“What about the others?” she asked, referring to Magnus and Natalia, and even Ray.
“I wonder what would have happened. We haven’t really talked about it before. Would they have stopped it? Teelon might have convinced them, though Magnus probably would have just shot everyone and turned the thing off. And Ray…” I left the sentence to linger there. I missed him. I’d only known him for a few days, but he was the kind of guy I could have been great friends with. I felt like I’d failed him too.
“We’ll never know.”
“Mary, if we’re going to do this, I have to find Ray. I have to make things right and warn him.”
Mary set down her fork and reached across the table, grabbing my hand in hers. “I agree.”
“You do?” I thought she’d have some objection to spending our one afternoon there searching for our old friend.
“Yeah. I know how much it’s bothered you.” She looked ready to say more, to say that I was the one there wrestling him when his gun went off, killing him. But she didn’t.
“Then let’s get out of here and track him down.” I reached into my wallet and tossed a twenty on the table. Esther and Cleve hadn’t come out of the back yet, but it didn’t matter. None of this was real.
The door chimes jingled as we passed through the exit, toward my truck. Dark clouds rolled through the sky, heavy over Philadelphia.
“Where did he live?” That I didn’t know.
“We’ll call information again.” I handed Mary my cell phone as rain started to pour down around us.
She dialed the three digits and after a moment said, “Ray Jones. Pittsburgh.” She looked at me and mouthed, “There are three Ray Jones.”
“He worked at a place called Steel House. Try there?”
Mary asked for Steel House’s phone number and was patched through. She clicked the speaker icon and we listened to the automated voice message system. When the option for reaching Ray Jones came through, she hit his three-digit extension.
The phone rang, and a gruff voice answered. “Hello?” he said it in the form of a question, like the idea anyone was calling him on a day where aliens were invading was absurd. He was right.
“Ray?” I asked as my heart began to race in my chest.
“Who is this?” he asked, his voice dripping with impatience.
“You don’t know me, not yet, but…” I wasn’t sure how to put it. I wished I’d thought of the conversation before calling. “We need to meet you. We have the green stones too. We’re friends.”
All we could hear was his breathing for a moment before he replied, “How do I know I can trust you?”
“You don’t. My name’s Dean Parker, and I have Mary Lafontaine” – I said her old last name without thinking about it, but she didn’t even seem to notice – “and we lived this day already. We watched the whole world get lashed into the ships and taken away. We traveled with you to Peru, where we stopped the invasion.” I hesitated before saying the next thing; a lump was growing in my throat. “We were like brothers.”
“Is this some sort of a prank? I don’t know anyone named Dean, or Mary. What makes you think you can call me and make up this crazy story?”
“It may sound insane, but you know it’s true. Kate knew about it, didn’t she?” I asked.
He was angry now. “Don’t you ever say her name again! You hear me? She doesn’t get to be spoken about from the likes of you!”
I recoiled at the venom but tried to see the phone call from his perspective. “Kate knew my wife, Ray. She was at my wedding. Janine Parker.” I let it sink in, and when he spoke again, his anger was gone.
“I’m sorry for snapping at you.” He sounded deflated. “Dean, what’s happening?”
“Meet us on seventy-six. You have to leave now. We don’t have much time. They take everyone in less than six hours,” I said, trying to sound confident.
“I can’t just up and meet you, can I?”
“Ray, you have to. Believe me. You’ll regret it otherwise. Do it for Kate,” I said, hating that I had to use her name as bait.
He paused again. “I’m leaving now. My Jeep is already packed. Just tell me one thing. If you’ve been through this, do we make it out okay? Do we survive?”
“We do. Humans are survivors, Ray.” Mary didn’t hesitate. Telling him about his impending death wasn’t going to help anything, though in this reality, that same outcome wasn’t likely. I’d change that. It was my chance to redeem something I’d been carrying for years now.
“Good. I have your number. We’ll keep in touch.” Then, before he ended the call: “Dean, Mary, thanks for calling. I’ve been feeling so alone.”
I felt his resolve change already. The scared man who did what he thought he had to do to save his family had adjusted his viewpoint on the situation. He now knew that our race would survive, and now he could focus on helping the right side.
“Maybe that was enough?” Mary said after the call was over.
I shook my head. “I need to see him.”
Mary gave a light laugh. “What else do we have to do? We do have a few hours until we let the Kraski beam us away.”
Twenty-Five
The sky was still black and stormy in this part of the country. We’d avoided listening to the radio, instead relying on our cell phone maps to show us the least densely-trafficked areas of the commuter highways. We’d had some success and arrived at the halfway mark as the clock hit five thirty in the afternoon. It had been seven o’clock when James was torn from my living room, giving us an hour and a half to meet and talk with Ray.
We were at a truck stop along the seventy-six. We’d taken the back route there, and I was glad after seeing the sheer volume of slow-moving traffic sitting on the main highway. Ray had heeded our advice and was traveling by the side roads heading east. His latest text said he was only minutes away.
I got out, seeing the “open” sign was turned off on the gas station. I took a moment to use their unlocked bathroom at the side of the building. The lights were off, and I propped the door open, using the kickdown foot attached to it. Inside, I caught another glimpse of my younger self in the mirror. I was more youthful, but I also felt sad thinking about myself at that point of my life.
