Suspicious Minds (Stranger Things Novels #1)(57)

Foolish, fragile people who had breakdowns on their friends got chairs. That was a rule.

“We’re sorry about Andrew,” Alice said, sweeping her eyes around as Ken and Gloria looked at Terry with sympathy. “It doesn’t matter that you knew. It’s real now.”

Terry dipped her chin.

“Canada’s still an option.” Alice’s voice was soft.

“No, it’s not. He won’t do it.” Terry searched inside herself and grabbed on to the tiny bit of calm. “I’m sorry I derailed the Fellowship. Let’s get to it. Anyone come up with anything?”

They’d agreed to think over the details Alice had provided before they’d been interrupted in the woods.

After a long moment in which it looked like the answer would be no, Gloria lifted her hand. “I think maybe we hit the jackpot the other night.” She paused. “Or I’ve lost all touch with reality.”

Alice perked up. “What do you mean?”

“Well.” Gloria reached to her side and raised the notebook where she’d been taking notes. “This is at least as scientific as anything the lab is doing, so hear me out.”

“We’re dying to, guys, aren’t we?” Alice asked.

“Yes.” Terry didn’t want to get her hopes up, but she found they had a will of their own.

“It was one of the first things you said that made me wonder,” Gloria said. “That you didn’t recognize some of the cars. Is it fair to say that’s unusual?”

Alice scoffed. “You could say that. I grew up with guys who treated cars like trading cards.”

“So it seemed odd to me that you didn’t recognize more than one. Do you know how many?”

Alice shook her head, frowning. “I don’t remember all the details as clearly afterward—that’s why I wanted to narrate. I’m sorry. Is that a deal-breaker?”

“It’s not. Just a data point,” Gloria said.

“Keep going,” Ken said.

Gloria did. “So remember Alice went inside and she saw a couple of different things? She described a typewriter with a screen, a plastic disk being put into it, and a giant machine the little girl was inside. Did I get them all?”

Terry still couldn’t forecast where this was going, but she was riveted. “Yes, I think so.”

“As far as I can tell, none of those things exist. A couple sound like things predicted at expos and World’s Fairs, but they haven’t been invented.” Gloria stopped, as if she’d said the most significant thing.

“Am I being dense?” Ken asked.

Terry tried to put it together, but Alice beat her to it.

“Brenner, the times I’ve seen him—he’s older than he is now,” Alice said. “I don’t know how I didn’t see it before. I think you’re right.”

Gloria grinned.

“Fill in the rest of us,” Terry said. But then the pieces connected. “Really? You think it’s—”

“The future,” Gloria said. “Alice’s visions aren’t of now. They’re of some point in the future.”

“When monsters are real?” Ken asked.

Alice made a face at him.

“Apparently,” Gloria said.

“The future,” Terry repeated. “What do you think, Alice?”

Alice shook her head with awe. “I’m going to look at it all completely differently now. But thinking back over everything I’ve seen…it makes sense. For some values of making sense.”

Terry sat back against the chair. The solidity of it helped. She took another drink of water. They had an answer, a big one. But…

The future wasn’t a great answer for actually doing something to stop Brenner. The problem had just gotten much bigger. “The question is, how do we change the future? That’s impossible. Isn’t it?”

She slid her gaze to Ken, who she expected to say that’s not how things worked. He shrugged. “Some things seem set, but others aren’t. Who can say?”

“But it’s not like we can go around shouting, ‘The future! The future!’?” Gloria said. “That part only matters to us.”

“No,” Terry said. A certainty came to her. “It would matter to someone else. Brenner can never know that Alice sees the future. A part of his future.”

Gloria put her hand to her throat. Obviously this was a new worry for her. “Can you imagine what he’d do?”

Alice’s eyes had gone wide. “I don’t want to. I…I didn’t tell you guys, but that was much more electricity than they give me at the lab. It took that to even begin to see clearly. I can’t…”

“Never,” Terry said to reassure her. “He will never know. And you will never do that again.” She paused. “But…I found those files once. I could go back to his office again, and get more evidence. That’s all I can think— Knowing what we know about the monsters…and that he’s got some experiment going on kids with powers, we have to keep trying. It’s more important than ever now that we stop the experiments.”

“Or,” Gloria said.

“Or?” Terry asked.

“Or we could try never going back there. I’ve got a little experiment of my own underway at school to see how much Brenner will push back. I’m pretending I want to transfer. I expected him to show up as soon as I put in the paperwork, but so far nothing.”