Whispering Pines

by Heidi Lang

  “Why wouldn’t we be?” Rae fiddled with a pencil.

  “You’ve been a little weird since last night. And I know it was probably a pretty traumatic thing with that whole creepy cabin and Ivan and the eyes.” Vivienne shuddered. She’d accidentally stepped on one of the eyes when she’d burst into the cabin last night. Honestly, Rae thought that was just about as traumatic as everything she went through herself. “But I also kind of feel like you’re maybe mad at me too? You know, for not telling you?”

  “You mean that you’ve been secretly working for Patrick and Green On! this whole time?” Rae turned and looked at her friend.

  Vivienne bit her lip. “It’s… I mean, I started there this summer, so before you were even here.”

  “You still could have told me.”

  “Part of the deal was I couldn’t say anything about it, since the internship program hadn’t officially begun yet. My mom helped set it up, and she didn’t want anyone to accuse Patrick of favoritism.”

  “Why are you working for him?”

  “Scholarship opportunities.”

  “You’re twelve.”

  “It’s never too soon to think about the future,” Vivienne deadpanned. She managed to keep her face serious for a full second, and then she cracked up. “Sorry. Okay, yeah, that’s a bunch of hooey. The honest reason? I think Patrick can help me find something.”

  Rae frowned. “What are you looking for?”

  Vivienne’s lips quirked in a challenge. “What are you looking for?”

  Rae hesitated. She’d told Caden about her dad, and he’d believed her. Maybe Vivienne would too. She opened her mouth, then shut it. She wasn’t ready to trust someone else with her secret. Not yet.

  She had thought Vivienne was a different person. Someone uncomplicated, but now she realized Vivienne had her own hidden agenda, and it changed the way Rae saw her.

  But maybe that was okay.

  “Perhaps I’ll tell you later,” Rae said. “If you tell me what you carry in that ridiculously oversize backpack of yours.”

  Vivienne laughed. “All right, we’ll have an exchange of secrets. Later.”

  “Then I guess we’re good,” Rae decided. “And Vivienne—thanks for coming through last night.”

  “Of course. What are friends for?” Vivienne nudged Rae with her shoulder. “If you need me, Rae-Rae, I’m there.”

  Rae’s eyes prickled slightly. After what Taylor did, she hadn’t known if she’d ever have a friend she could trust again.

  “Hey,” Caden said. Rae and Vivienne looked up.

  He stood in front of them, his face grayish and drawn, his movements stiff like he was still in pain. “What are you doing in school today?” Rae demanded. “You should be home resting!”

  “I missed two days this week. If I missed today, Ms. Lockett would probably hunt me down personally.”

  “Truth,” Vivienne said. She patted the desk in front of her, the one Alyssa had been using ever since Rae stole her old desk. “Sit with us today. If you want.”

  Caden looked at that desk, then at her, and finally at Rae.

  Rae gave him a small shrug and a smile.

  “Just today,” he said, carefully sitting down.

  As if on cue, Alyssa walked into the room, spotted Caden in her seat, and went pink. “Seriously?” She stalked toward them. “That’s my seat.”

  “Relax, Alyssa. You can sit next to Caden,” Vivienne said.

  “Why is Caden allowed to sit by you?” Alyssa demanded.

  The room went quiet, and Rae could feel all the other kids listening hard while pretending not to. The pressure of all that scrutiny reminded her too much of her old school, and she dug her hands into her seat, resisting the urge to run. Instead, she made herself speak. “Because Caden is my friend,” she said.

  Vivienne nodded. “Mine too.”

  Alyssa scowled. For a second, Rae thought she might start flipping over desks. But then her shoulders sagged. “Fine.” She dropped into the seat next to him. “Do me a favor and don’t murder any of us,” she told him.

  “I make no guarantees,” Caden said dryly.

  Rae hid a grin behind her hand as the loudspeaker crackled on, shouting out the morning’s announcements. She listened for anything about Ivan, but of course it was all boring stuff, like that day’s lunch menu, a reminder to sign up for after-school art lessons by next week, a plea from the Latin teacher to return her missing textbook. And then a new message at the end.

