Apocalypse For Realz

by Bella Street

***

  Seffy pushed on the door and entered the familiar space. Dim track lighting, soothing pop music, potted palms, and the smell of over-heated skin. Just like old times.

  The front desk was empty, but somewhere she heard the sound of someone receiving a spray tan. Up and down the spray gun went, back and forth.

  A new sound came to her ears—a low hiss and rumble. A different spray tan machine? She followed the sound around the other side of the desk and found three women in chairs with tubes in their noses. “Oxygen?” she asked, surprised.

  Another woman appeared from a back room. Seffy recognized her as the brunette from the front desk.

  “It's something new we're offering. Just started today. Oxygen hits while you wait to tan!” Her smile broadened. “Can I interest you? We have several scents we're trying out—Evergreen, Peach Melody, and Pomegranate Haze.”

  Her bright blue eyes sparkled, suddenly reminding Seffy of Lani. Suddenly reminding her why she was really here.

  “Um,” she said, hoping her acting skills would for once suffice. “There's a guy just outside the door, waving a gun around. I came in to warn you.”

  The three woman simultaneously pulled out their nose tubes and jumped from the chairs.

  “I'll call the police!” the brunette said.

  “Already done,” Seffy said, herding them toward the back. “You get these ladies out quick.”

  “But the oxygen tanks—”

  “I used to work at an oxygen bar. I got this. And I'll alert the rest of the clients.”

  The blue eyes tightened in worry. “Are...are you sure?”

  “Yes! Go!”

  One of the women grabbed the brunette's arm, and together they hustled out the back door.

  Seffy headed to the farthest tanning bed room in the back, her steps soundless on the thick carpeting.

  She knocked on the door, then went in when there was no answer. It was empty. She moved on to the second. It was occupied but she went inside and tapped on the bed cover.

  A woman gasped. Seffy leaned down and spoke in a low voice. “There's a man in the lobby waving a gun around. Get dressed and go out the back door without making a sound!”

  The woman's reverse racoon eyes widened and she scrambled from the bed. Seffy did the same for the next two clients. Then she checked the bathrooms and dressing rooms, clearing them out. Next, she headed to the spray booth.

  When she poked her head around the corner, the woman holding the spray gun frowned. “Hey, this is a private area!”

  Seffy repeated her message. The woman dropped the gun where it continued spraying the wall near her feet. The client grabbed a towel, and together they ran out the back door.

  Not pausing to think, Seffy returned to the last tanning bed room next to the spray tan machine. She opened the door and went inside. In the dim blue glow from the bed, she recognized Verity's purse and shoes.

  For a brief moment, everything tunneled down on those shoes. And that can of Diet Rock Star that had been there the last time, too.

  “Verity?”

  A hand fumbled with the cover, shoving it open. “Who the hell is out there? This is a private room!”

  “It's Seffy.”

  “What? What are you doing here?” The blonde eased up from the bed, trying to preserve what was left of her modesty. “Gimme a minute and let me get some clothes on.”

  Verity clumsily grabbed a silk robe from the back of the chair and swung it over her shoulders. Tightening the belt around her waist, she motioned with her hand. “Hit the light, I can barely see. I've got a drink around here somewhere—oh, hell, I kicked it over. Dammit!”

  Her cursing continued as Seffy flipped the light switch.

  “This better be good, Seffy, because I don't want to get stuck with a carpet cleaning bill.” She righted the can and turned to face her.

  Seffy watched the foaming puddle of liquid rush to the frayed tanning bed cord in the wall outlet.

  “Oh my God, what happened to you? You look like hell!”

  Seffy turned her attention to the time-travel hitchhiker. Blonde hair rippled in golden waves down her shoulders, crystal clear blue eyes—natural blue—stared back at her. Golden skin with a healthy pink flush highlighted the woman's dazzling beauty. I never had a chance with Gareth. Not in the shadow of this goddess. “What are you really doing here?”

  Verity's rueful smile faded and she frowned. “Do you want to explain yourself? I always come here on Friday.”

