Lure (28 page)

"My colleagues would only take their research so far, and whenever their findings pointed to the extraordinary—to things outside conventional wisdom—they were pressured to stifle those findings. The establishment did not want them to tarnish the reputation of the field, and much of what I found was considered too far fetched for the 'real scientists'." There was a note of bitterness in Michael's voice that Sam could relate with. She'd felt much the same when those in law enforcement had shunned her because of her paranormal research. It was as if people only wanted to learn things that did not take them outside of their comfort zone. No matter how much evidence she, or in this case Michael, could present, if it was too strange or outrageous, they would be cast aside and considered heretical.

"I kept most of my findings secret and only let others see the research that they would consider legitimate," Michael continued, his voice low and at times husky with emotion. "That is until I began to put all the pieces together. The conclusions I reached were too important to keep hidden. There was far too much at stake to keep it hidden any longer."

Michael trailed off and sat in quiet contemplation for a time, as if he had left the present and traveled to a painful past.

"What did you do?" Maddie asked in almost a whisper. There was a note of compassion in her voice, and that seemed to bring Michael back to the present.

"I bypassed my colleagues," he said after a few moments, and now his words were defiant. "I knew they would not listen to me, so I went to those who would have no choice but to at least look at my findings. I went to the governments of the world. This was not just a matter of national security; it was a matter of global security. It still is."

His words were filled with a mixture of rancor and conviction, but they were cut short by the sound of voices coming from above. It sounded as if someone was breaking into the carriage house. A panicked look came over Michael's face, as if he had just remembered some terrible mistake. Moving quickly, but as silently as he could, Michael scrambled to the old switch that controlled the lights and plunged them all into darkness.

* * *

The silent blackness seemed timeless, and the group had no way to gauge the passage of time save by their internal clocks. The lingering sounds of boots on the cobbled stone floor of the carriage house kept the group vigilant, and they knew silent darkness was their best defense. Deprived of sensory input, save for her sense of smell, Sam found her mind churning at a high rate. Michael's words had piqued her curiosity, but she dare not ask him to continue his tale. On top of that was the increasingly insistent pull of the lake. Though at times she had thought the urges were nothing more than a product of her imagination, this pull could not be denied; it was as physical and real as the wind, and about as easily defined. She could not capture it, or show it to her companions, yet it was still there.

Pale light poured in through the shoddy workmanship of the panel that concealed the entrance to the tunnel. It was that gap that Michael had so feared. As darkness had fallen, surely the lights in the tunnel would have been visible through that gap, and all their subterfuge would have been for naught. Despite the reality of this, Sam knew that her companions wished as strongly as she that they could turn the lights back on and make their way out of the tunnel.

Not long after she had that thought, there was a shuffling sound in the darkness. Sam thought she'd heard the carriage house door open and close at least an hour before, but no one had been willing to risk discovery, and they had remained still. Now though, the urge to go to the lake was almost irresistible, and Sam suspected the others were losing patience as well. She could not tell who it was that now blocked that tiny sliver of moonlight, but she knew someone was looking into the carriage house. When the moonlight suddenly grew brighter accompanied by the sound of the bench sliding over cobbled stone, Sam held her breath. Michael was pushing the door open from the inside.

In the bluish light she saw the faces of her companions blinking in the relative brightness. Michael climbed from the tunnel, and turned back and whispered, "It's clear. Come on out, but try to keep the noise down, they may still be nearby."

Shells wasted no time getting out of the tunnel; in fact, Sam was pretty sure she climbed over Greg before he could get out of her way. Her suspicions were confirmed when Greg said, "Damn, Shells, you're not getting any lighter, you know."

"Bite me, Greg. I couldn't stand it in there any more."

"Shhh." Michael said.

Sam offered her hand to Maddie and helped her stand, knowing just how cramped and sore her muscles must be from personal experience. There were more than a few grunts as they emerged into the pale light.

Nothing moved in the stillness of the carriage house or the parking lot beyond, but the landscape crawled with movement. Sam rubbed her eyes, certain they were playing tricks on her.

"Let's gather up the equipment," Michael whispered. "We need to get in position if we are going to capture any footage of the event."

The way he said 'the event' made Sam's skin crawl. He hadn't yet told them exactly what he expected to happen, but there was no doubt he expected it to be big—global security threat big. That thought alone was enough to make Sam's knees tremble, but her entire body thrummed with energy. It was like nothing she had ever experienced before.

"What time is it?" Maddie asked.

"Two forty-five AM," Michael said. "We only have about a half an hour to get into position."

"Three-thirteen," Sam said, goosebumps rising on her skin and the hair on her neck standing on end. Michael cast her a knowing glance but said no more.

"There is a place south of the beach where we can get a good view and still remain mostly hidden. I know the way. Just follow me and try not to fall behind. We don't have any time to waste. If we miss this, I'll never forgive myself."

Without another sound, Michael moved away, flitting from shadow to shadow, which made it even harder to follow him. She would have preferred he stay out in the light of the nearly full moon, but she knew he was trying to remain unseen. Much of the movement she had detected was the result of troops stationed around the lake; and they, too, were trying to remain unseen. What bothered her most was the movement that did not seem to be caused by anything natural. Fingers of blue light danced at the corner of her vision, and at one point she saw electric light, like the plasma of a neon sign, crawl from the edge of a kudzu leaf and leap into the open air before dissipating and disappearing.

"Did you see that?" Sam asked, despite knowing the need for silence.

"See what?" Shells asked.

"Never mind," Sam whispered under Michael's accusing glare.

"I saw it," Maddie whispered, and Sam wasn't sure she felt any better.

