Frozen Fire

by Wendy L. Koenig

  Denefe smiled in spite of herself. The truth was, besides being worn out physically and emotionally, she was worried. How was she supposed to get a skimmer ready to haul all the people stationed there? How could she convince them to go if she couldn’t talk to them about it until the last minute? She’d have to trust Jileah…carefully.

  “I’m anxious too. I want to get home again. It seems odd to me that most people here are happy in the past.”

  “I’d say that’s true. These people are experts in their fields. They’ve come here to study the anomaly.”

  “It’s damaged. What if it continues to splinter? What if it gets so bad it becomes unsafe to be around? Or it implodes and disappears entirely? What then?”

  The nurse smiled. “Not everyone works with the anomaly directly. Actually, since it’s been locked up, no one does. Quite a few work with barometrics and spectral readings, past and present. They feel they’ll be able to better predict where the sidewinders are going to hit. They don’t need the anomaly. If it ceased to exist, they’d still have work to do here.”

  “They’d be trapped here forever.”

  “That was the ticket we all bought. Well, except you and Torenz. He was too young to choose.”

  “What about you? You were brought here as a kid too. You didn’t get to choose. Do you want to stay?”

  A wistful look settled on Jileah’s face. “Me? I still remember what it was like in the future world. I don’t suppose it would matter what I, or anyone, would want. If that rift goes, we’re all trapped here.”

  It was as good an opening as Denefe was likely to get. “So, if I can find a way home, do you want to come with me?” She watched her friend closely.

  Jileah laughed and snapped her fingers. “As fast as that. I’d even race you to the finish line.” She hesitated and then leaned in close, whispering, “That’s it, isn’t it? It’s what’s been bugging you. You think you’ve found it.”

  Denefe gave a single nod.

  The nurse was speechless a moment. She continued, “What you said about the anomaly, is that what your friends in the future say?”

  Denefe softly said, “Normally, I’d move into telepathic range, but Torenz has been listening in on my thoughts too much lately. We can’t risk him hearing us.” Still, she would listen to Jileah’s thoughts, though it gave her more than a small pang of guilt. She needed to know if she could trust the nurse. It would help her to pinpoint any hesitancy, hardness, or dislike by how her friend phrased herself or practiced a sentence before she spoke. It was hard work, because a telepath couldn’t speak and read at the same time. She’d have to bounce back and forth, but make the conversation appear normal.

  Jileah asked, “Why the secrecy?”

  “Because Torenz lies. As do his employers. We can’t trust him, yet.”

  “He’s lied to me on occasion too. Why would he lie about something so dangerous and important like the rift?” Jileah’s whispered words were guarded, but Denefe saw her thoughts were straightforward.

  “Truthfully, he may not know.” She knew the conversation she’d overheard from behind the wall meant that he did. “He knows we’re not in the Gobi Desert.”

  “Not in…? Then, where are we?” Jileah frowned.

  “The Egyptian. There’s another rift a day’s travel from here.”

  The nurse’s face paled. She stared at Denefe for a moment, speechless. Her mind was a whirlwind with no distinct thoughts. It was plain Jileah hadn’t known the truth. Denefe left her mind, guilt flowing through her like a river. Now she knew she could trust the nurse.

  Abruptly, Jileah stood. “Why are we waiting? Let’s go.”

  Denefe pulled her friend back to her seat. She whispered, “We can’t leave yet because the rift is dangerous. It’s going to disintegrate soon. We don’t know how bad it will be when that happens, so we can’t leave anyone behind. We need a way to get them out. Torenz might try to stop us.”

  “Why? Why would he do that?”

  “It’s his job. He works for the military in the future. He may or may not take their side in this, but we can’t risk letting him know what’s going on until the last minute. Then, if he wants to join us, we’ll have room. If he tries to stop us, we’ll be ready.”

  Jileah licked her lips. “How soon is this going to happen? How much time do we have before the anomaly breaks down completely?”

  “Soon. I need help getting everything ready.”

