Future Lost

9

But Vincent didn’t keep that promise.

He leans forward in his black leather chair and takes me in. “Elena. I should have known you’d come by.”

“Where’s Adam? What have you done with him?”

His eyebrows slowly rise. “You don’t know then?”

“Know what?”

A deep frown settles over his face, making him look older. “Oh, Adam.”

I slam my hands on his desk, leaning forward. “What is it? Tell me!”

He shakes his head. “It’ll be easier if I show you. Come with me.”

I start to protest, but he’s already walking toward the elevator, his strides long and self-assured. I quickly follow and slide into the elevator after him. We stand beside each other in silence while the elevator plummets, until I finally break down and ask, “Is Adam okay?”

He gives me a long, even look. “I don’t know.”

The door opens on Level B4. It’s darker down here, blocked off from the sun, lit entirely by man-made lighting. There’s something large in front of us, something metallic and dome-shaped, with tubes and wires coming out of it. Something I never wanted to see again.

“No,” I whisper, taking a step back, pressing against the wall of the elevator. How is this possible? We destroyed the accelerator. We stopped them. Didn’t we?

Vincent walks out of the elevator. “Status report!”

“Still nothing, sir,” a woman answers.

I stumble after him, each footstep heavier than the last as I approach the machine. Now that the initial shock has faded a bit, I can tell it’s not the same accelerator. It’s smaller than the one we destroyed. The metal is a slightly different shade of silver. But it’s still a time machine.

They made a second one.

“You told us Project Chronos was finished,” I say as I get closer. “You swore you’d never interfere in our lives again. We had a deal!”

Vincent leans over a computer, checking something on the screen. “And we kept up our end of the deal. We didn’t contact Adam. He came to us.”

“Why? Why would he do that?”

“He asked for our help. I told him we’d built another accelerator, but he said he wasn’t interested in time traveling again. Until this morning.”

This morning. Our fight. His note. He said he was going to fix things. But surely he didn’t mean this?

“Where’s Adam?” I have to hear them say it out loud before I allow myself to believe it. My heart is racing so fast it feels like it might tear out of me. How could he? What was he thinking? Why would he do something so reckless?

“Sit down,” Vincent says. “I’ll tell you everything.”

“I don’t want to sit down. I want to see Adam. Where. Is. He?” My voice is too loud, but I don’t care. I’m going to tear down the walls of the accelerator until I find him. And when I do, I’m going to murder him myself.

Vincent gives me a level stare. “You know where he is. He’s in the future.”

Something snaps in me, and I lunge for him with a roar. I’m not sure if I intend to punch him, choke him, or shove him into the accelerator to make him get Adam back. I’m stopped by a woman with a tight ponytail, who steps between us and raises a gun at me. I halt, forcing my emotions under control, and glare at Vincent behind her.

“It’s okay, Nina,” Vincent says, waving her gun away.

She scowls and lowers the gun an inch, although she doesn’t put it away. She has dark hair and pale skin, wears little to no makeup, and can’t be much older than me. Her clothes are all black and utilitarian, like something the military would wear, along with matching combat boots.

I turn away, dragging my hands across my face, trying to make sense of all this. Adam went to the future again. Without me. How could he do this without even consulting me first? He knew I’d never let him do it; that’s why. So he went and did it on his own, keeping it a secret from me. If I thought I was upset at his betrayal before, that doesn’t even come close to the rage and hurt I feel now.

“When is he coming back?” I ask, trying to keep my voice steady.

“He was supposed to come back a few hours ago,” Vincent says, his voice sympathetic.

Sheer terror pushes aside the rage and hurt and takes control of me. “What?”

“Adam had us send him thirty years into the future for five hours, but he missed his scheduled return time. We’ve opened the aperture numerous times since then, but there’s been no sign of him.”

“Wait,” I say slowly. “He went alone?”

“He did. He refused to let anyone else go with him, and he made us promise not to contact you or any of your friends. I told him it wasn’t a good idea and begged him to let me send Nina with him, but he wouldn’t listen.” He glances at the accelerator with a frown. “I never should have sent him to the future again.”

My God. I had no idea Adam’s obsession with developing the cure had gone this far. He must have gone to the future to talk to his older self or to figure out if he ever made genicote safe. But in doing so, he brought Aether back into our lives. He kept secrets from me. He went behind my back. And worst of all, he put his life in jeopardy.

That settles it. I’m going to find him. I’m going to bring him home. And then I’m going to demand some answers from him.