Surrogacy

by Rob Horner

  “It’s quiet…too quiet,” he said in a passable imitation of John Wayne. Even Iz chuckled softly.

  “Caitlin’s coming back,” Angie whispered a few moments before our visors picked out her form, growing brighter as she got closer. Jack walked beside her, rifle at the ready.

  “Round two,” she said, leaning down to pick up a second form. “I don’t suppose anyone else wants to help?” she asked in a playful tone. “No? Can’t keep up with a girl?”

  A part of me wanted to tell her not to bother. The kid with his invisibility power was the priority. But I shook away the embarrassing sentiment and didn’t say anything. This wasn’t about only helping other Chosen. We were doing this to help everyone we could. As she walked away, purple fading into black, a sense of relief swept through me. She was doing the right thing. We were doing the right thing.

  Five minutes later she returned, grabbed the third unconscious form, and hurried back to the vans.

  “I see two red forms patrolling way over there,” Angie said, pointing in the direction of the carnival rides. “But they’re not coming this way.”

  “Does any of this make sense?” Brian asked. “A carnival full of Dra’Gal, and we’ve only seen nine?”

  “Who knows what they do when the carnival isn’t open,” Fish said. “There have been studies that say they spend time communing with the hive mind, though no one could pinpoint how often that occurs, or how long it lasts. It might be something like with us, where—”

  “Not now, Fish,” Iz said.

  “I…okay,” the Quin responded.

  I wanted to ask what he’d been about to say, but it was clear Iz didn’t want to talk about it. Not then. With the helmets and the open communication channel, there wasn’t any way to ask anyone else.

  And then there wasn’t time, as Caitlin and Jack returned.

  “All right,” Iz said, “let’s push on.”

  From the dream, I knew the carnival stretched a good way to our right, describing a gentle leftward semi-circle, so the end of the midway was somewhere ahead of us and almost as close to the long building as the entrance. Beyond the point where the two came back together were the trailers.

  Over the next hundred feet or so we stopped three more times, waiting while Paul, Zack, and Little Jack went out in response to Angie’s whispered instructions, immobilizing Dra’Gal in discrete pairs and trios. Then the building was gone on our left, and the final food truck fell away on the right. The chain link fence, probably a continuation of the same fence line from the other end, re-emerged.

  “There’s three of them,” Angie said. “Three Dra’Gal guarding the entrance to the trailer lot.”

  They weren’t close enough yet to make out with our visors, but just knowing they were there was enough.

  A sudden pop sounded behind us. A small rush of air made me stagger forward a foot.

  “It’s a trap!” Jeff said as I spun.

  Caitlin caught him before the teleporter could fall to the ground.

  Chapter 27

  It’s a trap!

  There was a single moment of silence broken only by Angelica elbowing past a couple of people, rushing to kneel by Jeff’s side.

  Then the dam burst…

  “Did he say trap?”

  “Where’d he come from?”

  “Wasn’t he with Austin?”

  “Where is Austin?”

  …though everyone maintained the presence of mind to keep their voices low as they processed the man’s sudden appearance.

  “He’s not hurt, as far as I can tell,” Angie said, her one hand on each side of Jeff’s chest. “Just exhausted.”

  “Can you wake him up?” Iz asked.

  “Maybe, but I don’t think we should do it here,” she answered.

  “Good point,” the grizzled veteran conceded. “Let’s take him back a bit, get out of the open. Paul, Zack, scout back to that big bay door into the building.”

  Caitlin stood, holding Jeff against her chest like he weighed no more than a baby, and began walking back.

  The rest followed.

  For a few moments, I stood indecisive.

  The invisible guy was here. Not another person with the same power. This was the same guy. It was the same carnival.

  That meant Tanya and Crystal were here, too. We were so close. They had to be in the trailer park somewhere.

  But if it was a trap, would we still go for the resonator? Would I still have a chance to save my friend and the girl I loved?

