Break The Ice (14 page)

“No luck,” Kaitlyn says, slamming the door to the red Neon that we found outside the building.

“Still nothing?” I say. I wiggle my fingers between myself and the door, looking for whatever controls the seat’s position.

“It just keeps ringing.”

“What about Mel?”

“Straight to voicemail. We can’t leave without them.”

She’s worried, and that doesn’t surprise me. So am I. But no matter how hard I try, I can’t convey the urgency when Tinjo spoke to me in my dream. We have to leave, if only I could find a way to convince her.

“What about the driver?” I say.

Kaitlyn stops staring out the window and looks at me. “Huh?”

“The cab driver from last night. They called you on his phone. Check under your recent calls.”

She taps the screen a few times. “The number is here. What am I supposed to say?”

“Explain the situation to him. There’s a group of demented aliens trying to destroy Earth and we need his help.”

That makes her laugh and she relaxes. “You’re right. It’s a long shot, but our only chance.” She taps call.

After the third ring, a heavy voice answers.

“Hi. You don’t know me, but I’m looking for two of my friends. You gave them a ride last night and–”

The voice groans, but I can’t make out any words.

“Really?” Kaitlyn says. “That far? What time did they get out? Okay. Did they leave anything with you or tell you…okay, okay. Sorry. Thank–” She pulls the phone away from her ear and grimaces. “Rude.”

“Anything?”

“Kind of?”

“Details?”

She makes a noise, between a sigh and a strangled moan. “They’re out of state. Wyoming.”

“You’re serious?”

“That’s what he said. They followed the truck until losing it on some back road and then Mel paid the guy and they got out.”

“Did he say what time?”

She shakes her head. “Only that it happened last night.”

Tinjo’s words flash into my mind.
Drive north until you run out of gas
. It’s a start. I turn the key and the engine roars to life. I fiddle with the lights and the emergency brake.

Kaitlyn catches on. “You okay?”

“Me? Yeah, perfect.”

Kaitlyn checks her phone three times in less than a minute. Finally, she tosses it inside the cup holder under the radio. “Whatever. If they call, it’ll ring. How far away are we?”

“From Wyoming? No idea. Probably a few hours.”

“I guess there’s only one thing to do…” she says. She pulls at the seat adjustment and reclines. “I spy something green.”

“Zook Estates,” Kaitlyn says, pointing to a green sign nestled against a large rock. “I win.”

“Again. We’re in the middle of nowhere and you went through the alphabet three times? I’m still stuck on my first X.”

She shrugs, but I can see her grin from the corner of my eye. “I’m just better at games than you.”

“Says the girl who’s always last to max level,” I say.

“Hey, last doesn’t mean worst. I could still kick your ass any day.”

We both laugh. The gas lasted well over three hours and the entire trip consisted of driving games, horrible jokes, and very few actual questions or conversation. It was a great ride.

“Cows,” she says, pointing at a small break in the tree line.

“Doesn’t count, I can’t see them.”

“You’re too slow to look off the road, and I get penalized? Not cool, man. Not cool.”

I’m laughing again when the car whines. I press down on the accelerator and the pedal gives. After pumping it a few times, the speedometer slowly drops from seventy to zero.

“What’s going on?” Kaitlyn says.

I flick the plastic covering the gas gauge, noticing for the first time that it reads empty. “Wasn’t paying attention to our gas,” I say. “Looks like we’re walking.”

“I saw a gas station about five miles back. Should we go back?”

Trees extend as far as I can see, both ahead of where we’re sitting and behind. I never told Kaitlyn about my odd dream. Whether I didn’t want to freak her out, or it sounded a little too unusual, even for me, I don’t know. “Call it a gut feeling,” I say.

“You want to keep going along the road that may lead nowhere?”

“You said the cabbie dropped Mel and Ted off on a back road surrounded by trees, right? We’re in Wyoming, and if you haven’t noticed, lots of trees. Why not keep going until we find something?”

“Because we could be anywhere,” she says.

I need to come up with a better reason. Or tell her the truth. I try to construct the lie in my head when a voice comes through the rolled down window.

“Are you trying to reach your friends?”

The voice resonates in me, an odd familiarity that I can’t place. It’s Dinmani, that much I’m certain. Climbing out of the car, a tall, blue man waits for me. He’s wearing the same black and white clothing as our first meeting.

“You have a habit of showing up at unusual times,” I say.

“You have been doing fine without me,” Tinwel says.

“Scraping by.”

“I recognize you,” Kaitlyn says, stepping up next to me.

“We met outside the orange building,” Tinwel says. “A long way from here.”

“How’d you get here?” I say.

He shrugs. “I have a faster way to travel than you do. It took me seconds to find you.”

“Must be nice,” I say.

Tinwel looks at me sideways. “Your Dinmow is stronger than before. You cannot do what you will not attempt.”

Kaitlyn looks from Tinwel to me. “You’re telling me you can transport us places and we drove three hours in a cramped car?”

I hold back a grin and keep staring at Tinwel. “Why are you here?”

“Tinjo said you needed assistance. Your friends are not far from here. One hundred miles at most.”

“Can you tell us where they’re at?” I say. After having no plan to regroup, I never thought we’d know where Mel and Ted ended up.

“Better,” he says. Without another word, he draws an invisible circle, like the day I first met him. As soon as the portal opens, his massive hands grab Kaitlyn’s and my shoulder.

Pressure builds up around me, similar to when Lefty and Righty took me into the cafeteria but without the smoke. This time, I continue to breathe while it peaks and then releases. My lungs get tight, but not ready to burst. I can’t say the same for Kaitlyn.

