She read the number-letter combination out loud in a slow methodical voice, while Ian held the flashlight as close as he could to the text so she could better see the handwritten code.
As Joe and Lila finished keying in the code, Lila called out quietly to Joe, “On the count of one.” She paused briefly. “One!” Together they hit the enter key.
The countdown clock stopped, but the RV began to vibrate lightly and a loud humming noise started at the bottom of the enormous vehicle, which quickly spread.
Lila scanned the monitor in front of her. “Auto shutdown sequence?” she said in disbelief. “This thing should come with an instruction manual.”
“It did,” said Ian wryly, “that’s what we’re using.”
“Great, just great,” Lila griped. “We stopped the imminent self destruct, only to kick start an auto shutdown procedure.”
“And what’s so bad about that?’ Joe asked.
“Nothing potentially, except that the workers who would ordinarily oversee the whole business aren’t here.”
Joe steered through yet another long glide across the frozen earth as Lila clung to the door handle to keep from sliding across the seat. Looking out the window, her eyes viewed the rocky surface covered in snow.
“Not the best area in which to be driving,” she commented.
“Nope,” Joe said curtly.
“Wonder if they’ve got snow tires on here.”
“Yep,” Joe replied shortly.
“Kind of tense,” Lila said with a small grin.
Joe made a growling noise in his throat.
Ian, who had remained quiet up to this point, cleared his throat. “I think we’re getting close.”
“Why do you say that?” Lila asked skeptically.
“Because we’ve been on the road almost 40 minutes and since we’re going in the right direction, I figure we should be there any minute.” Ian checked his wrist watch GPS to confirm. “Yep, almost there.” He scanned the horizon.
Joe continued driving slowly along the dirt track, which paralleled a wide river. Ian shook his head in amazement at the difficult driving conditions. “I can see why they use ice roads here. This weather is no joke.”
“Yeah, driving on permafrost takes special skills,” Lila added.
The Lada inched its way into the mining town as it was getting dark in the early twilight of the far north.
Car headlights aglow, they drove directly toward the mine, Ian navigating with his GPS. “Straight ahead,” he muttered. “There! On the right.”
Joe pulled into a portion of the road where the snow had been cleared away. The three of them got out of the car quickly and hiked toward the mine entrance.
A slow trickle of workers made their way from the mine, walking slowly down the path. The trio felt conspicuous in their outdoor gear in comparison to the miners, who wore red and white helmets with mounted headlamps, and gray, blue and camouflage jackets, some with reflective strips circling their arms and chests.
Keeping their heads down, Ian, Lila and Joe trekked up toward the mine works, scanning for anything resembling a nuclear recreational vehicle.
“Nothing yet,” Lila mumbled. “Keep an eye out for a brown RV that looks like something your parents would be vacationing in if they were Russian nuclear scientists.”
“Ha ha,” Joe said sarcastically. “I can’t picture my parents having anything to do with an RV, even if they were nuclear scientists, which they definitely aren’t.”
“Well, how do you know what they would be like then? I mean, if they were interested in having their own mobile nuclear power plant, they’d be very forward thinking. After all, they’d never have to think about another power bill,” Lila said thoughtfully.
“Just a sudden meltdown or other hazards,” Joe pointed out in an offhanded manner.
“Well, there’s always a downside to everything,” Lila quipped.
“Some more serious than others,” Ian agreed.
They walked over a ridge and saw the entrance to the main mineshaft, which appeared to be supported by sections of corrugated steel.
“Fancy,” Lila remarked.
“Indeed,” Ian said wryly. “Decorated à la corrugation. Are you sure we actually have to go into the mine to find this thing? Is it supposed to be buried inside or sitting around waiting to be found outside?”
“I’m not sure,” Lila said meditatively. “Look over on that side,” she motioned to the side of the entrance, “and let’s see if anything looks out of place.”
They walked around the side and then crawled up to the top of the hill, keeping a close eye out for anything that looked large and nuclear.
