Extracted (33 page)

There is nothing better than the feeling that we might survive this. The Tesla monster spits sparks and green hydraulic fluid all over the trampled grass.

Flynn looks up, seeing where Ember has landed, and struggles to his feet, abandoning his battle with me to go after her. There is nothing I can do now. I can’t get through the force field. He takes a few steps and stops, putting his hand up. At first, I think he’s waving to her, but then I know. He can’t get through it either. Good. At least one of us is safe.

I turn, firing on Tesla, and though it doesn’t look like the weapon is doing much damage, I keep firing. Kara has managed to get free, and Ethan balks as she attacks. Just as I wonder if he has some compunction against hitting a girl, he steps forward, taking her by surprise, and nails her with a right hook. She falls to the ground. I see Kara quickly touch her ear and then dial something into the tech on her wrist. Immediately she disappears into nothingness—like a vacuum sucking up a plastic trash sack.

We are winning.

“Ethan!” I yell, continuing to fire. “Get Stein up.”

It is as if she hears me. She’s already struggling to stand when Ethan helps her up and props her against the tree. I keep volleying flaming bullets toward Tesla. They hit, burning holes in the artificial skin. But they aren’t damaging the metal underneath.

“Come on, guys! A little help here,” I yell.

Stein staggers over, though she’s leaning to the left, a sign of broken ribs and possibly a dislocated shoulder.

“You okay?” I ask.

“I’ll survive.”

Ethan helps support her as we stand huddled together. I hold the strap of the backpack with one hand and keep my other hand clutched around the key in my vest pocket.

“What’s our plan?” Stein asks.

That is a very good question.

“You two distract Tesla. I’ll activate the Dox,” I say just as Tesla shoots an electric bolt in our direction. We dodge it, and I find myself too close to the caterpillar tracks of the creature. Pieces of dirt and damp grass are spit up as the monster tries its best to run me over. Rolling out of the way of the treadmills of death, I find myself on the opposite side of Tesla. Stein and Ethan are standing where the fallen leg lies.

I watch as they grab it and jab at the tank tracks. Little by little, they bend and chip away at them with their newfound weapon.

The wind picks up, and lightning strikes the tree where Stein once lay. On the perimeter of the burning building I see the vortex, a giant tornado sucking up time and leaving chaos in its wake. It’s moving slowly, but I know we only have a few minutes before we are doomed to the paradox. There’s no time. I look over to Ipatiev House, wanting to see my sister one last time, just in case.

I can’t believe what I see. Flynn is pulling my sister from the flaming building. He manages to get her through a main floor window before most of the building crumbles in on itself, sending a shower of ash and sparks high into the air. He cradles her in his arms and walks toward me. She’s limp. Her arms dangle as he moves, and her eyes are closed.

No, no, no. This isn’t happening. I unstrap the backpack and carefully remove the Dox from inside it. Quickly giving the thing a look-over to make sure it is still intact, I pull the key from my pocket. With the key in close proximity, the Dox starts to hum. I look up to make sure my team is still okay and realize that the Tesla monster has turned and is heading in my direction. I’m not sure if it’s fleeing from the vortex right behind it or if it is attracted to the Dox. Stein lies on her side and Ethan has been thrown some distance away.

I hold out the Dox as a last resort to stave off the onslaught of Tesla’s monster. For some reason this stops it right in its tracks. The Dox continues to glow as I press the key up against the glass. Holding it in outstretched arms so everyone can see, I insert the key past the glass barrier. It’s still a marvel to me how the glass softens just enough for me to put the key in. I don’t have to fumble around to find the correct orientation. It’s as if the filament recognizes the key and accepts it. As with any good key, all I have to do is turn it. With that simple gesture, I restart the time stream.

Nothing happens at first, but then the base starts to spin. A light brighter than the sun shines from the glass bulb, and the key falls out of the center, back into my hand. Oddly, the Dox isn’t hot.

“Lex, give me the Dox!” Flynn yells.

My eyes dart from him to the Tesla monster. There’s something about the way that he’s looking at me, I can’t quite describe it. Not pleading really, but sincere. He gently puts Ember down beside me and holds his hand out.

“Please. Trust me. Just this once.”

I hesitate, glancing down at my sister. Ember blinks and lays a hand on my foot. She nods.

