Uncontrollable (Beyond Human)

by Nina Croft

  There was no point in worrying about that until they had some proof.

  They had to see if the machine left, and then they had to get out of there, fast. This place was due to blow up in ten minutes’ time, destroying everything, and they didn’t want to be around when that happened. Toril had told them the place had blown just before the machine was due to leave. Quinn had reckoned that was a lie. The explosion was a matter of record. They knew the exact time.

  “Did it work?” Quinn asked. “Are we when and where we need to be?”

  She glanced at her transponder. The green light was still flashing. “We’re good.” She blew out her breath and looked around. “This way, I think.” She’d memorized the plans of the building.

  A cry sounded from somewhere close by, followed by a shout.

  “What the hell is happening?” Quinn said.

  “Let’s find out.” She set off at a run toward where the shout had come from. She was sure it was where they were headed anyway, and she had a bad feeling about this. Quinn sprinted past her. They weren’t armed, and she swore under her breath. But this was supposed to have been a quick fact-finding mission. They hadn’t expected to engage with anyone from this time.

  Another shout, closer.

  They came to an open doorway. It was blackened around the edges, as if it had been hit by a laser blast.

  Quinn skidded to a halt, put up his hand to stop her, but she’d already come to a standstill beside him.

  She peered around the open doorway. A body lay on the floor just inside the door. A blue body. Probably a Krellian technician. He’d been blasted by a laser at close quarters and half his head was burned away. “Shit,” Quinn muttered beside her.

  She studied the body to see if he might be armed. A laser pistol was in a holster at his waist—he clearly hadn’t had time to draw the weapon.

  She took in the rest of the room with a quick scan. The area was huge, with a high ceiling. At the far end stood the time machine. Silver, and shaped like a rocket, though it didn’t actually fly. It was locked into a scaffolding-like structure, which she knew from her studies to be the equivalent of the time shift chamber they used in the future. Though the early machines had been able to pilot themselves, they could also be drawn back to their point of origin.

  On her wrist, her transponder beeped. Five minutes to go.

  Six people stood by the control panel at the edge of the room, three men and three women. There were all tall with black hair and were dressed in the clothes of the twenty-first century. Jeans and T-shirts. They were working at something on the control panel and a second later, the door on the machine slid open. One of them left the group and went inside. He came out a second later, his laser pistol trained on two Krellians. They peered around, stopped as they saw the downed technician. They were urged on by the man behind them, who pointed his pistol at the far end of the room. They complied, and he stood guarding them. Mel turned her attention to the others. They were moving now, two of them pushing something between them.

  At her side, Quinn stiffened. “I’m betting that’s a goddamn bomb,” he muttered. “Fuck, we have to stop this. Stay here.”

  She had a moment to realize what he meant to do, then he was moving fast. He passed her, diving for the body of the downed Krellian. He grabbed the laser pistol from the holster, hit the ground and rolled, taking cover behind a cabinet. Without thinking she sprinted after him.

  “You were supposed to stay there.”

  Lasers blasted around them, shooting sparks off the metal cabinet.

  “How the fuck does this work?” Quinn muttered.

  She grabbed the pistol from him and flicked the switch to full. She couldn’t see but shot a blast toward where she calculated the group would be.

  No way could they win this fight. They had to get out of there, and they could come back better prepared. Only two minutes were left, but there was a good chance they wouldn’t survive that long.

  She peered around the edge of the cabinet, just as the man guarding the two Krellians shot one, then the next before he had time to react. The others were already inside the machine, one standing at the doorway, shooting a continuous blast in their direction. She got off a shot, and he ducked behind the doorway. But the other was shooting at them now as he backed up across the room, heading for the time machine. A blast grazed her shoulder, and she dropped to her knees behind the cabinet, pressing close to Quinn, the scent of singed material and flesh filling her nostrils. She gasped as the pain hit.

  “Are you all right. Shit, Mel, talk to me.” She could hear the panic in his voice.

  She swallowed. “I’m fine. It’s just a graze. We have to leave. We don’t have the firepower to stop them.” Not that they had a choice—they had less than a minute before they were pulled back to the future. It was a minute too long. “We need to instigate the emergency time displacement protocol.”

  “Fuck that.” He grabbed the pistol from her hand and was on his feet and shooting.

  But it was too late. The last man was inside and the door to the time machine had closed. The laser blasts bounced harmlessly off the outer shell.

  She pushed herself upright and ran across to the control panel. The coordinates flashed on the screen.

  Her transponder beeped. They were going to be pulled out of here in seconds.

  The time machine was starting to pulsate, filling the room with a low hum, the edges wavering. It was almost gone. There must be a way to stop it. She looked around, then grabbed the laser pistol from Quinn and shot at the control panel. The first blast rebounded, almost hitting her. And she swore. Then she shot again, and the screen exploded, though she could still see the coordinates. She continued, shooting a nonstop blast. The humming was louder now; the machine was still functioning. Through the broken screen, she could see the timer, the numbers flickering and changing, whirling backward. She stared as it sputtered to a stop, trying to read the number through the shattered glass.

