Tarkentower

By Daniel Scott White

Then came a long period I don't remember much about. I only remember sitting in the classroom one day, a day that seemed to last forever, like my life was never changing. It was driving me crazy. I put my head down on the table, pretending to sleep, and then the room grew really quiet. When I looked around, nobody was there.

Thinking the bell might have rung and I hadn't heard it, I stood up and walked out. But the hallway was empty, too. In fact, the whole school was empty. I wandered past lockers and the door to the gym and then stumbled out a side door and found myself in the middle of a deserted city.

"Hey, where is everybody!" I yelled, but my voice was lost in the emptiness.

.............

Meet Lewis Fuller, a simple kid with no idea of what's at stake or how to fix anything. Just having arrived in the future, he's got a lot of catching up to do.

Dr. Tarkentower had plans of changing the world forever. Tired of seeing so much pain in the eyes of his patients, he quit his job at the hospital and created a vast machine that could control time itself. From there, he put the whole earth into a loop, repeating the same day over and over.

Each day his machine picks a few people who go forward in time, escaping the loop, living on a future planet that is not so crowded. It sounds like the perfect solution.

But people stuck in the loop are slowly going insane. As they arrive in the future, they bring with them a world of chaos. Lewis has to find Tarkentower's machine and turn it off to save the future. And to pull that off, he's going to need a lot of help.

"There's nothing more dangerous than someone who wants to make the world a better place."—Banksy

• Language: English
• Publisher: Daniel Scott White
• Release date: Feb 9, 2012
• ISBN: 9780983054115

Daniel Scott White

Member of a band of Stray Tablets. Winner of more than fifty film festivals. I was born in the mountains but now live by the sea.

Book preview

Tarkentower

a Quantum Fantasy

DANIEL SCOTT WHITE

LONGSHOT PRESS

COPYRIGHT

Published by Longshot Press

Copyright © 2018 by Daniel Scott White

longshotpress.com

No part of this book may be reprinted

or reproduced in any form, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, without the written permission

of the publisher or the author.

ISBN 978-0-9830541-1-5

Smashwords Ebook Edition

"There’s nothing more dangerous than

someone who wants to make the world

a better place."— Banksy

Compass

- Part One -

Tomorrow

Underground

Future Earth

The City

- Part Two -

Dead Man

Night Run

Outcast

The Ranger

- Part Three -

Relocation

Across the Plains

The Attack

- Part Four -

Into the Kingdom

Courts and Chaos

Beyond the Kingdom

Burning Time

Tarkentower

- After -

Your Turn

About The Author

History

Part One

Tomorrow

From a distance the bicycle shop looked empty. I shuffling up the sidewalk, watching to see if I was followed, and stopped at the window. There was a lot more dirt in my reflection than I expected to find. With the side of my fist I rubbed the window clean enough to peer inside at a dark interior, nobody around, bicycle frames covered in rust, signs of old age hanging on everything inside and out, including the windows and the doors. It looked like a good place to hide, but when I tried the front door, it was locked.

Thousands of leaves pushed by the wind hunched up in a pile against the bicycle shop. I sat down on the sidewalk and scooped up the leaves, crunchy and crinkled, and dumped them on my legs, then leaned back, dumping more on my torso, my head, everything but my eyes and nose, then buried my arms beside me. The dead leaves reflected the color of my skin. Nobody would see me here.

At this moment I hated the city more than anything. Before all this starting happening, before people disappeared and the city turned vacant, I thought wandering the streets a great way to spend my time. I was a street artist and proud of my work. It sure beat going to school. But hiding in the leaves, in the crumpled leaves, with the cold wind biting at my eyes, and not knowing if I was safe right now, it all brought home the realization that the world could be a desperate place.

Somehow, someone was still alive in the city and I was being hunted. I hadn’t had time to stop and consider what I’d do next if they found me here, lying on my back with sticks and twigs and cold dark leaves piled up high over my shivering frame. I only hoped they wouldn’t think to look in such an obvious place, in a pile of wind-blown leaves captured on the leeward side of a deserted building.

