by S. E. Smith
It was as if they had time traveled to the horror filled world of Josef Mengele. They passed row after row of bodies. Some were whole while others were not. One thing they all had in common—they all died with expressions of pain and terror on their faces. Nausea began to churn in Sammy’s stomach until she knew she wouldn’t be able to keep from throwing up.
“I don’t…,” she tried to warn.
Daciana recognized the desperation in her voice. They picked up their pace. Sammy pushed ahead, uncaring if there were any soldiers outside the door. Pushing it open, she barely made it to the next building before her stomach revolted. She weakly clung to the metal siding as she heaved.
Once she was finished, she lifted a shaking hand to her mouth and wiped it across her lips. Tears burned her eyes, and she didn’t know if she would ever be able to erase the memory of what she saw. She lifted her head and stared at the morgue, willing herself to take control of her body again.
“I thought I was a monster, but it would appear that if I am, then I am not the only one,” Daciana quietly murmured.
Todd lifted his head. His eyes were still tightly closed and he stuck his bottom lip out. “You’re not a monster no more, Daciana. You’re part of our family,” he announced.
Sammy turned her head and looked over her shoulder at the other girl. Shock, confusion, and a flash of raw emotion swept across Daciana’s face. She looked at Sammy as if seeking help. All Sammy could do was nod her head in agreement. She would never do anything to alter the lovable, sweet soul that Todd had. If he could find it in his heart to love the She-Devil, then the other woman had better just accept it.
“You can open your eyes now,” Daciana said, lowering Todd to the ground.
“Are we going to go find Dust and Josie now?” Todd asked, looking back and forth between the two women.
“Yes,” they both replied at the same time.
Sammy returned Daciana’s smile. She might be crazy, but she was glad to have someone like Daciana on her side. If there was anyone besides Dust who could help them get out of this mess, it was a pissed off She-Devil.
Chapter Eighteen
Revelations:
Dust stood at the third floor window of the converted Science and Health building on the former grounds of Mount Hood Community College. He shoved his hands into his pockets and looked outside. The haze of green fog covered the area for as far as he could see. He used to remember the fog rolling in off the ocean in such thick banks that he could barely see his hand in front of his face. The green fog was like that in some places.
“Where does the fog come from?” he asked, as he continued to stare out the window.
His aunt looked up from where she was tending the vegetables growing along the railing. “We don’t know for sure. From the little we’ve been able to determine, there is a borderline along the mountain range where the green fog stops. Your uncle suspects that some fragments from the comet may have become imbedded in the mountains. The storms vary, but they are always the same. The fog gets thicker before lightning strikes. We’ve found small fragments and have been able to replicate a portion of what is going on. Would you like to see it?” Margery asked.
Dust turned and nodded. His aunt smiled at a young girl who was helping them. They both looked up when Josie appeared at the top of the stairs.
“Margery was about to show me something. Would you like to come?” Dust offered.
“If it keeps me from having to make firebombs and juggling them for entertainment, I’m game,” Josie dryly replied.
He grinned while his aunt laughed. “It is your own fault for showing off,” Margery teased.
“How was I to know I was being recruited for the children’s circus?” Josie defended with a good-natured smile.
“The little ones are the most fascinated by any new skill,” Margery shared.
“New skill?” Dust inquired with a frown.
Margery nodded. “We’ve noticed that young children are the most susceptible to the changes. This is why we are trying to learn as much as we can about the fragments that we’ve found,” she explained as they walked back down the stairs.
“I don’t understand,” he admitted. “What changes?”
“Perhaps showing you would be best,” Margery replied.
She pushed open a door and they entered a brightly colored room. Almost a dozen toddlers were playing. Four women looked up and smiled at them in greeting.
“This is one of our play areas. The mothers can find help and share the changes they are noticing with other mothers, our staff of doctors, and scientists,” Margery explained.
“Whoa!” Josie breathed.
They stopped and watched. One toddler waved his hand over a stack of blocks. The blocks spun and locked together to form a building that looked like an architect had designed it. A little girl covered herself with a pink blanket and giggled before reappearing under a blue one across the room.
“They… are like us?” Josie asked.
Margery chuckled. “Luckily not like you or we’d need a bigger fire department,” she teased, before sobering. “But yes, all are enhanced or gifted.”
“I saw you… on the bridge. What exactly are your powers?” Josie curiously asked.
Margery looked down at her hands. “I can create a barrier—for a few seconds. The longest I’ve been able to do it was for almost a minute. It drains me, though,” she admitted, looking at Josie. “I know that you can control fire. I haven’t asked you, Dust, but what can you do? I saw you fade out during your illness.”
“He can do more than that,” Josie started to say before she bit her lip.
“I can do some things,” he admitted without going into detail.
“I’ve only met a few who have more than one gift. Those who have more than one power, usually have a predominate skill and a minor one,” Margery replied.
“Like Mendoza,” Josie commented.
“Mendoza?” Margery inquired.
Dust looked at Josie. “Major Mendoza at the Cheyenne Mountain Complex. She could tell when someone was telling a lie, but she could also emit an electrical charge. Not far from her body, but far enough to make you careful not to get too close,” he explained.
