Time Storm Shockwave

by Juliann Farnsworth

  When they finally arrived at their destination, there were a number of buildings that looked like ordinary military barracks to the east, though it was hard to see how many in the dark. However, they stopped at an enormous building that didn’t look military at all. It was not a pyramid, but seemed similar in shape as if the architect had been trying to mimic the style. The outside walls angled inward gradually but ended with a flat roof, rather than a pointed one.

  If this was AUTEC, it didn’t look anything like what he would have expected. There were several other buildings near them that looked similar to motels or apartments, which were also not military in style. A couple of naval officers walked past and stopped to salute the admiral, but otherwise there didn’t seem to be many people around the immediate area. If indeed it were the middle of the night, as it seemed to be, it would make sense that most of the base would be sleeping.

  Further south, in the distance, stood a large machine of some sort, difficult to make out in the dark. He wouldn’t have noticed it at all had it not been so large. It was high atop a tower and seemed to be spinning, or maybe just had lights rotating around it. The top was too high to see clearly, Mark guessed that it had to be at least ten stories high. He was certain that he had never seen anything that size from the satellite images of Andros Island he had viewed recently.

  They followed the admiral into the superfluous building. It had a large gallery with a cathedral ceiling. Three stories high, Mark conjectured, based on the visible, indoor walkways around each level. Four, two-story marble statues guarded the south end of the large room, with water flowing from the palms of their outstretched hands into a large pool. A fountain in the center of the water completed the bizarre sight.

  There were only a handful of people inside the building. The few who there were seemed to be casually visiting with each other. All wore the uniforms of naval officers, but nobody seemed to be working.

  Admiral Preston was already there. Apparently, his cart was faster than theirs was. He probably cheated and used a helicopter, Mark thought.

  The admiral drew his hand through the air in a sweeping gesture, “Welcome to AUTEC.”

  Mark addressed the admiral, “This seems kind of elaborate for a naval base.”

  The admiral’s face was impassive. He didn’t respond.

  “What does AUTEC stand for?” Ashlyn asked.

  “Atlantic Underwater Testing and Evaluation Center,” Mark responded.

  “Actually”—the admiral corrected him—“that’s what we tell people, as well as most of the officers and sailors that are not assigned to this specific base. This facility is Top, Top Secret, and we want to avoid too many questions.”

  Mark scowled.

  Admiral Preston continued, “It actually stands for the Atlantis Underwater Testing and Evaluation Center.”

  “Excuse me?” Mark exclaimed. This guy is full of it.

  Ashlyn laughed right out loud. “You have got quite an ego; did you name it yourself?”

  Mark flinched. Clearly, she isn’t as afraid of him as I am.

  The admiral smirked.

  “I’ve looked at several satellite images of Andros Island, zooming in on AUTEC purposefully—” Mark’s curiosity outweighed his fear “— I’ve never seen a building of this size or shape in any of the pictures.”

  The admiral responded, “This facility is not visible from any satellite.”

  Mark scowled, “The entire Earth is visible from satellite. The pictures are so good that people ought to think twice before skinny dipping in their own backyard pools.”

  “This facility—” the admiral motioned around them dramatically “—is not visible via satellite because it’s under the sea.”

  “You mean we’re under water?” she asked.

  That explains the darkness, Mark thought. It must be enormous. We traveled for miles. How could the navy have built a dome so strong? Then he considered the pyramid they had come through and finally understood. The navy didn’t build it.

  Chapter 13

  In one drop of water are found all the secrets

  of all the oceans. — Kahlil Gibran

  ~

  Stewart had been trying to be stealthy as he walked through the corridors, but when he came to a large room with another pool in it, he heard someone behind him.

  He turned around quickly in surprise and then felt relief wash over him, “Ashlyn, where have you guys been?” His heart sank when he saw her expression and realized that it was Dierdra.

  ***

  Mark asked the admiral, “What is holding back the water?”

