11:39

by Holly Hook

  “I don't care.”

  Something else snaps, then again and again, closer. “We should leave,” Isabel says, rising. “I want you to meet me tomorrow after you're done at the daycare. I'll be at the corner. Then I'll tell you what you need to do. Let's go before that Neanderthal tribe gets here and sees us sitting at their fire pit.”

  Chapter Seven

  When I return home half an hour later, Nancy's stopped snoring and nothing but silence greets me as I step into the house. It's very late now, way past midnight. Nothing's stirring.

  I have to go back into my room with Simon.

  The Simon who shouldn't have kept this from me.

  The Simon who should have come up with an answer before Isabel did.

  Can I even trust her? Is it true that she pulled me out of 1912? It must be, if Simon can't go through that rift.

  I push open my door and Simon's lying there in the moonlight on his back, sprawled out with one arm over my pillow. My indent is still there like I'm a ghost sleeping next to him. He's so beautiful, it makes my anger towards him melt...a little.

  I'm not mad because Isabel says she saved me. He did his best there.

  I'm mad because I deserved to know.

  I sit at my computer desk and watch him sleep. I can't crawl back into bed with him. Not now. Not until I hear the same story coming from his lips.

  The hours drag by. Faint purple light forms outside, them slowly brightens into pinks and oranges. It's almost time to get up for school.

  Simon stirs and reaches for me. He winces when his hand closes on nothing.

  “Get up,” I say.

  He blinks and his gaze lands on me. “Julia?”

  Translation: why are you in the chair, looking all stern at me?

  I don't even give him time to sit up. “You didn't tell me that the Timeless couldn't go back to where they were from.”

  He doesn't just wince this time. He flinches like someone's kicked his chest. “You went to the Hub? Where Frank could be?”

  “I got tired of waiting on you. Of sitting around here doing nothing knowing that my little brother died a horrible death.”

  Now he sits up. His eyes widen and he gives me the most serious, panicked expression.

  “You went by yourself?”

  “I can walk, you know. I'm capable of finding a rift and jumping through it. It's one thing I've learned. Simon, you're not usually like this.” He's always wanted me to be independent. He's not one of those guys who wants to keep me on a leash. And I wouldn't let him do that, anyway.

  “But Frank--”

  “Can't kill me.”

  Now Simon's standing up. It's his turn to tower over me. “I don't know if it can happen, but there may be ways for Frank to get you in trouble with Time. I'm not sure what gives me that feeling.”

  “He wasn't even there.”

  “But he is most of the time. He’s the most dedicated out of all of us.” Simon’s up now. Grabbing my arms and squeezing. “You can’t go back to the Hub for a while, especially after the nightmare you just had.”

  “You can’t tell me what to do.” I’m furious now. “This isn’t the Victorian era anymore. Women in this part of the world actually have some rights in this time.”

  Simon shakes his head and sighs. “That's not what this is. I’m not trying to be…like that. Was I ever?” He looks at me, pleading. “I just don’t want to see you get hurt. I’ve been trying to work something out with Isabel for getting your family out of there, but I haven't been able to deliver what she wants in return. She is sort of on our side, Julia. You don’t have to be afraid of her, but you don't want to have to do what she wants. I’ll keep asking around for another member of the Timeless to help us out. I do have to warn you, it might take a while.”

  Simon doesn’t know that I just spoke with Isabel. So it won’t be as easy as her going in and leading my little brother to a lifeboat. I knew it. She wants something in return. Something dangerous.

  And I’m going to have to find out what that is. Simon should have told me this before. I take a deep breath. I can't yell in here.

  “So,” I say, “What big, bad, horrible thing does Isabel want you to do, anyway?”

  My door bursts open.

  “Aha!”

  It’s Monica, standing there in her Hello Kitty pajama bottoms and a yellow sweater. She stands there with the door open, smiling at me and Simon. But underneath it, there’s tension. The smile’s forced.