“Ah, a truth-sensor. We have one here,” Margery replied with a nod. “Mario. It is hard to play poker with him. He always knows if you are bluffing.”
Josie snorted at the joke. “I’ll remember that,” she replied.
“Touch!”
Dust looked down at a little girl who had toddled over and stood in front of him. He looked at his aunt with a puzzled frown. She motioned for him to touch the little girl’s outstretched hand.
“This is Rebecca. We aren’t sure of her exact talent yet, but we believe she can show us things that might happen. Several times we’ve documented some of the things she shared and watched as they’ve come true. It only happens when she demands that you touch her, though,” Margery explained.
He squatted down and studied the little girl for a moment. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to know his future. She tilted her head and looked at him with a serious expression.
“Touch,” she repeated, this time in a softer voice.
He could see the look of hurt in her eyes when he didn’t immediately hold out his hand. Taking a deep breath, he lifted his hand and pressed his palm against Rebecca’s.
Dust felt a small static shock when he touched the girl’s hand, but he didn’t pull away. Instead, he remained still. The sound of gasps made him turn his head and look up at where Josie and his aunt had been. Instead of seeing their faces, there were ghostly apparitions before him. He could see Daciana, Sammy, and—Todd. The visible fury pouring off of Daciana was almost tangible. She was in the form of the She-Devil with wings—similar to her previous form at the old school gym where they had fought.
His gaze moved to Sammy. She was kneeling on the ground with her arms wrapped protectively around Todd. The little boy’s blond head was turned away from Dust, and
he couldn’t see Todd’s face. Todd’s right arm lay limply stretched out. Dust took a hissing breath when he saw the dark red liquid running down Todd’s arm and pooling on the ground. Shaken, his gaze jerked back to Sammy’s grief-stricken expression. There was no way he could miss the agonizing sorrow ripping through her. A second later, he saw her body jerk and fall to the side in slow motion.
His silent shout of denial was lost in the growing horror of helplessness to stop what was happening. He looked at Daciana. The She-Devil viciously turned on the soldier who had shot Sammy. In her rage, she didn’t see the other soldiers in formation. Dust was flooded with despair as he watched Daciana’s body fly backwards. Long spikes connected to cables protruded from her shoulders and thighs where the soldiers had fired on her. Daciana’s haunting screams of agony filled the air when the force of the projectiles nailed her to the side of the metal building where Sammy and Todd were cowering. Before she could fade out, another spike pierced the center of her chest, ripping through her fragile, beating heart.
Dust, unable to watch any more, pulled his hand free and hung his head to hide the agonizing grief that left him gasping for air. He barely felt Josie’s hand on his shoulder. He looked at the little girl. She stared back at him in silence.
“Can it be changed?” he demanded in a hoarse voice.
“Yes,” Rebecca replied with a smile.
“I’m going with you,” Josie stated.
Dust shook his head. “No, you’re not,” he growled, stuffing a can of supplemental milk into his jacket pocket.
“You didn’t see me there, did you?” Josie demanded.
Dust turned and glared at Josie. She—of course—didn’t back down. She had been driving him crazy ever since the encounter with Rebecca over an hour before. Grinding his teeth in frustration, he tried to calm his agitation.
“No, I didn’t see you there,” he admitted.
Josie looked at him in triumph. “That means I should go. If I go, it changes the course of Rebecca’s vision,” she reasoned.
Dust opened his mouth to argue, but closed it with a frown. Could changing the course of the future be that easy? If he went alone as planned, he’d be creating the outcome that Rebecca had shown him, whereas if Josie went with him, her presence could shift the odds in their favor and stop what he had seen from happening.
“Josie…,” he began before he shook his head.
He turned his face away from her and stared out of the window. The memory of what he had seen shook him. Yet… He turned back when he felt Josie’s hand on his arm.
”Together we can do this,” she quietly said.
He started to nod his head when she slipped her arms around his neck. His lips parted in surprise when she pressed a kiss to them. She slowly pulled back when he didn’t respond. A rueful smile curved her lips.
“Josie,” he protested again, this time for a different reason.
She pressed the tips of her fingers against his lips. Her mouth drooped a little and she shielded the look in her eyes from his by focusing on his lips. He could feel the slight tremble in her touch.
“It was worth a try,” she replied in a deceptively light voice before she stepped back and cleared her throat, her eyes never met his. “I’ll be ready to go when you are.”
Dust nodded. “Uncle Dan is going to go over a map of the compound with us. He was in the Air National Guard and knows the base,” he said.
“Sounds good. Maybe he can help you find out where Sammy and the others might be,” she added.
“That’s what I’m hoping,” he confessed.
“There are guards everywhere, so you’ll have to be careful. I’ll warn you now, any civilians you come across in this section are soldiers in disguise or civil servants working for General Troyfield. I’m not exaggerating when I say the man is insane and extremely dangerous. You’ll have to be very cautious. Fortunately, the civilians live in this section of Asylum,” he said, indicating the location on the map. “Troyfield doesn’t trust anyone and has cordoned off the military side from the civilian side. This building is the command center and heavily protected. Your friends would have been taken to the medical center, which is located here,” Dan explained, pointing to another location on the map.
