Nightmare’s Edge (27 page)
With a click, the music ended. Opening her eyes, Kelly blew out a long sigh. “And one more eight.”
“That’s five eights in a row,” Daryl said. “Are you sure?”
“That’s what I heard. It sounded kind of strange to me, too.”
Nathan walked with Kelly back to the desk. “Do those look like GPS coordinates?”
“You tell me.” Daryl rolled away from the desk and nodded at the screen. “I’m not a travel geek like you.”
He pointed at the first number. “If they’re all three decimal places, then that one could be fifty-one-point-five degrees north of the equator, and zero-point-one-four-six west of the prime meridian.”
“Got it.” Daryl rolled back to the desk. “I’ll put in the decimal points for all three worlds.”
“Does that computer have a way to look up GPS coordinates?”
“It’s easy at home,” Daryl said, “but I don’t think Google Maps was around sixteen years ago.”
Nathan nodded toward the ceiling. “Can you send them to Dr. Gordon? Maybe he can find them.”
“Good idea.” Daryl typed madly for a moment, then turned back to Nathan. “Let’s hope they still have Internet there.”
“Right. And even if they do, it could be a long wait.”
Kelly walked across the room, scanning the floor in front of her. “In the meantime, I’ll look for that bullet Amber dropped.”
Nathan hustled to join her. “What are you thinking? She left a trail?”
“Exactly.” Holding her hair back as she looked down, she took slow baby steps. After a few minutes, she pointed. “There it is!”
Nathan stooped and picked up the brass-colored bullet. “She was heading for the smaller elevator.”
“Think we’ll find another one where she got off?”
“That’s my guess.”
“Incoming email!” Daryl called.
Nathan pushed the bullet into his pocket and hurried back.
“Did he find the locations?”
“Yeah. Kind of strange, that’s for sure.” She read the message out loud. “The Earth Yellow point is on the front walkway to the Taj Mahal. Blue is very near the radio telescope site on that world, which should be only a few miles away from where you’re standing now, if you were on Earth Blue, that is, and Red is the back lawn at Buckingham Palace.”
“Buckingham Palace? That was one of the photos we developed back when — ”
“I know,” Kelly said. “So was the Taj Mahal.”
“My father said he experimented at some sites. He must have been real close when he went to London. He just didn’t have the exact coordinates.”
“So what now, boss?” Daryl asked. “Are you heading home for a world-saving performance at the palace?”
“Eventually, but since this is the fastest-moving world, we’d better coordinate from here. We have to get Francesca Yellow to India. She’ll be our Earth Yellow player. I guess we should call Tony, since she took off with him.”
“And your mom has to go to a telescope site?” Kelly shook her head. “That could be dangerous, especially if they have to be there at night while you’re ready to play in London in the daytime.”
“Good point, except that in the three worlds, we can’t count on the time zone differences to work the way we expect. Maybe if she and Dad did a good job in Sarah’s Womb, we’ll have some extra time, and we can work it so that we’re all in daylight.”
“I’ll check the collision status.” Daryl’s fingers went into action once again. A graphical representation of the three worlds appeared on the screen, each one moving along a color-coded line. Earth Red had pulled well in front of Earth Blue, and Earth Yellow seemed to be catching up with both at a rapid pace.
“That’s the relative time speed,” Daryl said. “Now I’ll switch it to a multidimensional view.”
The graph warped, gaining depth and shading. Now the three planets traveled on curved lines, two of which merged at the far right side of the screen.
Daryl pressed her finger on the intersecting point. “That’s the big kabloowie for this world and Earth Blue. Interfinity is about five days away.”
“Five is better than two.” Nathan bent closer to the screen. “Mom and Dad probably did the best they could. At least they bought a little more time.”
“I can run the simulator through the projected path. It’ll give us a graphical representation of what will happen.”
“Sure. If it’s quick. We need to get going.”
“Right. Old Scarface still wants Kelly’s eyes.” Daryl tapped a few keys and pressed her finger near the center of the monitor. “That’s the impact point, an hour or so less than five days from now. Although the movement on the horizontal scale is based on Earth Yellow time, the distances between the spheres aren’t based on time differences. What you’re seeing is a representation of metaphysical proximity, so the collision doesn’t mean their calendar dates have come together.”
