Harbinger

by Matthew S. Cox

  The tall man took another step, stopping two paces from her, his stomach at her eye level. He leaned forward into a looming, buzzard-like posture. “We don’t allow cops here. But…” The man straightened to his full height. “You’s pretty, so maybe we make an exception if you’re nice enough.”

  Kirsten leaned back, not terribly interested in the man’s surface thoughts picturing her ‘entertaining’ his entire crew. “How about ‘no.’”

  “Go on and reach for that pop gun,” said Tall Man. “Your body will still be warm enough for a good while.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “Go fuck yourself.”

  Tall Man blinked once, tilted his head in contemplation, and walked off into an alley at a brisk pace. His associates all took a step back at Kirsten’s eyes glowing in time with her Suggestion. Unease spread over them, and in seconds, they scattered like roaches into the shadows.

  “Not an accident that time,” said Kirsten.

  Dorian walked up beside her, rubbing his chin. “Now, what do you suppose that man is going to do?”

  “Don’t know. Don’t care.” She scowled at the alley where the tall man went, then stormed back over to the patrol craft.

  “Well, suggestions are often subject to interpretation.” Dorian chuckled. “I find myself simultaneously curious and horrified at what might be going on over there.”

  A blue light flashed on the buildings in the alley with an accompanying electric sizzle and a male voice moaning.

  “Okay. Forget curious. Make that simply horrified.” Dorian shook his head.

  “Oh, man, that’s just wrong,” yelled a woman from the alley.

  Dorian chuckled.

  She glanced at him with raised eyebrows. “I wasn’t trying to be funny.”

  “No, I’m not amused at that… mess going on over there. More that outside of Division 5, most cops are terrified of augs. You didn’t even flinch when that cretin loomed over you.”

  Kirsten shrugged. “Do I look like most cops?”

  “True.” Dorian opened his mouth to say something more, but pointed at her. “Incoming.”

  She whirled around, pulling her E-90, but relaxed at the sight of a man in normal, modern clothing hurrying toward them with an expression of urgency on his face. He looked like he belonged in a middle-management position at a corporate office. Other than the cluster of bullet holes in the middle of his chest, he didn’t stand out much: light brown skin, dark hair, clean shaven.

  “Please help!” The man ran right past her and grabbed Dorian’s arm. “They’re going to kill my daughter!”

  “What?” yelled Kirsten. “Who’s going to kill your daughter? Where?”

  The ghost swiveled to stare at her in shock. “You can see me?”

  “Yes.”

  “But you’re alive.” He reached for her arm, but his fingers passed through without contact.

  “Last time I checked… Usually if living people are about to kill someone, another ghost isn’t going to help much. Look, I’ll explain later. Who’s going to kill your kid?”

  He hurried off to the right—away from the alley where the fringers went—“the same bastards who shot me. Please, hurry!”

  She started after him, but stopped, glancing back and forth between the spirit and the patrol craft. A strong feeling of worry about Evan hit her out of nowhere, making her want to race back to the PAC to find him. She’d never tested as having the least bit of clairvoyance, so she figured the sudden spike of clinginess toward him came from hearing about another child in danger. “Is it far? Should I drive?”

  “No… just over there.” The ghost pointed at a building across the street and down about a third of a block.

  “I’ll float the car out of reach of idiots.” Dorian headed for the patrol craft. “Keep going. I’ll catch up.”

  Kirsten pulled her E-90 and sprinted after the distancing spirit.

  12

  Spaceship Earth

  Evan frowned at his face reflected in the blank, black screen of his NetMini.

  Still no signal. He clutched the device tight to his chest, concentrating for a moment on wanting his mother to help him. The teacher who conducted the clairvoyance workshops had been going over an ability they called ‘Summoning’ last week. With it, a clairvoyant could project their psionic power into the world, focused on someone they knew. When done right, that person would experience a strong desire to either go to or make contact with the psionic. The stronger the personal connection, the more likely the ability would work.

