Equilibrium (20 page)

“We need to get out of here,” Harry said, stating the obvious. “There are three of us against possibly five of them, right?”
They did send a couple of the men off to search for Ella and David, so there may only be three to deal with–Dr. Sen, the guy named Dan, the other guy. And there was also the woman.”

“Three?” I asked. “Am I invisible?”

“Sorry, Shrimp. I meant four, of course. There are four of us,” he said, quickly throwing a sly sideways glance at Kevin.

Ah, yes. Kevin didn’t look like he was going to be of much use if it came down to a fight. He had his eyes shut for the moment.

“The next time the back of the van opens we have to spring into action,” Harry declared.

Kellan and I nodded. We sure did.

Harry continued. “I suggest that when the van comes to a stop, we gather by the door, ready to kick it open. Kellan and I kick the doors open once they’re unlocked and have begun opening, and then we all jump out and run for it. There is no way any of them can out run us.” He looked over at Kevin, who
shrugged at us.

“We’re going to need Kevin, though,” Kellan said. “How else are we going to get back and through the portal?”

“You don’t need me for that,” Kevin replied. “If you get separated from me, call Morena at the SETI Institute, collect. Here’s her cell phone number. She’ll take care of you.” He reached into his sock and pulled out a credit card and handed it to Harry. “Take this, you’ll need it to get to California. I’ll try to keep up with you guys, though,” he muttered.

“Okay?” Harry asked, looking at us. “We’re clear? The next time the van stops, we take action.”

We looked at him somberly and nodded.

“What if we get separated? We haven’t got cell phones,” I pointed out.

“Follow me. We
can’t
get separated. We run together. Kevin, if we outrun you, we’ll get the cops to come back for you,” Harry added.

“No, don’t get the cops involved. Just let Morena know, she’ll take care of it,” Kevin responded.

And so we waited and waited for the van to stop. I think I may have fallen asleep again for a bit. Sitting enveloped in Kellan’s arms, I felt warm and safe, although I knew we weren’t safe. I was acutely aware of that. And if we made it out of here, I would be faced with the go-through-the-portal or not decision again. I had to get word to my dad. He would eventually notice that I was gone. He would be back from AC tomorrow night probably, if he wasn’t back already. However, he wouldn’t think it strange if I wasn’t around for a couple of days. He was used to me doing my own thing, just as I was used to him doing the same.

“Get ready,” Harry urged, as the van suddenly slowed down.

I reluctantly extracted myself from Kellan’s arms and we positioned ourselves by the doors as the van came to a stop. My stomach was in knots. Kellan ran his hands through my hair and kissed my forehead just as we heard the door unlock. I clenched my fists.

Harry and Kellan’s feet hit the doors with a mighty thump, crashing into whoever was at the other side. We did not wait to investigate. We leapt out of the van and rushed into the darkness of the trees. Kellan had my hand and was rushing me through the woods. I couldn’t see a thing; I was hoping that Harry was in front of us, leading the way. We couldn’t lose each other.

There had been a dead silence apart from our own sounds as we had exited the van. We took them by surprise. However, after the initial seconds of quiet, there was a frenzied outburst of shouting and I could hear footsteps and running behind me. They were at our heels. We ran as fast as we could, in and out between the trees, hoping that Kevin was keeping up. Kellan had me in a firm grip, pulling me along. We must have run for what seemed like an hour. The footsteps behind us had disappeared some time ago, but we kept running. We finally stopped as we came to the banks of a river. I collapsed to the ground, exhausted, as did Kellan.

“Harry?” I yelled hoarsely.

“Right here, Shrimp!” he shouted back.

I didn’t sit up to check. I just lay on the ground tying to catch by breath. Kellan rolled over and slipped his arm under my head.

“You okay, Shrimp? he whispered.

“Yes, you?”

“I’m good,” he replied. “Where’s Kevin?”

“Don’t know,” Harry replied. “We must have lost him. Hopefully he escaped them, but is just lagging behind. We’ve got to keep moving, though. Let’s follow the river for a while.”

“Give me a minute,” I panted. He gave me two before he towered above us, urging us to get back up.

“Come on, we need to get to a phone,” he said, as he held out his hand for me. “I can carry you for a bit.”

