by Laura Martin
I crouched with Regan outside the window of the simulation building and waited for the Regan and Elliot who hated one another to come around the corner and discover the letter we’d carefully placed just moments before. As it turned out, it was the second letter I’d drop in the past. The first one I’d already slipped into the campus mail slot. When Regan had asked me what I was up to, I’d been purposefully vague. Calling it the longest of long shots. To my surprise, Regan hadn’t pressed the issue. She trusted me.
I was distracted from my thoughts by the other Elliot and Regan. The past version of us came barreling around the corner, bickering and insulting one another like it was our professional career. Even through the smudged window, I could see the look of pure revulsion Regan had on her face as I followed her down the hall, harassing her for all I was worth. Why had I done that? I wondered. Did I really think it made me look better to put her down?
“Man, you were a jerk,” Regan muttered, and I turned to smile at her.
“Were?” I said. “As in, I’m not anymore?”
Regan rolled her eyes, but smiled. “Well,” she said. “You aren’t a grade-A jerk anymore. Maybe a grade B or C.”
“First time I’ve been glad not to get an A,” I mused as we watched past Elliot spot the letter that would change everything.
“Just for the record,” I said, “you’re better now too.”
“What do you mean?” she said.
“I mean you used to walk around the Academy like some kind of princess surveying her kingdom. Like you couldn’t be bothered to learn anyone’s name or care about anyone but yourself.”
“Really?” Regan said, wrinkling her nose in a way I used to think made her look like a bulldog. I decided not to mention that.
“Really,” I said.
“That must have been obnoxious,” she said, and I snorted quietly. Together we turned our attention back to the versions of us I barely recognized anymore.
“This is so weird,” Regan said.
“Unbelievably weird,” I agreed. “But that seems to be the theme of our lives ever since we became partners.”
“Do you regret it?” she asked, jerking her chin toward the building where the past version of me was just now bending down to pick up the letter.
I shook my head. “Not even for a second.” I reached out to grab her hand and was about to hit the button on the cuffs that would return us to the present when she grabbed my arm to stop me.
“What is it now?” I asked, but instead of saying anything, she just raised an eyebrow and held out her arms as she did a slow spin. When I just stared at her uncomprehendingly, she sighed and rolled her eyes.
“Seriously?” she said. “Did you forget that we are wearing Alcatraz prison uniforms?”
“Oh,” I said, because, stupidly, I had. “We should probably take those off.”
“Ya think?” Regan said, already pulling hers over her head to reveal her rather sweaty pajamas underneath. I did the same thing, wadding the dirty uniform up into a ball. Regan took it and shoved it unceremoniously into the perfectly trimmed shrubbery next to us.
“What are you doing?” I said. “We can’t leave them here.”
“Why not?” Regan said as she shoved her uniform in after mine. “Who’s going to look in the past for evidence?”
“Good point,” I said. Regan paused mid-shove and got a strange look on her face as she looked at me.
“What?” I asked.
“Nothing,” she said, shaking her head again. “It’s just that I know exactly who finds these. I spotted them on my walk home that afternoon, but I just assumed someone was being careless with costumes and dropped them off at the campus laundry.”
“Weird,” I said again, and she nodded. We both stared at the uniforms for another second and then I turned to Regan. “If you are going to head this way any second, we better get going. I don’t remember how long Professor Green kept us in there.”
“Good point,” she said just as we saw a very grumpy Elliot stomp away toward Professor Green’s room. We both watched as this past version of myself jammed my hand in my pocket, probably double-checking that the letter I’d just swiped was there.
“Let’s go,” I said. I didn’t want to watch that guy I used to be anymore. There was something about the way my face had pinched in anger that turned my stomach a little.
Regan took a deep breath and squared her shoulders in a way I’d come to recognize over the last few weeks. “Right,” she said, and then tried to force a smile that came off all wrong. “At least we don’t look like criminals anymore.”
“No,” I said shaking my head. “We are only criminals if we get caught.”
