“Where are we going?” I asked.
“First your boss’s office, and then we can go somewhere and talk.”
I continued walking, trying to decide when to reach for the gun. I wasn’t sure whether it would even kill Williams, but the chances of doing so were probably greater while he was in human form. When we reached Warren’s office, Williams pushed the door open and gestured with his gun for us to sit. Justin and I sat on two chairs behind the center table. Williams bound our hands with string and then rummaged through Warren’s drawers and cupboards. He threw square glass tablets to the floor and broke plaques that had hung on the walls.
“What’re you looking for?” I said.
He didn’t answer but continued breaking things. Justin gave me a long expressionless stare. I felt so guilty for dragging him into my mess, but there was nothing I could do about that now. Williams stood in the middle of the room ten minutes later, scowling. I tried to think of what he might have been looking for. I understood why they might have wanted me, but Warren? What did he have to do with any of this? Williams grunted in frustration, walked to the en-suite bathroom and pushed the door open. He turned to us before entering. “You might want to cover your ears for this.” He smiled and walked in.
Justin and I sat in silence. Then we heard a loud growl. A bright light seeped from under the door. The growls returned but sounded more like sounds of relief. Snarls came soon after and then we heard slithering. He had definitely changed to his other form once more. The organisms banged against the door. I looked at Justin again. He leaned toward me.
“Maybe they change into them things when they go to the loo,” he said.
I stared at the wall and nodded. It certainly seemed that way. The noises ceased five minutes later. The light returned but faded quickly. The organisms stopped making noises. We heard the toilet flush and the door clicked open. I sat in confusion. Aliens that changed form when using the toilet. None of it made sense. Williams stood in front of Justin and me, brandishing the gun as he had done earlier.
“Here’s what’s going to happen,” he said. “I’m going to untie you and you’ll come with me. If either of you resist, I’ll kill you both.” He pointed at Justin. “Starting with him.”
Justin winced. I glared at Williams. “What have you done with my son?”
I could feel Justin’s hard stare, but I kept my eyes on Williams.
“You don’t ask the questions around here. I do.” He untied Justin and cut my restraints off. Then he walked toward the door and gestured with his gun for us to leave.
He obviously hadn’t found what he was looking for, but I struggled to make any kind of connection. I followed Justin out, and Williams directed us toward reception. I could feel time running out. I had to do something. Williams’ cell phone rang. I looked back. He took his eyes away from me and reached into his jacket’s breast pocket. I reached into my bra and grabbed the gun. I pushed the button on the top, but he looked up and met my gaze. I fired before he could react and he went flying back. He lay on the floor with a gaping hole in the center of his chest. Blood trickled onto the floor. It looked just like human blood. But then, I didn’t know whether alien blood looked different from human blood. Justin edged past me and bent over to study the body.
“You probably shouldn’t get so close,” I said.
He looked at me and then at the body again. “What the flipping heck is going on, like?”
I walked past the body toward Warren’s office.
“Where are you going?”
“I need to know what he was looking for.”
He ran after me. “Are you sure that’s a good idea, missy? We should probably, like, just leave.”
“It’ll just take a minute.” I ran into the office and went through the drawers on the center table. All I saw were patient details and appointments documented on glass tablets. I went through the wardrobe and saw pretty much the same things I saw on the table. A number of plaques lay smashed on the floor. I leaned over to study them, but nothing stood out. I ruffled my hair and looked around the room.
“Can we go now?” Justin said.
I nodded and headed toward the door. He led the way out and ran down the corridor. After passing Williams’ body, we heard a ringing cell. I stopped and listened. It came from behind us. I ran back to the corpse and knelt down. It was Williams’ cell. When Justin caught up with me, he reached into Williams’ breast pocket. He held the cell in his hand and stared at it. It rang and rang without stopping. He turned to me. “I think you’d better get this.”
He was right. I had to know who these people were. I took the phone from him, placed the headset in my ear and picked up. I didn’t say a word.
“Is it done?” I heard a voice say.
I didn’t respond. I only listened.
“Is it done?”
I shuddered. I recognized the voice. This can’t be happening.
“Williams,” the voice said.
“Jarrod?”
Silence. I heard him clear his throat. “Hello, Rachel.”
I gasped and looked at Justin. He shrugged.
“Well-done, Rachel. You just killed a trained killer.” I heard him clap. “I’ve always said you were special.” He sniggered. “I’m sure you have a lot of questions.”
I continued shaking. “Jar—Jarrod, what’s going on? Are you … are you one of them?”
He didn’t answer.
“I can’t believe it. Warren warned me about you.” I paused and took a deep breath. “Where the hell is my son?”
He sighed. “Now, now, Rachel. Don’t you go jumping to conclusions. You don’t know the whole story. You’re only dealing with half-facts.”
“Don’t give me that,” I yelled, anger mixing with the fear I still felt. “These things came to my house and killed my husband. And now I just saw this one swallow Warren.” I looked up and down the corridor. “Now you’re going to tell me where they’ve taken my son or so help me God …”
Jarrod didn’t speak for a few seconds. “I’m not the enemy, Rachel.”