  Simon and I forgot to keep our argument down. She must have heard our muffled voices through the wall. I hope they were muffled. I'm not sure how I'm going to explain the Hub and Time punishing us and saving my family. How do I explain that especially after what happened with Arnelia yesterday?

  Simon eyes me from the side. It's a question. Do you want me to do a mind trick on her?

  I shake my head at him. Monica deserves better.

  Simon separates from me and turns around, lifting his hands in defense. “Monica, we weren’t doing anything inappropriate,” he says. He’s forgetting to use his slang again. “We were just talking. I came in a few minutes ago.” He sends me a look from the corner of his eye. Help, it means. “Besides, haven’t you learned any manners? There is such as thing as knocking.”

  Monica snorts, trying to sound angry, but she’s just not convincing. “There’s also such thing as letting the people in the room next to you sleep. We have another hour before we have to get up and I have three tests today. Three!” She grins at me. I know what it means. I have to tell her everything by the end of the day. She wants the juicy details about me and Simon.

  I'm relieved. Maybe she only heard muffled voices after all.

  I give her a little nod. Later, it means. Meanwhile, I'm scrambling for what I'm going to tell her. Not just about now, but about everything.

  “We'll be quiet,” I tell Monica. “Sorry we woke you up. Really.” I mean it.

  Monica leaves, quiet now. I wait until I hear her door close with a gentle click until I face Simon.

  “Rats,” I say. “My fault.”

  He straightens up and turns around. “I have to go,” he says.

  “She won't tell Nancy about us doing this. She's very good about keeping my secrets."

  But he's already heading for the window. I can't help but wonder if he's taking the opportunity to escape my anger. I have to find out what Isabel wants, and screaming at Simon isn't going to get me there.

  “Simon, I didn't mean to confront you so harshly. Well, maybe I did. If we're in this together, we need to trust each other. We can't be hiding things like this."

  He turns from the window. “I understand,” he says. “You should be angry at me. I should have told you that we can't go back to the Titanic right away, so you wouldn't have the wrong expectations of all this. I kept the truth from you because I was hoping to surprise you with your brother and father, Julia. With your family here and safe. I was hoping that you wouldn't have to get involved in any more terror and heartbreak.”

  And then climbing out the window. His shoulders slump with the weight of an invisible mountain as he disappears into the early morning.

  Chapter Eight

  I don't even see Simon all day at school. Not at lunch, and not at Independent Study at the end of the day. Wherever he's gone, it's not here.

  Can he not face me?

  Or is he out, trying to work out a way to save my family?

  Why won't Isabel just help?

  I shouldn't have yelled at him this morning. Now he won't be there when I have to meet with Isabel. I never got the chance to tell him about that.

  I'm drained by the end of the day. If I were still mortal, I would have a major headache by now. I barely remember the walk to Happy Rabbit's Daycare. I go through helping Peggy, my employer, keep the kids rounded up and organized. The two hours feel like two years, even to me. I can't help but think of my younger brother, Melvin, here and playing with Misha and all the others. Safe. Coloring pictures. Ro
lling toy trucks across the floor. Watching the television, astounded that there are moving pictures in the living room.

  I wait for my phone to blow up with messages that Simon found a way to get my family out, that they're safe and I should come and see them. But it stays silent. It's not like Simon is the phone type, anyway. Neither one of us have ever sent a text message. I still don't know how to do it.

  I'm hoping he's waiting for me by time I leave, but the sidewalk in front of the daycare is empty. He hasn't even come to walk me home today.

  Yes. He is feeling guilty. Very guilty. I'm regretting the way I handled our argument more and more.

  I have to meet Isabel at the corner by myself after all. I hate leaving Simon out of this.

  She's waiting there, dressed in a black hoodie and matching jeans today. Her blond hair stands out in huge contrast against it. If I didn't know better, I'd guess that she was grieving or something. Isabel only nods when I reach her.

  “So?” I ask. My heart's pounding like she's about to tell me I need to sacrifice my heart to the gods.

