Impact

by Steven Whibley

  I let out a long breath. I couldn’t believe she picked now to bring up all this stuff. “Then keep your trap shut about this.”

  “I can’t,” she hissed at me. “It’s freaking me out. How many have you’ve saved? You’re going to end up in trouble for doing this.”

  I wondered now if Becky knew that I was going around trying to save people. When she was younger, she used to tag along after me. Had she been doing that again and watching? Had I been too busy with the visions to notice?

  Eyes narrowing, she asked, “How are you always in the right place at the right time?”

  I forced a fake laugh, but even I thought it sounded lame. “I’m not, trust me. It’s usually the wrong place at the worst time.”

  “I don’t understand. Can you …” She lowered her voice, and her eyes got huge. “Can you see the future?”

  I groaned, although I was kind of surprised. Becky was Little Miss Scientist and beyond practical. Every time we watched a fantasy movie, she’d scoff at how unbelievable everything was. She already had her college picked out and planned to get degrees in like three different sciences. I decided to play on that. Eyebrows lifted high, I looked down at her. “Really? I thought you were smarter than that.”

  She blushed and let go of my arm. “I am. I mean, I don’t think … I just don’t understand.”

  “That’s because there’s nothing to understand. Look, yesterday, well, Colin’s dad went to Harrison, you know, scouting possible locations. Colin had to go to assist him, so Lisa and I went to hang out. Yeah, we happened to be there when this poor woman needed help, and that’s about it. We split after the official emergency people arrived, so we didn’t do anything.”

  Becky opened her mouth to say something but seemed to catch herself. She squinted at me. “That man in the video?”

  “Which one? I saw like a dozen. I couldn’t even tell you who was who. Now, look, here’s that five bucks. Stop embarrassing me. I’m not some kind of hero. Dump the video and tell Mom and Dad I left them a note. If you really think you owe me, don’t make them think I’m more nuts than they already do, okay?”

  I turned and headed for the door. I didn’t look back, but I could feel Becky staring at me, probably with that tight frown of hers. My skin itched, so I knew she didn’t buy my story. She’d keep asking about Archer. She might even keep following me. I couldn’t afford to have her at the air show today. I didn’t want my folks there, either, so I’d only said in my note that I was hanging out with Lisa and Colin and I’d have my phone with me, that we might be at the mall or we might do something else like a movie.

  Nevertheless, if Becky somehow found out where I was … not good.

  I needed a new plan.

  CHAPTER 12

  Colin and Lisa shivered in the cool morning air at the bus stop. Lisa had a sweatshirt on with her running shoes and jeans. She wrapped her arms around herself to keep warm. Colin didn’t even have a jacket on, only a cotton shirt, jeans, and running shoes. He rocked up on his toes, and I figured he was too excited to be cold. I felt like I’d never warmed up after being soaked yesterday. The chill seemed to have crept into my bones and taken up residence. I felt old today, and I thought about my mom asking me not to grow up too fast. Seeing people dying wasn’t going to help with that promise, and not saving them would help even less.

  My life was getting way too weird.

  I told Colin and Lisa about what Becky had said. “Which is why I’m late.”

  Colin grinned. “No way. I’m on YouTube saving that woman? That’s awesome.”

  Lisa slapped his arm. “This is serious.”

  “I know, I know.” Colin held up his hands, but he kept smiling, no doubt at the possibility that a video he had starred in might actually go viral.

  The bus saved him from Lisa or me yelling at him. The vehicle pulled up in a puff of diesel and opened its door. We paid our fare and took seats at the back, passing the only three other passengers aboard.

  Lisa lowered her voice so they wouldn’t hear and asked, “What do you think we should do? Becky’s actually pretty smart. Do you think she’ll figure it out?”

  I shrugged. “Dunno. I don’t think she’ll guess the truth, but she’ll guess something. She thinks I was lying—and I was. Maybe she’ll go to my parents with that.”

  “Maybe you should tell her everything,” Lisa said.

  Colin choked. He turned to her and said to her in a voice low, “Uh, the first rule of a secret society is that it’s a secret. As in, this is Fight Club—you do not go blabbing to your little sisters that you joined it.”