“Over there,” Lila said quietly, and motioned subtly toward what looked to be a large rectangular box covered by dark brown squares of canvas. They looked cautiously about, but no one seemed to be in this area.
The sun had almost completely set, and Ian pulled out a small red light LED flashlight. “Keep what vision we’ve got,” he explained softly.
They crept to the side of the tented object and the three of them lifted up the edge of the tarpaulin. Lila reached for Ian’s flashlight and ducked underneath.
Lila found herself whisked into a large cavern where people walked through her and around her like wraiths. Only she had the feeling that she was actually the visiting ghost.
She felt herself drawn to the back of the tunnel and appeared in front of a group of similar looking people to those she had seen in the area beneath Griffith Park before they began this journey.
“Welcome,” a multi-tone voice seemed to come from all areas of the cave.
“Uh, Thanks,” Lila answered hesitantly.
“You have been successful so far in following the traces we have set for you, but there is still one more challenge.”
“Really?” Lila asked curiously. “Don’t you think that saving the world was big enough?”
“Your task is not done yet,” the voice said in serious accents. “There is grave danger still to come from another source in this area.”
“Oh, great,” Lila said flippantly.
“This is a very serious issue!” the voice said scoldingly.
“Um, sorry.” Lila grimaced. “Not so good with the serious thing.”
“You’re doing fine,” the voice said reassuringly.
“What’s your name?” Lila asked.
“It is not important. The only meaningful thing for you to know is that your task is to identify this vehicle.” A photo was holographically displayed for Lila of what appeared to be a much-updated mobile nuclear power plant. It looked more like an RV, but Lila could see through the vehicle’s outline to the equipment inside.”
“Holy shit!” Lila exclaimed. “I mean that’s awful. Where is it?”
“We believe it is 20 kilometers west of your current location. As we are not corporeal we cannot do anything to stop its current movements.”
“But you brought me here—” Lila started to say before being interrupted.
“It is not the same thing. You have a high vibration of light energy with which we find easy to interact.”
“Ha,” Lila joked, “here I am always thinking I need to lose weight.”
It was dead silent.
“So, not really jokers,” Lila responded awkwardly. “I get the point. I’m supposed to get Ian and Joe– ”
“No, just you.”
“Oh, hell no! I am no way gonna be the only one on the quest for the holy mobile grail,” Lila retorted.
The voice relented. “Very well, if you think it will be expedient to have your friends along, then they may accompany you.”
“How generous,” Lila replied mockingly.
“It is. Now go back to where you were.” A being near the front of the group waved his arm and again Lila felt herself drawn backward to where she was before.
As she came to, she felt Ian patting her cheeks gently and his worried voice in her ear.
“Lila come back to us. You all right?”
Lila’s eyes fluttered open and she stared directly into Ian’s concerned expression.
Clearing her throat, she slowly sat upright and looked out the window. They hadn’t moved an inch from the parking lot where they were during her last conscious moment.
Joe’s left hand tapped the steering wheel impatiently or nervously, she couldn’t tell which, but thankfully he had the heat cranked on and it felt glorious on her chilled skin.
“I… I saw the people again.” Lila nearly stumbled over the words, feeling foolish.
“What people?” Ian looked as though he might doubt her sanity.
“The same people we saw in Griffith Park.”
Ian’s eyes widened. “Them?”
“Yes, them.” Lila’s eyes twinkled. “If you knew how funny you look saying that.” She smirked a bit.
“Glad that you’re feeling better,” Ian said in annoyed tones as he pulled his arm from around her and leaned back into the opposite corner of the back seat.
“I’ve received a mission,” Lila announced grandiosely.
“Oh, really,” Joe said deprecatingly.
“Yes,” Lila said importantly. “We’re to find the mobile nuclear power plant that is at this very moment moving 20 kilometers west of us. By the way,” she asked Joe, “what’s located 20 km west of here?”
Joe looked confused. “Nothing, at least… Wait, there’s a working gold mine over there.”
