Fatal Green
Page 27
Agent Kline answered, “Hard to say, but it was not connected to either the mansion or the plant. I believe it was the original portal used by Dr. Samuel. He must have discovered a natural portal in the mountain and took advantage of it to go back and forth between the two worlds while he built the inter-dimensional mansions. Don’t be surprised if the mountain portal along with any other natural portals in the Searles Valley region continue to exist. After all, they are natural phenomenon, not man made.”
Granny spoke again. “Let’s just say our buddies next door are not at all happy with the loss of the mansions. They’d like to blame the whole thing on us, but can’t, unless they’re willing to accept the same blame for themselves. They were there too when the storms hit in both worlds.
“Instead, they are conveniently blaming Misters S and C, because those two were heading up the whole Swift Creek Project. Our buddies are saying the rest of us, including them, were simply following orders from S. They insist Swift Creek is dead now, and it’s all S and C’s fault. According to them, the loss of the mansions is the result of the illegal and reckless efforts of S and C to exterminate, rather than protect, the transition guardian and the Mojave Green.”
Glancing at Agent Kline, Granny continued, “I’m pretty sure they don’t know anything about the natural portals between dimensions, or they would be jumping at the chance to take over Swift Creek. Unless you really want to end up working for those idiots next door, I recommend nothing more be said on the topic of natural portals.”
Martha sighed. “It’s so unfair to blame everything on Misters S and C.”
Camm thought of two old men who had started out as ornery, obnoxious antagonists, but in the end had become her comrades and friends.
Lenny studied the silent room. “Isn’t any one curious about Granny’s tat?”
“You know.” Agent Kline jumped in. “I think Mr. S might have had time to save himself, but he used that time to make sure those two native guys got back to their own desert world.”
Cal turned to Agent Kline. “Wherever Mr. S is, I hope he’s not with that green rat.”
Agent Kline slowly shook his head and shrugged. “I hope so too, but it’s impossible to say. It was the energy from two wildly ferocious thunderstorms that held the two mansions together.”
He paused, frowning as he thought how to explain. “And then, like when a rubber band is stretched to its limits, when it finally slips free, all that energy is suddenly let loose, flinging the mansions in different directions to totally different worlds. The rat could have been in one mansion and Mr. S in the other. If so, they are now each on different worlds in separate dimensions.”
He shrugged again. “I guess we may never know where they went.”
“By the way.” Granny looked at Camm. “One of the new agents did a follow-up interview with the Justenough family when he came through Ridgecrest. He met Jimmy, your puppy, when he talked to Kissie. Everyone calls your dog Jimmy the Giant. He is already as big as a small pony, and growing like a weed.” Granny smiled. “I think you brought home a giant species of canine from the other world. The Justenoughs claim Jimmy is eating them out of house and home. They’re anxious for you to come and get your dog as soon as possible.”
Eyes looked away as Camm searched for moral support. Cal held up both hands. “That puppy dog is yours. Don’t get any ideas that I like Jimmy just because I kissed you. I mean, I like you, but only a big, fat, bloated brontosaurs would think that means I’m going to like Jimmy too.”
Camm grinned. “Well, you’re a big, fat, bloated brontosaurs’ butt!”
Agent Allen and Martha both rolled their eyes.
Cal retorted, “Yeah, and guess what? You’re a big, fat, bloated brontosaurs’ fart!”
A deep chuckle erupted from Camm. She smiled lovingly at Cal. “Whatever!”
Camm leaned back against Cal and felt his hand slip into hers, fingers intertwined. She glanced up at him, meeting his smiling eyes. Camm grinned back, nestling in closer, content. College waited for them in the fall. Later, there would be time to explore inter-dimensional portals together—Camm would love exploring new worlds with Cal.
Then, she glanced around the room, thinking what havoc this crew could wreck together in this dimension or any other. The combined talents of these people made for one incredible team, but more importantly, she and Cal would always be Team One. Their adventures were just beginning.
She sent a sly sideways glance at Cal. At the moment, what she wanted most was to go check on Jimmy, their dog.
Lenny could wait no longer. “Okay, okay, I’ll tell you what Granny’s tat says. It’s Hebrew—a bible verse. And, not just any verse, but an Old Testament verse from Psalms. It says, “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.”
The room was quiet for a moment. Then Martha reached down to rest her hand gently on Lenny’s shoulder. “I wonder what valley Mr. S is walking through right now.”
XXXVII
This is different. Indeed, everything is different. Mr. S rubbed his unshaved chin.
