“What are you doing here?” Nick asked.
“An excellent question.” Tiffany adjusted her sunglasses. “I couldn’t imagine what you guys would be doing at a remote location like this, but Angie was insistent that I come.” She brushed a pine needle out of her hair and wrinkled her nose. “Did you meet that crazy man back by the road? He totally freaked me out. So what are you guys doing here anyway?”
Angelo narrowed his eyes. “Step into the sunlight.”
Tiffany smiled uncertainly. “What?”
Nick looked from Angelo to Tiffany, understanding dawning on him. How could Angie possibly have told Tiffany where to find them? And even if she did, how would Tiffany get here? “Let me see your shadow,” he said.
“Why are you acting this way?” Tiffany took a step back, deeper into the shade of the trees. “I came here to help you.”
Angelo picked up a thick branch off the ground. “Step into the light now.”
Tiffany looked around, then shouted, “Here! They’re over here!”
Nick broke into a run with Carter and Angelo right next to him. Tree branches slapped his face and arms, and it was hard to keep his footing on the uneven ground. Behind them, Tiffany continued to shout.
“Left,” Angelo called as a man in a pair of blue coveralls appeared on their right. Nick recognized him as the guy who worked at the local gas station.
“Get back here, you kids!” the man yelled.
A few seconds later Angelo’s mom appeared from behind a huge birch. Angelo began to slow, but Nick grabbed his arm. “Not real.”
The next ten minutes were a blur of running and turning. Every time they thought they had escaped, another doppelgänger showed up. The woods seemed to be filled with them. Angelo fought them off with his branch when they got too close, but there were more coming and no time to stop.
Nick’s legs ached and his lungs burned. “Can’t . . . go . . . . much . . . longer,” he gasped.
Just then, three quick pops sounded like gunshots in the quiet of the woods. Nick turned to see their three Evil Twins standing less than twenty feet away. Without losing a beat, the three doppelgängers raced toward them.
Angelo pointed to a thick stand of saplings to the right. “That way.”
Nick ran into the trees, covering his face against the stinging needles. Without any warning, the ground dropped out from under him. Whirling his arms, he tried to keep his balance, but he was going too fast and the drop was too steep.
“Look out!” Carter shouted, piling into him.
Angelo grabbed the two of them and might have stopped them from falling, but at that moment Evil Nick, Carter, and Angelo came flying through the trees as well, and suddenly all six of them were rolling, sliding, and flipping down a steep, rocky slope.
Nick’s leg caught on a root and a sharp pain raced up his leg. Carter—or was it his Evil Twin?—slammed against a tree and cartwheeled down the slope. Either Angelo or his doppelgänger reached for Nick, but he missed his grip and flipped past like a rag doll. Slipping and tumbling, Nick spotted Carter Junior rolling down the hill next to him. He reached out to grab the homunculus and at that moment, something slammed against Nick’s head and everything went gray.
When he came to, Nick was lying in the crevice of a deep valley. Every part of his body ached, and for a minute everything was a blur. Rubbing his eyes, he recognized the gently burbling creek to his left. This was where they’d first found the homunculus.
“Give him to me,” a voice said.
Nick turned to see Carter standing a few feet away. Nick tried to stand, but his right leg collapsed under him. “What are you talking about?” he asked.
“Carter Junior,” Carter said. “Give him to me quick.”
Nick looked down and realized he was holding the homunculus.
“It’s h-him.” Carter pointed to his left, and as Nick looked in that direction all his pain disappeared, overshadowed by terror.
The creature standing less than ten yards away was at least twelve feet tall, with a thick body and long arms. Its skin was rough and brown like tree bark, and its limbs were long and gnarled. Leaves and vines wrapped around it in a sort of cloak. But what Nick couldn’t stop staring at was the creature’s face—or at least where its face should have been.
There was a puckered knot hole that might once have been a mouth and a gaping black hole where a nose had been . . . what? Ripped off maybe? But above those was only blank, brown emptiness.
“It doesn’t have any eyes,” Nick whispered.
