The Dark Above

by Jeremy Finley

  I tried to save them. I did. But it was a fruitless gesture. Nothing could have saved any of us. So many people died that day.

  Our neighbors in Nashville will wonder what happened to us. How we just took off and never returned. Bud and I have no close family. No one there will ever know the truth.

  But to the people who will study my file, in the hopes of understanding what’s happening, I want you to know this: I loved my daughter, and my husband. I am happy to join them now.

  They are coming with the medicine to put me to sleep. I hope to dream of them.

  Freda Stanson

  * * *

  William sat back, almost having to force himself to look away from the pages.

  “Are you finished?”

  The voice came from the man in the corner, still facing his laptop, who cleared his throat immediately after he spoke.

  William realized that the screen of the laptop was black, and that it was angled so that the man could monitor William while he read the letters.

  “I am, but … I just need a moment.”

  “That’s understandable. I’ve also put it all on a flash drive, in case you want to review it later. It’s something I should have done a long time ago. I think the time has come, at last, for me to deliver on something I vowed to do fifteen years ago.”

  The man turned around, picking up the laptop. Even in the dark of the corner, it was clear, despite his advanced age, his hair was still thick, with a hairline that would be the envy of even young men. He stood with a tremble, but walked with ease. When he stepped into the light of the table, William blinked in recognition.

  “How do I know you?”

  “I’ve waited my entire adult life to meet you, William. My name is Dr. Steven Richards.” He then placed the laptop in front of William. “And do brace yourself, son. There are some videos you need to see.”

  NINE

  They emerged from the elevator to a house draped in the pinkish light of a sunset. The old man shuffled into the kitchen instead of veering down the hall to the porch. “I think, perhaps, you need a drink.”

  “Sir, I need to see—”

  “She’s not going anywhere, I promise you that.”

  William followed him into the kitchen, its white countertops and cabinets soaking in the hue of the light that poured from the front windows. Dr. Richards took out two glasses and hunched over, struggling a bit to lift something out of a bottom drawer.

  “Can I help—?”

  “My doctor said I need to move as much as possible. Helps the blood flow. Heart needs all the help it can get. Which is why,” he held up the long bottle with a musky brown color, “we need whiskey.”

  He poured and slid a glass across the counter to where William stood. As William raised his glass, the man reached over and clinked his glass to it with a wink. “To your grandmother,” he said, tossing it back.

  My grandmother. Who was taken, just like me. Who was returned, just like me. Who I just watched be interrogated by government agents, just as I was. And we both have something within us that could kill—

  William swallowed the drink in one gulp, hoping Dr. Richards would refill the glass as quickly as possible.

  “I’m guessing you have some questions?”

  Let’s see … So everything I suspected about myself being a danger to my family is true? Why you, the central figure in my disappearance, would be in the same house with my great-grandmother, who is somehow still alive, despite that letter that seemed to indicate she was about to die?

  “You’re him,” was all William could mutter.

  “Well, I guess that depends on what you’ve heard. Steven Richards, the man who the FBI tried to say kidnapped and killed you fifteen years ago? Steven Richards, the mad scientist in the tinfoil hat? Anything else I’m missing?”

  William scooted the glass across the granite countertop. “Another, please.”

  “I’ll join you. But I’m serious, son. Anything else you know about me?”

  The man’s eyes were a bit cloudy, perhaps from cataracts. His hands shook slightly as he poured them another round, but he did not spill. “All I ever knew is that my grandmother worked for you when she was young. And then you were cleared of the criminal charges and disappeared.”

  Steven’s face looked a bit crestfallen, but he held up the glass one more time. “To your grandmother again. And her secrets.”

  William took a long, slow drink, feeling the heat in his throat spill down to his chest. Steven set his glass on the counter. “I know this is a lot. It’s why she wanted to meet you. She could hardly wait. For obvious reasons—but she also wanted you to read the letters that she and your great-grandfather, along with Dr. Martin, wrote about Lynn’s disappearance. And also for you to see the recordings where you were both questioned. So you could start at the beginning and perhaps begin to understand how it’s all tied in to what’s happening now.”

