We have to wait at the edge of the grate for a couple of minutes. I worry Qiang has abandoned us, until she returns with a couple of old crates. She sets these on top of each other and then stands on them. That gives her enough height so she can almost reach the grate. She can’t reach all the way, which means she’ll have to catch me.
I whimper at the thought I’ll fall ten feet and break my legs. “It will be all right,” Qiang says. “I will catch you.”
I whimper again in response. It’s so high up and I’m so little. Then I hear Maddy ask, “What’s taking so long?”
“Nothing. We’re going now.”
I get down on my back again. I let my legs dangle out of the grate. I feel Qiang grab them. She pulls on my legs until my waist dangles in the air. Then she wraps her arms around my waist. With a tug she pulls me out the rest of the way. I let out a scream, until I remember we have to be quiet.
“I have you,” Qiang says.
“Thanks,” I say. I wipe tears from my face. Qiang puts me down on the crate so I can climb down. Once I’m on the ground, Qiang starts to encourage Maddy to come to the edge.
“It’s so high,” Maddy says with a whimper.
“You can do it,” I call up to her. “See, I made it. I didn’t get hurt at all.”
“But I could fall.”
“You’re not going to fall. And even if you do, Qiang will catch you. And if she doesn’t, I’ll break your fall. All right?”
“OK,” Maddy says, though she still sounds skeptical. I hear metal creak as Maddy settles herself into position. “Here I come.”
Maddy slides too fast out of the duct. She’s already falling before Qiang can grab her. Qiang reaches out to grab Maddy on the way down, but all she catches is Maddy’s left sleeve for an instant. Everything goes in slow motion as I watch my daughter’s tender little head tumble towards the concrete.
I do exactly as I promised. I lie down in the spot where I think Maddy will come down. It turns out I’m right. She slams onto my chest, all fifty pounds of her. It feels like someone’s fired a cannonball into my stomach. The wind is knocked out of me; I gasp for air. Maddy rolls off of me. She slaps at my cheek with one hand. “Stace? Are you all right? Did I hurt you?”
I shake my head, still too winded to speak. I wheeze for a minute or so. Finally I manage to say, “I’m fine.”
Qiang comes down and helps me sit up. She pats the back of my head. “Such a brave little girl.”
“Thanks.”
“Now you must go.”
“What about you?”
“I cannot. I must make sure Dr. Ling does not find you.”
“How are you going to do that?”
She pats my head again. “Do not worry, little one. I will take care of everything. You must get Madison to safety. She is depending on you.”
“All right,” I say. I give Qiang another hug. “Thank you.”
“Now go, my children. You must hurry.”
I take Maddy’s hand. Then we run. We get about a block away before there’s a flash of light. I turn in time to see a column of flame rise from the school that was our prison. Qiang’s work, no doubt.
We’re on our own now. I turn to Maddy. She cries as she too probably thinks of Qiang, our caretaker. I squeeze Maddy’s hand. “Come on, let’s go.”
Part 3:
Second Childhood
Chapter 15
The world looks a lot different at four feet tall. Everything’s so distorted by the change in perspective that it’s impossible for me to get my bearings. Maddy, about a foot shorter than me, has trouble too. She finally throws herself onto a park bench. With a huff she says, “Where are we?”
“I’m not sure. But we have to keep going.”
I try to keep us away from people when I can. In the middle of the night, anyone you encounter isn’t likely to be friendly. Sometimes this means we have to skirt an alley or duck behind some bushes as a drunk or bum or junkie stumbles past. When we come upon a hooker on the corner, I grab Maddy’s hand to hustle her along before anyone can stop us.
We finally come to a place with two intact street signs. Now I can get our bearings. We’re on the south side of the city. The garment district is halfway across the island. We could always take a train, except we don’t have any money. I doubt we could jump the turnstile either.
I don’t want to see Grace right now anyway. She probably wouldn’t believe our crazy story and even if she does, it would be a hell of a shock to find out her partner has been changed into a five-year-old girl. Jake is the one we need to talk to. He knows all about my experiences with FY-1978.