  The nurse nodded. “What do you want me to do?”

  “Don’t let on to anyone about our plans or even that we have a way home. Remember, speaking to my brother would be a bad thing. We’ll need a few items and as many fuel cells as you can muster.”

  Jileah frowned. “Fuel cells?”

  “You know, from the lab equipment and things like that.”

  “Oh, got it.” Jileah got up and left the dining room.

  Meanwhile, Denefe thought, the biggest problem would be to convince Torenz to come with them.

  Chapter 47

  Alone

  Torenz stared at the notepad on his desk in the hidden lab. Beside him, the violet wormhole buzzed and angry tingles nipped his skin. It had been that way for a while, and that notepad wasn’t where he’d left it.

  Denefe had been there.

  He had no idea how she’d accessed the hidden bay and lab, but he was sure it was her.

  Pivoting, Torenz walked slowly back to the bay, watching the floor, noting scuffs in the dust and a myriad of prints near the skimmer and the locked exit door. He was glad now that he’d taken the precaution to change the lock. Safe was better than sorry, as his mom used to say.

  Thinking of his mom saddened him. He missed his parents. More now than ever. He’d never felt so alone.

  True, he and Denefe were on better terms. They didn’t spat as much anymore, but she spent the majority of time telling stories and reminiscing with Kaleen. He had no doubt some of it was code, like that bit about the blue dress, but Hallen’s guys hadn’t found a key for the rest, or if it even was code.

  Torenz grimaced. Or maybe they had. They didn’t share things with him like before. They’d refused his every offer of help. In fact, since they’d decided to spy on him as well, they hadn’t spoken to him much at all.

  He had no idea what was happening.

  He was going to find out.

  Chapter 48

  Out of time

  For the next two days, Denefe spent every spare moment she could with Torenz, showing him how important it was to have family. Yet, no matter how much she tried, she often found him in her mind, listening to her thoughts. He’d promised a zillion times to stop, but he never did. It was possible he knew no other way to behave. After all, he’d been raised to be a spy.

  In the darkness of night, Ardense told her another story about the puppy, outlining in code how to make a bomb. Denefe would fasten a small fuel cell to her comm and hide it near the rift. The comm would count down and then superheat the fuel cell, causing it to explode and thereby destroying the rift. What happened after that was anybody’s guess, though it wouldn’t be worse than the amount of sidewinders the rift was currently producing. Still, she hated the waste of a fuel cell.

  As usual, hearing her boyfriend’s warm telepathic voice in her mind made her heart seize with longing for home.

  She asked, “How is everyone?”

  “We’re good. I can’t say that for the rest of the world, though. We’re starting to see more and more sidewinders. In New York, a rift opened up and snatched a bus load of people and a group of five at the bus stop. Some of them haven’t been found yet, but the rest were found three days later when they appeared in six different locations around the world. Most were burned beyond casual recognition. Another opened in Paris near the Eiffel Tower and nearly swallowed a tourist family with their baby. In Moscow, another family just disappeared from their house in a small sidewinder. All this, plus more, in the last twelve hours
.”

  His telepathic “voice” dropped a timbre. “I can’t wait to get you in my arms again.”

  “That sounds wonderful.”

  They were silent a moment, basking in their thoughts of being together again.

  “Well,” she thought. “I suppose I should get to sleep.”

  “I’ll talk to you tomorrow night.”

  “Yes, you will. Love you.” It amazed her, now that the initial admission had been made, how easy those words rolled off her tongue. As if they belonged on her lips, being said in every sentence.

  “Love you too.”

  After he left her mind, the silence was deafening. She walked toward the hidden bay and the rift and checked on Torenz’s thoughts. He was quiet. Really, really quiet. Listening? She tried a test, but received no response. She stopped and glanced around her. What was he up to? After waiting for a moment and seeing no one near, nor reading a change in her brother, she continued toward her destination. The plans were set and everything was in motion. No matter what happened now, she and those going with her had to continue on. Torenz or no.

