AfterLife (30 page)

Wes concentrated on the stone structure and the hordes of shouting
people. They needed to disappear and be replaced with the fiberglass and
concrete facades of his creation. He focused on a point at the side of the
arena he was running toward and instead imagined he was running down Main
Street U.S.A. toward Cinderella’s Castle. Seth’s world melted around him and
was replaced by turn-of-the-twentieth-century facades that began to shift into
place. First, an old movie theatre with its chasing lights came into focus,
followed by a bakery, and then an ice cream shop. Wes continued until he came
to the courtyard in front of the castle. He swiveled to see what had become of
Seth. Now just a small figure, Seth remained standing at the bottom of Main
Street as if he didn’t know what to do or where to go. They were now in Wes’s
world and there was no way Seth would be able to change it back. Wes wouldn’t
let that happen.

It was dusk in the Magic Kingdom and the park was lit up. It
really was beautiful, and the safest place Wes could imagine. There were no
visitors yet, but the darkness and crisscrossing paths would be valuable tools
to use as he hid from Seth. He stared down the street toward Seth who was still
motionless. He must be trying to figure out how he had lost control of their
surroundings, Wes thought. To be honest, he couldn’t explain how he’d done it,
but he was happy he had. He couldn’t see Seth’s eyes or his facial expression
but knew from his stance he wasn’t pleased.

The two men stared at each other for what felt like
eternity. “Now,” Wes whispered to himself, “it’s time for me to disappear.” As
he said the words, the park instantly filled with thousands of tourists and as
quickly as the masses appeared, Wes lost sight of Seth. This was now a fight
Wes was more comfortable fighting.

W
es bolted off
through the crowds of tourists toward Liberty Square, one of the themed lands.
The advantage was now his. Not only did he know the park extremely well, it was
his creation; they were now in an environment he controlled and could freely
change. He could sense Seth’s movement inside of it as well. When Seth bumped
into one of the thousands of guests in the park, Wes felt it. This would allow
him to keep track of Seth in a way he never would have been able to if he’d
remained in Seth’s world. He could feel Seth trying to change the environment,
but with each attempt Wes held on to the mental image he had spent so much time
perfecting.

The next thing to do was to find a good place to hide while
he explored the possibility of separating his consciousness between the two
dimensions. He needed to discover if he could intentionally replicate the
event. If he could be in both places simultaneously, he could hold off Seth in
here while he fought Blake out there. It wouldn’t be easy; Blake had obviously
lived a healthy life as an antemort and although Wes was taller, Blake might be
stronger. One step at a time, he thought. For now, it was the best plan Wes
could devise.

After crossing the bridge into Liberty Square, Wes ran
toward a restaurant that sat across from the haunted house and a show that
displayed all the presidents of the United States. The walkways were full of
park guests of all ages, and because they were part of his creation he was able
to easily maneuver them as he moved through the park. They parted to clear his
path. Seth, on the other hand, was having more difficulty with the crowds he
was surrounded by. On Main Street, Wes’s mentally-concocted tourists were
offering a significant challenge, especially the line of guests in electronic
scooters he sent toward Seth. These were followed by a pack of guests with
strollers.

Once inside the restaurant, Wes sat at a table near a window
that looked out onto the main walkway. The old-style rippled glass morphed the
images of the passing guests. He was safe for now so it was time to try to link
with the real world. Pain had caused him to pull out of the sync in the arena,
but he had no intention of using pain as a catalyst this time. No sense in
making himself uncomfortable if he didn’t have to, and besides, he hadn’t had
much control over what was going on in either world. He had, however, been able
to pull both himself and Seth from Seth’s mind just by thinking about it. Could
he use the same approach with this? He didn’t know. This was all new to him,
and from Emily, Ken, and Meri’s reactions to his abilities, he knew this type
of syncing was foreign to them as well. If this was his ability, he’d have to
learn how to use it himself and he’d better learn fast.