She leans over, hands planted on her knees, and coughs. A few of the heavier coughs bring on gagging, but she never throws up. After she can breathe again, she smacks Tinwel on the chest. “What the hell was that?”

“You wanted to find your friends,” he says.

“Yeah, not get crushed to death,” Kaitlyn shouts at him.

“I have never transported a human.”

She straightens up, eyes burning. Right when she opens her mouth to say more, Tinwel lifts one arm and points behind her.

I follow his gaze to a giant log cabin behind us. Trees surround the building in every direction, towering over and blocking the sky. A few holes poke through the canopy to let in light. A single dirt road, small enough for only one car, connects us with the cabin.

“Room three fifty-seven. They are inside. Get them. Go to these coordinates. We will be waiting there. Do not be late.” He hands me a slip of paper with a bunch of numbers scribbled across it.

The coordinates are barely legible. I can’t tell if a seven is a one, or if the six is supposed to be a zero. Before I can say anything, a burst of cold air blows the paper from my hands. I scramble to catch it as the wind takes it higher. When I finally catch it and shove it in my pocket, Tinwel is gone.

“Guess we go find out if he’s telling the truth?” Kaitlyn says.

“Can I help you?” the woman behind the front desk says. She’s in her thirties. Dark brown hair and dreary eyes. Her face sags. She looks exhausted.

Kaitlyn steps up to the desk. “Hi, we’re looking to meet up with our friends who booked a room here.”

“Room number?”

“Three fifty-seven.”

The receptionist licks her fingers and flips through a few pages of a ledger propped up in front of her. “Ah, here we are. Mr. and Mrs. Adams?”

I force my mouth shut before saying anything.

“That’s us,” Kaitlyn says, placing a hand on my arm.

“I have an extra key for you.” She scribbles something into the ledger and hands Kaitlyn the card. “I must say, you two look awfully young to be married.”

Kaitlyn smiles. “We get that a lot. Mind pointing us in the right direction?”

“Of course. Take this hall all the way to the end, staircase is the last door. Two flights up and it will be a few doors down on your right.”

“Thanks so much,” she says.

I nod and follow Kaitlyn down the hall. When we’re far enough I say, “Did they really have to do that?”

“Married for less than a minute and you’re already unhappy?” she says.

“That’s not what I meant,” I say, blushing.

“They probably did it in case we found them and asked by name or something.”

I make it to the third floor first and hold the door open for Kaitlyn. A thin layer of sweat has soaked into my shirt already. I hoped it might be cooler out west but that didn’t happen. We reach the door, and I pound my fist against it.

“Use this,” Kaitlyn says, handing me the keycard.

Slipping it into the scanner, I wait for the green light. It clicks, and I shove the door open. “Funny joke,” I say. “But did you guys need to–”

Mel and Ted sit side-by-side on the queen sized bed. They’re looking at the only corner I can’t see.

I assume Ted finally made his move until I step through the short hallway in time to see a blue man step through an opening. The wall seals and Tinjo stretches his arms.

“You are not late. Good. I feared you did not receive my message,” he says.

Kaitlyn looks at me.

I shake my head. To Tinjo, I say, “Tinwel helped us along. Why make us drive if he could have done that from the start?”

Tinjo’s face remains blank. “Timing is important.”

I don’t expect to get more than that. “Fine. What’s the next step?”

“This building is close to the Sunjin’s main base. I believe you possess the coordinates already?”

“I do.”

“Good. Go there at midnight. That is when they are weakest. Find their leader and cast him into the fires.”

“One ring to rule them all,” Ted says, finally moving on the bed. Mel slaps his shoulder.

Tinjo tilts his head.

Before he can ask the question, I say, “How do we know which one is their leader?”

“You will know,” he says. “Use your instincts. They are strengthening inside with every fight, I can sense it.”

“We don’t have an army,” Kaitlyn says, speaking for the first time. “We were supposed to have an army by this point, right?”

Tinjo’s eyes narrow for a second as if he doesn’t see Kaitlyn standing there. The look disappears almost immediately. “Yes, you were, but that can be forgiven. I have commanded my captain to enlist men for such purpose. He is already leading the fight against the Sunjin, weakening their defenses.

“You will have a small window, opening before midnight. You must figure out the rest.”

Tinjo turns his back to me and approaches the solid wall. It darkens around the edges at first, then opens up for him.

“Did Striker find you?” I say before he steps through.

His body stiffens. Brief, but noticeable. His leg, halfway through the portal, hangs in the air for a fraction of a second longer than necessary. He turns his head to the side. Not far enough for me to see his face, but to acknowledge my question. “He did. Thank you for saving him.” Without another word, he climbs through the wall.

“I’ll never get used to that,” Ted says.

The portal closes, but I keep my eyes glued to the wall for a few seconds longer. I can’t shake the feeling that Tinjo lied to me.

Kaitlyn stumbles over to the bed, falling onto the mattress. “Sam, you okay?” she says.

The words shake my thoughts loose. “What? Yeah.” I pull the desk chair next to the bed.

“Are
you
okay?” Ted says, looking at Mel.

She climbed under the covers and pulls them to her face, almost covering her nose. “I’m f-f-fine.”

I extend a hand as far as I can reach. She refuses to move from under the blanket, so I reach for her exposed ankle hanging off the bedside. Not even three seconds after I make contact, she pulls herself out of the cocoon.

“How’d you find us so fast?” Mel says.

“We only got here a few hours ago,” Ted adds.

I lean back in my seat. “We had a little help.”

Ted laughs. “I’d say. You don’t look like you had to hike at all.”