Outview (34 page)

“Why aren’t there any people here?”

“No boats running this afternoon,” he said
with a wink. “Mechanical failure.”

The three-hundred-acre island was formed
out of the eruption, leaving a cinder cone that rose more than 750 feet out of
the water. We followed a trail and a series of switchbacks that wound around to
the top.

“Where’s the vortex?”

“The whole lake is the vortex. Can’t you
feel it?”

“So, that’s the portal?” I asked, staring
down into the crater. It was about five hundred feet across and called the
“Witches Cauldron.” I could imagine Kyle rolling his eyes at the name. I gazed down
a hundred feet or so to the bottom. It took a minute for my eyes to adjust
enough to see the shimmers. It was similar to the portal in the redwoods, but
this one was bigger, and because it was inside a crater rather than floating in
thin air, it had a whole different appearance--dark and dense, rather than
light and airy.

“Where does it go?”

“Through it you can travel wherever you
want. But it’s not like astral traveling. You’ll arrive in your physical body,
and you can stay.”

“So I could just hop over to London right
now?”

“Yes, you could. But you’d need to return
on one of those fancy airplane things because you don’t know where another
portal is over there.”

“Why couldn’t I come back through the same portal?”

“Because as soon as you step out, it closes.
It’s a one-way road unless you stay inside.”

“And how does it know where I want to go?”

“That’s more of a quantum physics kind of
question. Ask that smart friend of yours, Kyle; he might be able to explain it
to you. I’m only an old fisherman. But I can tell you this: portals are a
concentration of energy--a gargantuan concentration but still just a
concentration-- and the time and distances are only about perception.
Everything is now, so . . . oh hell, you ain’t gonna understand this anyway,
even if I do figure out how to explain it.”

“Okay, but what if I go somewhere through the
portal and stay inside it. Can I reach out and pull something or someone back
into it and then travel back through it to here?”

“I believe you could, but if you’re
thinking of rescuing your brother, I have to tell you that plenty can go wrong.
Portals aren’t child’s play . . . boy.”

Obviously, that’s what I was thinking. I’d
thought about it in Lost Monarch after coming out of the redwoods portal, but
Gibi had explained that that portal was random, meaning I couldn’t direct my
travels. Through it, I would arrive where I needed to be, like seeing the
destruction of trees and its deep connection to our suffering. But this was
another thing altogether.

“How many are there like this?”

“Hard to say. Most portals have specific
destinations. Some are random, but this is the only one I know of that lets you
decide. There are probably others I don’t know about. Like I said, I don’t get
out much. Course, there’s Calyndra, south of here, but it’s a tough one to find
. . . and the past is better left alone.”

“Do I jump?”

“If you’re ready.”

I climbed up to the rim and dove without a
second thought. It went completely dark and I almost panicked, but then
brightness overtook everything. I was inside the light. The same whirl of stars
and the white sound of wind and ocean from the redwoods portal told me I was
about there. I looked out at Rock Creek Cemetery in Washington, D.C., and was
right in front of the antique door to the Hibbs family mausoleum. I pulled the
key from my pocket and slid it into the lock. It turned. I smiled, then locked
it again. A second later, I was back on Wizard Island.

All I had done once inside the portal was
think, “What does this key go to?” and instantly and physically I was there.
Now I knew where the key went but not why my dad had so carefully hidden it. My
intuition told me that among the bodies buried in that tomb something else was
concealed, something I needed.

49

Back at my picnic table with cell phone
reception, I called Kyle and told him not to return for me yet. Instead, I asked
him to meet me in another location Tuesday right after school.

“Nate, think everything through. Meditate
on it, meditate for hours.”

On my next call Amber answered, almost
before it rang. “Kyle wouldn’t tell me anything, just that you guys didn’t stay
in Brookings. Where are you? Is everything okay?”

“I’m at Crater Lake.”

“Why?”

“It’s safe.”

“How long can you stay there? What are we
going to do?”

“The longer I run, the stronger I get.”

“What’s that mean?”

“I know it sounds silly, but I feel like
I’m in training.”

“For what? Do you think you can get Dustin
and Rose back by yourself?”

“I’m not alone--.” The signal went, and I
couldn’t get it back.

Old Man came by with more wood and we talked
for a while. “Did you find out where your key goes?” he asked.

“Yes, but not why I have it.”

“A key like that keeps secrets buried. Are
there secrets you need to know?”

“I don’t know.”

“We have a place deep in the woods, high in
the mountains. It’s a vault built into the earth and surrounded by stones where
we keep what is most precious to my people.”

“What is it?”

“Seeds.”

“Sounds like a lot of trouble for something
you can pick up at any hardware store.”

“These are original seeds, sown by the
ancestors, passed down, maintained, and protected.  Your people are changing
seeds, putting patents on them, genetically modifying them, angering Mother Earth,
risking the very survival of food, of man . . . ”

“I didn’t know.”

“Now you do. And now that you do, you shall
do.”

“Do what?”

“You’ll think of something.”

I finished dinner and was nagged by a
strong feeling to check on Dustin. In less than a minute I was on the astral
and horrified by what awaited me in his room.

“Can you see this, Nathan?” Fitts asked in
a twisted voice as he hit Dustin’s body with an aluminum bat and then
repeatedly punched his face.

“Stop,” I screamed. My presence brought a
flash of recognition to Dustin. His eyes opened momentarily, filled with agony.
It must have been going on for a while because his face was bloody, his screams
hoarse and weak.

