Lightning

by Bonnie S. Calhoun

  Treva shook her head. “I’ve already shuddered enough for a lifetime—don’t make me start a second time around.” She turned and motioned Cleon over. “Did you get anything else out of him? Is there another way to find the clues? What will they accomplish, in words I can understand?”

  “Just, ‘Only they who understand can read the clues. To the rest it is nonsense.’” Cleon hunched his shoulders and released them with a huff. “I don’t have any idea what that means.”

  “It’s five miles to the Mountain. It should take us ten minutes,” Treva said.

  “What do we do with him?” Cleon hiked a thumb over his shoulder.

  Selah stared at the old man for a few seconds. “We can check on him on our way back. He’s survived without help all this time, so I don’t think he needs any now. He was as strong as a piglet when I tried to corral him. And I think if we tried to take him, he’d make us regret it.”

  “I wasn’t prepared to let you talk me into going back in there. I thought you were just going to sneak in and get some papers,” Cleon said to Treva.

  She looked down at her hands, then back at him. “I didn’t plan on my uncle being missing. I’ve been supportive of your family being gone, and I just assumed you’d feel the same about mine. Was I wrong?”

  Cleon lifted her chin with his hand and gently brushed his lips across hers. “Wherever you go, I go.”

  The love between them warmed Selah’s heart. Treva was the medicine Cleon needed to heal from the guilt he still felt about causing their brother’s death. Treva’s patience was returning his joy for life.

  Cleon gestured toward the AirWagon and the three of them piled in. He turned it toward the hillside and followed Treva’s directions.

  Selah rode silently for five minutes, thinking of possible ways to gather information about her family. It had been her suggestion, and now she hoped they’d be able to find Mojica. She’d give them the advantage of a powerful Mountain ally.

  “Whoa! I never knew this was back here.” Cleon reduced speed and stared ahead.

  Selah unwound herself from her thoughts. The Mountain range on this side looked nothing like the austere, unfriendly range facing the southern, populated part of the country. Two waterfalls, spilling from dizzying heights of the Mountain, fed the lush vegetation on the north-facing slope with the enormous mist fanning out to spray the range.

  “I’m falling in love with waterfalls,” Selah said. Another strange sensation of peace washed over her. She shook off the shiver rolling from the back of her head and down and out her extremities.

  Treva pointed. “Those are what we have to watch out for.” JetTrans landed on a platform connected to the front of a circular building that telescoped from the Mountain and came to rest on a natural peak jutting up from the mountain range floor.

  “How do we get in?” Selah rubbed her hands on her pants. She was sweating just being this close to the Mountain, but she had become wiser and stronger since the last encounter, thanks to Taraji.

  “Cleon, bring us down near the other AirWagons.” Treva pointed to an area littered with all manner of transportation, from wagons pulled by horses to SandRuns, like at home. Cleon set down near other air vehicles.

  “Now I understand the fence on the front of the Mountain. It keeps locals from knowing about this area. I don’t get it. What are these for?” Selah glanced at the assortment of vehicles.

  Treva chuckled and hopped down. “You didn’t think everyone lives a sterile life inside the Mountain, did you? Many people spend a lot of time outside. This is where they store personal transportation since Mountain law doesn’t permit them to bring the vehicles inside. The old law says they could carry some strange, hidden contamination.” Treva started toward a large set of doors. “Regardless of the fact that most everyone buys and eats food from the outside, along with any other product they so desire.”

  “So what’s the plan?” Selah asked as she and Cleon caught up to Treva. “How do we find Mojica?”

  “I figured we’d get my files first, in case anything goes wrong early,” Treva said. “At least then we’d get out with something important. Then to Uncle Charles’s office as if nothing is wrong. Like I said before, since I had no friends my age and I’d just started at Everling’s lab, there was only Uncle Charles to miss me. So I don’t know if anyone noticed I was even gone. If not, that gives us another advantage.”

  They approached the set of heavy metal doors. She turned to face them. “Follow me in and don’t talk to anyone. Just act like you’re average citizens coming home from the Wilds.”

