by Imogen Rose
I was lying by the poolside in Kellan’s arms enjoying the sunshine. Harry was busy swimming laps, up and down–relentlessly.
“Come on, lazybones!” he shouted and splashed us. Get in the water and exercise. You never know when we’re going to have to run endless miles again,” he said, not joking. Kellan jumped in, dragging me with him. We started swimming, up and down. Harry was right. We shouldn’t rest, thinking that everything was going to be all right. Dr. Sen and his nutty entourage could find us at any moment and we would have to outrun them again. However, I didn’t want to overtire myself either, so after ten laps I got out and dried myself off on one of the large beach towels Morena had left on the table for us. I looked up and saw Morena come walking up toward me with some guests. One of them was definitely her twin sister–they were totally identical. The other could have been her brother.
“Arizona, this is my sister, Morgana, and this is Lars, a friend.”
“Hey,” I said, as Harry and Kellan joined us.
“Can you guys sit down for a moment? We have something we need to discuss with you,” Morena said.
That sounded serious, I thought as we walked over to the deckchairs. I sat down and looked over at Morena expectantly.
“When Kevin went home to his house, he was accosted by Dr. Sen’s people.”
Oh no, I thought to myself. This was not good. That madman had tracked us down.
“We need to be on our way again,” Harry said. “We can’t sit around here and wait for them to find us. Where is Kevin now? Is he okay? Do we need to head over and help him?”
“Kevin’s fine,” Morena said slowly.
“He is?” I asked. “Where is he now?”
“He’s been rescued. He’s in a safe place,” Morena replied vaguely.
“Where?” I persisted. “If it’s safe, we should maybe all head over there?”
“That’s what we would like to do,” Lars said, speaking up for the first time. He had a strange accent. I couldn’t place it. “Morgana and I are here to help transport you back to your parents.”
I just looked at him, dumbstruck again.
“And how are you going to do that?” Harry asked. “Through the portal?”
Yikes, I thought. Wasn’t the portal unreliable at the moment? It had been tampered with. I really didn’t want to end up in Victorian times or maybe even with the dinosaurs. But, how else were we going to get back? Maybe we should just head back to Princeton.
“The portal isn’t functional at the moment,” Morgana replied. “We are Wanderers, like David. We’re going to transport you home in the same way Ella got home.”
I just couldn’t get my head around that. I looked over at Kellan and Harry. Harry looked just as skeptical as I felt.
“It doesn’t hurt,” Morena assured us quickly.
Pain was not even a consideration. I just didn’t buy into the whole thing. Still, we’d all seen Ella disappear with David. I’d just not given it any thought, mainly because it was so unbelievable. It seemed as if I might have dreamed it all. To accept that it had been real was almost impossible. It was one thing to accept that Mom had built a portal. That was sort of based on sound scientific stuff, or so I’d hoped. Physics was really not my strong point. It did sound plausible, though. The whole many-worlds blah-blah, I could let slide. Maybe there was a small chance. But this? Wanderers? Really? I don’t think so. I must have been very tired when Ella disappeared, it must have been some kind of illusion. I could tell that Harry was thinking the same. Kellan was nodding.
“It’s not that we are concerned with the possibility that it may hurt,” Harry said. “I just can’t get my head around it, that’s all.”
“I know that it’s difficult to accept,” Morena replied. “Can you trust me, though?”
I looked over at the boys and we nodded. After all, she had driven all that way to get us and had offered up her house to us. And Kevin seemed to trust her.
“Then I would like to take you home,” she continued. “If that’s what you all want. I would understand if you wanted to stay here,” she said, looking at me thoughtfully.
“Of course, she doesn’t want to stay here,” Harry said perplexed. “Why would she?”
I shrugged at him. This was no time to go explaining to him about my dad. Dad wasn’t even home. I needed my mom to help me deal with him and my situation. We had to go back–for now.
Morena nodded. “Okay, so get into some dry clothes and meet me back in the hallway.”
