The Children Who Time Lost (9 page)

She briefed me on the Lotto procedures for ten minutes. After that, we flew in silence, and I stopped thinking about any of my memories that could have been erased. We reached the Valencia facility fifteen minutes later, and this time the welcoming committee was much smaller. Five men and five women—all in white jackets—waited to greet us, and as we approached them, I noticed a sea of third-generation Lypsos moving toward us. I looked past the twenty-foot wide gates and noticed a battalion of them. With their pitch-black frames, they stood with their heads arched up and their left arms across their chests.

Worried, I glanced at Angela. She reintroduced her annoying smile and continued to lead me toward the gate. Then we entered a large open space similar to the inside of a warehouse. Many people typed furiously on computers. I glanced up to see that there were at least ten glass platforms high above where many more people sat at laptops.

“What is this place?” I asked Angela.

“It’s the Command Center.”

I looked at her, confused.

“You didn’t think all the Lypsos and Kysos in California just worked without people around to control them, did you?”

“I don’t know. I just thought it would be somewhere else, like the Pentagon or something. I didn’t think the Space Port would be the place.”

She started to speak but stopped when a tall man in a long gray jacket approached us in the company of two Lypsos. He had a huge, round face. His lips were so thin they looked like a slit under his nose. There were two women behind him, one with a smile on her face and the other with her head raised. She seemed to be studying the higher platforms of the warehouse. They must have been the other winners.

“Mrs. Harris,” the man said. He smiled at Angela and she took her hand off my back. Then he shook my hand. “I’m Leonard Sinclair. It’s so good to have you here. If anyone deserves this, it’s you.”

I smiled and nodded before looking past him at the two women. The one who had been smiling was young and very attractive. Her long dark hair glistened in the bright fluorescent light, as did her clear skin. The other woman was also pretty but masked it with the scowl on her face.

“Oh, yes,” Leonard said, “these are the other winners. Monique Glass”—he gestured at the angry-looking woman—“and Amelia Simmonds.”

I smiled at them. They walked past him and Amelia held on to left my shoulder. “I think you’re amazing,” she said. She was even more stunning up close, her blue eyes so prominent with her jet-black hair.

I smiled. “Thank you. That’s such a nice thing for you to say.” I extended my smile to Monique, who stared at me with expressionless eyes.

“So, have you been playing the Lotto long?” I asked.

“Try the last ten years.” Monique said. A thin smile started to form on her face.

“I’m so scared,” I said. “Are you?”

“Like you wouldn’t believe,” Amelia said. “I just want to get there and get it done.”

Leonard inserted himself between us, and Angela stood close behind him.

“Right, ladies,” Leonard said. “It’s time. I trust Angela has briefed you all on the procedures?”

We all nodded.

“Good. I won’t bore you by repeating what you already know, but I will say this: You must never speak of what you see here or through the portal. This is a privilege we’re bestowing upon you. You’ve earned the right to be here, but you must respect the laws of the United States and the rest of the world. Is that understood?”

We all nodded again.

“I can’t hear you, ladies. Is that understood?”

All three of us answered simultaneously. “We understand.”

“Very well then.” Leonard took a step backward and Angela walked past him toward the exit. All the workers on the ground floor also rose and headed out. I looked at Amelia and Monique and then back at Leonard.

“The rest is up to you now,” he said. “We shall not meet again. I wish you the best of luck with your new babies. You are the recipients of a great gift here, ladies. One many would die for. Treat your children well, and never look at them as outsiders, regardless of their race, eyes or hair color. In being here, you agree to the terms of the Worldwide Lotto. You shall be their legal guardians, but the state will be watching. Just as easy as it is for us to give them to you, we can take them away. I wish you all the very best.” He walked out along with everyone else on the bottom floor of the building.

The two remaining Lypsos approached us. “Please follow us.” Their mechanical voices still sounded strange every time I heard them.

We walked about two steps behind them, Monique on my right and Amelia on my left. Amelia extended her hand. I took it in mine. Monique did the same a moment later, and a chain was formed. The Lypsos marched forward without saying a word. I wanted to say something but thought better of it. Amelia didn’t hold back, however.

“Was there any need for Leonard to say all that?” she said. “I mean, what idiot will treat their child badly?”

I gave her a nervous smile and kept quiet. The Lypsos seemed absentminded, but they recorded everything they heard and saw. I wasn’t about to badmouth a senior Lotto organizer, but at the same time, I felt a bit uneasy with his words, as if we were on a short leash and could lose our children at any moment. A mother doesn’t need to hear such things on a day when her whole life is about to change for the better. We reached the end of the hall a minute later and the Lypso to my left turned around. “Stand still.”

The other Lypso walked to a white wall and placed its palm against it. The ground beneath us shook. A bright blue light was emitted from the Lypso’s hands and ran up and down the wall like light from a computer scanner would. About ten seconds later, the wall rose into the air. The ground started to tremble again. After the wall had risen five feet, I glimpsed another room with a bright white light emanating from it. It had to be the portal.

The rising wall was out of sight a moment later and in front of us was a large sphere. It was without color and could have been a cloud of water—what a lake would look like in the air with no gravitational pull. It was so huge we couldn’t see how high it went. Beside me, Monique and Amelia no longer held my hands but squeezed theirs together. Sweat appeared on their foreheads.

“This way, please,” the Lypsos said.

