The Calling

by Jill Sanders

  Joleen walked into his arms and kissed him. “It’s good to be home.”

  Spending the night with Joleen in her bed felt somehow like coming home. Maybe because they were back on their own world or maybe it was because, now, he knew that there were other things out there that existed. Whatever the reason, he slept better than he had in weeks.

  The following morning, Joleen woke up and chatted with Lane and then crawled back in bed with him.

  “Let’s sleep in,” she said as she snuggled against his chest again.

  They slept until after noon, then showered and headed into town to have lunch at the café. He laughed when she ordered breakfast instead of a burger or something else.

  “Bacon,” Joleen sighed. “I don’t think I’ve ever gone this long without it before.”

  Mason chuckled. “We were only gone for two nights.”

  “It seemed longer,” she replied between bites.

  He frowned. “It did, didn’t it?”

  “It was probably the lack of anything other than pancakes.” She smiled. “Still, just knowing that my mother…”

  When her words dropped off, he glanced up at her. Seeing the sadness there, he reached across the table and took her hand in his.

  “I’m so sorry.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t think I will be able to eat pancakes ever again without thinking of her.”

  He smiled. “Just knowing that she’s safe is rewarding. She held out so long for a chance to see you again.”

  Joleen smiled. “I’m very thankful,” she said, but her eyes were still full of tears.

  “Are you going to talk to your parents?” he asked.

  She frowned and shook her head. “No, not unless they bring it up. In which case, I may leave the whole… parallel world thing out of the story.”

  He nodded. “I’ve been thinking about it. I mean, we both know what we went through, yet as a scientist, I would demand proof from anyone who told me a story like what we have.”

  “Agreed.” Joleen sighed. “I’m still having a difficult time believing I came from ooze.”

  He squeezed her hand. “If you think about it, all of us, everything actually, came from ooze.”

  She shrugged. “I suppose so. I mean, if you believe in…”

  “Science?” he jumped in.

  “My parents are very religious,” she reminded him.

  “Right. What do you believe?”

  “Well, after everything that’s happened to us over the past few days, I’m leaning more towards science,” she admitted.

  When Carla stopped by and filled their coffees again, Mason almost asked her about her heritage. Almost. Until he remembered they were in a very public place.

  “Thanks, Carla,” Joleen said as if nothing was amiss.

  “It appears as if the two of you have worked up an appetite,” Carla said with a wink before moving on to another table.

  He glanced over just as Joleen’s face turned a pretty shade of pink. She looked even more attractive that she had the night before, when he’d showed her exactly how he felt about her. Even if he hadn’t said the words yet.

  “We’re supposed to meet Jacob in half an hour,” she reminded him.

  “Right.” He switched gears from dreaming about Joleen to all the questions he’d come up with to figure out exactly what had happened last year. What all of it had to do with Joleen. He also wanted to make sure that it was true that Thanatos wouldn’t be able to follow them here to this world.

  He needed more information on how they had supposedly locked the god away over a year ago and yet he had just been on the other world. Could it have something to do with time moving differently between the two worlds?

  As Joleen drove towards the field that held the silo, Stinky hung his head out the window, forcing Mason to sit with the dog hovering just over his shoulder.

  “It’s a dog’s life.” Joleen chuckled. “Does he do that all the time?”

  He nodded. “Yeah, the trip down here was pretty much just like this.” He reached back and patted the dog’s head.

  “It was a good idea to bring him along.” She glanced at him. “I’m glad you decided to come down to Hidden Creek. I don’t think I could have gone through any of that without you.”

  He reached over and took her hand in his. “You’re blowing my mind, you know that, right?”

  She nodded her head. “I’ve blown mine too. I would have never known that I could travel between worlds.”

  “Phasing between them,” he said. “At least, that’s my working theory. It would explain why time is different. Did you ever wonder why your mother claimed she’d been left alone there for only a year instead of sixteen, but the place showed signs of others dwelling there recently? Her journal stopped at a point not long ago, after you left. Not to mention, the two of you appeared to be close to the same age.”

  Joleen was silent. “Are you saying… That, as far as my mother went, that I’d only been gone for a short time. Not sixteen years?” she asked.

  “Think about it.” He turned to her as she parked her car next to Jacob’s. “We spent two nights there and less than ten minutes had passed here. Time really did move different there. By my calculations, either your mother spent four thousand six hundred and eight years waiting for you to return or time was actually different. Either that, or you can time travel as well as phase between worlds.”

  “What?” She shook her head in disbelief. “That doesn’t… What?” She laughed.

  He pulled out his notepad where he’d done the math that morning before she’d woken up.

  “If you assume that one minute here equals two hundred eighty-eight minutes on the other world, then the sixteen years you spent growing up here, living with the Hughes, would equate to…”

  “Four thousand six hundred and eight years,” Joleen said softly as she ran her eyes over his math. “So, how is that possible?”

  “Time shifts,” he said, pointing to his own theory. “It’s the only explanation. Your mother mentioned something about Roy leaving a few days earlier. I had assumed that the man had stuck it out with her there, but now I’m not so sure. I think that for your mother, it’s only been about a year since she left you with the Hugheses.”

