The Time Sphere (27 page)

Chap
ter 41

Billy
ran through the corridors in the direction of the lab’s personal quarters.  Time was of the essence and he needed to get to Jeanie and Dickens right away.  He silently cursed himself for ignoring them all of this time and now he had no idea where they had been spending their time.  He checked both of their dorms, but they were nowhere to be found. 

Just then, he heard running
footsteps coming from behind.  He turned to see his father hurrying toward him.

Preston’s face was etched with worry lines.  “Have you found them?” he urgently asked.

Billy shook his head.  “No, they’re not here.  I don’t know where they are.  How much time do you think we have before the General gets here?”

“I don’t know.  It could be this minute or next week.   I have no idea what he’s planning.  Here, I’ll call them on the com link.”  Preston attempted to contact Jeanie and Dickens multiple times, yet their lines were dead. 

“I don’t understand why no one is answering their link! Something’s wrong!”  Preston again pressed the metallic button pinned to his jacket.  “Herald!”

Herald promptly answered the call.  “Yes, Doctor?”

“Have you seen Jeanie and the old man anywhere?”

“They’re with Con
rad in the Brain Room.  Why?”

“We may have a problem, Herald.  The Inner Circle may be coming here and most likely sooner rather than later.”

“So?  The way they’ve been so intrusive lately, I’m not really surprised.”

Preston closed his eyes and hesitated before continuing.  “Things are not as they seem, Herald.  I’m starting to see how things really are, and I think the General knows it.”

“What are y-”

“I’ll fill you in later,” he said as he hit the button again, ending communication.

Preston looked at Billy and shook his head.  “That still doesn’t explain why transmission is down on their links.”

Billy instinctively knew that something was very wrong.  The hairs on the back of his neck were standing on end, and a cold sweat broke out on his forehead.  “We need to find them.  
Now!” Billy said with fear in his voice, as began to race toward the Special Projects Sector.

As he ran through the corridors, with his father at his side, Billy was vaguely aware that the halls were empty of the usual scientists walking about.  The lab was always a frenzy of activity, but now there was only an eerie silence and their
steps echoed loudly throughout the hallways.

Billy finally reached
the entrance to the Brain Room, and the door easily slid open.  The room was dark, and his eyes were in the process of adjusting to the lack of light as he heard Conrad yell out into the darkness, “Billy, Dr. Thorn!  No!”

That was when Billy saw the shapes illuminated by the jars lining the walls, standing across the room.  He could only stare as his brain tried to frantically process the scene before him. There were three uniformed security guards standing behind Jeanie and Dic
kens, pointing some type of weapon at their backs.

Billy quickly found Jeanie’s face.  Her cheeks were wet with tears and her eyes wide with fear.  Dickens expression, however, was unreadable.

Just then, movement caught Billy’s eye.  He stood there in shock as a white cloaked figure stepped out from behind the guards.  Billy’s eyes widened, as Herald came to stand before them, a smile on his face.

Herald was helping the Inner Circle?  Herald was allowing someone to point a gun at Jeanie’s back?  He may be a
jerk sometimes, but Billy would never have thought he was one of the bad guys.

Preston immediately stepped toward his second in command.  “Herald, what is the meaning of this?” he yelled.

The smirk that Billy had come to know so well took shape on Herald’s face. “You may have difficulty appreciating this, Doctor, but some of us understand the chain of command and our duty to our superiors.”

“I am your superior,” Preston said in a firm voice of authority that Billy had never heard him use before.

“You’re technically correct.  However, you’ve not been acting in the best interest of the Project…Sir,” Herald said with a sly smile.

“How dare you-” Preston growled and stepped forward.

Billy couldn’t believe it as he watched Herald pull a weapon, similar to that of the guards, out of his coat and point it at his father.

“Stop right there, Preston.  This is about the survival of humanity, not your
own personal soap opera.  You’ve lost sight of what’s truly important and I intend to rectify that oversight immediately.”

“How?
  Allowing people to get hurt?  You know the Circle will stop at nothing.  They’ve ordered you to point deadly weapons at children and an old man, for heaven’s sake.”

“A few to save many;
billions actually.  I personally think that the math makes sense.” Herald casually replied.

“How can you serve an organization that will sacrifice lives to serve its purpose?  What do you think we’re doing down here?  What is the
Sphere Project all about?  We’re trying to save lives, Herald!”

