Impact

by Steven Whibley

  Nathan looked up from one of the maps. “We meet again. I can’t believe you had a vision of the pilot. When in the world did you meet him?”

  “More like where in the world,” I said quietly. Louder, I said, “I guess I just bumped into him at some time.”

  Nathan gave me a funny look, like he wasn’t sure he believed me. Still, he slapped me on the shoulder. “Another life, eh?” He gestured around the room. “Have you met everyone?”

  Sarah hurried in with a tablet computer in her hand. “Introductions will have to wait. From the information we’ve pulled together, it’s clear McKnight will die tomorrow in the middle of his part of the air show. McKnight’s plane will crash into the crowd, or wreckage from it flies into the crowd. But we have a problem.”

  She put down her computer and pulled out one of the bigger maps. “Here’s the setup of the fairgrounds. And here’s McKnight’s flight path.” Pulling out a pen, she swiped her hand across one the map, drawing a thick red line. Everyone leaned forward to study it.

  Hank Fallston stepped forward. He shot me a look, and I edged back up against the wall between Colin and Lisa. Turning his back to us, he pointed to the map. “Air shows don’t put flight paths directly over spectators anymore. And McKnight’s path is no exception. There is no way wreckage could hit the crowd. McKnight’s flying too far away from the grandstands. How is he going to kill at least fifty people?”

  “Fifty?” I asked, the word stumbling out of me.

  Fallston ignored me, but Sarah nodded. “We’re getting calls from all over about this one. The vision count is so far at fifty-two. We can only assume the number of injured is going to be a great deal more than that.”

  Colin swore. A couple of people in the room, including Fallston, frowned at him. Colin waved a hand. “Sorry. It’s just a lot people.”

  “So what are you thinking?” Archer asked. “More than one disaster?”

  “At precisely the same time as McKnight dies?” Hank Fallston gave a snort.

  Sarah straightened and gestured to Nathan. “Tell them your theory.”

  Nathan waited until everyone turned to him. A small smile curved up his mouth.

  Colin leaned in close and kept his voice quiet. “He loves this.”

  Smoothing back his hair, Nathan gestured to the map. “If a piece of McKnight’s wreckage hits one of the planes on display at the fair, and that plane is fully fueled, the explosion, well, that could be the cause.”

  Archer shook his head. A short woman spoke up. “It seems too convenient, doesn’t it? McKnight dies, and then seconds later, a large enough secondary incident takes out dozens of spectators?”

  “What are you thinking?” Archer asked the woman.

  She pursed her lips. “Can we rule out the possibility that someone wants to make a statement?”

  “Terrorists?” Nathan asked. “In Abbotsford?” He didn’t laugh, but his mocking tone made it clear he thought her idea was absurd. The woman shot him a glare.

  “At this stage, it’s not wise to rule out anything,” Archer said. “First priority is to keep McKnight grounded. After that, we’ll need to be on the scene, so why not look for signs that this isn’t just an accident waiting to happen and that someone is targeting the air show for a reason?”

  Sarah clapped her hands together. “You know what to do. Let’s move. Oh, Dean, Lisa, and Colin, please stay behind a minute.”

  She sounded like a teacher asking us to stay after class. I looked at Lisa. Her face had gone pale, leaving her freckles standing out. I was sure mine had, too. Colin said under his breath, “Great. What have we done now?”

  I didn’t know, but I was sure we were about to find out.

  CHAPTER 8

  Most people filed out, but Sarah spoke to a couple of people, including Nathan and Hank Fallston. They stayed in the room with us. So did Archer and a couple others.

  Sarah took a deep breath, let it out with a huff, and then turned to the three of us. “Archer has told us all about you, of course, but it’s wonderful to put faces with names. I think we need to grab a few minutes for introductions.”

  Oh, good. Not in trouble. Not yet. I cleared my throat, but even so, my words came out with a squeak. “Thank you, ma’am.”

  An older man sitting off to the side asked, “What did he say?”

  “He said ‘thank you,’” Hank said, sounding unhappy about me being polite.

  The older man harrumphed and settled back into his chair.

