Part 32 (1/2)
Mike let the boys look at his weapon, but not fire it. Who knew if those rounds would be needed. He kept the portal covered. No use in having to explain that d.a.m.n thing, and he knew as well as any soldier that desperate people can turn nasty real fast, if they see something they think might save them.
When he had a chance, though, he looked into the portal. He was sort of hoping to see Tim, but he only saw the day over there getting slowly older, just like it was here.
Del reappeared. ”Done and done,” he said, satisfaction in his voice.
”Let's just get rolling, man. It's already sunset d.a.m.n near, so it's sunset over there, too, and my bro is gonna be feeling mighty needful.”
The first thing they saw of the Acton Clinic was a big wall topped with razor wire. There was a huge iron gate that was wide open, and as they went through it, there appeared what Mike knew at once was the most beautiful house he'd ever seen. But as they drew closer, he saw that it was partially burned out. Windows were broken. There was an ugly silence of a kind he knew all too well.
And now, as the sun set, the violet star that Colonel Manders had told them was a supernova appeared low in the northeastern sky, flooding the world in its creepy light.
When they arrived at the front of the house, Del stopped the Humvee and cut the engine. He turned to Mike. ”What now?”
Mike had no idea what now. The windows of the old house were dark. It looked pretty ruined in there. But it didn't look real cla.s.sified. No government warning signs, a wide-open gate, and no lights or guard units didn't exactly suggest this.
”What now is, we take a look around.”
”Weapons?”
”You carry and cover, I'll take the portal.”
”We can't leave a weapon uncontrolled.”
”Then we pull the ammo outta mine and I'll hold on to the bolt.”
”We might need that firepower.”
So Mike strapped on his rifle and carried the portal. The thing wasn't heavy, and from the back it looked like a piece of canvas. But on the front, it was as slick as gla.s.s and you could go in it and run off in there, which Mike did not have the guts to do. He wanted his brother, though, and worse every minute.
The darker it got, the brighter the light from the portal appeared. Now it was looking over a glade full of grazing horses. The sun was a glow in the west, the sunset rich with gold at the horizon, then orange and yellow above it, and finally pale green fading into the blue of night. You could see plenty of stars, and Mike knew a fair amount about stars, thanks to their dad, who had a Celestron and had taught them the sky.
”How weird,” he said. He held the portal directly overhead and looked up into it, then brought it slowly down to the eastern horizon.
”The constellations are out of place.”
”Useful to know. Let's go inside and see if we can find out why.”
Mike was transfixed. ”Let me tell you ... this sky is not right.”
”Okay! Now let's move our a.s.ses. This can't be safe out here, man.”
He kept moving the portal, trying to find north based on the glow on the western horizon. From the foliage he had seen when it was light there, he knew that the season was the same-early summer. So ...
”What the h.e.l.l is Draco doing there there?”
”Dray-who doing where?”
”The constellation Draco ... it's way north. There's Eltamin, and ... Thuban. Thuban is the North Star!”
”G.o.dd.a.m.n it, will you get your a.s.s in gear?”
He lowered the portal. ”Del,” he said, ”this is just a d.a.m.n amazing thing.”
”Well, duh duh!”
”No, you don't understand what this is. Because this isn't just some kind of window, like, into China or somewheres. Some kind of wormhole or whatever. Del, the polestar in that sky-” He tapped the edge of the portal, being careful not to touch its lethal surface. ”The polestar is not Polaris, it's Thuban. Thuban, Thuban, man!” man!”
”Look, do you remember how interested I was in the telescope, which was not at all? So I am not going to know what the f.u.c.k that means, am I?”
”What it means is that this thing is a d.a.m.n time machine!” He held it up. ”Thuban won't be the polestar for another twenty thousand years. When Timmy went into that thing, he crossed thousands of years into the future, Del. It's the future in there!”
”Oh, yeah, what about the little matter of the fact that Earth is gonna be a burned-out cinder in the future?”
”The dinosaurs got torched, and we're here. So it's not gonna stay, like, a cinder forever.”
”Oh, man, somebody is gonna be very p.i.s.sed off at us, because this thing is unbelievably cla.s.sified, it has to be. The general was taking it back to the Blue Ridge for, you know, the Family, the politicians, all those rich people, the senators-”
”I know who's down there, I seen 'em go in same as you.”
”Okay, then, we are criminals. Big-time. The whole f.u.c.king army is gonna be after us, plus the FBI, the CIA, and all'a that s.h.i.+t.”
”Except that doesn't matter a s.h.i.+t anymore and I am not gonna stop until I get my brother back, and that is the line in the sand here, Del, so if you want to go back, that's fine by me. Personally, I wouldn't sell those sc.u.mbags s.h.i.+t on a platter, much less give 'em this thing. Find me some good folks-decent, you know-and let's get 'em through. And get us through, and find my brother.”
Del ran a hand along the top edge of the thing, which now gleamed purple as the supernova spread its rising light.
”It's gonna be a brave f.u.c.king guy goes through this thing first. I mean, it's a d.a.m.n miracle your brother didn't do like the rest of 'em.”
”Drop the gun and step away from it, please.”
Del did exactly as the voice from inside the house instructed. To Mike he mouthed the words ”told you.”
”Now face me. Come up onto the porch, please.”
Mike started to lift the portal, but the unmistakable snicker of a bolt being thrown on a very proficient-sounding weapon froze him. Turning slowly, he held up his hands. Side by side, he and Del walked onto the porch. After a moment, a flashlight shone in their faces. It lingered on their patches. Whoever this was wanted to identify their unit, obviously.
”PFC Twine, please come forward.”
Del took another step closer to the door. Behind them, Mike heard movement. Somebody was taking the portal! He reacted immediately, turning to stop them.
”Freeze!”
Which Mike did. But he had seen a woman in the violet light, her long legs striding, her hair flowing back, carrying the portal like the d.a.m.n thing was her own personal possession. But Tim was in there. He had to get his brother back!
”Hey, look, we come here to bring it to you,” he said. ”But you gotta understand, my brother's in it. He's lost in there!”
There was no reaction. He could hear the woman's footsteps fading away. He dared not try again to look. He focused his attention on the flashlight.