The Rift Rider (18 page)

"Damn,” Charlie said. "There's no
leash."

His alien spectators looked at him blankly.

"A plastic line connecting my ankle
with the back of the board."

More silence.

"In case I fall off."

"Oh," Brother Yojim said. "I
threw that away. I didn't want to risk getting entangled when I took the board
from the ship."

Charlie sighed. Across the water, lines of waves
stacked up like great dominoes. He had never surfed without a leash. Never. The
security the simple line of plastic gave him was beyond measure. But today of
all days, he would have to surf without one. Terrific, he thought.

"Remember," Brother Yojim said.
"When you change form try not to think about it too much. Stay
natural."

"I'll do my best."

Bei clapped him hard on the shoulder.
"You better make this trip worthwhile. I've ruined a good pair of shoes to
see this."

Charlie glanced at the man's footwear, now
covered in glowing waste. "However it goes, you'll see something you
haven't seen before."

Bei laughed. "We'll have to leave for
the meet soon. But we'll come back in a day or two to see how you're getting
on."

"Good luck," Charlie said. "I
hope they believe you."

Bei thanked him, and made way for Awani. The
pink girl stepped up to him and hugged him, long and hard. "Be
careful."

Charlie nodded. "You too."

Then he was paddling, cutting through the
water with practised ease.

Pollution had turned the surface of the
water metallic purple, and given it an oily sheen. As Charlie paddled his
masked reflection stared up at him like some Marvel superhero.

After a few minutes, his muscles awoke, and
he picked up speed. His arms, shoulders and back ached with pleasure, happy to
perform the familiar, rhythmic motion. He glanced around, noticed a channel of
churning water and paddled towards it. The rip current would take him beyond
the line of breaking waves, letting him save his strength for the surf.

As he pulled his arms through the water, he
examined the break in front of him. The face of the wave stood over thirty feet
high before tipping over to form the tube. Goose pimples popped up all over his
body.

He calmed his heart, keeping a cold eye on
the sets rolling in. He needed a gap. When one came, he paddled with all his
might, getting out the back just in time to avoid the next onslaught.

Safe beyond the line of breaking waves, he
sat on his board and looked towards the beach. Brother Yojim, Bei and Awani
stood like colourful toy soldiers left forgotten in a child's sand pit. He waved
and they waved back.

Charlie let the next two sets pass under him.
As the steamrollers toppled over, they formed a drop that gave Charlie vertigo.
He examined the waves, deliberating on the best approach. When he took off, he
decided he would go in at an angle, using the waves power to speed out of the
danger zone. Being caught on the inside would be no fun.

The next set came. The first wave passed,
bigger than any of the previous. As the second wave approached, Charlie
paddled. In a breath, the wave fell away beneath him. As he stared down the
face of the wave, doubt filled his mind. He stopped paddling, and sat up,
placing all his weight on the back of the board. The wave collapsed beneath him,
and only his abrupt shift of weight kept him from tumbling head over heels into
the water below.

He swivelled the board and now found himself
face-to-face with an avalanche of water. With no time to think, he spun his
board round, pushed off, and leapt to his feet. The moment he landed, he began
pumping his back leg.

Once he had gained the speed he needed, he
crouched low, grabbing the board's left rail. The wave roared behind him. He
picked his line and held to it, his eyes fixed like a magnet on the face of the
wave ahead of him.

He flew across the wave. All thoughts of
wiping out vanished from his mind. He felt, rather than saw, the barrel form
behind him. He bottom turned. Came up the face of the wave. Turned again.
Crouched low. Took a line midway up the wave.

The water rushed passed his shoulder, barely
a foot away. He reached out his right hand and placed into the churning water.
It slowed him. The tube flowed over him, enveloping him in its embrace.

Through the curtain of water, shone the
light of the two crescent moons.

A silence came over Charlie's mind. The
energy of the wave around him, and the rushing of the water beneath his board
absorbed all words. He took a deep breath and flicked the switch inside him.
The water around him shimmered green.

With his eyes anchored on the teardrop end
of the barrel, and his mind both empty and razor sharp, Charlie pushed his back
foot down against the board. The wood surface pressed against his sole. He
smiled.

Up ahead the wave lost its glassy face. The
barrel would topple any moment now. Charlie pressed his foot down harder, and
pumped. Just as the tube crumbled, Charlie came rocketing out. Out of the corner
of his eye he caught his reflection, a shining green genie astride a flying
carpet of water.

