Edge of Time (14 page)

A
lec lay on his top bunk and listened as the melodious gong reverberated throughout the bunker, indicating the last hour of Work and the beginning of Rest. Of course, his schedule was opposite and right now he should be just waking. But he'd been awake for hours. Thinking.

He'd had a dream, the same kind he'd had before in the last couple of weeks and he'd woken in a cold sweat. Nothing actually happened in the dream, but it bothered him anyway. He was in a dark place, unable to see or hear, but he knew that someone was coming. A sense of impending doom enveloped him and then he'd wake.

He'd first had that dream in the hospital, the night his father gave him a concussion. Even though the nurse woke him nearly every hour to check his pupils and vital signs.

Below him, Anna got up from her bunk and padded barefoot to the table. Her hair was loose for a change and flowed down her back in a smooth, pale cascade. She waved her orb and the computer screen winked into being.

He didn't hate her anymore. The dislike and impotent anger had faded, leaving a residue of disagreeable, distant memories. She wasn't engaging like Darius, or funny like Riley, but she wasn't wholly unpleasant now. They had worked for hours in the last Work period. While Anna wasn't effusive with her praise, she was surprisingly encouraging, and Alec found himself wanting to please her, despite himself. Rarely had Alec ever found himself on the positive side of a teacher's opinion, except on the sports field. Part of him suspected that Anna's encouraging feedback was manipulative, but he couldn't help himself responding. It felt so
good
to be good at something. He wished Riley could witness his growing proficiency.

“I know you're awake. Are you hungry?”

“Yeah, I guess.” He sat up, swung his legs over the side and dropped easily to the floor. He headed to the toileting/shower cubicle. He closed the door behind him and stared into the small shiny area that doubled as a mirror. Did he look any different from yesterday? He felt changed.

He shaved with satisfaction the fuzz that had collected over his upper lip, showered and dressed in a clean overall. He finger-combed his hair, spending more time trying to attain a casual windblown look that he knew Anna would like and smiled to himself. He might not be as handsome as Darius, but he would soon be taller. There were girls out there in the main bunker, including Riley, and Anna had promised she'd let him mingle as soon as his emotions were under control. Other than the creepy dream, his emotions were fine. Maybe she'd let him out today?

Anna had placed their breakfast on the table by the time he came out of the bathroom. He slyly observed her expression. Other than an overlong glance at his hair, nothing.

“Did you sleep well?” she asked.

He shrugged as he resignedly tucked into the bowl of what reminded him of tapioca pudding. Right now he'd cut off a leg for a batch of his mom's blueberry pancakes. Thinking about home produced a hard lump that was difficult to swallow around. He focused on his meal. “Uh-huh.”

“Do you feel well?”

“Yeah.”

“Did you have any bad dreams?”

Alec paused with the spoon halfway to his mouth. He stared at the bowl. “What's with the inquisition?”

“Scanners sensed something in the bunker during the last twelve hours,” Anna said.

“Sensed what?” Alec scraped the bottom of his bowl and looked around. Anna usually had extra for him.

“We're not sure exactly. The signal was similar to an Emissary's. Of course, no Emissary could be created inside the Base. The reading was too faint to identify perfectly.” Anna got up and procured a second bowl from the cupboard. She watched him closely as he started in. “I wonder if you might have felt anything unusual during the time it was recorded.”

“Why?”

“Because you are particularly sensitive to the Others. If Rhozan was trying to gain entry to the Base, you might be a portal.”

Alec dropped his spoon to the table. “Are you saying that Rhozan might try and get to you guys through me? Are you out of your mind? I don't even know the guy.”

“I'm not implying that you would willingly help our enemies, Alec.”

“I bet Logan thinks I would,” he muttered angrily. He pushed the half-eaten bowl away. Great. He'd started the day okay, and there she was, annoying him before the first meal was even over. He might not like these Tyon Operatives, might think the whole orb training was beyond boring, but he wasn't going to open the doors to the enemy and yell “Come on in.”