“No, I’m fine!” I said, and stood up immediately. I could hear Kellan chuckling to himself.

Harry took me by the hand and led me along the river. I wondered what his plan was, but I was too tired to ask. And I was so thirsty. All that river water, but we couldn’t drink it. Or could we? “Harry, do you think this water is safe to drink?”

“Don’t know. I guess. Drink a bit, if you have to,” he suggested.

I cupped my palms and carefully gathered some water and drank it down. It tasted awful, but I needed it. I saw Harry and Kellan do the same. Then we continued walking along the bank of the river until we spotted a bridge, a bridge with cars driving over it. Harry stopped.

“Let’s walk along the roadside until we find a phone. We need to call the lady at SETI–Morena,” he said.

Walking along the road was not as easy as walking along the river had been. It was frightening. We were concerned that a cop car might see us and stop to talk to us. Or psychos. We decided to walk amongst the trees by the road. It slowed us down, but we felt safer. We had no idea where we were, not even what state we were in. I was relieved when we finally spotted a sign to the next services, only another two miles to go. It took everything I had to make it those last two miles. I could barely walk, my feet hurt like mad. I persevered, holding on to Kellan, leaning up against him.

When we finally arrived, I collapsed into the first chair I saw in the small dingy-looking cafe. I couldn’t walk another step.

“Kell, wait here with Arizona while I find a phone.” Harry said, looking at me, worried. “You okay?”

I nodded. “Just exhausted, that’s all,” I said and leaned into Kellan to rest my head on his shoulder. He must have been just as worn out. We just sat there, not talking until Harry came back. He looked beat as well.

“I got hold of Morena. Nice lady. She’s on her way over. There’s a motel five minutes away, she asked us to wait there. She’s booking a room for us. Anyone else hungry?” It wasn’t until he mentioned it that my stomach growled. I was hungry, starving. I nodded, as did Kellan.

Harry laughed. “I’m guessing that I have to sort the grub out too? Right, wait here, I’ll see what I can do and then we’ll head over to the motel and eat there.”

Sounded good to me. He returned a few minutes later with a few bags full of food. Kellan and I got up and slowly followed him to the motel. I could barely walk.

“Wait here, I’ll go and get the key,” Harry said, and left us waiting in the parking lot.

The motel room was very basic, but clean. I sat down on one of the two queen-size beds and then threw my head back on the pillow. Kellan brought the bag of food over and we downed some Gatorade before we munched on sandwiches and chips. Then I lay back and fell asleep.

I was awakened by a thumping sound. I opened my eyes, petrified. I looked around, disoriented. Where was I? I was relieved to see Kellan gazing back at me, I was lying in his arms. I looked over at the clock, it was already afternoon.

“That must be Morena,” Harry said sleepily from behind me. I turned over and looked to the other bed. Harry was sitting up getting ready to get up and open the door when there was another knock. He had a quick look out the window before he opened it to let an amazingly stunning, but aloof-looking woman through the door.

“Hello, I’m Morena,” she said in a gentle, soft tone.

I liked her immediately despite her slightly unapproachable looks.

She looked at me, a warm smile transforming her face. “Arizona, how you have grown! And Harry, wow! Kellan, double wow!” she said, and strode over to give me a bear hug.

I was taken aback, but put my arms around her and squeezed her gently; she was very soft. I could feel her calm. I must have looked confused.

“You don’t remember me, do you?” she asked.

I shook my head, as did Harry and Kellan.

“Well, I haven’t seen you guys since you were about eight, so I’m not surprised. How’s your mom, Arizona? And your dad, Kellan?”

“I’m guessing that they are very worried at the moment,” Harry replied. “Although, they’re good. It was all good before this happened.”

“So, how can I help?” Morena asked. “I brought some fresh clothes for you, I hope they fit. I figured you’d need a change.”

No kidding, I thought to myself. I stank. So did Kellan and Harry. I nodded gratefully. “Thank you. I really need a shower. Can we talk after?”

She nodded. “Tell you what. The three of you get ready. Here are the clothes,” she said, handing me a bag. “There are toothbrushes and a few other bits and pieces I thought you may need in there as well. I’m going to pop out and get us coffee and something to eat. Be back shortly.”

