Redux (The Variant Series, #3)

by Jena Leigh

  “Actually,” his grin widened. “One of the most vivid memories I have of you is from that picnic on the day the photograph was taken. It was the same day you told me that when you grew up you were going to be a jumper like your mom. You’d already decided. And then you told me that since you wanted to be just like your mom—and since I’d probably end up with TK, just like your dad had—we were definitely going to get married.”

  “Oh, geez. Tell me I didn’t.”

  He chuckled. “You did. It was cute.”

  Well done, four-year-old Me, thought Alex. You’re still managing to embarrass us, thirteen years later. That’s got to be some sort of a record.

  His smile fell. “The other night? When you opened your eyes for the first time on the boat and you called me by my name? I should have known you then. I should have trusted you then,” he said. “I didn’t. And I’m sorry.”

  When she didn’t reply, Nate got up to turn off the overhead light. Before flipping the switch, he added, “We’re going to find a way to get you back home, Alex. And I promise that we’ll do everything we can to find Declan.”

  The light went out and still Alex said nothing.

  It’s not that she didn’t want to, but that she couldn’t.

  Alex sat stock still in the darkness, her fingers clenched tightly into the fabric of the blanket, swallowing down her fear.

  When Nate had mentioned her awakening on the deck of the ship, she’d tried to picture the entire scene from his perspective—only to realize that she didn’t have to imagine it.

  She’d already seen the moment for herself.

  It had happened the night she’d absorbed Kenzie’s ability for the first time. The same night Grayson went missing and they’d all gone to Washington DC in search of him. Alex had gone looking for an image in Nate’s mind—and accidentally taken a detour into his memories, instead.

  She’d seen a vivid memory herself, sopping wet, eerily pale with lips blue as death, right there in Nathaniel’s thoughts.

  When she’d pressed him, Nate had refused to explain the image she’d seen.

  Now she knew why.

  Her chest constricted.

  For Nate, at that point in time, all of this had already happened.

  This was why he’d seemed so afraid when she described the scene she’d glimpsed in his thoughts.

  This was why he’d acted so strange when she asked for an explanation.

  This was the secret that Nathaniel had been keeping from her since the very beginning.

  A secret that had just answered as many questions as it had raised.

  If Nate had known that all of this would happen—that Declan would nearly be lost during the voyage, that she’d almost drown in the ocean, that they would have no way to get back home—then why hadn’t he warned them?

  Why had he and Aiden—and even Brian—chosen to keep this trip back in time a secret from her?

  And more to the point, was time really fixed?

  Had she not changed anything by coming here to the past?

  No. She refused to believe that.

  Brian and Grayson had always intimated that the visions they saw of the future were in a constant state of flux. That it was possible to alter the outcome of an event—to change the future they’d already witnessed, even though it often proved difficult.

  Surely the past could be changed as well. There was still a chance to bring about a better future for all of them.

  Right?

  Alex finally laid down, drawing the blanket up to her chin, and drifted off to sleep even as her mind continued to puzzle over this unexpected development. She needed to find Declan. And before they left to go back home, Alex would make Nathaniel promise to do everything in his power to stop her from making this trip.

  Twelve

  Alex was beginning to understand why this city loved its coffee so much. Watching the mesmerizing movement of the water, the way the fog settled over the banks of the Sound like a damp quilt…

  If it weren’t for the warmth radiating through the styrofoam cup, slowly thawing her frozen fingers—and if it weren’t for the caffeine—she might have given up waiting on Aiden ages ago, and started searching for the first warm place she could find to curl up and take a nap.

  She made her way slowly back toward Norma Jean, Aiden’s aging green Chevy. Without the engine running, it was just as cold inside the truck as it was out on the docks, but at least it’d offer her a place to sit while she waited.

  Tugging open the passenger side door, Alex hoisted herself up and into the cab.

  It smelled, not unpleasantly, of diesel, old leather, and dust. A scent that tugged at some long forgotten memory, sealed away in the depths of her mind. Something warm and familiar.

  She knew that scent, though she couldn’t tell you how or why.

  Alex sighed.

  Every so often, something like this would happen. There’d be a scent, an image, a hint of a memory. Any other teenage girl might have turned to her parents for an explanation.

  “Hey, Dad? Did we ever take a trip to the beach when I was little? I have the strangest memory of fishing off a pier…”

  “Hey, Mom? Did you ever make pumpkin bread when I was a kid? I’m positive I’ve tasted this before…”

  Aunt Cil could help with answers on occasion, but for the most part, Alex was left to rack her brain and rely on her own—often untrustworthy—memories.

  Hey, Dad? Alex thought to herself. Did we ever have a big old truck that ran on diesel? I’d swear I know this scent…

  She closed her eyes and shook her head, focusing on the pleasant vibration that was spreading through her core, instead. The water-wielding ability had yet to fade, though she had her doubts it would last for more than another three or four hours.

  The gently lapping waters of the Puget Sound were like a balm to her overtaxed system. Between her aching muscles from a restless night spent on Aiden’s couch, and the resulting energy crash that had overtaken her that morning after days of non-stop stress and rushing adrenaline, every nerve felt raw.

