And then I am, still on my hands and knees.
I scramble to my feet, stunned to realize that I really can go where I want just by thinking about it.
The girl has the same abilities as me, but she knows how to control them. She’ll kill me for sure if she catches me again. I have to get help. Now.
A booming sound like a cannon echoes behind the inn, and I jump. The sky over the treetops erupts in a kaleidoscope of red sparkles. The fireworks show has just started. Everyone is at the rec department.
That’s the answer.
The rec department is on the other side of the river. All I have to do is get there.
If the girl—my so-called sister—doesn’t find me first.
I close my eyes and concentrate on wishing myself there.
But it doesn’t work this time.
48
BRIDGER
JULY 4, 2013
Dad gives me a stern look and says, “Stay here.” Then he takes off for the house.
I stare after him for a few seconds before I follow him. Like hell I’m staying put. My feet pound across the grass. I gasp for air, trying to ignore the squeezing in my chest.
I catch up to Dad on the back porch. He glares at me. “I thought I told you to stay put.”
“Couldn’t do it.”
We enter the house and find a man lying stunned on the floor in the foyer, surrounded by broken shards of glass. It’s the guest who was here in April, Mr. Palmer. I wonder why he’s here now. What he saw.
Dad activates the tracker on his DataLink. “Alora’s in the woods behind the inn. She’s moving fast toward the river.”
He looks grim.
“What’s the matter?” I ask.
“She’s not alone. Someone just appeared ahead of her. I have a feeling whoever it is isn’t here to help her.”
“Let’s go,” I say, stepping toward the hallway.
“I don’t want you to go. You don’t know how serious this is.”
I feel my face growing hot. “Yes, I do. More than you know.”
“I don’t know what that’s supposed to mean, but you are not to follow me. I’ve got to be able to concentrate. I don’t have time to worry about your safety.” I start to argue, but Dad holds up a hand. “Enough. Stay here and I’ll be back soon. With Alora.”
“Well what about him?” I ask, pointing to Mr. Palmer.
Dad extracts a Mind Redeemer from his pocket. “Erase his last three hours.”
49
ALORA
JULY 4, 2013
Everything is a blur as I race along the forest path. I don’t know why I couldn’t wish myself to the rec department. Maybe there’s a trick to it, something I haven’t figured out yet.
I’m almost to the dock, ready to dive into the river, when a voice calls out, “It’s about time you got here.”
I skid to a stop and slowly turn around. The crazy girl steps out from the shadows, smiling in a way that makes me want to punch her. She’s still holding the gun.
“What do you want from me?” I ask.
“I already told you,” she says, sauntering closer to where I’m standing. “I’m here to make sure you die. That’s your fate.”
If I was smart, I’d try to stall her. But I’m pissed. I close my eyes and suck air through gritted teeth.
“Don’t even think about shifting. I’ll put a bullet in your brain before you figure out what to do.”
“What does it matter? You’re going to kill me anyway. For no damn reason.” My voice snaps out in a snarl.
“Oh, but there is a reason. You’re supposed to die today. But you know what, I’m feeling generous. I think it was cruel for our father to dump you in this hellhole, all alone. Poor little Alora having to grow up in a strange place away from her mommy and daddy.” She lets out an eerie-sounding giggle. “Yeah, I’m going to be nice. You really should thank me.” She advances closer and extracts a small black circular object from her pocket.
I step back.
“Stay still,” she commands. The gun is now pointed at my heart. “It won’t hurt. I promise.”
“What is that thing?”
“This will help loosen up those old brain cells. It’ll make you remember everything you’re about to lose.”
Ice-cold fear crawls over every inch of my body. All I can do is watch helplessly as she extends her other hand and holds the object in front of my forehead. A bright green light blinds me, and a searing pain builds behind my eyes, burning into my skull. I try to scream, but I can’t.
Just as quickly as it started, the pain vanishes, and forgotten memories start to emerge.
At first it’s just fragmented images. Me as a little girl, squealing as my dad chases me through a Green Zone. My mom—the dark-haired woman from my dreams—helping me with a drawing. Both of them tucking me into bed at night. Birthday parties. So many memories consume me.
I start to smile, but it melts away as my last memories of them surface. Mom and Dad arguing. Dad saying we need to leave with him. Mom sending him away.
Later that night, some people from the DTA showed up. Mom ordered me to my bedroom. I was crying. Then I heard Mom yell, “Please, don’t!” She had warned me not to come out, but I had to know what was wrong. I rushed to the living room and saw a blonde woman and two men. Mom was lying in a pool of blood.
I screamed at the same time Dad materialized behind me. He pulled me back into my room and locked us inside. “Do you have your Jewill?” he asked.
I reached up to my neck, touching it under my shirt. He just gave it to me a few days before. He told me not to tell Mom about it.
Dad kneeled and looked me directly in my eyes. “Alora, this is very important. We have to go.”
“But, Mommy . . .”
“Close your eyes.” He took both of my hands in his. “And whatever you do, don’t let go. Do you understand?”
I couldn’t stop shaking, but I nodded.
