by R. Brewer
"Where is Mei?" Chuck asked.
The man's eyes grew large again and he started to shake and whimper quietly.
“I'll give you one more chance. Mei, the Asian woman who you people kidnapped. Where is she?”
“G..g..g..gone," the man stammered. "She's gone already. They took her.”
Chuck tightened his grip on the man. “Gone where, exactly?”
“You know,” the man said, pointing up. “Up there. Where we're all going.”
“I don't believe you,” Chuck said, gripping the man around the neck. “Try it again. Last chance. Where is Mei?”
The man breathed raggedly through his constricted airway. He started to claw at Chuck's hand and Chuck released the pressure slightly.
"They took her already. This ship is just for supplies. And the genetics team. Whoever's left."
Chuck felt it seeping into him. The realization that Hana had lied to him. And, he'd left Jodie, Gypsum's prized source of DNA, alone in her hands. "When did they take her?"
"It was yesterday. She's been gone since yesterday morning," the man said.
"What are they doing to her? Tell me," he growled into the man's face.
The man turned his face to the side, a stream of snot flowing from his nose. "Nothing right now. She's in cryostat. You know, frozen."
"You're lying to me, aren't you?" Chuck asked, digging his fingers into the man's arm. "I heard one of those people out there talking about the medical transport and getting oxygen tanks ready. Who is that for, if it's not Mei?"
The man's eyes grew larger again and he tried to squirm out of Chuck's grip. As his mouth opened, a scream escaping, Chuck clamped his hand down and spun the man's head violently to the side. The man went limp in his arms and Chuck tossed his body to the side, next to the other man.
"Time to see if I can find someone to tell me the truth," Chuck said.
* * *
Fester finished his dinner and sat by the campfire, watching the flames dance across the dry wood. From where he sat, he could see a glow from a distant town in the eastern sky, over the mountains beyond. To the west, everything was dark as black ink. He'd noticed another thing, too. Other than a group of fighter jets that he'd seen earlier, there were no other planes flying.
The sky was clear and overflowing with stars, the Milky Way galaxy hovering overhead like a heavy mass of cotton. He wanted to feel joy at the sight, but Fester could only find rage as he looked at the darkened center of the galaxy. That's where his father had told him the Gypsum people wanted to go. The dark rift.
He wondered about Chuck and whether he'd gotten far enough inside the installation to do any damage yet. Fester had fully expected to see a mushroom cloud rising from the desert by now, signaling that Gypsum was destroyed. He was afraid that Chuck and Jodie had run into trouble and wished he was there to help them. Surely, another gun would help Jodie accomplish her mission, which seemed to involve blowing the place to bits.
Noah’s mom sat down by him on the ground next to the fire. “It’s beautiful out here with all the stars, isn’t it?” she asked.
He wondered how she could so easily set aside her feelings and acknowledge beauty, after everything they’d been through. A raised purple bruise occupied the space under her left eye, yet she smiled as she looked up. Fester found himself unable to stop trembling as he thought of his mother, her face a mass of purple bruises, her hair matted with blood.
Noah’s mom slipped her arm around his shoulders and pulled him close. “We’ll get through this, Fester. Do you want to talk about anything?”
He let her hold him and buried his face in the space under her chin, like he used to do with his own mother, remembering his mother calling it “the safe spot,” where he could hide from everything bad in the world. Only, she’d been wrong and the bad things in the world had taken her life. Feeling his anger returning, Fester pulled away from Noah’s mom and wiped his face. “No . . . thanks,” he said.
“You should come in now and get some sleep,” Noah’s mom said. “I think Noah’s already sacked out. From the sound of the snoring, Nick and Evan are, too.”
Fester found himself on the verge of telling her what he wanted to do, but stopped. She would never let him go. “I wanna sit by the fire a while longer,” he said.
She looked at him, seeming to search his face. “Okay, but if anyone comes by, you wake us up immediately. And, you’ll need to douse the fire before you come to bed.”
