Cry For Tomorrow

by Dianna Hunter

  When we could all breathe again we continued on, following the lane to a large square of green-brown grass that appeared to be a park and gathering place for residents. It might even have been a pleasant place if not for the three great fingers of rock protruding through the surface like the tines of the devil’s trident.

  Evidently immune to the image, the villagers swarmed about the stones, even using the shade projected by the massive tines to protect them from the sun.

  “Rainor! Glad you made it out—we were worried you wouldn’t be allowed to leave once the Source got her fat hands on what she wanted,” Pete greeted him as he emerged from a group of people gathered on the edge of the square. “See that you also managed to retain the psis, which I’m sure was no small matter.”

  “That I did, and more!” Rainor clasped Pete’s extended hand and hugged Karol. “We also managed to acquire Selena’s giant crystal. The rumors were true, she was planning on using it to create an energy matrix to destroy the curtain.”

  “Can I see it?” Pete asked. His eyes were bright, like those of a boy that had just found his heart’s desire under the Christmas tree.

  “I’ll show you all as soon as we get under some cover here,” Rainor promised as he picked up the pace. He was taking us in the direction of a cottage with a long, covered porch that wrapped around three sides and the big open-sided port at its side.

  Suddenly aware of the newcomers and the air of excitement generated by our arrival, the humans, both children and adults, began migrating toward us, and the ever-curious phantoms followed.

  “Where did all these phantoms come from? There’s so many of them,” complained Kelly as she pushed an especially inquisitive serpentine away from her. Dusty jumped to help her, snapping at its swinging tail and tearing the filmy fabric.

  “We don’t know.” Karol shook her head in exasperation. “It’s been this way almost since Rainor took you into the under-world. We even had to put the younger children in a special area within a fence charged with a low electrical charge to keep them from being hurt by the more attentive ones.”

  “Are Merry and Jon okay?” Kelly asked in concern.

  “Oh yes, they’ve adjusted really well. They’re with the other children,” Karol assured her. “You can visit with them later, if you’d like.”

  “Great, I think I will.”

  I was a few strides behind my sister and couldn’t help overhearing her conversation. I’d also been concerned for the younger children and was relieved to hear that they were safe, but they were really not a priority right now. Lengthening my stride, I caught up to Ben at the head of the procession. I’d noticed the way he’d been watching Rainor since we’d arrived in the village. I’d also noticed when the under-worlder had signaled the frogg, warning it to stay close to him. I wasn’t sure why Ben was acting so paranoid but, hey, paranoia was an old friend of mine.

  “Were you able to make contact with your headquarters?” I asked, hoping to get some kind of reaction from him.

  “Yes, you might say that.” Ben’s face looked tense and his voice cracked with stress, as if the words hurt him. “They were very interested in where I am right now and even more so in how fast they can get their hot little hands on the crystal now that it’s actually on this side.” He threw a worried glance in Rainor’s direction. “Seems like we were right after all, turns out that Selena had promised to deliver an army of ghouls into the control of the Agency in exchange for certain favors, the exact nature of which they do not feel I have the need to know. They were already fully aware that Rainor had acquired you and were, in fact, seriously upset that you and the crystal had been removed from Agent Harris’s control.”

  “I see. And did they have any further orders for you?”

  “Oh yes, of course,” Ben growled. “I am to immediately give them my location and deliver you and the crystal into their hands.”

  I stopped walking and stared up at him, searching his face for some clue as to whether I should turn and start running.

  “Hey, don’t worry, I didn’t tell them where we are,” he assured me. “My phone is more secure than most, it’ll take them a while to get a lock on where we are—but eventually they will.”

  We were nearly to the big porch of the house when the earth began to shake again. I was thrown against Ben, who quickly wrapped his arms around me and held me tight, waiting for the ground to stop moving.

  It took a few moments for our minds to fully register the strangeness before we realized that this quake was different. The earth was not only shaking—we could feel a strong vibration that felt like it was rising from the very bowels of the earth.

  “Everybody get in the open and away from anything that can fall on you!” shouted someone. The ground under foot heaved and buckled and the trees scattered through the village quivered and moved as if alive, shedding the remnants of their colorful leaves. Then the trees were toppling too, and even some of the less secure of the buildings crumbled.

  The ground shook for a very long fifteen minutes before it shuddered to a stop, and the people began to panic. Even the freaks who were usually lost so deep within their own minds had been shaken from their lethargy. Humans and phantoms alike came streaming from the shelters and homes to huddle with those already gathered in the village square.

  Rainor pushed his way clear of a small crowd of frightened people and joined Ben and me.

  “Are you two all right?” Pushing his way between us, he grabbed our arms, hurrying us toward the open and undamaged garage. “I hate to break up whatever was going on and all, but we are most definitely running out of time.” Kicking aside a cardboard box laying in our way, he dragged us between the assortment of tools scattered about the garage to the side of a large metal anvil before releasing his grip on our arms.

  “Ralph! Come here, boy,” he called as he began wiping off the layer of dust covering the surface of the large chunk of metal. “It’s time to unload,” he ordered. Reaching down, he rubbed the back of the creature’s head.

