Watcher of Worlds (Whispering Woods)

by Brinda Berry

  The motor pulling the harness up the ravine operated at a devastating rate of slowness. On the one hand, it was hard to be upset about the speed of the device that’d saved our lives. On the other, I could crawl to Alaska faster than the harness moved.

  The temperature outside made the landscape a frigid wasteland. I hopped from foot to foot, frenzied and freezing by the time I could grab the harness at Austin’s waist. He grunted lowly when I pulled him to the ground to undo it. I needed to get him out of it. Fast.

  Austin attempted to help, but his fingers worked like he wore gloves. I brushed his fumbling aside.

  “I’ve got it.” I unfastened the clasps holding the apparatus around him. I maneuvered his knee, pulling the straps away from his body. He yelped.

  “OK, OK, OK,” I mumbled, each word rising in tone and volume. I continued to remove straps. “I’m not trying to hurt you. I need to send this back.”

  I ran over to the winch on the motorcycle and saw smoke rising from area below the knob. Forward to send the cable out. Toward me to retract. I dialed the knob forward and nothing happened. I twisted it back and forward again. Nothing again.

  I felt dizzy when I realized that Regulus wasn’t coming back up in the harness. I dropped into a crouch, put my elbows on my knees and tried to stop shaking.

  11

  Suspension

  “Regulus told me to tell you that he was sorry. He’s sorry he hurt you and…” Austin rubbed his face. “…and sorry that he pushes you to do things you don’t want. He said—”

  “Shut up!” I screamed into his face. If I listened, I acknowledged the fact that he could die. “He can get his butt up here and tell me himself.” One more word and I was going need a straightjacket. “Please, give me a minute. I’m thinking,” I said, softening my voice from its previous bullhorn level.

  My breakdown was interrupted by the sound of Regulus calling my name. I looked to the tree that appeared more splintered than five seconds ago. Had I missed that tell-tale sound?

  I ran to the shoulder of the road where we’d gone over the side. “The winch is broken.” My voice came out high and panicked.

  “Call Arizona,” Regulus bellowed at me.

  I felt stupid for not thinking of that before. My scratchy throat ached and each beat of my heart pounded in my head. It would’ve been nice if the two people not in danger could think straight.

  Arizona answered at one ring. “We’re almost there. What’s happened? My monitoring system says Regulus is off-road.”

  Regulus’s implanted GPS chip did occasionally come in handy. Handy or not, it gave me the creeps thinking about being tracked twenty-four seven.

  “Regulus needs you now. He’s about to fall from a Jeep stuck in a tree.” My explanation sounded straight from the pages of a Marvel comic, but Arizona didn’t question it.

  “Is he injured?” Arizona sounded calm.

  “No.” I cringed at the vision I had of the vehicle falling into the ravine and bursting into flames. I looked up to see Tiny’s old truck spinning around the corner of the highway and nearly slamming into Regulus’s motorcycle.

  A black truck appeared behind it.

  Two people leaped out of Tiny’s truck. Arizona did a half glide, half run to meet me while Tiny took tentative scooting steps to avoid falling on the sheet of ice.

  Pete emerged from the second vehicle and followed right behind them. What was he doing here?

  “Sis. You all right?” Pete grabbed my upper arms.

  “Yeah.” I exhaled and shivered. “Somebody help Regulus. Hurry.”

  I grabbed Pete’s arm harder than I intended. “Do something. Please.”

  “I’ve got this.” Arizona wasn’t looking at me but at the mangled Jeep. He had a backpack that I hadn’t noticed. He unzipped the bag and removed something that resembled a handheld cannon.

  “No books in the backpack, huh.” Tiny peered into the bag to see the other contents.

  “Hey Pete. It’s about time you showed,” Austin said from his position on the ground. “Long time no see. When you leave home, you leave home.”

  Pete’s disappearance that had been so traumatic to me had also affected so many others. Sometimes, I forgot about his friends and how they’d been affected.

  Pete quickly lifted his chin in the man-nod. “Good to see you. You could take better care of my sister though. What happened to your shoulder?” Pete grimaced.

  “Little scratch,” Austin ground out.

