The hidden space, p.18
The Hidden Space, page 18
part #2 of The Glass Series
“It feels wrong,” she told him, closing her eyes.
“Let’s at least investigate.” Will got out and sprinted in the rain to the edge of the barn. He tried the big doors, finding them secured from the inside. The side entrance was also locked.
“Stand back,” Peggy said.
“What are you going to do?” Will asked.
“Break into that barn.” Peggy returned to the car, the lights still on, and when Will was out of her way she barreled through the doors, crashing into the structure. They flew wide, banging the sides of the vehicle. Will cringed as the new sports car took the brunt of her anger and impatience. Better the car than me, he thought.
It was filled with things you’d expect from a berry farm. Tractors, bags of fertilizer, tilling tools.
“Maybe this guy just likes berries,” Will mumbled.
“I was so confident this was the lab,” she said, yawning again.
“Let’s hole up in the house for the night. We’re tired, it’s late, we’re in the middle of nowhere, and the storm is getting worse.” He gestured at the sky as a bolt of lightning flashed. A loud thunderclap boomed overhead, as if punctuating his suggestion.
“Okay.”
He’d anticipated a fight from Peggy, but she must have used all her adrenaline up in the last few minutes.
The farmhouse was quaint, with white siding and green trim. The screen door was unlocked, and the main was open wide. A bit of water had trickled under the awning and past the veranda.
Will inhaled, checking to see if the owners were present and dead, but only smelled the overwhelming fragrance of potpourri and ozone. His mother had always used the stuff, and often had it sitting in bowls all around the house.
They did a tour with a flashlight, checking the kitchen, then the living room, before heading up the creaky steps to the second story. The rooms were small, but cozy.
“This is the strangest house,” Will said.
“Why?” Peggy flopped onto the biggest bed.
“Because there’s nothing personal.” He opened a closet, revealing a handful of outfits with no color. It was all white and black.
“Holy shit, you’re right.” Peggy searched the bedside tables, finding nothing. They rushed to the other rooms, with the same results.
“Maybe it’s staged and up for sale?”
“I didn’t see any realtor signs.”
“Neither did I.” They returned to the main floor, checking the fridge. Since the power was out, Will expected a rank scent to emerge from it, but it was empty as well. The pantry was too. “This is weird.”
“The lab has to be connected somehow.”
“But where is it?” Will asked.
“Maybe if I sleep, I can remember.”
He didn’t love her choice of words. Remembering would suggest she’d been there before, which she most definitely hadn’t.
They’d left their things in the truck, and now Will was starving in a house with no food. He tested the faucet, and water came out. “Probably a well.” He filled two glasses, and they downed them.
“You brought those sleeping pills?” Peggy asked, and he grabbed them, shaking the bottle.
“I did.”
“I’m taking one. That’ll make sure I’m out.”
“You seem pretty tired,” he told her.
“I don’t care. I need to dream.” She undid the bottle’s top and swallowed one. “Keep an eye on me if you can.”
Will nodded while he locked the front door. The storm continued to rage outside, but it quieted the second he sealed them into the home.
They returned to the main bedroom, and Peggy didn’t bother to undress. He made sure to check under the covers for spiders or any other unseemly creature, and they slid under the blankets when it was clear.
Peggy was close enough for him to feel her breath. “I love you, Will Foster.”
“I love you too, Peggy Hawksley.” They kissed, Will suddenly aware he hadn’t brushed his teeth.
He spooned Peggy, wrapping his arms and legs around her, and felt the moment she drifted off into a medication-induced slumber. Will tried his best to stay awake, but the white noise of the rain on the rooftop seduced him to sleep.
When he woke up, it was dark outside, and Peggy was gone.
_________
Britt
It was nice having Ruthie along for the ride. She could drive and insisted on taking the wheel in the middle of the night when Britt could barely keep her eyes open. They were almost back at Monterey, and Britt was fully awake now.
