Now, guys! She turned, backing over the fence to see Ciara and Mike fleeing from the wall at the back of the building where they had taken cover. Multiple men and women—all wearing the same black clothing—emerged from the buildings firing tranquilizer darts. She turned and ran up the fence just as her friends met her.
Keep running. I’ll stun them.
Jane’s instinct was to hesitate when she heard Mike say this, but she kept running. How? she asked.
JUST KEEP MOVING! He stopped and turned around.
In her mind’s eye, Jane could see him holding up a shield, deflecting the darts as a small army approached him at high speed across the grass. She and Ciara continued running. After climbing the hill, the building came into view below them. They both gasped when they saw it, for it was now clear that Ciara had not been totally accurate in her estimation of it. It was truly featureless, but its design was perfect, and it had clearly been constructed for a specific purpose. They stopped running and glanced at each other. After a tense moment, they broke into a run down the hill toward the pathway that surrounded the compound. Jane’s eyes were wide and fixed on the featureless structure as they sprinted down the grass, now only a hundred feet from the building.
She turned quickly then, glancing back, and although Mike was now beyond her view behind the crest of the hill, in her mind’s eye, she watched as he extended his hands out toward the men and women there. A blaze of light erupted from his palms, and Jane could see it explode upward over the green hill. There was a mild crackling sound, like distant thunder, as the surge of energy beamed across the area. She shielded her eyes, and then once again focused on him. He had stunned 80 percent of the men and women, and she watched with relief as they abruptly fell to the ground, but in the last second, as the light faded around him, he was hit in the shoulder by a dart and went down quickly.
Jane’s eyes grew wide in astonishment, and she turned back around just in time to see something launch from the roof of the building. She looked up and saw a disc spinning in the air, flying toward her and Ciara rapidly. It was black, except for one clear blue line of light that ran across its center. She was reaching out to grasp it with the power when thin funnels protruded from the center of the disc. There was a hissing sound, and Jane felt something bite her neck. She knew what it was, but had no time to consider it. She felt a rough thud as she dropped to the ground and saw Ciara fall right next to her. Then she closed her eyes as blackness clouded her vision.
CHAPTER 9
THE STARS
A beautiful nebula rose up around the right side of his being, stretching into the light above there, and seemingly into infinity. He looked up at it, realizing in this disembodied state that looking up meant also looking everywhere, and so he focused on the birthplace of the young star at the tip of the arm of the nebula that seemed to stretch on forever above him. He drifted toward it, gaining confidence and wondering where his mind had been until that moment.
Max. That’s my name.
He continued to move up toward the light, and as he did, memories came to him. First, there was a blaze of interstellar light. The stars spun past him. Then he saw—in a brief flash—his home planet, and could hear the complex language that had eventually evolved there toward the end of its epoch. Then there was another flash as the eons passed by him and his compatriots. Then came the memories of France. Paris. The beautiful, cobbled streets where horses with carriages rode by. He held in his power over the physical world. Wearing warm clothes—waistcoat, pocket watch, and top hat.
But I can alter these clothes with but a thought. I can change the molecular composition— Wait… it’s just a memory, Max. Oh… yes.
If he’d had a body, he would have squinted. He focused to his right at the swirl of stellar gas and dust there that was like a giant, protective arm. He must have been a million miles from it. Even though it seemed close, he knew that its actual dimensions were enormous. He was moving closer to the light. It appeared now above him, and he comprehended that there were, in fact, multiple sources of light; it was a stellar nursery. His form became a glowing sphere as he continued to hover up through the black, dead void.
Not dead. Alive. A hand briefly flashed into existence on his right as he moved it through the space there. It was gone a second later. Yes, it’s alive. All of space is life. It spoke to us. But we don’t hear it anymore. Our history… is bleak… and difficult. But now… Jane!
For a moment, the black coat appeared, and he stopped. Then, once again he was a formless entity.
A voice came from the void.
Why did you interfere in this girl’s life?
He hesitated as the full memory returned to him, and he understood what had happened. Now he was being carried up through the stellar nursery, and his speed rapidly increased as he approached the stars above. Before reaching them, their grip on him loosened, and he became stationary.
Please allow me to resume my human appearance.
Their hold on him loosened further, and with a mere thought, he resumed his human form. He was surrounded by his eight contemporaries, some of whom he hadn’t spoken to in centuries—times he had spent living among other cultures throughout this and other galaxies. They appeared to him as mere spheres of energy. The light around them dimmed now, and he looked up as the stars above grew darker; the Others were scattering the light to make this area more amenable for their conversation. He turned back toward them.