“Okay,” Fester said, wishing he wasn’t so tired, too.
She stood. “I would stay up with you, but I’m exhausted and we’ve got another long day ahead of us. Are you sure you’re going to be okay out here by yourself?”
Fester nodded. “Yeah, I just want to be alone.”
Reaching down and touching his cheek, Noah’s mom said, “Okay, but don’t stay up too long.”
***
Jodie traced her finger along the map, heading toward what Hana told her was the chemical storage wing. Hana followed, pushing the med cart in front of her. Jodie turned to look at her, feeling dizzy. She stopped and reached out to steady herself against the wall.
“Are you okay?” Hana asked.
Jodie wondered if what she was feeling was normal for the virus that was in her system, but something didn’t seem altogether right. She felt herself starting to black out, the hallway lights slowly going dim, her body losing control. She slid along the wall, falling to her knees, remembering the pills she’d popped in her mouth without even asking what they were. The pills Hana had given her. “Chuck,” she called out, the last thing she could say before her mouth went numb.
Hands reached out to her. “What did you give me?” Jodie asked, not recognizing her own voice, her words slurred and incoherent. A stream of saliva flowed out of her mouth and ran across her cheek as she was placed on a gurney. Jodie looked up, seeing only masked faces. She wanted to fight them, to run away, but couldn’t move. She tried to keep her eyes open as Hana came into her view.
“Don’t worry, Jodie. They’ll take good care of you,” Hana said.
Jodie wanted to scream, but it was too late. She was completely paralyzed.
“Is Wending on the transport yet?” Hana asked.
“Yeah. He took out two guards,” a man’s voice said. “They’re just about to sedate him.”
Jodie tried to call out Chuck’s name again, but couldn’t.
“Let’s get her down there,” Hana said. “We need to get moving.”
The hallway passed by in a blur as Jodie felt herself being pushed on the gurney. Six men in yellow hazmat suits walked ahead and Hana walked beside her. She couldn’t turn her head to see who was following, but from the sounds of their murmured conversations, she thought at least a half a dozen people were behind her, too. Probably the whole genetics team, but where were they taking her? And what was going to happen to Chuck? Would they be able to capture him, as strong as he was?
Helpless to do anything other than worry, Jodie tried to see if she could feel anything in her arms and legs. Nothing but a tingling sensation in her feet, so far. Whatever Hana had given her was keeping her very drowsy. Added to the exhaustion she already felt, and had suffered from for days, the chemicals in her blood stream were difficult to battle. She held onto a slim hope that Chuck would fare better.
* * *
Evan stretched out on the couch, his feet cramped at one end and his head pushed against the wall next to the tiny bathroom. As he woke, he couldn’t remember where he was, until the light streaming in the side window shined in his eyes. The smell of stale food permeated the couch he lay on. He was in the camper, listening to gentle breathing coming from the bed in the back. Nick and Christy were curled up together on the bed, Nick's feet hanging off the end. He could see Noah’s arm dangling over the side of the bunk bed. The bottom bunk was empty, not slept in.
Slowly, Evan blinked his eyes and looked at the empty bed. Fester had not come in from the campfire last night. He sat up abruptl
y, his body letting him know that he was too old for all of this. Rubbing his aching shoulder and trying to get his bearings, Evan shifted to look out the window.
Dew glistened in the morning light on the grass around the camper. A blackened spot on the gravel remained where the fire had been extinguished. Fester was nowhere to be seen. Evan slipped on his shoes and went outside, closing the door behind him quietly. He held his hands close to the burnt out fire. All the warmth was gone. The fire had likely been put out hours ago.
The sun peeked over the mountaintop just as Evan turned the corner to the front of the store, startling a raccoon, which scampered off into the woods dragging what looked like a candy bar. Obviously, the wildlife wasn't going to be denied a meal, compliments of the convenience store owner. Evan strained to see in the store window. When he got to the door, he stopped and looked inside. "Fester, boy, are you in there?" he called.
