by D. S. Murphy
I moved closer to the stage and spotted Tamara talking to a man in the shadows of one of the large oak trees that framed the park. His hands were animated, but she seemed calm and collected. Before I could reach them, Jake moved into my path. His smile fell when he saw my face.
“What is it?” he asked. “What’s wrong?”
Besides everything?
“I’m fine,” I said. “It’s nothing.”
“It’s not nothing,” he said, taking a step closer. He reached up and tucked my hair behind my ear, and his fingers strayed towards the base of my neck, sending a tingling sensation down my spine. It was like he could read me better than I could read myself. But how could that be? I still barely knew him.
“Whatever it is, you can tell me,” he said. I laughed, even as tears filled my eyes. There’s no way he would believe the truth. And even if he did, why would he help me unmake the reality he lived in? No matter how bad it seemed, would he want to be erased? Who was I to decide his fate for him?
When I failed to respond, Jake pulled me into a hug. My body froze as he wrapped his arms around me. His scent washed over me—fir trees and a musky smell like burning wood. At first I resisted, but then I relaxed into his arms and let his warmth seep into me. I closed my eyes, and for the first time in weeks, I felt safe and at peace. Even though I knew Jake and I could never be together, for the moment, he was real, and I was here, and time seemed to stand still around us.
I smiled and opened my eyes, looking at the crowd over Jake’s shoulder. All the faces were turned up to the stage, listening to Annabelle’s story, except for one. Meredith was watching us intently with a frown on her face. Neither of us broke eye contact, until we heard the woman scream.
Heads turned toward the sound and Jake let go of me suddenly. A man approached Tamara, his arm around a woman who was crying and shaking. Jake and I cut towards them. Tamara’s eyes widened when she saw me, but she turned first to the distraught woman. Tears streaked her face and silent sobs racked her body. She stood with her arms wrapped around herself. Tamara reached out to her and placed a firm hand on her shoulder.
“Another one?” Tamara asked, looking up at the man.
“Two,” the man said. “Playing by the river after dinner.”
“Men in a boat grabbed them,” the man said. He had a thick beard and smelled like fish. “Just after dark. I saw them put something in their boats, it looked suspicious. Was going to report it but I didn’t recognize them.”
“From Zamonta, no doubt,” Tamara said.
“They can’t have gone far,” Jake said. “If we go after them now, we might still catch them.”
“It’s too dangerous to send out scouts now,” Tamara said. “We’ll track them at first light.”
“That’s not good enough,” Jake argued. “Once they get to Zamonta, they’ll be gone for good. Nobody’s ever returned.”
The woman let out a loud sob and Tamara flashed Jake an angry glare.
“I’m not sending anybody out into the darkness to get torn apart by mods,” Tamara said coldly. “We go in the morning, and that’s final. We’ll do everything we can to bring them back.” Jake opened his mouth again to protest, but Tamara raised her hand and cut him off.
“Nobody leaves tonight. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need a minute in private with Alicia.” Several of the men bowed their heads—actually bowed—and backed away. She whispered something to the man with the beard. He nodded and guided the woman away from us.
Jake looked past Tamara and I saw Meredith standing on the outside of our small circle. She jerked her head and I saw Jake give a slight nod. He looked at me with longing and I could tell he wanted to say something, but he bit his lip, then faded into the shadows to join Meredith.
I glanced up at Annabelle, she’d continued this whole time with her story, even though she’d lost the crowd’s attention. Heads were turned towards us, and I could feel fear radiating off of them, as the news of the missing girls spread through the crowd.
Annabelle looked confused and noticeably hurt by everyone’s lack of interest. Then her eyes met mine and she stopped mid-sentence. Tamara walked briskly to the stage and bent down to give her a hug.
“Thank you Annabelle,” she said. “That was excellent. Unfortunately, as some of you may have heard, we had a security break tonight and two more girls have been taken. Tracy and Jasmine, the daughters of Megan and Peter. Apparently, they were taken from the shore near the river, by men in a boat.” Annabelle’s eyes went wide. The crowd rose to their feet, and some men start shouting. Tamara held up a hand and they quieted down to hear her.