The creature must have heard him, because at that moment it lifted a dark glass orb in its twisted fingers. From inside the orb, a single golden eye glared balefully down at them. The eye swiveled between the three boys before fixating on Nick. The knot hole ripped open to reveal jagged black teeth.
“What are you doing here?” a deep voice rumbled. This was the Father Tree.
Carter looked toward it, his face white and his arms shaking. “We, um, brought back your, uh . . .”
The creature held out its orb and Carter stumbled back a step. In Nick’s hands, Carter Junior opened his eyes and tried to sit up. The eye in the orb swiveled toward them and the mouth opened again. The cracked black teeth were terrible. “Bring it to me.”
Realizing he couldn’t walk, Nick started to hand the homunculus to the Father Tree. But at that moment, another Carter stepped forward.
“Don’t give it to him!” The second Carter pointed to the giant redwood they’d seen the first time they were here. It looked every bit as big as Nick remembered. But now, where the markings had been before, there was a doorway as black as night. Twigs and pine needles fluttered across the forest floor and disappeared into the doorway with a sound like an insect being zapped by a hot lightbulb.
The second Carter glared at the first Carter. “You’re my Evil Twin. You’re trying to send Carter Junior through the doorway.”
“That’s a lie,” the first Carter said. He turned to Nick. “Quick, give him to me so we can give him to the Father Tree and close the door.”
One of them was the real Carter and one of them was his doppelgänger. But which was which? Nick looked for their shadows, but the sunlight was blocked by the giant redwood, casting the whole valley in shadow.
“Don’t you recognize me?” one of the Carters said.
The other Carter held out his hands. “Come on, dude, I’m your friend.”
Angelo walked out of a small grove of trees, rubbing his head. “Which one of them is real?” Nick asked.
Angelo looked from one Carter to the other, before pointing to his right. “He is.”
“No,” said another Angelo, entering the grove from the other side. “He is.”
Nick looked back and forth. Now there were two Carters and two Angelos.
“Quick,” both the Carters said at once, “give him to me while we have our Evil Twins outnumbered.”
Nick looked back and forth. It was like listening to a stereo recording of Carter’s voice coming from the left and right, in the exact same tone and inflection.
One of the Angelos started forward, and the other one did too. “Don’t go near my friends,” the first Angelo said.
“Nice try,” the second one said. “But they aren’t going to fall for it.”
Nick tried to get to his feet again, but his leg screamed in agony and he dropped back to the ground. Inside the redwood, the doorway began making a loud sucking noise like a vacuum caught on a piece of curtain. Nick knew time was short, but what could he do?
The first Carter stepped forward. His eyes met Nick’s. “You have to believe me.”
In that moment he knew. Carter was right. They hadn’t believed in him enough before. But now was the time to start. Nick handed the homunculus to the Carter he felt sure was real.
As soon as he had Carter Junior, the first Carter spun around, eyes wide with glee. “I’ve got it!” he screamed to the Angelos. “Throw the real Carter in the doorway!” Before Nick
or Angelo could respond, Evil Angelo darted forward. He grabbed the second Carter and tugged him toward the opening in the tree.
“No!” Carter screamed, his eyes wide with terror. He tried to twist away, but Evil Angelo’s grip was too strong. The real Angelo ran to help him as Nick tried to force his injured leg to hold his weight. But it was too late.
Carter grabbed the edge of the door, his mouth an O of horror. “No!” he screamed before being sucked inside with a sickening zap!
Nick’s chest froze. What had he done? “Carter!” he shouted.
Evil Angelo laughed gleefully. “One down, two to go.” He turned to Evil Carter. “Put that nasty little thing into the doorway and let’s get this over with.”
Still holding the homunculus, the first Carter turned and handed Carter Junior back to Nick with a wink. “Sorry,” he whispered, “I had to find out which Angelo was the doppelgänger.” He turned to the real Angelo and shouted, “It’s me, dude. Get him!”
Realizing he’d been tricked, Evil Angelo turned to run. But the real Angelo dove, knocking his double’s legs out from under him. Together he and Carter dragged the doppelgänger to the Türöffnung.
