The Dark Rift: Ascension (The Dark Rift Book Series 1) (27 page)

She remembered the schematic her father had shown her, and jumped up to grab it. The sound of the blaring buzzer was even more deafening now. The reflection of the security lights blinded her temporarily, but Jodie was able to make out a pathway to an area labeled docking station on the map. "They’ve got Mei and Leah locked up in a staging area. We need to go and get them and get out as fast as we can. My dad … he went to trigger an explosion … there’s more. I’ll tell you on the way," she said, moving toward the door. Jodie glanced back at her mother’s body momentarily, long enough to realize the only thing she felt about her death was apathy.

* * *

Mei woke up, groggy and confused, to find herself still with Leah, but Jodie gone. A few minutes later, Gypsum Security came into the room and grabbed them. Mei could still feel the tenderness on her arm, where the security guard grabbed her and pulled her toward the door. They were taken down a series of winding corridors, eventually ending up in an auditorium. She and Leah were pushed into the room and detained with a large group, what Mei estimated must be almost five thousand people. They sat at a table off in a corner of the room. For some reason, they both had bandages on the backs of their necks. Leah said she thought they might have been drugged or immunized, but Mei felt the back of her neck underneath the bandage and realized an incision had been made. She was terrified they would never be able to find Jodie if they didn’t get out of the room they were in.

"They put something in our necks, Leah. I think we’re in trouble," Mei said, noticing several armed guards positioned by the only set of doors she could see. On the opposite side of the auditorium, meals were being served from a cafeteria. Mei wondered what was going on, watching the jovial atmosphere and the sheer volume of food being produced and provided to the detainees.

"What in the world do you think they're celebrating?" Mei asked.

Leah shrugged.

"Why don't I try to find out?" Mei stood up and approached an older woman sitting at a nearby table. "Say, can you tell me what's going on today?"

"Well, honey, don’t you know? They’re starting the roll call soon. We’ll be boarding."

Mei realized she would be bringing attention to herself by continuing to ask questions, but thought she’d push a little further. "Boarding? What are we boarding? A train?"

"Well, of course, sweetie. We take a train to the boarding area. You’re quite a joker, aren’t you?" The woman looked at Mei, apparently bewildered.

Mei decided she pushed her far enough, so responded, "Just a little travel humor," and giggled, not stopping until the woman joined her in laughter. She walked back to Leah and sat down, speaking quietly. "I don’t know what the hell is going on here, but apparently, we’re going for a ride. First we're taking a train. Then we're getting on something else. My guess is probably not on a train, plane or automobile, though." No response came and Mei looked over at Leah, who appeared to be in extreme pain. "You know, they’ve got everything else here. Why don’t I see if I can round up some pain meds for you?"

Leah nodded and Mei got up from the chair and headed toward the cafeteria to see what she could find. Halfway there, a man stood up and started speaking. "Oh, happy day. We’re almost ready to go. Let’s get our inventory out of the way so we’re ready by the time they come to pick us up. Everyone get in your groups and we’ll come around with the reader."

Mei continued to make her way to the cafeteria, but watched as a group of Gypsum Security guards moved through the room with hand-held electronic equipment. As they approached people, they waved the equipment on the back of their neck. Mei assumed people were being scanned, like food at the grocery store. With each wave of the scanner, a name would appear on a large screen in the front of the room and cheers would erupt from the family and friends of the person. Mei was starting to feel like something was crawling inside her. She realized whatever was in her neck was part of the inventory process. They'd been catalogued. She continued toward the cafeteria counter and asked where medical supplies were kept.

"Did you forget your personal kit?" the woman behind the counter asked.

Mei thought she should just go with it. "Yeah, I’ve been so forgetful, what with today coming up and all the excitement."

"Don’t worry, we’ve got extras," the woman said, walking through a swinging door and returning with a medical kit about the size of a cigar box. "Here you go. Now, hang onto this one. We’ve got a long trip ahead of us, you know."

