QUANTUM (Portal Chronicles Book Three)

by Imogen Rose

  On Christmas day, after spending a lazy morning opening gifts, we went over to Kellan’s place for Christmas dinner. The Fox house was dressed up in Christmas decorations and even smelled of Christmas. A giant tree decked out in silver ornaments dominated the three-story hallway. I was glad that Ella had insisted that I dress up for the occasion. Hard as it was walking in Mom’s pink Manolos, they did make me feel fabulous, and tall. And they complemented my pink-trimmed grey dress–so Ella declared. I brought the Medor clutch Mom had gotten for me last year as well, so I did feel quite adequate. But only adequate. Looking around, I could clearly see that this was a very formal Christmas dinner event. My heart skipped a beat as I spotted Kellan walking up to me. Beyond hot. He looked amazing in a black suit, seasonally dressed with a red bowtie.

  Gramadea seemed to be best pals with Inez, David’s mom. They pretty much spent the entire afternoon chatting with each other and then Gramadea suddenly announced that she had to leave. So, we didn’t get the chance to get to know each other at all. Everyone around me seemed to sort of know her. Kellan said that she showed up once a year at Christmas. I asked Kellan about her and he, like me, assumed she was a Wanderer. Did that mean that Rupert was one, too?

  Since it was traditional for Gramadea to show up just once a year, it was unexpected to have her appear here now. “Hi, Gramadea!” I said, looking up at her. “I wasn’t expecting to see you until Christmas.”

  She smiled and nodded. “Yes. This is an unplanned visit. We have a situation, I’ve come to help out.”

  “A situation?” Kellan and I asked in unison.

  She came walking right up to us and threw her arms around Kellan and me. “Good to see you, kids. I have missed you. Where’s Ella?”

  “She’s at a sleepover tonight,” Rupert replied.

  “And Harry? Did you manage to make contact with him?”

  “Yes. He’ll fly in if we need him. However, he’s busy at college, so let’s try to avoid that.”

  Gramadea nodded and then took the cup of tea Rupert handed to her.

  “Gramadea, what’s up?” I asked, getting slightly impatient.

  She got right to the point. “Children, you both are aware of the existence of Wanderers. Right?”

  Kellan and I nodded.

  “Well, there’s more to it. There are different kinds of Wanderers. Most of the Wanderers you’ve had contact with thus far–David, Inez and the other Elders–are the most common type of Wanderer. These Wanderers are able to traverse time and dimensions. What they cannot do, however, is travel geographically–other than by using methods available to most humans, like air and ground transportation.

  “There are Wanderers who can travel geographically. We call these kinds of Wanderers Sigma-Wanderers or Sigma-Ws. Sigma-Wanderers have the benefit of being able to travel anywhere, even inter-galactically, if they wish.”

  I could feel my head exploding. I had so many questions, but Gramadea was not a lady one interrupted, so I held my tongue and listened.

  “You may have been told that the Wanderers are a peaceful species whose sole purpose is learning. That’s precisely right. The Wanderers report all their findings to the Sigma-W. You may think of the Sigma-W as the controlling entity. There is, of course, a hierarchy within this group. And, like with most other groups, there is a rogue element as well. So, you are wondering why I am telling you all this?”

  “Yes, and how do you know all this?” I asked.

  She smiled at me–one of those annoyingly evasive smiles.

  “Arizona, as I said when I first came in, we have an issue. The issue may involve the Sigma-W, which is why I had to explain their existence to you. Granted, my explanation is very simplistic, but sufficient for now. As you know, the portal is functional again. What you don’t know is that Olivia used it today.”

  “Mom went through? Why? Where to?”

  “Arizona, she was being blackmailed by Simla Sen. Simla had Olivia transport her through the portal so that she could meet with her dad.”

  “Simla went through?” I repeated, sounding like an idiot, no doubt. “She met with Raj? So he’s still around. How did they know where to find him? A whole year has passed….”

