by Jason Brant
The man stepped out from behind the Maple, holding one hand above his head. The other held a yellow glow stick in front of his face. Large, black-rimmed glasses covered a significant portion of his face. He couldn’t have been more than five and a half feet tall. A bit of a paunch hung over his belt.
He wore a lab coat with pens sticking out of the pocket, making him look completely out of place as he walked between the trees.
“Who are you?” Christy called to him.
He closed within fifty feet, his hand still above his head.
“My name is Tern, Scott Tern. For the love of God, don’t shoot me!”
“I’m not going to shoot you unless you do something stupid.”
Aaron adjusted his grip on the rock. “Do you have a gun?”
“No, I don’t have anything like that at all. I’ve just got a couple of these glow sticks.” He took a few more steps in Walter’s direction. His arm dropped to his side. “Wait a minute – is that a flare gun? Were you threatening me with a flare gun? Jesus! I thought you were going to shoot me.”
Walter lowered the gun, resting it by his right hip. He kept his eyes on the stranger, same as Christy.
“Where are you coming from, Scott?” Christy would have been elated to find another survivor if not for their previous encounter with the lunatic at the police station. Everyone looked like a danger to her now.
“From the post. It’s been a long freaking walk, let me tell you. These shoes aren’t meant for exercise and my feet are—”
“You were on the post when this happened?” Walter asked.
“Oh yeah, I was right there on the top of this craziness, let me tell you. It was really hard to get away from the coll—”
Scott stopped himself. He looked around at all of them as if something had just occurred to him. “I actually can’t talk about where I was. Nevermind. Anyway, like I was saying, my feet—”
Christy couldn’t tell if the guy was nuts, a drug addict, or if he was just wound so tight that a fart might lift him off the ground. If his mind worked as fast as his mouth then Scott must have been a genius. If he didn’t take a breath soon, he would pass out.
“Scott, look at me.” Walter stepped closer to him. “Do you know what’s going on here?”
“Me? No, not really. But who would? I mean what sense does it make that everything would go black and then my freaking girlfriend would appear behind a street sign and ask me to turn my iPad off? Why did everyone disappear? I’ve been walking halfway around the town just shouting at the sky and I can’t—”
“OK, OK, Scott, we get it. You don’t know what’s going. Do you know what caused it?” Christy joined Walter in front of the newcomer. Stephanie and Aaron came up behind them.
“Well, I really can’t talk about that. They would throw me right in jail, let me tell you. Do you guys have any water? I’ve been walking all around town and I’m really freaking thirsty. This jacket is really hot too, which is making me sweat, but I don’t want to take it off because what if it gets cold and—”
“Scott, I need you to relax. Let’s all sit down here in the grass. You can rest your feet and tell us what you know.” Walter went back and picked up his bag. He waved everyone to join him a little closer to the fires.
The heat felt soothing on Christy’s face as she followed Walter. For the first time since they’d started the fires, she noticed that the smell of rot had dissipated somewhat.
She didn’t like the idea of sitting around and shooting the shit. Learning everything they could about what they were up against was probably a smart thing to do, but she wanted to keep moving. Keep lighting fires. Stay alive.
Walter had the same drive she did though, so she trusted his judgment. If he thought they should listen to the incredibly hyper Scott Tern, then she would follow his lead.
“This was a really great idea, starting the fires, let me tell you. I was just wandering down Route 40, not knowing what to do, when I saw this fantastic amount of light coming from—”
Walter pulled a water bottle from his bag and handed it to Scott. Christy hoped that he couldn’t talk and drink water at the same time, though if anyone could figure it out, it was probably this guy. Talking appeared to be his favorite thing. He probably majored in it in college.
Two beer cans came out of the bag next and Walter handed one to Christy.
“Can I have one of those?” Aaron asked.
Walter considered it for a second before pulling another can out and giving it to Aaron. “I guess I don’t have to worry about getting in trouble for serving a minor. You want one, Stephanie?”
“Can I just share yours?” she asked Aaron.
Aaron nodded vigorously, obviously pleased with the idea of sharing anything with Stephanie. “Sure.”
Half of the water in the bottle was gone before Scott finally lowered it from his lips. He let out a wet belch before handing it back to Walt.
“Man, that really hit the spot, let me tell you.” He sat down in the grass, crossing his legs and rocking back and forth slightly, his belly hanging between his thighs. “So how did you guys—”
“You said that you can’t tell us what happened on the post,” Walter interrupted. He popped the tab on his beer and took a long pull before plopping to the ground. “But there isn’t anyone around to do anything to you. Security clearances don’t mean a whole hell of a lot right now.”
The can in Christy’s hand didn’t have much in the way of markings on it. She opened it and took a sip. It tasted like liquid ass. Her face puckered as she lowered it from her lips, hoping that she wouldn’t gag. Walter’s taste buds must have died long ago.
Scott rocked a little faster as he thought through what Walter said. “That is true. I guess that dickhead from D.C. can’t—”
“Scott, just relax. We’ve lost everything here – at least do the right thing and tell us what you know.”
