Out of This World

by Douglas E. Richards

  “You were so stubborn. I couldn’t get you to believe me. And even though you’re bright and talented, there’s a reason you don’t have much confidence. A reason other than that I’ve been a total jerk to you your entire life.”

  Jenna stared intently at her brother but did not respond.

  “You give up on yourself before you even try. And I knew that if we were gonna save Mom and Dad and survive, I couldn’t let that happen. I needed you to be as confident as possible, so you’d be at your best. And you weren’t ready to believe in yourself, no matter what I would have said. I had done too much damage over the years. I realized that at the time.”

  “So what are you saying? That because of this you decided to just make up a fantasy story about a generator? Just for kicks?”

  “Not just for kicks. To help you. To help us. The ball I gave you was from one of Dad’s experiments. He was going to throw it out, but I thought it was cool, so he let me keep it. I figured I could use it to fool you into thinking you were carrying a miracle generator. So you would start believing in yourself. Instant self-confidence. I made up all that Omega field stuff as I went along.”

  “Well, you should be proud,” spat Jenna bitterly. “You fooled me. Just like always.”

  “How can you be mad about this?” said Zachary. “You’re missing the big picture, Jen. It’s been all you on these worlds! That ball you had in your pocket did nothing. It just took up space. It didn’t help you do amazing things. You did them all on your own.”

  Jenna’s eyes widened. He was right. She’d been so intent on learning why he had lied to her she had failed to see the broader implications. She had saved them from crashing into a giant pig on Orum, all by herself, and had come up with ideas that had helped them both escape that awful world. No miracle generator had helped her solve riddles on Mesrobia, or find a clever way to avoid an execution. And maybe her plan to free her brother from Nivek wasn’t just luck, after all.

  Maybe she was too quick to dwell on her faults, and too slow to give herself credit. Maybe she always had been. Like when she had built a laser to win the science fair. Yes, her Dad had helped, but she had done most of the work.

  By fooling her, her brother had found a way to get the most out of her and open her eyes to her true potential. He had proven to her that she was capable of thinking clearly—all by herself. Without any help. And of thinking quickly and acting boldly under pressure, too.

  Zachary watched his sister brighten as the truth exploded upon her.

  “You see, Jen. My plan worked. You finally saw what you can do when you have confidence in yourself. If you think you can't do something, then you won't try, and you're beat before you start. But even if you aren't naturally good in an area—and no one is great at everything—if you believe you can do something, and you give it all you have, you can do amazing things.”

  “But you are great at everything,” said Jenna.

  “Well, yeah,” began Zachary, “I guess that’s . . .” He was about to say “true” when he stopped himself.

  What was he doing? It was time to admit his faults to his sister—and to himself. He was clever and did well in school, and he was a good pitcher, but he was far from perfect. He was hot-headed and, yes, arrogant. A friendly version of Hirth—but he had come to realize he had more of Hirth’s cruel side than he ever realized. Instead of spending all his time telling others how great he was, maybe it was time to use his abilities to lift others up.

  “I'm not great at everything, Jen. Not even close. I just keep at something until I master it. I figure, if there’s an answer to be found, then why shouldn't I be able to find it. And I keep trying different things until I do. Sometimes I fall flat on my face, but mostly I succeed. Not because I'm just naturally talented at everything. But because I never give up.”

  Jenna shook her head in wonder. Everything he said made so much sense. “You're right. The only reason I was able to solve any of those riddles, or think of a question that would keep us from being executed on Mesrobia, was because I was confident and determined—and persistent.”

  “Exactly. You’re finally catching on. That’s my secret,” said Zachary. “I don’t get discouraged. I know that if I work at something hard enough I can do it. Raw talent alone won’t get you very far. Not if you doubt yourself. Not if you aren’t persistent and determined. But if you are, you can achieve great things—even without great ability. And here's the scary part, Jen. You can have it all! You’re lucky enough to have the ability. Now, if you start believing in yourself, you’re going to be unstoppable.”

  Jenna thought about all her recent experiences. He was so right. It was miraculous what a simple change in attitude could do for you.

  “In fact,” continued Zachary, “after what I’ve seen after we entered the first portal, my betting days with you are over. I'm too afraid of losing.”

  Jenna beamed. “Zachary. I never thought I'd be saying this, but— ” She looked at him affectionately. “Thanks. Thanks for fooling me. I’m going to start believing in myself. I'll never give up on something again until I've given it all I have.”

  “In that case,” said Zachary happily. “You’ll probably be running the world before too long.”

  Jenna grinned. “Which one?” she said.

  She had just been kidding around, but after Zachary returned her smile, her question caused both kids to suddenly remember where they were, and how unlikely it would be to ever see home again, and their brief good mood evaporated instantly.

  Zachary sighed. “We’d better go check on Nivek,” he said.

  They journeyed to the section of the cave Nivek was in, calling out to let him know they were coming so he could turn away from them. They shielded the light from Jenna’s shoe as they approached.

  “How are your eyes?” asked Jenna, unable to help feeling guilty, even though Nivek had attacked them first.

