The three of them broke into a sprint. She was exhausted from running that mile two other times as well as walking from the roadblock a couple of hours earlier, but she forced herself to keep up.
“Here we go,” she said after ten minutes of jogging.
“This is the room?” Buck asked.
“Almost there. You can’t miss—” She guided him past the standard maintenance and tram station room; those dotted the ring every mile or so. She wanted him to see the much bigger cavern a little farther down the way.
“I see it,” he replied when he got to the end of the tunnel. “It would make a great night light. Tell me where I can find Garth.”
He’d barely looked at the blue light.
Buck was focused on his son, which presented a problem. She’d managed to escape from Strauss the first time, so coming back with guns and friends was sure to escalate their relationship, and not in a good way. He looked like he was about to charge across the chamber with guns blazing.
“Wait a second,” she begged. They stepped behind some spare pipes and cooling equipment sitting to the left of the tunnel entrance. “You can’t run out there. There are five or six guards, plus the scientists, plus all the time nomads who are left.”
“Time nomads?” He halted. “Where have I heard that before?”
“Strauss used the phrase to describe the people who went with your son. That’s what she calls anyone who got dredged out of time. They’re orphans in today’s world, which is why she selected them in the first place. She sent them into the light because they were expendable.” Hearing it out loud made her sick. As a scientist, it rubbed her raw to hear how Strauss had abused the scientific method, not to mention every rule of ethics out there.
“What do you propose?”
She’d had a little time to think about what she’d do if she came back, but the only thing that made any difference was to be there if and when Garth and Lydia returned. If they didn’t, it wouldn’t matter if Strauss killed her since Buck would be next in line. “I’m going to go out there by myself. I’ll talk to Strauss again and tell her I have my own commando team ready to attack if she doesn’t bring back your son.”
Buck looked her in the eye for many seconds, studying her and sizing her up. At some point, he made a decision. He set the shotgun down and took a scoped rifle off his back.
“Don’t say ‘commando,’” Buck said in a matter-of-fact tone. “Tell her you found the Marines out in the woods, and the 1st Recon Battalion is looking for their commander’s son. If she has any real experience in our armed forces, she’ll know not to fuck with you.”
“If she believes me,” she replied.
He glanced at the experiment for ten seconds, then returned his attention to her.
“I’ll be playing the part of a Marine sniper backing you,” he said in a businesslike voice. “We’ll need to communicate, so listen up. If you wave your hand like this,” he waggled his hand, “I’ll shoot something as a demonstration. If you raise your left hand, I’ll shoot at the scientists since they’ll be on your left. Raise only your right hand, and I’ll take out one of the guards. If you raise both your hands and clasp them, I’ll take out the general.”
She swallowed hard.
“What if I need something that isn’t included in those choices?” she asked.
He shrugged. “Improvise.”
Buck was about the same age as her, and he’d said he was a truck driver, but he acted like a battle-hardened warrior primed for bloodshed. It caused her stomach to burn hot with nervous energy, but she had to trust him.
“I’ll listen to you, soldier.” She saluted.
“I’m a Marine, not a soldier,” he snapped.
“I—” she began.
“No. Strike that, Faith.” Buck’s demeanor softened. “I’m sorry if I’m coming across as a heartless battleax. This is a common thing for me, unfortunately. My male brain can only handle one thing at a time, and right now, it’s choking on the task of finding and saving my son. I appreciate you getting us in here and right to him; I really do. I promise, when I have my son in my arms, you’ll find me to be a very different person.”
“He’s a big puppy dog most of the time,” Connie interjected, ruining the moment as she’d intended.
“I believe you.” She smiled.
“Let’s do this,” Buck said, searching the area for somewhere to set up.
“So, should I take the shotgun?” Faith asked, holding it out like a soggy bath towel.
“You could hide it under your coat,” Buck suggested, “but I don’t think that would gain you anything. Your only advantage out there is surprise. I’m your trigger finger.”
She felt better with Buck acting like she was on the team with him.
“Wait a second,” Connie interrupted. “We’re missing an obvious trick here.”
“What’s that?” she and Buck asked in unison.
Connie pointed at something on Faith’s body.
“Let me show you,” she answered.
Location Unknown, Pacific Ocean
Destiny kicked one of the little monkeys down the aisle, and it screamed as it sailed through the air. The animal had deep brown fur to go with its big brown eyes. It also had a long black tail. It whipped out that tail in mid-air, trying to grab the seats as it flew past them.
“Hurry, Captain,” she insisted. “We’ve got to move out.”
“Where?” he asked from a distant place.
“I guess we’ll go—” She halted in mid-sentence. Being in the rail car had given them a little elevation over the beach and the breakers. The missing ship had come back to the shallows as if it were searching for them. “The Majestic is where we’re going. It’s right fucking there.”
Zandre took a moment to confirm. “Yep. I think it’s heading for the motorboat.”
“Then that’s where we have to go,” she said in a brave voice.
“Ow,” Barlow slurred.
