Ghost Hope

by Ripley Patton

  “Clear,” a voice called, and our guy called back, “clear,” as he turned away from us.

  “All clear,” a final voice declared, and I let myself exhale.

  Fineman and the woman crossed out of my view, over to the other side of the tank. When we’d first come in, I’d noticed some kind of machine built up against the tank on that side. Based on their location, that’s what they’d come for.

  “You’re sure this will work?” the woman asked.

  “Yes, yes,” Fineman said dismissively. “I assure you, when you’ve worked with PSS as long as I have, you begin to understand it on an intuitive level. The fact that it’s in its original gaseous form makes no difference to my highly trained senses. Even without the resonator activated, I can tell it’s as viable and potent as the day you created it.”

  “We didn’t create it,” the woman protested. “I told you, that was an act of terrorism. We simply kept a sample to study in hopes of counteracting the effects of the accident.”

  “Which you couldn’t do, of course,” Fineman said. “And then your government pulled the funding on this entire facility and ordered all the chemicals destroyed. But you didn’t know how to destroy this one, and so here we are.”

  “You sought us out and offered your services, Doctor,” the woman said, sounding pissed off. “And don’t forget I was the one who vouched for you since we’d worked together before. Besides, we’re paying you handsomely to dissipate this substance and leave no physical evidence it was ever here. So, you damn well better be able to do that, because if the PSS phenomenon was ever traced back to this location, it would be disastrous for this country on a global scale. Now, let’s get on with it.”

  “Very well,” Fineman said. “Your machinery is arcane, but I believe if I adjust the vibrational tone and speed like so, it will begin the process of amplification toward the Ryberg state.”

  “Toward the Ryberg state?” the woman echoed. “What the hell are you talking about? Amplifying these gasses to the Ryberg state would have repercussions I can’t even begin to imagine.”

  “That’s been your problem from the very beginning, Muriel,” Fineman said, his voice gone cold and vicious. “Such a tiny imagination paired with such a huge intellect. It’s been a terrible waste, I’m afraid.”

  I wasn’t expecting the gunfire—three blasts, discharging almost simultaneously, pounding my eardrums. I know I jumped, and Allie clutched my arm. I barely kept from firing my own weapon out of sheer adrenaline.

  Fuck. What had just happened?

  “Very good,” Fineman said. “With her and her whining chatter ended, I can finally do what must be done.”

  Suddenly, a strange hum filled the room and the tank began vibrating against my leg.

  “There,” Fineman declared. “The process has begun.”

  “What if they send someone to try and stop it?” a voice asked.

  “They have no one who could,” Fineman answered. “Why do you think they were desperate enough to hire me, a lowly research scientist? Now, let’s go.”

  “What about the bodies, sir?”

  “Leave them,” Fineman said. “It’s fitting Muriel should find her final resting place here, beside her legacy, pitiful as it is.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  One of the military guys stepped into my line of sight and opened the hatch. Behind him came Fineman, followed by two more soldiers.

  They walked out, closing the door behind them.

  “What just happened?” Allie whispered, trembling against me.

  “I have no fucking idea,” I said, slowly lowering my gun. There was no way I was going to tell her I’d recognized Fineman.

  We waited a while, still hiding in our dark hole until we were sure they were long gone. Finally, I told Allie to go ahead and I shoved Mike’s gun bag aside, gesturing at the pipes.

  She crawled forward, wiggling her fine ass in front of me through the tight spaces.

  “There are dead people out here,” she said, her voice quivering. “Hurry up.”

  “I’m coming.” I slid the gun bag in front of me.

  As soon as I moved away from the tank, I felt a strange sensation near my hip, as if something alive had crawled into my pants and was squirming to get out.

  I freaked, banging my head on a pipe, but I did manage to look down just as the bullet slipped from the top of my pants pocket and flew toward the tank.

  The harsh tink of metal against metal echoed through the room when it hit.

  “What was that?” Allie asked, clambering back over a pipe toward me.