I tried calling my dad one last time after I had changed into my clothes. It was difficult saying goodbye to this life. I was going to miss Monica, Beth, Raymond, Christian and everyone else I knew in New Jersey. I walked down the stairs to the hall feeling miserable, until I saw Kellan waiting there for me.
“Arizona, come to me,” Morena said in an even, calm tone. I went over and took her hand. “Kellan, go to Morgana and Harry go to Lars.”
Morena’s hands were super soft. I felt calm and relaxed as soon as I touched them.
“Is everyone ready? Close your eyes and relax,” she said.
I felt a soothing, warm calm. A slight pushing feeling and then more calm. I felt like I was floating through clouds. This was followed by a sensation of sheer happiness. Then Morena let go of me and I opened my eyes.
“Welcome home,” Kevin said smiling at us.
I felt totally disoriented, once again. One would think that I’d be used to it by now–not so. I was still clutching onto Morena’s hand, but I let go as soon as Kellan grabbed hold of me and drew me into his arms.
“Where are we?” I asked. We certainly weren’t home as Kevin had indicated. Welcome home?
“You’re at my house,” Morgana smiled. “Welcome.”
I extracted myself from Kellan’s arms and looked around. Morgana beckoned us to follow her, and we all walked through to her family room. The shape of the room, its angles and contours seemed so familiar. Then the incredible realization dawned on me–this was the same house that Morena lived in, at the other dimension! But Morgana’s house was decorated very differently. My mother would describe it as eclectic, which I think is just nice word to describe miss- matched…
“Please do sit down and make yourselves comfortable. You’re all safe here. We have a lot to discuss, but first let me get you some refreshments,” Morgana said, pointing us to her couches.
I sat down between Kellan and Harry and looked around. Kevin was perched on the arm of a chair occupied by an older, blond lady. I totally felt that she was in charge somehow. In charge of what? Sitting on a couch in the corner were Morena and Lars. There was definitely a warm feeling of calm in this room. I felt peacefully euphoric, if one can feel that. It was a very strange feeling. Morgana reappeared with a large tray full of goodies–chips, dips, pita bread and nuts. I dove right in, as did Kellan and Harry. We’re teenagers, after all, always hungry.
“There are drinks in the refrigerator,” Morgana said, pointing to the bar. “I’ve ordered some pizza and chicken wings. The delivery guy should be here in about forty minutes or so,” she added, much to my satisfaction. Good lady.
“Where are we exactly?” Harry asked. “I know we’re at your house, Morgana. Thank you for your hospitality, I’m very grateful. But, exactly where are we?”
The lady, the older one with blond hair, answered. “Morgana, let me, please. Kellan knows me already. But, may I introduce myself to you, Arizona and Harry? I’m Inez. I’m David’s mother and Kevin’s ex-wife.”
Kellan knew her already? He hadn’t mentioned it, I thought to myself as I threw him a look. Harry stood up and shook her hand, I followed suit. It seemed to be the right thing to do.
“Have you seen David?” I asked her. “Is he okay?”
“Yes, both David and Ella arrived safely. They’re at my house. Your mom’s there as well. We’re waiting for two more of our Wanderer friends to arrive, Javier and Constance, and then we’ll talk more,” Inez promised.
We didn�
�t have to wait long. There was a tap at the door just as she finished talking and Morgana let them in. They entered silently, nodded at us and took a seat. I noticed that they all shared the same serene calmness. I liked and trusted them right away.
“We’re all here, so let’s get started,” Inez said. “Children, you are back in your home dimension.”
I guessed she meant the Darley dimension. I supposed that was ok, for now.
“A lot of things have happened since you’ve been away. So, first of all, let’s have a short de-briefing. Kellan and Arizona disappeared from the lakeside. We think that you were assaulted, taken to the Weeks’ cottage and held there by Raj Sen and his accomplices. Arizona, you were then transported back through the portal to Princeton.” Inez stopped, to check herself. She had nearly slipped and said to your dad. That would’ve been a mistake. Harry was still unaware of Arizona’s otherlife and it was not her place to mention it. “Kellan, a ring with a message was put on your finger and you were left by the roadside. The ring contained a microchip with a message for Olivia and Larry from Raj Sen.”
