“So, the beam hasn’t been cut off inside the ring?” She’d surmised the outcome, but it was nice to have confirmation.
“Same as before. We aren’t powering it, but there is still power in the ring.”
“From CERN,” she acknowledged. “Has anyone made contact with them? Smith said he had people going in. We should have heard something by now.”
Bob shrugged. “The military guys have been scarce in here since the bomb went off. They’re outside in the parking lot, mostly, keeping people away from the front doors. Locals have been arriving all afternoon to protest.”
“Bob, we have to know what’s happening at CERN. This is important.”
“I know. I really do. We’ll ask the soldiers as soon as we can, but you’ll never believe what’s taking place on the news. Our very own Doctor Shinano is going to speak on a local Denver TV station. They’ve been trying to get him on for fifteen minutes, but the feed keeps dropping. We’re waiting for him to come back on.”
“What is he saying?”
Bob seemed excited. “No one knows. The longer he gets cut off, the more we think he’s going to say something incriminating. Maybe a rich asshole like him knows what’s happened at CERN.”
“He’s back!” someone shouted.
“Come on!” Bob gushed.
Most of the senior staff was holed up in a computer lab. It didn’t have any windows facing the front parking lot, and thus it was protected from rocks, or worse. When she went in with the others, many people waved to her or said they were happy to have her back, but all eyes were on one of the largest monitors.
Faith recognized Shinano instantly. He’d made a brief appearance when the Izanagi Experiment had failed and she’d had to explain to him what had happened, but he’d been absent ever since. She hadn’t thought about him again until now.
“I don’t have much time,” the Japanese industrialist said in passable English. “The US military is outside trying to prevent me from getting this message to you. What I must say is this: My company caused the time distortions being experienced all over the world. Our project was designed to test the limits of quantum teleportation under the guidance of the military-industrial complex of the United States. Unfortunately, we chewed off more than we could bite.”
She forgave him mixing up the English idiom.
“The disaster is worldwide, but not absolute. I want to absolve my company and restore some of my personal honor. There are two places you can go to get safe from its effects. The first place is the laboratory here in Denver, which you call SNAKE. The second is—”
The screen went black, as if the station transmitter had been knocked over.
At first, everyone in the room was silent, but after a few seconds, the managers exploded with excited conversation.
“SNAKE is safe?” she asked Bob under all the other talk. “Does that mean what I think?”
“It’s what you’ve been saying for a while now,” he replied in an equally quiet tone. “The energy burst you sketched out showed the hole in the bubble around the Earth. If SNAKE is truly safe, as you speculated, then the only other place he could have meant was CERN.”
“Dammit.” She looked at the TV screen, hoping the man would come back on. “What did he mean? Safe is relative. Did he mean we are safe for now? Are we safe forever? And for the love of God, why didn’t he say how to end this clown-suited merry-go-round journey through Hell?”
The chaos of the room didn’t bother her, but as the leader, she had to make a decision of some kind. There was one remaining Four Arrows box. The power link to CERN was still active, meaning the general’s people must not have succeeded in Switzerland. And he said the criminals responsible for the experiment had been found and were being brought to SNAKE. Who else knew about that?
Dammit, general. What do I do now?
The TV station popped back on. A disheveled reporter sat at a desk with a mess of papers in front of her, but she read from the one in her hand.
“We here at Special Nine News would like to apologize for the unprofessional and dangerous prank pulled on our viewers over the last half an hour. SNN management tried in vain to get this farce stopped, but we were unable to do so. Please disregard what this actor has said. We believe he intended to sow chaos as part of an elaborate psychological experiment. There is nothing to fear…”
“Phew!” Bob blew out a breath as it became clear what had happened. “That makes a lot more sense. It was all bullshit.”
Faith nodded and smiled, but she knew the Japanese man well enough to know it wasn’t an actor playing him on national television. He believed what he had said, and apparently had done it at considerable risk.
The question was, who else would believe him?
Sydney, Australia
Dez sat by the phone through the lunch hour, anxious to hear good news from Zandre. However, when the phone finally rang, it was Rod again.
“Dez! You were right, mate! We have to get to the United States. It’s fucking everywhere!”
“Whoa! Slow down. What are you talking about?”
“Some guy named Shinano was there! He’s singing like a Kookaburra about the end of the world. It’s on all the newsies. You were right about the extinct animals. The boat. The Majestic. We have to get on board and get to America. The whole world is going to shit, and the only place safe is somewhere in Colorado.”
“Let me call you back,” she replied.
“Dez, listen. They are taking the boat with or without you. Don’t delay.”
“What? Without me? Sydney Harbor Foundation doesn’t want my animals?”
“No, they don’t care about the fucking animals. Don’t you get it? The world has just entered a race to get itself to safety. If you want to live, you have to get on that boat right away. They’re sailing to America. It’s the only way.”
“Thanks,” she said resignedly. Coming out of the blue as it had, Rod’s warning served more to turn her off to the true nature of her employer than it did to get her running to join them. If they didn’t care about animals, what were they doing in this business?
