The hidden space, p.35
The Hidden Space, page 35
part #2 of The Glass Series
“This isn’t Cedric’s doing,” he whispered.
Britt paled and refused to lower her gun, even though it was clearly just an article of clothing.
Chrissy braved the room, coming to stand directly behind him. “What is it, Daddy?”
“Nothing scary. It’s a costume.” Ransom felt the device tied to the clothing’s wrist, and it was like the one Peggy had been given by Helen, only smaller. The left eye wasn’t there, but a round lens was stitched into the mask. He suspected that it turned blue when powered on.
Ransom saw something past the window, and he shoved the drapes aside, seeing a young boy watching them from across the street. When Ransom caught him snooping, the kid bolted.
“Stay with her,” Ransom told Britt before dashing downstairs. The kid was a good block ahead of him, but Ransom ran with all his strength. After another two blocks, the boy tried to turn right, jumping over a white picket fence, and Ransom hurdled it, catching him. “Stop!”
He finally conceded to his order, and Ransom bent at the waist, taking long inhales. The skinny assailant wasn’t even out of breath.
“Why were you spying on us?” he questioned.
“I wanted to see the new neighbors.”
“I don’t buy it. Then why run?”
He was maybe eleven, with jet-black hair and a smirk that probably never left his face. “That uniform is mine. Give it back.”
“Where did you get it?” Ransom asked.
“Out of town. Couldn’t tell anyone, ‘cause they’d give me shit for leaving the house. So I hid it.”
“Your parents?”
“What do you think? Dead like all of them.”
Ransom hadn’t given it enough thought. All of the kids here were orphans, with the exception of Chrissy. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have mentioned it.”
“Whatever.”
“You’re going to show me where you found that.”
“Fine, but you won’t rat me out, will you? I already have three strikes, and they don’t like me much.”
“What’s your name?”
“Hunter.”
“Is that your real name?” Ransom asked.
“Does it matter?”
Ransom shrugged and was ready to chase Hunter again, but he didn’t go anywhere. In a few minutes, they were at the house, with Britt and Chrissy waiting for him on the front steps. “I’m taking a drive with my new friend, Hunter. Then we can start moving in. If you still want to.”
Britt smiled and looked at Chrissy. “What do you think?”
“Yay! I want to live here. Just not in that room.”
“Go pick another. I’ll be home shortly.” Home. The word seemed so natural, but wrong at the same time.
“Where are you going?” Britt asked, concern in her voice.
“Hunter found that. We need to know where it came from.”
“Bring Joel. He’s down the street,” Britt said.
“You don’t think I can take care of myself?”
Britt lost her smile. “We have to watch out for each other.”
“You always let her boss you around like that?” Hunter asked when he climbed into the van.
Ransom gestured behind him with a thumb. “Get in the back.”
“The circle of orders. Your old lady bosses you, then you boss me, and I give my teachers a hard time.”
Ransom found the boy amusing, perhaps in light of his gruff demeanor. Joel joined them, and twenty minutes of driving straight west brought them to a barren trail.
“What were you doing alone?” Joel asked him.
“Riding my bike. I… when I think about my family, I don’t want none of the other kids to see. You know?” Hunter slipped from the van, traversing the trail. “It was over here.”
They went after him, Joel never without his rifle, and Hunter pointed down a crevasse where water flowed from a small waterfall up the hillside. “There.”
Joel used his scope, following the line. “And it was just left out in the open?”
“Yeah.”
Ransom noticed the moment Joel spotted something of importance with the scope. His back tensed. “What do you see?”
“A body.” Joel clambered over the ridge, making it look easy. Ransom took far longer to descend. Despite telling Hunter to stay put, he followed them.
Joel was hunched over, muttering under his breath, when Ransom arrived.
When he moved aside, Ransom saw the carcass. Most of the flesh had been picked clean, but it was likely recent.
“Vultures. Must have been circling this one for a while.” Joel poked at the bones with the barrel of his gun.
“The arms. They’re so long,” Ransom said.
“Like the uniform. Come on, kid. Help me bring this up.”
Hunter stared at it. “You expect me to touch that?”
Ransom assisted in the process, realizing they were possibly the very first humans to encounter something of this magnitude. A real alien.
11
Drake
An hour ago, Drake had forced everyone to leave the room, even Nia, asking her to take Sage for a walk. His hands trembled slightly as he soldered the connection. He set the tools down, wiping his brow. He’d chosen to use the most sterile room he could find in the back of the brewery, and had spent the last day locked inside, only breaking for food, the bathroom, and a couple hours’ nap.
Drake slipped the screen over the series of components and clicked it together, snapping the edges in place. “This better work,” he told himself.
Part of him considered asking the others to watch the big reveal, but he couldn’t stand the idea of seeing their disappointed faces if he failed.
Drake tapped the button, holding it for a moment and the display flashed on. Success.
For a moment, it went dark, and he thought it was broken until the light returned, giving him the home screen. Drake put the tablet on the desk and stood up. He ran his hands through sweaty hair and stalked to the door.
