AIR Series Box Set

by Amanda Booloodian

  "You need to calm down," I said. Gremlins weren't predators, and they didn't have much of a reaction to my soul, so I wasn't worried. As another one bounced against our protection, I thought about that again. Well, not too worried.

  "What's going on?" Boone asked, jerking back when another struck a few inches away.

  "They're curious, that's all. They're…" I struggled to find the right words. "I think they're having fun."

  "Fun?"

  "Yes. They want to figure out what we are." The worn feeling came on again, which wasn't a good sign. Still gripping Boone's arm, I slung the bag off my back and pushed it into him. "Take this."

  He took it and watched in amazement as the small creatures bounced around, over, and sometimes on, one another. I unscrewed the top of the plastic jar and took out a few small pieces of metal. I passed one to Boone, kept two, and resealed the jar, before also shoving it into Boone's protesting hands.

  I half sat, half fell down. The nearest gremlin put his hands on the seemingly empty air and leaned as far into it as he could, pressing his nose to the invisible surface. I opened up a small hole and held out one tiny piece of metal. He screeched and snatched it excitedly out of my hand. Then he pawed over my hand, looking for another.

  "Come down here. I can't keep burning through this much energy."

  Silently, Boone squatted down next to me, and I once again shrunk our enclosure.

  Not finding anything else, the gremlin hopped away and was engulfed by his friends. Then I repeated the act with another and motioned for Boone to do the same.

  Two other gremlins claimed prizes before I began to sway.

  "Is the lid tight on the metal?" I asked.

  "Yes." He sounded in awe and he watched the gremlins as though fascinated.

  "Good, because I'm dropping our barrier."

  "What will they do?"

  "Nothing, I hope. And if you pull out your knife again, I swear I'll make you regret it."

  Boone grinned, but didn't look away from the gremlins.

  I let go of the bubble of solid air, which I had held for far too long, and our shield got swept away. Then I realized my mistake. We should have stood again before I had let go.

  Too late now. I pushed the Path away as the first gremlin jumped on top of me. Like they had done with one another, it bounced off again. One rolled in front of Boone, and I saw one take up residence on his shoulder like a parrot.

  "You should stand up, before they knock you down," I yawned before the words got fully out.

  He moved carefully so his new friend didn't fall off. It did take the chance to jump off before Boone fully stood.

  "Come on." Boone held out his hand to me. His eyes were still fastened to the little, green, scaly people.

  I sighed, knowing I'd be hard pressed to get to my feet.

  Chapter 10

  Resigned, I took the proffered hand and Boone pulled me to my feet.

  "Thanks," I said.

  "Did you know that would work? Giving them the metal, I mean?"

  "It's metal. Of course, they were going to take it."

  Boone shook his head. "That's not what I meant."

  "I knew it was worth a try, and I knew I wouldn't be able to hold them off for long."

  "How exactly did you do that?"

  Feigning deafness, I kept my eyes on the ground, afraid I might step on any one of the scurrying gremlins. "They're leaving."

  Boone looked in the direction I nodded toward. "Some of them are. Listen, Agent Heidrich, I think—"

  "Cassie," I said. "Call me Cassie."

  He seemed caught off guard by my statement.

  Before he could rally, I did my best to steer the conversation in another direction. "Do you think they live nearby?"

  "I think we're going to find out," Boone said.

  Gremlins pulled on his pant legs, and moments later, they began to do the same with me. Some were urging from behind as well, bumping into the back of my knees to get me to move forward.

  "I'm not sure we should leave the portal," Boone said.

  One barreled into the back of me and my knee buckled. It was difficult to keep my footing. "I'm not sure we have a choice."

  Boone planted his feet, and one of the gremlins hissed at him. When another repeated the sound, Boone looked disconcerted.

  "It's possible I'll know if the portal opens," I said. I was exhausted to my core, and I wanted nothing else other than to curl up and sleep, but the hissing gremlin had unnerved me as well.

