“Let go of me,” she said, pulling away. She shuffled her feet backward until she was in the main area of the basement.
Lucas followed her. “Let me explain. Please.”
“Just leave me alone! You men are nothing bunch a bunch of liars. I can’t do this again.” She ran past Kleezebee and Fuji, straight for the exit.
Lucas stood next to the professor, watching her climb the ladder and scurry out of view.
“That went well,” Kleezebee said, with a half-smile on his lips.
“Are they always this fucking emotional?”
“They are. Even more so when you lie to them. You should have told her the truth up front.”
“Now you tell me,” Lucas said, wishing he’d never met the girl. The pain in his chest was deep and powerful. “Next time how about a warning bark or something, Professor?”
Kleezebee laughed. “Damn that girl reminds me of my ex-wife. All piss and vinegar.”
Lucas wanted to punch the old man, but didn’t. “Maybe we should focus on something we can control, like Drew’s containment drive.”
“We’ll take care of it. You should go talk with her, before it’s too late.”
Lucas nodded, shuffling his feet to the bottom of the basement ladder. He wrapped his fingers around the ladder struts, then looked back at his boss. “Someone should write an instruction manual on how to deal with women. They’d make a fortune.”
“It would have to be a book three feet thick, and that would be just the first chapter.”
Lucas rolled his eyes, then climbed the ladder.
FORTY-ONE
Kleezebee returned to Fuji, waiting for the monk to finish his latest set of calculations. He knew it would be a fruitless endeavor to try to interrupt the brilliant mathematician once he was in the zone.
He drew in a deep breath, then exhaled, knowing that the narrows of time were closing ranks. It wouldn’t be long before the toughest decision of his life would rise up and stare him dead in the face. He needed to stay vigilant, stay strong, do what must be done for the sake of the multi-verse. He knew it wouldn’t be easy to say goodbye, but he vowed to keep his emotions in check.
His mind drifted to thoughts of Drew, sitting in his wheelchair, laughing with his foster brother in their campus lab back on Earth. It was a joyous time, long before the malevolence of fate took control, twisting their lives into disarray. He’d give anything to experience the unbridled elation of that singular moment just one more time.
Fuji stopped writing and put his pencil down. He stood up.
“Do you have the results?” Kleezebee asked.
“We have arrived at the next inflection point,” Fuji said, holding out his arms. He craned his neck, looking at the ceiling.
Kleezebee eyed the basement ladder and waited for it. Almost instantly, the sunlight beaming through the trap door faded into a heavy shadow, just as a slight tremor coursed through the basement floor. “They’re here.”
Fuji brought his hands together, then nodded. “As it should be.”
“At least we got this right. Wasn’t sure with all the recent changes. I just thought we’d have a little more notice,” the professor said, wishing he were better prepared.
“Time seldom affords such a luxury.”
“Then we’d better get to it. Let’s hope the schematics we obtained from Wyatt are current, otherwise, this ends before it begins,” Kleezebee said, giving the master fuse to his trusted college. “Just wait until Lucas is with you. I’ll make sure he sees you.”
Fuji slid the fuse into the side pocket of his robe, then used both hands to lift a leather satchel containing a sphere of E-121 from the floor. It took several tries for the monk to hoist it high enough in order to slip the straps around his shoulders.
“Are you sure you can you handle this by yourself?” the professor asked, wondering if he should augment their plan.
“This is my burden. It must come to pass,” Fuji answered, adjusting the pack against his waist. He grabbed the walking stick leaning against the wall next to the bathroom door.
“Godspeed, my friend. It’s been a pleasure working with you,” Kleezebee said.
Fuji bowed. “May destiny favor our souls.”
The professor stood and waited for his tiny friend to walk down the short hallway that connected the basement to the escape tunnel. “Just keep him safe and on task. For all our sakes!” he yelled, just before the monk disappeared from view.
Kleezebee went to the ladder and climbed it, joining the rest of the group on the surface.
