by Bryan Davis
Kelly laid the camera strap around her neck. “Lead the way.”
After I gathered the violin case and both mirrors, and Kelly coaxed Francesca out of slumber, we left the restroom and exited the secure area.
We padded through the hallways and stepped over the two dead guards. At the rear entrance, a breeze poured through a basketball-sized hole that perforated the jamb and door where the lock used to be. The door swung open an inch or so, making the hinges squeak, then thudded shut again. As it repeated the opening and closing cycle, the hallway appeared to be breathing.
I set my load down and pulled the door open. Bloodstains smeared the threshold and the concrete pad on the outside, but Tony’s body and car were gone.
Headlight beams swept across the lawn and aimed our way. I hustled the girls back inside and guided them into the same corner where I had hidden. As I eased the door closed, I kept watch through the shattered window. I whispered, “The car looks familiar.”
Kelly rose from the corner and peered out. “That’s our Camry.”
As the car turned into the light, the driver’s face came into view. “It’s Clara.” I swung the door open and ran outside, followed by Kelly and Francesca.
The car stopped in a skid. Clara jumped out and embraced me. “Oh, Nathan! It’s really you!” She laid her hand behind my head and pulled me close as her entire body shook. “My dear boy, I thought I’d never see you again.”
The passenger door opened. Daryl emerged, shivering in a gray hoodie. When she saw Kelly, her eyes shot open. “You’re here!”
Kelly spread out her arms. “In the flesh.”
Daryl ran around the car and hugged Kelly. “I can’t believe you’re both alive.”
I allowed Clara to enjoy the embrace, not wanting to reveal that I wasn’t the Nathan she remembered. Still, there was too much to do. I pulled back and looked into Clara’s glistening eyes. Dried tear tracks stained her cheeks. “Are you all right?” I asked.
She brushed away a new tear. “Many terrible events have taken place, but as soon as I gather my wits, I will explain.”
“Right. We all have to get our bearings.” I nodded toward Kelly and Francesca. “We’re from another world, and you’re — ”
“Residents of Earth Blue,” Daryl said, “and you’re from Earth Red. Daryl Red explained everything to me.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Daryl Red contacted you? How?”
“Apparently Interfinity has a rudimentary network connection between the worlds. It’s not like they can browse the web from across the cosmic wires, but Daryl Red figured out how to send me an email.” She grinned. “I’m so proud of her.”
“We knew you aren’t from Earth Blue,” Clara said. “But I couldn’t stop my emotions from gushing. We already miss Nathan and Kelly so much.”
Kelly’s stare riveted on the Camry. Her voice took on a slight tremble. “Did Daryl Red tell you to bring the mirror and camera to us?”
Daryl Blue nodded. “We were trying to get those things to Nathan’s parents … or the other Nathan’s parents, I guess.” She shook her head, making her red hair fly in the breeze. “It’s all so confusing, but Daryl Red gave me the code for that door, so we thought we could get it done.”
Looking at the blood on the doorstep, Kelly cleared her throat. Punctuated by suppressed sobs, her words broke into shattered pieces. “Who … who brought … the box … to the door?”
Daryl Blue embraced Kelly again. “Kelly, I have something awful to tell you.”
Clara grabbed my arm and led me to the Camry, whispering, “We put him in the backseat. I wanted to show you first.”
I peered through the window. Tony’s body lay face up on the blood-soaked fabric, his sweatshirt ripped and still dripping red. Even though I had already seen his corpse, a gut-wrenching pain stabbed my heart.
Kelly tore away from Daryl Blue’s arms, rushed to the car, and pressed a palm against the window. She squeaked, “Daddy?”
Clara laid her hands on Kelly’s shoulders. “He’s not — ”
Kelly banged her fist on the glass and cried out, “Daddy!”
“Quiet!” Clara slapped her palm over Kelly’s mouth and pulled her away from the window, whispering, “He’s not your father. He is Tony Clark, but he’s the Tony Clark in this world, not your world.”
As Kelly stared at Clara, her eyes widened.
“Do you understand?” Clara asked.
With her mouth still covered, Kelly nodded.
