The Quantum Objective (5 page)

Mimi looked around the nearly empty space for the last time; a bright bouquet caught her eye. There was something vaguely familiar about the radiant bunch. With a sigh she turned towards the door.

Southern France - Three years later
The dark lane curved between swaying fields of grass. Moonlight silvered the undulating blades as Beth’s key clanged in the lock. I wish he wouldn’t turn off all the lights in here.
She worried about leaving him alone on her trips to the Riviera, normally departing long after his soft snores had settled into an even rhythm. Well, I won’t be going back. I can’t believe I blew my low profile.
‘Aow!’
The crack of her shoe reverberated over the stone floor. Beth pulled off her stiletto and clutched her toe, scattering the contents of her bag. A nearby lamp revealed the culprit was a bucket of soil.
She collapsed into the closest chair, her pain replaced by a pang of anxiety at the bundles of cash strewn at her feet.
It wasn’t the first time she’d seen the cards line up for a big night, but she’d always stuck to small wins. Discipline was never a problem. With a sigh she picked up the wads of money and padded to the kitchen to put the kettle on. She unzipped her dress and laid her forehead on the counter top. A trace of adrenaline still trembled through her.
She’d often puzzled over gamers sweating, rejoicing or staring blankly at the tables. For her, gambling was predictable and fairly boring. It was about paying the bills. But this time had been different; everything just seemed to go her way.
Beth cringed at how much she’d liked the visceral pleasure of a big win. Every security camera had surely honed in on the mountain of chips on the blackjack table. That had brought her back to her senses. She’d lost half her winnings in a hurry, curious eyes shadowing her retreat to the exit.
Yes, you definitely killed the casinos. Her picture had no doubt been sent to every casino on the coast, maybe beyond. At least I still have enough cash to last for a couple of years if I’m careful with it.
Brew in hand, she checked the windows and doors, ending in Galen’s room where he slept with covers twisted tight about his waist. She brushed a finger over the honeycombed birthmark at his nape and placed a large bath towel over his shoulders.
I won’t have to leave you alone like this again, darling. Besides, it’s time to move to the next level.
Since he’d turned three, his control had improved beyond recognition. Only Beth had noticed his stillness at their last visitor, a cheery plumber.
She shook her head reprovingly in the mirror as she readied for bed. It had taken too long to understand that he wasn’t afraid of people. We could have started the meditation and breathing exercises sooner if it wasn’t for my lazy assumptions.
She pushed away guilt.
At least he’s able to tap into his serene temperament now. It definitely reduces the pummelling other people’s fears give him. Perhaps he’ll come with me to the village to restock the cupboards tomorrow.
A wave of exhaustion pushed her under the covers and as her eyes drifted shut, she wondered where she should hide the money.
*
A familiar, ineffective tickle against her ribs pulled Beth out of heavy slumber. Galen’s thick mop of hair nudged against her chin as he crawled on top of her, pushing his nose against her throat. She knew what was coming.
‘Pppfffwww!’ It reverberated against her neck drawing a pained laugh from her.
‘Darling, that is so unnecessary,’ She wrapped her arms tightly round his slim torso. He smelled of grass, clean sheets...and milk. ‘How long have you been up, mister? I thought you’d be sleeping after your late-night antics. Why did you put the flowerpot by the front door last night? I nearly broke my toe.’
Beth squeezed him so tight he groaned in protest before exploding with giggles as her highly effective tickles found his ribs.
‘Stop,’ he yelled, bucking and twisting away. Beth released him and watched as he sat up, pushing hair out of his enormous eyes. Their laughing gaze pierced her heart with such sweet joy, she grabbed at him again, but he jumped down.
‘No, you wake up now, mum. I gotted a s’prise for you,’ Galen hopped from one bare foot to the other in excitement, his naked form covered only by butter yellow, grass stained shorts. Beth gave a groan of dread.
‘Oh no, does this mean I have to go outside?’
‘Uh huh, uh huh,’ he tugged at her covers.