And she couldn’t abandon Zandre. She’d sent him out looking for her extinct critters. Hopping on a boat and ditching him wasn’t something she was willing to do, even if it endangered her life.
She tried to call Faith again, sure her sister would give her better information and tell her if all this was for real, but the call refused to go through. Her pulse quickened as she hung up because it felt like she’d been cut off from her big sister by an impenetrable barrier called “the end of the world.” It was difficult enough getting to America on a good day. This was anything but.
“Damn all this confusion!”
She turned on the television to see if she could glean any information about the Shinano guy. Maybe Faith’s SNAKE facility would be mentioned, with advice for citizens. That might give her an idea if it was really safe, and whether she could make it there. While skipping channels, Dez looked outside her window to see how the time shifts affected her personally.
The Sydney Opera House was still gone.
It was personal enough.
“I’m coming, Faith. I swear it.”
She was already dialing Zandre.
I-80, east of Cheyenne, Wyoming
Buck drove east to catch up with his friends in what was left of his convoy. I-80 was almost empty, and he was worried the Army would chase after him for having seen the mysterious convoy, but he reassured himself that his conspiracy gene was getting the better of him. After all, anyone sitting by the highway between Montana and Denver could have easily seen the same thing. The members of the convoy weren’t exactly hiding.
He caught himself looking in the side mirror again. It was only him and the prairie of high-plains Wyoming. He stomped a foot on the floor, wondering what he’d gained with his delay. He had seen things that didn’t help him get to Garth, and by seeing those things, he had risked achieving his goal. Buck gritted his teeth and gr
umbled to himself.
Mac was on Connie’s lap once more, as if sensing the anxiety weighing down his two human friends.
“He’s up there again?” Buck remarked as he glanced at his pup.
“I don’t mind. I feel safe with him so near, like he’s my security blanket.” Connie laughed and rubbed Mac’s flank. In return, he groaned like he was in Heaven.
“Mac, you’re one lucky dog,” he expressed, along with a heavy sigh.
She glanced at him with a sparkle in her eyes. “Really? Why is that?”
“What? Oh, I meant because he doesn’t have to worry about the things you and I worry about. Time travel. Army guys. Buffalo crossings.”
“And that’s all?” she said in a tone suggesting she thought he was hiding something.
“Well…” He hesitated. “He probably doesn’t wonder if an Army mom and a jarhead from two different eras could ever end up together.”
“Probably doesn’t wonder?” She shook her head at Buck’s strangled wording. “Should we ask him?”
She held his gaze for a few moments, but then turned and looked out the front window. “Eyes forward, Marine. If you black out, I’m sure our luck will be all bad.”
“Roger that,” he said in a businesslike voice. It wasn’t in his nature to charge the hill without knowing if he could take it, so he didn’t know what to say when he didn’t experience immediate victory.
“Buck, you get Mac and me to safety, and I guarantee we’ll have something to discuss about the good kind of luck. I know I don’t look it, but I’m scared shitless you are going to wreck and get hurt because of those blackouts.”
He sat up straight. “You’re right. I need—”
The CB crackled and Sparky’s voice came out, but he sounded distant through the static. Buck had a view several miles ahead and there were no trucks out there, so his friends were beyond the horizon.
“Turn on the news! Buck, did you hear? Are you back there? …on the news!”
He and Connie shared a meaningful look, then she turned on the FM radio. She flipped a few channels until she found one with talk.
“If you’ve just joined us, this is what’s happening in Denver, Colorado. A man named Sadayoshi Shinano claims to have firsthand knowledge of the experiment responsible for all the odd weather and other, uh, phenomena wreaking havoc across the United States. His bold claim is that the only place safe on the entire planet is in a science lab southwest of Denver.”
They played the short message from Dr. Shinano, which repeated what the host had outlined.
“Holy moly,” Connie exclaimed after hearing it in full.
The host went on, “The station immediately disavowed this interview as a hoax, but we here at 98.5, The Train, play this for your consideration. Do you think what he says is real, or is this one more confusing anomaly in a country full of them? Give us a call.”
“Do you believe him?” Connie asked.
He didn’t want to. If there was only one safe spot in the whole world, what did that mean for his son? Would Garth be able to make it to Colorado from across the country? Buck wasn’t going to stop and wait for him to drive in, either. He was intent to go east and get to his boy as soon as humanly possible, no matter what the cost. However, would doing so jeopardize Connie’s safety?
Buck was tempted to call Garth, but he was so close to the Nebraska border, he decided to wait. Soon they’d be at the Sidney truck stop, and he could make all the calls he wanted without fear of running off the road.
“If it’s true, it could be awesome for us because we’re so close. If it’s fake, it could give a lot of people false hope. They’ll do crazy things to get there. That would be bad for us.”
Connie rubbed Mac for a minute before finally replying, “Tonight, you and I should take some time to really talk through our options. I’ve always drawn strength from a higher power. First, with Philip and the war. Then, when we almost died at the hands of those bikers. Now, we’re faced with what looks like an even bigger challenge.”