“The General has told me that the boy and the old man are detrimental to the Project.  Nothing can prevent the completion of the gate, you know this.  I’m sorry that it’s at the expense of others, but it can’t be helped.”

“When did you speak with the General?”

“I’ve always been in contact with him, Preston.  How do you think the General knew you were keeping secrets? Who do you think told him about your son, what happened to him.  I know you swore me to secrecy, but I had to follow orders.  I told General Shank everything.  Somehow he knew the boy would return and I was to contact him immediately when he did.”

Billy couldn’t believe what he was hearing.  “So, when we got here, you knew who I was and you still tortured us for days,” he bellowed at the man before him.

Herald just rolled his eyes.  “Oh, please, the rings are nothing of note, just a little discomfort.  What I was doing was gleaning your small minds for information.  You were very helpful, by the way, so thank you,” he smiled before adding, “and what can I say?  I’m a very talented actor.”

Billy drew in a deep breath and clenched his jaw.  He ran at Herald, but his father grabbed him in time.  He struggled to free himself as he screamed, “You piece of garbage!”  He turned to his father and yelled, “Let go of me!” 

Billy continued the futile attempt to break free from his father’s grip.  Finally, he began to calm down, until only the rage in his eyes remained. Tears stung his eyes and his breath was labored as his father held him in his unrelenting hold.  Herald simply watched, waiting for the enraged boy to settle down.

“Herald, you really are a rat fink!” shouted Conrad from the confines of his jar.

The
prim voice of Richard added. “I must concur with Conrad, Herald. I am disgusted-”

“Oh
, shut up, Richard!  I’ve heard enough of you to last a life time!  When I’m instated as head of the lab, my first order will be to disband the Brain Project.”

“Why you-” shouted Richard.

Billy finally wrenched himself free from his father’s grasp.  “That’s what this is really about, isn’t it, getting my dad’s job!” accused Billy.

Herald just shook his head and smiled as if he was talking to a simpleton. 
“Of course, but only because I’m the better choice.”  He turned to look at Preston.  “Again, you truly have lost sight of the goal.   You’ve done this to yourself.”

The heated anger was gone from the doctor’s eyes.  He simply stood there defeated and stared at his once dependable colleague.  “I trus
ted you, Herald,” Preston said in a sad voice.

“That’s your problem, Preston.  You are too naive and stupid
to be in your position any longer.  Now, all of you shut up.” 

Herald pressed the
com link attached to his coat.  A familiar voice emanated from it.  “You have them, Herald?” asked the cool voice of General Shank.

Gone was Herald’s haughty veneer, only to be replaced by another persona, one which was cold and calculating. “Yes, sir,” Herald responded into his link.

“Good work, Herald.  Well, Well, Preston, you are as transparent as a pane of glass, aren’t you.” the General stated in a condescending tone.  “Of course, being the generous man that I am, I gave you the benefit of the doubt.  I had hoped you would have done as I requested.  However, my instincts were correct.  I knew you would put your personal desires above that of the Project.”

“What is going on?  My son doesn’t have anything to do with the Project!” Preston cried out in anger and confusion.

“You know what I let you know.  Your son is now an indefinite guest of the Inner Circle.  Herald, transport him topside to Zurich immediately.”

“What about the girl and the old man, sir?”

The line went silent.  Then the General gave an order that made Billy’s blood run cold. 

“Get rid of them.  Perhaps they suffer a mishap and are accidently jettisoned into
the ocean.  In fact, while you’re at it, add the good doctor to the party.  I’m sorry, Preston, but you are henceforth terminated from the Project.  You’ve done good work and the Inner Circle applauds you.  But, all good things must come to an end, I’m sure you understand.  Herald, as new head of staff, you will brief me further in Zurich.”  The com link went dead.

Preston just stared at Herald, while shaking his head.  He then said in a hoarse and low voice, “Herald, you can’t mean to follow that order.  Do what you want with me, but please, don’t do this to children,” he pleaded.

Herald’s eyes flew to Jeanie, but he quickly looked away and cleared his throat.  He turned his unfeeling gaze toward the doctor.  He lifted his weapon and once again pointed it at Preston’s chest.  “Unlike you, I follow orders.”  Herald motioned to the guards to move ahead of him.  “Let’s go,” he ordered.