  “And what is that, exactly?”

  “Let’s have that conversation with Miss Blue. After all, she’s our expert. She may be the oldest woman I’ve ever known, but her mind hasn’t dulled at all. Even I, who have spent my whole life researching this—and I’m old too—don’t know as much as she.”

  “How is she even alive? And how are you here with her? Does my grandmother even know?”

  Steven’s mouth twitched. “It’s complicated, William. But the short answer is no. Lynn—your grandmother—doesn’t know.”

  William leaned forward. “She doesn’t know her own mother is alive?”

  Steven shook his head. “Sadly, she’s never even read the letters.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me. How can the Corcillium have them and my grandmother does not? Especially given that my great-grandfather, Bud, didn’t even want to communicate with Rex Martin.”

  “Bud did later have a change of heart. But only because he later needed the Corcillium’s assistance.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “After Rex Martin died, the Corcillium continued to reach out to Bud to try and study the abduction site where Lynn was taken. They repeatedly reminded him that he would not have his daughter if it weren’t for Rex Martin and his research. So Bud, at last, conceded and allowed a group of Researchers to come to the property. Apparently Lynn witnessed the Researcher’s arrival, and Bud swore to never allow them to come again until she had moved away. When Lynn married Tom and left for Illinois so he could go to law school, Bud learned he had liver failure. It was at that point he asked for the Corcillium’s help.”

  “Help?”

  “To keep Lynn away from the woods. If we assisted in making sure she never moved back, he would allow access to the site, and give the letters he wrote for Lynn to the Corcillium, as well as his correspondence with Dr. Martin. As you can imagine, the Corcillium certainly made sure a job opportunity was presented to Lynn. I became one of Bud’s contacts at the university. No one, including myself, could have imagined what would happen next.”

  Steven rubbed the back of his head. “I shouldn’t delay your time with Blue a moment longer. But listen, son. You seem like a nice young man. Raised well. I know you’ve gone through hell in the last forty-eight hours. But this is a lot for someone of her age. Hell, it’s a lot for me, and I’m a kid compared to her.”

  Steven rounded the counter and William followed him through the butler’s pantry, down the hall, and through the porch doors, where the two burly guards were still stationed. William stepped between them and stopped immediately in the doorframe.

  Quincy sat directly beside Blue, with Lily standing on her other side. Both had changed clothes, Lily to a blue dress and Quincy into an ill-fitting shirt and pants. At William’s arrival, Blue clasped her hands together, Lily shyly smiled, and Quincy stood up.

  “William! She’s your great-grandmother!” Quincy said, pointing to Blue.

  “Mr. Martin, a bit of decorum, shall we?” Blue asked.

  “Come on girl, we’re old friends now,” Quincy s
aid, reaching down to gently pat her hand. “One believer to another, right?”

  “He knows?” William asked, looking at Quincy. “You told him?”

  “Of course she did. She knows who I am. She doesn’t know my taste in clothing or my actual pants size. She figured this is the size I would wear, which means a serious juice cleanse is in my future.”

  “You decided to let him out?” Steven asked.

  “More like he complained his way out.” Blue looked up to Quincy’s grin. “Miss Lily and I were having a nice talk when all we could hear was stomping and cursing upstairs. So I sent for him.”

  “Against all of our better judgments,” Rudd said, from where he leaned against the pillar.

  “Now wait a minute. Wait a damn minute,” Quincy said, walking towards Steven. “I know you! You’re Steven Richards.”

  “Mr. Martin. Let’s give them a minute,” Rudd said. “You said you were hungry. I will happily stuff your mouth with anything to keep you from talking for five minutes.”

  “No way. This is a gold mine right here. Everything I knew was real, is right here before my eyes. It was almost worth almost getting my butt blown off.”