"Saw what?" Shells asked, making it clear she wouldn't shut up until someone explained.

"A bit of blue light jumped off of that leaf," Maddie said.

Shells looked dumbstruck, and her mouth dropped open. "Oh, great. Everyone is tripping except me. It's like college all over again."

"It's beginning," Michael said in an agitated whisper that silenced the rest of them and urged them for more speed.

Greg and Shells moved right behind Michael along a narrow footpath that wound through ancient pines. Much of the surrounding forest was choked with kudzu and the entire scene, bathed in moonlight, seemed like a dream. Sam slowed for a moment waiting for Maddie to catch up, and she noticed that it was not moonlight alone that illuminated the scenery; there was also light coming from the lake. In the area to which Sam and Maddie had been drawn, a blue light was radiating, dark shadows moving within the water, as if someone had submerged a spotlight and giant fish were swimming around it, only Sam didn't think it was a spotlight at all, or that there were fish that large in the lake. Once again, it made the hair on the back of her neck stand. She didn't think her senses could be any more heightened.

Maddie seemed to sense it as well, and the two of them had fallen behind. Sam was about to grab Maddie's hand and pull her into the shadows where she had last seen Greg and Shells, when she saw the Lake Lure Inn through a gap in the trees. With her senses on high alert, her eyes were drawn to what she knew had been the window to her room. There, surrounded by darkness, was a mass of even deeper black. Even from a distance, she recognized the shape of the apparition she'd seen that night, and once again it pointed to the lake; and once again, Sam felt drawn to the water. The urge was so strong that she almost turned aside from the path and leaped into the waiting waters, feeling as if she could swim to that light and all her questions would be answered. In the end it was Maddie who grabbed her arm and dragged her back into the shadows.

Fear crept into the pit of Sam's stomach, and she thought they had lost the trail; that the others had moved on without them, but they soon came upon a very annoyed Michael, who looked as if he wanted to wring their necks. "There is no time for sight seeing," he said, and they did their best to keep up with him.

Shells cast a lopsided grin at Sam and mouthed the words, "There is no time for sight seeing," while doing an exaggerated impression of Michael's ire, before rushing forward to catch up with the men. It almost made Sam laugh, and it temporarily lessened the tension. The lessening was short lived, and a shadow stepped out into the trail between her and Maddie. The figure in camouflage made a grab for Sam and missed. He made another grab for Maddie and caught her in his arms.

"Just hold still," a rough voice said. "I'm not going to hurt you. You're in grave danger out here. I'm just going to take you someplace safe. You, too, just come with me."

The man had turned to face Sam, but he had his hands full with Maddie, and Sam was torn. Maddie faced her with a look that showed the strength of her spirit. "I'll be fine," that look said, but still Sam hesitated. "Go!" Maddie mouthed the word and somehow made it a command. Despite every fiber of her being telling her to stay with her friend, Sam did as she was told. Still there was a tear in her eye as she ran. The feeling of guilt was also short lived. A moment later, a loud grunt filled the air, followed by the man shouting, "Hey! Come back here!"

Sam wasn't certain where Maddie would run, but when Sam resumed her own sprint to the shadows, she did so with a smile on her face. Maddie certainly could take care of herself.

* * *

"Where's Maddie?" Shells asked when Sam finally caught up to the rest of the group. They had made it to their destination, and Sam had to agree with Michael's choice; the view was magnificent.

"Someone grabbed her," Sam began, and Shells looked like she was ready to rip that someone's arms off. "I'm just about certain she got away, but I'm also pretty sure she won't be joining us. I think she went the other way to lead any pursuers in the wrong direction. Maybe we'll get lucky and she'll find her way back, but I wouldn't count on it."

"Are you sure she got away?" Shells asked.

"As sure as I can be without going after her. It sounded like she knocked the wind out of the guy, and then she took off. I was going to stay and help her, but she insisted I go. It was a tough call, but I ended up doing as she said."

Shells didn't look quite satisfied with that answer, and Sam did feel a little guilty, but there wasn't much she could do about it at that point. Instead she focused on seeing what was going on in the valley below. The light in the lake had grown brighter, and now it seemed less like the light was coming from below the water, and instead seemed to be coming from the air above the lake. In fact, the entire valley seemed to be charged, and the air nearly sang as it trembled with energy.

Looking up, Sam noticed that the moon appeared backlit and now looked like a full moon when it had clearly only been a partial moon hours before. When she looked closely, it seemed as if the moon was on fire, and blue and orange flames licked its circular edges. The craters stood out in sharper relief than she had ever seen them before and she became entranced by its ancient beauty. It had always been there, yet never before had she noticed it so keenly, and it was as if she looked upon it for the first time.

"I told them it would come!" Michael said with an air of righteous victory.

"OK, Mikey. This shit is starting to freak me out. Straight up. What the hell is going on here?"

Michael turned to her with the widest smile they had seen on his face yet. "At three-thirteen AM there will be a planetary alignment that hasn't occurred in over two-thousand years. When this occurs, gravity will be affected, and when gravity is affected, time is affected. Do you understand?"

"No," Shells said, and Sam thought it might be the most honest word Shells had ever uttered. Sam also had to admit that she didn't understand either.

"There is only one thing that affects the flow of time, and that is gravity. Did you know that time moves more quickly on Earth than it does in space?"

"Uh, no," Shells said.

"Well it does. In fact, satellites that circle the Earth have to make minute adjustments to their clocks in order to account for the time differential."

"You're freaking me out, dude."

"OK," Michael said. "I'll try to get to the point. Tonight, for a very brief time, it will be possible to travel between worlds."