Jessica could see three darklings together at the edge of the light, their silhouettes pulsing through horrible, half-glimpsed shapes. Their eyes flashed a deep indigo.
A low growl came from one of them, long and full of varied sounds, as if it were trying to make words and meaning. But it was no more understandable than fingernails on a chalkboard.
Then the three darklings turned and flew away. The flying slithers slowly gathered themselves up into a ragged cloud, the whole mass heading back out toward the badlands.
“The moon’s setting,” Jonathan said.
Jessica nodded, unable to speak.
“We’d better get down.”
Of course, Jessica thought. In a few minutes Jonathan wouldn’t be able to fly anymore. They’d be stuck up here.
She held out her hand, and he took it. They jumped from the steel beam, falling softly to the ground. The white light around them slowly faded, returning to the placid blue light of the secret hour.
“What was that?” she said. “What saved us?”
“I’m not sure,” he said. “Maybe the steel?”
“I gave it a thirteen-letter name,” she suggested.
Jonathan let out a short laugh. “The whole building?”
“I guess. The part we were standing on, at least.”
He shook his head. “You can charge up a ring or a necklace, and Dess can do bigger stuff if it’s the right shape, but not a whole building. Maybe this place is made of some kind of crazy new metal. What does your mom do here?”
“Aircraft research.”
“Hmm.” Jonathan nodded. “We should look into it. That was totally cool.” He looked up at the building over their heads. “Wouldn’t mind some brass knuckles made of that stuff. Or maybe it was just the end of the blue time coming on. Lots of steel in conjunction with moonset.”
Jessica shrugged. This was another mystery for Rex, it sounded like.
Then a terrible thought struck her.
“How long do we have?” she asked.
Jonathan glanced at the moon. “Only a minute or so until the blue time runs out. I guess we’ll be walking home tonight.”
“Not unless we get out of here.”
“What?”
“They do classified defense work here, Jonathan,” she said hurriedly. “My mom got background-checked, interviewed by the FBI, and fingerprinted twice. There are security guards all over and a big fence all around.”
“Great,” he said, scanning the horizon. He pointed and grabbed her hand. “Bixby-side fence, now!”
She nodded. “Three, two…”
They jumped, heading back toward the city.
It took several bounds just to carry them to within sight of the fence. It was at least thirty feet high.
“Oh boy,” Jonathan said.
“What? We can clear that easy.”
He swallowed, clenching her hand hard. “I usually don’t jump at all this close to moonset. It’s not fun getting a face full of gravity when you’re up high.”
“Tell me about it,” Jessica said.
“Oh, yeah.”
They neared the fence. Jessica could see the coil of razor wire that capped it now, like a long, vicious Slinky stretched along its top. The light was changing slowly, a bit of color coming back into the world.
“Not long now,” Jonathan said.
Jessica swallowed. If she were caught trespassing in here, they’d blame her mother. The new job would be in the toaster.
“Just one more jump,” she cried. “Go!”
They soared into the air and over the fence, clearing the razor wire by at least twenty feet.
“Oh no,” said Jonathan. “I think that was maybe a little…”
“Too hard?” she asked.
They continued to sail upward.
The moon was slipping behind the hills. In the distance ahead the trees were turning green. Jessica realized that it was like sunset, right on the edge of day and night, when the light moved from east to west across the planet. Moonset and normal time—and gravity—were rushing toward them.
“This is not good,” Jonathan said.
They soared helplessly farther into the sky.
Jessica thought furiously. They just needed something to pull them downward. If only they had something heavy….
Then she realized. They did have something heavy: her.
“Give me your chain,” she ordered.
“What?”
“Do it!” she yelled.
Jonathan unwound Obstructively from his fist. She snatched it from him. The stainless steel links looked strong enough. She held one end in her free hand. “Grab the other end. Tight.”
He grabbed it.
With her other hand, she let go of Jonathan.
“Jess, no!”
She fell, yanking the chain taut and pulling Jonathan downward after her.
“Jess!” His eyes were full of terror.
In a few seconds they were falling fast enough, and she yanked on the chain to bring him close to her again. They frantically grabbed for each other’s hands, and with the warmth of his flesh, weightlessness wrapped itself around Jessica again.
Momentum carried them down toward the ground quickly, but with the soft pressure of midnight gravity.
Jonathan wrapped his arms around her. Jessica realized she was shaking.
“I never dropped anyone before,” he said quietly. “And now I’ve dropped you twice in one night.”
The grass below them was turning green. They were at treetop level, and then their feet touched the ground lightly.
Normal weight settled onto them a few seconds later.
“Well, the third time’s a charm,” Jessica said. She was still shaking.
They stood there, looking at each other.
Finally they let go of each other’s hands.
“Ouch,” he said softly.
Jessica giggled, rubbing her hand. “Ouch is right.”
Jonathan laughed out loud. “You’ve got one hell of a grip, Jess. My hand feels it got slammed in a door. Talk about clingy.”
“Me?” she retorted, laughing too. “My hand feels like a truck ran over it.”
They were both still laughing when the police car pulled up.
15
12:01 A.M.
CURFEW
The police car crunched onto the roadside, gravel popping out from under its tires as it slid to a stop.
Jonathan clutched Jessica’s hand and instinctively bent his knees to leap, seeing in his mind’s eye the precise jump that would take them safely over the car and onto the roof of the house across the street. He could see the proper angle of landing and how the next leap would take them over to the next block and out of sight. Away to freedom.
But his legs crumpled under him, and Jonathan remembered that he was heavy, leaden, earthbound. Flying time was over.
Jonathan’s exhausted leg muscles could barely push him back to standing again. He doubted he could even make a run for it. For the next few minutes his body would feel like stone as it slowly readjusted to normal weight. Even breathing took effort in these horrible moments after the secret hour ended.
A familiar claustrophobic feeling settled over him. He was trapped here in normal time. Trapped by the cops, by the Bixby curfew, by the suffocating, inescapable blanket that was gravity. Stuck like an insect drowning in glue.
All Jonathan could do was squeeze Jessica’s hand.
The police car’s doors opened, and a spotlight popped on, ripping into his eyes. He spun away, covering his face with his hands.
“Think you can hide, Martinez?” a deep voice called, laughing. “I recognize your pretty face.”
Jonathan’s heart sank, but he tried to make his answer sound brave. “Turn that thing off, St. Claire. We’re not going anywhere.”
He heard the crunch of boots, then felt Sheriff Clancy St. Claire’s hand fall onto his shoulder. It felt like a hairy lump of lead clamping itself onto Jonathan, pushing him down into the quicksand that the ground had become.
“Jonathan Martinez, you have never spoken truer words.”