“I understand how you’re feeling. With these two, that makes eight missing children this month. Apparently Zamonta is getting brazen. Defiance has always been a haven for us, a place our children can feel safe. We can no longer avoid the truth, that our way of life is under attack. Do not think this will be forgotten. We will take steps to increase our security, and we will find a way to get the children back, even if we have to tear down the walls of Zamonta and reclaim them ourselves.” The crowd responded with cheers. Some of the men brandished sticks or hunting knives into the air.
“Tonight,” Tamara continued, “Go home. Be with your families. Treasure what we have here, and remember how precious and rare it is. We may have to fight to protect it.”
Tamara came down from the stage and locked eyes with me. She gave me a grim smile, then led me to the side of the park where we could talk privately.
“Sorry about the welcome,” she said. “I think you would have enjoyed story night, actually, under normal circumstances. What can I help you with?”
I froze, unsure what to say next. A few hours ago, finding out how my mom was connected with Zamonta seemed like an emergency. But now it felt like ancient history.
“What happened?” I asked. “I thought you were safe here. I thought Zamonta left you alone.”
“They have, so far,” Tamara said. “Children went missing if they strayed too far beyond the river, but when the world is infested with monsters, parents learn how to deal with loss. We’ve heard stories about Zamonta abducting children, but this—they’ve never done this before. Sneaking into our town at night, grabbing them from our shores. It’s the first real proof that Zamonta is our enemy.”
“But why now?” I asked. “Why take the risk?”
“Because,” Tamara said, her eyes fixed on me. “Something has changed. You’re here now. They know they’re short on time.”
My brows furrowed. “But why take children? What do they want them for?”
She pursed her lips. “We don’t know for sure. Probably using them for experiments. Mr. Peters could be cutting them up and feeding them to his private army of mods, for all I know. My guess is, he’s trying to find you, and if he can’t find you then maybe he can find someone like you who can control time for him.”
“Wh-what,” I sputtered. “But… that’s crazy.”
“He is crazy, Alicia, and he will stop at nothing to find the kind of power you have. No one knows how it works. You’re the only one to experience time travel so far, but what if you’re not the only one? He needs your power. And if he can’t get it from you, he’ll take them all until he finds what he’s looking for.”
My eyes slid closed. I couldn’t believe this. When she mentioned the kidnapping before, I thought she was just being dramatic. But how could I have ignored it? Tamara pulled me into a hug. It felt strange, hugging this version of her. She was my sister, but she wasn’t at the same time. Her body felt leaner and harder than I was used to.
“What can I do to help?” I asked finally.
“Are you kidding?” she asked, pulling away and holding my shoulders tightly. “This isn’t your problem. You shouldn’t even be here—I told you before, there’s nothing for you here, in this time. So why don’t you just tell me what was so important that you had to trip in the middle of the night?”
I frowned and looked at my feet.
&n
bsp; “I broke into Zamonta today,” I said. “I found a file on mom in Kyle Peters’ office.”
Tamara sucked in a quick breath, like she’d been stung, then gazed at me with intense focus.
I wondered which part of my sentence had surprised her.
“What exactly are you asking?”
“Did she work for Zamonta? Was she working with Mr. Peters?”
“You sure you want to hear about this?” Tamara asked.
“I’m not a child anymore,” I said. “You don’t have to protect me.”
She looked at me for a moment, then sighed. “You’re right.You’re not a child, so I won’t treat you like one. When you were nine, mom wanted to go back to work. We needed money, but dad didn’t want her getting a full-time job. Then she saw an ad in the paper for a medical trial. It was good money, and just a few hours a day. At first, she was excited about it, but then she started coming home later and later, and she seemed tired all the time. One day, she didn’t come home. We don’t know what happened exactly, what they did to her. They sent dad a settlement check and an NDA agreement, and that was it. We never even got the body back. Remember the funeral? Closed-casket. Zamonta had the body incinerated, they said it was to protect propietary information.” Tamara scowled, and I could see the hatred in her eyes.