‘Well, can I at least get a coffee first?’
‘It’s there, I made it all by my own.’ Galen’s small finger was pointing to a plastic cup on her bedside table. As Beth peered through the morning light, she made out what looked to be cold milk with lumps of instant coffee floating on top.
‘Um…lovely. Thank you; that’s very thoughtful.’
As the last of the covers were pulled to the floor, she gave a genuine groan, rolling to one side then pushing herself up.
‘Ok let’s go see it.’ She dragged a cotton gown over her shoulders as she shuffled behind a bouncing Galen into the enormous field that was their back garden. It’s simply unreasonable to be so exuberant first thing in the morning, thought Beth, pulling her long hair into a braid; but he was always up with the sun, busy with his projects.
Scattered about were a number of his previous surprises. The first had been disconcerting and Beth had needed a full day to assimilate its creation. She approached it now and sat on it. It was a tree, precisely the shape of an armchair. Too small for her at its unveiling, it now fit perfectly. She’d later learned that arborsculptures were not unique to Galen, but she was certain no one else grew them in under three days.
Next to her chair was a small table and beyond that a scattering of uncanny creatures that included an oversized spider. She’d had to employ all her instincts as a supportive mother to applaud that one.
She took in the wide sky and easy breeze while Galen readied himself for the presentation. She hadn’t seen him this excited about a sculpture before. He was normally shy and a bit reluctant. With an excited skip and hop he pulled back the shielding screen so hard it wobbled and nearly toppled onto him.
Beth jumped up with a yelp, but astonishment cut her off. She’d grown accustomed to moments of astonishment, but this was truly beautiful. Before her stood a tall flowering vine of the double helix. The first laddered rungs were solid enough to hold the structure upright, but the top half was supple, twisting and waving in the breeze. Tiny white, blue and red buds bloomed amongst the delicate cords.
‘Wow!’ Beth cheered and bent at the waist to turn wide eyes on her son. He beamed and giggled.
‘Go Galen, go Galen! Go Galen, go Galen!’ Beth chanted. She clapped out a rhythm and together they did a little jig. Galen’s elbows swung about, ever so slightly out of time.
‘Well done, darling. It’s just splendid. Your best so far.’ She wrapped her arms around his body and swung him till his weight unbalanced her and she hastily put him down. I always regret doing that, she thought as the floor tilted below her feet.
‘So, what's the plan for today then? You get to choose, but I thought if you wanted, we could go to the village?’
‘Oohw, can we picnic, mum? Please, purrrleese…’ Galen tugged at her gown.
‘Ok. I propose we finish our work from yesterday with a breakfast picnic now, then later, if you feel up to it, we can try the village – we could go to Madame Renoir’s café?’ She knew Galen loved the cakes there almost more than life itself. And if we get in after the siesta, it should be empty.
‘Yeahy! Bohm is cited about the picnic.’ Galen dashed to get the picnic basket and Beth followed with a wrinkle of her nose; she’d have to find a way to keep Bohm away. These days he spent his open-cage time terrorising the field mice, often bringing them to the cottage like a prize. As she passed his enclosure near the back door, she wagged a finger at him, ‘no mice.’
He stared serenely back at her with fierce golden eyes. A booted eagle was not an ideal pet for a three-year-old child, but what could she do?
She walked to the kettle and spotted the jumble of cash on the counter. She grabbed an empty flour bag, shoved the wads into it and threw it onto a high pantry shelf. Right, time for coffee.

*
Fierce concentration was needed to avoid distraction from her notes. Bees and ants swarmed all over the picnic blanket, her clothes and hair. They kept crawling up her pen as she scribbled. Galen sat cross-legged, and Beth saw some of the ants near him pile up together. They stumbled and fell, then climbed up again, gradually forming a double helix on the worn chequered rug. The structure swayed and Galen stretched a finger over them; the ants at the top quickly clung to it, stabilising the ladder.
‘Is that the theme of the day?’ She smiled.
