Future Lost

by Briggs, Elizabeth;

  “Just until our schedules settle down,” Adam says. “We’re so busy with school and stuff right now, and I hate to leave him in the apartment alone for so many hours.”

  That’s a lie, of course. We both decided Max would be safer with his mom, what with Adam getting shot outside our apartment and his lab getting torched. What if someone breaks into our apartment next, and Max is the only one there? Neither one of us could handle it if the dog got hurt because of us.

  “We really appreciate you looking after him,” I add.

  She straightens up and smiles at us. “It’s no trouble at all. Really, you’re doing me a favor. I miss having him around. I was just thinking I should get myself a dog of my own now that Adam’s moved out.”

  “That’s a good idea,” Adam says.

  She pats the back of the couch. “Now sit down and tell me everything that’s going on with you two. I’ll get something to drink.”

  Great, time for more lies. Neither one of us wants to lie to his mom, of course. But we can’t exactly tell her what we’ve really been up to in the last couple days. Or what we’re planning to do next.

  Not that we have much of a plan. I don’t have class on Tuesdays, so we spent hours debating what to do about Harrison Weiss. The only thing we can come up with is watching him like a hawk for the next few years…or going to the future again. Neither plan is a good one.

  While Adam’s mom is in the kitchen, his phone rings. He frowns at the screen. “It’s Vincent.”

  “Maybe he has some news,” I say.

  “Hello?” Adam asks into the phone. I can hear Vincent’s voice on the other side but can’t make out what he’s saying. But from the crease in Adam’s forehead that gets deeper and deeper, I’m guessing it isn’t good.

  “Okay. We’ll head over now.” He ends the call.

  “What was that about?” I ask.

  “Vincent wants us to come in. The accelerator’s been destroyed.”

  The basement inside Aether’s building smells faintly of smoke. Flashing red lights guide our way to what used to be the accelerator. Vincent is standing beside the giant hulk of scrap metal, his arms crossed as he gazes into the wreckage. Nina waits against the wall with a blank expression, while Dr. Walters hovers over a computer screen with a frown. The place looks a lot like Adam’s lab did—blackened walls, scattered debris, and mangled hardware—but the damage here was contained to the accelerator, as though the fire started within it. None of the desks or other equipment were touched.

  Up close, the accelerator looks like a soufflé that has fallen in on itself. The roof of the dome has caved in, and debris is scattered along the basement floor. It’s gone—along with our last chance for visiting the future again.

  “What happened?” Adam asks.

  Vincent slowly lifts his head toward us. “A small explosive was placed inside. Just big enough to blow up the accelerator without harming the rest of the building. We’re lucky in that way, at least. None of my employees were harmed.”

  “Can it be fixed?” I ask, despair running through me.

  “Ask him,” Vincent says, gesturing to Dr. Walters. “Maybe you’ll get a better answer than I did.”

  Dr. Walters shakes his head, looking as tired as ever. “I’m afraid not.”

  “You were able to fix the other accelerator when it was tampered with,” I say.

  “Yes, but that was when Dr. Campbell sabotaged it. She made sure it wouldn’t hurt anyone. This…this was done with brute force. It can’t be repaired.”

  “You could build another one,” I say, grasping for something, anything.

  “Says the girl who destroyed the other one.” Vincent shakes his head. “There’s nothing I can do to help you. I suggest you take your own advice and start preparing for the end of the world. Or, if nothing else, go out and enjoy the next ten years before it all falls apart.”

  “Did anyone see who did it?” Adam asks.

  “No,” Vincent says. “But security tapes show it was the same woman in black who came back from the future with you.”

  “How did she get in the building without anyone noticing?” I ask.

  “I’m not sure, but my people are looking into it.”

  “Can we see the video?” Adam asks.

  Vincent gestures at the woman standing against the wall. “Nina would be happy to show you.”