The next thing I knew, we were standing on the edge of a river at night. The heat was suffocating. He told me how much loved me and he needed to get Mom, but he had to leave me for a little while. I was going to stay with his sister—a sister I didn’t know he had.
I shake my head, fully understanding what happened. Even though my shifting abilities hadn’t emerged yet, Dad was still able to take me to 2003 because I was born with the time-bending gene. But Dad wasn’t supposed to leave me with Aunt Grace this long. He was going to save Mom and bring her to this time. The perfect way to escape the DTA.
“What happened to my father?” I ask.
The girl’s mouth curls into a cruel smile. “My mother made him pay for what he did.”
I want to claw her eyes out. I’d give anything to hurt her, show her what it feels like to have your life ripped away from you.
From out of nowhere, a deep voice commands, “Put the gun down.”
50
BRIDGER
JULY 4, 2013
After I erase Mr. Palmer’s last memories, leaving him unconscious, I race out of the inn. Lights flash behind me. I twist around in time to see headlights bouncing as a white auto speeds down the driveway.
Grace is here.
The knot in my stomach grows tighter. She’s going to find Mr. Palmer inside and wild out. Then she’ll summon the authorities.
I can’t deal with that. Alora is going to die soon. How can I keep her alive without changing history? Her death is on record. The only possible way I could save her without destroying the timeline is to somehow make everybody think she died tonight. But how can I do that when there won’t be a body?
The smell of smoke fills the forest. My nails bite into my palms. It’s just another reminder of Alora’s impending death.
Voices greet me as I near the river. A familiar female’s voice and Dad’s. It sounds like they’re arguing. A new wave of adrenaline explodes through my body. I run faster.
I stop before I reach the clearing by the river. Dad taught me never to rush in
to anything blind. I peer through the trees. Three figures are illuminated by the fireworks. Dad is standing a few feet away from two girls. Both of them with blonde hair. One looks terrified, hugging her arms against her chest. The other yells at Dad, pointing a weapon at the first girl.
I feel like someone blasted me with a stunner.
The girl with the weapon is Vika.
She’s alive.
I sway a little. How is that possible, unless she shifted here before her death? But why didn’t she tell me about it?
Behind me, footsteps close in on my position. “Alora!” Grace screams. “Where are you?”
Damn. She must have seen our footsteps on the dirt path leading to the forest. I’ve got to stop her before she ruins everything. Before she passes me, I deactivate my cloak and leap in front of her.
She starts to scream. I throw my hand over her mouth and whisper, “Be quiet. Alora’s in danger.”
Grace’s eyes are huge. When I lower my hand, she says, “What’s going on? I’ve been looking for her for hours.”
I wish there was a way to make Grace go back. I think about taking the Mind Redeemer out and erasing her memories from the past few hours. Before I can, the voices behind me rise again. Grace’s eyes shift from my face to behind me. Her mouth forms an O. “Holy Mother of God. They look so alike.”
I turn around. While I was busy trying to stop Grace, Dad moved closer to Alora and Vika.
Vika points her weapon at Dad. “I don’t want to hurt you. I’m only here to make sure Alora dies.”
Raw fear pierces my heart. Why would Vika want to do that?
“You don’t have to do that, Vika,” Dad says in a soothing voice. “She’s not supposed to be here. She needs to go back to our time.”
Grace tries to pass me, but I hold her back. “Wait,” I hiss. “That’s my father out there.”
“And that’s my niece. I have to help her.”
Another round of fireworks blasts at the same time. It casts everyone in a faint greenish glow for a moment. Vika pretends to think, tapping her chin. “You should know better. There’s an obituary for Alora. She has to die.”
“What does she mean?” Grace asks in a high-pitched voice.
“Nobody is going to die.” I stare hard at Grace. “That’s why I’m here.”
But apparently Grace doesn’t believe me. She kicks me. Pain rips up my leg and I bend over, letting go of her.
Which I should’ve never done because Grace brushes past me and bursts out of the forest.
Immediately, a shot rings out.
Grace crumples to the ground.
51
ALORA
JULY 4, 2013
My legs nearly buckle. I scream and try to run to Aunt Grace, but the crazy girl—Vika—says, “Don’t move or you’re next.”
I want to tear her heart out, like she’s done to me. All I can do is watch as Aunt Grace curls her legs close to her body.
“See,” Vika yells to the man. “You made me do that! She wasn’t supposed to get hurt!”
“If you’d put the gun down nobody would get hurt,” he says.
I can’t take my eyes off Aunt Grace. “Please, let me check on her.”
Vika seems unsure. She’s breathing hard. “Fine. But don’t try anything or I’ll kill you right now.”
I run over to Aunt Grace and kneel by her. She’s clutching her right shoulder. “Can you hear me?”
Her eyes flutter open and she moans. “Yes.”
“Let me look at it.”
Aunt Grace’s fingers shake as she lets go of her shoulder. The metallic smell of fresh blood hits me. I try not to gag as I inspect the shot. It doesn’t look life threatening.
“How is she?” Vika asks.
“She needs to see a doctor.”
I want to slap Vika when she says, “It’ll have to wait.”
