The Dark Rift: Ascension (The Dark Rift Book Series 1) (32 page)

"You’re not responsible for anyone being hurt by all this," Mei said. "I hope you know you saved our lives. Anyway, we can face anything now that you’re here."

Jodie thought the guilt she felt over her mother having a role in so much devastation must be written all over her face. She found herself liking the idea that Mei could read so deeply in to her expression.

"By the way, I didn't want to say this, but you really need a shower. Actually, so do I. We should try to save water, you know ... conserve ..."

Jodie wondered momentarily if they should be more discreet, then decided against discretion in favor of a few more minutes of beautiful distraction. Depending on what they found out, they might all be on the run again very soon. A warm bed and hot shower might be hard to come by. Everything else could wait.

* * *

After a long shower, Jodie made her way downstairs, where she greeted Bonnie Martin, sitting alone at the kitchen table. "Good morning. Where is everyone? Still asleep?"

"Nick was on watch last night and Christy took the shift after him, so I think they’re both still in bed," Bonnie answered. "Tim … I mean, Fester, is with Noah and Hunter outside, where I can see them," she said, pointing to the two boys sitting in the grass, petting Hunter, who lay between them. "I never thought I would call my own son that. Fester. But, he seems to like it, so it's the least I can do for him."

"And where is David?" Jodie asked.

Bonnie Martin looked like she’d bitten into something distasteful. "He’s on the porch with your father, who insisted on taking over Christy’s watch. Your dad's keeping an eye on him so he doesn't run back to Gypsum. Your poor father. Hopefully, he's got a great capacity for tolerating David's sulking. Who knows about what … maybe that he’s alive and has to be with his family."

Jodie thought, maybe because the jackass didn’t get his wish of being sucked into outer space as one of the chosen. She hoped father was using the time with David to pump him for details about Gypsum's backup plan. "You know, Bonnie, we’ll need to get information from him. Has he shared anything with you about any other plans Gypsum might have?"

"The only thing he kept saying over and over on the way here was it will take a year, it will take a year, on and on, like he was calculating something in his head. I asked him what he meant and he wouldn't tell me. He mentioned something about Nevada, but I have no idea what that means. I’m assuming it has something to do with Gypsum, but I don’t know. In fact, I don’t know if I really ever knew that man at all."

They turned as the sound of heavy footsteps approached the kitchen. "Good morning, everyone," Nick said. "Sorry I slept in. I wanted to make a big breakfast before anyone got up. We’ve got a ton of propane, you know."

Jodie was thankful for Nick and his way of lightening up the mood. She decided to put off interrogating David until after they’d had a decent meal. "What can we help with, Nick?"

Nick’s grin widened. "That’s the spirit."

Within a half-hour, a stack of steaming pancakes, scrambled eggs, fried potatoes, and oatmeal, brown sugar, maple syrup and cinnamon covered the table. Coffee brewed on the stove. "That’s it for the eggs. Refrigeration isn’t an option anymore, so we’ll be seeing a lot of oatmeal from now on. I hope no one minds," Nick said.

"Looks amazing. I’m going out to get my dad and David. Should we wake Christy?" Jodie asked.

"Yeah, I was about to do that. She wants to be part of our discussion this morning."

Jodie walked out onto the front porch, finding no one. She leaned over the edge of the railing and looked around the yard, yet couldn't see her father or David anywhere, so went back into the house. "Bonnie, did David or my dad say they were going for a walk or something? No one's out there." Jodie could tell by the concerned look on Bonnie's face that something was very wrong. "Get Nick and Christy, right now, okay?"

Bonnie nodded and Jodie ran back outside, scanning the front yard for a sign of her father and David. She ran around the back, approaching the boys and Hunter. "Hey guys. Did you happen to see Fester's dad or my dad anywhere? By the way, breakfast is ready," Jodie said, not wanting to alarm the boys that one or both of the men might be missing.

"Yeah, they went to that garage back there," Fester said, pointing at a building next to the barn. "They must still be there cuz they never came out."

"Morning, Noah. Morning, Fester," Nick said, half-jogging up to Jodie. "Go inside, okay? Breakfast is ready," he said to the two boys.

Noah looked confused. "What about you guys? Did you eat already?"

"No, buddy. We'll come inside in a few minutes. I have to show Jodie something, first. Save some pancakes for me, okay?"

Both boys smiled. "Come on, Hunter. Time for breakfast," Noah called out to the dog, heading for the back door of the house.

Once she was sure the boys were inside, Jodie said, "The boys saw them go in the garage and not come out again. Do you have your weapon?"

Nick patted his pocket where Jodie could see the outline of a handgun.

"Good man. You stay back while I see what's going on in there. What do you keep in that building?"

"ATVs, a mountain bike, gas, that sort of thing. No guns or anything like that," Nick said.

Jodie was thankful for that, but worry was mounting about her father's whereabouts and she moved quickly toward the shed with Nick in tow, until they reached the door. "Okay, don't come in unless you have to," she said.

Jodie drew her revolver and swung the door open. She called out. "Dad? David?" and waited, her back against the wall next to the doorframe. There was no answer except for what sounded like grunting. She raised the gun and swung in a wide arc, moving into the building. In a dark corner at the back, her father lay on the floor, his hands bound, his mouth covered with duct tape and his forehead bleeding. He was awake. His expression was one of fury.

Jodie checked the rest of the shed. Finding no sign of David Martin, she called out to Nick to join her. Nick rushed to her father's side, slowly removing the duct tape from his mouth, then untying his wrists.

