by Eric Warren
Frees exchanged glances with Arista. She nodded. “It’s okay. He’ll keep his word.” Frees let go of David’s arm and the man rubbed the area.
“Quite a grip there.” He gave a half-smile but when he saw Frees’ expression he dropped it. “Give me a few minutes. I have to unlock the cycle.”
“I need you to set it to implode, we have to make sure no one else could ever use it,” Arista said.
“I can’t guarantee this won’t affect the other gates,” David said, working on the controls. “Since they’re all linked destroying this one may disable the others. I can’t be sure. It’s one giant network.”
Arista glanced to Frees. If the gates were destroyed they’d have no way home. No way back to Jill and her parents. But it would also mean the humans couldn’t leave the colony either. They’d all be stuck here. “I understand,” Arista said. “Do it.”
Thirty-Six
Arista watched David throw himself back into the control panel, his hands flying over the controls. How much longer did they really have until the rest of the colony broke in and ended all this? At least she could die knowing her efforts weren’t in vain. She’d accomplished what she’d needed to: gotten her parents to safety and cut off the humans from expanding beyond this place. There was no greater goal. Getting out alive was just the gravy. It wasn’t necessary.
“They’re close!” David yelled, glancing at something on the control panel.
“He’s right,” Frees said, beside him. “They’re right outside the main door.”
“It’s okay!” David yelled brandishing a smile. “I locked it.”
Arista exchanged glances with Jessika. They both rolled their eyes in unison. There was no doubt someone in this colony had access to something that could blow right through those doors. One of the energy drives could probably do it.
“What’s happening?” Jessika asked, looking up at the Gate. It seemed to be undulating, moving beneath the surface of the fog in some way. “David?”
“I-I don’t know. I think someone on the other side has activated it.”
“On the other side? How is that possible?” Arista asked.
“It shouldn’t be,” he replied. “Most Gates need two to work, and entrance and an exit Gate. But this Gate is special, it has no exit Gate. There shouldn’t be anything on the other side to manipulate.”
“How far in the past does this go?” Arista yelled. The rumble of the Gate had grown louder, like a freight train running through the colony.
“A hundred and twenty years!” David replied. “Give or take a month!”
A shockwave rolled through, knocking them all back. Arista lost her footing and tumbled to the ground, as did Jessika. Behind her Frees and David were protected by the relative stability of the control panel. In front of them two dark figures emerged, but Arista couldn’t tell who they were at first. They were just shadows obscured by clouds. But as soon as the fog cleared she knew immediately what had happened.
“Echo!” she gasped.
Echo and McCulluh stood before her, both brandishing weapons. “I should have known you would try this again,” Echo said to Arista. “I tried to be civilized. I tried to be generous. And I can see now I should’ve killed you the moment you arrived.”
“Leader Dante?” David said. “McCulluh? How did you—did you come from the past?”
“Of course not,” Echo scoffed. “We used one of the Gates in the transportation room to get here. Considering you’ve sealed off every other exit.” She held up her weapon. “Now, if you’d be so kind, unlock the doors.”
“I…can’t do that. I’m sorry, ma’am.”
Echo bared her teeth. “David, you’re a brilliant scientist. But if you do not unlock those doors and step away from that console, I will shoot you dead where you stand. You may have designed this Gate, but plenty of people around here can take up your mantle.”
“Oh, can they?” David taunted. “Do they know how to work the flow regulators? What about compensating for continental drift? Or celestial location? Going back in time isn’t just a matter of pushing a button; every variable must be accounted for. Earth isn’t in the same place it was a hundred and twenty years ago. The solar system isn’t in the same place as it was a hundred and twenty years ago. You’re telling me you have someone who has made all those adjustments? Because I’d really like to meet them.”
Echo motioned to McCulluh. “Go over there and open the doors,” she said.
As he passed Jessika Arista heard him mutter, “You’re going to really wish you’d killed me back there.”
“I already do,” she said back.
“You, machine. Move away from the controls,” McCulluh said. Frees didn’t move until Echo trained her weapon on Arista. He bunched his face together and moved out from behind the control panel, leaving David by himself.
“Over here,” Echo said, indicating he join Arista. “I want to make sure I can see you both. I see you had no trouble taking out your former comrade.” She glanced over to the corner where Max’s body lay.
“Barely any,” Frees said, through clenched teeth.
“I have to say I was surprised when they told me she joined us voluntarily. And I didn’t trust her very much either. I thought maybe she was spying for you two. But we gave her a little test and she passed to my satisfaction.”
“What test?” Frees asked.
“It’s not important. What is important is what I should do with the two of you. We need to make sure we have our story straight before this gets out. I don’t need any kind of riot on my hands.”
“Why would there be a riot?” Arista asked. She needed to stall Echo; she didn’t like where this was heading.
“Because she knows how important you are,” Jessika yelled. “Everyone thinks you’re a hero who braved the machine world for sixteen years and came back. You’re an inspiration. And she knows killing you will raise a lot of questions.”
