by Kirby Howell
“The University has put an astral projection quarantine on this area,” Grey said, watching. “Karl can’t project beyond it, and Aurin is a very, very good projectionist. She’s able to do things I couldn’t in another hundred years of practice.” His arms slid further around me, and I felt him holding his breath, waiting.
All at once, Karl fell at the feet of the old man, and the figure of light darkened to become a young girl. She stood very still, eyes trained on Karl, who seemed to be paralyzed. He lay splayed on the ground, eyes wide, staring back at her. It was as if she held him still with her eyes.
The old man smiled and nodded. “Thank you, Aurin. I must say, you have proven your theory. Please take this man back to The University.”
Without answering, the young girl disappeared, and so did Karl.
“Wait, that’s it?!” yelled someone from the crowd. “Karl’s just... gone?!”
I was thinking the same thing. Were they really whisking him away, never to be heard from again? Removing him from Earth like one would press delete on a computer screen? It was too easy, too decent an ending for him. He needed to be tried, found guilty, imprisoned, and forced to experience all of the horrible things he’d inflicted on everyone else... for the rest of his life.
“Karl is part of our organization and deserves to be tried by his peers, not his victims,” the old man said in a low voice that was somehow still commanding everyone’s attention. “He will not bother your planet or any other again. We make this oath to you all. Those who answered to Karl and those who fought against him shall put down their weapons and make haste toward a peaceful existence with those around you.”
I raised my eyebrows and looked around at the mixture of the two sides surrounding us. Bewilderment and surprise painted our faces, and after a moment, everyone bent to lay their weapons on the ground, too afraid of the mystery man not to oblige.
“Is anyone in need of medical assistance?” the old man asked.
Several hands were raised.
He nodded genially. “Lydia will assist those in need,” he said, laying a hand on her shoulder. “Anyone with medical training or an aptitude for charity may help her.”
The woman next to me who had been vocal so far started to interject, but the old man gently cut her off.
“All of your questions will be answered in due course. I beg for your patience while I tend to matters slightly more important than your curiosity. And, in the meantime, know that we mean no harm, but that all fighting must end this moment. Please, depart now and go to wherever it is that you call home.”
I watched the woman next to me out of the corner of my eye, but she mumbled something about not having a choice and went with the crowd following Lydia toward the main gates of the lot. Grey, Daniel, and I waited while the old man made his way to us through the departing tide of people.
“Wingfield,” Grey said and clasped his hand in greeting without taking his arm from around me. “Your powers of persuasion haven’t faltered since our parting.”
The old man smiled and nodded in return. He paused and searched Grey’s eyes with his own. “It has been some time since we last laid eyes on each other.”
“Autumn and Daniel,” Grey said, indicating each of us. “Let me introduce you to my oldest friend, and my mentor, Wingfield.”
Wingfield nodded and smiled, then extended his hand to each of us. “It’s lovely to meet you, Autumn... Daniel.”
His hand was very large, and his palm felt papery and tough, like he’d worked with his hands all his life. His face was heavily lined. Skin sagged around his jaw, and the backs of his hands were crisscrossed with raised bluish veins and small dark spots.
“Your friends are aware of your affiliation with The University and your abilities?”
Grey nodded. “Most of my close friends — people I consider my family... ” A worried expression took over every corner of his face. “It’s not that I’m rejecting The University and everything we’ve worked on together, and it’s not out of disrespect, Wingfield. I have nothing but the utmost respect for you, and for what we all have managed to accomplish through The University, and—”
Wingfield raised a hand, silencing him. “You must choose your own path, Greyson. We all must. And if that path leads you away from us, then it saddens me, because I will continue to miss your presence, but it also lifts my heart to know you’ve found your way.” Then he added, “Lydia has had quite a bit to say to us since her return.”
My heart swelled suddenly for Lydia. Cool, distant, sometimes plain old mean Lydia went back to The University and fought for us. For Earth.
“Thank you for your open mind, Wingfield,” Grey said.
“You should thank Lydia,” he said. “She’s the one who swayed the committee to come here and collect Karl. She was quite passionate about it.”