He shrugged. His casual posture belied a deep focus that never failed to impress her. She heard a change in the hum from hundreds of wings as the bees rose from their perches. They swarmed around his head and it took all Beth’s will to stay calm. Her throat closed and tears swam in her eyes. She was desperate to look away, but couldn’t. She had to observe and stay calm so that Galen didn’t react to her fear. She’d learned the hard way how much it interfered with his ability.
The first time she’d seen him with a swarm, she’d been unprepared. Her scream of horror had resulted in head to toe stings for Galen, which she’d been convinced would kill him. He’d cried and crawled into bed swollen and sore. After the longest three hours of her life, he’d woken with no trace of the trauma. He hadn’t spoken to her for a while after that. She’d finally stopped begging his forgiveness, lay on the sofa and placed a cold cloth over her swollen eyes. Eventually, he’d climbed up to lay his head on her chest without a word.
Yes, I learned my lesson.
The memory of it was enough to force down her panic now as the bees too formed a double helix that hovered over his head. It drifted towards the tower of ants and swallowed his small hand.
Galen closed his eyes. Slowly, he withdrew his hand from the mass and sat back. Beth pressed her stopwatch, reached for her camera, scrambled to her feet and clicked a dozen quick frames. She was then free to stare. It was the first time she’d seen two species collaborate like this. The bees and ants clung together forming a clear structure over a meter tall. She pointed the camera at Galen and took a few pictures. He looked so small and serious; there was no hopping and skipping now. She noticed a lone bee crawl from his hairline down his nose. His eyes slowly crossed as he tried to see it, making Beth laugh.
‘What about that one?’
‘Oh, he’s…grouchy,’ Galen wriggled his nose so that the bee took off. Beth contemplated this answer before picking up her notebook. She knew there wasn’t much point in asking for clarification. So far, he hadn’t been able to explain how he knew such things. She assumed he could pick up the feelings of a bee just as well as he did with people. He reported asking creatures to do what he wanted by showing them pictures in his head, and they would then decide whether to do it or not. He said it was up to him to ask nicely.
Beth hadn’t figured out the method of asking nicely, but got the impression it was like willing them to cede to his request. It was a similar story with the morphing of Bohm. Galen didn’t seem to choose what species the bird changed to; he just willed an element, such as colour or speed, which then manifested gradually as a particular species. Beth finished scribbling, clicked her stopwatch and closed her book.
‘Ok, all done for today. The Apocritan horde can get on their way.’ Galen turned away from the insects and they immediately dispersed. The bees flew off and the ants collapsed into a jumbled heap before filing off the blanket in an orderly manner. Beth hid her shudder of relief as she watched them go. While they no longer terrified her, she’d never get used to the quiet weirdness of these tests.
Galen pounced on the tightly sealed picnic basket and she crouched to help him. Time for a little normality.
*
Galen’s hard punch shot her into wakefulness so that she gasped into the dark.
‘Are you ok?’ She glanced at the bedside clock: 02:00. His silence squeezed her lungs as she made out his wide eyes. She clutched his stiff body to her.
‘What is it? Tell me so I can help you, darling.’ He was shaking down to his core and fear squeezed her throat. She turned him to face her.
‘Tell me now,’ she ordered.
His voice was clear and loud. ‘People are here. Three men have come. They want it.’
‘What it?’
‘I don’t know.’
The money? Did someone follow me from the casino? I must hide Galen, quickly. Her heart raced as her gaze darted around the room.
I can push him out of the bathroom window so he can run to the fields. They’ll never find him there.
As she flung back the bedcovers, a close creak drew her shocked gaze to the door. They were in the house already. She watched the handle turn and primal fear sliced her from head to toe. The muscles in her face seized. Before she could move, three men burst in, guns pointed at her head. Black ski masks covered their faces, convincing Beth it was a nightmare.
‘Put the boy down and get on your knees,’ a deep voice barked at her. When she didn’t move, one man stepped forward and snatched Galen so roughly she thought his arm would be wrenched from its socket. Galen screamed in pain, unfreezing Beth.
