EQUILIBRIUM - BK 2 Portal Chronicles

by Imogen Rose

  I stopped talking as we arrived at the house. I noticed Mom’s Hummer and Rupert’s bike parked outside. I wasn’t quite ready to go inside. Ariele and I needed more alone time.

  “Let’s go over to the woods and walk for a while,” I suggested to Ariele. “It looks busy in there.”

  “So, you said you felt abandoned?” Ariele prompted.

  “Yeah. The feeling was so strong and intense that I turned into mush, crying, even weeping,” I whispered, ashamed to admit it aloud. “Anyhow, that’s how Monica found me, a mess. So, wondering about my Barbie-do was not a priority for her, I guess. She did ask me about it later, though–repeatedly–but I was vague and she didn’t push.”

  Ariele stopped and looked at me. “Arizona, who are you? Weepy? I’m really worried about you.”

  I shoved her. “I’m okay! It was a temporary loss of control. I’m not sure why I reacted like that.”

  “All right, no need to prove yourself,” she said, rubbing her shoulder. “That hurt!”

  I rolled my eyes at her.

  “You know, I bet I know the real reason why you were so miserable,” she said slyly.

  “And what’s that,” I asked, waiting for it.

  “Arizona and Kellan, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I,” she began.

  And she was down! My fist hit her shoulder with a thump; I hoped that I hadn’t caused permanent damage.

  “Sheesh, A! That’s twice. Do it again and you’re toast!” she warned.

  I wondered if she was right. Had Kellan been responsible for my miserable loneliness? If so, that was beyond pathetic. “Hit me!” I said, looking at Ariele.

  “Love to,” she said and got me right in my belly. I was down. “That better?” she asked, sitting down beside me.

  “Yeah. I just wanted to make sure that I haven’t turned into a wimp.”

  “Nah, you’re fine. A wimp would be in tears after that,” she reassured me.

  “What’s going on here?” a stern voice asked, coming through the trees.

  “Nothing,” I said. “Who’re you?”

  It turned out there were two of them. Ariele and I were both ready to run.

  “Agents Dwyer and Kent,” Bart Dwyer responded curtly. “What’s going on? Are you okay, Miss Darley?”

  “Oh, I’m fine. This is my best friend, Ariele. We’re just hanging out, having fun,” I said.

  “Looked like you were punching each other,” Agent Dwyer pointed out.

  “Just play punches, that’s all. Nothing serious,” I replied. “Can we carry on now?”

  “Yes, but don’t go any further into the woods. And try not to hurt each other.”

  I nodded and pulled Ariele along with me, away from them. When they were safely out of earshot, I sat down on the grass and pulled Ariele down beside me. “Right, where were we?”

  “Is your house being watched?” she asked, ignoring me. “Why?”

  “To keep us safe, I guess.”

  “Safe from what?” Ariele muttered. “Simla’s dad’s over in the other dimension, right? He can’t do you any harm.”

  “True, but we could hardly tell the FBI that. Could we?” I chuckled. “So they’ll protect us until they’re happy we’re safe.”

  “Oh, that’s a nuisance,” Ariele sighed.

  “No kidding!”

  “Anyway, tell me more,” she continued. “From what Mom told me, you and Kellan were taken from the lake?”

  “Yes, we headed out there after the fiasco of a talk at Ames, right after we’d spent some time at the rink slamming pucks.”

  “Romantic interlude?” she giggled.

  “Nuff, or I’ll hit you again and then we’ll have those two babysitters checking up on us! Anyway, call it what you want. We wanted some alone time, to think mostly.”

  She rolled her eyes and I pinched her.

  “So, we were lying there by the lake, talking, and it suddenly all went dark, we blacked out.”

  “How? Did you both get hit at the same time?” she asked.

  “Sort of,” I replied cagily.

  “What do you mean sort of? Come on, tell me, I need a visual,” she pried. “I just don’t buy that you didn’t see what happened, you’re not blind. Did you guys fall asleep?”

  “Kellan was on top of me, just kissing, nothing else,” I assured her hastily, before she got inappropriately disgusting images floating about in her over-imaginative head. “We think that someone hit him on the back of the head, forcing it to thump down onto mine and we both blacked out.”