She took a quick look. “Holy shit!”
More of the monkeys had snuck under the seats and taken bites out of the meaty part of the captain’s lower leg. The fact that he didn’t flinch or try to get his leg out of the way troubled her.
“Get them!” she yelled as she tried to kick another one.
“Help me,” Barlow gurgled.
She intended to grab his arm and drag him away, but she was surprised by the large number of creatures that had materialized out of the cracks and slits in the damaged rail carriage. The ten rows of seats behind Barlow were stuffed with dozens of the little buggers.
“Oh, no,” was all she could say.
Zandre tugged her arm.
“No,” she protested.
A brown monkey jumped on her arm and nipped her with its sharp teeth.
“Shit!” She threw it out of the car.
A dozen crawled over the nearby seats to take its place.
Zandre pulled with a lot more force. “We have to run.”
She let herself be dragged away. The captain was unconscious as more of the little things bit his exposed skin. The leg was the easiest place to get a piece of human flesh, but it was also the busiest. Other enterprising primates searched for skin elsewhere.
She hopped out the side of the car where the door used to be. Zandre hurried down the junk pile, making good time for once.
“We have to get to the boat,” she declared.
“No, wait,” he replied.
They made it to the sand, which gave her a moment to look back at the rail car. Fortunately, she was unable to see inside the seating area since it was ten meters above, but the googly-eyed monkeys hopped and tumbled all over the exposed portions of the train. The captain’s fate was not in question.
“Rest in peace,” she said softly.
Zandre pulled her arm again, but he went the wrong way. He headed left toward the part of the beach they hadn’t reached. The wall of fog still hovered a kilometer or two away, but she couldn’t believe he’d go right fo
r it.
“Wait, what are you doing? The boat is that way!” She pointed to the right.
“We’re going this way. Trust me. This is how it has to be.”
“But the boat is our ticket out of here!”
Zandre let go of her but kept walking. He dodged pieces of trash and bits of dried seaweed, but he would not be deterred.
“Please tell me what’s going on. Why are we going away from the dinghy? Isn’t that where the Majestic will come in?”
“Yes.” He panted as he trudged through the deep sand. “Please follow.” After walking for about a hundred meters, he turned sharply toward the sea.
Zandre kept speaking. “Dez, wherever we are, it’s no place for old men like me and Captain Barlow. Those two young crewmen went well before their time. Well before they could help keep the species alive. That’s your job now. Faith too, if you can find her. You ladies have to have lots of babies so some of them have a chance to survive out there.” He waved over his shoulder at the trash heap and the volcano-lined jungle behind them.
“Honestly, Z, you’ve got a few roos wandering ‘round your top paddock. Is it the sun? Are you thirsty? What’s going on with you?”
They trotted over the deep black sand until they were at the water’s edge fifty meters from the beached whale carcass. The motorboat was out of sight on the other side of the rotting corpse.
“I’m not going crazy,” he said as he held a hand to his chest. “My heart isn’t used to all this work. I’m usually the guy driving hunters around all day. I don’t get out and walk this far like you do.”
She appraised his condition. “I thought you were going nutters by heading toward the fog, so I’m glad you turned to come here, but I still don’t see what this gets us. We’re on the wrong side to get the inflatable.”
“That’s what I’m trying to tell you,” he grumbled. “This is how we’re going to get to it.”
They looked out over the crashing waves. The Majestic was getting closer, but it was angled toward the beached animal, not them.
“I want you to remember your dad is watching you, Destiny. Every time you feel your strength waning, think of him, okay?”
“What are you saying?” she asked in a skeptical voice.
“And maybe you could think of me too.” He chuckled. “I promise I will be watching over you.”
Her heart skipped a few beats as she realized Zandre was saying goodbye.
“But you’re fine,” she insisted. “The boat is right there.”
“I know.” He turned to her. “Just do as I bloody say for once in your life, okay?”
He looked her in the eyes.
“Promise me,” he repeated.
“I promise.”
“Then take off your boots,” he said without explanation.
“Why?”
“Dammit! What did I just ask? Do as I say!”
Zandre seldom raised his voice, so she immediately complied to prove she could listen when she wanted to.
After she had them off, she stood and faced him again.
“I don’t see what this—" she said before he cut her off.
“There’s one more thing I need to ask of you,” he said in a calm voice.
“Okay, I’ll listen.”
“Close your eyes.”
“Out here?” she said before realizing she was being difficult. “Sorry. I’ll close them.”
“Thank you.” A long pause. “I know I’m not your dad, but I was proud to fill in for your father. I hope I did all right by him.”
“I don’t know what you’re playing at,” she responded.
“Keep them closed for a second. Deal?”
“Deal,” she answered.
Zandre stepped away. She heard his footfalls on the sand.
“How long should I keep them closed?” she asked.
There was no reply. As the seconds went on, she was sorely tempted to open her eyes, but they were in a survival situation. Whatever Zandre had planned, she was going to be mindful of when she was being difficult. He’d said it was how they were going to get to the boat, so she’d give him a few extra seconds.
