Chapter 9
The morning sun already promised it would be another hot day.
The airstrip was a long way from Silas’s house. Alex wasn’t looking forward to the walk and would have loved to just zap his way there using the suit, but he knew he couldn’t risk it in broad daylight. If he was seen, all it would take is for one person to be quick enough with a cell phone and it’d be the end of his hunt for Dad. A video like that was practically guaranteed to go viral. The government would be knocking on his door within hours.
Alex cut across parking lots and through yards whenever he could, but it still took over two hours. By the time he arrived at the airstrip he was covered in sweat from head to toe. He grumbled under his breath, wishing he’d been smart enough to bring along a bottle of water.
The airstrip was in the middle of nowhere on a dry, worthless patch of land, surrounded by miles of sand, rock, and scrub grass. At first glance it looked deserted, but Alex wasn’t taking any chances. He approached cautiously, his eyes scanning the horizon. There was no reason for anyone to be there. EMIT only used the property for tests that required open space for the sake of safety, and those tests were few and far between. Still, with what he was about to do, he couldn’t be too careful.
A broken-down field office was the only building still standing on the property. It was a shambled wreck, its corrugated steel walls rusted and falling in on themselves. Despite the fact that anyone who went into the building was asking for the whole place to come down on their head, Alex checked it anyway. He yanked on the chain and padlock a few times to make sure there was no way someone might have slid through without taking the chain off.
Everything seemed as it should be. There were no cars in sight, and no sign that any had been there recently.
He was alone.
Alex stepped out onto the wide, open airstrip. If there was anyone watching he would stand out like a beacon to them, and if there was someone out there, he wanted to be seen now. He’d rather be confronted before using the suit than to try and come up with a lie afterward to explain what they saw.
He waited, staring at the faraway spot where his father had sunk into the pavement.
A mild breeze blew down from the mountains, ruffling his hair. Alex turned in a slow circle, waiting, listening, and scanning the countryside.
He was stalling and he knew it. If there was anyone around who had any interest in what he was doing they would have approached by now.
Slowly, right there on the airstrip, he removed his jean jacket, shirt, and pants. He tucked them neatly into his backpack and carried it back to the field office, leaving the pack on the ground against one of the rusted walls.
Alex felt as vulnerable as he’d ever felt in his entire life, standing out in the open and wearing a suit that looked like something out of a superhero comic. He was halfway back to the airstrip before he faltered and went back to the field office to pull his jean jacket back out of his backpack.
As he shrugged his arms into the sleeves, Alex scanned the airstrip again, picturing in his mind’s eye where his father had been when he shot the video. In the recording, the field office had been visible off to the left, so he walked down the strip, away from the building, and then turned back to look.
He was still too close. It had definitely been farther away.
When he turned back again, he felt confident he was close to the right spot.
He was also confident that he was just about ready to keel over from heat stroke. It was so hot. He knew he was a fool to be wearing his jean jacket, but he needed it. It was armor against his fear, and a reminder of why he had to do this.
In the distance, there was a shimmer on the pavement exactly like the one his dad had aimed for. Whether it was in the same spot, he didn’t know, but it looked as close as he was going to get.
Alex hesitated, wiping his sweating palms on his pant legs. He swallowed nervously and took a deep breath.
It wasn’t until he raised his arm that he realized his whole body was shaking. This was it. This might be the last thing he ever did. Going into the shimmer could kill him. It may have killed his dad.
But if he didn’t go, he would never know. If he never tried, he knew he would live in shame and regret the rest of his life. The thought, just the merest beginning of thinking of a life without his father made his stomach queasy. If was going to find his dad, now was the time. Silas might not let him get another chance.
Alex squared his jaw and forced himself into action, lifting his arm. He splayed his fingers and the laser beamed out. The suit came to life, thrumming energy through the suit and over his body.
Compulsively, Alex began taking deep, gulping breaths. This was it.
Alex aimed, concentrating to hold his shaking arm still and, before he could give himself any more reason not to, sharply clenched his hand into a fist.