“Drew’s plan must have failed,” Lucas said, pointing at the Baaku ship floating overhead. He reached for Carrie Anne’s hand. She pulled it away, turning her back to him. He looked at Kleezebee. “What are we going to do? We don’t have the drive.”
“There’s nothing we can do,” Kleezebee said. He looked at Rico. “Have they made contact?”
“Not yet. But we should spread out. Make it tougher for them to target us.”
“And go where?” Kleezebee said. “No, we stand together as a group.”
“What are they waiting for? We’re sitting ducks,” Lucas said.
“Probably adjusting their scanners. I’m sure they’re more than curious about the basement.”
“Speaking of the basement, where’s Fuji?”
“He’s taking care of something for me,” Kleezebee said, looking at the tree line to the east.
Lucas turned and pointed. “Is that him? What the fuck?”
“Looks like he’s almost to the Stunner Deck,” Rico said.
Lucas’ face lit up with a look of fury. “What the hell is he going to do, Professor?”
“What must be done.”
Lucas looked at the Baaku ship. “He can’t do this! Drew is on that ship!”
“I’m sorry. But there’s no other choice. This is how it must be.”
“Bullshit,” Lucas said, before he took off running in Fuji’s direction.
“Should I stop him, Professor?” Rico asked.
“No, let him go. He needs to do this, too.”
“What does that mean?” Carrie Anne asked, just as the shadow blanketing the area slid to the east. She looked up, staring at the ship for a long minute as it flew toward the Stunner Deck. She walked to Kleezebee, then punched him square in the jaw. “You bastard! They’re going to attack! You knew they’d follow Lucas, didn’t you?”
Rico grabbed the girl, pulling her away.
Kleezebee spat out a patch of blood. His lip was split along the side. “Yes. It was necessary. Time always finds its way.”
“We should make a run for it,” Rico said, “while they’re preoccupied.”
“No need. Fuji has it covered. As long as he can integrate the E-121 power module.”
* * *
Lucas changed his course, hurdling a smattering of deadfall, as he continued the half-mile sprint through the forest to stop Fuji. His lungs burned from the brisk, high-altitude air gushing in and out with each stride. He could see the imposing silhouette of the Stunner Deck peeking through the tall trees before him, blotting out much of the blazing sun. He passed the final tree, stopping his legs near the base of the towering weapon.
He put his hands on his hips and bent over, trying to feed his oxygen-starved chest. It was pumping at a red-line pace, making his knees weak and his head dizzy. He surveyed the area, but didn’t see Fuji along the front or the side. The monk must be around back, he decided. He told his mouth to call out to Fuji, but his lungs refused when they couldn’t muster enough pressure to energize his vocal cords. He needed a few more gulps of air.
The cluster of guns along the surface of the elevated platforms rose up and swung around in unison to aim their fifty-foot-long turrets at the approaching ship.
“No! No! No!” he screamed.
Seconds later, a massive plasma ball formed at the collective focal point in front of the cannons. The Stunner deck recoiled as the energy ball released, heading toward the hoveri
ng craft.
A compression wave hit Lucas in the chest, sending him stumbling backward and onto his ass. He glanced up just in time to see the energy pulse impact the hull, spreading out like sticky lightning to cover the belly of the Baaku ship.
He heard the sound of gears grinding above him, as the massive array of guns adjusted their aim. They energized again, spawning a second energy ball that soon released, hitting a different location along the ship. His body was rocked by another compression wave.
He pushed through the pain, rolling over on his stomach to bury his face in the cushy mountain turf. He covered his ears, just before the guns fired again, pounding the ship with another volley.
“Stop! Fuji! Stop!” he screamed, but the assault continued for another five volleys.
Then it stopped.
