Journey to Ohmani (Across the Infinite Void Book 1)

by Ashley Grapes

  “Bomb!” Levi yelled at the top of his lungs, not thinking twice.

  A hundred heads snapped in his direction. Their eyes were as big as saucers and their mouths were hanging open in disbelief of what their ears had just heard. They remained silent and still.

  “Bomb! Get out of here!” he yelled again, reassuring them that they had indeed heard him correctly.

  Upon sinking in Levi’s words, the people at the conference started screaming and scrambling from their seats. Levi could hear security bursting through all the doors now, telling people to stay calm as they ushered them out of the building. There were too many people to evacuate if this bomb really was about to go off, but all he could think about was catching this guy…he was Levi’s only lead.

  He ran to the tile that lay flat again, fell to his knees and began clawing at the floor. Finally his fingernail caught a broken lip and he was able to lift it up and look down the hole. The rat had disappeared into the pitch blackness. He went to jump down into the tunnel and then felt a security guard grab ahold of his shoulders. Levi couldn’t believe that his arms were being pulled behind his back and placed in handcuffs.

  “I saw a man lift this tile and place this black box on the ground. I think it’s a bomb!” Levi yelled to the security guards now surrounding him.

  Three jumped down the hole, and one knelt next to the black box.

  “Let him go,” Mantys’ voice boomed over the chaos. He was standing to Levi’s left.

  “Sir,” the security guard opening the black box said, “you should not be here in case I am unable to disarm this bomb, if it is one.”

  “Come with me lad,” Mantys motioned to Levi as the handcuffs were being removed. They walked away at the same unhurried pace as they did in the spaceport. “You might have just saved a hundred lives today.”

  “It’s me sir…Levi.”

  “Yes, the young Mr. Avondale. I could tell by your voice. It’s nice to meet you in person. Aren’t you a strapping young man? Must have good genes,” he squeezed Levi’s bicep.

  Why did old people always do that? However strange, the gesture sent a rush of satisfaction through Levi. He didn’t realize how good it would feel to receive a compliment from this man. They continued to walk leisurely outside, while chaos swirled around them.

  “Where are we going?” Levi finally asked when they began walking down the stairs of the convention center towards the city.

  “We’re headed for them.” Mantys pointed to a sea of cameras and reporters, dying to know what had taken place to end the conference so abruptly. “You, Levi Avondale, are about to give your first press conference.”

  14 A star is born

  “What?” Levi must have misheard.

  “Just be honest and tell them what happened,” Mantys suggested nonchalantly.

  “But…but…” Levi stuttered.

  Mantys laughed. “I do find you quite entertaining…in an Extension and in the flesh.”

  Levi would have protested if it was anybody else, but for some reason Mantys made him feel a sense of loyalty. He wanted to make him proud. When the media saw that Mantys was walking towards them, they poised their cameras in a hurried frenzy. Whether Levi liked it or not, he was now on everyone’s holotelevisions. A podium had been set-up in record time, complete with three portable steps that Levi and Mantys walked up. A hush fell over the crowd, but Levi could hear their curiosity screaming at him to speak. Instead, he just stood there.

  “Ladies and gentlemen,” Mantys began, putting an arm around Levi, “the conference has been delayed due to a very serious bomb threat. If it weren’t for this young man, Mr. Levi Avondale, we might have all been killed.”

  The cameras began flashing violently, but no one spoke. A reporter in the front row looked as though his eyes might pop out of his head from sheer anticipation. Levi coughed in the back of his throat and decided to start at the beginning.

  “I was one of the students chosen to sit-in on the conference…”

  “My personal mentee. I asked for the best students at Ohmani Academy High and he was one of the chosen ones. Levi survived the bomb yesterday at the Stellar Grand, when he was escorting me from the spaceport. Such a brave young man,” Mantys crowed, obviously playing to the crowd.

  Levi thought it would be rude to correct all the misleading facts in Mantys’ words, so he just continued on. “Today, when Mantys was speaking, I saw a tile wiggling in the floor from my seat up in the student box.”