"That son of a bitch," her father yelled, still apparently suffering from hearing loss. "He got me out here, telling me he heard something, then the jackass clocked me one in the head. Before I could shoot him, he took my gun and tied me up."

Jodie felt as frustrated as her father appeared. She kicked herself for not being where she should have been all morning. She should have protected her father. Moreover, she should have made sure David Martin didn't escape. She knew he would probably head back to Gypsum to tell them where they were.

Nick checked the wound on her father's forehead. "Not bad. We can clean it up and put a bandage on it inside the house, okay?"

Evan nodded.

"I'm pretty sure our best dirt bike is missing," Nick said, looking around the shed. "I bet David went on a road trip. Why didn't we hear him? I mean, that bike is really loud."

Jodie's dad continued to yell. "Because he pushed the damn thing all the way out of here out the back door so no one would see. Probably pushed it for a mile down the road too, so no one would hear." 

Jodie sat down in the dirt next to her father and put her head in her hands. "I'm so sorry, Dad. I should've watched him myself. I should've known."

Her father grabbed her hand. "Don't you blame yourself for anything. You're the only reason any of us, including David, are even alive." He tilted up her chin and looked into her face. She felt as if he read her mind when he said, "We had to move anyway. We couldn't have stayed here. "

Jodie wondered if she had the strength to keep going, but knew they didn't have a choice. If Gypsum knew who they were and had a backup plan, they would be looking for them and probably wouldn't stop, this time, until they were eliminated. "You have to promise me something first, Dad."

The expression on her father's face told her he probably already knew what she was going to say.

"You have to promise me you'll never keep anything from me again. No more trying to protect me. No more secrets." Jodie felt her resentment toward her parents creeping in again, but held it at bay. She was allowing herself to believe her father really loved her so much all these years that he held his own loss and disappointment inside. She knew he'd suffered, too.

"Agreed. Never again. No more secrets. With that in mind, I think I know where to go next," her father said, a grin growing on his face.

Where's that, Dad?" 

"Your mother talked about a backup plan in southern Nevada. It'll take some time to get ready ... maybe a year ... but it's one of three other locations connected to the tunnel system. They won't stop, you know. They'll keep on going until they've got what they want."

Bounding into the garage, Hunter greeted Jodie and licked her face thoroughly. She could hear footsteps as everyone else followed him in. She explained what happened.

"We have to stop them, no matter how long it takes," Nick said, an angry expression on his face. "I'm in."

"I guess we're in, too," Christy said. She and Noah moved over by Nick, who pulled them close.

Bonnie Martin remained in the doorway with Fester. "I'm so sorry David did this ... I'm sorry he hurt you, Evan," Bonnie stammered. "I'm sorry he had anything to do with that company. Tim ... Fester and I talked this over last night, and if you need us to help, we're in, too." 

"Then it's settled. We'll get ready today and move out tomorrow," Jodie said, thinking she'd better find strength somewhere, soon. She knew she would need it.

Her father smiled, broadly. "Did I hear someone say something about pancakes?" he yelled.

Mei laughed. "Yes, Evan. Let's take care of that head of yours, first. After breakfast, Nick and I will take a look at your ears, okay?"

"What's that you said?" Evan boomed, eliciting a round of laughter.

Jodie trailed behind the others as they walked toward the house. Mei stepped over to walk beside her. "You know, after breakfast, it's my guess you're going to tell them we're not all going on this adventure, aren't you?" Mei asked.

"Yeah. We can't stay here, but we certainly can't put them in more danger, either. But, right now, I think the biggest threat might actually be all of us going deaf from all that yelling." Jodie gestured toward her father. They laughed on their way into the house, listening to him and Noah.

"Oh, here now, boy," her father boomed. "If you're lucky, I'll teach you about hydrodynamics. You never know when you could use a good Euler equation to solve an everyday problem."

"Well ... that sounds like fun," Noah yelled back, confusion evident on his face.

Her father laughed. "Actually, son, it's not at all. Maybe we'd be better at talking about fishing," he said.

"Yeah, we can tell Evan about the trout we caught last year upstream from the dam," Fester said. 

"It was huge," Noah said, gesturing animatedly, the size of the fish estimated with extended hands.

"Right, right," Evan said, shaking his head. "If it was that big, it would've been a world champion. You boys sure can tell a tall tale. Let's go get breakfast."

Jodie slid her arm through Mei's as they made their way to the house to prepare. Jodie knew the pathway before them wasn't going to be clear or easy to navigate. She thought they would be lucky to survive just making the trip to Nevada. But, their choice was clear and their journey begun.

The tunnel was dark, except for the greenish glow cast by the flickering safety lights. A steady stream of sparks poured off torn electrical lines, casting long shadows over the wreckage. The air was thick, saturated with dust and smoke after the explosion. Yet, he found it restful ... peaceful ... a perfect place to gather his wits.

He reached down, finding his coveralls wet and sticky. Slowly, he realized he felt different. Stronger, more focused, lighter in a way. The thing that was Wending tried to stand and stumbled, careening toward the tunnel wall, leaning, pushing hard to hold his body up. He looked at his feet, watching a mass of wasted flesh slide out the bottom of his coveralls, slipping over his boot, leaving an oily trail. Oddly, he felt no pain. He stood up straight, feeling taller than he'd ever felt, realizing at the same time, he was leaner and smarter, too. The thing that was Wending started walking down the tracks. I need to find that train, it thought. I need to find Jodie.

R.M. Brewer is the author of the Dark Rift series, which she developed in homage to a life-long fascination with science fiction, space travel, and alien folklore. R.M. Brewer lives in Wisconsin, where the night skies are always filled with wonder.