  “Oh crap,” she said.

  “To put it mildly. The next thing I remember is that we woke up in this dark room, pitch black. Couldn’t see a thing. I’m going to skip all the details ‘cause we really have to get back soon. Someone grabbed me from that room and the next thing I knew was that I was home in Princeton.”

  “Wow, that must have been mind blowing!” she mused. “I guess Dr. Sen transported you through the portal?”

  “I guess, I don’t know for sure, though.”

  “What about Ella and Harry? Did they come through the portal?”

  “I guess. They were dumped in my bed!”

  “In your bed at your house – wow….”

  I nodded.

  “So, how did you explain your other life to them?”

  “I didn’t,” I replied. “It was dark. Dad wasn’t home. We weren’t there long, so I didn’t need to. Good that Dad’s been too lazy to decorate the house; we don’t even have any pictures up or photos out.”

  “So, Harry doesn’t know?” she marveled. “Does he know about the portal?”

  “Yeah, we had to explain all that to him.”

  “We? Who?”

  “Me, Kevin, David and Kellan,” I replied with a grin. I had to end this conversation soon. I had to get back to the house. I knew Mom wanted to talk to me and I had to get ready for the game.

  “Tell me you’re kidding! How did Kellan and David get there? I didn’t even know that David had gone missing. And who’s Kevin?”

  “Kevin is David’s dad. David transported Kellan across,” I said, waiting for the obvious question.

  “How? Through the portal, of course, I get that. But, how did they manage to do that? Mom told me that the portal is inactive at the moment,” she said.

  “No, Ariele. Not through the portal,” I said, taking a deep breath. “David is a Wanderer.”

  “A Wanderer?” she gaped.

  “Wanderers are beings who can traverse dimensions and time,” I said, trying not to laugh.

  “You’re such an idiot, Arizona!”

  “I knew you were going to say that! Don’t mention Wanderers to anyone, you’ll get locked-up by the men-in-white-coats. Anyhow, I’ve got to get home. We’ll have to talk more later. Mom’s waiting to have a chat with me.”

  “Geez, that should be fun,” Ariele teased.

  I rolled my eyes and walked home to face Mom.

  Olivia lay back on the couch, resting her head on the cushion draped over the arm. Her legs rested on Rupert’s lap, her feet enjoying a luxurious massage. Rupert gave the best foot rubs. She closed her eyes and tried to relax, but failed miserably. It was only ten in the morning, yet she felt totally shattered. She wondered how the kids were coping with school. They had just arrived back from dropping Ella off, leaving firm instructions with the principal to call them if she seemed tired and needed to be picked up early. Ella seemed excited to see her classmates, rushing in and hugging her two best friends, Jonas and Sally. Olivia had left Ella happily chattering away with them.

  Olivia was alone, at last, with Rupert. She needed some time to think before Arizona came back home. It was time for them to have their long overdue conversation. Olivia wasn’t looking forward to it at all, but it had to happen. There was no way to delay or even avoid it any more. There was really no reason to. Arizona had been exposed to it all–time travel, parallel dimensions, even Wanderers.

  Wanderers! How could she expect Arizona to grasp such
a concept when Olivia wasn’t quite sure she believed it herself? Surely there was some kind of misunderstanding. A being that could traverse time and dimensions without scientific aid–that just wasn’t possible, was it? Larry seemed firm about their existence and she trusted implicitly both his sanity and his scientific acumen. Wanderers–it was a paranormal concept and Olivia had never believed in the paranormal. It was more than she could or wanted to get her head around.

  From what she had gathered, Inez and David claimed to be such beings. Ella claimed that David had sucked her through an invisible wall, that’s how she’d described it again and again. It had only taken a moment. Could Ella have dreamed it? It seemed unlikely; she recounted the story with consistency. However, she had been sleepy, the sedatives that drugged her were still in her system. In fact, they were only now starting to wear off. Additionally, Kellan claimed that David had taken him across to Arizona. And to top it all, Harry and Arizona recounted the same story about their journey home. How was this possible? Even if she accepted that Wanderers existed, how did they do it? No, there must be another explanation. But, what? And why was everyone making up this strange tale?