“Logan doesn't trust any off-worlders. He never has. He even gives the Tholan Operatives, like Dean, a hard time,” Anna explained.

“Yeah, well, he hates me.”

“I agree that many of Logan's tactics are harsh,” Anna said quietly. “I dislike how he treats you but–”

“But nothing,” Alec burst out. “Anna, it was a complete violation. You know it. You didn't even try to stop him.”

Anna pushed her own bowl away and crossed her arms. She stared at the opening to the rest of the bunker. “No. I did not.” She was quiet for a long moment. “I apologize.”

This was the last thing he expected her to say. “So, why didn't you?” he asked after a long pause.

“Logan has been my commander for many of your years. I began my first assignment with him.” She gazed intently out towards the bunker, but Alec had the impression she wasn't seeing anything. “When an Operative finishes their training and is assigned their duties, they take an oath to obey their commander in all things. It is one of the worst crimes to refute that oath.”

“So, he locks you up for a while or something. Big deal.” Alec grimaced. “You should have said no. My Guardian's supposed to protect me. Not hold me down while someone rapes me.”

A heavy silence surrounded Alec's harsh words. Finally, Anna licked her lips and spoke. “How could you tell Logan crucial information, when you are unaware of it yourself? Were you aware of the results of your anger the night you attacked your father?”

Alec abruptly got up from the table. He was sure he didn't want to hear this.

“There is no other way to recover what has been deeply hidden inside you, Alec. Few from my home planet are skilled enough to try, and none who can do it gently are here with us on this planet. Your world is being destroyed, even as we speak, and you are angry because the Commander chose their lives over your discomfort.”

“Yeah, but–” he began.

“Is a momentary unpleasantness more important than trying to save the life of your mother? Because, like it or not, that is exactly what Logan is trying to do. Protecting the people of Earth, your parents included, from Rhozan. And he was convinced the key to doing that was somewhere inside your mind.”

This was not what Alec had expected to hear and with every word he felt himself burning with shame. He'd do anything to protect his mom. He already had. Alec scowled and kicked the table leg.

Suddenly, the overhead lighting changed to a reddish hue. Anna jumped up from her seat. “Stay here,” she ordered, before she ran out through the dividers and disappeared into the bunker.

The instant she was gone, Alec swung himself onto his upper bed and stood up on the mattress. The entire Base lay spread out in front of him with a sea of pale, yellow heads bobbing and scuttling around the divider walls. Anna could be any one of them and could have gone anywhere. There was a large cluster of Operatives near the tall cylindrical tower in the Command Centre. Anna would probably go there. No one had said anything to confirm it, but he was sure that Anna was pretty high up on the chain of command.

He scanned the rest of the Base. Most of the movement seemed to be around the perimeter or the Command Centre. He shifted his attention to the walls where at least one or two people stood watching the action before each screen.

He peered closely. There was something uncomfortably familiar about the scene unfolding on the screen just to his left. The picture widened to show a vacant street lined with pale grey, concrete high-rises, rusting metal balustrades sagging over each narrow balcony. The dusty, packed earth in front of each building might, at one time, have been covered with grass, but now endless feet had trampled even the most hardy of weeds into oblivion. The occasional spindly sapling, pegged with nylon ties to hold it upright, lined the cracked cement walkways. On the corner, a convenience store with the “Super Fast Mart” sign, broken in two places, looked deserted.

Wait a minute, this was his neighbourhood. He'd spent hours fooling around in the store's stock room, hanging out with Chin while he did his chores, or swiping licorice under the nose of Chin's elderly grandmother. A cold trickle of dread ran down his spine.

Several cars appeared at the farthest end of the street. They skidded to a stop in front of the store. The car doors opened and several dishevelled people clambered out.

Alec was too far away to hear the sounds of their shouts, or perhaps the sound was low on the screen. Armed with clubs and other weapons, they barrelled inside, pulling the door off the hinges as they passed. One man with a blank expression and too many tattooes swung a golf club at the plate-glass window, shattering it all over the sidewalk. Alec cringed. That window had been broken twice in the last year and cost a fortune to fix. Alec's hands clasped into fists.

