Part 12 (2/2)

”We went to see your Mom, Mark,” Abbey said. ”I'm so sorry about what happened. That must have been very scary for you.”

Mark didn't reply.

”We know you know about the stones. We need your help right away. Caleb is with Mantis. We think Mantis is up to something. We need you to tell us what you know...and we need you to come with us.”

Mark stiffened and stopped bobbing. ”The stones and Mantis are very bad.”

”So, you've been across the stones before?” Abbey asked.

Mark shook his head wildly and refused to make eye contact.

”Why do you think they're bad, then?”

”They're just bad. There's only one day left. Only one day.”

”One day before what, Mark?” Simon asked, his voice low.

Mark's hand came out of nowhere and grabbed Abbey's arm. She tried to contain her shriek. ”A very bad future. Very bad. It's your sweater. Your sweater. And I don't know how to fix it.” Mark trailed off and started to weep big, quivering tears.

Simon inserted himself between Abbey and Mark with a grim expression.

Mark dropped Abbey's arm and looked at the wall, his face stormy.

”Tell us what you saw. Now,” Simon said.

Mark clenched his fists. ”I have to go home and check on my maps, and Ocean, and brush my teeth. I have to go home.”

”Mark. Stop,” Abbey ordered. ”You can't go home alone. Mantis is looking for you. Tell us what you saw, and we'll take you with us.”

Mark hiccupped and stared at the wall silently for several seconds. Then he started talking, his eyes downcast. ”When I was fifteen and nine months and three days, I snuck out to look for the stones.” He turned his eyes to Abbey for a second. ”I chose that age because it is lucky because of all the threes. I had heard my mother talk about the stones with her visitors. Two men and a woman used to come. But they came late at night. I never got to meet them, but I could hear their voices. They don't come anymore, except for Mantis. He still comes. My mother used to take me to the stones when I was a toddler and we would just sit in the woods near them for hours. She had lots of fights about the stones with her visitors. Something about shutting them down or keeping them open for Sandra. I didn't understand, but I did know that the stones showed the future, and I wanted to see what the oceans and streams and lakes would look like in the future.” Mark stopped and s.h.i.+fted his gaze to the small dusty window.

”I went up the Hill one night with my Mag Charger flashlight and stepped on the stones, and it all went dark like that very bad s.p.a.ce Mountain ride at Disneyland. When I opened my eyes, I was in some woods and I couldn't find the stones and I was really scared. I walked along this path, but then I felt really sick. I threw up all over my new Adidas Pro Model 2G shoes. I had to take them off. Then I heard screaming, so I hid under some bushes. It was a full moon, so I could see. And I saw you, older yous, well older than you were then, but the same age as you are now, with Mantis and a whole bunch of other guys, and me, an older me, with a spear, by this pond and everyone was shooting arrows, and people were getting hit, and there was blood. All sorts of awful blood.” Mark covered his eyes and stopped talking and sat rocking on the bed for what seemed like an interminable period.

Abbey widened her eyes at Simon. Blood and arrows. How were they going to stop that? Other than never using the cursed stones again.

Simon placed a hand on Mark's shoulder, and surprisingly, the older man didn't flinch away. ”And then what happened, Mark? It's very important that you tell us.”

Mark blew out several exaggerated puffs and then continued talking in his strange monotone. ”The blood was bad. Very bad. Then one of the men grabbed the old me and screamed, 'paradox.' And I saw the old me drop something. Then the man and I disappeared, the old me. Then there was more fighting and then everyone disappeared. Well, some left, but some disappeared. And then everyone was gone, so I crawled out of the bush to see what the old me had dropped. It was a watch.” Mark stopped and pointed to his wrist. ”It was this watch. My Garmin Forerunner 405 with GPS that I got for my twenty-first birthday, except I didn't know that then. The screen was set on the date not the time. That's how I always set my watches because dates can be lucky.” Mark's eyes lifted to Abbey's again. ”The watch said 10-22-12. Then I tried to make my way back to where I came from and somehow I ended up back in the woods on Coventry Hill. But the watch was gone.”

Abbey looked at Simon. ”10-22-12. That's tomorrow.”

Simon pulled Mrs. Forrester's crinkled drawing of the squares surrounded by waves out of his pocket. ”Paradox...paradox. A pair of docks. Mrs. Forrester drew a pair of docks. Is she saying paradox?”

