The Dark Rift: Ascension (The Dark Rift Book Series 1)

by RM Brewer

  "Are you Leah? Leah Fenton?"

  Leah looked on the verge of toppling out of the chair. "It depends. Who wants to know?"

  "Did you grow up on a farm south of Crescent City?" the young woman asked.

  Mei and Leah’s eyes met. "Why don’t you tell me who you are, first? Then, I’ll answer," Leah responded.

  "My name is Abbey. More importantly, my mother’s name was Kari."

  Mei looked at Leah for recognition, then remembered. Leah’s cousin who disappeared was named Kari. She wondered if this was some sort of trick.

  "Your mother’s name was Kari? What does that have to do with me?"

  Lowering her voice, Abbey said, "My mother told me to watch for you. So many people were brought here ... she said you might end up with us eventually. You’re her cousin. I can see the family resemblance just by looking at you. I'm here to help you."

  Leah just stared at Abbey, her eyes moving up and down, searching the young woman's face.

  "She said you might be a little reluctant to believe me, so she told me to show you this." Abbey held out a necklace. On the end was a small golden strawberry. Further up the chain, a gold dragonfly was suspended, seemingly hovering in mid-air.

  Mei watched Leah grab the arms of her chair and hang on.

  "What? What are you saying? Is Kari alive? Is she here?"

  "No. My mom passed away over a year ago. I know it’s a lot to take in, but she wanted me to help you if you ever ended up trapped here. She thought you would probably search for her."

  Leah’s eyes filled with tears. "I looked for her for so long …"

  "Yes, and I’d like to hear all about it, but we need to go now. Come with me. Once they get done reading the names, we won’t be able to get out of here."

  "You said there’s a way out." Mei butted in on their conversation. "Where? It looks like all the doors are guarded." Abbey looked at her, confused. "Oh, I’m sorry. My name is Mei. I’m with Leah."

  "Okay, but we have to be discreet. We’ll get out through the back of the cafeteria. Let’s move up there like we’re going to get some food and I’ll show you where to go."

  Mei wondered if this was another trap, but realized leaving with this stranger might be their only option. "I’m sorry, but where are you taking us?"

  The young woman looked anxious. "There's a way out through the supply area. Like I said, we should go now."

  "Leah, what do you want to do? I’ll follow you if you want to go with her," Mei said.

  "We have to, don’t we? If we wait here, we might never find the others," Leah said, pulling her bent cane up to stand on wobbly legs.

  "Abbey, you’ll have to give me a hand. Leah’s a little bit stoned from pain medication."

  Abbey smiled at her aunt. "I guess you and my mother have a lot in common. Did you happen to try the pink pills?" Abbey said, pointing to the medical kit in Mei’s hand.

  "Why, yes, I did. And, I have to say, they beat Mary Jane hands down. Give me a hand, won’t you, so that we can get the hell outta here?" Leah said.

  Mei and Abbey helped Leah to her feet and the three made their way toward the cafeteria. "Please do what I say. We don't have a lot of time. Both of you get a tray and sit at that table over by the kitchen door. I need to talk to someone. I’ll come and get you later," Abbey said.

  "Let’s put Leah at the table and I’ll go get us some food," Mei said, dragging a smiling Leah in tow. Mei and Abbey gently lowered her to the chair and Abbey left the area, blending into the masses of people circling the cafeteria entrance.

  "Last chance. We can always find a place to hide amongst all these people. Are you sure you want to do this, Leah? I’m not sure we can trust her." The two women watched Abbey sit down at a table in the center of the cafeteria and strike up a conversation with the man sitting next to her.

  "What choice do we have? Say, I’m getting the munchies something fierce. Can you fill up a tray for us?" Leah said, looking weary, yet a little bit rejuvenated, probably by the mention of food, Mei thought.

  Approaching the endless buffet set out before her, Mei didn’t know where to start. It looked like no expense was spared on this meal and she loaded the tray full of food, filling her pockets with fruit and whatever else she could conceal. She sat the tray down on the table between them. Looking at the food made her realize how hungry she was. She smiled at Leah as they wolfed it down. A few odd looks and stares from others in the cafeteria told them they better slow down and not eat as if they’d been chased and starved for three days. "This must be kind of like the last supper for them before whatever happens. They all seem so happy, but no one’s talking about where they’re going or anything."