“That’s it!” Lila said triumphantly. “A gold mine! That would explain all the people running around, and moving to the back, and, and, everything!” She stuttered to a halt.
Ian looked bewildered by her incoherent outburst. “Okay,” he said soothingly, “I’m sure it was emotional seeing those people again.”
“No, really.” Lila put out her hand in a stop gesture. “I was pulled into what looked like a mine and I’m sure, well, I think I’m sure that it was that! You know, the gold mine.”
“Why wouldn’t they just tell you that?” Ian asked critically. “Seems like a lot of work to send you back here only to have you drive back again.”
“I said I wanted you two to help.” Lila’s voice thinned out as they both turned to look at her with equally stormy visages.
“I thought you’d want to help me,” she said in a small voice.
“Yes, but it would have been nice to be asked before being sent on a quest for the Holy Grail.”
“That’s exactly what I said!” Lila said excitedly. “It’s like a quest. Well, isn’t it?” she demanded.
“Okay,” Ian gave in somewhat gracefully. “Let’s head out.” He turned to Joe. “You said this vehicle could go through some serious stuff. Guess you’re going to get a chance to test her.”
Joe’s eyes sparkled. “I’ve no doubt she’ll make it.” He gunned the car engine and fishtailed his way out of the parking lot.
“Tally-ho!” cried Lila.
Ian gave her a disgusted look. “That should be ‘I hate snakes.’”
Lila grinned. “Indiana Jones! Perfect.” She began humming the theme song and hitting the back of Joe’s headrest in time to the music.
“Knock it off,” Joe grumbled.
“I’m trying,” Lila smirked.
”Off to see the wizard.” Joe mumbled.
Lila laughed, and then quickly sobered. “Let’s just hope the Wicked Witch of the West isn’t there to greet us when we get there.”
Lila turned to Ian. “What the hell have we gotten ourselves into?”
“A hole?” he replied impudently.
The short people – or were they normal height? It was hard for Lila to tell — moved around them forming a loose circle.
“We asked Sergey to send you here. We know you are very good at dealing with problems such as these.”
Ian said to Lila out of the corner of his mouth, “Problems like going down the hole in an Alice in Wonderland? Yep, pretty accurate.”
Lila snorted a bit in laughter. “Pay attention. This could be important,” she reprimanded him. “These aliens obviously have a height problem.”
“Who says they’re aliens?” Ian whispered back to her.
“We can hear what you are saying.”
“Oh, great.” Lila rolled her eyes at him. “Now we’re in trouble.” She said accusingly, “This is your fault.”
“How is it my fault,” Ian argued.
“Humans!” The sound seemed to come from all over as it had in the research lab.
“Nice acoustics you’ve got here.” Ian added, “Must make for cool movie watching.”
“You are so irreverent.” Lila pointed out. “Have a little respect.”
“Like you?” Ian guffawed.
Suddenly there was a loud cracking noise that came from the floor and a large viewing screen rose from it.
“Sweet.” Ian mouthed.
They were watching people moving around a pool in the ground with rods in it in a large building that appeared to be a nuclear reactor. Lila could make out the words Билибинская АЭСon a wall plaque. “Bilibino,” she read aloud to Ian. “It’s Russian.”
His face twisted in concentration. Ian leaned slightly forward watching the action on the screen. One of the men pulled an alarm lever set on the wall and a light began flashing. Ian tilted his head as he considered what was going on in the picture. “Hell, it’s a nuclear meltdown.” He looked expectantly at the small people across from them. “Is this now? What’s the timeframe?”
“You have fifteen days before this becomes reality. I’m sure you know that this is the most northerly nuclear power plant in operation.”
“Actually I didn’t know that,” Ian motioned toward the screen. “How are we supposed to stop it?”
“No one will take our warning seriously,” the voice continued, “Particularly not in Russia. Sergey should not have been involved, but he knows us. He worked on another task last year for us. Things have, however, changed for him. He is dead.”
