Persistence of Vision
Page 36
His hands dropped to her shoulders, his gaze going to the ground, and she could feel the barrier his reluctance put up between them.
“I know you don’t want to, but I think it’s important that you do. I’m not saying you should be best friends, but at least get to where you can be civil. I think it will help you both to talk about the past and be…brothers again.”
She heard him swallow before answering. “That’s complicated, Maggie. You don’t know what it did to me—what it did to our father. When he left—”
“I know it was wrong, Marcus. I’m not asking you to condone what he did or put aside the pain it caused you. I’m asking you to…let yourself feel the other things you feel for him.”
“What do you mean?”
“You feel compassion for him. I can see it when you look at him. He’s still your little brother, and you want to protect him. You’re fighting that urge out of anger. The anger’s understandable, but let yourself feel the way you ought to about him. It may be the only way you can finally heal.”
He raised his gaze to her again. “I can’t promise anything, Maggie. We may be doing different tasks while you’re gone, but when I’m with him, I’ll try. For you.”
She reached up on her toes and brushed her lips against his. “Thank you.”
“I have something for you.” He dug into the pocket of his pants and pulled out something that sparkled in the moonlight. It looked circular, but she couldn’t be sure in the dim light.
“What is it?”
“A bracelet. It’s something I gave you before, last time. When we had to send you back, I took it. I figured without your memories it wouldn’t mean anything to you. Now that you know who I am again, I’d like you to have it back.”
It was too dark to try and clasp it onto her wrist, but she took it and slid it carefully into the pocket of her jeans, glad to have a memento of him. Silence descended, and she felt her emotions flare again.
He wrapped his arms around her again, crushing her so tightly against his chest that her ribs hurt, but she didn’t pull away.
“Be careful,” she whispered into his shoulder.
“Shouldn’t I be telling you that?”
“Me? Are you kidding? With my abilities I could be attacked by a rape gang and totally kick their butts.” She paused, thinking. “Is it wrong that I kind of want to be?”
He laughed softly, kissed her on the forehead, and backed away. She felt his recession, and it hurt.
“I’ll watch you until you get around the corner.”
“Okay.” She wanted to say more—felt like she should—but didn’t know what or how, so she turned and walked toward the bright lights that shone from the place that used to be her home.
***
Marcus waited under the shadow of the sweet-smelling tree. The moonlight glinted off the blossoms, making them look white against the black sky and gray, residential shadows. In daylight they were probably light purple or pink.
Maggie’s silhouette disappeared around the corner. A few minutes later an audible commotion sprung up from the next street. She’d been spotted. There were voices, sirens from farther off, more lights being turned on.
Marcus heaved a sigh. At least she’d be taken care of. His feet felt heavy as he trudged back the way he’d come. Karl had actually found a flat, sawed-off stump to sit on. As Marcus passed, Karl got up and fell into step beside him. They walked without speaking, their steps thudding in unison on the concrete sidewalk.
Marcus’s mind was full of all the things he had to do. He planned to stay busy, if for no other reason than to keep from missing Maggie, and there were other reasons to keep busy as well. He had to do things that would ensure her protection and her return to him.
“You aren’t going back to Interchron, are you?” The two of them had been walking in such unison that Karl’s voice made him jump.
Marcus glanced over at his friend, wondering how much Karl had already guessed. “I am…”
“But not for long.” Karl nodded. “I’m coming with you.”
There was no sense in lying about it. Karl knew him too well. “There’s no way to tell how long I’ll be gone, Karl. You may be needed.”
“I assume you’ll be gone long enough to take care of Colin. And what would they need me for? Until we go get Maggie, I won’t be doing any Traveling. We can’t function as a team until she gets back, and we have others to fill the vacant roles. I might as well be with you. You may have need of me.”
Marcus couldn’t see any way to debunk Karl’s arguments. Until the team was whole, they stood no chance of bringing down the collectives. “You may be safer at Interchron. The collectives are actively searching for a Traveler.”
“And they have no reason to think I’m anywhere but there. If you’re going after Colin, I’m coming with you. End of story.”
After a moment, Marcus nodded. “Thank you.”
***
Maggie glanced out the window as she sorted her laundry. The day was overcast and windy. A storm would be here by noon.
Nearly three weeks had passed since her return to her old life, and this was the first morning she’d had to herself.
Of course Jonah and her parents had refused to leave her side ever again. One of them had slept on her couch every night since her return. Only recently had they begun to feel normal again, which meant they were willing to leave her alone for longer periods of time, at least during the day. Maggie wouldn’t be at all surprised if Jonah showed up again tonight.
Not that she minded the company. She didn’t relish being left alone to dwell on everything. She just wanted her family around for different reasons than they thought she did.
No one had been able to make heads or tails of her story. The police couldn’t prove any of it, but they couldn’t disprove any of it either. Maggie could tell several of the detectives thought she was hiding something, but it wasn’t as if they could suspect what it was.
What did it matter? She had the morning to herself, which meant that it was all starting to blow over. Everything was getting back to normal.
Maggie picked up her hamper and headed into the laundry room. She’d been dragging her feet since returning home, but she had to find something to occupy her or she’d go mad wondering when she would see Marcus again. It had to be something she could really sink her teeth into—something that would distract her completely. Yet she had to be able to drop it at a moment’s notice if certain friends who hadn’t been born yet came to call.