The next test of his connectivity to the
physical came in the shape of a bottom turn. He dropped to the base of the
wave. His body hung above the water in a frozen moment. The board was now
responding to him like it always had, as if it were a part of his very being. He
rolled his hips and brought the board swerving back up the wave. He smashed the
lip, sending an arching spray into the night sky.

Then he was once more tearing across the
wave, his hand trailing behind him, his glowing green fingers tracing a pattern
through the water. Its energy flowed through him. He looked over at his
friends. They were jumping and waving and screaming. He had done it.

He switched back to his physical form,
ending the wave by boosting a theatrical air. The water felt cool as he tumbled
head first into it, one hand gripped to his board.

He paddled back
towards the beach, ready to bask in the congratulations of his friends. But as
soon as he got within earshot, Brother Yojim called out across the water,
"I want to see you perform the whole act in key form. Until then you stay
in the water."

Charlie frowned.
He had hoped for a break before paddling back out. No such luck.

From the sand,
Awani and Bei shouted their praise. Then they waved goodbye and walked back up
the beach. Charlie sat and watched them leave. Up above two headlights cast
amber beams across the sand. A second vehicle, a sleek, blacked-out hover
coupe, had pulled up next to the hover buggy. Charlie could just about make out
two people standing beside it.

Bei and Awani
greeted the strangers and climbed inside the coupe. It drove off, leaving a
trail of dust and sand. It was now just Charlie and Brother Yojim.

The robundee,
standing cross-armed and as massive as totem pole, called out, "The whole
thing."

He swivelled his
board around and faced out to sea. The sets seemed to be coming in closer
together. This time it would be tougher to get out the back. Charlie took a
deep breath and began the long paddle out.

It took him the
whole night, but when the fingers of dawn spread out above them, Charlie had
finally done the whole thing in key form.

Taking off had
been the hardest skill to master. For at this stage the icy calm that came to
him surfing the wave face was far from mind. In its place, lay the terrible
fear of plummeting over the edge of the wave to be buried under tonnes of
churning water.

A dozen times he
had paddled onto the wave in key form, feeling the water solid beneath his
touch, only to find himself slipping through the board and descending, ghost
like, through the air and then the water. Then he would have to switch back to
his physical form, swim back to the surface and retrieve his board. No easy matter
in such pounding surf.

But eventually
he did it, punching the air in satisfaction as he came off the back of the
wave. Brother Yojim, however, wanted to see the whole process of paddling out,
taking off, riding the wave and paddling to shore three more times to be sure.

When Charlie
stepped onto the shore, every muscle in his body screamed for rest. He dropped
onto the beach, resting in the warm sand. All he could think of was how much he
wanted a cup of tea, five slices of peanut butter on toast and a lie down.

 
Brother Yojim laughed when he told him
his demands and promised to get him the Seenthee equivalent.

 
The next evening found Charlie in even
larger surf, furiously ripping up the waves, his body aglow. Brother Yojim had
demanded he start the day's training with five rides in key form. Only then
would they move on to the second aspect of their training, rift formation.

Charlie pulled
his genie moves across the pounding surf, a wide smile etched across his
glowing face. After a series of wipe outs, he had finally managed to get up to
four straight waves. If he completed this, his fifth, without slipping off or
through the board, he could paddle ashore.

He cut back,
hitting the lip with a force that sent shockwaves up his legs. But his balance
was good and, using his momentum, he bottom turned back to the top of the wave.
He rode the rest of the ride with his arms held behind him, his cold burning
chin raised to the stars.

 
He paddled to the shore, exhilarated, sad
to be leaving the surf but eager to begin the next stage of training.

As he moved
closer, a pair of headlights appeared in the distance. The hovercraft they
belonged to pulled up onto the beach. The lights stayed on. Four silhouettes
climbed out, rifles held at their sides. A cold chill flickered through him.
But when they moved closer, the light revealed their faces and his apprehension
turned to pleasure. It was Bei and Awani, joined by what Charlie assumed were
two resistance fighters.

Still in key
form, Charlie rushed across the water, reaching the shore and clambering to his
feet. Awani and Bei smiled at him from the water's edge. Charlie could see the
surprise in their eyes when, without returning to physical form, he took their
hands in his.

"So you've
done it," Awani said. "Well done."