After half a minute, she succumbed to the urge and opened one eye.
“Honestly, how does this help us, mate?” she asked no one.
Zandre wasn’t there.
“Hey!” she called. He’d run down the beach and was halfway to the big corpse. “Where are you going?” A fist of lead formed in her stomach.
Zandre half-turned. “You have to swim for it!”
“What the fuck?”
“I’ll distract the things in the water!” he bellowed as he stepped into the surf.
“No!” she screamed.
Her friend fell in the first big wave but immediately got up and trudged deeper into the churn of bubbles. The tube creatures nearest the water shook much faster than the ones farther away as if they could sense the presence of more food.
Dark gray shapes plowed the whitecaps tumbling toward shore. They too changed direction toward Zandre.
“I love you!” Zandre said from afar. “Now swim for the bloody boat!”
The Majestic had made it to within a hundred yards of the shore.
To her, it might as well have been a light-year.
Of all the things she’d seen lately, nothing scared her more than deep water.
Alpha Site
Phil recognized the woman scientist. She’d pulled her hair into a messy ponytail, put on a thick pair of glasses, and wore a stereotypical white lab coat that must come in the welcome kit of every scientist everywhere. However, he recognized his mother.
He went into tactical mode.
Three scientists at the table, no threat.
One inept guard at his three o’clock. Low threat.
Four armed guards surrounding the prisoners. High threats.
General Strauss. Maximum threat.
His mother appeared to be unarmed, and she strolled across the chamber at a carefree pace, like she was on her way to a coffee break. Whatever she was doing there, Phil was certain she wasn’t alone.
It took half a minute to pin him down, but he caught sight of Buck’s head bob up over a four-foot-high bundle of black pipes near where the supercollider came out of its tunnel. When the Marine saw him craning his neck, he flashed a quick salute.
Phil checked to make sure the guard wasn’t looking at him, then returned the gesture to show they were on the same page. Whatever the Marine had planned, he had to be ready to help.
Strauss paced in front of the table of science gear. It had been a good forty-five minutes since Garth and Lydia had gone into the light, but the propellor-heads had explained to her that they had gotten their first tracking data, and they were confident the two test subjects had gone through the event horizon at the proper location. What was less clear, and what everyone was waiting for, was the return trip. Since there were only four time nomads left in her inventory, the general had made it clear they had to give the kids a chance to come back before she sent the last ones.
But she was obviously impatient.
When the general saw a woman approaching, she sprang toward her like a junkyard dog that smelled a bacon-covered intruder.
“Who the hell are you?” Strauss yelled.
Connie acted surprised. “Oh, my. Did I go the wrong way?”
Phil chuckled at how terrible an actress she was. Why had Buck chosen to send her?
He looked at Buck again to find him aiming a scoped rifle toward Strauss and her men. And his mom.
You better know what you’re doing, Marine.
He pretended to be disinterested in anything going on around him, but he slowly sidestepped toward the guard. Phil had no respect for any of the dark-uniformed soldiers in the 130th since they’d arrived at the Alpha Site with only enough training to be passable cannon fodder for Strauss. They might be capable shooters or able to guard a few civilians, but they were not proper US Army. The guard wasn’t even watching him. I
nstead, he watched the action by the general.
“Who are you?” Strauss snapped. “We’ve cleared the tunnels, and only soldiers are allowed down here. Explain yourself.”
“Well, I think there’s been a terrible failure in our experiment. I work down in the Data Aggregation Warehouse.” Connie motioned behind her. “I was finishing up the final numbers on the Five Arrows Project, and I was just heading down this way to get a coffee at the—”
She made a show of seeing the nuclear reactor for the first time. “Where the hell did that come from?”
Strauss turned to look at the reactor, then back to Connie. “You say you’ve never seen that before?”
“I would remember that.” She feigned shock.
“And you said five arrows, not four?” Strauss followed up.
“Of course,” she replied.
The general turned toward the table.
“Is it possible we’re experiencing multiple timelines in the same space? I thought everything solidified when Alpha fused through the other alternatives? Unless—” Strauss stopped in mid-sentence, then walked closer to Connie and scrutinized her.
Connie was uncomfortable with how close the general came.
Strauss stepped back and looked beyond his mother.
“You were there yesterday. At the meeting. So, where’s your truck-driving husband? I can only assume he put you up to this.”
Phil caught his mom looking at him. To her credit, she kept her cool and didn’t make a big deal out of it, though she did fight off a smile that tried to form on her lips.
Whatever Buck had planned, it was going to happen any second. He was sure of it.
“Search her,” Strauss instructed.
The guards hopped into action. Two stayed by the general, and two went to Connie.
Connie put her hands up.
“You aren’t under arrest.” Strauss laughed.
“I’m not surrendering,” she replied. “You were right about one thing. I’m backed by a team of recon Marines.”
End of Days | Book 5 | Beyond Alpha Page 22