Keystones: Altered Destinies by Alexander McKinney

confirmation of four tickets up the Elevator and lodgings once they arrived. Deklan thought a second more. “Have you received any notes from unknown sources?”
    “No.”
    “Pity. I’m wondering whether I’m the only person being led around by the nose.”
    “Led around by the nose?”
    Deklan waved his hand in the air as he kept scrolling through information on his screen. “The car rental and the trip. I’d feel like a puppet if everything so far didn’t exactly coincide with what I want.”
    “Does it worry you?”
    Deklan shrugged and ran his fingers through his hair. “No more than the idea of animals wiping out humanity, no.”
    Susan sipped from her glass again. “So it does worry you?”
    He looked at her sideways. “Of course, it worries me! I just can’t think of any alternatives.”
    “You could make different bookings,” she said.
    Deklan poured himself a steadying drink while he gathered his words. “I could, but the car worked out okay.” He stopped and allowed himself a grin as he thought about the Spiro. “And, well, cash has been tight. Do you feel like paying for different bookings?”
    Susan played with her Uplink screen for a moment. “Not really.”
    “Well, then, our course is set. Speaking of which, I should tell them that we have a flight tomorrow. Oh yes, are you coming with us?”
    “I think I have to.”
    Her words, Deklan recognized, were a far cry from those of the woman who had advocated proceeding with caution just a few hours earlier. “Have to?” he queried.
    “Well, once everyone figures this out, there’s going to be a huge panic. This might be my only chance. I think you’re stuck with me.”
    “Good. It’ll be nice to have sane company. I’m going to let my parents finish packing before telling them when our flight is. If you’re hungry, there are several hundred Twix bars in the kitchen.” The lightness in his tone faded away. “That reminds me. We can’t tell other people about this.”
    “What?”
    “Friends, coworkers, acquaintances. We can’t tell them about this until we get to Boa Vista.”
    “Why not?”
    Deklan was ashamed at the cold math that compelled his reasoning. “Remember the quarantines from when your parents died? This could be a lot worse.”

Worried Wings

    Sebastian loved his new wings. The sheer joy of flight had inspired him to spend every possible moment aloft. In what little time he spent on the ground he was eating more than ever before and could see increases in his upper-body muscle mass. It was most obvious near his shoulders.
    Since meeting Deklan he’d had less time to fly and enjoy himself because every time he darted over the city he saw a new emergency that he couldn’t in good conscience ignore. It wasn’t just dogs. He had rescued a pair of young women from a squirrel that could fly and was attacking them.
    After what had felt like a lifetime of ruining other people’s lives in the name of efficiency, spending his days flying and helping people was immensely gratifying. He had been caught on camera more than once, and the news stations had begun calling him Michael, because of his resemblance to a guardian angel.
    The escalating animal attacks, however, were worrisome. There were more every hour.
    All of the animals were Keystones, and the range of what they could do was phenomenal. A cat spewing acid had tried to attack him. Another time he’d seen something small and furry bouncing around like an animated ping-pong ball. Sebastian’s speed and height above the ground had served him well. It was no problem for him to escape since nothing followed him into the sky, not even the psychotic squirrel. He was glad that no pigeons had decided to challenge him in their territory.
    With no friends or family to speak of, and still too shy to make use of his growing celebrity to meet new people, Sebastian decided to get in touch with Deklan Tobin. There was no one from his old life he wanted to talk to, and of all the