Angels Among Us

by C. E. Barrett

  Breakfast was waiting. Reznik and Rapsim had prepared it this morning. They had decided to give the new couple a chance to be alone. Rapsim had made coffee and had then run upstairs to check something. When he returned, he had had a huge triumphant smile on his broad face. His green eyes almost glowed with self-satisfaction. To Reznik's annoyance, he would not reveal his secret until everyone was gathered. That was when Reznik had turned over the bowl of batter, the pan and the spatula to Rapsim and had gone upstairs to wake the others.

  Devany sat at the table, eating a bowl of the cereal Seren had brought with her that first day. Seren and Daffyd came into the kitchen. Seren poured coffee into the big ceramic mugs she and Daffyd preferred, while Reznik filled plates with bacon and pancakes. When they were all seated and eating, she turned to her colleague.

  “Now will you tell us what you've found?” she asked, in some annoyance.

  He grinned at them. “We can leave anytime,” he announced.

  Seren, fork halfway to her mouth, stared, slack-jawed, at him. Daffyd's eyes looked over the rim of his mug. He set it down, wiped his lips with a napkin, and looked intensely at Rapsim.

  “And when we leave ‘here', where do we end up?” asked Reznik, the first to recover. She had, after all, been expecting something along this line.

  “It depends on the painting,” Rapsim said.

  Everyone stared blankly at him.

  “Painting?” said Seren.

  “The ones upstairs?” asked Reznik.

  “What, precisely, do the paintings have to do with our leaving?” Daffyd asked, rubbing his forehead as if to restore circulation to his brain.

  “They're Portals,” said Rapsim, and smiled.

  “Portals?” said the three adults in almost perfect unison.

  “Portals,” confirmed the little man.

  “Portals to where?” asked Daffyd.

  “Almost anywhere,” said Rapsim, and nibbled a bit of bacon.

  “How do we use them?” queried Seren.

  “I can activate them with the multi. They seem to work well, at least one-way. I'm not certain about getting back. We'll have to make some test runs, experiment a bit. We'll need some rope and patience, and a volunteer.”

  Reznik rolled her eyes at that. She knew Rapsim would never allow civilians to do ‘Recruit’ work, which meant that Reznik was the volunteer in question.

  “I noticed rope in the basement yesterday,” said Daffyd. “I'll be right back.”

  He stood up and swung his long legs free of the bench. He strode away, and reappeared a short time later with a sizable coil of rope slung over his shoulder. He dropped it on the dining table, and rejoined the group in the kitchen.

  “That should do,” he said and resumed his interrupted meal.

  “Perfect!” said Rapsim, his eyes lighting up. He loved exploration and new worlds. The portals he had discovered were unlike any others he had ever encountered. He was eager to learn more about them.

  “Hurry and eat,” he told them. “I'll meet you upstairs in the art room.” He took the rope, which looked too much for his short frame but which he carried effortlessly, and dashed upstairs. Reznik rolled her eyes again.

  “Come on, folks,” she said wearily. “When he gets like this, it's best just to go along for the ride. We can clean up later.”

  They left the dishes on the table, some of them with food only partially eaten, and followed Reznik up the stairs. They found Rapsim in the room with most of the paintings. He had lined several up against the wall, including the one that Devany had said was of her world. The second picture was of a forest in winter. There was no snow, but the trees were bare and stark, with the occasional evergreen for a bit of color. There was the merest glimpse of a cabin or cottage through the trees, too hidden in the woods to make out any details from this angle. Daffyd frowned at this one. It tugged at his mind for reasons he couldn't place.

  “I believe that's your world, Daffyd,” said Rapsim. “But what the location might be.... “He shrugged. Daffyd frowned more deeply and shook his head.

  The third showed a dusty road in front of an old-fashioned general store. The day there appeared hot and sunny, the shadows of the hand rail sharp and black on the front porch of the shop. An antique and faded gas pump stood near the road, suggesting the site was twentieth century. Rapsim pointed at the painting.