The problem right now is Maddy. She gets tired quickly, which prompts her to whine like a normal toddler. Three times an hour we have to stop for a five-minute break so Maddy can rest her stubby legs. Despite the rests, she still lags; her feet shuffle along the sidewalk as we go. “How much farther?” she asks.
“I don’t know.”
“Where are we?”
“The south side. There’s probably a liquor store or something around the corner.”
“You said that three blocks ago.”
“Well, we just have to keep looking.”
“Can’t we find somewhere to sleep?”
“No. We have to get to a phone first.”
Maddy kicks at the sidewalk. “This is stupid.”
“Madison, stop it. Let’s go a little farther. All right?”
“All right.”
I peek around a corner and check to see if it’s safe. Ahead I see a sign for a market. It’s still lit up. Light spills onto the sidewalk. “I found something,” I tell Maddy.
She trots over to join me. Before I can stop her, she breaks into a run. I catch up to her easily enough and grab her shoulder. “Maddy, slow down. We can’t go running in there.”
“Why not?”
“We don’t know who’s in there. If he calls the cops, we’ll never see Grace again.”
“Oh. OK then.”
I take Maddy’s hand and lead her to the front door of the market. I peer inside. There doesn’t seem to be anyone inside except for the shopkeeper, a middle-aged Asian man. I see a payphone in the back, next to a cooler of beer.
The door is a lot heavier than I expect. It takes all the strength in my tiny muscles to prop it open enough for Maddy to squeeze through. I slip out of the way so the door can shut behind me. The shopkeeper looks down at us. His eyes narrow; he doesn’t get many little girls in his store in the middle of the night.
“What you want?” he says.
“We need to use your phone,” I say. “My sister and I got lost and we need to call our daddy so he can pick us up.”
“Phone over there,” the shopkeeper says. He motions to the phone.
“Thanks.” The problem is for me to reach the phone. I have to drag a plastic soda crate over so I can reach. I punch in Jake’s home phone.
Tess answers the phone. “Hello?”
“Aunt Tess, it’s Stacey.”
“Stacey? Oh, thank God! I’ve been so worried. We all have. Where have you been?”
“I’ll explain later. Is Uncle Jake there?”
“Yes, he’s right here. I’ll wake him up.” I hear Tess try to rouse Jake. “Jacob, wake up! It’s Stacey. She’s alive!”
“What?” Jake asks, his voice still thick from sleep. He grabs the receiver and then says, “Who is this?”
“Stacey.”
“What’s wrong with your voice? You been sucking helium?”
“No. I’ll explain when you get here to pick us up.”
“Us? You have Madison too?”
“Yes, she’s with me. Hurry, Jake, please. I’m scared.”
“All right, sweetheart. Just stay calm. Where are you?”
“I don’t know. It’s a market on the south side.”
“That narrows it down to about two hundred places.”
“Just a second.” I let the phone dangle and then gallop over to the counter again.
The shopkeeper eyes us, especially Maddy. I get the address from him and then run back to the phone. “Jake? You still there?”
“I’m here. Where are you?” I give him the address. Then he says, “I’ll be there in twenty minutes. Are you going to be all right until then?”
“Yes. We’ll be fine.” I clear my throat into the receiver. “But we’ll look a little different than before.”
“What?”
“Just hurry. Please.” I hang up the phone. Now all we have to do is wait and hope no one else gets here first.
***
The shopkeeper turns out to be a nice guy. After I tell him our daddy will be here in twenty minutes, he invites us to sit behind the counter with him. I’m reluctant, but Maddy goes for it right away. He helps her onto a stool.
“How old you girls?” he asks.
“I’m ten and she’s five,” I say.
“I have daughter her age,” he says and motions to Maddy. “She sleeping right now.”
“I wish I were sleeping too,” Maddy grumbles.
“How you girls get here?”
“We missed getting off the train. Then we went around and around for a while, until we wound up here,” I say. It seems like a slightly plausible scenario.
