One Wish Away (24 page)

“Did you plan on leaving me outside all along?”

“No. But now I can't think of another way.” I don't want him to be mad, but he's getting there. His jaw is clenched, knuckles white on the steering wheel. “I don't know what else to do other than try and talk my way in!”

Darren shakes his head. “Stop. Don't get yourself all worked up.” He exhales loudly. “You said I could come with you.”

“I want you to.”

“Not really.”

I turn in my seat to face him. “I do. I want you to. But it's better for you if you don't. I'll pick you up on my way out and you can help me put the video together.”

“You might not be coming back out.”

My cheeks are wet. I don't wipe the tears away as I rack my brain for something to say. But he's right.

“Even a better reason for you to stay out here. If I get caught, you'll find a way to expose the project.”

He goes silent. Maybe it's better this way.

Before we reach the unmarked turn leading us to the SEAD gates, Darren stops the car and I take his spot.

“Darren.” I roll down the window and throw out a blanket from the backseat. “It might get cold.” He reaches for it and his fingers brush mine then grab them.

“You don't have to do this,” he says.

I slowly shake my head. This is happening in my place of employment, made by my father, the organization run by my aunt, and my government. I've experienced what it's like to have my world altered without my consent, and it's one of the creepiest, harshest realities I've ever faced. Yes, it has done a lot of good. But its time
everyone
knows what this machine can do.

“Yes, I do.” I could never live with myself if I didn't at least try to stop this wish from being granted.

Darren's head dips and I sit up as straight as I can, knowing I can't meet his lips fast enough. His hand wraps around my neck.

“I'll be back before you know I'm gone.”

He watches me drive away, and this time I do wipe the tears off my face.

It's time to stop a wish.

I don't know the name of the night guard and hopefully he doesn't know my reputation. I'll give him my name, he'll see I'm an employee, smile, nod, open the gates and I'll be free to roam the darkness.

“Good evening, ma'am.” The guard ducks his head in my window. Larry, says his name tag. Seems like a night security type of name. I search the area for another guard but don't see one.

“Evening, Larry.” I use my most uninterested voice.

“Got some late night work to do?”

“Yeah, yeah. You know how that goes.”

He nods. Seems like a nice guy. Talkative. Which at the moment is not a plus.

“The weather we've been having is quite nice, isn't it?”

“Yes. Very nice. I don't mean to be short, but I've got a lot of work to do.”

He nods again. “Sure.” He points with his pen. “Pop the trunk please and unlock your doors.”

I do as he asks and he does a thorough job of looking things over.

His belly appears at my window. “Name please.”

“Lyra Altair.” I show him my badge.

Head pops back in the window. “Oh! David's daughter. I like him. He's here a lot at this time of night. Probably the guy I see the most.”

Get on with it already!

“He does work late a lot,” I say, forcing a smile.

“Yes, he does. All right if I could get you to sign here.” He starts to lower the clipboard but then snatches it back. “Hm. Wait just a sec. There's a little star thing by your name. I'm not sure what that means. Have to call something in. Be real quick, I promise.”

He walks back to his station, each step he takes amps up the speed of my heart. When he calls that in, they'll tell him I'm not supposed to be here.

I open my door and start running even though I have no idea what I'm going to do to stop him. I'm about to shout when I hear a gunshot. I dive behind a shrub and peer around the corner.

Larry's clutching his side, holding himself up against the guard shack. He reaches for his sidearm and another shot pierces the night. With a soft
thunk,
Larry falls to the ground and a tall, dark man stalks out from behind the shrubs a few hundred feet away from me.

It's night, but the lights from the shack illuminate his silhouette. The man's eyes reflect the light when he looks toward me. I squint to try and discern more, but other than tall and darker skin, I can't see much. I do catch the glint of metal from the gun in his right hand.