  Gramadea nodded. “She had your mother transport her back in time, to last year. As you probably know, Erica–Simla’s late mother–was a Wanderer. This means that Simla has latent Wanderer ability, which could be activated by the Elders if they choose to do so. However, as Simla has proven herself unworthy that was never an option. Her defiant personality has provoked interest from the rogue Sigma-W group, who has been tracking her moves.

  “When we found out that Simla was going to travel through the portal we were naturally a bit concerned. We obviously don’t have much experience with Wanderers traveling through the time/dimension continuum other than using their natural abilities. However, much to our relief, the transport didn’t seem to affect Simla on her first passage through. Olivia reported back that all was okay and that Simla had successfully met with her father.”

  “What happened between Simla and her dad?” Kellan asked.

  “I’ll get to that later. It’s not particularly relevant at the moment. What is of more concern is what happened to Simla on her way back here. As Simla reentered the portal, she started to shake violently and then began to fade. Olivia tried to grab hold of her– unsuccessfully. Olivia describes the incident as Simla fading into a mist. She just disappeared, leaving Olivia on her own. Needless to say, Olivia is totally stumped and devastated. Larry–Dr. Fox–brought her to Constance for guidance. Constance contacted me.”

  “Wow, so Simla is gone? Disappeared in the portal?” Geez, this was unbelievable.

  Gramadea shrugged. “We have no explanation for what happened. It could be biological–her Wanderer body reacting to the artificial transport. The only other time that a Wanderer has transported through the portal is that one time when Olivia brought Gertrude through and she has not displayed any effects from it, though we still haven’t worked out how she affected you, Arizona.”

  “What?” Kellan voiced what I was thinking. “Gertrude? How is she relevant?”

  Rupert looked over to his mom and then spoke. “We may have overlooked telling you that Gertrude is a Wanderer.”

  “What the heck?”

  “Language, Arizona.” Rupert reminded me, sternly.

  “I’m sorry, but this is all so insane. How can a dog be a Wanderer?”

  “Wanderers come in different forms,” Rupert explained. “Gertrude was assigned to Arizona Stevens because of her issues with humans.”

  “Why did I need a Wanderer assigned to me at all?” I asked flabbergasted.

  Gramadea sighed. “Arizona, all that may become clearer if you let me finish explaining. Okay?”

  I nodded.

  “So, we don’t know if transport through the portal could have somehow affected Simla biologically.”

  “I don’t understand,” Kellan interrupted. “Affect her biologically, what does that mean? What do you think happened? Did she just implode and then vanish into thin air?”

  “I doubt that would be the case. It’s more likely that the portal triggered her wandering abilities and she… wandered away. That’s what Olivia’s description of what happened seems to indicate. However, we have no way of knowing that.

  “There is another possible scenario that we are looking into. Like I said before, the rogue Sigma-W group is interested in her. It’s possible that they took her.”

  I shook my head, looking over at Kellan. I wasn’t sure what to make of it all. Had we suddenly woken up in a bad fantasy movie? This was beyond insane. I snorted. Not on purpose, it just sort of happened.

  “Arizona?” Gramadea inquired.

  “I’m sorry. Something tickled my nose,” I said, making sure not to catch Kellan’s gaze. “So, what’s this got to do with us? I mean, I’m concerned for Simla, but I’m not sure that I can help in any way. Mom’s okay, I assume. Or you wouldn’t be here,�
� I said, looking over at Rupert.

  “Yes, she’s fine, very concerned obviously. She’s still over at Constance’s house,” Rupert reassured me.

  “Why did Mom take Simla over to see her dad in the first place? Why couldn’t one of the Wanderers have taken her?” I could see Rupert hesitating at my question.

  “Simla went to meet with her father, to give him the blueprints to the portal,” he offered, looking at his mother intently.

  “Why would Mom give her the blueprints now that we’re all safe?” I asked.

  “She was blackmailing Mom with other stuff,” Rupert mumbled.

  “I get that! What other stuff?” This was like bleeding a stone!

  “Simla had apparently contacted Dillard Stevens in Leeds and threatened Olivia that she would tell him about you and Ella if she didn’t hand over the blueprints.”