The shopkeeper buys it. “You safe now.”
The bell over the door rings. I see Jake come up to the counter. He looks at the shopkeeper and then at Maddy and I. He turns his head to look around the rest of the store. He probably thinks Maddy and I are the shopkeeper’s daughters.
I jump off my stool and hurry around the counter. “Daddy!” I squeal to sell the moment to our host. Before Jake can react, I’ve got a death grip on his leg. “I knew you’d come.”
“Stacey?”
“It’s me, Daddy,” I say. I give Jake a wink.
He stares at me; his face pales. But he’s experienced enough to shake it off. “I’ve been very worried about you, young lady. Where have you been?”
“We’ve been trying to find you. Then we found this nice man’s store and he let us use his phone.”
“That was very nice of him.” He turns to the counter. “Madison? Come on, honey. It’s time to go.”
“OK, Daddy.” She hops off her stool. A few seconds later she’s attached herself to Jake’s other leg.
“Thank you so much for taking care of my girls,” Jake says. “What do I owe you?”
“No charge. I glad to help.”
“God bless you, sir.”
Then Jake bends down to scoop Maddy up. I let go of his leg to follow him out to his car. He’s taken his Fairlane, probably because it’s faster. He helps Maddy crawl into the backseat and then buckle up.
“All right, kids, time to go home.”
Chapter 16
Maddy falls asleep about two minutes after we leave the market. Once we’re sure she’s out, Jake asks, “What the hell happened?”
“It’s a long story. You remember the guy Lex tried to sell the FY-1978 formula to?”
“Some Chinese guy. But you said he was dead.”
“He is. His son did this to us.”
“How?”
“He made his own version of the drug. He put a Chinese woman’s genetic material in it. Voila, Maddy and I are a couple of little Chinese girls now.”
“Jesus Christ. Is it permanent?”
“I don’t know. We need to ask Palmer about it.”
“Right. In the morning. For now we have to think of what to tell Tess.”
“Just tell her we’re a couple of little runaways.”
“You already told her you’re alive. She’s expecting you.”
“Oh. Shit.”
“Don’t swear. It sounds weird.”
“Sorry.”
“How old are you?”
“Ten. Maddy is five.”
“Five? Jesus Christ,” Jake says again. He reaches into his pocket for a cigarette. Before he lights it, he looks in the backseat at us two innocent children. Then he tosses the cigarette out the window unlit. “What a fucking mess. You really have a knack, you know that?”
“Tell me about it.”
***
Maddy is still asleep when we get to Jake’s house. She stirs for a moment as Jake lifts her out of the seat. “Are we home?” she asks.
“We sure are, sweetheart,” Jake says.
“OK.” Then she’s out again.
Tess is already at the door. She must have heard the old muscle car’s engine a mile away. Her face turns pale just as Jake’s did. “What’s going on? Who are these children?”
“It’s me,” I say. “Stacey.”
“Stacey? But you can’t be. You’re—”
“Too little?”
“Yes.”
“We’ll talk about it inside,” Jake says. He brushes past Tess as he steps inside. Maddy still hasn’t woke up.
“Is that…Madison?”
“Yes,” I answer.
“Oh my.” The way Tess wobbles, I worry she’ll faint. She grabs the edge of the doorway to steady herself. Then she follows us inside.
While Jake takes little Maddy upstairs, I settle onto the couch. I’d like to sleep too, but we have to explain things to Tess. We can’t hide this one from her.
Tess sits on a chair across from me. She studies my face, to look for signs of the old Stacey. “Would you like something to drink? Or some cookies? I have some chocolate walnut ones. They’re Stacey’s favorite.”
“I’m fine,” I say.
“Are you cold? I could get a blanket.”
“I’m all right.” I pat my stomach. “I’ve got a couple layers on.”
“Oh, I see.” She clears her throat. “Those are very pretty glasses.”
“Thanks.”
“Are they real?”