  “Please call me Sarah. I don’t feel old enough to be a ma’am yet … although I probably am.”

  Archer chuckled at that.

  I thought Sarah looked younger than my parents, but I guessed she was probably about the same age as Archer—in her early thirties maybe. Colin, Lisa, and I were obviously the youngest CS members by at least a decade. Was that why Hank didn’t want us around? We were just kids to him?

  The idea sat like raw pizza dough in my stomach.

  I turned my attention to the older man. Dark age spots peppered his skin. Time had also slumped his shoulders and thinned his body. His scowl reminded me of my former neighbor, Mr. Utlet, and the memory of my dead neighbor didn’t help my nerves.

  Sarah started giving us names as she pointed at the other people. Elizabeth Chang, Thomas Hawkman, Armitage Beauren. Then she aimed a black remote control at the monitor behind her.

  “We have a video introduction about you three for the benefit of our remote members and other CS districts. I hope you’ll bear with us.” The screen turned blue, and an image of Mr. Vidmar appeared. He seemed younger than I remembered. Beside me, Lisa drew a quick breath. Throat tight, I blinked at the screen.

  Sarah turned to the others in the room. “As some of you know, young Mr. Curse came to us when Arsney Vidmar gifted him with the visions. This was after Dean came to Arsney’s aid during a mugging.”

  Several people in the room nodded and whispered. I heard someone say, “Miss him so much.” I glanced at Nathan, thinking he’d said that, but he stood with his back braced against the wall, his legs crossed at the ankles, and his arms folded over his chest. His jaw muscles tightened and twitched, yet he hadn’t said anything.

  Sarah gestured to where I stood. “Dean enlisted the help of his friends, Lisa Green and Colin Blane.” Their photos popped up on screen, and Colin nudged me. “Not my best side.”

  I shook my head and tried to pay attention to Sarah.

  “… no formal apprenticeship, our young trio has proven—more than once—their ability to apply their talents to our cause.” I winced as grainy video taken from cell phones or security cameras showed what we’d been doing so far. A newspaper article mentioned Mr. Utlet’s death. A clip, which must’ve come from Dimitri Vidmar, Arsney’s brother, showed me jumping in front of a car to save my sister. A photo popped up of the man in the mall with the peanut allergy. And a short scene from the security cameras at the paintball battle showed me shooting a few of the kids. Obviously put in to lighten the heavy mood the video was causing. I groaned. I’d been having a vision at the time and hadn’t meant to shoot anyone.

  Colin didn’t even try to swallow his laugh. Lisa smothered hers, and so did several others, but Nathan just turned to me and nodded approvingly. My face went hot, and I shifted on my feet, wondering how long this introduction would last and how long the CS had suspected me of having the gift. If they’d contacted me a lot earlier, maybe I could have saved a few more people. I shifted and pressed my lips tight.

  “We have no privacy,” Lisa whispered from between clenched teeth.

  If Sarah heard Lisa’s comment she didn’t acknowledge it. Instead, she continued with the introduction. “Normally, when a member tells us they’d like to bring someone into the CS, we do a full investigation to see if that person can meet the demands of the Society. Our name is an accurate one.”

  Congregatio de Sacrificio—the Congregation of Sacrifice, I thought, shifting the name to English in my head. I figured these people had a
ll given up a lot to be here. I wondered what Nathan, in particular, had given up. College maybe? Years of just having fun? He seemed young, but had he given up being a kid to be in the CS?

  Would I have to also?

  Sarah started talking again. “Once we realized Arsney had passed you his gift … well, I’m sure you can appreciate that if we’d swooped in, and if you had turned out to be less than helpful … you can see the problem we had to sort out.”

  So, after they knew I had the gift, they waited. Archer had said as much, but being reminded of the people I hadn’t saved shoved a hot shard of anger into my stomach. I bit my tongue, although the words pushed out anyway in a rush. “Problem?” I asked, trying hard to keep my voice pleasant. “Just a problem, hey?”

  I must not have done a very good job being cool because Colin whispered out of the corner of his mouth, “Take it easy, Dean.”