  I’d abandoned them before. I couldn’t do it again.

  But I also needed to know what happened to Jeff. It wasn’t just about me or my plans. Telling myself that I could still make a run for the trailers even if everyone else decided to bail, I turned to follow, putting the trailer lot at my back.

  The long building really was just a nicer looking flea market kind of set-up, nothing more than a wide central hallway with little stalls on either side. The stalls were barren, with blank wooden shelves and display cases, and only a sheet of paper taped to the wall behind each to show who had reserved the space. I guessed the vendors were supposed to arrive before the carnival opened to bring in their goods and get ready for each day.

  Caitlin had laid Jeff down on the floor between the big doors, one of which we came through, and another right across from it that looked out over the racetrack. Angie produced a penlight from a pocket of her pants. With the visor down and doing its job, the light was too bright to look at, but its glow improved the overall illumination greatly.

  “I’m going to do to him what I did to you the first day we met,” Angie said, turning to look at me. “It should wake him up enough to tell us what’s going on.”

  “Do it,” Iz said.

  A soft glow enveloped Angelica’s hands, passing from them and into Jeff’s body. He came awake by degrees, first shifting on the hard floor, then slowly moving himself to a sitting position.

  “Bart, take Brian and go back to the vans, check on the two at the gate and the three inside. Bring back a spare helmet for Jeff.”

  “On it, boss,” Bart said as he and Brian headed out the door and to the right.

  “I’m all right,” Jeff said softly, “just tired.”

  “What happened?” Iz asked.

  Jeff took a breath. To him, we couldn’t be more than a dozen dark-shrouded forms.

  “We saw a cop car slip in behind us when we hit the GW Bridge. Austin kept an eye on it in his sideview, but it didn’t seem to be doing anything. We weren’t speeding, so maybe it was just a coincidence, you know? Cops need to get places too. It stayed behind us for most of the bridge length, through all the lane changes and interchanges, and by then I thought he was off-duty, a city cop taking his patrol car home.”

  “Then a big van, bigger than ours, swerved into the lane in front of us and slammed on his brakes. I tried to teleport into the back of our van…and couldn’t.”

  “What do you mean, you couldn’t?” Danielle asked.

  “I mean my power didn’t work. Nothing happened. It was terrifying. I haven’t had this power that long, and then it was taken away and I felt helpless. Austin yelled at me to let everyone else know and I tried again, and it didn’t work again. Then he reached out and pulled the little window slide open so I could just talk through it to the back. They were all crowded up on the benches, recovering from the sudden stop, and shouting questions. I told them it was the cops, and the twins unbuckled and joined hands, but nothing happened.”

  “Austin shouted at the girls, Tina and Stephanie, to remember their training, act like they’re Chosen—”

  “Smart man,” Iz murmured.

  “—then he reached across, grabbed the registration from the glove box, and hopped out of the van like a pissed off guy, just a regular guy. They—”

  He stopped for a minute. His eyes closed as he bowed his head. “They didn’t give him a warning or anything.”

  “What happened, Jeff?” Iz said.

 
“They shot him. They just shot him in the street. There were shouts and screams from the back of the van and a voice came out of the cop car, loud and clear like they were using a megaphone. ‘You cannot use your gifts. Come out now. Leave all weapons in the vehicle and have your hands up. If we see a weapon, you will be shot.’”

  “How could they stop you from using your gifts?” Danielle asked.

  “Could be like you,” I suggested. “I’ve seen something similar before. We all have. Jeff can’t teleport Dra’Gal, and my friend Tanya couldn’t affect them when she was human. Once she was converted, she couldn’t directly affect me. What do you think your power would do if you were converted?”

  “I hadn’t thought about it,” she said.

  Even in the dim light it was obvious more heads were turning to her, perhaps wondering if it was wise to keep someone so potentially dangerous around.

  “So, they had…what? A negator?” Iz asked.