“What message? I asked, unable to help myself.
“It was a message asking for a set of blueprints of the portal to be delivered to Raj in return for you children. Harry, you and Ella were taken from your bedrooms to the Weeks’ cottage–or perhaps it was somewhere else, we don’t really know–to be held for ransom. Olivia and Larry did not immediately figure out the ring and the FBI was deployed. The police issued an amber alert and a full search undertaken. Knowing that the authorities had been alerted, we assume Raj Sen panicked and felt he had to move Harry and Ella as quickly as possible. Raj managed to transport them though the portal and away from the prying eyes of the law. We assume that once Raj was through the portal, he had no idea what to do. He has no contacts there that we know of. Kevin tells me Sophie, an Ames staff member, her brother-in-law, Dan, and three other men are involved.”
I nodded, although I wasn’t sure if it had been two or three other men. Maybe more. I guess it wasn’t important at this point.
“What about Simla and Justin?” I asked. “Are they involved? Has anyone seen them or even spoken to them?”
“As far as we know, they’re not involved. But, we can’t be sure,” Inez replied. “So, once Raj and his accomplices had transported Ella and Harry though the portal, they decided to dump them with Arizona, while they figured things out. In the meantime Arizona had contacted Kevin. David had made his way over to check on you. At around the same time, Olivia and Larry figured out the possibility that Kellan’s ring may contain a message. The ring was extracted and then analyzed by the FBI. David came home for an update and then returned to Arizona with Kellan. So when Raj came back to get Ella and Harry, he unexpectedly found David, Kellan and Kevin there as well. You were all put in the back of a van, and then David transported Ella back and you know the rest.”
“Is she okay? Harry asked.
“Yes, she’s fine. As I said, she’s with your mom over at my place at the moment. She’s been sleeping since she got back, she is tired out from her journey. David said that she was in fine form earlier–very chatty.”
“What about David?” I asked.
“He’s fine as well, but totally exhausted.”
“So, can we head back to our homes?” Kellan asked. He just wanted to get back to his own stuff, to normal life, into his own clothes.
“Not yet,” Inez replied.
“Why not?” I asked frustrated.
“Although we’re fairly sure that you are safe now, we can’t be certain. Also, we need to explain your return to the FBI. We have to do that without revealing ourselves–I mean Wanderers–and without mentioning the portal.”
I laughed. “How are we going to do that when the whole issue was the portal?”
“We’ll have to think up a convincing story,” she said matter-of-factly.
“You mean, lie?” I muttered.
“Yes, unfortunately,” Inez said without remorse. “I’ve given it a lot of thought, I can’t think of a way around it. The positive thing about the FBI being involved is that they’ll help us keep you safe. You know, just in case Raj has contingency plans in place here, or somehow manages to come back.”
“All right,” Harry sighed. “What do you want us to tell them?”
“I am not sure yet. We’re waiting for your dads to come over, so we can all discuss it together. It will have to be a simple story, something that Ella can grasp and remember,” she said.
“You’re going to make Ella lie too?” Harry said shocked.
“Harry, we’ve no choice,” Inez said. “I don’t like this one bit, either.”
We heard the roar of a bike. Kevin looked out of the window and said with relief, “They are here now.”
It was nice to see Rupert and Larry. I had kind of missed Rupert, even though he wasn’t my real dad.
“I’m so glad you’re okay!” Rupert threw his arms around Harry and Arizona. He had wanted to stop by and see Ella, but Inez had been firm when she’d asked them to come over here first. He was sure that they’d been followed when they left Ames on his bike. He’d been forced to cut through the woods to lose whoever it was. It was probably just the FBI, keeping them safe. However, now was not the time for Claire or her colleagues to stumble upon the kids. They had things to talk about first.
“Inez, how can I ever thank you?” Rupert said, throwing her a grateful smile. “All of you,” he said looking over at Kevin, Morena, Lars, Javier, Constance and Morgana. “I’m indebted to you.”
“As am I,” Larry added, patting Kellan’s shoulder.