I’d been so depressed and lonely. I’d spent my days by myself, sorting through other people’s finances and business receipts. I never truly knew what it was to live until this day happened. When I met Ray, then Mary and Magnus and Natalia. Their zest for life and adventurous natures took me so far away from my shell, it was hard to remember a time when I’d constantly worn it as a protective cloak.
I wanted to trade in my reflection for the one I’d earned, with gray-lined hair and experience wrinkles. That was me, and I loved who I’d been forced to become. I used to hide my fears with jokes; now I made them because I was light-hearted.
“Dean, he’s here,” Mary called from the parking lot.
I dried my hands with paper towel and walked outside to see a Jeep pull up beside my truck. Ray looked over to us with skepticism, and tears filled my eyes at the sight of him. The last time I’d seen him, he was telling me what a good friend I was as blood spilled out of his body. Careless of what he thought, I ran over and hugged his wide chest.
He must have thought I was nuts as I embraced him tightly. “Whoa, buddy. I didn’t know we were that kind of friends.” He hugged me back, even though he didn’t know me. It made me even more upset. I let him go, stepping back and wiping tears from my eyes. Mary went in and hugged him next.
“What are we supposed to do now?” he asked. He was wearing a black Steelers hoodie, and I nearly laughed at how classically Ray he was at that moment.
“We talk.” The gas station had a rest area with picnic tables, and we headed over there, sitting down at one. Ray took one side, with Mary and I on the other. “Ray. Things are complicated. We aren’t here for long. We aren’t even sure if this is real or just a figment of a long-dead race’s imagination. Either way, I ne
eded to see you.”
“What exactly happens to us?”
I looked at my phone and saw we had over an hour before the vessels took us. I was still wearing my pendant, but I removed it then, setting it on the table in front of me. Ray raised an eyebrow at that but didn’t say anything. Mary took her chain off, with the ring, and placed it beside my pendant. She gave a nervous smile in my direction.
“It’s a long story and not an easy one to talk about,” I said. He waved his hand in the air in the universal get-on-with-it gesture.
I told him everything. About him being approached to make sure it was turned off, at any cost, and how he was bribed with his family’s safety. His eyes broke from my gaze, and I wondered if he’d already been approached. My guess was yes. By the end of it, rain was drizzling on us, and when the sun peeked through the clouds to the west, it caused the tall, thin trees to cast long shadows over the gas station parking lot.
“That’s a lot to take in. What do I do with this new knowledge? Are you coming with me? Am I even real? I mean, this version of me, is he real?” Ray was taking it well. Better than I would have expected him to.
“We don’t know,” Mary said. She’d been fairly quiet while I told our story, only pitching in to explain her side of things on occasion. Ray and Mary had been together for the last part of our trip to Machu, a leg of the journey I wasn’t around for. I’d met Magnus and Natalia after trying to distract the ship from seeing the others.
“You’re going to let them beam you up?” His chin motioned toward the green-stoned jewelry on the table before us.
“We’re supposed to face our biggest fear on this monumental day in our lives. We think that by doing this, the Kraski will have invaded and won. We don’t have another choice.” Deep down, I knew we were lying on horizontal chairs far away from here, but the idea of being taken alongside the rest of Earth’s billions made my stomach ache.
Ray nodded along. “Seems right. I’m going to keep going. If any of this is real for a version of me, I’ll stop them from invading. I promise you. I’m sorry for the way it all went down.” He averted his eyes again, and I wanted to tell him it was all right, because at the end of the day, we’d won. He was a sacrifice among many during the Event, one that I’d missed dearly every day since.
“It’s time.” Mary stood as dusk took hold of the cloudy day. The air changed; electricity coursed through it, sending shivers throughout my body.
“Ray, I had to get this off my chest. I’ve really missed you. I know we could have been fast friends for life. If this is real, I know you can stop the invasion. Remember everything I told you. Now you know who and what you can trust.” I stood too, my palms sweating at the idea of being pulled up in the green beam that was inevitably coming for me.
The first time, I’d watched it take James from my house, and it repelled me as I fought to grab hold of his floating legs. This time I’d be with Mary, the love of my life. She gave me a sad smile and hugged Ray. I went in and gave him one too, getting a firm back pat to end it.
“You seem like a good dude, Dean. Catch you on the flip side.” He stepped back from us, rain soaking all of us now, but no one seemed to care or notice. It was time.
Lightning struck nearby, sending a boom of thunder across the highway. Cars honked as they struggled to move in the crowded traffic. It wouldn’t matter soon.
Ray kept walking backwards, watching us while waiting for the big show. He wasn’t going to be disappointed. Beams dropped to the ground just as another flash of lightning arced over the darkening sky. My heart pounded in my chest as I reached for Mary, holding her against me. We were both soaked, and she was trembling. From the cold or fear, I wasn’t sure.
