Chapter 34 #2
“We’re running a bit short on time.”
I give him a long look. I, for one, am shitting in my pants over what I just saw. Finn, while shocked at first, seems to have already gotten over it.
“Yeah, let’s get out of here.”
The coolant has been running for about thirty minutes. We put on the thrusters at forty meters per minute and go. We’re still in survivable temperatures that are dropping as we exit. So, we’ll be fine. But who was that? It had to be another diver.
When we get to the spot we left Scott, we see him waiting. He exhales when he sees us.
“Did you see anyone come by while we were in there?” I ask him.
He jerks his head toward me. “What do you mean? Did I see anyone?”
Finn jumps in. “Nathan ran into some silt and got hung up in the lines near The Torches. We resolved it quickly, so we didn’t call for help.”
The hell? He just fucking lied to Scott.
“You got to The Torches? What did you see?” Scott asks. Ignoring Finn, he’s looking directly at me.
“Whatever it was, I didn’t see it, but Finn did.” I turn to Finn, waiting for him to explain. He doesn’t.
“What I saw was you struggling in silt,” Finn says firmly.
Scott gives him a death stare but doesn’t say anything else. “Let’s get out of here,” he mutters. We follow him to the main cavern.
Mission successful.
When the briefing ends, Finn pulls me aside. “Nathan, may I speak with you in private?”
“Sure.” I’m pissed. Finn completely whitewashed the briefing, giving a sanitized version of events.
Focusing on the copious amounts of data retrieved, the distance covered, and the discovery of The Torches.
What he conveniently forgot to mention was the unidentified diver who nearly knocked me out of my suit.
It had to be a diver. But who? And where the hell did he exit the caves?
“You’re angry, but please understand. I’m using discretion. We must be careful about whom we share this encounter. Don’t tell anyone. I’m going to ask you to trust me—I’ll share more when I can.”
“If you want trust, why don’t you start by being trustworthy? You could hand over my coded notes for starters.”
Surprised, he gives me a hard look. “You’re right, of course.”
We step into the dry lab. Finn moves to the shelves of steel boxes secured against the bulkhead. “With my crossbow, I shot the Albatross…” he mutters under his breath.
Pulling one of the boxes off the shelf, he carries it to the table where I stand.
His eyes flick to the wall behind me, and he swallows. Then he gives me another long look and straightens his glasses.
“Dr. Nathan Carter.” His voice has changed. He’s on show. “It’s taken decades for us to get here.”
What the hell is he talking about? I feel a prickly sensation crawl up my back.
“It was kismet.”
“Finn, can you cut to it? I’d like to go home.”
“Like I was saying… kismet… You came back—right when you did. And even more fortuitous, you had no memory. Almost too perfect to be random.” He looks behind me again, toward the hatch.
I turn and see a man about my age. He stands where he entered, waiting to be introduced.
Finn doesn’t acknowledge him and continues. “As you know, I’ve been running analysis on the stone you found years ago. It’s impossible to formalize conclusions.” He pauses. “But when you know, you know.”
He nods to the waiting man. “Let me introduce you to a colleague of ours. Dr. Stavon Green.”
Green walks over to stand beside Finn.
Both men look at the box, then back at me.
Every instinct I have is screaming that something is wrong.
Green locks his gaze on mine. His eyes are black.
They’re so dark that I can’t tell where the pupils and irises meet.
Or if he even has both. His skin is smooth and pale.
If he’s our age, he should have some lines around his eyes or forehead, but he doesn’t.
It’s impossible to draw any hint as to what he’s thinking or feeling.
“Hello, Nathan,” Green says. His voice is pleasantly pitched with the clarity of a bell.
Saying nothing, I wait for him to continue.
“Dr. Clark and I have a mutual interest. One we’ve spent years working on independently.
Until recently, our work has been theoretical and relatively private.
” He pauses and grins. It’s the most unnatural smile I think I’ve ever seen.
I’m tempted to find a piece of glass and put it under his nostrils to verify he’s a human being.
But I don’t have to—I can see the pulse hammering in his neck.
“You have no idea how many powerful people have their eyes on this. It was you who came to us. Seeking. But we didn’t know what you found, not until later.
That wasn’t very courteous of you to keep it secret… as a fellow scientist.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Our work proved it was possible, but we didn’t know if it actually existed. You found the where. You found what we were looking for. And today. You showed us.”
“Found what?”
Green doesn’t answer and instead pushes the box toward me.
“Open it.”
I stare at the box.
Putting my fingers against it, I think before I open it. Green is the guy Walter claimed tried to kidnap Natalie. Minus the sunglasses and hat, it was him in the park surveillance photograph. That makes him dangerous and an enemy.
It’s Finn who’s a wildcard. Is he on my side or Green’s? Finn isn’t telling Green everything. And I think he warned me not to either.
“Okay. You’re both weird as fuck. But I’ll do it.”
Gently, I lift the top.
There’s a knife, beautiful and ancient.
Its patina is brilliant blue-green.
It’s familiar. There’s a faint engraving partially hidden by the colors of the patina. Straining my eyes, I examine it closer.
My heart stops.
Reflexively, I touch the knife on my belt. It’s still there.
Throwing away all caution, I pick up the knife from the box and bring the handle closer. I read the engraving.
Son, be brave. Be free.
I look up at the two men in front of me. Fear and awe collide.
“How? How is this possible?”
Before either answer, a wave of images flashes behind my eyes. The sickening pressure of a non-lethal shock squeezes my veins. I drop the knife.
What’s happening?
But I know. I see the photo album, Crystal’s delicate fingers as they flip through the pages, her words, the stories. Natalie’s eyes, her dreams, her time machine.
Memories.
Of Maverick Key, of Miami, of…
Mom and Dad.
Dr. Paulson was right.
Snap.
I fall to my knees.
Two worlds collide. My recent tactile life, as Elliot, and the more distant past of Dr. Nathan Carter. Like crashing waves, they churn and mix. I feel myself tossed and carried amongst them, moving through the ocean toward land. When they reach the shore, I touch down. And I’m something new.
Then I laugh—unhinged. Like I’ve lost my mind. But it’s just the opposite.
“Nathan?” Finn asks. Cautiously, he walks to my side and offers me a hand.
I stare at it. Then, after a beat, take it and stand. When I meet his gaze, a flash of recognition crosses his face. He squeezes my hand harder before letting it go.
“What just happened there?” he asks.
I think carefully about what I’ll say next.
“Is one of you going to explain this to me?” I ask, nodding to the knife. Of course, I already know.
Green clears his throat to speak.
Finn jumps in. “If I may, Dr. Green. I’d like to explain this to Nathan.” His eyes squint when he returns his gaze to mine.
“Shortly before your disappearance, you reached out to me to inquire about my theoretical work with exotic matter.” He grins. “You came to me under the guise of a hobbyist. So, as a scientific colleague, I indulged you.”
He walks to a desk in the corner and pulls some papers out of his briefcase. He lays one of them on the table.
It’s an overlay cave survey of Carter’s Drop. But we both know it’s more than that.
“So why were you so interested in exotic matter, Dr. Carter?”
“You’re asking me?” I flick my gaze from Finn to Green and back to Finn.
He nods. “Go ahead.”
“Instead of the cross, the albatross…” I mutter, then clear my throat.
“Because I found a wormhole.”