The Eye of Madness (46 page)

“Life, or in our case, existence is all about risk. I believe the worst case scenario is that we would be as we were during the eye of the storm.”

“A pretty grim scenario,” Lincoln said. “I existed that way for over one hundred and fifty years and I would not recommend it.”

“I will go first,” Tesla said.

“Great,” the president said. “But how the hell are we going to know whether it worked or not if we can't see you anymore?”

“Electromagnetic fields,” Tesla said casually. “I worked with them all my life and the one thing that does seem to traverse from one realm to another is electrical energy.”

“You guys are the scientists so I wouldn't presume to debate you,” the president said. “I just don't feel comfortable with this.”

“It is my risk to take,” Tesla said. “These infernal contraptions have made my name synonymous with the evil they have perpetrated. Perhaps they can now be used for something good.”

“Is that vanity speaking?” Lincoln asked.

In his life as a politician, he had uttered many things he wished he could take back. This was one of those times. He understood Tesla's reasoning. He wouldn't want his name associated with something so nefarious either. Tesla glared at him and Lincoln quickly apologized. “I'm sorry … I'm a little on edge,” he said.

“We all are,” Einstein agreed. “But, I think Mr. Tesla's plan is our most viable option.”

Tesla smirked. “Trust me, I do not relish the thought of this not working. If the doors are not there, I could wind up in eternal solitary confinement or worse.”

The first call from the White House went to Cecil Garrison. He was having a rough day trying to comfort his daughters. There was absolutely nothing he could do for them.

“Cecil, please tell me that all the Gates have not been disassembled yet,” the president said.

There was a long pause on the other end of the phone, and then Cecil cleared his throat and said, “Not all, not fast enough. Why?”

The president relayed their discussion and explained they needed to test their theory. Not all the Impals of the world knew why they felt out of place yet. They soon would and then it would be overwhelming. Cecil felt as if his own soul left his body as he sat listening to the president. He felt empty, he felt hollow and, worst of all, he felt hopeless. He knew what this meant. His blank eyes drifted to his daughters who were sitting on the sofa next to their mother. He wanted to scream. Finally, after several inquiries if he were still there, Cecil uttered a few words just above a whisper.

“I will meet you at Quantico tonight,” he said and then half hung up and half dropped the phone.

Barbara watched him with a worried frown, but he ignored her. Cecil hurried up the stairs and into the bedroom. He closed and then locked the door behind him. He fell to his knees beside the bed, leaned over it, and began to pray. Tears blotted the dark bedspread as he uttered the same prayer over and over. A prayer which he feared would go unanswered.

When Cecil arrived at Quantico that evening, he met Burt outside the hanger.

“My God, Cecil. You look like Hell! What's wrong?” Burt said.

Cecil felt lightheaded. His legs felt as if they were filled with sand. When he spoke it was as if he were hearing himself speak from a distance.

“We've got to turn on the Shredder,” he murmured.

“What the hell for? I thought those damned things were destroyed!”

A large SUV pulled up. The back doors opened and Lincoln, Tesla, Einstein, Dr. Winder and the president got out. A few Secret Service agents accompanied them.

“Tell him,” Cecil said, jerking his head in Burt's direction. Then he turned and went through the dark opening of the hangar.

Dr. Winder stayed and explained to Burt while everyone else went inside.

A few minutes later, all the lights were on and the dull hum of the Shredder powering up reverberated around the hangar. Einstein and Tesla walked behind the Gate as it fired to life, casting blue, flickering light. Einstein placed a small black box on a table about thirty yards behind the Tesla Gate.

“What is that?” Lincoln asked.

“An EMF meter,” Tesla replied.

“A what?” Lincoln asked.

“It's a device for measuring electromagnetic fields in units called milligause,” Tesla explained.

“I see,” Lincoln said, “I'll take your word for it.”

“Is this how you are going to communicate with Nikola once he goes through?” the president asked.

