COMPLETE! The Wasteland. A woman screams in the night. Spotlights flash on a pile of dust in the desolate patch of land that lay just beyond the tall crosses that picket the boundary of Encampment R-34. A group of curious students leave their bunkho...
Bryne stared out at the desolate patch. That hundred-yard stretch of dead nothingness circled the encampment and separated the picket boundary from the one we had been constructing on the other end of the valley. He flashed a confident grin, the look I fancy most, and we rushed into the barren field separating the two encampments. I took him by the hand as we sped bravely into the face of danger. Almost immediately, I was less concerned about the woman who had attacked the Scavers than with the stranger in worn leathers who had been watching us from the hill. Even Kumpan the Gypsy. He's a peculiar man with questionable motives. Either of them could have been out there, waiting patiently for us to take a risk.
But we made it safely across the dried dirt and were soon back inside the secret room on the second floor of the largest building in R-13. I watched Bryne with anticipation as he opened the drawer with the icon of an open book. Then he took the item Rufus had brought back from the wasteland and placed it delicately onto the mechanical tray inside. Gently, he touched the tattered cover, just as I had done. It was rosy leather with gold lace details and fine script. There was a name, as well. It had been scraped away years ago. All that could be read were the words:
A Compendium of Notes Recorded for the Perusement of Doctor - - -
Instead of sealing the drawer, Bryne lifted the book and leafed hastily through the first few pages.
"What do you see?" I asked.
"It's a journal...or, at least, it is in the beginning. There's a man's name. Jonathan Harker. His penmanship is flawless. Says here he was traveling to a place called Transylvania. I wonder if that's on our map?" Bryne thought aloud, before continuing. "There are clippings in this section, typed out like one of those communication books Deirdre taught on last year."
"A newspaper," I aided, peeking down at the page. "Looks to be one, yes."
Bryne silently read a portion of the clipping, his eyes widening. "It's the report of a vessel that travels on water. And...a disaster." He turned the page. "Then news of a man named Count Dracula. Do you think that's like Count Basie and the disk from class? And here's another name...Van Helsing."
"It sounds old. Pre-encampment?"
"Most definitely. But it's too fragile to handle."
"Do you think it's safe enough for the Chronoscope?"
"We should try, even if it's not." He stopped and peered closer at the page in front of us. "The dates, Mell. Look. These are...four hundred years old."
I recall this moment well because Bryne and I looked at one another for a long time before deciding to set the book into the glass drawer. When we finally did, there was an instantaneous response from the Chronoscope. First came a rhythm of clicks and snaps. Then a bar of light swiped across the ancient text, as thin rods slipped in toward the binding to delicately turn the pages. The monitor ignited with numbers. They flashed across the screen in rapid succession. Bryne and I stepped back and watched, never having seen something so captivating.
"Mell, if this doesn't work, or if something bad happens because of this...I'm sorry."
"No, you're wrong," I reassured, taking him by the hand. "If anything happens, it's a good thing. Nothing has ever happened, Bryne. And nothing will happen. We won't be free of this place until the Neverdowns. I just hope —"
I wasn't able to finish that sentence because a high-pitched blare started hiccupping relentlessly from the machine. The sound was so penetrating that it consumed our every thought. We tried what we could to silence the machine, almost to the point of breaking open the drawer. Eventually, Bryne discovered a small cylinder at the rear of the monitor where the noise was emanating. He detached the cylinder and the Chronoscope stilled. The room was silent once more, though I swear he could hear my heart pounding.
At the center of the green screen rolled rows of sentences in capital letters, ending with several exclamation points.
HIGHLY VALUED CONTENT!!!! POSSIBLE ORIGIN NOTES!!!!
***Scans Linked to Potential Subject Zero***
GENERATING NEW INDEX . . .
Bryne reached for his back pocket, where the Chronoscope tablet was vibrating. Together, we looked down at the small screen.
"I'm nervous, Bryne. That alarm was too loud. What if it brings that woman who attacked Rufus and the Scavers? What if she comes looking for her book?"
INDEX IS PROCESSING . . .
He was nodding worriedly. "You're right. We can't wait for this."
I reached for the handle with the icon of a book and tugged as hard as I could. The drawer wouldn't budge. Then, on the monitor, came the words:
Government Officials Contacted Courier Dispatched to Retrieve Content Elders Will Be Questioned Remain in Your Region
"What does that mean, Bryne?" I blurted, yanking frantically on the immovable drawer. "It won't let me take the book back. What does that mean!?"
"It means someone is coming for the book. That, or this device thinks they'll come. Doesn't matter. It won't let us have the book."
"Should we break it open or something?"
"No. It could damage the machine," he panted. "And I think you're right about the alarm. If that guy from the hill didn't hear us, people from R-34 might have. And I'm not waiting around here just to be exiled. Let's go."
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