Terra Nova (The Variant Conspiracy Book 3) (9 page)

Chapter 11

Ilya screeched into the parking lot of the large gothic church. Late afternoon sun glowed on the red brick ruins, exactly as I’d seen them in my vision of my parents’ honeymoon.

We poured out of the van as soon as Ilya lurched to a halt.

“Spread out! There’ll be some kind of shed or shutters or some external door,” I shouted.

“Dad? Dad, are you here?” Ilya ran through the parking lot toward the back end of the church surprising me since my twin rarely used the word ‘Dad’ for Ivan.

I raced after him, Jonah a step behind me. My gut told me Ilya was headed in the right direction.

We rounded the corner and there were the cellar shutters, an exact match for the ones we saw at Chatham Park. They were closed. Ivan and Tatiana were nowhere in sight.

“She couldn’t have beaten us here? Where are they?” I cried desperately.

“I can’t hear either of them. They’re not here,” said Ilya, utterly dejected.

Josh and Cole appeared around the far corner of the church. Faith, Gemma and Melissa were on their heels.

“Where did they go? Irina? Ilya?” said Josh. His tone accused us of something.

“If Ivan went in there and turned Tatiana back, then they returned to Chatham Park,” said Cole.

“Or she did beat us here and they took off already. Even if they were on foot, it wouldn’t take long to disappear from the street,” said Josh.

“Fuck this! Fuck everything to do with this!” screamed Faith.

“Shut up!” I told her. “We don’t need this right now.”

“We’re not at a dead end. We’ve got a telepath and a psychic here,” said Jonah. He took my hand and his energy pulled me back from the brink of panic.

“There’s nothing more I can do,” said Ilya.

“Irina, you can try to see what happened.” Jonah’s tone soothed me, but I still wanted to punch something.

Instead, I closed my eyes and pictured Ivan’s face behind the brick ruins.

A black blink later, I was on a train with Tatiana and Ivan. Ivan’s complexion had faded to pale ashen gray-pink. He had always been pale, but this was different. Death had kissed him, reducing his strawberry blonde hair to near platinum.

“We can’t keep running. The stabilization serum won’t work much longer. You’re taking higher doses more often. It’s time for the transplant.” Tatiana fussed over a blanket on his lap.

He rested, eyes closed. “We’re not ready. Jinhua must do their part and they haven’t even started Phase One.”

“Why don’t we release Terra Nova now? The test was successful. Your children will be much easier to catch once they can’t hide in human society.”

Ivan opened his pale hazel eyes and stared at his sister with bloodshot anger. She met his gaze and broke contact quickly. Ivan resumed his resting position.

“The complexity of
The Compendium
requires participation of industry and individuals that will be obliterated by Terra Nova. It must be our very last step. My true brothers from my real home cannot thrive here. Variants cannot thrive here.
The
Compendium
can only be achieved if we stay on schedule and keep to our plan.”

“Shall we move on to ground zero?” said Tatiana.

“Yes. And the more we discuss this, the more ammunition you give my daughter.” Ivan turned slightly away from Tatiana to face the window and the countryside.

“We should assume they know everything as it is. Melissa very likely shared
The Compendium
outline with them. They have all the research, execution, and implementation plans we had in Utah.”

Ivan turned back toward his sister, but instead of meeting her gaze, he found my astral self. His face conveyed rage and for a brief flicker, his pupils flashed the bright red of the cobra king’s eyes.

I jumped back and fell hard on my butt with my hand outstretched toward the closed cellar shutters. The shaded lawn behind the church was cool under my legs where I landed.

“They’re on a train. Ivan is really sick. Like possibly dying sick. That thing inside him can’t survive in our world for long. That’s why he wants to change the planet.”

“What is the status of Terra Nova?” said Jonah, gently but firmly.

“Where do they plan to release it?” Josh stepped toward me as though he might throttle the information from my head.

“I don’t know where, but they called it ground zero,” I said, grinding my fingers into my temples.

“That’s helpful.” Faith’s purple dreads splayed in the air as she tossed her head.