  “I’m not talking about blabbing.” Lisa played with her ponytail. “Honesty might be the best policy here.”

  “Oh, gag me.” Colin faked a finger down his throat. “Did you just say that? Please tell me you did not just say that!”

  The muscles in Lisa’s jaw flexed, and I knew I’d better get between them before they got into a fight. “I’m not telling her anything. Becky might have her moments of being not quite so evil, but if I tell her, someday she’ll only use it against me.” I shook my head. “No, we’re not telling her the truth.”

  Lisa swallowed hard. “Fine. Whatever. It’s not like anyone at the CS actually said we had to keep it a secret, you know.”

  “Of course they did,” Colin said. “It was just about the first thing Archer told us.”

  “No, he said the reason they’d waited so long to make contact was to see who we had told and to come up with a plan on how to handle that.” She turned back to me. “Why don’t you ask Archer or Sarah what to do?”

  “I think you’re wrong about that,” Colin said. “I think it is a secret. A big one. But speaking of Archer and Sarah …” Colin gave me a wink. “I think they’re, y’know, together.”

  I stared at him. I couldn’t believe what he was insinuating. “What? Together, together?”

  He nudged me with an elbow. “Uh-huh. Didn’t you see the way they were looking at each other at the meeting?”

  “I thought I saw a spark too,” Lisa noted.

  I looked from one idiot to the other. “Really? And I didn’t notice anything? Could that be because you two see hand-holding in every pair of people you see? You’re both nuts. Besides, it’s not any of our business. Now come up with some ideas for how I deal with Becky, and let’s leave figuring out who likes who to the gossip shows on TV.”

  Colin and Lisa swapped looks like they were going to humor my bad temper. Sure, maybe I was a little stressed. I couldn’t keep my knee from bouncing up and down. I also was having a hard time eating anything. We batted around ideas—everything from stealing Becky’s phone and hacking her YouTube account to paying for her silence to sending her off to China in a box. Why China, I don’t know—that was Colin’s idea. Even the cost of postage shot that idea down.

  We got off the bus and made our way down the block until we came to the Church of Eternal Praise. You couldn’t miss the place: large and white and gleaming in the sun. Stained glass windows covered the front of the building. A giant cross on the top of the pitched roof screamed “church” louder than any sign. The church sat across from the main gates into the Abbotsford fairgrounds. Big banners for the air show flapped in the morning breeze. Posters clung to the metal fencing around the parking lot and fairgrounds. No one had shown up yet, but you could hear airplanes droning in the distance. Some guy was driving a giant sweeper through the lot in preparation for the day’s activities. There were vendors as well, who were setting up their booths, and food trucks already prepared for customers, casting scents out like fishing line.

  Shading my eyes, I stared at the grandstands. They stood open on both sides and sat in front of a racetrack. The fairgrounds didn’t just hold the fair. It hosted all kinds of events. Horse shows, concerts, and the air show. From where I stood, I could picture the grandstands burning. What would it be like with dozens of people caught in there? The screams. The cries. The desperation. The mess of broken bones and finis
hed lives.

  With a shiver, I headed toward the church. Colin ran up the front steps and tugged on the door handles. He pressed his face to the glass of the front doors. “It’s locked. All the lights are off, and I don’t see anyone.”

  Running to the far corner of the building, Lisa gestured for us to follow. “Over here,” she said and disappeared at a run. We followed and saw a lot of people in the side yard.

  Grass covered a strip next to the church before the area opened into newly blacktopped parking lot.

  Archer turned and saw us. He wore jeans and a light-colored T-shirt, and the breeze ruffled his sandy hair. He looked as though he was dressed for a day off, or one being spent as a tourist at the air show. He waved us over, which made a number of others peer in our direction. We’d barely taken two steps before a slender woman with short red hair and a wide smile blocked my path.

  “Dean Curse,” she said. She held out her hand. “Great to meet you. All of you!” She turned and smiled at Lisa and Colin. “I’m Erin Doring. Seattle District.” She snatched Lisa’s hand next and shook it before grabbing Colin’s and doing the same.

