The brothers thought she had never looked better.
“Mom!” they both cried out and ran toward her.
Ms. Banks stopped what she was saying in midsentence and looked in their direction. “Brady… Felix?” Her voice rose in excitement as she strained to get a better look. “Is that you?” Life was returning to her face.
The boys collapsed into their mom’s arms. She pulled them near and hugged them dearly.
“Are you okay? Where in the world have you been?” she asked, wiping tears from her eyes.
“We’re fine, Mom. At least, we are now,” Felix replied.
The sheriff studied the brothers. “I’m happy you boys are okay. You gave your mom quite a scare.”
The boys looked back but remained quiet.
“We were able to get the forest fire next door under control.” The sheriff eyed the layers of soot and ash that had collected in the boys’ hair. “It’s strange that we would have a fire after so much rain…” He raised an eyebrow. “Would either of you happen to know anything about it?”
Brady opened his mouth to speak, but Ms. Banks interrupted before he had a chance. “Maynard, can this wait until morning? I’d like to get my boys inside.”
The sheriff tucked his pen into his notepad and closed it. “Sure, Sarah, I’ll tell you what. Why don’t you get them inside where they can get some food and rest, and I’ll swing by first thing tomorrow?”
“Thank you, that works great,” Ms. Banks said, leading her boys inside their home.
11001110
Brady stretched out and rolled over on the rug that lay at the foot of his mom’s bed. He had been awoken by a rapping on the window, like a nail striking glass. The wooden blinds were turned open and the sunlight streamed in, coaxing him into finally starting the day.
With a wide yawn, he looked around and realized he was the only one here. Last night, he and Felix had brought their pillows and blankets into their mom’s room and set up beds on the floor—something they hadn’t done since they were kids. Felix must have already gotten up and left.
Brady put his head back down on the pillow and just stared up at the ceiling, pondering everything that had happened.
His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a car pulling up in the driveway. He heard the click of the car door, and shortly thereafter, the ring of the doorbell.
A minute later, Felix slipped into the room and closed the door softly behind him. Brady ignored him, rolled over, and stuffed his face into his pillow.
“Wake up, Brady,” Felix said, shaking his brother.
“I’m already up, Felix! Give me a break,” Brady groaned.
“C’mon, Brady,” Felix said. “You’ve gotten enough rest. The sheriff’s downstairs, and he wants to talk to us about what happened. Have you looked outside?”
Brady ignored the question. “You call last night rest?” he said groggily. “I would sleep all day if you’d just leave me alone.”
Felix sighed. “Okay, Brady. I’ll try to buy you some time. Just don’t leave me down there by myself forever, all right?”
“Deal. I owe you one. Thanks, Felix. What are you going to tell him, anyway?”
“I don’t know. Maybe the truth, I guess,” he said.
“Right, like anyone would believe us.”
“That’s their problem, isn’t it?”
“I guess, as long as we don’t end up in jail. You remember Nova’s house. It looks like an asteroid struck.”
“Do you think we’ll ever see them again?” Felix asked.
“Your guess is as good as mine. I hope so though.”
“Me too.”
“Hey, Felix, what happened yesterday… I sort of think it was a gift to us from Nova.”
Felix looked confused. “What do you mean?”
“Where’s your phone?” Brady asked.
Felix pulled it from his pocket and handed it over.
Brady turned on the device and scrolled through the photos until he arrived at the picture he took of their dad.
“This is the gift,” he said, handing the phone back.
Felix studied the picture for a second, then powered down his phone. “I think you’re right, Brady.”
Ms. Banks called up from below. “Felix, Brady? I need you guys down here now!”
“See you downstairs in a minute,” Felix said, shutting the door behind him.
Brady sat up and ran his hands over his face.
There was a knocking outside the window again—the same sound that had awoken him. It took him three tries to stand up; he had never been so sore in his life.
Bam, bam.
Brady walked over to the window to investigate. There was nothing there. He looked out beyond the fence and immediately saw the gray plumes of smoke rising from the trees in the distance. The green of the canopy faded into charcoal cinders as his eyes followed the hill upward.
Then he looked down and saw the sheriff’s brown sedan parked in the driveway. Its side was emblazoned with a yellow stripe and star. Ugh, he thought. Let’s get this over with.
When he looked up again, he found himself staring into a pair of tiny sapphire eyes. He jumped back, startled.
It was Thorn.
Brady quickly pushed the window open. The bird flew in and settled on his mom’s dresser. The blur of the wings slowed gradually until they came to a rest by the bird’s sides. Then the blue eyes dimmed, and the bird drifted off to sleep.
“Get some rest, Thorn,” Brady said, picking the bird up and leaving his mom’s room behind. He could hear Felix’s voice from downstairs. He walked into his room, set the bird gently down on his own dresser, and headed downstairs. As he went, Brady smiled at nothing in particular. For the first time in years, he wasn’t worried about a thing.
The Quantum Door Page 25