If they were going to travel through the Primary Glass, it meant they had to go near their old camp, and Trent’s people might be around. This mission was filled with risk, including just getting across to the Other Place.
Britt was nervous for countless reasons. Ransom wouldn’t be pleased that she’d endangered Chrissy like this, but he could live with it, if it meant helping him get home.
“Let’s approach from the north. Walk the beach,” Ruthie suggested.
“Agreed.”
“We should go to the golf course,” Chrissy said from the back seat of her truck.
“Why would we do that?” Ruthie asked. She was often slightly curt with the girl, like she’d never interacted with a child before.
“I dunno. Feels important.” Chrissy folded her arms over her lap, staring out the window. It was the middle of the night, but Chrissy had woken up with Britt, a slight gasp in her breath as she’d sat up. When Britt had asked what roused her, she’d stayed tight-lipped.
Britt glanced at Ruthie. “Maybe we should check. Trent is gone, and so are those hired guns he associated with.”
“It might be trouble,” Ruthie muttered, but Britt noticed how she didn’t change lanes as they headed for the golf course. They drove by the warehouse, seeing it mostly burned to the ground. Mike’s body wasn’t where they’d left it, and that sent a tingle of warning through her spine.
“Turn here,” Britt ordered. Ruthie didn’t hesitate, just went right, hitting a gravel road. They took it, meandering west for a mile before killing the lights, then the engine. Britt had a view of their settlement structures, past hole three. It was an inhospitable entrance to the resort, with a four-foot stream running the entire length of the short par 4.
Chrissy got out, making Britt shake her head. “No.”
“But…”
“Get in the car,” Britt told her firmly, and Chrissy puffed her cheeks.
“I can’t,” she said.
“Why?”
“Because you’ll leave him.”
“Who?”
Chrissy kicked a piece of gravel into the ditch. “She’s not supposed to come.”
“To the Other Place? Ruthie isn’t meant to join us?” Britt crouched near Chrissy, trying to pry the details from her.
“No. She stays with Kendall.” Chrissy started forward.
“Kendall is dead,” Ruthie said.
“No, he’s not.” Chrissy was twenty feet ahead of them, and Britt sighed, returning to the truck for a gun. Ruthie did the same, and they caught up to the girl.
There were no lights on at the resort, but no one would be up at four AM. The clouds were wispy, allowing the bright swollen moon to guide them. A small bridge had been built for golfers if they took an errant tee shot, and they moved for it, crossing the babbling brook.
The air was chilly, and Britt’s sweater suddenly didn’t cut it. Her breath misted out with each exhale, and Chrissy wrapped her arms around herself as they continued, nearing the clubhouse. They’d all scrammed in a hurry, and she saw that most of the mess they’d left behind was now cleaned up. The lot had various cars in it, and the golf carts were parked in neat rows, the series of solar panels plugged into the front pair.
Ruthie fiddled with a pocket and retrieved a cigarette. Britt almost slapped it out, but instead grabbed her arm. “That’ll give our position away.”
“I won’t light it.” Ruthie stuck the smoke between her lips.
Kendall was supposed to be dead. Joel had attested to that, but perhaps he’d been mistaken. It wasn’t like she could just call and ask him, since he was currently trudging through the Other Place with no guidance from Cedric. Britt watched Chrissy, and hated that they were giving all this credibility to her dreams. What if they were wrong, and heading to the Other Place was disastrous? Cedric would be furious if they messed up his plans for preventing this invasion.
They were putting their trust in this young girl, rather than the man that led them all together. Ransom swore her dreams were real and had warned her that Cedric might try to use his daughter to help his cause.
If Kendall was actually alive and well, sleeping in one of these suites, then she’d be sold on Chrissy’s talent for good. But it was a dangerous gamble. Trent’s people might be extremely angry with how things had gone down, considering Joel had fired RPGs at them.
“We’re not the bad guys. They were the ones who came to us, attacking our home,” she muttered, and no one commented.
