Atlantis Gate

CHAPTER 21

This place was worse. That was the thought that resounded through Dane’s mind as he took in the environment around him, slowly turning the Valkyrie suit so he could survey his new surroundings. The sky overhead was covered with dark black clouds with swirls of red and yellow in them. Lightning flickered inside the clouds, producing a dull thunder as if even sound were defeated by the bleakness surrounding Dane and Earhart. The land was scorched clean, the ground blistered and buckled, yet covered with a layer of ice and blowing snow. He had no idea where they were as there was no apparent sign of civilization.

“We might be on another planet,” Dane whispered, as if by speaking in a normal voice he would be become part of the desolation.

“We can breathe,” Earhart said.

“There are filters — or some sort of rebreather — built into this suit,” Dane said. The portal was behind them and he was tempted to simply turn around and go back through it to the devastated Washington — at least that held a degree of familiarity. “Or maybe it’s a planet with an atmosphere like ours,” he added uncertainly.

“Wrong portal?” Earhart asked.

Dane controlled his desire to flee. “I don’t think so.” He could feel the cold through the suit’s armor.

“There!” Earhart was pointing with a white arm.

Dane turned in that direction and a small moving speck was visible on the screen inside the helmet. It took him a moment before he recognized what it was — another Valkyrie suit, moving toward them.

“Friend or foe inside?” Dane wondered out loud.

“We’ll find out soon enough,” Earhart said as she flexed her fingers, extending the claws on both hands.

As the figure got closer Dane could see that it’s white armor was blackened and dirty. Dane focused his attention, trying to mentally probe through the suit and determine who, or what, was inside.

“Friend,” he said as he picked up an aura. It was familiar, almost as if he had met whoever was inside the suit. He could now see that the armor was damaged in a couple of places, much like theirs was.

The figure came to a halt ten feet in front of them, both hands held up, palms out, claws not extended. “Welcome to hell.”

The voice was female, one Dane knew. He felt a wave of shock pass through him as he recognized it. “Ariana? Ariana Michelet?”

“Yes. I’ve been waiting for you.”

“But—” Dane struggled to get the words out—“you’re dead.”

The voice was low and almost melancholy as she answered. “Sometimes I wish I were. And I will be soon. But first, I must accomplish what I have been tasked to do.”

“I don’t understand,” Dane said. “How can you be alive?”

“It’s like Noonan,” Earhart cut in. “I saw him die, but then he came to me.”

“Come,” Ariana gestured. “Come with me. I will show you and explain.”

Despite not being able to see her, Dane knew it was Ariana in the suit. The aura was the same as he remembered. He had not recognized her right away because he considered her dead.

“Where is here?” Dane asked.

“This is Earth. Washington DC.”

“It can’t be,” Dane said. “We just left Washington. And even that Washington wasn’t-” He tried to process all that had happened. “Is this the future?” But that didn’t make sense, he realized, because the Washington they had just left had been the past. Or his past. And Earhart’s future. He felt as if a spike was being driven through the center of his brain as he tried to assimilate the paradoxes and the situation.

“’The future’,” Ariana repeated. Dane could almost see her shaking her head inside her helmet. “Yes. In a way. We are at about the same place where you went through that—” she pointed at the gate behind them.

“Things got worse?” Dane asked.

“This isn’t the same Washington,” Ariana said. “This is a different time and place.”

“But you just said this is Washington in the future.”

“In my future — or more accurate to say my present. Not yours.”

“But—”

“Your Ariana died,” she said.

Dane was totally confused. “Then who are you?”

“Ariana Michelet. But a different Ariana. As the Washington DC you just came from was different from the Washington DC in the world you initially left, and this one is also different from those other two,” Ariana said. “This—” she held out both arms, slowly turning—“is Earth in a different time-line. Parallel to the one you know, but one that took a different path at a certain time in the path. I am Ariana Michelet, but not the Ariana Michelet you knew in your timeline. She died in your timeline. In this timeline, I failed in stopping Erebus from erupting. Because I failed, I survived. I was taken by the Ones Before as the world — this world — collapsed around me into destruction.” She dropped her arms. “Then they sent me here. To wait for you.”

“Why?” Dane asked, trying to understand.

“So your Earth doesn’t end up like my Earth.”

Dane took in the swirling snow and ice-covered ground. “Ice this time,” he whispered to himself.