My eyes widened at the new information. “Is that what started all of this?” I asked. “Your campaigns against GMOs, your fight against Zamonta. It was all because of mom?”
She laughed, but there was a darkness in it. “You still don’t get it, do you? This is bigger than me or you. Mom died ages before Zamonta unleashed the genetic mutation that destroyed the human race, and even if she hadn’t—what’s one life compared to the billions of people who suffered? This is your fault. You knew it was coming. You were the only one who actually saw how terrible the future was, and you failed to stop it. Because you were too weak to do what has to be done. You’re worried about two missing girls? You could have saved everyone. You still can.”
I was surprised by her sudden hostility, and pulled away from her grasp.
“You’re talking about murder,” I said. “Worse than that, you want me to kill him for what he hasn’t even done yet.”
“Even now that you know Zamonta killed mom? Kyle Peters was in charge of that project. Did you know that? He was the one who signed the check that paid for dad’s silence. The same thing is happening now, but instead of paying for willing volunteers, they’re just kidnapping girls. How do you think this plays out? You told me to create this place. And we did. We’ve had a decade of growth and peace. But if Zamonta keeps taking our children, there will be a war between us, a war to see who will inherit what’s left of the earth. Everyone you saw here tonight could be dead in a few weeks. They’ll kill hundreds of Zamonta’s mercenaries, and hundreds of ours will die as well. It will be bloody and completely wasteful. But you could stop all of that. None of this needs to happen,” she whispered, stroking my cheek with her hand.
“I just… I can’t,” I said, pulling away.
Her face turned to stone. Her eyes pierced into mine.
“You must.” Her voice was a command, but there was an edge to her voice that sent tremors through me. I shook my head stubbornly. She might have gotten used to being in charge here, but she couldn’t tell me what to do.
“Then there’s nothing else for us to talk about,” she said finally. She snapped her fingers at a pair of guards near us, and they grabbed my arms and pulled me away.
20
Minutes later, I was back in the luxury apartment Tamara had prepared for me; but this time I was a prisoner. Tamara’s goons had escorted me inside, where according to Tamara, I’d be safe until I the phylia wore off and I returned to my time. But I didn’t travel into the future just to be grounded by my older sister. I didn’t know how much time I had left, but I had to make it count. I also needed information from Tracy. I’d been hoping Jake could take me in the morning, if I even stayed that long, but now it seemed like he’d be in the search party looking for the girls who’d been taken. What if Tamara was right? What if it was dangerous? What if this was the last chance I’d get to see him?
I poked my head out the window, plotting my escape. There was a set of metal stairs to the left, but they looked rusted through—and they were out of my reach; connected to the apartment next to mine. But there was a ledge under my window. I might be able to walk along it to reach the stairs, then climb down from there.
My thoughts were interrupted by two shadows moving through the streets. When they got closer I could see it was Jake and Meredith. They were definitely sneaking; they’d changed into dark clothes, with hoods hiding most of their faces. Jake had his crossbow with him, and Meredith had a long pair of knives tucked into her belt. What were they up to? I almost called out to them as they passed below me, but I didn’t want to get them in trouble. Instead I climbed out the window, clinging to the wall as I scooted inch-by-inch across the narrow ledge. I finally reached the metal railing of the emergency stairs. It let out a loud metallic creak under my weight, but it held. The hinges were rusted shut though. I couldn’t lower the ladder all the way, so I climbed down as far as I could and dropped softly, rolling as I hit the ground.
I smiled, brushing off the dirt, then chased after Meredith and Jake. I caught them at the shore, pushing a wooden boat into the water. They turned when I was close. Jake had raised his crossbow halfway to his shoulder before he recognized me. He relaxed, but then frowned.