“Yes …” Einstein said. “If all goes as planned.”

“So how will you know if the doors are back?” the president asked.

“A simple pattern,” Tesla said. “If they are back, I will try to manipulate the electromagnetic field between realms. I will attempt to produce milligause readings in a sequence of 30-40-72-60-100. If they are not back, I will do the pattern in reverse starting with 100.”

“Are you certain you will be able to do it?” the president asked.

“Yes, we are certain,” he said with confidence, yet he gave Einstein a furtive glance.

The Gate soon ramped up to full power. Nobody in the crowd had seen one before, except one. Cecil saw it kill his father and devour Impals. He knew that if this worked, it would soon be taking his girls away from him. He hated the damned thing and, for an instant, he thought about taking out his pistol and shooting the control panel to Hell.

With no fanfare, and only a brief adieu, Tesla ascended the platform with his head held high. He stepped forward and dissolved into the cracking arcs of electricity. An instant later, he was gone without a trace.

A minute passed, then two minutes … there was no activity on the EMF meter. Everyone, including Cecil, walked behind the Gate to check. Einstein stood there, staring intensely as if he were trying to will the meter to move. When they were about to give up, they heard a beep.

“Thirty!” Einstein proclaimed.

There was another louder beep.

“Forty!” Einstein shouted.

Cecil's heart began to sink with each progressive beep. He knew the number thirty started the sequence confirming the doors were back.

The loudest beep of them all finally sounded, echoing around the hangar. To the Impals it was a joyous sound. To Cecil, it was the sound of the last nail hammered into his daughter's coffins.

“One hundred!” Einstein cried. “The doors are back!” he bowed his head and clasped his hands together. “Thank you my friend,” he said to the unseen Tesla. “Thank you my brave friend. Now go … be at peace.”

The meter beeped one last time in acknowledgement to Einstein, and then it fell silent.

“We should go through now!” Dr. Winder said, anxious to put an end to his longing desire to move on. He walked toward the platform.

“No, we should be the last ones to go through,” Einstein said.

“That's right,” Lincoln said. “Einstein is the only one of us who understands this, plus he is a familiar face. We are familiar faces,” he said pointing to himself and the president. “As much as Impals might want to move on, there will be many who are distrustful and frightened. Not too long ago, this contraption was viewed as an execution chamber. Now it may very well be the instrument that brings them peace. They will need familiar faces telling them all is well.”

“Agreed,” the president said. “I have talked to some other world leaders today, and this is a global issue. All the Impals are restless. I have a feeling this country is about to be inundated with Impals since we have the only two Tesla Gates left.”

“Where is the other one?” Burt asked.

Cecil knew the answer. His grandfather was interned there as an Impal.

“Arizona,” the president said.

Cecil felt as if salt and alcohol filled his already festering wound. He turned and walked outside then toward the forest. When he reached the tree line, he bent over and grabbed his knees, trying to catch his breath.

CHAPTER 50

HOPE

“In this sad world of ours sorrow comes to all and it often comes with bitter agony. Perfect relief is not possible except with time. You cannot now believe that you will ever feel better. But this is not true. You are sure to be happy again. Knowing this, truly believing it will make you less miserable now. I have had enough experience to make this statement.”

~Abraham Lincoln

The major news channels broadcast the announcement in the morning. All the Impals who did not know where they needed to be soon did. Cecil had stayed out late and was just coming in the door when the news broke. Abbs and Steff met him with hugs.

“Daddy, we know where we need to be. Do you think it is safe?”

Cecil wanted to tell them more than anything it was not safe. They should stay here with him and Barbara forever. He didn't tell them though. He thought about it a lot last night. As much as he wanted his daughters to stay, he held a stronger desire to see them happy. He nodded and said, “Einstein and Tesla think so.”

Cecil wondered where his grandfather was now. He entered the Tesla Gate in Arizona months ago. He had not heard anything since the eye passed.