  After a few moments of hesitation, Boone relented and we were swept away in the tide of gremlins. Around us, they jumped, fumbled, and tackled one another. It was interesting to watch, but I was too tired to take more than a cursory interest.

  "Do you mind passing me the first-aid kit?" I asked.

  "Everything okay?" Boone asked as he began to situate the bag to a more comfortable position, trying to reach the kit.

  "I need caffeine."

  He stopped, kit in hand, and looked at me. "Caffeine?"

  I rolled my eyes and held out my hand for the kit. He shrugged and handed it over.

  "It's not standard issue for a first-aid kit," he said.

  "It should be." After taking one pill out, I passed the kit back to him and he stowed it away.

  "Do you and your partners take caffeine pills often?"

  Sighing, I swallowed the pill before giving a response. "No, most of the time caffeine comes in the form of coffee or the occasional soda. If you have one of those, I'd gladly take it over this."

  "No such luck."

  "Then I'm stuck with what we have."

  He shook his head and re-situated the bag on his back. I knew it was the exhaustion that made me feel cranky, but Boone wasn't helping matters. Soon, the caffeine would give me a bit of a boost. I'd never relied much on caffeine in pill form, so I crossed my fingers and hoped it would be enough.

  We walked in silence for a while. Well, Boone and I were silent. The gremlins sounded like they were having a party. The caffeine started to kick in, which was a bonus. If I needed to, I thought I could manage the Path again, but I wasn't going to try it unless I had to.

  And I hoped I wouldn't have to. I didn't like the idea of having to rely on Boone if I got myself into any trouble. Two nights ago, he had told me he didn't trust me. Now, I wondered if I could trust him.

  How was it that I had never questioned that before? He was an agent and we were on the same side, technically, but that didn't mean I should automatically trust him.

  Since we were stuck together for a while, it would be good to get to know him. "Tell me, Agent Boone, if you weren't here, where would you be right now?"

  It was a subtle enough start.

  He seemed to think about it for a while. "You can call me Boone. Um, hard to say. I'm supposed to be watching your team today. What would you all be doing?"

  "I'm guessing Logan and I would be checking up on some of the Lost. Although Agent Paulson might still be interviewing people. If he needed us, we may have been stuck at the office."

  "I think I was supposed to meet with him again the day we went to the portal. It sounded like they didn't have any leads when we left."

  "None that I'm aware of." What had Paulson mentioned about Boone? He had left the control room around the same time I had. "Were you at the office when Clancy..." I swallowed hard, not realizing how hard it would be to say Clancy's name.

  "No, I had left shortly before," Boone said.

  Remembering how I had found Clancy, I gripped a hand over my stomach. We hadn't been close, but it was still hard to believe he was gone.

  "I can understand how you might want to look at an outsider," Boone said. "Your office has had a hard time of it this past year."

  That pulled me out of my reverie. "What do you mean?"

  "Wasn't it a year ago that your last director died in the line of duty?"

  "Huh," I shook my head. "Right. Something like that." If being in the line of duty meant while t
rying to kill me, then sure. But that part had been redacted, and I wasn't allowed to share the truth.

  "That was around the time the portals opened, wasn't it?"

  The gremlins were bunching together in front of us, which forced us to stop. Amazingly, we were still in the meadow and the tree line was still there.

  "Do you find it strange that things are lined up in strips here?" It was a lame question, but I didn't care as long as it changed the subject. I didn't like to dwell on the fact that my boss had hired someone to kill me.

  "On the other side of the woods there was another field, a bit like this one. That's where I found the water."

  "Over the rise, the hill slopes down and runs into another forest," I said.

  "It does seem odd. Orderly, but odd. Maybe the weather sculpts the landscape."

  Many of the gremlins had run away, though a few others milled around. It was late in the day and even with the extra boost of the caffeine pills, I was tired.

  Making sure to find a spot clear of gremlins, I sat down on the ground. "You know," I said, "when I get home, I don't think I'll ever take a chair for granted again."