"I will. I promise," Mei said, thanking the woman and turning back toward where Leah sat watching the names scroll down the huge screen. When she arrived at the table, she opened the box to find a variety of medications, none of which she recognized. Mei leaned over to a man sitting at the next table and asked, "When you’re in pain, which one of these works best for you?"

"Oh, I like that one," he said, pointing to a small foil package. "It lets you keep on your toes."

"Thanks for the recommendation, sir," Mei said.

The man leaned closer to Mei. "Of course, if you really want to feel good … not during work hours or that kind of thing … well, you know what I mean ... I would take that one," he said, pointing to a vial of small pink pills.

Mei nodded, smiling. "I know what you mean. Sometimes you need a little boost, right?"

The man laughed and nodded, turning back to the group at his table. Mei returned her focus to Leah.

"Okay, Leah, wanna take the edge off or get massively stoned?" Mei asked.

"Well, the time for taking the edge off has come and gone, so I’ll take massively stoned, please." Leah smiled.

Mei laughed and discreetly took out one of the pills. "Better try only one at a time. Who knows what these things have in them." She handed the capsule to Leah, closed the first aid kit, and prayed the medication would at least blunt the pain for a while.

They sat in silence for about twenty more minutes, Leah periodically smiling at Mei and nodding, then staring off into space. "Good stuff, huh, Leah?" Mei laughed, watching her drift in and out of awareness. Mei was starting to think she might benefit from taking one of those pills. Her anxiety was starting to peak again. She felt frustrated, not knowing what to do now. Yet, it was clear Leah couldn't really move at the moment, so there was nothing to be done. Besides, she didn't know what she could possibly do. The doors were guarded and she was aware Gypsum would go to great lengths to eliminate people. She resigned herself to wait and see what happened.

"You bet. Oh, here comes our scanner man. How wonderful," Leah said.

Mei hoped they wouldn’t be able to tell how stoned her companion was at the moment, but there was no need to worry as the scan was over for both of them in a matter of seconds. She worried she might hear an alarm or something when the scanner passed over her neck, but their names appeared, along with all the others.

"Wow, it’s kind of a nice feeling to see your name on the big screen, now, isn’t it?" Leah said.

Mei watched as their names scrolled toward the bottom. She was mesmerized by the hundreds of names that crept down the screen and wondered what the hell all these people were doing underground, seemingly elated to be part of something big that was about to take place. Mei sat in silence, not knowing what to do and feeling helpless in their situation. She stood up to stretch, looking over the people milling about in the room, and noticed a young red-haired woman making her way across the auditorium, steadily moving in their direction. The woman smiled as she picked her way through the crowd. She approached Leah, squatted down next to her chair and spoke quietly.

"Are you Leah? Leah Fenton?"

Leah looked on the verge of toppling out of the chair. "It depends. Who wants to know?"

"Did you grow up on a farm south of Crescent City?" the young woman asked.

Mei and Leah’s eyes met. "Why don’t you tell me who you are, first? Then, I’ll answer," Leah responded.

"My name is Abbey. More importantly, my mother’s name was Kari."

Mei looked at Leah for recognition, then remembered. Leah’s cousin who disappeared was named Kari. She wondered if this was some sort of trick.

"Your mother’s name was Kari? What does that have to do with me?"

Lowering her voice, Abbey said, "My mother told me to watch for you. So many people were brought here ... she said you might end up with us eventually. You’re her cousin. I can see the family resemblance just by looking at you. I'm here to help you."

Leah just stared at Abbey, her eyes moving up and down, searching the young woman's face.

"She said you might be a little reluctant to believe me, so she told me to show you this." Abbey held out a necklace. On the end was a small golden strawberry. Further up the chain, a gold dragonfly was suspended, seemingly hovering in mid-air.

Mei watched Leah grab the arms of her chair and hang on.

"What? What are you saying? Is Kari alive? Is she here?"

"No. My mom passed away over a year ago. I know it’s a lot to take in, but she wanted me to help you if you ever ended up trapped here. She thought you would probably search for her."

