Skyline Read Free Page A

chest.
    Hopefully
it was true that tonight was more of a beginning than an end. That Charlotte
couldn’t get rid of Leanor this easily. She was family, as much as Monroe,
Felix, Charlie, and perhaps Bill were.
    When
had that happened?
    And
why had Leanor chosen Charlotte in the first place? She’d just been a
technician, but Leanor had still brought her into this secret. Just like she
was bringing Monroe in. Like she was bringing Bill in. Soon, Felix and Charlie
would join them, too. Charlotte would have to trust that Leanor was right about
Bill, as she had been with her.
    “Pick
a date, ’Roe,” Charlotte whispered. Leanor had removed Charlotte’s
crayon-scribbled list, but that didn’t matter. All of history rested in
Monroe’s head, always bubbling up and out of his mouth. “Any date in history
you’d like to see.”
    “Not
the future?” Bill asked, his dark eyebrows high. “I’ve always wondered what
people will see from their flying cars and bubble homes.”
    Charlotte’s
eyes darted to Leanor. This was the danger of bringing a sci-fi geek along.
    Leanor
laughed. Charlotte found herself relaxing. This was supposed to be fun ,
she remembered. Not the serious endeavor Charlotte always made it. “For now,”
Leanor said, “let’s stick with what Monroe knows.”
    Monroe
frowned, eyes on his lap, ponytail falling over his shoulder. At last he looked
up, face still scrunched inward. “I don’t know. Would it matter what the stars
were like back then? I mean, knowing what the Lenape tribe saw, or what New
Amsterdam saw above them could be cool. But after the city got too bright, no
one would see the stars.”
    She
couldn’t correct him; he didn’t understand yet. Her free hand lifted to the
night sky. “Don’t think about the stars.” She let her hand drop, and pointed to
the New Yorkers sitting outside Suni’s bar. Most of them were looking up,
around, turning their hands over as the stars remained everywhere. “Think about
the people, the night, New York City, and we’ll get to see it.”
    Monroe
exhaled, lifting his hands, but before they fell, Bill suggested, “September
tenth.”
    Charlotte
swiveled her neck, intrigued despite her reservations. “September tenth when ?”
    “2001.”
    Charlotte
and Leanor took in a gasp at once, their eyes connecting. Not a date on
Charlotte’s list.
    Monroe
smiled. “The day before 9/11. The last day before the city was marred by
disaster.”
    “Perfect,”
Leanor whispered.
    “Okay.”
There was no need to ask Monroe and Bill to stand elsewhere, to go away. Once
she lifted her hand from the astrolabe, the lights would snap off. In the
sudden darkness, none of the surrounding people would be able to tell what
happened at this table. Anyone watching would be left with the after-image of
stars. Charlotte twisted the lights backward until the readout showed the
correct day. But she chose daytime, not the night. She stood and held the orb
out. “Touch my arm guys. And just watch.”
    After
a moment’s hesitation and a shared look of confusion, the men stood and gripped
her arm. Still holding the astrolabe in her left hand, Charlotte released her
right hand from the top.
    The
lights within the ball blazed, spun around, growing even brighter, snapping
back to their initial position. And when the lights finished spinning, their surroundings spun.
    Ghostly
people sped through them and the sun sparked back up in the sky, like it had
been there all along. Soon it crashed back down, leaving them in darkness.
Everything moved backward, boats slid rudder-forward, leaving the river glassy
and calm. The sun rose in the west and set in the east over and over, speeding
up from a strobe to a blurred line.
    With
a bright white flash, the Mid River filled in with streets and skyscrapers.
Some amid construction unbuilt themselves as the sun flashed around, leaving
nothing but empty lots.
    Still,
the city kept moving at a breakneck pace, buildings vanishing or appearing