Standing

by China Dennington

  Standing

  Book One of The Waterblaze Trilogy

  By China Dennington

  Copyright © 2014 by China Dennington

  Cover Design by Lisa Spinnenhirn

  The Waterblaze Trilogy Logo by Lisa Spinnenhirn and Coraliz Dereta

  All rights reserved.

  First edition.

  Double Eagle Media

  4400 N. Scottsdale Road, #9129

  Scottsdale, AZ

  85251

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:

  Library of Congress Control Number: 2014915126

  ISBN: 978-0-9907274-1-5

  Table Of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Epilogue

  A wild eyed man crept quickly and fearfully past buildings that looked like fresh ruins. His white hair was everywhere, and his metallic shirt was stained with dirt. The lower half of his body was hidden in shadows as he darted through the night.

  “Please, please. Don’t let me be too late,” he muttered to himself.

  He had a face that looked like it had once been extremely self-assured and prideful. But now he was terrified, his perfect world had come crashing down in a matter of hours. His powerful presence was now full of fear. He glided past charred wreckage, gasping as he tightly clenched something in his hand. He ducked into a patch of dense coral and seaweed. He glanced around in terror then opened his hand. It held a crumbled piece of paper that gleamed strangely and a pen. He held the paper against a flat rock and scribbled messily, Humanity and Dellinia destroyed, 2213. He signed it.

  The man felt himself trembling. Sorrow overwhelmed him as he waited. Then behind him, a blue glow started to get bigger.

  He turned around, and as he tossed the paper into the spinning oval of blue light he whispered, “Help us. Warn me.”

  CHAPTER ONE

  A teenage girl sat in the shade of a dancing palm tree on a white sand beach. She was reading an adventure book. The smile on her heart-shaped face was wistful as she leaned back and closed her eyes, taking in the ocean breeze. Imagination took flight as she dreamed about flying through the night sky and undertaking incredible missions.

  The girl had always felt that she was meant to do something special, to be an adventurer maybe, or someone who changed the world. The seventeen-year-old felt wings sprouting in her soul as each new day and month and year brought her closer to reaching her full potential.

  Opening her eyes again a few minutes later, she scanned the waters for her little sister, Avery, whom she was watching. The six-year-old girl was wading and splashing happily about in the calm foam near the shore. The girl smiled as she watched and felt the child’s excitement. I’m glad mom asked me to take Avery to the beach today. She thought about her mom, dad, and three younger brothers, Dylan, Joe, and Norm. A laugh bubbled up inside. The other day, Dylan had inserted toothpaste into her shampoo. It had been really annoying at the time, but now it was actually kind of funny. The California girl’s eyes slowly closed, and the book that she had been reading slipped through her fingers. The heat, shade, and slight wind of the beach gently lulled her to sleep.

  She was looking at a computer screen with all of the problems of the world on it. She had ideas about how to fix the issues. Zap! World hunger was no more. Problem solved. The blue screen started swirling as she quickly tapped each and every problem, and they all went away. People were happy now. They were at peace, and now air pollution would never be a problem again. She smiled. This was what she was meant to do. Yes...

  Suddenly her grey eyes popped open. Something had just hit her. She looked around and saw that a palm frond had blown down and fallen on her leg. The wind was gaining strength every moment.

  We should probably go before it becomes a full blown storm, the girl thought as she slowly got up and started packing the sunscreen and towels.

  “Avery! Time to go!” she called.

  A surge of alarm coursed through her. The young woman looked up and down the beach for signs of her sister. The little girl was nowhere to be seen. Oh no! No! Where is Avery?

  Panic made her features go pale as she took off running. The grit and warmth of the sand was not pleasant as she raced to the edge of the turquoise ocean. I don’t see her! Where is she? She rushed past people and around rocks, her light brown side-braid trailing behind her. Finally she reached the shore. She frantically scanned the area as she panted.

  Suddenly, she saw a flash of orange hair sink beneath the rolling waves about thirty feet offshore. Instinct took over. As she plunged into the freezing salt water, a volley of memories flooded to the surface of her mind.

  She was six.“Come on darling, don’t you want to swim?” asked her mother, stepping into the ocean. The little girl shook her head quickly. She felt like she should stay away from the salt water.

  “Are you sure?” asked the mother once again.

  “Yes,” the girl replied. She was confused, her feelings about the ocean didn’t make sense.

  She was fourteen. The girl watched her brothers rough-housing in the ocean, but she kept her distance. She was very good at swimming, but couldn’t bring herself to enter the sea for some reason. She felt ashamed. There was no explanation as to why she shouldn’t get in. Her friend Lila was laughing with her twelve-year-old brother Dylan as she whispered something in his ear. They both suddenly ran toward her. Lila grabbed her arms and Dylan grabbed her legs.

  “What…” she began, then she realized what they were doing as they started to run with her. They were going to throw her in.

  She began to twist, “Stop!” she said.

  They only laughed harder.