  "Maybe they all took some of those wonderful little pink pills," Leah said. "Say, you don’t think they put anything in the food, do you?"

  "It’s a little late for us to think about that now," Mei said, tossing her fork down on top of the empty plate that once held three servings of mashed potatoes and gravy. "If they drugged the food, we’re both in for a very long day. I’m more concerned about where Abbey went. You seem pretty convinced she’s telling the truth."

  "She looks like I remember Kari. Well, in a way. Of course, she’s quite a bit older than my cousin was the last time I saw her. I've looked for Kari since we were little girls. All that time, I thought she was still alive, even though both our families thought she was dead. And, it turns out she was underground the entire time. I only wish we'd found out sooner ... I have so many questions. I hope Abbey can give us some answers."

  Their conversation was interrupted by some sort of scuffle in the auditorium. It looked like a fight was breaking out at the table Abbey was sitting at moments before. Two men were shouting and pushing each other back and forth. At one point, one man took a tray filled with food and threw it against the wall, drawing the attention of the security guards, who started to make their way over to the scuffle. Mei felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Abbey.

  "Come now, while they’re distracted." Abbey motioned to the two women to follow her. They went through the door just beyond their table. The door led into a hallway next to the kitchen. A bank of elevators sat at the end of the hallway. Abbey stepped toward the elevators and waved a key card in front of a security panel. The doors opened and Mei helped Leah inside. Abbey punched a button and Mei could tell they were moving upwards. They traveled for about twenty seconds and came to a stop. They exited the elevator into an area that looked like a large storeroom. Mei was startled by a man’s voice calling out.

  "Hi, Abbey. What brings you to the farm today?"

  "Hi, George. Just bringing a couple of pickers for a last collection," Abbey said. Mei saw a confused expression form on the man’s face as he watched Leah hobbling along. She shot a glance at Abbey. "I thought the heat in the greenhouse might help her arthritis out a little, too. I don’t think anyone cares about production today anyway, do you?"

  Mei was relieved Abbey was prepared to cover for Leah.

  The man smiled and shook his head. "I guess not. You go ahead, but don't linger too long, okay? We're all headed down to the waiting area. Everyone will be leaving soon. If you stay too long, you’ll miss the transport."

  "Thanks. We’ll be down in a few minutes," Abbey said.

  They walked down a hallway that gradually became brighter with each step, passing a window overlooking a greenhouse almost the same size as the auditorium they came from. Mei looked over to see several people pushing carts of fruits and vegetables in the aisles between the rows of planting beds, headed for the elevator to take them back to the auditorium. The space was enormous and the warmth emitted from it penetrating, even in the hallway.

  Abbey motioned toward some stairs. "We'll need to get to the planting beds." As they turned to make their way to the gardens, the shriek of an alarm blared out. Security lights flashed in the corridor. Abbey ran toward a door at the end of the hall. "Come quickly. Follow me."

  Chapter 27

  Jodi
e and Isaiah ran through the corridors toward the auditorium shown on the floor plan. The smell of food was strong and they could discern a gentle murmur of voices filling the space between the alarm blasts. They dove into a recessed doorway when they heard people talking nearby in the hallway ahead.

  "We’re moving ahead now. Something has compromised the system. It’s time to go. Get to the docking station," someone called out.

  "Isaiah, my dad told me they’ll be getting on trains," Jodie whispered as they sprawled on the floor inside the alcove, trying to peer around the corner into the hallway without being seen. "They’ll be going right into the location where the blast will be the worst. We have to get them out of here."

  "How can we do that in time? They won't listen to us. Besides, they all have a chip in their necks. They’ll die if we take them out."

  Jodie felt helpless. There was nothing to be done. She knew she needed to warn the people, find Mei and Leah, stop her father from killing himself in the blast and get everyone out to safety. The knowledge that she probably could do none of those things forced her to her feet. She had to try, so started running again, toward the auditorium, toward the danger. As she ran, Isaiah called out for her.