"I had a
good teacher," Charlie said, nodding towards Brother Yojim.

"I take no
credit," the red man said. "It is but a part of who he is. And it is
he who unlocks the door to it."

Bei wrapped an
arm around Charlie's glowing shoulder, and brought him face-to-face with the
resistance fighters. The pair were as opposite as could be. One was a medium
sized man, his pale amber face weather worn and wizened, with long grey hair
that flowed down to his shoulders. He was dressed in simple shirt and trousers.
His eyes held humour and goodwill.

The other was a one-woman
mountain. She stood as tall as Bork, but instead of coat of thick bristles, she
wore a skin comprised of tough grey scales. Charlie could tell she was a woman
by her breasts, ridiculous in size, the leather top she wore barely covering a
third of them. Her nipples protruded though the fabric like bullets.

Covering her equally
substantial bottom was a pair of hot pants that a rhinoceros would have had no
difficulty getting into. Her feet were bare, and her toenails, white as the
moons above them, scratched patterns in the sand. Her black eyes were fixed on
Charlie's glowing form. From the look on her face, she was unimpressed.

"Did I not
tell you he was incredible, Commander Boon?" Bei said, his speech directed
at the old gentleman.

"You
weren't wrong, Captain." The resistance leader stepped forward and held
out his hand to Charlie. The scaled woman watched on in silence. "It's a
pleasure to meet you Charlie Scott. When Captain Lowaiki told me about a man
from another world coming to our rescue, I thought the smuggler had lost his
mind. But I see now, I was wrong to doubt him."

"I have
promised to do all I can to stop the Corporation." When Charlie spoke, the
power of the Divide filled his voice, and he stood taller than Bei or Awani had
ever remembered. It had a noticeable effect on all around him. "With
Brother Yojim's help I believe I can put an end to their plans to attack
Poklawi."

The old man
nodded, his eyes reflective. "By destroying this rift engine, you
say."

"When I'm
ready, I'll slip into their ship and shut it down, permanently. And I'll make
sure they'll never be able to build one again."

"And when
will you be ready? The Captain here tells me the destroyer carrying the engine
leaves Seenthee space this week."

Charlie looked
towards the robundee.

"He's
almost there," Brother Yojim said. "The training is going very
well."

Bullet nipples
glared on, unconcealed suspicion in her eyes. She clearly did not trust him
either. Though it seemed that was just one of many issues this turen had with
him. Charlie had not felt such cold aversion towards him since his last run in
with Executive Ko.

The resistance
leader caught the woman's look, and said, "Don't mind my bodyguard here.
Hita Jag's paid to be unfriendly."

The woman
gripped her fists, causing her breasts to rise in tension. They reminded him of
the mould master footballs, rock solid and no friend to bare thighs.

"I hope you
don't mind my directness," The commander added, "but why
are
you helping us? Bei told me that
once the robundee is done with you, you'll be able to return to your home
planet. Why stick around and risk your neck for us?"

Charlie returned
the leader's stare with a fiery green one of his own. "Once the Corporation
has the power of the Divide flowing through their engines, no world will be
safe from them. Not even my own. Better I end the threat now while I still can.
I've seen what they've done here. I don't want those fuckers anywhere near my
planet."

But was this
really his reason? When he had first agreed to help, he would have said it was
because of the debt he felt he owed to Bei and Yojim, and the sheer disgust he
felt towards the Corporation. But even then, had the thought of a later
invasion of Earth lain beneath his promise?

After learning
the Corporation had killed his parents the mission had taken on the odour of
revenge. They had robbed him of his parents and any hope of a decent childhood.
A part of him, the dark side he kept hidden from others, wanted payback.

And what of his
new found powers? He had already taken the first steps towards realising them.
This mission would provide the perfect test. If he could pull this off, who
knew what else he could do.

Charlie kept all
of this to himself. For now he would play the loyal friend and defender of
justice. Who knows? he thought. It might just be the truth.

In any case, the
answer seemed to please Commander Boon. The wrinkled face creased into a smile,
and the small man said, "Very well. We should best leave you to your
training then. As it appears that you're our only hope."

Then he turned
on his heel, and followed by his hulking protector, trudged up the sand towards
the hovercraft.

"Never mind
them," Bei said. "These resistance types can be a right bunch of
miserable bastards. But it's them or the Corporation."