Mr. S had escaped the mansion just as it collapsed in on itself. Where it had stood, now lay a small mountain of stone and rubble. Everything inside had been destroyed. Even the grandfather clock was gone. In fact, the whole implosion had seemed to focus on the grandfather clock.
Staring at the rubble, he wondered if this world’s inhabitants knew of dimensional portals, leading to other worlds, or that a portal existed under this pile of debris. Still, from all available facts, he deemed it certain he would never return again to his own world. Wherever he was now, he would need to make a new home for himself.
He felt completely adrift. In the last week, he had lost his brother and now his home world. Every acquaintance he had cultivated, every purpose that had driven him was at an end. In a very real way, his predicament felt like both death and birth at the same time. On one hand, everything from his old life was unexpectedly gone. On the other, a whole new life stretched out before him.
Like a baby, he had absolutely no idea what life now held in store for him. Life was a new game with different rules and pitfalls, but also with the possibility of new rewards as well.
In truth, Mr. S was ready for a new game. With a scientist’s eye, he surveyed his surroundings and sighed with relief. He wasn’t in a desert any more, that was certain. He wasn’t in a jungle either, though a wide variety of abundant plant life surrounded him. He stood on thick, green grass, something that would not have been possible in Trona. The air was full of pleasant scents of flowers and lush greenery. Large deciduous trees towered above him—maybe oak, maybe maple, maybe something completely different. The gentle breeze was cool and moist. In the brilliant moonlight, he watched a thin mist drift along the ground.
He glanced up into the night sky. The heavens were literally filled with countless stars, one star painted on top of another with no spaces in between. The sky was bright with starlight. This world appeared to orbit a star buried in a dense cluster of stars, and the moon appeared two or three times larger than he expected. No wonder the moonlight combined with the starlight was so bright.
Searching for the dry lakebed, the moonlight revealed it was not dry, but an actual lake filled with water. The lake was huge. The musky scent of fish filled his nostrils as he breathed.
On the south end of the lake, a scattered multitude of lights caught his attention. The lights appeared to be clustered around specific locations on one side of the lake.
These lights were not fires burning. No, these were high-energy, artificial lights, emanating from tall structures and large buildings. Not rectangular or squarish buildings, but dome shaped buildings, like nothing he had ever seen before. Some domes were immense, extending upwards into the atmosphere for many hundreds of feet. The surface of each dome reflected the light of the moon and stars in a mirror-like fashion.
Mr. S studied the distant domes with increasing interest. Where there were advanced lighting systems and buildings, there must be people. Or, at least, intelligent life of some kind. With no contrary evidence, he preferred to assume they were friendly. Sooner or later, he would have to introduce himself.
His stomach rumbled. Realizing he was hungry, he wondered what it would take to get a good meal. Of course, the answer to that question would come only as he learned the rules of this new world. If he was going to eat, he had to start playing a new game.
He hesitated only a moment longer before shrugging. There is no time like the present.
Briskly, he walked in the direction of the brightly lit domes.
Acknowledgments
Writing a book is a team effort in so many ways. We appreciate the team of family and friends who have helped us create the Dimensions in Death series, including Pitch Green (2013), Mojave Green (2014), and Fatal Green (2016). Now at the end of the series, we must thank our wives and Ambre, whose editorial services, advice, and imagination were essential to writing and completing the Dimensions in Death series. In addition to our children, our grandchildren have served as beta readers and storyline critics, helping us sharpen the plot and tell a better tale. Last, but not least, our editors Devon Ward and Kelsy Thompson have provided patient support, insight, and encouragement in the writing and storytelling process. We are incredibly fortunate to be surrounded by a group of intelligent and caring people. May they never stop dreaming.
Berk & Andy, The Brothers Washburn
A. L. Washburn and B. W. Washburn are licensed lawyers and full-time writers, residing in the mountains of Colorado and the deserts of southern Utah. Growing up in a large family in Trona, California, a small mining town not far from Death Valley, they spent many happy days in their youth roaming the wastelands of the Mojave Desert.
After taking time out to explore South American cultures, they returned to finish graduate school and start separate legal careers on opposite sides of the North American continent. Both Brothers spent many happy years raising families and wandering in the wastelands of the law before their lifelong love of storytelling brought them together to co-write the young-adult horror series, the Dimensions in Death, beginning with Pitch Green (2013), then Mojave Green (2014), and now Fatal Green (2016).
In addition to a horror series cast in green, the authors write separately in literary and science fiction. They have discovered there yet remains many untold wonders to be discovered in the endless realms of the imagination.
Connect with The Brothers Washburn at
www.thebrotherswashburn.com