by D. B. Green
“I’ll be glad when it’s all over.”
“You and me both.” The scientist laughs. “Can you give me a hand to Vault Six with this?”
The Reverend sighs. “If I must.”
“Vault Six,” Maz whispers. “Penny.”
There’s a strange noise like ripping paper, then silence. Maz leans her head through the doorway. “Maz,” I whisper, grabbing the back of her coat. But she’s already half way inside.
“Don’t worry, Newb.” She turns her head, wiping her wet hair from her eyes. “They’re gone.” She pulls me inside and then walks down the aisle. “Where to, who knows.”
I sit down on a pew and stare out of the nearest arched window. “Vault Six,” I whisper to myself. “Is this where you are Penny?”
“Penny,” Maz says. She sits down next to me and pulls back her hood. “We’ll have to tell her mother.”
12:16 GMT-4
HILLCREST AVENUE | MERIDIA FALLS
Maz pulls back her hood as sunlight breaks through the gray clouds - the first sign of sun since I’ve been here. “Take it in, Newb.” She points down the street as the sun rays hit the wet asphalt. “This is as rare as a three-dollar bill.”
We’re standing on the corner of a winding street: Hillcrest Avenue. Several large houses sit behind a forest of trees. Maz says Penny’s house is on this street - well, her mother’s house. “How did you know where Penny lived?” I ask. “You weren’t exactly BFFs.”
Maz shrugs her shoulders. “Remember I told you I was paired with Penny in biology last semester?” She pauses, checking for traffic. “We had to work on the assignment after school… And because she was grounded, we had to do it at her house.” She crosses the road. “Come on. Newb. Penny’s house is on this side… I think.”
I follow her across to the other side of the street. All the houses sit quite a way back, behind rows of trees, shielding them from the road. Every house in Meridia Falls seems to be painted either pale blue or pale yellow, and these follow the same pattern. Oak-tree-lined gravel drives lead to garages or front doors.
“Her mother was a right bitch,” Maz says, as she sidesteps between puddles. “I remember that much. I almost felt sorry for Penny, but I was different back then. ‘Almost’ was about as close as I got to feeling anything.”
“At least you saw the light.” Maz stops and basks in a rare ray of sunshine. I peer up the driveway of the nearest house. “Which house is Penny’s?”
“Number seventeen,” Maz says. She points down the street. “That blue one, there.”
Penny. Her shimmering ghost flashes in my mind. Her big beautiful eyes, unable to see. Her hand reaching out. I swallow hard, trying to fight the rising tightness in my lungs. “What the hell are we going to say to her mother?”
Maz takes a deep breath. “She needs to know Penny has been kidnapped. Teddy won’t report her missing. Not yet anyway. At least her mother can call the police and get the ball rolling.”
I stare at the blue house at the end of the drive. Penny’s house. I know she lived at the cinema, but this was her home, where she grew up, the place she came back to after returning from Clearwater after all the experiments had been done on her - the same ones that had been done on me.
Serenity Grove. Memories of that place flood through my mind, raging like a dark storm. The isolation… The injections… The memory loss.
What did they do to us?
Maz taps my arm. “Back on point, Newb. You’re miles away - again.” She heads down the driveway, her boots crunching over the wet gravel. She suddenly spins around and glances at my hand. “Probably best not to mention your engagement. Mrs. Summers will be shocked enough.”
We walk past a double garage and up three steps to the front porch. It’s got a pitched roof, matching the house but painted white, like the front door. An ornate silver number seventeen sits in the middle, just underneath a frosted arched window. Maz presses the doorbell and a dull chime rings. I can just make out the blurry outline of someone through the glass.
The door opens, revealing a tall, dark-haired woman. She has the same green eyes as Penny, but there’s a piecing anger behind them. She glares at me, then at Maz.
“If you’re here for Penny, then I’m afraid you’ve had a wasted journey,” she says. “Penny has gone to stay with her father - for the foreseeable future.”
“Are you sure, Mrs. Summers?” Maz glances back to the street and then back at Penny’s mother. “We were with her last night and she never mentioned anything about leaving.”
