This was another bunk room containing four beds—two on each side. The bedding had long since deteriorated to muck. Some of it on one bed looked like it had been eaten, probably by the pig. A white shape poked out from under a bed.
He cautiously peered under it—and grimaced. Another skeleton. A skull was mixed in with a tangle of bones and clothing. The remains were that of a small child. Presumably, Henry’s brother, Charles. Dan started to rise from the floor, but then he saw something that stopped him.
‘No,’ he said. ‘That’s impossible.’
Under the opposite bunk were more bones—a second child.
‘How can that be?’ Dan asked aloud. He snapped on his communicator. ‘Ferdy, do you read me?’
‘Loud and clear, friend Dan.’
‘How many people were on the Morning Star when it went missing?’
‘Four.’
‘Have you found out anything more about the Japanese on this island?’
‘Ferdy is still gathering information.’ He went on to give Dan a repair report. Seventy percent of the ship’s systems were back online. The engine still needed repairs, but he had worked out a plan to make the ship fully operational soon. ‘Liber8tor will be ready for travel within twenty-four hours.’
Thanking him, Dan disconnected and left the ship. Stomping back into the jungle, he made his way to the settlement, returning to the long corridor of cells.
‘Henry?’
The small boy was back in the last cell. He raised his head over the rubble. ‘Dan?’ he said, tears in his eyes. ‘I was scared.’
‘Everything’s okay,’ Dan said, holding him tightly. You’re real. Henry was as warm-blooded as himself. ‘We’ll be away from here before you know it.’ His communicator crackled to life. ‘Ferdy?’
‘Hello, Dan. Ferdy has discovered some more information regarding Doctor Hiroto Satou and his research.’
‘What is it?’
‘It seems his later research involved fungi.’
‘Fungi?’
‘Molds, mildew, mushrooms—’
‘Anything else?’
‘Not yet, Dan. The Liber8tor computer system is now fully repaired.’
Good old Ferdy, Dan thought. Where would we be without him?
He thanked him and signed off. Looking down at Henry, he saw the boy was still holding his book. ‘Do you mind if I see that?’
Henry handed the book to him. Dan leafed through it. The novel was a worn-out volume and quite old, dating to the middle of the last century. The lines were quite close together, a strange book for a small boy to be reading. Dan supposed it was the only—
His eyes froze on a page.
‘Henry,’ Dan said. ‘What’s your last name?’
‘Jekyll,’ Henry said, looking at him with innocent round eyes. ‘My name is Henry Jekyll.’
Henry Jekyll was the name of the protagonist in Henry’s book.
Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
A low growl came from the far end of the corridor. Henry grabbed Dan’s hand. ‘Don’t leave me, Dan,’ he pleaded. ‘I’m afraid.’
‘I won’t leave you,’ Dan promised.
A shape moved in the dark, a large, shifting mass that Dan had last seen in the cave. Now Dan focused on it and realized it looked more human than he had first thought, a man made taller by what appeared to be a long coat and hat, but still more shadow than solid.
‘Who are you?’ Dan yelled. ‘What do you want?’
The figure started towards them, and Dan pulled out the gun, aiming it.
‘Stay where you are, or I’ll shoot!’ It continued to advance. ‘Okay,’ Dan said. ‘I warned you.’
Dan fired. The blast hit the creature, and it stumbled, the point of impact exploding into millions of tiny particles, leaving a massive gap in its shape. The particles scattered into the air like flies before returning to the form and filling the hole. Dan fired again. And again. Each time the figure stumbled before repairing itself.
‘Dan!’ Henry pulled at his arm. ‘We’ve got to go!’
Dan wanted to run, but he wasn’t ready. Not yet. ‘I know who you are,’ Dan said to the approaching figure. ‘You’re Mister Hyde.’
He fired again, then grabbed Henry’s hand and dragged him up the pile of rubble to the jungle above. Pushing the boy ahead, he was almost over the edge when the creature grabbed his leg, dragging him back down the slope. The smell of the creature struck him again, the same terrible stench of mold and decay. Dan aimed at the creature’s arm, fired again, and the limb dissolved into mist.
Rolling, Dan narrowly avoided its other hand as it came smashing down into the debris.
‘Leave him alone!’ The voice came from above, and Dan saw Henry standing at the edge of the hole. ‘He’s my friend!’ Henry yelled. ‘You leave him alone!’
Dan jumped free and scrambled down the corridor, adjusting a setting on the weapon designed to disperse the beam over a wider area. Glancing back, he saw the creature had frozen, undecided whether it should pursue him or Henry.
Dan pulled the trigger again. This time everything from the shoulders up was reduced to nothing.
What remained of the monster—everything from the waist down—blindly staggered about in confusion as something flitted past Dan. A transparent black cloud raced to the monster. At first, a faint outline appeared, then it grew more substantial, rebuilding the body in seconds.
The monster flexed its hands, focusing on Dan, and started towards him. Firing again, Dan smashed another hole in it. More of the tiny black particles floating past him. He inhaled. They smelt like mold.