  Happily complying, Ralph croaked and burped, regurgitating the backpack he’d been given to carry at our first campsite. A second thump on the back of his head brought the crystal, still wrapped in its shroud of blue satin. It landed on the ground between us, shimmering in a light coating of slime.

  “Good boy.” Rainor patted the creature on the side and let it hop away. Moving to the outer edge of the garage, he searched the adjacent area. “Aw, there he is.” Rainor waved his arm and called, “Jake! We need you over here!”

  Jake, with Jennie and Kelly following in his wake, quickly made his way between the milling villagers and to our garage.

  “Jake.” Rainor nodded at him and directed his gaze to the parcel on the floor. “I would seriously appreciate if you would lend me some of that extra-special strength you seem to have to lift the stone to the top of this anvil.” He bent and grasped one side of the wrapped jewel, patiently waiting for Jake to get hold of the opposite side.

  Jake cast a questioning look at me before agreeing. “Sure, no problem,” he said as he stooped to grasp the other side of the stone.

  Groaning with effort, the two men managed to lift the incredibly dense stone from the floor and place it on top of the anvil.

  “Aw, there we go.” Rainor carefully un-wrapped the gem, exposing it to the dim light. “Halie, now it’s time for you to apply your talent and put an electrical charge into the stone.” When he saw the doubt in my eyes, he put a hand on my arm and looked at me with solemn eyes. “There will be no danger, well, very little danger,” he assured me. “Selena intended to add her power to yours and cause the power in the stone to erupt. We are not going to do that. I want you to charge it only and withdraw. Do you understand?”

  “Yes, I believe so.” I nodded as I circled the stone, studying it. So much depended on this, and my mind was nearly overwhelmed with all the possible consequences. Was this really what I wanted to do? Another rumble from the earth underfoot forced me to push
aside the tangle of questions and fears. We had to do something and we had to do it now.

  My hands were shaking, but I spread them across the surface of the softly glowing gem. Closing my eyes, I concentrated.

  Yes, there it is! An answering surge of power from within the crystal! I could feel a warm sense of recognition from what lived within, and yes, there was some form of living energy trapped within the facets of the crystal. Locked away and dormant for so very long, it greedily reached for the life-force I was offering. And in seconds, the cells expanded, glutted with the magnetic energy I was feeding them.

  I held on for as long as I could, but I was finally forced to release the gem to keep my hands from burning. Stepping back, I opened my eyes, blinking against the brilliance of the surrounding area. The whole carport was lit as brightly as high noon by the glow emanating from the crystal.

  “Did you know?” I asked Rainor in an awed voice. “Did you know that the crystals are alive?”

  Rainor nodded slowly. “I was aware of the tiny flicker of life in the smaller gems I had examined. When I heard about the discovery of this one I was nearly beside myself with excitement, but then I couldn’t be sure that it was still active until I could actually lay my hands on it.” He smiled secretively and nodded his head with satisfaction before going on. “Selena didn’t know, she has no idea what makes the crystals so potent, or why they respond to the telekinetic freaks she’s captured and forced to touch them. She just knows that they work.”

  “You mean that not even your scientists are aware of what is activating the crystals?” Jake asked incredulously.

  Before he could answer, Ben interrupted. “He’s right. The scientists on over-world had access to more and better quality psis and learned the secret soon after they had their first sample. They were aware that Selena’s people were working under some serious misconceptions, but they did nothing to enlighten her.”

  “I see,” growled Rainor. “I understand that you could not share your information but, forgive me if feel a little betrayed.” Rainor’s anger radiated from him as he glared at Ben.

  “Until this very moment, it didn’t make a bit of difference in the way we needed to proceed,” Ben growled back. “If the time had come that any of us needed this information to finish our mission, I would have told you all about it.”

  Rainor stared at the over-world agent for another long minute before grudgingly nodding his head in acceptance. “Okay, let’s get this over with. Pete!” he called to the man hovering at the edge of our group. “I think this is your area of expertise.” Rainor laid the cloth over the stone and stepped aside to let the man approach the gem. “Let’s see how many pieces you can break this crystal into.”

  Pete already had the great blacksmith hammer in his hands. Flexing the muscles of his thick arms, he swung, bringing the heavy head down with all his might.

  A cloud of blue dust drifted from under the edges of the cloth and the ground around the anvil was showered by a rain of bright blue crystals. When Rainor whipped the cloth from the anvil all that remained was the clear blue heart of the stone. Throbbing as if it were truly a living heart, the brilliance of the gem made the eyes of all who beheld it ache.

  Karol and the half-dozen other women who had silently been gathering around us hurried forward and began collecting the hundreds of small stones into the large bread baskets they had brought. But when Karol reached for the larger crystal still poised on the top of the anvil, Rainor shook his head at her. “No, this one is for Halie.”

  It felt like my whole world was quivering from the wave of possibilities surging through my mind, but the touch of Rainor’s hand on my shoulder brought me back to the realization that it was really just another small quake. “Halie? Are you all right? It’s time, we need to bring the heart of the stone and join the others in the village square.”