I take a deep breath and hand it to him. I’m not sure why, but something inside my head is telling me to trust him. Maybe it’s just relief that Ember is alive and that we might actually survive this night. Again.

Behind Flynn the Tesla monster is spinning, its now broken track digging a rut it can’t escape. With two back legs gone and one track disabled, the monster isn’t able to go anywhere. Behind the monster, the vortex looms. I watch as it engulfs the burning house. The flames aren’t the problem anymore. Torrential winds rip my parents’ tomb from the ground and up into the void.

I watch with awe and curiosity while Flynn tucks the Dox under his arm and sprints toward the Tesla creature, toward the path of the vortex. He doesn’t stop his drive until he comes in contact with the Tesla monster. Bolts of lightning course through his body. I see his eyes roll back, and he jerks with convulsions. Pulling himself up by one arm, Flynn slams the Dox into the creature’s chest cavity. He shakes and thrashes, and all his muscles contract around the Tesla coil at the center of the creature. He holds on as the paradox tornado comes at them.

I scramble back without taking my eyes off the scene. Stein and Ethan have crawled to me. We huddle next to Ember, who is awake but limp in my arms.

It’s hard to see Flynn now beyond the storm closing in around us. I have no will to run. It’s almost like I no longer care if the paradox swallows us. I’ve got both people I love right here with me. And Ethan’s here, too.

We are together. I’m willing to let time take its course. We hold each other, unable and unwilling to move, when the sky rips open like God himself slashed through it with a sword. The last thing I see is an explosion of light that erases everything.

Am I dead? I feel like I’m floating. The white light is all around me, but it’s not warm like I expect. It’s cold. Cold enough for me to realize something is off. I take a breath and shiver. It’s like breathing in ice water. Blinking, I see that it isn’t light from the explosion behind my eyes. It’s sunlight. Raising my hand, I shield my eyes, and then close one eye and squint. The sun is mid-sky. How is that possible? It was just after midnight a few seconds ago. I jolt upright, looking around.

Next to me, Stein groans. I lean over and give her a shake. She rolls onto her side in the grass, pressing her face against the ground. I can see angry red burns crisscrossing her exposed skin. She’s breathing hard, probably trying to get a grip on the pain. A chunk of her hair is singed off just below her chin, but otherwise she looks all right. A flash goes off and I jump, covering my eyes.

A little old woman in a tan skirt, with her white hair tucked under a pink scarf, holds up a camera and snaps a picture. The flash goes off again. From the steps of the building behind us, an old man yells to her in Russian. She snaps one more picture and wobbles away. A young man is on his cell phone, speaking urgently to someone on the other end. He’s calling the police, I realize. He’s trying to get us some help. Whatever happened, our landing here in midday must have caused quite a ruckus for these people.

Lex crawls between us and props himself up on his knees. “You two okay?”

I look down at myself. No major parts missing. Beyond that, I can’t tell. I ache everywhere. My ankle might be sprained, and the lump on the back of my head is pounding. The pain in my chest tells me I’ve probably cracked a rib or two.

“Ethan,” I say, scanning the area. I don’t see him anywhere. “Ethan?”

“Over here,” he says with a wave as he stumbles into sight. He’s holding one arm at an odd angle but he’s smiling. I struggle to my feet despite the pain and limp over to him. Careful of his injured arm, I hug him, pressing my face into the nape of his neck.

“Where are we?” he asks as Lex and Stein join us.

I nod to the massive building behind him. The elderly woman is talking to a small group of people, one of whom looks like a priest. She’s pointing at us and chatting away in Russian.

I walk over to the man on the phone. “Excuse me, sir. My friend and I are lost. Can you tell me where we are?”

He looks at me like I’m crazy but he lowers the phone. “Ekaterinburg. The Church on the Blood.” He pauses. “Where did you come from? You just appeared out of nowhere. And you’re hurt. I have called for help.”

I mutter “Thank you” and walk back over to my friends.

“This is bad. We need to go, like now. Before a whole lot of people start asking a whole lot of questions we can’t answer.”

Ethan nods. “Let’s get out of sight so we can rift out.”

Together we walk around to the back of the church. There’s no one around.

“So, where to?” Ethan asks, ready to punch the numbers into the Tether.

“We should get Stein back to Nobel so he can take a look at her,” Lex chimes in.

