THAT FALL

Josey was vacillating over appropriate travel shoes when a cricket chorus filled her head and she realized it was too late to escape. She palmed the sides of her head to vice away the intense screeching. The evil had come. Victor appeared at her door, chef’s knife in hand. Unceremoniously, Victor dragged her by her hair down the long hall. Now her hair was all tangled after she had spent twenty minutes smoothing it. Damn him as he ranted about bitches and liars and other nonsensical tripe and confirmed her longstanding belief that Longwood did not assess the employees for mental competence.

As she struggled against his entwined hand, scratching at his arms and fingers, she castigated herself for trusting Victor. During her first Longwood stay for her Valium overdose attempt, she considered Victor a friend. Victor brought her chocolate, helped her with her puzzles, and even asked her for a tarot reading. She ignored the smell of burned meat that filled her nose and flashes of rape that invaded her mind each time Victor was in her presence, trusting Victor’s protestation that he was, “The nicest guy here.” Victor’s tarot reading revealed the truth, but she concluded her interpretations of depravity and cruelty were erroneous. She told Victor he had negative people around him and withheld the reading indicated he was the evil in his life. She smiled, coyly, and related a positive future no matter the cards spread before her and the flashes of violence in her mind. How could such a nice man, who brought her chocolate, be evil? After his tarot reading, Victor reached across the table and examined the charm on her necklace. Her nostrils flared at the smell of charred flesh. She forced herself to be polite and to not pull away.

“Let me pay you for such a nice evening,” Victor said, wrapping his fingers around the chain and pulling her towards him, his smoker’s breath acid on her face.

Shocked more at her own stupidity than his behavior, she resisted. A flash appeared in her mind of Victor riffling through a patient’s clothing, taking a wallet out and removing the contents. As the familiar fog filled her mind, she blinked several times and said, “Stop. You’ll break the chain.” Victor was not sincere or kind. He was not interested in her or her cards or her puzzles. She murmured, “I’m going to bed.”

He let go of her necklace and waved his arm towards the bed like a game show host revealing the big prize, saying, “Agreed. Let’s.”

She froze, relieved when the night nurse came to deliver sleeping medication. She avoided Victor until her second visit, when he cornered her and she jabbed his eye with a pen. Then Victor avoided her. As she had chided herself time after time, avoiding assholes is never the right choice. The predator will always pursue, always return, until destroyed. Reporting Victor’s crimes was pointless. She should have killed him. And here she was, in a stranglehold with a knife at her back disappointed she would achieve her death at Victor’s hand and not her own.

She had chosen to die the moment she closed the cover on the very last book addressing psychic ability. After two-hundred thirty-six books, she was no closer to managing her abilities. You would think one or two people similarly burdened would draft an instruction manual. As a means to free books, even her bookstore job was pointless now. Sleep, poisoned with newsreel dreams of the next day, was pointless. Traveling the subway, with passenger secrets echoing into her skull, was pointless. Food shopping meant avoiding aisle six where the sixth-grade teacher, pretending to shop for cereal, was imagining the little girl buying cookies with her mommy licking his balls. Josey’s life was unlivable. Even when she had a useful vision, she decried it and ran headfirst into a wall.

As Victor dragged her into reception and pulled her to her feet, Josey was not surprised to find Edgars holding Lindsey in a similar choke hold, repeatedly flicking his tongue into Lindsey’s ear and whispering something about lemons. Lindsey cried and begged him to stop for the minute before Doctor Antoine burst from the stairwell with Oren and Jack close behind. Josey’s heart sank. Old Doctor Antoine was tough, but unprepared for physical confrontation, no matter his military service. Jack was sweet, cerebral and gimpy. And Oren, as intimidating as he appeared, rescued any spider found inside by gently carrying the arachnid to the nearest exit. Where was Dave? Or the glowing people? She imagined Dave rushing from the elevator, gun blazing.

“What’s going on here, Victor?” Doctor Antoine asked, his panic obvious.

“Rectifying my mistreatment, Doc. At least I could breathe working under Lansing. With you, it’s been nothing but trouble,” Victor said as he pulled up on Josey’s neck and watched Edgars grope Lindsey. “Edgars likes the little juice girl. So, we thought we’d go on a double-date since it was these two who got me in trouble.”

“Where is Stevens?” Oren asked.

“In the kitchen,” Victor said. He poked the knife into Josey’s back.