Wes monitored Seth’s progress while Seth forced his way
through the hordes of people on his way toward the castle in the center of the
park. From his sporadic movements, Wes knew he was trying to decide which
themed land to go into first. Apparently Seth needed Wes to be in his line of
sight to exercise control over him. Good to know. He just needed to stay away
from Seth as long as possible. He decided to make movement even more difficult
for Seth, and instantly there was a parade with dancing characters moving
through the streets around him. Progress in the area became impossible. The
parade also blocked Seth’s closest route to Liberty Square. The floats were
ornamented with dancing lights and fiber optics that illuminated the
surrounding buildings as they moved down the path.

Wes focused on extracting himself from the sync as he always
did when pulling out of meditation, only this time he also continually kept his
park in his mind. Slowly, he could sense he was moving though the nothingness
between minds. He was halfway there; both sitting at the restaurant looking out
a window at a passing parade and standing in the nothingness. Good. One step at
a time, he thought. Now he had to partially pull out of the sync while still
maintaining control of his park to keep Seth occupied. Slowly he began to
withdraw from the nothingness and back into reality. In the park, he could
sense that Seth had somehow made it across the bridge; he was a better tracker
than Wes had originally anticipated.

It didn’t matter that Seth was close; Wes was making
progress in his attempt to control two different places. Slowly the room in the
Atumra basement came into focus. Blake was still sitting on the table, swinging
his feet. Then suddenly, the part of his mind in the park saw one of the parade
floats go up in flames. The performers leapt from the burning vehicle and the
screaming park guests spread out in all directions.

The shock of the image caused Wes to lose his concentration,
and the part of his mind that was maneuvering into reality returned back to his
sync with Seth. The creation of his theme park disappeared around him. Swirls
of color surrounded him as his mind struggled to hold the park in place. He was
unsuccessful. His park disappeared. There he stood in the nothingness with Seth
only a dozen feet away.

“Got ya!” Seth exclaimed, his voice laced with delight.

Seth may have been delighted to see Wes, but Wes did not
return the sentiment. He concentrated again on bringing his park back into
focus, but this time it was harder as he could feel Seth’s mind struggling to
ensure the nothingness remained. He needed a distraction – something that would
give him the time he needed to reestablish his control over their sync.

“Not for long, Seth. A little more of a challenge than you
expected?” Wes knew Seth had underestimated his abilities. He could tell by
Seth’s reaction to his creation of the Magic Kingdom that Seth hadn’t expected
him to be able to change the environment. Seth also knew he could sync with
Mortuis from a distance; he’d sent Jez in to sync with him to lure him into
this trap. Maybe Seth didn’t know the extent of his abilities. How could he?
Wes was only discovering them himself. It was possible he had abilities Seth
didn’t know about, and Wes could use the idea of that as his distraction.

“You don’t have me at all, Seth. We can remain here but I
won’t fight you alone. I can bring as many people into this sync as I want. I
have friends who will help me.” Wes began creating images of as many people as
he could. Emily appeared next to him, then came Meri and Ken, followed by all
four of the Ancestors.

The distraction worked. For a second, Seth released his
mental grip over their surroundings, giving Wes enough time to bring the theme
park back in focus. Suddenly they stood in the middle of the path where the
parade was. The float Seth ignited reappeared untouched, separating Wes from
Seth. Wes darted toward the side of the parade route and disappeared into the
crowd gathered to watch the cavalcade of characters. He was back in control,
for now, and his search to find a new place to concentrate began.

Wes didn’t waste any time putting distance between himself
and Seth, and quickly he found a quiet place in the dark near the entrance to
Space Mountain. Seth was at the opposite side of the park now, and Wes could
sense him trying again to change the surroundings but didn’t allow it. He
didn’t want another burning float incident.

Once more, Wes began his mind separation. He’d almost done
it before and knew he was on the right track. He could do it. He just needed to
make sure he kept enough of his mind focused here to control Seth.

Concentrating on his park and Seth’s movements, he again
began to pull part of his consciousness out of the sync. The half of his mind
that was retreating watched as the neon lights and buildings of Tomorrowland
slowly faded away until he found himself both in the nothingness and still on
the bench in the park. Almost there, Wes thought. Now to get back to the real
world. The darkness faded around him and he slowly opened his eyes in the
basement room of the Atumra headquarters. He was back!