  “Now that is the question, isn’t it?”

  Ashlyn turned to Mark. “Do you believe him?”

  “I don’t think there is any other explanation—” Mark responded, and then spoke to the admiral again “—that wasn’t really an answer.”

  “We found it this way”—the admiral said flatly—“I could use your help. As you can imagine, scientists are currently in short supply.”

  Mark realized that this was no longer a hostage situation, rather a dialogue; one in which he had become a valuable asset. That explains why he isn’t trying to kill us anymore. There’s no way I will help this man, but maybe I should play along until I find a way to get us out of this mess.

  A crewman in fatigues appeared and handed the admiral a message. He read it quickly and then said, “Take our guests to the cafeteria”—then he turned back to Mark and Ashlyn and said—“I will meet you there and answer all of your questions. I have something I must attend to.”

  As soon as the admiral was out of earshot, she leaned close to Mark and whispered, “He can’t be trusted.”

  “I know, don’t worry—” he gave her a reassuring smile “—we are going to get out of here, I promise.”

  The crewman led them into a large dining hall in the same building. Cafeteria was an understatement; it was as pretentious as any five-star restaurant at a resort.

  Two officers were at the door. They did not appear to be guarding it—probably just here to wait on the admiral. A waiter in civilian attire seated them at a small table then presented them with menus.

  There were no prices. Apparently, the food was free. They ordered their food and didn’t speak until it arrived. There was simply too much to process in the bizarre setting.

  “I’m worried about Stewart,” she finally said.

  “So am I.”

  Almost immediately, the admiral joined them. As if on cue, a waiter delivered his plate immediately.

  “My friend is on my boat. I would like to talk to him—” Mark demanded “—I need to let him know we are okay.”

  The admiral looked up from his food, and while wiping his mouth said, “Don’t worry about your friend; he will be here very soon.”

  Ashlyn’s eyes widened in surprise, but she tried to act normally.

  “What?—” Mark tried to bite back his contempt “—you sent someone to my boat to get him? Was it Dierdra?”

  The admiral smiled down at his T-bone, not meeting Mark’s eyes. He then took a bite and chewed it a while before answering.

  “Actually, he came to us.”

  “How?” Ashlyn asked in surprise.

  “The same way you did”—the admiral gave her a suspicious look—“Didn’t you tell him how to get here?”

  “Yes of course—” she glanced at Mark before answering “—but I didn’t think there was any more diving gear on the yacht.”

  “Actually”—Mark said—“there was some regular scuba gear in the engine room. We never use it, so I didn’t think of it.”

  ***

  Ashlyn was furious. They could have stayed together!

  “I’ve been so worried—” she kicked Mark under the table “—I wish we had all come together.”

  He looked over at her, and furrowed his brow, but she didn’t meet his eyes.

  “Excuse me, admiral.”

  The disgusting man lifted his head from the plate of food he had
been gorging himself on. What a pig! She wanted to vomit.

  When he said, “What is it, my dear?” she nearly did.

  Clearly, this man had been the one in charge of her life, of the lab where she had been raised, and of all the other horrors, through which she had been.

  “Are we going to have a room, or rooms to stay in?—” She swallowed hard, trying to keep her voice emotionless “— I’m assuming we won’t be leaving anytime soon.”

  “Quite correct, it is impossible to come and go freely from such a depth. Even though we don’t feel the pressure because of the Atlantean technology, we are unable to leave without decompressing.”

  “How deep are we?” Mark asked.

  “At this spot, exactly 6,135 feet below sea level.”

  Mark raised his eyebrows in surprise, “, So we’re in the Tongue of the Ocean?”

  Oh, crap! Ashlyn thought. She had been trying to plot an escape. That kind of depth will surely complicate things. She tried to keep her expression flat.

  “Why are there so few people around?” Mark asked.