I dove into the shower. The warm water felt wonderful. I stood in it for ages enjoying the warmth. Morena clearly had the same fashion sense as my mother, the clothes she had brought us were casual, but all designer labels. It felt good putting on clean clothes, I felt human again. After changing, I lay back down on the bed as Kellan and Harry took turns to get ready. The three of us were back to looking almost normal when Morena returned with refreshments. Boy, did I need food!

We were ravenous, as usual. Morena watched us silently as we stuffed our faces, barely looking at each other as we ate. She smiled. When we were finally done, I sat back and sighed. I was ready to face whatever the day had to throw at me.

“Feeling a bit better?” Morena inquired.

“
Much
better,” Harry replied with a beaming smile.

“Okay, then. You called me. All you said was that you were stranded here and that Kevin had asked you to call me. I have no idea what’s going on, so please update me. What are you guys doing here?” she asked.

Harry gave her a brief update, mentioning all the relevant details, what he knew anyway. After all, he didn’t know anything about my real dad or that I was only his half-sister. I wonder if Morena knew?

“So, where is Kevin now?” Morena asked.

“We don’t know,” Kellan replied. “He was behind us, when we were running through the woods, but then we lost him. He asked us to let you know if that happened. He asked us not to call the cops.”

Morena nodded thoughtfully. She could understand why he didn’t want the police involved, but she would have to call them if he didn’t contact her soon. He could be in danger. She would have to get word to Inez that Kevin was missing. Her first task, however, would have to be to get these kids home. How?

“So, I’m guessing that you are all desperate to get home. I need Kevin back to be able to return you through the portal. I don’t have any access to Ames. As you know, I work at SETI, which is located in Mountain View as well. I suggest we drive back and you hang out at my place while I figure out how to get you home.”

I nodded. That sounded fine, but I still had to contact my dad. And I needed to do it without Harry finding out. I needed some alone time with Kellan to talk this over with him. He knew the
whole
story.

“Right, if you’re all up to it, let’s head off,” Morena said, getting up. “It’s a long drive.”

“Where are we Morena? We’ve been in the back of a van for what seems like days,” I said.

“We are outside Reno in Nevada,” Harry replied.

 “We’ve a long drive ahead, between four and five hours. Lets see, it’s four now, we’ll be there well before ten,” Morena added.

I wasn’t entirely surprised to see a Mercedes convertible waiting to take us on our way. Morena jumped into the driver’s seat and threw a sage-colored scarf over her hair. I recognized it. My mother had the same one, it had astrological signs scattered on it. She added sunglasses and we were on our way. I sat back in Kellan’s arms, feeling hopeful for the first time in a while. I leaned into him and gently brushed his neck with my lips. He reciprocated with a smile and kissed my forehead.

“It’s going to be okay,” he whispered gazing into my eyes.

“What about dad?” I whispered so only he could hear. “He’s going to figure I’m missing in a day or two at the latest. I need to contact him to let him know that I’m fine and not to worry.”

Kellan nodded. “Maybe you can call him later?”

Maybe. I hoped so. I nuzzled into Kellan’s chest and enjoyed the fresh air against my face. Morena drove fast. We pretty much drove straight through, only stopping once for refreshments. We were finally in Mountain View.

It was weird being back. It was spooky knowing that although it was the same place that I knew so well, everything about it was different because it was in a different dimension. We drove past the Ames complex and pulled off the main road about half an hour later to arrive at a well-lit, beautiful house surrounded by a tall white fence.

“We’re home,” Morena said happily. It had been a long drive. She was glad that she had managed to get the kids to safety. “Follow me.”

The inside of the house was beyond amazing We were all in need of showers, but spotted the pool outside.

Morena nodded, “It’s a bit late but go ahead. There’s a selection of swimsuits and swimming trunks in the shack by the pool. There are showers in there as well. Get changed and dive in. I’ll join you soon.

We changed into swim wear and dove into Morena’s pool while she was on the phone trying to figure out how she was going to get us back home. That’s what I hoped she was doing anyway. The pool was amazing and I swam up and down enjoying the water. Harry and Kellan lay on the deckchairs watching me.

“Come join me,” I shouted at them, splashing them with water. They were just about to when we heard Morena shout to us.