  He retold the story in as much detail as possible. When he was finished, everyone applauded loudly. Some even shouted ‘savior’ and ‘hero.’ Several reporters asked Levi questions and he answered them as quickly and accurately as possible; after all, the clearer he was the first time, the less follow-up questions he figured he would have.

  “So, you said you were new here, Levi,” one of the reporters began. “Where did you move from?”

  Levi began to feel uncomfortable when the questions began straying towards his personal life.

  “That is all for today,” Mantys interjected. “Thank you.”

  Levi and Mantys gave a quick wave and walked down the podium steps to another explosion of applause. At the bottom was Bradley Simmons, the security manager, waiting to make the next statement. He frowned as Levi walked by.

  “Don’t worry about him,” Mantys assured as they sauntered back towards the conference center. “He’s just mad a teenager did a better job at securing this conference than he could.”

  “I shouldn’t be made out to be a hero,” Levi spoke flatly. “I noticed the man in the tile because I wasn’t paying attention to you.”

  “Why is that?” Mantys asked, not seeming offended. “Politics not your thing?”

  “No…well, yes…but that’s not it. I’ve just got other things on my mind.”

  “Like your mother being in jail?”

  Levi’s head shot up. “You know about that?”

  “Yes, why do you think I had you talk to the press just now? We are going to exploit this hero story,” he paused to look Levi up and down, “and your good looks to get your mother out of jail. The public is easier to sway than a teenage girl at a boy-band concert, and winning them over could influence your mother’s trial.” Mantys laughed. “Could you imagine the uproar if they tried to throw your mom in jail with crappy evidence after her son just saved the most important political leaders of our time?”

  “But how did you know?” Levi asked.

  “The identity of the second suspect was revealed to many of the committee members to see if we knew her. As soon as you gave me your little back story at the spaceport, I knew who your mother was. There aren’t many Avondale’s in the universe. I think she should have kept her hospitality position at the hotel.” Mantys snorted. “Your grandmother is a piece of work, Levi.”

  “Err…yes, sorry she smacked you across the face with your hat.”

  “She saved my life.”

  “Levi, I was looking for you!” Fletch came running up to them. “Thought you might have gotten arrested or something.”

  “I would not have allowed that to happen,” Mantys vowed so sternly that it even surprised Levi. “Now Fletch,” he said in a much lighter voice, “since you’re the political science nerd here, do you have any questions or comments about the whole ten minutes of the conference today?”

  “Not really, sir. Like you said, it was pretty short. It sounded like you were not willing to re-negotiate the treaty though.” It was a statement that Fletch had obviously meant as a question.

  “Nah, I didn’t get to finish my speech. I was just going to make them all squirm first. The humans feel babied, but I think they are more like teenagers,” Mantys expressed and then took a deep breath to continue, “I thin—”

  “Excuse me, sir. We need you in room fourteen,” cut-in a Hamza man in a business suit.

  “I do not want an Extension,” Mantys replied.

  “I’m sorry, sir, but the security committee has made it
a requirement until further notice.”

  Mantys sighed dramatically and turned to Levi and Fletch. “We give these extremists power by yielding to their emotional tirades. I will see you all tomorrow in your Extensions, apparently.” He looked penetratingly at Levi. “I can’t wait.” He chuckled and then walked off with the Hamza.

  Fletch stared at Levi and every time he went to say something, he closed his mouth again.

  “Are you mad at me?” Levi finally asked. Fletch had been the one who was excited about the conference and about talking with Mantys — Levi had not meant to steal the show.

  “What? No! I was trying to think of a way to say thank you for saving my life. I think I’m still in shock. I heard one of the security guards saying there was the timer on the bomb that was faulty or something. I think you startled the guy before he could fix it. You really did save the day.”

  Levi wished the attention would stop. He did not feel worthy of it. “Did they catch the guy in the floor?” Levi asked.