Three rotating spheres drifted toward Daryl’s finger, each one seeming to float on an undulating surface. The sphere farthest away in the screen’s perspective, shaded blue, and the closest sphere, shaded yellow, pulled ahead of the third Earth. They arced toward each other and melded together directly in front of Earth Red, then disintegrated into a scattering of green pixels that slowly expanded from the collision point. Earth Red continued on its course and passed through the debris.
Daryl lowered her finger. “I suppose that splash at the end is just animation. I don’t think anyone really knows what will happen to the planets once they collide.”
“Earth Red passed right through the collision point,” Nathan said. “Does that mean it’s not out of the woods? If the combined worlds somehow survive, won’t Earth Red just plow right into them?”
Daryl shrugged. “Could be. It’s just a simulator. I’ve never seen a three-world metaphysical collision before, so I can’t help you there.”
“Whatever happens, we have less than five Earth Yellow days to stop it, so the first priority is to contact the players.”
“Think your parents will come back here?” Kelly asked.
“Maybe, if they’re able. But we can’t wait around. We have too much to do, like hopping a flight to England and hoping we can get there in time.”
Daryl opened the drawer containing the IWART devices and picked up one of two lying inside. “If you’re going to play a concerto, you’ll need these to conduct your orchestra.”
Nathan took it from her and clipped it on his belt. “One’s missing.”
“I’ll bet Solomon Yellow took it for Francesca,” Kelly said. “I noticed he had two devices hanging from his belt.”
Daryl grabbed the last IWART. “After I send you and Kelly home, I’ll wait here for your parents and zap them over to Earth Blue. Then I’ll see if I can find Amber. I think she still has the Earth Yellow mirror, so she can contact Francesca Yellow.”
“If Francesca took hers along,” Nathan added. He glanced at the office chair deep in the shadows. “What do we do about Simon Yellow’s body?”
Daryl looked in that direction. “If I get in touch with Solomon, I’ll ask what to do. It’s not that I’m unsympathetic or anything, but the farther away I stay from dead bodies, the better I like it.”
“So you don’t mind waiting here?” Kelly asked. “I mean, you were stuck in this world for so long before.”
Daryl pressed her hand against her chest. “Hey, I’m as altruistic as the next girl, but we haven’t proven that a digital transport to Earth Red won’t fry your circuits, if you know what I mean. If it works, I’ll be right behind you.”
“Well, if it doesn’t work,” Nathan said, “our gooses are as good as cooked anyway.”
Kelly jogged over to the musical instrument area and returned with a violin and bow. “How’s this one?”
Nathan took them and held the violin close to his ear as he plucked each string. “Needs tuning, but it sounds pretty good.”
Kelly glanced at the overhead mirror. “No time like the present.” She hooked her arm through Nathan’s and led him to the center of the room. “We’ll either fly together or fry together.”
“That’s not exactly comforting.”
Kelly swatted him playfully on the shoulder. “Buck up, young man! Where’s that motorcycle-racing bravado when we need it?”
Heat raced into Nathan’s ears. She was right. His bravado had leaked out at the sight of Simon Yellow’s corpse. The reality of death had drained every drop of moxie. He had to generate more confidence, at least visibly. He raised the bow and waved it back and forth as if conducting an orchestra. “Don’t worry about a thing, Kelly. This is going to be a command performance. Just take a seat and enjoy the show.”
Daryl set her fingers on the computer’s keyboard again. “I’m dialing in Earth Red. Say your prayers.”
Nathan tried to laugh at her quip, but his lungs seemed to freeze. Above, the ceiling mirror brightened to a Red copy of their own room, displaying Dr. Gordon and at least two other people in the shadows — it was too late to try to guess who they were. Lights flashed on. Wide beams shot down from somewhere above, making a laser cage around them.
As they had experienced several times before, the scene in the mirror melted and descended as if ready to swallow their bodies. But this time, the lights collapsed around him, sending a buzzing shock through his body. His teeth clenched. His fingers strangled the violin’s neck, and his arm locked so tightly with Kelly’s it felt like their bones were cracking. He looked at her. Her eyes were closed, and her head rocked back and forth, sending her hair into a static-driven frenzy.
The Earth Red observatory took shape slowly . . . too slowly. Pain shot through his body from head to toe and hand to hand. His heart fluttered. His vision dimmed. He couldn’t take it for another second. He’d pass out for sure.