  “Stop!” she shouted at them.

  Their smiles faded as they set her down and stared at her.

  “What’s the problem?” Lila asked. Her brows were drawn together and she looked hurt.

  The girl looked down. She almost never shouted and she didn’t have a good reason as to why she just had.

  For seventeen years I’ve totally avoided touching salt water, now I am diving into it of my own will! A knot of intense fear and foreboding formed in her stomach. Since she was a small child, she had had a feeling that if she touched the ocean, something would happen that would change her life forever. She knew that it seemed silly, but she had kept her distance. The sea also seemed to beckon though. It was enticing in a strange sort of way.

  As she submerged and started swimming with swift, clear strokes, something that felt like an electric charge plunged through her. It started in her right hand and continued throughout the rest of her body.

  What’s happening? she thought with panic.

  It started pulling at her muscles painfully. All of a sudden the water was swirling...or maybe she was. A darkness descended and she fought it, she fought to keep her head above water, she fought...but finally, she couldn’t anymore. As her eyesight faded from blue to black she felt herself gulp water, then she dived into unconsciousness.

  She heard a song. There were no words, just a soft harmonious symphony. She’d never heard the melody before, but somehow recognized it. The girl opened her
eyes slowly, everything was a blurry blue. She groaned and raised her blonde, almost unseeable eyebrows as she squinted. The light pierced her sleepy eyes in an unpleasant way.

  Wait, light?

  She opened her eyes fully and realized that she was laying down in a bed.

  A swishing noise came from the other side of the room, then a woman in a sleek metallic jacket stood over her, “You need to rest for the next three hours, go back to sleep, then all will be explained.”

  A weariness that she hadn’t noticed until that moment seeped over her like an icy stream, and sleep pulled her into its recesses once again.

  This time her eyes fluttered open and she was instantly awake. The girl sat up and looked around. The light was soft in the room. The walls had a glint to them that told her they were metal, but they also made her feel comfortable. Safe. There were two huge windows on one side of the room.

  She could see the sky, but it didn’t quite look like the sky, though she couldn’t explain the difference.

  She looked down at herself and thought, Where am I?

  At that moment, a small sound came from the other side of the room. The girl’s head whipped around. A previously unnoticed door was opening. Through it stepped two women, both wore silver-colored jackets.

  The one whom she had seen earlier had straight brown hair that almost seemed to be floating, as well as a face with large, serious features. She spoke first. “Hello. I am sure you have many questions. There is...”

  “Where is Avery?” the girl interrupted, terror filling her. The last that she had seen of her baby sister was her red hair sinking beneath the waves.

  “She is safe,” answered the other one, whose facial features were almost identical, and spoke of motherly care. “Come with us please, we have some very important matters to discuss.” Her long, white-blonde hair trailed behind her as she turned and began to walk away.

  Who are they? I’m not in a hospital. Where am I? I have to trust them for the moment, they must have saved my life.

  Resignedly, the girl hopped up and followed the women down a shiny white hallway. It was a beautiful kind of white that made you feel clean and neat.

  They stepped into a round white room with a big circular table made of amethyst. There was one other person sitting there.

  The boy looked like he was in his older teens. His shock of dark brown hair waved the smallest bit as he stood up and gave a slightly lopsided grin. He was dressed completely in black. His face was firm, but still had a distinct boyishness about it. The girl could feel that he had a good sense of humor.

  “Please sit down,” said the blonde-haired woman, gesturing to a rounded blue chair.

  The girl did so, and the two women and the boy did as well. This is so mysterious! Where am I? What’s happening?

  The brown-haired woman looked at the girl seriously and introduced everyone in the room. “I am Indigo, this is my twin sister Kella, and this is Force.”

  The girl held out her hand and said, “My name is Gale Tarren.”

  “We know,” replied Indigo, with a serious attitude.

  How? Gale could feel Indigo’s focused seriousness, but she could also feel some sadness and hope.

  “Alright, let’s get down to business. Brace yourself, because you probably aren’t going to believe half of the things that we tell you. We don’t have enough time to let you get used to ideas. First of all, you are in an underwater civilization called Dellinia. It is inhabited by what you humans call mermaids. We prefer to be called Dellinians. Kella and I are Dellinians...”

  “Wait, wait, wait...” said Gale with a disbelieving look.

  This is crazy, but they certainly seem to think it is real! Where am I really?

  “It is imperative that you trust us. We will prove these things to you,” as Indigo said that, she and Kella stood up and simultaneously pressed buttons on their belts.

  Suddenly they were floating! Their “legs” had disappeared, and in their places were beautiful dark red tails.

  Gale looked skeptical.

  She crossed her arms and said, “Do you really think that an optical illusion is going to fool me?”

  Her emotions warred within her. She could feel that the sisters were telling the truth, but how could that be? It’s not possible!

  “Move your hand through the air. It isn’t air. It’s water. Go out of the door and you will see that we are surrounded by ocean.”