  “A reminder to all students: anyone caught throwing their garbage into the sinkhole will be given an automatic detention. Second infractions will result in suspension.”

  Vivienne raised her eyebrows at Rae. Rae shook her head. It was nice to have a reminder that normal here was still anything but.

  “And… would Rae Carter and Caden Price please report to the front office? Rae Carter and Caden Price, front office please.” The speaker went silent.

  Rae could feel her heart beating too fast, her face red. Had Ms. Lockett found out she and Caden had skipped school on Monday? Was she in trouble? She gathered her stuff and followed Caden into the hall, both of them quiet as they walked to the office. They stopped outside the door and looked at each other.

  “After you,” Rae said.

  “No, no, after you.” Caden waved a hand. “I insist.”

  “Don’t tell me you’re scared.”

  “Of course not! I mean, we faced the Unseeing. We can handle Ms. Lockett, right?”

  “I don’t know,” Rae said. “I might prefer to take my chances with the Unseeing.” She grinned and pulled open the door. But when she stepped inside, it wasn’t their vice principal waiting for them.

  It was Patrick.

  “Nice seeing you both again. Come in back with me, please.” He led them to Ms. Lockett’s empty office, gesturing that they should each take a seat and then closing the door behind them. Rae sat, but Caden stayed by the door, his arms folded across his chest.

  “Yesterday was a bit of a whirlwind. I trust you’re both recovered?”

  Rae nodded. Caden shrugged.

  “And… were there any details of the night you’d like to add? For instance, where, exactly, Ivan disappeared to? Or how?”

  Rae glanced at Caden. He looked straight ahead. “No,” he said simply. Last night, Rae had told Patrick that Ivan had vanished somehow, but she’d left out all the details because only Caden really knew what the Other Place was or how he’d sent Ivan back to it. And obviously Caden wasn’t talking.

  “Well.” Patrick steepled his fingers. “If you think of anything you’d like to add, I would be very interested in learning more. Regardless, we were able to clean up yesterday’s events smoothly and keep your names out of any public reports.”

  “Should we thank you for that?” Caden said.

  “If you’d like. But it’s really not your thanks I’m interested in.” He turned to Rae. “Ms. Carter. I have to admit, you have impressed me with your willingness to investigate, your sharp instincts, and your survival abilities. I believe you may have exactly the right combination of talents that would make you invaluable as part of my internship program.”

  Rae wasn’t sure what to say. What kind of internship required those types of talents? “Thank you,” she said slowly.

  Patrick flashed her one of his wide smiles, and now he turned to Caden as well. “Mr. Price. You strike me as someone who would be very difficult to work with. But with the right motivation, I believe you could be exactly the right fit for our team.”

  “The right motivation?” Caden frowned. “That sounds almost threatening.”

  “Oh, nothing like that.” Again with the wide smile. “I just believe we can help each other, you and I. I know there is a lot we could learn from you, and even more we can teach—”

  “No thanks,” Caden said.

  Patrick dropped the smile. “Are you sure?”

  “Definitely. I don’t want to get involved in… whatever it is you’re really
involved in.”

  Patrick turned to Rae. “And you?”

  Rae glanced at Caden. She might not know him that well yet, but she trusted him. And it had been a long time since she’d trusted anyone. If he didn’t want to work with Patrick, then neither did she. “Thank you for the opportunity, but I’m with Caden on this one.” She stood up.

  Patrick sighed and stood as well. He opened the door to let them out, but after Caden stepped outside, Patrick stopped Rae in the doorway. “What if I could help you?” he asked.

  “Help me how?”

  “I might have information that could lead you to your father.”

  Rae froze. It was like she was standing on that darkened stairwell all over again. She could race up it, into the light, and follow Caden out. Or she could go back down and see what else was in the basement. She turned slowly back to Patrick. “What could you possibly know about my dad?”

  “I know he was assigned to Operation Gray Bird.”

