She finished her sandwich, drank her water, and began to focus on getting back into the dream. She tried to concentrate on the image of Jenn, like she had earlier against the vault door. As she did so, the imagine in her mind solidified and expanded. The young girl appeared to be walking in a forest of some kind. Christine wondered how she would —
A sharp pain in her head made her double over. She scrunched her eyes shut, stifling a yell, before her head hit the table and her body remained still.
Jenn
Jenn was walking in a quiet forest amid a sea of green. There were pine trees as far as she could see to the left. The ground appeared to be fairly level in that direction, but she could see the start of a gentle slope a few hundred feet away. The tops of mountains peeked through the gaps in the trees far away. A hidden creek babbled serenely through the pines to her right. A large tree trunk lay across the water, big enough to be used as a bridge. On the other side of the creek, a corn field stretched into the distance, new growth stalks swaying in the breeze. She could see the top of a white farm house on the far side of the field. There was a thin line of smoke drifting from the chimney. She saw two out buildings and a large barn adjacent to the house. There was a path in the corn field that led to the bridge over the creek and into the woods toward her.
The air was hot and dry, but a cooling breeze was refreshing. Jenn thought this was a very peaceful and quiet spot and visited often. It was a great place to think without distractions. She recalled walking in these woods, working on an important project related to her abilities. The atmosphere was perfect for concentrating on the many calculations and scientific principles she had to formulate and analyze. She continued to walk down the path at a leisurely pace until she heard the soft sound of dried pine needles as a footstep fell behind her and smiled.
“Hello, Christine. I didn’t know you could force yourself in here like that. Interesting.” Jenn said while deftly twirling a small twig between her fingers. She recalled fondly the hours upon hours she spent walking in these woods. It was such a wonderful spot to think. “I know you’re wondering. I’m 12 now for what that’s worth.”
Jenn could tell she did appear older. Taller for sure, but very thin. Her hair long, in a single ponytail, ended half way down her back. She wore a pair of dirty and stained jeans and plaid long-sleeved shirt which was several sizes too big for her.
Jenn didn’t stop walking as she spoke. She continued down a well worn path which stretched ahead and followed the small creek for a good distance.
Christine’s eyes swept their surroundings before she quickly caught up with Jenn. Her eyes were clear, a hint of surprise and desperation glinting through the blue irises. She wore the same clothes as the last time Jenn saw her. Her short, red hair and white lab coat contrasted brilliantly with the green foliage around them.
“I need more answers.” Christine said, her body humming with tension. Jenn remained silent, eyes on the path ahead of her. “Jenn, how am I going to get out of this? Is there a way out of that facility?”
Jenn stopped walking. “We, Christine. Us. We’re in this together. Whatever happens to you happens to me. I experience everything you do when you’re awake. I just can’t do much of anything except send you a vision or two.” She scowled at her inability to do more. “Can we get out of this? Yes. Through the vault.”
“Is there an exit out of that place in the vault? What is in there that will get us out? A weapon, or some kind of special device?”
“We can’t get out of the facility unless we get into that vault. Before you ask, there’s a code for the door and, yes, you do know it, but you’ve blocked it out along with just about everything else.” Christine frowned and Jenn rushed on, “It’s not your fault though. Not your fault at all.” She took a step forward, aching to offer some semblance of comfort, but stopped herself. This whole thing must be maddening for Christine, but there was nothing Jenn could do for her right now.
“Don’t look at me like that! I don’t want pity. I want out of here and I want my memories back!” Christine’s voice rose with every word until she was almost shouting. “And what do you mean I know the code? I’ve tried to open it. Nothing works!”