Dan gasped. Doctor Hiroto Satou’s later research had been in fungus, and mold was a kind of fungus. He turned and ran to the cell with the huge patch of mold growing across the back wall. The monster roared in fury, but Dan already had the gun pointed at the fungus. He jerked the trigger, and the mold burst into flames.
Bellowing a blood-curdling cry, the monster staggered and fell to its knees. It tried crawling towards Dan but didn’t make it. The millions of black particles dispersed. Henry appeared beyond it, taking a single faltering step before collapsing.
‘Henry!’ Dan yelled.
He cradled the small boy in his arms, not understanding how any of this had happened, but knowing that whatever Henry was, he was innocent. The boy, or thing, or whatever he was, had simply wanted to be.
Henry’s skin turned brown as he became as light as a feather.
‘I’ve tried to be good,’ he said.
‘You are good,’ Dan said, his face wet with tears. ‘You’re a good boy.’
Henry nodded and didn’t speak again as his head fell back. He dissolved into dust, and then less than dust, and then Dan was holding only the memory of him. Dan picked up the book and went back to the cell where the mold had been growing. The fire was still burning fiercely. Amid the flames lay a skeleton wearing the remnants of a United States Navy uniform.
Forcing the doors open, Dan tossed the book into the flames.
‘Goodbye, Henry,’ he said.
Chapter Forty
‘Get the others,’ I yelled.
Brodie raced from the room as I climbed into the time ship. It contained another temporal resonator. I quickly swapped the old for the new. Focusing on the controls, I saw they were similar to those Old Axel had used on the other machine. Getting the exact date and location right wasn’t easy. Close enough would have to do. Chad and the others burst through the door. Squeezing into the tight compartment, they pulled the hatch shut.
‘I’ve thrown up a wall of ice,’ Chad said, ‘but they’ll be through it in a minute. There’s a mod out there—’
I started the time ship. As the vessel rose, I activated the firing sequence and a portal appeared. I aimed us into it as a bunch of guards broke through into the underground chamber and started firing. They were too late. The ship started its descent down the time corridor.
‘Does someone want t
o explain what’s going on?’ Chad asked. ‘Where did this time ship come from? And who sent it to us?’
‘Ferdy,’ I said. ‘His name flashed on the console screen at the last minute.’
‘Ferdy?’ Ebony said. ‘But he’s dead. Old Axel said he was killed years ago.’
I’d already been thinking about this. ‘Ferdy wasn’t killed,’ I said. ‘I think he’s been hiding in the bowels of The Agency computer system all these years.’
‘But the time machine?’ Ebony said. ‘How—’
‘It was sent to us by Ferdy. You remember Old Axel said several of the machines went missing while they were being tested? I bet you that was no accident. One of them was this machine.’
‘That’s stupid,’ Chad said. ‘How could he know we’d get captured by James Price?’
‘You remember Ferdy saying he can perceive possible futures? This was probably one, a future where my older self went to the past and asked for our help. It’s not too hard to guess that we’d want evidence.’
Ebony was nodding. ‘Like seeing the future for ourselves.’
‘Exactly. And that we might get captured and brought to Agency headquarters.’
The time machine shuddered as a distant patch of blue appeared. It was growing larger by the second. Before I could speak, it rushed towards us, and then we were through and sailing across a clear sky. I hadn’t gotten our coordinates entirely right. We were about three miles away west of the island.
‘Looks like Dan’s been busy,’ Brodie said.
The Liber8tor was lying at the edge of the clearing, one side damaged as if an elephant had rammed it. Dan was working on it with a toolkit at his feet.
‘At least he doesn’t look ten years older,’ Chad said. ‘You know, like we’ve arrived ten years later than we left.
Chad was trying to lighten the mood, but I wasn’t laughing.
After bringing the ship into an untidy landing, we silently made our way back to Liber8tor. The resentment within me was still sour, like curdled milk. I knew the future now. Brodie would dump me. She and Chad would be together. Forever. The joke was on me.
Dan looked up at us. ‘Hey team!’ he yelled. ‘You wouldn’t believe what happened!’
‘You got drunk and crashed Liber8tor?’ Brodie asked.
‘No. There was a boy named Henry, but he wasn’t really a boy. And there was a monster, and it was like a—’
‘Hold on,’ Ebony said. ‘Let’s grab a meal, and you can tell us all about it.’
The others headed inside, but I grabbed Brodie. We needed to speak.
‘Do you want to explain to me about Chad?’ I asked.
‘I don’t know what you mean.’ She looked furious. ‘Don’t tell me you’re still annoyed. Your older self was right. We’re better off not knowing our futures.’
‘I’m not talking about our future,’ I said. ‘I’m talking about the present. How do I know you’re not running around with Chad?’
A shadow crossed her face.
‘What?’ I said. ‘Tell me.’
‘It’s not important. It doesn’t mean anything.’
Some people can keep secrets, but Brodie isn’t one of them. She haltingly told me about her illness and Chad saving her. She didn’t look me in the eye as she related everything that had happened. Everything including the kiss.
I felt the world drop out from under me.
Chad had kissed Brodie.