The man disappears into the shack. There's a quiet
click
and then the gate starts to open. The movement causes me to shake myself out of the frozen state. I glance to my running car, the door open. I might be able to drive away without him seeing me. With one last look at the shack, I jump out from behind the bush and run back to the car.

I duck as the driver's window shatters, the bullet just missing me. I turn to see his shadow. He's only twenty feet away. The metal of the gun shimmers in the low light as he points it at me and I know this is my last moment. My last thought.

I stop breathing.

“Lyra.”

Someone pounces on him from behind. I hear a tearing of cloth, grunts and blows. Then an electric buzz. One of the guys spasms on the ground, and after a few seconds, both of them are still.

I swallow, my eyes searching for any signs of life. After a few seconds, one of them pushes up from the ground. I take a step back, trip over a rock, and fall. I keep my feet moving, propelling me backward. My eyes stay glued to the moving silhouette. When his head rises and he looks at me, I jump to standing and run for the car.

“Lyra, wait!”

“Darren?” I barely get it out. Holding tight to the car door, I turn my head to look.

“Yeah, it's me.”

Did he just
kill
a man?

He runs toward me. Every muscle screams to jump in the car and go, but I don't. Once he's next to me, I smell the scent that can only be described as Darren, and I take a full breath. He cups my face with his hands, his eyes searching mine.

“Are you hurt?”

I can't get myself to speak so I shake my head. His eyes flick around my face for another second and then he pulls me to him, squeezing me tight.

“I thought he killed you,” he whispers into my hair.

My eyes find the two forms lying motionless on the ground. As I hug Darren, I ask, “Is he dead?”

Darren pushes me away and gestures for me to get in on the passenger side. Once we're driving through the gate he lifts the device in his hand.

“He's not dead. It's a Taser.”

“Smart.”

“Who was that guy? I tried to find some ID, but he wasn't wearing any.” He glances at me. “He killed that guard.”

“Larry.”

“What?”

“His name was Larry.” He's dead. That guy is dead. He was so nice. Just doing his job.

He's dead.

“Lyra?”

It's not our fault though, right? That other guy would have still killed him even if we weren't there to see it.

Or did he follow us?

“Lyra!” Darren grabs my hand.

“Yeah.”

“We should turn around.” The car slows.

“No. I'm fine. Let's do what we came to do.”

“No.” He shakes his head and stops the car. His eyes are wide when he looks at me. “No. We're not doing this. A man is dead.”

I look at my folded hands. “This is our only chance. I'm doing this with or without you.” My head feels so heavy as I raise it to look at him.

We stare at each other. It doesn't look like he'll change his mind. I reach for the door handle and just as my fingers wrap around it, Darren puts the car in drive and hits the gas. We both fly back in our seats.

And the stars in the night sky taunt us as the SEAD building draws closer.

We drive past three cars in the lot and park in the back of the building, by the cafeteria.

Nothing like coming full circle.

We pile out of the car and I lead Darren to a door next to the one I entered for my first break-in. One of the astronomers always keeps this propped open so he doesn't get locked out when he goes for a smoke.

And sure enough, his fail-safe is still there.

“Everything we need is in the room with the StarCatcher,” I whisper as we move through the cafeteria.

I scan my father's ID, which I again grabbed off the kitchen counter, pull open the door and slip through. Our black attire will camouflage us in the universe so anyone working late won't see us through the office windows.

I hear a sharp intake of breath as we enter and squeeze Darren's hand hard.

No sounds. No nothing.

After a few steps he's easier to drag. I make a beeline for the Lyra Room. Knowing any small amount of light will be witnessed in the universe, I scan the ID again, and practically fall through the doorway with Darren in tow.

All the air rushes out of my lungs as Darren lands on top of me, his hand flying over my mouth to stifle any noise. We lay still, breathing as softly as we can. I watch Darren's eyes look around the room.

“Wow,” he whispers as he gets to his feet and pulls me up. My gaze follows his to the StarCatcher.

He reaches back for my hand and pulls me towards it, fixated on the glass dome while I search the area for the binder.