  “You had so many chances, Verity. But your time has run out.”

  The blonde regarded her with narrowed eyes, as if weighing each word. “What's this about?”

  How could such a beautiful woman be so calloused? How could such glory be so corrupted? “I think you know.”

  Verity shifted and put her hand on her hip. “Is this about Gareth? Listen, I know about your little obsession. But you're just a stupid bottle blonde wannabe who will never, I repeat never mean half as much to Gareth as I do.”

  Seffy blinked at the vitriol leveled at her. The sound of Verity's harsh breathing mingled with the sound of the tanning gun on the floor in the next room. The trigger must've jammed.

  “So, what, you think you're going to try and get Gareth back? Is that what this is about?”

  “I never had Gareth.”

  “Well, the little girl grows up. Damn straight you never had him. He likes his women whole. Not little broken dolls like you.”

  The comment stung. But at one time, it had been true. “You came a long way to prove that point.”

  Verity's face paled, then she shook her head. “You don't have a clue what you're talking about.”

  Seffy touched the ring on her finger, surprised Verity was sticking to the meme that she belonged here. Was that why she kept sending in assassins? Because none ever came back? Because she never knew if they ever arrived?

  A strange thought occurred. Did she send them from the tanning bed room? Whoa.

  Seffy took a deep breath. “Guess I'm not the only one in denial. By the way, Fenn says hi.”

  Verity's blue eyes bugged out of her head as sparks sputtered behind her at the outlet. Her mouth worked for several seconds. Various emotions flitted across her beautiful face. “How?”

  “He and I have gotten to know each other lately.”

  The blonde froze. “The words worked? You went back in time? I never knew.”

  Seffy kept silent as she took a step toward the blonde.

  Verity shook her head. “I can only imagine what he told you. No matter what you think, no matter what Fenn said, nothing has to change. He's a liar. He's always lied. I mean, my God, Fiona. Only a psychopath would ever hook up with that bitch.”

  A strange smell filled the air. Like pomegranate and peaches—the scented oxygen. “Where did you take the baby?”

  Verity frowned. “How is that any business of yours? How did you find out about that?” When Seffy didn't respond, she continued. “I did what was best.”

  “For you?”

  “I don't understand. What do you care about some baby?”

  Seffy regarded the woman's now sweating face, waiting for the moment the key clicked in the lock.

  “What's your name?” Verity said suddenly. “Your real name. I always knew Persephone was made up.”

  “I'm Seraphina Catharine Fennigan.” The words felt strange on her tongue.

  Verity took a staggering step back. “Oh, my God.” She began to sway. “Oh, my God.” She sagged against the tanning bed, supported by her elbows, her breath coming out in a haggard rush. “No, he told me he'd given up that search—that I was to find some cousin and see if that went anywhere.”

  “I'm the daughter. I'm the one you left behind.”

  Abject fear shone in her eyes as she put up her hands. “You just need to calm down and think this through. What was I supposed to do? Fiona was dead. Fenn was sick. Olga was too old—”

  Seffy took another step forward. “What about Olga?” />
  “She wanted to raise you until Fenn got clean, but you'd always be underfoot, distracting Fenn from our research.”

  Olga wanted to raise me?

  “I found a home. It's not my fault if the couple flaked.”

  “But you never told Fenn who that couple was.”

  “Of course not. We were on the brink of a breakthrough.”

  A small fire started at the outlet, the yellow and blue flames reaching higher. Seffy returned her attention to the stunned woman who was still struggling to come up with an excuse.

  But for once, Verity was out of time.

  “Seriously, Sef, Sera, we can get through this. Everything's chill. You look like you turned out okay, and I have my way out. I'll just leave. We forget this ever happened.”

  Seffy took a step toward the woman who'd almost destroyed her life. “Where do you plan to go?”

  The blonde chewed her lip, uncertainty reflecting in her expression.

  “No matter where you run, he'll hunt you down.”

