What was he to do? How could he help the Nik in the mirror? He was scared of shattering it and having nothing left, so the first thing he did was take electrical tape and wrap the entire mirror, making stripes of tape all over the front, obscuring most of the mirror, but if it cracked on Nik’s side, it would stay together.
Once that was done, the mirror looked like a giant checkerboard. But Nik was done playing games.
He took a deep breath, held up a large rubber mallet, and landed a blow right in the middle of the mirror. There was a big cracking noise and he could barely look. Nik’s heart was beating so fast he didn’t know if he could bear to see what he’d done. He froze, listening to a new sound. Even though the mirror was not fully broken, Nik could hear the unmistakable sound of a tornado siren coming from the other side.
Nik had crossed some kind of boundary. While he had intended to do something, he was also suddenly afraid. This could really be a terrible idea. Tornado sirens? What if he let a tornado through and it trashed the house? Penny might be okay with a little dust from a bathroom remodel, but he didn’t think she would be expecting the aftermath of a tornado.
He leaned in closer and put his ear to the mirror. It was definitely some kind of siren, wailing in the distance. Nik knew the closest siren in town was at the school, about six blocks away, so he presumed the same would be true for RepNika in his universe. When the siren rounded again and blared close to the house, Nik slipped and bumped his head on the now-cracked mirror. He pulled his head back and looked across the room at the mirror he’d already taken off Penny’s side of the vanity. He had a slight cut on the edge of his ear. He stuck a bandage on it and tried to figure out what to do.
Penny was expecting construction. Nik would give her a construction site.
He dug out an old bed sheet from the closet and hooked it up in the bathroom, masking the wall and the mirrors behind it. By the time he was finished, the mirrors (one real, the other an inexplicable portal to another world) had been hidden and the bathroom truly looked like a construction site. The tornado siren had also dissipated. Nik took a peek behind the curtain and saw that the “other” bathroom looked a little jostled, but otherwise untouched by any natural disaster.
Nik was still dumbfounded about what to do. He knew he would have to do something, but decided to wait until after Penny and the kids took off the next day for her mother’s. No messing with inter-dimensional portals with the wife and kids around. Who knows what could happen? He scratched his nicked up ear as he left the construction zone behind to join his family.
Wall Call
It was two days before Smith and his team were able to get on site. Not that Southern Indiana was too far from Grand Rapids, of course, but certain things needed to happen. One of which was Smith checking into a hospital.
The glass shards were a little more invasive than he had originally thought. Of course, in the moment, with the adrenaline flowing he hadn’t felt much. Then after the shock of the mirror exploding wore off, Agent Smith had a huge pain in his neck. Thankfully, the E.R. staff knew what to do and he was released fairly quickly, all things considered.
Next was the phone call to Director Wall. The conversation was short, but necessary.
“Smith?”
“Yeah, Wall.”
“What’s your status?”
Smith rubbed his neck gingerly, trying to piece together the past few days.
“Sore. Patched up now, but sore.”
A pause. “Glad to hear it. Status of the case?”
“That one is a bit trickier. We’ll know more tomorrow, I think, but suffice it to say there are larger things at play than just a missing family in Tennessee or a serial killer in Michigan. You’ve read my status reports so far?”
“I have,” Wall said.
“Okay. I could come in and brief you in person, but you and I both know I need to keep moving and figure this out now so I can stop their Agent Green.”
“Agreed. The flight is already booked for you and your team. A few other associate team members will meet you at the airport in Indianapolis,” Wall said. “And Smith?”
“Yes, sir?” Smith had known Wall for a long time. He had worked under Wall as a junior agent before they had both been promoted. Even after a few years behind a desk, Wall still remembered what it was like to be in the field.
“I know you talked to him. Your opposite. I know he’s leading you to Indiana. It might be a wild goose chase, so be careful. I trust you, but I don’t trust what’s on the other side of that mirror, even if it looks exactly like you.”
