Then, everything shifted slightly. It was the same globe, positioned identically in space, but, instead of greens and blues, it was dull, dark browns. Parts were completely black. The sun itself had vanished.
I was back on earth—or a version of it. Different. The skyline was black and red. The earth was dry, cracked, and dead. The air was cold. No plants. No sounds of insects or animals. Just sickly quiet. A flash, and then the creature I’d seen in my first vision was there—a tall, thin, gray body with a garishly elongated face, small, round, black eyes, and—I realized for the first time—a long thin lip line, stretching from one side of its face to the other.
There were more of them, hundreds maybe. Buildings appeared around them— beautiful, silver, pristine structures—then disintegrated. More rose, and again, crumbled to dust. Over and over again. A wail erupted around the creatures—from the creatures.
Elliot whispered, “Nothing can survive on this earth for long. Not metals. Not machines. Not life.”
The creatures vanished. They were leaving. That earth was uninhabitable for them. Then, one hesitated, turning its head slightly, its unblinking stare caught by something in the distance.
The plain shimmered and, as I’d seen before, a pinprick of light appeared. It widened, revealing a circle of the earth I knew. The two figures I’d seen at the beginning stood side by side on the green, lush earth. From this side, though, they were translucent and blurred, with a slight glow surrounding them. The creature moved in closer, slowly circling the scene. After a moment’s hesitation, it rushed toward them, passing through them as if they were an illusion. Something akin to a grimace crossed its face, and it opened its mouth, wide. Its jaw unhinged, and I winced at the three rows of pointed teeth along both the top and the bottom.
A terrible noise filled the air; it had seen the other earth. More of its kind turned, then gathered around the scene. Raw anger emanated from the creatures as they watched. Slowly, whispering began, so quiet I wondered at first if I imagined it. It spread quickly through the ranks closest to the images.
Again, Elliot showed Tyler the passage of years, but this time from the dark dimension.
More human beings, each surrounded by a slight colored glow, appeared to the creatures, shifting in and out of sight. As some of the creatures continued to rebuild their gleaming structures, others focused on whispering to the lucent people. Although their voices didn’t seem to have an overt effect, the light around the people grayed, muddied.
“What are they?” Tyler mouthed the question, nearly breathless with horror.
“Humans can’t pronounce what they are. Sufficent to call them creatures,” Elliot said, his gentle voice somehow fierce. “Their whispers contaminate your energy. Weaken you.”
My head pounded as I tried to focus on the cascading images in front of me. The metallic buildings crumbled, decaying even as the creatures built them. A number of them broke away and began to focus their attention on one building, working frantically, faster and faster, fighting the decay. The whispering voices swelled into an overwhelming clamor.
I yanked my hand away from Tyler, trembling. Two things occurred to me, two things terrified me more than anything I’d just witnessed. The first was that these creatures, although not in our reality, somehow existed here at the same time and affected us.
The second thing I was certain of—they wanted in.
Chapter Five
“Where are you going? I’m not done.”
“I am.” I stood. It wasn’t that I didn’t believe him. I did. Without a shadow of a doubt, I believed him. Tyler had shown me. No, not Tyler, exactly. Elliot. And, for whatever reason, it was absolutely impossible not to believe him. That was the problem. I freaked out. “I need to get back to school.” I tried to keep my voice steady as I walked through the small apartment without a glance in his direction.
“Rachel, wait.” The bed groaned as he stood to follow me, but I didn’t slow when I swung open his front door.
I took the stairs two at a time. He caught up at the bottom and grabbed my hand. Before his thoughts intruded again, I shook him off and continued toward his bike, parked along the curb.
Riding with him, there’d be no escaping contact. I veered away and marched down the sidewalk. I was being ridiculous. I knew it even as he kept pace behind me. I had no idea what bus would take me home, and it was too far to walk.
Besides, it wasn’t like I could pretend to not know the truth. Slowing, I let him catch up, and he fell into step beside me. “What will happen if they get in?”
