03:50
Michael returns with some water for us, then leans against one of the lab’s counters, crossing his arms as he appraises us. It’s such a Chris pose that I momentarily see my friend there instead of his son. “You know, until Adam showed up a few months ago, I never really believed you two about time travel. But you look just like you did when I was a kid, and you were here when you said you’d be, so I guess it’s all true.”
“How much did we tell you?” I ask.
“Not much,” he admits. “You two were always pretty secretive.” He stares off into the distance as he continues. “My parents died when I was eleven, and you took me in after that, but neither of you was especially open about what you’d been through. But things changed after Ava…”
He stops and glances at me with apology in his eyes. Adam reaches out and grabs my hand, sadness written all over his face.
“It’s okay,” I say, squeezing Adam’s hand. “I already know.”
Michael nods. “After she died and Adam killed himself, you gave me something.” He pulls a crumpled envelope from inside his uniform. “You told me one day I’d meet your younger self and that I should give this to you. And here we are.”
I take the envelope from him and turn it over in my hand. It weighs nothing, has yellowed edges, and looks like it’s never been opened. I tear into it and find a single item inside: a black-and-white photograph. From the angle, it looks like it was taken from a security camera. The photo shows a guy with a Dodgers baseball cap, a light-colored windbreaker, and a large backpack walking through a crowd of shoppers. A time stamp marks it as taken on Black Friday at 2:58 p.m. in the Beverly Center—a shopping center not far from Miracle Mile.
“Who is that?” Adam asks, peering over my shoulder.
“You both believed it was one of the men who released the virus,” Michael says.
My breath catches. With this photo, we might be able to do something to prevent the virus. If we can find this man, maybe we can trace him back to the rest of the White Outs and stop them.
“I waited fifteen years to give that to you,” Michael says. “I hope you can use it to stop all of this from happening.”
My head snaps up. “I died fifteen years ago? How?”
“We were investigating near the Aether building. You thought there might be something there, some clue about the virus, I don’t know. We never found it ’cause we were attacked by a large group of the Infected. You gave me the photo, told me to join the Militia, and wait for your younger selves to show up. Then you fought the group alone so I could escape.” His voice gets a bit choked up. “I didn’t want to go, but you told me I had to protect the photo, no matter what else happened. And that’s what I did.”
I step forward and rest my hand on his arm. “Thank you.”
He pulls me into a hug. “You saved my life. I’ll never forget that.”
I hug him back, emotion crowding my throat, making it hard to speak. When we break apart, I stare at the photo again. The man in the Dodgers cap doesn’t look like an obvious neo-Nazi or the kind of guy who would murder thousands of innocent people, but I suppose you can never really tell.
I’m not sure how we’ll track him down, but this photo is enough to get us started. I shove it in my backpack and check my watch. “Adam and I need to get downtown. We only have an hour before the window opens to send us back to the present.”
“Not a problem,” Michael says. “I can get you both out of here.”
The door bangs open, making all three of us jump. Four large men in uniform walk in, followed by an old, wrinkled man with white hair who wears a crisp black suit over his thin frame. He must be in his eighties by now, but there’s no mistaking who it is: Vincent Sharp.
Michael squares his shoulders and gives a salute. “Mr. President. I wasn’t expecting you.”
“It was worth a trip from Napa to meet our newest guest.” He turns toward me with a wide smile. “I’m glad you could finally make it, Elena. Guess we should have fixed that problem with the accelerator, eh?” He laughs softly, like we’re all in on some big joke and not a time-travel experiment gone wrong.
I study him carefully. On one hand, the Vincent in the present sent me here to rescue Adam, and according to Paige, we’re going to make it back. On the other, Vincent’s men threw me in a prison cell and have been making Adam work on a cure for the past few months. I don’t know if I can trust him, but he might be our best chance of getting out of here.
“We need to get back to the Aether office before the aperture opens,” I say.
“Of course,” Vincent says. “But first I need Adam to finish making the vaccine for us.”
Adam furrows his brow. “I tried. I’ve done nothing but work on it for two months. But it’s impossible.”
Vincent walks around us at a slow pace. “Is it? Or have you been taking your time, hoping Elena would rescue you?”
“No! If I could do it, I would. But I’d need more time and more resources, and even then it might not be possible.”
“My men tell me otherwise. They say you’re close.” Vincent pauses in front of us and sighs. “I’m sorry, but I can’t let you leave until you finish it.”
I clench my fists. “Is that why you’re keeping us here?
He clasps his hands behind his back. “I kept Adam here because it was the safest place for him until you arrived—and it allowed him to help us at the same time. And I promise to get you to the aperture as soon as Adam fulfills his side of the bargain.”
“Adam wouldn’t be stuck in the future in the first place if it weren’t for you.”
“You’re right,” Vincent says. “He’d be dead.”
I glance at the scar on Adam’s chin and scowl, before turning back to Vincent. “You sent me here to get Adam. You’re waiting for us back in the present. You know we succeed in coming home on time. You might as well let us go already.”
