by Joseph Calev
“We have to go,” she whispered.
I followed her to a portal just on the side of the field, and we were back at my school. Sadly, where there was once a relatively new building of bright red brick, there now remained but a shell that was mostly rubble. The few remaining sections were blackened by fire, their broken windows giving but a glimpse into a place that had dominated the lives of hundreds.
There was no one around. Craters adorned the street where blasts had fallen those eons ago. It was a windy day with dark swirling skies, but the only things that moved were a few rustling piles of garbage.
We walked aimlessly down the street, with neither of us willing to state the obvious. We had no clue where to start. Was my father on this planet? How would we recognize him? There were trillions of better places out there. This was a poor guess.
Raynee, her eyes showing she was just as frustrated as I, finally created a portal. On the other side was my old neighborhood, once so familiar but now a foreign memory. Far away were the crumbling ruins of Seattle. There was nothing to see here outside of half-destroyed houses and blowing debris. The lonely house I’d grown up in was the last possibility. I half expected to find the same sort of ruins there, but neither of us expected what awaited.
Where my old block used to be was now a tropical forest. Myriad twisting trees grew everywhere from the street asphalt to straight out of the houses. I gave a puzzled look to Raynee and she shook her head. This wasn’t her doing and the few trees she originally avalated couldn’t have just propagated. Someone else from our dimension did this.
The jungle was thick here, and we stayed glued next to each other while we made our way. Who had done this? And more importantly, was he friendly? Raynee detected something stirring in a nearby tree. Each of us grabbed a trunk and flew upward.
Not long ago I would have been completely terrified running on a limb but a few inches thick a hundred feet above the ground. Now I resonated from limb to limb while I followed Raynee. There was nothing in this dimension that could hurt us, or so I hoped.
The tree rustled again and we split up to either side. Whatever it was had nowhere to go. I readied myself to avalate this thing out of existence, assuming it actually belonged to this dimension.
Something jumped and Raynee yelled “Don’t hurt it!” Remembering back to the villagers in the desert world, I created a shield just as a large object collided with me. It was furry.
“Boongarry!” Raynee shouted and grabbed him. He was crawling all over us out of excitement. Immediately, Raynee resonated some food and held it from her hand.
“You look great. But who made this forest for you?”
As if on cue, Boongarry lowered himself from the tree and crawled over to my house. Cautiously, we followed him.
My house was in better shape than the majority of flattened properties, as it was missing only the front wall. Even the tremendous bathroom Raynee had created stood intact, without a single crack in a window pane. The door creaked open, and the tree kangaroo let himself inside.
Raynee pulled on my shoulder before we entered. “There’s something in there,” she whispered.
She moved to go in front, but I gently pushed her away. Though she was better than me in every way, I’d at least serve as a barrier. If whatever was inside incinerated me, she’d have time to react. Boongarry hopped around the corner, and something hissed.
I jumped around, only to come within inches of the scaly plates of an eight-foot reptile. I fell back, but it made no move against me. Raynee stepped to destroy it, but it only raised its huge hand in caution.
“We haven’t much time,” it hissed.
Raynee lowered her hand while it only stood there.
“You and Mordriss seek the same person. So, he has been well hidden. Find him, before evil hunts again.”
After that, the creature slowly disintegrated into nothing, and we were left with an empty room, a tree kangaroo, and absolutely no clues.
23
“What the hell does that mean?” Raynee asked out loud. “We still have no clue where to find him.”
I sat next to Boongarry and petted him while considering the facts. However, the more I thought the less sense all of this made. Why had neither the lizard nor Algard mentioned my mother? Why couldn’t I just find her? Mordriss wanted to find my father, too, but why? And finally, how was I supposed to find any of them?
“That thing didn’t provide any hints Mordriss might find out about, because Mordriss is looking, too,” I said after some thought. “I mean, we don’t know if he’s able to spy on us, but any clue would help him and us.”
“Yes,” Raynee said. “Did it take you the entire time to figure that out?”
There was something I was missing. Perhaps my father had left a clue. I just wasn’t seeing it. Or, maybe my father was just a ruse, and it was my mother I needed to find. The answer seemed close, but I couldn’t grasp it.
“This really sucks!” Raynee screamed, and a crack instantly formed in the wall. When that turned into rubble, I grabbed Boongarry and retreated outside. After another scream, the roof collapsed. Raynee walked to me, not bothering to avalate and creating a swathe of disintegrated wood and shingles where she walked.
I watched in vain as everything except Raynee’s addition collapsed into a ruin not unlike the rest of the neighborhood. It felt strange saying goodbye to my childhood home this way, but in truth I was no longer attached to it.
“There could’ve been a clue in there.”
“You spent your entire life there, and have no idea if there’s a clue?” She gave me an evil look. “Relax. There’s nothing here.”
She avalated back to our dimension, and I followed.
“What about Boongarry?” I asked.
Raynee whirled around to me. “Everyone we know is about to die, and you’re worried about a tree kangaroo? Listen, if you’re not going to help me, then go away. I need to figure this out.”