Lila gulped. Chills ran down her arms. In a slightly quavering voice, she asked, “Then whom were we talking to?”
Normal
0
Lila turned to Ian. “What the hell have we gotten ourselves into?”
“A hole?” he replied impudently.
The short people – or were they normal height? It was hard for Lila to tell — moved around them forming a loose circle.
“We asked Sergey to send you here. We know you are very good at dealing with problems such as these.”
Ian said to Lila out of the corner of his mouth, “Problems like going down the hole in an Alice in Wonderland? Yep, pretty accurate.”
Lila snorted a bit in laughter. “Pay attention. This could be important,” she reprimanded him. “These aliens obviously have a height problem.”
“Who says they’re aliens?” Ian whispered back to her.
“We can hear what you are saying.”
“Oh, great.” Lila rolled her eyes at him. “Now we’re in trouble.” She said accusingly, “This is your fault.”
“How is it my fault,” Ian argued.
“Humans!” The sound seemed to come from all over as it had in the research lab.
“Nice acoustics you’ve got here.” Ian added, “Must make for cool movie watching.”
“You are so irreverent.” Lila pointed out. “Have a little respect.”
“Like you?” Ian guffawed.
Suddenly there was a loud cracking noise that came from the floor and a large viewing screen rose from it.
“Sweet.” Ian mouthed.
They were watching people moving around a pool in the ground with rods in it in a large building that appeared to be a nuclear reactor. Lila could make out the words Билибинская АЭСon a wall plaque. “Bilibino,” she read aloud to Ian. “It’s Russian.”
His face twisted in concentration. Ian leaned slightly forward watching the action on the screen. One of the men pulled an alarm lever set on the wall and a light began flashing. Ian tilted his head as he considered what was going on in the picture. “Hell, it’s a nuclear meltdown.” He looked expectantly at the small people across from them. “Is this now? What’s the timeframe?”
“You have fifteen days before this becomes reality. I’m sure you know that this is the most northerly nuclear power plant in operation.”
“Actually I didn’t know that,” Ian motioned toward the screen. “How are we supposed to stop it?”
“No one will take our warning seriously,” the voice continued, “Particularly not in Russia. Sergey should not have been involved, but he knows us. He worked on another task last year for us. Things have, however, changed for him. He is dead.”
Lila gulped. Chills ran down her arms. In a slightly quavering voice, she asked, “Then whom were we talking to?”
The forest
Lila grabbed the hand and twisted it into a wristlock. There was some loud cursing in Russian and then Lila released the wrist and backed away.
“Nice move.” Sergey complimented Lila.
“Thank you,” Lila said modestly.
“She makes it do what it do.” Ian agreed with a twinkle in his eye.
Lila gave Ian a murderous look.
“Why the whole big mysterious thing to get us here?” Lila asked Sergey curiously.
“There is something I want to show you –“
“More etchings?” Lila interrupted him to ask cheekily.
“Hardly. This is another, what would you call it, void?” Sergey began walking with them to a much quieter and more secluded area. A cold chill in the air made Lila shiver, and she could feel goose bumps rising on her arms, which she rubbed briskly to warm them up. “Wish I’d brought a coat,” she mentioned in an aside to Ian.
“Wimp,” he said with a smile.
“Haha,” she said sarcastically. “Well, maybe a little,” she reluctantly agreed.
Sergey continued speaking. “This is a place of natural energy. The research lab requires huge amounts of energy, but this place…” his voiced drifted off. “We are not sure what to think. I would like to get your opinion,” he added respectfully.
After about fifteen minutes of hiking, they reached a spot hidden away from the crowds. There was definitely a mystical energy in the area. She could feel the vibrations coming from the earth under her feet. The vibes particularly seemed to emanate from a tree directly in front of them. “Is that it?” She pointed to the tree from which she felt the energy.