  Silencing the echoing reports of her body’s pain wasn’t too hard—silencing the worry that had overtaken her now that things had calmed down, however, was proving far more difficult.

  Declan.

  How long would it take, Alex wondered, before he came searching for her here? Surely Seattle wasn’t high on his list of places to look.

  She sighed. Brian and his stupid rules. It seemed ridiculous that an eight-year-old was the only thing standing between her and a return trip to Bay View.

  If Declan was going to look for Alex, he was almost certain to begin his search there. So didn’t it make sense for her to start there, as well?

  When she’d suggested as much to Nate that morning, he’d shut her down without a second thought.

  “If Brian says it’s dangerous for you to leave Seattle, then you stay in Seattle,” he’d said, scowling.

  “He’s still just learning to control his visions,” she’d said. “What if he’s wrong about the danger?”

  “And what if he’s right?” Nate had countered. “I’m not taking you to Florida, Alex. End of conversation.”

  “Stubborn grouch,” she mumbled.

  Maybe she should try Aiden, instead. He seemed eager enough to get Alex out of his hair. He might just say yes.

  Alex closed her eyes and focused once again on the rhythm of her heartbeat and the steady pulse of the Sound.

  Being this close to such an immense body of water was oddly soothing. Each beat of her heart prompted a cascade of pleasant signals that pooled warmly inside her chest before radiating outward, constantly reassuring her of the Sound’s presence.

  She was beginning to understand why Aiden always chose to live near large bodies of water.

  Alex sipped her coffee and scanned the parking lot for any signs of movement. Aiden had driven them down to the docks earlier that morning with the intention of looking for work while Alex visited some cl
othing stores and thrift shops a few blocks away.

  She’d already had time to walk there and back after spending nearly an hour perusing the racks for anything the stores had in her size—and that had been tagged within her limited price range.

  The money she’d borrowed from Nate had been just enough for a second-hand pair of jeans, new undergarments and some toiletries, one old band t-shirt (Radiohead), one long-sleeved shirt (dark blue), one knit sweater (white), one flannel shirt (red, which she’d changed into before leaving the store), one exceedingly plain waterproof coat (green), and a small cup of drip coffee (black), that she was eventually forced to load down with sugar to cut the bitter taste.

  Alex was proud of the haul, considering the meager budget she’d had to work with.

  She could only imagine what Cassie would say, though, were she ever to see the contents of the plastic bags currently resting at Alex’s feet.

  “A band t-shirt and flannel? Geez, Lexie. Not even a week without my guidance and you’ve already turned yourself into a walking cliché. I can only hope you don’t plan to wear any of that in public.”

  Alex smiled, though her chest tightened at the thought of her friends back home.

  Across the lot, Aiden was winding his way through the parked cars, heading for the truck. She waved at him through the windshield. He didn’t return the gesture.

  Going by the frustrated expression on his face, his job search hadn’t resulted in much success.

  The driver side door opened with a groaning creak and a rush of air.

  “No luck?” she asked quietly, already dreading his reply.

  “Not much.” Aiden climbed into the cab and slipped the key into the ignition in one fluid motion. “I was able to line something up, but it won’t start for weeks. I’d hoped to find something that began a little sooner.”

  Not knowing what to say, she focused instead on fastening her seatbelt. It was her fault he’d been left in a lurch, after all.

  Aiden looked at her askance as he cranked the engine, a wry smile tugging at his mouth and lightening his dark mood. “Nice shirt,” he said. “I hear the lumberjack look is in right now. Very… hipster.”

  Embarrassed, Alex nudged the white bag at her feet, closing it so that Aiden wouldn’t glimpse the Radiohead tee resting on top. Lord only knows what he would say about that.

  She glanced down at her red and black checkered shirt, rubbing the edge of her collar between her fingertips.

  Alex smiled in spite of herself. “And here I thought that flannel was the one thing that never went out of style in this town.”

  Aiden chuckled. “Touché.”

  Norma Jean pulled out into traffic and Alex steadied herself on the dashboard, the truck’s suspension jostling the cabin as it made the sharp turn.

  “So did you find everything you were looking for?” he asked, his eyes on the road. “Or did you want me to take you somewhere else before we head back?”

  She shook her head. “I’m good for right n—”

  Squealing tires.

  Blaring horns.

  Twisting around in her seat, Alex watched as a white work van blew through a red light at an intersection behind them, making a sharp left turn and careening onto the road. Whatever the driver’s hurry was, it held enough motivation to disregard most known traffic laws and any concern for life or limb.

  Beneath the cacophony of protesting rubber and strident blasts, Alex could just make out the ringing of an alarm bell and the rhythmic wail of a police siren.

  The white van was on the run.

  Advancing rapidly in the sparse traffic, the van passed Aiden’s truck and swerved into their lane before it had time to clear the truck’s front end.

  Aiden slammed on the brakes and jerked the wheel. The van’s driver seemed to notice them for the first time, and pulled back into his own lane.

  Alex’s seatbelt locked her in place against the truck’s momentum. Rocking back in her seat, she knocked her head against the back window.