"It's
okay," Charlie said. "I'd have my concerns too."

"Indeed,"
Bei said.

Awani stepped
forward. "We watched you for while before we flashed on the beams. They
wanted to see you. You were . . . amazing."

"Thanks,"
Charlie said, secretly thrilled. "But I've still got a way to go. The next
step is learning how to open a rift. Then I have to cross through it and make
sure I can come out at the right place. I don't want to get stuck in a second dimension."
He laughed, though he winced inwards at the naffness of the joke.

Awani raised an
eyebrow. "Promise me the first time you cross over, you'll return by my
side. Wherever that may be."

Charlie laughed,
this time for real. "I'll see what I can do."

Awani smiled,
leant forward and kissed him full on his still glowing mouth. Her lips fizzed
electric. Charlie felt as if every part of him had hairs, and each one was
standing on end.

Bei's cough
brought them back to the moment. They pulled apart.

"Wow,"
Awani said.

Charlie smiled.
He was about to say the same thing.

Headlights
flashed on and off in the distance.

"Sorry to
pull you lovers apart" Bei said. "But it's time we headed back. We
still have a lot of planning to do. If you fail, the resistance is going to
launch a space strike against the destroyer."

"That'd be
suicide," Charlie said.

"If the
Corporation takes Poklawi, the resistance is dead. We have to try at least.
While we still can, isn't that what you said?"

"You won't
have to," Charlie said. "I can do this."

"I hope so
kid," Bei said, and turned away.

"Remember,"
Awani said, squeezing his hand. "Beside me."

"I'll remember."

The hovercraft
raced off into the night and the two men took their place on the sand. They sat
side by side, Charlie in key form and the red man in a meditative trance. In
this telepathic state, Brother Yojim could watch Charlie through closed eyes,
and talk with him without words.

In the end, it
turned out that cutting through the fabric of space and time, opening a rift
onto the Divide was a lot easier than Charlie had expected.

In key form he
had the ability to change how he saw the world around him. This ability had
come to him without challenge, and felt as natural as focusing on different
parts of a painting.

One moment he
could be staring at Brother Yojim, the physical manifestation of the billions of
atoms and space that formed him and the next at the countless electrons,
protons, and neutrons forming those very atoms. He could see the great
emptiness that filled everything. It was in this vast expanse of nothingness where
the fabric could be found.

If Charlie
stood, his mind quiet, his emerald eyes staring at the world before him, he
could sense the Divide beyond the fabric. Its energy pushed at the boundary
like an elephant behind a paper gate. To form an opening between the two realms
it required only the slightest nudge.

Charlie learned
he could do this in many ways. But his favourite was a karate slice with the
back of his glowing hand. It had an appealing touch of the samurai and somehow
he always got the best results this way.

Once formed, the
rift shone like a line of diamonds, revealing a glimpse of the Divide beyond
it. The white shimmer, soft and hard, alive and beyond life, was the most
beautiful thing he had ever seen. The light and the energy seeping through the
rift flowed into Charlie, inviting him in, calling him home. The power of the
energy behind the rift was beyond measure, enough to flatten the entire Jajag
City in a blink of an eye. But it knew Charlie did not want this, and allowed
on a fraction of this force to slip through the rift.

Each time he
opened a rift, his nostrils would tickle with the scent of lemons.

Charlie ached to
enter. But Brother Yojim held him back, communicating with him through the
meditative bond that connected their minds. Charlie had more to learn before he
could step inside. That final step would have to wait. So instead of crossing
through, he would pull himself back from the edge. And the rift, without
Charlie's will holding it open, would close in an instance.

"Can I take
someone into the Divide with me?" Charlie asked, as they walked across the
beach, the planet's golden star rising over the horizon.

The robundee
shook his head. "No conscious being can survive the Divide. You're the
only one. You can take inanimate objects with you, clothes, weapons . . ."
he smiled, "even surfboards. But if you take someone with you, they'll
life energy will be lost in the Divide. You'll return with an empty
shell."

Charlie frowned.
He had planned to destroy the rift engine and abduct Doctor Sree, taking him to
Poklawi so that the Corporation could never use his ideas again. Now to stop
the Corporation from using the other engines, it looked like he would have to kill
the scientist.

 
He wondered whether he had it in him to
do it. Striking a soldier down in combat was one thing, but murdering a
scientist in cold blood was a whole other thing.