Our faces pressed against each other. “We’re almost to them. The Theos.” She said their name with a reverent tone, and I wanted to curse them for making us relive this day. Instead, I just smiled and kissed her as the beams found us, ripping us from the ground. I broke apart from Mary to see everyone from the cars being lifted alongside us, thousands of pinpricks of light cascading along the road and countryside. The higher we rose, the more beams we could see. We were pulled at a heavy angle eventually, our trajectory changing to pull us to a transport vessel. It was sick and beautiful at the same time. Mary held on tightly, and my fear was gone. I looked up and saw one of the black square vessels over us. From this vantage point, they were even more intimidating.
I could hear the screaming and shouting of the thousands of others being pulled toward the vessel ship. The terror was palpable.
We started for the bottom of the vessel, but before our heads emerged inside it, the green light gave way to a white brilliance. I was expecting to find myself back on the chair inside the small island. Instead, I was greeted with pandemonium.
“Dean!” Mary shouted, as hundreds of people suddenly found themselves cramped in a room with us. She was being forced away from me, and I shoved my way through to her, grabbing her reaching fingers and pulling her in.
There I held her, while strangers screamed and panicked. This was why we were here, to see the other side of the Event. We hadn’t been on the ships when everyone had been taken by the Kraski, so now we were being forced to witness it. I tried to detach myself from the terror I was seeing, but even though I knew we weren’t really there, I couldn’t. My heart raced as more people appeared through the room’s floor, walls, and ceiling. With each drop, there was a green light, then a flash of white, and there they were.
“What’s going on?” a man beside me asked. He was naked, soap suds still clinging to his damp head.
A baby cried, and I was grateful to find it was being held in its father’s arms. There had been countless tales of babies being beamed up by themselves, totally separated from their parents. This was one of the lucky ones. I briefly wondered if that was truly the child’s parent.
“You’re going to be okay,” I said in a calm voice. I wasn’t sure the man even heard me among the cacophony of fear being thrown around the room.
I pulled off my jacket and handed it to the man. He accepted it without thanks and wrapped it around his waist.
I’d read about those first few moments when all of our population had been beamed up. I’d seen the made-for-TV movies and television interviews, but nothing had prepared me for the feeling. The air was thick, making it hard to breathe. It was as if everyone’s fear was pulsing through their sweat, clogging the room with it.
I led Mary through throngs of people. By the time we made it to the wall near the doorway, I was wet with water, tears, and God knows what else. We stood there, silent observers of Earth’s darkest moment.
We’d all been through so much, and now I appreciated what the survivors had really conquered.
“Get away from me! Sally! Sally!” a woman cried, shoving a man beside her.
“Why don’t you screw off, lady?” A portly man was grabbing at an older woman’s water bottle. She looked at him through her glasses like a teacher considering a misbehaving child.
“Let go of that and mind your manners.” She shoved him, and I pushed through a hugging couple to assist.
I laid a palm on the man’s sweaty chest, and his unbelieving eyes shot me death stares.
“What do you think you’re doing? I need that more than she does. I have a heart condition!” He spat while he talked, and I wiped it off my face with a quick flick of my hand.
“Calm down!” I yelled. A few people stopped what they were doing and listened. The room quieted, some sobs still cutting through the otherwise silent space.
I spun around, seeing countless eyes on me, all red-lined and scared. “Everyone’s going to be okay.” Mary was at my side now. She took over, calmly speaking.
“We don’t know what happens now, but we know this. We’re together in this. We’re now a community, and we won’t let our humanity crumble because of them.” She pointed upward, as if indicating the invading aliens. “Gather anything you have that can be useful. Water, food, m
edication” – she looked to the man holding the baby – “milk, and get an inventory. We’re going to name a few of you to go pass word to the other rooms. Any volunteers?”
A rail-thin girl stuck her hand up. She had on short denim shorts and a rock t-shirt. “What other rooms?”
Mary didn’t want them to know we had more information than them. That would be dangerous. “Did you see the size of the vessels we were just beamed into?” A few nods, and shouts of affirmation. “Then there will be countless rooms like this one.”
Questions began flying at us from around the room. At least they were focused now, working together, not as individuals. What are they going to do with us? Are we dead? What can we do? And finally, how can I help? This was from a little boy, no more than twelve. He was wearing 76ers pajamas.
“We need to identify doctors, nurses, EMTs, anyone who can help the sick or injured. We need to work as a team now,” I said. A short woman wearing scrubs came forward, letting me know she was a nurse at a retirement home.
The space was dimly lit, and it had the exact same layout as the one Magnus and I had first beamed through as we’d raced toward the sun all those years ago. People were already organizing themselves and heading into the halls, relaying what we’d suggested to them.
We’d only been there a short while, but the musty fear smell was nearly gone. The people were now distracted, with a goal in mind.
I wondered how many of these people lived at New Spero now. Had I ever crossed paths with any of them?
I was proud of Mary; she was leading this distraught group better than I could have. She turned and smiled at me. Before I could wonder how long we’d be there, an energy rushed through my veins. An image of the shadow character shimmered in my mind before I transported.
My eyes blinked open. I quickly squinted to protect them from the bright light, only there wasn’t any; just a dim room with a blurry figure coming for me. I held my hands up in defense and blinked, seeing the man come into focus.
The Survivors: Books 1-6 Page 82