“Stop,” Evil Angelo cried, scratching and kicking. “We can make a deal. I’ll copy someone else. I’ll give you power. I’ll do anything you want.”
“What I want is for you to get lost,” the real Angelo said. Together, he and Carter heaved the doppelgänger into the air and flung him into the doorway.
Evil Angelo let out a howl of rage just before he disappeared into the dark opening with a sound like an engine roaring to life.
Nick was so focused on the battle that he never noticed the person sneaking up behind him until a pair of hands grabbed Carter Junior and tried to rip him from Nick’s grasp. Nick spun around to find his Evil Twin right next to him.
“Give him to me,” Evil Nick growled.
“Never,” Nick said, trying to keep his grip on the homunculus.
Angelo raced over, grabbing a big branch. Carter grabbed a rock the size of a softball.
“Get him,” Evil Nick said. “He’s trying to destroy Carter Junior.”
“Which one’s the real you?” Carter asked, looking left and right.
“I am,” Nick said.
“I am,” Evil Nick said at the same time.
Angelo raised his club, but it was clear he was just as confused as Carter.
“Come on, you idiots!” Evil Nick shouted. “Are you going to hit the doppelgänger or not?”
The doorway was now roaring so loudly it sounded like a chain saw running at full throttle.
“Hurry,” the Father Tree said. “Time is growing short.”
Nick looked at his friends. How could he possibly convince them he was the real Nick?
“What are you doing?” Evil Nick cried. “Can’t you two ever do anything right?”
Listening to his Evil Twin, Nick realized that although the doppelgängers might have all their originals looks, memories, and talents, there was one thing he and his friends shared that the doppelgängers didn’t have.
Trust.
He looked his two friends in the eyes, knowing they would always have his back. “I’m sure you guys will do the right thing.”
Carter and Angelo glanced at each other and nodded. They glared at the doppelgänger. “Get him,” they said together.
As soon as they had dragged Evil Nick into the Türöffnung, Angelo and Carter hurried over to Nick’s side.
“Is he okay?” Carter asked, eyeing the homunculus.
Nick nodded and grinned. “I think he’s actually asleep.”
Carter laughed. “Another way he’s just like me. He can sleep through anything.” He reached down to take one of Nick’s arms. “We’ll help you take him back to the Father Tree.”
“No.” Nick shook his head. “You’ve earned that right.” He handed the gently snoring homunculus to Carter.
Carter looked down at his miniature and sniffed. “I sure am a cute little guy.”
Cradling the tiny figure to his chest like a baby, Carter walked toward the giant creature, which looked a little less terrifying now with its jagged teeth turned up in a smile. He held out the homunculus, legs trembling. “Sorry for taking him. I swear I’ll never do it again.”
The huge Father Tree stepped forward, its giant feet dragging in the dirt, and scooped up the homunculus. Wrapping the creature in its tree branch hands, it began to croon something that sounded like a mix of a lullaby and the wind blowing through the branches of a tall pine on a cool summer night.
Carter Junior opened his eyes and cooed. He looked at Carter, waved, and then began to climb up the bark of the gargantuan tree. As he climbed, he began to change from a miniature human into a creature of bark and leaves until, at last, he blended completely into the tree.
At the same time, a huge coughing sound came from the opening of the Türöffnung. Nick turned to see a dark, tornado-like cloud appear in the opening. The ghostly faces of all the doppelgängers from town swirled into it. A second later, the doorway snapped shut—once again, just a tree with strange markings.
As the Father Tree turned to shamble back into the woods, Carter shouted, “See you, Carter Junior! Maybe I’ll come back and visit you some time.”
The Father Tree turned its orb eye down on Carter and growled from deep inside its dark maw.
Carter laughed nervously. “Um. Just kidding.”
Angelo carefully helped Nick sit up. “Do you think you can walk?”
Nick looped an arm around Angelo’s shoulder. “I’ll give it a try.”