  “That's our reality, but I'm not certain of the world. However, it might be a good place to start. We should be able to contact the Recruits from there, and get us transport to Headquarters. Assuming it's contemporary, of course.” He looked at the others. “That's one of the fascinating things about what's happened. You, Daffyd and Devany, are from the future and the past in relation to the rest of us. I wish I knew how that was done. It's the one thing we've never been able to perfect: time travel.”

  The fourth depicted a modern-looking world: a cityscape that made Seren and Daffyd look twice. The trees, houses, shops ... everything seemed scaled down, squat and dense. There was a solid, utilitarian appearance to the buildings, although they were not without a certain aesthetic factor. Some had intricate carvings, beautiful decorations, but there were no towers, no soaring arches, just solid heavy walls and slightly arched windows.

  “That's my home world,” said Rapsim. “It's one of the main cities. I think it's current, but I'm uncertain. In any case, I'll keep it as a last resort.”

  “Why is that, Rapsim?” asked Daffyd. He wondered if Rapsim were in some sort of trouble on his home planet.

  “The gravity is almost four times that of Earth,” said the little man. “You'd have to crawl in on your bellies, and the strain might be too much for any of you. It would be hard to breathe, you wouldn't be able to move. As I said, last resort.” He grinned suddenly. “It's considered bad form to kill people you're trying to rescue.”

  “I can see how that would hurt one's reputation,” said Daffyd dryly. Then he indicated the last of the paintings Rapsim had put on display. It was of the ubiquitous field of grass outside. “Why did you choose that one?”

  “I thought we might get lucky and hit one of the transfer points that brought us here. It's worth a try if the others don't do the job.”

  They studied the pictures. Rapsim rubbed his hands together. “Where shall we begin?” he asked.

  “Anywhere but there,” said Daffyd, pointing at the forest. “I don't care much for that one.”

  “No. He's right,” agreed Seren. “There's something about it.... “She moved closer to Daffyd and put her hand in his.

  Devany was examining the paintings closely. “You think we can go into the pictures?” she asked sceptically, a most adult expression of disbelief on her dainty features.

  “Yes. I do,” said Rapsim.

  “Well,” said Seren. “You did say that gas station, store thing was a good place to start. Let's go there. Do your hocus-pocus, Rap. Let's rock ‘n’ roll.”

  Daffyd's eyebrows lifted at the terminology, but he remained silent. One of these days he would find out what it all meant. If he was going to live in Seren's reality, he had better get to know these things. Now was not the time, though.

  Reznik said, “I'm game, Rap. Gimme the rope and send me through. Better yet, throw the end of the rope through first and make sure we can pull it back. I do not want to be stranded in Nowhereville, Iowa, or wherever, in 1943 or some other time not my own.” As she spoke, she freed a section of the rope, which lay on the floor in front of the five paintings. Rapsim aimed the multi at the picture and thumbed the controls. The painting shimmered, and changed in some indefinable way, becoming almost three-dimensional. Looking at it now was like looking through a window.

  Reznik tossed the end of the rope at the painting. It went through the frame and landed on the road with a puff of dust. It distorted at the frame, the way a straw in a glass of water seems to when looked at from the right angle. Here in the room, the rope was a good half-inch in diameter, but it appeared as string beyond the frame, havin
g shrunk to scale where it lay on the road.

  “Oh, man,” said Reznik, staring at it. “That makes my eyes hurt.”

  “It makes my brain hurt,” said Seren. “It's like those weird drawings where the staircases go up and sideways and upside down. They make your eyes go crazy trying to follow them.”

  “Try pulling it back, Gerri,” said Daffyd.

  She verified with Rapsim and began pulling. They watched the rope as it came out of the picture, string to cable like one of David Copperfield's illusions.

  “Oh, wow! This is weird!” exclaimed Reznik, and pulled the end free altogether. “That was freaky!”

  She made a quick, but moderately complex harness around herself with the rope. She tugged the end to make sure it was secure and gave the coil to Daffyd.

  “You're big and strong, Sweetie Pie. Rap needs to work the multi. You hold onto this, and pull me out if things go bad, okay?”

  “Absolutely.” He took it from her and hung it on his arm, so the end attached to Reznik could be paid out easily. “Be careful, Gerri.”

