by Dale Mayer
“How bizarre,” he said, unconsciously mimicking her earlier words.
“I know.” But to business. “Where are we travelling to?”
“Paxton’s lab?” He cocked his head at her. “I know my father did this to you, but I hope you won’t hold all of us to blame.”
She just gave him a long look. “Never. And as long as I don’t have to see your father again…all is good.” Glancing around she shivered and added, “Besides, any place is better than here.” Then she remembered something else. “The stylus said it would be easier for me to leave by heading back the way I’d arrived. I planned on drawing a portal back to the Louers’ new dimension. Although we were closer to arriving at Paxton’s lab when I was pushed out than the Louers’ dimension.”
He blinked.
She glared. “Don’t do that. That’s what Dillon always does.”
“Sorry. I’m just trying to figure out what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, never mind.” She threw up her hands. “Let’s just get on with it. But first, Stylus, did you two figure out how to get us out?”
The Broken One says he knows, but is trying to access his archives. He is damaged.
That again. “Okay Eric, let’s try your way.”
He shrugged. “Good. The sooner the better. This place is…weird.” He tugged her closer to Dillon and made sure they were all crowded up tight together, then at his timing, they hit the buttons on the multiple codexes. Dillon just swayed in place, seemingly unaware of what was going on around him.
To Storey’s relief, the black smoke swelled up around them. “Yeah, we’re going home!”
“And how many times have we thought that in the past,” Eric said with a grin, his head so close she could feel his breath against her hair.
“I know. I just want to go home and stay there.”
“Speaking of which, I went to your house and grabbed more sketchbooks before coming to get you.”
“Oh,” she gasped. “How was it? Did you see my parents?”
“No. And, I think it was normal. Your room looked like it did in the beginning. There were no vehicles there and I didn’t see anyone in the house.”
“But my room looked the same?” How odd. She wanted things back to the way they were supposed to be, but she hadn’t been that lucky yet. “Stylus, you did say fixing my home dimension was an easy job, right?”
Not easy, but possible. And the dimension will need to be realigned.
“Uh Oh. What does that mean?”
You will have to port out while the changes happen and port back in afterwards.
“How do I do that?”
Go to the closest dimension and then come back in.
Her stomach sank. “The Louers’ dimension?” She felt Eric stiffen beside her. Neither of them wanted to go back there again. Quickly she related the conversation so far.
Yes.
“Can we port to Eric’s dimension instead?”
No. Not without more of us. We are damaged.
“Damn. I’m getting really sick of hearing that.”
She’d been using the conversation to distract her from the portal travel and the fact that the mist hadn’t dissipated. “Eric?”
“It’s fine. Don’t forget there are three of us here.”
“And three codexes,” she reminded him. “So lots of power.”
“But not for this pea soup stuff. I expected it to take longer as the air is so different.”
She was prepared to be patient. She was just so happy to have him with her. She’d been afraid she’d be lost alone forever. And that reminded her of someone else that had become very dear to her. “I wonder how Tammy is doing?”
“I’m sure she’s fine.”
She tilted her head back. “Do you really think so?”
He smiled down, the curve of his lips barely visible. “Knowing Tammy, she’s having lots of fun.”
Storey wanted to believe it. The last thing she’d seen in Tammy’s face had been happiness with the man who held her in his arms and sadness at saying good bye to Storey. Or Torrey as she’d called her. “I’m sure Tammy was trying to talk to us telepathically in the portal that last time.”
“She probably was. We know they have a higher developed internal communication system than we do.”
On a whim, Storey closed her eyes sent out a loud greeting, “Hi Tammy.”
Nothing. Then she hadn’t expected there to be a response. They were somewhere In-between. Eric thought he knew what he was doing, but she was afraid this whole return to Paxton’s lab wasn’t happening. She opened her eyes. Black mist continued to surround them. She sighed. “Eric, I don’t think we’re going anywhere.”
He lifted his arm to look at his brightly lit codex. “We’re not at the same place we were however.”
She brightened. “Oh good. As long as we’re going somewhere. “So do we just wait?”
“For a bit longer.” He slung an arm through Dillon’s. “I don’t want to lose him again.”
“Again?”
“Let me rephrase that. I want to make sure we get him home to Paxton safe and sound. For however long he’s got.”
“Right.” Stylus, where are we?”
In-between.
“Still?”
Yes.
Damn. “But we are at a different point in In-between than we were before – correct?”
