Nellie Nova Takes Flight

by Stephenie Peterson

  After several minutes of uncomfortable silence, Annie spoke.

  "What are we going to do?" she asked.

  "I don't know. Maybe they'll leave us alone?" Fox replied with doubt in his voice.

  "I don't think that is going to happen," answered Annie.

  "Agent Riley seemed very determined," Amelia noted.

  "Is it even a crime to travel in time?" asked Annie.

  "I can't imagine it's actually in the law, no. What I think they want is to take the time machine for their own use," Fox speculated aloud.

  There wasn't much time for discussion, because just then they heard a thud from Nellie's bedroom. Annie, Fox, and Amelia rushed to see how the kids' journey in time had gone.

  Nellie and Niles burst through the doorway of the time machine as the adults entered her bedroom.

  "What happened? Are they gone?" Nellie asked breathlessly.

  "Yeah, is everyone okay? That one agent seemed like he was out to get us!" said Niles before anyone could answer.

  "Everyone's fine," Annie said, but the kids could read the worry on her face.

  "What's wrong?" asked Nellie. "Something is wrong. I can tell."

  "Well, they were not exactly courteous as they went through our home. They broke some things. And I think they will be back," Fox told them.

  "Well, what should we do?" Nellie asked in a small, scared voice.

  "I don't know," her father told her honestly as he took her hand in his. "But we will get through this together."

  Annie nodded. Amelia put her hand on Nellie's shoulder. Even Niles momentarily rested his hand on hers in a sign of support.

  "I hope so," said Nellie. "I really do."

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Everything was quiet around Casa Nova for a few days. Nellie packed up her research and put it in binders so it would be less obvious if the agents came back. She labeled the binders as if they were schoolwork. They were marked with labels such as "History" and "Language Arts." She then put them in a box in the back of her closet.

  The time machine itself was a bit harder to hide. Even with the mirrored shield in place, it seemed obvious something was in her room. They moved it to the tree house, hoping no one would look there. She tried to move on with her normal life. She read a lot. Mostly about all the amazing women she wished she could use the time machine to meet. But everyone agreed it wasn't the time to use it.

  After about a week, life seemed almost normal at Casa Nova. Amelia settled into the guest room. The Novas made it very clear that she was family now and she needed to relax and try to make herself at home—both in Casa Nova and 2015. She desperately wanted to try to fly airplanes again, and the Novas were trying to help her figure out how to get certified.

  Niles was back to his old self. Eight days after the agents had been at their home, Niles came up with another elaborate prank. He created a collection of stink bombs, each with its own terrible smell. He rigged them to go off in a chain, starting at the garage and winding in and out of every room of the house. Every room, that is, except for his own. He planned to get together with a friend from the neighborhood, exited Casa Nova through the garage, and set them off on the way out. He walked down the street smiling his "I'm up to no good" smile, quite proud of his mischief. When he got home and Annie told him he was grounded from video games for a month, Niles felt that it was totally, entirely worth it.

  For a few days, Annie watched out the window frequently, expecting to see the agents parked across the street or walking up the driveway, but after days passed with no contact, she had started to think that the agents were going to leave her family alone. She stayed busy working, helping the kids with their schoolwork, and trying to help Amelia settle into life in 2015.

  The only person who was not feeling better about the whole situation was Fox. Of course, no one in his family knew that. Fathers are like that, you know. They don't want their families to know when they are upset or worried. They want to seem strong all the time, even when they don't feel strong. The problem was, Fox didn't feel strong at all. He was really worried about what would happen if the agents found the Purple Flyer. He constantly felt like someone was watching him, even though he had no evidence to indicate that he was being observed. Fox was a man of science, a man who usually based his feelings on facts and not fear. This time, however, he could not find a way to calm his nerves. It seemed that with every passing day, the worry only became greater.

  Fox started to research the National Agency for Technology and Air Travel. He read countless stories online about people who’d had run-ins with the group. Their stories were not comforting. Agents were known to cause damage to personal property, like they had at Casa Nova. They were also known to go to great lengths to get their hands on technology they thought the government could use in some way. They broke into homes, stole property, and, in one terrifying story, kidnapped an inventor and held him against his will until he revealed his secrets. The more Fox read, the more horrified he became. Still, he didn’t tell his family his fears.

  Twelve days after the agents had ransacked his home, Fox saw them again. It wasn't paranoia or fear; he actually saw them. He was walking to his office on the university campus to get some files before he taught a class. This was not part of his normal routine; usually, he went straight to the classroom when he got to work. He was down the hall about fifty yards from his office when he saw Agent Riley leaving it. Shocked, Fox stopped dead in his tracks. A moment later, Agent Bishop left Fox's office, followed by Agent Maloney. Fox ducked into a classroom as they turned and started making their way through the crowded hallway. His heart pounded the way it does when you've just seen a car accident or come close to being injured. He tried to catch his breath as he watched out the window to see if they would pass by or if they'd seen him. Thankfully, they did not seem to know he was there and they kept walking. Fox let out a sigh of relief and then realized that there was a lecture taking place in the classroom. He turned beet red, apologized, and left the room as quickly as possible.

