They reached the impluvium, and Denefe asked, “Where’s Kaleen?”
“Helping people through.” He jerked his thumb toward the rift.
She opened her mouth to ask him more, but the sudden noise of voices close behind spurred them faster. They bolted for the ala that hid the wormhole.
Kaleen stood by the side of the swirling anomaly, Torenz unconscious in a huddle at her feet. She was steadying the last person, Baker, as he stepped through. She looked up at Denefe and smiled, her nose crinkling. “There’s a sight for sore eyes!”
“Hurry!” Denefe grabbed Torenz’s arm. Ardense grabbed the other side and they propped her triplet between the three of them. Just as the Hebenu telepath, with Starry’s predecessor right behind, entered the room, they stepped into the rift.
This time, she had no breakfast to turn her stomach into quivering spasms. Still, the pressure squeezed her unbearably, pinching her head into an ache. She wondered if it was the microchip reacting, if someone had pressed the detonator button. Now that she had found a way home, and was with her loved ones, someone was killing them. She would have laughed at their fate if she wasn’t so scared. Only the pressure of Ardense’s hand in hers kept her from full-out panic.
They were out of the rift and on the other side at Brazil Base. Mik and Bridger grabbed Torenz. Mik growled, “Cutting it a bit close, aren’t you? It should go any second now.”
They hustled to the large window she’d stood in front of so many times. The glass was missing and Charisse waited in a skimmer leveled right outside, a giant green sea of trees behind her. Farther out, two other skimmers filled with Jileah and her scientists were streaking away.
They dropped Torenz onto the floor of the skimmer and then climbed aboard. Mik took the controls and angled away from the window.
“What about our microchips?” Denefe asked Ardense.
“We arrested Hallen and have control of the trigger.”
Bridger pulled out a pressure hypodermic. “However, we don’t know if someone has control of a second trigger. So, I’m going to remove your chips right away. Better safe than sorry. I’m going to dose you now so you’re out when we land.”
She nodded and clutched Ardense’s hand. Fear crawled up and down her spine like some kind of wild animal. Why was she scared of the operation? She’d been through so much that was worse. Or at least it had seemed so.
She imagined she could feel the drug flowing through her. Her eyes immediately drooped and the focus of her world narrowed to just the skimmer. Dimly, she saw Bridger reach toward Kaleen’s neck with another hypodermic.
The fog of the drug deepened, sucking her in. Somewhere behind the skimmer, a low buzz swelled. Rift spiders bit at her. She was aware of Mik saying, “Hold on everyone.” Ardense wrapped his arms around her like a living seatbelt. Craning her neck, she fought to keep her eyes open and looked back at Brazil Base.
A blue bubble swelled like a balloon, engulfing the whole building, until it popped, sending shockwaves in all directions. The skimmer bucked and churned in the air. Then, as it settled into a smooth, driving rhythm, the drug took its final hold on her and she fell asleep.
* * * *
When Denefe opened her eyes, she was sure she’d only been asleep a few seconds and would wake still in the skimmer. Instead, she found herself in a hospital bed. Ardense was outside the room, speaking to someone about her. “…should be awake by now, don’t you think?”
Another low voice answered. “She’ll wake up when she’s ready. There’s nothing wrong. She’s exhausted and needs sleep.” Bridger?
Something made a shuffling noise to the right of her. Slowly turning, she saw Kaleen in a deep armchair, rubbing her arms and frowning at something in her hand. She looked at her sister’s same white hair that matched hers, the heart-shaped face with the pouty mouth that laughed all too easy, and the petite frame that couldn’t keep up. Happiness built a bubble in Denefe’s heart. She was home.
“You look worried.”
Kaleen whipped up her head and tears sprang to her eyes. She jumped to her feet and came close. “Welcome back! It’s been a long twelve days.” She squeezed Denefe’s hand and smiled. Behind her, on the other side of the room, stretched Torenz’s long, still body, handcuffed to the bed, two guards on either side of him. Denefe held her breath until she saw her brother’s chest rise and fall with sleep.
She looked around the room. White austere walls. Small windows up high on the walls. The murmur of heavy cooling machines. Sterile smells. Shifting her focus back to Kaleen, she asked, “Where are we?”
“At Primary. As soon as we were all out, Bridger operated, right there in the seat of the shuttle, while Mik flew us here.”
“What happened with the rift? I saw it explode. Were there many accidents?”
Kaleen’s smile left. “There were so many sidewinders they’re still charting them all. A lot of people were killed, but still, it was less than one-fourth of those who would have died had we allowed the rift to escalate.” She opened Denefe’s hand and placed something in it.
“A present?” Denefe lifted it and saw it was a microchip, presumably from her own head. It looked strangely mangled on one side. Melted almost. She frowned and looked at her sister.
Kaleen locked her gaze onto Denefe. “It charged a miniature explosion maybe two minutes after Bridger removed it.”
“So, there’s someone with a second trigger.”
“Was. Lieutenant Garza has him under arrest now too.”
“Lieutenant Garza?”
“There’s a lot to tell you.”
“I guess. Is Torenz all right? Shouldn’t he be waking now too?” Denefe struggled to sit, craning her neck to see him around her sister.
Kaleen pushed her back down on the bed. “We had to sedate him. He’s been quite a handful.”
“Don’t I know it!”
Neither spoke for a moment. Denefe turned the chip over and over in her hand. She held it up against the light, studying the grooves and patterns. Finally, she said, “Kaleen, about Torenz…”
“He’s our brother. I know. We’ll be there for him. He’ll have to face the consequences of his actions just like Hallen and the rest of his gang, but Lieutenant Garza is pretty sure he can convince Torenz to turn state’s evidence.” Kaleen leaned down and planted a kiss on Denefe’s cheek. She got to her feet. “Now, I know a man who’s been going crazy waiting for you to wake up.”
A split-second after she left, Ardense’s shadow filled the door of the room.
The End
Publisher’s Note
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About Wendy L. Koenig
Wendy Koenig has been writing since a young child in Illinois, filling spirals with poetry and short stories. It wasn’t until after a short stint in the military, that she began working on novels. It was also then that she began seeking publication.
Her first piece to be printed was a short children’s fiction, Jet’s Stormy Adventure, serialized in The Illinois Horse Network. She attended the University of Iowa, honing her craft in their famed summer workshops and writing programs. She graduated from the University of Maine, Presque Isle, in 2006. Her first novel was published in 2007. Since that time, she has published and co-authored numerous books.
Several of her story manuscripts have taken international awards: First Place Short Fiction and Second Place Novel in the 2005 Abilene Writers' Guild International Contest, Second Honorable Mention Novel in the 2005 CNW/FFWA International Writing Competition, and Second Honorable Mention Novel in the 2007 Frontiers in Writing International Contest.
Her short stories and poetry have appeared in multiple venues, including KidVisions ezine, Upcountry ezine, Echoes magazine, and the annual Breathe anthologies. She currently writes adult and Young Adult science fiction and action/adventure, as well as adult romance.
She curren
tly lives in New Brunswick, Canada.
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