The Children Who Time Lost (18 page)

Why 2013? What was there, and why were they taking my son there. I had always heard that it was forbidden to use time travel for anything other than the Lotto, but it seemed that they may even have been from 2013. I had to think of something. Going back to 2013 certainly wasn’t impossible, but it was close to it. The Valencia facility was the only place to use. But I would need someone who had access to the portal, and I didn’t know anyone.

I reached into my pocket and pulled the chip out. It was intact, as was its metallic case. I put it away and focused on trying to come up with a way to get my son. But even if I went back in time, where would I look for him? L.A.? Washington? New York? Hell, he might not even have been in the states. I grunted in frustration and banged my hands against the window. The driver gave me a brief glance before turning back to the skies. I gave him a long hard stare. For all I knew, he was in on it, too. Hell, he could have been an alien. It was awfully convenient that he’d shown up just like that. I shook my head and let those thoughts fade away. He’d saved my life and I was grateful. I just wished I had Dylan with me. I wiped my nose and sniffled. The driver stretched his hands toward me. He held a handkerchief. I took it and wiped my eyes. But the tears didn’t stop dropping and I knew why. Even if I saved Dylan, I’d never see Kevin again.

“You all right, missy?” the man asked in an Irish accent.

I studied him. He had kind blue eyes to go with his floppy blond hair. His chubby cheeks gave him a pleasant demeanor. “How long have we been flying?”

He looked at me with pity. “Twen—twenty minutes.”

I nodded and stared ahead again.

“So what happened back there?” he said.

I shook my head. “I honestly don’t know.”

We continued in silence. When he started landing the car, I didn’t bother asking where we were going; I felt safe with him. He parked the car on an isolated road. I couldn’t see any houses or a street name. He pressed a button on the car’s dash. Then a bright blue light filled the inside of the car. I squinted for a second before meeting his gaze.

“Thanks for saving my life.”

He shrugged with a surprised look on his face, as if it were his duty to save me. “Who were them men?”

“I have no idea.”

He leaned forward. “Well, they weren’t just regular folk, I can tell you that, missy.”

I shot a hard stare at him.
Does he know?
“Why do you say that?”

“The guns they used. Military grade. You don’t see guns like that every day, missy. They must have really wanted you bad.”

His accent was quite strong and reminded me of an old friend of my dad’s, Aidan Donohoe. It took me almost five years to completely understand what Aidan said, but since then, understanding an Irish person’s speech hadn’t been a problem. I shrugged. “I guess.”

“Who are you?”

I looked at him again. I wiped more blood and sweat from my cheeks and pushed back the strands of hair stuck to my face.

“Flipping heck. You’re—”

I nodded. “Rachel Harris. Yes.”

“But you just … you just won a baby, like. I saw you on TV and everything.”

“Yes, I did.”

“But why would anyone want to kill you?”

I glanced around without speaking. Trees surrounded us. I couldn’t see any high-rise apartments for miles. The moon lighted the ground beside the car. I took another look at the dash and saw a small electronic meter. “You’re a taxi?”

He nodded. “Aye. I’m Justin.”

I extended my hand. He stared at it and then shook it.

“Why did you save me?”

He looked at me like I was mad. “I heard you scream.”

I stared out the window for a moment. He watched me the whole time, and I became uncomfortable. “Honestly, I’m really grateful.”

He nodded. “So where’s your son?” he asked after more silence.

I looked at him but didn’t speak. I could see the nervousness on his face.

“They said on the TV that you had a husband too, like. Is he …”

I peered into his eyes. Could I really trust him with the whole truth? “My husband and son are dead,” I said. “Those people killed them both.”

He placed his head against his chair’s headrest. “I’m so sorry, missy.”

I cried, and he held my shoulder with wavering hands. I could tell that consoling people wasn’t his forte. I sniffled and wiped my eyes.

“So what are you gonna do?” he said. “I could, like, drop you somewhere.”

I stared at him. I hadn’t thought about what I’d do. I opened my mouth to speak but couldn’t form any words. I turned away and looked out the window. “Okay, fine.”

“Okay,” he said. He didn’t say anything else for a moment. “You just take your time, missy. We’ll go whenever you’re ready.”

I nodded without speaking. My gaze still rested on the dark skies. Silence returned. The sound of crickets and other insects filtered into the car. Justin fidgeted. After a few minutes, I looked at him. “Do you have a cell phone?”

He nodded. “Aye.” He reached into his pocket and passed a thin cell and the accompanying headset to me.

I placed the earpiece into my right ear and pushed a button on the phone. The clear glass keypad flipped open. I dialled Suzanna. The phone rang six times and went to voice mail. I stared toward the sky with worry. I called her again. Still nothing.
Maybe Jenny and Rob are up.
I placed my hands against my head and tried to remember other phone numbers. Jenny’s came to me first. I called it but got voice mail again. I panicked and buried my head in my hands.
Please let them be all right. … They’re probably just sleeping.

I tried to think of all the people I could trust to help me with my predicament. I thought for nearly ten minutes. In the end, I came up with only two names. Jarrod and Warren. I tried Jarrod first. His phone went straight to voice mail. Warren picked his up after the third ring.

“Warren,” I screamed. “Thank God I reached you.”

“Rachel. What’s happened?” I heard the urgency in his voice.

“The worst thing ever, but I can’t talk on the phone. Can I come to you?”

He didn’t answer right away. “I’m not at home. Meet me at the hospital.”

“When?”

“Now.”

Why’s he at the hospital?
I opened my mouth to ask him why he was at work at three in the morning but stopped myself. “I’ll be right there. Please wait for me.”

“I’m not going anywhere, Rachel.”

I hung the phone up and passed it back to Justin. “We’ve got to go.”

