Unremembered (28 page)

‘A new text message,’ I say, tapping at the screen.

‘What does it say?’

After a few attempts, I finally figure out how to open the message and read it. But I don’t understand what it means.

‘It’s just two long numbers,’ I say with a frown.

‘Numbers?’ Maxxer repeats, walking over to me.

‘Yeah,’ I say, confused. ‘35.35101 and -117.999523.’

Maxxer freezes. ‘Who is it from?’

I look at the screen again. ‘It says “unknown number”.’

‘And what number did Alixter call you from last time?’ she asks.

I feel the colour drain from my face. ‘An unknown number.’ I glance back down at the phone. ‘But what do these digits mean?’

‘Those are GPS coordinates,’ Maxxer informs me. ‘Alixter is telling you where to meet him.’

Maxxer’s car is parked in a dimly lit garage next to the
storage facility. I help her carry Cody’s unconscious body to the car and strap him into
the back seat before hurrying around to the passenger side. Maxxer slides in behind the wheel.

She turns the key in the ignition and the engine revs to life. She takes my borrowed cellphone out of her pocket and shows it to me. The image on the screen doesn’t look like much. Shades
of red layered with light browns. And a blinking blue dot marking a spot right in the centre. ‘According to this, the location is close to a place called Red Rock Canyon,’ she explains.
‘But these exact coordinates are in the middle of nowhere. About ten miles from any road or state highway. My guess is Alixter is leading you somewhere remote to avoid causing a public
scene.’ She hands me the phone. ‘I can get you close but you’ll have to travel the rest of the way by foot.’

‘That’s fine,’ I agree.

‘And just to be safe . . .’ she begins, flashing me an apologetic look.

I nod. ‘I know.’

She pulls the Modifier out and spins the dial counterclockwise. ‘I’ll put it on a low setting. You’ll only be out for fifteen minutes. Just until we’re away from
here.’

I close my eyes and lean back against the headrest, inviting her to do what she has to do.

I feel the prick of the cold metal and the faint vibration of the electricity flowing into my nervous system and then . . .

When I wake up, we’re on a dark, empty highway. I didn’t even realize how late it had gotten. The day is already gone. Maxxer drives in silence, her eyes focused on the road.

‘How far away is this place?’ I ask.

She jumps slightly at the sound of my voice but quickly composes herself. ‘About forty-five minutes.’

As we drive, I think about Zen.

About what I’m willing to do for him.

After tonight I’ll be back there. At the Diotech compound where I came from. Where this all began.

Except this time, Zen won’t be there.

There’s no way they’ll ever allow him to come back. There’s no way they’ll ever allow me to see him again.

But it’s worth it. As long as I know he’s alive, I’ll be able to live with my decision.

The meaning of the poem has never been clearer to me than it is right now.

‘Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds.’

Circumstances cannot change how you feel. When you truly love someone – on a level that goes deeper than your mind, deeper than your memories, all the way to the very thing that makes you
human – you do whatever it takes.

You save him.

I just hope I get to see him one more time.

‘Are you scared?’ Maxxer asks me.

I contemplate his question. I guess I really hadn’t thought about it until now. I’ve been so preoccupied with finding Zen. Saving Zen. Protecting Zen. I didn’t even stop to
think about my own future. About what it will be like when I return to the Diotech compound.

The truth is, I have no idea what my life will be like after tonight. I don’t know what they’ll do to me, since I have no recollection of anything they’ve ever done.

I only know that I won’t be with Zen.

And that’s the most terrifying thought of all.

‘Yes,’ I finally reply. ‘I’m very scared. But I have to do this.’ I breathe in. ‘I love him.’

Maxxer nods. ‘I know.’

I turn and study her face, the dashboard lights reflecting off the lenses of her glasses. I don’t know where I’d be without her and yet she’s still so mysterious to me. An
enigma. There’s so much about her I don’t know. And then it suddenly dawns on me just
how
much she seems to know about
me
. Practically everything, actually. She knew
it was me chatting with her in the coffee shop. She knew where to pick me up. About the phone call with Alixter. My entire story with Zen. How I got here and everything that’s happened since.
She knew exactly
what
I wanted to know.