  “Come on,” she says. Her voice is flat and emotionless. “I walked around all day looking for a new rift. The one by the school has disappeared. Another one's opened up over by the gas station. I really hope no one walks through by mistake, or guess who gets to go and fetch them.”

  “We should hurry,” I say. I know Monica's waiting at home, probably right in front of my bedroom door, waiting to hear about me and Simon. The longer I take, the more impatient she's going to get. I hate standing her up yet again.

  “Oh, it's still pretty strong,” Isabel says. There's no smile. “There's always one or two rifts in any area at one time. They're pretty common. That's why we exist. To help those who wander through and get lost.”

  “You and Frank didn't exactly help me. The second time, anyway.”

  She has nothing to say to that one. In fact, she says nothing until we reach the Speedway and stop across the street from it.

  There it is.

  The rift swishes and ripples gold only feet from where a man in a suit pumps gas into his SUV. He watches the numbers climb on the pump, oblivious that the gateway to every time lies right next to him. Two kids on bikes ride up and right along the edge of the rift, stopping on the sidewalk away from it. Isabel and I are the only two creatures here who can see it.

  Isabel winces. “I hate it when they form in places like this. It's not often, but it happens.”

  I see what she means. The guy leaves, driving his car right through the gold curtain. He must not be inside the rift long enough to get transported, because he leaves the lot and goes on his way. But I know if anyone stops there inside of the thing, Isabel and I will have the job of following them to wherever they end up.

  “So we need to go through.”

  “We have to wait until no one's looking,” Isabel says. “If they see two people vanish--”

  “I understand,” I say. I really, really wish Simon were here with me.

  But I don’t have to be scared of Isabel, at least. Just of whatever she wants me to do.

  We wait for minutes. A few cars come and go. People fill their tanks, and none of them pay attention to the rift. One guy even rides his bike through it. He stops in front of the station, rubs his arms like he’s swatting away bugs, and goes inside.

  Finally, the lot’s empty.

  “Come on,” Isabel says, waving me across the road.

  I hesitate. Simon could be working out another way to get my family back. But he sounded so unsure, so dejected this morning. I know, deep down, that the chances of him finding another member of the Timeless that will help us aren’t good.

  I have to do this, now. My chances of saving Melvin are near zero if I don’t follow Isabel. He’s worth the risk.

  I run across the street after her.

  We’re inside the rift seconds later. We stand, waiting. It swishes around us, making the hair on the back of my neck stand up again. Isabel winces at me. “I always hated this part.”

  And then we’re falling.

  We’re opposite each other. Isabel’s got her eyes closed, waiting for it to pass. Wind screams against my skin. I reach up to shield my eyes against it all. It’s no better than it was the last few times.

  We land.

  We’re back in the Main Chamber and the dome stretches over our heads, reaching for the stars. This time, we’re not alone. There’s three people standing over at the edge of the room, two men and one woman in a kimono. I wonder if they’re other Timeless or people who are lost. The woman’s animated, waving her arms at the two men.

  “Let’s get out of here,” Isabel says, waving me towards a hallway on one side of the room. “They’re here for an assignment, it looks like. Best not to interrupt them.”

  We jog out of the room and into the hallway that she’s leading me right into. A question nags at me as we jog past doorways, getting louder and louder and louder. Finally, the pressure’s so much that I have to say something.

  “Why do you want to help me so much?”

  Isabel stops. I do, too. The look on her face softens. There’s something other than business there, and I’m not sure what it is.

  “You’ll find out,” she says. “We’re more alike than you think, Julia.”

  “Which means?”

  She waves me along. “It’s not easy for me to talk about,” she says. “I’ll have to show you.”

  I realize she’s taking me to one of these rifts. Whatever she has for me to do, it’s behind one of them.

  At last, after we walk for what must be half an hour, we stop. The rift looks like all the others. Gold curtains swish inside one of the archways, ready for someone to go through.

  Ready for me.