  “Oh, I will! I'm trained for this stuff, remember?” She grinned and kissed his cheek. “You're a doll, Daffyd. I'm glad to know you.” She looked at Seren. “You too, Seren. Whew. Okay, Rap. Here I go.” She ruffled Devany's hair and prepared to step into the picture.

  The others watched her leg vanish. “Hey!” she exclaimed, feeling around with her apparently missing foot, there's a ledge here.” She ducked her head, and was suddenly on the far side of the frame. They could see her hips and low back, as if she were standing on something just on the other side. She jumped down, out of sight for a moment, and reappeared on the road, a little figure of herself. They saw her grab the rope and wiggle it. It moved in Daffyd's hand.

  “We're still connected,” he said, with a quick glance at Rapsim. He returned his attention to Reznik, and twitched the hemp cord in reply.

  She had experienced a disorienting moment of breathlessness as she went through the Portal, and had paused a moment to take a deep breath before jumping down to the road. She took a quick look around in all directions, assessing the area, checking for any obvious signs of danger. Nothing appeared to pose an immediate hazard.

  The road stretched out to both sides from where she stood. Behind her, the rope stretched across a patch of grass and disappeared into a faded billboard that appeared to be advertising animal feed, but which was so worn, and bleached by the sun it was hard to be sure. She flapped the rope, and felt an answering rhythmic movement. She smiled. It was typical of Daffyd to reassure her like that. Geez, he's a nice guy, she thought. I hope things work out for him and Seren. She brought her mind back to the current job.

  No danger right here, what else is around? She stood at the edge of a short stretch of dirt road. It forked in either direction, about fifty feet away, and wandered into the countryside. Some distance to her right stood a farmhouse surrounded by trees. Across the road, directly in front of her was the old country store with the ancient gas pump.

  Faded metal signs hung against the walls and on the screen door. An unpleasant feeling began to steal over her. She checked again for danger signs, but the entire area was still. She tried using her transceiver to contact Rapsim or other Recruits who might be in range, but heard no reply. The dust puffed up under her feet as she crossed to the store. She wondered if she had enough rope to go inside. Daffyd was letting it out behind her, but she didn't know how much more leeway she had.

  She continued moving forward. If necessary, she could undo the harness with a single tug and be free to explore. And if something goes wrong, I'll have to run like hell. She stood on the wide plank steps that led to the front porch of the store, and looked around again. Her sense of unease, almost of déja vu, was increasing. She disliked the feeling intensely, especially since there seemed to be no solid foundation for it. She took a deep, cleansing breath, and concentrated on each sense in turn.

  Nothing moved. She saw nothing strange or out of place. Everything looked completely normal, although somewhat abandoned. Maybe it's lunchtime and everyone's home filling their faces. She sniffed the air: dry dust from the road, a hint of wild roses nearby, a suggestion of spilled gasoline from the pump. She put a hand on one of the support posts. It felt splintery and worn, but solid in her grasp. She listened for signs of life. One of the metal signs hung crookedly, and banged softly in the light breeze, making little ‘ting’ sounds as it bounced off the wall. Other than that, there was silence: no insect drone, no hum of a far-off vehicle, no radio or TV from inside the store, no laughing, shouting children, no birds, nothing. It wasn't right.

  She reached the door and opened it. When she tried to move forward, the rope held her back. She turned and looked back the way she had come. The rope had not caught on anything, but it was quite a distance, all told. Maybe Daffyd couldn't, or wouldn't, pay out any more.

  She tried to subvocalize to Rapsim again, but heard only static whispers that sounded like mocking laughter. She hesitated and considered her options. A sudden scratchy sound from inside the store decided her. She was, after all, trained for this sort of thing. She undid the harness and went through the door.

  “NO!” shouted Rapsim at her image. She didn't appear to hear him. Daffyd's face clouded with anger at her reckless behavior, but he maintained a grip on the rope. Rapsim tried the transceiver, but met with the same mocking static.

  “Get her out of there!” said Seren sharply. Rapsim whirled.

  “What?”

  “Get her out of there, Rap. NOW!”

