Emmy relaxed and separated from her body first. An attempt to send Sam after her was started a moment later. She saw energy radiate outwards from his body in short, staccato bursts before the shockwave was finally enough to release his consciousness into the ether.
She had to act quickly. When first affected by the radiation, Sam, like all the others, had experienced visions similar to Jimmy’s, but without any comprehensibility whatsoever. His phantoms surrounded him constantly and did not follow any logical temporal separation. He could see images of many points in both the future and the past all meshed into one indecipherable mess into which the present moment could no more be distinguished from any other. The resulting confusion forced upon his senses had only one inevitable conclusion – madness.
It had taken Emmy a dozen trips and help from an unexpected spirit guide to learn how to shape her consciousness into a semblance of the human form. Sam did it instantly. He did not, however, share the same exquisite beauty as evidenced in her spirit form. Whereas Emmy’s ethereal presence shone and shimmered like a perfect diamond, his colour was a pallid green, like an uncut emerald. Anguish and torment manipulated him like an invisible puppeteer, bending and distorting his form like an out of focus hologram.
Emmy reached out, but as her translucent fingertips touched his, an intense burning took hold of her. The pain was so excruciating that she almost woke from the dreamlike state that was fast turning into a nightmare.
Shock forced her away from him. Without the ability to feel true emotion, she was quick to regain concentration. Determined to see the experiment through, she steeled herself to the pain and took a hold of Sam Carlton a second time.
‘Look at me,’ she told him. ‘Everything is going to be okay.’
The young man did as instructed, but his fear and confusion remained. He contemplated Emmy only briefly before his panic sent him spiralling out of control, taking her with him. The two of them soared further and further out into the void. They were like two rocket ships tethered in the middle, but attempting to travel in different directions.
‘Sam, you have to look at me,’ she told him once more. ‘I can help you, I promise.’
This time her words had more of an effect and she began to feel that they were slowing down. As the young man looked into her eyes, his sense of self started to return. As did his colour. The green light melted away, being replaced by the kaleidoscopic beauty that Emmy was more familiar with. The cure was working. She could actually see the radiation draining out of him.
Then something changed. Reality shifted. It was as if a vortex was opening up around them. Emmy looked again at Sam and realised that he was no longer tethered as she was. The cure had restored his spirit, but taken away his lifeline. His cord. To all intents and purposes, this was a death sentence. Unless, of course, she could find the strength to guide him back.
Once again, her thoughts returned to the mysterious portal that opened when two spirits had touched at Jackson’s Hill. This did not happen when she touched Dr Stark’s spirit and she now knew why. The doorway was not intended for the living. Only those spirits that had become cut off from their corporeal bodies could open it. It was the untethered spirits that made it appear. The only way to close it was to let go.
Without touch, she could no longer communicate with Sam. He was drifting away from her and any attempt to pull him back would risk opening up the doorway. She had to think quickly, but time was not on her side. It was no longer just the two of them. A third spirit had entered their space and it too was untethered. It had come to claim Sam and take him across to the other side.
***
Back at the base, Jimmy was experiencing his most troubling vision yet. Whilst attending to his mother’s bedside he had witnessed a shadowy future image of himself reaching out and pulling the plug on her life support.
The portentous vision did not extend to the consequences of the action. If he followed through with it he had no way of knowing what would happen. There was a serious risk that she would die.
He thought back to the train wreck that never was and how for the first time a vision had not come to pass.
Could he resist this?
In his heart he knew the answer was no. It was Esteban who had averted the supposedly preordained disaster and not him. He was a slave to his psychic instinct.
Before he was even aware he was doing it, his hand was on the plug. Just like the knife attack in Townville, he never really had a choice.
The change was instant. Her body was under such heavy sedation that it could not function without artificial help. As soon as this help was removed her vitals flat-lined on the monitor situated by her bed. She had gone into cardiac arrest.
He wanted nothing more than to undo what he had done, but replacing the plug had no effect. The high pitched squeal signalling a still heart remained. However much he tried to convince himself it had been against his will, he knew that he was still responsible. He had committed matricide.
Within moments a man in a white coat entered and he was followed almost immediately by two assistants who quickly began working on the apparently lifeless body of Jimmy’s mother.
The medics were not the only ones to arrive on the scene.
A spirit appeared as if from nowhere in the space above his mother’s bed. So far as he could tell, the others could not see it, or they were too distracted to notice it. At first, it was like a ball of mist. It then expanded and swirled, unfolding into a more recognisable shape. It was a woman. Though a stranger to him, he could still appreciate her almost divine beauty. Jimmy knew in his heart what he was seeing, but he did not want to believe it.
The ghostly figure was focused only on the lifeless form on the bed. It looked down, almost expectantly and reached out with its arms, but then froze abruptly. Something had stopped it and Jimmy thought he knew what.