  Fox rushed towards his office, struggling to breathe as if fear itself were sitting upon his lungs. As he approached, he could tell even before opening the door that the agents had been as uncaring with his office as they had been to his home. Papers filled the hallway. Important parts of Fox's research, scattered, stepped on, torn by passersby. He scooped up some files as he walked toward the door to his office, feebly hoping the work could be saved.

  When he opened the door, he saw that the agents had caused quite a bit of damage. It seemed to Fox that the agents wanted to upset him as much as they wanted to find evidence of time travel. Framed photos of his family were thrown on the ground, glass shattered. His computer monitor was broken, and his hard drive was removed. Someone had pulled keys off the keyboard and spelled out "LIAR" on his desk with them.

  Fox was filled with a dreadful combination of fear and rage. Suddenly, a feeling of worry for his family filled him with a crushing, terrible sense of unease. He canceled his afternoon classes, but there was no time to find a sub for his first class of the day. It started in less than ten minutes. He took a deep breath and assured himself that the kids were safe at home with Amelia.

  He couldn't have been more wrong.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Back at Casa Nova, Nellie was in the backyard sitting on a bench and reading a book about differential equations. Niles was in his room practicing the violin, and Amelia was in the living room researching how to create a new identity. To them, it seemed to be a normal day. They didn't notice when the black town car parked down the street. They did not hear when the three agents got out of the car. They did not startle when the men walked down the sidewalk toward their home. No one realized anything was wrong until Nellie was grabbed from behind. But even then, no one heard her screams over Niles's violin.

  I don’t have to tell you that Nellie tried to fight them off. As you know, Nellie Nova was not the kind of girl who gave up easily, not in the least. She was
as tenacious as a nine-year-old girl with unruly blond hair can be. She kicked. She screamed. She bit Agent Riley so hard that he bled. But in the end, not even the most exceptional nine-year-old girl can overpower three grown men. They dragged her, kicking and screaming, all the way down the street and into the town car. When Mrs. Jacobson, who lived two houses down from the Novas, tried to question them, Agent Maloney just flashed his badge and she backed off.

  Once in the car, they tied a gag around Nellie's mouth to quiet her screaming and handcuffed her to the seat. She had nowhere to go and no way to call for help. Terror filled her small frame, and her heart rate picked up pace. She kept running different scenarios through her most exceptional mind, trying to think her way out of this awful situation. She was not coming up with any way out, however, and fear was getting the best of her. Fear is a terrible little monster because it gets in the way of innovation. It convinces you that you aren't as capable as you really are, and if you let it, it can stop you from doing great things. Nellie let fear get in her way for exactly seven minutes. Seven minutes of crying and worrying that she'd never see her family again. That's all it took for Nellie to realize something very important.

  The agents were stronger, but she was smarter.

  Nellie's body relaxed, and she made a mental note to pay attention to her surroundings. She noticed that they'd gone over the Owen Avenue drawbridge, which meant that they were on the east side of the Eden River. She took note of all the street names, committing them to memory. When they pulled up to an abandoned warehouse, she knew exactly where she was. She knew that it would be important to be able to find her way out of this neighborhood quickly, should the opportunity arise.

  When the car stopped, they undid one side of the handcuffs to free her from the seat, and Nellie thought for a brief moment that she might have her chance to escape, but they quickly cuffed her again and held her by the chain as they forced her to walk into the building. Inside, they brought her to a small room that must have been an office at one point. They forced her to sit on a decrepit old brown upholstered chair. And finally, after twenty minutes of silence from the agents and more squealing from Nellie, Agent Riley spoke.

  "I bet you're wondering why you're here, aren't you, Nellie?"

  Nellie had a pretty good idea as to why, but she played along and nodded.

  "We think your daddy built something dangerous, Nellie," he said in a sugary-sweet voice. "If he did, he could hurt people. If he did, the government needs to take it away. Did your daddy make a new invention, Nellie? Something that seems really important?"

  Nellie shook her head.

  "Come on now, Nellie," Riley said, already sounding exasperated. "Tell us what your daddy's built."

  "He doesn't have any big projects of his own right now. It's midterms and he's busy with his students at the university. He usually does most of his research projects in the summer when he's not teaching," Nellie told them. She was trying to mask her excitement. The agents still thought Fox was the one who had made the time machine. They were merely using her to get to him. They must have been pretty desperate and out of ideas to kidnap a nine-year-old. Her clever mind started to kick into high gear.

  "Now, now, Nellie," Agent Maloney said in the annoyingly sweet tone people use with dogs and babies. "I'm sure you know that it's against the law to lie to us. We're just like police officers, only even more important. Do you know what a police officer is, Nellie?"

  "I'm nine," Nellie answered flatly.

  "So you understand that you have to do what we say, right?"

  "I understand that you can't question me without a parent or legal guardian's consent because I am a minor. That means I'm under 18," she said,

  matching his cloying tone.

