“What kind of tight spot? Where do you think they are?”
She shrugged. “Maybe they got held up somewhere. Maybe they’re fine, but have to stay put until morning.”
“Or maybe they’ve been captured, or injured.”
“Even if they have, so what? We can’t hope to free them or Heal them tonight. If the worst has happened and one of them’s dead—sorry,” she added when he winced, “—but even if that’s the case, it won’t change by morning. If they aren’t back by sunrise, we’ll decide what we want to do next.”
“Which will be what, assuming they don’t come?”
Lila looked down at Kristee, whose chest rose and fell deeply. “Kristee needs to sleep for days. There’s little else I can do—especially without food—except wait for her body to recover. We’re well-hidden here and I think she’ll be safe.”
“You want to leave her? Won’t she be afraid if she wakes up before we come back?”
“We can wake her up and tell her we’re going. It would be better if we could write her a note, though. She’ll be so groggy she may not remember when she wakes up. Either way, I think she’ll be okay while we look for David and Maggie. Of course, we’ll have to come back by nightfall—”
“Easier said than done, apparently.”
“To check on Kristee,” Lila ignored him. “And in case David and Maggie make it back. We don’t want to miss them. Again, I wish we had something to write them a note.”
“We could use a twig and write something here in the dirt.”
Lila pressed her lips together and twisted them to the side, looking unconvinced.
Anxiety made Jonah restless. He couldn’t sit for five minutes, let alone sleep. He took a deep breath and let it out, getting to his feet.
Lila threw an index finger up at him. “No pacing.”
Giving her an irritated look, Jonah sat down hard again, which was painful given the rock he sat on. “If I’m not going to sleep or pace, you’re going to have to keep me occupied somehow.”
Lila gave him a wary glance. “I could do a song and dance if you want but I warn you, it won’t be pretty.”
The corners of Jonah’s mouth moseyed up again. He forced them back down. Why did she have to keep making him smile? He was trying to be sullen. “Why don’t you tell me the story from your end?”
“Story?”
“How did you and David know to be at my friend’s cabin just in time to save us?”
“We didn’t. We were coming anyway. The rest was luck or fate or whatever you want to call it.”
“But why you two? Maggie expected this Marcus guy and, from what she told me, you aren’t even part of the team.”
For some reason, that made her scowl and she dropped her eyes to the glowing rock between them. She didn’t answer.
“I didn’t mean it as an insult, Lila.”
She took a deep breath, her face softening. “I know you didn’t. There were no ‘official’ team members at Interchron when we intercepted the message about the assassin.”
Jonah frowned. “None?”
“No. As we told you, Marcus and Karl took off months ago. No one’s heard from them since. Clay’s there, but for all intents and purposes, he’s brain dead.” The way her eyes tightened when she spoke of him told Jonah that, like Maggie, Lila had been close to Clay.
“Yeah. Maggie told me about that. I’m sorry.”
She gave him a grateful look. “And then there’s Doc and my mother. They’re both staying at Interchron, but weren’t there when we received the transmission.”
“Oh. Where were they?”
“I don’t know. Team business, apparently.” She looked like she’d swallowed a sour plum.
“That...sounds like an argument waiting to happen.”
She sighed again. “Sorry. I don’t mean to be bitter. It’s just...my mother has one of the major roles on the team. She’s named in the prophecy. I’ve always accepted that I’m not a member of the team, and there are some things I won’t be part of, but...”
“It still grates a bit?”
Lila shrugged. “I’m not angry about it so much as...I just...want to be of use, you know? To someone.”
“I’m sure you’re useful at...Interchrom?”
“Interchron.”
“Yeah, that.”
She smiled, shrugging. “I guess.”
“So, with no team members, someone had to come get Maggie, and you jumped at the chance?”
She grinned at him for answer.
“Is that the same reason for David?”
Lila looked wary again. “That’s...one of the reasons.”
“The other being that he’s got a crush on Maggie?”
She smiled sadly, peering into the glow of the rock. “You caught that, did you?”
“I’m her brother. I’ve been scuzzing off her male suitors since we were both in junior high.”
“That’s nice, that you look out for her.”
“Do you have any brothers?” he asked.
She smiled. “Not officially, though Karl, Clay and Marcus kind of fill the position.”
The silence stretched before Jonah thought of anything else to say. “So you’ve lived at...um...?”
“Interchron.”
“—Interchron your whole life?”
“Might as well have. I was born on the outside. Doc found my parents when I was three years old and brought us there. I don’t have any memories of the time before. Interchron’s the only home I’ve ever known.”
“Your mother’s named in the prophecy, but what does your dad do?”
She smiled briefly, though her forehead creased. “Nothing anymore. He died when I was a teenager.”
“Sorry.” Now he thought about it, Maggie had mentioned Joan’s husband was dead. He’d forgotten. “Um, how’d it...happen?” he asked lamely, then wished he’d kept his trap shut.
“Fighting some Arachnimen. He’d gone out to help a group of individuals back to Interchron. A squad of Arachnimen ambushed them, tried to drill everyone. He couldn’t let them so much as touch anyone.”
“Drill?”
