by Jill Sanders
“Okay.” Joleen walked over and sat down, since her knees were weak. “I have no father, alien DNA, and come from a different universe?”
“Parallel universe theories have been speculated about for centuries, dating back to the ancient Greeks. Space, time, matter, it’s all just a theory,” Mason explained.
“Until Joleen broke the barrier,” Jenna said over her shoulder.
“Me?” she asked, feeling even more light-headed.
Either her mother was certified, or she really was from a different, or rather, a parallel universe. Different than the one she’d grown up in. Then she had a thought.
“Do you have flying cars here?” she asked.
Her mother stopped what she was doing and turned towards her with a frown.
“No, do you have them where you came from?” she asked.
Joleen sighed. “No, but it was worth asking.”
Mason busted out laughing.
“What?” She looked at him, then nudged him. “Hey, if there can be three billion more people on this planet…”
“Same planet, parallel universe,” Mason corrected.
“Whatever, the fact is, there are differences.” She shrugged.
“True.” He tilted his head as if he were thinking. “I’d like to explore some of those, when we have time,” he said to Jenna.
“As a scientist, I figured you would.” She set a plate of pancakes in front of them. “For now, let’s eat.”
“You still haven’t explained how Joleen crossed over,” Mason pointed out as they began to eat.
“At first, after the Mimic showed up—”
“Spot,” Joleen broke in. “His name is Spot.”
Jenna smiled. “Spot.” She nodded. “We fought off the darkness. When it was discovered that Proxinium kept the darkness, Thanatos, at bay, the place was packed with military personnel and scientists. I lost track of time, lost track of what was important to me, trying to find a weapon to destroy it. Instead, I ended up finding the portal that would save us.”
“This doesn’t explain how I left and where I ended up. Did all the others escape to our…” She glanced at Mason. “Universe?”
“No.” Her mother shook her head. “My device couldn’t home in on the right coordinates to where you’d gone. They’re safe in another parallel universe.”
“You mentioned that I disappeared before the others had left.”
“Yes. The first time you started phasing out, I thought I’d just been up too long, working too hard.”
“Phasing?” Mason asked.
“Joleen was sitting here, in the kitchen, before the darkness came, when I looked over and she was… see-through.” She shrugged. “No other way to describe it. The second time, we were hiding in the caves from the darkness, right after… the first attack. One moment we were there, in the dark caves, fearing for our lives, and the next we were… somewhere beautiful.” She smiled. “A small town, safe, secure. As with you, at first, I couldn’t see anything. Then Joleen, she helped me. My running theory was that she needed to help settle me into the shift. It was as if my mind, my eyes, were stuck between the worlds. Anyway, we were lost in a large field, and John and Mary Hughes took us in. I told them we were traveling and had lost our way. When I discovered we were in a completely different universe, one where there was no darkness, no death, no destruction, I immediately wanted to stay.”
“What made you come back?” Mason asked.
Jenna glanced over at Joleen.
“Joleen wanted Spot, and I knew that if there was a chance to help save the people remaining in my universe, I had to try. So, after a few nights of staying with the Hughes, I convinced Joleen to send us back here.” She turned to her. “You were so young. I decided that if you didn’t know it was you doing it, you wouldn’t be able to use the power all of the time.”
“I… didn’t even know I had it.” Joleen shook her head, trying to take in everything.
“We came back and, for a while, things were looking up. I started working with the military and the top scientists that were left. Hundreds of people filled this place. It was wonderful not being alone anymore. I was beginning to think this world had a chance. Of course, foreign countries believed that the attack was some sort of covert mission against them and several decided to strike back. It was reported that more than three countries were nuked into oblivion. We were concerned that, at any moment, we would be next.” She set her fork down and nudged her plate aside, then looked at Joleen. “I made a decision to send you back to the Hugheses. They’d been so nice and kind to us when we’d been there before. Even though they didn’t know the entire story of where we’d come from, I had hinted that we lived in a bad place. That someone was hurting us and that we weren’t safe. So, I sent you back to them, with a note. I believed you deserved a better life, a chance to grow and live in happiness.” Jenna reached up and wiped a tear away from her eyes. “It was the hardest thing I had ever done.”
Joleen reached over and took her mother’s hand. “I understand now. I don’t blame you.”
“How did you find out that the darkness was Thanatos?” Mason asked.
Joleen watched as her mother’s eyes turned sad. “He appeared one night. Shortly after you had left for good.” Her eyes turned to Joleen’s. “He came for you.”
“For me?” She set her fork down, no longer able to stomach any more surprises. “Why me?”
Jenna took a deep breath. “The DNA was—”
“Do not tell me that Thanatos is my father,” Joleen broke in, slowly standing up.
“No.” Jenna shook her head, her eyes moving to Mason, then back to her. “He claims to be your brother.”
Chapter Sixteen
Mason was trying to process all the information Jenna was telling them about Joleen.