  “Nothing,” I lied, reaching out and grabbing the bullet, which had stuck to the side of the tank. It was like fighting the pull of a very strong magnet. Once I got it off, though, I wrapped my fingers around it and moved my hand further away. The bullet writhed inside my fist like a living thing trying to get out. I could feel it squeezing between my fingers, the pointy end drilling into my flesh. I wasn’t going to be able to hold it much longer. It was cutting into me. I was going to have to open my fist or it would go right through me. “Stay back,” I told Allie, warding her off with my other hand. Wherever the bullet went this time, I didn’t want her in its path.

  I opened my fist and it flew out, zipping through the air straight back to the tank with an even louder tink.

  “What the hell are you doing?” Allie asked, crawling up to me. She followed my glance to the bullet pressed up against the tank. “Is that from your gun or one of theirs?”

  “One of theirs, I guess,” I said. “I tried to pull it off, but it really wants to stay.”

  “Weird,” she said. “Maybe the tank is magnetic or something.” She reached out, running her hand over the smooth, curved surface of the tank. “It’s vibrating. Was it doing that before?”

  “I don’t know. But I think we should get out of here. Now.”

  I hated to do it, but I left the bullet. I didn’t really have a choice.

  Once we were out of the pipes, I could see the bodies. There were two soldiers, lying far apart, each obviously taken out by one of their military comrades. The old woman, Muriel, was lying near the machine, blood pooling around her. The machine was obviously on now, lights blinking, a low hum coming from it, though it had no on or off button that I could see. If I messed with it, there was a good chance I’d make things worse.

  Mike Palmer might know what to do, but he would be in the dome by now. Maybe, if I could get some kind of message to him—

  But first, Allie and I had to get out of these damn tunnels.

  “Let’s go,” I said, gesturing toward the hatch. “Get us out of here.”

  “Okay,” she said, “but our safest bet is to go out the way we came in. Otherwise, I’m afraid we might run into more of those soldiers, or worse. Don’t worry. If Matty’s there, I won’t let him hurt you. I promise.”

  “I won’t let him hurt me either.” I flashed my gun at her. “You understand?”

  “Yeah, I understand,” she nodded, leading the way.

  * * *

  It was early morning by the time we emerged into the original bunker where Allie and Matty had tied me up. Sure enough, Matty and his crew were waiting for us with bikes, bats, and a few side arms. After Allie convinced them to put their weapons away, Matty explained he’d sent groups to all the tunnel exits searching for us, and some of them had been reporting unusual activity—such as soldiers going in and out—so he’d thought Allie and I might come back this way. Matty wasn’t as dumb as he looked. And he was much braver with all his friends gathered around him.

  Allie told them what we’d seen down in the tank room, but they seemed much more concerned about the military presence than anything else. At that point, I donated Palmer’s gun bag to them as a show of good faith. It wasn’t like I could use most of that stuff anyway. I only had two hands.

  Then, much to my surprise, Allie gave me a lift back to Bernie’s camper on her bike. The only problem was she didn’t leave. Instead, she barg
ed in right after me and sat down on the seat bench as if she owned the place.

  “What are you doing?” I asked.

  “Keeping an eye on you,” she said, smiling.

  “I don’t think so.” I gestured at the door. “Get the hell out.”

  “Nope.” She leaned back, getting comfortable. “I know who you are, and why you’re really here, and I want to help.”

  “I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about,” I said.

  “Yes, you do,” she insisted. “You’re here because you have PSS.” She glanced at my leg. “I’m not an idiot, you know, just because I’m from a small town. My grandpa was one of the first to see the dome. He caught some people breaking into the depot, most of them our age, and several of them had PSS, just like you. They went inside and they’re still in there, doing something. I want to know what that something is, and I think, if I stick with you, I’ll find out.”

  “You’re crazy,” I’d told her. “And I’m exhausted. So, you can stay here and watch me sleep if you want. But that’s all I’m gonna be doing.”