“They’re waiting for all the other Compendium projects first. It’s too complex to set in motion after all the people are dead. Whatever earthquakes and floods and poisonous shit he’s planning to unleash, he needs the unwitting accomplices working with Innoviro and Evonatura and Jinhua.”

“We should spend more time with
The Compendium
documents. We were tracking Terra Nova, because that was the worst of it, but if they’re putting that off, we need to know what comes next.” Melissa skimmed the ground around her as though the answers lay there.

“Especially if it’s disastrous enough to pave the way for more creatures like the one you’ve described,” said Jonah.

“Where did it come from? This thing that’s got Ivan,” said Cole.

I replayed the scene in my mind, as much to share it with Ilya again as to refresh my own memory.

“A fireball that fell to earth,” said Ilya.

“A meteor then,” said Jonah, rubbing his chin.

“I guess so,” I said, exhausted.

“Okay, they’re on a train. They’re not releasing Terra Nova right now. We have some time.” Josh scanned the buildings around us, evaluating.

“Where do we go from here?” Melissa looked to Josh for the answer.

“I’m starving. We’re going for dinner,” said Faith flatly.

“There’s a pub across the street.” Cole pointed at an awning with faded letters.

“Are you sure that’s actually a pub? That’s open for business?” Jonah squinted at the door and a man in a newsboy cap exited.

“It’ll do.” Cole started toward the pub and the others followed him.

“You guys go ahead. I’ll catch up,” I said.

Jonah took my hand and smiled. I was glad he wanted to stay. Unless I was lying in bed, I felt safer checking out of reality for the length of a vision with someone around to watch my back.

I walked through the red brick ruins, now totally under the shadow of the office building down the street. I found the altar where I had seen Ivan, my father, place his hand and get possessed by what I could only assume was the essence of a long dead alien monster.

My hand hovered over the crumbling stone altar for a moment. I hadn’t specifically told anyone how Ivan had picked up his inner demon. If I told Jonah now, he wouldn’t let me touch it. But, it would spark a vision. It would reveal something awesome, something amazing, wouldn’t it?

I stared at the stone.
Who are you? Where did you come from? Why here? Why us?

I touched the cold limestone slab. Nothing happened. I wanted to cry out like Faith. Instead, I let tears roll freely down my cheeks. My voice shook. “This altar was supposed to have the answers.”

“This is where you saw Ivan and your mother?”

“That thing, however it got into him, it happened here.” “Maybe you should take your hand off that stone now.” Jonah’s protective instincts didn’t disappoint.

I complied reluctantly and let him lead me across the street and into the pub. It was mostly empty so we saw our friends right away.

The entire establishment stayed silent, focused unwaveringly on the television screen behind the bar. The volume had been turned up so we could all hear the newscast.

“BBC correspondent Janine Knight is on location in nearby Shanghai. Janine can you tell us exactly what is happening out on the Taihu Lake right now?” said the anchorman. The screen split between the anchor sitting behind his desk and a woman in front of a government building holding a microphone.

“Well, Roger, I can tell you that this disaster is very far from being contained,” said Janine hurriedly. “Chinese officials disclosed that a plastic manufacturing facility and a nuclear power plant both suffered small fires earlier this morning, not successfully contained. What is making this disaster so frightening is that two nearby wind-farms on the shore of Taihu Lake, one near each fire site, have somehow funneled the toxic fumes and radioactive fallout into an air current broadcasting poison out into the open ocean. If it continues at this rate, evacuation orders will be issued for the entire south coast of Japan. The attempts to evacuate Greater Shanghai have come to a virtual standstill on major highways. Air and sea evacuation efforts are ongoing, but hospitals continue to overflow with people sick and dying faster than authorities can move people out. I myself am going to have to evacuate after this broadcast.”

“That is heartbreaking and terrifying, Janine. Has there been no attempt to shut off the wind turbines of each of the farms directing the deadly fumes?”