Clara slowly lifted her fingers and motioned for everyone to move into a shadow close to the building. As the five of us huddled, she whispered, her eyes constantly darting. “Here is what we know, or at least, think we know. In this world, Nathan and Kelly are dead, and now Tony is, too, so it’s clear that whoever wanted that box will murder anyone who stands in his way.
“From what we gathered from Daryl Red and Clara Red, Nathan Red’s parents are also dead, but their counterparts are alive in this world, probably prisoners somewhere in the observatory. We knew enough about the Quattro mirror to realize that if Solomon had it, he could use it to escape. The idea was to get the box to Nathan Red so he could open it with his mirror, and he’d get the box to Solomon somehow.
“Nathan Blue had hidden the mirror and camera in a bus-depot locker in Chicago, so, since we were already in town for Nathan’s funeral, we brought the items to the observatory. Tony Blue insisted on going to the door alone while Daryl Blue and I hunkered down in the car, but, as you know, he didn’t make it.
“When the murderer went into the building, we dragged Tony’s body to the car and parked under the trees where no one could see us, but where we could still see the back door. We caught a glimpse of you taking the box, so we decided to wait and see if you would return. When you did, we came out of hiding.”
“Why do you think my parents are the ones who died?” I asked. “Since you took Nathan Blue to Kelly Blue’s house, you must have thought his parents were dead.”
“We did think so. When I took my Nathan to the stockholders’ meeting to play a duet with his mother, Dr. Simon met us at the performance hall and told us Nathan’s parents were dead and to flee right away, that I should get Nathan to a safe place.”
“So you never saw the bodies?”
Clara shook her head. “Which is why I am suspicious about Dr. Simon’s word. Maybe he whisked them away to some bizarre mission or experiment.”
“In other words, we still don’t know which parents are dead or alive.”
“I’m afraid not, Nathan. I’m sorry.”
The lack of a conclusive answer made me want to scream. I had to change the subject. “Okay, switching gears. Why did Nathan Blue hide the mirror and camera in the box? And how did he get them in there?”
“He decided the risk of the camera and mirror falling into the wrong hands was too great, so he put them in a metal box, and Tony welded the lid shut. Earlier, Nathan Blue tested the mirror to see if it could open the box when it was empty, and it worked. Since we assumed you know how to perform the opening magic, and Solomon knows how to use the camera and the mirror, we hoped you could get them to him so he could escape or transport himself and Francesca out of there.”
“Okay,” I said. “We’re up to speed. We’d better get going.” I slid my hand around Kelly’s arm and gave her a light pull, but she stayed put, her gaze again locked on the car. “Are you all right?” I asked.
Kelly whispered, “I just realized something.”
“What?”
She turned to me. “He’s a hero, isn’t he?”
“Definitely. He gave his life trying to help us.”
“Do you think all people in this world are exactly the same as in ours?”
I slid my hand from Kelly’s arm down to her fingers and interlaced them with my own. “Clara and Daryl are just like they are at home, and it sounds like the other Nathan and Kelly were just like us.”
Her fingers tightened. “So maybe my father …” Her voice fad
ed away.
“Really is a hero?” I gazed into her shadowed eyes. “I know your father would have done exactly the same thing.”
She tightened her grip on my hand once more before pulling away. “Thanks. I know you really mean that.”
“Come on. We have to search the building without being seen by the nut job with the shotgun.”
Daryl ran ahead to the door and pushed it open. “What are we waiting for? I want to see the cool telescope room my newly discovered twin told me about.”
“But it might not be safe,” I said.
“It’s safe.” She held up a mobile phone. “Portable email. Daryl Red’s keeping me up-to-date. She and Clara Red figured out how to monitor our world’s telescope room from their world, and it looks clear of bad guys. We’re good to go.”
Kelly picked up the violin case while I tucked both mirrors under my arm. Keeping a careful watch for the shotgun man, we entered, skulked into the secure area, and stopped to check the prisoner room again. After finding it empty, we continued to the elevator.
