Future Threat

19

00:58

It isn’t long before the car lowers to street level, although it never actually touches the ground. Instead of using wheels, it hovers a foot or so above the surface, gliding along without a single bump. We’re in the middle of nowhere, with rows of warehouses and other nondescript large buildings on every block, interspersed with a fastfood restaurant now and then. The car pulls in front of an unmarked four-story building with dark windows that takes up the entire block. A burly-looking security guard is perched outside the one entrance I see.

“That must be the Pharmateka lab,” Adam says.

“Not much here.” Chris scans the area through the car windows. “What’s the plan?”

I watch the security guard in front of the building pick at his nails. “Aether’s bodyguards were found unconscious near here. Let’s go ask that guard if he saw anything.”

The security guard squints at us as we approach, but he doesn’t whip out a gun or anything. I offer him my best impression of a friendly smile. “Hey. We’re looking for some friends of ours. They came by here a couple hours ago, and we were wondering if you saw them.”

He glowers at me. “How the hell should I know? Lots of people come by here.”

Seriously? I glance up and down the street, which hasn’t had a single other car pass by in the entire time we’ve been here.

“There were four of them,” Adam says. “About our age. Two guys and two girls. I can show you pictures if that would help.”

The guy grunts. “Yeah, I saw them.”

“Any idea where they went?”

“The Asian kid and the two girls each got in separate cars. The other guy…I think maybe he went with one of them. Or maybe not.” He shrugs.

Well, that was no help at all. We already knew the team split up. “Is there any security footage or something we could look at?” I ask.

He eyes me like I’m something stuck to his boot. “I can’t let you see that.”

“Is there anything else you remember?” Adam asks, his voice much more diplomatic than mine. “Anything at all? We really need to find them.”

“Nope.”

I give the guy one last scowl before we stroll across the street to the spot where our car is hovering patiently. “Dammit, we need that security footage. It probably at least has the license plate numbers of the cars, which we might be able to track down. Chris, can’t you do something to get it?”

“Me? What do I look like, a hacker or some s**t? I fix cars, for Christ’s sake.”

Adam leans against our car, his eyes thoughtful behind his glasses. “Well, we know they split up and took different cars. If we figure out what’s happening with their future selves that might give us some clues to where they went.”

His words spark an idea. “In Aether’s report about this mission, it says we went after the other team one by one.” I speak slowly, the plan forming in my head as I go. “But by the time we got to Ken, he was already dead.”

Chris crosses his arms. “Yeah, and…?”

“None of that has happened yet. Which means we might be able to save him.”

“How?” Adam asks.

“We split up and go after them separately. We know we stayed together when we did this before—so by splitting up we’ll be purposefully changing what we do and what happens as a result.”

Chris slowly nods. “Like how you purposefully changed the timeline before and stopped Lynne.”

“Exactly.” Last time, we seemed to be stuck in a loop where everything we did led to the same inevitable fate. But by doing something I didn’t originally do—in that case, trusting Adam—I was able to break us free of the cycle. I think the same thing might work now.

Adam frowns and adjusts his glasses. “I don’t like the idea of us splitting up. We’re safer together. What if, by splitting up, we fail in our mission?”

“It’s a risk,” I admit. “But the other option is to just accept that Ken is going to die and let it happen. I can’t do that. Not after what happened with Trent and Zoe. Can you?”

“Of course not, but…” Adam sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “You’re right. If there’s a way to save his life, we should do it.”

Chris is looking at me oddly. I’m surprised he hasn’t said anything so far. He uncrosses his arms and says, “I’m in. But I want to be the one to go after Ken.”

“No, it should be me,” I say. “It might be dangerous. We don’t know how he died or who killed him, and you have a kid on the way. It’s better if I go.”

“I’ll be careful,” Chris says. I open my mouth to argue, to insist I be the one who tracks Ken down, but he fixes me with a steely gaze. “Trent and Zoe were my friends too, and it’s partly my fault they’re dead. Not a day goes by that I don’t wish I could have done something differently, or that I could go back and change things. I survived and they didn’t, and it’s not f*****g fair. But if I can save this guy…” His words trail off and he shrugs. “It won’t bring them back, but it’s something.”

I know what he means, because it’s the same reason I want to go after Ken. This guy isn’t Trent or Zoe—but unlike them, he can still be saved. His death doesn’t need to be on our hands too, not if we can help it. And maybe by saving him, we’ll be redeemed in some tiny way. Maybe then the nightmares and flashbacks will stop.