“You shouldn’t be here,” he said.
“Story of my life,” I said lamely. “I just, I needed to see you. You’re going after the girls, aren’t you? Isn’t that dangerous—to be out there at night, with the mods. Not to mention the mercs that took them.”
“We can take care of ourselves,” Meredith said, her palm resting loosely on the handle of her knife.
“Do you have to go?” I asked. Jake took a few steps towards me, until he was close enough to take my hand and raise it up to his chest.
“Trust me,” he said softly, “I’d rather stay here with you. I’ve been counting the minutes, waiting for you to come back. I thought I’d go crazy if I couldn’t see you again. But nobody else is going to defy Tamara and save those girls. And I can’t look after both you and them at the same time.”
“She’s just trying to keep everyone safe,” I said, defending my sister. “It’s dangerous out there. Plus how are you even going to find them?”
“We don’t need to find them,” Jake said, with a sparkle in his eye. “We know where they’re going, and they’re on foot. All we need to do is drive your hovercraft and get there first, then we can ambush them. It’s a three hour walk, and the girls will probably slow them down. They’ll need to be silent, without lights, or they’ll attract the mods. Zamonta must have upped the bounty for captives, or they wouldn’t have risked it.”
“Why does it have to be you?” I pleaded.
“If we do nothing, they’ll just keep coming back. What if that was Annabelle out there?”
“So let me help,” I said, summoning my courage. I didn’t actually want to go, but I felt like something bad would happen if I let Jake out of my sight.
“You can’t fight,” Jake said. “And we can’t use guns, it would be suicide to shoot at night.”
“Exactly,” I smiled. “So I’ll drive. You two can do the ass-kicking, and we’ll make a speedy exit. Four arms are better than two, right?”
“Girl has a point,” Meredith muttered, raising an eyebrow at me. “Plus, we’re wasting time.”
Jake looked like he was going to argue, but then he grunted and nodded me towards the boat.
I was exhilarated crossing the river at night, watching Jake’s strong arms row the boat across the glass-like water. It was so still it reflected the stars. It might have been romantic, if I didn’t feel like the third wheel to their rescue mission. The dread set in once my feet were back on solid ground.
Jake went s
traight to one of the tall trees edging the river and tapped softly against it. My eyes widened when I noticed the wooden steps nailed into the tree and followed them with my eyes upwards, until they connected with a tree house. It was built like a small cube, with narrow windows like on a castle. Jake whistled, and I heard the sound of chains moving, then the heavy door swung open and a head poked out. It was Sam, Jake’s friend I’d met on the last river crossing.
He looked surprised to see us. He climbed down quickly and joined us.
“Well this is a treat. Risking your lives just to come over and keep me company?”
“Two girls got kidnapped tonight,” Jake said. “We’re going to bring them back.”
Sam’s smile dropped instantly.
“Are you insane? You let him talk you into this?” Sam asked Meredith.
“How do you know it wasn’t my idea?” she tossed back.
“You live up there?” I interrupted, nodding at the tree fort.
“On and off. It’s where the guards sleep. Tamara has them posted all around the river. Shit, I’ll bet she’s going to be pissed at all of us tomorrow.”
“It wasn’t your fault,” Jake said quickly. “I’m sure they crossed somewhere they wouldn’t be seen. We’re short on time, where did you park Alicia’s bike?”
Sam grinned and nodded his head. We followed quietly behind him, through the trees. The hovercraft was covered with a tarp and then hidden with leaves and branches. It would have been invisible if we didn’t know it was there.
“I might have taken it out for a spin,” Sam said sheepishly, handing me the keys. “Your weapon is under the seat. So, how are we going to fit four people on one bike?”
Jake eyebrows shot upwards. “You’re not coming,” he said. “You’re supposed to be on guard duty.”
“Not likely we’ll get more visitors tonight. And you’re going up against mercs. Do you even know how many of them you’ll be facing? Thought not.”