Jenn cocked her head to the side, tapping her lips with the small twig. She couldn’t help herself as she started to grin. Christine reminded her of somebody very dear to her- such passion and liveliness emanated from her. Christine deserved all the answers to her questions, but Jenn couldn’t tell her. Christine’s mind wouldn’t allow it. She tried to tell her something, any little detail about Christine’s past that would help, but when she opened her mouth, she couldn’t speak. The same thing happened every time she tried. Christine’s subconscious mind didn’t want her to become fully aware of the information. Jenn knew why. The memories in question were agonizing.
“Christine, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry this has happened to you. All I can tell you, is we will figure this out together. I know nothing makes sense right now, but if we do things the way I think they need to be done there’s a chance—”
Christine glared. “The way you think they need to be done? Who put you in charge? For all I know you’re really just me and my brain is too screwed up to realize it!”
“That’s a reasonable conclusion, given the facts you have, but I assure you it isn’t the case. I’ve got a plan and it’s going to work… hopefully. Neither of us have any choice at this point. There’s no time for anything else.” Jenn tried to sound sure, but she was far from it.
Christine deflated and rubbed her temples with thin fingers. “Why are you afraid of those people outside the shield? Who are they?”
Jenn sighed. “You’re so persistent.”
She knew it was a huge asset for Christine to have. She was sure Christine would want to quit sooner or later. Her tenacity would come in handy.
“I’m not sure you would believe me if I told you, but I guess I’ll try.” She paused for a moment to properly frame her answer so she would be able to speak it. “They aren’t from our world. They came because they detected something I created and they want it, badly. It’s something extremely powerful and we can’t let them have it. It’s a device of immeasurable power and it could easily be used as a weapon. They call themselves The Obliti.”
Christine’s brows furrowed. “You lost me at aliens. Seriously? Aliens?”
Jenn shrugged. “You wanted the truth. You know it’s true. I can’t lie to you.”
Christine looked incredulous. She frowned at Jenn and began to pace, staring at the ground as if it would give her answers. “This thing they want. It’s in the vault, right?”
“Some of it is. The other part is in here.” She pointed to her own head. “It can’t be used without my knowledge. Look, we’re running out of time out there in the waking world. There’s a power source in the vault keeping the shield up, but it won’t last forever. We’ve got to get in there before anybody else. I know the code to open the door and so do you. It’s in your memories, but we can’t get it out until your mind is ready. That’s why you need to trust me. I will show you things that will help us. It’s the only way.”
Christine threw her arms up and laughed. “Okay, Jenn. I’m in. Let’s do this. For some reason I do trust you. I believe we have aliens trying to break through some kind of shield you set up with a secret device you don’t want them to have. That’s all fine. I can buy that. Why not?”
“For the record, I didn’t know aliens existed before today. They sort of just showed up and caused trouble.”
“Huh. By the way, how do you know what they want?” Christine asked.
Clever girl, Jenn thought, and smiled. “Magic.”
Christine laughed. “That’s your answer to everything isn’t it?”
Jenn shrugged again and resumed her walk. Christine followed silently, seemingly deep in thought. Jenn knew it was a lot to absorb and even harder to believe. She was having a hard time dealing with the fact these aliens - The Obliti - appeared out of
nowhere looking for something she helped create.
It was almost unfathomable. There would be no stopping word from getting out after all this. Too many people were involved and Jenn was afraid of the repercussions. She bit her lip. What if she and Christine couldn’t fix this?
“Thank you.” Christine’s voice jolted Jenn out of her reverie. Jenn stopped and tilted her head.
Christine wrung her hands and averted her eyes. “Thank you for telling me what you could, and I’m sorry for jumping down your throat. I’m just so… scared. I’m really scared, Jenn.”
Jenn shook her head and waved off Christine’s thanks. “I wish I could tell you more, but we’ll get there. You’re handling this whole thing better than I would have. I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t have my memories. I probably cry and go hide in a closet somewhere. Anyway, you’re welcome and Christine, don’t be scared. You’re not alone. I’m in this with you and we won’t lose. I know it.”
Christine lifted her chin and looked Jenn in the eyes. “I like your attitude. We won’t lose. I believe it.”