“Yes, it is most – unusual. Please walk over and touch its surface.” Sergy gestured toward the tree. Lila walked over with Ian at her side. Together they placed their hands on either side of the tree, the edges of their fingers nearly touching.
From the moment their hands came in contact with the rough bark, Lila could feel herself being drawn down into a tunnel. She could see several beings in front of her who appeared to be transparent. “Holy…” she whispered.
“I hear you,” Ian said softly, agreeing with her assessment.
As they neared the creatures, they could hear a buzzing in their ears that sounded like a hive of bees was hovering around them. She craned her neck looking for anything that might emit the sound, but all she could see were skinny, pale looking, short people whose mouths didn’t seem to be moving.
Suddenly the buzzing cleared up into speech. “Welcome.”
Lila’s eyes widened and she sucked in a quick breath. Was that them?
Ian turned to Lila. “What the…” His eyes met hers as they heard a beep followed by “leave a message.”
“While you are in the research laboratory your mobile phones will not work. We have received a forwarded message from your external phone numbers.”
“Hell of an answering service,” Ian commented.
A garbled voice followed the message.
“Ian, Lila, you have 30 minutes until Haunted Hayride begins. Midnight.”
“Oh, crap.” Lila looked at her watch. “It’s the thirteenth. I totally forgot.” She grabbed her backpack and hauled Ian to his feet by grabbing his shirtsleeve.
“Easy,” he warned, “this is a new shirt.”
“I know. I bought it for you.” Lila smirked. “Looks mighty nice on you too.” She fluttered her eyelashes at him.
“No time for that,” Ian said in a grumpy voice, which he then spoiled by smiling.
“There’s always time for that,” Lila imitated Ian’s tone. He just shook his head.
They hurriedly left the room and raced down the hallway at top speed.
“Slow down,” Ian said, nearly panting.
“You should work out more,” Lila said critically.
“When do I have time?” Ian griped. “I’m always investigating crazy stuff like this.”
“Gotta make time for what’s important,” Lila quipped.
It was Ian’s turn to roll his eyes. “What-ever,” he said drawing out the word.
The elevator reached the parking garage and ran to the car. Pulling out, they headed for the 105 East and merged onto the 110 North where traffic slowed almost to a crawl through downtown. Lila stared out the window as she saw the Staples Center pass by and then the Die Hard building. “Check it out,” she nudged Ian. “I always love seeing that building.”
Ian grinned. “Yep, I have some pretty fond memories.” They had stayed there overnight after one of their latest overseas adventures, with the room paid for by their friend as a gift.
“Joe was a sweetheart to get us the room for a night.”
“We earned it.” Lila said grimly. ”Thailand was hell.”
“Yeah, it was.” Ian smiled reminiscently.
“Stop it.” Lila said. “I know what you’re thinking.”
“No, you don’t.” He flashed her that smile again. “Maybe later you can tell me what you think I was thinking.” He gave her a lecherous look.
Lila rolled her eyes and released a sigh of mock disgust.
They had driven about fifteen minutes up the 101 North and were nearing their exit.
“There’s Hollywood.” Lila pointed to the right.
“I see it,” Ian replied in a semi-annoyed voice.
“Barely in time.” Lila kept glancing at her watch and clutching the door pull as though she could make them go faster. They drove through the Griffith Park entrance, parked, and waded through the crowds.
After buying two tickets for the midnight ride, they seated themselves and waited to approach the Purgatory section. Once there they slid off the beaten path and made their way to an isolated corner.
It was dark and the gasps from other patrons were making Lila nervous. At least that’s what she told herself.
“I don’t know where I’m going, but I’m on my way.” ~ Shakespeare Bridge
“Gimme a moment.” Ian leaned his head against the wall and rested for a few minutes while Lila kept track on her watch.
“Ready?” she asked impatiently.
“Not quite. A minute more.”
Lila set the timer on her watch to go off in one minute and watched it intently. “Time’s up,” she said as the tinny alarm sounded.
She got to her feet and put her hand down to help Ian stand. He put his other hand against the wall to steady himself as he rose shakily.