  “It took a while, but they gradually shook off the effect of your shoe-weapon, Jenna the Human. I’m good as new.”

  That was a relief. They talked for a few minutes longer and decided to hike through the cave in the hope of finding a portal. Jenna poured half of the Glow-leaves into her other shoe and gave it to her brother, allowing each of them to see several yards ahead. Nivek led the way, about ten feet in the lead, his back toward the humans and their light that, to him, was still blindingly bright. The lighting was much dimmer than the humans would have preferred and much brighter than Nivek would have preferred, but it was the only way they could walk together.

  They hiked and talked for several hours, trading stories and becoming quite friendly. And then, from nowhere, not one but two portals appeared suddenly at their feet. Once again it seemed as though the portals were never too far away from them.

  They looked through the first one—and saw nothing but blackness, even with both glowing shoes held over the portal. The second one revealed what looked like a tropical island.

  They covered their glowing shoes and Nivek joined them to inspect the portals. He gasped beside them as he looked through the first one. “This is my home!” he said excitedly.

  “You can see something through there?” asked Jenna. It had been pitch black.

  “Oh yes. And I can tell the vegetation of my world immediately.” He rubbed his head with the tip of a tentacle. “But I don't understand. How can this be here? The point I arrived at is about three miles away from here. I check it every day in the hope that the strange hole will return.”

  “Don't worry. It makes sense,” said Zachary. “The strange holes—what we call portals—have their own logic. The incoming ones are usually different from the outgoing ones.” Zachary paused. “But you’d better go through. You never know how long they’ll stick around.”

  “I can't thank you both enough,” said Nivek happily. “Sorry again for the, um . . . misunderstanding. Good luck finding your parents,” he said.

  They wished him well and then, without any ceremony, he took a small hop and w
as gone.

  Jenna uncovered her shoe to once again reveal the many tiny Glow-leaves within. “Let's get out of here. I don’t want to stay in this cave even a second longer.”

  Zachary smiled wearily. “I know what you mean.”

  They held hands, closed their eyes, and moved forward. Moments later they were standing on the tropical island they had seen through the portal. After several painful minutes their eyes adjusted to the daylight. Finally, they could see without holding a shoe in front of them.

  For the first time in their lives, they appreciated the ability to see for the miracle that it was. Light had never been so dazzling. And anywhere was better than being in a dark cave.

  And this was not just anywhere. This was a tropical paradise. The air was fresh and cool and everywhere they looked they could see beautiful, brightly colored tropical plants.

  Jenna emptied her shoes of Glow-leaves and returned them to her feet. They began exploring the island. It was only a few miles across, but it was breathtaking. Along with the flowers and fruiting trees it was ringed by white-sand beaches. The ocean was unnaturally calm—as smooth as glass for as far as they could see. And instead of being blue, both it and the sky were a light shade of pink. But other than these differences—which were admittedly very strange—they could have been on a Pacific Island back home.

  Zachary looked around. “Hey, we’ve been here several minutes and no one has tried to kill us yet,” he said wryly.

  “Yeah, the worlds have nothing in common except for being filled with dangerous beings who don’t trust us,” said Jenna miserably. “Not to mention wanting us dead.”

  Zachary considered. “It’s not just that the worlds are dangerous,” he said after a few seconds of thought. “It’s how quickly the danger finds us. This has gotta be important. I mean, no one can be that unlucky.”

  Jenna raised her eyebrows. “Well, this island is as peaceful looking as it gets,” she said hopefully. “Maybe our luck is finally changing.”

  Before her brother could respond a group of perhaps twenty natives suddenly emerged from behind a small grouping of trees.

  “Of course, I could be wrong,” muttered Jenna miserably as the natives surrounded them.

  Their arms and legs were human-like, although much thicker and more muscled, but the rest of their bodies were lizard-like. Their skin was green and scaly and their teeth jutted out of both sides of their mouths in a roughly interlocking manner—like those of a crocodile. They each carried a long spear.

  The tallest of the group came forward and faced Zachary, completely ignoring Jenna. “I am Fromm. Chief of the Wekla. What are you doing on our Island?” he demanded.

  Zachary turned to Fromm and sighed heavily. Here we go again, he thought. “We're looking for our parents. We're not here to bother anyone. You haven't seen anyone who looks like us have you?”

  “No. We haven't. But you can't just come here uninvited and look for them on our island. I'm afraid we can't let you continue until you have proven yourself worthy in battle. How tall are you?”

  Zachary told him.

  “Quist,” he called out. A smaller native emerged from the group. “Quist here is your exact height. You will have to prove yourself by beating him in a fight. If you win you may proceed and we will leave you alone.”

  Zachary looked at Quist. He might have been Zachary’s height but he was at least twice his weight, and probably four times his strength. Zachary didn’t stand a chance against this Quist.

  “But I don't have any reason to fight him,” protested Zachary. “How about if we promise to leave your island as soon as we possibly can.”

  “Not good enough!” roared Fromm. “Are you a coward? You say you don't have a reason to fight. Let me give you one. Quist will be fighting you. Whether you choose to fight back or not is your business.”

  “How about letting us prove ourselves by answering riddles?” said Jenna hopefully.

