked behind the old brick building. The door with no knob was there, just like Molly said. Chase pounded the code.

  A tall man, black and muscular, cracked open the door. The resemblance to Bear brought Chase a sense o
f relief. And guilt. Without a word, he pulled off the knit cap and the dark glasses. The man nodded, opened the door, and stepped aside. Chase followed him into a hallway. Doors lined each side.

  “It’s about time you showed up.” The man led him through a door and into a room where paintings filled every wall. They were all landscapes.

  Chase stopped in front of the largest of the paintings—it practically covered a wall. The cloudless blue sky and open field welcomed him, masterfully replicating the dream. Or was it the other way around? A small placard, fastened to the bottom of the frame, told the painting’s title.

  Ciel Bleu Domaine. “Blue Sky Field,” Chase said.

  “You speak French.”

  “Among other languages.”

  The man swung the painting wide and stepped through the portal behind it and then looked back at Chase. “This is the new brain of the Underground Church, computers and everything. Melody’s got us hooked up with systems the WR can’t touch. Soon we’ll be able to keep the whole thing running from here. World-wide communication. But Melody says you’ve got programs in your head that we need, Chase Sterling.” The man rolled his eyes. “That’s what the girl says.”

  “What’s your name?”

  “They call me Switchblade.”

  Chase smiled. “You don’t think too highly of me, do you, Switchblade?”

  “I got nothing against you. I just hope you don’t disappoint.”

  Chase followed him into another hall and then down spiraling stairs. The man opened a last door, and Chase stepped into a spacious room filled with light and activity.

  He quickly spotted Mel and his mother among a crowd of a hundred or more. Both women studied monitors positioned on a table in the center of the room. His mom looked up, and the cry she let out caused everyone to stop what they were doing.

  She ran to Chase, and he scooped her off the floor and swung her around. “I’m here, Mom,” he said. “I’m here.” He held her tight, and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

  “Welcome, son.”

  He stepped back enough to see her face, and she smiled. He wiped her tears and kissed her cheek. A hand, small and brown, came to rest on his shoulder, and he found Mel beside him. He turned to her and pulled her close. Her arms came around him as he closed his eyes. A feeling overwhelmed him of being gone a long time and finally coming home. Whispers and giggles echoed through the place. Chase opened his eyes and smiled. Perhaps a crowded room wasn’t the best place for this reunion. Mel lifted her head off his shoulder and backed away.

  “Good to see you, boss.” She brought her hand to her mouth in an attempt to cover the grin.

  “It’s real good to see you, Mel. I’ve missed you.” He turned to his mom and pulled her close. “Both of you.”

  “Chase,” his mother said. “I never dreamed the two of us would end up in a place like this.”

  “Neither did I, Mom.” He wouldn’t try to explain his dreams. After ending up in this deepest of the deep in the Underground Church, and not in a beautiful field, he wasn’t at all sure he’d ever understand the dreams.

  He turned to Mel. “But you’ve got a lot of explaining to do. Why didn’t you ever tell me you were some kind of techno-genius? And why did you put all this stuff in me?”

  She lost the smile then. “I’m sorry, boss.” She crossed her arms, and her eyes turned down. Then she looked him in the face. “Well, not really,” she said. “I’m glad I did it.”

  He touched her soft cheek. “Me, too, Melody. But please explain how somebody like me ended up bent on being of service to the good people of the Underground Church. Was that in one of your programs? I’ve got questions. Lots of them.”

  “I’m not the one who made you want this. That’s the truth. God brought you here. I hope you know that, boss.” Her smile returned. She slipped her hand in his, and he laced his fingers with hers.

  “Call me Chase.”

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