"What did you find?" Aldan asked.
"I saw Lenny talking with someone else," Wyatt said. "I think it might have been an older version of one of us." He couldn't bring himself to say it was an older version of Avery. He wanted to hold that back as he continued. "They were talking about everything being messed up. But someone seems to be still making changes. Have any of you heard the name Linda?"
"Someone sent Hannah back there to meet with an earlier version of Wyatt," Brooke added. "Linda is probably behind that."
Wyatt wasn't sure if she was trying to help his case. Her words seemed to draw Aldan's eyebrows down lower. Aldan appeared ready to hurt someone.
"She met with that earlier version of me in the same way I remember," Wyatt said.
"Why is that important?" Jeremy asked, leaning forward on the sofa.
Wyatt took a moment to open his water bottle and take a drink before trying to respond. "It's important because it means someone is trying to fix what was changed. I'm not sure where the version of Hannah that would have been there may have gone, but that version was definitely not the same that I usually visited."
"You mean you don't remember going there and not seeing her?" Aldan asked, clasping his hands noisily together in front of himself. He watched as Wyatt shrugged. When Wyatt didn't say anything, he spoke again. "I think someone is working against us all the way."
"It's Jarod," Brooke said. "And whoever this Linda person is." She said it with such confidence, Wyatt couldn't help looking at her dusty pants again. She knew more than she was telling, but he didn't want to open that confrontation in front of the others.
"Or maybe they are working for us," Avery said. "How will we find out?"
"That's a question I don't think any of us can answer," Jeremy said.
"He's right," Wyatt said. "Something strange is going on. It's not just Hannah." He saw Brooke's glance his direction as he spoke. He wished he knew what she was thinking.
"That's the danger with time travel," Aldan said, leaning back on the sofa. "I can go back and get my cousin out of here as many times as I want, and the Machina always finds ways of bringing her back in."
"How many times have you tried?" Wyatt asked. That thought scared him. Would Aldan's actions have prevented his father from coming, only to have Hannah enter the warehouse in some other way?
"Do you think the Machina does that for a reason?" Avery asked.
"Are you certain it is the Machina that does it?" Brooke asked.
"Give me a minute." Aldan rose from the sofa and faced the kitchen. "Sometimes, I wish I really had a beer." He turned back to Brooke. "If it isn't the Machina, I'm not sure who it would be. Maybe Jarod is involved. It's like someone is trying to fix whatever we changed. Maybe"—he looked at Wyatt—"it is this Linda person, but how will we know."
"Do you now think it could be Jarod?" Avery asked.
Brooke shook her head before Aldan answered and added her own question. "Do you think Hannah could prevent us from changing? I mean she sits there in the future version, knowing we tried to stop her, but she didn't seem worried about us."
"She seemed worried about others who were following her," Wyatt said, glancing toward Brooke. "Maybe Linda is someone who helps Jarod."
"I'm not sure I'm ready to believe Jarod is behind this," Aldan said. "I'd be more ready to believe that the older version of Avery was doing it."
"Hey," Avery said. "I don't think I would do that?"
"You were just there in that place," Aldan said, turning to face her. "How do we know it wasn't you?"
"What if Linda is trying to help Jarod out of a loop?" Brooke asked. Her question silenced the group for a moment.
Aldan was the first to speak. "I don't know about that," he said. "If Jarod is stuck in a loop, how would some other person stop it?"
"Why wouldn't the Machina end it?" Jeremy said.
"It sounds like Lenny is involved somehow," Brooke said.
"Maybe he isn't here so that we work this out," Avery said. "I mean, maybe if he gave us directions, we would screw them up, but letting us work it out, makes us more impulsive and gives us a chance."
"You really think that?" Jeremy asked.
Brooke shook her head and folded her arms. When she stopped shaking her head, she looked at Wyatt.
Wyatt had his own ideas, and he didn't like where they led him. The Machina couldn't be behind it all. It might be that other, thinner woman. But he wanted to know where else Brooke had gone. "Have you seen anyone else out there?" he asked, looking at Aldan.