Maggie woke up this morning, deciding that she would start by cleaning her house top to bottom. She tossed lumps of denim and colorful cotton into her washer. At the bottom of the hamper the jeans she’d worn both times she’d time traveled were balled up. She picked them up, examined them for answers, and finding none, threw them into the bottom of washer. A loud clang announced that something was in the pocket.
She’d completely forgotten about the bracelet Marcus had given her until she pulled it out. It was like one of those plastic children’s bracelets strung on a rubber band so they can expand to fit over your hand without unclasping anything. The only difference was that there was no elastic band that Maggie could see. It was like the metal itself was stretching. On it was what looked like gold nuggets, interrupted periodically by colorful jewels. It made for a beautiful piece.
Maggie remembered the night Marcus first gave this to her. He’d taken her down into one of the deepest caverns below Interchron. The walls sparkled with un-mined diamonds, and an underground waterfall splashed rainbows over any artificial light. He’d wrapped his arms around her, and they’d spent hours there together, watching rainbow water drops dancing in front of the diamonds.
Maggie’s head snapped up. Where had that memory come from? Had she had it before?
She shook her head, trying to rise above the recollection so she could think clearly. She couldn’t. She kept losing herself in the memory. Soon, there were others.
Waking up in the compoun
d…where was she? Who were these people?
Meeting the team…they all seemed nice. Colin kind of gave her the creeps, though. And why did the one called Marcus keep staring at her like that?
The prophecy…what was her role? Going on missions…trying to infiltrate the collectives…the ships, they must be on the ships…the one called B cornering her in a glass room…Karl washed up on some jagged rocks, bleeding from the neck…Joan holding a baby…Clay on his knees, mouth open in a silent scream…Lila curled up in a ball, crying…Doc burning parchment by candlelight… Karl… Joan… Clay… Colin… Doc… Marcus… Marcus… Marcus!
Maggie’s basket dropped to the floor, forgotten. She fell onto her knees, holding her head. The tears came unbidden, and everything behind her nose, all the way up to her eyebrows, was on fire.
The memories flooded back so fast that she couldn’t breathe. They melted together, becoming blurry collages, spectrums of colors and emotions. Unable to separate them or her feelings about them, she writhed on the floor, gasping.
At first, each memory had a particular emotion attached to it, but as they came faster and faster, the emotions ran together as well, threatening to consume her. She opened her mouth but couldn’t control her voice box to scream.
She tried to focus on the first memory she’d recaptured—the one of Marcus giving her the bracelet. It was a pleasant memory, and focusing on it took the sting out of others as they came. She’d felt safe, then. Protected. Happy. She would feel that way again. She believed that.
The barrage went on for more than an hour. Eventually it slowed, but it was another ninety minutes before it stopped completely. The memories were all in her head now, there for her to examine, but she suddenly understood what the Remembrancer meant about going mad.
How could Maggie be certain all the memories were there? Despite the overflowing recollections, she felt emptier than ever. She felt lonelier for the team—and for Marcus—than she would have thought possible.
She focused on the memory of Marcus again, held it close to her chest, and eventually was able to rise. She felt like she’d been walking through the desert for days. She made it to her bed where she collapsed, pulled her knees up to her chest, and amidst cascading tears, slept.
End of Book 1 of Interchron
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Author’s Note:
Thank you for joining Maggie and the team on their adventures. Make sure to check out Quantum Entanglement, Book 2 of Interchron! Dark Matter, Book 3 of Interchron, will be available in Spring of 2018.
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Also by L.K. Hill
Do you enjoy other genres? Visit L.K. Hill’s website to check out her crime fiction and historical fiction series.
Crime Fiction:
Dark Remnants, Book 1 of Street Games (Writing as L.K. Hill)
Desolate Mantle, Book 2 of Street Games (Writing as L.K. Hill)
Damaged Hope, Book 3 of Street Games (Writing as L.K. Hill)
Historical Fiction:
Citadels of Fire, Book 1 of Kremlins
Bastions of Blood, Book 2 of Kremlins
High Fantasy:
The Hatching, a prequel to Dragon Magic
About the Author
L.K. Hill is an award-winning author who writes across three different genres. Her historical fiction and crime drama are published under her initials, L.K. Her sci-fi, fantasy, and dystopian are written under her full name, Liesel K. Hill.
A graduate of Weber State University, she comes from a large, tight-knit family and lives in northern Utah. She is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and cherishes her faith, her family and her country. (http://www.lds.org) She plans to keep writing until they nail her coffin shut. Or the Second Coming happens. You know, whichever happens first. ;D
Table of Contents
Free Book Library
Title Page
A Void in the Crowd
Flash From the Past
Breaking Away
Hypnotic Eyes
The Good Doctor
Explanations
History
More Forgotten Events
The Team
Creature Comforts
Trepidation
Trap
Brain Power
The Deceiver
Bad-Guy Hierarchy
Karl’s Theories
Reunions
A Lonely Way of Speaking
Courage to Stand
The Question of Memories
Wind and Water and Scars
Neural Pathways to Light
A Light on the Beach
The Lighthouse
The Strangeness of Roses
Hope for Happiness
Onto the Island
The Problem with a Neurological Sedative
The Taste of Blood
The Eyes of a Drone
The Canyons of Time
Meetings and Plans
Attractive Forces
“The Roses Are in Bloom”
Far from Vegas
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Author’s Note
Connect With the Author
Also by Liesel K. Hill
About the Author