The morning remained silent, save for the birds calling in the trees and the constant rustle of squirrels in the underbrush. Evan cursed himself for not keeping a better eye on Fester. He'd considered leaving in the night himself, not wanting to abandon Jodie to Gypsum.
He knew what she meant to them and felt like a coward for leaving her there. What he was sure of, though, was that they wouldn’t harm her if they knew who she was. They needed her too much. Maybe there was still time. "Dammit, Fester," he said, realizing he'd have to wake the others and break the news.
CHAPTER 28
Chuck moved through the ship as quietly as he could, looking for a sign of someone who could help him find Mei. He knew Jodie would be heartbroken if he couldn't bring Mei back. Added to that, he felt the need to protect Jodie, not wanting her to feel bad about anything, ever again. But, being successful would probably put an end to his time with her and he found himself sad at the prospect that he might lose her in the end. That is, if they survived their own plan and if Gypsum didn't find them first. He decided to banish doubts and fears from his mind for the time being and reached into his suit for a Three Musketeers.
He was about to take a bite, but thought better of it and peeled the wrapper back before sinking his teeth into the soft chocolate. I'll have to start acting like a person again, he thought. Swallowing, he felt the energy from the candy bar course through his body. He didn't really know if he had veins or not. The new skin that had formed on his arms and legs seemed unnatural in a way, almost like a zipped-on suit. He was thankful for it because he could act like a normal person around Jodie, but it just didn't feel right. Like he’d felt in his uniform after he’d washed it in hot water and everything ended up drying a size too small.
Chuck walked through a bulkhead door into a large open room. Dimly lit by instrument panels, he could tell it was likely the command module, where the captain would be very soon. He approached a seat in the center of the room, seeing a steering yoke and throttle. Chuck pulled up on the throttle, dislodging it from its mount, and tore it out of the floor panel. Visiting each of the instrument panels, he reached underneath, found wiring, and yanked it free. Wherever he could find something to rip from its moorings or disconnect in some way, he pulled, ripped and shredded.
Feeling like he'd bought himself a little more time, he left the command module and moved into another part of the ship. Seeing a marker ahead that looked like a first aid sign, he walked forward, approached a door and entered a storage area with large black tubes lined up and strapped against the wall. An illuminated display panel glowed on the front of each of the tubes. Chuck walked over to the first one, seeing that it was made of metal, but had a glass plate at about eye level.
Straining to see inside the glass, he leaned in close, but couldn’t make out what the contents were. Then, something pinched him, hard. He reached up, feeling something sticking out of the side of his neck, just below his ear. "What the hell?" he said, pulling the dart out. He turned toward the door, seeing a man with a rifle aimed at him. Another dart hit him in the chest, making a pinging noise as it struck the metal of his skeleton. A third dart whipped by his face.
Chuck felt like he'd had enough, stepping toward the man with the rifle. As he approached, the man backed up and closed the door. Chuck could hear the locking mechanism as he reached for the handle. It wouldn't budge, so he cocked his wrist back and slammed his fist into the door. The sound of metal striking metal clanged in his ears.
Chuck backed up and rubbed his hand, seeing the exposed metal of his skeleton where skin used to be. He struck the door again, harder this time, but it was immovable. Looking at the metal of the door and that of his hand, he could see they were composed of the same material. He'd never get through.
His ears rang, hurting from the echoes of his efforts. Chuck suddenly felt dizzy and reached out to the wall, but couldn't quite make it there. Grasping at air, he tried frantically to find something to grab onto to keep himself from falling, but he hit the floor seconds later. "The dart . . . Oh, no," he slurred as the room went completely black.
* * *
Standing on top of the camper, Evan scanned the horizon for signs of movement, knowing the hills and valleys would hide Fester until he got out of the mountains. They must have traveled about fifty miles since leaving the truck stop, and Evan thought Fester would be headed back there to see if he could hitch a ride closer to Area 51.
