by Holly Hook
“So we need to go through.”
“We have to wait until no one's looking,” Isabel says. “If they see two people vanish--”
“I understand,” I say. I really, really wish Simon were here with me.
But I don’t have to be scared of Isabel, at least. Just of whatever she wants me to do.
We wait for minutes. A few cars come and go. People fill their tanks, and none of them pay attention to the rift. One guy even rides his bike through it. He stops in front of the station, rubs his arms like he’s swatting away bugs, and goes inside.
Finally, the lot’s empty.
“Come on,” Isabel says, waving me across the road.
I hesitate. Simon could be working out another way to get my family back. But he sounded so unsure, so dejected this morning. I know, deep down, that the chances of him finding another member of the Timeless that will help us aren’t good.
I have to do this, now. My chances of saving Melvin are near zero if I don’t follow Isabel. He’s worth the risk.
I run across the street after her.
We’re inside the rift seconds later. We stand, waiting. It swishes around us, making the hair on the back of my neck stand up again. Isabel winces at me. “I always hated this part.”
And then we’re falling.
We’re opposite each other. Isabel’s got her eyes closed, waiting for it to pass. Wind screams against my skin. I reach up to shield my eyes against it all. It’s no better than it was the last few times.
We land.
We’re back in the Main Chamber and the dome stretches over our heads, reaching for the stars. This time, we’re not alone. There’s three people standing over at the edge of the room, two men and one woman in a kimono. I wonder if they’re other Timeless or people who are lost. The woman’s animated, waving her arms at the two men.
“Let’s get out of here,” Isabel says, waving me towards a hallway on one side of the room. “They’re here for an assignment, it looks like. Best not to interrupt them.”
We jog out of the room and into the hallway that she’s leading me right into. A question nags at me as we jog past doorways, getting louder and louder and louder. Finally, the pressure’s so much that I have to say something.
“Why do you want to help me so much?”
Isabel stops. I do, too. The look on her face softens. There’s something other than business there, and I’m not sure what it is.
“You’ll find out,” she says. “We’re more alike than you think, Julia.”
“Which means?”
She waves me along. “It’s not easy for me to talk about,” she says. “I’ll have to show you.”
I realize she’s taking me to one of these rifts. Whatever she has for me to do, it’s behind one of them.
At last, after we walk for what must be half an hour, we stop. The rift looks like all the others. Gold curtains swish inside one of the archways, ready for someone to go through.
Ready for me.
“This is it,” she says, facing me. “Julia, I want you to go through to my time. To what Time saved me from. Find my family. Save them. I have a mother and sister in there, the same way you have a father and a brother. Simon found this rift for me.
“You mean the tragedy you came from?”
Isabel coughs. Her chin’s wobbling. “Yes. Find me and my family. Rescue them, the way you saved yourself from the Titanic. It’s going to be hard, but nothing there will hurt you. Then, when you’re ready, find a rift nearby and bring them back. I’ll wait for you in the Main Chamber.” She doesn't sound very hopeful, like she expects me to fail at bringing her family to safety. It doesn't make me feel any better.
“Will there even be a rift?”
“There will,” Isabel says. “Time saved me from there. You’ll find one.”
“Is that all I need to do?” What am I walking into? What am I going to have to watch? I cast my gaze to the rift. Why won't she just tell me where she's from? Won't that increase my chances of success? “Where am I going?”
Isabel sticks her hand through the rift and touches the crystal wall on the other side. It’s solid, locking her out. She sighs. It's almost like a sigh of relief. Why would that be? Doesn't she want to see her family again?
I stick my hand through the gold. My arm tingles and my hand vanishes. There's warmth on the other side, like I'm reaching into a hot, muggy room. I pull my hand back out and wiggle my fingers.
“Just go,” she says. “Don’t worry. A rift will open for you. I won’t be able to get one open there, but I’ll have someone help me with it.”
I breathe in, bracing myself. “Isabel, just tell me where you're from. That'll help me out a lot. I need to know where I'm going in order to find your mom and your sister."
She turns away. Wraps her arms over her chest. Studies the floor. "Just go. Please."
"Is it bad?"
She doesn't answer.
I'm going to have to get the answers myself. "All right. I'll go. Wish me luck." My heart's pounding. I have to do what Simon could not. I have to face what Isabel won't speak of.
“Oh, and Julia?”
“Yes?”
“Don’t judge us too harshly.”
I close my eyes, take another breath, and step through the rift.
Chapter Nine
I fall into noise. Chatter.
Warmth.
Confusion.
I open my eyes.
I’m in a narrow corridor with white walls. It's filled with people. Filled might be an understatement. It’s packed. Hot. Stifling. Lights shine overhead and somewhere, a baby cries. Families sit on the floor along the hallway, taking up every possible space. The women all wear dresses that even Nancy’s mother is too young to wear. The men, either overalls or military uniforms.
I’m not in Nancy’s time. And I’m not in 1912, either. The clothing here is a little more modern than that.
There’s a lot of children here, too, clustered around their parents. Close to me, there’s a soldier and his wife with two little boys. The woman’s speaking to her husband, but I can’t understand her words. They’re speaking a different language, period.