  Why was it so hard for a guy to admit he’s hurt?

  “Lot of blood for a scratch.” Pete raised both eyebrows and bent, moving closer to Austin’s shoulder.

  “Hey, hands off.” Austin shooed Pete’s incoming hand.

  “Humph. You can’t be too hurt,” Pete said.

  Austin grunted. “This body can take a lot. Plus dude rubbed something on it. Stopped the bleeding. You decide to come home for good?”

  “Can you two catch up later?” Arizona held the cylinder on his shoulder and squinted through a hole at the end.

  I shrieked and lunged for the weapon. “You’re going to shoot him? You’re crazy.” I attempted to wrestle it out of Arizona’s hands. The slippery ground beneath us made it difficult to keep my balance.

  “A little help here,” Arizona said to Pete. “I’m not shooting him.”

  To my surprise, Pete obeyed and snaked one arm around my neck and pulled me to his chest.

  Arizona ignored my screaming, aimed and pushed a series of buttons on the side of the gun to fire.

  A net sprang from something within the shot. It hung suspended in air at an angle from the Jeep, draping from vehicle all the way to the ground like a fireman’s safety net. The material appeared as translucent as ice with only hints of existence.

  “It looks like a giant slide. What’s holding that?” I marveled breathlessly.

  “Quantum levitation,” Arizona said. He carefully placed the cylinder on the ground. “I picked the shape and location and it works like a magnet to—” He looked at my face. “Didn’t need to know that much, huh?”

  “Um…that answers everything and nothing. Is it going to bring him over here?”

  “I need one of those,” Austin quipped from his sitting position on the ground. “It can be the mini version. I’m not picky.”

  Pete loosened his hold on me.

  “Sorry for not trusting you,” I turned to Arizona. “I should have known you wouldn’t do anything to hurt him.”

  Tiny put a hand on my shoulder. “Everything’s going to be OK.”

  I put my free hand over his, and he quickly yanked his away. Warm and fuzzy time was over.

  “So now what?” I glanced over to see what Arizona planned to do next.

  Arizona stood with one hand over his mouth in a musing pose. “Don’t know yet.”

  Three heads pivoted in his direction. He never lost focus but continued to look at the problem in front of him. “I can’t think with people looking at me.”

  For once, Arizona didn’t look smug and carefree. His brow was furrowed and he rubbed his upper lip with his index finger.

  I turned to Austin and squatted next to him. “You still making it?”

  “Yeah,” he said.

  “Arizona?” Regulus yelled from the Jeep.

  He didn’t poke his head out, but I recognized that commanding, bossy voice. I was glad to hear it. He could yell at me anytime. Just as long as he made it out alive.

  “Working on it,” shouted Arizona. He rummaged in the backpack.

  “Got an aspirin in there?” Austin looked up at Arizona. I noticed for the first time that he was covered in snow. We all were. In another half hour, we’d look like snowmen. Or we’d lose limbs from frostbite.

  “Can someone get Austin into some heat while you’re thinking?” I asked.

  Tiny held up his truck keys. He placed them in my palm and I examined the ring that held over ten keys, a bottle opener and a rabbit’s foot. Tiny grabbed them again and handed
the key ring back with one key extended. He bent and placed an arm around Austin to pull him to a standing position.

  I heard a muffled groan and saw Austin gritting his teeth in pain.

  “Maybe you should carry him,” I suggested.

  Tiny gave me a look. “You have a screwy sense of humor.” He walked with Austin to the truck. The two quickly glided over the ice, with Tiny moving like a graceful giant.

  I pivoted back to Arizona. He still wore the same concerned expression.

  “I’ve created a way for him to get out of that Jeep and onto the ground,” Arizona said. “We need to get him up here.”

  * * *

  “He can’t walk up the side of an icy mountain. He might be able to climb, but it’s easier going down a cliff than up.” Pete gave me the big-brother eye roll.

  “We could send a rope over.” Tiny sounded sincere or I’d have thought it was a joke.

  “Go on.” Arizona seemed intrigued.

