Polaris (18 page)

He must win.

Aaron ran from the meteor site, got into the truck, and sped down the main road toward his house, hoping D1 and Zion were right about the next clue. He had no time to spare after spending so much trying to get Parker.

The truck bumped along noisily as he tried to keep the truck on the road and his thoughts intact. His hands gripped the steering wheel as his eyes burned with tears. He could not believe his best friend was trapped in that machine. Was the machine just another name for the nothingness?

Aaron’s mind then went back to what he’d found in the attic. If he hadn’t seen the diamonds with his own eyes, he would’ve never believed it. He thought back to all the alien abduction stories he’d seen on the cover of the tabloid magazines near the checkout lanes at the grocery stores. He, too, was guilty of calling those people crazy.

Static came from the radio he did not remember turning on. He turned the volume button a little and could barely make out a voice. He turned it up a notch and clearly heard the voice of the local DJ.

“Be careful out there, folks. The roads are getting slippery. Now, before I get to the top five requests for this hour, I have a special message to share with you for someone named Aaron. It reads,
from the town with a tilting tower, this father of science had a few of his fingers stolen after he died
.” The DJ chuckled. “Well, I don’t know which Aaron that was for, but he may want to keep his fingers away from sharp objects.

Aaron turned off the radio. “The father of science?” he mumbled. “My brain is so confused after all this craziness that the next clue could’ve been as simple as one plus one and I’d say five,” he mumbled out

He slowed as he approached his house, looking for any strangeness. He looked up at the rooftops for Zimmare and his flying soldiers. There was no sign of them. Aaron eased the truck into the driveway and took his time putting the gear into park before cracking the door just far enough to plant his foot on the ground and take a whiff of the air. No sulfuric smells.

For a moment Aaron questioned his decision to come here instead of the library. But his gut told him to head home, back where it all started.

Aaron walked up the front stairs and pushed the door open. “Mom,” he called out, not so much for her to answer, but hoping it would get a response from Mr. Kessler, D1, or Zion.

The explanations they’d given to him in the attic all seemed to make sense. However, after listening to all of them give their explanations to justify why they were right, Aaron felt as though he’d just taken part in the election debates they showed on TV. He rushed up the stairs and flung open the door to his bedroom.

Aaron sighed. “Okay, what did that clue mean?” He sat down at his desk, shook the mouse, and watched his computer monitor light up. “There is a leaning tower in Italy. Well, no, Pisa.” He scratched his head and paused. “Pisa is in Tuscany?” he murmured before bringing up the Google search window and typing in,
who is the father of science
and the word
Pisa
. He hit enter.

“Galileo Galilei,” Aaron read the name out loud. “Duh.”

The house began to shake and rattle as if it were being lifted from its foundation. Aaron felt a strong breeze. He looked at the ceiling and watched Polaris disappear and a gaping hole form in its place. The blackness crept across the ceiling and down the walls. Aaron quickly rose from his seat and ran into the hallway. The front door burst open, and Nakal stood in the doorway.

“Lucy, I’m home!” Nakal yelled out. “Did I mention that I was once on the
I Love Lucy
TV series in 1955?” He chuckled before continuing. “I failed to initiate the game with her.”

Aaron eased his way down a few steps. “You mean to tell me you’ve been playing this sicko game all these years?”

Nakal shook his head. “Nah. Not every role was for a game. Some were for research. Like the time I took the role as a climate research intern.”

Aaron’s heart skipped.

Nakal continued. “You see, Aaron, I targeted you and your family after working with your father. Remember the trip you went on with your father to Colorado? It was the place where the photo on your desk was taken.”

“You lie!” Aaron screamed. “You don’t know my father.”

Aaron thought back to the picture and his father’s assistant who’d taken the picture. He had been a Russian man, in his early twenties, with thick glasses and messy hair. His name was Branislav Ger …

“Branislav Gerasimova!” Nakal said the name using a thick Russian accent before Aaron could think of the correct pronunciation.

Aaron practically flew down the stairs, tackling Nakal headfirst, and pushing him back out the door. “Get outta my house!” he yelled, slamming the door closed. He grabbed a chair from the dining room table and wedged it beneath the doorknob.

He caught his breath as he leaned his back against the door. “Galileo?” He remembered his father talking about him from time to time.

As Aaron headed for his father’s study, the house began to shake. The floorboards creaked and popped. Aaron looked out the window. The Annihilators were shaking the house. A loud swooshing sound caused him to stumble and fall. The front part of the house was gone. Nakal entered once again.

Holding on to the falcon charm, Aaron retrieved the necklace from under his shirt. “I don’t really know which side you’re working for now,” Aaron cried out, “but if you could send me a little help, I’d appreciate it.” A shrilling sound surrounded the house as the falcons dove and attacked the Annihilators.

Aaron ran to the back of the house. When he neared the hallway to the study, there was a loud clap of lightning, and he lifted off the ground. Terror filled him as the house began to rotate with him floating in the air.

He crawled along the wall, then on the ceiling, clawing his way toward the study. He felt someone grab his ankle. It was Nakal. Aaron kicked at him until he let go.