Jenn walked over to a tree and ran her fingers over a large area of burnt bark. The charred wood was crisp and brittle beneath her fingers. Almost every tree within one hundred feet had some kind of burn mark or gash. There were small craters everywhere and shattered rocks lay scattered about. They were deep in the woods, and too far for anyone to hear noises. It was yet another reason these woods were the perfect spot. Jenn could practice without being interrupted.
“Besides,” she said, smirking. “I plan on cheating.”
Christine suddenly cocked her head, listening, and her body began to fade away. The scene winked out for Jenn a moment later.
Christine
The wail of an alarm shocked her into consciousness. Christine jumped up, scanned the room, and saw, to her relief, no smoke. The air was tinged with the smell of burning plastic, chemicals, and something else she couldn’t place.
“Don’t panic… do not panic. Jenn, a fire, really?” She spoke in vain through the layers of consciousness where Jenn resided in her mind. The vault would have to wait until she put out the fire. Wherever that was…
Fear whispered in her ear while she stood, motionless, trying to come up with a plan. If she stayed here, or found a way out of the building, she wouldn’t have to deal with any of this. Why was she helping Jenn, anyway? It’s not like she owed her anything.
Christine cursed again and forced herself to take a step forward. She was helping Jenn because it was the right thing to do, and to help, she had to move despite the fear. She tiptoed out of the break area and looked both ways down the hall. There was no way to tell where the smoke was coming from, so she headed toward the main room she’d woken up in. There were control panels which might show the location of the fire.
She kept a brisk pace, watching intently for signs of fire ahead. As she walked, the burning smell grew stronger. The alarm still screeched as she arrived at the vault.
The control panel lights were in a frenzy. One showed the image of a small flame, lit red by the blub flashing behind it. Christine pressed the button and waited, but nothing happened. She tried holding the button down for a while, and, after a few seconds, the audible alarm stopped, but the indicator continued to blink. Her shoulders sagged with relief. That blasted sound was going to drive me crazy.
The only thing she could do now was try to find the fire and put it out. She glanced at the ceiling and was glad to see a sprinkler system. Let’s hope that’s taking care of it for me.
Tendrils of dark smoke danced near the ceiling, flowing from the opposite hallway. She started in that direction, scanning the area for a fire extinguisher. Several hallways later and she still hadn’t found one. The smoke grew thicker as Christine walked. Anxiety and fear gripped at her mind and body. The effort it took to put one foot in front of the other was immeasurable. Christine felt like she was trying to move through cement. What if she died here without regaining her memories?
Her next left brought her upon a hallway with four offices, a set of glass conference room doors, and copious amounts of dark smoke. She checked each office, holding her breath as she opened the doors, lest the fire be there to meet her on the other side. They were all clear. She sunk to the floor outside the last office and rested her head against the wall. Breath in your nose, and out your mouth, she told herself. Oh, Jenn, what am I going to do?
Christine sat for a few moments before she collected herself enough to push on. She got up, looked through the conference room doors, and jumped when she saw a faded version of Jenn laying on the table inside. Jenn looked a little different than the last time Christine saw her. She looked a few years older, a pretty teenager now. Jenn didn’t look at Christine when she entered. There was an unnatural stillness about her, like she was a paused frame on a display.
Christine reached her hand out to touch Jenn’s arm. Jenn’s eyes popped open before she could touch her, looking directly up as if she were seeing something other than the ceiling. Her lips moved, but she made no noise.
Christine moved around the other side of the conference table. Jenn didn’t acknowledge the movement and paused from time to time between speaking, like she was having a conversation with somebody Christine couldn’t see. The faded Jenn stood up on the table, her arms above her head, fingers meeting in a steeple. She bent her knees and dove backward in a beautiful arc, sinking into the end of the conference table as if it were water, then disappearing.