“Lydia was passionate?” I blurted out. Wingfield smiled.
“It would seem some of Greyson’s bad habits transferred to her in their time on Earth together.”
I looked at Grey, who was smiling at Wingfield. Had his mentor just made a joke? I was astonished.
“Would you mind if I take Autumn home?” Grey asked.
“Of course, of course,” Wingfield said.
“Please come with us. Do you have time?”
Wingfield nodded.
“Daniel?” Grey asked, extending his hand to him, palm up.
“Oh! Right... ” Daniel awkwardly took Grey’s hand. “I’m sure Connie is worried sick.”
Grey extended his other hand to Wingfield, who took it. This left me in the middle of the circle. I stepped forward against Grey and wrapped my arms around his waist. Without a thought of who might be watching us, Grey closed his eyes and began to concentrate.
I looked at Daniel, eyes clamped shut and practically grimacing with anticipation, then I glanced up at Wingfield, who towered over us all. His eyes were closed, and a small smile lifted the corners of his mouth.
The air seemed to vibrate around us, and I shut my eyes quickly, pressing my cheek against Grey’s chest.
“Welcome to Hoover Hollow,” I heard Grey say and opened my eyes again. “This is one of the places we’ve called home since The Plague.”
I noticed Daniel breathing deeply and staring at the ground. I touched his arm. “You okay?”
He nodded, took one last deep breath and looked up. “I don’t think I could ever get used to that.”
Grey had brought us directly in front of our home, and I looked at it with mingled relief and longing. The sun was rising behind the house, the sky a soft lavender color just hovering on the edge of brilliant orange. The house was beautiful in the dawn light. How many times had I imagined this in the past few weeks? And now it was real.
The others started up the driveway, and I stood for a moment, enjoying the warm feeling of coming home.
The front door flew open, and a woman resembling Connie in every way except the startlingly immense size of her middle came barreling down the front steps.
Calling out a warning about stumbling, Daniel rushed forward, but she swatted him away and charged at me. I couldn’t read the look on her face, and for a moment, I was frightened. But then she reached me and swept me into her arms, despite the enormous bulge of her pregnant belly between us.
She clasped me to her for a long time, swaying slightly. When she finally broke away from me, she said, “Welcome home, Autumn.” She wiped tears from her cheeks and, taking my arm, walked me up the drive and onto the porch, inviting our guest to come in as well and demanding to hear about everything happening at the movie lot.
“Ben! Don’t roll so fast! I can’t keep up with you!” Rissi’s little voice could be heard from inside the house.
There was a crash as Ben bumped the front door open and wheeled onto the porch, Rissi close behind him. I closed the gap between us, bending over to hug him fiercely. Rissi rushed to me, jumping up and down while she waited for her own hug.
The men followed us into the house and
then into the kitchen, where Connie sat me down at the table and immediately began pulling food from the pantry. She put the tea kettle on to boil water and stacked plates on the table, all while assembling the world’s largest smorgasbord before me.
Rissi chattered nonstop during this process but suddenly fell silent. I looked up to find her staring at Wingfield, her brown eyes wide.
“You’re like Grey, aren’t you? You’re friends, right?”
Wingfield raised his eyebrows – the only indication he was impressed. “Yes on both counts. My name is Wingfield.”
“I’m Marissa. This is my brother, Ben. He’s in a wheelchair.”
“I think he can see that for himself, Riss,” Ben muttered to her, then shook hands with Wingfield. “So you’re... like Grey, are you?”
Connie paused in slicing a gigantic loaf of bread. “What are you guys talking about? ‘Like Grey?’ What’s that supposed to mean?”
We all looked at each other, realizing she was the only one who didn’t know.
“Well, first things first, Connie,” Grey started. “Karl is gone. The Reconstruction Front has been disbanded. It’s over.”
Silence followed as Connie stared at him, her knife still hovering over the bread. Her gaze drifted from Wingfield to each one of us in turn, finally landing on Daniel, who came to stand next to her. “Really?” she asked him.
He took her hand and nodded. “We can finally move on.”