Abbey's stomach clenched. The older Caleb's words echoed through her head. ”The timelines are very sensitive. If you change the timeline from this side of the stones, you will be at risk.” But paradox usually involved changing the past in a way that negated the future. Abbey tried to clear her mind. None of this was making any sense.

Abbey looked at her watch. They had to meet Caleb in twenty-seven minutes. ”We have to go,” she said to Simon.

”You need to come with us, Mark,” Simon said. ”Mantis is looking for you.”

Mark pulled his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. ”What is your means of transport?”

”What?” Simon said, and then, ”We took the bus.”

”I do not use public transport,” Mark said. ”Very germy. No seatbelts. Very unsafe.”

”You can't stay here. Mantis could be here any second. We'll find a place to hide you. But we have to go.” Simon cupped his hand under Mark's elbow as if to guide him along.

Mark dropped to the floor, covered his hands with his ears, and started to moan.

A car roared up the street outside. They all recognized the sound of that engine by now.

Mark exploded into the air like a firework. He flapped at them and then seemed like he might trample them as they all raced to the door. But at the threshold, Mark shoved them in the opposite direction from which they had come and Abbey saw the red glow of an exit sign at the end of the hall. They ran down the hall to the back door and flung themselves out into the littered back alley of the halfway house. Mark's breath came in stuttered pants from the run. The car noise had stopped. Abbey felt her heart wrench. Caleb could still be in that car.

”Keep going,” she said. ”I'm going to check for Caleb. I'll meet you at the bus.”

Simon stepped in front of her. ”No way, Abbey. I'll go. You look too much like Caleb.” He pulled his hood over his head and slunk away.

”I do not take public transit,” repeated Mark. ”Too many germs.”

”Just keep your hands in your pockets,” Abbey said as they trotted down the alley. Mark's face was already covered in a sheen of sweat.

Simon caught up with them a few blocks away. ”Caleb isn't in the car. That bus better hurry, 'cause it isn't going to take Mantis long to figure out where we've gone.”

Not in the car. What if Caleb was dead and in the trunk? She s.n.a.t.c.hed Simon's iPhone and texted as she ran. < where=”” are=”” u=””> < am=”” ok.=”” at=”” school=””> came the reply.

<> she texted back. < how=”” do=”” i=”” kno=”” its=”” u=””> < see=”” u=”” in=”” the=”” bas.e.m.e.nt=””> Abbey let herself feel a small sliver of hope. Only Caleb would know the reference to the crypt in the earlier message meant bas.e.m.e.nt.

At the bus stop, Mark shoved himself into the corner of a doorway with his hands deep in his pockets.

The bus rounded the corner and stopped. Mark eyeballed it with suspicion and appeared as though he might bolt. But Simon put his hand on Mark's arm and guided him onto the bus. Mark sat awkwardly-without the use of his hands-and Abbey and Simon flanked him on either side. They rode in silence for a few minutes. Abbey tried to rea.s.sure herself that they could avoid Mark's future by simply never using the stones again. This had gone too far. They would turn Mark over to their parents, tell their parents about Mantis, and everything would be fine.

Mark spoke suddenly. ”Mantis wanted to take me home. He said he would take care of me while my mom was in the hospital. I screamed and the nurses made him go away.”

”Is your mom friends with Mantis?” Abbey asked.

”They used to be friends. The four of them. When I was young. But then there was the fight. Now they do not come. Only Mantis comes.”

”Who were the other two?” Simon said.

Mark's hair stood in greasy gelled tufts. ”I don't know. I never saw them up close. They came after dark. They called Mom 'Betty.' But that is not her name.”

”And does Mantis have another name?” Simon pressed.

Mark shook his head. ”I don't know. I think I'm going to pa.s.s out. I'm supposed to put my head between my legs when I'm going to pa.s.s out.” He ducked his head awkwardly down toward the seat, nearly falling on the floor as he did so. Simon grabbed Mark's arm to stop him from tumbling.

Abbey almost asked about Mark's dad. Where he'd gone and who he'd been. She wondered if they shouldn't perhaps be calling him-if he was still alive. But she didn't want to upset Mark further, and he already had his head down between his knees.

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