“Huh,” Christine said. “That was… interesting.” She waited for something else to happen, but the room was still except for the wisps of smoke sneaking through the cracks in the doors. Baffled, she walked toward the end of the conference table where Jenn had disappeared. She examined the table and found nothing of note. A lot of good that did me, Jenn. She turned away from the table, facing the direction Jenn’s hands had been pointing during her dive, and stopped short at the sight of a black box attached to the wall. A flash of red shone through a small glass pane in its face. Fire extinguisher!
Christine reached in and released two extinguishers from the box. She recalled seeing a few of the boxes on the walls of the hallways she already came down. She slapped her hand over her face. How many of these did I walk by? Her brain felt clouded, a heady mixture of fear, urgency, and grogginess making it difficult to think. I need to be extra vigilant. Thanks, Jenn.
Another boom sounded in the distance. Whatever was behind that light wall was still trying to get in. Christine listened for any other sounds to indicate a breach, but no noise came. It had been quite a while since the last blast. She didn’t know if that was a good or bad sign so she continued with the task at hand. There was no room for error or distraction anymore. The fire was going to get out of control if she didn’t move quickly, and she refused to be condemned to a fiery death in this box of a building with no memories of who she was.
She left one extinguisher in the hall and, again, began to follow the smoke to its source. Her eyes began to water as she got closer, the smoke infiltrating her nostrils in an unwelcome flood. She crouched, crawling awkwardly along the rest of the hall with the fire extinguisher under her arm. Rounding the corner, her breath caught in her lungs and she dropped the extinguisher with a loud clang. A burning pile of bodies taller than she was loomed like a grisly mountain ahead.
Christine
She felt fleeting relief to see the fire wasn’t a raging inferno consuming this part of the facility. Relief was obliterated by shock and disgust. The corpses burned in a neatly structured pile in the center of the room. Christine stared as the fire crackled and popped. Who had done this? Her body was cold, as if ice ran through her veins, and she began to shiver, the heat of the blaze trying, unsuccessfully, to warm her skin.
The flesh was completely burned off many of the bodies. Christine chastised herself for taking so much time to find the source of the fire. Maybe she could have saved at least one of them if she hadn’t been too afraid to move.
But, this was no wild and uncontrolled fire. It was made with great care. Larger bodies on the bottom. Mostly men. Smaller bodies on top. Mostly women.
The smell of burnt hair and flesh hit Christine like a tidal wave as her senses came down from her initial shock. She lurched forward onto her hands and knees, vomiting until her stomach was empty. Tears flowed freely down her cheeks as she covered her nose and mouth with the end of her lab coat. The cracks and pops from the hissing fire continued and with each sound, the marred face of someone in the pile flashed through her mind. The heat flowed pleasantly over her. She was disturbed with how good the warmth felt, given the source.
Christine opened her eyes, keeping her gaze on the floor. Breathe in your nose, and out your mouth. She repeated the phrase over and over in her mind until her breathing was under control. What next? I need a mask. Something to help with the smell and the smoke. She ripped the cloth of her lab coat with shaking hands, covered her mouth and nose again, and knotted it behind her head. With her face half covered, she finally forced herself to look at the burning pile.
Arms and legs, some half burnt away, protruded from the mound. Charred and ruined faces assaulted her eyes from within the flames. She felt another stab of nausea as she noticed the burnt out eye sockets. Pieces of white cloth lay around the pile with burnt edges and smeared blood.
Shaking herself, she turned around to pick up the extinguisher. The least she could do for these people now was put out the fire. She activated the extinguisher and began to spray the pile, beginning at the bottom and working her way up. The white foam blanketed the bodies, stifling the flames. One body at the top of the pile hadn’t been burned as badly as the rest. Christine looked at it more closely. A bloody slash was cut right through the person’s throat. It was a precise cut, made deep enough to kill quickly. She found another body with a similar cut and suspected the rest were the same.
The Harmony Divide- Never Alone Page 3