“Maybe if we just relaxed a bit—”
“There’s no time! Mordriss is out there, and if he isn’t coming for us it’ll be for our school, or Annie, or Sareya, or anyone else we care about. Don’t you get it?”
“I’m just saying—”
“No, you’re not. Go away. Leave me alone for a while.”
While there was no comforting her, I couldn’t just leave Raynee. Quietly, I moved behind the nearest tree. Of course, she could still resonate me and I her, but with no further screams I assumed she was satisfied.
She was right, of course, but there was no way around the fact that we were stuck. It occurred to me just then how horrible a turn everything had taken. Only an hour ago I was reveling in five hundred points and a date with Raynee. Now, she wasn’t speaking to me and Mordriss had returned. Everything seemed so hopeless. Perhaps I could create a new universe, a better one on my own terms, and retreat there for the rest of my life.
Only weeks ago, that would have been beyond the best daydream. Now I had the tools to attempt it. It would have to be a tiny universe, of course, but that would make it more difficult to find. Who would bother to essonate inside a marble dropped in a tremendous forest?
Remembering all of the math, I attempted to create my dream world, but wound up with nothing. There wasn’t even a pop. Proper cenosance required two particles at just the right positions, but each time there wasn’t even a spark. How had I succeeded so wildly earlier?
I thought about Raynee. She would never join me in the new universe, no matter how wonderful I made it. There was Sareya and her friends at school. She was also not a quitter. No, this idea would never work. How had I been so foolish? The only world I needed was the one with her.
Though she was only a few feet away, I thought about those entrancing brown eyes. From that first day I’d glimpsed her, she’d been the most beautiful thing in existence. But there was more, wasn’t there? There was a reason I was drawn to her. There was a reason my only successful universe came when I was thinking of her. A sh
arp pop occurred between my palms, followed by the feeling of glass in my fingers, and I immediately knew what to do.
Raynee was pacing furiously in all directions. Her hair was disheveled and her eyes were sullen. This wouldn’t be easy.
“It’s time for our second date,” I said with confidence.
She stopped and I prepared for the onslaught.
“Are you insane? Of all the times?”
“Yes. You’re in no shape for this. Heck, I’m messed up, too. We just need to get our minds away from everything. Then we can be fresh.”
“There’s no time.” She sighed. “Listen, you’re a nice guy, but maybe . . . maybe we just need to take a break from each other.”
“Sorry. You already agreed to a second date, and we’re long past due.”
“I just said yes this morning! And I’m already regretting it.”
I took a step forward. “Nope. Way before that, you promised me a second date after I came back down that mountain with you. Well, your time is up.”
Raynee folded her arms, but a bit of the grimace disappeared. “And I suppose you’re going to make me?”
“Listen. There’s a place I just created with a one percent time correlation. So, we can stay there more than an hour, and only a minute will pass here. I’m asking for a one-minute date. Is that okay?”
She smiled for the first time since Mordriss arrived. “Well, look how far our turnip’s come. First date he takes me to a lousy Italian restaurant. Second date, he cenosates his own universe.”
“So, you’ll go.”
“Yes. But I really just want to know what you managed to create in just a few minutes.”
I placed the marble on the ground, and we both essonated inside. It wasn’t much to look at. We were floating in empty space. Around us were myriad stars, and the occasional black hole. Raynee had a perturbed look.
“Are we just going to float around here for an hour, or are there any interesting planets?”
“No. I still can’t make biologics, but we’re fine here.”
I moved forward and grabbed her left hand with my right, then held it up.
“What are you doing?” she said, but I shushed her.
“Listen,” I whispered.
The black holes around us were radiating. Yet, unlike the usual ones, I’d given them a particular tone. Each sounded like a smooth violin, and together they made a symphony.
She laughed as the song started. Hundreds of black holes provided an ambience, while the largest did a solo. And that was just the start.
Only a light year away from us, a star collapsed into itself and a supernova burst forth. The explosion was blinding, but not deafening. It was like the beat of a single huge drum.
Another one burst, followed by five more. The beats combined with the orchestra of violins, while cosmic explosions surrounded us and I placed my other arm around her waist. When the quasars starting blaring like trumpets, I twirled her around.
There was a glint in her eye and she briefly let go to brush her hair back. Then we danced under the music of a billion stars.
“I can’t believe you did this!” she cried.
I pulled her closer while a supernova burst close by. Fragments flew past us, but there was no fear in this world. I put my hand on her back and we twirled together.
“I finally remembered the secret,” I said.
She looked at me incredulously. “A secret. Really?” Her voice was sarcastic.
“It’s you, Raynee.” I pulled her an inch from me. “Every time I think of you, I create. Without you . . . nothing.”
“No,” she said soothingly. “That’s not true. You know you have the hots for Darstan.”
I dropped my head down and laughed, then our eyes locked together. We swirled among the blasts and the beats for what seemed like eons. Our eyes never left each other. Hers had so much longing, and that’s when I knew.
Gently I pressed my arm against her, and our lips met. I closed my eyes amid our slow dance among the stars, with the sweet caress of her lips. She stopped dancing, then grabbed me with both her arms and pressed her tongue against mine.