It’s as though she’s been one step ahead of me this entire time.

And I didn’t even think to question it until now. I was so wrapped up in
what
she knew, I didn’t even stop to think about
how
she knew.

‘What’s wrong?’ she asks, evidently sensing me staring at her.

‘How do you know so much about me?’ I ask. ‘You left Diotech before me and yet you’ve been talking about everything as though you were
there.
You had
all
the answers. And at some point, you even seemed to have the questions too. Plus, when we were chatting online, you knew it was me. You knew where I was and you even knew when my phone
was about to ring. You couldn’t possibly know all of that unless . . .’

‘Unless what?’

‘Unless . . .’ I begin again, but I can’t seem to come up with a logical response.

‘Unless I can see the future?’ she says, flashing me a shrewd smile.

I turn and gape at her.

‘Don’t look so surprised,’ she says. ‘You know how transession works now. And I already explained this to you during our online chat.’

‘You did?’

‘You asked who I was, and I said I was—’

‘An old friend,’ I finish, quoting her exactly from the transcript that’s now etched into my memory.

‘You just assumed I was a friend from the
past
.’

‘You mean, we met in the future?’ I venture, completely unsure of the words coming out of my mouth.

‘Yes,’ she says. ‘Although technically it’s
your
future, not mine. For me, the meeting has already happened. That’s how I knew so much about you. Or even
that you existed. Because
you
told me everything. About the phone call, about Zen, about when you would contact me, and what you would ask. You even told me what search terms you would use
on the Internet. That’s how I knew how to set up the message-board posting so you would find it. And find me. The only thing you conveniently managed to leave out was the kid.’ She
jerks a thumb over her shoulder and I glance back again at the still unconscious Cody.

‘I’m still confused. When is all this going to happen?’

‘For you, the meeting will take place . . .’ She pauses, biting her lip. ‘Well, you’ll find out soon enough. Let’s just say you and I are destined to play a very
important role in each other’s lives.’

I struggle to follow her explanation. ‘So you’re saying that sometime in the future –
my
future – I’m going to travel back to somewhere in the past –
your
past – and I’m going to tell you how this day happened?’

‘Yes. But not only that, you’re going to
send
me here – to this point in time – to help you.’

I shake my head. ‘This is crazy.’

She laughs. ‘Welcome to my world.’

Twenty minutes later, Maxxer pulls the car to the side of the road and kills the engine. I peer through the windshield but there’s really not much to see. Through the
darkness, I can make out nothing but miles of jaggedly cut red-rock mountains.

Maxxer takes the phone from my lap and shows me the screen. ‘As you can see, we’re currently at 35.34128, -117.971756. Which means you have to travel approximately three miles
north-west to get to the coordinates Alixter sent.’

I nod, feeling my stomach start to churn. ‘OK.’

‘You should take this phone with you. It’ll help lead you to the right place.’

I grab it and stuff it in my pocket. ‘Thanks.’ Then, with a deep sigh, I step out of the car. I open the back door and duck inside. Cody is still out. His body is sprawled across the
seat, the side of his face pressed into the black leather upholstery.

‘Are you sure he’s going to be OK?’

‘He’ll be fine,’ Maxxer assures me. ‘After I drop you off, I’ll drive him home and put him to bed. When he wakes up in the morning, he won’t remember any of
this. Or me.’

I know I will probably never see Cody again. Or Heather. Or Scott. The thought saddens me but I understand it’s the way it has to be.

I bend down and whisper into his ear. ‘Goodbye, Cody.’ And even though I know he can’t hear me and won’t remember any of this anyway, I add, ‘When I get back to my
home planet, I’ll be sure to send you the hottest thirteen-year-old girl I can find.’

Then I plant a soft kiss on his exposed cheek. It’s the first time I’ve kissed anyone since I lost my memories. And although I know it’s not the same kind of kiss I witnessed
between Zen and me when we were on the compound, it still fills my body with warmth.

