Portal - BK 1

by Imogen Rose

  2. Why am I suddenly Arizona Darley, not Stevens?

  Was I both? Everyone around here (and I still needed to define that) seemed to know me as Darley and I could feel the Darley me. How?

  3. Why have we gone back in time?

  I was clearly in June 2009 a few weeks ago and now suddenly I’m back in October 2008. I didn’t want to even contemplate this possibility, but time travel? Even that didn’t make sense. My dad was in New Jersey eight months ago; he would still have been there.

  4. Where did Rupert and Harry come from?

  5. Why did everyone think Gertrude was new?

  6. How come Grandma was alive?

  I could go on, there were so many questions. However, I decided that if I got answers to the first four key questions, it would be a good start.

  Finally, what was I aiming for? What did I really want? This was much harder than throwing out the questions and would in small part perhaps depend on the answers. One thing was clear – I had to reconnect with my dad. Did I want to wake up tomorrow back in my old life, at Princeton High? Without Kellan? I really wasn’t sure…. I was sure I needed Kellan in my life.

  I looked at the clock, it was clearly time to head to school. Showering and dressing quickly, I made my way to the Jeep. I looked at it wistfully, yet another thing I would lose if I left this set up. I threw my kit on top of Harry’s and set off. I wondered where Harry had disappeared off to so early this morning, and then remembered him mentioning an early meeting with Coach Stanislaw to get ready for this afternoon.

  I spent the entire time at school psyching myself up for the game and rushed over to the small gym as soon as final bell sounded. We were taking the team bus. Harry and Kellan were already in the gym chatting with the coaches. They nodded at me as I entered closely followed by the rest of the team including David. He came over and stood next to me.

  “Bagsy to sit next to you on the bus, Poppet,” he whispered.

  I felt irritated; I didn’t need this right now. Kellan was going to be annoyed. We gathered around the coaches waiting for them to speak, but it was Harry who started.

  “Excited, team?” he asked enthusiastically.

  We nodded lamely.

  Harry laughed and continued, “I guess you’re all wiped out from last night. Well, wake up! We’re taking the team bus as you know, and usual rules apply. This is a friendly but I want a win. I’ll announce the starting line up at the rink. Any questions?” he asked as he surveyed the room. No one made a sound so he led us through the doors to the bus. There was the usual scramble to get in after we threw our kits into the hold. I got on and looked for Kellan as a hand grasped mine from below and pulled me down on a seat… David. Oh, this was going to be awkward. I noticed Kellan getting on, waving at me as he walked over. His expression changed to irritation as he noticed David on the seat beside me.

  “Come on, Shrimp, there are more seats at the back,” he said as he grabbed my hand to pull me up.

  David laughed, “Oh be a good sport, Kellan. I bagsied her!”

  Kellan looked at me rolling his eyes, “That right?”

  I shrugged and nodded smiling at him as he bent over and kissed my forehead.

  “She is officially ‘bagsied’ for the rest of the games, David. She’ll be sitting next to me,” he said before continuing down the aisle to sit with Harry.

  “Kellan, eh,” said David thoughtfully, staring at me inquiringly.

  “How, when? I had no idea! Why?”

  I looked at him mischievously, “Just sort of hit me,” I winked. It wasn’t far from the truth. In fact, it was the truth. It had just hit me!

  “Can’t say I’m not disappointed. I am. I guess I’ll have to hope that you’ll change your mind. I’m pretty awesome,” he winked.

  “You are,” I said sincerely, “But I feel totally connected to Kellan. Can we still be friends?

  “Always, poppet.” He looked at me and took my hand, “Poppet, what’s the hockey all about? You’re pretty good, but I never saw this coming either.”

  “I’m full of surprises! So, what’s the team we are playing against like?” I asked quickly changing the subject. It worked. David spent the rest of the journey describing all the previous games against them and the players to watch out for. As soon as the bus stopped at the rink Kellan was by my side and remained there while we walked inside.