At the exact moment the change in the spirit’s demeanour occurred, his mother’s life support had returned to the staccato blips of life. The doctors had brought her back.
She was still in coma, but that was better than the alternative. At least there was still hope that she could be saved. As for the phantom, it disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared only moments earlier. It took the lights with it.
***
Emmy regained consciousness with a start. The power outage had put an abrupt end to her journey and she returned alone. Sam had not made it. She knew that without her there by his side, the other spirit would pull him through the opening. He was now as good as dead. The experiment was without doubt, a failure.
‘What happened?’ she called out, as the emergency back-up generators kicked in, adding a pale luminescence to her surrounds.
‘We lost him,’ replied Dr Stark. ‘One minute his vitals were fine, the next he flat-lined. It happened at the same instant his cord vanished. We’ve yet to determine which event triggered the other.’
‘The stress must’ve been too much,’ said Emmy. ‘The cure worked, but it killed him. That’s not all. There’s something else - something I can’t explain.’
Before she could tell them about the third apparition, she was interrupted by a call on the laboratory’s emergency line. That was when she learned about what Jimmy had seen.
They were no longer alone.
Someone or something had discovered them and she did not expect this would be a random one time occurrence. Whoever or whatever it was, would be back. The project had taken on a new level of danger and it was one even she was unsure how to overcome.
Chapter 18
The debriefing did not go well. Colonel Rodman was livid and with nobody to blame, there was little chance of his ire subsiding quickly. As far as he was concerned, the only rational explanation was that a rival Government had located the base using a replication of the astral technology, but Emmy refused to even entertain the idea. She was adamant that what she and Jimmy had seen were not living in the conventional sense of the word.
‘How can you
even be certain of a connection?’ the colonel asked. ‘You were deep in space. Whatever phenomena you encountered need not have any relation to the intruder in the base.’
‘I don’t believe in coincidence, Colonel, and neither should you. In the early stages of my research I encountered an untethered spirit whose mere presence in the lab caused the machinery to overload. We weren’t able to pursue the matter further, but I think that whatever I encountered then has found me again.’
This time he at least appeared to be taking her concerns seriously. Rather than dismiss her suggestion outright, he took time to consider the options.
‘Is it hostile?’ he finally asked, showing his interests were entirely from a military rather than a scientific standpoint.
‘I don’t think so. If I can make contact again, I may be able to communicate with it.’
‘That is too dangerous. What if it takes you like it took the patient? It would be wiser to send somebody else. Somebody who is more...’
‘...expendable,’ she finished for him.
His eyes narrowed. He did not like it when somebody tried to put words into his mouth.
‘Somebody who is more equipped to deal with hostility is what I was going to say.’
‘Like who – Agent Cruz? At least I would have a fighting chance. A soldier would be no more use out there than I would be on a battlefield. If anybody goes, it has to be me.’
‘The answer is still no. From now on, all astral journeys are to remain terrestrial. We will establish a perimeter within the confines of the laboratory. You will not venture any further. Do you understand?’
‘Perfectly.’
She may have understood, but that did not mean she intended to obey. This was bigger than one army colonel or an entire army for that matter. Her previous research into astral projection had taken her to the very edge of human experience. It was now time she found out what was waiting beyond that boundary.
When she returned to the lab the tech’s had already left for the evening. The fact she was trusted to access the facilities without supervision gave her cause to entertain a small amount of optimism.
Or maybe not.
Shortly after she entered the lab, Dr Stark showed up.
Emmy watched the older scientist as she entered, studying her body language for any clue as to her intentions. Thus far, she had no idea if the other woman could be trusted or not. All she could sense was a niggling feeling of déjà vu. Whatever the case turned out to be, she wanted to find out sooner rather than later, and therefore decided to probe her colleague for clues.
‘Dr Stark,’ she began, ‘what brings you to the office at this late hour?’
Constance looked at Emmy, but did not respond. All of her earlier aloofness was no longer evident. Her demeanour seemed softer. Less guarded.
‘Is something wrong?’ asked Emmy.
Dr Stark took the seat next to the one Emmy occupied.
‘I wanted to talk to you about what happened earlier. About what you saw.’
‘You have no idea what I saw.’
‘Don’t be so sure,’ replied Constance. ‘The colonel may not believe you, but I do. I want to help.’
‘How could you possibly help?’
‘Send me in your place. Let me bear the risk. You’re much too important to this project. And besides, you said that you encountered a being such as this once before. What if it’s not a coincidence? What if it is after you?’
Emmy had not even considered that the encounters could be personal. Nor had she expected Dr Stark to show such concern for her wellbeing – if that is what this was.
‘I, er...’ She struggled to find an adequate response.
Constance placed a finger over Emmy’s lips.
‘Don’t say anymore. I already know what you’re thinking. You and I – we have a...connection.’