  “Let’s go.” Rudd took him by the arm. “Let them talk. I don’t agree with you knowing anything, but now that you do, I’ll be keeping a close eye on you.”

  “Let it be known,” Quincy said, holding up a finger as Rudd led him to the door, “I spent half my fortune on trying to unravel the truth. I know my phone got either blown up or tossed somewhere, but give me a way to call and I’ll have a jet here within the hour. I can get us somewhere truly safe—”

  Rudd closed the doors behind them.

  “I know you disagree, Steven, I can tell by the look in your eyes,” Blue said. “But you know why he’s been on our radar all these years.”

  “And there are reasons why the Corcillium ultimately never reached out to him,” Steven responded. “Enthusiasm is one thing. But he’s a glorified cell phone salesman. Who just happens to have made millions on a nifty hologram idea with a horrible name. But he’s in deep now. Even he doesn’t realize how deep. There’s no turning back for him. For any of us.”

  “William, will you help me into my wheelchair? I need to move,” Blue said, reaching up with her hands.

  He walked over, seeing the delight in her eyes. Nanna’s mother. My God.

  She seemed as light as the pages he’d just flipped through, as fragile as bone china. There was a fierce grip to her, though, as he lifted her from the rattan to the wheelchair.

  “You’re so handsome. Even more so than you are in all those pictures in the magazines,” she said, placing her hand on his bearded cheek as she settled into the chair. “You resemble your grandparents so much.”

  He heard Steven clear his throat again. “Do you want me to push you, Blue?”

  “No. I want my great-grandson to push me,” she said. “Lily, want to come with us out into the yard? Go see the dragonflies at the fountain? Take the ramp right there, William.”

  He took the handles of the chair and guided her across the wood floors and down the ramp onto the grass. The wheels bumped a bit on the uneven soil, but Blue didn’t seem to mind, reaching out for Lily. The little girl took her hand.

  “Go on, run now. We can talk more in a bit.”

  Lily scampered across the grass. She hesitated a bit, seeing the flurry of red-and-green dragonflies hovering above the water.

  “They won’t hurt you, honey, I promise,” Blue said.

  She walked to the edge of the fountain, climbing to stand on the stone. Slowly, she began to walk the perimeter, making a loop around the water, grinning at the hovering insects.

  “Watch your step!” Blue said.

  Lily waved slightly.

  “Remarkable girl, that one,” she said. “I can’t imagine what she’s been through. But look at her. That’s the wonderful thing about children: Despite whatever’s happened to her … she’s playing. Smiling. She’s just a regular child.”

  “There is nothing regular about her,” Steven said, walking beside William.

  “No. And she didn’t ask for it. Just like my daughter didn’t ask for it. Or you, my boy.” She reached over her shoulder to pat his hand.

  “I’ve got a lot of questions.”

  “I know you do. Let’s rest right over there. By the Knock Outs,” she said.

  He wheeled her over to where a flourishing set of rosebushes were contained behind a knee-high iron fence. Three Adirondack chairs with thick cushions were situated before it, facing the fountain.

  As Blue reached over to smell one of the blooms, William sat, watching her. “I just … I just can’t believe…”

  “That I’m alive?” She laughed in a tone so similar to his grandmother’s that goose bumps raised on his arm. “It’s a good question, one I’ve asked myself more than once. I honestly wished to die so often as a young woman that maybe I cursed myself, hoping death would come for me. But I’m certainly glad it ignored me. Because here you are. I just wish your grandmother were here too.”

  “She needs to know that you’re alive.”

  Blue looked past him. “I’ve wanted to call her every day for the past fifteen years. As soon as I found out she was alive. No family should have endured this. But it appears this is the burden of ours.”