As before, he was surrounded by light and a wash of power. For a split second he was standing at the other end of the airstrip, facing away from the field office. In that brief moment Alex was sure he saw someone in the distance, someone who hadn’t been there before.
His instinct was to cry out, “No!” But he didn’t have time. As soon as he felt solid ground under his feet, something wrapped itself around his body, some force that grabbed hold of every inch of him. He felt as if he were being pulled down by the heaviest water he’d ever felt, ripping him downward at such a rapid rate that he panicked, flailing his arms in attempt to slow his descent, but he couldn’t move. His arms, his legs—every inch of his body was immobilized. He was helpless. All around him was the same dull gray light that surrounded him when he had used the suit before, except now it wasn’t coming from the suit. It was coming from everywhere else, and there was nothing he could do.
And then abruptly, everything stopped.
With a bone-jarring thump he landed feet-first onto something hard. He fell backward onto his butt, putting his hands out to break his fall, and scraped them on coarse rock as he did.
He sat there stunned, panting, his heavy breaths echoing back at him.
It was dim, but he could see. A pulsing red light glowed from somewhere off to his right, fully illuminating the room he was in. It was a large space, the walls made of stone. In fact, as his eyes adjusted to the dim light, he was sure he was in an underground cavern. There was a stillness to the air, the heavy kind of quiet that only exists underground.
Alex turned toward the red glow, but couldn’t see where it originated. In that direction, the cavern floor seemed to slope downward and out of sight.
Above him, way above him, there was a shimmer from the red glow that danced on the cavern ceiling, much the same as the shimmer on the pavement of the airstrip.
Was that how he’d gotten here? Through the shimmer? At first he dismissed the thought as ludicrous, but if not through the shimmer then how? He was sure he’d arrived at that distant point on the airstrip, if only for a second. The moment was ingrained into his memory and he was sure it was authentic. But he’d been pulled downward as soon as he arrived there, and he didn’t think it was the suit that had done the pulling.
Alex squinted upward, peering into the rippling red light. As ridiculous and impossible as it was, he searched it, hoping to catch a glimpse of the Utah sky on the other side.
He let out a disappointed grunt. What was he thinking? But then, he was somewhere, right? And if he was somewhere, he had to gotten here somehow.
Was this where his dad had gone? It had to be.
Cautiously, he climbed to his feet, listening carefully. A low hum came from the direction of the red glow. It permeated cavern, strong enough to gently vibrate the rock around him but dull enough to go unnoticed if he hadn’t been standing still. Oddly, there was something comforting about the glow. It seemed safe in that direction, maybe because it was the only light source that was apparent. Alex squinted toward it. No, it wasn’t just because of the glow, there was something else. Something Alex knew intuitively about whatever i
t was giving off the light. Something very special.
The air was cold, exactly the way he would expect it to be underground. Just moments before, he had been soaked with sweat by the noon-day sun. His dad’s suit clung to his skin, breaking him out in the chills. His teeth began to chatter. Once again, he looked longingly toward the red glow, feeling sure that whatever was there would make him feel warmer, better.
Straight ahead of him, there was an exit out of the cavern: a rough, black hole in the wall that led into darkness.
And then, behind him, Alex heard voices.
He whipped around, spinning so quickly he almost fell. He saw another exit, and from the darkness emerged a group of six people. They were human, an even mix of men and women. Every one of them was pale and skinny with dark circles underscoring tired eyes. Some carried crude clubs, others carried daggers, all of which appeared to be made of stone. Their bodies were covered in animal skins, scraps sewn together like cavemen.
For a moment they stared in shock, just as surprised to see Alex as he was them, and then began to advance aggressively, crouched low with their weapons held ready. Alarmed and afraid, Alex stumbled backward and this time he did fall, crying out as he landed hard on his tailbone.
“Ouch!”
The group immediately halted, drawing back at the sound of his voice.
They exchanged several brief glances between one another before one of the men stepped forward. With a flick of his wrist, he reversed the grip on his stone blade so that it pointed downward, away from Alex, and tapped his chest once as if indicating himself.
“I, Jonathan Dalton, offer greeting in the name of the people of Domus and request the courtesy of knowing yours.” Although Jonathan Dalton’s voice shook, he had a clear, articulate, European accent and his eyes never wavered from Alex’s.