“What I know is that the future can be changed. You taught me that. But don’t worry. My younger self will keep opening the aperture for a few more hours in the present, which gives us a few weeks, thanks to the time dilation. If you don’t return, he’ll send someone else to rescue you. Or maybe he’ll give up. Hopefully, it won’t come to that.”
“Send Elena back, at least,” Adam says. “She can’t help with the vaccine. She doesn’t need to be here.”
I throw him a sharp glance. “No, I’m not leaving without you.”
Vincent shakes his head, his face heavy with sadness. “I know my methods seem harsh, but please try to see this from my perspective. In the past thirty years, the human race has been brought to extinction because of a virus. A virus Adam helped create. A virus he can help me stop now.” He spreads his hands. “I’ve done everything I can to keep people safe and to rebuild this world, but it’s not enough. I need your help to stop the virus for good.”
“We’re going to stop it,” I say. “Once you send us back to the present, we’ll prevent the virus from ever getting out in the first place.”
He looks at me with something like pity. “You tried that already. I know because I helped you. But it didn’t work. It will never work. This future is inevitable. The only thing we can do is find a way to stop the virus, and I need the vaccine for that.”
Adam’s head drops. “I can’t do it. I wish I could. Believe me. But I can’t. I’m sorry.”
“Sir,” Michael says, stepping forward. “I’ve been guarding Adam the entire time he’s been here, and I believe he’s telling the truth. Maybe we should consider sending them back.”
Vincent looks at him for the first time. “Major Duncan. You’ve been a loyal soldier all these years, but somehow I’m not surprised to hear you take their side. Too much of your father in you, perhaps.” He waves his hand. “You’re dismissed.”
Michael stiffens but doesn’t back down. “Keeping them here isn’t right, sir. If we help them get back to the present, there’s still a chance they can change all this.”
Vincent gestures at the guards behind him. “Get him out of here. Maybe a few hours in lockup will remind him how important our work here is.”
Two of the guards reach for Michael, who starts to step back. “Sir—”
One of the guards grabs his arms and yanks them back, while another slaps handcuffs on him. I debate trying to intervene, but there are two additional guards hovering on either side of the room. Michael doesn’t fight back, and all Adam and I can do is watch while they drag him out of the room. He gives us one last stoic look as the door shuts.
04:01
“I suggest you start working,” Vincent says. “The sooner you finish the vaccine, the sooner you can return home.”
He spins on his heel and walks out of the room, with a short nod to the two soldiers he left behind. They watch us with bored expressions from either side of the door, making sure we can’t escape.
Adam glances over the microscope and lab equipment in front of him. He looks exhausted. Vincent wants us to make a vaccine, and while I understand his motives, Adam says it’s impossible—and we don’t have time to waste.
I pull Adam into a hug and whisper in his ear. “We’re going to get out of here. Just follow my lead.” He gives me a slight squeeze to show me he understands before we break apart.
“Get to work,” one of the soldiers snaps.
Adam turns back to his microscope, while I begin a slow inspection of the room, searching for another way out or for anything to use as a weapon. Paige and Zahra must surely be wondering what’s taking me so long, though they’ll wait until they get a signal from me before doing anything. But I need to take care of the guards first.
They’re both heavily armed and a lot bigger than I am, but I doubt they’ll kill me or Adam. Vincent wants to keep us alive for now. Regardless, I need to be quick and use the element of surprise because I’ll only get one shot at this.
I lean against the counter near Adam, like I’m checking out what he’s working on, then push one of the nearby beakers over the edge, making it look like an accident. The glass beaker hits the floor and shatters loudly, making one of the guards swear.
“Oh God, I’m sorry. I’m a little shaken up.” I bend down to clean up the sharp pieces of glass, but one of the guards rushes forward.
“Leave it,” he orders.
He’s too late though, because I’ve already grabbed a large, sharp piece of glass. As I straighten up, he grabs my arm, yanking me away from the mess. Without hesitation, I jerk my hand up and stab the glass into his neck. His eyes widen, and blood begins to gush out of his throat, but I can’t stop to think about what I’m doing. I grab the gun at his hip, just as his partner yells something at me. I line up my target, exhale, and shoot the man between his eyes. The loud shot fills the room and then is immediately replaced by heavy silence while Adam stares at me like he’s never seen me before.
“Jesus,” he says, his face pale. “You killed them.”
“It was us or them, and I’m always choosing us.” I search the guards, taking their keys and weapons, including a large knife. I can only hope that this lab is sealed and no one heard the gunshot, but either way, we need to hurry before more soldiers arrive.
“Yeah, but…” He’s staring at the guy I stabbed in the neck, whose blood has made a thick puddle on the floor. “Damn.”
I swallow the sourness in the back of my throat at the sight of the dead man’s face and hand Adam one of the guns, then shove the other in the back of my pants. “You’ve seen me kill people before.”
He glances at the gun in his hand like it might come alive and bite him. “Those were in self-defense.”
“And this wasn’t?”
He opens his mouth like he might argue with me, but then he notices something. “Your hand.”
I look down at it. Blood rushes out of a deep cut, which begins to throb now that I’ve noticed it. I must have sliced it open on the glass when I stabbed the first guard.