  She turned to him. “You thought you knew her story; how your grandmother’s mother died young and she was raised by her father. Now, you’ve read what happened when we found Lynn in Mexico. We placed the letters in chronological order for obvious reasons; you see that my husband and Dr. Martin obviously believed I had died when the building collapsed. In turn, I was told they died in the hurricane. But the truth is quite different.”

  “How did you survive?” he asked.

  “I didn’t want to. Everyone I loved was gone. I had no extended family; my parents were already dead and I had no siblings. My body was crushed, I would certainly never walk again. Even if I wanted to leave and return home, I couldn’t. But I kept hearing their whispers, their suggestions. You may find in life, my boy, that anger can keep you alive.”

  “Whispers? Suggestions? From whom?”

  She folded her hands on her lap. “From the very organization that is hunting you. The same agency that constructed the building in Mexico, that collected the abducted who were returned. They are not characters in a movie or comic book. They are very real, with a very real purpose. And I became one of them.”

  William’s ears flushed. “You joined them? Even though they knowingly took your daughter? And then gave her something that erased her memories?”

  “And now you know they did it to you as well. And I know that must make you angry.”

  William frowned. “I don’t think angry comes close to how I feel about it. It took years for me to adjust to the strangers who claimed to be my family. I just … can’t understand why you would join a government operation responsible for what they did to your daughter.”

  “The SSA isn’t just a US government operation. It’s in every country in the world. And yes, I did. And I know you’re angry. But trust me, your anger doesn’t begin to compare to mine when I realized what had been kept from me. I lost out on an entire life with my daughter and husband.”

  The anger building within him began to quell at the bitterness in her voice. “I don’t mean to blame you. I’m just confused.”

  “Understand that I was told that my family was dead, but that I could help others like me. I could devote my life to a cause that was trying to understand why people, like my Lynn, were being taken and returned to earth. That I could avenge her, and my husband, by seeking the answers. All this planted in me by the extremely encouraging agents who routinely visited me in my recovery. It lit a fire within me. Ultimately, it gave me a reason to live. Ultimately, they were successful in keeping me silent.”

  She motioned to the wheelchair. “My legs were shattered. But in time, the rest of me healed. Enough for me to quietly be
wheeled into the new, tiny, research facility in Mexico run by the SSA. Everyone there spoke Spanish, so it took me a long time to learn the language. But I did. And my life’s work began.”

  “All this time … you’ve been in Mexico?”

  Her lips pursed. “It’s strange, now, to think back on all those years. A simple but fulfilling life. I lived alone, did my work in the archive division. Since I had no family, I naturally yearned to create another. ‘The widow of the library,’ the agents called me when they didn’t think I could hear. They all became my children, and many treated me with kindness. I was grateful that I had a job that supported a disabled woman with no education, and that I was allowed to be a surrogate mother and grandmother to my coworkers. They appeared grateful to have me, and I focused all my energies on the abduction cases in Mexico.”

  “But how could you have not known about my grandmother?” William asked. “She was married to a US senator. Her picture was in newspapers and certainly online. And if you researched abductions, surely you came upon…”

  “I quickly learned in order to survive, the past would have to die. Freda Stanson died when her family did. When the agents started calling me Blue, because of my eyes, it became my new name. Mother Blue, then, as I aged, Grandmother Blue, then Great-Grandmother Blue. My office in the Yucatan was covered in hundreds of pictures of my agents’ families. I had to fill a void. And it meant completely and utterly shunning anything that had to do with the United States. In time, it became a foreign country that conjured up too much pain to even think about. And it was the greatest mistake of my life. And if it hadn’t been for the Rapture, I would still be there now.”

  “The Rapture?”

  She took a deep breath. “The SSA’s code name for when the ships returned to Argentum and to all the bases where the abductees were contained all over the world. Including the rebuilt location in the Yucatan. When they were all taken up, you can’t imagine the internal chaos. The SSA thought they’d contained it all, but they didn’t count on your grandmother. Everyone at the office was whispering about it. For the first time, I got online to a US news website and read about the one case that had gone public.”