  “The Wilds?” Cleon looked disgusted. “Is that what they call where we normal people live? Figures. They were always so nose-up when we came here with Father to trade. But then they would overwhelm him with their demands to buy Mother’s textiles.”

  Selah could understand both sides. How each was taught, and thus the way they grew up.

  “Don’t get upset. You have to pass for a citizen. Being all red in the face is going to garner a closer look. They may think you’re smuggling contraband. Calm down.” Treva rubbed his arm.

  Selah looked closely. Was he smiling?

  “So this is your plan?” she whispered. “It’s not much of a plan. I thought—”

  “You thought what?” Treva stopped before the opening. “This is the best we’ve got. Just walk in and take our chances. Anything actually subversive would take too much planning, and we need answers now.”

  Treva turned and trotted through the doors with Selah and Cleon close behind. They passed a couple groups of people on the way in and then approached the security zone. Treva turned her head away from the station and walked by. Selah passed next, then Cleon.

  “Halt there,” came the voice of the security guard.

  15

  Selah and Treva slowly turned to face Cleon. He’d stopped right where he was. His face went crimson, and he looked like he was ready to panic and run. Selah gave him the eye to calm down, give them a chance to help.

  The guard strolled over to Cleon. “How are you today, citizen?”

  “Fine,” Cleon answered, trying to keep his voice calm. Selah started to ask Treva whether there was some pat response to a greeting here that they should know, but the guard continued.

  “And I’m sure you know the rules by now, right?” The guard smirked.

  Selah couldn’t read his expression, but she figured he must think Cleon lived there or he wouldn’t have phrased the question like that. She decided to gamble. Deep breath.

  She scurried over to Cleon playfully. “Of course he knows the rules. Which one do you want me to impress upon him?” She batted her eyelashes at the guard. For a moment he seemed more interested in Selah than Cleon, but he quickly regained his composure.

  The guard pointed down. “He needs to clean his shoes on the bio-remover so he doesn’t bring that contaminant inside.”

  Selah looked down at the clump of weeds caught in the tread of Cleon’s boots. He was dragging it behind him. She looked at the guard. “All men need a mother figure now and then to keep them on track.” She pushed Cleon toward the bio-remover near the doors and stepped on the weed to disconnect it from his shoe. Her heart slowed its staccato beat and she wondered if her ribs would hurt tomorrow.

  Selah and Treva rushed Cleon down several halls and through a few corridors before Treva stopped to lean against a wall and catch her breath. Selah didn’t even feel winded yet. Lately, her body seemed to ache for exercise.

  “We did it. I can’t believe we made it in here with no problem,” Treva said.

  Selah’s mouth opened. “Are you telling me you didn’t think it would work? That we could have gotten caught?” Suddenly she didn’t feel a little brave, she felt a lot brave. They’d done it. First time around. Please let this work.

  “I wasn’t sure. They’re only trained to look—”

  “Save the explanations for later. Let’s get what we need and get out of here. I’m getting a bad feeling abou
t this again.” Cleon’s upper lip formed droplets of sweat. “Easiest to hardest is the order of the day. Let’s move it.”

  “Easiest are my files. This way to my quarters. If our luck holds, my access will still work.” Treva hurried down the hall and around numerous turns.

  All the corridors were the same. Slightly different shades of pastels, but all the same size, the same bareness, and very few people. Where were all the people? Selah remembered the directions for the first few turns but quickly gave up. Directions in the woods were easier to remember than bundles of nondescript halls. But she was certain Treva would be there to lead them out. Her logic may not have been sound, but it was the only thing she had at the moment.

  The last corridor led to Treva’s quarters. Treva reached for the door but pulled back her hand.

  “What’s wrong now? These are your quarters, right?” Selah asked while searching for an occupant plate.

  “Yes, but what if they’ve been given to someone else and the code is changed? I could set off the alarm for this whole section.”