Echo gave them a terse smile without taking her eyes off Arista. “It’s okay, Jess. We’ll just tell them the truth. That Arista was and always has been a machine sympathizer. That you would rather see them succeed and your own race fail. It won’t be hard to make it look that way because that’s the way it is.” She leaned in. “Isn’t it?”
“They deserve their chance,” Arista said. “And you already had yours.”
The doors at the far end of the room unlocked and in poured a stream of soldiers. McCulluh yanked David from around the control panel. Arista exchanged looks with Frees. And in the brief moment when Echo turned slightly to look at the soldiers coming into the room Frees smacked her weapon away while at the same time Arista clobbered her across the jaw, sending her spiraling backward.
“Arista!” Jessika yelled, pulling something from her pocket.
David struggled against McCulluh’s grasp, slipping from it and back around to the control panel where he began hitting a series of buttons. Arista realized it was the sound of the Gate shutting down. Near the edges the fog had already begun to coalesce. McCulluh took one shot at David, missing but the bullet penetrated directly through the casing of the control panel. He took a second which hit David dead-center in the chest and he fell back as Arista began to run toward him.
The soldiers began shooting.
“What the—?” Echo said, turning toward the commotion as an energy drive landed in front of her. Bullets peppered the ground all around them and Frees pulled Arista back, even as she reached for the energy drive. She could still use it to destroy the Gate. She just had to reach it!
“Frees, let go!” she yelled, even as the bullets flew around them.
Instead, he pulled her into a bear hug, similar to how he had with Max and turned them so their backs were to the gunfire. As they faced the Gate Arista could tell it was almost closed. The wall had almost completely re-solidified. Frees lurched forward as he was hit in the back by gunfire. She couldn’t let him take this kind of heat, it would kill him.
“Frees!” she yelled
. But as soon as the word left her mouth there was a white flash and everything went cold.
Thirty-Seven
Arista awoke with her face in what smelled like grass, but she couldn’t be sure. She wasn’t sure of anything. How long had she been unconscious? Something warmed her back. At first, she thought it might still be Frees, but that couldn’t be right. He wasn’t warm. But she knew she was in a new kind of pain. She pushed herself up with both arms, realizing that yes, she had been face-first in a patch of grass. In fact, there was grass all around her. What had happened? Above her a blue sky stretched overhead, spanning in all directions to tall buildings off in the distance. There were trees, a light breeze, and people walking on paths a couple hundred feet away.
“No.” She coughed. “Please no.” She stood up, glancing around. A few feet away lay Frees, his back riddled with bullet holes. “Frees!” she yelled, running up to him. She had to struggle to turn him over. But his eyes were open. One of his blue “contacts” had slipped out and was missing.
“What happened?” he asked.
“I think we went through the gate,” she said. How else would they have arrived here in the middle of a park with no exit gate? David had said it didn’t need an exit gate. It could have deposited them anywhere. The Device couldn’t pull a GLS from the satellites. Which could only mean the satellites weren’t in orbit. They’d been sent into the past. And that wasn’t good at all. Any step they made could have dire consequences for the future.
“Don’t tell me that,” he muttered. “Please don’t tell me that.” Frees knew the consequences as much as she did. Every action they took from now on would have to be precisely calculated.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know what happened. The Gate was almost closed. I reached for that energy drive when…” she trailed off. “One of the bullets must have struck it. It knocked us back through.”
“What about the rest of them?” Frees asked. “Your mother. David.”
“David’s dead,” she replied. “I saw McCulluh shoot him right before... He was doing something to the controls; I don’t know what. As for Jessika…” She shook her head. “I have no idea.”
“I guess, technically neither of them are alive yet. No one is.”
He had a point. She could only nod and glance around. There was another body lying not far from them. With short, silky hair. “Oh, shit,” Arista said, standing.
“What?” Frees turned to look. As he did the figure lifted her head, revealing a massive burn on the side of her face.
“Echo?” Arista asked.
“You,” she sneered, clawing her way into a sitting position. “What have you done?”
“Me? It was your stupid soldiers who shot the explosive. That wasn’t my fault.”
Echo glanced around, taking in her surroundings. “It worked,” she whispered. “We’re here.” Her eyes went wide, and she scrambled up, poised to run the opposite direction from Arista and Frees.
“Wait, no, you can’t!” Arista yelled. If Echo was allowed the freedom to do whatever she wanted here she could single-handedly change history. “C’mon.” Arista pulled at Frees’ sleeve. “We have to go after her. If she gets away there’s no telling what she’ll change.”
“Can’t,” Frees said. “I don’t think I can move, the damage.” He indicated his back. “You go, I’ll be okay here. Go stop her.”
Arista knew from experience Frees was a bad judge at estimating how long he could make it on his own. Last time he’d barely made it back to his own front door before collapsing in front of her. She didn’t have a choice, she needed to fix him first. They’d have to find materials here that could work; no doubt everything would be crude and clumsy. “I’m not leaving,” she said. “Not until you’re better.”
He offered a smile. “But what about the timeline?”
“We’ll just have to make sure we undo everything she does,” Arista said.