“Officials have been desperately trying to coordinate with a company called Jinhua Energy, a subsidiary of Jinhua Enterprises, but the representatives of the wind-farms insist they could not possibly be responsible for the deadly air current. The next step will be for the Chinese government to take military action to shut down the wind-farms. It’s a devastating step when China has been making so much progress in moving to green energy sources. But, that’s all I have time for, Roger. I’m getting the signal that it’s time for me to board a helicopter.”

“We won’t keep you. Thank you for taking time to share this update, Janine. Have a safe journey.”

I leaned on a pub table reaching vaguely in Jonah’s direction. My friends stood nearby. We all stared, jaws dropped, at the terrible disaster coverage.

The TV screen displayed a map of the Chinese coast around Shanghai. Red fog represented the patch of earth affected by the poisonous cloud. It fanned out like an inverted comet.

“Did she say Jinhua?” said Melissa.

“Goddamn it!” Faith pounded the table with her fist.

“On the train just now, Ivan said that Jinhua hadn’t started Phase One, but he was waiting on it.”

“Is this
Phase One
?” Jonah stabbed his hand toward the television.

“I sure as hell don’t want to see
Phase Two
!” Cole paced in front of us.

“We can pore over Compendium documents for the next month and still not achieve the big picture already humming with precision in Ivan’s mind. If we don’t have time, I say we keep going after Ivan and Tatiana. At least we know what we’re up against there,” said Josh, checking each of us for agreement.

“You’re willing to allow mass destruction? Ecological disasters?” Melissa didn’t take her eyes off the screen above us.

“I’m saying we have no capacity to stop it. There are seven of us. Maybe, just maybe, we have a chance of killing Ivan and Tatiana.” Josh spoke as quietly as he could. We had already drawn the attention of every patron in the pub.

“I know you still don’t want to hear this, but I’m sorry I didn’t see through those two before. I’ll make up for my mistake. I’ll do anything to help.” Gemma’s voice soothed me in spite of the words themselves.

I allowed myself a momentary mental celebration that she was finally with us.

“Keep your voice down!” hissed Faith.

The bartender lifted his head and evaluated us.

“If we decide to keep chasing Ivan and Tatiana, we need to know where they’re going.” Josh eyed me impatiently.

“I’ve already tried. Ivan’s getting smarter about keeping things from me.”

“No way. He can’t keep shit from you.” Ilya, of all people knew what Ivan was capable of, but wanted to believe my gift could fill in the gap left by his.

“You just need to focus. If they know where they’re going, and they do, you’ll find a way to see it.” Jonah leaned over, kissed me softly, and pulled back.

A thought occurred to me. I got out of my chair and walked over to Gemma. I hugged her and it felt good. I pushed the images of our parents and our home out of my mind.

I held my sister and closed my eyes. I thought about Ivan and Tatiana on the train. Nothing happened. I pictured the shiny steel canister from the lab under Chatham Park.

A gust knocked the wind out of me and I stood on a brick plaza facing a multi-faceted cylindrical tower topped by a disc. Flags bordered the plaza. Next to the tower, unfamiliar trees surrounded a large metal cone-capped hut. Dark-skinned pedestrians passed back and forth across the plaza. Instinct told me I was somewhere in Africa.

A shiny black plaque caught my eye and I willed myself toward it. My viewpoint surged forward and the inscription came into full view.

THIS CONFERENCE CENTER WAS OPENED BY HIS EXCELLENCY

MZEE JOMO KENYATTA CGH MP

FIRST PRESIDENT AND COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF

OF THE ARMED FORCES OF THE REPUBLIC OF KENYA

ON TUESDAY 11TH SEPTEMBER 1973

IN THE TENTH YEAR OF OUR NATIONAL INDEPENDENCE.

Kenya? I assumed the city to be Nairobi.

Ivan and Tatiana crossed my path coming from behind me and I refocused on them. Ivan had recovered somewhat from his state on the train.

I hung a pace behind them as they walked. Ivan brushed his shoulders as if something irritated him. Perhaps he’d been improving his ability to sense my mind. They rode an elevator to the twenty-second floor and exited. They arrived at a door marked Kisumu Laboratory Services. Ivan swiped a card through a reader next to the door handle and a red light turned green.