  “A Google search could tell you that.”

  “True. But I also know he found something. Something he wasn’t supposed to see.” Patrick leaned closer, and whispered, “An extraterrestrial.”

  Rae bit her lip to keep from gasping.

  “Just as I know who assigned him the contract in the first place,” Patrick continued softly.

  “Who?”

  “He was working on a new energy source.” Patrick watched her intently. “Who do you think would be interested in something like that?”

  It felt like too big a coincidence. “Green On!?” Rae said. For the second time, she wondered if maybe her mother had more than one reason for moving them out here. Before, she’d thought her mother might be trying to get away from something—but now, she considered that her mother might be conducting her own investigation, and what better place to be than Green On! headquarters?

  “Exactly so. I don’t have all the details… yet. But if you help me?” He shrugged. “I can certainly find them out.”

  Rae hesitated a moment longer. She could feel Caden watching her. He had promised to help her find her dad too. But if her dad really had taken a Green On! contract, then Patrick might be her best lead.

  She couldn’t trust Patrick—not if Caden didn’t, and especially not if Patrick was working for the very company that might be involved in her father’s abduction. But she also couldn’t walk away now.

  Rae turned to Caden. “I’m sorry,” she said. “But I have to do this.”

  Caden didn’t say anything, just shook his head and walked away. Rae’s stomach sank. She’d have to make him understand later.

  Patrick’s smile was wide and triumphant as he ushered her back into the office, closing the door behind her. “Okay, Ms. Carter. Let’s talk.”

  EPILOGUE { THREE DAYS LATER }

  Audrey Matsuoka detested this part of the lab. They were nearly a mile underground, the walls, floors, and ceilings all made of concrete, and everything illuminated by those horrid, headache-inducing fluorescent lights that constantly buzzed and flickered.

  Despite the chill—they always kept these tunnels at a brisk fifty-seven degrees—Audrey’s face felt flushed. “Look, Patrick,” she said. “You must see that this is not science. This is kidnapping.”

  “I don’t see that, Audrey, I really don’t,” Patrick said, not taking his eyes off the cell in front of him. “Thanks to our rift experimental team, we were able to recreate the rift opening and save this poor teenager. You have to admit, that is quite a scientific accomplishment.”

  Audrey hadn’t been on the rift experimental team, but she had heard about it. They’d reopened the rift, all right, for about thirty seconds—and three people on their team had died. And people thought nuclear was dangerous!

  “And now, we are merely keeping him safely contained for observational purposes,” Patrick finished.

  “To what end?” Audrey glanced inside the cell where a teenage boy slept on a long narrow bed, his body twitching every few minutes almost like he was trying to run from something in his sleep. And no wonder. She had heard from one of the lab techs that the boy had screamed for an hour straight when they first pulled him out until they’d finally been forced to tranquilize him. He’d been asleep ever since.

  They’d buzzed his head, clipped his nails, bathed him, and stuck him in a set of loose cotton pajamas the same bright green as the company’s hazmat uniforms. It made him look far too young and very innocent.

  “Here’s a question for you,” Patrick said. “What do you think would happen to a town like Whispering Pines if we released Mr. Price, and he turned out to be contaminated?”

  “Contaminated?” Audrey said, thinking of Vivienne and her unusual… affliction. An affliction that only Patrick knew about, since he made sure she got the medicine she needed to slow down its effects until a cure could hopefully be found.

  “Yes. Contaminated, diseased, plagued…” Patrick paused, obviously waiting for his words to soak in. “The Other Place could be crawling with all sorts of contagious things. You know, much like that cave you and your daughter explored.”

  Audrey winced, but refused to allow herself to be swayed. Patrick really just wanted a chance to study the boy more thoroughly, to run his little tests without oversight or disturbance. And this boy was a minor, with a family who missed him and deserved to know where he was.

  But what if he was contaminated somehow?

  “Just think of the nightmare we would have to deal with if we were to accidentally release a plague on our good citizens,” Patrick said, still in that reasonable voice he always used. “It certainly would interfere with our efforts to find your daughter’s cure.”