He didn’t immediately reply. I moved my shoulder closer, resting the back of my hand against his.
“Rachel—” he started.
Abruptly, I was in the parking lot in front of the high school. The stillness sent a shiver up my spine. Nothing moved. The school buzzer sounded, and the stream of students casually filed out, their voices shattering the silence. The atmosphere around them darkened, the blue sky fading to red. They didn’t seem to notice. Then slowly, each one stopped and looked directly up. The gray-black creatures surrounded them, translucent at first, then solidifying. Before anyone could flee, they leapt at my classmates, tearing at flesh with their teeth.
Shrieks pierced the air.
The vision evaporated.
I bent over and heaved. Mom’s French toast was much worse coming up. Tyler stepped back slightly and waited.
After I straightened, he spoke quietly, “That’s what they want. But Elliot said we can stop them.” He held out the small, sharp weapon I’d seen in his room.
Panic exploded. “Are you insane? With what? Jewelry?” I thought of the bracelets. Then pointed toward the small gray weapon in his hand. “Toys?” My pulse thudded in my ears.
Over his left shoulder, something pierced a small opening in the air. My eyes widened as the hole expanded, faster than it opened in the hospital. He must have seen or felt my terror, because he whipped around.
“What are you doing?” The darkness expanded, enveloping us.
I grasped Tyler's hand and sensed him fight against the breach with me. It was too late. No. Somehow, we were no longer peering into the other world. I'd taken us there.
The air was different: thick, hot. In the distance, three creatures encircled the shimmering image of a boy. Their hushed, indistinguishable tones drifted across the night. Farther away, others did the same to unsuspecting victims. Off to our right, a cluster of large, decaying facilities rose from the dry earth. In front of them, angled away from us, stood four creatures, stoically staring out into the night.
Tyler inclined his head close to mine; his lips almost touched my ear. “Re-open it. Get us out of here.”
I shook my head, trying hard to be invisible. I was sure they’d hear my heartbeat. “Can’t.”
“You opened it the first time.”
I shook my head again.
He growled, “You did.”
“Didn’t mean to.”
“Try.”
I glared ahead, ignoring the pressure of his hand grasping mine, and he whispered louder, “Try.”
I stared at a space in front of me and willed it to open. A bead of sweat trickled down my forehead. Nothing. “I can’t do it, Tyler.” The creatures devoured us, just before Tyler forced the image out of his mind. “That’s not helping.”
He kept his voice hushed to little more than breath. “Maybe … .” He stopped speaking and showed me instead. In his mind, we crouched and crept to the side of the building adjacent to where the creatures stood.
I nodded slowly. It was as good a plan as any.
Keeping his hand, I followed his lead as we made our way through the dark.
We stooped in shadow by the wall of the large building.
I whispered, “Where are we?”
“You know where.”
“I guess. How?”
In answer, he took me, through his thoughts, back to the alleyway with Elliot. Elliot had a small, sharp knife in his hand. In one sw
ift motion, he drew it quickly across his palm. The skin was white for a moment. Then a line of red appeared, then blood ran down his hand. Tyler, whose palm was already bleeding, held out his hand to Elliot. Elliot took it, firmly. I saw blood—internally, like the kind I’d seen in educational films or under a microscope in biology. Cells. The cells were changing. They merged.
I looked at him quizzically. He shrugged. “Elliot’s blood does something to our DNA—changes it to be like his. Now we go between worlds, like Elliot and World Maker.”
“But those things—they can’t?”
“Not yet.”
I stifled a shudder.
“So now what? How do we get out of here?”
“Now you try again.”
“Can’t you do it? You said you’ve been here before.”
“Only with Elliot. He said it takes time to learn to do it without him. I can’t do it on my own yet. You obviously can.”
“What if I can’t?”
He sighed. “Then I guess we stay here until they tear us apart, eat us, or something.”