“But we’re as good as caught,” she said. “Didn’t you hear that door bust open right as we disappeared? We are going to Glitch back smack dab in the middle of a pack of angry security officers. And my mom,” she said, swallowing hard. When she noticed me watching, she gave a sheepish shrug. “Call me a chicken, but I’m not really looking forward to getting arrested.”
“We’ll see about that,” I said as I grabbed her hand and activated my cuffs. The bright sunlight of the Academy faded to black as we traveled back to the present one last time.
We opened our eyes in the mountain in an empty Glitch room.
“What?” Regan said as she turned to take in the empty echoing space. “Didn’t my mom and the security officers bust in here right before we left?” She turned to me, finger held up accusingly. “What did you do?” she asked.
“I’m not really sure,” I admitted. “I took a chance based on something you said to your mom back in her office. It’s the longest of long shots, but since no one is here trying to arrest us, I don’t know.” I shrugged. “It might have worked.”
“So, you mean we might not end up in jail for the rest of our lives?” Regan said.
“There’s only one way to find out,” I said, and jumped down off the platform. Together we walked across the echoing room, and I glanced up at the perfectly intact ceiling. I would never forget the image of those hunks of rock falling around our heads as we ran for the platform. I remembered again why those hunks of rock had fallen and felt sick. Because of us, our friends had Glitched back to their dorm rooms holding explosives. Please let them be okay, I thought, please.
With a sigh, I turned back to see Regan clambering down off the platform. I walked over to join her, and together we walked across the room and both stopped in front of the thick metal door. We stood there, shoulder to shoulder, and stared at it, and I knew that Regan’s mind was churning just like mine was with all the possibilities that could lie on the other side. As long as we stayed in the Glitch room, we could pretend like everything was fine. Like all our meddling in the past hadn’t changed the future, but, of course, it had.
“We have to leave sometime,” Regan finally said, breaking the silence. “If we get caught in here, whatever you did to prevent our arrest will be a waste.”
“Right,” I said, swallowing hard. Regan stepped forward and opened the door, and we slipped out into the darkened hallway.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Regan
As the steel door of the Glitch room locked behind us, I reminded myself that whatever happened, it would all be worth it. We’d saved the Academy, and in doing so we’d done what we’d been trained to do—we’d protected the future of the United States.
We crept quietly down the darkened halls, but they were just as empty as any other night that we’d snuck out to practice. I was just beginning to think that we were going to pull this off when we came around the corner and ran into Callaway.
“Elliot! Regan!” he said in surprise. “What are you two doing out at this hour?” Elliot and I froze, and my mind scrambled for a reasonable explanation.
“We just finished a practice simulation,” Elliot said at the exact same time that I blurted out that we were hungry. I cringed a little as Callaway looked from one of us to the other and back again.
“The simulation training made us hungry,” Elliot said, and Callaway nodded knowingly.
“I have to commend you two on all your extra practice. It will come in handy one day, I’m sure.”
Elliot and I shot one another a look out of the corners of our eyes, because, of course, it had already come in handy.
“Team Worst-Case Scenario,” Elliot said with a smirk, and I grinned back like an idiot.
“Well, you know the way to the kitchen,” Callaway said with a conspiratorial wink. “If anyone asks, that chocolate cake was half gone when you found it.”
“Yes, sir,” Elliot said as we changed direction and headed toward the kitchen. We were about to round the corner when Callaway called out.
“One moment, Regan,” he said, and we turned as he made his way back down the hallway toward us, his forehead scrunched in concentration. My pulse was suddenly hammering in my ears, and I felt a cold sweat prickle down my back. Callaway had figured it out.
“Regan,” Callaway said. “I meant to ask you about this earlier today, but I received a very strange message from your mother last night.”
“Last night?” I repeated, confused as my mind scrambled. “She contacted you before the emergency Glitch jump?” Suddenly I felt Elliot’s elbow digging into my ribs, and I realized my mistake. There had never been an emergency Glitch jump last night because the Academy had never been destroyed.