  “Yeah, really nice to meet you too,” Lisa said, backing up a step. She didn’t look like she knew what to do with Erin’s energy.

  Erin simply grinned at us. “You three are the youngest members we’ve had in … well, in forever. You’re making history! I’ve been suggesting for years that we need to recruit younger people.” She dropped her voice. “There have been a number of tragic incidents in high schools that might have been avoided if we’d had people on the inside.”

  A low voice cut over Erin’s words. “That’s one possibility.” I jumped and turned. Hank Fallston glared at me. He held a paper cup of coffee in one hand. The steam seemed to curl around him like some kind of mist—or some kind of evil potion. “The other option is that someone so young isn’t ready to handle this job. He might want to make up stories to make himself feel bigger.”

  Heat washed my face. I knew now that Hank was thinking I’d lied about my vision of McKnight or maybe that I was lying about never having touched McKnight.

  “Mr. Fallston,” Erin said, her smile dropping. She nodded to me and disappeared into the crowd.

  Hank Fallston stared at me. “I’m going to be watching you.” I didn’t respond, and it wasn’t as if he gave me the chance to because he’d barely finished speaking when he turned and strode away.

  When I heard Sarah call my name, I turned and saw her standing beside Archer. I blinked, realizing she looked a lot like an older, taller version of Lisa. She wore her hair pulled back in a ponytail like Lisa and had on a thin zip-up hoodie over a black T-shirt, jeans, and running shoes.

  “Twinsies,” Colin said, leaning over to nudge Lisa. She nudged him back, and we walked over to Sarah and Archer.

  Nathan came up as well. “I knew you’d be here early this morning. Most kids your age sleep in so late we had a pool going about if you’d manage to get up on time.”

  “A pool?” Colin asked, frowning.

  Nathan glanced at his watch. “As in betting on you. I just won twenty bucks on you, kid.”

  Colin braced his feet wider and folded his arms. “Ah, yeah, you know us kids these days. Getting drunk and robbing banks.”

  Nathan glared at him, his mouth pulled down like he’d bitten into something sour.

  Lisa stepped between Nathan and Colin. “Do you think you have time to show me a couple of those martial arts moves?”

  Nathan kept watch on Colin, but he said to Lisa, “Sure. No time like the present.” With a smile, he took her hand and moved off. “Want to watch, Colin? You might learn a thing or two.”

  Back stiff, Colin nodded. “Sure. I’ll watch.” He leaned toward me. “Not sure I’ll learn anything, but I’m not leaving him alone with Lisa.” Nathan pulled Lisa with him over to a grassy area, and Colin followed.

  Sarah came and took me around to meet a few people, but I kept glancing over to where Nathan was showing some kind of moves. He did something fast that ended up with him pulling Lisa’s phone out of her hand. She seemed to pick it up fast because she did the same move on Nathan and then cheered for herself. He turned to Colin and made a come on gesture with his finger. I tried to pull away from Sarah, but she had someone else she wanted me to meet. I kept shaking hands, and when I turned back, I saw Nathan had dumped Colin flat on the grass. He reached out a hand, but Colin batted it away and stood up on his own. Lisa just shook her head like this was all Colin’s fault, but I didn’t think dumping a guy on his butt was a great way to teach anyone anything.

  Beside me, Sarah called out, “Okay, everyone. I need your attention!”

  Lisa ran over to me, and Colin followed. Nathan trailed behind them, smiling. I focused on Sarah.

  “Thank you all for coming today and getting here so early. I know some of you traveled a great distance.” She nodded to a slender man who leaned against the wall, sipping a mug of coffee. “Paul, could you tell us where we stand on McKnight’s plane?”

  “He’s the guy acting as McKnight’s flight crew mechanic,” Colin said. “I heard some of the others talking about him when we first got here.”

