The Bridge (Para-Earth Series) (38 page)

             
Pam nodded, “Use the radio in your car to stay in touch with me.  I’ll go and tell Sarge what’s happened.” 

             
With a nod, Alice passed through the glass doors, just in time to see Alex’s car heading of the parking lot.  She quickly got into her vehicle and followed.

              At the same time, Julie was fetching a dustpan and broom from the kitchen of her aunt’s restaurant.  She had been carrying a stack of plates when a loud thunderclap had taken her by surprise.  At least, that’s what she kept telling herself had happened.  But for some reason she was feeling very anxious. 

             
A moment later worried-looking Cassie burst into the restaurant and called out to her.

             
“Over here,” the big girl replied, glad to see her friend.  “I thought we were meeting for dinner.  Lunch just end...”

             
“I need to know how to get to your Uncle Jason’s place,” the heiress interrupted.  “Casey doesn’t remember the way, and I wasn’t paying attention the last time we went.”

             
The anxious feeling inside the brunette, suddenly increased a hundredfold.  “I’ll show you,” she said quickly.  “Let me tell Aunt Rosa first.  I’ll be right back.”

             
Cassie nodded and crossed her arms as if she were cold. 

             
‘She can feel it too,’ thought Julie.  Something terrible had happened, or it was about to. 

              Alice was keeping a close eye on Alex’s car.  He was heading towards Graham Manor, she was sure of it.  “That boy is going to get himself into even more trouble,” she muttered.  She thought about calling the station and letting Roy know where they were headed but held off. 

             
Ever since the business with Andersen and his daughter, her husband had been coming home looking more and more troubled.  When he finally told her about Alex’s demonstration she’d been elated.  As a long time believer in Tarot cards, spirit mediums and other such things, she’d sometimes wondered about Veronica’s boyfriend.  He’d always been a little too intuitive to be normal.  

             
But Roy could not bring himself to believe in such things, even though he’d seen it.  He believed only in cold hard facts and things that he could touch.  Unfortunately, the facts had all been pointing in Alex’s general direction. 

             
Alice knew her husband wanted to see his friend exonerated more than anything.  But more and more suspicions were growing because Alex seemed to keep winding up in the wrong place at the wrong moment, like now.  He was heading towards the very place he’d been forbidden to go on his own. 

             
And she was determined to make sure this time he’d have an alibi.  She knew very well just how much weight the word of a Police Chief’s wife would have in an interrogation. 

             
Now the rain started to come down even harder, obscuring visibility.  She could just barely make out Alex’s vehicle turning left some ways ahead. 

             
Unfortunately she had to stop at a corner and allow traffic to pass before making the turn herself.  Her quarry was now quite a ways ahead but still visible.  Suddenly, a white-haired figure stepped out into the road ahead of her.  With a gasp she swung the car to the left and up the long path that led to Jason’s place.   It was a narrow road so she’d have to go all the way to the end to turn around.  But, that was not a problem; she knew where Alex was headed.

             
She was just glad she’d avoided the man who’d stepped out in front of her.  He must’ve been drunk or something.  The way he was dressed, it looked like he’d stepped out of one of those old paintings from the time of the American Revolution.

             
A few moments later, she reached the ruins of Jason’s place.  She had heard Roy describe the destruction but actually seeing it was another matter.  Ignoring the rain, she got out of her car and went to take a closer look.

             
Seeing the devastation up close, she could easily picture the hand of an angry God reaching down from the clouds and smashing it.  Shaking her head she turned back to her car, when she noticed another vehicle was parked in the area.  Then she heard a splashing noise coming from the stream. 

             
‘Teenagers,’ she thought.  Knowing her husband would have a fit about them being here, she went to investigate. 

              Back at the station a red-faced Chief of Police was chewing out his second-in-command.  “And you have no idea where he may have gone or why?”

             
“No,” she replied carefully, “but I know how to find out.  There’s an OnStar device in the car.  We should be able to track it down in no time.”

             
Roy nodded and gave instructions to Pam to contact the service and locate the vehicle.  “There’s one in Alice’s car as well, have them check on her while they’re at it,” he told her.  Then he turned back to Veronica and said, “God help your boyfriend if anything happens to my wife.”

              Meanwhile Alex was now out of his car and racing up the steps to the front door of the manor.  Pulling out the keys he let himself in and called out, “Jason, it’s me, Alex.  Are you here?”

             
Only the faint echoes of his voice answered back. 

             
He called out again, but still there was no reply.  Now he was even more worried.  From the moment he’d left the canteen, one image had been emblazoned in his mind, the manor.  And the person who’d sent it to him had been Jason.  The man had been heading here, so where was he? 

             
Closing his eyes Alex opened himself.  Nothing… no wait, there was something.  Several of them in fact… suddenly the world turned sideways.  Not literally, but psychically. 

             
Opening his eyes, everything appeared to look the same, but it felt different. Outside he could hear the storm, thunder booming, but one glance at a nearby window told him it was no longer day, but night.  And he was no longer alone.

             
Voices were emanating from one of the rooms off to the left, so he followed them.   Coming to a large archway he looked inside and beheld a strange sight.  A much older man was struggling with a young girl, twice.  It was like watching a double exposed film with images overlapping each other.  In both scenes, it was the same two figures, but the time frames were quite different.  In one scene the girl was very pregnant and in the other her belly was flat.  In the latter scene she was lying on the floor as the man made love to her.  Their lovemaking was strange.  It was more methodical than passionate, and the girl seemed to be almost listless. 

