Free Cristal - Novella by Anne-Rae Vasquez Page B

towards it. Each step she took was as
if she were floating. Weightless. Free.
    “ Cristal,” a voice said.
    Her eyes widened. The picture was coming to
life.
    “ Don’t be afraid.”
    It was changing shape and moving towards
her.
    “Dad?”

Chapter 12
What Is This All About?

    CRISTAL EYES SNAPPED OPEN and darkness surrounded
her. The dream was still clear in her mind. But was it a
dream? She sat up, looked around, and saw that she was alone. How long have I been sleeping? Where is everyone?
    She stood up, adjusting her eyes to the
darkness and walked towards the doorway, bumping into a stool. She
picked up her backpack, which was still sitting on the table. She
walked out of the classroom into the dark hallway. She reasoned
that the building was running on power from the generator, due to
the earthquake. It was creepy being alone in the dark.
    She could see light coming from Dr. Saeed’s
office across from the classroom. As she walked closer to the
doorway, there were voices involved in an intense conversation.
Slowly, she approached the door. Kerim was standing in front of
Harry and Dr. Saeed in front of a desk, and they were seated
at the meeting table. There was no one else in the room.
    “…and that’s what you really think happened?
Time travel? C’mon Harry, I know there are strange things
happening, but that?”
    Harry was smiling, and his hands were
animated as he spoke.
    “Like I said earlier, it’s all in my
father’s notes. Dr. Saeed was helping my father prove their theory
that there are portals or black holes in locations around the
world. My dad worked with Dr. Saeed to gather data from
multiple sources that included satellite imagery, and a geographic
information system.”
    He turned to Dr. Saeed.
    “Tell him about the experiments with the
kids.”
    Dr. Saeed crossed his arms.
    “Aaron Doub theorized that gifted children’s
extra sensory skills could help connect or bridge the present to
the future.”
    Harry’s grin grew wider, as he said, “Child
prodigies have natural abilities that are remarkable for children
their age. My father believed that the reason for this is because
their brains are able to process data and information like
computers. His tests proved that they use fifty times more brain
cells than average children or adults. They theorized that if we
placed a gifted person at a location where a black hole or portal
exists, it would be the key to unleash the energy to open up the
portals.”
    The expression on Kerim’s face said loud and
clear that he wasn’t buying anything they were saying to him. He
sat down on the edge of the desk.
    “So is that how the earthquakes happened?”
Kerim inquired. “Gabriel’s apartment is one of the locations of a
black hole?”
    Kerim leaned towards Harry and pointed his
finger at him.
    “That’s why you wanted Cristal to go there.
And you needed me to keep her safe. Is that it?” He paused. “When
the earthquake happened, I saw a white light coming out of
Cristal’s chest that shot up to the ceiling and it went right
through to the ground.”
    Cristal’s heart started beating faster. I can’t
believe Harry set me up . She clenched her fists and felt her
face turn red. She stepped closer to the door but kept herself from
entering.
    Kerim now had Harry and Dr. Saeed’s full
attention.
    “What do you mean a white light?” Dr. Saeed
asked, crossing his arms and tilting his head.
    “Can you describe what it looked like?”
Harry interrupted.
    Kerim took a deep breath.
    “The light came from the ceiling down into
her chest and then it went into the ground. I saw images above her
head like a movie playing on a screen.”
    He paused, as if trying to recollect what he
had seen.
    “Go on,” Harry said.
    “Well, I saw you, Cristal, Dr. Saeed,
Gabriel, Rinaldo, and Adel. I was there, too. There was another
guy, dark-skinned, brown hair. I couldn’t see him very well.”
    Dr. Saeed glanced at Harry and then looked
back at