Adam grabs the knife from me and cuts off a clean piece of the guard’s shirt, then carefully wraps it around my hand. I can feel his shock and disapproval even while he bandages me with quick, confident movements.
“None of the deaths matter,” I say. “Once we change the future, none of this will exist anymore.”
“They matter. Yes, if we stop the virus, these guards will be alive and won’t remember any of this.” He finishes up, and his deep-blue eyes slowly rise to meet mine. “But you’ll remember.”
The truth of his words shakes me, but I can’t stop to think about that now. I’ll do whatever it takes to get us back to the present. Once we’re there, after we stop this future from happening, then I can deal with what I’ve done.
Hopefully I’ll have some humanity left when that time comes.
“We need to hurry.” I unzip my backpack and pull out the iPhone that the guard at the gate examined. I switch it on, then text a message to Zahra: Ready.
“Does that actually work?” Adam asks.
“Sort of. Zahra’s got it rigged so it can send messages to her.”
The phone vibrates, showing a new message. Incoming.
I shove the phone in my backpack. “Let’s go.”
The guard’s keys unlock the door. I slowly it ease it open, checking the hallway. Another soldier patrols at the end, his back to us.
“Come on,” I tell Adam, gripping the guard’s knife in my hand.
He clutches the gun but looks vaguely sick. I can only hope that if the time comes, he’ll do what has to be done.
When the patrol turns the corner, I sprint down the hallway, with Adam behind me. I’m on the guard in a flash, covering his mouth with one hand and stabbing the knife into his neck with the other. He dies before he even fully registers I’m there. Adam gives me a sharp glance as I drop the guard to the ground, but I ignore it and keep going.
I start to backtrack along the way I remember coming from the prison, using the map in my head. If this base has security cameras watching us we’re going to be in a world of trouble soon, but I can’t worry about that. One thing at a time.
A loud rumble suddenly shakes the walls and the ground, raining plaster down on us. Adam and I stop and cover our heads, crouching down until the noise fades and the tunnel stops shaking.
“What was that?” Adam asks.
“That was our ticket out of here, courtesy of Paige and Zahra.”
“They’re alive?”
I nod at Adam and gesture for him to follow me slowly. Shouts sound nearby, along with the rush of heavy footsteps. A siren begins blaring in the distance, somewhere above us. We head for the stairs, but don’t see any other soldiers along the way. They all must have gone to deal with the explosion our friends created as a distraction. Exactly as we planned.
We sneak up the stairs as quickly as we can, until we emerge in the hallway of the first floor of the building. A soldier is running down it, but he slows when he sees us. I ready my knife until he yells, “We’ve gone into lockdown. All civilians are ordered to get to their safe houses.”
“We’re heading there now,” I say. “What’s going on?”
“An explosion along the east wall. That’s all I know.” He takes off again, raising his gun, his boots thumping against the carpet.
Once he’s gone, Adam grabs my arm. “What about Michael? We have to find him.”
I hesitate, glancing back the way we came. I have no idea where Michael is being kept or what they’ve done to him. He might be in the prison where they locked me up earlier, or he might be somewhere across the base—there’s no way for us to know. Rescuing him would take time, time we don’t have, and could get us captured again. But leaving him here might be sentencing him to death.
“Elena?” Adam asks.
I shake my head, even though the decision pains me. “We don’t have time.”
“We can’t just leave him here.” But Adam’s face falls because he knows I’m right.
“Once we change all this, it won’t matter
anyway,” I say, partly to reassure myself. “But we need to get back to the aperture to do that.”
Adam nods, his face grim. “Lead on.”
We both glance back one more time before heading through a door that leads outside. It’s pure chaos out here, with soldiers and civilians running around and yelling. Smoke fills the air, making our eyes water, and we cover our mouths with our arms. Gunfire sounds in the east. I share a wary look with Adam and pray they’re not shooting at our friends. No one notices us in all the confusion. We sprint across the grass between the buildings, past the spot where people were eating, now abandoned. Past the empty jungle gym. Past chunks of wall and debris that have scattered onto the grounds as we get closer to where we’re supposed to meet. An old tree in the corner between two of the buildings.
As we approach, there’s movement in the smoke, and three figures emerge wearing all black. They’re heavily armed and even have swords and baseball bats attached to their backs. Their faces are covered with gas masks, but I know who they are. Jesse keeps guard, while the two women step forward.
“You did it,” Zahra says, raising her mask. “Hello, Adam. Long time, no see.”
Paige grabs Adam in a quick hug. “It’s so good to see you again.”
Adam glances between them all. “Thanks for the rescue. How did you get in?”
“We need to get going,” Jesse says over his shoulder.
Paige nods. “We blasted a hole in the east wall, then tossed some smoke bombs inside, then sneaked over the north wall when everyone was distracted. We can escape in the same place.”
She leads us through the smoke with confident, silent steps, making me wonder if she’s been here before. More gunfire sounds from the east, along with shouts and screams. But they’re not shooting at us.
“Halt!” someone yells behind us.
Future Lost Page 7