Edge of Time (11 page)

L
ogan's attack had emptied Alec's mind of all emotion but fear. He noted the vast chamber and its busy occupants without awe. He wove his way through the various sections of the bunker without stopping to gawk. He didn't bother looking for Riley.

He did notice vaguely that everyone watched him pass. He felt their eyes burn into his skin. He rubbed the tender skin behind his left ear absently as he trudged behind Anna. Only when she arrived at the farthest corner did she stop and turn to face him. Two bunks, a table and two chairs were enclosed behind a partition.

“We will stay in this section of the Base,” Anna said. “You will not pass the perimeter without permission. Bathing and toilet facilities are installed for your personal use. Food and drink will be brought here.”

They hadn't given him much space to live in. Six paces in one direction, maybe, and less than that in the other. It was a cage. Anger started to seep through the fog in his head.

A silent Operative entered, bearing a tray in her arms. She gave Alec a long, rather intrusive look but said nothing as she laid the tray on the table and left.

“Eat,” Anna instructed.

Logan had stolen his appetite. He crossed his arms and said nothing.

Anna pointed to the chair. “Sit, then. And listen.”

Alec counted to ten. Just as she opened her mouth to speak, he took a step towards the table. As slowly as he could, he crossed the short distance, pulled out the metallic chair and seated himself.

“I recognize that your life has changed dramatically in the space of a few days. I understand your fear and concerns. However, it is vital that you begin your training immediately.”

“Yeah, sure you do.” Alec didn't curb his insolent tone. If she was going to hit him, let her. He might not like it, but he'd hit her back. He wasn't as muscled as a grown man, but he was still strong enough that the blow would hurt. He'd wrestled his dad to the ground last month, hadn't he?

Anna cocked her head to one side. “You fought your father?” she asked, puzzled.

Alec stared at a section of divider to the left of her shoulder. He didn't answer.

“He hurt you, didn't he?” she continued.

Alec felt the angry flush burning his cheeks. If he hadn't told the social workers at the hospital, he sure as hell wasn't going to tell these jerks. Time to change the subject. “Why am I a danger?”

“Your power is too strong and too uncontrolled. You destroyed the houseboat and could easily have killed Riley. Only Darius' intervention prevented that, and your own death.”

“Logan was hinting at something else,” Alec pushed.

Anna frowned. “Your lack of control has serious implications for this world. We must prevent any further damage.”

“Look, I know you guys think these orb things are the greatest thing next to sliced bread, and you use them for all sorts of stuff. But I can't. I don't know how. So cut with the ‘you-made-it-happen' crap. I didn't.” Alec stood up so quickly he knocked the chair over. Ignoring it, he began to pace. “I don't remember doing anything with the orb. I mean, I was holding it. But I wasn't trying anything.”

“What were you thinking?” Anna reached down, pulled the chair upright and placed it at the table.

“I dunno.”

“Think, Alec. You were scared. The rips were advancing. Darius couldn't help you. Riley was in trouble.”

“How do you know?” Alec paused mid-step.

“I obtained the information from Darius,” Anna said, folding her hands in her lap and directing an untroubled look at Alec. “I did not intrude on your privacy.”

Alec snorted. “Did you ask Darius' permission?” These aliens were so high-handed, she'd probably rummaged around in Darius' brain without a second thought.

“Darius and I have an understanding, to which you are not privy,” Anna said. “I will ask permission before I enter your mind. Unless it is a matter of life and death.”

“Yeah. And I can totally trust
you
.”

“For the time being, Alec, there is no one else you can trust. I will be your Guardian and your only contact within this facility.”

“Maybe I don't want you.” Alec glared at her. Logan was the last person he wanted training him for anything, but Anna was a close second. He hadn't liked her in Toronto, and now, surrounded by her cronies, he liked her even less. Standing by while Logan hurt him was unforgiveable.

“Neither of us have a choice. I am the most experienced officer to train Terran Potentials. Hence, my assignment.”

“You don't want this any more than I do, is that what you're saying?” The anger was building inside him.

“Stop shouting,” Anna ordered.

“I'll shout if I want to! Try and stop me.”

“I will, if force is required.” Anna stood.

“You put one finger on me, and you'll be sorry.” Alec backed away. She'd better not come any closer.

“Stop moving, Alec. You're about to touch the perimeter.”

Alec inched farther away. Anna was holding her orb in her left hand. He hadn't noticed it before, but now he couldn't take his eyes off it. He'd hit her first, he vowed as she took a step towards him.

“Alec, stop moving.
Now
.”

He didn't.

The surge of electricity struck him squarely between the shoulder blades. For one horrible second he was held immobile, zapped by something stronger than the current in the electrical socket he'd stuck his finger into when he was a child. It suddenly stopped and he fell to the ground.

Anna crossed over and crouched down. He saw two of her for a moment as she stroked her cool fingers across his brow. “I did warn you.”