Lucas waited a few seconds for the barrage to continue, but it didn’t. He rolled onto his side and looked up. The craft was engulfed in a cocoon of pulsating energy that seemed to be eating away at portions of its hull. The alien vessel drifted away, moving awkwardly in a zigzag pattern above the rolling landscape. Then it tilted and changed course, following an accelerated, gravity-fed descent. Moments later, the transport ship exploded in the sky with a mass more than a hundred times its visual size. A mile-wide shower of flaming wreckage headed for the surface.
“Drew!” he screamed, calculating the trajectory of the crash. He gasped when he realized that it was traveling toward Carrie Anne and the others. He cried out for her, using every ounce of breath remaining in his body. He stood up, then took off running through the forest, heading back the way he came.
* * *
“Holy Mother of God,” Rico said.
“Time found its way,” Kleezebee mumbled to the heavens, watching the rain of fire head his way.
Carrie Anne screamed, running to the right.
Rico grabbed Kleezebee’s arm. “We need to go! Now! Goddamn it, now!”
“Won’t matter,” Kleezebee answered, pulling himself free from the mercenary.
Rico ran off in the same direction as the girl, but the professor kept his eyes fixed and stood tall, as the inevitable came charging at him.
Ten beats later, secondary explosions rocked the mountainside as the fiery debris field made impact, laying waste to the entire area. He turned his head to the right just in time to witness Rico and Carrie Anne getting pummeled by a torrent of flaming debris. It extinguished their lives in a fiery instant.
He looked ahead and took a deep breath. A jagged section of the hull tumbled end over end, skipping its way across the clearing. It seemed to be targeting only him, not wavering its course after each successive bounce.
“May God have mercy on our souls,” he said, just before death made impact with him, sucking the last drop of life out of his chest.
* * *
Lucas listened to the thunder of explosions echoing across the valley as he raced through the trees. A few minutes later, a soaring mile-wide pillar of smoke and fire filled the sky beyond the last set of trees that were blocking his path. His mind flashed a dozen alternating images of Drew and Carrie Anne, each one pummeling his heart with pain.
He stopped running as soon as he made it back to the clearing. All he could see was wreckage, fire and smoke covering the entire area. It was clear that nobody could have survived the devastation. It was too widespread and intense. He dropped to the ground and curled himself into the fetal position, wrapping his arms around his legs to contain the hurt. He couldn’t think or speak, not with the swell of misery pumping through his veins.
It wasn’t long before his eyes emptied of their tears and the last bit of energy drained from his body. He passed out.
FORTY-TWO
Fuji adjusted his robe, then knelt down next to Lucas in the soft, cushioned grass. He tapped his intrepid friend twice on the shoulder. “It’s time to awaken.” He waited, but Lucas didn’t answer or move. He pushed at Lucas, again—this time much harder.
Lucas opened his eyes and sucked in a deep, rapid breath, as if he had just been revived from a near-drowning incident.
Fuji gave Lucas a moment to uncoil his body from a ball. “We must return now.”
Lucas sat up in an instant and grabbed Fuji by the robe. “You killed my brother, you son of a bitch! You killed everyone! Why the fuck did you do that?”
“You must trust me.”
Lucas shook his head, releasing his grip. He screamed in obvious emotional pain.
“Time finds a way. What has happened must happen again.”
“I’m tired of you talking in circles! I don’t understand any of this,” Lucas said, his voice shaky, ragged. He stood up and pushed Fuji back three steps. “Get the fuck away from me.”
“Enhance your calm, my young friend.”
“Fuck you and your calm,” Lucas said, spit dripping from his mouth. He held up a tight fist. “I should kill you for what you did to my brother and Carrie Anne.”
“Your emotions are warranted. Yet we must finish.”
“Finish? What’s left to finish? Everyone is dead!”
“Time has arrived.”
“You crazy little bastard,” Lucas said, walking away, heading into the forest, away from the heat of the fire.
Fuji followed him. “All is not lost. This was predicted. But we must return now. The second endpoint is still viable. Trust me.”