“Emergency Glitch jump?” Callaway said, looking from Elliot to me and back again. “What emergency Glitch jump?”
“She means the simulation we just practiced,” Elliot said. “We tried out the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory simulation, and it really threw us for a loop.”
Callaway shook his head at us. “You know that’s not a simulation we allow cadets to practice. We save events like those until you are in your final training year.”
“I can see why,” Elliot said with a shudder. I’m not sure what my own face did as I momentarily relived the gruesome fire, but Callaway put comforting hands on our shoulders.
“I don’t mind you two training at night, but stay away from the upper-level simulations. Okay?”
We nodded, and I felt a rush of relief that Elliot had successfully saved us from my slipup.
“But back to your mother,” Callaway said. “She sent me a message informing me that she didn’t want you participating in any more training missions on Academy grounds. Especially after Officer Salzburg mysteriously disappeared en route to the mountain this morning. She said that while she appreciated the formal notice I gave her of the event, that I should send such correspondence electronically in the future,” he said, his face a study of confusion. “Do you know what she’s talking about?”
I just stared at him, my mouth open in surprise as I tried to make sense of what he was saying. Training mission? What training mission? And what notice had he given her?
“Regan’s mom is just super overprotective,” Elliot cut in. I turned to him, and he opened his eyes wide and gave me a look that made it clear I was supposed to go along with whatever this was.
“Oh, right,” I said. “That. It’s just something we talked about the last time she checked in.” I glanced at Elliot out of the corner of my eye to see how I’d done and he gave the tiniest of nods of approval.
“Officer Salzburg disappeared?” Elliot said.
“Nothing for you to worry about,” Callaway said. “I’m sure it was just a miscommunication and he’ll be found in no time.”
“You might look into Salzburg’s history,” I said. “The last time he came for dinner at the house, something about him seemed off.”
“Hm,” Callaway said. “I’ll take it into consideration, Regan. Your intuition is usually pretty spot on.”
“Thank you, sir,” I said. “And don’t worry about my mom. I’ll make sure I clear everything up with her the next time we talk.”
“Okay, then,” Callaway said, and then he leaned in conspiratorially. “Just between us, your mother scares me half to death.”
Elliot laughed, and I smiled a smile that I hoped was convincingly nonchalant.
“All right, you two,” Callaway said. “Be quick in the kitchen; I don’t want you falling asleep during training tomorrow.”
“Yes, sir,” Elliot said again.
Callaway was just turning away when I stepped forward and grabbed his arm. “Sir?” I said.
“Yes, Regan?” he asked.
“In the training tomorrow, um, will everyone be there?” I asked. “Eliana and Tess and everyone?”
“Why wouldn’t they be?” he said, his eyebrows creased in concern. His words were like ice water on the fire that had been burning my heart ever since Elliot’s revelation was suddenly doused, and I felt myself relax for the first time in what felt like forever. They were okay. Everyone was okay. Callaway was still looking at me funny, and I realized that it was because tears were making their way out of the corners of my eyes. I swiped at them with the back of my hand and looked away.
“No reason,” Elliot said, saving me from trying to explain the unexplainable. “We just wanted to ask Sam and Serina a question before breakfast, that’s all.”
“Oh,” Callaway said. “I believe they are scheduled for a mission involving the Watergate scandal tomorrow, but I’m sure they will be able to spare a minute. You know,” he said, giving us a wide smile, “Sam was just telling me how impressed he’s been with you two lately. That he thinks you might turn out to be a good partner matchup yet.”
“That’s great,” I said. “That’s really great.” With that, he headed down the hall toward the kitchen. My stomach gave an angry growl, and I realized it had been a long time since we’d eaten anything. Maybe a kitchen detour was just what we needed to unwind after the insane adventures we’d just been on. The only sound was the echo of our feet on the stone floor as we made our way across the deserted atrium.
