by Pam Stucky
“Did he say what he planned to do with the vaccine?” asked Eve.
“I assumed he was going to study it, maybe recreate it,” said Ben, “but I never asked.”
“Maybe he was going to vaccinate himself before going to the ghost universe?” suggested Charlie. “I mean, if he knew he was going, he might have wanted to take precautions? Or maybe he wanted to test the vaccine, using himself as a test subject?”
“That’s possible,” said Eve. “He wouldn’t have wanted to make someone else do it. That’s probably what he did, Charlie.” Charlie nodded proudly at Eve’s acceptance of his brilliant deduction.
While Ben continued his task, Emma wandered around the large lab area. Something inside a small metal bin caught her eye. “What’s that?” she said, half to herself. Peering inside the bin, she saw a broken glass pipette. A white label scrawled with smudged ink clung to one piece of glass; the glass itself was covered in a mysterious liquid. Knowing how unwise it would be to pick up the broken pieces with her fingers, Emma looked around for gloves or tongs. She found some metal tongs in a caddy on the desk. Carefully, Emma lifted the piece of glass with the label, angling it so she could read the words.
“Ghost vaccine,” she read out loud. “Ghost vaccine!” She called out to the others. “Guys, I don’t think Dr. Waldo injected himself with the vaccine!”
“Why do you say that?” said Charlie, coming to her side.
Emma showed him the broken tube. “He must have dropped it or something. It looks like the liquid spilled out.”
Ben stopped his search. “But if he didn’t take the vaccine, why would he go to the ghost universe?”
Emma shook her head. “I don’t know, but we still need to go help him, regardless.”
“Not without the vaccine,” insisted Charlie. “I don’t want to risk losing you again.”
“Likewise, dork,” said Emma, punching Charlie in the arm. He punched her back. “Let’s call the other Charlie. Maybe he can bring more vaccine?”
“Excellent idea, Emma,” said Eve. “I just hope he can bring it quickly!”
The door from the elevator to the Hub opened. All eyes turned to see who was entering. “Vaccine delivery, at your service!” Charlie from the parallel Earth, Parallel Charlie, stepped out into the Hub with a bag in his hand and a Cheshire-cat smile on his face. “You guys! You guys! I’ve missed you!” He spread his arms wide, awaiting the warm greetings he knew would follow.
“Charlie!” squealed Emma, jumping to give her Parallel Earth twin a giant hug. They’d shared quite an adventure over the summer, and while he wasn’t her Charlie, he had become special to her, too.
“Hold on, there, Em!” said her own twin. “Don’t bump him and make him drop the bag!” Charlie took the bag from Parallel Charlie and set it down carefully on a nearby table.
“No worries,” said Parallel Charlie, wrapping his arms around Emma and picking her up off her feet. “It’s injections in plastic syringes. Nothing breakable in there. Normally you get a full vaccine every five years, but you can get over-the-counter boosters that last one year. It’s for people whose ghost allergies pick up after a funeral or something. I brought extra. I figured you all could get vaccinated while you’re at it.” He smiled his very Charlie smile—the smile both Charlies shared; a smile that could disarm the unhappiest of souls, or raise up the lowest of spirits.
Eve returned his smile joyfully. “Oh, Charlie, what a great idea. Good thinking. We definitely should all vaccinate, just to be safe.”
The fact that people on Parallel Charlie’s Parallel Earth—an Earth that was so similar to her own Earth, in most ways, at least up to the time they all met—could actually see ghosts, still amazed Emma. “Ghost allergies picking up after a funeral,” she said, shaking her head. “So bizarre. Your Earth is a strange place. But it has some pretty fabulous people.” She released Parallel Charlie from her hug but kept one arm around his waist. “Where’s Emma? I’d hoped to see her, too.”
Parallel Charlie shrugged. “She doesn’t know you guys as well, and she’s more shy to start with. She stayed home. But you guys can come visit anytime, you know,” he said, winking. “On our Earth, our family moved to the island after the summer holiday. Mom and Dad just wanted to stay, and of course we did, too.”