  “Absolutely not, Female!” spat Fromm as a look of disgust came over his face.

  Jenna looked at her brother and shrugged her shoulders. “Worth a try,” she said innocently.

  Zachary fought back a smile.

  Things were looking bad again, he thought. And it didn't appear that any clever ideas were going to save him from a beating. But after all of the lethal dangers they had narrowly dodged on the other worlds, he felt as though he was getting off easy this time. At least it was only a fight. At least he would survive.

  “So who decides the winner?” he asked Fromm. It didn't really matter, he thought. It wasn't as if he had a chance anyway.

  “Don't worry,” said Fromm. “That will be easy.” The chief of the lizard-men smiled broadly. “Because the fight will be to the death.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Circles

  The pattern was repeating again, thought Jenna. As always, they were now in a fight for their lives within a short time after entering a new world.

  But were both of their lives in danger or just Zachary’s? He was being forced to fight Quist but the tribe appeared to be ignoring her. They didn’t seem to think very highly of females. She sensed she needed to explore this further. “Then after my brother fights, will I have to?” she asked.

  The entire group of natives roared in laughter. “You?” said Fromm in disbelief. “You're nothing but a female. We are a brave and noble people. Of course we won't fight you. You are free to go at any time.”

  Jenna nodded. Just as she had thought. Nothing but a female, huh? Well, she would see about that. If they wanted to ignore her, so much the better. She would find a way to make them regret it. Since they were harassing her brother, it would be up to her to come up with a plan to get them out of this.

  Jenna concentrated so hard that she barely heard her brother as he asked about the rules and tried desperately to stall for time. There must be a way to outwit these annoying beings.

  But how? Once again, she needed to find a way to use their own traits against them. They obviously thought they were tough and courageous, and far superior to a mere female. How could she use this knowledge to goad them into doing something stupid?

  She continued thinking while her brother tried, unsuccessfully, to talk his way out of the contest. Fromm was quickly losing patience with him. He was seconds away from ordering the fight to begin.

  And then, from out of nowhere, she remembered a trick that a classmate had played on her several years earlier. It was one of only a few times she had been fooled by someone other than Zachary. A modified version of this trick would be just the thing to use.

  But she had to play it just right.

  “Hold on, Quist!” she said boldly, just as Fromm was about to begin the fight. “It's obvious that you can beat my scrawny brother in a fight. What will that prove? Only that you're the biggest coward that anyone has ever seen,” she taunted.

  “No one calls me a coward!” roared Quist in fury. “I don't care if you are a female. If you say that again, you’ll regret it.”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” said Jenna, unimpressed. “Big words. We both know you can easily kill me. For that matter, we both know that you can easily kill my brother. But before you bore yourself with that, I was wondering if you wanted to find out just how tough you really are.”

  What are you doing? mouthed Zachary. Are you out of your mind?

  Trust me, she mouthed back quickly.

  Even through his rage, Quist knew he had to at least listen to what Jenna had to say or risk looking as though he had backed down in front of his tribe. “What are you talking about?” he snapped.

  “I propose a different contest. One that will be a real challenge for you,” continued Jenna. “One that I'm sure will be too much of a challenge for you.” She paused. “Would you say that you're about three times my weight?”

  Quist smirked. “At least, Female,” he said with contempt.

  “Well I think that you’re such a spineless coward that I can force you to move from the spot you�
��re standing on. Me—several inches shorter than you and a third of your weight.” Jenna sneered at him. “Not to mention a female.” She raised her eyebrows. “You're not afraid of a female, are you?”

  “Of course not,” responded Quist immediately.

  Jenna leaned closer to him. She knew that one would get him. “You will be,” she whispered menacingly. “And you won't be able to stand your ground either. I can get you to move. I don't think you're tough. I think you're a huge chicken.”

  “A what?”

  Whoops, she thought. Apparently they didn't know about chickens. “A big coward,” she amended. “And I can prove it by getting you to move.”

  “No way,” said Quist. “A female? Impossible! You’re out of your mind.”

  “Am I?” responded Jenna. “Let’s find out. I’ll tell you what. You stand there and I’ll walk in circles around you. Three circles. I’ll circle you once, then I’ll circle you twice. And I’m so sure that you’re nothing but a weak little coward, that by the time I circle you the third time you’ll have moved from where you’re standing. Are you brave enough for the challenge?”

  “I'm brave enough for anything you could possibly throw at me, Female,” Quist growled hatefully. “I'll do it. Nothing you can do could ever get me to move. And after I’ve shown you that you’re crazy, I’ll make your brother suffer even more to pay for your insults.”

  “Fine,” said Jenna. “But what if you do move?”

  “What do you mean?” asked Quist.

  “What if I’m right, and you’re so gutless that I get you to move from the spot before I finish circling you the third time?”

  Quist shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. It won’t happen.”

  “If it does, do you agree to let us stay on your island as long as we need to and not harm us?”

  Quist looked over to Fromm who, along with Zachary and the rest of the gathering, had been listening, spellbound, to the entire exchange.

  Fromm nodded.

  “Okay,” said Quist. “I agree.”