He sensed the weight of the radio broadcast and her words, but when he looked over, she had a fiery sparkle in her eyes again.
“But,” she went on, “I also draw strength from being with you and your lovable dog. I feel like I can take on the world sitting up here in your big truck. Whatever we do, we’re going into it together, okay? I don’t care what that guy says, we’ve got to get your son first. Whatever happens afterward, at least you two will be together.”
Buck wanted to stop the truck and swoop her into his arms for saying what she had, but it wasn’t the right time.
“You get me,” he said. “Not many people do, Connie.”
“Nah, you aren’t so complicated.” She smirked. “You’re a man’s man. You aren’t going to stop before you have your son, except when you pull a bonehead move like stopping to see the secret convoy. And you need me to tell you to cut the crap.”
“I do,” he admitted. “But now I know they’re hiding something from us.”
“And?” She paused for dramatic effect. “How does that bring you closer to your son?”
“You get me,” he repeated.
“In more ways than you admit.” She smiled. “And you’ll get me, too. When the time is right.”
“I’m at a severe disadvantage in my relationship jousting.” He stared straight ahead, the truck speeding up as he wished it to get to the truck stop more quickly.
“Want me to give Garth a call?”
Twenty-Eight
Richmond, Virginia
“We’re finally making good time,” Garth said to Lydia over the endless wind noise.
“I can’t believe the size of your cities. Richmond went on forever,” she exclaimed.
“Pshaw! You think Richmond was big, you should see what New York City looks like. It never ends.”
“I’d like to see it someday. Do you think we’ll ever go back to your home?”
He heard the dreariness in her voice. Once her sugar high wore off, she had crashed hard. That had started on the other side of Richmond, but miles later, she still wasn’t out of it.
“Oh, hell yeah. Once we get to my dad, I’m sure things will settle back down to normal. We’ll go home together.”
“And what will happen to me?”
He’d already established he wasn’t going to let her out of his sight, but her tiredness brought out the question once again.
“Lydia, you don’t have to worry about a thing. I’m glad you and I ended up together. It’s been fun, actually.”
“Really?” She maneuvered her leg under herself again to face him. “You’re not just saying that?”
He shook his head. “Well, some things I’d pass on doing again, but showing you the Big Mac was awesome. I can’t wait to show you other things too, like my video games. At the same time, I’ve been fighting the urge to, um, kind of ask you…”
“Yes, Garth?” She exuded excitement.
“Well, I’ve listened to you talk about your time. About how girls marry at sixteen and whatever, and I…”
It became difficult to look at her, so he watched the road.
“I really like you,” he admitted, “but my dad would never let me get married.”
She stared at him for a few seconds as if interpreting his words, then laughed in a good-natured way.
“Garth, whatever makes you think I would want to get married right now?”
He rubbed his head behind his ear. “I thought that was how you did things in your time? A boy and a girl pair up and they get married. I mean, I want to someday, I guess, but—”
She giggled. “You are such a strange boy. And sweet. But I am in your time, not the other way around. How do you behave around girls normally?”
Awkwardly.
“Well, we do have girlfriends and boyfriends…”
“So do we!” she exclaimed. “Though I never had the chance on the wagon train. I was sad for many weeks after my pa was gone. I guess it never occurred
to me to have a boyfriend—not until I met you.”
Garth was uncomfortable with the compliment.
“Thanks. I’m glad I met you, too, but we have to figure out where this highway is taking us before we can let our hair down, you know?”
“My hair is already down,” she expressed happily. “See?”
The sun had nearly set, but a lone beam came in through the front windshield and caught her blonde hair and green eyes at the perfect angle. For a brief instant, she was so attractive he would have considered marrying her on the spot.
Then the car moved, and the beam shifted elsewhere.
“Yeah, I see,” he remarked like it was no big deal. “Without my phone, I don’t know how in the hell I’m going to find him.”
She clapped. “Oh, another challenge. That’s what I love about your world, Garth. There are so many puzzles to figure out.”
“Yeah, well, it isn’t always like this. We usually spend our time playing games on our phones. Me and Sam play these strategy games, which are…sort of puzzles.”
He cracked himself up.
“I guess we do have a lot of brainteasers, but this is a complex world. Still, I’m sure we can think of a way to get hold of my dad. We just have to think of who else has my dad’s phone number, and we can call him on a different telephone.”
“You don’t have his number? Didn’t you talk to him all the time?”
“Yes,” he admitted, “but all I did was tap or speak his name, and the phone dialed the number. I didn’t have to memorize it. Funny, huh?”
“Another quirk of your time I will never understand. Who else has his number, then? Does the phone maker have it?”
He thought about it for a minute as he drove through the shadowy pine forest of central Virginia. The maker of the phone was some company in China, but the people who ran his cell phone plan would almost certainly have it.
“Lydia, you’re a genius! I know exactly how we can get hold of my dad. First thing in the morning, I’ll show you.”
End Days Series Box Set [Books 1-4] Page 68