  Once Denefe arrived at the magic disappearing wall, she turned on her comm and executed the program. She smiled as the wall vanished.

  “I’ve been trying to figure out how you do that,” came Torenz’s voice from behind her. “What does this make, your third trip into there?”

  Denefe whirled to see her brother standing in the doorway to the lab. How could she have been so stupid? If she could school her thoughts, why didn’t she expect him to learn how? She faced him square on. “Fifth, actually. Then, who’s counting? Oh, that’s right. It’s you.”

  He nodded. “Whatever you’re planning, which is obviously an escape in the skimmer, won’t work.” He stepped closer. “You’re too far from the nearest anomaly, even with your modifications.”

  She must have looked as stunned as she felt, because he continued as he approached. “Oh, yes. I’ve noticed the quick release clips you tried to hide on the fenders.” He held out his hand. Did he actually expect her to just hand over the comm? Her freedom?

  She backed into the hidden lab, working the comm behind her back. Stale air surrounded her while rift spiders crawled across her. Her feet scuffed and echoed loudly.

  Torenz said as he continued toward her, “I’m not sure how you tricked the DNA lock at the end, but I saw you’ve been down the tunnel too. Did you enjoy your view of the desert? You’ve seen how desolate it is out there. You know you can’t make the distance. Give me the comm.”

  It sounded as if he, at least, didn’t know about the bomb or the scientists leaving with her. She whipped the comm around in front of her and pointed it at the wall, pressing the execute button at the same time. The wall reappeared between them, solidly in place. She kept her thumb on the execute button, effectively jamming any signal he would send to bring the partition down again.

  She leaned against the wall, knowing he could hear her. “News flash for you—I’m not staying here. Go with me. You know the rift is badly damaged. It’s just a matter of time before it collapses. Then what will you do? Assuming it doesn’t destroy the facility, you’ll be trapped here forever. You won’t be able to leave at all because I’ll have the skimmer. Let’s say you somehow manage to get out of here and across the desert, what then? Because when this rift goes, it’ll take all of them with it. You’ll be trapped in the past forever.”

  “I’m already trapped in the past.” Anger rippled through his voice, making it come out as a growl.

  “The difference is, right now you know you have a way out if needed. If that rift fails, you won’t have that emergency exit just down the road and you’ll know it every second of every day. You’ll be trapped in this tiny underground base. It’s a nifty vacation spot, but not really viable for a permanent home.”

  Torenz roared her name. “Denefe!” He was silent, except for his aggravated breathing.

  She called Jileah. “Wake up!”

  “Wha…Denefe?”

  “I’m sorry for intruding, but I’m in trouble and I need your help. Torenz found out part of our plan and now I’m trapped behind the wall with the rift.”

  “What do you want me to do?”

  “Wake everyone.”

  “I’m on it.”

  Denefe pivoted and ran to the skimmer. She needed to keep Torenz from informing his contact at Hallen’s office about the planned escape. She entered her brother’s mind and started speaking gobbledy-gook and fragmented sentences. It should confuse him, if not drown out any other telepathic conversation he had going on at the time. The skimmer looked okay from a distance, but as she neared, she saw the new welds added to keep the skin in place. She also noted the gel chains running from the frame to the floor, complete with some kind of lock she’d never seen before.

  Denefe kept up her flood of babblings in Torenz’s mind until she heard loud voices and scuffs on the other side of the wall.

  She shot a short message to Ardense. “Now.”

  “Got it.” The strength behind the thought filled her with confidence. She could do this. She could get all eighteen people to safety.

  “Love you.” It seemed inadequate for her feelings. She hesitated, wanting to say more, but not knowing what. How could she tell him how much he meant to her? She’d rather die than live without him any longer.

  Chapter 49

  Into the desert

  Jileah called from the lab on the other side of the wall. “It’s all clear. You can come out now.”

  Denefe lifted her thumb off her comm, and the room opened to her. Torenz lay propped against a desk, unconscious, and with a swelling bruise over one temple. Regret burned a hole in her. He was her brother and yet he was her enemy.

