Emerald Sky (5 page)

Chapter 7

The office was a definite improvement over
the cell. Jimmy had never been for a job interview or had to meet with
accountants or lawyers, so the only comparison he could draw upon was with his
old schoolmaster’s office. For some, such a memory might be connected with
unhappy times; of their first experience of authoritarian discipline. To Jimmy,
the memories made him feel safer than he had done for a long time. When at
school, he was never a troublemaker or a bully, but he had often fallen victim
to such practices. The Headmaster’s office was the one safe haven among the
adolescent jungle, where bullies could never reach him.

The room he now occupied was shared with
two other men. Though he had come into contact with one of the men before, he
recognised them both by voice only. The marksman from the Opera House was
standing in a corner whilst the other was seated behind a large wooden desk.

The seated man was the older of the two.
He was African-American, with strong right angled features and a distinguished brush
of tightly cropped silver hair. His attire was military; the ceremonial as
opposed to combat kind, with an impressive array of medals on display. His
smile said
trust me
whilst his eyes said
fear me
. The other man
looked to be in his late twenties with a lean, athletic build and naturally
tanned skin. He was clad in the same black combat attire of their previous
meeting. His smile was apologetic and his eyes heavy with guilt.

‘I’m Colonel George Rodman,’ said the
seated man. ‘Agent Cruz, you have already met.’

Jimmy responded with a rigid salute using
his right hand. No disrespect was intended.

‘I think you now know why we brought you
to this facility,’ the colonel continued. ‘As you can probably guess, the
matter is of the highest concern and I assure you that only the best men have
been assigned to the project.’

This time Jimmy did not bother to
respond. He knew all too well how important the matter was. The bodies he had
stumbled upon were at the forefront of his mind. Each one looked exactly how
they had in his dream. They were people he had grown up with. They were people
he had long thought dead. He now knew they were not dead, yet something told
him they were not properly living either. A part of them was missing. When he
had looked down on their still, but still breathing forms, he could not help
but feel they were missing their souls.

The colonel leaned forward, levelling his
eyes with Jimmy’s.

‘You have to believe me, Son, when I tell
you we intend to do everything within our power to bring those people back.
That’s why we had to bring you in. I believe that with your special gifts,
you’ll help us achieve that goal in next to no time.’

Jimmy looked to the man standing in the
corner, who immediately turned away, avoiding his gaze. He knew this was not a
good sign.

‘How do I know I can trust you?’ Jimmy
asked, returning his attention to the colonel.

‘We know, as you do, there’d be little
point in deceiving you,’ replied the colonel. ‘Do I need to say more or have
you already heard it?’

The reference to Jimmy’s sixth sense
re-engaged the attention of Agent Cruz, who Jimmy could see visibly stiffen in
the corner of his eye.

‘I see and hear nothing,’ replied Jimmy.
‘I don’t have any real control over it. Sometimes it’s there and sometimes it’s
not. I think stress increases it, but shock has the opposite effect. The only
guarantees are when I am in danger. When that happens, it sort of takes over.’

‘So if I were to pull a gun on you right
now?’

‘I wouldn’t recommend it...sir.’

The earnestness in the boy’s voice
indicated to the colonel and Esteban that this was not so much a threat or even
a warning. It was merely a plea to spare them all the consequences of what
introducing violence to the situation would bring.

‘Tell him about the woman; this scientist
of yours,’ said Esteban, hoping to diffuse the situation by showing more
transparency to their prisoner.

The colonel shot the soldier a stern
look. This was a wanton disregard of command protocol, but he also had to
concede that it was a good idea. Jimmy was from Jackson’s Hill and probably
knew more about what happened in that town than was contained within a hundred
classified files on the subject.

‘As you must no doubt have guessed; this
facility isn’t strictly military in its applications,’ said the colonel. ‘It is
also a centre for the research and treatment of infectious diseases. It’s one
of many such facilities around the globe that was built to deal specifically
with the event of a biochemical terrorist attack. We, however, are using it to
combat an entirely new type of warfare altogether.’

‘To earn your trust we had to allow you
to discover what you saw on your own,’ added Esteban. ‘That is why we left your
cell unlocked. It was your insight that led you to where you had to be.’

‘How many are there?’ Jimmy asked.