Lila strode over to the posts and turned her head to watch him come toward her, keeping her hands hovering over the posts until he drew near. He stood directly behind her and placed his hands on top of hers. “Let’s go,” he whispered in her ear. She lowered her hands onto the posts and took a quick intake of breath as the lights once again swirled around her.
She could see what appeared to be a control room occupied by men in military uniforms. The man nearest her had a nametag that she could just make out as Петров or Petrov, and she could see a sign on the wall with the word Окоwritten on it.
Lila started to pull her hands away from the posts, but pressure from Ian’s hands kept her palms in contact with the surface. A few seconds later the pressure eased, and they both sank to the floor in tandem.
This time travel didn’t seem to have nearly the same negative effect on Lila. Ian still looked a bit peaked from the experience.
“What did you see?” Lila asked breathlessly.
Ian raised his hand indicating for her to pause. “Just a second,” he gasped out before scooting back to place his back against the wall. Lila joined him there and once again handed him the piece of paper and pen. He waved it away. “Cuban Missile Crisis. I could see Kennedy in his office with McNamara poring over what looked like ballistic missile photos.”
Lila perked up. “That means we traveled forward about twenty years.”
“What did you see?” Ian asked curiously.
“I think I was looking at Stanislav Petrov. He worked at the Soviet’s Oko command center and some people say he prevented a nuclear war back in 1983.”
Ian’s eyes brightened. “I remember reading about him. He monitored an early warning system that reported the U.S. had launched a missile at the Soviet Union. He assessed that it was a false alarm, and by waiting to report it may have prevented an all out retaliation by the Soviets. Amazing guy.” Ian shook his head. “Couldn’t have been easy to make that decision.”
Lila looked puzzled. “Okay, so what’s the point of this? Why are we seeing these things?”
Ian screwed up his face in an I-don’t-know expression. “Maybe we’re supposed to be averting a similar fate? Seems like a pretty strong message.” He gestured toward the posts. “Who’s controlling these things? The visions–if that’s what they are–seem pre-recorded, except that we’re seeing different things.”
The blank white wall in front of them began to seethe with colors that eventually coalesced into a pearlescent appearance. A voice spoke in what sounded like 3D audio so that the sound came first from behind them and then switched to above them, before finally reverberating from all four walls.
Lila stood back from Ian, put her foot up against his backside and shoved. He barely swayed. “Okay, time to get real.” She tackled him from behind and pushed him toward the floor.
It was as though she was caught up in a time warp. As soon as her skin made contact with Ian’s, everything once again swirled around her. Through the mist of colors she could see one of the research men watching her and Ian. He moved toward them, reaching out to touch her arm, but his hand seemed to pass through the air directly in front of her.
Wondering if he could hear her, Lila called out to him. “Hey.” Not the most compelling statement she’d made, but whatever. His eyes widened and he turned to some of his fellow workers, who seemed oblivious to what was happening right in front of them.
Trying to take clues from her surroundings, Lila looked at the consoles that surrounded them through the orbiting colors. She saw 1960’s style computers with large brackets holding them to the wall. It appeared to be a cleanroom, with people dressed in white outfits, head garments and protective goggles.
Nudging Ian, she tried to get a reaction. Nothing. Either he was in shock or it got easier each time one – what should she call this? Viewed? Visited? Was she here or there, or both?
She extended her hand to the man standing in front of her in the suit. He reached his out at the same time and there was almost a breeze as they passed through each other. She could see his greenish blue eyes dilate and his lips firm as he looked more determined to reach her. Slowly he began to fade out and Lila returned to the white research room.
Exhausted, Lila once again fell to the floor, Ian collapsing beside her. She tried to cushion his head as they fell, but barely had strength to raise her hands. Lying beside him, she tried to reach her backpack and tug it closer toward her. She managed to pull out one of the water bottles she had packed, fumbled with the lid, and poured half the bottle over Ian’s head. He finally stirred, shaking the water out of his eyes.