Leah’s eyes filled with tears. "I looked for her for so long …"

"Yes, and I’d like to hear all about it, but we need to go now. Come with me. Once they get done reading the names, we won’t be able to get out of here."

"You said there’s a way out." Mei butted in on their conversation. "Where? It looks like all the doors are guarded." Abbey looked at her, confused. "Oh, I’m sorry. My name is Mei. I’m with Leah."

"Okay, but we have to be discreet. We’ll get out through the back of the cafeteria. Let’s move up there like we’re going to get some food and I’ll show you where to go."

Mei wondered if this was another trap, but realized leaving with this stranger might be their only option. "I’m sorry, but where are you taking us?"

The young woman looked anxious. "There's a way out through the supply area. Like I said, we should go now."

"Leah, what do you want to do? I’ll follow you if you want to go with her," Mei said.

"We have to, don’t we? If we wait here, we might never find the others," Leah said, pulling her bent cane up to stand on wobbly legs.

"Abbey, you’ll have to give me a hand. Leah’s a little bit stoned from pain medication."

Abbey smiled at her aunt. "I guess you and my mother have a lot in common. Did you happen to try the pink pills?" Abbey said, pointing to the medical kit in Mei’s hand.

"Why, yes, I did. And, I have to say, they beat Mary Jane hands down. Give me a hand, won’t you, so that we can get the hell outta here?" Leah said.

Mei and Abbey helped Leah to her feet and the three made their way toward the cafeteria. "Please do what I say. We don't have a lot of time. Both of you get a tray and sit at that table over by the kitchen door. I need to talk to someone. I’ll come and get you later," Abbey said.

"Let’s put Leah at the table and I’ll go get us some food," Mei said, dragging a smiling Leah in tow. Mei and Abbey gently lowered her to the chair and Abbey left the area, blending into the masses of people circling the cafeteria entrance.

"Last chance. We can always find a place to hide amongst all these people. Are you sure you want to do this, Leah? I’m not sure we can trust her." The two women watched Abbey sit down at a table in the center of the cafeteria and strike up a conversation with the man sitting next to her.

"What choice do we have? Say, I’m getting the munchies something fierce. Can you fill up a tray for us?" Leah said, looking weary, yet a little bit rejuvenated, probably by the mention of food, Mei thought.

Approaching the endless buffet set out before her, Mei didn’t know where to start. It looked like no expense was spared on this meal and she loaded the tray full of food, filling her pockets with fruit and whatever else she could conceal. She sat the tray down on the table between them. Looking at the food made her realize how hungry she was. She smiled at Leah as they wolfed it down. A few odd looks and stares from others in the cafeteria told them they better slow down and not eat as if they’d been chased and starved for three days. "This must be kind of like the last supper for them before whatever happens. They all seem so happy, but no one’s talking about where they’re going or anything."

"Maybe they all took some of those wonderful little pink pills," Leah said. "Say, you don’t think they put anything in the food, do you?"

"It’s a little late for us to think about that now," Mei said, tossing her fork down on top of the empty plate that once held three servings of mashed potatoes and gravy. "If they drugged the food, we’re both in for a very long day. I’m more concerned about where Abbey went. You seem pretty convinced she’s telling the truth."

"She looks like I remember Kari. Well, in a way. Of course, she’s quite a bit older than my cousin was the last time I saw her. I've looked for Kari since we were little girls. All that time, I thought she was still alive, even though both our families thought she was dead. And, it turns out she was underground the entire time. I only wish we'd found out sooner ... I have so many questions. I hope Abbey can give us some answers."

Their conversation was interrupted by some sort of scuffle in the auditorium. It looked like a fight was breaking out at the table Abbey was sitting at moments before. Two men were shouting and pushing each other back and forth. At one point, one man took a tray filled with food and threw it against the wall, drawing the attention of the security guards, who started to make their way over to the scuffle. Mei felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Abbey.