She turns her attention back to the man. “Now, the best thing for you to do is leave. None of this concerns you.”
“I can’t do that,” he says.
“This is interesting. My mother has given me access to a lot of info, and yet there’s one thing I still don’t know.”
“What’s that?”
“You’re supposed to die, too, Mr. Creed. What I don’t know is how it will happen.” She tilts her head to the side. “I wonder if I’m supposed to do it.”
Terror pools in my stomach. She said Mr. Creed. As in Bridger’s father? How could she be so cold?
Vika straightens her spine like she’s preparing to fire.
“You don’t have to do that,” the man says in a disbelieving voice.
“Oh, but I think I do,” Vika answers.
Another voice penetrates the tense atmosphere. “Put that gun down. Now.”
My heads whips around, searching for the source. Immediately I sag in relief.
It’s Bridger.
52
BRIDGER
JULY 4, 2013
My body is shaking as I emerge from the shadows. This is not the Vika I know. Vika was always stubborn, but she was rational. She was kind. She was gentle. She’d never threaten to kill anyone, especially my father. She always admired him.
This girl is none of those things. She’s not my Vika.
Dad twists around, looking shocked. “Get back, Bridger!”
Vika looks equally shocked. “What are you doing here?”
I can’t look at Alora and Grace as I pass them. I have to focus on getting Vika to put the gun down. When I reach Dad I fight the impulse to throw him behind me. “Please,” I begin, glancing from Dad to Vika. “Let everybody go. I don’t know what’s going on, but we can shift back to our own time and sort things out there.”
“I can’t do that,” Vika says.
“Why not? Who says anybody has to die?”
“You don’t understand. All I’m trying to do is make sure things happen as they’re supposed to happen. You can’t go messing with the past, Bridger.”
“Isn’t that what you’re doing? Who says Alora has to die? If anything, it looks like it’s going to happen because of your interference.”
For a moment, I think I’ve gotten to her. She flinches as if my words are physical blows. Then she shakes her head. “That’s not true. Her death is a part of history. If I hadn’t interfered, that man at the inn would’ve done it. He abducted her this afternoon, not me.”
I think of Mr. Palmer, unconscious back at the inn. Son of a bitch, it was him. But why would Vika save Alora just to turn around and kill her later? She’s acting unstable. Crazy.
Like a clone.
The air rushes from my lungs as the final piece of the puzzle clicks in place. Vika did die. Just like Nate Walker died, then somehow reappeared, alive, over a century after his own death.
Someone has been illegally cloning Time Benders.
The image of Vika lying on the ground at the Foster Assassination flashes in my mind. I remember the cloaked Time Bender standing over her—the Unknown who could have been from our future. That person must have taken a sample of her DNA and extracted her consciousness.
And now all that’s left is a shell of her.
Suddenly I want to punch something. I know Colonel Fairbanks and General Anderson have to be behind this. But for what reason?
“Bridger,” Dad says. He’s staring straight at Vika, as if he’s steeling himself to do something. My blood turns to ice as he says, “Get Alora out of here.”
53
ALORA
JULY 4, 2013
Bridger’s father whispers something to him. Bridger shakes his head as if to say no.
The gun swings from Bridger to his father, and I realize this is my chance. If I can make myself appear behind Vika, I might be able to get the gun away from her.
I close my eyes and wish harder than I ever have before, concentrating on the area just behind Vika.
Please work.
When I open my eyes again, I’m there—behind her.
But I’m too l
ate.
54
BRIDGER
JULY 4, 2013
Vika’s attention shifts from Dad and me to where Alora is sitting by Grace. “Where is she?”
Alora isn’t there anymore.
“Where did she go?” Vika yells, looking all around.
Alora materializes a few feet behind Vika. I almost allow myself to feel relief. Until Dad lunges toward Vika.
And Vika sees Dad coming.
In that very moment, I realize Alora is the reason Dad will die. I should stop him. Try to tackle him or something. But I don’t. Something Dad told me once rings in my ears.
Everything happens for a reason.
Those few words make me stay still. A part of me dies as Vika fires the gun.
This time hitting my father.
55
ALORA
JULY 4, 2013
I’m too late. Mr. Creed flies back and falls to the ground. Bridger stares at him, frozen.
So I take the chance to subdue the psycho. I charge and slam into her back. We tumble to the ground, and I dig my fingers into her arms.
She twists away and kicks at me, knocking me in my stomach. An explosion of pain rips through me, but I keep fighting. My fists swing and connect with her face and chest.
Vika’s weight suddenly disappears. She’s gone. I sit up and ask, “Where is she?”
Bridger breaks out of his numbness long enough to grab the gun that’s lying a few feet from me. “Do you see her?” he asks in a hollow voice.
“No,” I say, my head twisting in every direction.
Suddenly Bridger’s mouth drops open and his arm snaps up. He’s pointing the gun in my direction. Before I can move, he fires.
The sound is deafening, even louder than the fireworks overhead.
Then I turn around. Vika is lying on the ground with a perfect circle in her forehead, her lifeless eyes fixated on me.
56
BRIDGER
JULY 4, 2013
The Edge of Forever Page 27