  Audrey couldn’t help picturing her Vivienne trapped in one of these cells, which would be her daughter’s fate if they never found a cure. Quickly, Audrey shoved that image from her mind. She was too practical to imagine such things. But being practical, she had to admit that Patrick made a point.

  Audrey risked one more glance in the cell. Really, it wasn’t that bad, she tried to reason. More of a bedroom, actually, than a cell at all. Except for the instruments beeping in the corner, taking constant measurements, and the walls made of shatterproof glass so Patrick and the others in his carefully selected department could observe.

  “I suppose we really don’t know enough about this Other Place,” Audrey hedged, already feeling her resolve crumbling.

  “Precisely. Which is why, for the time being, it is best that we keep this boy in our custody. Not just for his safety, but for everyone’s.”

  Audrey nodded. “Fine,” she sighed, knowing she’d lost this one and hating herself a little for it. “But you will send someone to his family’s house soon, letting them know that their son is safe?”

  Patrick smiled. “Of course, Audrey. You know how much I like things to be done thoroughly.”

  Running footsteps echoed loudly down the tunnel behind them as a woman rushed over, her black hair coming loose from its tight bun and her green lab coat flapping around her simple business attire. “Patrick!” she called.

  “Yes, Doctor Nguyen?”

  “There’s something you should see. We’ve finally reached the bottom of the sinkhole. And… we found something there.”

  “Well?” Patrick said.

  “You won’t believe it. We almost didn’t believe it ourselves.”

  “There is no need for dramatics,” Audrey said, annoyed. “Stop drawing it out.”

  “A spacecraft,” Dr. Nguyen said. “We found a spacecraft.”

  Audrey gaped, then managed to recover herself.

  Patrick’s smile was wide and satisfied. “Excellent.”

  “You’re not surprised?”

  “No, Doctor Nguyen. I’m not surprised. In fact, I’ve been expecting this for quite some time now.”

  * * *

  Audrey took the back roads carefully. There was very little light in these parts, which made the turns quite treacherous. And it was only too easy to sneak up on a
herd of deer, or worse.

  Audrey turned down Silence Lane. She didn’t normally like coming this way because of the rumors of a nineteenth-century ghost haunting these parts, but she had promised Vivienne that she would be home a half hour ago for their weekly family movie night, and this road was the shortest route.

  She tried focusing on the road, but her thoughts kept drifting back to the mysterious spacecraft. The one that Patrick had, apparently, been expecting…

  Her high beams illuminated something on the road directly in front of her: a tall boy with buzzed-short black hair wearing a green cotton pajama set.

  Shock hit Audrey like a bucket of ice water to the face, and she reacted instinctively, shoving the break pedal down to the floor. Rubber tires screeched in agony, but it was too late. Her car wasn’t going to stop in time.

  She yanked the wheel to the right, trees filling her whole vision as her car slid straight into a large oak.

  Bam!

  Pain seared across Audrey’s face, her vision filled with the white of her airbag. With shaking hands, she managed to unbuckle her seat belt, open the door, and slide into the cool night air. She leaned against the side of her car, her legs threatening to dump her into the damp leaves below.

  Her ribs burned with every breath, and when she ran her fingers over her numb face, they came away covered in blood.

  Audrey stayed leaning against her car for a long time, and then she pushed herself upright and, slowly and painfully, walked back up to the road.

  It was dark and empty in the moonlight, stretching away in both directions. There was no sign of the boy anywhere. But Audrey knew what she had seen, and she wasn’t the type of person prone to fantasy… It had been him.

  Audrey turned, her gaze sweeping the woods around her. Everything seemed too quiet, like the trees were waiting, and she had the uncomfortable feeling that something was watching her. Something that didn’t care about her well-being.

  Pressing a hand against her aching ribs, she carefully made her way back to her broken car and her cell phone and just hoped help wasn’t too far away. She wished she had worn something a bit warmer than a business skirt.