He looked at me with a bewildered expression. “Where?”

“Bricklewood Hospital.”

He turned toward the steering wheel but didn’t start the car. He faced me again. “Who was that then?”

I frowned at him. “A friend. Probably the only one I can trust right now.”

“And you’re sure you can trust him?”

I nodded without looking at him. “Yes.”

“Okay.” He started the engine. The car rose into the air. We flew in silence for almost ten minutes before he spoke. “At least tell me what’s going on. It’s my neck on the line, too, you know, missy.”

“I know, and I’m grateful for what you did back there, but believe me, the less you know, the better.”

Chapter Fifteen

W
e arrived at South Grand Avenue within fifteen minutes. Justin must have broken every speed and altitude limit to get me to Bricklewood. But I hadn’t made his job easy with my constant moaning about how slow he was driving. He landed a few yards from the hospital and turned the lights off. I looked up and down the quiet street and opened my door. He held my wrist and I glared at him.

“I ain’t letting you go in there alone,” he said.

I stared at him for a moment. “Are you sure? This isn’t your problem, it’s mine.”

“At least let me go with you, like. Especially after what happened earlier.”

I wondered why he was being so helpful. “You do know that your life may be in danger if you go in there with me, right?”

He shrugged. “Aye, but how do you think I’ll feel if I leave you and you wind up dead tomorrow?”

I considered his words. “Okay, fine. But don’t take any risks because of me.”

He held his right hand up in mock salute. “You have me word.”

I nodded and we got out of the car and took a few steps forward.

“Just give me a wee second.” Justin dashed back and opened the passenger door. He leaned inside for a moment and then shut the door. He ran toward me with a small black pistol in his hand. I looked at it wide-eyed.

“I always carry one,” he said.

I raised my eyes to his face.

He shrugged. “Some passengers get crazy. You know what I mean?”

I half-nodded. “I guess.”

“And after what happened, we can’t be too careful.”

I turned and continued toward the hospital. “Okay, that’s fine, but can you just hide it or something. I don’t think Warren will like me bringing someone with a gun.”

He nodded and walked beside me. We slowed down when we approached the corner leading to the entrance, and then he stopped me altogether. I looked at him and he nodded toward the ground. I saw fresh blood smeared on the pavement and the metal railings beside the hospital’s sign. The blood trail continued toward the door, like someone had been dragged.

I gasped and put my hand over my mouth. He stepped in front of me and pulled his gun out. I walked behind him without saying a word. The glass door had a long crack across the center, but no glass was on the ground. I saw yet more blood outside. A light flickered inside. Justin stood beside the door and peered in. I sneaked a peek as well. The counter was empty. There was no sign that anyone was in there, not even the security guards. I glanced around the room and then staggered back in shock. Justin looked at me with questioning eyes. I pointed right, near the cafeteria. He followed my finger but looked at me again and shrugged.

I held the back of his head and moved it as far right as possible, toward the human hand sticking out from under a floating black sofa. Blood stains covered the floor around it. We followed the trail back to the door.

“Do you have a way to get in?” he said.

I shook my head. “I thought Warren would be here waiting for us. Plus there are always security guards at this time.”

He turned toward me. “Listen ’ere, missy. I don’t mean to tell you how to carry on about your business, but that’s a dead body. God knows what’s waiting for us in there. I say we just get out of here and call the law.”

“No way. Someone’s hurt and I’ve got to know who it is. It could be Warren lying there in pain. You don’t have to come in with me. You’ve already done enough.”

Justin looked around the hospital without speaking. “Okay. Fine. Let’s do it.”

I nodded and peered through the doors again. “We just have to find another way to get in there.”

“What’re you thinking?”

I glanced at him and extended my right hand. “Give me that.”

He held the gun out. “Wait—what do you want to do with it?”

“Just trust me.”

He hesitated. I leaned forward and grabbed the gun from him. Then I edged back, but he just stood there looking at me with his eyebrows raised.

“You need to stand back,” I said.

He took slow steps back, watching me all the while. He stood beside me and waited. I held the gun out and pulled the trigger, but nothing happened. I pulled it again, but still nothing.

“The button at the top,” he said.

I nodded. It was similar to the gun Lorenzo had used to kill Fudge. I pressed a small silver button on the top of the gun and it started glowing blue. The gun vibrated, and I gripped it with both hands. Then I steadied my posture and pulled the trigger. A bright white light illuminated the door for a moment. I moved back some more. Justin followed. Then the glass shattered and flew everywhere, making both of us flinch. We stood still and stared at the destruction. I looked down the street, but nothing stirred. I pointed inside and took slow steps forward, with Justin close behind me. He held his hand out when we reached the door. I handed his gun back to him and squeezed through the broken glass. He came in after me.

We tiptoed forward. The blood trail shifted to the right after a few steps, but I continued to the counter and leaned over it. He did the same. Broken glass covered much of the floor. The place had been ransacked. I frowned at the ceiling. Why would anyone ransack the hospital? It must have had something to do with me. Maybe they’d sent people here when they didn’t find me at the house. We followed the blood trail. Justin stepped in front of me and shielded me with his body, his gun in front of him. A hand came into view, and then I saw the cold lifeless gaze of the receptionist, Selena, staring back at me. Blood smeared her forehead and dripped down her neck. I screamed and ran to her. I placed her head in my arms and placed my finger on her neck. No pulse. A tear fell from my eye.
What’s happening?

Justin rushed to the floor and put his arm around my shoulders. I stared at Selena, regret bubbling through my head. It must have been because of the message.
This is all my fault. Why did I—

We heard a loud sound, like a table being dragged across the floor. Justin sprang to his feet and held his gun up. I stood beside him. The sound came again. We were not alone.