She refused to cry out and give him the satisfaction of the fear he desired and tried to guess how badly he would stab her if she grabbed his face. She clenched her fists, recalling her second suicide attempt as she pressed the tip of the pocketknife into her forearm and watched the blood drips make little apricot spots on the yellowed carpet. Lovely spring marigold blooms, she had thought. The burning of the deeper cuts surprised her. She had to bite a pillow and fight fainting to get the job done. A stab to the ribs would be as vicious, but the vision of taring Victor’s eyes out lessened the estimation of her own pain. She just needed the right moment to turn and shove her thumb into his eye.

“She was packing to escape you crazies,” Victor said, rubbing his face in her hair. “And the little juice bitch was playing on her phone. As usual. Lying bitch. I never touched the one upstairs.”

Josey closed her eyes, allowing her mind to fill with Victor’s exploits. Many she had seen before: Victor stealing from patients’ wallets, drawers, and cases. Victor molesting sedated female and male patients. Victor doubling Gwen Coster’s sedation before he raped her. Victor adjusting the flow of Renya’s intravenous drip. Then, a flash of Lindsey deciding Victor’s presence in Renya’s room was an opportunity to earn recognition. Josey opened her eyes. Sure, Victor deserved punishment, but not at the hands of little phone bitch.

“What do you think this will achieve, Victor?” Doctor Antoine said, attempting a therapeutic tone.

“World’s done, right? All those ships invading. So, me and Edgars decided to go out with a bang. When I’m done with this one, I’ll finish the evening with the sedated one upstairs,” Victor said, “since I got fired and didn’t even get to cop a feel.”

“Can I tell him what we did with Stevens, Victor?” Edgars drooled his first words. Lindsey closed her eyes, trying to get her footing on the tips of her toes as Edgars pulled up on her throat.

Victor said, “Sure. Doctor Antoine will find it amusing.”

Edgars laughed. “I ate him.”

How does one respond to that? Josey mused, pushing from her mind the impressions of Edgars dragging Stevens’ sedated body into the kitchen and of Edgars cutting fingers from a hand. She wondered if the corpse smell was Edgar’s skin or breath. At least Victor only reeked of cigarettes. Damn.

Victor said, “I came to get officially fired but found all of you were otherwise occupied. Having your little party. No one collected my security card. A little oversight. Right, Doc?”

Lindsey’s babbling screams could only be pleas. Would that bitch never shut up? What a whiny brat. Oh, my classes are so hard. My parents bought me a pre-owned Mercedes. So embarrassing. My friends are at the park and I’m stuck here. Blah, blah, cry, cry. Josey had completed her college degree, with honors, in three years. What was so hard? You want hard? Try being able to read everyone’s mind, have terrifying precognitive dreams, and smell other’s intentions. Try that for a life. “Lindsey, shut the fuck up!” Josey snapped, feeling the pressure of the blade burn between her spine and rib cage.

Oren advanced two steps, but Doctor Antoine waved him back.

Victor said, “That’s right, Doc. Tell that big, black piece of shit to keep still.”

Oren’s eyes narrowed. “I should have beat you down years ago.”

“Ah, well, we all have regrets.” Victor said, finally piercing Josey’s shirt. Warm blood tickled her lower back as she finally met Jack’s stare. He was crying.

“Let’s go to my office and talk about this—”

“This is not the time for a therapy session, Doc. Edgars and I are taking your fancy Audi and the girls. The rest of you can do whatever you’re doing. How’s that sound?” He pulled Josey closer to the plastic sheeting as she tried to regain her footing.

“We are taking the girls on a date,” Edgars insisted, seemingly the only one not annoyed by Lindsey’s whining cries. “And then I’m having both for dinner.”

Lindsey screamed something unintelligible. Take a selfie of this, moron, Josey thought as Oren leaped forward and grabbed Victor’s knife arm. Josey dove towards the wall. As she turned back, Navin emerged from the elevator, raised his gun and shot Edgars through the temple. Lindsey screamed and fell to the floor. Reynolds remained inside the elevator, blocking Renya in the wheelchair behind him. Navin aimed again, hesitating. Oren, the larger, and Victor, the younger, were evenly matched, grunting and competing for the knife. Victor pulled back, leveling the knife at Oren’s stomach. Oren tried to push him away, but Victor leaned, slowly penetrating Oren’s gut with the thick blade. Oren moaned, his knees buckled, and he collapsed. Navin shot, clipping Victor’s ear. Shock spread over Victor’s face as Navin took his third shot. Victor, half the contents of his skull strewn over the tile, dropped to the floor.