  “So, what was David saying?” he asked.

  “Oh, nothing much. He went through all the previous games against this team and the players I should watch out for.”

  “Oh, good, that saves me from having to do it now. Locker room four has been assigned for you to use, the rest of us will be in five. Get changed and wait outside five until I come and get you for the team talk, ok?

  “Ok!’ I said and saluted as I closed the door to room four.

  I got changed and put the new black helmet Harry had got for me on my head and went to join the others for the team talk. I noticed Ella, Mom and Rupert as soon as I got on the ice. They were waving frantically at Harry and me trying to get our attention. I waved back to make them stop. It worked. They sat back down and I went to work sizing up my competition. I marked the players that David had pointed out.

  It was game time. I was not starting so I skated over to the box and watched Harry win the first stab at the puck. I had not watched him play before, he was beyond incredible. I was astounded by his agility, focus and speed. I could barely take my eyes of him. He scored and the crowd erupted in cheers. I could see Maria proudly jumping up from her seat and shouting. Mom and Rupert were up shouting and cheering, too. It was sort of reassuring to see Ella sitting down, oblivious, playing her DS. Some things never changed.

  It was my turn to go on. Kellan and David were on the ice with me and Harry came off. I took my position and waited. I loved playing defense, all I had to do was wait and block the other team. Our team was clearly better. David and Kellan had the puck up at their end with only one break away, which I easily stopped by jamming their player into the board. The game was one sided, we won easily and I only spent one session in the penalty box.

  I sat by Kellan on the way back, satisfied with my performance. I had totally held my own and everyone, except Justin, had noticed and acknowledged it.

  Harry found me before we got back on the bus and told me that Rupert had asked me to meet him at Ames when I was ready. So, it was finally going to happen. I thought about the points I had written down earlier this morning, glad that I had done so. My mind was whirling around on a high from the game and worry about what was to come. I was relieved to have something organized to look at. I absentmindedly took Kellan’s hand and lay my head on his shoulder, closing my eyes to help myself gather my thoughts.

  “Are you worried about heading in to Ames?” he asked.

  He knew? I guess Harry had told him. “A bit, well actually a lot,” I said opening my eyes and looking at him.

  “Shrimp, I’m going to be there, too. So is Ariele. Your mom asked us.”

  “That’s great, but why would she ask you to be there?” I said taken a back.

  I could hear him taking a deep breath, and then sitting back and closing his eyes.

  “Well?” I prodded him sharply with my elbow.

  He opened his eyes again and looked at me thoughtfully. “Your mom and dad asked me what I knew. They’d figured something was up with you.”

  I stiffened. I was dismayed and I closed my eyes, unable to say any more. Kellan put his arms around me and we sat still for the rest of the journey, not talking. I needed to know what had been discussed, but this was not the place, in a bus with a winning, excited team.

  Once we arrived back at school, I walked right to my Jeep to drive home, Kellan followed me.

  “Wait up, Shrimp, we should talk?”

  I turned around and nodded. “Can you pick me up? We can talk before we head over. What does Harry know?”

  “Nothing, as far as I know.”

  I shook my head in des
pair, got in my car and drove off home. Ella was home playing with Jonas and Sally. Maria was watching them. Rupert and Mom had already left which was partly annoying, but I was sort of relieved. I changed quickly and ran down to meet Kellan who was waiting outside on his bike.

  “We have a while, so let’s take Gertrude for a walk and talk,” I suggested.

  He nodded and I ran back to fetch Gertrude while he waited. I heard Harry and Maria laughing in the family room as I ran back out and wondered how Harry would handle all this. He would have to know eventually. Kellan and I walked hand in hand toward the woods, pausing while Gertrude investigated all the smells on the way.

  “Kellan, just tell me. We don’t have a lot of time. We need to head over to Ames soon.”

  He pulled me down on the grass and faced me, “Your mom and dad had a talk with me last week. I was not sure how to tell you so I never mentioned it. We met at Ariele’s house, but she didn’t want to be involved which is why she’s not talking to me. She is angry because I went behind your back.”