I give his blond hair a ruffle and shut the back door. I walk around the front of the car, and Maxxer rolls down the window.

‘Well,’ I say with a weak smile, ‘I guess I’ll see you later?’

She chuckles. ‘Yes, you will.’ Then she reaches out the window and grabs my hand. ‘Be careful.’

I nod. ‘I will.’

I start to turn but stop when I hear Maxxer say, ‘Actually there’s one more thing I’m supposed to tell you.’

‘What’s that?’

‘Just a little piece of advice that you asked me to relay to you.’

‘That
I
asked you?’ I confirm.

‘Yes.’

‘OK,’ I say warily. ‘What advice did
I
have for myself?’

She closes her eyes for a brief moment, as if trying to remember the exact words. When she opens them again her expression is serene. Placid.

‘Trust your heart,’ she says, her gaze drifting downward for a moment, in the direction of my chest, before returning to meet mine again. ‘It’s the only thing that will
never lie to you.’

As I start to run, gaining speed by the second, I feel the cool
prick of moisture on my cheeks. I hadn’t even realized I’d started crying
again.

But the warm wind whisks against my face, roughly brushing the droplets away, and the arid desert climate immediately dries my skin. Leaving behind no trace of the tears. Or the emotions that
summoned them.

I run as fast and as hard as I can. Although the map is still displayed on the cellphone in my pocket, I don’t need to look at it. I already memorized it. Plus it’s almost as though
my mind knows exactly where to go anyway. As though I have some kind of internal GPS system working as well. My body steers itself.

I reach the base of a towering rock formation and slow to a stop. The facade is spectacular. Painted in thick stripes of burnt red, grey and sandy white. Large turrets seem to be carved right
into the face. Like hundreds of miniature castles stacked side by side. The result is both magnificent and creepy at the same time.

I glance up at the peak. Looming ominously. Rising several hundred feet in the air. Made even more daunting by the dark night and the faint moonlight reflecting off the top.

From how far I’ve run and what direction I’m facing I know that the coordinates are leading me right there. To that summit.

That’s where the two numbers meet: 35.35101 and -117.999523.

Where they intersect.

Collide.

Where
everything
collides.

My past and my future.

The one I love and the one I despise.

His freedom and my imprisonment.

It’s the memory of Zen’s face that pushes me forward. The feeling of his arms wrapped around me, his lips pressed against mine, the sweet sound of his voice as he promises that they
will never be able to take him away from me.

As I find a groove in the rock and position my foot to take my first step upward, I know that he was right.

No matter what happens next, no matter what they do to me, he will always be there. Even if I can’t remember him.

The ascent is difficult. At times I’m forced to scale the side of the butte using only small indents in the cliff to place my hands and feet. My strength proves advantageous several times.
I slip more than once, nearly plummeting to the ground hundreds of feet below. But I still reach the top in less than twenty minutes.

I pull myself up with my hands and throw my legs over.

I’m not sure what I expect to see when I stand up and brush the red dust from my clothes, but the sight still surprises me.

It’s empty.

There’s absolutely nothing here apart from a miraculous view of the stars and a brilliant red-rock mountain range.

I walk in a small circle, taking in every square inch of the summit, but can find no sign of life.

Was it a trick?

Are they not even coming?

But then why lead me all the way up here for nothing? If it’s really me they want, why wouldn’t they be here to apprehend me?

I walk to the other side of the peak and glimpse over the edge. There’s nothing but sharp, jagged, rust-coloured rock as far as I can see. The drop down into what I suppose must be Red
Rock Canyon looks infinite. As though there’s no bottom. It just keeps going until you fall out the other side of the earth.

But it’s not the depth of the canyon that catches my attention.

It’s the large crevice that seems to be cut out of the side of the wall directly below me. It looks like the mouth of a cave.

I take the phone out of my pocket and check my location. Just as I suspected, I’m standing right on top of the blinking blue dot. And then it hits me. GPS coordinates are only two numbers.
Two dimensions. Longitude and latitude,
X
and
Y
. There’s no
Z
.