For Josey, the room went silent. Lindsey’s mouth was open in a wail. She could see Oren moaning and holding his gut as his blood coated the tile floor. In slow motion, Renya pushed past Reynolds and reached Oren. She knelt beside him and held up her hands as a pinkish-silver light shown all around her. The knife rose out of Oren’s stomach and fell to the floor. Navin rushed forward, but Reynolds was already at Renya’s side. Renya placed her hands over Oren’s stomach and the wound closed. His scrub shirt and the tile appeared spotless. Even the discarded knife appeared clean. Reyna dropped her head as if exhausted and her light dissipated.

Josey’s hearing returned as Oren whispered, “Why?”

As she collapsed into Reynolds’ arms Renya said, “You cared for me. And I am so sorry…”

Doctor Antoine leaned over Oren. “It’s… it’s gone. The wound.” He asked Oren, “Do you feel anything?”

Oren blinked a few times, struggling to rise onto his elbows. He said, “Alive.”

Reynolds growled at Navin, “I told you to let me handle it! You never listen to me. Ever. Damn it!”

“I got both of them, didn’t I?”

“You knew your mother would sacrifice herself. Again.” Reynolds said, lifting Renya into his arms.

Jack coaxed Lindsey to her feet as Nurse Vasquez, pushing Katie in a wheelchair, entered reception with Brian and Eleanor close behind. “What’s happening? It sounded like gunshots.” She turned and saw the blood. She saw Edgars and Victor. “What the hell are they doing—Are they dead?”

Doctor Antoine rushed to her side, “You shouldn’t be down here.”

“You told me to get the patients and… Are they dead?”

“I can’t explain,” the doctor said.

“Are they dead?” she asked again.

“Let’s go,” Reynolds said, proceeding down the hall with Renya limp in his arms. Navin tossed his gun on to a waiting room chair and marched alongside Reynolds. Not knowing what else to do, the group followed and found themselves in the pool room. Reynolds deposited Renya on a lounge chair.

Navin leaned over the pool and said, “I did my job and protected the portal.” He turned to Reynolds. Josey could see his eyes were a deep emerald. He almost spit, “And where is your minion, huh? A lot of help he is!”

Reynolds met Navin, nose to nose. He spit back, “Katro and Castania are on the skylight targeting the agents who have surrounded us. Asshole.”

Josey looked up and could see Katro peering through the glass down at them. She noticed the heavy scent of chlorine. The pool filter hummed, and the water simmered, a bubbling black night sky. She noticed the late afternoon sun behind Katro’s body. Why was the sun not sparkling in the pool? She leaned towards the simmering water, stars twinkling within. For a moment, she swore she saw her stepfather’s face, leering at her. His bloodshot eyes bored into hers and his lips twisted into his characteristic sneer. She stepped back as Jack placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Don’t look in there, Josey,” Jack advised.

Doctor Antoine interrupted her reverie, asking, “What do you mean agents?”

Reynolds continued to stare into Navin’s eyes, saying, “I mean twenty-three agents. I sensed their arrival and sent Katro and Castania to investigate.” Reynolds’ snarl vibrated the walls and slight waves formed over the surface of the pool. Josey noticed Navin and Reynolds locking eyes in a conversation Josey appreciated but found incomprehensible. Navin blinked and touched his thumb and forefinger together. Reynolds blinked back.

“I thought the agents were dead. More agents?” The doctor was frantic.

“What do we do?” Jack asked, pressing Josey’s shoulder.

Lindsey started to cry hysterically and curled up against the wall. Eleanor went to comfort her, saying, “Lots of crying whenever you people show up.” With obvious discomfort, Eleanor positioned herself on the cold cement and let the girl fall against her.

Reynolds waved to the ceiling and Josey could hear someone slide across the skylight. Josey tried to make out what was moving but could only see Katro and the blazing sunlight behind him. She raised her hand over her eyes.

Brian, curious, peered into the pool. Reynolds gently guided him away. “Have a seat over there, son.” Brian hesitated but, upon seeing Renya, sat in the lounge chair next to her. He leaned over his handheld game and zapped aliens. Josey considered the irony.