I remember Isabel's funny accent. This is why she has it. English isn't her first language.
I glance down, afraid that I'm wearing jeans. Instead, I'm in a long, gray dress that wouldn't stand out here. I sigh in relief. The rift has changed my clothing for me to help me blend in. I didn't realize that they did that for us Timeless. It makes sense.
The rift. Is it still here?
I turn my head. I’m at the end of the hallway, and the rift I just left is fading away like it’s trying to flee the heat and the crowded conditions. I’m overcome by an urge to jump back through, to run back after Isabel and ask her what this is about. But I stay and watch it go.
I have to do this for my brother. I’ve got to find the past Isabel and her family.
I have to. Neither Simon or I can go through the gateway to the Titanic.
I suck in a breath and hope that none of these people pay me much attention. I walk along the hallway, passing open doorways and stepping over people’s legs. Women fan themselves. Little kids stumble into my way and out again. No one gives me a second stare. It’s so crowded here that I can hardly breathe. People are restless. Tired. They’ve been sitting here for a while. The air feels tense. Scared, almost. The chatter follows me everywhere, and none of it comes clear to me. I can’t even ask anyone where I am or what’s about to happen.
I stumble over something lying in the middle of the hallway. It reminds me of a white pillow with straps on it for shoulders.
I’ve seen these before.
It’s a life vest.
My heart seizes. I stop. Swallow.
There’s more of them scattered around the hallway. Hardly anyone’s wearing them, probably due to the heat. Most are on the floor or being sat on by children.
There's a gentle swaying feeling under my feet.
Go
d.
I’m on a ship. Isabel put me on a ship.
A spike of panic rises through me, running up my spine and tightening my chest. I have to get out of here. I can’t stay. I turn to see if the rift has come back, but the back wall stays as solid as ever. I’m stuck here. I’ll have to find another one or wait until someone gets me out of here. I can't open a rift by myself. I've never done that before.
I stare at my shoes, an ugly brown hair that stick out from the edge of my gray skirt.
I’ve got to get it together. I can’t die, no matter what happens. I have to find Isabel’s family. And watch—
This ship is going to sink. It's going to take all these people with it. All these kids.
Why else would Time have rescued Isabel from this?
I’m staggering through the crowd now. I hurry under a speaker that’s playing what sounds like some big band music. I'm faint. My heart won’t stop pounding. I peek into all the rooms, no, cabins—for any sign of Isabel’s mane of long blond hair. Families cram into those, too. There’s a lot of blond girls here, but none of them are her.
I struggle up a stairwell, past people who are sitting on the steps. This ship is filled way over capacity. There’s too many people here, period. It’s got to be breaking some kind of regulation. I focus on my breathing and the music while I go up to the next deck.
I don’t want to be on the lower levels. I just can’t. I need air.
I’m on a ship. A ship…
Keep going.
I tell myself that, over and over.
A man in a brown military uniform looks up at me and manages a smile as I pass. I grab the rail and rush around him. Something about his uniform screams at me and makes my stomach tie in knots, and I don’t know why.
Find Isabel's family. I can ask her the questions later.
The next deck is no better. There’s just as many people crammed into the hallways and the cabins here. It’s like a whole stadium has crammed into a cruise ship. I can’t help but wonder if they’re fleeing from something. Something terrifying. Why else would people cram in like this?
It’s not quite as hot up here, and the music’s a little more clear. I walk past a woman who has a little girl sleeping on her shoulder. Why are there so many kids here? Is this some kind of evacuation?
There’s a door leading outside up ahead. The air’s colder here, and everyone’s huddling away from it. There’s a sailor standing nearby, but he’s got his back turned to me.
I slip out the door and into January.
My heart leaps into my chest. It’s freezing out here. I’m in an enclosed promenade deck, and a few stray flakes fly past the windows. My breath curls in front of me and I shiver.
This is too much. It's just like that night in 1912. Isabel should have warned me. Now I know why Simon didn't want me to come here.
Melvin.
I need to do this for him. I’ve got to go back in there and fulfill my mission. I need to save Isabel's family from this and I have no idea how.
I turn to escape the cold. For the first time, I notice a life preserver hanging on the wall, ropes dangling and messy. It’s got the name of the ship in Gothic black lettering. I turn my head to read it upside-down.
M.V. Wilhelm Gustloff.
I’ve never heard the name of this ship before. I don't recall seeing any books about it on Nancy's bookshelf. But it doesn’t matter. I know what’s going to happen. And I know what Isabel wants me to do.
She wants me to save her family before this ship goes down. In return, she’ll save mine.
But why hasn't Simon done this already?
I dart back inside, which is no easy feat with the crowds. One of the sailors says something after me, but I ignore it. I know nothing about this ship or how it’s going to sink, or how much longer I have until it happens. I don’t know how to warn the captain and stop it. I don't speak whatever this language is. How can I?
The radio’s changed now. There’s a man speaking over it in a harsh, sharp voice that I know I’ve heard before, but I can’t place it now. I can't understand the words. Children stir and wake from naps. One boy’s sitting there with his hands over his face like he’s going to vomit from seasickness. I feel the same.