I focused harder. Open. Open, open, open. Nothing. Two of the creatures moved beyond us, their gait slow and fluid.
I glanced at Tyler. To my horror, he glowed—a light, earthy green.
“What is that?” I asked.
“What?”
“You’re glowing.”
“You can see it?” Was it just me, or did he sound impressed? “It usually takes longer, once Elliot finds you, to start seeing it. It’s energy.”
“Can they see ours?” The creatures paused, just past where we hunkered down.
“Yes, but not well. What Elliot did—it makes it harder for them to see us.”
The creature’s head turned slightly toward me, its eyes narrowed. Harder, I surmised as it took another step closer, but not impossible. The other one stopped, too, and drifted toward us.
“You take the one on the left.” Tyler straightened.
“What? Take it where? What am I supposed to do with it?” Panic surged again, choking me. As I asked, I was on my feet, knees bent slightly, right in front of left. My hands curled into fists. I should’ve run across the dirt. Instead, I watched the creature, waiting for my moment. To do what?
He whispered, “You’ll figure it out. Your body will mostly know what to do.”
Mostly. I focused on a point beyond them. Open. Open. Open.
The creatures caught sight of us and shrieked. They leapt toward us, moving faster than I’d ever seen a person or an animal move. One reached Tyler as he met them halfway. He jabbed with the metallic weapon in his hand.
The second one attacked me. I dodged, and my sneakered foot connected with its back hard enough to send it flying. My body … reacted. The creature scrambled from the ground. I chanced a sidelong glance at Tyler. His creature was on the ground surrounded by a black, sticky substance. Another approached rapidly.
I snapped my attention back in time to see my creature charge me again. I swung my fist and connected with its skull. It hit the ground. Pain shot through my thumb and hand. No time, no breath for a scream, but a yelp escaped me. Another creature reached us and lunged at me. I cradled my throbbing hand. I sidestepped, but it whirled and grabbed my leg. Claws dug deep into my skin as it threw me off balance. My stomach smacked the ground. Instantly, I pushed up, jumped to my feet, and threw my fist into the creature’s throat. It fell back, coughed, then came at me again. Ignoring the pain in my hand, I sprang forward and grabbed its shoulders, swung it around, and threw it down.
Tyler knelt on the other one, pinning its arms to the ground with his knees. Both of his hands pressed firmly against its hairless scalp.
Sharp claws raked across my back. I dropped, and the creature’s hand grasped my arm and slammed me down on my back. Immediately on top of me, its sharp teeth chomped at my face. In a flash, it was gone, landing with a thud several feet away. Tyler leapt on top of it, driving the metal weapon through its body. He pulled the weapon back, wiping something black on his pants.
“Can you focus on getting us out of here now? There’ll be more on the way. One or two we can take. An army?” He shook his head.
“Right.” I didn’t know how I’d opened the portal to begin with. We both knew I couldn’t do it. I concentrated anyway. Nothing. I willed the air to move, the curtain to open.
Tyler laid his palm against my back, and a calm sense of strength filled me. He was working with me. My breath slowed.
A pinpoint of light appeared, and the darkness peeled away until their world vanished. We stood together, a mile or so farther down the street from where I’d first opened the portal. Tyler’s left eye was swollen shut, the thick gash above it scarcely missing his eyelid. By the way he was looking at me, I suspected I hadn’t fared any better. My hand throbbed. I blinked rapidly at the sunlight, breathing deeply as my pulse returned to normal.
“You should put ice on that when you get home.” He spoke softly as he inspected my hand.
I followed his gaze. My thumb bent at an unnatural angle. I didn’t think ice would do it. Blood soaked my pant leg and the back of my shredded shirt. “I’ll need to see a doctor.”
“You won’t.”
I opened my mouth to argue, then closed it. The pain was ebbing already. I recalled the shock on the doctor’s face as he removed my bandages.
“Okay.” I squinted down the street at his bike.
“You all right?” He let go of my hand and we walked back toward his bike. “You still wanna bail?”