  “As I said earlier, I lost a great many of my people in the disasters. Most of them were stationed topside until needed. Beyond that, this area of the base is restricted to VIPs and officers.”

  So now we are VIPs, Ashlyn thought sarcastically. “I’d like to go to my room now if you don’t mind—” she had lost her appetite “—our sleeping arrangements were a little subpar last night.”

  She hadn’t eaten much, but she couldn’t take any more civility with this evil man. Besides, watching him gorge himself on his nearly raw T-bone wasn’t helping.

  “Of course, and you have my sincerest apologies for the poor treatment you received.”

  Unable to fake nice anymore, she said caustically, “That’s okay. It must have taken you a while to decide whether to murder us or not.

  “Ashlyn”—he smiled sickly—“you are one of my most valued assets.”

  “You mean possessions, don’t you?—” She said sarcastically and stood up “—just make sure Stewart has a room when he gets here, or I will put all of those great skills you gave me to good use.”

  It was clearly meant as a threat, and Mark shot her a surprised look. She had been telling him to stay calm the whole time they had been down there.

  The admiral’s face changed markedly, as did his voice, “Don’t think you aren’t expendable Ashlyn.”

  She didn’t flinch or back down. “Am I? If you kill me, you won’t have your little science project to make copies from anymore, assuming you can build another lab. Don’t think Dierdra will be around forever.”

  The admiral stared at her for a moment, and then unexpectedly started to chuckle.

  That made Ashlyn even angrier. “You find my threat funny? You know that I could kill you before you even had the chance to call your guards if I decided to."

  Mark cringed but said nothing.

  The admiral stopped laughing, and narrowed his eyes. “I know perfectly well how easily you could kill me. I have no doubts about that. Of course—” he relaxed “—I’m pretty sure that you wouldn’t put your friends in danger that way.”

  There was something in the way he said friends, and then glanced over at Mark, which gave her pause. Somehow, the admiral could read her feelings. She didn’t say anymore but broke his grip on her eyes and looked away.

  “Besides”—he continued—“that is not what I thought was funny.”

  Confused, she asked, “What was it then?”

  Then his mouth widened into a full grin, exposing his ugly, yellow teeth, and gold canine. “That you think you’re that important that you’re the reason we cloned you.”

  This was unfamiliar territory, and Ashlyn was suddenly speechless. She had always made assumptions about why they cloned her.

  “So why …Why did you clone me then?” She asked hesitantly—suddenly afraid of the answer.

  “You were a rat in a cage, nothing more.” His expression was flat, and she couldn’t read any emotion in it at all. “Just the first rat, I might add. When you refused to do what we told you after the DMDT, we simply started testing plan B.”

  She stood there, as silent as a statue and didn’t move for what seemed an eternity. Finally, she asked, “So I was a test subject, simply to find out if your technology worked?”

  The admiral nodded in the affirmative. “When you found out I still had my own will after the DMDT, you cloned me to see if—” she didn’t want to hear him say it, and she swallowed hard “—so you could clone other people and control their will?”

  One side of his mouth slowly curled up. “You cost me a lot of money, little girl.”

  She felt ill, and suddenly dizzy. Noises pounded in the back of her head as black, suppressed memories began assaulting her senses. Research wasn’t all they had done to her in that lab.

  Mark watched the blood drain from her face. “About those rooms?” he said, but the admirals evil eyes remained fixed mercilessly upon her. He kept staring at Ashlyn until finally, without breaking his lock on her, motioned for one of the officers to come over.

  “Jackson”—the admiral said without emotion—“take these two to the VIP barracks, and then find their friend.”

  Mark took Ashlyn’s hand as they followed Jackson. Before they were out of earshot, the admiral added, “You don’t think you destroyed the only machine we made, do you?”

  His words echoed in her mind, but she said nothing.

  Jackson led them the short distance, through the darkness to their rooms, which were in a sparsely decorated building, something akin to a motel. He opened Ashlyn’s door for her. She relinquished Mark’s hand absently, and then walked into the room without looking back. The door closed between them. Jackson pointed to Mark’s door—then walked away.