Smith considered Agent Wall’s words. He was right, of course. Just because they shared a face, didn’t mean they shared anything else, let alone a moral or ethical code. The only thing Smith and Alter-Smith had shared so far was a small conversation. That and a trail of breadcrumbs that was leading directly to Southern Indiana. Smith needed some perspective, and he was glad Wall was there to give it. That’s why he had the desk.
“Thanks, Wall. I appreciate your faith in me. My opposite was very persuasive, so thanks for what you said. I’ll be careful and I won’t let myself get caught up in his words. I’ll sever the link between our worlds, if need be,” Smith said.
“Okay then, get to it. I trust you to do the right thing.”
Penny
Penny went to bed worried about her husband. Nik was always the stable one—the rock in their marriage—yet for the past couple days he seemed distracted. Like there was something he wasn’t telling her.
Oh well. She needed to get some sleep. With a vacation day looming and a couple hours in the car with the kids, sleep was a requirement. Thankfully the kids were both at an age where she could stick a tablet or DVD player in front of their faces and they were content for most of the three-hour car trip. Kira was nine going on thirty-two and Sisco was seven. Close enough that they would have each other’s backs in school, but far apart enough that they could develop a healthy rivalry.
For Penny, life was close to perfect. Nik’s job as a teacher afforded him a great opportunity to see the kids every day during the summer, so she took a few days off here and there so she could have some personal time with them as well. She was close to partner at the local law firm. Normally that would require working extra-long hours, but the firm was in a small town in the middle of nowhere, Indiana, so Penny’s position was stable and secure. She had earned the extra time and took it when the kids had days off. Like tomorrow.
As she lay down to sleep, she knew she should probably check with Nik again. He was acting very peculiar, but time was precious. Perhaps a day or two away with the kids, giving him some alone time, would be the right prescription.
Without many cares at all in the world, Penny seamlessly fell asleep.
When she woke up, she knew it wasn’t daytime. The windows were still dark and the house was quiet. Too quiet. She wordlessly got out of bed to check on the kids.
She opened to door to Kira’s room first. The bed was lumpy; Kira still had an unhealthy obsession with stuffed animals. As a nine-year-old, Kira was at the age when she was transitioning from “kids” TV shows to “tween” programs. Kira still latched onto her favorite stuffed animals, even gravitating towards those stores in the mall. As Penny looked into Kira’s room, she realized it was all of those stuffed animals in the bed, not Kira.
Quickly, she checked Sisco’s bed. The sheets were turned down. Also empty.
Her heartbeat doubled its rate in a flash as Penny tried to solve this problem. For a moment, she doubted whether she was even awake. Was this all some cruel trick her mind was playing on her? Was she still in bed dreaming?
If she was, it was the worst dream she’d ever had.
Penny immediately marched to the master bathroom; her clothes from that day were in there. Nik was still sleeping. She figured she’d wake him up after she got dressed. She found her bra, t-shirt, and jeans. Slipping on her tennis shoes, Penny noticed something strange. In the bathroom, the
re were two mirrors. Nik had been working on them over the weekend, suddenly overcome with an urge to “renovate.” Penny had to stifle a laugh there. Neither she nor Nik were the handy type, so it seemed more than a little appropriate when he covered his progress (or lack thereof) with a sheet before he went to bed the night before.
The strange part was, Penny would swear she could hear noises coming from behind it.
She slowly stood up from the bathtub rim, and pulled back the sheet over Nik’s mirror.
Instead of her own reflection staring back at her, Penny saw Kira and Sisco playing in a bathroom nearly identical to their own.
Penny was confused. What was she looking at? On her side, she was alone in the bathroom, but on the other, her kids were there, oblivious to her presence on the other side of the glass.
She instinctively realized that Nik already knew about the mirror. It dawned on her that this was why he was being so secretive and had been acting so strange for the past week. He knew about this “other” bathroom and was keeping that information to himself. Did it frighten him? Was he emboldened by this information and was using it for some unknown purpose? Was he dumbfounded?