Ian gasped, “What the…” He looked disoriented and slightly green as he pushed his hands underneath himself and crab walked back to the wall, which he then leaned against. “You weren’t kidding about that motion sickness.” He swallowed hard.
“Gets easier the more you do – it – whatever it is that we just did.” Lila scuttled back against the wall to join him, leaning against his shoulder for warmth, as she felt suddenly cold. “Pretty nifty, eh?”
Ian snorted. “That’s one of the things I love most about you. Your ability to bounce back quickly.”
She looked triumphant. “I told you!”
He closed his eyes and rested his head on the hard, cold surface. “What – no, where was that?”
Lila looked straight ahead, thinking about his question. “More importantly, when was it?”
Ian appeared bewildered and shook his head slowly. “What do you remember?”
Lila dug in her ever-present bag for paper and pens. Handing him one set, she began to write on the other. “Record everything you saw, even if you don’t think it’s important.”
Ian began to scrawl a series of words, while Lila concentrated and wrote full sentences. When she finished, she passed her paper to Ian and took his. Reading silently for a moment, she turned to him, her eyes wide with astonishment. “You saw something completely different!” She said excitedly, “This totally fits the world line description – people see the same event differently based on their specific positions in spacetime.”
“Oppenheimer,” Ian read slowly, “Physics, atomic bomb guy, right?”
“And you saw,” Lila read from his paper, “’An island, a few palm trees, a bunch of guys standing around waiting for something to happen.’ Bikini Atoll ring a bell?”
Ian swore. “So we’re seeing the development of the atomic bomb?”
“I think so. And the visions seem to progress in time each time we look.” She turned to him eagerly. “Ready for another go?”
Lila walked into an all-white room that reminded her of the factory floor in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. In the center of the room were two square posts that came up to her waist with enough room for someone to stand between. She walked slowly toward the gap with Ian on her right.
Reaching out with her left hand, Lila touched the post closest to that side and then placed her other hand on the opposite post. Immediately she felt disoriented and dizzy from the light pink, blue, and yellow colors swirling around her. Through the haze of light, she could see men in lab coats moving about in what appeared to be another research lab.
Lila heard Ian calling her name and felt her hands pulled from the posts. She staggered back, feeling exhausted and motion sick. Resting her head between her knees, she sat on the floor and leaned against the wall opposite the door. “Yikes,” she managed, “I don’t feel so well.”
“You don’t look it either.”
Her head came up in such a hurry that she nearly rolled onto the floor.
“Nice to know your reflexes are still solid.” Ian commented jokingly, but clearly relieved that she was once again back with him. “What did you see?”
“How do you know I saw anything?” Lila asked in a muffled tone, her head still press to her knees.
“Because your mouth hung open and your eyes were tracking.”
“My mouth wasn’t hanging open,” Lila said indignantly, and then self-consciously ran the back of her hand over her lips. “Ugh. I was drooling. Sorry.” She offered him a half a smile.
“Just glad to see you back in the regular world, you know, conscious and all.” Ian joked.
Lila tilted her head back against the wall. “I saw a bunch of men in lab coats, but there were all these colors swirling around,” she paused, “as though they were either orbiting around me or I was orbiting around them.” She shook her head slightly. “It felt like I was on one of those rides that spin around sideways while you’re going upside down. She paled. “I may be sick.”
“You’re fine,” Ian said encouragingly. “What were they doing?”
“I’m not sure,” she said, “but I think they saw me. One of them pointed in my direction, and he started to get excited. I think he was yelling something.” She pointed to the posts. “Why don’t you go try it?”
“Uh, uh. Always investigate thoroughly before touching anything.”
Lila raised her eyebrows. “Since when was that your rule?”
“Since I saw you turn green and plop to the floor.” Ian grinned.