‘As far as we can tell, the entire
population of Jackson’s Hill is in that room,’ replied the colonel. ‘There are
a few who didn’t make it, but you can be assured none of these were part of
your family. They’re all infected by some sort of psychic radiation. It’s the
same radiation that gives you your unique foresight. Their comas are chemically
induced. If we allow them to wake whilst still infected they attempt only to
harm themselves. Believe me, there’s no other option – we discovered this the
hard way.’

Jimmy sat back in silence whilst he took
in the news. Before his escape the last people he saw had fit in with the
colonel’s assessment of madness. If the army had not intervened, the town would
certainly have torn itself apart. In the end, somebody else did that for them.
Jimmy never saw Professor Jackson Fox in person. He had only heard the stories
about the man. People said he would change the world someday and make the town
famous. Jimmy always assumed this would be in a positive way. He was mistaken.
Everybody was.

‘What do you want from me?’ he asked.

The colonel placed an A4 sized photograph
onto the desk in front of Jimmy.

‘Do you know who this is?’

Jimmy did not look at the picture.

‘She’s a scientist. I only ever saw her
around town once or twice. She always preferred to stay at the observatory. You
think she can help bring those people back?’

‘We aren’t sure about that,’ replied the
colonel. ‘What we are sure of is that she’s dangerous. She helped create the
poison that took your old life away from you. We have to make sure she does no
more harm and just maybe, like you say, she could help us in the process.’

‘She will help,’ replied Jimmy, with
great confidence. ‘She was the one who stopped her grandfather from doing
anymore damage.’

Esteban looked at the colonel. There was
no mention in the file of Dr Rayne working against the professor. So far as he
had been led to believe, she was his accomplice.

‘So you’ll help us?’ the colonel asked.
‘I want you to do whatever you can to focus your gifts on finding her. She’s
made it clear she doesn’t wish to be found, but I have every confidence you can
do it. In the meantime, we’d like to run a few tests to see if your unique
situation can help us discover a way to cure your kinsfolk.’

It was Esteban, not Jimmy, who stepped
forward to voice his objection.

‘What kind of tests are we talking
about?’ he asked. ‘If Jimmy is to help us, he deserves something in return. I
want an agreement drawn up that protects his rights and guarantees him immunity
from prosecution...or experimentation.’ The last part of the sentence was
forced through gritted teeth.

‘Don’t worry,’ said Jimmy. ‘I’m in no
danger. All that matters is bringing my people back. When we find Dr Rayne,
you’ll soon see the truth.’

‘The truth – about what?’

‘Everything.’

Both the colonel and Esteban felt a chill
run through their bodies. When the boy talked it was impossible to discern if
he spoke through experience or foresight. When it came to the latter, it
reminded them just how little in control of the situation they really were.
Soldiers prepare themselves for the worst, but accepting one’s fate and knowing
it were far from the same thing.

Chapter 8

The weekend had little impact on Alex’s
morning routine. Even without the prospect of facing the classroom, she still
got up immediately after hearing her alarm sound at 6am. A quick trip to the
bathroom was followed by forty five minutes on the treadmill and a half hour of
yoga. She then showered, put on her clothes and made breakfast of cereals and
fresh fruit. The Saturday of Adam’s trip to the city began no differently to
any other.

After breakfast she spent some time
online checking the news reports for any unusual activity. One story in
particular had her concerned. The American military was increasing its numbers
within the country. This was supposedly in response to China’s rapid rise as a
global superpower and Australia offered an attractive strategic position due to
its growing presence within the Asian economy. She, however, suspected there
may be another cause.

She had tried going back to the old town
just once in the three years since she left. It was like a fortress with a ten
foot high fence encircling the entire perimeter, covering the town through to
the observatory and all the animal breeding grounds in between. There were
signs warning of a toxic spill at regular intervals just in case some did not
get the message that this was a dangerous place.

Finding a gap in the fence had not proven
too difficult. The animals in these parts had an uncanny knack of finding any
and every weakness that could be exploited within their environment. She
squeezed through a small hole that had been dug out by a large marsupial –
possibly a wombat or maybe even a kangaroo - their behaviours were so different
from the norm that it was impossible to tell. Once inside, she followed the
road towards Jackson’s Hill, or at least what was left of it.

When a bushfire destroys a forest, the
plants have adapted to survive and in some cases even thrive on the resulting
devastation. As the old vegetation becomes ash, the heat opens up new seeds,
ensuring there will be fresh growth. In just a couple of seasons the landscape
is restored to its former vitality. However, when fire destroys a town there is
no such regeneration. The only way a town can recover is if there are people
there to facilitate the rebuilding. Unfortunately for the town of Jackson’s
Hill, it no longer had any people.