She sounded amused and that only fueled the white-hot fury. Alec knocked her hand away. He scrambled to his feet. He grabbed at the table, picked it up and threw it as hard as he could towards the space between the dividers that opened to the rest of the Base. Anna ducked in time. The table sailed out and landed with a dull clang. The chair followed.

“You'll need an orb to move the beds,” Anna advised.

Alec was past listening. Furiously, he yanked and pulled with all his might, but Anna was correct; the beds didn't budge. He slammed his open fist against the brackets that held them together. Once, twice, three times. His palm began to bleed. “I want out,” he yelled.

Two Operatives arrived at the opening but did not enter. Anna shook her head. “I am not in danger.”

“Leave me alone,” screamed Alec.

“Lower the dampening fields and withdraw,” Anna instructed. Both left silently. “Alec, if you cannot control your anger, then I shall have to do it for you. You put us all in danger when you do this.”

Alec swore violently and began to kick the toilet cubicle in the corner.

“This is your last warning. I must subdue you if you do not stop.”

Alec was past stopping. He was enraged with a kind of anger he couldn't control. There was a red haze floating across his mind, blocking out all reasonable thought. He'd only felt this once before.

“Enough.” The word penetrated his mind like a hot knife cutting through butter. Its force scattered his fury. For several moments there was nothing but the word, echoing over and over in his mind. His heart slowed down. The wild power in his muscles slipped away. Anna's voice seemed far away. She was saying something, but he couldn't quite hear her. Not that it mattered. Nothing did.

“
L
ook, get your hands off me,” Riley snapped. Jacob had been hovering at her elbow for the last hour and she'd had enough. Actually, she'd had enough two hours ago, but Dean had insisted that she work with the weasely little Potential from Chicago.

Jacob sat back in the metal chair and dropped his hands to the tabletop. He was nearly a year younger, three times as wide, and probably half as intelligent. His eyes had lit up with the fire of a zealot the instant he'd seen her and nothing she'd done so far had discouraged him.

“Dean told you to practice with me.” Jacob's nasal whine was only slightly more annoying than his constant sniffing. “They'll put you in confinement if you don't.”

“They have already. It's no big deal.” Riley got up from the table and stretched. There were several other Potentials, mostly from Canada and a few from Ireland and Europe, all in pairs and all working on orb exercises. The four Guardians supervising the lesson stood side-by-side, staring impassively at the group and waiting to deal with an outburst of frayed nerves. Dean, as always, watched her. He raised his eyebrows in question.

“I need to stretch my legs,” Riley replied to his unspoken query. “Twenty minutes, okay?”

Dean gave a curt nod and came over to take her seat. Jacob wiped his nose on his sleeve and scowled. “How come she gets a break?” he muttered.

“Riley understands the consequences for disobedience and has agreed to refrain from further disruptive behaviour,” Dean said as he pulled his own orb from his pocket and held it up in front of his face. “Focus on your assigned task, Jacob.”

Riley headed out of the study area and past Food Dispersal at a brisk pace, eager to have a reprieve from the constant lessons and prying eyes. It was so rare to have a moment to herself.

She marched around the outermost part of the station, letting the rhythm of her steps cool her irritation. In the week she'd been held prisoner, most of her energy had gone into reacting negatively. It had taken her several days to control her temper enough to avoid punishment. Pretending to acclimatize to her situation increased her chance of successful escape, she reasoned. It was really just like high school. The more you acted like you hated it, the worse everyone treated you.

The Tyon Base functioned like a highly protected military unit, with each individual having a specific function. This could be a weakness, she mused. The Tyons were mostly from two planets and, despite looking similar, each group had traits that the other disliked. This too could be an advantage, if she could only come up with a way to exploit it. The technology they had was more advanced than anything she'd ever even dreamed of and she still had little understanding of how to use it, despite asking a lot of questions. Using her orb for anything other than picking up a vague notion of someone else's emotions was a bust. That was definitely a problem. Unless she magically learned how to use it in the next couple of days, she was going to have to either convince some Tyon to help her or get Darius to do it.

Darius was a bigger problem. She hadn't spoken a word to him since she arrived, and from what she gleaned from overheard conversations and the dark looks Dean gave her when she brought the topic up, Darius was persona non grata within the entire Tyon fold. He was being watched more closely than she was. How would she get close enough to convince him to abandon his Tyon training, throw in his lot with her
and
get them both out, despite constant surveillance?

Alec was the biggest problem. He was still being held in seclusion and as far as she knew, no one but Anna was allowed to have any contact with him. The rumours about him were rampant: Alec had killed two guards; Anna was using such strong control Alec couldn't even feed himself any longer; Alec had enough power to destroy the world. Riley had heard them all.

Whatever she was going to do, it had to be soon. The Tyons' daily reports of increasing violence coupled with the real-time transmissions of events unfolding the world over, playing constantly on the surrounding screens, were deeply disturbing.