"Who else would have the control over it?" Avery asked. "Are you afraid to confront Jarod again?"
Wyatt rose from the sofa after another long drink from his water bottle. As he moved into the kitchen to deposit the bottle in the recycling, he spoke without looking at any of them. "What if it is one of us who started causing the problems?"
"That's what I just suggested," Aldan said from behind him.
As he turned around, Wyatt tried not to look at Brooke. "Is that why you tried to take your cousin out of this?" he asked. He spread his arms wide on the countertop after depositing his bottle in the recycling can. He hoped the others would realize they couldn't just sit and talk about it.
Aldan looked down at his hands and Wyatt knew he had guessed right.
"Listen to me for a moment," Wyatt said. "Things have happened to our past. We all have some double memories, maybe more than double. It's hard to separate"—he looked at Brooke—"what really happened from what might have happened." He shook his head and thought back to the memory of Hannah taking his wrist terminal. It made no sense that she would give it back to him.
"What else have you seen?" Avery asked. She had risen from the sofa also and stood facing the end of the counter.
Soon all of them gathered around the counter. Jeremy, Aldan, and Brooke were on her left, and Wyatt stood on her right.
With his heart racing, Wyatt knew he had to decide what he would tell. He wondered for a moment if he could get away with only telling a piece of it. In the end, he settled for most of the truth.
"I told you I saw Lenny talking with someone," Wyatt began. "But I'm afraid to say who he spoke with. I don't want to ruin things."
"It's too late for that," Aldan said, turning slightly on the sofa to face Wyatt more fully.
"Go ahead," Brooke said. "We'll work through it."
Wyatt sighed and looked at Avery. He wasn't sure how she would take it, but he felt trapped. "It was you," he said, gesturing toward Avery. "You were the one I saw talking with Lenny. But she wasn't the only person I saw. That thin blonde had been there also." He couldn't place her in any of his memories.
"Me?" Avery asked, placing her hands on the counter. "Why is that a bad thing? We all know I work hard when I retire." She glanced back toward Jeremy and Aldan.
Jeremy placed his fists on the counter beside Avery. "Are you sure it was her?"
"She was older, like the version of her we saw in the warehouse," Wyatt said. "But it was her. She and Lenny were discussing the changes that had been made, but I wasn't close enough to hear much other than the name Linda."
"What did you hear?" Aldan said.
Wyatt felt trapped earlier, but now it was worse. He stood inside the kitchen area, with the counter on two sides, the refrigerator and cupboards on the other. Aldan and Avery stood in the gap, preventing him from getting out of the kitchen area. Jeremy stood beside Avery but leaned on the counter.
"You might as well tell them," Brooke said, folding her arms and standing a little further back from the counter.
"That's the problem," Wyatt began, "I don't know the details of what they were talking about. Lenny said that a man"—he tried not to look at them as he spoke—"caused it. But your older version asked why the Machina would send you after them if they were going to cause this problem." He shook his head and shrugged as he looked up. "Your older version asked if it was an older version of Hannah that had directed it, but Lenny seemed to insist it w
as the Machina."
"That's a twisted mess," Brooke said, smiling for half a second as she nodded. The others didn't return her smile and hers faded.
"Who was the man Lenny was talking about?" Aldan asked, looking directly at Wyatt.
"We can't be sure who it was," Brooke said. "But I suggest it is Jarod."
Aldan slapped the countertop and rolled his head back as if stretching his neck. "What other evidence do you need?" he asked. "Think about it. We've seen Wyatt meeting with my cousin. We saw him try to run us down with that sedan in 2089. Doesn't any of that scare you. Wyatt has to be the one Lenny worried about."
"We also ran into trouble trying to stop your cousin from coming in," Jeremy said, stepping away from the kitchen counter. Avery followed him, but only for a moment.
Jeremy spun on her and shook his head.
"I went to stop my cousin from ever getting inside the warehouse," Aldan said.
"But she is still here," Avery said, turning to face him.
"Nothing worked," Aldan said, slamming the edge of his fist down on the countertop. The noise silence everyone for a moment. "I bet Wyatt will have something to do with that."