Mrs. Summers scowls at Maz. She leans forward and points at her. “I remember you. You’re a nasty piece of work… just like your sister. What you did to my daughter, what you all called her…” She shakes her head and glances back over her shoulder into the darkened hallway behind. “I see you’ve developed a nosey, intrusive streak to match.” She turns her back and closes the door.
I grab the handle before it closes.
“Do you mind?!” Mrs. Summers sighs and her shoulders drop. “I talked to Penny a few minutes ago,” she says, her voice softer, sounding almost like Penny’s. “And she couldn’t be happier.”
I slide off my glove and turn to Maz. She nods her approval as I reach for Mrs. Summers hand.
For a brief second, her eyes glow luminous green - and then I’m shooting down a memory-filled tunnel into her mind. I’m staring through her eyes at someone familiar – Miss Slayter. She’s sitting on a flower-patterned sofa, holding a cup of tea.
“It was only supposed to cost one child - not both.” I feel the words come from my lips, but the voice is Mrs. Summers’, though slightly off, a little deeper. The sensation of living someone else’s memory is still strange. I can feel her disdain for Miss Slayter and an overriding sense of anger at the loss of another… possession.
Her eyes are drawn to a silver frame on top of the piano in the corner of the room. It’s a photo of a young boy. “I made my sacrifice for the Transfer years ago.”
Miss Slayter puts her cup down on the small coffee table in front of her. The anger brews inside Penny’s mother. Not at the loss of her son - but the fact that Miss Slayter put her cup down without using a coaster.
“Look, Alice,” Miss Slayter says. “Don’t worry. Your place in the Transfer is still secure. But your daughter was getting too close.”
The anger continues to boil in Mrs. Summers stomach. I can feel it writhing away inside. “That wretched newspaper. If it wasn’t for her grandfather, I could have stopped that thing ever going to print.”
“Calm down, Alice. The newspaper is not a problem now,” Miss Slayter says. “But you might get kids calling for her. One in particular.”
I feel Mrs. Summers lip curl into a grin. Her anger disappears, replaced with a sense of joy… no, pride. “Ah yes. The infamous Mr. Collins… The experiment worked then? I gave you a source of pure Affinity?” Her lips form a wide smile. “That’s got to be worth something.”
I’m suddenly back in my body, gasping for air. My lungs feel like they’ve turned to solid ice. My hand slides down the door; I grasp the handle for support.
“Like I said, Penny has gone to live with her father,” Mrs. Summers says, oblivious to the fact that I ‘ve just been in her mind. “Now please leave me alone.” The door slams in my face.
“What happened?” Maz says. “You’ve turned blue.”
I bang my fist against my chest. “Can’t breathe.”
She pats my back; it instantly kicks my lungs into gear. “Shit!” I say, panting for breath. A wave of dizziness spreads through my head as I suck in too much air. “I’ve only just realized… When I do the memory thing, my body must stop breathing.”
Maz continues to rub between my shoulders. “You weren’t in her mind that long, were you?”
“A few minutes,” I say.
“Seemed almost instant to me. One second you grabbed her hand, and the next you looked like you swallowed a fly.”
I shake my head, trying to cle
ar away the dizziness. “I still don’t know how this thing works.” I slip my glove back on and glance back at the street. “Come on, we can’t talk here.”
Maz supports my arm as we head back up the driveway. I glance over my shoulder; Mrs. Summers stands at the window next to the porch, watching our every move.
We step off the drive back onto the sidewalk, Mrs. Summers staring eyes obscured behind the trunk of a large oak tree. I turn to Maz. “Whatever is happening here, Penny’s mother is up to her neck in it.” I take a deep breath. “She had a visitor this morning - Miss Slayter.”
Maz’s eyes open wide. “Why am I not surprised?” She pulls up her hood as the rain begins to fall again.
“There’s something else,” I say. “Mrs. Summers mentioned ‘the Transfer.’”
“The same thing the scientist mentioned at the chapel,” Maz says, scratching the side of her head. “Transfer… Transfer what?”