She had no idea, because he hadn’t mentioned it to her at all.
She was still trying to wrap her head around the fact there was a mirror in her house that she did not see her reflection in when Sisco looked up and saw her standing there. Nik had covered the mirror with tape, but there were more than a few blank spots. Sisco peered through the open spaces and saw his mother standing on the other side.
“Mom?” he called out, unsure of what was going on.
“Are you okay, Sisco?” she called back.
Sisco cocked his head. He tapped Kira on the shoulder and pointed at the mirror. Kira turned around and her whole face lit up.
“Mom! They said you would come!” Kira said, hopping up and running towards the countertop. She stood there, seemingly just feet away from her mother, yet Penny couldn’t talk to her, let alone reach a few feet over to touch her own flesh and blood.
She shook her head, hoping Kira would get the hint. She waved her arms to see if Kira and Sisco knew how to return, and if they did, then to do so.
Kira didn’t move.
Penny started feeling all around the mirror. If her kids went through, then there was some way for her to do the same. And if her kids couldn’t come back, then it was up to her to go to them.
Finally, as she reached the halfway point, a hole seemed to present itself as if the mirror was ready and waiting for her to open it there, like a swinging door on a saloon. She pushed against the right side of the large mirror while pulling on the left side. The pressure difference between realities took a bit to overcome, but eventually Penny got the door open and was ready to cross over.
Thinking back to Nik, Penny thought perhaps she ought to wake him up to tell him what she was going, but the sudden realization that he might’ve crossed back and forth dozens of times kept her planted in the bathroom.
He can follow me later. Time to get my kids back, she thought.
Without another moment of hesitation, Penny jumped through. She tripped a little on the countertop coming out on the other side, but managed to not bust her nose on the tile floor in this new world. Still prone on the ground, she felt Kira and Sisco pile onto her.
“Yes, yes. I’m glad to see you, too. But, you guys have a lot of explaining to do,” she said. “How did you get here? You know not to go someplace without one of us, right?”
“We know Mom,” Sisco said. “But when he woke us up from our beds, what are we supposed to do?”
“Dad?” Penny asked, thinking about Nik still asleep in the bed. At least...she thought so.
“Hello, Penny,” a voice called out from the next room. The door was open and it appeared as though there was no master bathroom on the other side—just darkness. She squinted and tried to make out the form before her, but was totally surprised when she saw just who it was.
Southern Indiana
The next morning, Smith was on hour number three of a road trip after leaving the Indianapolis Airport. He arrived with Wesson, Tinker, Barney, Black, and of course, his now constant companion on this mission, Dr. Anna. She’d been with Smith since they’d discovered these anomalies, and Smith wasn’t going to send her packing now.
Smith and his team were picked up at the airport by a secondary team—Ford, Plymouth, Dodge, and Schwinn. Whoever said the government didn’t have a sense of humor? Smith mused. He assigned each of his own team members to ride with one of the other to become acquainted on the trip, while Dr. Anna and Smith rode with Ford, the team leader.
Unfortunately for Smith, Agent Ford was one of those types who preferred to “lead by example.” For most of the trip, Dr. Anna and Smith sat in the backseat of a black SUV, subjected to the sounds of Kenny Chesney, Carrie Underwood, and Toby Keith. Rarely did they hear Ford’s voice, which Smith figured was okay—he didn’t need to hear Ford talk, he just needed the other agent to follow his directions.
While Smith had been laid up at the hospital the day before, Anna had been tasked with pinpointing the next event—which she had, down to the exact house in a rural Southern Indiana county. The house was in a town, but the town itself numbered less than 2,000 residents, so collateral damage was probably a moot point. Director Wall would be glad for that.
“What do we know, Anna?” Smith asked.
“Homeowner is a man by the name of Nik Davidson. He’s a history teacher at the local high school. Wife is Penny. The two were married eleven years ago and they have two kids, Kira and Sisco.”