  “What are you thinking about, Ollie?” Rupert asked, looking at Olivia’s furrowed brows.

  “Wanderers,” she replied, opening her eyes and gazing into his.

  “You can’t get your head around it, can you?” he observed.

  “No. And I trust you can’t either. I mean, it’s a completely unbelievable notion, isn’t it?”

  Rupert sighed, and let go of her feet, pulling Olivia up to sit closer to him.

  “Come here,” he said, enveloping her in his arms. “You think the kids are making it up?”

  “I don’t know, Rup. Maybe not making it up as much as believing in something that’s just not true. They were drugged. Maybe they were brainwashed somehow.”

  Rupert sighed. “Ollie, Larry even confirmed their existence. You trust him, don’t you?”

  “Yes, but he could be mistaken, couldn’t he?”

  “Ollie, do you think I’m mistaken?”

  “No, of course not. You don’t buy into this hogwash. Do you?”

  “Ollie, Wanderers are as real as we are,” he said, gazing deeply into her eyes.

  She closed them.

  “Ollie?”

  “Rup,” she said, opening them again. “I don’t get it.”

  “I know you don’t, I know.”

  The phone startled them both.

  “I’ll get it,” Rupert said, and grabbed the phone. “Ella’s school,” he whispered to Olivia, who sat up in attention. It was a short call. “It’s all fine,” Rupert assured Olivia, stroking her hair. “Calm down. The principal was just calling us with an update. Ella is doing well. She’s just gone to lunch and is sitting and chatting and eating. She wants to take the school bus home and I said it was okay.”

  Olivia nodded. It was best to let Ella get back into her routine as quickly as possible. Poor little thing. What she must have been through. Thankfully, she seemed to have slept through most of it. She didn’t seem overly upset, but must be, even if she didn’t know it yet. It would probably hit her all of a sudden. Olivia hoped that when and if it did, she would be with her. She couldn’t even imagine what Arizona must have been through! She’d been back to Princeton, back at Dillard’s house. What a frightening thought. What had she told her father? Had she told him about the portal? Had she told him about their new life here? How had she coped being back there and the bigger question– why had she come back?

  She must have dozed off because the next thing she knew, Rupert was shaking her gently.

  “Ollie, wake up. The school bus is going to be here soon. We’d better go outside and wait for it.”

  She nodded sleepily. She felt so heavy with sleep, it was a struggle getting up. They walked outside into the sunshine with Gertrude in tow and waited for the school bus to come up the road. They didn’t have to wait long for the cheery-looking yellow bus. Ella came bounding to the bus steps as soon as it stopped. She was shouting.

  “Mom! Can I have a play date with Sally and Jonas? Pleeeeease!”

  Olivia laughed. She should have seen that coming and called Sally’s and Jonas’ parents. “Sure thing, but get off the bus. I’ll call their parents when we get inside.”

  “Oh, can’t they come now? They’re on the bus, waiting!” Ella whined.

  Rupert intervened. “Come on, honey. You know we have to call their parents first.”

  Ella sighed and jumped down the steps into Rupert’s arm, waving frantically at Jonas, who was looking out the window making call-me signs at her. “You promise you’ll call them, Dad?”

  He nodded and carried her in, laughing. Olivia was relieved to see that Ella was in fine form, possibly better than fine. They settled her in the kitchen with a snack before calling Sally’s mom.

  “You’re sure you want a play date today, Ella?” Olivia checked before she made the call. “I thought you wanted to go shopping.”

  “I do want to go shopping. Can we do some online shopping while we wait for them to get here, Mom? Pleeease?”

  Olivia laughed and made the calls. “They’ll be here in about an hour.” They spent the hour on Ella’s favorite websites–Justice, Neiman’s, Nordstrom, and Toys-R-Us. Ella showed no hesitation when clicking on the buy-now tab, Olivia observed to her amusement. Several purchases later, the doorbell rang, and Jonas and Sally bounded through.

  “Can they sleep over, Mom?” Ella begged.