  Stomach roiling into knots, I shoved my fist behind my back. Colin was right. We were here to meet and make these people understand we could help. I needed that. But that irritation twisted and pushed at me. I kept thinking that the Society was playing around with other people’s lives. It was a lot more than a problem to those who had died.

  I clenched my teeth. Sarah and everyone else seemed to be staring at me like they didn’t understand. It was only when I looked at Nathan that I saw someone who seemed to know how it felt when things didn’t go right for you.

  The words tumbled out before I could stop them. “I totally understand why you waited. My teacher, my neighbor, those people from the Gadget Emporium …” I took a breath and let it out in a quick burst. “Sure, they all died because I didn’t have a clue what was happening to me. They might have lived if you’d bothered to shoot me a quick note informing me that the visions I was having were of people who only had twenty-four hours to live, but, yeah, whatever …” I gestured to everyone in the room. “You wouldn’t want to risk compromising all of this.”

  I heard Nathan’s quiet voice. “You go, kid.”

  I turned to him, but his face could have been a mask. He didn’t show anything.

  Archer cleared his throat with a rumble, although Sarah was the one who spoke. “Dean, we had no idea you had the gift before the incident with your neighbor. I’m very sorry. Once we knew, we put Archer on you. I certainly understand why you’re upset. Everyone in this room appreciates what you’ve been through.”

  “Almost everyone,” Hank Fallston said. He shook his head and stared straight at me. “You’re untrained, and I wouldn’t want my life in your hands.”

  Sarah locked stares with the man. “Hank, I thought we agreed I would handle this.”

  He met her look with one that seemed harder than the thick wood table in the room. At last, he nodded and walked out. The short woman named Chang stood up.

  She came over and patted my arm. “You guys have done great. Frankly, I can’t see anyone doing better with what you three had to handle.”

  “Couldn’t agree more,” Archer said.

  “However,” Sarah said, stepping forward, “there are a few questions we must ask you now before we bring you, Dean, and Colin and Lisa, into our society.”

  My throat dried as if I’d swallowed sandpaper. I wondered who was watching us on the video monitor, and if what I’d said had made anyone think I’d be more trouble than I was worth. I nodded at Sarah.

  She faced me and spoke slowly, the tone of her voice serious and the words formal. “Do you, Dean Curse, agree to keep secret the activities and structures of the Congregatio de Sacrificio? Do you agree to take every step possible to protect those people you see in your visions and the people seen by other members who may request your assistance? Will you act to save someone, thinking only of saving another soul, without any thought of gain or any belief that this makes you someone more powerful than others?”

  I took a second to think about what they were asking. I really did want to help people. The visions had allowed me to save my sister’s life. Maybe someday I’d save Colin or Lisa or even my parents. I didn’t want to give that up. What if I saw a vision of my worst enemy? Would I act to save that person? I really hated Eric and Rodney, but what if I saw their faces in a vision? Would I think only about the goals of the CS?

  Biting my lower lip, I considered everything. I knew I’d do it. I’d try to save them. And if I’d try to save even them, I couldn’t think of anyone I wouldn’t try to keep from dying.

  I looked into Sarah’s clear, dark eyes. I nodded. It felt important to do this right, so I said, “I will.”

  Sarah turned to Lisa and Colin. “And what are your answers to those questions?”

  They glanced at each other and said at the same time, “I will.”

  “Brilliant,” Archer said, rubbing his hands together.

  Sarah nodded. “It is with great pleasure that I welcome you three, officially, as members of the Congregato de Sacrificio, Lower Mainland District, Abbotsford Zone.”

  Everyone applauded, except Nathan, who gave me a little two-finger salute as if in a sign of solidarity. Sarah switched off the monitor behind her.

  “That’s it?” Colin whispered to me, a little too loudly. “No clandestine ceremony with people in cloaks? No secret handshakes? Just a less-than-full office and a pat on the back?”

  “There is a handshake, Mr. Blane, but it’s not secret.” Sarah beckoned us to her. The people in the room filed past, shaking each of our hands carefully. I finally figured out what all this was about. They wanted to touch us. I was connecting with them as much as they were linking up with me. If I was going to do something that would get me killed, I now had a lot of people who’d send me a message to let me know that I should watch it.

