Piercing The Fold

by Kimball, Venessa

  Nate’s voice is ragged and breathless. “Ezra. He’s coming to your room.”

  Before I can respond, I hear a knock at my door.

  “Jes, it’s Ezra. I need to talk with you.”

  Nate pulls back from me. His eyes are still intense.

  My voice cracks a little. “Um, just a minute.”

  Ezra would definitely freak out with the current situation. Nate slowly and quietly stands, picks up his shirt, and moves behind the door.

  “Uh, I need to get dressed. I’ll be out in ten minutes, okay?”

  Ezra says, “Okay. Hey, have you seen Nate? He wasn’t in his room.”

  I answer quickly, “Nope. No, I haven’t. Maybe he went for a run.”

  Nate is standing behind the door, rolling his eyes and smiling at my nervous response.

  Grabbing the closest thing to me, I throw a tennis shoe at Nate, hitting him below the belt.

  He mouths, “Ouch.”

  I put my finger to my mouth, gesturing for him to keep quiet.

  Ezra asks, “Are you okay in there, Jes?”

  I jump off my bed and sprint toward the door instantly, knowing Ezra’s next move.

  Ezra starts to open the door, and I lean against it, shutting it back in place.

  I look at Nate while I respond to Ezra. “I’m fine. Just stubbed my toe. I’m getting dressed right now. Hey, I have to get to Ms. Olivia’s pretty soon. Will this take long?”

  Ezra responds, “I called her to let her know that you and Nate wouldn’t be making it in today. There’s been some development, and we have a change of plans. I’ll meet you in the kitchen.”

  As Nate and I continue staring at each other, I hear Ezra walk away from the door.

  I peek out the door after a couple of seconds. The hallway is clear. Nate and I shuffle around each other, so he can leave the room. Before he leaves, he wraps both arms around my waist, pulling me into him, and he kisses me deeply, desperately.

  He inches back just enough to look into my eyes. “Good morning, Jes,” he whispers.

  Our physical proximity leaves me breathless—again. “Good morning, Nate.”

  The corners of his mouth turn up in a smile.

  I push against Nate’s chest. “Go, go, go.”

  He tiptoes down the hall, and I quickly shut the door behind me, leaning against it. My hand immediately goes to my lips, replaying our encounter.

  * * *

  For the past two months, Nate and I have been treading on uneven ground. As Nate and I grow more dependent on our link to help each other, we become more addicted to each other physically. The simplest touch sends us both into an intimate frenzy.

  It’s like I crave more of his touch. It’s been one of those things that Nate and I know could potentially bear a problem, but we don’t want to talk about it. Part of me doesn’t want to let go of how safe and secure his touch makes me feel, and I know I make Nate feel just as safe in my arms. But, I worry that the physical security will blur into something that could get one or both of us hurt.

  I push the thought out of my mind, and I think about Ezra’s interruption this morning. What could he be up to? I dress quickly and head to the kitchen.

  Ezra is sitting at the table, reading the paper. “Morning.”

  I head straight to the coffee machine and mumble, “Morning.”

  I’m stirring creamer into my coffee when Nate walks in. His hair is still wet from the shower, making it appear darker than it really is. I can’t help but think of him in the shower. Ugh, Jesca! I add more sweetener to my cup and stir vigorously to distract my drifting thoughts.

  Ezra asks, “Nate, where were you? Your door was open when I came by to find you this morning.”

  Nate grabs the cereal from the cabinet and turns to the refrigerator to get the milk. I feel his eyes on me the whole time.

  “I went for a run. It was amazing.”

  I briefly glance over at Nate, who is leaning against the countertop now. Nate winks discreetly at me. I fix my coffee to quickly distract myself from him.

  Ezra eyes are still glued to his paper. “That is not breakfast, Jesca.”

  I quickly finish mixing up my coffee, creamer, and sweetener and have a seat. “It is until I hear what you have to say, Ezra.”

  Nate moves around, sitting next to me at the table.

  Ezra puts his paper down and looks up at me. “You look terrible!”

  I respond sarcastically, “Thanks so much. You say the nicest things, Dad!”

  Leaning his arm on the table, Ezra props his chin on his hand. “Why haven’t you told me the visions have gotten worse?”

  “Visions? More like nightmares.” I take a long sip of my coffee.

  Nate interjects, “They’re getting worse.”

  Clearing my throat, I roll my eyes at Nate’s comment. “Thanks, Nate.”

  “Sorry, Jes, but Ezra needs to know.” Nate’s eyes dart back to Ezra. “They’re becoming more intense and vivid. They’re premonitions, aren’t they?”

  Ezra’s eyes never leave mine. “Yes, they are. Jesca, with regular training, your abilities will grow. Lucid Dreaming, Telepathy, Qi, Astral Projection—all of your abilities are becoming stronger, and their strength has spawned a hybrid. Your Lucid Dreaming and Telepathy are melding to create an outlet for these premonitions to come to you.”

  I get up to refill my empty mug. “Awesome. Just perfect.”

  As I come back to the table, Ezra’s voice fills with worry as he says, “Jes, you need to tell us what’s going on with these lucid dreams. Your mother, Anna, had lucid dreams and premonitions of the future before her…” Ezra stops speaking.

  I turn to look at him. His eyes are reddening, shining with fresh tears.

  He’s right. I need to stop being so flippant with the images I’m getting in my dreams. They can help us.