As if her subconscious had led her there, Riley realized she was right in front of Alec's private section. The lights were low in his partitioned area but she could still make out his dark hair on the pillow of the upper bunk. He was facing the wall and had pulled the blanket up to his ears.

Anna sat at the table reading a glowing handheld screen and holding in her fist something attached to the ever-present chain around her neck. She glanced up.

“Is he all right?” Riley asked.

Anna let go of a long, glowing rectangular crystal and dropped it and its chain underneath her collar. She didn't reply.

“When's he allowed out with the rest of us?” Riley forged ahead. “I mean, you can't keep him locked up forever.”

“Can't I?” Anna's expression didn't change.

“He'll go crazy. That's what solitary does to you. I studied that in psych.” Riley bit her tongue. Swearing at Anna would get her back in confinement and that was the last thing she needed.

“Then I hope that Alec will learn to obey us soon. Time is running out.”

“If you keep trying to force the guy, he'll only fight you harder. Don't you know anything about human behaviour?”

“He is challenging.”

“More challenging than Darius was?” Riley smiled coolly. “Dean told me you trained him, too.”

“Darius was much younger when he began his training, and despite his penchant for humour and an irreverent attitude towards work, he did comply eventually.”

“Alec's a different kettle of fish,” Riley advised. “You need a carrot, not a whip, with him.”

“I already provide nourishment.”

Riley snorted. “I wasn't being literal.”

Anna sat back in her chair. Then she nodded. “Kindness.”

“Just a thought.” Riley shoved her hands into the jumpsuit pocket and fingered her orb. “Depends on how badly you want success.”

Anna picked up the screen and began reading. Obviously the conversation was over.

Only supreme effort prevented Riley from giving Anna the finger. Muttering under her breath, she marched back down the hall eager to put as much distance between herself and the insufferable Tyon as possible. Hopefully she had prodded Anna in a different direction. The faster the restrictions around Alec lifted, the faster she could escape with him. She rounded a corner so quickly she nearly walked right into Dean.

“Feel better?” he asked, falling in beside her as she charged through the rec area.

“No,” Riley grumbled. “I want to go home.”

“I've told you, this is your home. I realize that you miss the life you had before and your family of origin, but it is best if you forget them.”

Riley stopped and gripped her hips. “You want me to forget my entire life before I met you guys? That I have parents? A sister? Well, I suppose I can forget Deborah, she's a bit of a tool, but not my dad. Or mom. Did you?”

“Tholans are raised communally. We have little ties to blood relatives. I suppose that makes things easier if we are selected for Tyon training,” Dean conceded.

“Yeah. Just a tad.” Riley couldn't help fuming. These Tyons were so high-handed. “I love my parents. I'm worried sick about what might happen to them. My dad's probably having an aneurysm right now, with me missing.”

Dean started walking again and Riley found herself keeping pace with him. He looked thoughtful.

“What?” she asked.

“You know that we're going to have to leave this planet, don't you, Riley? That the issues we've spoken of are greater than the concerns of just one person?”

Riley crossed her arms and stared straight ahead. “With the Others?” she answered reluctantly.

“Yes. You're aware we're constantly monitoring the situation. Should the threat be considered insurmountable, we'll evacuate earlier.”

“What's insurmountable?”

“Global war. Nuclear weapons.”

“Cripes,” Riley breathed.

“They manipulate the population through the rips. Like puppeteers. They seem to feed off the negative energy created by manipulation. They've started wars on the three planets we know they invaded and likely many more we're not certain of yet. We know so very little about them.”

“But that doesn't make sense. What life forms have their food source destroy themselves?”

“Bacteria?” Dean said. “Or us? Humans are notorious for killing their own planets and destroying their sources of food and water. It's even happening on this planet.”

“Did you guys destroy your planet?” she asked.

“Tholos is not destroyed. Nor is the Orion homeworld.”

“So, if Logan and Anna's world is fine, why do they give a toss about mine?”

“Terra is important. Its inhabitants are important.” Dean replied.

“But you guys didn't want Darius, did you?” Riley jibed.

Dean didn't bother to deny it. “Finn was picked up during our initial scouting stage. He was a spontaneous mutation. And remarkably strong. Our leader felt he could be useful as an Operative with local knowledge, if the time ever came to infiltrate. Turns out it was a wise decision. The Others arrived just as Finn was completing his training.”

So Darius hadn't had a choice either. The Tyon Collective had made another one of their high-handed decisions and used him.

“You must return to your lessons,” Dean said. The companionable tone of voice was gone. “There is much to learn and time is running out.”

Riley quietly followed as he led the way back to the study area. Her brain was buzzing. If the Others got the upper hand, she and the rest of the Potentials would be waving goodbye out the stern-side window of a spaceship. Dean was right. Time
was
running out. She had to escape, and soon.