Castania appeared at the doorway carrying what appeared to be a long, thin rifle. “You rang?”

“Tend to your mistress,” Reynolds said.

“They are coming up the drive,” Castania said. She waved that phone gadget over Renya’s body. “Weaker. Where’s the cat?”

“Who’s coming up the drive?” Eleanor asked, her face pale around her wide-eyed stare.

“Agents,” Jack said as he released Josey’s arm and dropped onto a lounge chair.

“Is that a bigger problem than dead people?” Nurse Vasquez asked, incredulous.

“Can’t you just do what you do, Reynolds. Like slamming me around,” Doctor Antoine said. He wrapped an arm around Nurse Vasquez.

Reynolds ignored them, addressing Navin. “We cannot handle this threat near the portal.”

“If we leave it unguarded…” Navin looked up at the skylight. “We have no choice but to confront them here Unless we all travel by car.”

Reynolds locked eyes with his son. Josey could see the resemblance now. Physically similar, yes, but they shared facial expressions and mannerisms only family could share. And practiced a style of communication Josey could not decode.

“Move everyone against the wall,” Navin said. “Stay flat against it. Josey, get behind my mother. Do it!” He grabbed Jack’s arm. “Remember what I told you? Now is the time.”

Jack nodded, seeming to wake from a dream. Nurse Vasquez rolled Katie to the corner. Josey joined them, standing behind Brian and Renya. Oren took the lounge chair on the other side of Renya. It was as if they were about to pose for some twisted family photo as Navin and Reynolds framed them against the wall. Some pool party.

Reynolds examined the pool surface and said, “You set the portal for the base?”

“Last I checked,” Navin said.

“Switch it.”

“To where?” Navin asked, moving toward the edge of the water.

“Dystatia.”

Navin pursed his lips, considering. “Can do. For once, I agree with you.” He waved his hand over the pool and it turned a deep orange.

Reynolds raised his hands slightly. A gold light shone around the perimeter of the pool and raised, forming a curved cover doming the water. He stepped back and said, “You want to get in on this?”

“Does it need it?” Navin leaned over seeming to admire the gold light.

“Cannot hurt.”

Navin closed his eyes and a green sheer light coated the gold light dome. The pool seemed encapsulated in a lime-green jello.

“Just in time,” Reynolds said, spinning around as the double doors slammed open and two agents charged into the room tandem, shooting wildly.

Josey could not tell if they were using guns or lasers, but the sound was deafening. She covered her ears but saw Navin leap, crouch, raise his hand, and take down one agent with a bolt of emerald light. Navin waved his hand, seeming to swish a fly, and the dead agent flew into the pool. Josey watched the agent fall through the light dome and into the orange depths. The second agent took cover behind a pillar, firing on Navin. Navin returned fire and caught the agent in the shoulder.

Reynolds raised his hand and a red ball of light shot from his palm, exploding the head of the agent behind the pillar. Then, without hesitation he faced the windows along the long wall and aimed at the second two agents crashing through the windows. Glass exploded into the room and Josey could see the fragments sparkle like snow in sunlight. The glass vaporized into the orange pool while the bullet shells bounced off the lime-green pool cover. A shot from the ceiling took another agent down instantly. More glass rained down from the ceiling and sizzled in the orange water. Reynolds caught the second agent with another red ball of light. The man, headless, flew backwards against the far wall. Reynolds waved his hand and all three dead agents flew into the pool. Josey watched them sky dive through the orange haze.

Another agent leapt into the room from the window side and fired twice, hitting Renya with long darts. Castania jumped forward and fired, missing, as she focused on removing the darts from Renya’s chest. The agent fired again and Reynolds, trying to shield Renya, took the third dart to his own shoulder, where it hung as he raised his left hand. Another ball of red light flew from his palm and struck the attacking agent in the cheek, knocking him to the cement. Josey, deaf from the impacts, could only assume the rumbling growl shaking the floor was Reynolds.

Another agent appeared through the double doors, weapon raised. Reynolds spun and hit him with a red bolt, knocking him down and tearing the corner of the door from its frame. Two more agents rushed the doors. Josey heard a shot from behind her and another ringing over her head as Castania and Katro took both down. Another agent launched through the window and Reynolds knocked him back while covering Renya’s body with his own. Then Reynolds charged the doors, seeming to grow larger as he disappeared into the hallway. With the concussions dampening her hearing, Josey could barely perceive the melee beyond the doors and recognized the muffled screams and moans of death.