“So,” I said a minute later as I pulled what was left of the chocolate cake out of the fridge and handed Elliot a fork. “What exactly was in that letter you put in the Academy mailbox? I saw you swipe a form from the Glitch room. What could you possibly have had time to conjure up that fast?”
Elliot shrugged as he popped a bite of cake in his mouth. “You said something to your mom about us being on a training mission, so I decided that I would create one that explained us being in her office as well as the mess on campus that night. I forged Callaway’s signature,” he said. “I mentioned a top secret training activity the mountain was doing at the Academy this week, and that for the sake of security she shouldn’t mention if she saw any of the mountain students.”
“Meaning me,” I said around a mouthful of cake.
“Exactly,” Elliot said. “I had no idea if it would work, and honestly I just pulled the idea out of thin air as you were scribbling out your letter. I just thought that if that letter could save the Academy, then why couldn’t a letter save us too?”
I gaped at him, more than a little impressed. “That’s kind of amazing,” I said.
“It was the longest of long shots,” he said.
“Not that,” I said. “That you were okay winging it. That’s not you at all.”
“Nope,” Elliot said, stabbing another forkful of cake. “It’s you. You’re a bad influence.”
I laughed, and it felt so good. Like that laughter had helped loosen the last bit inside of me that was wound too tight. Everything was okay. Our friends were okay. My mom was alive. The Academy was intact. Salzburg was out of the picture, and as far as I could tell, we’d avoided a lifetime in prison. Life was good. Elliot watched me laugh and a rare smile tugged at his mouth.
“You know what’s a shame?” he said after a few minutes of companionable silence had gone by. “The most amazing mission we will probably ever do, and we can’t even tell anyone about it.”
“You’re right,” I said. “We can’t tell a soul.”
“We can’t even tell the other kids thank you for helping save the Academ
y,” Elliot said. “Do you realize that? They have no idea.”
“Well,” I said. “That means we also don’t have to tell them that they accidentally exploded in an alternate timeline.”
“Good point,” Elliot said. “That was really smart of you to think of getting them to help. We never could have done it on our own.”
“Thanks,” I said, cocking my head to the side. “You know, I think that’s the first time you’ve ever called me smart.”
Elliot looked up in surprise. “You are,” he said. “Not the same kind of smart as me, but you are smart.” When I just raised an eyebrow at him, he huffed and put his fork down. “It’s true,” he said. “It just took me a while to figure it out.”
“You’re forgiven,” I said, popping a bite of the cake into my own mouth. “It took me a while to figure it out too.”
“It reminds me of a famous quote by Albert Einstein,” Elliot said, his forehead wrinkled in concentration.
“Elliot Mason can’t remember something?” I said in mock horror, and smiled when he elbowed me.
“Obviously,” he said. “I almost forgot I had a bomb in my pocket.” He shook his head ruefully and held up a hand. “Just give me a second, I’ll think of it. I’m pretty sure it was Albert Einstein that said it, although it might just be something someone attributed to him. Everyone likes to claim Einstein said this, that, or the other thing, but I like to think Einstein said this one. I’m pretty sure it’s about a fish. Got it,” he said, snapping his fingers. “Albert Einstein once said that everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it would spend its whole life believing it’s stupid.”
“Huh,” I said. “I’ve never heard that before. I like it.” I turned to him and raised an expectant eyebrow. “So, if I’m a fish? What does that make you?”
“A jerk, remember?” he said, sliding what was left of the cake back into the fridge.
I shook my head. “You really aren’t anymore.”
“Thanks,” he said.
I stifled a yawn that felt like it was going to split my face in two and hopped down from the counter. “Let’s head to bed,” I said. “Even though Callaway said everyone was fine, I’ll feel better after I see everyone sleeping safely.” Elliot nodded, and we left the kitchen and made our way back across the atrium. I ran a hand over one of the simulation chairs as we passed and glanced over at Elliot.