Answer the question. The voice was coming from the female, who had once existed on a world in the galaxy that was known to Earth as Andromeda. She had spent a lifetime there, hoping to urge the members of that species along its pivotal transition, but ultimately failed in her task. The civilization erupted into an unstoppable and—until that moment in the universe—unseen level of war. She took a name among that race, and rose to great heights in their government, trying to dissuade them from taking any military action against the psychic leaders of their world. But she failed, and she paid for her failure in witnessing the war that had followed.
I will answer the question, he replied. He looked down at his hands and could see the distant stars below. Thin, red-orange streams of stellar dust crossed each other in ribbons beneath him. I have faith in this world.
That is not enough.
He looked at them, searching for the one who he knew would support him, but she turned away from him.
There’s more at stake than Earth. He paused. The prison is decaying, and we can’t restore it. We’re not strong enough. Our bonds have been broken. In unison, millennia ago, we were able to capture and imprison him. We were able to conceal the Machine—the technologies of the other advanced races. That is no longer the case. We gave up the freedom of that power when we separated, and look where it’s gotten us.
Then what are you suggesting?
Intervention. I’m suggesting that we put our failures behind us. Make sure Earth makes it. Deal with the emerging threat in a direct manner. It’s been millennia in a formless, timeless, black place. He will know no sorrow, no joy, no regret, and no fear. He will be like a child and with sharp teeth—vicious.
He could sense their presence shift now, as they squirmed at the truth of his words.
And he will be powerful—perhaps more powerful than us. He could fire reams of stardust at us without a second thought. He sensed them squirm again. Surely you didn’t need me to come here to tell you that? What have you all been doing? Hiding amongst the races of the many galaxies, enjoying the delights of their worlds under the delusion that you’re “helping” them? I’m on Earth, the one planet I believe actually has the capacity to reach critical mass; I’m really doing something, and I’m the one who’s chastised.
They stopped moving.
Let me go.
After a moment, during which the Others appeared to communicate telepathically and their leader regarded him, he felt their gr
ip on him loosen further. The memories came flooding back as all of his faculties were restored.
You may return, came the simple response.
Will you help me? He looked to the left, where he knew was the long road back to Earth. You can see what’s happening, in the city called “Paris.” He will need a living host to channel himself into their world. The prison is almost destroyed. Trey would have been one of us, if not for his interference, as would Jane. They could still be! he pleaded. It could open up new dimensions of life for us.
About that, we are in agreement.
So why don’t you help Trey?
There was no response.
You’re afraid.
Again, his statement was greeted by silence.
Their leader turned in the direction of Earth. A portal opened there in space, appearing out of nothing—a circular, flowing frame, its outline pulsing and throbbing with splashes of deep purple and red. Beyond it was Earth’s solar system, and Max could see its star glowing dimly in the distance. The planets cast vague shadows between it and the window’s edge. He needed this portal, otherwise it would take him too long to traverse the vast distance—the parsecs he had been drawn across—in order to have this discussion in this secretive corner of space.
He turned, trying to stifle his anger, knowing he had better things to worry about. He reached out his hands and moved away rapidly, leaving the nebula behind.
Max.
He stopped and turned, and their lights were now distant and shrouded in the dust clouds of the nebula.
You insist on that name, so I will grace you by using it for now.
He waited for their leader to continue.
If he gets control of the Machine—
I know. What do you want me to do?
Destroy it. Do whatever you have to. Use Jane.
I don’t know if it’s right to put such responsibility on the shoulders of someone so young.
She’s a potentiate. She can handle it.
He paused and considered what they had said, staring up through the giant clouds of dust. How do you suggest we destroy it?
Figure something out. We have anticipated the most likely outcome to this scenario, and it’s not good. The only way to avoid it is to destroy the Machine, and that requires Jane to activate and use it.
And that will lead us to safety?
There was silence.
Is there a lie here?
There is no lie.
But you’re lying by omission.
He could almost feel her frown in the distance. Now, he could hear the true fear in her voice as she spoke again.
Max, some of the things you say are true. If he gets control of the Machine, he could reach the Nex—
I know.
Silence again.
Destroy it, and you save Earth. We dare not speak about what could lay beyond that.
In his vast mind, he ran through every permutation of the words she had spoken. He knew their meaning was small, and that many traps could be hanging between them, but he accepted them.
I understand, he replied, shocked that she had been so open with him. I suppose you also have no wish to consider the other technologies, the other worlds—the other races he might draw to him.
This time, there was no response, and after a moment of silence, their lights above him began to recede, and through the filaments of the nebula, the space there grew darker as they left that place.
He turned once again, heading toward the window and moving rapidly. He passed through it, knowing he had one more hurdle to overcome: contact.
CHAPTER 10
TAKEOFF
Jane heard the sound of a voice that caused her to breathe heavier and her heart rate quicken. The light rose and fell above her as they passed through what appeared to be a corridor. The white light from the lamps was glaring, and she shut her eyes tight each time they passed one. She was lying down. She tried to move her hands, but they would not budge.