“We’ll have to go in shifts.” I punched six, six, five, three into the security pad and pushed the call button. Fortunately, the Earth Red code worked for the elevator here. “Kelly and I will go first, then Clara, Daryl, and Francesca.”
When the door opened, Kelly and I stepped inside. Once in the elevator car, I pushed the button for the third floor. A red light within the button flashed on. When the door began to slide shut, Daryl raised her cell phone and looked at the screen, but the door closed before she could tell us what it said.
As the car glided upward, a muffled call sounded from below. “The guy with the shotgun is up there!”
Kelly punched the second-floor button, but it stayed dark. “It’s too late!”
“And no place to hide.” I pressed the mirrors together as one and angled them toward the door. In the image, the door opened, revealing the murderer with the shotgun aimed directly into the elevator car. My reflected self leaped at him with a high leg kick, deflecting the gun just at it fired. The force of my blow knocked the man to the floor.
Kelly set the violin case down and reached for the mirrors. “You can’t do that if you’re holding those.”
I pushed the mirrors into her grasp. “Point them toward the door.”
She angled the mirrors that way, her hands trembling. “Ready … I think.”
“We can do this.” When the car slowed to a halt, I set my feet. “Here we go.”
The door slid open. Just as the man aimed the shotgun, I leaped into a flying kick that knocked the barrel to the side. A blast of orange erupted from the end, and a deafening crack sounded. The force of the kick threw the man onto his back.
I lunged, grabbed the gun, and trained it on him. Kelly hurried to my side, carrying the violin case and mirrors. Behind her, the elevator closed, and the motor restarted its quiet hum.
As dim moonlight from the ceiling mirror cast a glow over the man’s bloodied face, he coughed and wheezed. Kelly set the violin down but kept her grip on the mirrors. “So he’s the one who killed my Earth Blue father?”
“Yeah.” I lowered the gun to my hip. “He’s half dead.”
The man coughed again, his breaths gurgling as blood oozed from his nose and mouth. “Just … just shoot me … and get it over with.”
“Maybe I should.” I raised the shotgun to my shoulder and set my finger on the trigger. “You went to Earth Yellow with Mictar and Gordon to kill my mother. You took the burglar’s place so you could find Francesca and murder her. And you killed Mrs. Romano.”
His grin revealed a set of blood-covered teeth. “Smart boy.”
“Why? They couldn’t possibly hurt you.”
The man’s eyes began to roll upward. “Kidnap one to … to learn the secret … of Quattro … then …” He let out a long breath and closed his eyes. His body fell limp, and his jaw slackened.
I prodded him with the gun. No sign of breathing. “He’s dead.”
“I can’t say I feel sorry for him.” Kelly crossed her arms. “He’s a monster.”
The elevator motor stopped, and the door slid open. The moment Clara Blue, Daryl Blue, and Francesca Yellow squeezed through, Daryl hustled toward the computers on the worktables.
I stood in front of the dead attacker. “Francesca, if you’re squeamish, don’t look.”
“Thanks for the warning.” She turned her head and walked with Clara toward Daryl, who was already busily tapping on a keyboard.
Pressing the mirrors against her side with one hand and carrying the violin case in the other, Kelly followed them, the camera still dangling at her chest. “I guess you must still be in contact with Earth Red,” she said to Daryl.
“Hot line to the great beyond.” Daryl pulled her phone from her pocket and slid it onto the desk, making it spin. “My twin told us about Nathan kicking that guy’s butt. Now I need to sync her up on our mirror so we can talk face-to-face.”
I propped the gun on my shoulder and joined them. “Does Francesca have to play the music again?”
“No.” Daryl stared at the laptop screen. “Daryl Red found a music generator that deciphers and plays the radio telescope’s connecting feed. She’s showing me how — ” She pointed at an icon in the lower left corner. “Yep. Here it is on my screen.”
As she adjusted the control, the mirror above changed from a starry sky to the mesmerizing array of colorful shapes we had seen before. Each shape vibrated and danced to a cacophonous stream of musical notes played from speakers in the walls.
Daryl’s fingers flew across the keyboard. Seconds later, the notes blended into a perfect harmony of violins playing a ghostly tremolo and a French horn adding a subtle, restful flavor.
