Bev smiled at the use of the word my. As if this human could own anything that was rightfully the Zalt’s. “Very well.”
Jessica waited a moment, and finally stood when Bev didn’t acknowledge her again. When she was near the archway leading to the kitchen, she paused. “Do you need anything else?”
Beverly smiled as she watched the Sovereign. “You have accomplished your tasks. I will ensure someone of stature utilizes your vessel.” There was something odd about the woman. Familiar, even, but there wasn’t time to question her further.
Jessica’s right eye twitched, and she gracefully bowed out of the room.
Beverly flexed her fingers open. How long had it been since Yeral had lived? Truly existed beyond the confines of his ship?
Already the faintest hint of the day to come was creeping from the east.
Before the dawn had risen across the entire country, the Zalt would occupy Earth. There would be no human left alive that wasn’t housing one of her people.
2
Before two weeks ago, Bill had never actually believed in beings from other planets. Of course he’d dabbled with the concept, assuming there was a distinct chance. He trusted science and mathematics; given the sheer volume of stars and planets, surely one of them combined for the right magic sauce to create life.
Now he was certain without a shred of a doubt that aliens were real, and he didn’t know how to process the information. If he wasn’t dealing with the dread of what occurred today… He looked at his watch and corrected himself. Yesterday. They were already well into the next morning, even though the sun hadn’t risen yet. He was glad for that, because if it was up, he would likely be dead already.
Maybe that wouldn’t be so bad after all. He’d seen hundreds of the Freedom Earthers die, and most of them had looked peaceful enough, with their bloodied eyes staring blankly at the sky. Bill wondered what it would be like to have the Zalt inhabit him. Would his consciousness be there as well? Cohabitate? He tested that word on his lips, a sour taste forming at the edges. To sit outside your own control, watching an alien move your body, would be torture. He’d rather be dead.
Gren piloted the ship, carrying the Rodax soldiers with them. Marcus was strapped into the seat across from Bill, with Evan beside him. Bill was glad that man had come along. In a strange way, he saw a lot of himself in the FBI agent, and not just their bad habit of smoking. They were both single, with obvious issues surrounding the subject, but Bill guessed that most people over forty were damaged beyond repair. Maybe not beyond, but somewhere on the line of no return. Bill was. He felt it now. If he’d been teetering, last night had pushed him over the edge. He’d never be able to unsee that.
As they flew for Odessa, Bill tried picturing himself resuming his old life on the West Coast. Walking into his radio station and somehow continuing with his show. He imagined Sinclair’s stupid comments about him being late, and chuckled to himself. No matter how insane the thought of being home doing mundane things like a day job again sounded, he wished for that more than anything.
Bill would even be willing to put up with his boss if it meant regaining some normalcy in their world. He’d do his part, if it came down to it.
“What’s so funny?” Evan asked.
“Nothing. I was thinking about broadcasting again,” he said. “Dumb, isn’t it?”
“Not at all. I was doing the same thing.” Evan shifted the straps and leaned closer. “When this is done, the world will be in a disastrous state. They’re going to need guys like you and me to piece it together. People that speak the truth. You can share the word on your show, Bill. It’ll help us heal.”
Bill sat up straighter. He didn’t really believe there might be an after this, but Evan’s words gave him energy. “You think so?”
“Why not? I’ll do what I can, working with the Bureau. It’ll be a lot of effort, but won’t it be worth it?” Evan smiled, and Bill reciprocated it.
“What about you, Marcus?” Bill asked.
The young man blinked and peered across at him. “Me?”
“Sure. What are you going to do with the rest of your life?”
“I had no idea what I wanted before all of this crap. And you expect me to have an answer?” Marcus gave him a grin. It seemed like the guy was cracking from the protective egg he’d sheltered himself in since rejoining their team. “If we survive today, and that’s a big caveat, I’ll be happy to do anything.”
“You can come to Kabos,” Gren said from up front.