  Alternatively, a clairvoyant holding an object a total stranger considered dear could trigger a desire within that person to travel to the location of said object. The kids in the workshop all tried to ‘summon’ each other using stuff they’d brought in. This girl, Gia, who held Evan’s favorite Monwyn action figure managed to give him something of an urge to walk across the room. But, that could’ve just been him not really trusting she wouldn’t break it.

  However, if emotional connection meant anything, his mother would be trying to call his NetMini right now, not getting an answer, and proceeding to rip the city apart to find him.

  Unless she thought they made him shut it down while working off cit points. It hadn’t gotten late enough for him to definitely be away from school. They only let him stay two hours after last class for punishment, even if he wanted to do more to get rid of points faster.

  “Dude…” Shawn stepped out of the elevator, shining the large flashlight around. “This is kinda cool. Like landing on another planet or something.”

  “Copy, bridge,” said Walter. “This is Lieutenant Jordan. Me and…” He glanced at Maela. “What’s your last name?”

  She folded her arms. “Why?”

  “’Cause military people always call each other by their last names.”

  “We’re not…” Maela sighed. “Fine… it’s Pon.”

  Evan grinned. “That’s a cool name.”

  “It’s a little weird.” Shawn shrugged. “But she is from Mars.”

  Maela frowned.

  “I mean weird unusual, not weird bad.” Shawn pointed his light at a 400-year-old dead car. “Whoa. I’ve spotted some kind of alien shuttle craft. Looks like it crashed here.”

  “Commander Pon, what do you think it is?” asked Walter.

  Shawn glanced at him. “Why’s she a commander?”

  “Because she’s older than us.” Walter put his ‘starship guy’ voice back on. “Bridge, Lieutenant Fields has located a derelict shuttle, unidentified type.”

  “Got anything on long range scans, Wren?” asked Walter.

  “Guys,” whispered Maela. “This isn’t a game. We’re really in trouble. He doesn’t really have scanners.”

  “Of course he does.” Shawn pointed the flashlight at her face. “Wren can see in the dark with astral stuff. Look at his thoughts. It’s like daytime to him and we’re stuck with these things.”

  Evan surveyed the street full of decaying houses. As far as he looked in any direction, a metal sky stretched overhead. Giant columns like the one containing the capsule elevator stood in a regular grid pattern, the twenty-foot-wide shafts holding the entire city above them off the ground. He remembered from history class that the first elevated city plate happened in the year 2112, and they stopped building more by 2184. No one had lived down here—at least officially—for almost 300 years.

  “Negative contact on the scan, Lieutenant,” said Evan. “Abandoned houses—umm, alien dwellings in all directions.”

  Maela pinched the bridge of her nose, seeming annoyed. Her irritation faded fast, and she stepped out of the elevator with her head held high. “We need to find a secure location to await a rescue shuttle. We can’t allow the aliens to become aware of our invasion.”

  Shawn grinned. “Copy that, commander. Wren, you got point.”

  “What about the ladder?” Evan pointed at the outside of the column. A bare ladder led fifty meters up to the underside of the city plate, and a small hatch.r />
  Flashlights clustered on it, sliding up at different speeds to the top.

  “Umm, no.” Maela shook her head. “We’re going to fall and die.”

  “My mom climbed up and down those ladders a lot when she was a kid.”

  Maela shivered. “Your mother got super lucky. Look, the metal’s all covered in like grease and stuff. What if we lose our grip and fall?”

  “I’m with her.” Walter threw an arm around Maela. “The ladder is too dangerous.”

  Shawn shrugged. “I’d try it, but only Mae can open the hatch and she doesn’t wanna go up there… so, Wren, lead on.”

  No direction seemed more appealing than any other, so Evan followed the path of the old paving. A physical sign on the corner read ‘E Cortez St.’ It felt a bit weird to be walking out in the middle of the road, but he didn’t think any cars would drive here ever again. On the left, an ancient car with lights on the roof sat parked in the driveway of a ruined house. Lettering on the door read ‘City of West Covina Police.’

  “The aliens must have been researching humans. They use our writing.” Evan pointed at the car.

  Three flashlight beams converged on the reflective lettering.