Connie looked afraid to smile. “But... but how?” she stammered. “After what Karl did at The Summit – disappearing like that – how was anyone able to catch him? And so fast? When I went to bed last night, everything was terrible and then in the middle of the night, I wake up and Daniel is gone, and it looks like Ben never came home, there’s no note and all of the neighbors seem to be gone, and now you’re all here, and Autumn and Rissi are home safe, thank goodness...” Connie finally paused for a breath, then asked, “How did all this happen?!”
“A great deal of it has to do with this man here,” Grey said, motioning toward Wingfield. “He’s a very dear friend of mine, and a mentor. I’ve known him my entire life.”
“I see,” Connie said, staring at Wingfield. “How is it that we’ve never met you before? Have you traveled far to find Grey?”
“Yes, I have,” Wingfield said without hesitation. “And that is most kind of you to say, Greyson. I always enjoyed and valued our time together. You are modest, though. Our roles may have reversed of late.”
Another silence followed, and I could tell Grey wasn’t sure how to proceed. Telling Shad and Daniel had been difficult. Telling Ben hadn’t been a problem – Rissi had taken care of that for him, though Ben now watched Grey with rapt attention. I was sure he was waiting to launch into his list of million questions.
A knock at the front door startled everyone.
“Uh... I guess I’ll get it,” Daniel said and reluctantly disappeared down the hall.
“Wingfield,” Connie pressed. “How is it that you were able to help us with Karl? Did you know him, too?”
He nodded. “I’ve known Karl a very long time, indeed.”
“But how could you know him? You just said you’d traveled a very long way to—” Connie paused suddenly. I could see her putting it together — Wingfield knowing Karl, showing up suddenly and being capable of stopping him.
Her eyes darted to Grey, then to Rissi. “Why did you ask if Wingfield was like Grey? Like Grey how? Lydia!”
We all turned to see Daniel ushering Lydia into the kitchen.
“Good, I see you’re filling everyone in about us,” she said, sitting down at the table. “Did I miss anything?”
“Us?” Connie repeated. “You too, Lydia? I don’t understand what’s happening here.”
“I see I haven’t missed much,” Lydia retorted. “Please continue.”
“Can someone please start explaining?” Connie nearly shouted through her teeth.
“Karl, Lydia, Wingfield and myself are part of a group called The University,” Grey started. “We’re not, uh... we’re not local.”
Connie pressed her palms against her forehead.
“We’re like anthroplogists. We observe and study other cultures. Cultures found on other... other planets,” Grey stammered, looking to Wingfield for help.
“Ohhhh,” Connie moaned, leaning against the counter again. Daniel patted her shoulder.
“I know,” he said. “I still have trouble believing it.”
“Uhhhhh,” Connie moaned again, clutching her stomach.
Grey leapt to his feet and rushed to her side. I stood, too, tipping over the bench I’d been sitting on.
“Daniel, go get the wagon ready,” Grey said, helping Connie to sit down. “We should get her to the hospital. She’s having contractions.”
Daniel stood there, staring at Connie, his eyes unfocused.
“Daniel!” Grey said, raising his voice. “The wagon!”
Daniel snapped out of his daze and darted through the open back door, awkwardly vaulting over my tomato plants in his rush.
At that moment, Connie grabbed the nearest thing, which happened to be the front of Ben’s shirt, and yanked him close to her while she howled in pain.
“Grey, what can I do?” I asked, when Connie had released a terrified looking Ben.
“Connie packed a bag for the hospital. It should be in her room, will you—”
“But there’s no cure,” Connie panted, tears pouring down her cheeks. “The baby can’t come yet.”
Grey took Connie’s hands in his. “It’ll be okay, Connie, I promise.”
“But he’ll die.” Connie squeezed her eyes shut, and more tears fell to her bulging stomach, bypassing her flushed cheeks.
I don’t know when Rissi came to stand by me, but I suddenly realized we were clutching each other.
“I don’t want the baby to die, Autumn,” she whispered to me.
I pictured Connie looking over the small, still bodies of her three sons who had been taken by the Crimson Fever. That seemed like a lifetime ago. But the wounds were still too fresh to be forgotten for long. She couldn’t lose another baby.