  Verity lifted her chin. “I'll just go back. Explain to him. He'll give me a second chance.”

  “Maybe, but that's not in my best interest.”

  She glared. “You can't stop me. Look at it this way, I leave, you get Gareth.” She shrugged, appearing nonchalant. “So all this fuss is for nothing. As you can see, it's not the end of the—”

  Seffy clamped her hand hard over Verity's mouth, stopping the last word from being uttered.

  Because it was a code word for Verity's escape.

  Because it was a damn rude thing to say.

  But most of all, because it was a lie.

  “Yes, it is, Verity. This time for real.”

  A sudden whoosh was followed by an ear splitting explosion.

  Seffy closed her eyes and thought of Trent.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Eugene seemed unperturbed by Addison's demand to get them out of there. He raised his brows and pointed one finger upward as if he was about to begin a lecture.

  Suddenly his body blew to the side. The girls lurched in the same direction, crumpling to the ground. Gareth followed.

  Gripping the dirty concrete floor, he looked up at the girls, who lay curled up, their arms bent defensively over their heads.

  “What the hell was that?” Addison screamed.

  “Did we time-travel?” Lani.

  “I didn't push any buttons.” Eugene.

  “That was waaay too big to be an earthquake.” One of the techs.

  “Is anyone hurt?” Gareth yelled. His ears were ringing and his voice came out muffled.

  “Is it over?” Addison said, sounding far away.

  Slowly everyone got to their feet. The members of the computer lab staff were in various stages of groans and whimpers. No one was hurt beyond bumps and bruises from the fall.

  “It was like a sonic boom, but bigger,” one of the techs said.

  Another agreed.

  “Did the Russians bomb us?”

  The words galvanized everyone, including Gareth. Could history have been altered so much? They crowded out the door of the computer lab, the techs leading the way, looking like they were escaping the schoolroom due to an unexpected fire alarm.

  In fact, now that Gareth thought about it, he did hear alarms going off somewhere in the compound.

  He looked back at the girls. “You sure you're okay?”

  They nodded, looking more stunned than scared as they headed after the others.

  The techs led them down the twisting turns of the halls to the garage. Someone opened all the bays and the doors began to rise slowly, the motorized clattering muffled in his ears.

  “Do you see that?” Lani said.

  “Oh my God,” Addison said, clutching her face.

  Gareth looked past the bay doors and saw the bright blue sky.

  Not a pink streak, smear, or blob in sight. He staggered out into the yard, looking up in astonishment.

  “Where did the pink go?” someone asked.

  A small huddle of people stood further off. Gareth recognized Fenn and Fiona near Malone and a few remaining staff members.

  He headed toward the compound leader, a sick dread in his gut. How did such a disrupted sky suddenly appear normal? What was responsible for the blast? There was no smoke that he could see and it hadn't felt like an earthquake.

  And he still had no proof Seffy had gotten away from the compound. What if she was lost and hurt and alone somewhere?

  His steps slowed when he realized Fenn was staring up at the sky, his face carved by some inner torment. Tears rolled down his face and off his chin. Did he miss the pink? God, what is going on around here?

  Fiona looked up at her boyfriend in consternation, tugging on his arm and asking why he was crying.

  Gareth looked up again, shocked at how a normal blue sky and fluffy white clouds could seem so bizarre and out of place. So what did this mean? Apparently no one else knew either.

  He threw up his hands and stalked to where the girls stood near the bay doors.

  “Does anyone know what happened?” Addison asked.

  “I doubt it. And if they do, they aren't talking.”

  Lani's gaze had attached on Malone's figure. Suddenly, Fenn pulled away from the group and headed for him and the girls.

  Gareth stood up straighter, fighting a fresh wave of dread. He'd seen the compound leader looking like death warmed over, but never like this.

  As he neared, the anguish in his eyes flared brighter than the blue sky.

  “Everyone back inside, please.”

  Gareth shook his head. “Let's try that again. With some answers this time.”

  “So was it a sonic boom?” one of the techs asked, shading his eyes with his hand as he gazed into the blue sky.