  She recovered from the jolt and realized the van was still barreling heedlessly toward the next red light.

  Alex’s heart stopped for a second time.

  At the intersection, a group of people were crossing; two businessmen, an older gentleman, a twenty-something couple, and a young mother holding a toddler’s hand and pushing a stroller.

  No matter which way the van swerved, someone was going to get hit.

  “No!” she shouted.

  A flash of red lightning crashed against the gray morning sky. Time trickled to a stop like the final grains of sand slipping through the neck of an hourglass. Inside the truck’s cab the temperature dropped drastically.

  Alex could still feel her heart racing inside her chest, but the repetitive pulse of the Sound elongated into a steady hum.

  The world around her had ground to a halt, just like it had when she’d panicked and frozen her classmates during her end-of-the-year presentation in seventh-period art.

  That time it had been an accident.

  This time it had been intentional. She’d wanted time to stop.

  No sound reached her ears as she stared, awestruck, at the statuesque world around her.

  This shouldn’t be possible, she thought. The time ability faded out, just like all the others. I’m certain of it.

  It had faded out, hadn’t it?

  Alex had never maintained an ability for more than a couple of days. And she was certain that the jumping and weather abilities—the two components that were vital to manipulating time—had long since left her system.

  So how was she doing this?

  A second possibility occurred to her. Was she the one doing it? Or had someone else slowed time?

  She wouldn’t find her answers by sitting there, and the people in the crosswalk still needed her help. Alex got out of the truck.

  It would have been faster to run for the crosswalk, but Alex made for the sidewalk. If time unexpectedly started again while she was moving through the frozen traffic, she’d be in trouble herself.

  Reaching the corner of the intersection, Alex was rewarded with a better view of the people in the street. She gasped in surprise.

  One of the men was Dr. Edward Li, the scientist who had been so instrumental in making this trip possible in the first place.

  The man who sent Aaron to Bay View.

  The man who helped her escape the clutches of the Agency.

  The man, she now realized, whose life she was about to save.

  She stood stock still on the corner, staring at the doctor and then at the van frozen only a few feet away.

  The driver had swerved toward Li and the woman with the stroller. The young couple, the old man, and the other businessman would be safe, so long as the van didn’t make any last-second course corrections.

  First things first, she thought.

  The woman’s left hand was warm as Alex uncurled her long fingers from their firm grip around the stroller’s handle. She quickly rolled the stroller out of traffic and to the safety of the sidewalk.

  Returning to the woman, Alex carefully worked to release her hold on the toddler’s hand, then awkwardly lifted the boy into her arms.

  She grimaced at his unexpected weight.

  It was a bit like moving a life-size statue of a child that had been carved in mid-stride. She blew out a slow breath as she balanced him, as gently as she could manage, onto the sidewalk beside the stroller that held his baby brother.

  She shivered in the cold. The temperature was still dropping.

  Alex returned her attention to the crosswalk and chewed worriedly at her bottom lip. Tentatively, she stepped off the curb, staring at the van as she walked, concerned that real time might come crashing back at any second.

  Moving the woman and Dr. Li wasn’t going to be as easy. The woman was small, roughly Alex’s size. She might be able to lift her, but Li…

  Alex moved to his side and stared up at his almost six-foot frame, walking a slow circle ar
ound him as she pondered the best way to handle the situation.

  If she shoved him while he was frozen like this, he’d probably topple over like a toy soldier. She cringed at the thought of the damage such a tumble was likely to inflict.

  And besides that, once he was lying on the ground, how could she drag him to safety?

  Li was slight of build, but he still had a good eight inches of height on her. She’d never be able to shift that much weight on her own. And she’d probably leave him with plenty of scrapes and bruises for the effort.

  Something tugged at the back of her thoughts. A memory of Li in the Agency facility as they descended in the elevator. Li was a jumper.

  Surely he could save himself, right?

  But then, why hadn’t he already done so?

  Alex looked more closely at his face. He’d barely seemed to register the oncoming threat. His gaze was still fixed on the sidewalk ahead.

  Would he have time to react? To jump, and save himself?

  She frowned. No way could she take that risk. She would have to move him. But how?

  Alex yelped in surprise as a heady rumble permeated the unmoving air and interrupted the cold silence.

  Her attention returned to the van and she sucked in a breath. It was moving, slowly inching its way toward the intersection.

  Time was starting back up again.

  At least it hadn’t crashed back all at once, like it had in the art room. Still, Alex had to do something now.

  Leaping into action and summoning an upper-body strength she was certain she’d never have again, Alex managed to lift the woman just a hair’s breadth above the ground. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to drag her inch by creeping inch into the clear.

  By the time Alex had the woman settled and turned her attention back to Li, the van was nearly on him. Alex began to panic.

  Then she saw a fire hydrant to her left and had an idea.

  Just as she was about to make her move, the continuous roar of thunder turned deafening and ripped through the air around them.

  Alex gasped.

  The world was moving at full-speed again.

  There was no time to think. She just reacted.

  With her last ounce of effort, Alex used the remnants of her borrowed TK to twist the valve and remove the hydrant’s seal, sending a rush of water out into the street.