Sirens sounded in the distance causing them to glance at each other. “Think those are for us?” Frees asked.
“I don’t see how,” Arista replied. “But with the way this day is going, I wouldn’t be surprised.”
A police vehicle approached, only something was strange. It was using mag-lev technology. According to her history mag-lev hadn’t been in common use until the early 2040’s. David’s calculations must have been off. The Gate was supposed to exit in the 2020’s.
The vehicle stopped on the wide paved path across from them and two officers stepped out, eyeing them. They approached Frees and Arista with their hands on their weapons.
“Citizens,” one announced. “You have made an unlawful entry into grid 757.”
Arista glanced around. The park must be off limits, which was why no one else was out here. “I apologize, officers,” she said, standing. “I didn’t realize this area was out of bounds.”
One of the officers took a look at her hand. A half a second later his weapon was drawn and trained on her. “Whoa,” she said, placing her hands up and taking a step back. “What’s the trouble?”
“You are carrying an unlicensed, unregistered, illegal bionic,” the officer said. “Turn around and put your human hand on your head. Leave your bionic arm straight up in the air.”
“What are you talking about?” Frees demanded. He remained rooted to the ground; Arista wasn’t sure he could stand if he wanted to.
“Jennings,” the first officer said. The second nodded and pulled something from his belt. As the first officer placed a cuff on Arista’s human hand the other officer placed the device on her other arm and pressed a button on the top. Immediately the arm was engulfed in a bright blue bubble. Arista couldn’t move, flex or in any way twist her hand.
“What is this?” she asked.
“Standard immobilization procedures,” the officer said. “But you know all about that already, being an unregistered bionic after all.”
“Unregistered? What does that even mean? There’s no law against having artificial limbs.” Not to mention shouldn’t they be more concerned with how strange it looked? Her arm should be about a hundred years more advanced than anything they’ve ever seen.
“And I guess you’ll be telling us you haven’t heard about the Artificial Control Act of 2053 next, huh?” He pushed her from behind. “C’mon. You’re under arrest for harboring unlicensed tech.”
2053? What the hell was going on?
“Wait, you can’t just take her—” Frees began, struggling to stand.
“Sir, stay right there. We are arresting your wife. If you want to file an appeal you may do so at the third district courthouse after eight a.m. tomorrow morning. Until then she is being placed in quarantine.”
“Wait. This isn’t right,” Arista said. “Frees, this isn’t right,” her voice pitched higher. “I don’t think we are where we’re supposed to be.”
The officers pushed her away from him, leading her to the car.
“Wait,” Arista said, “Just wait a second. I have a right to say what I want, correct?” The first officer glanced at Jennings and rolled his eyes.
“You also have the right to remain silent. But go ahead.”
“Just tell me because I have…um…retrograde amnesia.” The one officer narrowed his eyes at her. “What year is it?”
“Oh goddammit,” he said, exasperated. “Another one of these.” He huffed, then smiled, the sarcasm not lost on Arista. “It’s August 29th, 2151. Same year as it was yesterday.”
That couldn’t be right. That was today’s date. The day she’d just left on the other side of the Gate. If it was supposed to go back in time, then it had failed spectacularly. But then where the hell was she? This certainly wasn’t anyplace she knew. “And…where…am I right now?”
The officer was quickly losing patience. “You are in the middle of the lawn in Central Park. That over there,” he pointed to his left, “Is the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Now. Are there any other questions princess would like answered?”
She was stunned
. It was impossible. New York was underwater. It had been ever since the war. The gate hadn’t sent them back in time after all. It had done something much worse.
“Frees! Frees, find a way to get me out. The gate wasn’t a time machine!” she yelled to him, still sitting on the grass. “It was a dimensional portal! It’s a different universe!”
Frees only watched as they shoved her into the car and pulled away. The last thing she saw before she lost sight of him was him laying back down in the grass, his face watching her intently.
She was alone yet again.
To Be Continued in DISPARITY, Quantum Gate Book 4!
Thank you for reading The Quantum Gate Trilogy!
I hope you enjoyed reading about these characters as much as I enjoyed writing them.
If you would like to leave a review, please consider writing one on AMAZON. Reviews are a great way to support your favorite authors and they help me plan future books in the series.
Arista and Frees’ story continues in DISPARITY and concludes in CAUSALITY! Both available now!
Acknowledgments
When I first conceived of the concept of SINGULAR I had no idea it would eventually evolve into a five book series spanning multiple cities and universes. Originally it was only supposed to be about a young woman surviving in a world ruled by machines. And I guess it still is, but the scope is much, much larger.
I want to first thank my partners Wendy, Tiffany and Sarah, all of whom had a hand in helping make the first three books shine. Wendy’s amazing artwork has really given life to these books and if you’re interested in reaching him, go to https://www.sabercore23art.com/
Tiffany turned my swamp of ramblings into something legible and understandable, and these books would not exist without her help. She offers a range of services available at https://eclipseediting.com/
Sarah not only helped me format these books but also taught me a lot about how to be an indie author. If you’d like to see her books or services, go to https://sarahbale.com/