Was the woman sitting across from him sane? He knew that he didn’t have all the answers. After all, there was plenty of proof that they weren’t in the same world they had come from. All he had to do was glance out the back door to the large multi-colored animal snuggled up on the back porch to know that strange things existed.
“Okay, for a moment, let’s assume that Joleen did really come from DNA found on a comet and that Thanatos is really the god of death and that gods are real.”
“Okay,” Jenna said patiently.
Mason glanced over at Joleen, who looked pale and on the verge of being sick. He reached over and took her hand.
“We can get through this,” he promised her. “Breathe.”
She stood up and shook her head. “I need air.” She walked towards the back door. He moved to get up and follow her, but Jenna stopped him.
“Let her go. The Mimic…” She shook her head. “Spot will watch out for her.”
Sure enough, the large creature untangled himself from his bed and followed Joleen out to the small garden that sat between the house and the massive metal building that held Jenna’s lab and the hidden entrance to the bunker.
He turned back to Jenna. “I want proof. I need it,” he said, deciding he could be frank with her since Joleen was out of earshot.
Jenna walked over and opened a drawer on the hutch and pulled out a dark wood box.
“It’s all in here,” she said, taking a leather-bound book from the box and handing it to him. “My journal from the time. Photos. Everything.”
He took it from her and opened it.
“Keep it,” she said. “Read it.” She glanced out the door. “Do you love her?” she asked him.
He felt his heart skip in his chest. “I… we’ve only just met…”
“I know,” she said, smiling down at him. “I watched it all.”
“Yeah, you’ll have to tell us how you managed to pull that off.”
“Soon.” She nodded. “Time is irrelevant.”
He sighed. “As one scientist to another, we both know that’s not always the case. I have feelings for her.” He glanced out of the door and watched Joleen scratching Spot’s stoma
ch and laughing. The sunlight was streaking through her hair, causing the honey-colored rays to almost glow.
The fact was, Joleen was unlike any other woman he’d ever known. She was smart, witty, and beautiful. He couldn’t deny that he had stronger feelings for her than he’d had for anyone else. The fact that he’d only known her for a few days didn’t diminish his feelings. If anything, it only heightened them.
“I think I’ve gotten the answer I was looking for,” Jenna said with a smile after searching his face. “When you leave—”
“Leave?”
Jenna nodded. “I think you both understand that this world belongs to him. It’s his new prison. It’s what binds him to reality. No one and nothing can survive here.”
“What about you?” he asked.
“Now that I know Joleen is safe, I’ve decided to follow my people. They need me. The world they traveled to isn’t… well, let’s just say, there were fewer than a thousand inhabitants there before we arrived. It’s very primitive.”
The scientist in Mason would gladly jump at the chance to explore new worlds and understood Jenna’s desire to follow her own people. But he knew giving up her daughter to do so would be the hardest thing she’d ever do.
“When will you leave?” he asked.
She glanced out the door and sighed. “Soon. I can’t hold the darkness back much longer. I siphoned out the remainder of the gas from the last military tanker last night. I’ve run out of places to look for food. There just isn’t enough food, enough resources left close enough to the house for me to live.”
“Why don’t you come back with us? I’m sure…” He stopped when Jenna shook her head.
“My path has been decided.” She smiled at him. “Roy and I found a second chance, and I’m wanting happiness after being alone for so long.”
“How long have you been here alone?” he asked.
“About a year.” She shook her head. “I was waiting for the right moment.” Her eyes traveled to the back door.
“And you think that’s now?”
Jenna walked over and stood at the back porch. “All the secrets are out.” She glanced over her shoulder at him. “And something tells me you’re not going to leave her.”
“No,” he said quickly, realizing that it was the truth. Whatever happened between him and Joleen, she was the key to so many questions he’d had his entire life. She was proof that life beyond their world existed. “I’m tethered to her now,” he agreed.
Jenna smiled. “Scientists.” She shook her head as she turned back to him, her smile slipping slightly. “I gave up my happiness.” She glanced back towards Joleen, then back at him. “Don’t make the same mistake. First and foremost, hold tight to what matters.”
With that, she turned and stepped out onto the porch to call out to Joleen. “I think it’s time I showed you the rest.”
From his spot, he watched Joleen straighten and walk towards the house again.
They followed Jenna back into the lab, then down through the caves. This time, however, they followed her through another thick doorway, which Jenna unlocked.
“I haven’t allowed anyone in here except Roy,” Jenna told them.
“Who is Roy?” Joleen asked.
“He’s… a colleague.” Jenna stepped into a smaller room and stepped back.
He followed Joleen in and both of them stopped when they noticed the large black rock that sat in the middle of the room.
Instantly, he noticed that the rock was hooked up to a computer screen by long metal rods sticking out of it and a lot of different wires.
“What is this?” Joleen moved closer to the rock.
“This is the chunk of B-2946,” Jenna said with some pride. “The comet that gave you your life. It was moved here, after… in hopes of finding a cure or a weapon against the darkness.”
There was so much he wanted to study about the rock. He moved closer and stood next to Joleen as they both examined the pitch-black chunk. It was no bigger than a large bathtub.