“This is it?”

“Yes. That machine can make all your wishes come true.”

His fingers run along the glass. “It's warm. And it looks so… simple. Like a bed with a fancy nightstand next to it and a bike helmet to protect you from the monsters in your nightmares.”

I can't help but laugh, though it's tainted with nerves. “That nightstand has a nice new cooling unit.”

Found it. I grab the binder and Darren's hand and pull him around to the inside of the dome. I whip out the video camera and take one long breath. “Here we go.”

For the next few minutes I give a tour of the StarCatcher. Share as much information as I know about it. I explain how the machine captures the star and brings the energy into the dome, which then is used to alter our current reality. I don't specify who grants the wishes. No need to bring my father and aunt into this.

After I record the StarCatcher, I record what it has done. This is the part that might get a little hairy when it goes viral. The general population is already on reality number five.

I record as much information as I can. I'll determine what to use, later. I might only pick a few realities to reveal. After all, I'm trying to stop a fake war. I don't want to start a real one.

“We've got all we need. Let's get out of here.”

I place the binder back where I found it and rush to Darren's side. As he reaches for the door, it swings open.

“I knew you couldn't let this go.”

“Dr. Bennett.” I gasp and pull Darren back with me.

“The others said you were harmless. Just an adolescent who likes to share her opinions.” That over excited smile appears on his face as he forces us farther into the room. “But I saw your gears turning. So, I thought I'd hang around until you showed up.”

“We don't want any trouble,” Darren says, keeping pace with me as we are edged away from our escape.

“No?” Bennett cocks his head, his beady eyes penetrating through his thin framed glasses. “Then it would seem to me you shouldn't have come here in the first place. Who are you?” Bennett asks, fixing his eyes on Darren. Something shifts in Bennett's right hand.

“A friend of Lyra's. She had to get something from work and didn't want to come alone.”

“Guests aren't allowed in the SEAD building, friend of Lyra's. Looks like you're in a world of trouble.”

I snap out of my partial paralysis. I shift backwards, slowly aiming for the place where Iris keeps her tools. Darren follows my lead, and keeps Bennett talking.

“I didn't know she wasn't allowed guests. You know girls. Always leaving out the most important details.”

Bennett stops his pursuit as we reach the bench with the toolbox underneath. We stand there, plastered against the metal, waiting to see what he's going to do.

The amused look on Bennett's face vanishes, replaced with anger. “The Cricket Project has been the most fascinating venture that someone like me can hope to work on. I will not have it compromised.” His glare turns to Darren. “And thanks to my position, they allow me to hold on to one of these.”

He raises his right hand, finger on the trigger. I bend down, grab the heavy toolbox and heave it in his direction. The projectile hits the metal box and bounces off with a deafening clang. Tools litter the floor. And a dart lands at our feet.

A tranquilizer dart.

Darren launches himself at Bennett and they fall to the ground. I hover above them, ready to rip Darren away and run.

Bennett thrusts his fist into Darren's face and he goes still. Dark hair drapes over his eyes. A whimper escapes my lips as Bennett gets to his feet and limps towards me. I bend down and pick up the first tool my fingers brush, a hammer.

“I am obligated,
by law
, to stop you,” Bennett says. “And if something happens to you, everyone will take my side.”

“Shut up!”

Bennett flinches.

“Don't you realize what you're doing?” I yell. “You're going to force countries to give up their freedom because it will be
easier
. Do you know how pathetic that sounds?” I trip over something and fall, quickly find my feet and keep retreating.

Bennett sneers. “We have fought these terrorists for years. So many soldiers, so many civilians, all dead.”

He lunges for me, and I slam into the glass dome. I swing the hammer and smack the side of his head. He screams and grabs for my wrist so I elbow him in the face. While Bennett fumbles for his glasses, I push off the dome and sprint towards Darren. Bennett grabs my ankle and I land on my stomach, my breath flooding out of my lungs.