Immersion

by J M Hart

  The room was blacked out. Jade couldn’t see the bamboo mat under her feet, but she could still feel it and hear Callie’s voice. Her body felt like it was going in slow motion. Jade focused on the feeling of her chest rising and expanding as she followed Callie’s instructions.

  “That’s it, relax, and breathing in slowly 1, 2, 3, and out again, slowly 1, 2, 3 … I see you found your bracelet. Your mom had me searching high and low for that. It must really be important, she was ropeable.”

  The darkness started to evaporate. The light of the room appeared behind her eyelids. She blinked until she was able to see and the flickers of light disappeared. Jade looked down nervously at the bracelet and twirled it around her wrist. Callie kept speaking. Jade began to relax, tracing the patterns with her fingers.

  “It reminds me of a turtle shell,” Callie said, watching Jade relax as she focused on the bracelet.

  “It was my great-grandmother’s. People called her Great Turtle. But you know that, don’t you?”

  “Where’s your dad, Jade?”

  Jade wasn’t sure what she should say. She didn’t want to lie because she just wasn’t good at it, and she was tired, so tired. She just wanted to get clean and crawl into her bed. She didn’t know what to say, or how Callie was going to react to being told that Kevin had the ability to create a hole in the universe. Should I just say it: by the way, Kevin possesses the ability to apply the laws of quantum physics and step into a parallel universe. He has journeyed beyond reality as we know it; across time and space where he found me at the mercy of the wilderness. Somehow, I don’t think she’s going to warm to the idea. “I was kidnapped and Kevin found me. I don’t know what happened.”

  “I saw on the news that you were missing. But how did you get here, to Australia?”

  It felt strange to say it, but there was nothing else that came to mind. Jade always had the answers, but this time she was lost. “I just don’t know what happened.”

  “Are you saying … the kidnappers, brought you here? Where’s your dad?”

  “At home looking for me, I guess. I don’t know how I got here.”

  “All planes have been grounded, Jade. In every country around the world.” Callie’s eyebrows knotted together; confused. “But how … perhaps the military, your mom thought her research was being monitored. They’re the only planes that would get clearance to fly. But why would they bring you here? How did you escape them? And what do you mean, Kevin found you? Where did he find you?”

  “Look, I’m tired, Callie, and hungry. You haven’t answered any of my questions. All I can tell you is this: I was swimming on Myrtle Beach with Ben,” she said, looking at Callie. If Callie was interested in the slightest about her being out with a boy, she wasn’t showing it. “I surfaced, and I was hit from behind.”

  “Jade, that’s terrible!” Callie started to check her head and found no wounds. Her beautiful black hair had clumps of coagulated blood, but no visible injury.

  “Then, next thing I remember,” Jade said, pulling away from Callie, “is that I woke up to the sound of men talking. It was muffled; my head was splitting and I was loaded up with narcotics. Comparatively, my ability to walk was very compromised. My neurons were cross-wired. I crumbled like a piano accordion and passed out. I woke again; I don’t know how much time had passed. I was alone in a cabin on a makeshift bed, hooked up to an IV. They had taken my blood and kept me drugged up. I pulled the IV line out and after a while was able to get myself up off the bed. I suppose they thought the drugs were enough to keep me restrained, but I managed to get outside. It was daylight and I just started staggering and running and running till I passed out. I regained consciousness and started moving; it was getting dark and I passed out again. The rest is just a blur. I was lying in the woods when Kevin and Tim helped me. I regained consciousness, startled by the guys. They looked harmless enough, so I allowed them to help me up and then they brought me here. That’s all my mind can recall right now. It’s probably blocking stuff to protect me.” Jade stared at Callie, waiting to see what she accepted.

  Callie searched Jade’s eyes looking for answers. It was like a stand-off between them. Callie was unable to see beyond Jade’s shattered appearance. This was a child, but it was Jade, and she wasn’t an average girl. If it had been anyone else, she would not have believed her. “They took your blood, do you know why?”

  “No, but logically I would have to assume there would be a connection to my mom.”