“Look for you great-grandfather when you go through the door. I hope he is there with you.”

Cecil excused himself and went upstairs to check on Barbara. He found her lying in bed and crying into her pillow. The news recapped the president's speech on the small TV by the dresser.

Rebekah and Malakhi had the same reaction to Nehemya's desire to go.

“I love both of you,” Nehemya told them as he embraced each with a luminescent arm. “But I just don't belong here.”

Gestas stayed out of the discussion. He was the only one who understood. Rebekah and Malakhi were heart broken and devastated. Yet, in the end, they agreed to go with Nehemya and Gestas to America.

Mary was happier than most when she heard the news. She had never felt she belonged and now the feeling was ten times worse. She travelled back to Donna's house. There, she met them leaving for the base in Gloucester. Donna was as frail and fragile as she did when Mary found her during the eye. Only this time, it was not due to any foreign substance. It was from the grief of losing her parents again. Their reunion was brief and this time Donna knew she would lose them for good.

Donna was happy to have Mary accompany them to the base. From there, they would soon go to America. They understood each other better than anyone can understand another person. Mary was a godsend for the distraught girl.

They arrived at the base after waiting in traffic for hours. The line stretched almost three miles at one point. Millions of Impals would assemble through the base in the coming weeks before shipping off to their destiny.

Over the next week, the Impals already in the United States flooded into Quantico. They entered the Gate with some hesitation, but with determination. They needed to move on. Friends and family stayed with their loved one to the end before they stepped through. This slowed the process down quite a bit. Cecil knew of the issue, but he dismissed it.

“I don't care if it takes ten years. They can have their family with them,” he told them.

Cecil didn't want all this authority thrust upon him. Representing the United States at the summit was one thing. Now he seemed to be the supreme authority and guardian of the Tesla Gates. He loathed this responsibility. Besides, there were many higher-ranking officers at the base, so why was it put on his shoulders? He knew the answer to the question although he did not want to admit it … his old man. Was this a legitimate confidence in his abilities? Or, was this a punishment for what his father had done? The answer to the question was not an objective one. He carried out his responsibilities, but from afar. He refused to enter the hangar unless necessary. The girls stayed home with Barbara and he came home early every night to be with them.

Cecil asked the girls to stay with them as long as possible. He used the excuse that he did not want to give the appearance of nepotism by letting his family go first. He knew it was selfish, but he could not help it. He loved his daughters too much. The thought of letting them go ate at him every second of every day. He found himself wishing for death so he could join them, but he was healthy and, barring an accident; he knew it would be fruitless. He would be just another eternal sleeper. No different from the ones who were now gone from the hangar, carried by other Impals as they passed through the Gate. At least he might be free of the pain from losing them, but what good would it be if he couldn't ever be with them. For all anyone knew, the sleepers were living in their own personal Hell as they slumbered. For two weeks this debate raged in his head until he got a knock at his door one evening. When he opened it he was not surprised to see his friend, Burt, standing there. Abraham Lincoln with Thomas and Seth Pendleton stood behind him.

“Hey buddy, sorry to drop in on you like this. Mind if we come in?” Burt asked.

Cecil absently shook his head and shuffled to the side. He was too numb and too shocked to do anything else.

“Thank you major for welcoming us into your beautiful home,” Lincoln said and extended his hand.

Cecil stared at it for a few moments as if he were examining an alien object. He reached out and shook the former president's hand. Thomas stepped forward next.

“Thank you for seeing us, Major Garrison,” he said as they exchanged handshakes.

Cecil nodded and then looked down to see Seth beaming up at him. The boy raised his left hand and shook Cecil's left hand. Seth wasn't versed in handshake etiquette. Cecil had grown very fond of the boy on their trip back to Arkansas. The mere presence of the child brought a smile to his face. Cecil said, “Hi, Seth. How are you?”

“I'm fine. Can I play with Abbs and Steboni?” he asked. It seemed his childish pronunciations had returned.