She waves him off. “I’m fine. Just sore. And starving. I can’t remember the last time I ate anything.”

As if agreeing, my stomach rumbles. Ethan laughs. “Someone must have said the magic word.”

I slap him playfully and he winces.

“Ow.”

“Oh. Sorry. Yeah. I could eat.”

“Me, too. Tacos?” Lex asks, taking Stein by the hand. “I know a little place in Mexico City—”

Ethan cuts him off. “Shouldn’t we make sure everything is, I dunno, fixed?”

I look around. “No hover cars or ancient Greek armies. No massive, soul-sucking tornadoes. Not even any tiny soul-sucking tornadoes. I think it’s safe to say everything is fine.”

“And even if it’s not, Lex needs a shower. Seriously,” Stein says.

I laugh and it hurts, so I clutch my chest.

“Maybe we should go get cleaned up and bandaged first?” Ethan nudges, pointing to my foot, which I’m holding up gingerly. “Besides, Stein is pushing the ‘no shirt, no shoes, no service’ policy.”

I look over and see that he’s right. Her shirt is mostly shredded. Somehow, it still manages to look good on her.

“Just take me somewhere with room service and I’ll be fine,” I say, turning to Lex. “Seriously, though. No tacos. How about hot dogs? Just a quick stop on the way home?”

Lex looks at Stein, who shrugs. “Chicago?”

“Why not?” I say. “How about 1965? It was a great year.”

“How’s Stein?” I call down to Lex as he enters the room. I’m perched on top of the half-pipe, my legs dangling. Ethan is busy working with Nobel and I’m bored. We’ve only been back in Hollow Tower a few days, but I’m already itching to get out. It’s too noisy here. Too chaotic. I find myself longing for the calm routine of the Institute.

“She’s fine. Nobel’s salve is a lifesaver. No permanent damage, at least not physically.”

He gets a running start and leaps up the pipe, grabbing the lip beside me and pulling himself up.

“She still reading through that journal she stole?”

He sits next to me and nods. “Yeah. I don’t know what’s in there or why it bothers her so much. She’s just been distant lately. I figure she’ll tell me when she’s ready.”

I nudge him with my shoulder. “She’ll be all right. Just give her some time.”

He snorts. “I have plenty of that.”

The lines around his eyes are deep. I know he’s worried, but there’s nothing I can do, so I opt to change the subject. “The new leg looks good.”

He runs his hand down his newly repaired leg. “It’s not bad. Better than that stupid contraption Nobel built. Still sore. Nobel took a lot of the hardware out to make it lighter and replaced it with that skin stuff. That junk he made in those petri dishes is amazing.”

For some reason, that kind of grosses me out. I think Lex can tell.

“Did you know the skin can grow new tendons? He took the main piston out and spread that stuff all over. It works beautifully.”

“Speaking of new and better things…” I reach behind me and pull a wad from my back pocket, thrusting it toward him.

He grabs it and shakes it out with a jingle, then stuffs the new jester’s hat on his head. He gives it a shake and the jingle bells rattle. It’s red and yellow, with a bright green patch and blue-thread stitches.

“It’s not much. I had to use scraps of old clothes to sew it together.”

He grins from ear to ear. “It’s perfect, thanks.”

Below us, Gloves chugs through the room, his train chair leaving puffs of black smoke in the air.

Lex shakes his head again, jingling. “I can’t believe how well the Dox worked. Everything is back to normal.”

I swallow. “Not everything.”

The Dox managed to seal off the paradox, repairing the stream from the point it was created forward. Most things went back to normal. No one here remembers the attack. It looks like only those who were in the blast radius remember the paradox at all. Everything that’s happened from the point the paradox was created until now has been rewritten, smoothed out, and put back on course.

But Flynn is still dead. The Tesla automaton is gone. I don’t know if his brain was in that suit or if it’s still tucked away at the Institute. We’ll probably have to find out at some point. But the immediate danger is past. Now comes the really scary part.

The future.

“So, what are you going to do now?” Lex asks, looking away as if he’s a little scared of what I might say.

“Well, first I have to go pay my past self a little visit.” Absently I reach up and touch my chin. Nobel’s salve has healed it to a faint scar. Soon, even that will fade away. “Then, Sisson and I are going to return all the keys you boys lifted. After that, who knows? Ethan thinks we should stay. Fight alongside the Hollows.”