Alex stepped out of the portal into the living room of the luxury cabin in the Cascade mountains. The afternoon was waning into evening, the aroma of a rich steak cooking, buttery mashed potatoes, and green beans greeted him.
“Honey, I’m back. Smells like you’ve been busy.” Pausing, he looked around. He could hear a steady beeping sound in the distance. He looked down at his comm unit. Though it was active with his vitals, it wasn’t making that sound.
Krystal called from the kitchen. “Dinner is almost ready. Come, give your wife and baby a kiss.”
Alex walked through the cabin into the kitchen and smiled at the peaceful scene before him. Krystal dished out potatoes into a serving bowl while their baby played with toys from the seat of a high chair. He immediately went to the baby and gave her a big kiss on the cheek, which elicited a happy squeal. Then he gave his wife a romantic kiss and a hug.
“What did Dr. Henderson say?” She asked.
Alex shook his head. “She is more perplexed now. Nothing about my readings shows anything wrong. Dr. Henderson thinks I might have pushed it, going out on the field too soon after my last incident.”
“You don’t sound too sure about that?”
Alex shook his head, “I hear things... feel things that are like a dream that I can’t remember. I know something is wrong, but I cannot put my finger on it. I’ve even tried some magic to figure this out, and nothing works. It’s like I’m completely fine and healthy, yet I keep having wild moments just before blacking out.”
“Maybe you just need rest. Dr. Henderson is on it.”
He sat down and smiled at his baby. “There’s something else. Everything is off.”
“In what way?”
“First, everyone is smarter than I have ever known. People are quoting calculations faster than the computer. Yesterday, it was Chase who quoted the exact coordinates of downtown Detroit, down to the last decimal point, without needing any computer help. Today, a kid hardly older than ours perfectly spelled a word that was 45 letters long. And everyone is inexplicably tired and hungry. I can’t seem to get enough food.”
“Sometimes we start to noticing things more. You might just be catching moments of brilliance while normally you would miss them. And we are all tired.”
Alex rubbed his eyes. “Maybe I’m overthinking this. Everyone is happier than I’ve ever seen. Heck, in Seattle today, I saw a political rally that had both Democrats and Republicans acting friendly to each other. Not one harsh word.”
She laughed, “Now we know something strange is in the air.”
“At least it makes everyone happier. Just wish I knew what it was.”
Krystal pulled a pan out of the oven with two perfectly grilled steaks on it. “Get some rest. I’m sure you’re just overworked. It has been a hard three years, even with it being so peaceful. Losing Nova has all of BADGE confused.”
He sat at the table. “We could use your help.”
“I’m content where I am.” She served the dinner, and the world seemed completely right for a while.
Alex couldn’t sleep. When he closed his eyes, the sound of that beeping grew louder. Krystal couldn’t hear it, and he couldn’t find the source, but it was always there.
Carrying his child, he paced around in the living room long after Krystal had gone to bed. Night’s darkness and a moonless sky, brimming with countless stars, filled the windows. He changed and fed the baby, who now slept against his shoulder as he walked.
Pausing in front of the window, he stood there looking at his reflection with the baby in his arms. A figment of a memory flitted around in his brain. The last memory he had of Nova before he disappeared. This was almost exactly the same. He stood before a window that reflected him holding the baby, and Nova stood next to him. Both were very sad. However, he didn’t know why. Why was he sad at that moment?
“What’s going on?” He whispered as he paced.
Glancing up, he saw a shaded statuette that was given to Krystal after a mission. Right now, though, it had an unfamiliar shape. It had wings where it didn’t before. He got closer and saw a male figure with wide, dragon-like wings. When he got to it, the statuette was actually an artist's interpretation of a female figure, without wings.
“Strange?” He said and then turned around to see what looked like a blue duck toy sitting on the coffee table, glowing. “Where did...” it vanished. “This is not right.”
He walked away, heading to get a glass of water in the kitchen. Stopping by the tulips, he considered them. For a second, each tulip flower looked like a colorful Easter Egg, and he heard a cheerful laughter in the distance, one so familiar that it felt like a friend. Yet, he couldn’t place where he had ever heard this before.
The baby stirred, and he rocked around to get her to calm back down.
“Could this be a dream?” He asked himself, not sure if he was still sleeping in a bed right now. He walked back into the living room. This was taking its toll on his mind. He wanted to calm down and stop fretting. This view of the mountains was glorious. This was their dream home, and he wanted to take advantage of it. He stood before the window once more, still holding the baby. He focused on the dark mountains in the night, but that reflection struck him again. This time, he felt that sadness in him. It was a hollow, horrible feeling of utter loss.
Nova’s voice spoke in his ear, “I will find a way... I have to...” The sound was a distant echo, but it burned like a star in Alex’s mind.
“Krystal.” He whispered.
A metallic thud behind him caught his attention. He turned to see a small metal sphere sitting on the floor. It was no bigger than a tennis ball, but he knew it and feared it. “I know what this is. But... it can’t be. No, oh, God, it is.”
Krystal appeared, standing beside him. “Is something wrong?”
He looked at her. Goosebumps prickled across his skin. He wanted to say so much, but he couldn’t find words.
“Honey, are you okay?”
“I don’t know. I have to find out. Here, take the baby.” He put their child in her arms.
“Alex? What’s wrong, tell me.”
He waved his hand to create a portal. “I have to go. Just know... I love you more than I can say. Never forget that.”
“I won’t.” Her answer was as soothing and soft as an angel.
He stepped through the portal, and the station’s Operations center instantly received him.
“Alex?” Justin, looking up from the base floor, said, “You know you can only teleport to the docking bay unless it’s an emergency.”
“This is an emergency.” Alex walked over to him.
“What is it?” Justin was genuinely concerned.
Alex asked, “Why are you on duty? Pulling a late shift after working all day?”
“You know we’re woefully understaffed. This can’t be your emergency.”
“No, but it is related.” Alex walked around. “I know we’re missing people, and not just those who quit. There were other command staff of this station.”
“I know that. But, they left.”
“Who?” Alex asked.
Justin frowned. “You know, the command staff.”
“Their names? Can you name them?”
“Director Nova was here. Dr. Henderson is technically command staff. Chase and myself. And... uh... there was... strange, I can’t remember them.”
“I can’t either. No names. But, I‘m seeing them in my head. Someone made of stone, a small person who was fluffy, and someone else who was blue and strange. They were members of this staff. Important members. But I can’t even recall their names.”
“I don’t know who you are talking about,” Justin said.
Alex said, “There is someone else. Where do you think I go when I go down to the planet to sleep?”
Justin mulled that over for a moment. “I haven’t really given it much thought. You have a place down there, right?”
“I do. But I think it is fake.”
“Fake? What makes you say that?”
Alex looked Justin dead in the eyes and said, “My home down there is my dream house. It’s a beautiful, modern cottage nestled in a secluded location, high in the mountains, with a perfect view. This is the home that my wife and I talked about a lot, said we would have once things settled down. It is too perfect. It is everything I wanted for myself and my wife.”
“Wife?” Justin stopped him. “You don’t have a wife.”
“So, you don’t know who Krystal Fae is?”
“Never heard of her.”
0 Comments