“I want my family!” Nakal screamed, his eyes glowing bright amber. He heaved himself on top of Aaron, getting him into a chokehold, holding tight, and squeezing as Aaron tried to free himself.

Aaron pulled and scratched at Nakal.” You can’t have them!”

The black hole swallowed part of the ceiling and moved down the walls, showing millions of twinkling stars.

The house rotated again, causing the boys to fall hard against the floor. Aaron wiggled free and ran inside the study, shutting and locking the door behind him. He went over to the bookcase and began pulling books off the shelves, frantically looking for anything about Galileo.

Nakal kicked in the door; his stare went to a shelf where a bronze statue was displayed under an accent light.

Aaron saw the statue. “Galileo.”

The house rotated again, breaking apart at the seams, as chunks of the structure floated out into space.

Nakal and Aaron made their moves toward the statue at the same time, which was now under a mass of broken furniture and books. Aaron rained down blows with his fists against Nakal’s face and head, madly trying to make his way to the statue.

The darkness consumed another wall of the study, making its way toward Aaron. He cried out as Nakal grabbed him around the waist, first slamming him across the desk, where his head caught the edge of the printer.

Aaron reared back with his elbow, slamming it against Nakal’s ribcage.

Nakal crumpled onto the floor in pain.

Aaron inched toward the statue and as he reached for it, Nakal pulled him by the legs and flung him across the room. Aaron landed hard against a partial wall and began to slide. He quickly reached out and grabbed a portion of carpet that stopped him from going into the gaping hole to space. The house rotated in another direction, causing him to tumble into Nakal who was frantically trying to reach the statue. The floor gave away and Aaron and Nakal both clung to the edge of what was once a doorframe. Their bodies dangled in space with the statue above them a few feet away.

Nakal and Aaron kicked at one another to prevent the other from pulling himself up first. Aaron gathered all the strength he had and with one final kick, knocked Nakal from the doorframe.

He took a deep breath and pulled himself up into what remained of the study. He grabbed the statue, clutching it tightly against his chest, and looked down at Nakal who floated aimlessly into space. “I win! It’s over!”

Nakal burst into laughter. “It never ends,” he yelled.

Darkness consumed the room and everything else that was once part of Aaron’s world. He found himself floating amongst the stars.

A flicker of light appeared in front of him before the board came into sight. A check mark appeared under Aaron’s name.
Nakal—2 Aaron—3.

Game over.

Aaron’s first memory after the incident was of being swept through a black funnel. He couldn’t tell if he was seated, but whatever he was in felt secure. The darkness rolled him smoothly around the massive black sky, he whizzed past stars and planets at a high rate of speed. Ahead, a bright light came into view. He rushed toward it, and there was a loud bang.

His next memory was of him lying in the bottom bunk of his bed. His room was as he remembered it. He sat up and listened for any strange sound before putting his feet on the floor. He eased himself up and took a closer look around his room. He immediately reached into his pocket for the crystal. It was gone.

Aaron looked up at his ceiling at Polaris. The star was prominently displayed. His room smelled of his old sneakers and the glue that he used on his model cars. The sulfur smell was now a memory but not a faded one.

He looked out the window. The sun shone bright, but the ground was still partially covered in snow. No falcons wearing diamond medallions sat on his roof’s edge. He eased into the hallway and tiptoed over to the stairs.

Aaron heard some movement downstairs. After making his way into the living room, he peered around the corner and saw his mother standing at the counter, filling the coffee pot with water.

“Mom?” he said once again.

Mrs. Martin turned around and smiled at her son. “Good morning. I thought you’d be gone by now. You mentioned last night that you would be going four-wheeling this morning.

Aaron shook his head. “I guess I was tired and needed to sleep in.”

“Oh, okay,” Mrs. Martin said. “Well, your father should be home in a few hours. I spoke with him an hour ago.”

“How are you feeling?” Aaron asked cautiously.

Mrs. Martin shrugged. “I feel fine. Woke up with a slight headache. I think it was probably sinuses. Had a few strange dreams, though.”

“Really?” Aaron moved closer to the table. “What sort of dreams?”

“I dreamt I was swept up through a black hole.” She chuckled. “No more late night sci-fi movies for me.”

His mother pressed the start button on the coffee pot and left the kitchen just as the phone rang. She glanced at the caller ID. “It’s Parker.”

Aaron hopped up and hit the speakerphone button. “Hey.”

“Dude, are you back to normal today?” Parker asked.

Aaron hesitated. Did Parker remember? “Whatdaya mean?”

“When I came over to pick you up yesterday to go four-wheeling, you wouldn’t open the door to let me in, said you caught some virus or something weird.”

Aaron’s mind raced. “I did?”

“You don’t remember? You were really out of it; even your eyes looked weird.”

“Is that all?” Aaron asked. “I mean, is that all you remember happening?”

“What do you mean ‘is that all’?” Parker said. “That was it. I went four-wheeling through the woods by myself. It was a good time, but then the weather started getting bad. I called you last night to see if you were better, and you said yeah and we could go four-wheeling this morning.”

“What about Nakal?” Aaron asked.

“Who?”

“Never mind … ” Aaron stuttered and quickly changed the subject. “I’m better. So come on over,” he said, and pressed the button to end the call. “No one remembers.”