“But it’s the right thing to do, Mom. Isn’t that what Grandma always said? Do the right thing.”
“Oh, so now you’re gonna turn my memories of my mother against me?” she snapped, shaking her head.
Emily brought her index finger up and wagged it at him. “Let me tell you right now, Julius Derek Heart, that’s not how this is going to work. I’m the mother here and I’m in charge. You need to stay out of my head. I don’t want you crawling around in there anymore. There are some things that little boys should never know. Mommy’s memories are her own. You stay out, you hear me?”
There was long pause before his head slumped down and his voice slowed. “Okay, I guess. If you say so.”
“Yes, I say so.”
He brought his eyes up and showed her a sad, pouty face. “But we still need to help them. I don’t want them all to die.”
“Well, neither do I, but I’m not letting them take you. End of story. There has to be another way. I’m not letting anyone break up our family. I lost mine a long time ago and I’m not letting you lose yours. That’s something nobody should ever have to go through. Ever.”
“I know how much you miss Grandma, but sometimes we have to make sacrifices, right? To help others.”
Emily remembered those words coming from her mother’s lips, too. It was right after a Sunday mass when Candi volunteered the two of them to help out serving meals at the homeless shelter for the upcoming Easter holiday. It was about a month before the night of The Taking.
Her mother was a seasoned expert at laying on the guilt trip. Most of the time she’d use the ‘we all have to make sacrifices’ speech to convince Emily to do something she didn’t want to do—like spending her entire Sunday serving food to a bunch of smelly homeless people.
Little did Emily know at the time that she would soon be one of those gross, down on their luck outcasts. Or that those same shelters and their wonderful volunteers would become a lifesaver. It was mindboggling how one event could alter your whole perspective—and your life—forever.
Regardless, Emily was still furious with Julius for crawling around inside her synapses again. “I thought I told you to stay out of my head?”
“I am staying out. I learned all that before.”
“Then you must also know that a mother does whatever it takes to keep her kids safe.”
“Yeah, that’s why I wanted to talk to you here first. So you’d understand why I have to go with them.”
“No. That’s never gonna happen. Families stick together, no matter what,” Emily said.
What her son was suggesting was noble and genuine. She was proud of him for trying to do the right thing and not be selfish. But her stomach was still nagging at her. Something wasn’t quite right.
She’d learned to trust her instincts over the years, especially while living on the run. And she wasn’t about to start ignoring them now. Not with her family and friends in danger from some time traveling band of future humans.
“When you’re older, Julius, you’ll come to realize that people will lie to get what they want. I know, trust me. There’s a lot of evil on this planet, both now and in the future. I don’t trust these Orange Men or the others on those ships. Not for a second.”
“But I trust them, Mom. I can see it all in their thoughts.”
Right then, a new idea came roaring in Emily’s brain. If she could somehow frame the words properly, Julius might understand what she needed to warn him about. “Let me ask you this, son. Can you read everyone’s thoughts on the ship, or just the Orange Men’s?”
He looked away from a moment, his eyes darting in several directions before he answered. “I think, just the Orange Men.”
She exhaled and started nodding like a schoolteacher who was about to reveal the final bonus answer on a pop-quiz. “Well, that doesn’t seem right, now does it?”
“What do ya mean?”
“If they were being totally open and honest with you, they’d let you see everything. Not just bits and pieces from some of them.”
Julius didn’t respond. His nose was pinched, looking as though he was thinking it through.
“Maybe they’re just showing you what you want to see,” Emily said, using sharp words to bring her point home.
Julius nodded, albeit slowly. “So what you’re saying is they are hiding things from me? To make me do what they want me to do?”
“Yes. This is exactly why you need to let Mommy make the decisions. You don’t have the experience I do. Trust me, people will lie, cheat, and steal to help themselves. And to protect the people they care about.”
“So are you lying to me right now, Mom? You know, to protect me.”
“I think you already know the answer to that question. After all, you’ve been in my head and seen what I’ve seen. You know how I feel about you. Mommy would never do that.”
“Yeah, I suppose you’re right. But just so you know, I haven’t seen everything. I’ve been poking around and learning what I can, but there’s so much stuff in there. Some of it is out of order and kinda hard to follow.”
Emily was thankful her son hadn’t seen it all—so many horrors. She’d never want her child to be exposed to harmful memories like that. It also meant he didn’t know everything she did. At least not yet.
She waited a few ticks before she continued, wanting to make sure he was paying attention. “Before, when I was going to help Nora and Derek, you told me to stop. Why?”
“Because you would’ve been hurt. I don’t think you have your powers anymore.”
Emily wasn’t sure she’d heard him correctly. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”
“I think the placental transfer took your powers and gave them to me.”
She blinked for a few seconds, letting the syllables soak in and register. Even though she’d heard the words clearly the second time, her mind was having a hard time accepting what they meant—to her and everyone she knew. “So . . . I’m normal again?”
He nodded. “That’s why you haven’t been able to start a jump or do that flash thing you do on people. I’ve been trying to figure it out all morning, but it only came to me a few minutes ago.”