Alex was stunned. He looked from one expectant face to the next, struggling to process the moment. They were Brits? Articulate cavemen from ‘across the pond?’ Was this a joke? “What?” he finally cried out in confusion and fear. “What in the hell are you talking about? Where am I?”
Jonathan Dalton appeared taken aback by Alex’s answer, possibly even offended. He blinked twice, appearing to struggle to find an appropriate reply. The group shifted uneasily around him.
“Sir, by what means of conveyance have you arrived in this place?” another demanded, this one female.
“My… what?” Means of conveyance? Where on earth was he? Was he even on Earth anymore?
“For what purpose have you come to the Under?” asked another, pointing at the ceiling as he spoke, a note of aggression in this one’s voice.
Alex didn’t know what to say. Did they know he’d arrived by way of teleportation? Did they even know the word teleportation?
“Sir, we have no—” Johnathan began again, but was interrupted by the echo of pounding footsteps.
Without a sound, a figure came hurtling out of the darkness, throwing itself at Jonathan and his group. The newcomer was also human, a man, but much paler than the others and dressed in filthy scraps of animal fur. He was tall, rabid-looking, and ran with a loping, feral gait straight for the closest person in the group, attacking them without a word of warning. The speed of the newcomer was uncanny, his movements a blur.
Jonathan’s group scattered and formed a semicircle, but that didn’t slow their aggressor whatsoever. Seemingly at random, he flew at one of the men in the group and barreled into him like a linebacker, sending him sprawling across the floor. The rest of group closed ranks and moved to surround him, but before they’d fully closed ranks another attacker came hurtling from the direction of the red glow and attacked them from behind.
The group wordlessly split in half, turning and pivoting to face the new challenge.
Alex scuttled backward, wild-eyed, clamping his mouth shut so as not to draw attention from either side. It was clear that the second comer was no surprise to Jonathan’s people, as if attacks like this were commonplace.
What kind of place was this?
Jonathan’s people, now in two groups, worked in unison. They pressed their advantage and forced the pale, vicious things back against the cavern wall. The attackers never spoke a word, they just snarled and spit their hatred in wordless garbles. With grim efficiency, Jonathan’s people waited for the right moment and then struck with their sharpened stone blades, neatly severing the heads from the pale attackers.
They fell without making a sound, just a dull thud as black blood spurted from their necks and their bodies tumbled in a heap to the cavern floor.
By now, Alex had backed to the far wall of the cavern and managed to stand, albeit on shaky legs. He could go no further. His only option was to run for one of the exits, but he didn’t dare. Those exits could lead anywhere, to anything and anyone. Eyes wide and terrified, he waited as Jonathan’s people closed ranks, becoming one again. They turned to face him, black blood dripping from their stone blades.
Alex had never been so frightened in his entire life.
He gave a start and looked up at the glimmer on the ceiling.
No freaking way, he thought to himself. Even if this red shimmer doesn’t take me home, anywhere is better than this!
Splaying open the fingers of his right hand and lifting his wrist, he activated the suit. The red laser shot out and hit the wall behind the oncoming group. It shocked them into stillness, long enough for Alex to raise his arm and point the beam up into the shimmer. He closed his hand into a fist and was immediately enveloped in the dull gray light of the suit.
In a blink, he was gone from the chamber, rising through the light. Like the time before, the journey was quick. He stopped with a jerk, instinctively squinting his eyes against the light surrounding him and lifted his hand to shield against it.
That can’t be right. If he was still surrounded by the light he shouldn’t be able to lift his hand…
A screeching sound came from directly in front of him. Alex opened his eyes just wide enough to realize it wasn’t the light from teleporting that was blinding him, it was sunlight. After the darkness of the cavern, the light of day felt as bright as if he were staring directly at the sun.
And then he realized the screeching sound was from the tires of a car as it jerked to the left to avoid hitting him.
Alex launched himself off the side of the road, rolling as he landed on the gravel shoulder, the driver yelling obscenities as he jammed on the gas and sped past.
Shimmer Page 11