  Minus 8062.

  Then her transponder beeped again, and she was gone.

  …

  Nausea rolled in his stomach. Quinn swallowed down the hot acid that flooded his throat and waited for it to pass. Opening his eyes, he found Mel in the seat beside him, and he breathed again. She was looking his way. Her face was pale, but her eyes were clear.

  “I love you,” he said. He’d thought he’d lost her back there, and he never wanted to relive a moment like that again. Her lips curved into a smile at his words. He could see the scorched material on her left arm, but she looked okay, and he blew out his breath. He had the urge to say I told you so, but resisted. He actually had no pleasure in the thought that he’d been right.

  He pressed the button to release the restraints but stayed where he was. If he moved right now, he’d likely throw up. Finally, he decided he could probably open his mouth without puking.

  “What the fuck just happened? Did you stop it?”

  It was a stupid question. He already knew the answer. He’d seen the time machine, complete with what he was sure was a bomb, vanish, just before they’d been pulled out of there.

  “No.” She rested her head against the back of the chair. “But the controls were damaged, I’m sure. The date was showing minus 8062, and the location was screwed up as well. So hopefully they didn’t get to where or when they wanted to be. No one’s ever made a shift that big. There’s a good chance they were destroyed in transit.”

  Quinn didn’t think so. “Holy shit.” He shook his head. “You sent them back ten thousand years. And I’ll bet they end up in the middle of Africa.”

  Her face went blank for a moment. “You think that’s where your ancestors came from?”

  “It makes sense.” He couldn’t get his head around it. He pictured the six people again. All tall, black haired, blue eyed. And he was betting all of them had four toes on each foot. Had he been looking at his great-great…? Christ, he didn’t like to think how many greats. They must have had a shock when they
opened the doors and found themselves not where or when they expected to be. Had they tried to get back? Had they known the facility was going to be blown up as soon as they were gone, making a return trip impossible? Somehow, he doubted that. Were they betrayed by whoever had employed them?

  “Ten thousand years ago,” Mel said. “Of course, they wouldn’t have known that—there were no calendars around back then. But it must have been obvious from the lack of technology that they were way too early.”

  “I wonder why they didn’t just leave. It must have been a harsh environment.” He couldn’t even begin to imagine what it would have been like.

  “Maybe the machine was damaged. Or they just didn’t know how to reprogram it. My guess is they couldn’t or wouldn’t leave the time machine. Or the bomb. The Tel-group always completes their missions—so they waited, probably hoping that someone would draw them back.”

  “Fuck. I wonder if Kane is aware that he’s been guarding a fucking great bomb all these years?” Something occurred to him. “And that his mission to save mankind is actually a plot to blow them all up.” It looked like they weren’t the good guys, after all. But why, though? Why had the Tel-group hijacked the machine? Who were they working for and what was their ultimate goal? Not knowing was going to drive him crazy.

  “Or maybe we stopped it,” Mel said. “And we’ll get out of here and find everything changed.”

  “Would there even be a ‘here’ if that was the case?”

  “Probably not.”

  At that moment, the door to the chamber slid open and Mel’s father appeared. He took one look at her and hurried over. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine. It’s just a scratch.”

  “You weren’t supposed to engage.”

  “We didn’t plan to, but things went a little different than we expected. The time machine was hijacked by members of the Tel-group, who killed the Krellians. No doubt that was why the place was blown up afterward—to hide the hijacking.”

  “But why?”

  “Well, they were carrying what looked like a bomb, so I’m guessing they planned to blow something up.”

  “You think they caused the Cataclysm?”

  So, it had still happened. Christ, had Kane succeeded? Had he somehow got the time machine to function and taken the bomb to America? But why there? What was so important about that particular place and time? And surely even Kane would have balked at blowing up the Earth. Wouldn’t he?

  “I don’t know,” Mel replied. “We couldn’t stop the machine, though we did manage to divert it to a few thousand years earlier. But obviously, the Cataclysm has still happened. So what do we do now? Quinn was right. There’s a huge possibility that the past we know isn’t the true past.”

  “Let’s get you to medical. You can do your report and we’ll discuss it afterward.”

  “But—”

  “It will make no difference whether you go back now or in a day or a year,” he snapped.

  He was right. It was when they went back to that mattered, not when they left here. But Quinn couldn’t shake the sense of urgency he felt. They had to stop the bomb from going off. Would Kane believe them? Would he agree to abandon his mission? Even he could see that setting a bomb off could hardly be of help to mankind. Quinn forced his impatience down.

  They’d go back. Mel would go with him and stay with him because if they succeeded and prevented the Cataclysm, then her world and her whole existence was going to change. Everything would change.

  They had to decide when to go back. Probably just after they left would work. They could head straight for Uganda. Kane and the others should still be there, although maybe they would have heeded Mel’s warning and moved to a safer location. Hell, they might never find them. Maybe they’d be better off going to before Mel had told Jake.