“Is this how you talked to me?” Joleen asked, glancing back at her mother.
“Yes.” Jenna moved over to the computer screen and flipped on a few buttons.
Instantly, Joleen doubled over as if in pain. Her hands covered her ears as she cried out.
Mason rushed to grab her up in his arms.
“Sorry,” Jenna exclaimed, powering everything off. “I hadn’t… I didn’t know.” She rushed to her daughter’s side.
“What was that?” Joleen asked as she recovered.
“What happened?” Mason asked.
“You didn’t hear that?” she asked them both.
“No,” both he and Jenna answered together.
“What happened?” he asked her.
“It sounded like… Like when I talk into the store’s microphone and it buzzes back at me.”
“Feedback?” He glanced at Jenna in question.
“Could be. Joleen is somehow directly linked to this rock. When she’s not this close, I can see events… moments before they happen in her time. I can communicate with her.”
“How?” he asked, glancing at the computer system. “There’s no microphone or speakers.”
She shrugged. “Joleen, why don’t you head into the other room so I can show Mason how it works. That way it won’t affect you.”
Joleen shrugged and, after taking another glance at the rock, stepped out of the room.
Jenna walked over and flipped on the system again.
“You okay?” she called out the open door.
“Yes, it’s not as bad out here. I’m going to move further away, though,” Joleen called back.
Moving over, he watched as the picture on the screen went from fuzzy to clear. They could see what Joleen was seeing. He watched in amazement as she moved through the tunnel and stepped outside and glanced around. He could even hear her breathing.
“Is it working?” Joleen asked.
“Yes,” Jenna responded clearly.
“Wow.” Joleen laughed.
“So,” he asked Jenna, “this is happening currently. Or is it delayed?”
“This appears to be happening now. Look.” She motioned to the screen. “Joleen, lift your right hand in front of your face.”
He watched as she did so.
“How can she hear us?” He glanced at the rock again.
“Harmonics,” Jenna explained. “It’s my best hypothesis.”
“That would make sense,” he said suddenly.
“The birds?” Joleen asked.
Mason walked over to the rock and laid a hand on it. “Say something else, Joleen.”
“Um, okay.” She cleared her throat and then began singing. “I’ll tell you what I want…what I really, really want…”
He chuckled at her choice of songs as he felt the stone vibrate under his hands.
“Here,” he told Jenna as Joleen continued to sing. “You can feel it vibrating.”
“I was never able to feel it before,” Jenna said.
“The connection must be stronger since she’s closer,” he suggested. “I could spend a lifetime studying the connection between them.” He turned to the monitor and noticed that Joleen was outside now.
He felt his entire body tense when her singing stopped and turned into a high-pitched scream as the blackness circled high overhead, surrounding her.
Without thinking, he rushed from the room, through the cave, until he stood next to her in the grass as the darkness circled overhead.
“What’s it doing?” she asked him.
He wrapped his arms around her and started pulling her back towards the building to the safety of the cave.
“No, wait.” She stopped and they both watched as it narrowed into a thin stream, shooting down a few feet from them.
As they watched, the black smoke turned into a man, standing just outside the dark circle of Proxinium protecting them.
“I knew you’d come,” Thanatos said. The thin dark figure’s red eyes
glowed in the daylight. The man was half human, half shadow. Everything from his neck down was circling black mist.
“Why are you here?” Joleen asked, pushing Mason aside slightly.
“Jo,” he started, but she stopped him.
“He can’t cross the line,” she said, motioning towards the circle of Proxinium.
Mason glanced back and noticed Jenna standing just inside the building’s doorway. The woman looked pale and extremely afraid for the first time since he’d met her.
He turned just as Joleen took a step closer to the edge of the circle.
“Why are you here?” she repeated.
For you.” The deep voice caused the air to vibrate. Mason felt his skin crawl at the sound of it.
“Me?” Joleen asked.
“Sister,” Thanatos almost hissed. “You belong with us.”
“Us?” Joleen asked.
“With your brothers and sisters.”
“I belong here. With my people. The ones that you took away.” Joleen’s voice rose.
“They are meaningless. Only we matter. You are more than just one of these insignificant humans. They do not matter. Only we do.”
“I won’t go with you.” She gripped Mason’s arm while he held onto her. “Leave us alone,” she screamed.
“Someday, you will welcome us,” Thanatos hissed.
“Never,” she cried out as he slowly disappeared.
They stood there until the sunlight bathed them.
Joleen turned in his arms and cried on his shoulder.
“He can’t have me,” she said over and over against his shoulder.
“Never,” he agreed as he held onto her tighter. “Never.”
Chapter Seventeen
Joleen allowed Mason to take her back inside and downstairs into the cave. A cup of something warm was shoved into her hands as she sat in a large comfortable chair. A blanket was tossed over her and, until that moment, she hadn’t realized she was chilled. She took a sip of the warm tea and realized that she was shaking.
“He can’t have me,” she said through teary eyes.
“He won’t get a chance,” Mason agreed.