  “No, honey. It’s a school night. Maybe over the weekend.” Olivia suppressed her laughter at Ella’s tragic expression. After all that her little girl had been through in the last couple of days, the news that a sleepover was not happening elicited the strongest expression of disappointment. After making sure that Olivia was not going to change her mind, Ella disappeared up the stairs with her friends, leaving Olivia with some time to focus before Arizona came home.

  “She should be home any minute,” Rupert said from the kitchen doorway. “She was meeting Ariele after school for a bit and then coming home for a chat with you. Cup of coffee while you wait?”

  Olivia nodded gratefully. She was so very lucky to have him. So, Arizona was with Ariele at the moment. That made her slightly uncomfortable. Well, not with Ariele anymore, thought Olivia, as the door opened and Arizona walked in.

  ~

  I’ve always been intimidated by Mom. It was no different this time, as I walked into the house. She always looks so perfect; I don’t think I’ve ever seen her in sweats, even when it would have been totally appropriate. She seems like a throwback from the fifties. I fleetingly wondered if she had transported herself over here from the fifties. Yikes. Thank goodness for the Starbucks mug in her hand, I was glad it wasn’t her dainty Hermès teacup. The solid Starbucks mug made her appear more human and contemporary. As for the daisy print shift dress and pumps, accessorized with a strand of pearls–well, that’s what made her unapproachable and slightly intimidating. Not so to Rupert, by the look of things. He came bounding up to her–like a happy Lab–and casually laid his arm across her shoulders as he looked down at me.

  “Hey, Arizona. Fancy a coffee or maybe something cold?”

  “Thanks, yes. Just some water would be great.”

  He returned to the kitchen and I sauntered through to the library with Mom. While we waited for Rupert to come back with the water, I looked through the bookcases–so many books. Such a waste of trees. Maybe I should take up reading? Not. Rupert handed me a bottle of ice-cold water and disappeared again. I guess this was a mother-daughter talk. I waited for her to begin. But then changed my mind. Best to get the upper hand early.

  “I saw Dad when I got back home.” I noticed her wincing when I mentioned Dad–good.

  “I assumed you had. How is he?” she asked, seeming almost detached.

  “He seemed okay,” I said. Not that I had seen much of him. But I guess that if he was going to Atlantic City, he must be ok
ay.

  “Why did you do it, Mom? Why?” I asked, getting my main question out there.

  “Why?” she mused.

  We sat in silence for ages while she thought it through, or I hoped that’s what she was doing. She finally looked up and sighed.

  “Why?”

  “Yes, Mom. Why?”

  She shifted uncomfortably in her chair and threw off her pumps and stared at her toes. “I was unhappy, Arizona. Very unhappy.”

  So? Lots of people are unhappy. They don’t all build portals, do they? I shrugged at her.

  “I was unhappy with your dad for many, many years.”

  “So, why didn’t you just leave him? That’s what most normal people do,” I added.

  “It’s complicated. Most relationships are. I had Ella and you to think about. I stayed, hoping to work things out, for your sakes. But I couldn’t–for so many reasons. The strongest being Rupert. Rupert is everything to me. I had to be with him.”

  I wouldn’t have had the slightest bit of sympathy for this revelation a few weeks ago, before I had met Kellan. I could now sort of understand this need for her to be with her soul mate.

  “Mom, why didn’t you just leave Dad and move in with Rupert? Ella and I would have coped.”

  “Arizona, he was not from the same time or dimension as me. It just wasn’t as simple as you may think.”

  I was totally astounded! Not from the same dimension? Now, here was another concept I would have dismissed as complete and utter gibberish a few weeks ago–the whole not-being-from-the-same-dimension thing.

  “Wow! How on earth did you meet him? When?” I asked.

  “I met him when I was pregnant with you. My marriage to your dad was already over by then. We pretty much lived completely separate lives. I met Rupert in a pub, in London. Our first encounter was brief, it just lasted half an hour or so, and most of that was spent listening to him play his guitar for my girlfriends. But, I knew. I knew he was the one. When he left the pub he asked me to come and find him–two years ago.”