  “Oh, sweetie, maybe we should take you to the hospital, get you checked out. We might find a strand of hair or skin under your nails; you know that might be all it takes to track your kidnappers.”

  “No, that’s not necessary; I don’t think there would be anything of significance. I just want to be clean, I stink. I just want to wash this all away.” She caught a glimpse of herself in the vanity mirror and quickly turned away.

  “The hospital is packed,” Callie said. “Not really a healthy place to be right now anyway. Jump in the shower and we can bag your clothes for analysis later if we need to. You feel okay, right, besides the anxiety and vertigo? You must be so tired, and your dad must be frantic. We’ll call him when you’re ready. Maybe Kevin can fill in some of the blanks and explain how he found you, and where he found you?”

  “How long have I been missing?” Jade said, dropping the soiled jacket on the clean bathroom floor.

  “Seven days,” Callie said, checking the needle marks along Jade’s arm. God knows what they’d put into her veins.

  “Seven days? I feel like it has only been a day or two, three tops.”

  Callie got up from the toilet seat and made her way into the bedroom.

  “Don’t leave. I feel irrational. I’m afraid the world will drop out from under me again. I know it’s not real. Am I really here, Callie?”

  “I won’t leave,” Callie said. “Yes you’re really here. I’m going to sit on the edge of the bed and think.”

  “Okay. Keep talking, so I can hear your voice.” Jade shouted over the splashing water of the shower. “Tell me about my mom’s research.” The water felt so refreshing. She lost herself in the rhythm of the spray massaging her body. The water turned red and swirled down the drain at her feet. She sat on the floor with the soap, and rubbed her hair until the water ran clear. Grateful for the fresh apple-smelling shampoo, she vigorously rewashed her hair before combing conditioner through with her fingers. She could no longer hear Callie. A light film of steam was building and, using her index finger, Jade drew on the wet glass: S = k log W, and then a shape of a circle with a square around it. Her stomach started rumbling, snapping her out of her zoned out thinking. Jade hadn’t noticed the door had been slightly closed. She strained to listen and heard Callie softly singing ‘Songbird’, a song Jade’s mother had once loved to sing. Ever since her mother left it always made her cry. She rinsed off the conditioner and turned off the water, pulled down the towel from the rail and wrapped it around her. Quickly she dried herself and pulled on Kevin’s cargoes and t-shirt. She tugged a comb through the tangles in her hair. She felt around her head for any sign of the laceration … nothing. She shook her head in amazement at the speed of healing within the parallel world. Grabbing her hair, she twisted it into a bun at the back of her neck.

  Callie was sitting on a deep-blue bedspread that had half a dozen white daisies embroidered across it. She stared at the ceiling as if something was written on it and she was trying to process its meaning. Jade stepped into the room. The coolness of the floor reminded her of home and the last time she rose from her own bed; she had floated down the hall to the smell of burnt toast.

  Callie’s window was open and the nylon curtains gently flapped. A tree blocked the bigger view beyond the window, but the sound and the smell of the evening was still homely amongst all the chaos.

  “Callie?” Jade looked around the room. On top of a tall, white chest of drawers, a digital picture frame was scrolling images of crystal clear waters, laughing
children, memories of happier days. “Callie?”

  Startled out of her own deliberations, Callie quickly turned around, looking over her shoulder, wiping away tears, and smiling. “That’s better, that’s the Jade I know. Who on earth were you trying to impress with those short shorts? You’re a beautiful girl. It’s good to see you out of black.” Clenching her tissue in one hand, Callie picked up her mobile and started to call Jade’s dad. Jade was taken aback that Callie had his number.

  “Hi, yeah, she’s out of the shower. I’ll just put her on.” She handed the phone to Jade. Surprised, Jade stared at the phone and then back at her. She must have already spoken to her dad while I was in the shower.

  “Dad?”

  “Thank God you’re safe! I couldn’t believe it when Callie called. I’m unable to imagine what you have been through.”

  “Dad …”

  “What happened?