“The hell you’re not.” I walked toward the reception area.
“Just hear me out. There’s a very good explanation for all this.”
“Like what? Aliens? Are you one, too? Is that why you’re killing all these people? To protect your secrets? Is that what Dylan’s dad was trying to warn me about?”
He laughed but didn’t respond.
“And what did you want with Warren? What did he have that you needed? Did he know your secret, too? Is that why you killed him?”
“Stop being a naive little girl and listen to yourself,” he growled. “This isn’t the movies, Rachel. This is real life. Do you think it’s just us in the universe? These things you’re talking about—do you think they just got here? They’ve been here much longer than you think, sharing Earth with the humans. It’s just another long-running secret of our planet. You think the people don’t know? Trust me, those who matter know. But the rest of the world isn’t ready. That’s why we’re having to contain this breach.”
“By committing murder? Cause no matter how you slice this, murder can’t be confused with anything else. It’s absolute.”
“Collateral damage.”
Justin tugged at my wrist and pointed to the exit. I nodded and ran out with him, still on the phone to Jarrod.
“Where are you right now?” he asked.
“Why? So you can send people to kill me?”
“I just want to talk.”
Justin opened the car doors and we got in. “You’re not going to find me. I’ll expose what you people are if it’s the last thing I do.” I threw the cell out the window. “Let’s get out of here,” I said to Justin.
He nodded and lifted the car into the air and headed for downtown L.A.
After ten minutes of flying, he looked at me. “I think it’s best you stay at my place. At least until you figure things out.”
I nodded.
“So are yo
u gonna tell me what’s going on, like?”
I looked at him for a moment and then told him everything that had happened since I returned from the future. His eyes were wide with shock for the rest of the trip. He landed on South Flower Street fifteen minutes later and turned the engine off. He led me into his apartment without saying a word.
A long silver corridor with low ceilings greeted me. He pointed toward the kitchen, a few yards to my left. I entered it and diluted a drop of my medication with water. Yes, I had just found out Jarrod was involved in Kevin’s death and Dylan’s abduction—he might have even been an alien, too—but I still needed his drugs to stay alive, at least until I figured out what was going on. I sat on a floating chair beside a pearl-black dining table and stared at the wall. My son was out there, scared and alone, probably wondering why his new mother had deserted him. I shut my eyes and listened to the dripping tap.
An hour later, I got up and walked into the living room. I stared at the giant clock on the wall. It was 6 a.m. Justin sat still, watching the news. The living room was large, with cream walls. His TV was attached to the ceiling by a long metal rod that dropped down about ten feet.
Justin turned to me. “So, what’s the plan?”
I walked to the window and stared outside. Bright skies were returning, with hints of twilight on the horizon. “Can I use your phone?”
He brought it to me, and I dialed Suzanna and Jenny. It went straight to voice mail again. I walked around the room.
“They’re probably still sleeping,” he said.
I yawned and stretched. My body craved sleep, but I wouldn’t have been able to shut my eyes. I stared at Justin for a moment and then tried Suzanna’s cell once more. Again, voice mail. I grunted in frustration and rubbed my eyes. “I know it’s late, but I can’t just leave it.”
Justin didn’t speak. I took a few steps toward him. “You saw what they did to Warren. God knows what they would have done to us. I’m telling you, they’re not safe either.”
He looked at the ceiling and then turned toward the TV and grabbed the remote. I followed his eyes as he turned the volume up. I saw my face in a corner of the screen and gasped.
“In the most tragic of incidents,” an anchorman said, “the explosion at Providence restaurant in Hollywood killed both Rachel Harris and Monique Glass late last night. Their partners and their children were also killed by the blast. It is thought that they were celebrating the latest additions to their families, but Lotto organizers are being questioned about why they allowed the women to be in such close proximity to each other so soon after winning.”
“Damn it.” I stood up and stomped my feet on the mahogany floor.
Justin stared at me wide-eyed. “What?”
“Don’t you see what they’re doing? They’re making it look like we died right after coming home. That way, no one would think to look for our children, and they’ll have a clear path to kill us. They’ve probably already taken Dylan and Monique’s child to 2013. We were just loose ends. But that …” I placed my hands on the sofa.
Justin stood up. “What?”
“They must … They must have killed her.”
He still had a confused look on his face.
“Monique. They’ve either killed her or are about to. If you didn’t save me, I’d be dead right now.”
“But at the hospital. …Williams …”
“What do you think he was going to do? Leave us alive?”
He stared at the wall. The magnitude of what I’d been trying to tell him finally seemed to hit him.
“They’re going to go for Jenny and Suzanna. I’ve got to help them.” I rushed toward the door, but he ran after me and held my wrist.
“You think they won’t have thought of waiting for you there?” he said.