  I was hoping, when I took off my sweaty shirt in front of her, she’d leave, but she didn’t. So, I pulled off my boots and threw myself onto the camper’s fold-down bed, pretending to fall asleep. She still didn’t leave. After an hour of lying there thinking how badly I needed to get word to Palmer about Fineman and what I’d seen, I opened my eyes and found her still sitting there, watching me.

  “Fine,” I said, sitting up. “Yes, I have friends in the dome and they’re in danger, especially after what we saw down in that room. So, I need to get a message to them. If you wanna help, help me do that.”

  “I can get them a message,” she said. “But not for free. I want something in return.”

  “What?” I asked. I still had my cut of the camp equipment sales hidden in the camper. I could offer her some of that.

  “I’ll help you,” she said, “for everything you know about the dome.”

  “So you can tell who? Your grandpa and Matty? The local new stations? I’m not selling out my friends.”

  “What if I promise not to tell anyone?”

  “I wouldn’t believe you,” I said. “Why else would you want to know, except to use it?”

  “I’ll show you why.” She turned her back to me, pulling her hair off the nape of her neck to reveal a glowing patch of PSS skin. “It’s a birthmark,” she said, letting her hair drop and facing me again. “I’ve had it all my life. I’m one of you. And I can help. I swear you can trust me.”

  I wasn’t sure a small patch of blue skin qualified her as “one of us,” but if I could use it to my advantage, why not?

  “Okay,” I said. “You help me get a message into the dome, and I’ll tell you what I know.”

  Allie’s secret message system ended up being a bunch of cardboard signs and a dirt bike ride to the nearest compound security camera. We held the signs up, one at a time, and that was it. But I had to admit, it was better than anything I’d come up with. Still, I had no way of knowing if Palmer had seen it. Surely, he’d be monitoring the external cameras, so it should get through.

  When we got back to the camper, I told Allie exactly what she wanted to hear. Yes, there were people in the dome with PSS. It had been a secret facility used to capture and torture them, but they’d managed to take it over. Now, they were inside, forming a resistance movement, and I was one of their agents, alerting them to danger outside the dome and vetting new recruits for the cause. And since she’d helped me, she was part of the resistance now. A very important part.

  She ate it hook, line, and sinker.

  Of course, the downside was I’d never get rid of her now.

  But I was too tired to deal with it, so when she lay down on the camper bench seat and fell asleep, I crawled into the bed and did the same.

  31

  DAVID MARCUS

  My first night in the compound hadn’t been as bad as I’d feared. Seeing Kaylee reunited with her family had felt good. I’d never seen her so happy, and she was usually happy, so that was saying something. Mike had been a dick about leaving Jason behind, but I’d decided to let it go. Supposedly, Jason was a friend of mine, but he hadn’t given me so much as the time of day since I’d woken up at the farm house. I didn’t owe him anything. Besides, as far as I could tell, the guy was a douche.

  Thing hadn’t even been too awkward with Olivia. When I’d noticed her sneak out of the dome in the middle of the night to the CAMFer side, I’d had my concerns. But that had gone nothing like I’d expected. Well, she’d been defensive at first, but so had I. I guess neither of us had any idea how to navigate this whole we-used-to-love-each-other-but-I-don’t-remember-it thing. I mean, I was attracted to her. There was no doubt about that. I’d felt it just sitting next to her in the computer lab. Her eyes were gorgeous. Her body was—anyway, most girls were attractive. That wasn’t the point.

  What I’d discovered last night was that she was more than attractive. She was smart. Also, a little sassy, which I could appreciate. And she was certainly passionate about changing the world’s perspective on PSS, no matter how unlikely that was. I had to hand it to her, she had guts.

  As for the movie she’d shown me, I was still processing that. It had been hard to watch. It was even harder to imagine other people seeing me at my most vulnerable. My instinct had been to demand she take Danielle and me out. But I hadn’t, because Olivia was just as exposed in that footage as I was, probably more so, and she was willing to risk it.