“It’s how they force people into the collective. They drill into your brain and establish a link; something that tethers you to them. Escape is impossible after that.”
“Sounds scary.”
“It’s awful. From what people have reported, it’s painful, terrifying, violating. The Arachnimen can assimilate with a touch. As long as their skin is touching yours, it’s enough to establish a link and, just like that, you’re a slave.”
“That’s awful,” Jonah murmured, shrugging uncomfortably. Maggie hadn’t talked about this when she’d told him everything. “So your dad was trying to keep the individuals from being enslaved?”
“Yes. One of the Arachnimen killed him. There wasn’t a Healer around, so...” she swallowed, eyes on the ground again.
“Did he succeed, though? Did the individuals get away?”
Her head came up, then. In the muted light, he could see mist in her eyes. They also held pride. “Yes. There were twelve individuals in the group, plus him and two others from Interchron. The Arachnimen managed to kill two of group and assimilate three others. The rest made it safely to Interchron. They all live there today, contributing to the rebellion in some way. So yes, he succeeded.”
“I’m sure he’d be proud, Lila. Just because you aren’t named in the prophecy doesn’t mean you aren’t valuable.”
She gave him a tight smile. He could tell she was being polite. His words weren’t truly swaying her.
A chilly wind swept across the mountain. Between it and the frigid air, Jonah realized with a sinking feeling that the temperature was dropping, and the night had only begun. He glanced down at Kristee, huddled in on herself like a child. She slept so deeply, the wind didn’t disturb her.
“Her body is weak,” he said to Lila. “Could the cold make her sick?”
“It’s possible,” Lila admitted. “If Maggie
and David don’t return by morning, we’ll have to try and find some blankets when we look for them.”
Jonah nodded, then went to go sit on the ground beside her. They didn’t huddle—even sitting so close together felt awkward—but her arm resting against his was warmer than sitting on the rock by himself.
They sat like that, side by side, arms wrapped around their knees, until the sky began to lighten.
When the sun peeked over the eastern mountains, Lila sighed and got to her feet, sliding between the aspens and leaving the copse of trees. Jonah followed her, his muscles creaking from sitting in one position so long.
Outside, Lila shuffled around under the trees, pushing at the ground with her toe.
“What are you doing?”
“Looking for a twig so we can carve a message into the dirt.”
“You don’t want to wake Kristee, then?”
“I think we should do both.”
She settled on a six-inch stick about the width of a quarter with a pointed end. Back inside the thicket she brushed leaves and debris from a four by four patch of dirt. She handed him the twig. “Here. You write it, I’ll wake Kristee.”
“What should I write?”
“That they should stay put and we’ll be back before nightfall. That should work for Kristee, too.”
Jonah went to one knee.
Stay put
We’ll B back B4 dark.
He carved deeply, hoping the breeze wouldn’t blow it away. The trees provided some shelter, but the wind blew powerfully and the dirt was bone dry.
“Kristee. Kristee, wake up,” Lila insisted. After several tries, Kristee responded, sitting up on one elbow. She appeared more exhausted than Jonah had ever seen anyone look. Red-rimmed pupils, no bigger than the ball point of a pen stared haggardly from a peeked face.
“Wha...” she managed.
Lila put a hand on Kristee’s shoulder, which seemed to ground the other woman in the conversation. She met Lila’s eyes, at least. “Kristee, Jonah and I have to go into the valley. Maggie and David aren’t back yet. You stay here and sleep for as long as you want. You’ll be perfectly safe. I wanted to let you know we’re going and will be back soon. Okay?”
No answer. No blinking.
“Okay, Kristee?”
Kristee nodded after a moment, though Jonah wasn’t sure she understood what she was acknowledging.
“Okay,” Lila said. “Lay back down.”
Kristee obeyed, asleep before her head hit her arm.
Jonah and Lila left the thicket.
Jonah excused himself as the call of nature suddenly came on. He didn’t understand why he needed a piss when he’d had no food or water in twenty-four hours. Lila waited politely while he disappeared into the woods.
When he returned, she’d retied her hair, pulling strands that came loose overnight back from her face. She fell into a crouch to tie her shoe.
“You, uh, need to go?” he asked.
“No, I’m good. Let’s—”
Lila cut off mid-sentence and snapped into an upright position, stunned eyes desperately scouring the landscape in front of them.
Alarmed, Jonah whirled to follow her gaze. The trees swayed tranquilly in the breeze, their leaves quaking daintily. A jackrabbit loped across the field.
He turned back to her. “What?”
Her expression hadn’t changed but she no longer searched with her eyes. Rather, it seemed she listened for something.
“They’re coming.”
“Who?”
“Maggie. I can feel her. She’s using both Offensive and Constructive energy.”
“English, Lila.”
“Those types are used to attack...and create shields. They’re being pursued.”
A metallic crash came from somewhere down the mountain and Jonah vaguely remembered an incident from high school. The night after prom, one of his classmates was still drunk while driving home at five a.m. He’d wrapped his dad’s car around a telephone pole. Jonah, four streets away and throwing papers from his bike, heard the impact.
“That sounded like a car crash,” he said to Lila.