Carter moved to his other side, helping him to his feet. The pain was bad, but Nick was pretty sure nothing was broken.
“Let’s see if Mr. Grunwald has his car working,” Angelo said. “We should probably try to get back today. I’m betting everyone is going to be awfully confused.”
Nick rubbed the lump on his head. “I think I’m going to have a major headache tomorrow.”
“Somehow,” Angelo said, “I don’t think you’ll be the only one.”
Monday afternoon, Nick carefully got out of his seat when the final bell rang. Carter and Angelo helped him up. Fortunately his knee was just sprained. He’d explained his injuries away by claiming that he’d wiped out on his bike—an easy story to sell, since both his and Angelo’s bikes had been pretty banged up by the time they got them back. Carter had to put his allowance for at least the next six months toward replacing his little sister’s bike and his mother’s mop.
“Check that out,” Carter said, nodding toward Kimber Tidwell. She and her friends had stopped wearing hats and puffy skirts. They were now carrying around little dolls dressed in clothes that matched what they were wearing exactly. Apparently that was the next big trend. Nick thought it was a little freaky himself.
The funny thing was that although Torrie and Rebel still followed Kimber everywhere she went, their relationship seemed to have changed a little. The girls no longer accepted everything Kimber said. In fact, more than once, Nick had heard Kimber admit that maybe she was wrong and they were right. He wasn’t sure how long it would last. But who knew?
In town, things were slowly getting back to normal. Apparently there had been several car accidents, plus multiple reports of break-ins, vandalism, and other oddities. Nick’s father had awakened from an especially deep sleep to discover his car was gone. Fortunately, the police found it idling at a stoplight just off the freeway. The assumption was that whoever had stolen it had seen something that scared him off and had left the car on foot.
Interestingly enough, the Tidwells had not reported anything. Nick thought Kimber might have had something to do with that. She probably didn’t want anyone asking what she’d been keeping inside a cage in her cedar chest.
Ms. Schoepf hadn’t done any more musical numbers, but she had been asking around about a substitute teacher who bore a vague resemblance to her and had some very odd ideas about education. Old Man Dashner hadn�
�t changed at all. He was still as cranky as ever.
“There’s one thing I’ve been wondering,” Carter said as they stopped to wait for the light.
“What’s that?” Nick asked, flexing his knee and grimacing.
“How did you know it was the real me in the woods? It could have been my doppelgänger asking you to believe in him.”
Nick grinned. “I’d know you anywhere. It’s the Cheetos breath.”
“Nice,” Carter said. “Very nice.”
“I’ve been wondering something too,” Angelo said. “You know how the doppelgängers said they were really just the part of us that we keep hidden away?”
“Sure,” Nick said. “Carter thinks we’re both idiots. My dad would rather go out to eat. And Ms. Schoepf has secret dreams of being a rock star.”
Angelo put a hand over his mouth. “That means that when Angie told you that you were handsome and—”
Nick slugged Angelo hard enough that his friend winced in pain.
Carter howled with laughter. “Nick and Angie, sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G.”
When the boys got to Nick’s house, they found Nick’s dad in the kitchen. Nick limped over and patted his dad on the shoulder. “What’s that for?” Dad said, looking up.
“I just wanted to tell you that it doesn’t matter where we go, or what you might forget—you’re the best dad ever. And I love going on vacations with you, no matter how crazy they are.”
Dad smiled a sly little grin. “Funny you should say that.” He called up the stairs. “Honey, come here quick. I have something to tell you.”
Mom came down the stairs with pieces of foil wrapped around her hair. “What’s wrong? I was tinting my hair.”
“It’s not what’s wrong,” Dad said, beaming from ear to ear. “It’s what’s right. I just got an email from the company that messed up our reservation.”
Mom moaned. “You called me out to talk about the camping trip again?”
“Not the camping trip,” Dad said. “Something much, much bigger. It seems the computer glitch was big enough that hundreds of people’s vacations were ruined. So to avoid a class-action lawsuit, they offered everyone their choice of ten different vacations. All expenses paid.”
Case File 13 #3 Page 15