  Gale moved her hand through the air. Oh my goodness! She’s right, Gale realized with a shock. She hadn’t noticed it before, but there was more resistance when she moved. She ran over to the window. Outside, fish of a variety of colors were swimming around, kelp and coral were everywhere.

  Even more of a shocker was that she saw a whole city before her. Mermaids were swimming every which way, they were dressed futuristically. She clapped a hand over her mouth. I shouldn’t be able to breathe! Gale slowly removed her hand and looked at it in wonder as she understood that she was breathing water. She felt like she had as much oxygen as normal, but instead of breathing in seeming nothingness, there was a jello-y type of feel going through her nose. It didn’t sting like it would usually if you tried to drink something through your nose. It felt...refreshing.

  She quickly took account of her body. What was enabling her to breathe water? She decided that it must be inside her, for nothing in her build had changed. This must be real! As dreamlike and crazy as it is, I feel everyone’s emotions too powerfully for this to be a dream or illusion!

  “That is the next thing we must tell you about. I’m sorry that we don’t have much time to let you adjust,” Indigo took a deep breath. “Alright, we must relate our current and past story so that you will understand yours. Millions of years ago we came to this planet from another because ours was dying. When those Dellinians saw humanity, they developed an interest in them. The behavior, the sheer joy and pain of your lives.

  “Anyway, our technology is far more advanced than yours, and we have the ability to time travel in our DNA. This is how it works: the time stream, as you call it, is known as the Continuance. We can travel into the future, then back to the moment when we left. There are certain limits though: we cannot travel to the past, and we can only go fifty years into the future. When we first came here, we decided that we would try to help humans in a few ways with our skills. For example, if humanity destroyed themselves then we could try to save them.”

  “I thought that you said you couldn’t go to the past,” Gale answered with awe.

  “We can’t. But you see, short messages can be sent back in time through the Continuance. There are certain ways that we can decide when those messages will arrive. So, if all of humanity was destroyed, say now, we could send a message back to our ancestors, telling them, HT2013. That is code for ‘the humans are in trouble at about 2013’. Then they could travel forward to correct it. Messages can go much farther through time than we can.

  Another important aspect is that the Continuance only opens in certain places, at certain times. It only opens in water. However, the water can be in one of two states of matter— liquid or solid. A system that we have worked out is that as we go through our lives we record all of those instances, but you see, we would almost never be in time to use them, even though we record them. So, we save those records, then the next generation sends them back to us through the Continuance.”

  “Why are you telling all of this to me? And where is my sister?” Gale asked.

  “Those questions both tie into what I am about to tell you. You are a rare human. You have just the right DNA sequence that enables you to travel through the Continuance. In fact, there is only one other human that has ever existed who happens to have that ability, and that is Force,” Indigo replied, sweeping her hand in Force’s direction. She continued, “You actually have more ability than we do. You can travel up to two-hundred years into the future, perhaps more. We have always had scanners searching Earth to find this DNA sequence in humans, we knew that so
meday it would happen. You see, it’s a certain and very precise mixture of particular nanogenes. It has taken all of the time that humanity has been on earth to create the perfect mixture, and it probably won’t happen again for thousands of years. When you were born, our scanners picked you up. We have been monitoring you ever since.”

  “You think that I can time travel?” asked Gale in amazement. I am going to believe them. I can feel that they are telling the truth, and every emotion inside of me says that it’s all real, she thought.

  Indigo continued, “No, we know you can. Salt water, DNA, and the Continuance are all important to time travel. The DNA that allows you to travel through the Continuance is activated when you try to breathe salt water. For the past four hours, your body has been changing to accommodate your special DNA. You may have heard a song, that was the sound of DNA adjusting to your gills and abilities since they have been activated.

  “We have a mission for you. We are in great need of your help. A couple of weeks ago we got a message through the Continuance. It was from two-hundred years in the future. It was apparently sent in a great hurry. It wasn’t in code and was quite messy, but we deciphered it after a few minutes. It said, ‘Dellinia, and humanity totally destroyed, 2213, Keed.’ We assume that the last word is a signature.’”

  Gale looked at her in horror.

  “The Continuance has thousand year cycles, each cycle has two parts. For the first five-hundred years, there are openings almost every single day. They are sporadic, and you never know when they are going to happen. This is called the fleet era. For the last five-hundred years, there are only three. This is called the thrice age. They are exact, so we know when they will open. Unfortunately, we are in the thrice age. The first opening is two hours from now. The second one is fifty days before the message was sent. The third one is when the message was sent. You see, physical matter can travel through the Continuance and land anytime, but biomatter; such as people and animals, can only exit at Continuance holes. We need your help for two reasons. One, we can only travel fifty years into the future — you and Force, on the other hand can travel two-hundred years. Two, as you have seen, we have devices that give us temporary legs. We also have strips that we can put under our tongues, which help us breathe oxygen so we can work on land. But it is very uncomfortable for us, and we can only do it for so long before becoming foggy-headed.