Correct.
Good. She smiled happily.
Ten minutes later she wasn’t so happy. Nothing had changed. “Why do I get the feeling that we are caught in this portal now?”
“I’m thinking you might be right.” Eric tapped his codex several times.
Storey watched him. “Can you change our destination while we’re in here?”
“No.”
She didn’t want to bug, but this was getting them nowhere. Literally. “Isn’t there a reset button or something?”
“I reset it a few moments ago,” he admitted. “I don’t think it changed anything.”
“Great.” So not. “Okay Stylus, are we still traveling?”
Yes.
Good. She lifted a hand to massage her temple. So much to consider. “Which is the closest dimension for us to land first?”
Louers’ dimension.
“Fine. I’m happy to land in the Louers’ dimension if it gets us out of the pea soup.” She cocked her head in question up at Eric. He shrugged. Right. It’s not like they had much in the way of choice.
“Stylus, can you help us land there then?”
Yes.
She grinned. “Good. Do I need to do anythi—”
Musical sounds filled the air. Eric lifted his arm as the codex flashed and sounded off in a weird sequence. “I’ve never seen anything like this before.”
“Hope I never do again.” But if it improved their situation, she was good. “Stylus? What are you doing?”
The Broken One is doing this.
She gulped. “Broken one? What are you doing?”
Changing the communication system to accept new coordinates. I have no other souls to help. I can only use what I have.
“Okay,” she said slowly, “And that means what?”
There is a destination point In-between that we used to establish portal travel in the beginning. But my archives have only some of it listed. We need it all to be able to chart our way out.
“Oh, that’s the whole point of origin thing,” she said in excitement. “What do you need to heal yourself?”
Eric rolled his eyes at her. It had to be hard with the half conversation stuff.
“More souls.”
She groaned. “And how do I help you get those?
Silence.
“And even if I had another soul for you, how would they go into the stylus? Your stylus form is broken.”
I would need to transfer to a new stylus.
Talk about mind boggling.
To transfer from one stylus to the next, we must have a third that is open to both set
s of souls inside. A middleman. Both stylus souls join in the consciousness of the middleman. Then the old soul joins with the soul of the new stylus and transfers with it back to the stylus.
The Broken One’s voice sounded thin and reedy as she listened. But his explanation sounded reasonable. And weird. But doable in a freaky way. “But how did the first soul get into each stylus originally?
We were sent In-between.
In-between? She shouted. “What? You sent souls to In-between then brought them back inside the new stylus?”
“Yes.”
***
Eric stared in shock at Storey’s excited telling of what she’d just learned. That it was not reasonable nor feasible didn’t seem to deter her.
“That’s why all this technology has been lost. The Broken One was broken before his information could be downloaded to the archives. That’s why you have so few styluses and no new ones. No one knew how to make new ones nor how to add new souls to old styluses.” She danced in place, her hair bobbed with each hop she was so excited.
Could it be? Surely not. Eric looked around the fog that still surrounded them and had to wonder. They’d had little information on the styluses until Storey had dropped into their lives. Literally. And if she was right, what did it mean about them and their situation? Had people come and returned from In-between as people, or only as styluses? ’Cause he really didn’t want to spend eternity inside a pencil.
At least not until he’d thoroughly enjoyed his current life. Dare he ask? He almost didn’t want to know the answer, but given the situation… “Storey, can the Broken One tell you if anyone has successfully left In-between…not in a stylus?”
The smile fell from her lips as she understood what he was saying. An instant shadow of horror whispered across her expressive face.
“Don’t assume we can’t get out any other way.” He rushed to say. “Let’s find out for sure first.”
She nodded slowly. Her gaze landed on Dillon as her mind, the fastest he’d ever seen, seem to flit from one answer to another. “It could be the saving grace for Dillon.”
He turned to look at the sleeping man beside them. If that was possible, it would be one answer. He didn’t know that Paxton would consider it a good one though.
Still, they didn’t have much choice.
“Ask them. Ask them if Dillon could be moved to a stylus and if we can escape – with our bodies.”
Storey’s initial excitement drained as if a switch had been flicked. Her emotions were all over the board. Living in a stylus might be an option for Dillon. But she didn’t know how much of a good idea that was, transferring his soul to an inanimate object, given he was a young man who’d not had a chance to live yet.
