2:53 AM California Time // 11:53 AM Geneva
Zack Taylor & Jason Scott’s Room
“Who is it?” Zack asks, ambling out of the bathroom and rubbing his head with a green fluffy towel. Jason pantomimes Tommy’s name and Zack tenses and tightens his grip on his towel. At the sudden knock he drops into the basic defense position.
“Guys, you up yet?” comes a familiar voice. Zack exhales and crosses to the door to let Trini in.
“What are they doing on Phaedos?” These words hold Trini and Zack spellbound. Zack’s face resembles a small thundercloud. Trini drops into the nearest chair and nervously tugs on the edge of her black business skirt. Jason’s grip on the phone could only be considered deadly, and, if he were holding someone’s neck instead, then that person would undoubtedly be dead. Tommy is reluctant to answer and Jason almost growls into the phone.
Finally Tommy figures out a proper response. “Dulcea said it was the only way to save Kat and Kim agreed to go along with it.”
Jason frowns as Trini and Zack hold their breath, waiting for any information available. “Well Kim made it last time. She can do it again.” He draws on memories of conversations with his friends about their trip to Phaedos to reassure himself as well as everyone else who’s listening.
“Well…” Tommy is hesitant about telling Jason this, “Dulcea said that this trip is different… harder…”
Jason pales. “Tommy! How could you let her go…? No. I’m sorry. It was of course her decision to make.”
“It’s alright, man. I didn’t want her to go, but Kim always does what she thinks is best,” Tommy sighs.
“So what now?” Jason can’t help the fear that bubbles up at the mental image of Kim. She is so small. Then Kat’s face pops up, smiling. She is so fragile.
“You guys stay put. As soon as we know anything, you’ll know it too,” Tommy replies, making his voice as authoritative as possible
“Alright,” Jason nods, “Later, man.” He places the phone in its cradle and has trouble unwinding his fingers. Finally he faces Trini and Zack who seem to be afraid to say a word.
Trini is the first to compose herself. She walks over to Jason and lays a hand on his shoulder. “What’s going on?”
He seems soothed by her soft voice. “Kim and Kat are on Phaedos, searching for some sort of Power.” Then a quiet desperation settles in his voice. “It’s a more dangerous trip than the one they all went on to get the Ninjetti Powers… far more dangerous.” Trini’s hand briefly convulses on Jason’s shoulder. Zack jumps up and begins to pace in agitation, covering the short distance between the walls in very long steps. Jason fights for control, pushing the intruding memories of Kim as a little girl as far out as he can. He pulls Trini close, crumpling her stiff buttermilk colored dress shirt.
Trini allows herself a moment of comfort and then straightens. “So what now?”
“We wait.” Jason shrugs helplessly. Zack’s aggravation is reaching a breaking point and he suddenly swings his leg around in a crushing roundhouse kick. The wall fails to be impressed. Finally, nervous energy spent, he plops down on his bed. The three keep a respectful silence as they all pray in their own ways for the two young women who are fighting for their lives.
~*~
Time Unknown
The Path
Phaedos
The two bodies lying on the small oasis seem to belong to corpses, bloodied, dirty, deathly still. The heat permeates the air, and even the ground doesn’t escape its power. The earth and the grass warm to an uncomfortable level. Kim sighs and slowly checks the condition of her muscles. She’s sore and the aches throb individually. She lifts her fingers to tug the wild strands of her hair away from her face and looks over at Kat. Kat’s mouth is slightly open and the skin over her lips is rough and broken. Kim braces her palms against the ground and pushes herself to her knees. She then pushes back to rest on her toes and straightens swiftly. She examines her once vibrant outfit with distaste. Though the blood isn’t very visible, the dirt is and there are several rips and tears in the fabric, exposing some more flesh, as though she weren’t naked enough already. Kim bites her lip and eyes the sparkling stream. It isn’t big enough for a decent bath but it will have to do. She steps gingerly, testing how badly the soles of her feet are injured. They seem more or less well and she makes the four steps to the stream without any effort. Kim sits down on the edge and runs her hands over her left boot. She reaches the top and tugs, freeing her left leg. She lays it on the side carefully and relegates the other boot to the same fate. She then slips her feet into the water and proceeds to remove the encrusted dirt and blood. She splashes the water on her arms, works up to her shoulders and cleans her torso. She is completely engrossed in her very pleasant task when she hears her name.
“Kim?” Kat looks around, rubbing her eyes sleepily, “Where are you?” Her eyes focus on the small figure in the stream and the drops of water spraying around. Kim looks over and waves her left hand, signaling Kat to come over. Kat frowns and rolls over onto her stomach. She bends her legs and thrusts herself up. She unbends and hears several creaks and pops coming from random parts of her body. She staggers over to Kim and plops down onto the edge just as Kim had done, to pull off her boots. With that done, she slides into the water and carefully cleans the large abrasion on her stomach. The young women don’t speak, absorbed in the wonderful feelings that clearing away the grime causes. Soon they’re both squeaky clean but continue pouring water over themselves until Kat turns and sends a splash directly into Kim’s face. Kim yelps and skids backwards. Her eyes light up and she brings her palms together to create a large wave that heads into Kat. Kat giggles and retaliates. Kim leaps out of the way and sends water flying everywhere. Kat giggles again. Kim comes to rest, floating in the shallow spring.
“You know what… I’m hungry,” Kim comments idly.
Kat realizes that the empty gnawing feeling in her stomach means that she is too. She nods and purses her lips, in thought. She glances around and then up and exclaims, “Dates!”
Kim lifts an eyebrow in amusement. “I don’t think this is the best time to be thinking about men.”
Kat waves her hands in frustration at her friend’s denseness. “Not those kind… the edible ones.” Kim follows Kat’s frantic pointing to see the date palm tree laden with fruit.
She starts clapping madly, goes under and comes back up sputtering. “So what are we waiting for?”
Kat reaches up, catches a branch with the pads of her fingers and tugs down. The dates rain down, bumping over Kim and Kat and splashing into the water. Kim finds the bottom and stands up, scooping up as much of the fruit as she can. Kat helps her haul it onto dry land and they grin as they dive into their lunch. A companionable silence fills the air as they attempt to fill their stomachs.
~*~
4:04 AM California Time // 1:04 PM Geneva
Zack Taylor & Jason Scott’s Room
Jason snaps out of his reverie and taps his fingers against his thigh. “So we’re going to wait…”
“Yeah…” Trini sighs.
“I guess…” Zack intones. Quiet descends once more. Finally, they stand up from their respective seats and smile at each other weakly. After a group hug, they exit and let the door slam. Trini heads east, Jason west and Zack south.
~*~
4:11 AM California Time // 1:11 PM Geneva
Peace Conference Dormitory Lounge
The lounge has wall-to-wall carpeting and three couches. The various shades of beige make the room look like a watered down cup of coffee. The only bit of color is the violet phone on a small cherry wood coffee table. The door opens quietly and someone enters, careful to make a minimal amount of noise. Anyone can use the phone by inputting his or her personal authorization code. That is what happens now.
“Operator, authorization code 78304.”
“Code accepted,” the machine responds promptly.
“Geneva International Airport.” Momentarily the computer makes the connection.
“Hello, Geneva International Airport Ticket Office,” a cheery French accented voice speaks.
“I need a ticket on any airline for the soonest flight to Angel Grove, California.”
“No problem. Credit card?”
“Yes. Visa. Card number 0473-3834-3482-0283. Expires in October, 2004.”
“Okay. Your flight is with Swiss Air at 4:30 PM.”
“Thanks.” Click.