  “Dad …”

  “I’m sorry, you must be traumatized.”

  “Dad! I'm okay, confused, I don’t know what happened. It’s hard to believe I’m in Australia. I was at the beach —”

  “What were you doing out with a boy? He claimed you were knocked by a speedboat and dragged on board. The police thought that you had drowned and that Ben was making it up. There were no other witnesses.”

  “Okay — but I’m not dead.” As soon as it was out of her mouth she knew it was stupid. “I think it’s got to do with Mom. I really believe she is still alive, Dad.”

  “Honey, I’m so glad to hear your voice. I don’t know how I’m going to get to you, or how to get you home.”

  “I can stay here with Callie. Is the old Indian still keeping watch?”

  “We talked this morning. He asked me to go with him into the hills. He said he must keep me safe because we are family and you will one day return with your mother. Why did you ask about the old fellow?”

  “I don’t know. An image of him jumped into my mind when Callie handed me the phone. Don’t go back to work, Dad. Wait until a vaccine has been developed. Go with the Indian.”

  “Your mother and Callie were so close. If she hadn’t vanished they would have succeeded by now, I know it.”

  “What?” Jade let her hair out to drop over her face to hide the fresh tears. “Dad, what did the Indian say about Mom?”

  “Don’t worry about that, he’s just hopeful.”

  “I need to go eat something. I don’t remember the last time I ate. I am losing perspective.”

  “Lucky you’re not driving.”

  “Dad, that seriously was a dysfunctional attempt at a joke.”

  “I love you, little Raven Wings.”

  Her great-grandmother named her Raven Wings when she was born. She believed Jade would be like the raven that appears when there is sickness and disaster, bearing gifts of healing upon its wings for all those who desired to be healed. The memory of Great Turtle telling her the tale over and over again was exploding inside her and she just wanted to run into her dad’s arms and cry. No one had called her Raven Wings since Great Turtle’s death.

  “I love you too, Dad,” she said, hiding her emotions.

  “Call me every day, and listen to Callie. She has been the one person I have been able to talk to since your mother disappeared. She understands what we are going through.”

  Jade looked over at Callie, ashamed of her own previous assessment. “Okay, Dad, till tomorrow.” Jade pushed the end button and handed Callie back her phone.

  “You and Mom were working on the vaccine.” Jade put the mobile phone down on the bedside table and said, “Why didn't you tell me?”

  “I don’t know what you are talking about. Let’s get something to eat.”

  “Tell me!”

  “It’s not going to happen! You need to trust me when I say I don’t know anything about a vaccine.” Callie put her hand gently on Jade’s shoulder, guiding her towards the bedroom door and out into the hallway. Arms across her chest, Jade reluctantly let Callie maneuver her. They peeked in on Molly. The yellow glow of the hall light shone through the crack and streamed across Molly’s cot. Ponies were dancing across the walls, a change table sat under the window and stuffed toys filled the shelves. Baby animals hung from a mobile above the cot, swaying in a gentle breeze. Callie closed the window and Jade stepped further into the room. Molly was on her stomach with her knees curled up to her chest as if she was trying to crawl in her sleep. They both quietly left the room, closing the door.

  Walking on the stairs behind Callie, Jade casually rubbed the back of her head still expecting to feel a gash, but it was completely gone. Her legs felt heavy, but her mind was racing with questions. A quantum jump through time and space from one side of the world within minutes, involving a high level of physicality, and days had passed, not to mention the healing of her wounds once she had gone through the membrane. She started to feel rejuvenated, light, and endless possibilities flooded her mind.

  *

  What are they doing up there, Kevin wondered. It was dark outside. At least an hour had passed since Jade and his mom went upstairs. Alex had stopped slaying dragons on his Xbox and had crashed on the lounge. Daniel was about to lift him up when Callie and Jade came into the living room. They both looked like they had been crying. Daniel looked at Kevin. Kevin’s eyes widened and his chin tucked in, as if to say, Don’t look at me, I don’t know. Through semi-clenched lips he huffed a sigh, the air blowing his fringe. He prepared himself for a battle with his mom. He had no idea what Jade had said, but he didn’t think his mom was going to like any of it. Did she tell her about the parallel world? And it was his fault that they were in there. Does she know that they were lying about being at Shaun’s? He was freaking out; he was going to burst not knowing. He could see her mouth opening, she was going to speak. Fire, like with Alex’s monster, was going to come out of her mouth and turn him to ash.