Smith chuckled a little, knowing Nik must be a Star Trek nerd. Him or his wife.
“We trained a satellite on the house last night once we realized which house it actually was. Since then, we haven’t seen anything, but there have been some gaps in coverage. One thing is interesting, however…” Dr. Anna trailed off.
“Yes?” Agent Smith asked, knowing she needed some prompting.
“Well sir, when I checked the infrared satellite images, I noticed there was only one person in the house. According to our information, he’s married with two kids. If that’s the case, where are the other heat signatures?”
“Oh glory,” Smith muttered, his mind drawn back to Caplan in Michigan. Dr. Anna seemed to confirm his thoughts with her next statement.
“I’m afraid we may have another Caplan on our hands. We’ll need to do a thorough forensic search of the property. Mr. Davidson may be another serial killer and we need to be prepared,” Dr. Anna said.
Smith nodded his head slowly, gazing out the window, taking in the flat farmland all around. He knew Ford and his team were not just a secondary team. They were a fully equipped SWAT team if need be, and that might be exactly what kind of situation they were all walking into.
“Okay,” Smith said evenly. “Thanks for the heads up. We’ve got our work cut out for us here. Ford, looks like we’re going to need to speed things up a bit. Tell your team we’re going in ready for anything.”
A Different Perspective
When Nik woke up, he found the bed empty. He checked the house and came to the conclusion they must’ve gotten up and left before he was even awake.
Good, Nik thought. He was glad they wouldn’t be here for this. He couldn’t bear the thought of something happening to his family if he screwed up whatever came next. After a quick breakfast and shower (in the kids’ bathroom...Nik didn’t do anything in his own bathroom anymore), he decided he might as well get it over with. He had the day off from school—thanks MLK!—so if he was going to figure this out, today was going to be the day.
Except...it wasn’t that simple. When Nik went into the master bathroom, the curtain he’d made across the mirrors had been torn. Not just moved, but ripped right down the middle. He pushed it aside and looked at the mirror over his sink. Still covered in a checkerboard pattern of tape, he could see parts of his—the o
ther his—bathroom. There was a sign up on the shower stall, replacing the “EM PLEH” sign which had been up there before.
Instead, new words appeared on the paper. After translating the reverse script, Nik read “I HAVE WHAT I NEED.” Nik’s heart paused, then began to race. He felt every hair on his body rise as he quickly grasped the implication. With complete abandon, he bolted out of the house and ran out into the driveway. Oh dang! Penny’s car was still there, and his fears were confirmed. Penny and the kids hadn’t gone to her mom’s house after all. Somehow they had been taken. Taken through the mirror.
Damn.
Nik crouched down and ran his hands through his hair as sweat dripped down both temples. He fought down the impulse to hyperventilate, realizing that this was a bad time to lose it mentally and emotionally. What happened? And how had he slept through it? He felt like a dummy. He knew what he would have to do. There was no choice but to chase after them. He turned to go back in the house.
_____
The four SUVs Agent Smith had requested were pulling into one of the smallest counties in Indiana. He didn’t know what to expect from Mr. Davidson, so the teams dropped Wesson off a couple blocks away for a possible long-range situation, in case Nik Davidson had more deadly weapons than they could even imagine.
A few minutes later, those same four SUVs pulled into Davidson’s driveway, right as a man was walking back towards the front door. Smith checked the file Dr. Anna had on her lap and the photo appeared to be a match. The lead agent did a quick double check, and pulled the door handle, getting out of the SUV and standing by the door. He wouldn’t have said he was afraid of Nik Davidson, but fear of the unknown is a healthy thing. It had kept Smith alive more times than he cared to admit.
“Are you Nik Davidson?” Smith yelled out. The man near the house’s front door tilted his head in the affirmative. Good enough for Agent Smith. “We need you to come with us.”
Utility Company (Book 1): Blink Page 7