I yanked my hand away. “I can’t just sit here and do nothing. Six hours ago, I was in bed with my husband and now he’s dead. Warren’s dead, Monique’s probably dead, too. Aliens have kidnapped the son I brought back. God knows what they want with him.”
He put his hands on my shoulders. “Look, I can’t even pretend to understand what you’re going through, missy. After what I saw tonight and what you told me, I don’t know how I can look at anyone again, even for a wee second, without thinking they’re one of them things. But you need to think before you do anything. We don’t know how wide this conspiracy or whatever it is reaches. At least get some sleep. We’ll come up with a plan in the morning.”
I stood still, staring at the walls. God, why is this happening? I clenched my fists and screamed. He just stared at me. I shook my head. “I’m sorry.”
“You don’t have to apologize.”
I embraced him. “Thanks for everything.”
He pulled back and gazed into my eyes. “No problem, missy. Now go get yourself some kip.”
That was probably the best suggestion he’d given me since we got back to his apartment. I definitely needed sleep. Maybe I would see things from a whole new angle when I woke up. I handed his cell back and walked into his room. His large oval bed was comfortable and soft. I walked to the floating wooden bedside table and placed the purple bottle on it. I took my sweater off and grimaced at the blood all over it. Surprisingly, however, I didn’t see a drop of blood on my jeans. After taking them off, I walked to the bathroom but then remembered the chip. I checked the pockets of my jeans, but it wasn’t there. I trembled and checked again. Still nothing. I grabbed the sweater and checked it. Nothing was in any of the pockets. Not the chip or its case. Oh no. Oh no.
I ran out in my bra and underwear and burst through the living-room door. Justin stood up but turned away after seeing me. I didn’t care how little clothing I had on.
“Have you seen the chip?”
He looked at me, bewildered, and shrugged.
“The chip I told you about, the message from the future.”
He shook his head. “I don’t even know what it looks like.”
“Oh no.” I slumped to the floor, shaking. I lifted my hand and squeezed my right ear. I felt a sharp pain from where the shot on the windowsill had grazed me. He rushed over to me, wearing only boxer shorts. He put his arm around me. “I must have dropped it in the hospital.”
He didn’t speak.
I slammed my hands against the floor. “Damn. Now I have no more leverage. That was the only evidence I had.”
“No, it wasn’t.”
I looked at him.
“You even said the message was incomplete.” He pointed to his eyes. “But we’ve both seen them, missy, you and me. And we’ll see them again.”
I nodded but didn’t move from the spot. Tears dropped from my eyes. I thought of Kevin and how they’d murdered him. I’d never see him again. I calmed myself after a few minutes and got up. “I’ll see you in the morning, okay?”
He rose also and walked back to the sofa. “Aye.”
After a few more minutes of crying, I had a shower and went to bed.
The banging on my door woke me the next morning. I rubbed my eyes. Justin walked in, fully dressed. In his white shirt, black tie and black trousers, he looked like a city worker. I sat up and stared at him. He held a blond wig in his hand.
“What’s that?” I said.
He squatted beside the bed. “Hear me out, missy.”
I nodded.
“What if we both go to your friend’s apartment?”
I considered his words for a moment but then shook my head. “No. No. This is my problem, not yours. I’ll go by myself.”
“And what then? What will you do, really?” He tossed the wig onto the bed. “Even with that, like, you’ll still need to get past the Kysos.”
“What are you saying?”
He leaned forward. “I go in and you can wait in the car.”
I just stared at him.
“I’ll go to your friend’s place and check up on them. Think about it—no one knows I’m helping you.” He held up a white badge with his picture on it, but the name
on it was Marlon Simmonds.
“What is that?”
“An L.A. Herald badge. It don’t matter who they are—they won’t touch me once they see this.”
I rubbed my eyes again and looked at the floor. “But how did you get that?”
He waved his hand dismissively. “That don’t matter. You want to know what happened to them, right? I can find out.” He reached into his pocket and held up a pair of glasses. “These ’ere are recording lenses. You’ll be able to see everything I can from this.” He pulled a miniature computer tablet from his jacket pocket and held it out. “This way you’ll know what to look for. You can even tell me any questions to ask through the headset.”
I frowned and stared at the window. He sat on the bed.
“I don’t know,” I said. “They’re dangerous. I can’t ask you to risk your life.”
“But I’m not at risk. If you’re right and they don’t want people getting suspicious, they won’t hurt me if they think I work for the media. That will just be stupid.” He held my hands. “Let me do this, missy. Once you know your friends are all right, I can help you get back to 2013. A few of me mates know people who work at the Space Port. You can go and get your son.”
He had a point. I could really use his help, especially if he did know people who could get me close to the portal. But letting him go up to Suzanna’s apartment was still dangerous. “What if they see through your cover?”
“I’ll be right out of there, missy. Trust me, it’ll work.”
I thought about it for a moment. “You go there and knock. If they don’t come, you just leave, okay?”
He nodded. “I swear.”
The Children Who Time Lost Page 14