  Those scenes with her helpless against the CAMFers had almost been unbearable to watch. A couple times, I’d glanced at her, marveling, aching for her, wanting to reach out and touch her hand or tell her it was okay. Not because I’d loved her before, but just because we were both human and we’d been through similar fucked-up shit.

  But I hadn’t done any of that. Olivia hadn’t needed me to. In fact, she hadn’t even looked at me, though she had cried, big, awful, silent tears running down her face. If she still loved me, I wasn’t sure why. A girl that strong didn’t need anyone, especially a guy like me.

  Maybe she didn’t need me, but what if she wanted me?

  That was a thought I’d tried very hard not to entertain. I’d come into the compound to keep an eye on Palmer and protect Kaylee, not to get back together with her sister. But the conversation and banter with Olivia last night had been so easy. She liked to tease, and she gave as good as she got. And it was apparent everyone in the dome adored and respected her. Last but not least, she hadn’t raked me over the coals for leaving that damn door open. She’d had every right to, but she hadn’t.

  When we’d gotten back to the dome, I couldn’t sleep. I kept thinking about her. It had made for a restless night, and the first thing I’d done this morning was take a long, cold shower.

  Yeah, I needed to get a handle on this.

  “It’s time,” Mrs. Black called, managing to swoop into the library area of the dome despite her limp.

  It was 11:00 am and we’d all gathered per the instructions she’d given us at breakfast. Well, all of us except Olivia who was still asleep. Of course, I knew she’d been up until 5:00 am, and probably wouldn’t appreciate a bedside birthday ambush by everyone in the entire dome, but that’s what her mom had planned.

  “Come on.” Mrs. Black gestured for us to follow her. “Quietly now. Don’t ruin the surprise.”

  As we followed like obedient children, Grant gave me a look that said, “This is not going to go well.” Then we both grinned at each other because it was also likely to be highly entertaining.

  We all squeezed between the screens, gathering beside Olivia’s bed.

  She was curled up into a tight ball, her blankets tangled in her legs, her pillow bunched over her eyes to block out the morning light. She didn’t look relaxed, but she did look soft and vulnerable and something in my chest clenched at the sight of her.

  “Rise and shine, birthday girl!” Mrs. Black cried, leaning over her. �
��Or should I say, birthday woman?”

  “No, mom—” Olivia groaned, jamming her head further under her pillow. “Just let me sleep five more minutes, okay?”

  “Olivia,” her mother said, sitting down on the edge of the bed and gently shaking her daughter’s shoulder.

  When she got no response, she turned back to us, smiled, gave us an expectant look and began singing. “Happy Birthday to you.”

  “Happy Birthday to you,” Grant, Reiny, and Palmer joined in.

  “Happy Birthday, dear Olivia,” by that time I think everyone was singing except Kaylee who was exuberantly mouthing the words.

  Olivia moaned loudly and rolled over, pulling the pillow from her face and glancing up through squinting eyes.

  “Happy Birthday to you.” We all bellowed the final refrain off-key.

  “Mom, what the fuck?” Olivia blurted, sitting up and hugging her pillow to her chest. Her eyes flicked to the rest of us, tallying, perhaps already plotting her revenge.

  “Watch your language, young lady,” her mother said. “I let you sleep in all morning, but now it’s time to celebrate.”

  “All right,” Olivia conceded grudgingly. “Just no more singing until I’ve had a shower. And I’ll do that without an audience, thank you very much.”

  She rolled out of bed and shuffled past us, the group parting as she went. And I didn’t miss the glare she gave me, her eyes saying, “Et Tu, Brute?”

  She got her shower, and after that her mom’s homemade cinnamon rolls for a late breakfast down in the kitchen.

  Then we were all ushered upstairs to the dome by Mrs. Black where there was a table with presents, most of them wrapped in plain white printer paper. There were a few cards too, handmade of course, and I’d added my own item to the table with Kaylee’s permission.