  “I don’t know. They waited maybe five seconds, then something hit the side of the van so hard it rocked us up onto the passenger wheels—”

  “That explains the dent,” Gina said. “Brian said it looked like it was dented.”

  “—and that decided us. We climbed out and grouped up. The cops all looked human, of course, but it was obvious they weren’t. They handcuffed us and piled us into the big van, then drove off with us. I don’t know how long we drove, but it was dark when we arrived. I can tell you we only slowed down once, and we stopped for good a few seconds after that. So, wherever it is, it’s close to the highway. It looked like an office building, part of a large complex but newer, more modern. Tina told me to get ready, but I didn’t know what she meant. We were all grouped up, waiting to go into the building, three cops in front and two bringing up the rear. One of the cops said they’d gotten the other van and knew where the rest were and what they were going to do. I don’t think Tina heard them. As the door opened, she fainted, or pretended to.”

  “She had one chance and that was only fifty-fifty. If she guessed wrong, I wouldn’t be here to warn you. The two in the back came closer, like they were going to help her up, and she lunged at them, shoulder-checking one and jumping onto the other. I couldn’t reach out to anyone, not with my handcuffs. I concentrated, and the block was still there but it was weaker. I could feel myself stretching. I know you guys complain about being turned inside but out, but that’s how it is for me. I picture a place, and my body…stretches…between where I am and where I want to go. Something wanted to stop me, but it couldn’t. Not that time. Tina distracted the…negator…enough for me to push through. I didn’t know where to go but I’ve got your ugly mug memorized, Iz. So, that’s what I did. I’ve never tried to teleport to a person before, but it worked.”

  “What’d we miss?” Brian said, reappearing in the doorway.

  “It’s not just my van. They got Danny and Chris and everyone else that was with them,” Jeff said.

  Iz growled something.

  “I think they were already converted,” Jeff added. “One of the cops said they knew where you guys were and what you were planning.”

  “Crap!” Brian and Little Jack said together.

  “That means the last time we talked to them, we were talking to a Dra’Gal,” Iz said.

  “What do we do now?” Scott asked, his voice cracking so it came out sounding like a scared kid rather than the honest question of a nervous man.

  “You okay to walk, Jeff?” Iz asked.

  The older man pushed himself to his feet. “Yeah. I feel fine now, in fact. Guess that was a fatigue from pushing my power too hard or in a weird way.”

  “What happened to your handcuffs?” James asked.

  Jeff accepted a helmet from Brian. “I didn’t want them to come with me,” he said, his voice coming through the communicator.

  “Remember that next time you ride with him,” Bradley said. “If you tick him off, he can bring you and leave your clothes behind.”

  Unlike his last quip, no one chuckled this time.

  “Okay,” Iz said. “Brian, you and Bart get to make the trip one more time. Take Jeff to the vans and bring him back. I don’t want him to have to make any more blind jumps.”

  “We aren’t done here, are we?” Scott asked.

  “Hell no, we aren’t,” Iz replied.

  “What are we going to do then?” Michael asked.

  “They’ll know that Jeff got away,” I reasoned. “They’ve got to think he’s going to warn us, especially since he teleported.”

  “Go on,” Iz said.

  “So, they won’t be expecting us?” I asked.

  “They’re going to know we were here,” Fish said. “You purging five of them is enough for that.”

  “No, no, it’s perfect,” Iz continued. “We’ve been hiding out, not doing anything since Jeff arrived. They’ve got to be wondering if we left.”

  “So, they won’t be expecting us to keep coming,” Bradley finished.

  “Exactly,” Iz said. “When someone decorates the house for a party, it’s rude not to show up.”

  Chapter 28

  The worst kind of party

  Once Jeff returned, it was only a matter of minutes until we were back outside the building, stuck in the No Man’s Land before the opening in the chain link that led to the trailers.

  “Can you see it yet?” I asked Angelica.