Emily’s knees lost their strength and wobbled before they buckled altogether. Her backside hit the ground with a thud.
“Mom? Are you okay?” Julius asked, rushing to her side.
Emily wanted to answer, but couldn’t convince her mouth to speak—not with the sudden pain in her chest. It felt like someone was using a chainsaw to carve her heart down the middle.
Her mind went into flash replay mode, remembering all of the lonely nights she’d spent hiding in the shadows of a dirty downtown alley, crying herself to sleep. Ever since the night of The Taking, all she wanted was to be a normal teenager again. If Julius was right, then her wish might have just come true.
She’d often imagined what it would feel like to be like everyone else and not be a freak. Back in those disgusting alleys, she figured if it ever happened, she’d start doing cartwheels and cry a river of happiness.
But now that her powers were supposedly gone, rejoicing was not what she wanted to do. It was just the opposite. She could feel tears building inside, but they weren’t happy tears.
If her abilities were truly gone, then how was she going to protect her son and her friends against the Orange Men and the ugly heads on the ships? Her abilities had become such a big part of who and what she was, she wasn’t sure she could function without them.
“Mom, what’s wrong?”
Time to change the subject, she decided, before Julius started probing her synapsis again. Emily didn’t want him to know she was scared and feeling vulnerable. Otherwise, he’d never listen to her. He needed to know she was in charge and had everything handled.
Her legs found their strength again, moving under her and taking her to her feet. She shook off the feeling of dread.
“What are they going to do if I refuse to let you go with them?” she asked, using her
sternest, most motherly voice.
Before Julius could answer, his face turned pale and his eyes rolled into the back of his head. Like before, the brilliance faded around her and so did the scenery as her son’s legs gave out. She went to catch him, but her arms came up empty when he vanished from sight.
An instant later, Emily was back outside the Urgent Care Clinic and facing the three ships hovering above. Once again, she was in her birthday suit and her body was completely exposed to the world outside. Derek and Nora were still lying on the ground next to her—like corpses—not moving.
Everything was just as it was before Julius pulled her into the vision. Her son was right—no time had passed. Somehow he’d stopped time within time—an amazing feat by an amazing little boy.
Emily bent down and grabbed the blanket at her feet only a second before the doors behind her swung open. Out flew the posse of Orange Men. They scurried past her and came around in front, forming a skirmish line with their weapons in a firing position.
CHAPTER EIGHTY-EIGHT
Emily backed away from the motionless bodies of Derek and Nora, while keeping the Orange Men and their ships in front of her. Her hands checked the cinch at the top of the blanket—it was holding tight and tucked down as far as her fingers could reach. As long as she didn’t sign up for a hundred-yard dash, it shouldn’t come loose.
Her feet kept shuffling backwards until her backside bumped into the trash bin sitting along the side wall of the clinic. She knew she was cornered, outnumbered, and outgunned, but brought her hands up in a defensive position anyway.
She needed the marauders to think she could still catch their beams and send them back. Otherwise, they’d certainly stampede and rip her son from her womb. Their fear of her abilities was her only advantage and she needed to show resolve and confidence.
“Mom, don’t!” Julius screamed in her thoughts. Obviously, his fainting spell inside the dream world was virtual as well.
“Shhhh. Let Mommy handle this. I know what I’m doing.”
“But—” he said before she stopped listening to him.
Emily craned her neck, looking up at the ships, then back at the Orange Men.
“Stay back!” she told the swarm, making eye contact with several of them. She didn’t know who was in charge or who was listening, but it really didn’t matter. If she yelled loud enough, they’d get the message. “You know what I can do! So stay back!”
She waited for a response while the faint hum of the ships’ engines echoed off the buildings along the street. It sounded like one of those vibrating beds in a cheap hotel where the maids change the plastic sheets hourly. The kind of bed where you toss a quarter into the slot and hope it still works.
After ten seconds went by and nothing happened, she decided to press on with her demands. “I know you’ve been watching me and I know what you want. But you can’t have my son. Julius is mine and I’m never letting you take him. You hear me? Never!”
She looked over at the bodies of Derek and Nora, then added, “And I want my friends back. So undo whatever you did to them. Right now! I’m warning you!”
Julius was frantic about something, chattering away in her thoughts again. But like before, she tuned him out.
She addressed the enemy. “I’m going to count to three, so you’d better return my friends. All of them. Now! And they better not be hurt!”
The ship in the middle started to move forward, floating slowly toward Emily. She moved her hands over her head.
If this was some kind of tactical maneuver, she was screwed. A girl who’d been stripped of her powers and only wearing a blanket was cannon fodder. “That’s far enough! Now, give me back my friends and let us all go.”
The ship continued its advance.
Emily gulped, wondering if they knew she was completely at their mercy.
The ship stopped a few seconds later and a hatch opened along the underside of its hull. An intense light came out of the center of the opening, hitting her eyes with a swirling shower of brilliant white energy. She moved her hands closer together to block its blinding effect.
The light seemed to have weight, pressing down on her hands and shoulders. She didn’t know how long she could stand there and take it, but she decided not to move. Running away would only show weakness and give away her ruse.