  “Of course,” she says, but her tone is clipped. She moves to a desk and types something onto the screen. Adam and I move behind her as she pulls up the footage. As we watch, smoke fills the area and renders the people around the accelerator unconscious, much like it did when we returned from the future. The woman in black moves through the basement and steps inside the accelerator, presumably setting the charges. The mysterious woman then leaves the same way she came, but the camera only catches brief glimpses of her through the smoke. Nina fast-forwards the image by five minutes, and then we watch the blast shake the accelerator from the inside, before the domed ceiling crumbles and debris and dust blast out of it.

  “Not much help,” I say, turning away from the screen.

  “Did you find anything about Harrison Weiss at least?” Adam asks Vincent.

  “No more than you did, I suspect. Single white male, works for a small pharmaceutical company, lives alone.” Vincent spreads his hands. “Until he actually does something suspicious, he’s as innocent as you or me.”

  Except that none of us are innocent. Not at this point.

  “You’re welcome to look around some more, but I have a meeting now that I can’t miss.” Vincent gives us a nod and then steps inside the elevator, leaving the ruined accelerator behind. For all I know, it’s the last time I’ll ever see him. The thought doesn’t make me as happy as I once believed it would.

  With the accelerator gone, there’s nothing we can do but watch and wait, even though it goes against every fiber of my being to do nothing. I need to act. I need to resist. To fight. That’s what I am, down in my core: a fighter. But there’s no one to fight, and no way to defend against a future that hasn’t happened yet.

  Dr. Walters moves to stand beside us. “I’m sorry it all turned out this way.” He offers his hand to Adam, who shakes it. Then he turns to me and shakes my hand next, his eyes sad. “Take care of yourselves.”

  We take the elevator back to the parking garage level. Disappointment creeps into my bones, and exhaustion rolls through my blood. My legs must weigh three hundred pounds each as I walk to the car.

  I slide into the seat and sigh. “Now what?”

  “Now we go see Dr. Walters.” Adam holds out his hand. A small post-it note rests inside, with unfamiliar handwriting.

  Meet me at my house in two hours.

  The smallest flicker of hope lights inside me as I start the car.

  We grab a quick bite to eat and then drive to Dr. Walters’s house. After spending an eternity finding a parking spot, we make our way to his front door, through grass that looks like it hasn’t been mowed in weeks. He opens the door before we even knock.

  “Come inside,” he says, gesturing fiercely at us. He shuts the door as soon as we’re in his living room. “Sorry. I don’t want anyone to see you. You never know who might be watching.”

  Once I might have thought he was being overly paranoid, but not anymore. “No kidding,” I say.

  “Where’s Armando?” Adam asks, glancing around for Dr. Walters’s husband. We met him six months ago, last time we were here, and the house seems empty without his warm, charming presence.

  “That’s why I asked you to meet me.” Sadness flickers over Dr. Walters’s face as he leads us to his sofa. We sit down, and he takes an old, brown recliner across from us. “He’s in the hospital.”

  “What happened?” I ask.

  “Lung cancer. From his smoking days.” His voice is so weak it’s hard to hear him. “I always told him those cigarettes would kill him. I made him quit years ago, but it wasn’t soon enough.”

  “I’m so sorry,” Ad
am says.

  “Is that why you were working for Aether again?” I ask.

  Dr. Walters nods. “There’s nothing the doctors can do, they say. I went to Vincent because I didn’t know what else to do. I thought maybe he’d know of some experimental treatment or something.” He wrings his hands in his lap. “Instead he told me about you, Adam.”

  Adam sits up straighter. “Me?”

  “He said you were working on a cure. That you were close to having it ready. And that all you needed was to go to the future one more time.”

  “Jesus,” I say under my breath. “Vincent knew all this time.”

  Dr. Walters sighs. “Yes. He convinced me to finish the accelerator for him in return for him getting the cure. But when you came back, you didn’t get the answers you were looking for. So he had me send you again. And now the accelerator’s been destroyed.”