I check my watch, wiping away rain drops from the glass. It’s twelve twenty-three. I don’t feel like eating, but I know I’ll feel worse if I don’t. This magic mind thing is taking all of my energy, and if I’m going to save Penny, then I need all of the energy I can get.
““We can’t exactly go back to the school cafeteria,” Maz says. “And I can’t go home; my mother will freakin’ kill me for missing school.”
“Anne will be out all day. We can get something to eat at her mansion. Do you like Pop-Tarts?”
Maz shakes her head. “Newb, let me make lunch.”
15:32 GMT-4
MAIN STREET BAKERY | MERIDIA FALLS
“This has been the longest afternoon ever,” Maz says, as she stirs the spoon through her mocha. “You’re worse than a freakin’ teacher.”
“You’re worse than a bad chef,” I say, pushing away the empty plate. “You nearly burnt down Anne’s mansion with those burgers… Although, I can’t complain about cake for a late lunch.”
Maz frowns. “Well, I didn’t say I was the best cook.” She takes a bite of her chicken sandwich. “You should have stuck to the Pop-Tarts,” she says, shaking her head. “And I don’t know why we had to waste time doing that freakin’ assignment.”
“We had to do the assignment or Miss Slayter would have made it hell for us at school tomorrow.”
“Hell for me.” Maz taps her chest. “You’re Texas bound, remember?” she says as her phone chimes with a message. She flips it open and her eyes light up. “It’s Steve; he can’t make it.” She slams the phone down on the table. “How can he carry on like nothing has happened?”
“Probably his way of coping. It’s been a weird few days.”
“Weird is a freakin’ understatement.” Maz sighs and takes a sip of her mocha. “I still can’t believe you’re going to Texas after everything that’s happened.”
“It’s all connected,” I say. “Penny… Cassie. My dad knows something and I’m going to find out what.”
Her phone chimes again with another message. “Steve says he’ll meet me later tonight.” She takes another sip of her mocha and glances out of the window at the people walking down Main Street. “Yeah, if he’s lucky,” she whispers.
Someone pulls a chair out from the table, making us both jump as it squeaks on the polished floor. It’s Teddy. He places his cappuccino on the table next to my black coffee and then slides into the chair. “Hi, guys,” he says. “It’s been quite a strange day.” He takes a sip of his drink, leaving a foam moustache over his lip. He wipes it away with a napkin. “So, how did you both get on at the chapel?”
“We didn’t,” Maz says, hiding her mouth with her cup.
Teddy smiles. “Come on, Marilyn. I’m not Steve. Fluttering eyelashes don’t work on me,” he says. “It was obvious what you both were gonna do.” He turns to me and winks. “Well?”
Maz slams her empty mocha cup down. “Nothing!”
Teddy lays his hands on the table. He looks at me, then Maz. “Look, guys. We need to be honest if we’re gonna help each other find Penny.” He sighs. “You can trust me.”
Maz glances at me, then at my hands. She nods in Teddy’s direction.
I slide my hand across the table, but Teddy pulls his hands away and runs them through his blond hair.
“I’ll go first,” he says, leaning in close. He lowers his high voice to almost a whisper. “I checked up on Charlotte Slayter.” He glances over his shoulder at the archway into the bakery. “Apparently, there was a family emergency and she’s had to leave town for a few days.”
I shake my head. “She hasn’t left town. She’s dead.”
Teddy nearly spits out his drink. “Dead! Are you sure?”
“Yes. We’re sure,” Maz says, scowling at me. “Don’t ask how we know. You wouldn’t believe us.”
Teddy takes a long sip on his cappuccino as he processes what we’ve just told him. “OK… Moving on. Henry Church is a wealthy businessman from the UK. His portfolio is about as diverse as they come. From art to construction to… space research,” Teddy says, pointing to the ceiling. “His daughter, Victoria, just transferred to Meridia University.” He scrunches up his face. “From Milan.”
“Well, she’s in for a culture shock,” Maz says, resting her chin on her hands. She glances at me, then back to Teddy. “What about that other woman, Stephanie?” She draws out the end of her name, like she’s got a bad taste in her mouth.