Jeanie looked up at Herald as she walked by, her blue eyes shining with a grief that Billy had never seen on her face before.  “Herald,” was all she said in a small voice, which neither accused nor condemned, but said enough.  Billy saw a flash of regret in Herald’s eyes, but it disappeared as quickly as it had come.

Billy could do nothing, knowing the guards had guns pointed at their backs.  As he walked down the hall, his fists were clenched at his sides and his back rigid.  He couldn’t let his friends and father die like this.   

As his mind raced to think of every possi
bility, he heard a loud crackling sound come from behind.  He turned around to see the guards lying on the ground and Herald placing his weapon back into his coat. 

Herald grabbed Jeanie by the arm and began to run down the hall.  He turned around to yell, “More guards are going to come!  Their vital signs are linked and they’ll know their comrades have been stunned!  We need to run, now!”

Billy ran toward him.  “We’re not going anywhere with you!” he roared, as he went to grab for Jeanie.

Herald spun around.  “Listen to me, they’re coming!  If they get within twenty feet of us, they can use a mind stunner.  As
you’ve already discovered, it’s more accurate than a pulse gun and can disable all of us at once!”

Billy looked up at Herald and asked in a low voice, “Why should we trust you now?”

Herald’s stony gaze met Billy’s and in a low voice of his own, he responded, “Because you don’t have a choice.”

Chapter 42

Herald continued to race down the hall, still clutching Jeanie, everyone else reluctantly following behind.  They entered the large room which held the Sphere gate and Herald immediately began to place small black cubes along the frame of the unfinished structure.

He turned to Preston.  “I’m sorry, sir, but the gate must be destroyed.  I also had to pla
nt demo cubes in the main lab.  They can rebuild the gate with the information stored there.  Or worse, construct a Device of their own.  Don’t worry, I have your device,” he said, as he patted his lab coat.

Preston closed his eyes in regret over the loss of his lab but nodded his head in resignation.  “You did the right thing, Herald.  We must prevent the Circle from gaining access to anything to do with the Sphere.”

“Hold on!  You can’t set bombs off in an underwater station, are you crazy!” Billy yelled at the two men.

“No, Billy, it’s all right.  The lab’s hull is reinforced for such an occurrence.  This is a scientific lab, after all, and unplanned explosions tend to happen.  Each room can support an excess amount of energy output, not affecting the rooms around them,” Preston calmly assured him.

Billy was about to continue his rant when he stopped to stare at Harold’s back.  “Wait a minute, what do you mean you rigged the main lab?” asked Billy slowly.  “You would have had to do that before taking Jeanie and Dickens to the Brain room?”

A bleary eyed Hera
ld just shook his head.  “I don’t have time for this discussion right now, Billy,” he replied with frustration as he was frantically keying information into the detonation device. 

Herald turned his attention to Dr. Thorn.  “The problem is
, I have to calibrate these cubes to go off with the cubes in the main lab.  I don’t know if I have enough time before the guards get here,” he said, as he wiped the beads of sweat off his forehead.

Billy looked questioningly at Hera
ld, but knew they had real problems at the moment, and he had to focus.  Suddenly, he had an idea.  “Jeanie, come on!” and he raced toward the door at the other end of the room. 

They entered the formula room.  Billy began to grab any beaker within reach and pile them in his arms.  Jeanie quickly caught on to Billy’s plan and began to do the same.  When they couldn’t hold anymore, they hastily returned to Preston and Herald.

“Dad, you help Herald.  Me and Jeanie will try to buy you guys some more time.”

Dickens began to laugh as he took some of the many beakers nestled in Billy’s arms.  “Let’s go, this is going to be quite fun, I dare say!” he said with a crafty grin, as he led the way toward the hall and the oncoming guards.

As they entered the corridor, a small contingent of the lab’s security team was racing toward them.  Billy tossed one of the glass beakers, and it smashed onto the ground at their feet.  A purple gas began to flood the hall.  Suddenly, the guards began to giggle.  Soon they were laughing so hard they were hunched over and holding their stomachs.  However, this did not stop them from slowly approaching and steadily closing the gap between them.

Billy, Jeanie and Dickens
began throwing everything they had at the laughing guards.  Some hit the walls or the floor around them.  Sometimes, they hit their target dead on.  But nothing was happening. 