  “You should have come to me,” Adam says. “I could have helped you.”

  “You have the cure?” he asks, his eyes widening. “It’s ready now?”

  “Yes,” Adam says with reluctance in his voice. “I wanted to run more tests, to make sure it was safe before I let anyone use it, but if Armando is running out of time, I can get it to you now.”

  Dr. Walters leans forward and takes Adam’s hands, his face relieved. “That is the best news I’ve heard. Thank you so much.”

  “I’m glad I can help. I liked Armando a lot.”

  “I don’t know what I’d do without him. He’s my rock. He grounds me. Like you and Elena do for each other.”

  Adam and I glance at each other, and he clears his throat. “I’ll bring by the cure tomorrow.”

  Dr. Walters nods. “In return, I’ll help you out as well.” He leans back in his chair. “Earlier today it sounded like you wanted to return to the future. Is that true?”

  “Yes,” I say. “It might be the only way to stop the horrible future we saw from happening.”

  He lets out a long breath. “I hesitate to tell you this, but…there’s another accelerator.”

  My jaw drops. “What?”

  “A third one?” Adam asks.

  “Yes.” Dr. Walters glances around, like he’s worried someone might be listening in or spying on us. “But maybe it’s better if you let this go. The time machines I’ve created have done nothing but bring about death and destruction.”

  “They also allowed us to save people’s lives and right future wrongs,” Adam says. “And this time we’re trying to save the entire world.”

  “Then perhaps my greatest invention won’t be my greatest regret after all.” Dr. Walters sighs. “When I first created the accelerator with the dream of sending people to the future, I designed three separate prototypes, but only the first one was ever finished. Six months ago, you blew up the original accelerator, along with the building it was in out in the desert. But Vincent wasn’t ready to let Project Chronos die, even though it got his son killed. While one team worked on the second accelerator in the Aether building, another team built a new facility in the desert, in the same spot where the old one stood. He moved the third accelerator to that facility.”

  My fingers tighter around the edge of the couch. “He lied to us.”

  “Of course he did. He wants to keep this one for himself. It allows only a single person to go forward in time, and he plans for Nina to use it, since he’s too old to avoid future shock. Of course, that’s assuming she hasn’t used it already.”

  I lean forward, my heart racing. “Maybe that’s how she went to the future without us knowing. Then she returned with us through our aperture.”

  “It’s possible,” Dr. Walters says. “But I don’t know if that accelerator is ready or not.”

  “If not, how long will it take before it’s ready?” I ask.

  “I’m not sure. I’ll need to go there and assess it. Maybe a few days.”

  “A few days.” I exchange a glance with Adam. “That would work.”

  Adam frowns. “But only one of us can go.”

  “We’ll worry about that later,” I say. Except we both know that person is going to be me. Adam might argue with me or try to prevent me from going, but he’s still injured. I’ll have to return to the future one more time—alone.

  WEDNESDAY

  Boom.

  My gun clicks empty. I’m tempted to reload, but my time is up and I need to get to the valley soon. Paige is already done, chatting with Rob up front, and Zahra’s packing up too. I took a little longer today because I wanted to make this practice session count.

  I grab my rented gear and head to the front desk. The rows of guns along the back wall catch my eye. I’m tempted to ask about buying one for protection, but not with Zahra and Paige here.

  “Take care, ladies,” Rob says with a wave as we step outside.

  It’s another perfect Southern California day, the kind that makes other people jealous of us for living here. But today I can’t enjoy it.

  “You okay, Elena?” Paige asks me.

  I realize I’ve been standing in place too long while scanning the area for a possible attack. We seem to be safe, so I snap out of it. “Just tired. Didn’t sleep much last night.”

  “Neither did Paige.” Zahra nudges her in the side. “Tell Elena where you were last night.”

  Paige’s smooth cheeks flush a pretty shade of pink. “Ken and I went out on a date.”

  “Finally,” I say, smiling for the first time in days.

  Zahra laughs. “I know, right?”

