“Yes?” Cristal asked.
“Cristal, checking to see if you’re okay.”
Harry’s voice seemed serious, but she could hear a hint of excitement. His phone call should have calmed her, but she was feeling more anxious than ever.
“No, not really. What were you talking about earlier? What tests?” she said.
Should I tell Harry about the light that Kerim saw? No. Don’t tell him anything until I figure out what he is up to.
“I’ll meet you back at GN and we can talk then,” he said.
Before she could say anything, he ended the call.
Chapter 9
Who to Trust
CRISTAL’S THOUGHTS WERE rattling in her head like a pinball machine, each one banging into the other.
“I have to go,” she said still staring at her phone.
“Okay, I’ll drop you off,” Kerim replied.
He went into the living room grabbing his helmet off the couch.
“No, I’m taking a cab back to the office.”
Kerim appeared startled by her response.
“Okay, then. See you tonight,” Kerim said slowly.
Gabriel stared at her with a look of concern.
“We should talk about this some more, but that’s just what I think,” he mumbled to himself.
Maybe Gabriel is right. She paused for a moment but then shook her doubts from her head and walked out the door.
***
Outside the building, she welcomed the fresh air. She stood still for a moment, taking in deep breaths, hoping to relax. She looked around. People were scattering on the streets like the fire ants that used to seek safety from the garden hose she used to wield on in the backyard of her childhood home.
“There is no signal,” a young man said to her. He was waving his cell phone. “Do you have a signal?”
She shook her head, knowing full well that her cell phone was working fine. It was connected to a satellite and not on a regular cellular network. Harry had made sure that all the Truth Seekers were able to communicate with each other at all times.
She glanced down at her phone and noticed there was a text message from Serena.
Lioness: We just had a small earthquake here in Manila. No physical damage but lots of people are saying they saw weird things. Like visions… Will send you pics soon.
What? An earthquake in the Philippines too? She began typing a response when she noticed some commotion on the corner of the intersection.
A group of teenagers on the corner were pointing towards the sky. She tilted her head to see what the big deal was. Something was very different. Angry strokes of crimson red with charcoal rain clouds hung above them. Streaks of lightning were crisscrossing each other like an intricate woven rug. If she squinted, she could make out an image, almost like a painting. The image of a middle aged woman was becoming more vivid and clear.
I must be seeing things. Have to get out of here.
She scurried down West 34th Street praying to find a cab that could take her out of the chaos but abandoned cars were making the normally traffic congested street even more difficult for cabs to get through. She started picking up her pace, half walking, half running. She had to get to GN, which was on Lexington and East 33rd Avenue, probably a good twenty-five-minute walk.
Pockets of people passed her by, their eyes opened wide, blinking fast as she raced past them. A woman with snow-white hair and clear blue eyes caught her gaze. She was walking towards her, clutching her black purse, her shoes with thick black heels hitting the ground making a sound like a crack of thunder with each step. Cristal covered her ears hoping to block the sound. Walk past her. Look away.
She tried to avoid making eye contact, but her eyes were drawn back to the woman. The old lady was now stopped in front of her raising her crooked finger at her.
Cristal froze, the old lady’s words crawling into her skull. Her skin felt like fire ants crawling up her arms.
“I don’t know what you mean,” she said, half believing her own words.
The woman continued, clutching the gold cross around her neck like it was the only thing keeping her alive. “It was you. There was a bright light coming down from heaven through your body into the earth.”
Cristal shook her head and said firmly, “No, not me! It wasn’t me.”
She yanked her arm away from the old woman and started sprinting down the street. Her heart was pounding; her palms sweating as she ran. Her backpack bounced against her and the straps rubbed against her shoulders.
She kept running, oblivious of the people bumping into her. The words repeated in her head like a mantra.
“It wasn’t me. It wasn’t me!”
She looked up and realized that GN was at the next corner. Need to get Harry to tell me what the hell is going on.
She dodged traffic and ran across the street. As she ran up to the busy intersection, another voice entered her head.