  “How can I? I've got to stay here and keep the Portal open so she can get back. What are you so worked up over?” He didn't admit to being concerned. He didn't like Reznik's being out of sight, but he didn't think it warranted the level of upset Seren was displaying. Seren glared at him for a heartbeat. Can't you feel it, Rap? What's wrong with you? Gerri's in terrible danger!!

  “Daffyd ap Owen, don't you dare let go of that rope,” she said.

  He glanced over at her, but she was already in motion. She scrambled into the painting feet first, and hopped quickly down from the ledge in front of the billboard. She ran, stumbled, regained her balance and kept going. She pounded up the steps, calling Reznik's name. She banged the door open and dashed inside, coming to a sudden halt. The store interior was gloomy after the glare of the sun on the white dust of the road. She squinted, hoping her eyes would adjust sooner. “Gerri!” she yelled. “Where are you?”

  There was no answer. She was beginning to be able to make out details more easily. Behind the shop counter, a doorway led to what was probably a storeroom and living quarters. This store had that sort of look to it, that it was a family business and the proprietors lived on the premises.

  Seren went around the end of the counter, where the hinged top stood open. She hoped she was following Gerri's trail. Behind the counter, on the floor, were some unpleasant stains, and a torn piece of cloth, similarly marred. She suppressed a shudder. Like most women, Seren could easily recognize bloodstains when she saw them.

  She went cautiously through the door. A short hall confronted her, with another door to the left. On her right, an archway led to a short staircase of four or five steps, with another arch at the top. She peeked through the open door on the left, glancing quickly over the boxes and shelves of the storage room. Reznik did not appear to be present. Something scrabbled behind her. She turned toward the arch. Something moved—a flash of sudden motion beyond the top of the stairs, then nothing.

  Heart pounding, hands clammy, Seren moved stealthily towards the steps. Something fell over with a loud crash in one of the rooms upstairs. She heard Reznik's voice cursing and a dull thud. Legs appeared at the top of the stairs, headed quickly toward Seren. She jumped back as the legs leapt down, bringing Reznik into view.

  “Oh, geez, Seren! Come on! We've got to get out of here!” Reznik grabbed Seren's shoulder and pushed her into the shop. Seren stumbled, but caught herself and ran for the front
door, with Reznik close behind. Questions could wait for later. Her sense of urgency had not abated, but was intensifying rapidly.

  They burst out into the sunny stillness, still running. Together, they jumped to the ground and sprinted across the road. As the door banged shut behind them, they could hear low, snarling, snapping sounds. Seren's stride hesitated as she began to cast a look over her shoulder.

  “Don't even,” said Reznik. She picked up the rope close to the billboard. “I hope Daffyd's as strong as he looks,” she said. “Come on, Seren. Grab the rope and go! Go! GO!” She took a half-turn around her wrist, saw that Seren was holding on and pushed the other woman toward the sign. She felt the rope go taut and Seren vanished into the picture. Reznik sprang after her, Daffyd pulling her along.

  She landed on top of Seren at Daffyd's feet. He continued to reel in the hemp cable, but his attention was on Seren. He was about to ask if she was all right, when he felt a sudden pull on the rope. He looked up quickly and stared with growing horror into the painting. “Rap!” yelled Reznik. “Close it! Now, now, NOWNOWNOW!”

  Rapsim thumbed a switch. The rope sheared off where it had entered the painting. The scene fell into stillness. They stood in a group, Devany clinging to Daffyd's leg, her eyes huge with terror.

  The picture was as it had been, except for a harness of rope, torn or chewed into shreds. It was surrounded by a cluster of small, incredibly savage-looking creatures with far too many sharp teeth for comfort. One of the creatures was in the foreground, large as life.

  “It's on that ledge,” said Seren. “It was right behind us!”

  “Shit, Rap! That was close!” Reznik's eyes studied the thing in front of them. It seemed to be glaring voraciously out at them, a malevolent gleam in its yellow eyes. A shred of rope dangled from its open mouth, caught on one of the razor-sharp fangs.

  “It's got rows of teeth, like a shark,” said Reznik. Seren fought down a wave of revulsion when she realized what else was caught in the teeth; scraps of material and what appeared to be part of a human finger. She turned Devany's face away, shielding the child's eyes with her hand.