“You didn’t go back home after the summer?” said Charlie.
“Just to get our stuff. We packed up and moved here—well, to the other side of that door—” he said, nodding at the elevator, “before school started. Been here—there—ever since.”
“I don’t mean to interrupt this reunion,” said Ben, “but we have to find Dr. Waldo!” He looked in the bag, counting quickly. “Great, you brought what, a dozen doses? Perfect, Charlie, thank you.” Parallel Charlie nodded. “Now, who is going?” said Ben.
Emma could feel her brother’s eyes burning into her. He’d made it clear that he didn’t want her to go, but she knew she had to. “I’m going,” she said firmly, not looking at him. “We know I can get out if all else fails. The rest of you stay here, in case something happens. I’m going.“
“You can’t go again, Em,” said Charlie. “I’ll go. There’s no reason for me not to go.”
“There’s every reason for you not to go, Charlie. You haven’t been there. It’s the ghost universe. It’s mesmerizing. It sucks you in. I can’t risk your going,” said Emma.
“You can’t risk my going?” Charlie’s face was red with heat. “Why is it your decision? Just because you’re the mental space traveler, suddenly you’re in charge?”
Emma squirmed. She was determined to hold her ground, but fighting with Charlie made her uncomfortable. Still, she knew, she knew in her gut, that she needed to be the one to go.
Luckily for Emma, Milo broke in. “Charlie, I completely understand your wanting to watch out for your sister, and Emma, same with you, wanting to protect Charlie. I’m afraid I’m going to have to agree with Emma on this one, though. She’s been there. We need every advantage we can get. I think Emma should go. And—”
“—and me,” said Ben. “I’ve been studying and working with Dr. Waldo for months. I’m more familiar with the travel and how Dr. Waldo thinks. Emma and me. We’ll go.”
“You can’t!” said Emma. “We can’t endanger more people than necessary. Just me.”
“What happens if you have to carry Dr. Waldo?” said Ben. “You’re amazing, but I’m physically stronger than you. And if something happens to you, someone needs to be there to help. I’m going.”
Emma blushed at Ben’s casual compliment: “You’re amazing.” She nodded. “Fine. We don’t have time to argue. You can come.”
Charlie looked from Emma to Ben. His sister wouldn’t let him come, but Ben was allowed to go? The air was thick with tension. Charlie walked away briskly and sat down on a couch in the lounge.
“That’s perfect,” said Eve, trying to lighten the mood. “I trust Emma and Ben, and this way I get to stay here with the Charlies and catch up. It’s been too long since I saw either of them.” She grabbed Parallel Charlie’s hand and pulled him over to sit with Charlie.
Seeing that Eve was going to keep him company while his sister went off to save Dr. Waldo eased Charlie’s pain a little bit, but not a lot. Mostly, he hated being at odds with his twin. He sat and sulked while Milo injected Ben and Emma with the ghost vaccines. Then, Charlie realized that if something happened to Emma and she didn’t return, he’d never forgive himself for letting her leave while they were angry with each other. Without apologizing or commenting on their squabble, he got up to help her pack for whatever lay ahead.
“Do you have everything?” he said, handing Emma a bottle of water.
“I think so,” said Emma, smiling with gratitude at Charlie’s reconciliation and packing the water into her bag. She briefly reached out to squeeze Charlie’s hand, then looked into her backpack. “Test me.”
“Food?” said Charlie.
Emma double-checked her pack. “Protein b
ars, check.”
“Water?”
“Three water bottles, check. Water filter in case we run out of water, check.”
“Extra vaccine?”
“Syringe to use on Dr. Waldo, and three back-up syringes just in case. Check.” They had agreed they were not going to take the risk of giving themselves only one chance.
“Swiss army knife?”
Emma held up her Swiss army knife, identical to the one she knew Charlie was carrying; their father had given them the knives as gifts on their last birthday. “Check. Nothing I can’t do with this.”
“Positive attitude?” Charlie smiled.
“Dork,” Emma said, punching him lightly on the shoulder.
