“Ridiculous name. There’s nothing Chinese about that game at all.”
“How do you know?” Matt said. “You didn’t live in China that long. It could have been invented after your time.”
“It’s on the box.” Jia lifted the lid of the box where the information and instructions were printed on the inside. “And maybe I didn’t live in China that long, but I remember my cultural heritage.”
Matt felt he had struck a nerve with Jia. He knew she did not like to discuss her past, and he told himself it was none of his business and she would tell him when and if she felt like it. But he couldn’t help but feel a tiny bit hurt that she hadn’t confided in him a little more. He didn’t even know what era she was from, only that she was an orphan from China. Sometimes Matt got the feeling Jia was hiding something from him, but then he told himself that was probably just his own paranoia because he was actually the one hiding something from everyone.
They didn’t play Chinese checkers. Haha wanted to have a chess tournament, and Matt soon learned where his dad got his competitive board-gaming nature. Haha beat out everyone and gloated after each win, until it came time to play Matt. Matt had always been a natural at chess. He declared checkmate on Haha in six swift moves. Haha was flummoxed. He thought maybe it was a fluke, or that Matt had surely cheated. Matt played him again and beat him in four moves.
Haha scratched his head, laughing a little. “Okay, how did you do that?”
“Matt’s a genius, duh,” Corey said.
“None of us have ever been able to beat him at chess,” Ruby said. “He doesn’t operate on the same level as the rest of us.”
“Well, I suppose that makes sense,” Haha said, “considering how you built a time-travel machine and all.” He kept frowning at the chess board, rubbing his chin.
Matt frowned at the board too. He wished all this time-travel stuff could be as clear to him as a game of chess, all black and white, that the moves would reveal themselves in combinations of letters and numbers. But when it came to time travel there was so much gray and fog. Even if Matt fixed the compass, he wasn’t sure what their next move should be, how to predict Captain Vincent’s moves, or Quine’s. He could feel himself going crazy.
Corey didn’t help any. He kept going on about the Quine thing, and how they needed to find him and take him down somehow, though no one could even begin to guess how. Well, Matt had a guess, but what was he supposed to do, sell himself out? Maybe that was the answer.
Late that night, when everyone else was asleep, Matt sat working on the compass at his desk. He could still hear the clanks and rumblings of whatever battle was happening outside. A huge shadow passed over his window and when he opened the blinds there was a pterodactyl sitting on the fire escape, folding in its huge wings. Matt studied it. For a moment he forgot about all the chaos and simply marveled at this prehistoric creature before him. Unlike the more reptilian creature he’d always imagined, this pterodactyl actually had small, tufty feathers. Its crest was bright red and its eyes were surprisingly catlike, wary and intelligent. If they could wade through the chaos, Matt thought, scientists and historians could probably learn more in a few short weeks of real-life interaction with the past than they could in a lifetime of digging and research. Time travel wasn’t all bad. Like anything it just needed some regulation. But how could anyone regulate such a thing?
The pterodactyl made a sound between a growl and a shriek and flew off.
Matt placed the center dial back on the compass and gave it a short twist. Before he knew what was happening he was gone.
When he appeared again, he didn’t know where he was. The space was dim and foggy. He took a breath and coughed as dust entered his lungs. He was in a small room with bunk beds. After a moment he realized it was his own bedroom, his and Corey’s. Those were their bunk beds, covered in dust. There were the baseball stadium seats, his desk, his books and magazines and clothes.
He went out to the main area of the apartment. Everything was gray, covered in a thick layer of dust. One section of the wall was blown out, and Matt could see the city beyond, only there was no city. It was in ruins and completely unrecognizable to Matt. Some buildings had been reduced to rubble, others were partially standing. There were hills and mountains. People and animals roamed the land aimlessly. He could see a herd of giraffes. This couldn’t be New York. But this was his apartment. He must have traveled to the future, far into the future for this much change to have happened. He looked down at the dials and his heart did a little leap. He’d gone to June 10, 2019, only days from the time they’d left the vineyard, which meant this could only be a day or two in the future. How could everything have changed so drastically in such a short space of time? What happened? Where was his family? Had they left? Were they here? Maybe they were hiding?
