by Marty Chan
“And what if you get captured?”
“Better than to sit here and wait!”
Silence.
“I’m sorry I snapped, sir.”
He nodded. “I understand your frustration, Amina, but we need more bodies before we do anything. Perhaps some of the soldiers in Purgatory.”
She shook her head. “We need them to continue training the civilians. Prepare them for battle.”
“Is all this preparation necessary? Ba Tian is trapped in another dimension. His generals and soldiers are in prison. What more do we have to fear?”
“We cannot be sure that all of his generals were captured and the rest of his army is spread across other dimensions. Who knows how many have made their way here? If we had the exoskeletons, we would even the odds.”
“Or you could get captured and we’d have to find a way to rescue you.”
She eyed the guards along the fence. “I won’t get caught.”
“Caught doing what?” Ehrich asked as he jogged toward
the pair.
“You’re late,” Amina said.
“I think I have a lead on Ole Lukoje. There was a murder last week. The victim’s eyes were taken.”
“Intriguing,” Tesla said, plucking the newspaper from under his arm. “I was just reading about a break-in at Thomas Edison’s Orange County facility. Apparently, a guard was killed. His eyes were taken.”
Ehrich stiffened. “Ole Lukoje.”
“We don’t know that for sure,” Amina said.
Tesla cocked his head to one side. “It would appear to be more than a coincidence. Once the man has retrieved his nano-dust, who knows what he will do. Perhaps, he could summon all of Ba Tian’s army.”
Amina shook her head. “No, I think he can only transport one or two people at a time. Otherwise, all of Ba Tian’s forces would be swarming the city by now. Still, he might be bringing over a few of Ba Tian’s soldiers as we speak.”
“The only way to know for sure is to look for Ole Lukoje,” Ehrich said. “He’s my way home.”
Amina shook her head. “We have to get to those exoskeletons before Ba Tian’s people do.”
“We don’t know if there are any generals left, Amina, and as long as guards are posted here, I doubt they are going to let any Dimensionals through,” Tesla said.
“We can’t take the chance,” Amina argued. “We have to get below.”
“We don’t have enough people to do that,” he said. “We barely found enough to keep watch on the tunnel project.”
“The soldiers have their hands full with training right now. We have to prepare for war.”
“A war that might never happen. Amina, let’s put this to rest for now. At the very least, let’s bring Mr. Serenity up to speed and feed ourselves. I’m famished.”
Before she could argue, Tesla set off down the road. Ehrich cast a sideways glance at Amina and shrugged. “You coming?”
She sighed, taking one last look at the guards on the fence before joining the pair.
The Way Home
Deep under Manhattan, Purgatory teemed with inter-dimensional travellers. Trying to piece their lives together after fleeing their war-torn worlds, some of the travellers sold wares and made the best of their lives under the network of pneumatic tubes that crisscrossed over the steel and glass structures of the underground city. The soldiers trained the most able-bodied civilians to fight.
Ehrich, Tesla, and Amina walked along a training area where a battle-worn soldier barked orders at civilians.
“Hands up! Block first, strike second! Keep your feet planted! Attack! Lunge! Don’t hesitate!”
Some of the civilians learned faster than others. One was on the ground gasping for air. The blue-faced instructor with a Cyclops eye gave her no pause.
“On your feet! Ba Tian’s soldiers aren’t going to wait for you to catch your breath.”
She slowly rose to her feet and resumed the training. Amina nodded at the Cyclops soldier. He grunted at her and continued with the training.
The trio headed toward the market square, their boots clicking against the smooth obsidian surface as they passed food stalls. Not every civilian trained for war. These vendors were deemed unfit for combat either because of physical or emotional trauma. The aroma of exotic fruit and vegetables teased Ehrich’s nose. He inhaled deeply and his appetite grew. He quickened the pace, veering to a vendor with skewers of barbecued meat on his cart. He sat in a wheel chair. He had no legs.
“How much for the meat?” Tesla inquired.
The purple-skinned vendor held up five fingers.
“You’re ripping me off, my friend,” he said.
“We’ll give you two,” Ehrich offered.
He shook his head.
Amina pleaded, “Can we skip the haggling?”
“That’s part of the fun.” Ehrich turned to the vendor. “Two and that’s my final offer.”
“You do what you want,” Amina said. “I’m going to track down recruits for the watch.” She walked off.
“Don’t you want something to eat first?” But it was too late. Amina was already out of earshot.
The vendor held up five fingers.
Tesla chuckled. “You could buy one less skewer, Ehrich. It wouldn’t hurt for you to lose a pound or two.”
Ehrich scowled. “Fine. Five. Hold on. Let me check what I have.” He fished three marbles out of his trouser pockets.
The vendor clucked, “I prefer real money.”
Ehrich ignored him as he rolled the balls on the palm of his hand. In the chaos at the dry goods store, he had shoved them in his pocket. They were similar to the ones Dash had lost to the bully in Ehrich’s home world.
.
Ehrich’s hands fumbled as he tried to pick the lock to the apartment door. Behind him, Dash nervously kept watch.
“Gregor can keep my marbles,” Dash said, shifting from one foot to another.”