  My voice was still trapped in the tightness of my throat, so I just nodded as I cautiously touched my finger tips to the stone. I was expecting it to still be hot, but I could feel nothing except a slight warmth and steady vibration. Using the rumpled piece of blue cloth to shield my hands from the sharp bits of crystal particles dusting the stone, I wrapped both of my hands around the stone. Nodding that I was ready, I let Rainor lead me toward the small town square.

  The crowd parted, allowing us to make our way across the narrow street and onto the faded green grass. Human and phantom alike seemed mesmerized by the deep blue glow emanating from the crystal I carried, still partially wrapped in its satin shroud.

  The women were almost through passing out the small crystals when Rainor helped me up the steps to a wooden platform that looked like it might have been used by a dance band in happier days.

  “Okay folks,” Rainor clapped his hands and called for order. “I need everyone to quiet down and pay attention now.”

  There were several long moments of murmured questions and curious rustling, but there was finally silence.

  Pete took his place at a small podium and opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by the unmistakable sound of helicopters in the distance.

  “They’re coming!” someone needlessly shouted, for every one of the persecuted humans taking sanctuary in the commune was very familiar with the dreaded sound of the military ‘copters. Even the resident phantoms reacted, exploding in a cloud of swirling confusion.

  “You all need to just take it easy now—everything is under control!” Rainor tried to reassure the frightened crowd. When the cries had faded to a murmur, he went on. “Your part in this has already been explained, you are all vital to the plan. We need every single one of you if it is to work! Your psi energy is needed to control the speed of the merging. If you abandon your friends and family now, then we will all die!”

  A crash of thunder drew all eyes to the sky, but not a drop of rain fell. Instead, the clouds swirling about overhead erupted in fountains of colorful lightning, and in the glow from those bursts of light the helicopters and their massive escort of phantoms appeared.

  Without really knowing how I’d gotten there, I found myself huddled against Ben’s side and his arms around me. “Don’t be afraid, I’ll be right here,” he whispered and his mouth was on mine, his lips tasting mine.

  My knees went rubbery and I wanted so much to just to stay right where I was, safe in Ben’s strong arms, maybe forever, but I couldn’t, not yet. I took a deep breath and gently pushed against his chest and when he took his lips from mine I stared up into those deep blue eyes for one final moment.

  “I-I can’t do this right now,” I rasped and stepped away from him. For just a moment, the look on his face made me think that he was going to refuse to let me go, but sanity returned and he merely nodded and looked away.

  I dutifully allowed Ben and Rainor to lead me into position at the center of the platform, but my mind was whirling with all of the possibilities I was facing. What are we doing? Do I, and the rest of humanity, really want to share our world with the phantoms and ghouls of under-world? What will happen if I decide not to use my telekinetic ability to draw the two worlds together? Would my refusal only result in them bringing someone else forward to perform the same duty? No! I have got to remain in control if I am going to do anything! What would happen if I were to use my power to thrust against the under-world instead of pulling it toward us and enabling the merging? Would all life really be destroyed?

  “Everybody, listen up! You must hold your piece of crystal tight, like this!” Karol demonstrated by holding out one hand with palm open to expose the gleaming blue gem lying against the paleness of her hand. Her fingers snapped closed around the stone fragment, “And when you are given the command, you will put every ounce of your thoughts into feeding it.”

  Moaning softly, I let my legs go limp and swooned into Ben’s arms.

  “Halie! Are you alright?” he demanded in alarm.

  “I just need to get my breath for a couple of minutes,” I managed to gasp out.

  Rainor was immed
iately at my other side, holding my arm, helping me toward a nearby chair.

  “I’ll be okay,” I assured them, “you just go ahead and get everybody ready. Jen and Jake will take care of me.”

  Jennie and Jake exchanged curious glances and quickly moved to my side, replacing the two older men. Rainor readily left my side, letting my friends take over, but Ben hesitated for a moment, reluctant to leave.

  “I’ll be right over there if you need me,” he promised. He started across the deck but he turned back, giving me a quizzical look. Plainly he wasn’t sure what was going on, but there was too much to be done and not much time left. Turning away, he joined Rainor, Pete and the other village leaders who were instructing the unnaturally silent crowd of people, checking to be sure that they were all holding one of the precious gems.

  “Really?” Jennie whispered in my ear as she leaned in, pretending to fuss over me. “You need someone to coddle you now?”

  I shook my head at my friends to silence them before holding a hand out to summon Kelly to me.

  “Hey sis, is everything okay?” Kelly asked suspiciously as she slid in beside me.

  “I’m fine, but I’ve got to talk to you all.” I gathered them close so that it looked like I needed comforting before going on. “Look, I do not like this whole merging thing one bit. Here we are, nearly over-run with phantoms and now they’re going to let in more of the things and the ghouls? And then there’s this business about doubling the amount of water on this world as well. No, I do not like it at all!”

  “Thank goodness,” groaned Jake. “I couldn’t get you away from your little escort,” he nodded at the two large men circulating through the crowd, “long enough to have a conversation. What are we going to do?”