“The alie—” Bill caught himself. The big Rodax soldiers were down the bench from them, and he didn’t want to insult anyone. “Why would we go there?”
“We made a deal. Since the Rodax essentially created you, we’re kind of connected,” Gren told them.
Bill must have missed that part of the brochure. “You’re telling me you’re related to us?”
“Is that so difficult to believe?” Gren looked straight ahead, keeping his concentration.
“Seriously. What are you talking about?” Evan asked him.
“A deal was agreed upon. We send help. A group of humans return to Kabos to live with the other Children.” Gren said this so casually, and Bill squirmed in his seat.
“This is getting stranger by the minute,” he said.
“I still can’t believe this was all you sent.” Evan’s words caught the nearest soldier’s ear, and he grunted lightly, tapping the butt of his weapon on the floor.
“Watch what you say,” Bill whispered. “Either way it shakes down, if we survive, maybe I’ll go. I have nothing holding me here.”
“Is Rex going?” Marcus asked. Bill hadn’t seen the two of them together long, but it was obvious they had a connection.
“I’d assume so. His father Dirk was supposed to, but he left for Rimia.” Gren didn’t sound pleased about that.
Bill understood that Dirk was Rex’s dad, but the rest of the details had been sparingly teased throughout their conversations at the Freedom Earthers’ camp. He saw a flash of pain on Marcus’ face, and he wondered what kind of family he had. Bill’s own was on his mind. They weren’t close, but he didn’t want them to end up as cannon fodder for the Zalt.
“How much longer?” Evan prodded, and the alien told him another ten minutes. “Then we’d better saddle up.”
Bill swallowed. He wasn’t anxious to head into battle again. If they managed to access the hub and power it down as Marcus wanted, this might be quick. But Bill presumed there would be complications. There always were. Bill thought of an old saying from the biz: The show must go on.
____________
My head pounded, and I asked Coleen for a painkiller. She came back with three options, two of them over the counter. I didn’t risk taking the third choice. I needed to have my wits about me.
The Book made it sound so simple. Somewhere in the Believers’ translations, they’d misconstrued the section on blood sacrifice. Coleen swore it only meant that the vessel was donating their body, washing themselves clean of their current identity. Between the original Book and the copies sent to their various factions, the words had been twisted. Wasn’t that always the way?
It differentiated levels of skill in the attuning, and a master would have the ability to reverse the merge, should the need arise. That was the section they focused on.
“And can you link to anyone else while you’re awake?” Coleen asked. Tripp, Lewen, and Veronica hung back with us. They were coming with me on my next journey. I glanced at the bag across the room. The Case and Tokens were inside it. For some reason, the device was drawing my attention to it. I could almost feel the pull. It was probably nothing. I was exhausted, losing focus.
“I can’t… or don’t know how. I’ve already told you. I’ve only done this a couple of times, with mixed results.” I was suddenly worried they were all wrong. That even if I managed to link to this being, I wouldn’t be able to reverse it.
I checked the time. Less than three hours until the network was
completed. How long did we have after that, before the Zalt arrived?
“Do you understand the instructions?” Roger asked me.
“I do.” I scanned the translated document again, handwritten by Coleen. Her penmanship was neat, and I ran a finger over the dried ink. This had to work. Even if we prevented the network from functioning, they were coming, and that meant a lot of dead people. Us included.
“We could go to Porto. Use the Bridge. Figure out how to return with more assistance,” Veronica said.
“If the Zalt are here, my people will not risk sending reinforcements,” Lewen reminded us.
Beverly. I closed my eyes and thought of her. My big sister. She’d had to deal with such difficult things. Being older, she remembered more about the months after our father vanished. Bev had to discuss it with my mother and try to protect me from the pain.
She’d always pushed me to succeed, making me study when I’d rather have been playing touch football with my friends or finishing the latest video game. Beverly, the caregiver who put her dreams on hold to start a family with Fred, the same man the cult had sent to spy on me. Me. She might have been in this predicament because of something my father had started years before, but she was really tied up in it because I couldn’t let sleeping dogs lie. I needed to chase after Dirk Walker’s ghost.