“Hello?” Matt called. “Mom? Dad?” He went to his parents’ bedroom. The bed was unmade, but there was no one there. He went to Ruby’s room. No one. His heart began to pound. Whatever had happened, it clearly wasn’t good. He needed to get back. When had he left? He’d disappeared so quickly and he hadn’t been paying much attention to the time. It was around 11:00 p.m., he thought. He didn’t want to overlap with himself, so he’d go back at midnight the next day. That should be safe. As long as he returned while everyone was still asleep, he should be okay.
He was just about to turn the dials when something caught his eye, something on the dining table, a thick piece of paper. He picked it up and shook off the dust. It wasn’t paper but a piece of cloth. It was Captain Vincent’s handkerchief, the one with the initials VQ on them. Why was it on the table, out in the open? What did that mean? Had Corey shown it to his parents and everyone? Did this have anything to do with what happened here?
Matt dropped the dusty handkerchief and quickly turned the time dials to take him back to when he’d left. The room spun and the next thing he knew he was in his bedroom again. The dust and destruction was gone. It was clean and bright. Too bright. The sun was shining through the windows. The sun . . . That wasn’t right. It had been night when he left. Corey’s bed was empty and so was Albert’s. He looked down at his compass and his stomach dropped. He’d accidently returned at 12:00 p.m. instead of a.m.! He hit himself in the forehead. How could he have been so careless? He really should have designed the compass in military time to avoid this very mistake. His mind raced. He could fix this. He could travel back, wake up in his own bed. . . .
His bedroom door flew open. There was Corey. He looked from Matt to his compass and back to Matt. His eyes narrowed and darkened. “You’re in so much trouble.” Corey grabbed Matt’s arm and yanked him out of the bedroom like he was some kind of criminal.
“Ouch! Let go of me!”
“He’s back! I found him!” Corey announced as he pulled Matt into the dining room where everyone was gathered around the table—his parents, Gaga, Ruby, Jia, and Albert. Mrs. Hudson had her hands at her temples, but as soon as Matt entered she stood quickly and rushed toward him. He thought she was going to embrace him with relief that he’d returned, but instead she grabbed him by the shoulders so her nails dug into his arms. She shook him a little. “What happened? Where did you go?”
“Nowhere. I—”
Corey scoffed. “Oh, brother, quit with the lies already.”
“I’m not lying!”
“Matt,” Ruby said. “You’ve been gone for hours.”
“We’ve been looking everywhere for you,” his dad said. “Your grandfather and uncle are both out looking for you now.” Matt was surprised by the harshness in his dad’s voice, the wariness in his eyes.
“I’m really sorry,” Matt said. “I can explain. The compass is fixed, see?” He held it up, but no one seemed to be all that impressed.
“Yeah, we guessed that much,” Corey said, then turned to their parents. “I told you he’s been traveling behind our backs.”
“What? No, I haven’t!” Matt said. “I was fixing the compass, and then when I put it ba
ck together I traveled. It was an accident, just like on my birthday!”
“Where did you go?” his mom asked.
“I went to the future, I guess, just a day or two. I stayed right here in the apartment, and—”
“Did you see us?” his mom interrupted. “Did you see yourself in the future?”
Matt shook his head. “We weren’t there. Something happened. An explosion or something. No one was there. We have to get out of here. This place is going to be torn apart any time now.”
“Don’t listen to him,” Corey said. “It’s a trick.”
“What are you talking about?” Matt said angrily. “Why would I want to trick you?”
“I don’t know,” Corey said. “Maybe because you’ve been tricking us all along. Maybe because you’re not who we thought you were. Maybe because you’re not really on our side at all.”