             
Something prompted Alex to try and to get a better look at the love scene.  He already knew the girl was Veronica’s missing Rachel.  But he had to see her face, it was important somehow.  But the other event, involving the version of the girl struggling with her lover, kept getting in the way.

             
Eventually, he managed to get a good look at Rachel’s expression as she was being made pregnant.  It was just as he remembered during the dance that night sixteen years ago.  There was a distracted vacant look in the eyes.  What had been going on in this place? 

             
Now he turned his attention to the second scene.  Here Rachel, heavy with child, fought back against the older man.  As he watched, Alex noted how her hand kept clutching her belly from time to time.  But the thing that really caught his attention was the look in her eyes.  Gone was the vacant gaze, instead fire and determination blazed.  At one point during the struggle, she turned to him and smiled. 

             
Alex’s mind raced back to the night of their dance sixteen years ago.  She had seemed dazed and distracted as they had moved to the music.  Then for one brief moment her face lit up, and she pulled him close.  Looking imploringly at him she said, “Can I rely on you?”  For reasons he hadn’t understood, at the time he’d said yes.  She smiled warmly at that and looked relieved.  Then the distracted expression returned and never left her face again for the rest of the evening.

             
Now he’d seen that same smile once again and understood.  She’d sensed his powers that night and had asked for his help.  But what was he supposed to do?

             
Suddenly, the two scenes vanished. 

             
Alex stared at the empty spot for several seconds and shook his head.   “There’s more, I know it,” he called out. 

             
From somewhere upstairs new sounds erupted.  For a moment he thought he’d fallen asleep again because he recognized them.  They were the cries of women in pain. The same ones he’d heard in his dream on the train, when he’d been shown the hidden fourth floor.  But he wasn’t on the train this time and he was fully awake. 

             
The cries became louder.  They knew he was here and that he was listening.  There was something they wanted him to know, but what?  Suddenly, their cries were punctuated by a new sound, the wails of newborn babies.

             
Frowning he walked back into the hallway and headed for the rear stairs.  The fourth floor had more secrets to share, he was sure of it.

             
He had just reached the stairwell when he spotted Rachel and the older man again.  They were blocking his path.  Once again they were in the process of love-making, but this time Rachel wasn’t being passive.  She was fighting him with everything she had to no avail.  The man was much stronger in spite of his advanced age. 

             
Again, Alex was struck by the man’s style of love-making.  There was no pleasure or passion.  It was almost mechanical and he seemed to be totally focused on his prey.  Then, all of a sudden Rachel stopped struggling, and that all too familiar vacant look crept into her eyes.  The man smiled and continued with his task, showing pleasure for the first time. 

             
Meanwhile, the wailing from above grew louder until it became almost deafening.  Yet among all those screams, he could make out one word, “Cyrus!”

             
“Cyrus?” Alex murmured. 

             
As if he’d heard, the older man ceased making love to Rachel and turned to face him.  His face was rugged, yet handsome.  Dark, cunning eyes stared out beneath white eyebrows furrowed in annoyance, as if searching for something or someone.  A moment later, both he and his victim vanished, along with the cries from upstairs.  

             
Alex stood there for a moment, and finally remembered to breathe.  The man had actually frightened him.  Now, images from the dream on the train filled his mind.  The rooms that had been sealed up had all belonged to women.  And the clothing he’d seen in those rooms had spanned almost three centuries. 

             
Something made him turn and look back towards the room he had left just a little while before. There, falling through the archway and onto the floor was Rachel’s attacker.  His once proud face was pale and contorted in pain, as he crawled towards the phone near the stairwell.

             
Behind him, Rachel staggered out of the room clutching her belly.  Spotting her tormentor in his plight, she gave a satisfied smirk and then turned away.  Leaning against the wall she made her way to the front doors and opened them.

             
From where he stood, Alex could see it was still raining outside.  It was also still night, instead of day, and he had to remind himself he was seeing events from sixteen years ago. 

             
Rachel seemed uncertain about which way she should go.  Finally, she stepped through the portal and headed to the right.

             
“No, that way leads to the bridge!” Alex yelled, then the world flipped back and he was alone again.  Gone was the man who had raped Rachel, and the front doors were closed.

             
‘There’s more,’ thought Alex.  There had to be.  Quickly, he raced down the hallway to follow the pregnant teen.  He reached the double doors and froze…  

             
Cassie?
  He could feel her panic, followed by Julie’s and someone else.  They were all down by the bridge and something terrible was happening. 

             
Flinging the doors open, he rushed outside and into the rain.  Down towards the stream he could hear screaming.  Without thinking, he ran towards the sound, never noticing the police cars pulling up to the manor. 

             
He was halfway down the slope when he spotted Cassie’s chauffer carrying a trembling and dazed Alice Peterson.  Beyond him, further down the slope, a tear-stained Julie was trying to help Cassandra whose clothing was stained with blood.  From what he could see she didn’t appear injured, so what had happened?  Then he noticed what looked like a bundle of rags lying in the grass further down the slope.  A deep feeling of unease swept over him.