Blake was still sitting on the table. Meri was now also in
the room. She was lying tied up on the floor with her back to Wes. He couldn’t
see her face, but if she was tied up then she probably hadn’t been severed.
That was a good thing. Seth’s soldiers probably didn’t want to do anything
without Seth’s approval first, and they wouldn’t get it while Seth was in sync.

After quickly surveying the surroundings, Wes closed his
eyes again to prevent Blake from seeing that he was conscious. There wasn’t
anything in the room he could use as a weapon against Blake. He would need to
disable him to free Meri.

Seth was still on the other side of the park. He was pushing
his way through the crowds. He made countless attempts to change the
surroundings, but so far Wes was able to prevent him from doing anything. For
now, his split focus was holding steady.

Wes opened his eyes and in one quick movement jumped to his
feet and lunged toward Blake. The impact pushed Blake off the table and onto
the floor. Blake responded quickly and was on his feet before Wes regained his
balance. He aimed a powerful kick at Wes with a force that threw him against
the wall. Wes didn’t lose his breath or feel any pain – one of the advantages
of being Mortui.

Blake was in full fighting mode, and it was obvious he was
expertly trained. “What are you doing here?” he asked accusingly. “Where’s
Seth? What did you do to him?” His fists came up to protect his face and his
stance was wide, like that of a boxer’s. His eyes anchored to Wes’s. Wes
quickly fisted his right hand and threw it at Blake’s face. There was no pain
as it came in contact with Blake’s skull, but Blake didn’t bother to block.
“He’s dead. I severed him,” Wes said as Blake attacked.

Wes ducked under a punch Blake threw at him and returned
with one of his own. This time Wes’s punch hit Blake’s jaw. Again Blake failed
to block. Maybe he’s blind in his left eye, Wes thought. “This fight is over,
you just don’t know it yet,” he taunted. His fist came in contact with Blake’s
temple a third time.

Blake shifted his weight to one leg as the other foot
smashed into Wes’s chest, sending him flying backward. “This fight will never
be over. Not as long as there’s still an AfterLife.” Wes didn’t hit the wall
this time; instead he fell back through the doorway and landed in the hall.
Charlie was still lying on the floor, his eye sockets empty.

Blake lunged through the doorway and jumped on top of Wes
before he could get up. Wes felt the same pressure he always felt when
restrained. He pressed his arms against Blake and tried to push him off but
couldn’t. Blake was stronger than he was, and he managed to pin Wes’s arms
beneath his knees. With one arm holding Wes down, Blake went for his eyes.

“If you really did sever Seth, I gotta thank you for that.
He took one of my eyes. Now it’s your turn.” Wes forced one of his arms from
under Blake’s knee and stopped Blake’s hand before it could reach him to do any
damage. The pressure increased as Blake pushed his hand closer to Wes’s eye.

With a hard jerk, Wes forced his other hand free and quickly
grabbed the darts bundled in his pocket. He pulled them out and the fabric that
was wrapped around them fell off. Blake’s hand inched closer to Wes’s eye. Wes
tapped the back of the dart bundle on the floor to activate them.

“I’ll keep my eyes, thank you,” Wes yelled. In one quick
motion, he lifted the handful of charged darts and slammed them into Blake’s
side. His body went rigid and rolled off Wes onto the floor. All 15 darts
jolted Blake’s body into spasms and twitches. Wes stood up and stepped toward
the convulsing man. The darts would only hold him for a few minutes. Wes
lowered himself closer and looked at Blake.

“It would be really easy to pull one of the darts out of
your side and cram it into your eye,” Wes said. “If our roles were reversed, I
have no doubt you’d do it to me. But I’m not with the Atumra, I’m with
AfterLife, and we do things differently. Oh, and by the way, your boss is still
alive. I have him in sync for now, but I’m sure he’ll deal with you the Atumra
way.”