  I nodded, “Go on, I expect you felt you had to?”

  He nodded, “My dad insisted and I sort of felt it would help you.”

  “Your dad? He’s involved?”

  “I think so but I don’t know how. Anyway, I did tell your mother everything I knew. Hopefully she’ll give you some answers tonight.”

  “You told her about me knowing that I was not a Darley but Stevens… and about Dillard?”

  “Yes.”

  “About our trip to Princeton?”

  “I did, Shrimp.”

  So, Mom was forewarned, which could be good or bad. I had already told her that I knew that I was Arizona Stevens, so that was nothing new. I wonder what else she knew. I guessed we would find out soon enough. We walked back to the house and got on Kellan’s bike to head over to Ames.

  As we approached the Ames complex, I felt a sense of familiarity. I recognized the building itself and the grounds. I had been here before, I just couldn’t place it. Every thing about the place was recognizable as I followed Kellan inside toward his father’s office. I instinctively knew it was Larry’s office even before we entered and I knew how to get to my mother’s office from here.

  “Hi there, Arizona and Kellan,” Larry acknowledged as soon as we walked into his office.

  “Arizona, your mother and Rupert are downstairs so let’s head over there.”

  I nodded as I checked my pocket for my list and felt for the safety of the photographs, which Ariele had given to me.

  “Is Ariele down there too?” I asked hopefully.

  “Arizona, no. She didn’t want to come,” replied Larry as he gathered a bunch of papers from his desk. “She did give me this note for you, though,” he said as he handed me a folded piece of paper.

  I was disappointed. It would have been invaluable to have had her support. I looked at the note. It was brief… it just said stay strong.

  We took the elevator down to the basement and went through a set of heavy metal doors that slid open after Larry keyed a code into the control pad. We arrived at another door, labeled OP: Restricted Entry. Larry pointed his eyes towards the pad on the door, it buzzed and clicked green once the buzzing stopped. Could this be an iris scanner? I had read about these, very high tech, must be super secret. I felt like I was in a James Bond movie. The metal door slid open and we went through to an enormous space full of noisy equipment. It was like an airplane hanger. The space was filled with laboratory equipment hooked into computers. It seemed like a strange place for a talk. I wondered what they had cooked up.

  I spotted Mom and Rupert sitting on metal chairs at the far corner. We walked over to them and sat down. It felt very daunting. Maybe that was the aim? We could easily have had this talk at home, no need for this noisy, intimidating atmosphere. I sat down on one of the chairs and stared at Mom for answers. Mom looked right back at me. She looked sad and worried, but her voice was unfailing, as she looked me steadfastly in the eyes.

  “Arizona, I have been told that Simla was responsible for what happened to you in the girl’s restroom. Is that true?”

  I was surprised by her choice of direction and decided to ignore it. I slowly brought out my sheet with my list of questions and looked at it studiously. Then I looked at her just as she had at me.

  “Mom, where is Dad?”

  She looked genuinely surprised. It couldn’t be at my question, though, she must have seen that one coming. It was probably because I ignored her question to pose my own. I saw her eyes narrow and her mouth form into a frown. Rupert shifted uneasily in his chair. Larry spoke up.

  “Arizona, what do you mean?”

  “Just what I asked. Where’s Dillard, my dad?”

  “It’s ok, Larry. Let me deal with this question. Arizona, Dillard lives in Leeds,” said Mom.

  “Leeds? Where’s Leeds?” I asked astounded.

  Mom continued, “Leeds is in England.”

  I was confused; “I know that, but why? England? When did he move back to England?”

  “He’s always lived in England, Arizona. He’s never moved away from England. He moved from London to Leeds after we got divorced.”

  “When did you get divorced?” I couldn’t help but digress, I knew that they had been separated for years, but I was unaware that they had made it official.

  “Since before Harry was born, so almost twenty years.”