The ground beneath her feet was blackened
and unbreakable like fused glass. Nothing remained of the structures that once
resided there. Every last brick of every building had been wiped clean off the
Earth. It was if the entire area had been smote by God. Of course, this was not
the handiwork of God, but it was done by those who sought her vast power. To
cover their failure, the Americans had deleted the place from existence.

The road continued on to the observatory.
She expected her former home to have befallen the same fate as the town, but as
its foreboding domed roof rose up from the horizon, she knew this was not the
case. She also realised she was no longer alone. Slowly and deliberately,
shadows began to appear in her peripheral vision.

A cull was an inevitable course of
action. There was not a single creature within a twenty mile radius that had
not been infected. The problem was that short of a nuclear explosion there was
nothing that could be guaranteed to take all of them out. Since nuclear weapons
were banned in all Australian territories this was not an option. As evidenced
by the makeshift entrance to the site that she had used, there were animals
that survived and populations were quickly re-established.

With each step they got nearer and she
had nothing with which to defend herself. All she had were the words of someone
precious. She closed her eyes and those words became as clear and sharp as the
edges of a diamond. She was no longer alone. Lucy’s voice could be heard so
clearly it was like she was standing there beside her.

Don’t worry – they won’t hurt you.
They can’t hurt you so long as your heart is pure.

‘But what about all the things I’ve done;
the misery I’ve caused?’

They will not hurt you. They can see
inside of you. They can see your soul.

‘But what if...?’

There are no ifs. They can see you.
They can see you as I see you.

She opened her eyes, but she was still
the only human being for miles around. Something had changed, however. The
animals that had been gathering were no longer as close. For whatever reason,
they seemed to have lost interest in her. Perhaps they really could see into
her soul or perhaps there was a more scientific explanation. For all she knew,
they may even have remembered her. Either way, it no longer mattered. If for
the briefest of moments there had been a threat, it had now passed. It was time
to continue on her journey.

A shiver ran up her spine as she
approached the observatory. For many years it had been a place for her to
study, a place for her to work and more importantly; it had been her home. Now
it seemed alien. Just before the end, rumours spread through the town that a
spaceship had crash landed in the desert. Superstitious inclinations and
over-active imaginations allowed these blatantly false rumours to profligate.
Three years on, they took on an ironic truth. The structure standing before her
that day was alien. It was alien in the sense that it did not belong anywhere
on Earth.

If the exterior of the building was
unchanged then inside was a different story. All the research equipment was
gone. Not only that, but every electrical appliance had also been removed. In
fact, everything that could store an electrical current had been taken away.
The wiring, the plug sockets and even the lighting fixtures had been stripped
bare. She could hazard a guess as to why somebody thought these precautions to
be necessary and was filled with utter dread. He was gone, but that had not
stopped him from coming back the first time or even the second. Was it possible
he could do it again?

The main laboratory had not escaped the
purge. The space left by the machine was like a miniature black hole. It seemed
to suck the air around it into its never ending vortex. It had been the source
of everything bad that happened, yet though it was now gone, the devastation
remained. The town was lost and the local wildlife changed forever.

By this time it was late in the afternoon
and the sun was already beginning to set. She wanted to see for herself if
things really were any different. There was an access hatch leading to the roof
of the dome via a ladder. She climbed up and waited for night to fall.

After escaping from the town, she had
subjected herself to every medical test known to man and none showed anything
to be wrong with her. As far as she could tell, her immunity to the radiation
was permanent. Where everybody else had succumbed to madness, she was
completely unaffected. Internally, the poison could not harm her, but
externally she believed there was still a chance she would feel its influence.
That is why she had returned.

As the land darkened, the sky lit up. The
Heavens were filled with the light from ten thousand stars. That was not what
she had come to see, however. As her eyes adjusted, she turned her gaze
downward, back to the desert surrounding her on all sides. Slowly, it too began
to light up. The animals began to glow. It was not a light that could be seen
by everybody. In her former life, she had travelled on an astral plane. When
outside of the body, matter takes on a different appearance entirely. It
becomes translucent and that is how she now saw the world – through the eyes of
an astral traveller, though she herself was firmly tethered inside of her own
body. The radiation was doing its job.