  “I’m not really sure what I’m looking for,” she replied. “I see the three guards in front of us, and then a hazy red glow off to the right, like someone dropped a flare on the ground.”

  “That’s it,” I said.

  “Seriously?” she asked. “That’s one of the trailers? It’s gotta be a spotlight or a flare.”

  “Just keep us heading in that direction and we’ll get there,” I said.

  “Once we take those three out, we need to move fast,” Iz said.

  “No matter how we do it, the hive mind will know,” Fish added.

  “And watch for gifted Dra’Gal,” I said.

  “We know,” Scott said, a sarcastic twist to his voice, “you got a girlfriend. Sheesh, keep rubbing it in!”

  “Not just her,” I corrected. “There was one who tried to blind me with a flash of light across my face, and there’s another girl like Angie, who could spot us like Angie can see the guards.”

  A few of my fellows looked around nervously, something I resisted. If Crystal could see us, if she was watching, then there wasn’t anything we could do about it.

  “Okay,” Iz said, “keep a hand loose to raise your visors if you see any light. Don’t worry about turning off the night vision; that takes too long.”

  “I can send it out as a blanket command,” Fish said. “Turn off the night vision for everyone.”

  “Only if you spot persistent light.”

  “Got it,” the Quin responded.

  “Danielle, keep it on but keep it low.”

  “Okay, Iz.”

  “Johnny, save as many as you can, but don’t endanger the mission to do it.”

  I winced but said, “Okay,” because it was easier than trying to argue for the feelings burning through me.

  We were going to do it. We were going in there. There was a chance I could save…no, better not to think about it just then. Destroying the resonator was the real goal.

  Iz put his arm up, hand fisted, but before he could drop it in a “Go team!” signal, Scott said, “If they’re going to know we’re there as soon as we get through the gate, I may be able to do something to really screw them up.”

  “I’m listening, kid,” Iz said.

  Scott explained his idea.

  We charged a minute later, Paul and Zack and Bart angling away from the group, staying low and in the shadows. They weren’t going to engage this trio but intended to make sure nothing came at us from the back.

  It was an impressive sight, this throng of people hellbent on accomplishing something, driving forward like a machine.

  Except.<
br />
  There wasn’t much light, and everyone around me was outlined in purple.

  There also wasn’t much noise. No screaming slogans or battle cries.

  Even our shoes, as fast as we charged, didn’t make much noise. No stomp of booted feet as a troop of soldiers advanced on an enemy position.

  We could see them long before they could see us, and by the time we registered as people coming at them, we were right in front of them. I charged the right side, launching two quick punches that blasted the two Dra’Gal back against the fence. Little Jack drove hard into the one on the left, pinning him back as well. Then Danielle was there, her song forcing their demonic features to disappear.

  After that all I had to do was touch face after face after face, and then the only thing guarding the trailer park were three unconscious men.

  “In position,” Zack said.

  “All right,” Iz said. “No matter what, you hold there until you’re relived.”

  “Understood, sir,” Zack said.

  “Where is it?” I asked.

  “One o’clock,” Angie said, pointing into the trailer park. “It’s a really big glow. You sure you can’t see it?”

  “We can’t,” Iz answered. “But that’s okay. We’re aiming for one.”

  We started off into the darkness, me in the lead with Brian running right beside me. What a difference having these visors made in the shadow-covered trailer village. Protruding front hitches were well-defined, preventing any cracked shins or chipped knees. Aluminum overhangs like window awnings which before threatened to scalp me were now easily avoided. In a matter of seconds, we’d crossed the small open area between the gate and the outermost trailers and entered the warren of narrow lanes as confusing as any anthill. Our pace slowed out of necessity. Just because I could see better didn’t mean it was perfect. A black power line running along dark asphalt in the shadow of a massive trailer was just as capable of sending me sprawling whether I had the visor or not.

  “We’re moving too far right,” Angie whispered.