Two figures ran close, too fuzzy to make out. Then something hit them from the side, knocking them both down. He sprawled over Kelly, stunned. She moaned under his weight, lying on her belly with arms and legs splayed.
Strong arms lifted Nathan to his feet. He wobbled, blinking as he tried to focus on the blurry faces staring at him.
“Are you all right?” a woman asked.
“I’m not sure. I think so.” He stared at the violin, still wrapped tightly in his fingers. Whoever that was sounded very familiar.
“Well, you’d better be all right, hotshot. I hear we have to hop a flight to London.”
He blinked and looked at the tall, gray-haired woman.
With bent brow and taut cheeks, she looked as stern as ever.
“Clara?”
“Oh, well!” A wide smile cracked her harsh façade. “I’m glad you still know me.”
Nathan shook his head hard and looked again. This time, everything clarified — his tutor, the telescope room, the fact that three other people were standing nearby. “What happened?”
“You and Kelly looked like you were trapped in an electrical field, so I tackled you.” She brushed her hands together. “Not bad for an old lady, huh?”
He let out a laugh, but it hurt his chest muscles. “You should have been a linebacker.” He turned in a slow circle. “Where’s Kelly?”
“I’ve got her.” Dr. Gordon walked Kelly to him. With her hair thrown every which way and her legs wobbling, she looked as dazed as he felt.
“You okay?” he asked.
She pushed her hair out of her eyes, now glassy and bloodshot. “I think so, but I’m almost blind again.”
Nathan took her hand. Her fingers quivered. Since her vision had been restored for what seemed like several hours, it had to be a huge letdown to lose it again. As he took in a deep breath, the odor of burnt clothes and hair assaulted his nose. Kelly’s hair looked scorched on the ends, so his own probably looked just as bad. He ran his thumb across her palm, and she gave him a weak smile.
Now that his brain seemed to function normally again, memories of their mission flooded his mind. “Okay, that wasn’t the best cross-dimensional jump in history, but we survived. We have to get going.” He turned to Dr. Gordon, who now stood next to a man Nathan didn’t recognize. Both were looking at a cell phone with a full keypad in Dr. Gordon’s hand.
“Did you check flights to London?” Nathan asked.
“We were just doing that.” Dr. Gordon showed him the phone’s screen. “Nothing is available. Our communications here have been inoperable for quite a while, so all flights have been cancelled.”
“Oh, yeah. The whale-speak.”
Dr. Gordon drew his head back. “Whale-speak?”
“Daryl’s term for how you talked. But you sound fine now.”
“I see. Yes, whale-speak would be a good description, but everything snapped back into place only moments ago. Analog communications are again operational. That’s why we decided to look into the airline schedule, but it’s doubtful that they will return to normal capacity anytime soon.”
Nathan ran a thumb along one of the violin strings. His parents’ success on the huge violin must have restored Earth Red’s communications, but how long would it take to get flights back on line? Several days? Maybe several Earth Yellow weeks or months? That wouldn’t work at all. “So if all analog communications are on track,” he said, “can you get Daryl over here?”
“I just checked to see what she was doing.” Dr. Gordon nodded toward the ceiling, which showed the empty Earth Yellow telescope room. “She’s not in the Earth Yellow lab, but I sent her an email letting her know that we can switch back to analog. The transport should be much safer now.”
“She must still be looking for Amber,” Kelly said, watching the image above.
Nathan glanced at her as her eyes moved from left to right, scanning the mirror. As usual, she could see Earth Yellow, even from other worlds.
“Nathan,” Dr. Gordon said, “have you met Daryl’s father?”
“I don’t think so.” He extended his hand. “Nathan Shepherd.”
“Victor Markeyy.” He reached past Nathan’s hand and patted his shoulder. “No sense inflicting more pain, son.”
Dr. Gordon pushed his cell phone into his pocket. “Victor has a plan that I think is worthy of consideration.”
“You mean you know how we can get to London?” Nathan asked.
Victor pointed at a lapel pin, a set of wings. “I don’t know if Daryl told you or not, but I’m a pilot, and I know how to fly the big jets.”
“But where can you get one?”
“Well, considering all the problems with the schedule, there are plenty sitting on the ground at O’Hare. Some are probably fueled and ready to go.”