“How did it go with Claire, Larry?” Inez inquired.
“Claire’s the FBI agent in charge of finding you,” he explained, for our benefit. “She confirmed that she’d identified Raj Sen in the security footage at Ames. She seemed cagey, so I think there’s more. I’m fairly sure we were being followed, so she’s either put a tail on us, or someone else has. How are we going to explain away the kids being back?”
Javier, the youngest of the Wanderers in the room, had maintained silence until now. He finally spoke in a very even, quiet voice. I had to strain to hear.
“Inez assigned me the task of dealing with that. We need to keep it simple, especially for Ella. In my opinion, we should tell them the following: That you, Rupert and Larry, emailed the blueprints to Raj. Have you done so, yet?”
“Well, no,” Larry replied. “I don’t want to do that. They could be dangerous in the wrong hands.”
“You don’t need to send a blueprint of the portal or even the collider. Send a blueprint of something that looks important, but is useless to Raj. We just need the FBI to see that Dr. Sen has received the email on his computer and it’s marked as read. Rupert, have you circumvented the IP addresses being tracked?”
Rupert nodded. “Yes, no problem. I’m using a very sophisticated proxy server, courtesy of Morgana and the SETI. I’ve reset Larry’s clock as well.”
A flurry of activity followed as Larry tapped away on his laptop, trying to find a suitable blueprint. I marveled, as Rupert worked away on his Mac and hacked into Dr. Sen’s email, getting ready to open the attached blueprint when it was delivered.
“Ready, Rup?” Larry asked with a twinkle.
“What are you up to?” Rupert laughed.
“Oh, nothing! Sent,” Larry said. “Make sure you time the receipt for about an hour ago or so.”
“Come on, Dr. Fox! Tell,” I demanded. “What’s so funny?”
“It’s a blueprint of an early collider unit–one that never worked. If anyone gets their hands on this, it will take them years to figure out how to read it, and then it won’t work,” he chuckled.
Physicist humor, I thought to myself and shrugged.
“Okay, it’s arrived. Opening it now,” Rupert mumbled to himself. “Done.”
“What next?” Larry asked, looking over at Javier.
“Next, it’s important that we’re al
l on the same page with the story. Arizona, you were taken with Kellan from the lake. Just stick to the truth here. You were then taken to a dark place and kept there, describe it if you want a bit, but keep it vague. Kellan was taken and dumped by the side of the road. Just stick to the truth about that, Kellan. You’ve already told the FBI this bit of the story. Arizona, you were then driven in a van to a house. Harry and Ella were taken from their beds and brought to this house. They had been drugged. Then the three of you were held there and eventually put in the back of a black van and dumped by the lake. Harry, you simply say that you were attacked at your house, and woke up at the other house with Ella. Now that house,” he mused. “Harry, what do you remember about it?”
“I take it you mean the house in Princeton?” Harry asked.
“Yes, but let’s not mention the Princeton part,” Javier said.
Harry tried to remember back, he hadn’t really paid much attention. It was just a house. “I remember it being smallish, probably a bungalow. I woke up in a bedroom. Can’t say I noticed much. It was kind of dark. There was a TV there and a smelly bathroom. I only say that because Ella complained about it. I did walk through to the kitchen. Again untidy, all the counters were full of stuff. On the way out, we walked through the family room, again, untidy but pretty ordinary.”
“Good,” said Javier. “Keep the description like that, vague. Inez, can you get David to bring Ella over. Her mother also?”
She nodded and disappeared.
“Arizona, could you use pretty much the same description?” Javier asked.
I nodded. It was going to be difficult. I knew every nook and cranny of my Princeton house. I didn’t appreciate it being called untidy and smelly.
“That’s good,” Javier said. “We need to see if Ella can do the same. The story that follows has to be very simple. Then, men–you don’t know how many exactly– took you from the house and put you in the back of a van, a black van. You were driven about for hours and hours and then dumped by the lake.” Javier took a deep breath and continued. “It is very important for you not to mention that Kevin, David or Kellan were there with you. Is that clear?”