  Nathan stopped in front of me. He didn’t shake my hand and I assumed it was because he didn’t have the gift, and maybe he felt weird about that. Or maybe he just didn’t like me. He nodded. “Can’t tell you how happy I am to no longer be the youngest member of our little group here. Good job slipping past old Fallston.”

  He stepped over and took Lisa’s hand. “And really great to meet you. Let me know if I can help with any of your training. I’m a black belt, and I study three other martial arts, as well. I can give you a few tips.”

  “Y-Yeah,” Lisa said, smiling at him. “You too.”

  Nathan left, and Colin shook his head. “What a clown!” He changed his voice to mock Nathan’s. “Oh, I’m a black belt, and I study other martial arts, too, because I’m incredible.” He sighed and shook his head. “He just blew me off like I was dirt on the floor.”

  Archer reached out to Colin. “Don’t underestimate Nathan. He’s smart. And he’s had a rough time. His dad was a member, so he knows his way around the Society better than some members twice his age.”

  “Was? Did his dad die saving someone?” I asked.

  Archer winced and shook his head. “Only in a manner of speaking.”

  “Then why doesn’t Nathan have the gift?” Lisa asked. “Why didn’t he get it from his dad?”

  “His dad died before he could pass his gift to anyone. Now’s not really the time to dive into that.”

  Someone poked at me, and I had to turn. The old guy who’d had trouble hearing stood in front of me. He pushed his hand at me so I had to shake it. “Matthias Paulsen,” he said, his voice rough as a gravel road. He gripped my hand. “I saw a little of what you did at the museum.”

  I swallowed. Saw? How? I glanced at Colin and Lisa and then back to the Paulsen. “Uh, I didn’t realize … I thought the thieves took out the cameras.”

  “Oh, they were out.” The old man smiled. “We do have other sources, though. And the thieves weren’t the ones who took care of the cameras. Didn’t Archer tell you about the role he played?” He looked at Archer and shook his head. “Long story, all very technical. I’m sure he’ll explain it one day. But I am curious. How do you justify destroying priceless artifacts, injuring innocent people, vandalizing property, and committing theft? Yes, I know all abo
ut that part of it too.”

  I jerked my hand away from him.

  Archer came over and laid his arm over my shoulder. “Come on, Matthias. You know they saved lives that day.”

  The old man stiffened. “I am well aware of your policy about how the ends justify the means.” His gaze moved toward the door Nathan had just gone out. “You’re not the only one who thinks that. In my day, we didn’t need to become criminals to save lives.”

  “That’s enough, Matthias,” Sarah said.

  “Really? Are we even sure those monks were right about their claims to that relic from the museum? What if they were lying? Or mistaken? We just admitted a member who helped someone get away with theft. Have we become so hardened we now ignore laws?” Matthias looked at me as if I were a dog who’d just peed on his shoe. “You had a promising start, son, but that museum escapade …” He shook his head. “I’m not sure Hank isn’t right about you.”

  When Matthias left, Archer blew out a breath. “Sorry about that. As you can see, we have a few members who agree with Hank.”

  “He’s right, you know,” Lisa said. “We actually didn’t do our homework on that one.”

  Colin glared at her. “Hey! We only had twenty-four hours and the people who were supposed to die are presently alive and well.”

  Archer lifted his voice. “And it’s worth noting that I did do the homework. That ancient head is now back at the village where it was originally stolen from. I can even tell you how Sokum Pram connected with those thieves.”

  Sokum—Sok—was only a couple years older than me, and the youngest monk I’d ever met—not that I’d met a lot of monks before him. And I remembered how desperate he had been to get the stolen relic back to his grandfather’s village. I was glad to hear that Archer had kept tabs on that situation.

  Still, my hands shook, so I stuffed them into my back pockets. Excitement shivered inside me. A thousand questions tumbled through my mind about the CS. What I’d said played over and over in the back of my mind. Had I been out of line by telling the CS how they should have contacted me? Maybe Vidmar giving me the gift had thrown them as much as it had me? Maybe I should have kept my mouth shut.