Another emerald light ball formed in Navin’s hand as several agents leaped through the windows into the room. Two collapsed from shots fired from above Josey’s head. Tearing across the room, Navin tackled the remaining agent who was attempting to stand. Navin clocked him across the face repeatedly, watching the blood flow from the man’s lip and eye socket. Navin grabbed the man’s short hair and slammed his head onto the cement. But in his fury, he heard Nurse Vasquez screaming. He turned and Josey followed his gaze. Castania and Nurse Vasquez were attempting to stabilize Renya, who was wailing and sliding off the lounge chair onto the cement. Josey tried to make out the words through the cotton in her ears.

“My son! They have my son! Why will no one help me?” she cried in terror as she swung her arms wildly. Nurse Vasquez could not get a hand on her. Doctor Antoine attempted to grab Renya, but she punched him and tore at his face. Josey watched as Renya slapped Castania so hard, the purple woman flew into the wall at the far side of the room. She sunk to the floor, still.

Brian leapt from his chair and rushed to Eleanor, allowing her to cover his head. Josey could still hear the muffled screams from the hallway as shots rained down from above, taking out another agent who attempted to enter the room through a window.

Josey watched Navin race towards Renya, grab her shoulders and scream, “Be here. Be now. I am here.” But nothing would console her. Renya raged against them, screaming and pounding her fists in all directions. She shattered the cement floor with her fist. She pushed Doctor Antoine to the ground with a wave of her hand.

“She’s having a break!” Nurse Vasquez struggled to her feet, holding her hands to her mouth. “I’ve seen others do that. Let it run its course–or give her a shot of something.”

“They already shot her,” Navin said, attempting to grab Renya’s shoulders again, but she pulled free once more, stumbling across the cement, screaming and falling, pounding her fists on floor. Each time she struck the cement, another hole formed.

The nearest agent started to rise, aiming again at Reyna. Reynolds entered the room, emitting a thunderous growl, raised his hand, and sent a red bolt through the agent, seeming to break all the bones in his body. The agent’s head turned; his eyes wide in death. Reynolds stumbled to Renya, he said, “You need to be here. Now.”

Josey could hear shots whizzing over her head as Katro continued firing. She watched agent after agent fall.

Renya continued wailing in Angie’s voice. “My son… my baby. They took my baby…” she cried and collapsed against the opposite wall, sitting on the glass-coated pavement, her knees drawn up to her chin.

Then Josey saw Reynolds look up. Navin followed his stare.

The last standing agent held Jack around his throat and held a gun to his head. Josey could hear him say, “This gun? Not chlorine.”

Reynolds stiffened. “You dare speak to me?”

The agent flashed a stiff, fake grin. “You are looking handsome, General. Mother has looked better. Perhaps she needs her hair done.” The agent’s appearance wavered like a video through a weak signal. His face scrambled and finally cleared, revealing scales for skin, dinner plate eyes, and a snout. He was at least a foot taller than Jack. Josey thought about David Icke.

Reynolds asked, “How dare you come before me?” blocking the agent’s line of sight to Renya.

The agent said, “Do not bother protecting her. She is lost. And without her, your only choice is to leave us to our war. In peace.” He smiled and his forked tongue snapped out and back into his mouth. “Or I pass through the portal and deal with your base.”

Yonkins called through the hole from the roof. “He’s the last one, sir! I have a clear shot!”

Reynolds growled again, low and long it rumbled in his chest. “Run,” he said as he shot a red ball into the cement at the agent’s feet. Fragments flew up around the being and Jack. Jack winced.

The agent sneered. “And the irony? She hates this planet as much as we do.” He shoved Jack and aimed his weapon at the pool.

Reynolds howled and took a second shot into the cement, sending shrapnel through the air. The visage of the lizard-being scrambled and wavered replaced by a human agent staring down at the weapon in his hand. A single shot from the ceiling removed the top of his head and he collapsed onto the cement.

Renya was still screaming and sobbing. Castania, sobbing, was kneeling beside her.

Navin knelt with them, eye level with Renya. “Hey… Renya…”

She stopped crying, looking at him. “Who’s Renya?” she sniffled.

“You, when you’re not crazy. Renya lost her son, I think.”