Lucas turned, his eyes full of fury. “Look. I’m not going anywhere with you. Just leave me the fuck alone.”
“You must. Your brother needs you.”
Lucas didn’t respond right away, not until after the emotion ran dry from his face. “The Incursion Chamber?”
Fuji bowed. “Brave souls have surrendered their lives willingly so this may come to pass.”
Lucas hesitated for a five count. “You knew this was going to happen?”
“It was unavoidable.”
“Time . . . finds . . . a . . . way,” Lucas said at half speed, nodding. His eyes sagged. “That’s why Kleezebee made me promise. You figured out how to see major events from the future—the distant future—with the Akashic Field.”
“Some events, yes.”
“Still, how could Kleezebee just let everyone die? Who the fuck does that?”
“A tormented but committed man. A man who understood that the needs of the many outweighs the needs of the few.”
“Or the one,” Lucas said with a solemn voice. “Kleezebee knew that he and Drew must die.”
“When a mighty river flows you may impede its progress, but it always compensates to find the predicted end.”
Lucas nodded. “You can nudge time, but not really change it. I get that. It’s easier to change the flow of a river when it’s at a narrow point. Not at its widest point. But I thought we could make small changes along the way, so everyone didn’t have to die.”
“Alterations at that point would have yielded an unstable route to this predicted end.”
“In other words, we were approaching a narrowing of time.”
“Yet, but it was only an inflection point.”
“Not a major anchor point. Changes then would have tainted your knowledge of important future events. The professor needed the events to unfold naturally, like he was following a road map.”
“Precisely.”
“That makes sense,” Lucas said with an exhausted look on his face. “That’s why Kleezebee didn’t want me to rescue Carrie Anne. He couldn’t risk interim changes to the near-current time-line. Otherwise, he’d lose track of the predicted path to the next major anchor point. Shit, why didn’t he just tell me?”
“Would it have altered your intent?”
“Probably not. I can be one stubborn asshole when I want to be. Kleezebee must have known that I would have chased after her, no matter what. He was right to keep me out of the loop, otherwise, who knows what else I would have messed up. A person can’t act naturally if they know what’s coming.”
“Time must find its way to you and t
hrough you.”
“So what you’re saying is that these major anchor points are tied to me? My life?”
“You are the key. The professor knew this to be true.”
“That’s why he has always kept me in the dark. I couldn’t know.”
Fuji bowed.
“That’s a lot to process,” Lucas said, realizing that the universe wasn’t picking on him—the flow of time was. “I’m glad you’re here, buddy, to keep all this shit straight. Temporal mechanics give me a headache.”
Fuji didn’t say anything.
“The professor used to beat it into my thick skull in class—cause and effect, or vice versa, depending on your frame of reference—what will happen, has already happened, and will happen again.”
“Unless the precise branch point of this thread can be determined.”
“That’s how you got him to change his mind about the possibility of time travel. You figured out how to calculate the origination point of this time thread, then trace it forward to its associated endpoint. They are locked together across time and space, like bookends. Yet the route in between is flexible.”
“Generally, yes, though recent events indicate it is not as precise as the math predicts.”
“It’s like finding the inciting incident in a sci-fi novel. The exact location is not always apparent, even though the plot works. But when you’ve finished reading the book, you can look back at the story and find it, easily,” Lucas said with a charged smile filling his cheeks. “This just might work. It’ll be a bit tricky, but if we can use the Incursion Chamber to travel back in time to just the right moment, and then make the precise adjustment, we might be able to reroute the flow of time around from the target event. Like when we lost Drew—and Carrie Anne.”
“Yes. A source-point reversion.”
“Is this what you guys had planned all along? Or did it change once I pissed all over the time line?”
“Adjustments were made.”
Lucas had hoped for a more detailed response. But he wasn’t surprised. Fuji was just being Fuji. But what did it matter? If he ever wanted to see his family again, then there was only one choice.
Incursion (The Narrows of Time Series Book 2) Page 31