“I see something.” Ruthie paused at the far side of the fairway, near the front tee box. She lifted her rifle, checking the scope. “We have guards.”
Britt used her own, seeing a man leaning against the building. “It can’t be,” she said. The same dark hair. More of a beard than before, but it was him. “That’s Kendall.”
“I told you he was here!” Chrissy ran now, racing through the forested area to the cart path. She laughed, and Britt cursed as she tried to catch up.
A bright light shone down from the top of the office building, nearly blinding Britt. She raised her hand, aiming to block it, and grabbed for Chrissy. “Kendall?”
“Louie! Shut it off. It’s my friends!” Kendall’s voice carried.
The light dimmed to a faint glow; the sound of a generator gently purred in the background.
Kendall limped toward them, arms at his sides. “What are you doing here?”
“I could ask the same thing,” Britt said.
“What do you mean?”
“Joel said you were killed.”
He tapped his left thigh. “I was shot. They kept me locked up for a day, giving me a belt to tie it off. Then they got word that Trent and his entourage were dead, and they let me out.”
A short man with long frizzy brown hair sauntered down the sidewalk. He had a radio, and he lowered it. “I gave the ‘all clear.’ No one will hurt you.”
Britt heard branches snapping behind her, and she spun around to see a pair of armed sentries. They seemed disappointed the job was done as they returned their sidepieces into holsters.
“Why are you still here?” Britt asked.
“Louie decided it was as good a place to hang until the dust settles.” Kendall glanced between them. “Where’s Soph?”
“She’s…” Britt didn’t want to reveal their location. Not yet. “She’s fine. But mourning you.”
This made Kendall smirk. “Is that so?”
“I thought she seemed happy.” Ruthie grinned and lit her cigarette.
Chrissy squirmed out of Britt’s grip. “Kendall, we’re leaving.”
“And where are you headed?” Kendall asked.
“The Other Place. To find my daddy.”
Louie let out a whistle. “That’s not a great idea, little one.”
Chrissy looked up. “Why not?”
“Because the aliens are mounting a force, and when they arrive, we’re going to be ready for them.”
“You think they’re coming here? To the Primary?”
“Sure, why not?” Louie nodded toward the beach. “If those naked bastards used it, why wouldn’t the invaders do the same thing?”
“I don’t have an answer for you, Louie,” Britt said. “Before we become friends, what’s your status?”
“Status?” The short man rubbed his nose.
“Trent was an asshole. I won’t associate with anyone that still thinks shooting kids and innocent people is all right.”
“You have a point there, missy. Trent convinced some of us to join him, but we only came as defenders of these here United States. I had no idea he was going to throw us against another group of humans. That was never part of the deal. We got here a week ago, and he gave the orders. Said they were invading, and the first wave of the aliens was holed up at this resort. We didn’t know any better. The moment we breached the course, they began to fire on us. It wasn’t long before we realized our mistake. When we contacted Trent on the radio, he said it didn’t matter. That we had to fight. We should have turned around. That one soldier killed a lot of good people.”
Britt was glad Joel wasn’t around for this story. It would have crushed him to know that the group attacking them had believed they were battling aliens, not Joel and his ill-trained accomplices.
“It’s cold out here,” Kendall said. “Let’s go inside to talk.”
Britt hesitated.
“Britt, I swear on my own life that these guys are fine. And there’s also something you need to know.” Kendall looked like he had a secret threatening to burst out.
Britt put a protective hand on Chrissy’s shoulder. “What?”
“There’s another group. Big one. More people survived than Cedric initially thought.”
“Where?”
“Tucson. They have food. Water. Power. That’s where we start again.”
Britt let his words sink in. A real civilization beginning anew in Arizona. Could they be so lucky?
“Tell me what you’ve heard.”