Corey nodded toward the dining table where everyone was sitting. Matt glanced at the table and saw the handkerchief laid out exactly where he’d just seen it in the future. So Corey had shown it to everyone else while he’d been gone. They knew now that Vincent was a Quine. But there was more on the table that he hadn’t seen in the future. The note from Vincent that he’d found on the willow tree in Gaga’s yard, and the scrap of paper he’d torn off from Quine’s letter, the part that completed the poem and confirmed Matt’s true identity. His mother, at least, would have been able to put it together. Bring Mateo to me. We are one and the same. They must have searched his things for any clues as to what had happened to him or where he’d gone.
“It all makes sense now,” Corey said. “You’re Marius Quine!”
“I still don’t see how this can be true,” Ruby said. “That’s Matt. Our brother. He can’t be Marius Quine. He’s just . . . Matt . . . right?”
“No, he’s not just Matt,” Corey said. “Don’t you see? It all makes sense now. We always thought Marius Quine was the inventor of the compass. But then we found out Matt had invented the compass, and so we thought Quine was somehow the bad guy. But then Matt was there with Quine when Captain Vincent got the Aeternum. Vincent always favored you when we were on the Vermillion, because he knew who you really were, that you two were related somehow.”
Everyone looked at Matt, waiting for him to confirm. He felt like he was being backed into a corner. He had no defense, nowhere to run or hide. He couldn’t keep his secret any longer.
“It’s true,” Matt finally said, casting his eyes downward. “Quine and I. We’re the same person.”
“I knew it,” Corey said with part triumph and part derision. “I knew you were hiding something from us.”
“How long have you known?” his mom asked, her voice a bit hard, and he realized right then he’d made a mistake. He thought she knew already, and maybe she suspected, but he should have told her right away.
“Since that day in Asilah.”
“When Quine gave Vincent the Aeternum,” Corey said, every word dripping with disgust. “When you gave him the Aeternum! So that’s it then. You’re on his side.”
“No!” Matt said. “I’m not, I swear.”
“Then why didn’t you tell us?” Ruby asked.
“I don’t know,” Matt said. “I guess I didn’t understand it myself. I still don’t. I didn’t want you guys to think I was against you.”
“Congratulations,” Corey snarled. “That’s exactly what we think.”
“Enough, Corey,” said Mrs. Hudson. “Mateo is your brother, no matter what.”
“No, he’s not,” Corey said. “He’s an impostor. Don’t you get it? He’s manipulating us! He’s like a master puppeteer. Quine made sure you adopted him, somehow, so he could infiltrate our family, right from the beginning, and tear us all apart.”
“That’s a horrible thing to say,” Mrs. Hudson breathed.
“It is horrible,” Corey said. “But it’s true. We have to face the facts.”
“No,” Ruby cried in a small, quivering voice, so unlike her usual confidence. “Matt would never do that to us.”
“Maybe not Matt,” Corey said. “But Quine would. Because he already did. And one day Matt will become Quine. Maybe he has already. You’ve been working with him, haven’t you? Sneaking behind our backs, having secret meetings.”
Matt shook his head. “I haven’t. I only saw him that day in Asilah . . . and just once before that, but he was invisible, so I didn’t really see him!”
Corey huffed a laugh. “You’re such a liar. You’ve been traveling behind our backs. I’ll bet the compass was never broken at all. You just wanted to be able to travel on your own, plotting who knows what with Captain Vincent while we all sit here and freak out.”
Everyone looked to Matt, waiting for an answer, for him to refute what Corey were saying. But he had no answers. He felt like a mouse being backed into a corner by a bunch of feral cats. He had no defense, no way out. He looked for anyone who might be on his side, but everyone was looking at Matt like he’d just had a mask removed, revealing something grotesque and alien. Even Jia was looking at him with her lips pursed, her brow knit. She hadn’t said anything through all of this. He couldn’t tell what she was thinking or feeling, if she was angry or confused. Maybe both. Albert was the only one who did seem surprised or angry. He just stared at Matt with curiosity rather than accusation.
Matt wished he could disappear. He could, he realized. He had his compass. He could disappear right now, leave all this mess until he could figure things out. He started to reach for it, then stopped. He couldn’t do that. He couldn’t just leave his family like that. They had to work this out together. That’s what families did. Corey, however, noticed only the movement Matt made for his compass, unaware of his inner thoughts.