  Boone chuckled. He came over and dropped the bag beside me. "It's not much, but you can try to lean against it to see if that helps." He looked around as though debating to sit, but stayed standing up.

  I tried the bag and no, it didn't help. "Thanks." I leaned against the bag and watched the gremlins. One meandered over and plopped down next to me. Its leathery green skin rubbed against my arm as it settled in.

  I watched it for a bit, and then looked around. We were surrounded by gremlins. A few dozed, and a few still had enough energy to bounce around.

  "You know, being stuck in another world sucks," I said, "but the fact that we have a job where we meet with and work with people like gremlins is still pretty neat."

  Boone didn't say anything.

  "Which office do you work for?" I asked.

  Outwardly, nothing about Boone changed, but an air of unease stirred. "I move around."

  "Really? You're not based anywhere?"

  "I go where they tell me."

  "Oh, but you’re getting a new team, right? That's why you're visiting here?" It immediately struck me what I had said, and I sadly corrected myself. "I mean, visiting our office, back in our world."

  "Yes."

  "All Lost and humans with special abilities?"

  "Humans," he said. "At this time, they're all humans."

  "Oh, for some reason, I thought there were Lost as well." Wasn't that the whole reason he was watching our team? "What types of abilities do they have?"

  "That's confidential." His voice sounded clipped and tense.

  I raised a questioning eyebrow at him, then shook my head and looked away. I tried to find a more comfortable position, much to the displeasure of the gremlin beside me, and laid my head on the bag. The sky was such a deep blue it once again amazed me. Then I closed my eyes, intent on blocking out everything around me.

  Right then, I wanted nothing more than to be at home.

  I'm not sure how long I slept, but it wasn't long enough. A chittering broke out among the gremlins which roused me. When I looked around, I saw they were all looking toward the top of the rise. Soon a shriek came and gremlins scattered, several of them climbing over me in the process.

  As soon as I was able, I pushed myself to my feet and looked around for the source of the commotion. I saw Boone doing the same.

  "What happened?" I asked. Then I had to cover my mouth to yawn. Definitely not enough sleep.

  "I'm not sure, but we might want to follow them," Boone said.

  "You think?" I grabbed the bag and slung it over my back.

  "If a flock of birds flies off suddenly, you take notice."

  "Birds?" I looked around, not finding anything.

  Boone let out a harassed sigh. "When animals flee, there's usually a reason."

  My blood pressure instantly started to rise. "What? They aren't animals."

  He looked confused. "What makes you say that?"

  "The fact that they're intelligent, you ass." I could feel my face turning red.

  "We're all animals. Never mind that, I think we need to move."

  "They tend to run." The voice sounded like it came from behind me.

  I spun around and stepped back at the same time, trying to distance myself from the speaker. Behind me, a woman stood. I'm a horrible judge of age, but the woman looked ancient. Way older than Gran or any of her friends.

  Seeing her eyes, I backed up a few more paces. They looked like the eyes of a much younger woman. They were blue and crystal clear, heavy on the crystal part, and they sparkled.

  My tongue had apparently fled with any sense I may have had. Boone grabbed my arm and pulled me further away.

  "They are not animals," the woman continued. "They are old ones."

  I shook off Boone, who was still gripping my arm. "Do you," I started, but I couldn't nail down any one of the hundred questions the woman aroused. "Um, I wasn't expecting to run into someone that speaks our language."

  "More than gremlins travel through portals.” The woman's head twitched. "I am Wyna. You are Cassie and Boone, yes?"

  "Um, yeah." I wanted to take another step back, but I stood my ground. "How did you know that?"

  "Our friends told me," Wyna said.

  "Well, Wyna, it's nice to meet you." I made no move forward to shake her hand.

  "It is," Boone said. He appeared to finally catch his tongue. "And I am sorry if I have caused offense with the gremlins."

  The woman’s smile looked too large for her face, which made my skin crawl.