  "Stop," Isaiah yelled. "The security wall, it’s closing."

  She felt his hand on her arm, pulling her back. She turned to fight him and noticed the walls closing in. She grabbed his hand and he yanked her back toward him. The two security panels slammed shut in front of her, closing off the hallway completely.

  "Dammit. Oh, God, Isaiah. We’ll never find Mei and Leah now." The thought of Mei possibly dying by the hand of her mother enraged Jodie. She fought Isaiah as he continued to try to pull her back.

  "We have to go, Jodie. We have to leave now, before your dad … before he sets off that explosive."

  The sound of his voice brought her back to reality and she relented, realizing they would die if they didn’t move. With the security door blocking the hallway, there was nothing else they could do. "Okay, okay. Maybe they’re already out. Maybe they never went in there to begin with. Let’s go." Jodie held the map up to the light to find a way back to the medical area. As they neared their destination, Isaiah pulled on her arm to stop her.

  "What? Why are you stopping? We need to keep moving."

  "I have to tell you something--."

  "Tell me when we meet the others. We don’t have time." Jodie could tell by the tone of his voice and the look on his face, what he had to tell her was going to be bad news. She broke away and ran down the hall. She could hear Isaiah following. They burst into the medical room as Nick was applying a bandage to a woman's neck.

  "Jodie. I'm so happy to see you," Nick yelled above the sound of the alarm.

  Jodie looked around the room, realizing there were people she didn't know.

  "These people are the Martins. You know, Noah's friend's family, who were missing? That's Tim and his father, David," Christy said, pointing to a boy sitting next to a man tied to a chair. "Nick is taking a tracking device out of Bonnie's neck. You know about the chips, right?"

  Jodie nodded and looked over at the boy. "I'm happy to see you're okay. Fester, isn't it? Noah was pretty worried about you. Can I ask why David is tied to a chair?"

  "He works for Gypsum. He keeps mumbling something about getting on a train, but we thought we'd keep him for awhile," Nick said.

  "Good man, Nick." Jodie knew David had missed his opportunity to leave now that the security doors were shut. What he didn't know is that Nick probably saved his life. All those people waiting for the train were going to die. "Where's Bob?" Jodie asked. From Nick's expression, she could tell something must have gone very wrong.

  Nick shifted on his feet, his eyes full. "After we jumped off the train, he got us in here and we made our way to a medical room. Some guys found us there. Bob didn't make it out."

  Jodie stared at Nick, not moving, barely breathing. "What do you mean, he didn't make it out? Where is he?" No one answered immediately. "Where is he?"

  "I'll take you to him," Isaiah responded.

  Jodie felt everything slipping away. Her parents, Bob, Mei ... she didn't know if she wanted to move on. She thought maybe she would send the rest of the group on their way and stay with Bob. "There's no time. I don't know how you got down here, Isaiah, but you need to get everyone out. This place is gonna come down around us. You need to get them above ground and away from this part of the state as fast as you can."

  Isaiah nodded. "We’ll have to go back in the direction where Bob is."

  Nick looked out into the hallway beyond her. "Tell me we’ll be meeting Mei and Leah on the way out. Please tell me that."

  Jodie looked up at his face. She thought he looked sad, yet he had an underlying anger seeping through. "I’m sorry. We tried, but we couldn’t get there in time. We just have to hope they find a way out."

  Nick’s eyes overflowed as he shoved medical supplies into a pillowcase. "Let’s go," Nick said. He turned to leave the room, his face wet from the tears. "David, you stay between me and Isaiah. It wouldn't be a good idea to try to run."

  David Martin responded with a grunt, stepping between Nick and Isaiah. Bonnie Martin and Christy followed, with Noah and Fester leading Hunter along with them, attached to a makeshift leash fashioned out of medical tubing.

  Isaiah moved toward the door. "Alright, everyone. No lingering. We need to go back to the medical room, where we can take an elevator up the same way Evan and I came down. Let’s go." Isaiah opened the door and headed down the hallway. Jodie followed, with everyone else behind and slowed only when they came to the medical area.