  I lean against my car. “So how was it?”

  “It was really good.” A smile lights up Paige’s face. “I had no idea he felt that way about me. I just thought he saw me as a friend, but he said he’s had a crush on me from the moment we met.”

  Zahra shakes her head. “It was painfully obvious to all of us.”

  Paige shrugs. “I’ve always gone out with guys who made it clear from the beginning what they wanted.”

  “AKA, sex,” Zahra says, making a face.

  “All your previous boyfriends sound like jerks,” I add.

  “They were. But I’m done with jerks now.” She stops at her car and smiles at me. “How are things with Adam? He still working all the time?”

  “He’s been home a lot more lately.” It’s not a lie. Adam is home a lot now, thanks to his injury and his lab being destroyed.

  “Oh good!”

  We chat a little longer about school before going our separate ways. I hate keeping secrets from them, but telling them what’s going on is not an option right now. There’s nothing they can do to help us, and knowing what the future might hold will only prevent them from living their lives happily. If Adam, Ken, and I haven’t made any progress soon, then we’ll tell the others to allow them to prepare for the worst possible scenario.

  Until then, it’s better if only the three of us know what’s to come.

  I crumble up the hamburger wrapper in my lap and toss it in the backseat. “I wish this guy would do something suspicious already.”

  Adam takes a sip of his soda. “We might be waiting a long time. It could be years before he gets involved with the White Outs. And you said they weren’t in the news for another six years.”

  I groan and shove another fry in my mouth. We’ve been watching Harrison Weiss through his windows for over an hour, after tailing him from his office to his apartment, and so far he’s done nothing but sit on his ass in front of the TV with a beer in his hand. The most excitement we’ve had was when he got up to microwave a frozen pizza. If the next few years of my life consist of spying on this guy every night, I might die of boredom before the virus hits.

  “How did shooting go today?” Adam asks.

  “Pretty good. Although I felt bad about keeping secrets from Zahra and Paige.”

  “Sometimes we have to keep secrets to protect the people we care about.”

  I tilt my head toward him. “It’s not the same as what you did. Not even close.”

  “That’s not what I
meant.” He sighs. “Tell me what to do to make things better between us, and I’ll do it. I’ll do anything.”

  “I can’t. There’s no easy fix for this.” I toss the rest of my food in the takeout bag, my appetite gone. “You know how hard it is for me to trust people after everything I’ve been through with my family and foster care. I finally opened myself up to you, and then you betrayed that trust. I don’t know how to move past that.”

  “Then I’ll keep trying to win your trust again for as long as it takes.” He reaches across the center console and tentatively takes my hand. “I’m not giving up on us.”

  I don’t want to give up on us either, but I can’t deny that in most of the futures I’ve been to, Adam and I aren’t together. For some reason we can’t seem to make it work long term, even with our daughter in the picture. We’re completely different people from different backgrounds, thrown together because of the strange circumstances we’ve been thrust into. I’ll always love Adam, and I know he loves me too, but maybe we’re just not meant to be.

  Adam’s phone rings and lights up the dark interior of the car. “Hey, Chris,” he answers, before putting it on speakerphone. “Did you get the genicote for Dr. Walters?”

  “No,” Chris says. “Someone broke into my house. My house!”

  Adam’s fingers tighten around my hand. “What?”

  “Is everyone okay?” I ask. “Shawnda? Michael?”

  “Yeah, we were all out of the house at the time, thank God.”

  “What happened?” Adam asks.

  “They destroyed your backups and all the samples I had of the cure.”

  “No,” Adam says softly. All the life seems to drain out of him at the news that his life’s work has all been destroyed.

  “What the hell is going on?” Chris asks. “First your lab, now this. Who’s doing this? Is my family in danger?”

  “We don’t know,” I say. Adam stares out the window with the same emptiness on his face that I saw back at his lab.

  “There’s something you aren’t telling me, isn’t there?” Chris asks.