  “Ah.” I had to hand it to Simla. Good move on her part. Telling Dillard about us would certainly have turned Mom’s life into a circus.

  Gramadea continued. “So Raj now has the blueprints, except they aren’t the real ones. Olivia gave Simla a set of fake prints. However, it will take Raj some time to figure it out. Olivia told Constance that Simla had made arrangements with her to be taken through the portal again in a week, as she had arranged to meet her dad again. Simla didn’t tell Olivia for what. When Simla doesn’t turn up to this meeting, goodness knows what Raj will do. The concern for us is what, if anything, he can do to you. So, my reason for telling you all this is to warn you. You all need to be vigilant. Not only may we have Raj to contend with again, but we may also have Simla, with or without the rogue faction of the Sigma-W. It’s the uncertainty that’s particularly scary.”

  “Geez, no kidding!” I spluttered. “You’re basically saying that we could be kidnapped once again!”

  Kellan grabbed hold of my hands to calm me. “Tell us more about the rogue Sigma-Ws and how they concern us,” he asked Gramadea.

  “The rogue group was formed by a Sigma-W called Potomal after a power struggle between himself and the present Sigma-W leader. The main aim of the group is to overthrow the present regime. The group is very small. Due to our basic nature, becoming rogue is unnatural.”

  I couldn’t help but catch the word our, but I let her continue.

  “So, Potomal only has a handful of allies. He’s always looking for new recruits and his interest is obviously piqued if he hears of a Wanderer with less than pure intentions. Word of Simla’s defiant nature has obviously been picked up by his Intelligence team. Simla is a special case. She was born to a regular Wanderer and her father is human. She seems to have inherited some of his traits. We are still not sure that Potomal got to her, but we’ll find out soon enough. It could well be that he had her taken from the portal.”

  “How would he take her?” Kellan asked.

  “Oh, he would have transported her through to another dimension, just like you were, last year. So, we think that, however it happened, Simla wandered away when she was in the portal.”

  “Gramadea, you said our,” I finally got out.

  “Our?” Gramadea asked, looking decidedly puzzled.

  “Yes. You said our when you talked about Sigma-W. Are you a Wanderer? A Sigma-W?”

  Gramadea nodded.

  I wasn’t the least bit surprised that she was a Wanderer. Not a lot surprised me anymore. I guess I would have been a bit more surprised if she’d said that she was a werewolf or something. I looked over at Rupert. I had always wondered about him. That whole story, the one that had started all this–come find me two years ago–only really made sense if he was a Wanderer of some kind. He didn’t look like one and he didn’t exude the same serene quality the rest of them seemed to. Still he was Gramadea’s son, so it kinda followed that he was one as well. “I’m guessing you’re some kind of Wanderer as well?” I asked, looking directly at him.

  He shook his head, but remained silent, looking over to his mother.

  “Arizona, the wanderer abilities of the offspring of Sigma-Ws lie dormant until activated. Once they are activated, the Sigma-W must serve the cause. Rupert chose to not have his abilities activated so that he could remain with your mother.” Amadea hung her head in sadness.

  I could see Rupert’s jaws clench down as he comforted her by putting his arms around her.

  “Does Mom know?” I asked. When Mom and I had our heart-to-heart chat she wasn’t able to explain how Rupert had known to ask her to come and find him in the past. This sort of explained it, but just sort of.

  “No, Arizona, not yet. I was hoping that she would accept the Wanderers before I tried to explain this to her.” Rupert looked to his mother. “We need to tell her.”

  “She’s been told, I hope. I asked Constance to explain it to her,” Amadea offered. “However, by all accounts, Olivia didn’t absorb it. She still thinks it’s a lot of hogwash. She thinks that Simla has disappeared within the portal somehow. She and Larry are going to return to Ames to try to examine it.”

  Kellan sighed. “Can we backtrack for a moment? So, to get this clear… Raj made contact with Simla, how?”