  “We haven’t gone too far away from the PAC.” Evan pointed up. “Umm, I mean the ship. We should look for a hiding spot fairly close so we can find the rescue team.”

  “Wow, you know that’s old as hell.” Shawn headed over to the car. “It’s a police car and it can’t even fly.”

  Walter crossed the lawn to the front door, which had fallen off a long time ago. “This dwelling might make a good hiding place.”

  When no one voiced serious protest, he went inside. The others followed, Evan the most hesitant. They explored the house for a while, dropping the starship crew game as their fascination with ancient things proved too distracting. Finding what appeared to be a video game system in the living room connected to a giant, physical display screen baffled them the most.

  “Where are the helmets?” asked Shawn. “How did they play games without them?”

  Maela pointed at the rectangular thing on the wall. “I think that’s a tee-vee. It displayed pictures kinda like a holo-panel, only it’s solid.”

  “Ugh.” Walter scrunched up his face as if he’d stepped in dog poo. “Really, a screen? How could anyone play a game when they can only see a little bit in a box? Stuff could sneak up behind you so easy.”

  “And there’s no smells or feeling anything.” Walter whistled. “So primitive.”

  Evan shrugged. “Yeah, I dunno. That had to suck.”

  “Oh, it wasn’t that bad,” said an old man voice behind him.

  “Gah!” Evan screamed and jumped.

  Shawn froze statue still. Walter shrieked and dropped his flashlight. Maela emitted a short, high-pitched scream and cringed back, her left leg raised defensively.

  A white-haired older man in a pale blue sweater-shirt with ‘LA Dodgers’ on it stood in the archway between the living room and the hall deeper into the house. He seemed like a friendly, grandfatherly sort of person, and fought hard not to smile at the kids’ reaction of fright.

  “Don’t do that!” yelled Maela. “You scared the crap out of me.”

  “Yeah, man.” Shawn turned his hand to point the flashlight at Evan. “Not cool. This place is creepy enough already.”

  Walter meeped.

  “Hi.” Evan waved at the ghost. “My friends can’t see you, but I can. I’m Evan. That’s Shawn, Walter, and Maela. She’s from Mars.”

  “Mars, huh?” asked the old man. “I thought I heard something about them sending people up there. Nice to meet you, Evan. You can call me Jeff.”

  “Shouldn’t it be mister something?” asked Evan. “I’m just a kid.”

  “Nah. Too late for that nonsense.” Jeff stuck his hand into the wall.

  “Whoa…” Shawn pointed the flashlight almost at the ghost. “Who are you talking to, Wren?”

  “There’s a spirit here. But don’t be scared. He seems nice.” Evan smiled. “His name is Jeff.”

  Maela shivered. “Is that why it feels weird in here?”

  “Yes.” Evan nodded. “Any psionic can feel it when a ghost’s around.”

  “Aww, crap.” Shawn swallowed. “I used to feel like this back home a lot. Does that mean there was a ghost in that apartment?”

  Evan shrugged. “Probably.” He looked back to Jeff. “Who is Lah and what did they dodge?”

  “Pardon?” asked Jeff.

  “Your shirt. It says Lah dodgers.”

  “Aha!” Jeff cackled with glee. “They used to be a baseball team.”

  “Baseball?” asked Evan, tilting his head. “What’s that?”

  Jeff blinked. “Oh, no. You don’t know what baseball is?”

  Evan shook his head. “I know about Gee-ball, but I’m not that into sports.”

  The other kids gradually resumed exploring the house.

  “You should tell them not to go into the back rooms.” Jeff pointed. “The floors in there are weak and they’ll fall through to the basement.”

  “Guys!” yelled Evan. “Stop.”

  Again, they all jumped, though only Walter shrieked this time.

  “What now?” asked Shawn.

  “Jeff said the floors in the back of the house are gonna break.”

  Maela backed up. “Okay, you three. Outside right now. We shouldn’t go in any of these places. It’s too dangerous.”

  “Aww,” whined Shawn.

  “She’s right, man.” Walter play-punched him on the shoulder. “I don’t wanna break my legs.”

  “Yeah.” Evan nodded. “C’mon.”