  “Everyone please assemble back in the computer lab.”

  “Was that an earthquake?” Addison asked Fenn.

  Fenn shook his head. “The cause of the temporal disruption has been resolved.”

  Addison's brows went up. “Huh?”

  “Back inside, please,” Eugene said, shooing them toward the compound with his hands.

  “What's going on, Fenn?” Gareth said. “You owe us the truth.”

  “I did my best,” he said, his voice as hollow as his eyes. “But even then it's not good enough, is it?”

  Gareth frowned, not apprehending his meaning.

  “Quickly!” Eugene said, beginning to sound panicky.

  “Come on, Gareth. Let's get out of here.” Addison pulled at his sleeve until he followed her.

  Back they went through the dimly lit, dingy corridors. Back into the computer lab.

  “Now,” Eugene said as the other techs found their place at their computers, “if you'll just relax, on my mark...”

  “What?” Lani said. “You're still sending us back? After that?”

  “Timing is everything,” Eugene said, his face slick with sweat. “We must stay on schedule.”

  “Since when? Get Fenn in here. We want answers.”

  “Just for the record, we hated it here,” Addison offered, her expression showing she was resigned to whatever came next.

  “It wasn't that bad,” Lani protested.

  “Where's Seffy?” Gareth asked. He knew he wouldn't get an answer. But he couldn't help asking.

  The door burst open. Malone stalked into the room.

  What now? Why isn't it Fenn with answers? Why do I keep thinking Fenn will ever give me a straight answer anyway? Doing the same thing over and over while expecting a different outcome is a sign of insanity.

  Malone approached Lani and clipped her around the waist. He kissed her hard on the mouth.

  Addison gasped but Lani responded with alacrity, winding her arms around him until they were about as tangled up two people could be while still standing upright.

  Malone raised his head and sent Lani a predatory look that didn't seem to scream 'I'm just not that into you.'

  At all.

&n
bsp; He slipped his hand in the back pocket of her jeans.

  Gareth grimaced with distaste. Seriously? His psuedo-girlfriend is leaving so he cops one last feel?

  Then the ex-guard left. Lani stood stunned, touching her lips with her fingers.

  Eugene's ignored countdown became more shrill.

  Gareth shook off the image of Lani in Malone's arms. “Where is Seffy?”

  Suddenly a noiseless flash of light engulfed them.

  ***

  “I'm not sure why I didn't think it would be that hard.” Fenn glanced over at Fiona where she sat on the couch, basking in the golden sunshine pouring in the skylight.

  “What do you mean?” she asked, her eyes closed, her face tipped up.

  “Do you understand why the pink sky disappeared?”

  “I'm guessing it has something to do with Seffy's disappearance.”

  “I sent her back today.”

  Fiona opened her eyes, stabbing him with one of her looks. “Why all the secrecy?”

  “I didn't want her friends to find out.”

  “So she's back. So what? Frankly, I'm glad she's gone. You may have noticed I wasn't terribly fond of her.”

  “Has anything I've told you about time-travel ever made sense?”

  “Not really.”

  “Well, the fact that the disruption has now ended means Seffy—”

  “Fenn, that wasn't an invitation for you to start in on the subject. It's boring, okay? There, I said it. Anyway, you might want to hear about this: I felt the baby move today for the first time.”

  “You did?” His eyes began burning again.

  “Yes, right when the sonic boom happened. I wonder if it heard the noise. Anyway, everyone describes the first feeling as a flutter, but it felt more like a parasite writhing around in there. Honestly, it was kind of disgusting.”

  He walked over to where she was sitting, leaned down, and kissed her on the forehead, controlling his emotions with an effort. “You're going to be a great mom.”

  ***

  “Omigod, omigod, omigod!”

  Gareth rubbed his head, dazed, and finally realized he was lying in green grass. Not sparkly red sand. Not dirty, stained linoleum.

  Someone was shaking his arm. “We're back, we're back, we're back!”