“No, he stole them from you. We’re getting them back.”
Suddenly, the door swung open and a red-faced man roared at the brothers. Ehrich froze with his lockpick set in his hands.
“Thieves!”
“Run,” Ehrich yelled as he slipped away from Gregor’s father.
He hurtled down the steps of the apartment building and shoved his brother out of the doorway. The thundering steps of Gregor’s father echoed in Ehrich’s ears.
He pushed Dash to the left and barked, “Split up! He can’t catch both of us.”
The brothers parted. Ehrich drew Gregor’s father after him. The chase led them through the streets of Appleton, their home town. Ehrich kept ahead of the man, running past curious onlookers until he was sure that Dash was away safely. Then he gave the man the slip and searched for his brother.
But it seemed Dash had disappeared. Ehrich searched up and down the streets, careful not to stumble across Gregor’s father again. Finally, Ehrich spotted Dash at the outskirts of the neighbourhood, but his brother seemed different.
“Dash? What’s wrong?” Ehrich asked.
The young boy ignored him and stiffly marched toward the town cemetery, clutching a medallion around his neck. Ehrich had never seen this thing before. He followed, trying to get a sense of what Dash was up to.
He never anticipated what he witnessed next. His brother stood in the middle of grave markers and a rift in the air appeared, revealing a myriad of other worlds. He was about to step through.
“No!” Ehrich screamed as he rushed to stop Dash.
The younger Weisz struggled to get away from Ehrich. In the fight, the two brothers fell into the rift, falling for what seemed like forever. Then hard ground met with Ehrich’s shoulder and he lost his grip on his brother. When Ehrich regained his senses, he found himself in
New York City. His brother ran away and disappe
ared in the
crowd. Ehrich started after him but a carriage nearly ran him over.
When Ehrich made his way to the other side of the busy street, Dash was nowhere in sight. He was gone. The only thing Ehrich had of his brother was the strange medallion he had ripped from Dash’s neck during the fight: the Infinity Coil.
.
“If you’re not hungry, Ehrich, I’ll gladly eat yours,” Tesla said.
Ehrich rolled the marbles in his hand one last time before pocketing them. “Thanks,” he said, taking the skewer from the vendor. The smell of cumin and lamb wafted up his nostrils.
Tesla cocked his head to the side. “What are the marbles for?”
“Dash used to have some like these back in the other … in my world,” he replied.
“He’s a little old to play with marbles, wouldn’t you agree?”
“They might trigger old memories. Help him connect to the past, before Kifo.”
“You might have a stronger impact than them,” Tesla said
Ehrich said nothing. He felt too guilty to spend any real time with Dash. He blamed himself for everything that had happened after they had arrived in this dimension. Ehrich couldn’t find his brother for several years. His only lead came when he found Amina and Mr. Serenity, who revealed the true power of the Infinity Coil. His brother’s soul was trapped within the medallion while an assassin, Kifo, possessed the boy’s body. The assassin worked for the warlord, Ba Tian, who destroyed worlds to plunder them of their riches.
Ehrich had ultimately succeeded in freeing Dash from the Infinity Coil and Kifo, but the price had been dear. They had lost an important ally, Ba Tian’s daughter—Ning Shu. She had turned against her father and would have been instrumental in bringing an end to the invasion. She had died during the fight against Kifo. Dash was free, but Ning Shu was gone forever.
Now that Dash was back, however, he seemed different. Perhaps it was the time he had been trapped in the Infinity Coil or maybe Dash blamed Ehrich for all that had happened, but Dash did not seem like the boy Ehrich remembered.
“He’s your brother,” Tesla continued, “and every moment you spend with him will help him remember who he once was. With or without the marbles.”
Ehrich closed his fist around the orbs and said nothing.
“When I was a boy, almost the same age as your brother, the army tried to recruit me. I was a frail teenager, and my parents knew this was a death sentence for me. They sent me away to live in the mountains. I survived through the bitter winter, hunting for my own food and finding shelter where I could. It was not easy, but despite all expectations I survived. Do you know what got me through the harshest nights?”
Ehrich shook his head.
“The thought of my family.”
“What if I’m not enough?”
“You will be, Ehrich. You will be.”
They walked away from the marketplace, eating in silence.
.
In the glass tower at the outer edge of Purgatory, Dash perched on his bed in the quarters he shared with his brother. He stared at the wall, or more accurately, he seemed to be staring through it as if he were trying to will himself to go somewhere else.
Ehrich entered the room, holding out the clay marbles. “Dash, look what I found.”
The younger Weisz glanced at the balls then turned his attention back to the wall.
“They’re like the ones you used to play with,” Ehrich said. “You used to be so good at marbles. Want to play now?”
Silence.
“Here, let’s set up a circle right between our beds.” Ehrich grabbed a chalk from the nightstand beside his bed and drew a circle on the tiled floor. He placed a marble in the centre then handed one to Dash.
“Knock the marble out of the circle. You go first.”
Dash tossed the marble on the floor. It bounced and rolled through the circle and under Ehrich’s bed.
“It’s okay. You can try again.” He held out the last marble.