When I do find Isabel’s family, how on earth do I pull them out of here?
“Isabel?” I ask, searching around the hallways. The man on the radio speaks louder now, and broken, hypnotic cheering punctuates his sentences. She’s got to be around here somewhere. I turn a corner and go underneath another speaker. “Isabel?”
I peek in a cabin. And another, and another. Look over countless, tired families. The speech drags out over my head. It almost sounds like—
I glance into a tiny cabin.
There’s Isabel.
She stands by porthole, watching the night. She’s got her back to me, but that long mane of hair is recognizable anywhere. The past, human Isabel wears a blue and white dress with a matching bandanna tied around the top of her head. There’s a woman sitting on the bed with a younger girl, both in matching dresses. It's her mother and sister. Her family. The ones I need to save.
“Is--” I start to step into the room, but stop.
A tall, graying man steps into my view and up to a mirror on the wall. He wrinkles his brow. He’s in some black military uniform with silver badges. There’s a black police hat in one hand. He also has a pistol hanging from his hip. He turns and says something to his wife, who runs her hand through her younger daughter’s hair and says something back. Why can’t the Timeless just understand every language ever? It would be a cool ability.
Isabel’s father has the same pointed face that she does, the same dusty blond hair, the same proud stance. He walks across the room while I watch, pacing like he’s on guard. I get a closer look at his hat and my guts squirm in discomfort. There’s a silver skull and crossbones sewn on the front. I can’t stop staring until I spot a flash of red on the man’s uniform.
It’s an arm band. With a bold, black swastika staring at me.
I recoil out of the doorway and flatten against the wall. It’s like someone’s kicked me in the stomach. The breath’s been knocked right out of me and I understand what this all means. Isabel’s sent me to World War Two. The guy doing the speech over the radio is Hitler. Isabel's father is a Nazi.
Now I know why Simon wouldn’t do this. Why Isabel wouldn't face me back in the Hub.
I close my eyes. The speech gets bigger and bigger in my head. Someone did a presentation about how evil Hitler and the Nazis were in Independent Study this last year. It's the only reason I know about them. God, I can’t do this.
But Melvin’s there, struggling in the water, screaming for me. Isabel's got the keys to him and she knows it. I have to save her family. I’m fine with dragging her mother and her sister out of here, but her father…
What horrible things has he done? I can’t think about it now.
The radio goes silent, and I’m glad for the relief. The music comes back on, bright and cheerful. It makes me a little less sick.
Two whispering women brush past me, and I open my eyes. I peek back into the room. Her father’s standing at the mirror again, angled towards me enough to make out the silver letters on his collar. A pair of jagged S’s. They shine in the light, so sharp, so…evil. He’s not just a member of the military.
He’s an SS officer. One of the worst monsters of the war.
Isabel’s watching him now as he picks at his cheek, and her gaze lands on me for a split second before she looks away. I’m just another face here, another refugee on this cramped ship.
The thought of even approaching her father makes a bad taste rise in my throat. Maybe I can just take back her mother and sister. They probably have never murdered anyone. If I mark them both with Isabel’s blood, they’ll get sucked into the Hub when the rift opens to save Isabel, just like it did with me and Simon. We'll figure out what to do after that. She’ll be happy that her mom and sister are safe, at least
. I can make an excuse why I couldn’t do the same for her father. She might understand.
She will. She has to. Isabel didn't sound too happy about me finding out about this. Somehow, I don't think she's proud of what her father's done.
I reach into my pocket for something that can cut. I have to pull off the attack somehow. Her father’s got a gun. That's going to complicate things.
I wrap my hands around a set of fingernail clippers and a napkin. Fantastic.
I’ll run in. Stab Isabel in the arm or something, just enough to draw some blood. Then I’ll use this napkin to rub it on her mom and sister. It's a horrible plan, but I’m lost for what else to do.
I take a breath when there’s a deafening boom and the entire ship jumps. Screams echo through the air and I fall to the floor. Around me, others do the same and a baby starts crying. I hear Isabel’s father cursing inside the cabin. At least, I think it’s cursing.
The sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff has begun.
Chapter Ten
There’s nothing but alarmed screams and cries around me. I stagger to my feet and forget where I am for a second.
I’m in the hallway of the ship and Isabel’s family is in the cabin next to me. But the crowd’s so thick and panicked now that I can’t see anything besides heads, faces, dresses. People ask each other questions. Even though I can’t understand it, I can guess: what exploded? What hit us?
I push forward, hands around the fingernail clippers. I might be able to cut Isabel in all this chaos. She might not notice, and better yet, her father might not notice. But I can’t push through to her cabin. The door’s feet away from me now. In panic, the crowd’s pushing towards the stairway and sweeping me along with it.
There’s a second deafening boom and the ship lurches again. I stagger as everything seems to rise and fall a few feet. People go down. The radio crackles. Shrieks rise over it.
Someone’s firing at a ship full of kids. Kids. I grab the wall and hot rage boils through me. There’s crying everywhere. It’s Melvin, terrified and about to die all over again.