He didn't realize he was holding his breath until the gang spilled out of the store, jumped into the cars and peeled out of sight. His relief was short-lived. The explosion might be thousands of kilometres away, but he felt it all the same. The remaining glass blew outwards and grey, billowing smoke roiled from the open door and window.

“Get out,” Alec breathed. “Hurry up.”

As if they could hear his whispered plea, several small figures stumbled from the open doorway. A tiny woman pulled someone by the legs. She collapsed, her body racking with coughs, over the limp body of a tee-shirt clad figure. She shook the body several times, but the dark-haired boy didn't respond. A teenage girl, her long, black hair obscuring her face, crawled out of the entrance and collapsed.

Alec swallowed the lump in his throat. This couldn't be happening. That was Chin's mom and sister. He couldn't see Chin's face but the cold sensation in his stomach swelled with fear. Where was old Mrs. Lee and Chin's dad?

“Get up,” he pleaded. Chin didn't move.

A sudden ball of flame leapt through the open door. Mrs. Lee and Mei Ling flattened themselves to the ground, Chin's mother protecting her son with her body against the scorching inferno. Alec's heart leapt into his throat. The fire broke through the roof, engulfing the entire building, but neither Mei Ling nor her mother stirred.

“Move,” Alec yelled, only half aware they couldn't hear him. He desperately scanned the nearby corridors for an Operative. If the transmission could come into the Base, couldn't he get a message out?

Too late. He watched with horror as the brick building seemed to actually
bulge
with the second and more powerful explosion. Bricks, mortar, glass, all blew outwards so fast he almost didn't see it, levelling the building into nothing. Alec's legs gave out from under him and he dropped to the bed with shock.

Sudden knowledge seared Alec's mind. Rhozan's puppets had done this. It didn't take a genius to understand the plan. Rhozan was after
him
. The Other's attempt at infiltrating the Base had a purpose. Rhozan
knew
Alec was safe inside the protective boundaries of the Base. Like any good tactician in the video games Alec loved, he was going after those Alec knew, planning to take them out, one by one, until the real target showed up to demand retribution.

Alec's stomach dropped to his knees. If Rhozan was going after his friends, it wasn't going to be long before he turned his attention to his family.

He had to get out of here.
Now
.

R
iley dropped her spoon into her bowl with a loud clang as the light around her changed from yellow to red. Across the table, Jacob wiped his mouth on the back of his sleeve and looked around for a second helping.

“Attention Potentials,” Dean said as he stood up. “This is a warning signal. All Potentials are to gather outside of Med Ops and wait for further instruction. Proceed there immediately.” With that, he headed out of Meal Dispersal.

The Norwegians stood up as one and headed towards Med Ops silently. Mary Beth gave Riley a sharp glance before scuttling off behind them, Gino in tow. All the others followed but Jacob.

“Come on,” Riley said, standing up. Her heart was dancing a funny little jig inside her chest. Silly to be scared when the Base was filled to the brim with fully trained Operatives and Logan was commanding. Whoever Rhozan was, she couldn't imagine him wanting to take on the Tyon Commander.

Jacob reached for someone's half-empty bowl. “Why? What's happening?”

“Don't you pay attention to anything?” Riley snapped. If the perpetuation of the human species was dependent on Jacob, she rather hoped the lot of them died out.

“I'm hungry,” he whined, lifting an overladen spoon to his mouth. “They hardly feed us anything here. If we're under attack, I'd rather die with a full stomach.”

“Why am I not surprised,” Riley muttered to herself as she headed towards the Med Ops Console behind what seemed to be the entire Tyon company. Wait a minute.
Alec
. Wouldn't he be left alone right now? Riley stopped mid-step. This could be the perfect opportunity. If the Base was truly in trouble, this might be their only chance to escape.