She moved her finger from Emmy’s lips and used it to delicately rub away a small blemish from the younger woman’s cheek. The action was performed tenderly, but also confidently. Emmy could not help but feel a flutter in the pit of her stomach. Constance then did something that Emmy had certainly not expected. She leaned in to kiss her.
Much to her surprise, Emmy found herself wanting to reciprocate. It had been a long time since she had felt the reassuring lips of a lover’s kiss, but just before they made contact, she pulled away.
‘Something isn’t right,’ she said.
‘What do you mean?’ replied Constance. ‘Of course everything is right. It’s perfect. You and I both know it.’
Emmy studied the other woman’s face, intently. She had to be sure. When one experiences déjà vu, it triggers a response in the brain. The subconscious gets to work at solving the riddle that the conscious mind could not.
‘Superstring theory,’ Emmy said. ‘Mapping the cosmos in ten dimensions.’
‘Excuse me?’
‘That was the title of the lecture you gave the first time I saw you. You were a guest speaker at my university. It took me a while to place you because you had a different name back then.’
Dr Stark’s face paled as if she had seen another of Emmy’s ghosts.
‘I don’t know what you mean. My name is Constance – you know that.’
‘Yes, but it has not always been attached to Stark. Dr Constance Merryweather – that’s what you were known as back then. Tell me, Constance, why did you change it?’
When she received no reply, Emmy decided to take matters into her own hands. She stood and walked over to Dr Stark’s desk.
‘What are you doing?’ asked Constance, but Emmy ignored the question.
The younger scientist pulled out the top drawer of the desk and began rifling through the contents. After a few moments, she found a picture of a man.
‘Who is this?’ she asked.
‘That’s none of your business,’ replied Constance.
When the older woman reached out to claim the photograph, Emmy grabbed her by the wrist. Her hand was tanned with just a small band of pale skin on the ring finger.
‘You’re married,’ said Emmy. ‘You’re married to a man and yet you come in here and try to seduce me. Why would you do that?’
Constance did not answer. She averted her gaze to the floor, unwilling to make eye contact.
‘Jesus,’ said Emmy. ‘You actually thought that would work. You assumed that because I’m gay I’ll instantly fall for the first woman to show me attention. Did the colonel put you up to this?’
Dr Stark continued to avoid eye contact.
‘You’re pathetic,’ said Emmy. She then walked across the lab, stopping when she was directly in the field of one of the security cameras. ‘Nice try, Colonel, but I’m just not that sort of girl. You need me more than I need you, and for that reason – I call the shots when it comes to who does and who doesn’t use my machine. Do you understand?’
She threw the photograph of Dr Stark’s husband down onto the table and gave the other woman one last, sharp stare, before walking out of the lab. There was now one less conundrum for her to worry about.
Chapter 19
Following the breach in the medical bay, Esteban was assigned to Jimmy’s side at all times. Sensors were set up throughout the complex, which had the capability of registering the presence of any astral being. Despite Emmy’s insistence to the contrary, the colonel still believed the incursion to have been terrestrial. His belief was that if it happened again, they would be able to follow the intruder back to the source.
‘Are you going to protect me?’ Jimmy asked.
‘That is why I’m here,’ replied Esteban.
From what he had so far seen of the young psychic, the soldier was not entirely sure that his presence was required. Back at the Opera House, he had seen the boy take down two terrorists and was midway through apprehending the third when he had intervened.
‘What are you protecting me from?’ asked Jimmy.
‘That is what we hope to find out.’
‘So you don’
t know?’
Esteban placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder.
‘Whatever it is, we will deal with it. Remember the train? You and I make a great team.’
‘The train was all you. I did nothing. Even my vision turned out to be false. I saw those people die and made no effort to prevent it. You’re the hero, not me.’
‘A hero is not defined by a single event. I fear that my account is not yet in the black.’
Jimmy looked at the soldier with puzzled eyes. Despite his ability to see the future there were times when he could not see what was right in front of him.
‘Never mind,’ Esteban said. ‘Whatever fortune has in store for us both – we will find out soon enough.’
***
The equipment passed the safety inspection and Emmy was cleared for another astral journey. The colonel had ordered her not to leave the confines of the base, but thanks to a little trick learned from her grandfather, she did not think that he had much chance of stopping her. She had disabled the manual override on the Astral Projection Unit, meaning that when on a journey, only she would have the power to end it. Then as soon as her consciousness separated, she transported herself back to the place where all of this had started. She returned to the observatory at Jackson’s Hill.
She could instantly see the effects of the radiation. The amount of energy was far greater than it should have been relative to the local wildlife population.
It was easy for her to distinguish between the material and the ethereal beings due to the concentration of energy within. The animals appeared dense and solid and they maintained their physical shape. The others were vague and indistinct, but still different from the energy encountered in space that had taken Sam Carlton. The disembodied energy here was tethered. Silver cords ran across the landscape like power lines, connecting these lost spirits to their inanimate bodies back at the desert base.
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