  “This is it,” she says, facing me. “Julia, I want you to go through to my time. To what Time saved me from. Find my family. Save them. I have a mother and sister in there, the same way you have a father and a brother. Simon found this rift for me.

  “You mean the tragedy you came from?”

  Isabel coughs. Her chin’s wobbling. “Yes. Find me and my family. Rescue them, the way you saved yourself from the Titanic. It’s going to be hard, but nothing there will hurt you. Then, when you’re ready, find a rift nearby and bring them back. I’ll wait for you in the Main Chamber.” She doesn't sound very hopeful, like she expects me to fail at bringing her family to safety. It doesn't make me feel any better.

  “Will there even be a rift?”

  “There will,” Isabel says. “Time saved me from there. You’ll find one.”

  “Is that all I need to do?” What am I walking into? What am I going to have to watch? I cast my gaze to the rift. Why won't she just tell me where she's from? Won't that increase my chances of success? “Where am I going?”

  Isabel sticks her hand through the rift and touches the crystal wall on the other side. It’s solid, locking her out. She sighs. It's almost like a sigh of relief. Why would that be? Doesn't she want to see her family again?

  I stick my hand through the gold. My arm tingles and my hand vanishes. There's warmth on the other side, like I'm reaching into a hot, muggy room. I pull my hand back out and wiggle my fingers.

  “Just go,” she says. “Don’t worry. A rift will open for you. I won’t be able to get one open there, but I’ll have someone help me with it.”

  I breathe in, bracing myself. “Isabel, just tell me where you're from. That'll help me out a lot. I need to know where I'm going in order to find your mom and your sister."

  She turns away. Wraps her arms over her chest. Studies the floor. "Just go. Please."

  "Is it bad?"

  She doesn't answer.

  I'm going to have to get the answers myself. "All right. I'll go. Wish me luck." My heart's pounding. I have to do what Simon could not. I have to face what Isabel won't speak of.

  “Oh, and Julia?”

  “Yes?”

  “Don’t judge us too harshly.”

  I
close my eyes, take another breath, and step through the rift.

  Chapter Nine

  I fall into noise. Chatter.

  Warmth.

  Confusion.

  I open my eyes.

  I’m in a narrow corridor with white walls. It's filled with people. Filled might be an understatement. It’s packed. Hot. Stifling. Lights shine overhead and somewhere, a baby cries. Families sit on the floor along the hallway, taking up every possible space. The women all wear dresses that even Nancy’s mother is too young to wear. The men, either overalls or military uniforms.

  I’m not in Nancy’s time. And I’m not in 1912, either. The clothing here is a little more modern than that.

  There’s a lot of children here, too, clustered around their parents. Close to me, there’s a soldier and his wife with two little boys. The woman’s speaking to her husband, but I can’t understand her words. They’re speaking a different language, period.

  I remember Isabel's funny accent. This is why she has it. English isn't her first language.

  I glance down, afraid that I'm wearing jeans. Instead, I'm in a long, gray dress that wouldn't stand out here. I sigh in relief. The rift has changed my clothing for me to help me blend in. I didn't realize that they did that for us Timeless. It makes sense.

  The rift. Is it still here?

  I turn my head. I’m at the end of the hallway, and the rift I just left is fading away like it’s trying to flee the heat and the crowded conditions. I’m overcome by an urge to jump back through, to run back after Isabel and ask her what this is about. But I stay and watch it go.

  I have to do this for my brother. I’ve got to find the past Isabel and her family.

  I have to. Neither Simon or I can go through the gateway to the Titanic.

  I suck in a breath and hope that none of these people pay me much attention. I walk along the hallway, passing open doorways and stepping over people’s legs. Women fan themselves. Little kids stumble into my way and out again. No one gives me a second stare. It’s so crowded here that I can hardly breathe. People are restless. Tired. They’ve been sitting here for a while. The air feels tense. Scared, almost. The chatter follows me everywhere, and none of it comes clear to me. I can’t even ask anyone where I am or what’s about to happen.