  Jeff followed them outside. “So what are you children doing down here? I thought people gave up on this town what with that new fancy mess in the sky.”

  “Another ghost is being a butthead.” Evan looked around again, just in case, but didn’t see the spirit in the long, black coat. “He made the elevator break. Do you know somewhere safe we can hide until people come looking for us?”

  “Sure. There’s a place not too far from here where you’ll be safe. Much more so than out here.” Jeff headed off, following the street.

  Evan started after him, waving his arm at the others to follow. “He knows a good hiding spot.”

  Maela, Shawn, and Walter walked in single file behind him, occasionally moving their flashlights off the ground ahead of their feet to examine the surroundings. Evan had never adored being an astral as much as he did at that moment. Being trapped down here in total darkness except for the view of a flashlight would’ve been terrifying. Astral Sense might be a ‘wimp’ power, but he wouldn’t trade it for anything.

  “Do you have any family you need me to send a message to?” asked Evan.

  “Nah. They’re all long gone by now.” Jeff stuck his hands in his pockets. “Honestly, if you’re right and baseball’s gone… I don’t have much reason to stick around.”

  Evan started to say something, but the old man’s joking tone made him stop. “You’re teasing me.”

  Jeff laughed. “Yep. I suppose I am.”

  “How’d he die?” asked Shawn.

  “I’m not sure. Went to bed one night, sat up as a ghost. Probably a heart attack. Who knows?” Jeff shrugged.

  Evan relayed.

  “That’s sad. I’m sorry,” said Maela.

  “Thank you, sweetie.”

  Evan looked at her. “Thank you, sweetie.”

  “Oh, Little Man’s in love,” said Shawn in a teasing tone.

  “I’m just repeating what the ghost said.” Evan looked away from all of them, cheeks burning.

  Maela laughed.

  “Has he been a ghost long?” Walter aimed his flashlight around the street, hunting for Jeff.

  “A little bit, yeah.” Jeff winked. “They hadn’t built this monstrosity to block the sky yet.”

  “Do you remember the Corporate War?” asked Evan.

  “The what? Oh… that nonsense to
the east? No, that happened after I died.”

  “Are you messing with us?” Shawn squinted at him, then went wide-eyed in time with a surface thought read. “Whoa, no… there really is an old man there.”

  Of course, Maela and Walter also had to peek. Evan sighed, but let them in.

  Jeff led them past crumbling houses and dead lawns. The withered remains of trees stood here and there, perhaps the only thing that made Evan regret being able to see in the dark. Creepy, abandoned buildings unnerved him already, but something about bare, dead trees added that little extra bit of fear that put him on edge.

  “Hey, there’s light up ahead.” Shawn pointed.

  It took Evan a moment to figure out what they’d seen, since to him, light didn’t stand out as much. Rather than a distant glowing spot in the dark that drew the eye in an instant, it took the form of areas appearing in normal color rather than the monochromatic sepia of the Astral Realm. The scent of wet soil and boiling vegetables lingered in the air, trading places every other breath with the constant sour-raspberry-fishy-chemical nastiness.

  Jeff kept walking, leading the children toward a barrier of scrap wood, aluminum siding, car hoods/trunks, and doors that formed a wall across the street. Two men and a woman stood under an awning made from an orange tarpaulin stretched between poles, like guards from a Monwyn video game at the town gate. Rather than armor, they wore clothes made of plastic sheets, canvas scraps, power cables, and bits of scavenged fabric. The man on the left had a long beard in addition to wild hair while the other man had evidently tried to shave… with a dull knife.

  No sooner had the kids pointed their flashlights at the sentries, all three adults returned the favor. Evan raised his arm to block the glare blinding him.

  “Here ya go.” Jeff smiled. “I know they look kinda scary, but they won’t hurt you.”

  “Children,” whispered the man on the left.

  Amid the rustling of plastic garments, the three adults approached. The woman and the man on the right both wore swords hanging from their power cable belts, while the man on the left carried a crossbow, though he didn’t point it at them. Crossbow Man appeared to be the oldest, with streaks of grey in his shaggy brown hair.