“Angie doesn’t have a son…”

“Well, Renya does.”

She put her head against Navin’s chest, and said, “With blue eyes like his father. Like your blue eyes… my son….” She passed out.

“Okay…” he said, lifting her and gently placing her on a chaise.

The Doctor hugged Nurse Vasquez, who was crying and leaning against a lounge chair. Bergstrom and Brian were kneeling beside Lindsey, who seemed inconsolable. Jack, rubbing his neck, seemed fixated on the pool. Reynolds snapped out of his stare at the space where the video image had been. He knelt beside Renya.

Navin tapped his arm and said, “You have a transitent in your shoulder.”

Reynolds craned his neck, trying to see it. “Can you pull that out of there?”

“Sure can,” Navin said, removing it.

Reynolds said, “Give me that.” He took the syringe-bullet from Navin and sniffed it. “Imposed chlorine. It did not hit with enough impact to inject. Not that it would harm me.” He threw the syringe across the room which put a bowling-ball sized hole in the wall.

“Chlorine?” Doctor Antoine asked.

“Yes, poison. But they alter it for her… to attack her vehicle body. And in this condition,” he said, “she does not have the energy to clear it.”

“It’s all lost. It’s lost…” Castania murmured, trying to compose herself as she stroked the unconscious woman’s head from the other side.

Reynolds glared at Castania. He said, “Stop saying it is lost. It is not until I say it is.”

Katro appeared and stood behind Castania. “An inconvenient complication, sir. The Andolonian ships activated.”

Navin hovered at the edge of the pool. He passed his hand over the water and it changed to a midnight blue. He said, “The portal is operable and tuned to base. But it has lost charge. Jack, I need you to continue to focus on those calculations.”

Jack nodded. “Doing the best I can.”

“Will someone please tell us what’s going on?” Doctor Antoine said.

Reynolds said, “We are getting you through the portal now.”

“Now?” Doctor Antoine asked. “Shouldn’t we take some time to regroup?”

“No time. Renya, Castania and Eleanor will go first.”

“I can’t leave them,” Eleanor said, holding Lindsey and Brian in her arms.

“We’ll take care of them,” Wanda said. “Do what Reynolds says.”

Josey watched Katro press the side of his head and nod. “We have thirty minutes. Maybe less.”

Navin stood and wiped his hands on his pants. He said, “No metal can enter the pool. Remove jewelry. Anything metallic. Buttons. Whatever.” He approached Bergstrom and put out his hand. Eleanor wriggled from under the two leaning against her, stood and removed her jewelry, hesitating over one of her rings.

“My mother gave me this one,” she said.

Navin’s eyes softened. He said, “I will bring it to you. I promise.”

She frowned. “You’re not coming?”

“No. I will travel by car,” he said.

“You are going,” Reynolds said. “I will follow.”

“There is no time for this, father. You go with her,” Navin said, gesturing to Renya.

Brian wandered over to Oren and resumed playing his video game. Sometimes Josey envied his simplicity. People blowing up and glowing, and he continued to focus on his game. Lindsey stood and leaned against the wall. She wiped her eyes and nose on her sleeve and watched as Navin took Eleanor’s hand and led her to the edge of the pool stairs. Reynolds lifted Renya from the chaise and leaned her against Castania, moving with them to the edge of the pool. Sam, the cat, scampered through the double doors and meowed at the pool’s edge. Navin scooped him and offered him to Castania.

Castania hesitated and removed the frishin from her pocket. “Almost forgot,” she said.

Navin traded the frishin for the cat and watched as Catania struggled with the unconscious Renya until they were ankle-deep on the first step. The cat hissed. Eleanor slipped her bra from under her shirt, throwing it on the cement, and joined them.

“Just step all the way down,” Navin said.

“You sure this thing is safe?” Eleanor asked.

Navin smiled. “You will feel discomfort.”

Catania pressing up under the weight of Renya and struggling with the hissing cat said, “Who are you fleecing? It burns.”

“Only for a few seconds,” Navin said.

“Wonderful,” Eleanor said, stepping down until the water was to her hips. “Just feels like tepid pool water–”

Then they were gone. Oh hell, no, Josey thought. Hell no. “Where’d they go?” she asked, pained.

“To the base,” Katro said. “Confirmed. All three have arrived.” He smiled, pressing the side of his head. “Although the old woman is not too happy.”

“How does he know that?” Josey asked.