She cracked two fingers apart and peered through the tiny opening to take a peek and see what was going on. Almost as if the light didn’t want her looking at it, it moved off her. Its aim was now on a section of concrete ten feet away.
A thick, fast-moving shadow raced down the beam and landed on the ground.
The light switched off, so Emily brought her hands down and held them in front of her like a Karate champion ready to start a match.
This is it, she thought. We’re all gonna die.
“Mom!” Julius said across the link, this time catching her attention.
“Hang on a second. Mommy’s a little busy right now.”
“But you need to listen. They have—”
Before Julius could finish the sentence, she cut him off when the shadow came into focus and revealed a pair of people.
The taller of the two was one of the future humans with sores across his face and neck—just like what she’d seen on the ship after her abduction.
The man had one of the Orange Men’s pistols and it was pointed at a hostage who was much shorter than him. The captive was a young girl with pigtails and tears streaming down her cheeks.
It took Emily’s brain a second to catch up to what she was seeing, but when it did, she recognized the hostage. “Oh my God! Junie?”
“Emily! Help me, please!” Junie cried out, pushing the words through her quivering lips. “I’m really scared.”
Emily felt the pressure in her heart triple to the point of explosion, but somehow she found the strength to keep herself together and not show weakness. “I know, baby girl. But it’s going to be okay. I promise. I’m not gonna to let them hurt you.”
She locked eyes with the ugly head holding the gun, feeling her jaw clench and her chest fill with fury. “If you hurt her, I’ll kill you!”
The man didn’t respond; rather, he looked up as another powerful light appeared from the ship. This one was wider than the first beam, landing to the right of Junie. It, too, deposited another set of shadows before it disappeared.
When the delivery came into focus, Emily expected to see another ugly head with a gun, but didn’t. All she saw were blue cocoons—four of them—each being held off the ground and vertical by some unknown force.
Emily could see faces inside. Her heart sank when she recognized them. The future humans had her friends—Duane, Jim Miller, Sheldon from the library, and even Shroedy, the tabby cat who followed her everywhere.
“No, no, no,” Emily said, fighting back the rage clawing at her chest.
Two of the Orange Men on the far left moved forward. They took positions over the motionless bodies of Derek and Nora with their guns aimed at them.
Their weapons were now pulsing red, something Emily hadn’t seen before. So, too, was the gun being held on Junie. She figured the red flashes meant the guns were in kill mode and not set to only incapacitate like before.
Julius took control of her thoughts as he spoke in her mind. “Mom, you have to let me go. They’re gonna shoot all of your friends, starting with Junie. We can’t let that happen. Please, Mom.”
“Julius, I can’t let you go. I just can’t.”
“But you have to. Before it’s too late. We can’t let them hurt anyone.”
“No, honey. I’m not giving you up,” Emily said as she tried to stop the tears. But they came anyway, pouring out of her eyes with the force of a summer monsoon. Her hands began to shake and so did her knees. “I’m sorry, sweetheart, I can’t. I love you too much.”
“They’re not messing around, Mom. They’re gonna do it. There’s a countdown going on between the Orange Men. I can see it in their minds. It’s at f
orty-two and dropping.”
“Huh? Forty-two? Why not ten?” she asked, wondering why they were giving her such a long countdown.
“I don’t know. Maybe they want to give you enough time to do the right thing. I don’t think they really want to kill everyone.”
The nagging pain in her gut intensified and grabbed her attention. She could feel the power of her logic returning to take control over her emotions. Her tears slowed and her breathing stabilized.
Time to get tough, Em.
A vision of her mom appeared in her brain, taking her back to the night of The Taking. The night when the ugly heads kidnapped and killed her mom. In an instant, Emily ran through some of the facts from that horrible night on the torture ship, looking for any clue that might help her now.
She was facing the most impossible decision of her life and she needed to outthink these bastards. There had to be something she was missing. Emily took a deep breath and waited. Then it happened. Her mind locked onto a key fact, taking her down a new line of thinking.
Her thoughts streamed to Julius, “If they can speak English, why aren’t they talking? Don’t their mouths work?”
“Yeah, they do. But they only want to speak to me right now. In my head.”
Emily figured they weren’t talking to her because they were afraid of what she could do and knew she wouldn’t listen to anything they had to say.
If she was right, then they were only communicating with Julius so they could take advantage of his inexperience. They must have been fooling him in some way, preying on his innocence.
Just then, her mind showed her another memory of the ship’s torture chamber. It was back when Emily was pinned to the wall and helpless. She knew the nightmare well, having seen it in her dreams countless times since.
However, this time Julius was the one strapped to the table, not her mom. Three tentacles were hanging from his back and he was screaming in pain.
That must have been what the ugly heads had planned for him. She was sure of it. They were lying to Julius and going to hurt him to get at his DNA.
Emily thought she’d seen the entire vision, but then it changed to show his body being dumped into an unmarked grave. A horde of Orange Men and one of the ugly heads stood around the hole, staring down at his lifeless body.
Glassford Girl: Boxed Set (Complete Series) (Time Jumper Series) Page 60