Drake
Drake had been on edge since observing the half dozen aliens in Lone Pine. They’d gotten to West Hollywood after midnight but decided to take a nap before attempting to confront anyone. Once his adrenaline spiked, he’d crashed hard, his eyelids barely able to stay open for the drive. Getting into LA had been a disaster, but he’d managed to break through the traffic jams. His truck was worse for the wear, with dents, scrapes, and dings along the sides and the bumper, but that didn’t matter. It wasn’t like he needed to worry about the payments any longer.
The trio of buildings were each colorful, but it was the red one they studied. Sage snoozed in the back, probably wondering why they weren’t in a bed. She’d taken to all of this surprisingly well. A couple of months ago, she would have been snuggled up at the foot of his queen bed, living along with Drake in their modest home. It had been an okay life, but not satisfying. After his recent adventures, a part of him thought this was for the best, and this left him riddled with guilt.
It had taken the misfortune of most of the world for Drake to feel like he’d gotten out of a rut. And that sucked. Nia slept in the passenger seat, her chest slowly rising, then falling. Her face tilted away from him, and he caught her reflection in the window. It was peaceful.
He regretted coming here. He and Nia could have stayed in Tahoe and tried to be happy, even if they were in their final days. Driving across a state to face a clearly delusional man wasn’t going to help anything.
When Drake checked the time, it was after five. He didn’t expect to see anything out of the ordinary at this early hour, but Cedric never seemed to operate like other people. He was on his own schedule.
A light came on in one of the countless identical windows.
“Nia,” he whispered. When she didn’t respond, he shook her arm, and she snapped to, wiping her lips.
“What is it?”
Drake pointed to the building, and Nia leaned forward. “Someone’s using a flashlight.”
The beam moved through the room and stopped, as if being placed upwards.
Drake saw the figure approaching the window. Two arms. It might be Cedric. The silhouette stared out for a moment, then peered to his left. And he was gone, the light bouncing before vanishing from sight.
He already had one foot out the door when Nia hopped out. They went to the front of the truck, and Drake heard Sage barking from inside. He started to turn around, and twitched when he spotted the incoming man.
“Drake Astin. I should have known it would be you,” the older Cedric said. He squinted and spat on the ground. His 9MM was aimed directly between the pair of them. “How did you know where we were?”
Drake considered his odds, should he try to remove his handgun. He didn’t think they were good.
“I had a hunch,” he lied, not wanting to mention that it came to Chrissy in a dream.
“Sure you did. And what about you, honey?” Cedric glanced at Nia. “You weren’t a factor in my other lives. What’s your story?”
Nia took a step closer. “Don’t ever call me honey again.”
Cedric just laughed, his gun unwavering. “Whatever you say.”
“I want some answers,” Drake said.
“I bet you do, but I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
“Are you planning on killing us, Cedric?” Drake had enough of this. “Is shooting the two of us going to help your damned invasion from happening?” He shouted the question, and Cedric stumbled back a few feet.
“You have no clue what you’re even talking about, copper. We’re going to save the world. Your lives mean nothing.” His finger wavered on the trigger.
Drake saw movement near the door, and took a chance, peering to the entrance. Sage continued to bark, her anger palpable.
The younger version of Cedric Bellows held a long rifle from a hundred yards away, and Drake understood what was about to happen. He peered at Nia, who seemed oblivious to the fact that the second Cedric was aiming a gun at them.
His heart pounded in his chest, a constant deep thrum, echoing between his ears. “Duck!” he yelled, and the one-armed Cedric looked shocked. Nia hadn’t moved, and Drake ran for her, tackling her.
The rifle fired, but only once. Drake had his gun in his grip, prepared for countermeasures when he glanced at the ground, seeing older Cedric face-down, blood welling into a pool beneath his cheek.
Drake rolled toward the truck, keeping between Nia and the building. He prepared for an attack. He took a calming breath, looking past the corpse toward the entrance. Cedric wasn’t there.
“Shit.” Drake rose enough for Sage to see him through the window. He wanted the dog to stop drawing so much attention. If Cedric was willing to kill a variation of himself, he’d have no qualms about shooting Drake’s dog.