I pulled away from Rissi, rushing to the bedroom Connie shared with Daniel. I found her small suitcase by the door.
When I arrived back in the kitchen, everyone was quiet, staring at Lydia.
“Can you do that?” Ben asked.
“Do what?” I asked.
Lydia looked up at Wingfield. “This falls underneath the circumstances we discussed before coming here. The University doesn’t get involved with the goings on of other planets for very good reasons. However, Karl’s actions are our responsibility, and the threat Connie’s baby is under right now is a direct result of that.”
“The young mother-to-be should bear her child in safety at The University.” His eyes sparkled as he looked at Lydia. “That is why I agreed to come, Lydia... to repair the damage that one of our own inflicted on this vulnerable place.”
“Thank you, Wingfield,” Grey said, helping Connie to her feet.
“No way,” Daniel said, stepping in front of Connie. “Can’t you just go get a cure or something and come back? Give it to the baby here?”
“It will be safer to do in our labs,” Lydia explained. “Unless you prefer to risk the lives of your wife and child?”
“She’s right,” Grey said. “The virus will go to work as soon as the baby draws his first breath. I don’t want to take that chance if we don’t have to.”
“I’ll go,” Connie said quickly. She was clutching her stomach again and looking pale.
“Connie, I don’t know if... ”
“Daniel, it’s his only chance,” Connie puffed.
“Stop arguing and just breathe,” Grey instructed, studying the clock on the kitchen wall. “Her contractions are a few minutes apart, so if we’re going to move her to The University, now would be a good time.”
“Wait, wait, please. Are you sure this is what you want to do?” Dani
el took Connie’s hands as she stood. “You don’t know anything about this place or what they’re going to do to you or our baby.”
“It’s a simple decision that can be answered with one question,” Connie said. “Do you trust Grey?”
Daniel paused, looking at Grey. His shoulders fell. “Yes. Yes I do.”
“So do I. And I don’t care if he’s some kind of space traveler, a fish, or a turnip! As long as he says he can save our son’s life, I’m going wherever he tells me to! Now let’s go!”
“Ben should come, too,” Grey said.
Ben froze. “Why? Why me?” he asked nervously. “I mean... what can I do?”
“I think we’ll find a use for you,” Grey said, turning to Wingfield, communicating something with just his eyes.
“Yes, the boy can come,” Wingfield acquiesced after a moment. “Not to worry, though, Ben. We’ll return you in a timely manner.”
Ben looked at his sister. “Riss, are you okay with this?”
“Bring me back a souvenir,” she said, hugging him. “Gosh, you’re so smart, even aliens want your help.”
Grey pulled me out onto the porch before I could ask the question that had been burning in my throat since realizing what was going on.
“You’re going to stay here,” he insisted. “Eat. Sleep. Lydia will stay with you and Rissi.”
“So everyone else gets to go and I don’t?” I knew I sounded like a petulant child, but I couldn’t help it. I didn’t want to be left behind.
“Connie, Daniel, and Ben are going out of necessity.”
I was confused but knew there wasn’t time to question Grey further. I sighed, conceding. “Good luck,” I whispered, hugging him and hating I had to let him go so soon.
“I’ll be back with news as soon as there is any,” he promised, then he kissed me. When I opened my eyes, I expected him to be gone. But he was still there, smiling down at me. His eyes were as blue and bright as I’d ever seen them.
* * *
One week later, I was shoulder deep in my tomato plants, pulling the infernal weeds that always seemed to grow back overnight. The sun warmed the back of my neck, and I paused to sit back on my heels and turn my face up to the brightness. It was the kind of day when Sarah would have begged me to go to the beach with her. We’d have stuffed a bag with towels and sunscreen, donned our favorite suits, and walked the four miles up the coast from The Water Tower to the Santa Monica Pier. We’d buy onion rings and churros and walk to the end of the pier, sharing a pair of earbuds between us, listening to whatever song we’d become obsessed with that week. Then we’d sit on the beach until the sun was one hand’s length from the horizon. We’d head home but inevitably get distracted by a vendor selling jewelry or snow cones and end up running the rest of the way, trying to get home before the streetlights popped on for the night.