“It’s Strauss’s Blue Danube,” I said as I set the shotgun on the floor.
The shapes in the mirror broke apart and bled into each other, painting an aerial view of the telescope room floor. In the reflection, Clara Red seemed to be speaking, but no sound came through.
Daryl Blue waved at her likeness in the mirror above. “She’s got good taste in clothes. I love that top.”
Kelly smirked. “Maybe she’ll let you borrow it.”
Craning my neck, I strained to listen. “Can anyone hear what they’re saying?”
“I hear something,” Francesca said. “Something about the funeral.”
Daryl Blue leaned close to the laptop screen. “Apparently Daryl Red hasn’t figured out how to turn the voice volume up while the music’s playing, so she’s typing Clara Red’s words.” Daryl Blue pointed at the advancing letters on the screen and read them aloud. “You have to get back to Earth Red in time for the funeral. It’s morning here. The service is only a few hours away.”
I touched Francesca’s shoulder. “Since Earth Yellow is catching up so fast in time, we have to get Francesca back, or her whole life will be messed up. She might never meet my father, and I’ll never be born there.”
Kelly set the mirrors on the desk. “Can we risk it? Your Earth Blue father said you had to be at the funeral on Earth Red. What if we get trapped or delayed on Earth Yellow?”
Clara Blue looked at the ceiling. “Maybe you should risk going to Earth Yellow. You can probably ruin one of Mictar’s goals.”
“What goal is that?” I asked.
“If you time it right, you can get the third Quattro mirror before Mictar does. He’s sure to go after it.”
“Good thought.” I looked at Kelly. “What year did your father buy the mirror from the guy in Scotland?”
“About fifteen years ago. Not long after I was born, I think.”
I stepped close to Daryl Blue’s workstation. “At the rate Earth Yellow is catching up, when will it get to fifteen years ago?”
She squinted at the screen. “Impossible to tell. Sometimes it zips along, and sometimes it’s just a little bit faster, but it still has about fourteen years to go. It’s nineteen seventy-nine there now.”
“That raises an interesti
ng question,” Clara Blue said. “I don’t think Francesca is aging here at her Earth Yellow rate, or else her body cycles would be crazy. Will she suddenly age if she goes home, or will she be younger than she’s supposed to be?”
I looked at Francesca as she stared at the ceiling, apparently pretending to be oblivious to our conversation though she likely heard every word. “Both choices stink. Either alter Francesca’s life drastically or miss the funeral. And I have to stop looking for my Earth Blue parents no matter what.”
Kelly raised her hand. “I vote for going to Earth Yellow. Since time is passing faster there than here, Earth Red will kind of slow down while we get Francesca home. We’ll have more time to get the job done and maybe get back for the funeral.”
I pointed at her. “Brilliant. Let’s do it.”
“I’ll adjust the settings,” Daryl said. “Earth Yellow coming right up.”
Kelly gazed at the ceiling. “Where will we go on Earth Yellow? Did this observatory even exist thirty years ago?”
“Great question.” I stood next to her and watched the mirror. The chaotic rainbow of colors returned along with a new blend of dissonant noises. Soon, a harmony of notes emerged, and the scene above coalesced — a daytime view of a spring forest with windblown leaves plummeting to the ground, clouds racing overhead, and a squirrel scampering up a tree like a furry bullet.
I let out a low whistle. “That squirrel’s had too much coffee.”
“Time’s passing faster,” Daryl said. “I suppose it’ll slow down in your perspective when you get there.”
I searched the landscape but found no sign of civilization. “Do you think we’ll come out where the observatory is going to be?”
“Most likely, but who knows?” Daryl continued tapping on the keyboard. “Let’s get the show on the road. You and Kelly stand with Francesca in the middle of the room.”
“I’d better get the body out of the way.” I hustled to the dead gunman, grabbed his wrists, and dragged him to the wall.
“Check his pockets,” Clara called. “Maybe we can find a clue of some kind.”
I searched the man’s pants pockets and found four shotgun shells and a wallet. In the wallet, I found a plastic card embedded with an odd set of letters and numbers.