"I didn't do it," Wyatt said, seeing the way Aldan focused on him. Anxiety filled him as he watched them. Aldan looked genuinely angry, but Brooke and Avery looked concerned. He no longer saw Jeremy.
"You," Aldan said and shook his head. "You may not be the one behind all of this, but you will be."
"Why would I do that?" Wyatt asked.
The answer, when it came from Brooke, surprised him.
"Look at how many times you have gone back to see Hannah?" Brooke asked. "Can you see why they worry about you?"
"You're worried about me?" Wyatt asked, stepping sideways out from behind the kitchen counter. He scanned toward the bathroom as he heard the water running and the door opened. Jeremy emerged rubbing his hands on his pants.
"Where are you going?" Aldan said. "We're not done with you yet."
Wyatt didn't look at Aldan, in the hopes that would keep his determination set. Now that he had his wrist terminal back, he wanted to see if it would work.
"Let him go," Brooke said. "It's late, and I think we could all use some time to cool off."
Jeremy stepped around Wyatt and headed around the kitchen. He didn't say anything as Wyatt watched him. It seemed Jeremy and Aldan exchanged a glance that almost seemed like they knew something else. They seemed to be planning for something.
"I'm going to sleep," Wyatt said and began walking again toward his bed in the corner.
"This isn't over yet," Aldan said. "The only thing that makes it okay for now is that you don't have your wrist terminal." He stepped behind Wyatt and followed him as he spoke. As Wyatt turned toward his bed, Aldan entered the bathroom.
Wyatt didn't bother changing but crawled onto his bed and rested his head on the pillow. Moments later, his exhaustion took over and he slept.
CHAPTER twenty-one
DORMITORY, NEAR R333PS
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 5, 2090, 5:00 AM
"Wyatt," Brooke's quiet voice said from beside him. Her voice carried an urgency that roused him faster than if she had shaken him.
"What is it?" Wyatt asked in the same quiet tone she had used.
"Someone was just in here," Brooke said. "Everyone else is asleep." She paused for a moment in the near darkness and Wyatt heard the soft snoring of Avery, and the louder snoring of Aldan and Jeremy on the other side of the dormitory. When Brooke continued, he realized she knelt beside his bed. "Someone else was just in here."
"How did they get in?" Wyatt asked, rising to sit. He rubbed his eyes in the darkness, trying to rub the exhaustion away. It didn't help.
"I only heard the person moving around the bathroom," Brooke said. "But they moved toward the dormitory door after I woke. I think they left." She placed her hands on the edge of the bed near where he sat.
Wyatt scanned the dormitory doorway and wondered if he had heard the door open. He wondered if Brooke had experienced the double memories caused by the time travel and the resonance.
"Are you sure?" Wyatt asked as Brooke rose and sat on the bed beside him. Having her that close was interesting. Brooke always seemed a little awkward around him, especially after telling him she would never date anyone she worked with.
She wore an orange tee shirt, and due to her proximity, he determined she didn't wear much under it. He had to focus on the floor near his feet, so his eyes didn't get lost in the way the light tee shirt clung to her chest.
"It's like that bed on the opposite corner being used," Brooke said. "I guess I don't know for sure. But I'm spooked enough I can't sleep." She leaned in close as she spoke, and he smelled a little cinnamon on her breath. The edges of her mouth had a little bit of cinnamon and sugar, as if she had been eating toast.
"Sorry," Brooke said, rubbing the corners of her mouth. "I was up earlier eating something."
"It's okay," Wyatt said. "So, how long ago did the person leave?"
Brooke shrugged. "Maybe five minutes."
"When did you eat?" Wyatt asked. He couldn't smell any toast, which seemed odd, but Brooke's concern drew him away from that thought.
"That doesn't matter," Brooke said. "We need to go see who is out there." She pointed toward the front door. "Do you think we can get out there without being caught?"
Wyatt shrugged. "If you were the only one that woke when he left, we're probably okay." He looked at her and shook his head. "But you might need to put something else on. Bright orange may not work."