  Maloney turned red in the face with anger, but he stayed quiet for a few moments.

  Nellie's mind was swirling with ideas as to how she would get out when she noticed something quite obvious. It was so simple that she'd overlooked it, and, as it turned out, so had the agents. Nellie noticed it when she tried to shift in her chair to get more comfortable. Her handcuffs were loose. So loose that her wrist slipped out ever so slightly when she moved her arm. All she had to do was wait until they all left the room, and she could easily wiggle her way out of the handcuffs. She tried to stay calm.

  Agent Riley was clearly annoyed by Nellie's last remark.

  "You think you're smart, don't you, kid?" he snarled.

  Nellie knew she was smart, however, she was not going to admit that to Agent Riley. She looked at him and shrugged.

  "You need to tell us right now what your father is up to," Riley barked.

  "Well, last I saw him, he was driving to the university to teach Physics 101 to a bunch of freshmen. Does that help?" Nellie answered.

  "You know that's not what I mean. Has your father built a time machine?"

  "Honestly, sir, I don't know where you get these ideas," Nellie answered with a sigh. This could go on for a while. She was going to have to speed this up. But how?

  "Nellie. You're breaking the law by lying to us," Agent Riley said.

  "We've been over this. You're breaking the law by keeping me here," Nellie said.

  Just then, she had an idea. If she could convince the agents to leave the building, she might have a chance to get away.

  "I just wanna go home!" she wailed.

  "Tell us the truth, Nellie. Does your dad have a time machine?" Maloney asked.

  "Actually," she began, "you’re right. My dad did build a time machine. But he’s not keeping it at our house anymore. He's keeping it in a storage unit on Maple Street."

  Maloney raised his eyebrows. Riley nodded. Bishop stood in the back of the room with his arms crossed. Agent Riley pulled out a notebook.

  "Do you know what unit it's in?" asked Agent Riley.

  "It's in 207-b," Nellie lied. "Can I go home now?"

  "We'll see, Nellie. Agent Maloney and I have to go and see if you're telling the truth," Riley told her. "Agent Bishop will stay here with you."

  Nellie thought that sounded perfect. One agent would be easier to evade than three. Riley and Maloney ran out the door quickly. Nellie hung her head and pretended to cry.

  "Now, come on, kid," Agent Bishop said nervously. "Don't cry. I hate when kids cry."

  Nellie continued her fake sob, making sure to keep her head down so that he would not see that no tears were falling from her face. Bishop stood up and paced back and forth in front of Nellie. He couldn’t stand to see kids cry; he had a niece and nephew he loved like his own and somehow it always reminded him of them. It upset him to have to see her in distress.

  "I . . . just . . ." she bawled. "I . . . just . . . need . . . a . . . tissue!"

  "Okay, okay, it will be alright." Bishop said. "I'll see what I can do about a tissue."

  He walked out of the room quickly, clearly relieved to get away from the crying child. He grumbled to himself about his frustration in being left behind with Nellie while the other agents checked the storage unit.

  Nellie got to work right away and within a minute or so had her hands free. Unfortunately, Agent Bishop was back before she had a chance to get out of the room. She was still sitting when he walked in the door.

  "I . . . need . . . water!!" she sobbed when she saw him. He turned around without speaking.

  As soon as he was out of sight, Nellie flew out of her seat and ran for the door, which, thankfully, was not locked. She stood in the open doorway for a moment before running out into the sunlight, finally free.

  Or so she thought.

  Right as she made it to the main street, the black town car, driven by Agent Riley rounded the corner. Riley and Maloney hopped out of the car, leaving it running in the intersection.

  "Hey kid!" Riley screamed. "Didn't you think we'd figure out that there isn't a storage unit on Maple?"

  Nellie ran as quickly as she could. She realized that she was not going to be able to outrun them for long. She was going to have to us
e her brain to get out of this one.

  She kept running, but made a point to scan her surroundings for anything that could help her escape. She noticed a bike leaning up against a wall and grabbed it, feeling guilty for taking something that didn't belong to her. She hoped the bike would speed her up enough to put some distance between her and the agents. She peddled west as quickly as she could.

  The agents ran behind her for a few minutes, but she proved to be too fast on bike to catch on foot, and they quickly turned around to go get their car.

  Nellie's heart pounded in her chest. She came to the Owen Avenue drawbridge and was relieved to see she was headed the right direction. She flew over the bridge on the bike. Behind her, she saw the black town car round a corner. This is when Nellie was blessed with a stroke of good luck. The lights on the bridge began to flash, and a barrier went up, preventing the agents from getting on the bridge, which was opening to let a large boat pass through the river. The whole process would take several minutes, giving Nellie time to lose them. She rode her borrowed bike a few more blocks, then ditched it. She ran several blocks through alleyways, then she ducked into a restaurant.

  Panting, she darted to the back of the building. A waitress gave her an odd look, and she said, "I really need to use the restroom!" and ran into the bathroom to hide out for a bit and create a plan.