She turned around and headed back the way she'd come, glancing at the screens as she passed. On every one, scenes of violence, worse than she'd ever seen before, flickered and changed. An entire city block was ablaze. Which city wasn't immediately apparent, but it didn't look like somewhere in Canada. Another two screens displayed the smoldering ashes of what looked to be a factory, and another screen showed a refinery engulfed in flames, while several fire trucks impotently waited a safe distance away.

Tyrell was right. Rhozan, whoever he was, certainly seemed to be upping the level of violence.

She ran around another corner and slipped into the back corridor. It was deserted. She stopped at the perimeter. Dean had warned her that it was armed. With what exactly, he hadn't said.

“Come to say hello, or just admiring the scenery?” Alec asked. He was pacing back and forth, his shoulders bunched by his ears and his hands jammed into his pockets. He didn't break his stride.

“Neither,” Riley snapped. “I've come to get you out.”

“Yeah, right. The border's armed.”

“Well, duh.” Riley frowned. This required some serious thought. “Guess you have no idea how to disarm it?”

“Well, duh,” Alec mimicked before he stopped and faced her. They were only a few strides apart, but it seemed like miles. Riley had forgotten how tall he was. “So you couldn't be bothered to come and see me all this time, but now that something interesting is going on, you come rushing in to the rescue.”

“Gimme a break. I've come by lots of times to check on you, and you've always been asleep.”

Alec's annoyance seemed to drain away like water. His eyebrows rose into his thick thatch of dark curls. “Really?”

“Well, yeah.” Riley leaned on one hip. “It's not like I completely desert my friends.”

A grin split Alec's face, just for an instant, rendering him remarkably handsome. “So, we're friends.”

Riley snorted. “Don't get your hopes up.” She looked around intently. “How's the alarm work?”

“I dunno.” Alec walked over to the edge of the floor space that was still inside the divider. He peered closely at the floor and walls. “When I try to cross this area, I get a pretty wicked shock. I can't make myself go past it. I don't see any wires or anything.”

How can you disrupt an alarm you can't even see? The lighting turned a darker red. “Maybe you can just run at it?” Riley suggested.

“Tried that.”

“What does Anna do to go in and out? Have you watched her?”

“Course I have. And she doesn't do anything. She isn't even holding her orb when she walks through. No one does. The alarm just doesn't zap
them
.”

“It's primed just for you then,” Riley considered. “Thought it might be.”

“So?”

“So, I'm thinking.” Riley's brow furrowed. Most of the orb lessons focused upon learning to concentrate deeply on what it was you wanted to happen and
willing
it. Would that work with a highly sophisticated alarm system?

“Hurry up,” Alec urged. “I've got to get out of here.”

“Hold your horses.” Riley chewed on her bottom lip. There was only one way to find out if her idea was workable. “Okay, here's what we're going to do. I'm going to come in. Then we're going to both hold my orb and concentrate on walking past this alarm system without triggering it. Then, we're going to find Darius and get the hell out of this place.”

“Since when do you know how to use an orb?” Alec looked skeptical.

“Since I've been training how to use one of these thingies, and you haven't,” she scoffed without meeting his eyes.

“It's not my fault Anna won't let me keep one,” Alec muttered.

“Stand back.” Riley squared her shoulders and gripped her orb. She kept her hand inside the overall pocket. No need for Alec to see how white her knuckles were.

The alarm didn't trip as she stepped over the threshold. For a second she just stood there, surprised at herself, then quickly rearranged her features into an expression of utmost seriousness and superiority. “'Kay, hold onto my orb at the same time as me and keep your mind entirely blank,” she ordered. “Don't think about anything. Don't break your concentration for a second. No matter what. Let me do all the thinking.”

“Are you sure about this?” Alec was frowning. “I mean, it's all right for you. You won't get your skin fried off. I will.”

“Look.” She turned, hands on her hips, cocking her head to stare up at him with the most intimidating look she could muster. “Do you want to leave this joint or not?”

Alec glanced bleakly towards the movie screens. He gritted his teeth. “Yeah, I do.”

“Well then stop being such a wuss about a bit of electricity. I'll pull you out if I have to.”