Beverly. Now she was one of them, and judging by the look of the storm and bloody skies that accompanied it, she was the vessel for the Zalt leader. That was why I had to return to the estate.
“Roger, can you stay here?” I rose from my seat and felt tingling in my toes. I’d been sitting too long.
“No way.” The big man started for the door.
“There’s no arguing with this,” I told him. “Protect my niece and nephew. Keep the Book safe. You’re the only ones who realize what power this thing has. If we fail, it’s up to you.”
“You won’t fail,” Coleen said.
“Thanks. I wish I was that confident,” I whispered.
Roger finally agreed. I could see it in his eyes and the change of his posture. He was relieved to be waiting behind with his wife.
I wanted to go say goodbye to the kids, but they would be fast asleep. Plus, time was running out.
We pushed outside, the screen door swinging wide. It was chilly, and I was glad they’d found me a jacket to wear. Veronica had a windbreaker with the Freedom Earthers’ patch sewn onto it. She joined me, and everyone gave us a moment as we walked to the ship. Lewen trailed behind, slower than us.
“This is insane,” Veronica said when we were out of earshot.
“It’s our only chance.”
“You think you can get on the Objects?”
“I have to.”
Veronica moved closer, holding my hand as we went. I had the sack with the Bridge Case, and she carried some supplies in her other arm.
When we arrived at the ship, the two remaining Rodax soldiers greeted us, and we entered the cabin, Veronica standing by the pilot’s seat. She looked beautiful in the dash lighting. I wanted to tell her so, but refrained.
She must have seen my expression and gently touched my chin with her finger. “Rex…”
“It’ll be okay.” I leaned in and kissed her.
“Rex!” It was Coleen, running from the house carrying the Book.
“What is it?”
She puffed out her cheeks and spoke through heavy breaths. “I missed something.”
This wasn’t good. “What?”
Instead of answering straight away, she flipped open the book, stopping on the page we’d been repeatedly reading. Her finger slid over the paper, and it settled on a word. “This… I wasn’t sure what it meant, remember?”
It was the only thing she hadn’t been able to translate. “But you do now?”
“The little icon beside it…” She held the book out, and I noticed the tiny speck: three dots forming a triangle. “It’s a reference.” She cut to the last few pages and found what she was searching for. There was a drawing.
“A plant?” Veronica asked.
“Most likely,” Coleen answered. “The part about consuming the target. I think they meant ingesting this… herb or whatever it is.”
How could I have been so stupid? “The drink from Rimia. The stuff my dad said the locals partook in to make contact with the Zalt. That’s what they’re referring to.”
“How are we possibly going to get the plant from Rimia and return in less than three hours?” Veronica’s voice rose in volume. A dog howled in the distance.
“Let me see that.” Tripp was behind me, and he grabbed the book without patience. “I’ve seen it before.”
“What?” I started to reach for it, but he pulled away.
“Seriously. I know where we can find it.”
“Where?” I demanded.
“Hunter’s place in the Hamptons.”
____________
Marcus felt like he hadn’t slept in days, maybe weeks. Despite that, his mind had acute clarity as Gren descended from ten thousand feet.
“Don’t forget to fly us just within range!” Marcus shouted at the pilot.
The ship rumbled and vibrated as they dropped, and Marcus did his best not to look out the window. It was still dark out, but they wouldn’t have the cover of night for much longer.
Marcus was surprised by how calm Bill appeared. He didn’t seem like the rush-into-danger type, but he’d enhanced their team. Evan had clearly taken a liking to the man, and that spoke volumes for the reserved special agent.
Despite having all of these Rodax soldiers present, Marcus wished Tripp was here to lead this mission.
“We’re close to the target zone,” Gren called, and Marcus had the tablet ready. The program was dim, indicating they were still out of range.