  “I have a compound bow. And rope. I can attach rope at the end and shoot down to him.” Tiny narrowed his eyes, looking at the wreckage. “I need to know my target and if he’ll use the rope to pull himself up to us.”

  Tiny darted off to retrieve the gear. After quickly tying off the rope on one end of the arrow and handing Arizona the other, Tiny lifted the bow to aim.

  “Wait,” Arizona said. “What if the distance is farther than you think and I’m holding the end?”

  “You’ll be jerked off the side of this mountain.” Tiny kept the same serious expression. “But it’s not.”

  “Perfect. Do it,” Arizona replied. His wide eyes gave me the feeling he wasn’t sure, but he was willing to take the risk.

  Tiny shot the arrow in one fluid motion that was over before I even saw him draw back. I couldn’t do anything but gape when the arrow hit a tree trunk midway between us and the Jeep at a point of sharp incline.

  A loud pop from the tree holding the Jeep took my breath away. Liquid drizzled from the bottom of the vehicle.

  “Get out,” I screamed. The net acting as a slide for Regulus billowed out in a wave. Regulus popped up from the door.

  I watched in horror as Regulus maneuvered himself to the top and executed a freefall down the nearly invisible netting to the ground.

  A second later, the Jeep shimmied down the splitting tree and rolled down the steep mountainside until hitting the boulder that stopped it.

  The vehicle lay upside down on the incline and smoke roiled from the engine.

  Regulus walked to the arrow stuck in the tree and cut the rope from it.

  “Those arrows aren’t cheap,” Tiny said.

  “I’ll get you another,” answered Arizona. He gave an unflattering snort and shook his head. “Priorities, man, priorities.”

  Regulus attached the rope to himself and lifted one hand to signal Arizona.

  Tiny and Arizona reached out to pull Regulus to the top of the mountain.

  I threw my arms around him. “You’re OK. You scared me. You—” And then I realized what I’d done and pulled my arms away.

  I took two steps back and a rush of blood warmed my face. Pete stared from me to Regulus and back.

  “Oh. Regulus, this is my brother, Pete. Pete—”

  My cell phone rang.

  I interrupted the awkward ‘this is my other dimension ex-boyfriend to my super secret agent brother intro’ and studied my phone’s display. “It’s Bleeker.”

  Pete attempted to take the phone from me and Regulus held up a hand. “We should hear what he wants. Speaker phone, OK?” Regulus edged closer and I found myself wedged between my brother and Regulus.

  I answered. “Hello.” I pressed SPEAKER and held the phone out.

  “I thought I told you not to bring anyone.” Bleeker didn’t sound angry. That concerned me.

  “I needed a ride,” I answered. “You almost killed me. How am I going to help you if I’m dead?”

  “Do you think I’m stupid? You’re playing a dangerous game, Mia. I only wanted to make a point. I’d have shot you if I wanted you to kill you.”

  Suspicion boiled to the surface in a rush. “How did you know I would answer? I could be dead. We went over.”

  Bleeker laughed. “I watched to be sure. I do need you around. Thought I’d have to save you myself. That would be ironic, wouldn’t it?” He gave a soft chuckle. It was warm and relaxed and made me want to scream.

  “Mia. I want you to listen to me closely. I truly regret that losing your dog didn’t make you understand. Maybe losing a parent will. You’ll do what I say.”

  Icy fear scraped my spine. I began shaking again. Regulus reached out to steady my unsteady hand. My entire body shook as I pressed END. My brain seemed to be shutting down. Pete ran, his boots pounding on the road, unwavering on the ice.

  He stopped for a brief instance with his hand on the door. “You’ve got her?” He pointed at me.

  I needed Pete to stop. To stay with me. To be safe.

  “I won’t leave her side.” Regulus stared at Pete.

  I realized why Pete was leaving without me. He was going to Dad. I couldn’t do anything more than stare at his taillights with my teeth clattering together.

  “We’ve got this.” Tiny looked at me. “Get in the truck. Take care of Austin.”

  “Yes,” Arizona added. “There’s a medical case in my backpack. Take a blue square and place it in his mouth.”

  I opened my mouth to argue, but I understood that Austin needed me.