Above her now, through squinted eyes, Jane saw a man, and she gasped, for, despite her terribly blurred vision, she knew exactly who it was.
“Take them to the containment area.”
She took another breath as he disappeared behind them, and then she lost consciousness once again.
***
Lucas’s heart pounded as he walked through the hallway, heading back to the control room. When he reached it, he entered to find that the room was buzzing with activity. He saw Marie consulting with a technician on the left side of the room, near the top. He walked to her, and when she saw him, she turned to face him.
“Report,” she said, taking off her glasses.
“We have them, and they’re all unharmed.”
A sigh of relief came from Marie. “Connor?”
“Yes.”
“You’re sending them to the containment area.”
He hesitated. “Yes.”
“Good. Keep them there. I want to interrogate her myself.” She turned back around to speak to the technician.
“About what?” Lucas asked.
Slowly, she lifted her head and turned back around, glaring at him. “Last I checked, Lucas, I didn’t answer to you.”
He nodded, then turned and left the room. Once outside, he felt drawn in two directions by both Marie’s authority and the instinct he had to “interrogate” Jane himself. Without much thought, he began walking through the corridors to the containment area.
***
Jane woke slowly to find she was lying flat on the floor of a sealed, square room. She felt pressure around her wrists and looked down to find them shackled by a thick bolt that wrapped around both of them and connected with an iron bar at the center. She struggled to lift herself to a sitting position and leaned against the wall behind her. The light was bright, and she squinted against it. Slowly, she rose to a standing position and looked around. There was one door with a heavy metallic frame just across the room from her in the left-hand corner, and a window lined the wall at the front of the room further on her left.
Men and women in white lab coats holding tablets walked by frequently and looked in at her. Their glances did not betray the same concern that some of the technicians at the first facility had demonstrated toward her.
She took a breath and looked down at the lock. She thought she could break it quite easily, but as she focused the power on it, nothing happened. She tried one more time just to be sure, but as she reached down into her mind, feeling the empty, dry well there, it became immediately apparent what had happened.
“Damn it!” she croaked, finding that her mouth was dry. How long have we been in here? she wondered. She looked up to see Lucas standing at the center of the window. She didn’t move, and she didn’t breathe. For a moment, they shared eye contact. Then he walked around the side toward the direction of the door, disappearing behind the window frame.
Jane turned her attention toward the door as the small digital panel just to the right of it turned from red to blue. The door hissed open, and now she could see that it was made of metal that was four inches thick.
Lucas walked in casually. The door closed behind him automatically, and he stood at the center of the room in front of the window, staring at her. For a moment, he didn’t say anything.
Eventually, she sighed, shook her head, and broke the silence. “What do you want now, Lucas?”
“Not much. We got everything we needed back at the first facility.”
“Then explain the restraints. Why did you draw Morris back here?” she barked.
“Insurance.”
She glared at him. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
Slowly, a grin spread across his face. “You’ll see.”
“Oh, I’ll see, will I, Lucas? Or maybe I’ll just tear this place to shreds like I did the last one? I’d imagine that was highly embarrassing for you. How does that sound?”
&nbs
p; “Oh, nothing like that will be happening this time, Jane. Not where we’re going. Send him in,” he said.
The door opened once again, and this time, Morris was standing in the frame. There were two technicians right behind him, having obviously approached the door from the other direction. She smiled when she saw him—it was habit kicking in. As he walked into the room and she saw that his demeanor was that of a robot, the smile faded. The two technicians remained outside as the door closed on them.
“Morris?” Jane said.
Nothing.
“Morris! Come on!” she urged.
He turned to face her, but his eyes were expressionless.
“What did you do to him?” she asked, refusing to glance back at Lucas.
“A simple contraption,” Lucas replied. “Very advanced, of course. Hijacks the central and peripheral nervous system. Hacks the brain, in simple terms. I’ve turned Morris into a puppet.”
She turned her gaze from Morris back to Lucas. “Does that make you feel powerful? Because that’s what this is all about at the end of the day, Lucas, isn’t it?” She saw his smile falter, but just barely.
“I think I’d know what I’d like to do now, Jane,” he said.
Her stomach sank. The cruel tone she recalled from the facility was back in his voice. The door beeped and opened once again. This time, a short, middle-aged woman with red hair and glasses entered the room. She stopped in the doorway and looked around. With a piercing gaze she surveyed the scene, her eyes darting first to Jane, then Morris and then to Lucas.
“What the hell is going on here?” she asked, staring straight at Lucas.
With tremendous relief, Jane watched as Lucas’s entire demeanor changed. He turned toward this woman and stood up straight, and it seemed like every muscle in his body shifted. He was clearly her subordinate, and this time, there was no getting around it. Whoever this woman was, she was in command.
Rise (The Ethereal Vision Book 2) Page 10