“Closer,” he whispered.
The ship lurched sideways, and Gren hissed from ahead. “We’ve been shot!”
Shot? Marcus wished he could get a visual as Gren directed the ship from the scene.
“Where are you going?” Evan shouted.
“We can’t get near enough,” Gren said. “And we’re leaking fluid. I must land.”
Marcus changed to another window on the tablet, recalling the camera feed Jessica had implemented. The hub had external cameras for visual purposes, and he utilized them. One smaller Umir rolled through the familiar property, but it was the people that caught his eye. Thousands had gathered near the hub. They appeared calm, mingling outside the hub’s shield barrier. These were Zalt, and they’d taken over the locals.
Marcus managed to change views and saw the rows of people walking from each direction. The Zalt were here in abundance. “The Zalt didn’t wait for the network to be completed,” he told the team, and rotated the tablet so they could see.
“I’ll be damned,” Bill said.
Evan had an unlit cigarette between his lips. “We need a new plan.”
“Gren, can you land somewhere discreet?” Marcus asked.
“I’ll do my best.”
Marcus returned to the other program, seeing the ticking clock counting down. They had two hours and twenty-seven minutes before the network was linked and fully functional across the globe.
“There’s no way we get within a mile of that perimeter,” Evan muttered.
Marcus smiled, despite the change of circumstances. “Not in this ship, we can’t.”
“Then how?” Bill’s eyes went wide as soon as he’d asked. “You want to…”
“We walk in,” Marcus finished.
Gren landed their spacecraft, tucking it behind a building in an abandoned lot. Marcus was the first to exit, taking stock of their position.
“That’s Odessa.” He pointed to the right. The lights emanating from the small city brightened a patch of the dark sky. Marcus ran his finger sixty degrees to the left. “That’s our destination. We’re… seventeen miles away.”
“Only sixteen to go before we can kill the power. A little far to walk in two hours,” E
van said.
They were at an old oilfield plot. An ancient derrick rose into the air a half mile away, and Marcus glanced at the building they were hidden behind. “Search the area. There has to be a car, or a van… rusted-out work truck. Anything!”
The Rodax soldiers spread out, and they began to comb the parking lot.
____________
Veronica managed to push the Rodax vessel to its breaking point, and we arrived at Manhattan in under thirty minutes.
“Can you lower here?” I asked, aware it was a risk. I needed to see the city.
Visuals from these ships weren’t ideal, so I climbed to the front near the pilot’s seat and stared out the window of the cockpit. Manhattan was dark, not a single sign of power in the region. There was no way to tell if the people had survived an attack from the Zalt or not. I spied a few fires burning on rooftops, and one growing area of smoke near Central Park.
“Sorry, Rex,” Veronica said while guiding our ship east. We flew at high speeds over Long Island, and she finally slowed as we neared the Hamptons. This was my third visit to the house, and each time, I’d been in a completely different mindset. I was even more desperate on this occasion.
Instead of trying to hide in plain sight, we landed in the middle of the yard. The ship nearly clipped the garden, and Veronica shot me a grin.
“Lead the way, Tripp,” I said. It was only Lewen, Veronica, Tripp, and me on this mission. I hoped we wouldn’t need more firepower.
We scoured the grounds, and I peered to the east, seeing the sun peeking above the horizon. This was taking too long.
Instead of worrying about neighbors or housekeepers, Tripp arrived at the front doors and used the butt of his Rodax gun to break the glass. His arm disappeared through the opening, and a second later, we were inside the mansion.
“If there’s anyone around, we aren’t coming to harm you!” I shouted, worried the maid would be here. But the house was silent.
“Didn’t you bribe her?” I asked Tripp, and he shrugged.
“She’ll get paid if we survive.” Tripp ran into the living room and stopped. “Where did I see the plants?”
Lost Hope (The Bridge Sequence Book Three) Page 22
