Cloud to Cloud

Episode 46: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

Evan awoke in the dim warmth of his room. The weight of visions, dreams, and memory heavy on his mind.

He rubbed his eyes and temples before turning to the clock beside the bed. Hours had passed. The sky was darkening.

A silence fogged the apartment level of the building.

"Hello?" He called as he moved through the rooms in search of Hannah or his uncle.

He rubbed at his head and made a path to the kitchen for a glass of water.

An energy buzzed around him. It crawled over his skin and in the air as he walked. An uneasiness groped at him as he peered into the empty rooms. Time felt slower, heavier, encumbered.

"Where the hell is everyone?" He listened for the familiar din from the store below.

Nothing.

He flopped into one of the chairs beside the table. Images of the marble table from the past, or future, rippled through his mind. Through the fog of visions, Evan picked the tablet from the kitchen table. As if commanded, the device came to life.

In a breath, Fred's image formed on the screen.

His uncle's face flickered and shifted. He appeared to Evan as the multitude of people in past lives where they had known each other. It made Evan nauseous as he struggled to bring the images into focus. He clapped his eyes shut.

"Finally up from your nap?" Even Fred's voice took on a layered tone.

"Stop." Evan snapped.

He opened his eyes and at last Fred, as Evan knew him now, stared back.

"Still grumpy I see." Fred smirked.

"Sorry." Evan relaxed as the vertigo faded at last.

"It's a rough ride. Be grateful you didn't have to go on a full NDE roller coaster. It's harder to grasp and retain data when your body dies." Fred consoled his nephew.

Evan remained silent. He didn't quite trust his senses yet.

"Oh! But the reason for my call! I've been trying to contact you for at least an hour!" Fred clapped his hands. "The office has gone mad."

"What do you mean?" Evan stifled a yawn as he absently tapped at the tablet to find the applications fully functional.

He leaned forward in his chair. "Is the network up? Did you fix it?"

"What? No." Fred shook his head in confusion, then his eyes filled with understanding. "My boy, that's you. You are fixed."

Evan's smile faded. "I wasn't broken?"

"Right." Fred winked.

Evan's view of the cubicle suddenly shifted as if the camera had been titled hard in another direction.

"I can explain more when you get here." Fred's voice was suddenly low. "And you need to get here," he urged. "They're poking around the cubicles. Including mine. And yours. You need to get down here!"

"Wait, who?" Evan rose from the chair.

"The FBI. They're here. In ITower." Fred peered into the camera. "Gotta go. Get here fast."

The screen winked and Fred disappeared. The tablet clattered to the table. Evan grabbed his bag. He paused a breath as he hit the foot of the stairs. He scanned the empty store. Concern weighed on him, yet there was little time to worry about Hannah or the rush of images and visions that flashed through his mind earlier.

Evan's eye caught sight of a large crystal resting on the counter. It seemed to glow as if illuminated from within.

"Look for her later. I'll keep an eye on her." Linc's voice cut through the silence of the store.

Evan scanned the room for the source of Linc's voice. His eyes fell upon the crystal once again.

"Hannah's fine," Linc insisted in a familiar military tone. "Get moving, Lieutenant."

"Where are you?" Evan called.

"Same place I've always been," Linc replied. "Now go. Fred needs you."

Evan frowned at the crystal. He wanted to deny what was happening, even as the glowing continued, at least in his mind. He rubbed at his face and turned for the door.

As he crossed the street to his car he caught sight of a pair of ITower repair vehicles slowing to park in front of Hannah's store.