She leaped at the attacker, smashing her forehead against his nose. He grunted and threw her clean over the bed. Her head cracked loud against the wardrobe.
‘Take it easy,’ the first man growled, ‘damage the goods and you’ll have to tell him yourself.’
‘The bitch broke my nose.’
‘Jesus! Don’t you know he’ll break every bone in your body? Put the kid down and secure the package. We’ve 47 minutes to get to the rendezvous. Move it.’
Galen screamed as the man took him out of the room. Beth tried to get up, but her vision sparked and she couldn’t get her balance. Strong arms yanked her to her feet, hauled her back over the bed and out into the front room. Galen’s sobs came from the pantry. His isolation from the scene allowed Beth’s lungs a full breath.
‘I can give you the money. Take all of it, there’s no need to hurt us. It’s all here,’ she gasped. Blood crawled down her nape from her hairline. The men ignored her and produced a roll of black tape.
They’re not here for the money. They’ve come for me, just as they came before. Confusion warred with panic about Galen. What will happen to him here alone? Where are they taking me? How to stop them this time?
‘Please, don’t do this. You could take my money. There’s a lot of it. Tell him… you couldn’t find me.’
The first man pushed his gun in her face.
‘Quiet.’
He handed the tape to the second man who strode towards her. He grabbed her arms and wrenched them behind her back so far that she fell forward onto the sofa with a screech of pain as her ligaments stretched and popped. The tape cut into her wrists and ankles.
‘How the hell did an amateur like you get into this team?’ The first man scratched his temple with the barrel of his gun. ‘If you cut off the circulation like that, she’s not going to have any hands or feet by the time we get her to base.’
A loud clatter from the kitchen froze everyone. They turned to see Galen trembling by the slatted pantry door, the wooden pieces scattered around him.
The first man turned a cocked head to his companion. ‘Seriously?’
‘I am gonna break your face kid.’ The second man sprang to his feet and stalked towards Galen. Beth screamed, then Galen screamed and it all happened at once.
The three attackers fell to their knees clutching their heads. The first yanked off his mask, his face twisted with such agony it quelled Beth’s yell. His gaping mouth a mute black hole, he turned to face Galen, but his eyes didn’t follow. They rolled into his head, which arched back at an odd angle before his face began to melt. Beth screamed again as his skin bumped and buckled. She scrunched her eyes then turned to Galen’s endless shriek. She couldn’t move but had to stop him.
‘Galen, stop it!’
Abrupt silence was broken only by Galen’s rasping breath. He still stood by the pantry, eyes fixed on the wall opposite.
I wish I could move.
She knew the men were dead. Galen’s stillness told her so.
‘Darling,’ she croaked, ‘you need to help free my hands. Can you come to me?’
Stiff legs faltering, he crossed the room like an automaton and pulled at the tough tape with small fingers. The blood rushed back into Beth’s hands, making her groan with fresh pain. She freed her ankles and clutched Galen to her chest. He didn’t move. After endless minutes of gentle rocking, his arms lifted to her neck. Beth let out a wrenching sob.
Tears washed her face as she braced herself to look at the men. I must make detailed observations. The two masked figures lay crumpled, revealing little. She turned to the single unmasked leader. Her mind shied away, then the scientist in her forced the appraisal. She didn’t look away until the melted plasticine effect of his puddled features was burned in her memory.
She then slotted it out of her mind, tried to lift Galen onto the sofa and promptly gagged as her stomach churned. Galen lifted his head and she saw his cheek bloodied by the cut on her scalp. He pulled back her hair and wiped the wound gently with the warm brush of his fingers.
‘It’s gone now, just like them,’ he whispered and laid his head back on her shoulder.
Beth sobbed for her good little boy.
‘Thank you,’ she whispered. She knew then it was over, this life amongst the fields. She had to leave. Now. Tonight. She understood for the first time, that Liam, like his son, had saved her from these men. More men would come and she had to keep Galen very far away from them. For all of their sakes.