  Paul gave a quick nod to the group. “I won’t bore you with specifics, but there’s nothing wrong with McKnight’s plane. Beautiful machine. F-86 Sabre. His regular crew knows what they’re doing, but I made sure the plane won’t fly today. A clogged line in need of replacement parts took care of that. The show took McKnight’s performance out of today’s schedule, but they’ll have a new part later today, and he’s set to fly tomorrow.”

  “Thanks, Paul.” Sarah turned back to the crowd. “We’ll know today if we’ve stopped the crash or whether taking McKnight’s plane out of commission had any effect at all. Please be prepared. If all we’ve done is delay the event for twenty-four hours, you can expect your visions to be even more dramatic than they were yesterday.” I could tell she was speaking directly to me, and I think most of the people in the group thought the same thing since a dozen glances were shot my way.

  She rubbed her hands together. “And on that, I want to remind everyone that today’s all about connecting. I want you to get out there and connect—touch as many people as you can. We have too many questions still. We know McKnight’s plane is fine, and if we hadn’t taken it out of commission, it wouldn’t have failed. Plus, McKnight’s flight path should not have caused anyone harm. Because of that, we can’t rule out two separate events. Possibly related, possibly not. Be on your toes today, okay?”

  “Smart,” Nathan said under his breath. He noticed me and whispered, “Sarah’s nothing if not thorough. That’s why Hank lets her run this zone.”

  I shifted, and the hairs on the back of my neck started tingling. There was something in the way Nathan spoke—an insincerity that I couldn’t put my finger on but wondered if I was just now hearing what Colin had heard all along. But Lisa liked him. I still wasn’t sure, and I wondered if Mr. Vidmar had felt the same way—unsure. He could have gifted visions to Nathan a long time ago, but he hadn’t. Why?

  Sarah gestured to Archer, and he stepped up beside her, his expression unusually serious. “The plan is to gather at the grandstands at noon. Even if we’ve saved McKnight, it doesn’t mean we’ve saved everyone else. A number of us have had visions, and if we can confirm that those people are all gathered in one place, and nothing else life-threatening happens today, we’ll have confirmed that McKnight and his plane were going to be the cause of this tragedy. Until then, keep your eyes peeled. Follow your instincts. Record everything, and if you see something, follow up and alert others.”

  “I feel like we’re about to be sent into the final half,” Colin said.

  Erin from Seattle heard him and shouted out, “C’mon, coach. Put me in. I’m ready!”

  Several people laughed. Archer smiled and gave Colin an approving nod. I figured he was probably glad for the break in the tension. I was glad for the same thing.

  With a
clap of his hands, Archer said, “Okay, get out of here already.”

  Nathan said to me, “Text or call if you need a hand out there.”

  “We’ll be fine on our own,” Colin said.

  Lisa turned her back on Colin and smiled at Nathan. “Thanks … we totally will.”

  “No, we won’t,” Colin muttered.

  Nathan snickered. “You’re cocky. I like that. And I get that you want to prove yourself. I was pretty young when I started out. I used to feel like I had to show people I belonged. Maybe I still feel that way, but I don’t mind you trying to take on the world.” Then he added, “Just don’t push me too far, okay?”

  Nathan crossed the street and strode toward one of the entrances to the air show. Others had broken away from the group and were heading that way too. Colin steered us in the opposite direction from Nathan so that we walked along a stretch of sidewalk lined with people setting up tables to sell everything from sunglasses to sneakers. Photos of the pilots smiled up at us, some of them autographed. I thought about how Becky wanted to get her Bieber tooth signed.

  Lisa grabbed Colin’s arm and pulled him to a stop beside a man examining a table full of watches with airplanes on them. “What’s wrong with you?”

  Colin jerked his arm away. “What are you talking about?”

  She leveled a cold stare at him. “Nathan! Why are you being such a jerk to him?”

  “I told you. I don’t like him.”

  I stepped between them. “Hey, guys. Could we not do this just now?”

  Lisa huffed out a breath and jerked off her sweatshirt, tying it around her hips. The day was heating up and would be warm. “He’s been nice to us, and like he just said, he knows what it’s like to be our age and in …” She glanced around us. “Y’know. The club. C’mon, Dean, back me up here.”