Drake strode to the exit, letting the evening air cool him. “Guys! I did it! It works!”
Peggy arrived quickly, and from her current state, she hadn’t slept much either. “You magnificent man, you!” She hugged him tight.
“Don’t praise me yet. I have it running, but that doesn’t mean we’ll be able to use it,” he said.
Ransom and Joel were there, and they exchanged a glance as they approached from the street. “We have something to show you,” Joel said.
“Not now. The tablet is on!” Peggy exclaimed.
“This can’t wait.” Ransom waved them toward a minivan. He lifted the back hatch, and Drake heard Nia shouting for Sage. His dog dragged her leash behind her, and she ran to the van, jumping inside. She’d found a bone to chew and lay down.
Drake tried to take it, but she growled, scooting farther away. “What is she eating?”
“Alien,” Joel said.
Drake saw the extended limbs and reached for the skull. There were remaining bits of flesh, and two deep sockets. “This is fresh.”
“Vultures. Some kid found a uniform, and we made him bring us to the site. Saw this a short distance away.”
“He stripped from his clothing and died?” Nia asked.
“I guess so,” Ransom said.
Nia tricked Sage into giving up the femur by coaxing her with a dog treat, and they closed the van up. “What does this mean?”
“That there are aliens in the area,” Ransom told her.
“But we already knew that. The UFO, remember.” Drake glanced at Peggy, who had the tablet in her grip.
“I have to try this,” she said. “What if we’re out of time? We can’t abandon Will.”
“There are more important things than Will,” Joel said gruffly. “If we don’t shut off this Glass, who knows how many of them we’ll face?”
“Helen said they’re already here. And we’ve seen evidence of that,” Peggy argued. “I’ll rescue Will, and we can head to Spokane next. I promise.” She clutched the tablet to her chest, and Drake suspected it would be harder to get from her than a bone from Sage.
Ransom peered around. “Where’s the nearest Glass?”
Arthur, the police chief he’d met recently, was behind Britt, and he motioned to them. “I’ve been keeping markings on them.”
“The Glass?”
“And the aliens,” he said.
“You’ve seen them?” Drake asked.
“Yep. In the Other Place, now here. They’re getting bolder. Mostly from the west, from what I’ve witnessed.” He pointed in that direction.
“That’s where we saw the UFO,” Drake said.
“And found the bones,” Joel added.
Peggy huffed a breath impatiently.
“Come with me,” Arthur said.
They started off, and Drake just shook his head. He needed sleep, and water. Maybe something to eat. He still couldn’t believe he’d reached out to a dead man and managed to repair the PremaCorp tablet. While that seemed like a dream, finding alien bones was a nightmare. And he suspected worse impediments were to come.
“Here,” Britt said, handing him a bottle of water.
“How did you know?” He grinned at her as they followed their group, led by Arthur.
“I have a sixth sense about this kind of thing. Also, you didn’t leave to pee for the last five hours.”
“I see you picked a house,” he said between sips.
“Yeah, it’s great. We cleared out most of their possessions. Buried some in the yard. Kind of as an homage to the homeowners. It was Chrissy’s idea.”
“Where is she?” Drake hadn’t seen the girl today.
“With Lizbeth.”
“Did she talk to you?”
“Yep. I don’t think she has long,” Britt said. “Chrissy’s going to miss her. So is Ransom.”
They chatted about their possible futures living on the same block, and slowed when Arthur revealed a Glass down an alleyway a mile or so later.
Peggy went ahead, and all eyes were on her as she powered the tablet, then the device on her wrist. The indicator lights blinked in unison, and she peered back with a joyful expression. “It’s going to work.”
Drake rubbed his arms as clouds rolled in, quickly cooling off the air.
“I’m going with you,” Joel said, and Peggy didn’t argue. The man was armed, as always, and he stood directly beside her while Peggy used the tablet, selecting her options.
“Please be there,” she whispered.
Drake understood the connection between her and Will, and questioned how someone so young could be so attached to another person. He glanced at Nia, figuring they weren’t much different. They’d all become couples among adversity, bonded by their situation, stronger because of it.
Peggy slowly pressed an icon on the screen, and the Glass started to glow, brighter than usual.
She turned, the vivid white light surrounding her like she was a spirit about to ascend to heaven, Joel her protector against evil.
“Good luck,” Britt said, and Peggy stepped through.
_________
Will
“I’ve had a great time,” Peggy said.
“Same here.” Being in Calder had taken some adjusting, but after a couple days, it felt normal. He’d seen himself twice, once driving the truck to the lake with Jeremy in the passenger seat. Another time, the younger Will was in the window at the diner when he walked by, shrouding his face with a sweatshirt.
He longed to urge himself to be strong. To not worry about bullies at school, or flunking that stupid math test, because none of it would matter soon.
It was hot in her car, and the windows were all down.
They stared at the lake as the sun set, the rays of light glimmering off the surface. After seeing so much of the country, this was like a swamp, or at best a large pond, not the giant body of water he’d always thought of it as.