  I bent obediently to rummage through the backpack. I’d been with him another time when Regulus needed medical attention. They used drugs in their world that were superior to ours.

  There were lots of things in the pack, but I didn’t spot a medical case. I turned objects over looking for the Red Cross symbol.

  “It’s not here.”

  “Oh. Sorry. It’s that case that has that the Muse sticker. Looks like a CD case.” He pointed. “There. You’re missing it.”

  I cocked my head up to glare out him. “Who puts a first aid kit in one of these?” The hard plastic case looked like it would hold a collection of CDs.

  “I don’t have CDs but I liked the case,” he said.

  “Who listens to Muse?” mocked Tiny, not taking his eyes off Regulus.

  We both ignored Tiny. I removed the case from the pack and walked to the truck in a skating motion. I commanded my fingers to cooperate as I struggled with the latch of the old truck.

  I climbed in and edged over to sit next to Austin. He peered sideways at me, his head resting against the seat.

  “You OK?” he asked me.

  “I’m fine. Bruises maybe.” I lifted the makeshift bandage. “Don’t move.”

  My hands, ears, and nose tingled as the warmth of the heater blowing at full blast thawed my body. Arizona’s case held only a few items and I understood now why he’d instructed to use the blue square. The flat papery square couldn’t be missed. There were dozens of them in the container. Nothing else.

  “Open up.” I held one in the air before his mouth. “Arizona said to give you this.”

  “You crazy? No. Not taking that.”

  “Trust me. Do you think I’d give you something that I wasn’t a hundred percent sure about?”

  Austin closed his eyes for a minute. “Regulus already did something to me in the Jeep. He made the bleeding stop. I’m fine.”

  “You are stubborn and surly and—”

  He reached across the seat to touch my knee. “Shut up and give it to me.” He opened his mouth.

  I placed the blue square underneath his tongue as I’d seen Arizona do for Regulus once. Austin sighed and closed his mouth. I flexed my numb fingers as I waited for the medicine to take effect.

  Austin grinned.

  “You’re good?” I took in the delirious expression on his face.

  “Better than good. Can I have another?”

  “Um…” I attempted to look out the truck window but our breaths and the heat had f
ogged up the windows.

  “I’m kidding with you.” Austin laughed at my indecision. “Those are some good drugs. You should stash a few in your pocket for later.”

  I shook my head to let him know that wasn’t happening. “Did it numb you?”

  “No. I feel great.” He looked at his shoulder underneath the cloth we’d wound around him to cover the wound. “It’s like a magic Harry Potter spell.”

  “Huh?”

  “Look,” he said and pushed the makeshift sling and bandage aside. “Does this look like normal recovery?” He did a little head dance from side-to-side.

  “Whoa.” It was the only thing I could say. “Amazing.” I smiled at his boyish glee. Then my smile froze when I thought about Pete and Dad.

  I was so tired of wanting to cry all the time. After Biscuit’s death, I’d practically cried myself dry.

  “Give me a hug. We didn’t die.” He grabbed me to his previously wounded shoulder and pulled me in tight.

  The door opened at that moment.

  I turned my head in surprise and saw Regulus jerk his attention from us to a point above the truck.

  “I didn’t mean to interrupt.” Regulus looked at Austin and not me when he said it. “I need the blue.”

  I stared at him, uncomprehending.

  Regulus straightened and pointed at the CD holder in my lap.

  “Blue?” My voice came out high-pitched and nervous and stressed. My world was falling apart. I handed him the box when he continued to point at the Muse sticker-covered plastic case.

  “What else would one call it?” he asked.

  I stared at him numbly.

  “I have a superficial cut. I’ll shut the door. Sorry,” Regulus said.

  He slammed the door and the truck shook. I jumped at the suddenness and frowned.

  “You should give him a second chance,” Austin said.

  “I am not talking about this with you. Are you crazy? All he wants is his portal finder. Nothing else. I’m tired of these games. And remember, he’s the one who broke it off with me. Not the other way around. He forgot me. Forgot everything we had, Austin. And he thinks the IIA had the right to do it. Because he’s following their rules. Always. Do you know how that feels? No? Right.”