  “But she’s been talking to me through that rock, my entire life,” Joleen offered up.

  “For her, it could have been like watching a movie in fast-forward. She could have been giving you the highlights. Remember, she said she could see events on the monitor before they happened in your time.”

  “This is… confusing.” She glanced out the windshield.

  “That’s why I need answers.” He glanced to where Jacob was walking towards them across a field. “Hopefully, we can find those answers here.”

  “Afternoon.” Jacob shook Mason’s hand as his eyes ran over the two of them, then he crouched down and gave some attention to Stinky.

  “This is the famous Stinky?” Jacob laughed as his dog let out a couple of nervous or happy farts before racing off to chase a few birds in the field.

  “Sorry,” Mason told Jacob, who was laughing at the dog. “When he gets nervous or excited… he tends to let it out.”

  “He’s got a perfect name then,” Jacob joked. “The silo entrance is this way.” He started walking in the direction he’d come from.

  They had dressed for a hike through an old silo, wearing jeans, boots, and a jacket since the weather called for rain later that evening. He hadn’t wanted to walk into this unprepared. He also carried a large bag with all his equipment to take readings and samples.

  “I’ve opened it up for you,” Jacob said as they approached an old metal doorway.

  “You aren’t coming in with us?” Joleen asked. Concern flooded her voice.

  “No.” Jacob sighed. “Unfortunately, I’m needed back at the office today. The place has been cleaned out recently. We actually auctioned off a lot of the old military parts earlier this year. The funds helped pay for our new
patrol cars.” Jacob smiled. “You should be good to search through the entire place. Just inside the door is a bag of things to help you out. Flashlights and a map of the facility. I leave them in there just in case I need to check the place out occasionally.”

  “I printed a map of the facility out,” Mason said, pulling out his printout from earlier.

  “Once you’re done, you can just flip the lock and secure the padlock. I’ll swing by later tonight to check on the place. If you need anything,” Jacob said, “give me a call.”

  “Thanks.” Mason shook his hand again and they watched him leave. Stinky rushed up to them, completely covered in mud.

  “He’s earning his name today,” Joleen joked, then squealed as the dog shook himself, sending mud splatters all over them. “Thanks for that,” she said down to the dog.

  “Let’s head in,” Mason suggested as he pulled out his own flashlights.

  “So,” Joleen said as they started down the narrow steps, “do you really believe this place is connected to everything?”

  “I guess we’re going to find out,” he replied, making sure she could see the steps clearly in the darkness.

  They spent hours weaving their way through the empty rooms and tunnels with Stinky close on their heels sniffing everything and peeing on several walls. Joleen remained silent for most of the trip through the dark empty corridors. They entered the main missile silo area almost three hours after they’d entered the facility.

  The moment they stepped into the massive circular room, he could feel something change in Joleen. When he turned towards her and glanced at her, he knew that there was something about the empty silo that went beyond this world.

  She was almost glowing. He could practically feel the energy pulsating from her. Her eyes were growing milky white like they had in the café when she’d passed out.

  As a scientist, he wanted to study, to record what was happening to her. As a man who loved the woman it was happening to, he wanted to protect her.

  Chapter Nineteen

  “It’s here.” Joleen could feel it. It was like feeling lightning crackling in the air moments before it hit you.

  Something had been leading her here all along.

  “What?” Mason asked, turning towards her.

  “Proxinium,” she answered softly as she glanced around the room. “I can feel it, the harmonics, or whatever you called it. It’s vibrating.” She moved around the room and leaned over the railing, looking down into the dark hole that would have held the five-story missile. Seeing a faint glowing, like the ring had emitted when her mother had stepped through it, she pointed. “Down there.” She motioned to the darkness below them.

  “There are stairs over here.” He took her hand and moved her away from the large hole. “Let’s head down.”

  A large crash caused them both to jump and look upward.

  “Thunder,” he explained to her after a few heartbeats. “It was supposed to storm today.”

  “Right.” She tried to relax, but the farther down they traveled, the more on edge she became.

  “There’s something else,” she said as they stopped on the bottom floor. There was a large circle of concrete where the missile would have sat.

  Joleen could feel her entire body vibrating at this point. There was so much more power here than she’d felt before, even on her home world.

  “There’s a lot of it,” she said, looking down at the ground. “More than before.”

  “This could be why you were drawn here,” Mason suggested. “To Hidden Creek, all those years ago with your mother.”

  She hadn’t thought about it. Why had she come to this place? Out of all the places she could have gone, she somehow ended up here.

  “What does this mean?” she asked, turning towards Mason.

  “This means there’s still a chance Thanatos could come here,” Mason answered.

  She knew it was true. If what was binding Thanatos to a place was the Proxinium, then what was underneath her feet could draw him there again.

  “We need another meeting with Jacob and his crew,” Mason said firmly. “Let’s go.”

  He took her hand, but she knew what needed to be done. She’d seen it after all.

