Charlotte hadn’t spoken to Luke in five years, but there she was at his door. “Luke, we have to go. Now.”
Luke shook his head. “What do you mean? Where do you want to go?”
Charlotte stared at him. Luke could never read her facial expressions. She wore a blank stare most of the time, but something about her hinted at her mind working, always reeling.
“Luke, the monsters are coming.” She reached forward and grabbed his hand. “I know it doesn’t make sense, but you have to trust me.”
Then Charlotte looked at Luke, her brilliant eyes clear, and somehow he knew she meant what she said. He knew it was true. Do you know how sometimes you listen to a person, you agree with her automatically? Not because you know what she’s talking about but because somehow, you know the person is absolutely right. Luke didn’t know what monsters Charlotte was talking about, but he believed her. He grabbed his cell phone and wallet and stuffed them into his jacket pockets. He followed her out into the hallway, locking the door behind him. “Charlotte, what’s going on?” Luke asked. He pressed the down button on the elevator.
Charlotte shook her head. “It’s difficult to explain. Let’s get somewhere safe first.”
They went down to the street and Charlotte led Luke around the corner. They kept walking, out past the school, past the movie theater. The streets were full of rush-hour traffic and the sidewalks were crowded. They walked through Stevens Park and out to the old business sector beyond the park.
Luke looked up at the rusted fence and down to the twisted weeds where metal met pavement. The gate was unlocked and Charlotte led him into the compound.
“Charlotte--”
“Shhh.”
They walked to one of the abandoned buildings. The side door’s lock was busted and they walked inside. Charlotte pulled a flashlight out of her backpack and led the way down the stairs. Luke expected the cellar to be cold and maybe a little damp, but it felt comfortable instead. Lived in. Charlotte picked up a lighter on the table and lit the standing candles. A dim glow spread through the room. One side of the room had blankets down on the floor and some spare clothes piled on a chair. The walls were covered in paper, photos, and newspaper articles. Luke stared and squinted his eyes, trying to figure out what this place was.
“Charlotte, why did we come here?”
“We needed to get away from the city.” She moved two wooden chairs to the table and then motioned for Luke to sit down. “Away from all those people.” Charlotte sat down and pulled her legs up onto the chair seat, hugging her knees. “Remember, I said the monsters are coming. They come from here.” She tapped her forehead. “They’re going to come out and the ones who have to fight will be off guard. At least here, we put some space between us.”
Luke shook his head. He wanted to think that Charlotte was crazy, that this was one of the unhinged states she had as a child. But she sounded so level-headed. He played along. “What if a monster comes out of me?”
“I’d have to fight.” Charlotte’s eyes flicked to the corner behind Luke. “But I don’t think there are any monsters in you.”
Luke twisted around in his chair to see the corner where Charlotte was looking. The candle flames sent flickering shadows against the far wall, but he could make out a baseball bat, a crowbar, and something metal that glinted even in the dim light. “...Is that a gun on the floor?”
Charlotte’s voice was flat. “Like I said, we don’t need to worry about you.”
“Okay.” Luke took a deep breath, the heavy scent of candle wax filing his nostrils. “So why are these monsters coming now?”
Charlotte stood up and walked over to the newspaper-covered wall. “It’s time. I...I don’t know how to explain this to you. It’s the kind of thing that you know only if you know. Otherwise, you have no idea what’s going on.”
Luke stood up and walked over to Charlotte. “And how do you know?”
Charlotte tapped the side of her head. “Monsters in some of their heads, but there’s something different inside of me. Not just me. There are others.” She looked sideways at Luke. “There’s a world some of us enter when we sleep. It mirrors this one, but time moves differently there. Faster. It’s ahead of this world, and now’s the time when the monsters come out here.”
Luke rubbed a hand over his eyes. “You know this sounds crazy, right? I don’t mean to be rude, but Charlotte, come on.”
Charlotte shrugged her shoulders. “Lots of people feel that something is wrong.” She pointed at the wall. “Political protests. Social movements.” Her fingers moved over the articles and photos, tapping each one. “Economic suffering. Cities are in a state of unrest. Something is shifting, moving. Rising.” She turned and looked at Luke. “Don’t you feel like something’s off in the world? That some sort of change is coming?”
“I don’t know Charlotte. Is this change supposed to happen tonight? I guess I don’t understand how something like this can happen and everything will be different tomorrow.”
“It isn’t sudden. Things have been progressing. We’ve been building up to this point.”
“If you say so.” Luke walked back to the chair and Charlotte sat back down too. “So why did you come get me?”
Charlotte lifted her eyes to meet Luke’s. “It’s something that I did not expect. I didn’t think I would have anyone with me to face the Rising, but then I saw you.”
“In the other world?”
Charlotte nodded. “You would say I had a dream about it, but that’s not it. We were traveling together, so I knew I had to find you in this world. I had to come back for you.”
“Not so much a dream as a vision.”
“What?”
“If the other world moves ahead of ours, then what happens there will be the future here, right? So you can see the future.”
Charlotte shook her head. “It’s no that straight-forward, but I see what you mean. Yes, that’s why I went to the apartment for you. But that won’t work anymore. When the monsters cross into our world, the timelines will be linked. Fixed together.”
“How much time do we have?”
Charlotte shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know, but not much. I don’t have dreams about the future anymore.”