  “No, not yet. I can’t believe they’re not cancelling this conference. Someone is obviously out to get them all — but there is one thing that confuses me. If the bombers really want to kill the conference members, why not just sniper them one by one?”

  Levi thought about Fletch’s question. “Because the message behind the bombings is more important than the killings themselves.”

  “And what is the message exactly?” Fletch asked.

  “Maybe to scare us.”

  “Why?”

  “I don’t know.” Ding. It was Talon.

  Get to Bale’s. You’re famous.

  The two Academy students went their separate ways and Levi hurried back to Bale’s apartment. In the living room, Bale and Talon huddled around the TV. The two of them barely noticed Levi as he entered the room.

  “Ahem.” Levi coughed.

  “Vi!” Talon yelled, running across the room and wrapping her arms around his neck. “I am so glad you’re okay.”

  “…Levi survived the bomb yesterday at the Stellar Grand, when he was escorting me from the spaceport. Such a brave young man…”

  Mantys was speaking as a hologram on the HoloTV, and Levi was beside him. It was strange seeing a miniature version of himself as a flying hologram in Bale’s living room. The ticker at the bottom read, ‘Breaking News: Ohmani Academy High student saves conference members from bomb.’

  “It’s been playing in loop for the last twenty minutes,” Talon revealed.

  “Levi Avondale is a new student at the Academy, but from what we’ve been told, he’s already made a big splash.”

  A video of Levi surfing the wave at the Waterdrome was now playing with dramatic music behind it. He came out of the wave and stood up on his board, arms out in a champion pose as water glistened on his skin. His hologram looked out towards them all in the living room and flashed a giant grin. Levi had remembered that grin being only for Talon. Now millions of Ohmani citizens were watching it.

  “Yes, I’m from Fort Bragg, California.” Levi was saying on the beach. Then whoever was holding the camera panned over to Talon. “He’s the best surfer in our whole town! Levi gave surf lessons every day after school.”

  Talon stood open-mouthed at her holotelevision appearance. “I didn’t know people still had their phones on. I don’t want to be on TV,” she grumbled.

  Levi laughed. He knew exactly how she felt. So much for keeping his private life …private. He thought it was strategic of them to forget he had also kissed Talon Terry that day in the Waterdrome.

  “We have word that Levi was invited to represent Ohmani for the first time in the NSSA amateur surfing competition, but could not afford it. What a shame. Well, thank God for this young man and his sharp reactions. If it weren’t for him, we would have lost many more people today. Still no word on if they caught the suspect. Several police raids on known extremist groups have turned up empty handed, which still leaves the question of who is doing this.”

  Levi couldn’t get any more uncomfortable with his fifteen minutes of fame. He took a seat on the couch and watched for another few minutes, but learned nothing new. After the co-anchor reviewed a short history of the bombings and the lack-of-progress on the investigations, another co-anchor began speaking.

  “…yes, and it also raises questions about security, Alex. I mean, we need to start having a discussion about how this man was able to infiltrate the convention hall in the first place. The Underground network in general is poorly regulated, and everyone knows it’s inundated with illegal gangways and criminal activity. I mean really, if these people can pop up like a gofer in a federal facility, what stops them from coming into our own homes?”

  Suddenly, Levi felt lucky to be on higher ground. Ding. It was Bockie.

  Heard you’re famous. I’m going to stay at the Stellar tonight. Are you good at Bale’s again?

  Talon was here. Yes.

  “Well, this is an interesting turn of events,” Bale spoke up. “I guess you weren’t able to get much intel for your mother’s case, but this is good too.”

  “Why?” Talon asked confused.

  “Because I’m a poster-boy now,” Levi cut in, “which will help gain public support for my mom. Mantys told me.”

  “Ah. I was going to say that the bombings are still in full-swing even with your mother in jail, which is also a case against her not being involved. We’re giving her a lie detector test later today, which will prove her innocence.” He checked his watch. “Actually, I should probably head down to the station. You can come see her if you want.”