  At least they could take the time to think it through.

  He followed them down the corridor as they talked quietly together. Was her father trying to persuade her to stay?

  The sound of thunder filled his ears and the floor rocked under his feet. He was thrown against the curved wall and then he crashed to the floor. The screech of an alarm filled the corridor, and red lights flashed. He lay for a moment, waiting for the next blow. When nothing happened, he pushed himself up. Mel was already on her feet, her father beside her, talking quickly into his comm unit.

  There was another hit, and Quinn went down again, striking the side of his head. He blacked out for a moment. When he came to, his ears were filled with the shriek of tearing metal. Mel crouched beside him, her hand stretched out. “Are you okay?”

  He was lying flat out on the wall of the corridor; the space station had twisted from its axis and he was staring straight out of one of the portals. Earth was below him, a long way down. “I’m fine, I think.” He got to his feet, rubbing a hand over the back of his head. “What the hell happened?”

  “We’re under attack,” her father said.

  “No kidding. By who?”

  “A Bhaxian warship. The shields are barely holding. This place wasn’t built for defense.”

  “Why?” Mel asked. “Why would the Bhaxians attack the Federation? They must know there would be repercussions.”

  “Maybe they fear what will happen if they don’t attack more than the repercussions if they do. They must have discovered about your trip. They’re destroying the time displacement units. This changes everything.”

  That probably answered his question as to who had sent the Tel-group back. The Bhaxians. But not the reason why.

  A distant crash. This time they kept their feet, but something had changed. They were spinning slowly in space, but at least they were the right way up again.

  Her father strode to the portal, peered out. “We’ve broken free from the main station. We’ll lose life support soon. Come.”

  “Where are we going?”

  “Back to the chamber.”

  Quinn grabbed Mel’s hand. He had the urge to hold onto her and never let her go. They couldn’t die like this. He refused to die like this.

  The door to the chamber was jammed shut, and Mel’s father shot it out with a blast from his laser pistol and kicked the door open.

  “You might need this.” He handed the pistol to Quinn as they entered the chamber, then waved a hand at the chairs. “Sit.”

  Mel hesitated. “We can’t leave you.”

  “There’s a shuttle on its way to pick me up. You can stay. Or you can go with your friend. The choice is yours.”

  Quinn’s heart stopped beating, he was sure of it. Time seemed to stretch out. Would she choose him?

  She bit her lip, then tugged free of Quinn’s hold. And for a moment, he thought he’d lost her, that she had chosen to stay. He stood, unmoving as his heart was ripped from his body. Then she crossed to her father and wrapped her arms around him. He allowed it for a few seconds, then put her from him.

  She stepped back. “I never told you—I know it’s not something you want to hear—but I love you.”

  “I know.”

  Then she turned her back on him and returned to Quinn, her face set, her expression determined. “Come on, we need to go.”

  “What’s happening?” Quinn said.

  “We’re not coming back. Any moment now, there will be a direct hit and the time displacement units will be destroyed. We’ll be stuck in the past.”

  “You’ll be alive,” her father said. He gave a shrug. “And if you’re successful, then none of this might come about anyway. The future will change, revert back to what it should have been. Now go do your job, Special Agent.”

  She gave a small nod and crossed the room, then sat in one of the chairs. Quinn took the seat next to her, watching as her father headed to the controls, then turned back to look at Quinn.

  “You’ve got one opportunity. When and where is your best chance of stopping this?”

  Quinn’s mind raced. What if they got back and they couldn’t locate the others? What if they’d
moved? But there was one time and place he could pretty much guarantee he would find Kane. “28th February, 2020.” As he strapped himself in, he reeled off the coordinates of where the Krellians’ time machine had been heading before Mel shot out the control panel. He turned to look at her. She was staring at her father as though she could imprint him on her mind.

  “I love you,” Quinn said. Whatever happened, they would face it together.

  Her gaze flicked to him, her eyes filled with sadness but also love. “I love you. Wherever. Whenever.”

  He flicked the button to release his wrist restraints and held out his hand. She slid her palm into his and held tight. If everything went to shit, he’d go out holding onto her as hard as he could. He wasn’t about to lose her now. Though if they didn’t find a way to stop this, they wouldn’t have long to live.

  Then the world vanished, and he was whirling through time.

  Epilogue

  The air was chilled, and a frigid wind shivered across her skin. Mel opened her eyes and pushed herself up. She still had tight hold of Quinn’s hand and as she pulled free, his grip tightened for a second, before he released her.

  “Are you okay?” he asked.

  Just about every inch of her hurt. The burn from the laser blast stung like fire, and she was bruised and battered from being flung around the space station. But she was alive. For how long, though, she didn’t know. “I’m fine.”

  “Glad one of us is—I feel like I’ve been run over by a truck. Or maybe attacked by a Bhaxian warship. Funny, I never thought I would say anything even remotely like that.” He got to his feet and looked around. “So are we where and when we’re supposed to be?”