I sighed, wondering how I’d gotten here. This morning, I’d been here, standing outside this same bicycle shop, I was sure of it. The streets had been busy, people pushing, noises everywhere, pollution, cars, traffic lights, sirens, horns, it never stopped. I’d gone to school and been hassled by yet another teacher hellbent on slamming education down my throat. I wanted so much to be somewhere else, anywhere but in the classroom, and after putting my head down on my desk, I drifted off, waking up in an empty world.

More leaves collided in the afternoon wind as I looked up at the passing clouds. Something bit my leg. I rolled over on my knees and fished around in the leaves until I found a rock. Across the street, a whimpy-shaped kid barked at me, words I couldn’t decipher. I shook my head, a buzzing in my ears. He waved me closer, challenging me to a fight. I got up and took a step.

He squinted as he bent down to pick up another rock. For a moment he had to take his eyes off me. He was soft and lumpy and I thought he’d bounce if I pushed him over. I almost rushed him while he was looking down. But I hesitated. He seemed harmless enough, in a disconnected sort of way, as if none of this could be real.

A forest had grown up within the city, branches butting the sides of the buildings, grass and weeds entwined together, breaking through the cracks in the pavement, the buildings themselves crumbling in the shadows. This wasn’t my home, the city I had known inside and out, the place I had been born. Something had gone wrong. As I scanned the alleys and empty windows for another place to hide, I thought about a life I had left behind. A shiver passed through me with the touch of the wind.

The boy advanced, stepping out into the street between us. He was still saying something, but I had that buzzing in my ears. I took a few quick steps forward, yelling gibberish at him and flinging my arms around like a windmill. He disappeared around the corner.

I raced after him, crossing the street, but before I had a chance to tail him, a rock hit me in the shoulder. This time it came from a girl leaning against the side of a building less than half a block away. She looked good, sparkling in the sun. I couldn’t take my eyes off her. She waved in a friendly way and I smiled. Then she tossed a rock in the air and caught it.

I’m warning you, I yelled and backed away, my ears popping open as soon as I spoke.

Come on, you freak, she said and laughed.

I took a quick leap into an open doorway, landing in the dark, then fumbled my way across a room, running into chairs and desks, until I came to a long wall. I felt my way along the wall and found a door and threw it open. Inside, the stale air pinched at my lungs as I tripped over more chairs, and then I smacked the bridge of my nose against a bookcase. I muffled a cry, holding my nose tight, tasting the blood trickling down my chin. With little time to spare, I found another doorway and ran through that. Light appeared out of nowhere and I jumped for an opening and tumbled out into the street.

They were like shadows I couldn’t lose. What burned me even more was how they always seemed to know where I’d be next. Expecting them to come around the corner at any moment, I crawled behind a garbage bin to hide. I rolled myself into a ball, wrapping my arms around my knees. Hunger hit me full on and my legs burned for more oxygen. A second later I heard voices approaching.

Where’d he go? the boy asked.

Don’t know, the girl said.

I think he’s harmless.

I’m pretty sure he’s lost it.

She planted the sole of her foot squarely into a scrawny tree near where I was hiding, sending a shower of leaves down all around me. Knowing it was now or never, I grabbed a broken tree limb and rushed out into the middle of the street.

Back off, I yelled, pointing the sharp end of the stick at them.

Where’d you come from? the boy asked, squinting. Anger flashed in his eyes as he looked around for a weapon.

In one fluid movement the girl took a step in my direction, positioning her fist behind her head, posing to strike like a viper. I jabbed back and forth between them, unsure what to do next. Mostly, it was the girl’s catlike moves that intimidated me. The boy, his pudgy body wobbling as he moved, might sit on me, worst case scenario. I could handle that.

Wait a minute, he said, looking sideways at her. He understands us now. You go ahead and break his head open, if you want to. But what if he’s an asset?