“No, it’s energy being thrown back and forth. It’s hitting the side of the mountain. I can feel their pursuers now, too. They must have twenty people on their tail.”
“Great. What do we do?”
“We have to wake Kristee. Come on, help me.”
“Why are we waking Kristee?” he asked, following her back into the circle of trees.
“If Maggie and David are running, it’s because they can’t fight these guys off. I’m sure they’ve tried. That means the only way out of here is to Travel.”
“Kristee,” she shook Kristee’s shoulder with vigor, “Kristee, wake up.”
The girl sat up more quickly than before. “What?”
“We need you to Travel.”
Kristee rubbed her eyes, which kept squeezing shut when the light hit them. “Now?”
“Not yet. David and Maggie are coming. When they arrive, you have to Travel. Can you do that?”
“Did you already go into the valley?” Kristee yawned, her words slurring together. When she blinked, her eyes stayed shut and her head fell forward.
“Oh no you don’t,” Lila said. “Come on. Get up.” She heaved Kristee upward. The other woman flopped to one side like a heavy rag doll.
Jonah went to Kristee’s other side, put an arm around her waist and hauled her to her feet. The instant her feet were flat on the ground, her knees buckled.
“Come on,” Lila said, squirming into position under Kristee’s other arm. “Let’s get her outside of the circle.”
They turned sideways and made it between the trees easily enough, but once there Kristee tried hard to pass out again.
“Kristee, wake up!” Lila slapped Kristee’s cheeks, hard enough to make a ruler-hitting-desk sound. It worked, though.
Kristee’s head snapped up. “What. What? Stop! What?”
“Can you Travel?”
“I...” Kristee looked around, eyes widening with amazement as she realized for the first time where she was. “Yes, I think so.”
“Good. Maggie and David are being chased. As soon as they arrive you need to get us out of here. You’re our only chance, Kristee. You must Travel, okay?”
Kristee’s brow furrowed. Jonah had never seen anyone look so stressed so suddenly. “O-okay.”
Lila moved back to Kristee’s side to help hold her up, turning her dark eyes on Jonah. “Here they come.”
As one, they turned their heads to see David and Maggie crest the hill and come tearing across the meadow, both their faces strained. Maggie looked pale. From what Jonah could tell, David was running as fast as he could. He gripped Maggie’s hand and dragged her along behind him. She barely kept up without losing her footing.
“Let’s try to meet them,” Jonah said.
Lila nodded and they moved forward. It proved tricky because Kristee’s feet refused to coordinate with one another. Jonah and Lila practically dragged her through the grass.
“We have to go,” David boomed as he and Maggie approached.
“We figured,” Lila breathed. Kristee’s weight was wearing on her. “Kristee’s going to get us out of here.”
“Good.” David said.
“You okay, Maggie?” Jonah asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.
Breathless, she nodded. “Yes,” she gasped. “But...have to...go. Right...behind us.”
“We can’t fight them?” Lila asked.
“They have some kind of pulsating weapon,” David said. “It’s painful to anyone out in front of it. It’s how they captured us last night. We’ve stayed enough ahead of them so far, but I know they must have tried to use it because my ears are ringing and my head hurts. Maggie?”
She nodded to show it was the same for her.
“The second we turn to fight and come face to face with them, they’ll incapacitate us all.”
Lila nodded and lifted Kristee�
�s arm for her. David and Maggie both took hold of it.
“Now, Kristee,” Lila said. “Let’s go!”
A dozen men in dull green uniforms appeared at the crest of the meadow, with more coming up behind them. One of them held his hands in front of his chest. The man held something, pointing it at them.
Kristee tensed in Jonah’s grasp and the world lurched. A sensation like being hit between the temples thudded into Jonah’s skull. His skull felt on fire and his ears rang.
Seconds later, with a thump, they landed. The pain in Jonah’s head was so intense that he couldn’t keep his feet. He fell to the ground, holding his head and gasping.
The pain receded gradually. Everything between his ears felt raw, like it had been scrubbed with gravel. Jonah finally lifted his head slowly. The others had landed in much the same position as he, lying on the ground, holding their heads and moaning or gasping. Kristee lay utterly still.
Jonah pushed through the pain and dragged himself into a sitting position. They’d definitely come to different time than they’d been in a moment before. The air felt hot; muggy, even. It must be late afternoon or early evening, and black, roiling clouds covered the sky. The wind blowing across the mountain was warm and carried the scent of summer rain. Most notable, the men in green uniforms were nowhere to be seen.
David sat up a moment later. His eyes went to Maggie. Jonah had landed only a few feet from her, so he scooted forward. “Maggie? You okay?”
She lay on her side, her back to him. Her arms hid her head. Her midsection expanded and contracted at an alarming speed. She didn’t move at all otherwise.
“Maggie?”
He rolled her gingerly toward him and she fell onto her back. Her eyes were squeezed shut and she pressed both hands to her temples. “My head,” she moaned.
Jonah put a hand on her forehead, not sure what else to do. He glanced over at David, who wore a worried expression. “Was that the thing you were talking about? The pulsating thing they used on you last night?”
Quantum Entanglement Page 18