Our arms held each other tight while we kissed, then she drew her head back and snuggled against my chest.
“Why can’t it be this simple?”
I stroked her hair, feeling how it slid softly against my fingers.
“Not sure that was simple.” I kissed her again. “Let’s see, I had to climb a mountain, fight lizards and robots, travel to another dimension, get treated like an idiot, and finally build my own universe. All that for a kiss.”
“Was it worth it?” She leaned up for another kiss, but held back slightly.
“Absolutely.” I pulled her in. “Makes me a bit scared, though.”
“About what?” she asked, then grew serious upon remembering our task.
“What am I going to have to do for a third date?”
Raynee gave me a gentle slap on the cheek. She was smiling, but her eyes were elsewhere. This perfect moment would not last much longer, but there was still one more thing to know.
“I’m just curious. What did you tell Sareya?”
She put her finger on my nose, then tapped it. “Wouldn’t you like to know.” She used her hooked smile.
“Well, you can tell me, or I’ll just ask Sareya.”
“She won’t tell you.” She looked back into my eyes.
“Oh, yes, she will. If I promise to tell her what happened just now.”
“You wouldn’t!” She backed away while still holding me.
I pulled her back in. “Wouldn’t that make her day—”
“Fine!” She pulled me in for another kiss. “It was way back when I still thought you were a turnip. Boongarry was sick and I didn’t know enough avalance to fix him. Even though your universe was ending, you took him to the vet. I’d always thought turnips were mechanical and horrible things, but I saw your heart. You were also pretty cute.”
Raynee held me tight, then put her lips to my ear. “So, I told Sareya, if you weren’t a turnip, I’d probably go for you.”
We held each other tight for the next few minutes. Neither of us wanted to return to reality, but we both knew there was no escape. It would find us soon enough.
Not willing to return so soon, I began to wonder about Raynee’s family. With so much focus on my parents, she’d revealed so little about hers.
“What were your parents like?”
She gave me a strange look. “Why do you want to know?”
“I’m just wondering what it was like . . . before . . . you know.”
She brushed her hair back and smiled. “My mother was a solarnator. Don’t think they have those on Earth, but they do all sorts of things, like making sure the suns are giving enough light, the universe isn’t too cold. I mean, it sounds basic, but is realy complicated stuff. She loved doing it, though.”
“And your father?”
Raynee tilted her head back and laughed. “My father was a master avalator. Every day I’d make up some crazy food, like chocolate brownie fudge ice cream with raspberries and cherries inside that popped when you bit into them, and he’d make it. And as delicious as I dreamed it up, his stuff was always better.”
She held me tight while supernovas faded behind us.
“We had this huge house. Not like Earth. Big houses there are stupid because they’re all about money. They build them for show, not for fun. Here, everyone has lots of space and we can avalate whatever we want, so we just make the house we need. But we always had so many visitors that we needed tons of bedrooms and banquet rooms.”
“My father used to joke that they came to see my mother. She was so beautiful, and she used to avalate the most stunning gowns. But I think they came for my father’s food. Anyone can avalate, but not like he did.”
She reached for my hand, then stared for a moment at my palm.
“I miss them terribly, but Val and I had an awesome childhood. My parents were very simple. I
had a girlfriend, Sandy, whose father was a master cenosator before Mordriss got him, too. He built universes in the basement. My father built slides. I loved my parents. They were so much in love that it kind of rubbed off on those around them.”
She turned, and I knew our time was almost up. “What’s wrong with this world?” she asked. “I mean, what did they do to hurt anyone? Nothing makes sense anymore.”
She moved away and I didn’t reach for her. It was better to let her vent.
“Mordriss went out of his way to kill them. Did I ever tell you that? He killed mostly in another town that day, but made a special trip over. Why? And there’s weirdness, too. Take Sareya, bless her beautiful heart. How could the grand master of resonance not detect a baby under a sheet? They say that he’s just some insane killer who murders randomly, but I don’t think so. It’s almost like he plans to murder some and not others.”
“So, the three thousand in Heskera—”
“I know it sounds sick and twisted, but there’s some reason he did that. It might’ve been just to get your attention.”
Her eyes had grown fierce, and I knew that our brief but amazing moment was over.
“We have to go back,” she whispered.
I nodded slightly, and we both avalated to the forest. Raynee moved away.
“One last thing.” I picked up the marble and handed it to her. “Something to remember this by.”
She eyed it for a moment, then asked, “Do you still have the other one?”
“Yes.” I reached into my pocket and placed it in my palm. “You can have them both. They’re all from you.”
Raynee reached out and gently took the original one. “I’ll take this one. It has more of you in it. Besides, it’s not like I’m going dancing myself.”
She avalated a gold necklace, then a mount for the universe, and hung it around her neck. The marble disappeared down her sweater, and when she caught my stare, she returned a devious look.
We walked for some ways in the woods while torn between the beautiful time we’d just had, and the terrors that might come. I let Raynee lead, since I still had no idea how to get anywhere because the pathways were tree trunks that looped and twisted in every direction. I started to wonder if getting lost in this labyrinth wouldn’t be a bad thing. After all, there were advantages to never having to return to the real world.