Christy turned her attention to Aaron and Stephanie, wanting to see their reactions to the beer. Scott would probably ramble for another five minutes before actually saying anything of importance.
Aaron fumbled with the tab on his can. He finally managed to get it open and took a quick swig of the beer.
His reaction was priceless. His face scrunched in a grimace that made Christy crack up. After forcing a gulp he shook his head, looking like he might vomit.
“You drink this shit? My God. This must be what evil tastes like. ”
Stephanie took the beer from his hand and drank. Two gulps later she handed it back to Aaron, licking her lips. Christy thought a few parties might have been in Stephanie’s past.
“That’s not too bad,” Stephanie said to Aaron.
“Yeah, yeah. It’s just that I’ve had better.” Aaron pretended to like the beer, forcing another sip.
Christy got a kick out of the fake bravado. She turned back to Scott. He hadn’t stopped yapping.
“Well, it’s an incredibly long story, and I don’t really want to go into all of it, but I can give you the CliffsNotes. You see, I went to college at—”
Walter held up his hand. “Does your college experience have anything to do with what happened on the post?”
“Well, I was going to tell you about how I got my degree in astrophysics, because really that’s how I stumbled upon—”
“You’re an astrophysicist?”
“That’s right. You see, I went to college for mathematics, which is a fine field in and of itself, but it didn’t go into enough—”
“Scott,” Walter pointed at his beer can, “I’ve only got one more beer in my bag and I have a feeling I’m going to need it before you get to the point. We don’t have time to hear all of this. How about you just tell us what you were doing on the post and what that has to do with all of this.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I understand. OK. So.” He paused, tilting his head, as if he couldn’t figure out how to start. “I got it. So I was hired to work on this program called Project Doorway and it was a real do
ozy, let me tell you.”
Chapter 17
Walter contemplated the stupidity of the story Scott just finished.
Or was still finishing – the man never shut up.
To be completely honest with himself, Walter was impressed that the Department of Defense had been able to build a giant particle collider in secret. The amount of manpower required to construct such a thing was enormous. To do so without information of it leaking out should have been damn near impossible.
“—and then I saw your fire from the road and decided to see what was going on. I haven’t seen anyone since Cynthia disappeared at the lab and it gets really lonely just wandering around in the dark, let me tell you. And—”
Aaron held his head in his hands. Whether he was stunned by the story or by Scott’s never ending diarrhea of the mouth, Walter couldn’t be certain. Stephanie’s jaw hung open as she stared at the scientist. Christy just looked pissed.
“Scott,” Christy said, her voice stern, her words clipped. “What was the objective of Operation Doorway?”
“To open a door, of course. As I was saying, then I—”
“A doorway to where?” Aaron asked through his hands.
“That was a running argument between some of us, let me tell you. Most people didn’t think it would even work so they completely dismissed—”
Walter considered himself a fairly intelligent man. Sure, he liked to booze too much and basically became a hermit the past few months, but he could usually follow a conversation. Scott clearly had a vast intellect but his thoughts jumped around so randomly, making connections that a normal person didn’t make, that Walter had a hard time piecing the story together.
“They didn’t think what would work? The entire operation?”
“Of course. The idea that we could create a microscopic black hole has been generally accepted. Keeping it open was what a lot of my colleagues thought would be impossible, at least with the power supply at our disposal. Sure, they built that new power plant on the post so they could give it a shot, but even with the enhanced grid, most people thought the entire idea would flop. Hey, can I have that last beer? I’m not much of a drinker but under the circumstances—”
How does his jaw not get tired? Walter wondered.
“I’m sorry,” Stephanie said. “I don’t even understand how you could make a black hole? That sounds ridiculous.”
“The atom smasher. We called it Betsy, which I always thought was a stupid name. Basically, you collide two particles with sufficient energy and it creates one. That’s an extremely simplified version of a very complex process, let me tell you. So how about that beer? I really—”
Walter took the last can out and handed it to Scott. Hopefully, it would slow his brain down a bit. “We’ve covered that some people didn’t think it was possible. But what about you, Scott? You’re an astrophysicist, right? Why would they bring you in on a project dealing with particles?”
“I didn’t really know what would happen. I sure as crap didn’t think that we could open a self-sustaining black hole and that a bunch of darkness would seep out and kill everyone, let me tell you. My girlfriend appearing out of nowhere really scared the—”
Stephanie sighed heavily and grabbed the beer from Aaron, polishing it off in three large gulps. She tossed the empty can to the ground and glared at Scott. “What. Did. You. Open. A. Doorway. To.”
“Hey, easy with the anger there. I don’t have to—” Something on Stephanie’s face made Scott reconsider another rambling monologue. He closed his eyes and took a few breaths. “I think we opened an interdimensional doorway, or gate if you will. Theories on black holes run a complete gamut. Odds are that being sucked into a black hole would lead to death by spaghettification.
“By what?” Aaron asked, raising his head.