You got any skills? she asked, taking a step closer.

I took a step back. What kind of skills?

Take him to see Amelia, the boy said. Let her talk to him. Then we’ll know if he’s salvageable or not.

Who’s Amelia? I asked.

He pointed at his brain. She can fix your head.

Back off! I mean it, I yelled and made a quick stab at the girl.

Hey, watch it, she said, swinging her foot in my direction, trying to connect with the stick.

No, you watch it. I jabbed at her but she held her ground, batting my stick away with her open hand.

Listen, she said, putting her arms down for a moment. I bet you don’t even know where you are. We’ve been following you for hours and you’re just going in circles.

I tried to picture the layout of the city from the top, like a map in my mind, but it wasn’t easy, not with the cluttered streets and the crumbling buildings. Something had gone wrong with my city. A fog moved in a covered the inner workings of my brain.

My legs disappeared out from under me and I saw the street rushing up to meet the side of my face. The boy ran over and bent down, putting a hand on my shoulder. I hugged myself and squeezed my eyes shut tight. Someone pulled the stick out of my hands.

What happened? I managed to breathe out as the pain subsided.

Memory lapse.

What?

Uh...you passed out, the boy said in a shaky voice.

I’m just so hungry all the time.

He fished around inside his backpack and came up with an apple. I sat up and took it, chomping into it with fast mechanical bites. I tried eating the core as well, but it tasted bitter. Instead, I gave it to a line of ants flooding down the sidewalk. They swarmed all over the apple in seconds, and some tried to move it, but it was too heavy for them.

Slow down, the boy said. You eat too fast and you’ll regret it.

He dug deeper inside his backpack and pulled out another apple. I made that one vanish just as fast. I was about to ask for a third when something moved inside my stomach. I threw the core down on the sidewalk and looked around for a place to bury my head. A piece of apple turned savage-brown popped out of my mouth and landed in the street.

Trust me, Lewis. You don’t wanna eat too fast in your condition.

What! I bellowed. How do you know my name?

They looked at me but nobody spoke.

I rolled over and attempted to run down the sidewalk on my knees, then gave up. Everything hurt too much.

You fool, the girl yelled at the boy. What’re you doing?

Just leave him alone, the boy said.

She pushed him out into the street. As they argued together, I couldn’t keep my eyes off her. Her hair was long and blonde and tied back in a leather barrette and her shirt had fallen down off one shoulder. There was something about the way she moved, as if she were dancing on water.

The boy was more of a basket case than anything. He was a sad combination of mismatched clothes and sloppy reflexes. His fighting moves were comical to watch.

All you’ve done is confused him, the girl said, her fist almost in his face.

He strained, hands up in the air, leaning forward with all his weight, holding her back from pummel him. Then he let go, took a quick step to the side, and turned to me. She relaxed and gave him a chance to speak.

I’m just going to level with you. Amelia sent us out here to find you. She said to bring you in if it looked like you could be an asset to the team.

She said what? I blurted out.

You want to join us? he asked.

Who are you? I demanded, looking back and forth between them.

I’m Lucerne, the girl said. Fat boy here is Deon. She grabbed him, wrapping her arm around his neck, and rubbed her knuckles into his head.

He pushed her away. Stop that! You know how much I hate it. Why are you always doing that!

He looks like a real happy meal, I tossed out.

He took a swing at the air in my direction. Why’d you go and say a thing like that? I’m on your side, remember?

I don’t remember anything. I looked around, hoping to find another way to escape from this pair of circus clowns. This was going nowhere.

Down the street emptiness waited. For a moment I imagined people like ghosts passing through the city, oblivious to the leaves and the litter blowing past them. I wanted to climb in the broken window of a derelict car and speed away, but the fog-like faces of people no longer living held me frozen in place. I felt a sense of hopelessness blanket me, weighing me down, placing me immobile like a smudge on the map.

What is it? Lucerne asked.

The boy and girl were peering down the street, trying to see what I had seen, concerned etched on their faces.