“I know you can see me, Nathan. You messed
up my vocal cords with your cowardly kicks at the river. Now I’m going to make
it so your brother can’t talk. Enjoy the show while I kill him. And as soon as
I’m done here, I’m coming to find you and end this once and for all.”

I couldn’t see Fitts’ face, but I could
almost hear his sinister smile as he delighted in the beating. Blood sprayed
from Dustin’s mouth. I was powerless to stop him, and Dustin seemed to know
this as no fight remained in him. My screams were constant. “No, no, no! Stop
please! I’ll come, you can have me!”

Fitts couldn’t hear me, but Dustin did. He
shook his head slightly. He didn’t want me to save him. It was too late.

Then I remembered the portal. I could get
to him. But how long would it take me to get to Wizard Island without the Old
Man? Once I was there, I could be in his room in an instant. I could shove a Lusan
down Fitts’ throat and then use one to heal Dustin. But how long would that
take? I’d have to leave the astral while I tried to get to the island, which
meant not seeing what was going on. There was no point in watching him die. I
ran toward the cove. “How does he know I can see him? How does he know where I
am?” I asked myself as I rushed through the trees.

I kept hoping to see the Old Man. It was
dark, but my night vision easily showed a hundred feet ahead. I Skyclimbed down
to the cove, and miraculously he was there. He’ll take me to the island. I’ll
be with Dustin in minutes.

“Old Man!” I shouted.

The figure turned. It wasn’t the Old Man, and
as I saw his face, I knew I wasn’t going to save Dustin.

50

Spencer’s look was at once pleading,
compassionate and forceful.

“Help me Spencer!” I cried. “He’s killing
Dustin! There’s no time!”

He shook his head and came close to hug me.

“No!” I pushed him away. “We have to go
now.” I scoured the area for the Old Man, a boat, anything that could get me to
the island. “Help me, Spencer. You have to help me.”

“Nate, no. It isn’t time.”

“There
is
no time. You didn’t see
what they’re doing to him.”

“I have seen. I’m seeing it right now.”

“You can see Dustin? Is he still alive? Is
Fitts still beating him?”

“He’s alive at the moment.”

I collapsed to the ground.

“Fitts has left the room.”

I tried to see for myself, but calm and
focus were required to access the astral, neither of which I had at the moment.
Spencer helped me up. I shoved him again. “This is your fault. If you had let
me go when I wanted to, he’d be here now and not dying alone in some room.”

“Nate,” his voice gentle and soft.

“No! If he dies, I’m not playing anymore.
I’ll renounce all my abilities just like my dad did. You can find yourself
another boy wonder.”

“They won’t let him die.”

“You don’t know that. You’re just seeing
how it looks now. And you saw him. Fitts beat him to a pulp. Will he be brain-damaged,
crippled? He could be bleeding to death. Where in hell have you been, anyway?”

His empathetic eyes never left me.

“You’re trying to calm me like I did the
seagull. You’re in my mind. Stop, I don’t like that.” No wonder Kyle got mad at
me; it’s not fun having someone mess with your head for real. “Why are you
doing this?”

“Because you have to be sedated.”

“I’m not staying here. I’ll find a way to--”

Tuesday, September 30

It was still dark when I woke in the cove; a
campfire burned. Although Spencer was no longer sending me calming suggestions,
I was relaxed and rested. He must have known I was awake but kept staring into
the darkness toward the lake. My cell phone indicated it was just before five
a.m. I’d slept all night.

Getting on the astral was easy. Dustin was
crumpled on the floor next to the bed, bloodied and not moving. I couldn’t be
sure he was breathing and tried speaking to him, telling him I’d be there soon.
No response. Even if he heard, he wouldn’t believe me anymore.

“I should have gone yesterday,” I said
quietly.

“You and Dustin would be dead. I have no
doubt. Today’s the only day there’s a chance.”

“You think he’s still alive?”

Spencer nodded.

“So you’ll help?”

“Tell me your plan.”

I explained my ideas to use some of my
powers.

“Sounds like you’re counting on a lot of luck.
You’re too new to Solteer, and you shouldn’t even know how to plant thoughts
yet. Making people see things takes control that you won’t have in this type of
confrontation. Gibi was premature in showing you.”

“You know Gibi? She said she never heard of
you.”

“Gibi knows me by another name.”

“What name? Cope?”

“No. It’s not a word. Let’s get back to
your plan.”

“The only way I can get rid of the guards
is with Lusans.”

“It’s not a weapon,” he said firmly.

“I know, but it’s all I’ve got. What if I
could get a gun?”

“Do you know how to shoot a gun?”

“No, but I’ve seen a lot of movies.”

“Let’s leave the guns to experts.” He
stared at me sternly. “What if Fitts is there, too?”

“That would be a nightmare. Spencer, can
you come with me?”

“No.”

“Why? Don’t tell me it’s complicated,” I said
with a glare. “Am I going to be able to do this?”

“Today’s the first day you’ve had any
chance. It’s still iffy, but if you don’t get him today, Dustin will be dead
tomorrow. There is no question.”

“You don’t think I should go, do you?”

“I know you have to.”

“You didn’t answer.”

“No, I didn’t. Only you can decide. If you
go, you and Dustin both may die today. If you don’t, Dustin will be dead
tomorrow and you’ll never forgive yourself. If he dies like this, part of you
will die, too, the best part. So, it doesn’t matter what I think.”

Neither of us spoke for a while.

“Can’t you teach me some other power I can
use?”

“Nate, you need time to absorb what you’ve
already remembered. None of what you’ve been doing is strong enough because
you’re too scattered. Anything more and your strength will dilute beyond
usefulness.”