  “Kevin,” she said.

  He waited, it seemed like forever; a siren went off in the night as if alerting him to the impending doom about to fall upon him. Okay, snap out of it, he told himself. I’ve been hanging with Tim a little too long. He took in a deep breath, closed his eyes and searched the space to gauge their emotional state.

  “Kevin, stop it,” his mother said.

  He quickly opened his eyes, pretending he had momentarily drifted into sleep.

  “Take Jade into the kitchen and show her how we make pizzas.”

  Kevin was confused. His dad saw it on his face, and said, “You’re in for a treat, Jade. Kevin scatters cheese like nobody else.”

  Kevin smiled. What was his dad raving about?

  “Daniel, can you help me with Alex?”

  “Sure.”

  Kevin and Jade walked into the kitchen. Kevin scratched his head and said, “Okay, grab a pizza tray, then take what you like,” indicating the prepared ingredients on the bench.

  “I hope you’re going to wash your hands before touching the food,” she said.

  He looked down at his hands and said, “Why? They’re clean.”

  “You just scratched your head. Do you have any idea the number of germs that can be packed onto a pinhead?” Jade followed Kevin and picked up the tray: the dough was already laid out on it. Kevin leant close into her space and quietly asked, “What did you tell her? How do you know my mom?”

  Jade looked down at the ingredients and scooped up a spoonful of tomato paste spreading it over her base.

  “Well?” he demanded.

  “Do you have any avocado?” she asked, teasing him.

  “Forget the avocado. How do you know my mom and what did you tell her?”

  “Who, the dragon lady? Ha ha. I told her I don’t know how I got here and you and Tim found me in the bush. She’ll probably ask you where exactly.”

  “That’s it, nothing else?” he asked.

  “Nothing else that involves you.”

  “How do you and my mom know each other?”

  “She stayed with us while she was a
ssisting my mother with genetic research. My mom was researching free radical cell mitosis, primarily a mutant cell multiples by division and destroys the organs. She believes she found a way to reverse and stop the destructive cells. Come to think of it, if that was the case, then they may have been able to …” Jade went off into deep thoughts on how the theory could be a vaccine, for the virus.

  Kevin watched her and could feel her intense emotional journey of discovery as she tilted her head to one side, her eyes squinting, circling the ceiling as if finding ideas and searching for answers. She was like an astronaut, floating into the unknown regions of space, seeking the unknown, believing something else was there, just beyond her reach. So this is what I look like to Tim. “Earth to Jade, Earth to Jade, come in, Jade.” She looked back down at the tomato paste so he nudged her and she nearly lost her balance.

  “What did you do that for?”

  “You were off with the fairies. You’re the missing girl! Your mom went missing and now you. But you’re here. What happened, why were you in the forest? And my mom stayed with you in the US, right?”

  “Yes. As soon as my mom went missing, your mom packed her bags and was off on a flight home. She left before we even got home from the police station.”

  Kevin reached for the mushroom and the tomato, spreading them around his pizza before smothering it with three types of cheese. Jade robotically followed his actions, shuffling along the bench. He pulled the metal handle of the oven, the heat shooting out; he instantly pulled his head back and banged into Jade’s.

  “Shit! That hurt,” she said.

  “Oh — really sorry.”

  Jade slid her pizza on the bottom shelf and said, “Now it’s my turn to ask a question. How do you do it? How do you access a parallel world? Will you show me?”

  “I don’t know how I do it. I think I just slipped into it.”

  “If you like, I can help you work out how to do it. We can treat it like a scientific problem. That way, you will have a method to follow in the future, or a documented procedure to share with the world.”