  I was annoyed. She was clearly lying.

  “Mom, that’s not possible.” I couldn’t believe that she was going to take to bare-faced lying! I decided to remain calm and plowed on with my questions.

  “What’s Dad doing in Leeds?”

  “I’m not sure exactly,” said Mom. “I understand he’s still working there. He is separated from his wife….”

  I interrupted her, “His wife? You?

  “No, Arizona, his third wife. I believe her name is Sarah.”

  I closed my eyes and tried to absorb this information. No one spoke; I could feel their eyes staring into me.

  I turned to Kellan, “Did you know this about my dad?”

  He shook his head and I felt a sense of relief that at least he’d not been playing me in New Jersey. This didn’t make any sense whatsoever. I decided to leave this issue and try another approach.

  I felt in my pocket for the photographs and brought them out. I looked through the pack slowly and selected a Christmas card picture of me, Dad, Mom, Ella and Gertrude and passed it to Mom. I couldn’t wait for her to see this.

  “Explain this then,” I challenged.

  She took a sharp intake of breath as she studied the picture and passed it on to Rupert. I could see that she was struggling to find a way to explain this to me. Larry looked at her fondly and patted her back. I felt like I was going to explode. Why was he being nice to her?

  “Ollie, let me take over and try to explain this to Arizona. I can see that this is just confusing her more. Maybe we should tell her about the portal. It may help clarify things a bit.”

  “The portal?” I shuddered in despair, once again hoping that I was in some nightmare.

  Larry turned his chair to face Kellan and me.

  “We’ve been involved in a really complicated project which I don’t want to get into too much. Suffice to say that behind those metal doors,” he pointed to what looked like a metal wall rather than door. “Behind those doors is a portal.”

  “A portal? What’s a portal?” I asked baffled.

  Larry continued, “Arizona, it’s like a wormhole, which allows transport between dimensions.”

  “This is ridi….” I started to protest.

  Mom cut me off saying, “Let Larry go on, Arizona. He’s trying to answer your question.”

  “Like I said, Arizona. This man-made portal is like a mini wormhole. It allows us transport between time and dimensions. Your mother brought you through the portal to enable you to be together. At the moment, that portal is set so that your dad is on the other end. In fact, if you go
through it right now, your life, as you think it should be, will be back to normal, but without your mom, Ella or Gertrude.”

  I was horrified by what he was saying, “You mean she not only abducted us, but abducted us to a totally different life? Through a worm hole!” I was beyond bewildered. Why would she do that?

  She looked sad as she said, “I guess you could call it that, but I did feel it was in your best interest.”

  I tried to think back to my other questions, but my mind drew a blank. This was all totally crazy. I clearly had to head back. What about Ella, would I ever see her again or Kellan? Harry? Gertrude? Grandma?

  “I have to go back, I can’t let you get away with this. It’s beyond unacceptable! And what about Dad?”

  My mom looked at me carefully. “Arizona, that’s up to you. You’ve been living here with us as Arizona Darley for the past eight years. I didn’t bring you back here now; I brought you back eight years ago. And for these eight years we’ve been happy. I have no explanations as to why you are having this switch in your memory from your previous life. I can’t explain how you can recall Arizona Stevens from now. It doesn’t make any sense to me. I’m concerned that it could reverse at any time. You could find yourself back with Dillard, but with the reverse happening. You may wake up as Arizona Darley wondering where your life went.”

  That totally blew my mind. She was basically telling me that my mind could switch back to being another person? What was the trigger?

  I looked and asked her just that, “What triggered this switch?”

  “I’m not sure, Arizona. I retrieved Gertrude a couple of weeks ago and I believe that’s when the switch occurred. So I am assuming that perhaps Gertrude was the trigger but I have no explanation of how that happened. We do know someone has been tampering with the portal, but we have not yet found out who or why.”

  “Mom, I don’t know what to believe!”

  “I can understand that, but believe me this is just as confusing for us.”