“Yes. My eyes aren’t very good.” I take the glasses off. “I can’t really see you right now. You’re just a big blur.” I settle the glasses back onto my face.
Tess stares back at me. I look down at my feet and swing them back and forth while we wait for Jake to return. I sigh with relief as he tromps down the stairs. “I put her in Stacey’s bed. She should be all right.”
Jake settles onto the couch next to me. He puts an arm around my shoulder. “Now, why don’t you tell us the whole story?”
***
When I’ve finished the story, Tess gapes at me. As I did with Maddy, I didn’t tell Tess about why Ling abducted me. I let her think it was a random abduction. “I don’t believe it,” she finally says. “How could a drug turn Stacey into this?”
“I can’t really explain how it works,” I say. “I just know it does work. Go ahead, test me. Ask me something Stacey would know. Like maybe what happened to the sheets on Jenny’s bed the first night I was here?”
Tess’s eyes widen at that. She must remember how I woke up my first night as a woman in her house with blood on my sheets from my first period. I’m sure Tess didn’t tell anyone else about that; she’s much too discreet.
“Oh my. I think I’ll go get some water,” Tess says. “I’m feeling a bit piqued.”
Jake watches her go and then pats my shoulder. “It’ll be all right. I’ll go talk to her.”
“I’m sorry about this, Jake.”
“It’s not your fault. How could you have known someone was going to do this?”
“I shouldn’t have gone off alone. I made myself an easy target. And they got Maddy—” I can’t say anything more. I start to sob. Jake pulls me close and rubs my back the way I did with Maddy when I was still a grown-up.
He waits until I’ve cried myself out before he pushes me back. “I’d better go talk to her. You’ll be all right?”
“I’ll be fine.”
I grab the TV remote from the coffee table and then curl up on the couch. There’s not much on at five in the morning, mostly infomercials. I stop on the Disney Channel. It’s some show about teenagers and their phony problems. God, I’m not even a teen anymore. What’s the word they use nowadays? A twe
en. That’s what I am. Between being a toddler and a teen. It sounds better than prepubescent.
I feel a hand on my back. I assume it’s Jake, but then I hear Tess say, “Stacey? Do you want Jacob to take you up to your room?”
“I can make it,” I say. I sit up to prove to Tess how spry I am.
She touches my hair and grimaces a little. “This is going to take some getting used to,” she says.
“I know.”
“But I want you to know, I’ll still love you no matter what you look like on the outside. You’re like a daughter to me and I’m going to take care of you, no matter what. Understand?”
“I understand.” I lean forward to hug her. “I love you, Aunt Tess.”
“I love you too, dear.”
I don’t ask, but Tess scoops me off the couch. She carries me upstairs. I’m too tired to put up a fight about it. Tess’s body feels so warm right now that I just about nod off on the way up.
She turns on the hallway light so she can see into my bedroom. From what I can see, everything is the same as before I left. The only difference is little Maddy on my bed. She’s still curled up on her side, thumb in her mouth.
“Oh my,” Tess says again. “The poor dear.”
Tess pulls back the covers enough so I can scramble beneath them. I squeeze in beside Maddy. Before I can drift off to dreamland, Tess takes my glasses. I hear them click down on the nightstand. Then she bends down to kiss my forehead. “Goodnight, dear.”
“G’night, Aunt Tess.”
Chapter 17
When I wake up, my hand touches something wet and cold. I blink my eyes open. Most of the room is a blur, but I can see a dark stain on the sheets, where Maddy had slept. Then the smell of the stain hits me: urine. But I haven’t wet the bed in over forty-five years.
I hear a sniffle from the corner of the room. I fumble around until I find my glasses. It’s dark in the corner, but I can make out a small, round lump surrounded by a pink blanket. I roll off the bed and then pad over to the lump. “Maddy?”
“Go away,” she says.
“Maddy, what’s wrong? Did you have a bad dream?”
“This is a bad dream. I wanna wake up!”
I sit down next to Maddy, close enough that I hope she can feel me through the blanket. “Maddy, what happened?”
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