  “This is not the time to worry. Code in your access and let’s get inside or start running. Those are our only two options,” Cleon said. He shifted from foot to foot and peered around the corner of the next hallway. Selah knew from experience that his nervousness would keep him alert. He’d be a huge asset to their safety.

  Treva shut her eyes briefly, then gnawed on her lip. She coded her access and laid her palm to the door panel. Selah would later remember this as the three of them waited, primed and ready to sprint down the hall. They tensed for the shrill alert of the warning horn.

  The lock hummed and the door swooshed open. Cleon let out a huge breath and rested his head against the door frame, motioning them in. “We’ve got the grease.”

  Selah smiled, even as nervous as she was. It had been quite awhile since she’d heard him make mechanical references like he and their brother Raza used to.

  Treva marched through the quarters with Selah following. Cleon remained near the door as security. Selah marveled at how neat and orderly the quarters were. It did lend credence to Treva’s assertion she’d always had compulsive, orderly behavior. Selah noticed a row of long-dead potted plants. Each were in the same size pot on the same size saucer, and they were the same distance from each other and from the edge of the sun shelf. Selah fought the urge to move a couple just to see if Treva would notice.

  She strolled into Treva’s bedroom. That was why Cleon wouldn’t come back here. He knew it was her bedroom. His gentlemanly qualities were sometimes a pleasant surprise.

  Treva had swung open a bookcase unit to expose a doorway and a hidden room. Selah stepped into the long room. “Okay, how is something like this hidden in the Mountain?”

  Treva gathered up data glasses and a few halo-tablets, stuffing them into a pouch slung over her back. “When I walked in here just now, it became clear to me I’ve had the clues all my life, but they were just normal circumstances to me. How many other kids have a secret room in their bedroom? I bet none.” She shook her head.

  “Now that you’re tuned to it, what else in your life felt normal but there was no reason for it?” Selah wondered how many of those instances she had missed in her own life in Dominion. Many small things she’d found odd about her mother’s teachings were becoming meaningful, like learning about computers when no one used them in Dominion, or the survival techniques that had come in so handy.

  Treva spun, glancing around the room. Her face brightened. She rushed to a narrow cabinet at the back wall and carefully slid open the second drawer from the top. “This was a special present from my father when I was little. He taught me a poem to go with it. He wouldn’t let me have it until I could recite the poem from memory.” Treva held out a necklace. On the end dangled a triangular shape, with the point bent outward at the bottom. The pendant held an ivory insert. Selah recognized it because an antique shoehorn her mother owned had a handle made of ivory. She watched as the triangle spun back and forth on the chain. The golden-colored metal seemed to glow in the bright light of the room.

  “I hear people coming down the hall. It sounds like more than one,” Cleon called in a stage whisper.

  Treva crammed the necklace in her pocket and they scrambled out of the room. The two of them leaned into the swinging bookcase to push it back into place. Treva directed them out a back door into another corridor.

  “I didn’t wait to see if they were coming to your place,” Cleon said. “If they were just passing by, we’d have been safe to head back the other way. I recognized that last turn. It led to where we met your uncle before.”

  Selah lowered her head and let out a sigh. She’d been hoping to get a connection to Mojica next. If anyone knew whether her family was in the Mountain, Mojica would be the one.

  “We can take a shortcut through this section.” Treva turned right and trotted to the corner. Footsteps sounded. She peeked around the corner and hurried back to their position, motioning them faster down the hall in the other direction. “There’s a two-man patrol coming this way.”

  They darted to the corner, skidding to a stop at the echo of more approaching feet. Selah’s adrenaline pumped hard, trying to scramble her thoughts, but she pushed the feeling away and pointed to the corridor they’d originally exited. “Back to Treva’s apartment.”

  She scrambled to the doorway and slapped the entrance button like she’d seen Treva do. It asked for a handprint. She turned to make sure Treva and Cleon were catching up. When she pivoted back to the doorway, it had opened from the inside and two pulse disruptor weapons were aimed at the center of her chest. She glanced down at the green and blue laser dots bobbing over her heart and yelped.