  “No.” She shook her head. “They need to come here.” She stood in the middle of the circle and looked up and suddenly so much was clear to her. She didn’t know how she did so, but she sent a message to Jessica. “Come to the silo. Bring everyone.” She was a little shocked to get an instant reply from Jessica. ‘On our way. Wow, this is so cool. See you soon.’

  Turning to Mason she smiled. “They’re on their way here.”

  “But Jacob said…” Mason started.

  “I know what he said.” Joleen turned to him. “Trust me. I’ve… seen it.” She couldn’t explain it to him now.

  “You’ve seen…” He moved closer to her and took her shoulders. “Why don’t you tell me what’s going on?”

  “The night that we traveled to my home world, I had a dream.”

  “The one I woke you up from?”

  “Yes, I saw all of us here.” She motioned around them. “Thanatos was here.” She felt a shiver race through her as she remembered what she’d seen.

  “How? They claimed they sent him away,” Mason asked.

  “They did, but as you said, time is different there.” She shook her head. “What they did, it’s as if it hasn’t happened to him yet.”

  “Okay, so he’s from the past?” Mason asked.

  “No, he’s from outside of time.” She closed her eyes and suddenly everything was so much clearer. It was as if standing in this place, this close to so much Proxinium, everything was finally making sense. “I can feel it all now. I can see the answers. It’s as if I’m fully connected.” She nudged him aside and reached down to touch the cement. “Here, this is what drew me here.” She smiled up at him. “The closer to it I am, the more things make sense.”

  “Okay, so, what? We stick around here and wait?”

  “We won’t be waiting long.” She looked up to the top of the shaft. “Jessica has told Jacob, who is gathering the rest of them.”

  “How do you know this?” Mason asked her.

  When she turned her eyes back to him, he gasped. “Your… eyes. They’re…” He shook his head and moved closer to her. “Like they were that day in the café.” He frowned as he ran his eyes up and down her face.

  “I’m seeing it all.” She couldn’t explain what was happening to her. How she was feeling. All she knew is that whatever was under the ground was part of her. “Thanatos was correct,” she said, stepping away from him. “I’m more than just another human.” She felt the pulsing grow deep within her. It was energizing, growing stronger the longer she remained close by. “I’m growing stronger.”

  “Joleen?” Mason tried to hold onto her again, but she moved away.

  “No, don’t.” She shook her head. “He’s coming soon. I don’t think I could bear it if something happened to you. Go, please.” She pushed him away again.

  “I’m not going anywhere,” he said firmly.

  “You have to.” She felt tears stinging her eyes. She didn’t know what she would do if she lost him as well. Already, her heart was breaking in pieces just thinking of the possibility. “Please.”

  “No.” He shook his head. “I can’t. I won’t leave you.” He wrapped his arms around her. “I’m in love with you.”

  She laughed and hugged him. “I’m in love with you too. But this can’t work. I’m not normal.”

  “Normal is boring,” he said before he kissed her. “And you’re the least boring person I’ve ever met. I’m not leaving you here. Please don’t ask me to go.” He kissed her again.

  She felt a shift in the power, almost as if Mason were somehow anchoring her to this reality.

  “No,” she responded. “I won’t. I love you. No matter what happens now.” She wrapped her arms around him.

  They waited for almost an hour for the group
to arrive. She stood in the center of the silo, allowing the power to fill her, to enlighten her as to her origins. It was like watching a movie inside her head, seeing the full history of the worlds being created.

  “Does someone want to tell me what the heck is going on?” Jacob said from the bottom of the stairs.

  Joleen turned and watched him and the others help Xtina down from the last step.

  “Thanatos is coming,” Jessica said in a low voice. “Soon.”

  “Long story,” Mason said as they all moved closer.

  “The short of it is, I’m somehow Thanatos’s sister, from another mother,” Joleen said with a chuckle.

  “What?” Xtina gasped. “That’s what was wrong.” She rolled her eyes. “Why didn’t I think of it?”

  “What?” Jess said with a frown. “That you couldn’t read her because she’s half god?”

  “And from another world,” Mason added in.

  “What?” This time it was said by everyone in the group.

  “Like I said, long story,” Mason added.

  “Again, the short version is, parallel universes exist, I escaped my world, which Thanatos has destroyed and taken over. My mother, my real mother, is a scientist there.”

  “Is?” Jacob asked. “Where is she?”

  “Safe, on another world,” Joleen answered. “We’ll go through all this later, for now”—she turned back to the circle—“I need to open this.”

  “Open?” Jacob asked.

  “Yes,” she responded and walked back to the cement. “Thanatos is coming.”

  “But we locked him away a year ago,” Jessica said.

  “Long story,” Mason shot in again. “Time is also…tricky.”

  “What do you need from us?” Breanna asked Joleen.

  “I need you to repeat what you did that night, over a year ago,” Joleen said. “I need the three of you to form a circle, hands raised to the heavens, and chant what you chanted last year. The four of you”—she pointed to the men—“stand outside the circle.”

  Jessica gasped and looked around the room.

  Jacob moved to stand in front of his wife. “We can’t.”

  “You have to,” Joleen said. “Thanatos must be locked up again.”