“Oh, no, you don’t!” Corey rushed at him. There were screams and shouts as Corey attacked. Matt fell back and had the wind knocked out of him. They rolled on the floor, knocking into chairs and walls.
“Corey, stop!” Ruby shouted.
Matt tried to shove Corey off, but Corey had always been bigger than him, and stronger. All Matt could do was try to protect himself. And the compass. Corey grabbed the chain and tried to tear it off Matt’s head, maybe tear his head off too. Matt grabbed on to the chain. He wouldn’t let go of the compass, no matter what Corey or anyone believed. He’d built it. It belonged to him.
Corey gave up on the compass and went directly for Matt, punching him in the ribs and stomach, shouting rage-filled insults and curses that under any normal circumstances would have gotten him grounded for life.
“Matthew, get Corey off him,” Mrs. Hudson shouted.
Mr. Hudson tried to pull Corey off, but he was in such a rage he flung his elbow back, hitting Mr. Hudson right in the nose.
“Traitor!” Corey shouted as he punched Matt in the chest and stomach. “You’re nothing but a lying, traitorous . . .”
There was a strange sound, a kind of humming or a buzz, like a beehive. At first Matt thought it was inside his head, an effect from Corey’s punching, but then Corey suddenly stopped hitting him. He looked around as though he heard the noise too. It seemed to be coming from everywhere and nowhere in particular. It grew louder.
The door flew open and Haha and Uncle Chuck came running in the door. “We didn’t find him, but—” Uncle Chuck’s eyes landed on Matt. “Oh good, he’s back. Listen, there’s something strange going on. Things appearing and disappearing all over the place. I think it might be wise for us to—”
Haha cut him off. “What in the name of Peter, Paul, and Mary happened to you?!” He was looking at Mr. Hudson. His nose was bleeding from Corey elbowing him in the face, but that’s not what Haha was referring to, Matt was pretty sure. He was referring to his hands. Mr. Hudson held up his hands, and Mrs. Hudson gasped. They were blurry, like someone had taken an eraser and smudged them.
“What’s happening to Dad?” Ruby said in a trembling voice.
The apartment started to vibrate, the walls and ceiling, rattling the table and
dishes.
“It’s Captain Vincent,” Albert said. “He’s taking him now. He’s changing things. In the past.”
“No,” Mrs. Hudson breathed. She reached out and grasped for her husband’s fading hands. Her fingers moved right through him, like he was a ghost. “No, no, no. Matthew.”
“Belamie . . . ,” Mr. Hudson said, reaching out a fading hand.
“I told you,” Matt said, pushing Corey off him. “I told you something was going to happen! We have to get out of here!” Matt pushed himself up from the floor and teetered as the ground continued to shake.
“If you knew something was going to happen it’s because you caused it!” Corey shouted. “This is your fault!”
“Stop fighting!” Mrs. Hudson shrieked. “Stop it right now! We have to go!” Mrs. Hudson grabbed Mr. Hudson by the arm, which was still solid, and pulled him to the door.
“You can’t run from this,” Albert said. “It’s going to happen no matter what.”
But Mrs. Hudson didn’t listen to Albert. “Everybody, let’s go!”
They didn’t pause to take anything. They all ran out the door, but as Matt was on the threshold he realized Jia was still standing in the apartment.
“Jia, come on!” he shouted.
“China,” Jia said.
“What?”
“We have to go to China.”
What was she talking about? “Jia, we have to get out of here now!” Matt ran back inside, grabbed Jia by the arm, and pulled her out the door.
By the time they were outside, Mr. Hudson stumbled and fell to the ground. His legs were fading.
A strong wind swept through the street. A flock of birds scattered from a tree. Then the birds disappeared midflight, as if invisible hands were snatching them out of the air, sucked into some invisible fold of space.
“Oh, the poor birds!” Gaga exclaimed.
“What’s happening to them?” Haha asked. “Where are they going?”
“We have to go to China,” Jia said again, as if she were in some kind of trance.
The Forbidden Lock Page 14