“We’ve got all night,” Lila said and checked her watch. “Eleven P.M. Plenty of time for more ghosties or whatever those apparitions were.” She tugged her backpack off and rummaged through it to produce a couple of cereal bars. She pulled off the wrappers and offered one to Ian. “Munchies?”
Ian started laughing. “I can’t believe you can eat. You almost lost your cookies.”
“I rebound fast. Something you should remember.” She pointed her finger at Ian. “How about you go over and try it now.”
He slowly stood up and walked over to the posts. Gingerly he placed one hand on each side, and Lila saw an electric arc travel over his head. Alarmed, she dropped her cereal bar and ran to where he stood frozen between the two posts. She tugged at his hands, but to no avail. He was unresponsive.
“Okay, so that’s a bad thing,” Lila said halfheartedly.
“Yes, and the worst part is that we have very little time to delay the catastrophe.” Sergey pointed to Ian and Lila. “You two are familiar with things that go bump in the night and this is definitely going to be a big bump.”
“So what are we supposed to do?” Lila asked.
“We need you to go down to the research facility and spend the night there to give us a reading on the situation.”
“You want us,” Lila gestured to herself and Ian, “to spend the night at someplace that you think is the source of the next disaster of the week?”
“Exactly.”
“Sure, why not?” Lila got up from the couch and once again moved toward the door. “Can’t be worse than the place we used to live. Ghosts wandering up and down the stairs and hiding out in the attic.”
Ian nodded. “What’s the address?”
Sergey handed Lila a piece of paper on which he had written a series of numbers followed by the address of a parking garage.
“What’s this?” Lila pointed to the numbers.
“It’s the access code for the building connected to the parking garage. Take the elevator to the third floor. You’ll need to enter the first code at the elevator, and this second code at the access door to room 331. Also, you’ll need these.” Sergey produced a couple of ID badges with their names and photos.
“Awfully sure of yourself, aren’t you.” Lila commented as she tucked the badges in her handbag.
“We like to be prepared. We could only hope that such dedicated professionals would be willing to take the case and run with it.”
“Well, luckily you were right.” Lila looked at Ian. “Let’s go.”
Charlie remained by the couch and Sergey walked them to the door. “Good luck to you,” he said gravely and shook each of their hands.”
Lila walked into the stairwell and shook her head. “We are so trusting.”
“Trust, but verify,” Ian stated as he dialed his supervisor. “John, we just had a conversation… Really. You’re sure?” He hung up. “Before I even had a chance to say anything, John told me to take as much time as I need to help ‘our friends.’ Very strange.”
Lila looked down at the address with surprise. “I know this place. It’s where I did a summer internship when I was in high school.”
“You were already an intern in high school?” Ian asked incredulously. “You were a go-getter.”
“I was very advanced.” Lila grinned. “It’s a small contractor who works on special projects. They’re close enough to the Air Force Base to be convenient, but far enough away for deniability.”
They made it home quickly, then took only enough time to feed Pearson and pack up some treats and hot drinks for their evening’s adventure/sleepover.
They parked at the garage and made their way to the elevator, punching in the series of numbers given to them by Sergey. The elevator opened directly into a small room with a guard sitting at a desk. “ID’s,” he said in a bored voice.
Ian and Lila both handed over their badges and the guard buzzed them through a thick metal door.
“Ladies first.” Ian waved his hand for Lila to precede him through the door.
“Gee, thanks.” Lila said dryly.
“Hey, you wanted to do this,” Ian pointed out.
Lila led the way hesitantly through the entrance and they slowly strolled down the hallway looking for room 331.
”Smile, you’re on camera.” Ian murmured so only she could hear.
“I know,” Lila smiled. “I saw the display on the guard’s desk.”
Finally reaching the door, Lila entered the code and received a red flash on the keypad. Trying the door, it refused to open. “What the…” she began to gripe.
“Try it again,” Ian encouraged her. “Breathe.”
Lila once again pushed the series of keys and this time the small keypad light flashed green and unlocked with an audible click. Lila pulled down the handle sharply and pushed open the heavy door.