“Yes.” I thought of the emptiness in their black eyes. “And yes.”
“But?”
“I don’t know. I can’t pretend they don’t exist.”
We stopped by his bike, and he turned to face me. “Will you do something for me?”
“Besides going to another dimension and breaking my hand on an alien’s head? What?”
“Look at me.”
If I felt awkward sitting on his bed before … “I am.”
“No, really look.”
I did. Dark hair. Deep brown eyes. Slightly squared jaw line. Broad shoulders. I blushed. That accomplished nothing.
“Now, close your eyes. When you open them, really try to see me.”
I sighed deeply and closed my eyes. What exactly did he think that was going to achieve? I opened my eyes and the air around him shimmered slightly. I focused on the sensation, trying to see him—truly see him. He glowed just a little—that warm green I’d seen before. It was … comforting. I blinked and expected the light to disappear. It didn’t.
I couldn’t keep the smile from my lips, and he grinned. It was the first time I’d seen him really smile. He had straight, white teeth. I glanced away. When I looked back, the color surrounding him was gone.
“Yours is nice, too.”
“Uh—thanks.”
“Are you up for meeting the others tonight?” At my hesitation, he sighed. “I know you haven’t agreed to anything yet, but you’ll like them.”
I thought of the pile of homework I had to catch up on but then I reminded myself that, apparently, I needed to decide if I wanted to try to save the world. Let Hamlet wait a little longer. After all, I knew how his story turned out.
“Let me take your number.” He handed me his phone and I keyed it in. He held out his hand. “Here, give me your phone. I’ll put mine in, too.”
I was relieved. For some reason, I hadn’t been able to make myself ask. We’d been to an alternate reality together. You’d think exchanging numbers would be easy. I watched him punch in the numbers. We swapped phones again, and I shoved mine into my pocket.
The ride home was calming. I was surprised at how beautiful the town was, and how fragile life suddenly seemed. I wished Jared had been able to experience this whole thing with me. He loved the stars and the idea of life beyond. He would have been blown away to think that there was another world right here.
As we got close to the school, I spotted my mom’s Buick parked out fron
t. I couldn’t let her see me like this.
He read me, or thought the same thing, and pulled easily around the school parking lot to the back exit, slowing to a stop at the end of the lane.
“Thanks.” I got off and handed him his helmet.
“No problem. See you soon.” He pulled away. That place was no more than a footnote to him. I walked quickly toward home. I pictured my mom sitting alone in the car waiting for me and ignored the tinge of guilt. She’d get over it. In the meantime, it would give me enough time to get home and change before she saw me.
I approached Mikey’s two-story house and wondered what it would be like to live in a place as small as Tyler’s apartment. Even before Mom married Mikey, we’d never been poor. Our old house didn’t have an open concept with the tall, arched ceiling and the living room mini-bar, but it had been comfortable. It had been home. This house would never be home.
The television blared as I entered. I tried to shake off my irritation. Mikey did not go to work. As an electrician who ran his own business, he took time off whenever he felt like it. He inhaled deeply, and the balding head just visible over the couch in the family room shifted slightly and became immobile again as he exhaled loudly. He was asleep.
I silently made my way past him. As an afterthought, I turned back to look down at him from the stairs. The room felt heavy. As I stared, the light around him sparked to life. Dull red. Maybe it spoke to his character. How much of his muddied energy was caused by the creatures and how much by his own repulsive personality?
In my room, I changed quickly, wadding my ruined clothes up into a tight ball and shoving them into the back of my closet.
“Rachel!” My mom’s voice called from below. That was fast. I glanced in the mirror. No visible cuts. A small bruise that hadn’t quite faded from my cheek. I pulled my hair forward, smoothing it down over the injury. Holding out my hand, I examined the remaining damage. My thumb was slightly swollen. I opened my door at the same time as she appeared in the hallway.
“Where were you? I tried to pick you up.”
Infusion Page 4