“I have a transmitter in my skull,” Katro said, surprised at the question. “I guess you don’t have that here, yet.”

“No, we don’t have that here yet! I’m not going in there,” Josey said, backing up and peering into the deep blue water.

Navin gestured to Nurse Vasquez and said, “You next. And take Brian and Katie.”

Nurse Vasquez removed her bra and said, tossing it to the cement, “Glad Eleanor thought of this.” She and Oren helped Katie from her wheelchair.

Katie was blinking wildly. She asked, “Time for the angels?”

“Yes, Katie,” Nurse Vasquez said as she led Katie onto the second step of the pool.

“Check her for metal,” Reynolds said.

“She’s clean,” Oren said, placing his hand on her back and guiding her down another step. He leaned her against Nurse Vasquez and backed away, waiting at the pool’s edge.

“Come on, Brian,” Nurse Vasquez said, offering him her hand. Brian hobbled over and put one toe into the water. “You like swimming, right?” Nurse Vasquez asked.

“I need that game, son.” Reynolds reached to take the handheld game from Brian. Brian handed it over without a tantrum or a comment. “I will return it in a few hours,” Reynolds said, unnecessarily reassuring Brian.

Doctor Antoine blew Nurse Vasquez a kiss and said, “I’ll be right along.”

“I won’t,” Josey murmured. Everyone ignored Josey as Wanda led Brian and Katie into the water and then into nothingness. No way was Josey doing that. No way.

“Doc, you’re next. And Oren. Katro, escort them, please,” Reynolds directed.

“I can confirm. Those three have also arrived,” Katro said. “And you want me to go? Send the girls. Or the old guy.”

Doctor Antoine and Oren entered the pool without hesitation. But Jack stayed seated on the lounge, silent.

“He can’t go,” Josey said.

Jack pressed his lips together. “Bum knee. Replaced last year,” he said, knocking on his knee, adding, “all metal.”

Navin said, “Jack can come with me.”

“Send your man.” He stared into the pool, and said, “I hoped to travel through the portal.”

Reynolds smiled and said, “We can get that knee all fixed. And I will take you traveling.”

Jack brightened. “I’ll hold you to that,” he said.

Oren handed Reynolds his chain and his cross. “I’ll need that back.”

Reynolds pocketed the piece. “You’ll get it.”

Katro joined the doctor and Oren on the second step. He grimaced at the feel of the water.

“Have them fix you up when you get there, Yonk,” Navin said. “That leg is a mess.”

Katro started to say, “Very inconvenient,” but the three phased into nothingness.

“Take the girls,” Reynold said. “I will bring Doctor Geddies.”

“No,” Navin said, shaking his head vehemently. “I told you. You go. Do not growl at me. I am to protect the girl. And Mother needs you! What is your malfunction?” Navin snapped, his growl almost as deep as Reynold’s.

Josey raised her hand. “So, yeah. Hello? I’m not going in there. I’m going home,” she said, feeling herself slipping. “I don’t want anymore of you people and your glowing and agents and video-flickering lizards and portals and red bombs of death flying from your hands. I’m done. This is too much sci-fi for anyone.”

“You cannot travel through the portal, Josey. You are coming with me,” Navin said.

“I’m going,” Lindsey said, surprising everyone as she stepped into the pool. “Because I’m not staying in this warzone.”

“Wait for Reynolds,” Jack said.

The water began to glow and spark. Lindsey looked up, curiosity spreading across her face. Then, the water lit and hummed. As if Lindsey was in an x-ray, every bone in Lindsey’s body was visible as the image flashed from x-ray to solid. Lindsey’s curiosity had changed to terror.

“She has a phone!” Navin yelled.

Reynolds jumped forward, but it was too late. The water flashed one last time, and all Josey heard was a thunderous crack over Lindsey’s fading scream.

Reynolds backed away from the side of the pool. He looked at Navin. “Katro would call that inconvenient.”

“Stupid, human bitch,” Navin said with disappointment but not sorrow.

“So, what? What was that? Is she gone?” Jack asked.

“Yes, she is gone. And now the portal is damaged,” Navin said. “Stupid, human. Did I not say no metal? Did I not say that?” Navin leaned over the pool and held his hand above the water.

“Gone? You mean, what? She’s dead?” Josey asked.

“Yes. Dead,” Reynolds said. “And now we all get to take a drive.”