Is there somebody down there? Deon asked. Are they coming this way?

We’d better move out, Lucerne said. We’ve got no exit strategy if we’re attacked here.

You got any more food? I asked.

Yeah. We’ve got tons, Deon said. Just come with us.

I went with them, partly out of curiosity and partly lured on by the hope of finding more food. We walked past desolate buildings, housing forlorn birds perched high above, lines of cars waiting in anticipation at traffic lights that would never change, and doors to storefronts left open and nearly torn off their hinges. The city was a blank slate, a whole generation of memories wiped off the face of the planet.

We stopped at an alley and were confronted by a wild dog, its ears working, nose twitching, back legs ready to launch forward at the first sign of danger. The dog flinched when it saw us, then froze for a moment, before skipping away. I watched the animal disappear, wondering where it had gone. Somewhere, there had to be food around here.

Lucerne tapped me on the shoulder. We need to keep moving. No time to rest now.

Amelia really told you my name?

Nope, Deon said and laughed like a wild horse. I saw it on your shirt.

I stretched my shirt downward and tried to read it backward, the letters inverted. Printed across my chest in a large font was the name LEWIS FULLER and below it the number 15.

That’s not me, I said weakly. I don’t know who that is.

Lucerne asked, What can you remember?

Still unsure about my past, I changed the subject. So you just made up all that stuff about taking me to see someone?

No, that part was true, Deon said.

I didn’t buy it. They knew a lot more about what was going on than I did. Until they started telling me the truth, something that made sense, I was in no hurry to follow them anywhere.

We passed by the dark entrance to a building and on impulse I slid into the doorway, fading into the shadows on the other side of the room. As I waited for them to leave, my eyes adjusted to the dark. I watched through the window as yet another comedy unfolded. They were fighting over something and their voices drifted my way.

Where’d he go? Deon asked.

So much for that. Got any better ideas?

Yeah, why don’t you go in there and get him.

He gave her a push. She staggered for a moment and regained her footing. She almost boxed him in the ears, but he ducked down, crouching on the street, leaving himself undefended. She only shook her head and pushed him over. He rolled away and stood up.

I’m not going in there. You think I’m crazy? she said.

What set him off anyway? What’d I say?

He’s paranoid now. You shouldn’t have given him so many details. Makes them run every time.

I just wanted to get him moving.

I stopped listening for a moment. Something in the room was moving. There was a slithering sound, like the wind blowing through a barely opened window late in the night, or maybe it was the sound of the train coming down the tracks when you’re lost and hungry and wandering far from home. I stood immobile, hoping it would go away.

Something tapped the back of my leg and I felt a pin-prick followed by a searing sensation. I jerked my leg forward, stepping away from the dark, trying to get closer to the window by hopping forward on my one good leg. The room lit up and glowed a cold blue color. The air smelled putrid. I shivered, my temperature dropping. Without a second thought I leaped toward the door and rolled out onto the sidewalk, stopping on the street in a crumpled ball. Lucerne and Deon rushed over to help me up.

What happened? Lucerne asked. Are you hurt?

Wait a minute. What’s this? Deon said, pointing at something behind me.

He grabbed my shoulders and twisted me around. I tried to lean over backward and see what he was pointing at. There was a dark smudge just below my knee on the back of my pants.

What’s that? I asked.

They were both silent.

Someone answer me!

Whatever it was, it itched. I reached down to scratch my leg and Lucerne caught my hand midway there, pulling it back.

Don’t touch it, she warned.

As I watched in horror, my pants started to smolder. A strange chemical-blue flame broke out of nowhere, dancing madly as it sucked up fresh air. I screamed as the pain went through the roof of my head.

Deon pinned me up against the wall with all his weight. Lucerne grabbed a handful of mud from the gutter and pressed it hard against my leg, smothering the flame. After an eternity, the pain diminished and I could breath again. Deon eased up when I let my body go slack. Lucerne picked up a stick and wiped away the mud.

I twisted again to see what had