Energy in its purest form could not be
more distinct from the matter it creates. The animals could only be
distinguished by their movements. The kangaroos moved in short, staccato leaps.
The snakes flowed like a meandering river. All were different, yet all were the
same – just pure, compressed energy. There was more life there than she thought
possible. With each passing second the brightness increased until it
overpowered her.

She sensed that something was wrong. The
brightness was too intense. There was too much energy.

***

Alex was not the only one unable to let go
of the past. Back in the present, Jimmy was also confronting the tragedy that
had befallen his home town. It was not the town itself that he was concerned
with, however, but the residents who once called it their home. One resident in
particular was never far from his thoughts.

She looked peaceful. Her breathing was
calm and even. In fact, there were no physical signs that anything was wrong at
all. To all intents and purposes, it appeared that she was merely sleeping and
could wake up at any moment, completely oblivious to the drama surrounding her
slumber and that of her friends, family and neighbours. Jimmy squeezed her
hand, hoping she would feel something, but her body did not react.

He looked around the room. The beds were
all evenly spaced in neat, clinical rows. He had seen nothing like it before
other than in scenes from the movies. It was like the makeshift hospitals that
so readily sprung up on the battlefields of Hollywood war films. Except that
here there was no war going on and there were no pretty nurses on hand to tell
him everything was going to be all right.

His powers were useless here. When he
thought of the things he had done since leaving the town and all the people he
had helped, he knew that he would trade it all for a chance to help the woman
whose bedside he now attended at every opportunity. He would do anything just
to bring his mother back from the abyss into which she had fallen.

Sometimes, he thought he could see
movement in the corner of his eye, and turn, hoping to see the spirit of one of
the town’s fallen. Not all of his secrets were shared with the American people.
They were not aware he knew all about the experiments that had gone on at the
observatory of Jackson Fox. He knew that the scientists and soldiers there had
been able to travel outside of their bodies. With his enhanced senses he
believed it possible that should he ever encounter such a traveller, he may be
able to see them when nobody else could. Sadly, he saw no such spirits here.

***

She heard a car pull into the driveway.
Adam was not due home until much later and she did not expect guests. Since
arriving in town she had built for herself a social life that could be
described as functional at best. She attended the mandatory school gatherings
and made sure to be seen out and about with her boyfriend just enough to make
the relationship appear genuine. Apart from that, she kept herself to herself.
She most certainly did not entertain visitors at home.

Taking on a new identity was never easy.
The difficulty was compounded when the old identity was being sought by people
with seemingly endless resources. She could not for one moment allow her
vigilance to waver. That is why she had committed the names and faces of all
2,307 of the town’s residents to her memory. A school project she had initiated
based around family trees helped considerably with this. It also afforded her
the ability to compartmentalise the various branches and more easily build the
whole picture.

On top of the names and faces she was
also aware of what everybody did for a living and where they were supposed to
be at particular times. She also knew the make and colour of every car in town.
Jim Canning drove an orange-beige Camry. Ed Hoyland drove a red Honda. Sheila
Robinson a white Ford and so the list went on. If anything was out of place or
not how it was supposed to be, she knew about it. That is why the sound of a
car pulling into her driveway caused her so much alarm.

Carefully, she placed her index finger
between the blinds and opened up a slither to peek through.

It was a police car. The plates were from
Victoria, but also from out of town. She guessed at Melbourne or one of the
outer suburbs. This told her all she needed to know. She knew it involved Adam
before the policeman opened up the back door to allow her pseudo-boyfriend to
get out.

The two men exchanged a few words before
the one in uniform returned to his vehicle and drove away.

Various worst case scenarios battled
rational explanations within the endless corridors of her imagination. Had he
committed a crime or was he the victim? Had the law been broken or was this
resulting from some terrible accident? Did it really matter either way?

Packing to leave would not be a problem.
She always kept a small bag containing everything she would need under her bed.
Whatever the case; he would have to deal with it. Her anonymity could be
compromised for nobody.

‘What in Hell’s name is going on?’ she
demanded, as she let him into the house (unlike her, he did not have a key to
his partner’s home).

‘I’m so sorry,’ he replied, his face
ashen with either worry or grief.

‘Sorry about what? What have you done,
Adam?’

‘It was just a bit of fun. I didn’t know
any of this would happen. Now I’m going to lose everything. I’ll get fired from
work and nobody in this town will employ me ever again.’