Brooke smiled and glanced around the dormitory. Evidently satisfied no one was looking, she stepped toward her footlocker and retrieved a long-sleeved blue shirt and jeans. She pulled on the jeans before pulling off her orange shirt.
Wyatt tried to look away, and ultimately felt thankful for the near darkness of the room as she pulled on a bra and the long-sleeved shirt. He stuffed his feet back into his shoes, realizing he had been wearing the same socks for at least a day and a half. Along with his blue jeans and deep brown shirt.
By the time he tied his shoes, Brooke was ready.
Before moving with her, he pulled a cream polo shirt out of his footlocker and changed it. A clean shirt always made him feel better.
"Come on," Brooke said, leading the way toward the door.
The snoring from the others didn't stop, and they were able to reach the door without causing any changes in the rhythmic breathing or snoring. Getting the door open was another challenge all together.
The metallic knob creaked in Brooke's hands.
Wyatt scanned behind them, looking for any sign the others had heard them. He saw the bathroom door in the corner near his bed and remembered other times he had come back and hidden in that closet. It was not large enough for them both to fit, so if they had to come back that way, they would have to be careful.
The area outside the dormitory was lighter, but most of the lighting had been turned off for the nighttime. They stepped through quickly and Brooke pulled the door closed. In her haste, she almost slammed the door.
"Woah," Wyatt said, stepping beside her and trying to help settle the door in place. "That was too loud." The snoring inside had stopped and that scared Wyatt.
"Come on," Brooke said. "I think I woke them, so we had better get moving." She didn't wait for him as she raced off along the aisleway.
Wyatt stood for only a moment, watching her run. He couldn't quite understand what she was running for. She had said someone was inside their dormitory, but now they were running away from the doorway.
Shaking his head, he raced after her.
They crossed an orange line, and the shelving turned blue as the resonance slowed them. Crossing the separating lines wasn't as bad as traveling through their portals. The resonance that accompanied it served as a reminder that they had traveled a short distance through time or space.
After crossing that line, Brooke ducked into a gap between shelves. He followed, thinki
ng she would stop once she reached that gap. She didn't. They ran in silence for a few more minutes.
Breath came quickly as Wyatt struggled to keep up. Long runs were terrible. He never seemed to get his breathing under control. This was no different.
After crossing three aisles, Brooke stopped and turned to face him. Her chest rose and fell with her breath as she bent over with her hands on her knees.
"Were you running from something specific?" Wyatt asked, each word coming out between breaths. He turned his head and looked back the way they had come, certain someone would be following them. He saw no one.
"No," Brooke said, her voice carrying a bit of a laugh with it. "I just wanted to get far enough away."
"So where do you think that person you saw went?" Wyatt asked, stepping back to lean against the cardboard boxes on the shelves. The gap was small enough they could face each other, but it was tight.
Brooke shook her head, her smile fading slightly.
"What do you mean?" Wyatt asked. "Did you lie about that?"
Brooke nodded and smiled at him. "I had to get you out here so we could talk," she said. "I didn't like the way Aldan reacted when we got back here."
"Don't you think he has a reason to do that?" Wyatt asked.
"Should I?" Brooke asked, folding her arms and still smiling at him. She had her breathing mostly under control, but she did use her right hand to brush sweat out of her face.
Wyatt felt his own sweat falling into his eyes, but he blinked it away. The salty sweat stung his right eye, but he tried to ignore it.
"What are we doing here?" Wyatt asked. If she had lied to get him out of here, he wondered how she planned to get them back in.
"I want to know what else you saw," Brooke said. "What you saw when you left me to watch your earlier self. By the way"—she laughed lightly—"your earlier version looked worried. Kind of like you do now."
"I was," Wyatt said. "Although I don't remember that experience as clearly as when I lost my wrist terminal." He could remember seeing the later version of Hannah but the only difference between that visit and the one he had started with was Hannah's age. She might have gained a year during that time, or she could have spent some sleepless nights which would make her look older.
Dissonance (The Machina of Time Book 2) Page 19