  I put my hand on top of Ezra’s. “Okay, from here on out, I’ll tell you about them. You’re right. They might be able to help guide us when the collision comes.”

  I tense when the word “collision” leaves my mouth. It’s surreal that our world might end within my lifetime because our galaxy could collide with Andromeda.

  Ezra reads my mind. “I already told you, Jes. Our scientists have confirmed that our galaxy and Andromeda will collide and intersect without destroying us.”

  I sigh. “I know. It’s just what happens after the collision that has me worried.”

  * * *

  Within a week after Sam Crest took Corinna Cain, the imminent collision of the Andromeda galaxy with ours was leaked to the mainstream news. Months prior to the leak, scientists had speculated that the climate shift and other global events might have been a result of a gravitational imbalance in the Earth and its atmosphere. They had said a polar shift might be occurring. Then, a reporter from CNN accessed information that confirmed the collision as a scientific fact. He reported that the collision between the two galaxies was inevitable.

  Nate insinuated that someone had gotten sloppy, but I could feel that it was someone on the inside—a Sondian. Ezra thought the same, too.

  For the past two months, we stayed in the villa, awaiting intelligence from the fellowship’s scientists while we compared notes with the local, national, and global news. Rebel factions already started to sprout up all over the world. Civil riots and protests for government assistance caused worldwide governmental departments to be on high alert. They started shutting down borders between nations, trying to keep the chaos contained within their own countries.

  As guardians, our job of protecting humans on this Earth—while also trying to safeguard ourselves—became a million times harder because of this insider leaking information. It was intended to intimidate us. And, it served its purpose. We are only a few saviors in a sea of frightened and confused civilians.

  * * *

  Ezra shakes his head, stiffening his lips.

  Dangerous thoughts start stirring in my mind.

  Nate tries to save us from our t
houghts by changing the subject. “So, what’s up?”

  Ezra looks up at both of us. “Sebastian is sending us on a mission.”

  I feel a knot form in my stomach.

  Nate sits back, moving away from his cereal. “What about our mission here?”

  Ezra sighs. “Well, the mission here has fled Miami and is now in Tokyo, Japan.”

  I ask, “Are we going to Japan?”

  “We need to get a fellow guardian on board with us and take care of some housekeeping at MIT first. Sebastian hasn’t confirmed, but I think that’s where we’re headed.” Ezra pauses, nervously tapping a pen on the table. “This fellow guardian. He may be…resistant.”

  I start probing with a million questions. “You said he. Who is it? Why would he resist? What do we need to tell him that could make him resist?”

  Ezra sighs, throwing his glasses down in frustration. “Damn it, Jesca!”

  Ezra doesn’t do frustration often, so I know my heavy line of questioning has definitely gotten under his skin.

  The feeling I get just before lightning strikes is creeping in. This is not going to be good.

  Ezra closes his eyes for a moment. With Ezra being Ezra, I know he’s trying to regain his composure before he speaks. Nate and I remain quiet and wait.

  Ezra’s voice becomes even again. “Because I have to tell him things that could change everything he thought he knew about himself.” He looks down. “Things that you may resist.”

  I lean onto the table, looking directly into Ezra’s eyes. “Us? Resist? I highly doubt that!” I sit back and cross my arms. “Try me.”

  Ezra breathes deeply and looks from Nate to me. “The implantation of the second-generation Copula.”

  Nate breaks in, “Yeah? What about it?”

  Ezra holds up his iPhone. “A device similar to this was used prior to travel to send a surge of electricity directly to the Copula. The surge acted as a harness between the body’s copper and the Copula, working together to open the wormhole, but this device wasn’t just a Copula defibrillator. It had multiple purposes.

  Looking away, Ezra continues, “It was a miniature computer. This device recorded neurological and physical changes within the body during and after travel. As protocol, after every mission, Sebastian’s associates collected the data to check for any changes or abnormalities. Across the board, the data showed increased levels of copper in those who were implanted. The levels of copper contributed to alterations within the body, making those implanted superior.”

  Nate questions, “Superior? In what way were they superior?

  Thoughts start firing in my head. Alterations in the body making the implanted superior. Alterations.

  Ezra’s voice is filled with worry. I tune back in enough to hear him say “…physical strength and speed. Psychic abilities, such as clairvoyance, telepathy...”

  His mouth is moving, but I’m not listening anymore. Are we implanted? I almost speak the words, but instead, I quickly shut my gaping mouth.

  Nate guardedly looks at me. “Jes?”

  Ezra’s gaze focuses on me. He’s just sitting there, waiting for me to ask.

  I don’t ask the question sitting on the tip of my tongue, wanting to leave my lips. If I do, I’ll slip below the surface of reality, sinking into a sea of new truths that I will have to surface from. I don’t know if I can handle that. I don’t know if I’ll be able to surface once I hear the answer to the unspoken question lingering in the atmosphere.

  Ezra sits back in his chair, crossing his arms in front of his chest. His voice is soft when he speaks. “You are both implanted with Copulas.”

  Yep, I’m slipping deep below the surface. I feel every hair on my body stand on end. My throat constricts, and I can’t get enough air.

  I push my chair back and stand slowly. Nate reaches out to hold my arm and steady me, but I pull away from his grasp. I need to get out of here. I charge quickly to the coat closet and grab my sweatshirt.

  Nate calls after me, “Jesca, wait! Where are you going?”

  Ezra reprimands Nate, “Nate, let her go!”

  I ignore them and run out the back door.