“Miss Stephanie Marcone is Church’s PA. British, but with Italian heritage,” Teddy says, taking a quick sip of his cappuccino. “She was working in Milan for Church before they all turned up here and bought the cinema from Mrs. Summers.” Teddy leans in really close. “Speaking of Penny’s mother, I spoke to her before coming here. Apparently, Penny has gone to live with her dad for a while.”
“Yeah, that’s what she told us, too,” I say.
“Did you use your mind magic thing on Mrs. Summers?” Teddy smiles. “Don’t worry. Penny told me about it yesterday. She was freaked out after it happened.”
A twinge of rage bubbles in my stomach. It’s hard to think of Penny trusting anyone else. Teddy never even registered in her thoughts when we connected. “Yeah, I used it on Mrs. Summers. I found out she had a visitor this morning. Miss Slayter - a teacher from our school.”
“Karen Slayter.” Teddy turns around, to face the bakery archway. “Charlotte’s sister,” he says, rubbing his chin. “Makes sense they would both be involved.” He glances at Maz, then back to me. “Did you find anything else out?”
“Yeah. Miss Slayter said Penny was getting too close to something and that’s why she was taken.” I stop to take a quick sip of coffee. “But Mrs. Summers blamed Penny’s newspaper. To be honest, all she seemed worried about was her place in something called the Transfer.”
“The scientist at the chapel mentioned this Transfer, too,” Maz says.
Teddy turns sharply to face Maz. “So you did go back there, then.”
“There was nothing there,” Maz says, holding up her hands. “They had cleared out. Whatever was there has been covered up.”
“We listened in on a conversation between this scientist and Reverend Matthews,” I say. “It looks like everything… everyone in the crypt has been moved to something called Vault Six.”
Teddy’s eyes open wide. He runs his hand through his short blonde hair. “Reverend Matthews is involved, too? That makes sense. I always thought there was something weird about him.” He pauses for a second. “So, what was in this crypt? Not what Steve told the Sarge. Not the dead body of George Randall.”
Maz nods. “He was there - but not dead. Frozen in time, like Penny.” She shudders at the memory. “There were hundreds of them down there.”
Teddy’s eyes open wide. “Those ice blocks… They freeze time?”
“They’re called Desino Lapses,” I say. “And yes, they freeze time.”
Teddy puffs out his cheeks, blowing out a long breath. “Frozen time….” He checks his watch. “Speaking of time, Steve’s running late.”
/> Maz shakes her head. “He can’t get away from the garage… Well, not until later anyway.”
“Penny said what happened between you two was magic,” Teddy says, tilting his head to the side. “Can you do anything else?”
I shake my head. “I’m not sure. This is all new to me. I have more questions than answers.”
“Drink up,” Teddy says. “Let’s go and get some answers.”
15:49 GMT-4
THE MERIDIAN CINEMA | MERIDIA FALLS
Teddy bangs on the cinema door. He cups his hands together and peers through the glass panel.
“They can’t hear us,” Maz says. She tugs on the handle, shaking the door several times, banging it against Teddy’s head.
“Thanks, Marilyn,” Teddy says, pressing his palm to his forehead. “How did you know I wanted a headache?”
Maz spins around. “Aren’t you needed at the police station?” She exaggerates looking down the street. “I’m sure I just heard the noise of a calculator screaming for help.”
Teddy turns to reply, but an old man stops between them. “This place closed a few weeks ago. It’s being sold,” he says, rapping his walking stick on the door. “It’s a real shame; used to be a good picture house. I met my wife in there.” He leans on the stick for a moment. A wide smile forms on his face as he scans over the display of movie posters next to the door. “I’ll never forget her. The spirit of our first meeting will always live with me.” He tips his hat, then continues on his way down Main Street.
Spirit. My heart races.
Penny.
I’m not sure how I will react when I see her ghost again. Church said she wasn’t dead, but the sight may still set me off - and I’m not sure I can stop the rage if it makes a return.
The door clicks and it swings open; Stephanie stands in the doorway. The grey business suit is gone; she’s now dressed in a white T-shirt and jeans. She smiles and invites us inside. “We thought you weren’t coming,” she says, checking the gold watch on her wrist.