Just as the guards were within mind stunner capability, the leader stopped in his tracks.  His face turned a slight green color, and he looked like he was going to vomit.  His uniform began to puff out and then stretch as if something was fighting to escape it.  Billy watched in amazement, as long swirls of some kind of ivy plant tore its way through the man’s clothes.  His helmet then abruptly popped off as flowered plants cascaded down his head, growing down his back like unruly hair.

The other guards stared in horror at their leader and began to look uneasily about them.  All of a sudden, a man screamed as his skin began to turn green and scaly.  Another began to float off of the ground, until his body roughly bumped into the ceiling.  Another guard’s legs grew so large; his pants and boots ripped right off. 

All of the men were affected in some way.  Some were growing hair to the floor, while others developed large and misshapen body parts.  The narrow corridor began to smell terrible due to men vomiting all over the place.  One guard looked down on himself in disgust as mucus poured out from his nostrils, down his uniform, forming a puddle on the floor. 

They looked so ridiculous, that Billy, Jeanie and Dickens began to laugh.  Billy wondered if it was due to the strange purple laughing gas.  However, his amusement quickly died as he saw one of the men push a button on a mechanism attached to their wrist.  Suddenly, red lights filled the hall and an alarm began to sound. 

“Come on, they’ve sent for reinforcem
ents,” Billy yelled, as he ran back to his father.  “More guards are on their way,” he panted, bent over with his hands on his knees.

Preston was hunched over, adjusting a demo cube.  He stood up and let out a deep breath.   “It’s all right, we’re done here.  Herald, let’s go.”

Everyone began to run through the immense chamber.  Billy looked back and saw more uniformed guards enter at the far end of the room. “Herald!  They’re coming!  Do it!” he called, forcing his legs to move even faster.

“We have to get through the door before I can detonate the cubes!”

Suddenly, blasts filled the chamber, creating charred craters in the wall ahead of them.  They weren’t going make it to the door if they were dead, Billy frantically thought.  “Do it now, Herald!”

With a look of apprehension, Herald pushed the button on the detonator. 

Time seemed to stand still.  A thick silence enveloped the chamber, making Billy think his ears had popped.  An invisible force then burst from the center of the room, projecting outward.  Billy’s feet were picked up off the ground and he was air borne.  The unseen force then dropped him, slamming his body into the hard concrete.  He rolled over and watched in horror as a ball of fire formed in the center of the room and was steadily expanding. 

“It’s the detonation core!  It’s going to blow any second!” yelled Herald, over the roar of the growing fire.

“Run!” Billy screamed.

He grabbed Jeanie and Dickens and they began to run toward the exit thirty feet away.  Herald was close behind, dragging a dazed Preston.  Everyone nearly fell as an explosion rocked the room.  Billy looked back and saw that the ball of flames had pushed outward and was rushing toward them like a tidal wave.

The group raced toward the door as the fire picked up speed, intent on consuming the entire chamber.  They rushed through the door and as it slid closed, it sounded like a giant hammer hit the barrier, shaking the entire station.

Billy leaned his body against the wall, closed his eyes and slid down it.

“Billy, are you all right?” Dickens softly asked.

“Ya,” he said, breathing hard.  Billy looked toward his friends and father, relieved that everyone had made it out in time.

No one said anything for several minutes.  Only the sounds of shallow breathe and wildly beating hearts could be heard in the small formula room.

Finally, Billy lifted his weary head to gaze at their unlikely savior.  “So, Herald, whose side are you on anyway?  Is this another trick?” he asked quietly.

Herald let out a small laugh.  “Yes, I just blew up years of work and humanities only salvation, just to trick you, Billy,” he said with a shake of his head.

Preston was bent over, checking on a stunned Jeanie, when he said in a clipped tone, “Billy, that’s enough.  Herald just saved us all.”

Billy let out a humorless laugh.  “Ya? Why?”

Hera
ld sat down on the floor, rested his head against the wall and closed his eyes.  “Because I don’t kill children, even if they are terribly annoying,” he replied in a tired voice.

Billy just sat there, staring intently at Herald.  “Who are you?”

Herald looked up in the air, hesitating before he answered. “I was sent here to keep an eye on Dr. Thorn.  All I had to do was report any goings on that were odd.  What was I supposed to do?  The Circle funds the Project and they are, or should I say were my superiors, after all.  Besides, I thought I was protecting the Sphere.”

“Oh, so that’s why you pointed a gun at us? 
Orders?”