  “Yeah. I’m going to run by the hotel first and see Bockie and grab some stuff from our suite and then I’ll be right over.” Levi looked at Bale nervously. “Is it alright if I continue to stay here instead of at the Stellar?”

  “You mean stay with your girlfriend who also happens to be my niece?” Bale waged with a stern glare.

  Talon and Levi shot a look at each other. They had never officially discussed their relationship status, but Levi had liked when Bale referred to Talon as his girlfriend. Now Talon was looking wide-eyed at him, waiting on whether or not she should correct Bale for his misstep.

  “Yes, so I can stay here with my girlfriend,” Levi winked at her. She blushed and smiled back.

  “As long as you stay in separate rooms. I’ve got Marion on snog watch, just so you know.” Marion, at the sound of his name, came bouncing into the room chirping happily.

  Levi chuckled. “Yes, sir.”

  Fifteen minutes later he was headed to the Stellar Grand. It was only 3:00 in the afternoon because the conference had been cut so short. Along the way, he passed two other hotels that had fallen victim to the serial bombings the day before. Levi looked at the aftermath, surprised at the progress already being made to repair the damages. None of the hotels had collapsed like it had been rumored, but Levi could see plainly that there was definitely less damage at the Stellar Grand. When he arrived at his destination, Caleb Burger caught sight of him pulling up and hovered over.

  “Hello there, lad. I heard someone’s famous,” he floated alongside Levi into the building.

  “Well, I don’t know about that,” he replied, wanting to change the subject. “I’m just here to see Bockie for a little while. I’ve been staying somewhere else the past couple of nights.”

  “Where?” Caleb asked.

  “With my mom’s lawyer.”

  “I see. How is your mom?”

  “To be honest, I don’t know. I haven’t seen her.” Levi remembered Caleb and Axella flirting just days ago in the front of the hotel. He was glad to see that the doorman was worried about her wellbeing.

  “Oh. Well, just so you don’t run into any surprises, you may not want to go see your grandmother,” Caleb said. His robot started blinking rapidly.

  “Where is she?” Levi asked, concerned Bockie was hurt in some way.

  “Oh, don’t look so worried, she’s perfectly fine,” Caleb put his mind to rest.

>   “Did she finally get fired?” Levi asked next. It was only a matter of time, after all.

  Caleb chuckled. “No…she…uh…,” Caleb was looking at his invisible feet, “she...is…in love…one might say.”

  Levi stopped dead in his tracks. “Love?” He waited for Caleb to deny the word, hoping he had misheard. When Caleb’s robot continued to stare at Levi he finally accepted the man’s opinion. The doorman was surely mistaken. “With whom?”

  “I don’t know, sir. But we’ve gotten a few…uh…noise complaints.” Levi wondered briefly how a robot body could so obviously express discomfort.

  “Noise complaints? My ninety-year old grandmother is skipping out on staying with her family so she can romp the night away with someone?” It was a good thing Levi had not eaten recently.

  “Err, correction, sir. But it’s been a night and day thing. In fact, the last noise complaint was made about fifteen minutes ago from what I’ve heard.” When Levi gave him a disgusted look, he continued. “Sorry, mate. The only reason I know is because those girls up at the concierge desk are in awe of the woman and spread her business like a tabloid. We at the hotel live vicariously through her, you see.”

  All Levi could muster was a half-hearted ‘huh’ and began backing up subconsciously. The last thing he wanted to hear about was his grandmother’s sex noises.

  “She seems…and sounds…very happy these days,” Caleb blundered ahead in a misguided effort to reassure Levi.

  This, Levi thought, was the type of conversation that would scar him for life. It was even worse than the one about virus sperm emotionally entrapping a woman for life. He didn’t know what would have happened if he had actually gone into the hotel suite and heard…or God forbid, seen something for himself.

  “Thanks, Mr. Burger, for the warning. I think I’m going to go now.”

  “I understand, sir. Fare thee well,” he formally bowing his head.

  Levi started walking, almost jogging, back to the taxi. On the way to see his mother he turned on the TV located in the headrest, happy for the distraction. It was set to the news.