"This is my fault," Christy said. "I knew I shouldn't have let him sit out there by himself. He was so upset about his parents and I shouldn't have left him alone." She kicked at a stone, sending it into the underbrush.
Nick put his arm around her shoulders. "It's not your fault. I knew something was wrong, too. I could've talked to him."
Christy pulled away. "Yes, but I should have known better when he wouldn't come in."
"Well, parents," Evan began, as he jumped down from the ladder on the back of the camper, "If there's one thing I know about children, there's no stopping them when they make up their minds. No one is to blame for anything."
Nick and Christy looked at him for a moment. He could tell Christy wasn't going to stop beating herself up about it.
"We'd better get to following him, or we'll never find him," Nick said. "We'll have to leave our information for the store owner, like we talked about, and come back to pay later."
Evan turned toward Nick and Christy. "You know we can't take this," he said, pointing to the camper, "anywhere near that truck stop. Not only are the people there bound to be unfriendly toward us now, but we'd never outrun Gypsum in this thing."
"Well, we have to try to get closer, at least," Nick said. "If he has a six-hour head start on us, maybe walking about four miles per hour, he'll probably only be halfway back to the truck stop. If we can't find him, maybe we can hitch a ride closer to Area 51."
"Fester said he was gonna leave a note, too," Noah said.
"What's that?" Christy asked.
"Fester . . . he said he was gonna leave a note for whatever he took."
"Come with me, Noah. Let's go see what he's got," Nick said. "We'll be right back." Hunter trailed behind as Nick and Noah walked around the building.
Evan looked over at Christy, noticing her feelings appearing to get the better of her. "It won't help to blame yourself," he said. "We're all to blame, if anyone is. I could tell that boy had a storm brewing in his mind."
"That's not what I'm thinking about," Christy said, kicking at the dirt.
"What is it?" Evan asked.
"I . . . I won't take Noah back in there," she said, her voice wavering. "I won't put him in that kind of danger. He's not like Fester. He's never even fired a gun. I think we have to make the right choice here. I love Fester, but we'll all die if we go after him."
Evan put his hand on her shoulder. "My thoughts, exactly," he said. "We'll go far enough down to find transportation and then I'll continue on. I had it in my mind that I'd go back for Jodie once you were safe. I can't leave her there."
"No, Evan, you can't --"
Evan held up his hand for her to stop
. "I can and I will. I'm probably the only one who can. I know my way around the inner workings of that facility from the old days, working with Helen. I can't imagine it's changed too much, with the exception of a new coat of grey paint on everything. The government has a limited palette, you know."
"But, how will you get past all those things . . . what we let out. . . and Gypsum? They're probably roaming the hillsides already, looking for escapees."
"That's what I'm counting on," Evan said. "I hope to give myself up. I'll tell them I want to swap myself for Jodie."
"Evan, you can't. That's suicide. Plus, they won't let her go. They'll probably kill both of you."
"My dear, why do you underestimate me so?" Evan said, smiling. "I still have a few tricks under my hat." He knew he was telling a lie. Returning to Gypsum would be a one-way trip, but this time, he'd make it count like no other.
Hunter ran toward them, wagging his tail, followed by Noah and Nick. Nick held a piece of paper with a note written on it. "It's for you," he said, handing it to Christy.
Christy took the note and read it out loud. It said,
"Dear Mrs. St. John, I'm sorry I didn't say goodbye when I left, but I didn't want you to stop me. I'll find Officer Wending and he'll help me. Please don't let Noah come after me. Love, Tim."
Christy's tears hit the page before she could fold the note up.
"Why did he say he doesn't want me to come?" Noah asked, his lip quivering.
Christy reached out and pulled him close, stroking his hair. "Because he wants you to be safe so that you're here when he gets back."
"He took a lot of water and food. At least we know he'll have enough to eat," Nick said, holding up the list Fester had made. "And he took this." Nick pointed at the last entry on the page. "Gun from under the counter."
* * *