Alec grabbed her hand, engulfing her small fist in his larger one. She twisted her fingers for a second to allow him contact with the orb. His hand was warm and a little tingle of static electricity zipped through her fingers. She shoved him into position in front of the perimeter. Only one stride to freedom.

“Ready?” she said, unable to look at him.
If this didn't work …

“Do it.”

“On three,” said Riley as she tried to focus on her single thought rather than the warm fingers gripping her own. “One, two,
go
.”

Before she could rethink the plan, Riley took a deep breath and stepped across the barrier, focusing her attention fully on blocking any negative effect from the alarm system. She was concentrating so hard she walked straight into the divider wall opposite. She opened her eyes, blinked, rubbed her nose and tried to look nonchalant.

Nothing had happened. It was rather anticlimactic. Riley pulled the orb out of Alec's grasp and dropped it into her overall pocket.

“Now we find Darius and get the hell out of here,” Riley said. It was too late to have second thoughts now. “We've got to keep you out of sight, though. The second anyone notices you, they'll be onto Logan before you can blink. And, Alec, the guy doesn't like you.”

“Yeah, tell me about it.”

They ran down the narrow corridor, Alec hunching over so that the top of his head wasn't visible over the upper edge of the divider walls. Riley went ahead by several paces, stopping at each junction and scouting the area first before waving him on behind her.

They twisted and turned multiple times. If Alec was confused as to his whereabouts, he said nothing, and Riley was too concerned with getting him to the bathroom without anyone noticing to direct him.

She turned another corner and slammed on the brakes. Alec almost knocked her over. She shoved him backwards with urgent hands. The Norwegian Potential's Guardian and one of her charges stood together in front of the bathroom doorway. Whatever they were talking about, it was an intense subject, with the Potential waving her arms around and yelling. Riley cursed under her breath.

“What?” Alec looked behind him for a second, then leaned over her shoulder to watch the two others argue.

“They're right in front of the bathroom.”

“So?”

“Where did you think I'm hiding you, you dork?” Riley grimaced as she shoved him back.

As if they responded to her unspoken plea, both the Guardian and her sullen charge suddenly turned and walked away, heading towards Med Ops. Riley watched until they were out of sight.

She ran across the floor to place her palm against the smooth metal of the wall. The doorway rapidly materialized and opened. Riley stepped inside and Alec followed her a moment later. The door closed behind them with a slight
whoosh
.

“Whoa,” Alec breathed. His eyes were wide as he took in the bank of open shower stalls. “Are you sure I'm allowed in here? Isn't this the girls' bathroom?”

“It's co-ed,” Riley said, watching his face for the first hint of a tell-tale blush.

Alec didn't disappoint her. “No way.” He cleared his throat. “Have you ever wondered about these guys' obsession with metal?”

“It's some sort of creepy living metal,” Riley said as she pushed open a stall door and indicated with a flourish of her hand that Alec should enter. “Dean told me the whole place is made up of this stuff. They just tell it what they want and it grows to make it.”

“Really? Cool.” He suddenly looked serious. “How long are you going to leave me here?”

“Just as long as it takes to find Darius and organize our escape.” Riley was already pulling the stall door closed but Alec grabbed it.

“Don't be long. Some city named Trondheim has burned to the ground. The military's been called in. It's really bad.”

Riley stared up at him with a combination of amazement and concern. “You could understand that conversation?”

Puzzled, he looked down at her. “Well, yeah.”

“I didn't know you spoke Norwegian.”

“Look, what's with this Norwegian stuff? All I speak is English. I even failed French this year.”

“Both those people were speaking another language, Alec.” Riley chewed on her lower lip. “I couldn't understand a thing. How did you do that?'

Alec scowled. “Riley, you're wasting time. Get Darius. Get me out of here. If a city in Norway is falling apart, then sure as hell Toronto is. The rips started there. Rhozan's at his strongest there. And
my
family lives in Scarborough.”

He was right. They'd sort through Alec's new linguistic abilities later, when they were out of the Base. “Don't move,” she ordered. “Stay quiet and don't leave here for anything.”