I hesitated and glanced at the two women. This time they met my gaze. I cleared my throat and stepped forward. The Lypsos faced the sphere and walked toward it. Gale-force winds slapped my face and it felt as if I would be lifted from the floor. When the winds subsided, the Lypsos walked into the room and we followed. I saw a man and a woman near the sphere, operating some sort of control panel with red and black buttons surrounding a silver knob. Three other people stood in a corner of the room, and two fifth-generation Lypsos were in another, with the barrel of assault rifles making up part of their arms.

The Lypsos escorting us stopped inches from the swirling sphere and turned around. “It is time. You must step through now.”

I swallowed and felt my hands tremble. Amelia gritted her teeth and squinted. The fear on her face summed up just how I felt.

“You must enter,” both Lypsos said in unison. “No more time can be wasted.” They edged to the left and gestured for us to go through.

I held my hands out and exchanged glances with both women. Amelia grasped my right hand first, and then Monique did the same with my left. I stared at the sphere. It swirled at an astounding rate, remaining as clear as crystals. There was no guarantee we would come out at the other end, but these were the risks associated with the Lotto. “Let’s do this,” I shouted.

I looked at both women, and they nodded. I faced the portal again and stepped through.

Chapter Seven

D
arkness enveloped me. Pain tore through my stomach. It felt as if I were being pulled forward and backward at the same time. I struggled to keep my eyes open, although only blackness surrounded me. I no longer felt the warm hands of Amelia or Monique holding mine. All I felt was anxiety.

My body glided forward, as if I were floating in space. The force pulling me backward and forward ceased, but I still couldn’t see anything or feel the warmth of the other women around me. I heard a grinding noise that seemed to happen within my head. Excruciating pain shot through my body, and I could feel sharp spasms in my back. I couldn’t understand what was happening to me, but my fear multiplied with every passing second.

I wanted to scream but fought it. Maybe this was just normal. I didn’t want to seem like a coward. I hadn’t heard anyone else scream. The pain continued, as did the noise. The blackness, however, started to give way to a faint light. At first, it came and went like a flickering light bulb. I focused on the light for a second, trying to think of nothing else. My mind started to see past the fear I felt, and all I could see was the light. Then I saw Kevin’s face in the darkness. He was smiling and leaning closer to me, his soft lips inches from mine. I started to smile but couldn’t move my lips. They felt chapped and cold, as if covered in ice. I kept telling myself that none of what I was experiencing was real. I had to maintain my focus.

I returned my attention to the light. It flickered less frequently but was the only consistent thing in my mind. Then it expanded, almost becoming blinding. I left my eyes open, unblinking and focused. The light continued growing. I squinted and thrust my arms over my face in a feeble attempt to shield them. A few seconds later, the brightness ceased.

I could feel my feet on solid ground. The stiffness around my body had also ceased. I opened my eyes to see a corridor that stretched as far as my eyes could make out. My clothes weren’t rumpled or even torn like I thought they would be. My hair wasn’t damp or ragged. Everything seemed to be as it had been when I entered the portal.

I heard coughing beside me and glanced to my left. Monique extended her hand. A broad smile covered her previously hard face. I took it and pulled myself up. Amelia stood behind her, smiling but clearly a bit shaken. I studied both of them. Like me, they didn’t seem to have a hair out of place. It didn’t add up. The entire journey had felt like an assault course to the North Pole and back.

“Are you all right?” Monique asked.

I nodded, unsure of what to say.

“What a rush that was,” Amelia said. A grin formed on her face. “I can’t believe we’re in 2108. This is just surreal.”

I looked around. “But what do we do now?”

Monique walked toward the left wall and placed her hand against it. I stood beside her and stared at it. It was whiter and cleaner than anything I’d ever seen. The fluorescent lighting was also very bright. If ever there’d been a doorway to heaven, this was it.

Amelia walked past us and continued down the corridor. Monique and I called her name, but she continued. I shook my head and followed, Monique close behind. We tiptoed for almost five minutes before increasing our pace. Two hundred yards later, we reached what looked like a crossroad. I spun in a circle, studying the corridor to my left and right. The paths all looked identical.

“Where do we go now?” Amelia asked.

Monique shrugged and looked at me. I ruffled my hair and took a step toward the corridor to our right. It didn’t feel different. I took another step, and another, but then I heard a loud thud like a door shutting. I turned to see Amelia shaking, with her hand on her nose. I walked back toward them but reeled back in pain after crashing into something I couldn’t see. My head stung. It felt like I had hit a solid wall, except nothing was in front of me. I could see Monique and Amelia just as clearly as I could a few seconds before. I extended my hand and inched forward. I felt the barrier again. It was smooth and cool to the touch. It was definitely a wall, but invisible.

“I think you two need to keep going,” I said.

They looked at me dumbfounded.

I raised my voice. “Keep going. I’ll continue down this way.”

They shrugged. I turned and pointed down the path I would take and started walking. Then I pointed toward the path they faced. I hoped they understood what I was trying to say, but there wasn’t much else I could do. Monique took a step forward and continued on the same path I had been on. Amelia stared at me before following her. But after two steps, she jumped backward in pain and held her nose again. She had hit another invisible wall. It looked like we all needed to take our own separate paths.

She looked at me, this time with questioning eyes. I pointed at the other path—the one directly opposite me. She gazed down it and then back at me. Monique had walked to the edge of her path and looked at both of us. After a nod, Amelia walked down the third path and continued taking small steps. I turned around after seeing Monique do the same. I walked down the corridor, looking back occasionally to see that Amelia was almost out of sight. Everything remained quiet, almost haunting. A hissing sound came. It sounded like gas being released from air vents. Then the light started to flicker. I stopped and looked up. It was only a section of the ceiling over me.
A faulty light bulb? Really?