The Compendium Read Free Page B

from Innoviro, but the other was a stranger. Both wore plain slacks and golf shirts. Tatiana wore her typical pencil skirt, buttoned blouse, and stilettos combination.
    The bald man stood to greet Tatiana and his height struck me. The man was tall, even while slouching. In spite of his height, he looked defeated, dominated by the displeased look on Tatiana’s face. She opened her mouth and the scene evaporated. I was back in the dim empty version of the warehouse. I regained my focus to find everyone staring at me intently.
    “It was a greenhouse. They were crafting weird plants. And Tatiana showed up. She looked grouchier than usual.” I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples to better concentrate. “The guy sitting at this desk was responsible for the place. I think Tatiana was about to give him hell when my vision ended.”
    “Did you learn anything else? See anything else?” asked Ilya, leaning towards me.
    “So all we know now is that this was some kind of variant grow show.” Faith swooped her arm at the empty basins.
    “Did you see any printed material? Anything with a name or an address?” asked Jonah.
    “The guy at the desk had an ID badge clipped to his breast pocket, but I couldn’t make out anything on it,” I said.
    “So, have we made any progress at all?” said Cole. He rested his hands firmly on his hips.
    As my friends started to argue about the chances of successfully tracking down any Innoviro activity, I opened and closed each of the drawers in the bald man’s desk. I reached the top center drawer and a plastic-sheathed card slid forward. The bald man’s face looked up at me next to bold print, Dr. Kingston, George T.
    I picked up the card and the angry voices beside me were silenced. I stood in a lush meadow watching Dr. Kingston survey a small field of bizarre plants. The carnivorous evergreens and their giant mouths loomed over teal blue ferns with pearl flowers. A glass and screen enclosure held large colorful bees that shimmered as though bathed in a slick sheen of gasoline. It looked like an alien planet, surrounded by BC’s steep coastal mountains.
    A portable plastic table behind Kingston held specimen jars with plant fragments and a stack of pizza boxes with RIVERSIDE PIZZA HOUSE printed in bright red letters. I moved to step towards Kingston and a hand grabbed my arm, pulling me back to the North Vancouver warehouse.
    “What happened? Why did you–,” I stopped.
    Jonah lay unconscious on the ground.

Chapter 3
    Ilya released my arm and I dove to the ground next to Jonah. Faith and Cole were already kneeling beside him. I repeated my question. “What happened?”
    “He collapsed,” said Cole, checking Jonah’s pulse.
    “It’s not that hot out. We weren’t running. We’re even near the ocean for fuck’s sake!” Faith yelled as she pushed her hair back from her forehead, sending her eyebrow ring out to prominence.
    “We can’t take him to the hospital,” said Ilya.
    “Let’s get him back to the hotel,” I said.
    “How are we supposed to get him there? Carry him on the bus?” Faith shrieked.
    “Faith, put a lid on it unless you want cops over here!” hissed Cole.
    “Cole will carry him over his shoulder and Ilya will make Jonah look like a duffle bag,” I said.
    “We’ll get him in a cab. Cole and I will keep the ‘bag’ on our laps,” Ilya said as he tapped on his phone.
    Our hotel room was an inadequate clinic and we were feeble medical aids, but we all agreed not to resort to a hospital unless Jonah took a turn for the worse. Faith took the first shift with him, holding his hand firmly and stroking his hair gently. I bit my lip and said nothing. Nails bit into my palms when I gripped my fists so I wouldn’t slap her. I reminded myself that I needed to debrief Ilya and Cole about the garden in the field, so I turned my back on Jonah’s sick bed.
    “I was about to tell you before Jonah passed out. They’ve transplanted the seedlings from that warehouse