Charlie went to punch Emma back, but then swept her into a bear hug. “Stay safe,” he whispered into her ear.
“I will,” she said. She didn’t know why she felt such a foreboding. Ben would be with her, and hadn’t she faced worse before? Still, she tried not to let on how scared she was. If Dr. Waldo was missing, it could not portend anything good.
“I’ll be here if you need me,” said Charlie. “Phone?”
Emma patted a pocket of her bag. “Phone: check,” she said.
“I’m here if you need me, too,” said Parallel Charlie. “Say the word, we’re there.”
“I know,” said Emma. “Love you guys.” Eyes on the verge of tears, she turned to Ben, who had gotten himself packed up with Eve and Milo’s help. “So how are we getting there, Mr. Science Lab?” she said, blinking hard. “Will the elevator get us there?”
“Dark MATTER,” said Ben. He held up a small black sphere. “Our old friend, the Dark Multiverse And Time Travel Energy Redistributer. Dr. Waldo has been working on it. We’ve used them several times, and they haven’t imploded again for a while,” he said with a smirk.
Emma shook her head with a small laugh. It was a dysfunctional Dark MATTER sphere that had gotten them stuck in the ghost universe the last time. “Are you sure?”
“As Dr. Waldo likes to say, ‘The greatest and most challenging element of the pursuit of truth is learning to embrace uncertainty.’ No, I’m not sure. But it’s our best choice right now. And Dr. Waldo needs us.”
Emma nodded. “Okay then.” She looked Charlie in the eye and the twins exchanged an unspoken vow: Everything will be okay.
Ben handed Emma a sphere identical to the one he was holding. “A backup. In case something goes wrong with this one. And I have another one in my bag, too. No mistakes this time.”
Emma took the sphere and zipped it securely into an interior pocket in her bag. “Right,” she said under her breath. “What could go wrong?”
chapter five
Travel by Dark MATTER was different from travel in the elevator. For one thing, as with the pigeons, a person didn’t have to enter any sort of portal or special room, but could travel from anywhere—even from inside the Hub. After checking his computer carefully to ensure he didn’t make any errors, Ben entered the ghost planet’s coordinates into the small sphere. Tightly linking elbows with Emma, who also grasped his arm with both her hands for good measure, Ben swiped a finger across the sphere’s face.
The effect was instantaneous. Ben and Emma felt themselves disappearing, disintegrating, disassembling from the outside in. Their consciousness remained, but as their molecules dispersed and mingled with those of the universes, so did their awareness. They became the multiverse, and the multiverse became them, and only that precious consciousness of self kept them from completely integrating with all of existence, past, present, and future. Before they had a chance to contemplate this, however, their cells started to reunite, reconvene, reassemble, and all at once they were again separate entities, individuals, Ben and Emma, human beings on another planet in another universe so very far from home.
“I’d say this is the definition of discombobulated,” said Ben, shaking his head and taking several deep breaths. “I can’t believe it happens that quickly.”
“I remember this,” said Emma, blinking hard as she tried to focus. “It’s like it takes a few minutes for all your cells to settle back where they’re supposed to be. Including brain cells.” She concentrated on breathing normally, pleased as always to learn that, whether due to compatibility with the planet’s atmosphere or the influence of the rock on her bracelet that enabled her to breathe, her lungs were still satisfied with the air she was taking in.
“All right, let’s figure this out,” said Ben once he started to feel realigned and human again. “Where are we?” He looked around. They had not landed outside, but rather inside, in a dim, rustic room. There were no lights, but the wooden slats of the walls did not all meet, and several long slivers of bright light sliced through the shadows. It was daytime: small windows high up on the walls let in some sunshine as well, which illuminated the tiny dust motes floating in the air. The floor was nothing more than dirt, leveled and swept even. In one corner, a dirty lump of rags was piled on the floor.
“Do you see a door?” said Emma, squinting as her eyes adjusted to the dim. She cautiously reached out an arm to touch the wall, then traced her fingertips along the slats as she walked the edges of the room.
When she got to the lump on the floor, it shuddered.