  Jodie knew this must be where Bob was and tried to mentally prepare herself for whatever she would see. She turned to look into the room. A body covered with a sheet lay in the middle of the floor in a large pool of dark blood. Two other men, dressed in combat uniforms, lay dead near the covered body. Jodie stumbled into the room and fell on her knees. She pulled back the sheet to look at Bob. His face was a pale shade of grey, his body consumed by death. Her emotions were confused. A mixture of grief, anger and regret seemed to pull her into a dark place where she felt completely alone.

  "Jodie … he was … he died trying to save us. Bob was a good man," Nick said, kneeling down next to her and wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

  Isaiah turned to push the rest of the group back. "Keep the kids back for a minute, okay?" he said.

  Jodie leaned over, close to Bob. "I'm so sorry, Bob. I wish I'd never got you involved in this." She looked up trying to see David Martin through the window, hatred seeping through every cell of her body. Before she could control herself, she started moving toward him, trying to shove Nick and Isaiah out of her way. They grabbed her arms and pushed her against the wall.

  "We can deal with him later. We have to go now," Isaiah commanded.

  Jodie was aware of being lifted off her feet, carried through several rooms and eventually, pulled into an elevator. She leaned against the wall, held upright by caring hands. She could feel blackness creeping into her vision, then the caress of Christy’s voice and coolness touching her skin. She watched as Christy poured liquid out of a plastic bottle onto a piece of cloth and dabbed her face. For a moment, she let the sensation soothe her, but then reality crept back in, shoving her again into consciousness, immersing her in the pain she’d retreated from. She was losing all of them, her mother and father, Bob, Mei and Leah … there was nothing she could do about any of it. But she was alive and they had to get out. As the elevator rose to the surface, she tried to gather her wits. She pulled Christy’s hand from her face. "Thank you. I’m okay." Turning her attention to Isaiah, she said, "Where did this elevator start … I mean, where will we end up?"

  "In an office building, about two hours north of Crescent City. We’ll need to travel further inland as fast as we can. I'm not sure where we'll be safe, actually. Are you okay?"

  Jodie nodded. "I ... we need to try and warn people to get away from the
coast."

  The elevator came to a smooth stop and Isaiah pulled out a piece of Mylar film, placing it against the palm reader. The doors opened slowly, bathing them in a dim green light.

  "What's that?" Jodie asked.

  "It's your mother's handprint. Your dad gave it to me to activate the elevator," Isaiah said.

  The mention of her father brought tears to Jodie's eyes. She fought to keep them from overflowing. "Better keep it. You never know when we might need to get a pass into hell again," Jodie said.

  Isaiah moved up to look outside the office windows and sighed heavily. "Thank God. My SUV is still out there. It’ll be a tight fit, but we can all pack in. Let’s go."

  * * *

  Mei and Leah crept around the side of a planting bed, waiting for a signal from Abbey. After the alarm started to sound, an announcement was made to evacuate to the planting area immediately. Armed guards patrolled the gardens, making sure that everyone left. Once they were satisfied the area was clear, the guards left and Abbey reappeared. She motioned them toward her and they moved through a doorway and into the next planting area. Once the door was closed behind them, they could barely make out the alarms sounding in the next room. Mei was relieved not to have the noise blaring in her ears. She was amazed by the size of the area before them, which appeared to be at least ten acres of planting beds. Bright lights hung on pendants suspended from the ceiling, giving it an eerie sort of daylight glow surrounded by darkness.

  "Come with me," Abbey said, leading them to the other side of the planting area to a small patch of low growing vines.

  Mei recognized the scent immediately. "Strawberries, right?"

  Abbey smiled. "Yep. Not just any strawberries, though. These were my mom’s."

  Leah walked in the aisle between the planting beds, running her hands gently over the plants, picking a berry, bringing it to her face and inhaling deeply.

  Mei pulled Abbey closer and spoke quietly. "You know, this is really beautiful, but I can’t help thinking we need to move a little faster to get the hell outta here."