String Theory_ Fusion (Book 2) - Kirsten Beyer [92]
Within moments, Kathryn was standing in the midst of one of her worst nightmares. Many years ago, her sister had taken a position at a children’s summer camp, and on a short break from the Academy, Kathryn had visited her sister there and watched with a firm sense of her own deficiencies as Phoebe had gamboled and tumbled with her young charges in an open field on a hot summer afternoon. She had understood instinctively that while children could be adorable and magical in their way, she was not constituted for their care. Phoebe had taken such delight in their games, while Kathryn’s gut had cried out to impose some sort of order and discipline on their unstructured play.
What had been her mother’s beautiful and cozy living room was now a full-fledged disaster site. The strange children were everywhere. Kathryn could not have cut a path through them even if she had wanted to. Finally, in a moment of desperate frustration, she cried out at the top of her lungs.
“STOP!”
For a moment there was silence as hundreds of curious eyes turned on her, waiting for her next command.
“You can’t play like this in here,” she said, tenuously grasping for a shred of control.
“Why not?” the silver-haired mouse-child asked.
“Because you are ruining everything,” Kathryn replied automatically. She had no idea where her mother was, but when she returned and found her living room, Kathryn was going to have a lot of explaining to do.
“Where else should we play?” another asked.
“This is our home,” a third chimed in.
“We like your toys,” another called.
Janeway raised her hands to silence them. “Then take the toys and go outside.”
“Where?” the mouse-child asked.
Turning to the windows Kathryn saw that what had been a tranquil afternoon beyond them was now a vast starless night.
Part of her felt a twinge of regret at sending the children out into the night, but the larger part knew instinctively that if she didn’t act fast, the house would be torn from its foundation and pulled apart by their wild, unruly play.
“Outside,” Kathryn said again, pointing at the front door behind her, adding, “NOW!” in a voice that left no room for argument.
The heads turned toward the door, and in a flood the children were taking their toys and rushing through the door. What had been a standard-sized door frame was ripped from its casing as they poured through.
Kathryn had expected that once they were gone, she would find herself again in the silence of her mother’s living room. But as the last child rushed out into the warm Indiana night, she saw a soft light resting on the porch. The light bounced and vibrated, pausing at what had been the doorway, and after a moment rose from the porch and flew into the house. It came toward Kathryn, who instinctively raised her hands to shield her eyes from its unearthly brightness, circled her a few times, then darted past her, crashing into lamps, skewing pictures from the wall, and finally bursting through one of the bay windows and disappearing into the darkness.
Turning back to what had been the front door, Janeway saw dozens of similar lights floating toward her. Though she couldn’t put her finger on exactly why, their approach filled her with an overwhelming sense of dread. Somehow she knew how wrong this was, yet the glowing balls kept coming.
Suddenly, Phoebe stood beside her. In a rush of memory, Kathryn realized that this could not be her mother’s home. She was trapped in the Delta Quadrant, and this being who looked like her sister was, at best, a tour guide from hell.
“What is this?” Kathryn demanded, still shaking from her encounter with the children.
“This was our home,” Phoebe replied sadly.
“No, Phoebe… or whoever you are… this was my home.”
“As I told you before, Kathryn, I can only show you our truth within a context you will understand.”
“Who were those… children?” Kathryn