Dash shrugged.
“You used to love this. I remember one time you won marbles from eight different kids. You took out three with one shot. No one could have pulled that off, not in a million years. The next turn, you made the exact same shot. Remember?”
The younger Weisz stared at the floor, saying nothing.
“Dash, help me out here. Do you remember this? Do you remember anything?”
His gaze remained focused on the floor. Ehrich reluctantly picked up the marbles and put them back in his pocket.
“What about the stew Mother used to cook?” he said, trying to get a response from Dash. “That was the best thing to eat on a cold Sunday afternoon. She left the peel on the potatoes because she knew you loved the taste of them.”
Dash gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.
“You always tipped the bowl up so you could finish the broth, and it dribbled down your chin onto the table. She slapped you on the back of the head when you tried to slurp the dregs off
the table.”
“Shut up, shut up, shut up. Shut up!” Dash curled up on
his bed.
“What’s wrong, Dash?”
Barely audible, his brother murmured, “Remembering hurts.”
Ehrich’s chest tightened. Dash’s pain almost radiated from his body in waves. He desperately wanted to stop his brother’s pain, but he believed there was only one way to do this. Get him home.
.
Later that evening, the allies convened in Mr. Serenity’s quarters. Tesla lounged on the divan looking over the shoulder of Mr. Serenity, as he examined sketches of the Infinity Coil. About the size of a hand, the copper medallion contained a myriad of interlocking gears on one side. The gears seemed to descend deep into the heart of the medallion with no end. On the other side of the Infinity Coil, the image of a lion with a goat’s head on its back and a snake instead of a tail stared out. The rotund man leafed through the sketches of this mysterious artefact.
Amina entered the room, pulling off her heavy wool overcoat. Ehrich greeted her from the table. He picked the last bits of lime green pulp from the rind of an exotic fruit, leaving only a few morsels on the plate.
“Ah, good. I’m starving.”
Tesla glanced up. “Did you find anyone willing to keep watch above?”
She sat down at the table beside Ehrich and rummaged for bits to eat among the near-empty plates. “The soldiers don’t want to give up any of their trainees. And the civilians who aren’t training, well, they look like they’d blow over in the wind. I took what I could get. What’s left to eat?”
“My apologies, Amina,” Tesla said. “We were famished.”
She shook her head. “You must have a hollow leg to store all that food you eat.”
Mr. Serenity laughed. “Take it easy on the man, Amina. He’s barely skin and bones. He needs some meat on those ribs.”
“I wouldn’t need to eat so much if someone shared the burden of watching the tunnel.”
Mr. Serenity held up the sketches. “I have my priorities.”
“Ah, yes. I see your drawing skills have not yet improved.”
The two chuckled.
“None of you is taking this seriously. Ole Lukoje is at large. We don’t know if all of Ba Tian’s generals are in custody. Who knows where Ba Tian is? We have to prepare for war. There are weapons within our reach if we take the initiative.”
“Perhaps there is another alternative,” Mr. Serenity said. “I’ve been thinking about our predicament, and I believe we are going about this the wrong way.”
“There is no other way,” Amina said.
“Let’s assume for a moment that the exoskeletons are the linchpin between victory and failure. Ideally, we want to control them but, failing that, we need to keep them out of Ba Tian’s hands. Correct?”
S
he tilted her head to one side. Ehrich shifted forward, curious. Tesla smiled and nodded his head. “Conductors and insulators?”
Mr. Serenity beamed. “Exactly.”
“Um, does someone want to put that in English?”
Tesla turned to Ehrich. “Right now, the exoskeletons are conductors, metaphorically speaking. In other words, my generator is a conductor that allows electric currents to flow; in this case, the exoskeletons as conductors could bring the war to an end quickly, depending on who possessed them.”
Mr. Serenity stood up. “And we’ve always associated them with Ba Tian, which was why everyone feared the warlord.”
“But could we use them to decimate his forces?” Amina asked.
“Perhaps, by turning the exoskeletons into metaphoric insulators, we can use them to resist Ba Tian.”
Ehrich shook his head. “That would take too much time, and we’d create a new enemy. Imagine the panic among the New Yorkers if they saw these machines lumbering down their streets. Do you want to fight a war on two fronts?”
Tesla added. “You raise a good point. Tensions are already high and we don’t have enough time. The appearance of these machines would push people over the edge.”
A creak distracted Ehrich. He glanced around the room for the source. The door was slightly ajar. He walked over and shut it.
“What if no one possessed the machines?” Ehrich suggested.
Amina straightened up. “We might have a fighting chance.”
“And we wouldn’t turn the people of my dimension against you,” Tesla added.
“Exactly.” Mr. Serenity said.
“How do we take the exoskeletons out of the picture?” Ehrich asked.
“The machines are housed under thousands of tons of earth,” Mr. Serenity said. “We could collapse the tunnel. I might be able to devise an explosive device, but we would need to plant it underground.”
“So we’re back to square one.” Amina crossed her arms over her chest.
Tesla shook his head. “Not necessarily. It would certainly be easier to get a few people past the defenses with an explosive device than to get a troop to retrieve the exoskeletons.”