“Aaaiieeeee!!!” Emma jumped and screamed, running to Ben. “What is that?” she cried, pointing at the lump of rags. “It moved!”
Even as she spoke, it was still moving, the amorphous shape unfolding, the rags taking form: human form. An arm reached out slowly from the rags to shield an emerging face from the light streaming in from the windows.
Ben cautiously stepped closer to the lump of cloth, looking closely. “It’s … No! Dr. Waldo? Is that you?”
“Ben … help me …” gasped Dr. Waldo, and he collapsed again.
Emma ran to the scientist’s side, her fear gone. “Dr. Waldo! Dr. Waldo! Wake up!” She frantically rummaged in her bag to find food and water. “Help me,” she said to Ben. “Hold him up so I can get some water in him.”
Ben sat down and scooped the weak man’s torso into a more upright position, holding him tight. Carefully, slowly, Emma let drops of water trickle into Dr. Waldo’s mouth. The older man’s survival instincts kicked in, and he swallowed the water greedily. Each swallow brought him closer to consciousness. After several minutes, he started to come to.
“Ben … and Emma,” he said, each word an effort. “You found me.” Despite his weakness, he smiled widely. “I knew you would. Good … good children.”
“Dr. Waldo,” said Emma, “We have to get you home! What are you doing here on a ghost planet? And why are you here in this dirty room?”
“When did you get here? How did you find me?” said Dr. Waldo weakly. It was unclear whether he hadn’t heard Emma’s questions, or was ignoring her. “Did you use the Dark MATTER?”
“We did,” said Ben, still holding his mentor upright. “Worked like a charm.”
Dr. Waldo grinned, his eyes barely open. “I didn’t see or hear you arrive. It worked, then. I put a little trick into it. When you arrive somewhere, it blasts out a disorienting vibration that disrupts the memories of anything that could have a memory, enough that it will be confused. The confusion will be transferred to the person’s own mind to stop them wondering how you appeared suddenly out of nowhere. If you pretend you’re confused too, you’ll fit right in.” The effort of so many words wore him out. He breathed heavily and reached for the water bottle Emma was still holding. She helped him drink more of the life-giving fluid, drop by slow drop.
Emma looked at Ben. “We need to get him back, but I’m afraid of him traveling in this condition,” she said in barely a whisper, hoping Dr. Waldo wouldn’t hear.
Ben nodded. There was so much they didn’t know about traveling the universes. “Soon, though,” he said.
After a bit, the scientist pulled himself into a seated position on the floor, his back supported by the wall. Ben shifted, pulling his knees to his chest.
“Do
you think you could eat something?” Emma asked, searching her backpack for a protein bar.
Dr. Waldo nodded. “A bit. Some food would be nice.”
Emma unwrapped the bar and handed it to the older man. She wondered again how long he had been there. Though she knew he’d only been missing from the Hub for a day, his grizzled beard suggested several days of growth. He neither looked, nor, frankly, smelled, like he’d been anywhere near a shower for a while. Some time travel seemed likely.
“You avoided Emma’s questions,” said Ben. “What are you doing here? And why did you need help? Can’t you leave?”
The scientist nibbled at the protein bar, sighing with pleasure. “Delicious. Haven’t eaten in quite a while, I’d say. Time is tricky. How long have I been gone by your measure?”
“Not too long,” replied Emma. “A day maybe. Time is tricky.” Seeing that Dr. Waldo had almost emptied the water bottle, she handed him another. “Now. No more evading us. Are we on a ghost planet?”
Dr. Waldo nodded, lifting his head up and down just once. “Indeed.” His demeanor changed, and he was suddenly alert. “We must be quiet. I don’t know when he’ll be back.”
“He who?” said Ben. “Are you locked in here?” Across the dim room from where Dr. Waldo was sitting, the outline of a door was barely visible. Ben walked to it and felt the sides for a doorknob. “How does this open?” he asked.
“From the outside only,” said Dr. Waldo wryly. “No way out from the inside.”
“I don’t understand,” said Emma. “Someone’s keeping you here? Who else is here? Surely not a ghost?”