A few mosquitoes buzzed by, and he swatted at them.
“What if she never comes?” Peggy asked.
“You… the other Peggy?”
She nodded. “Could you stay?”
“I can’t… I’ll have to go to Spokane, to that house. Talk to the PremaCorp guy, I suppose,” he said.
“I’ll miss you.” Peggy came closer, and Will turned away.
“We can’t.”
Peggy didn’t pout; she just smiled and touched his hand. Her gaze narrowed for a moment, and her chin dipped.
“What is it?”
“She’s nearby… I can feel her talking to me,” she said.
Will looked around, but the lake was uninhabited. “Can you take me there?”
Peggy shook her head like she was clearing cobwebs, and threw the car in reverse. She roared down the road, probably excited to see her other self. They parked near the mill, and Will paused in his seat. “Maybe you should stay behind.”
“No way.” She got out before him. “I’m not missing this.”
They trudged through the forest, and it became harder as the sun drifted behind the horizon.
“Peggy!” Will called.
“Peggy!” Peggy shouted too, smiling at the irony.
“Will!” The voice wasn’t Peggy’s he heard. It was a man.
“Over here!” he yelled as he approached the clearing by the Glass.
His Peggy pushed past Joel, running toward him. She pulled him in for a kiss. “You’re okay.”
“So are you.” He held her at arm’s length, seeing how thin and tired she looked. She must have been awake since he’d left.
Peggy’s attention shifted to her younger version, and Will smiled at their reactions. “Thank you,” his Peggy said.
“For what?”
“Taking care of him,” she said.
The younger Peggy shrugged. “You’re…”
“I know, I’m a mess.”
“No. You look good. Happy,” she said. “Does it get better?”
“It gets worse. But you’re going to be fine. Trust me.” Peggy hugged herself, and they lingered with Joel standing a few yards away, his gaze locked on the Glass.
“We have to go,” he said.
They started away, with Peggy using the tablet, and Will held back. “Be kind to the other Will. He has a lot to learn.”
“Don’t we all,” she responded.
The Glass glowed as Peggy activated it, and Joel waited until Will was there to lower his guard.
With a final wave at the girl Peggy once was, they stepped into the future.
Will didn’t know what to anticipate, but it wasn’t this. A giant black cloud lingered to the west, just above the city’s edge, and tendrils of angry lightning forked from the sky. People were in the streets, huddled together. Their fear was palpable.
“What’s going on?” Joel demanded of a woman near the sidewalk.
“We’re not sure. It just arrived minutes ago,” she answered.
“Where’s Drake and Ransom?” he asked.
She shook her head.
Peggy stowed the tablet into her bag, slipping the backpack over her shoulders. They jogged down the street, and Will realized he didn’t really know where they were. “Tucson?” he asked Peggy.
“Oh yeah, I forgot. It’s pretty great here. Power. No dead. Vehicles cleared out. Thousands of us are around. Some people have houses already and everything,” she said.
“And you?”
“I’ve been a little preoccupied trying to get you home. I’ve mostly slept in a hotel, attempting to make contact with my past self,” she said.
“Thanks for getting me,” he told her.
“It’s all I could think about.”
“She was sweet. You were—”
They slowed near a brewery, and Will recognized Jill and Fran with a kid, watching the storm cloud.
“I remember it, Will.”
“What?”
“You, at that time. It’s like I experienced it… but not clearly. As any memory can be,” she said, staring into his eyes. “I fell in love with you.”
“Good,” he told her, and they kissed again, despite the situation percolating in the west.
“If you two are done reuniting, I think we better find the others,” Joel grumbled. “Fran, where are they?”
Fran cleared her throat, a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “They told Rick they were going”—she pointed at the monstrosity— “there.”
“Let’s ride.” Joel rushed them to an old souped-up truck. Will didn’t have time to admire the paint job. He let Peggy slide into the middle seat, and shut the door with a slam while Joel fired it up.
They raced toward the violent cloud, and Will wished he was back in Calder.
_________
Ransom
“I don’t like it,” Britt said.
“Neither do I,” he admitted.
The cloud had expanded and seemed to be getting wider by the minute. There were probably fifty of them watching it from the edge of town, the desert on the other side of the road. The ground shook slightly, the needles on the cactus next to him quivering as a result.
“This is it, this is it,” Sophie muttered.
“What are you talking about?” Britt asked.
“My dream…”
Kendall stared defiantly, holding a revolver, like that would stop a storm.
Someone’s tires screeched to a halt, and out jumped Joel with the young couple in tow. “Will!” Ransom called over the wind.
“Hey, guys,” he said, as if he’d been on vacation, not stuck in another time. “What’s going on?”
“We have no idea,” Drake said.
Sage wasn’t with him, and it was probably a good thing. Ransom was glad he’d left Chrissy with Lizbeth, but if anything was to happen to her in his absence, he’d never be able to forgive himself.
The wind slowed, and the entire area became hushed. The sun had just set, making it easy for him to see the blue lights blinking on in the distance. “Over there,” he said.