“You really are a witless fool!  I had already planted the demo cubes in the lab before I met you in the Brain Room.   I may follow orders, but I knew something was wrong when the General contacted me earlier today.  He kept going on about you, Billy, how he wanted you alive.  Then he ordered me to detain Jeanie and the old man by any means necessary.  Sorry, but what he wanted me to do was not in my job description.  Besides, I had to wait until the General contacted me in the Brain Room with his directives before I could disable the guards.  It was the only way to buy us some time.”

“So what?  Was everything you said in there a lie?”

That smirk returned to Herald’s face as he said, “I did tell you I’m a wonderful actor.  I believe I played Hamlet to perfection during my theatre years at Oxford.”

“Who says this isn’t a part of the plan!  Maybe you’re leading us to an air lock and going to dump everyone in the ocean!” Billy yelled.  There was no way he was going to trust this guy, even if he did supposedly save them.

Suddenly
, the look in Herald’s eyes changed.  Finally, he lifted his head to gaze at his colleague.  “Preston, the Circle might have sent me here, but it’s you I’ve been working with all these years.  I believe in what we’ve been doing down here.  I believe in your work.”  He paused before continuing.  “Shank told me someone would come from the Sphere to destroy the gate and steal the Device.  I knew the second I saw Billy that something was going on.  How could I let everything that we’ve worked for be destroyed?  So I notified Shank as soon as Billy told me where they came from.”

“See! We can’t trust him!”  Billy yelled, as he motioned to the defeated man slumped on the floor.

Herald clenched his jaw as he continued, his voice becoming hard.  “Then I put the rings on him and I found out he was your son.”  He again looked at Preston, regret in his eyes.  “That was when I knew what I’d done.  I’ve worked with you for years, Preston.  I’ve come to know you and your friendship is probably the only one I have.  I know what people think of me around here.  You’re the only one who accepts me for who I am, the bad attitude and all.” 

Hera
ld turned his eyes to the floor and shook his head in confusion.  “I could never figure out why the Circle was so interested in you.  But they seldom contacted me and I never had anything to report.  It got to a point where I almost forgot about my side job with Shank.  I’m a scientist, not a spy, for heaven’s sake!” he spat with frustration as he clenched his fists.

“I tried to fix what I’d done!  I did everything in my power to stop you from finding out Billy was here.  You’re so involved in your work that at first it was easy.  So I kept them in a cell for as long as I could.  I even used the rings on them more times than ever done before, just for an excuse to keep them there longer.   I just needed more time to figure out how to get them away from the lab before you found out.  But you did and someone reported to the Circle.  I guess I’m not the only one on Shank’s payroll,” Harold added with disgust.

Billy then saw an emotion cover Herald’s features that he had never seen before.   Sorrow.  “When Shank ordered me to take them prisoner I knew I had to play along.  Time was critical and I couldn’t risk Shank knowing that I wasn’t playing for his team anymore.”  Herald looked at his friend, his voice was thick as he pleaded, “I would never hurt your son, Preston.  Please, believe me.” 

No one said a word.  Everyone just watche
d as Herald quietly placed his head into his hands.

That was when a voice Billy had come to trust and lean on, spoke out, “Billy, when are you going to learn that appearances are deceiving and that actions speak louder than words,” said Dickens, who then turned his attention to Herald.  “I for one am grateful for your assistance, young man.”  Dickens extended his hand to Herald, who accepted it with a curt nod of his head.

“Billy, I believe Herald, too.” his father added, as he too nodded towards Herald in gratitude.

“So do I,” whispered a quiet voice to his right.  Billy looked over at Jeanie, still dazedly sitting on the floor.  “I knew deep down inside you would never hurt us, Herald,” she said with a weak grin.  A slight blush formed on Herald’s cheeks and he gave her a tight smile.

Billy watched Jeanie rest her tired head back against the wall.  If there were anyone’s instincts he trusted, it was Jeanie’s. 

Billy returned his attention to the man sitting across from him.  His usually slicked hair was in disarray.  The customary cocky look in his eyes was replaced with one of fear and his slender hands shook with a slight tremor.  This wasn’t the same man who pointed a gun at his father.  Just then, Herald met Billy’s gaze.  Both looked at the other, exchanging a knowing look that expressed mutual understanding.

“What do we do now?” inquired Dickens, gaining Billy’s attention.

“We get you all out of here,” replied Preston.