  “We don’t know, we suspect it was a prearranged meeting from the last time they saw each other,” Rupert mused.

  Kellan continued. “So Simla heads through the portal with Olivia and meets her dad. Then she comes back to return here. Olivia and she start to transport, but somehow Simla disappears during the procedure. And we are now hypothesizing that this was caused by one of two methods. She may have spontaneously gained the ability to wander since her mom was a Wanderer or a rogue group of Sigma-Ws took her. Geez.” He shook his head. “If the rogue group took her, what do you think will happen now?”

  Amadea shrugged. “I’m not sure. Potomal’s only motive is to strengthen his group and ready them for a takeover. He would develop Simla’s wandering abilities for that purpose. However, Simla has a mind of her own. I’m sure that as soon as she learns what she can, she’ll be back to help her father.”

  “What if she spontaneously gained the ability to wander? Then where do you think she went?” Kellan asked.

  “She’s had no training, so she will have no control over her ability. She could have disappeared anywhere,” Amadea explained. “It will be very disorienting and frightening for her.”

  “Wow. This is hard to absorb. What are we to do now? Will you start a hunt for her? What about Raj?” I asked.

  “We have no answers yet. Sigma-W Intelligence is trying to find out if Potomal has her. We are standing by until we hear from them,” Amadea replied. “If he doesn’t have her, we’ll need to start a search. We will at least know that she is at the same geographic point, but even a time/dimension search could take forever. We may never find her. We can only hope that she manages to take control of her abilities and transports herself back here.”

  “Kids, I’m going to head off to Constance’s house now and then perhaps over to Ames. Kellan, you will stay over. Your dad will come by later. Hopefully we’ll know more by morning,” Rupert said. “My mom is going to stay here and watch over things.”

  The doorbell rang.

  “It’s probably Grandma, she’s staying over, too.” Rupert went through to let her in.

  “Grayson, hello!” Amadea said, looking over me as Rupert came back into the kitchen. “I thought you were going to wait over at Constance’s house.”

  “Justin’s disappeared,” Grayson said, his voice cracking.

  “Disappeared? How?”

  “I was bringing him with me to Constance’s house. We were in the car, I was driving, he was sitting in the passenger seat with his ear buds in listening to his iPod. Then he just vanished. One moment he was there and then he was just gone. I don’t know how. He can’t wander–at least I don’t think so. I’m very worried. I was driving fast when he disappeared.”

  As we stood there listening to Grayson’s strange story, his voice seemed to fade a little bit. Then I felt something pull at me from above and everything in
the room began to fade. The last thing I saw was the desperation and shock in Kellan’s eyes as he tried to grab hold of me.

  Through my tightly closed lids, I could feel the bright sunshine, which glowed a bright, orange-red. I was afraid to open my eyes. I felt disoriented, I wasn’t even sure if I was stationary. I could feel a pressure in my shoulders and my feet felt light. I was definitely not standing on them, but I wasn’t lying down either. I felt weightless. The closest I had come to a similar sensation was when I wandered with Morgana. However, the feeling of warm euphoria was missing. I felt frightened and unbalanced, like I could fall at any moment.

  There was a passing calm as I felt a pressure on my back, like a support, while I was maneuvered to what felt like a horizontal position and then I hit a firm surface. The back of my head ached from the impact, but I was okay. I couldn’t have fallen far; it was like being suddenly placed on a hard floor after having been carried around for a while–unexpected, rather than traumatic.

  The bright sunlight–at least that’s what I assumed it was–still shone through my eyelids, which I still had firmly shut. My olfactory senses were assaulted by a circus of smells I had a hard time analyzing. It was mostly pleasant. Fresh bread and strong coffee dominated the mix. There was an underlying whiff of stale tobacco and… pee, yuck. The aroma was unmistakable. I have been here several times, even spent a whole summer here when I was younger. Paris. The aroma was much stronger than I remembered. Different neighborhood, I guessed. Of course, it couldn’t really be Paris. I couldn’t have traveled for more than half an hour, probably less. Wherever I was, it had that distinct smell.