“You said that you had some people working on the inside?” Dust asked, looking at the map and memorizing where things were.
“Yes. They have been apprised of your rescue mission and are expecting Josie and you. One of our contacts will be waiting for you when you arrive,” Dan explained.
“How will we know if he or she is a good guy or a bad guy?” Josie questioned.
“He’ll be wearing sunglasses,” Dan replied.
Both Josie and Dust looked at Dan with a raised eyebrow. “That’s it? Sunglasses?” Dust repeated in disbelief.
Dan shrugged. “Inside. It was the best we could do,” he grudgingly admitted.
“There is an electrical building here. This is where you need to meet him. It isn’t like the building is all that large and definitely not where you’d find someone just standing around,” Dan defended.
Dust pursed his lips and nodded. He looked up from the map when he heard a knock on the door. Turning his head, he saw his aunt’s worried expression.
“Dan, you need to come see this,” Margery said in a voice threaded with urgency.
Dan frowned. “What is it?”
Margery looked past them to the windows. She walked across the room to look outside. They were facing east toward the river and mountains. Dan followed her.
“Can you stop it?” he murmured.
“No,” Margery answered.
“What is it?” Dust asked, walking back over to the window where he had been standing a few minutes before.
“The fog is closer than it has ever been before,” his aunt replied.
Dust and touched the glass, his attention focused on the streaks of green lightning. He blinked when he heard his aunt and uncle’s startled hiss. Looking at them, he saw shock cross Josie’s face.
“What is it?” he demanded, feeling that sinking sensation in his stomach again.
Josie lifted her hand and touched the corner of her eye. “Your eyes…. There’s a green glow to them—the same color as the fog,” she said.
“It’s not only that. Dust, look at where your hand is,” Margery instructed.
Dust turned his head and gazed at the outline of his hand against the glass. Slivers of green shards glittered in a perfect contour of his hand. He slowly moved his fingers, watching as the shards followed the motion.
He stiffened when he felt the impact of a bolt of the green lightning as it connected with the shards. His uncle wrapped his arm around his aunt and defensively twisted in an effort to escape the implosion of glass at the strike.
Fear that Josie and his family would be injured by the flying glass swept through him. The world around him grew brighter and for a fraction of a second, he felt like he could see into the center of the universe. The world slowed as the green fog enveloped him. The green shards floated above his outstretched palm, jagged bars of electricity dancing between the particles and Dust’s hand.
He closed his eyes as the energy pulsed inside him. The changes that had started inside him shortly after the crash were solidifying into understanding. Memories that had been gathered in those first few days of the comet became clearer. The rain of cosmic debris was not what they’d thought it was.
“Not a comet…,” he murmured, seeing the fragments for what they were—knowledge—a gift—from a distant world that had lived and died billions of years before life had existed on this planet.
Opening his eyes, he saw the world around them through new—almost alien—eyes. The crystals fell into his palm, and he closed his fingers around them. He and the others who had been changed were infants in the vast universe. They were a new hope for the future.
Chapter Nineteen
Changing a moment in time:
Josie stepped closer to
him. She held her hair back to keep it from flying in her face where the chilled wind blew through the hole in the window. Dust turned and looked down at his aunt and uncle. His aunt had her hand raised, holding back the fragments of glass that had imploded inward. Without thinking, he waved his hand and the glass reformed.
“What… just happened?” Josie asked in a cautious voice.
Dust turned and looked at her. Surrounding her was a transparent light, and he recognized what the glow meant. Josie was made of fire—a critical element needed for life. He looked down at his aunt again. She controlled time—holding a fragment of the cosmos suspended for a brief moment with her hands. He swallowed as the knowledge flooded him. What he still did not know was who and what he was and what his place was in the larger scheme of this new world.
“I… don’t know,” he said, unwilling to share what he had just experienced until he had a chance to understand it better.
He bent over and helped his aunt off the floor. His uncle stood and wrapped his arm around Margery when she reached out to him in wonder. They looked at the window and then back at him. He could see the concern in his aunt and uncle’s eyes. Unsure, he looked back at Josie to see her reaction.
She was looking at him with a raised eyebrow and an expectant expression—as if waiting to see if he would pull a rabbit out of his ear next. There was no hesitation or doubt in her eyes, just acceptance and curiosity. He shot her a grateful look before turning his attention back to his aunt and uncle.
“When this is over, I’d like to see just what you are capable of, Dust,” Margery said in a shaken voice.
Dust nodded his head in agreement. “Is there anything else we should know before we leave?” he inquired.
“No, we’ll escort you to the drop-off point. You’ll have to make your own way from there. You know where the guard towers are. There is an underground drainage tunnel that we’ve used in the past. Unfortunately, it comes up on the civilian side, and you will have to get to the military side on your own. The electrical shed is on the other side of the wall. Over the past year, Troyfield has had his engineers reinforce the perimeter. We used to have a relatively safe way to get inside from the civilian border, but things have changed. Our contact felt this was the only place where you could get over the wall without being seen. The problem is you’ll have to scale a ten foot wall topped with razor wire in broad daylight,” Dan said.