  ***

  There were no locks, no privacy. Mark waited until he could no longer her Jackson’s footfalls, and then walked back to her door and knocked softly.

  When she didn’t answer, he opened the door anyway. She sat alone in her room, staring at nothing. The VIP suite had a private bathroom with a shower. It was devoid of furniture except for a twin bed, directly below a useless window. A clean jumpsuit was folded neatly on the bed, along with a pillow, and miscellaneous personal items and toiletries. Her diving gear lay in a pile on the floor.

  He sat down on the bed. Still, she didn’t move seemingly unaware of his presence. However, when he put his arms around her, she leaned into him. Her body shook in soft jolts against him between silent sobs. He didn’t say anything. He just held her and pressed his lips gently against the top of her head. Then he leaned his cheek against that back of her head while she clung to him. He could only imagine the horrors that she must be remembering.

  It seemed a very long time before she finally pulled back a little and spoke, “I’m sorry.” Her green eyes burned with pain.

  He ran his fingers lightly over her hair. She had tried to comb it out with her fingers during the cold, wet night before, but it was still a little messy and held the soft aroma of seawater. She had no makeup, and was completely exhausted, but in that moment he knew, he had never seen anyone so beautiful.

  “Why are you apologizing?” He asked quietly, his face very near to hers.

  “I’m just—” tears welled in her eyes, and she closed them tightly for a moment, before meeting his gaze “—thank you.” She swallowed hard.

  He voiced his thoughts, “You are so beautiful.”

  “What?—” She shook her head “—you’ve got to be kidding. I’m sure I’m a mess.”

  He was tired and unshaven, but he smiled and responded, “You are beautiful!”

  She pressed her face into his neck. “I love you,” she whispered.

  “I love you too—” he kissed her forehead “—I should let you get some rest.

  “Wait.” she clung to him, and he held her tightly. When she finally pulled back, there was sorrow in his eyes. “Why are you sad,” she asked.


  He was quiet for a moment, and then said, “I’m not sad, I was just thinking about when Dierdra was on the yacht, and I thought she was you—” he took a deep breath “—I was already so in love with you and she was so cruel. She just went on answering to your name.”

  “I’m sorry, she—”

  “Don’t be sorry. It wasn’t your fault. She isn’t you.”

  “—in a way she is.”

  “No, you’re wrong—” he put his fingers under Ashlyn’s chin and turned her to face him “—she is not you, not in any way. Don’t ever think that.”

  She was quiet.

  “I had finally opened my heart, after so many years, and—”

  “You thought I had destroyed it?”

  “—yes.” He nodded. “Thank you for being you.”

  Tears spilled openly down her face now, and she smiled weakly, “You’re welcome. Thank you for loving me.”

  He kissed her gently, and then his eyes changed a bit and he stared at her long enough that she found it unnerving.

  “What?”

  He shook his head, “Nothing.”

  “You aren’t a good liar, just say it, please.”

  “She’s not anything like you—” he stared off, remembering “—not in personality, not at all, but …she looks exactly like you. I mean …more than a twin.”

  Confused, Ashlyn asked, “Is that a question?—” She furrowed her brow “—I did tell you that she was my clone, remember?”

  “Yeah, I know. It’s just …How?—” He laughed and shook his head “—how did they clone her? She seems to be exactly the same age …everything is identical. I can’t make sense of it.”

  Ashlyn tilted her head, “Seriously, you want me to explain the science of it to you? You know that’s my weak area.”

  He looked away and then back. “I’m sorry. It’s the scientist in me. I know it’s bad timing, but you told me to tell you what I was thinking. I can’t help wondering—” his lips parted, and he shook his head “—we haven’t had the technology for …I mean, I suppose it’s possible, but you are an adult. You must know more about it than I do.”