  Glancing at Jileah, she asked, “You’ve told everyone about the rift and that we’re leaving?”

  At her friend’s nod, she motioned to the skimmer. “Get someone to cut those chains and remove the skin. We need to get it as light as possible. We also need some of these people to build snowshoes to help us through the sand when the skimmer fails.”

  Jileah’s face paled. “So you don’t think we’ll make it.”

  “Most of the way, yes, but there will be a march at the end. How far depends on how light we can make the skimmer. Send a bunch of people to bring the shuttle carts.”

  Within two hours, the skimmer resembled a giant mechanical duck with its ducklings lined up behind it. Denefe assigned two scientists to guard duty. Their sole job was to keep Torenz medically knocked out until they were far enough from the rift so he couldn’t contact anyone.

  She opened the exit to the desert and the dark coolness of the dry night filled the tunnel and bay. As the procession passed through the exit, she counted—eleven scientists, five sundry support workers, one holistic healer, one traitor, and herself. The moon was full and the sand dunes looked like giant waves in an ocean that her group sailed upon, Jileah’s comm lighting the way. By the time she lost sight of them over a giant of a dune, they were a good mile away.

  Going back into the facility, she set her homemade time bomb in place at the base of the rift.

  Her father’s journal had been discovered while the skimmer crew had stripped the shuttle carts. Denefe debated taking it, but in the end, she reasoned it didn’t weigh much so she snatched it up and tucked it into her shirt. She stepped out onto the sand, strapped on her snowshoes, and took off at an easy swinging jog after the slow-moving group.

  It didn’t take her long to catch them as she closed the gap. She urged them faster. “Come on! We’ve got to get to the other rift. Move!”

  Jileah frowned at her and made room to run beside her. She asked, “What’s the hurry?” Besides the nurse, there were four others in athletic enough shape to make the trek on foot. The rest would take turns trekking and riding in the carts.

  “I don’t want this getting around, but in ten hours the military is shutting the rift down rather tha
n let it disintegrate on its own. They’ve decided it’s safer that way.” A small lie, but it was close to the truth.

  “We need to be on the other side by then.”

  Denefe nodded. “This trip is supposed to take only seven and a half hours. Let’s see if we can mush this group a bit faster. It’s cool tonight so the exercise will warm everyone.”

  “It would help if Torenz wasn’t dead weight riding. Besides you, he’s probably the most fit of all of us.”

  “We can’t trust him. If he makes me angry enough, then we can’t trust me.” She hated that it was true. She might leave him in the middle of the desert.

  “I think, then, that it’s better he remains unconscious.”

  “For now. When we reach a safe place, I’ll wake him and he can run.”

  Denefe set a hard pace, pushing those on foot to keep up with her and the skimmers. As the fuel cells spent in the shuttle carts, she cut them loose from the train and let them drift away. Truthfully, she thought more than once about abandoning her brother in one of those. She could just let it list in the desert and all her problems, well, most of them, would be solved. Her hesitation unnerved her. Was she seriously considering it?

  She marched the group for almost four hours. Twice she called for a break. Dawn was stretching across the sandy dunes when Denefe called for the third break and thought to check on Torenz. Already, the warmth of the upcoming day battled away the chill of the night. They’d have to hurry or they’d be running in the heat.

  “How is he?” she asked the scientist, Roy something. Names were hard for her, especially with people she never interacted with.

  “Sleeping like a baby.” He beamed at her.

  “Did you give him another tranquilizer?” She leaned close to her brother, peering at his face, watching his eyelids. She entered his mind, but found it silent, as if asleep…or faking it.

  “We haven’t needed it. The first one seems to have taken him for quite a ride.”

  Torenz’s eyelids rested peacefully closed. He seemed to be asleep, and yet…She blew a puff of air against his eyes. Though they didn’t open, a small wrinkle appeared in the upper crease of each. He overrode his natural instinct and was instead pressing his eyes shut.