Chapter 9
The torchlight from Ben’s head illuminated Sam’s unmistakable face, making him squint as he scrambled to his feet.
How is this happening? Ben wondered, still speechless. Could Sam see him now too? But even if he could, he had a light shining in his eyes, and Ben was acutely aware how little he’d be able to make out in such a situation.
“Thank you,” Sam said, brushing himself off. “I’m sorry, I got a little carried away there…” He turned to the direction from which he’d come, looking off into the darkness. “Listen, I don’t know what’s going on, but I just… I really need to get out of here.” He spoke with an edge of fear. “This place… it…”
He trailed off, and began walking away at a brisk pace.
“Ben, don’t let him go…” Addison said, her eyes fixed on the tall silver-haired man.
Ben reached out a hand. “Wait… Sam!”
The mention of his name made him freeze, and his head whipped back to Ben. “What did you just—”
“You’re Sam Beckett, aren’t you?”
Ben pulled off his headlamp, and aimed the light beam at his own face. “Do you see Greg, or… someone else?”
Sam’s mouth drifted open as he saw Ben’s face for the first time.
“Oh no…” he said, and began racing down the corridor again.
“Wait!” Ben cried, and gave chase. “I’m here to help!”
Sam ripped past Joey and Alex down the hall, who were still completely puzzled as to what was going on, and a moment later, Ben reached them, stopping abruptly.
“Sorry guys, she’s kinda freaking out,” he told them in a breathless, racing voice. “She nearly died a minute ago. I’ll handle it—you guys wait here.”
And with that, he continued running, catching sight of Sam exiting the building through the entrance and making a beeline for it.
“Wait, what do you mean she ‘nearly died?’” Alex called as he disappeared out the door.
* * *
Addison materialised in the van as she watched Sam running full pelt for the vehicle. For an old guy, he sure was nimble.
“Dammit,” she muttered, seeing the keys hanging in the ignition. Thinking fast, she opened a comms line on the handlink. “Hey guys, this is urgent. Initiate Imaging Chamber Protocol Sierra Bravo.”
“What?” came Jenn’s incredulous voice. “But isn’t that just for… wait, you didn’t—?”
“We did. He’s here.”
“Okay, we’re doing it,” Ian’s voice chimed in, and Addison’s ears filled with a piercing noise, followed by her eyes being scorched by a bright white light.
As Addison’s eyes adjusted, she looked at Sam, who was climbing into the driver’s seat. He stopped dead, his eyes finally looking directly upon her.
The Imaging Chamber signal had been expanded to a broader range, encompassing Sam’s brain wave signature, allowing him to see her clearly. This would cause a bit of power drain, but it was well worth it.
“Where did you…” he cut himself off, and reached a hand to her, seeing her flicker as his hand passed through her form. “So you’re the one who’s been watching me.”
He turned his head back towards Ben, who was puffing as he ran towards them.
“Doctor Beckett…” Addison said with a smile, “we’ve been looking for you for a long time.”
“I know.” Sam narrowed his eyes at her, slamming shut the van door and turning the key. “That’s what I’m afraid of.” He wrestled with the stick shift before reversing the van away from Ben.
“Where are you going?” Addison asked, frowning. “We want to help you!”
“Sure you do,” he said, adjusting the mirror as he turned the wheel, preparing to speed away. “Which is why you’ve been trying to kill me, right?”
“What?” Addison didn’t know how to respond to that. “How have we—?”
“I have to hand it to you,” he said as he proceeded to drive away from the asylum, down the long empty road into the countryside, “you had me going there, thinking there was a ghost watching me.”
He flicked a hand through her holographic form, as if to prove his point.
“Taking Iris’s phone and planting it in a bed you must know I associate with a traumatic experience, and then taking the tape off of the broken staircase for good measure.” He shook his head, chuckling bitterly. “I’m not a fool—I’ve put it all together. You just needed it to look like Iris was paranoid about ghosts and just… stumbled into misfortune in a fit of panic. I know how you people work. Manipulating, making people second guess themselves.”
“If that were true, why would we save you from falling through the stairs?” Addison asked pointedly.
“Well, I held on to the rail—maybe you saw I wasn’t going to get badly hurt, so you had to change your strategy.”
“Why would I be talking to you now?”
“Mess with my head. Make me trust you.”
Addison shook her head. “Sam, I don’t know who you think we are, but we’re trying to help people, not hurt them.”
Sam braked, pulling to the side of the road, and rubbed his hand over his face.
“Okay, so talk. Who are you?”
“My name is Addison, and the man back there—who, I reiterate, saved your life on the stairs—is my fiancé, Doctor Ben Song. We’re from the 2020s.”
Sam glared at her. “Okay, and am I to understand that you’re not associated with Lothos?”
“What’s Lothos?” Addison asked, squinting.
“The computer controlling the other project.”
“No—our computer is Ziggy.”
“Ziggy’s been decommissioned for years,” Sam countered.
“How do you know that?”
“This is 2010. You think I haven’t checked these things?” he pounded a fist on his steering wheel. “I know Lothos is built later, probably based on Ziggy. So forgive me if I’m extremely suspicious of you.”
“Wait, you’re talking about the other leapers in the old reports, aren’t you?” Addison said slowly. “Oh, what were the names… Zoey?”
“I think she’s dead,” Sam murmured, looking down into his lap. “There have been others since.”
“Seriously? No wonder you thought we were—but we’re not! Our project arose directly from the ashes of yours, under the auspices of Al Calavicci.”
“Al?” Sam asked, looking up at her with pleading eyes. “If you want me to believe you, show him to me. Bring him into your Imaging Chamber.”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t,” Addison whispered. “He passed away.”
Eyes gleaming with moisture, Sam peered straight ahead over the steering wheel. “I see.” He took a long, shaky breath. “I told him he should quit smoking.” He leaned back against the seatback, and a couple of stray tears rolled down his cheeks.
Addison fought her own sense of grief, and continued.
“What if I brought someone in that was close friends with Al?” she suggested.
Sam frowned. “Do I know them?”
“Kind of.”
“Oh come on now, what is that supposed to mean?” Sam glared at her, eyebrows high.
“Well, does the name Herbert Williams mean anything to you?”
Sam furrowed his brow. “Should it?”
“Navy Seal? Nickname ‘Magic?’”
With this, Sam’s eyes widened. “No…”
“He’s the head of our project, Sam. And he restarted Project Quantum Leap with Al’s blessing, in the hopes of getting you home.”
Unexpectedly, Sam broke into a laugh. “‘Home’—now there’s a novel concept.”
“I’ll go get Magic, okay? Please, promise you won’t keep driving. Just until I get back. I’ll be five minutes.”
“Fine,” Sam sighed. “Five minutes.”