  Cleon and Treva ran into her from behind. The momentum left the three of them sprawled at the feet of the two guards holding weapons. A third pair of shiny heeled boots walked into view. Selah looked up.

  The woman stared down at her. “Did you really think with the technology at my disposal you’d get back in this Mountain without me knowing about it?”

  Even though the woman acted like she knew her, Selah didn’t recognize her. The only person she knew inside was Mojica, and this blonde, middle-aged woman with pale green eyes certainly wasn’t her. The guards backed away at the woman’s hand gesture, allowing the three of them to scramble from the floor. With Cleon standing in the center, the weapons found their marks on Selah and Treva. Selah was sure the woman had been talking to her, but Treva answered as though the statements were meant for herself, playing it as though she’d done nothing wrong.

  “Dr. Everling, I’m not sure I understand your need to have weapons trained on my chest.”

  Selah marveled at the calm demeanor Treva presented. Not a tremble to her words, complete confidence. But would it be enough to bluff a move with this woman? The name Everling brought a chilled tremble to Selah’s back even though sweat ran down the sides of her neck. This was the woman from the experiments on Landers. Every part of her wanted to scream at this woman’s evil, but she had to remain calm if they were to get out of here.

  “Oh please, Treva. Do you think I haven’t noticed you haven’t reported to work in months or picked up any of your compensation? Or”—Bethany Everling lowered her chin with a half smile on her lips—“come to see your uncle on his deathbed?”

  Treva stumbled back. Cleon caught her and held her upright. “What have you done to Uncle Charles? He was fine until you dragged him back here.”

  “So you were in that preposterous community of his? I just don’t see the lure of that dirty, uncivilized world.”

  “No, I wasn’t in Stone Braide, but I’m sure you already know that. We saw the destruction.” Treva spit out the words.

  “I don’t know what you could be talking about. Must have been bandits. They can be so barbaric.”

  Selah watched the woman’s body-speak. Deception. One of the first exercises for Krav Maga that Selah had rated highly in was reading body-speak. Her mouth we
nt dry. It had been different interpreting the movements when there were no distractions like emotions to color her judgment.

  “Your uncle was fine when he came back inside for a meeting. It was during the preliminary settings that he had a massive stroke. I’m so happy you’re here. People have been asking about you.” Bethany’s smile showed perfect teeth, her voice dripping with sweetness.

  “Take me to him now!” Treva’s voice rose to the tenor of a command.

  Selah hadn’t been prepared for such a forceful display from the always mild and calm Treva. And the Everling woman’s reaction! Maybe she read Bethany wrong, but she actually seemed sorry for Charles. But was she sorry for his condition or that he was still alive?

  Bethany put her hands on her hips. “I’m more than certain you know where the hospital unit is located. You should probably go see him while there is still time. The guards will accompany you there, and later we’ll discuss why you returned here and brought these people.”

  “I want them to come with me,” Treva said as the guards tried to separate her from the others. “They know my uncle. They want to see him too.”

  Selah and Cleon nodded.

  The woman relented and directed the guards to take the three. She went off in another direction, her heels tapping out a strong gait.

  Selah’s insides were screaming to run, but there was no place to go that didn’t include getting shot with a pulse disruptor. The woman appeared harmless enough. Her body-speak was still deceptive, but it didn’t appear aggressive. Concern for strangers in her facility was warranted. The next question would come if she checked their identities in the system.

  At the moment, coming into the Mountain seemed like the stupidest plan in the world. But it was too late for regrets now. With Treva occupied with a dying uncle, it was up to Selah to think of a way out.

  For a moment, Selah forgot the peril and reveled in the technology. They left the maze of corridors she thought were typical of the Mountain and moved onto streets with buildings and trees and people traveling about. Her senses swayed but were not fooled by the holographic sky and sunshine that stretched across the massive inside roof of the Mountain. The air smelled funny, not clean as outside but heavy with something chemical masked by a floral scent—maybe several flowers mixed together. She wondered if Treva noticed the smell after being outside for several months.