  "It is hard to offend them at their age. The younger ones who are more formal, mind," Wyna said. "The old ones still have sense though. They brought Cassie to see me."

  "Why?" My voice was shriller than I would have liked. She was an old lady, after all, not some gun-wielding madman. She looked mostly human. Two legs, two arms, a head. Everything in between shaped womanly. Yet somehow, she managed to put me on edge.

  "How well do you know gremlins?" Wyna asked.

  I thought that over, not knowing what she was looking for. "Um, not well, I guess. They like metal and they build stuff with it. It's usually not what you'd want built, but, but it's pretty all the same. And they act like, well, like kids."

  "They do build, but they also fix. Gremlins can fix anything," Wyna said.

  "What does that have to do with bringing us to you?" Boone asked.

  The woman grinned. "They want to fix Cassie."

  Boone moved a step forward, so he stood closer to the woman than I did. He tried to make it look casual. The fact that I glared at the back of his head probably didn't help it look casual. I'm not sure what he intended, or what he thought was happening. I, on the other hand, was afraid of what Wyna might say at that point.

  "I'm not sure we understand," Boone said.

  Wyna looked curiously at Boone. "Fix her." Wyna patted her chest. "Soul."

  "I'm not sure I follow." Whatever Boone had been expecting, it obviously wasn't this. He looked tense and sounded leery.

  "It is obvious to me and them."

  I could practically feel Boone wanting to turn to look at me, but like me, he didn’t turn his back to this woman.

  "You think there's something wrong with her soul?" Boone asked.

  Wyna didn't say anything, but watched us both with interest.

  I bit my lip. This was something I didn't want the office to know. I mean, it was my soul, after all. I'm pretty sure there wasn’t anything in the rule book that said a soul needed to be whole.

  "They think they can fix it?" I asked.

  Boone stepped back so he could look at Wyna and me at the same time. He didn't look happy about the situation.

  "They can fix anything but it is not easy," Wyna said.

  My soul can be fixed. Something that Vincent had been researching for ages. No more rude waitresses or waiters, no one getting an
gry with me for no reason, and no one pulling a gun on me, without quite knowing why.

  Well, I hoped for the latter at least.

  I cast a nervous glance at Boone, but plunged on. "If the gremlins know about my soul, do they also know about the other pieces?"

  Wyna nodded. "They know of these. They sense one of their own among you."

  There was a gremlin inside me. "I'm sorry for the gremlin." The idea made my eyes burn and water. "Please let them know it wasn't me that caused it."

  Do other Lost know when they looked at me that I had shards of their race inside me? The essence had been split by a mad man and had come to reside in me by accident. There were fewer pieces rattling around inside me, but they were always lingering, waiting to slip in and take control.

  Wyna watched me until it became uncomfortable, but I didn't look away. I wanted the gremlins to know, wanted everyone to know that this wasn't something I had done.

  "You give one of them passage. A life beyond this one. They do not look to place blame."

  I shook my head. "The soul isn't whole. I didn't break it up, but I don't want them to think that it's someone living in me."

  "A part of them all lingers on. The part you carry survives."

  "I don't understand. It's only instinct that anyone seems to have."

  "Sometimes that is all that is needed," Wyna said.

  "So, what happens to it if my soul gets fixed?" I asked.

  Wyna appeared to think that over or maybe she was choosing her words carefully. "There is no certainty."

  "Then why would they want it fixed?" I asked.

  "They have no certainty. At least the old ones do not."

  "And the younger gremlins?" I asked.

  Wyna didn't answer, and I could feel Boone's unease.

  "We only want to get the portal open and go home," I said, trying to change the subject.

  Wyna's eyes narrowed. "Is that why the creature comes?"

  Did I miss a part of the conversation? "What?"

  "It is late in the day and you are tired," Wyna said stiffly. "You will return with me and rest. Tomorrow we make plans."

  "We'll stay by the portal," Boone said, speaking at last.