I heard the fall of footsteps. Chad spoke, but I didn’t hear it. Rage blinded me as I drew back a fist and slammed it into his face. He fell backward into Liber8tor’s hull.
‘What do you think you’re doing?’ he yelled.
‘You’ve been running around with Brodie!’
He stared at me with a mixture of guilt and confusion. ‘You’ve never loved her,’ he said. ‘So why do you care?’
Brodie yelled as we flew at each other. Within seconds we were rolling about on the ground, threatening to tear each other’s heads off. Ebony and Dan raced out of Liber8tor. It took the three of them to drag us apart.
‘Stop! Stop!’ Brodie screamed, tears running down her face. ‘We’re friends! We have to stick together!’
‘I don’t have any friends!’ I yelled, leaping into the air.
Brodie screamed my name as I flew away from the island, but I kept going. I had a mission to complete. I had to kill James Price.
Chapter Forty-One
I flew across the Pacific filled with a rage unlike anything I had ever known. The skies were clear at first, but then a storm appeared on the horizon. I had flown through bad weather before, but never through anything like this. It covered the whole skyline. Any other time I would have flown around it, but this time I drove straight into its heart.
The thin pocket of air I always kept around my body deflected the rain, but I could still feel the effects of the wind as it tore at me. This was a massive tempest with winds pulling in all directions, thunder rolling like the ringing of an enormous bell.
I thought about Brodie, and I thought about Chad, but mostly I thought about James Price. How many people are dead because of him? Billions? The world would be a better place if he weren’t part of it. It was wrong to kill a person, but even worse, to allow wholesale slaughter.
Lightning flashed, the hair stood up on my arms, and a moment later, a bolt of energy crackled and danced around me. It was as if I was at the storm’s heart, as much a part of nature’s unbridled power as the rain and the wind.
And then I was through. Soaring away from it, I looked back at the bubbling mass of energy as it heaved and writhed like a living thing. The lightning continued to flash, but I was separate from it. Disgorged from its belly and alone in the world.
An hour later, I reached the west coast of the United States. I was still visible to radar, but I wasn’t worried. The government—or The Agency—wouldn’t scramble any fighters. So many mods were flying about these days that it was impossible to tell one from another.
I didn’t know where James Price was located, so I flew into the Los Angeles area to do what anyone else would have done: I found an internet cafe. It didn’t take long for me to track down his New York address and take to the skies again.
Night fell as I landed in Missouri. I’d been in this area the previous day—and forty years in the future—when it would be a desolate wasteland. This was where the eye of an eternal storm would lay waste to the country. Arriving here again reminded me of the purpose of my mission. The night was clear and quiet as I booked into a rundown motel in Missouri, not far from Route Sixty-Six. The woman gave me an odd look as I asked for a room.
‘You’re traveling by yourself,’ she said.
‘Yes, ma’am.’
‘Aren’t you a little young for that?’
The adventures I’d had over the last few months, including my latest foray into the future, would have turned her hair gray. She was better off not knowing. Paying for a single night, I told her I was meeting my parents in the morning.
The view out the window of the room was of the parking lot. A man went to his car and drove off. Someone played country music on a radio. An insect buzzed in the night. The motel’s neon sign flashed on and off. A car pulled in, a couple got out and went to their room, but not before tossing their empty beer cans into the bushes.
This was not a perfect world.
I awoke early with my head throbbing from a night of tossing and turning. The events of the last few days had kept me awake half the night. My thoughts went from the fight with Chad to imagining him and Brodie together. Laughing at me behind my back. Brodie had said it was just a kiss, but how could I know for sure? How long had he felt this way about her? Had he always been planning this?
Did everyone know what was going on—except me?
Leaping into the sky, I continued towards New York, catching sight of its distinctive skyline within hours. I had been here forty years from now when it would lie in ruins.
Changing direction towards S
taten Island, I descended into a small suburb made up of family homes, parks, and quiet streets. James Price’s street was closed to traffic at one end. His home was a timber clad, barn-style building with a pitched roof. The driveway was empty. Possibly he had left for an early morning drive.
I waited.
Children were leaving for school. A young mother walked up the street holding hands with her son. She glanced at me curiously. Maybe they didn’t see too many strangers on this street. I forced a friendly smile, but my stomach was turning over with tension. I had already faced a dilemma like this; I had come very close to using a weapon on the Russian President that would have consigned him to a fate worse than death.
This time I would be killing someone. Committing the act of murder. Snuffing out a man’s life forever. There were people I’d killed in battle, but that was unavoidable. They had wanted to kill me, and so I’d defended myself.
This was a completely different thing. This was premeditated murder.
But was it so different? I knew what the future held. James Price would be responsible for the deaths of billions of people. He was one person. One life. One man’s life couldn’t be balanced against all the others.
Could it?
Except, he hadn’t actually committed any crimes. As far as I knew, he was an innocent man. I was judging him before doing anything and finding him guilty. Except he was guilty. That future would unfold if he wasn’t stopped now.
My head ached, the stress at the back of my neck like a tightly coiled snake. I wandered up and down the street. This was ridiculous. This was one person’s life. That was all.
Teen Superheroes Box Set | Books 1-7 Page 62