But if death was the only other option… She quickly called out to both styluses mentally. Can Dillon join a stylus? He’s been here a long time, but according to my stylus he can no longer live in any of the other three dimensions.
It’s possible, said the Broken One. Once safe, his soul will recuperate. Be as he was.
In theory that was good news. But… Are you both happy with your decision to be in a stylus? Is this something to be enjoyed or feared? I guess I’m asking if we would be doing him a favor or punishing him?
It is an honor among us to assist in the continuation of our species.
And that’s where she had trouble. They’d actually been continuing the existence of their enemies. Weren’t they? Or did it not matter as they were in essence one species? Then she’d have to include the people from her own dimension as well. They were all essentially the same. She didn’t doubt there were some differences, maybe even at the DNA level, but as far as she could see, Dillon, Eric and herself were all the same people.
Exactly.
She nodded thoughtfully. “And yet only Louers are soul bound to the styluses?”
Yes.
Interesting. She wondered on the perspective of each soul going into this arrangement. Still, for Dillon it might be the best answer. If not the only one.
“What do we need to do for Dillon to join a stylus? Can he join one of yours or do we need a completely different one? He is a new soul and you both need those, right?”
Yes.
From the look of understanding on Eric’s face he was following the one sided conversation. “Eric, did you bring more styluses?”
He shook his head.
He need not have one with him. The process is in the porting home. He would be outfitted with a destination that is inside the target stylus.
“Cool.” She laughed at Eric’s frown and explained. The look of astonishment that followed made her grin. “Yeah, simple, isn’t it.
Eric gave a half snort, half laugh. “The concept is simple. But we’re missing just a little bit of information. Like how do we get the coordinates of the destination stylus? If we give the coordinates for where a stylus is at any given point, the person will land beside not inside it.”
“They appear to want a coordinate from the inside of the stylus. With that information, would it work?”
He stared at her. “I have no idea. I have never heard sending people inside of something.”
“Of course, you haven’t,” Storey said gently. “You didn’t even know there were souls inside these instruments. This information has been lost to your people for a long time. Even Paxton isn’t likely to know.”
The Broken One said, He does now. I spoke to his stylus.
She titled her head. “Broken One, if you can speak to Paxton’s stylus, why is it you couldn’t speak to them from the Louers’ dimension? And don’t tell me you are damaged.”
I was in hibernation. When you rescued me, your Stylus, as you call him, contacted me to see if I was safe. That started the waking process.
“And now you are functioning, but damaged. Right?”
Silence.
Then a hesitant voice that she had yet to hear from her stylus said, We said you would help him.
“Help him?” Storey frowned. What could she possibly do?
You can speak with us. Directly. With me, the Broken One said.
“I’m not sure how, but yes, that is apparently what we are doing.”
I am using the connection between your stylus and myself, and by extension your stylus and you, to communicate with you.
“You can do that? Wow.”
It is you who has made this possible. I thank you.
There was a lot of thanking going on and somehow Storey suspected there was something they wanted from her.
You are correct.
Storey…the Broken One needs to be saved. He is important to us.
“So you’ve said.” A niggling suspicion had her stomach twisting tighter and tighter. Somehow she didn’t think she was going to like what was coming. She held her breath.
We need you to save him.
She almost laughed. She’d saved him once already. What more could she do?
“Storey? What’s going on? You look…ill.” Eric’s voice intruded into her confusion.
She took a deep breath and tried to reassure him. “Not really. My stylus wants me to save the Broken One.”
In sync the two stared down at the stylus in Eric’s hand. “How? It’s damaged.”
There was that word again. She wanted to hit him. She groaned instead. “Don’t you use that word, too. I know it’s broken. Damaged. In need of souls or whatever. But in this case, they want something specific. I just not sure what. Or how.”
“Can’t we just send a soul to this stylus?” He looked thunderstruck as he realized what he’d just said. “I didn’t just say that, did I?”
“Absolutely, you did.” She laughed. “See, it’s almost normal to think this way.”
“We don’t have souls to give the Broken One, do we?” He winced. “I can’t imagine forcing someone to this life. It would be essentially murder.”
She shook her head. “That’s why they used slaves. And some were happy to do this. I imagine others…not
so much. And no, we don’t have any other souls. Just Dillon. But I don’t think that’s the answer. From what I’m understanding the stylus itself is damaged. And not only can we not add a new soul, the Broken One needs to be moved to a different stylus or be lost altogether.”