“Spaghettification. Your body would be pulled apart, long and thin like spaghetti, as you approached the black hole. Like I said, there are all kinds of other fringe theories however. Some think you can use a black hole to travel faster than the speed of light. Another theory suggests that time travel could be possible, allowing you to go into your own past. Those actually kind of work together because travelling faster than the speed of light would lead to time travel. Though that leads to all kinds problems including the grandfather paradox, which—”
“Scott,” Walter said, his voice calm, but stern.
“Right, sorry. Others, including myself, believe that a black hole opens a doorway in the space time continuum that allows access to different dimensions. For me to fully explain this would take days. I’ve spent years studying this, so it’s difficult for a layman—” he looked at Christy and Stephanie with puppy eyes “—layperson, sorry. It’s difficult to understand without getting into the nitty-gritty, let me tell you.”
Walter ignored the layperson comment. He knew that his appearance gave off the impression that he might be a homeless wino, but he certainly wasn’t an idiot. At one point he’d been one of Maryland’s most reputable professors in his field. Sure, he wasn’t an astrophysicist, but still. If he were to call Scott on it though, he might get flustered and take a month to get the rest of the story out.
“Anyway, that’s what I think happened here. We opened the gate, and all of this crap came spilling out. What it is, where it came from, or what it wants is beyond me. It’s beyond anyone. All I know is that it doesn’t like light and it’s cognizant.”
“Cognizant?” Stephanie asked.
“Alive. Aware. It can think,” Aaron said.
“The black hole should have dissipated immediately, but it stayed open. Something on the other side is keeping it going.”
“Why do people like you always have to play with things you can’t understand?” Walter worked his way to his feet, his anger boiling over again. “You may have killed us all you stupid motherfu—”
“Walt.” Christy hopped up, putting her hand on his forearm. “We need to focus on staying alive for now. We can deal with who did what when we’re safe.”
“Screw that. My daughter, your mother, their parents, they’re all dead because of this little shit.”
Scott scooted backward, crab walking on his hands and legs. “You can’t hurt me! I’m just a scientist!”
“I can’t hurt you? There are no rules here. Look around. There’s nothing.”
Molly sat in front of Walter and looked up at him, her ears back, tongue hanging out of the side of her mouth. The muscles in Walter’s forearm relaxed under Christy’s touch. Anger still permeated his voice, though he tried to hide it.
“Just stay away from me.”
“We didn’t know!” Scott halted his retreat, eyeing Walter wearily.
“So what is Legion?” Aaron asked.
Scott’s face scrunched. “What?”
“We talked to the things that look like our family. They called themselves Legion.”
“They conversed with you?”
“They did. Sometimes they spoke in unison,” Walter said.
“Now that is interesting. So we’re dealing with some kind of collective intelligence. I wonder, is the darkness the same being as those that are taking human identities? Or are these all single organisms that share some kind of knowledge base?”
“They know things about us too. Personal things.” Walter eased back down, his temper cooling. Perhaps they could find some kind of weakness beyond using light by letting Scott reason some things out. He was weird, and had contributed to untold deaths, but he was damn smart.
“Walt destroyed one of them too.” Christy sat up, focusing on the discussion more than she had been. “He shot it with a flare and it exploded.”
“You killed one? So that means they are separate beings. Or perhaps they’re just able to split off from the whole and reintegrate whenever they want.”
“It looked like my mother when he destroyed it.”
“Have you seen your mother since then?”
“Yeah, right before we started the fires.”
Scott rubbed the back of his neck. “Interesting. About six months ago the army sent us a squad or a platoon or whatever they’re called to guard us. No one understood why though – it didn’t make any sense. These were some tough hombres too, let me tell you. Hey, that rhymed!”
“They sent some soldiers to guard you?” Walter asked. “So someone expected that there were dangers with the experiment. I’m guessing the darkness took them the same as everyone else?”
“Actually, most of them just never came back one day. We were told that they’d been relieved of duty. A physicist didn’t come back either. I wondered if he might have been talking to the soldiers about things he wasn’t supposed to. More troops came in a few weeks later but they were kind of buttholes so we—”
Splintering wood echoed through the area. Walter looked back at the burning house just as the roof collapsed into the second floor. Sparks showered the blackened grass surrounding the home. They still had a long time until the fire would burn itself out, but Walter thought they should consider starting a new one soon. There was no point in waiting until the light died down, making things more difficult.
Christy beat him to it. “We should go and get another house started. Why not light this place up like the fourth of July? I like the idea of not seeing my mother’s doppelganger again for a while.”
Scott examined the house, still rocking a bit, his hands fidgeting constantly.
“That fire should last for several more hours. We should be fine. They’ll definitely be here by then. In fact, the flames should act as a great—”
“Wait, what did you just say?” Aaron’s eyes grew large.
It took Walter a moment to figure out what had Aaron so excited. The more Scott rambled, the less he listened to him.
“I said they’ll be here soon so we really shouldn’t need to—”
Walter felt his heart skip a beat. “Who will be here soon?”
“I’m sure they’ll send in some kind of SWAT or Special Forces unit. Probably the FBI too. I don’t really know what the protocol is for—”