Fusion

by Rose, Imogen

“I didn’t. You were sedated on the plane with the same mixture you got before this Portal transit. It took effect as the flight came in to land at a private airstrip close to Ames. You were then taken to Ames and delivered through the Portal in the pods.”

  “How did we end up at the hospital?”

  “The three of you wouldn’t come out of the sedative sleep. We had to dose you with a higher concentrate because of the longer duration. And when Ariele’s pulse slowed to a critical level, we had you airlifted to the ER.”

  Glenda shook her head. “All that trouble just to get me to Ames? I guess I can see that you needed me for the reactor, but still. Anyhow, my work there is now done. Your Portal should work just fine.”

  “Glenda, again, I can’t express how sorry I am to have put you through all this. But I couldn’t have done the work without you.”

  “The main thing is to figure out how to get us back to our lives, and it’s certainly not going to be as easy as I imagined. So, there is a two or so week lag where something happened that has to explain our complete disappearance for a year.”

  “Too bad you can’t say that you were in witness protection or something,” Harry said.

  “I think relatives of those people are at least told that they are in some kind of protection. Plus, the Feds would be all over that. It needs to be something simple but plausible.”

  “A mental breakdown?” Pierre chimed in. “One that had us living away from society for a while, where we didn’t have access to computers or TV. It’s not like we can even claim we’ve been outside the States.”

  “I don’t know, Pierre. A breakdown? Who had it? That could seriously impact our chances at getting jobs,” Glenda pointed out.

  “Hey, just throwing it out there. I am open to anything, even going back to the other dimension. It wasn’t so bad,” Pierre replied.

  “Oh, honey, that’s totally out of the question.”

  Olivia nodded thoughtfully. “Glenda, a breakdown is not such a bad idea. Although you probably would have at least told your family in that case. You’ll have to explain away why you didn’t. Sleep on it.”

  Glenda didn’t look too enthusiastic, but she nodded.

  Olivia had mulled over several different scenarios in her mind—they had been involved in classified research, loss of memory, etc. etc.—but they wouldn’t stand up to even the simplest questioning.

  “Here we are.” Larry pulled into Celia’s driveway. It was late, but several lights were still on in the house.

  “I’ll carry her up.” Harry lifted Ella off Olivia’s leg.

  “Thanks.”

  Celia opened the front door to let them all in.

  “You’re up late,” Olivia remarked.

  “I need to talk to you,” Celia said sharply.

  “Sure. Something happen? You look worried.”

  “The kids are missing.”

  Everyone should have a person. That girl or boy who is your constant, a vault that holds all your fears, dreams, secrets, and desires. David was my person.

  Right now, my person had made me jump out of my skin, yelping with fear.

  “Where did you come from?” I hadn’t even noticed anyone outside.

  David pointed back to the house, and then peered into the car. “Kellan, Ariele?” He gasped. “What the hell? Stay here. Don’t move.” He picked up Gertrude and took her into the house.

  “You could have warned me!” I glared at Kellan and Ariele.

  “Didn’t see him!” Kellan said. “But now what?”

  “I guess we wait,” Ariele said.

  Minutes later, David opened the car door. “Scoot.” He gave the driver an address.

  “Where are we going?” I asked.

  “My place.”

  His place was an apartment just minutes away. He ushered us inside and glared at us while we sat down on the couch. He threw his hand up in the air. “Kellan?”

  “Arizona wanted to see her doppelganger, so—”

  “So you jump up and help her with whatever mad scheme she comes up with?” he snapped.

  Kellan’s face reddened. He got up and took a step toward David.

  Ariele and I threw each other a look as I wondered if I was going to have to break them up.

  Kellan’s fists clenched at his sides. “Who the hell do you think you are, talking to me like that? Come on, girls, we’re leaving.”

  I got up to follow him out, avoiding David’s eyes.

  Just as Kellan’s fingers touched the doorknob, David voiced boomed, “No!” Followed by, “Please.”

  Kellan hesitated as the please left David’s mouth and turned around. He was still boiling with fury.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to come off like that,” David said quietly. “Please stay.”

  Kellan seemed unrelenting, so I gently pulled at his fingers and led him back to the couch, noticing that his eyes were fixed on David—boys! He sat down beside me, his every muscle tensed.

  David walked over to the armchair opposite us and slumped down in it.

  “Got any grub?” Ariele said, taking a shot at breaking the icy silence.

  “Yeah, sure.” David looked relieved. “Follow me.”

  “Do you guys want me to get you anything?” Ariele asked.

  I looked at Kellan, but he remained stone-faced. “Just get us whatever you’re having.” Then I turned to Kell. “Hey. Say something.”

  He looked down at me, into my eyes, and pulled my hair off my face, gently touching my cheek. “He’s not far off. You know I’d do most anything for you, but I don’t do it without thought. How dare he treat us like irresponsible teenagers? We—you—need answers, even if it doesn’t suit him.”

  I nodded. I understood that David wanted to protect his girlfriend, and I really wasn’t there to mess it up for him. But my life had been messed up by her dog, so I deserved a few answers. And Ariele had her own battle to fight.

  They walked back into the family room with a plate of sandwiches and some soda. David put the plate down on the coffee table, and said, “Help yourselves.”

  Kellan stood his ground and didn’t budge, so I picked out a sandwich and handed it to him. I could feel his resistance as he forced himself to take it from me—probably only because I was the one giving it to him.

  “It’s turkey and Swiss.” David looked at Kellan. “Sorry, that’s all I had in the fridge.”

  Kellan nodded and took a bite. We were all starving, not having eaten anything since the flight.

  “I guess your parents don’t know you’re here,” David said.

  “That’s really none of your business,” Kellan grumped.

  David shrugged. “I guess not. Anyway, you are here now, and you’re welcome to use my apartment.”

  “No need,” Kellan said.

  “Arizona, can I talk to you in private?” David said, raising his eyebrows at me.

  “No,” Kellan replied for me. “We should go.”

  “It’s okay, Kell,” I said. “I don’t mind.” I got up before he could protest and beckoned David to follow me.

  “So?” I said once he’d closed the kitchen door behind him.

  “Look, I realize I was out of line out there, but you are so in trouble. You know that, right?”

  “I guess.” I shrugged. What’s the worst thing that could happen? Mom losing her temper with me? I had lots of experience with that—not an issue.

  “You guess? Arizona, what’s gotten into you?”

  I felt anger rise within me. I knew exactly how Kellan felt. “Gotten into me? What the heck has gotten into everyone else messing with my life?” I yelled.

  Kellan and Ariele bounded into the room. As Kellan strode toward David, I stepped between them and held out my arms. “Stop!”

  Ariele banged on the table with her fist. “Time out, everyone. This is ridiculous.” She turned to David. “We get it. You can’t see it from our side. Frankly, I don’t give a shit. We’re going to do what we came here for, so you can either help
us or just STFU. Tell anyone, and I’ll mallet the hell out of you.” She pursed her lips and glared at him.

  He returned her stare, but then his face suddenly softened, his lips turned upward… his mouth opened and he hollered with laughter.

  The three of us looked at each other in disgust but then started to giggle, erupting into snorts with tears flowing down our cheeks.

  “OMG!” Ariele said, once she found her breath again.

  David sat on the kitchen bench, his head bent forward over his knees, still chortling.

  Ariele patted his back.

  I sat down with Kellan, who’d calmed down. “David, truce?”

  David sat up, his face wet from the tears. “Yep. Truce.”

  “Good,” Kellan said. “We didn’t plan to involve you in this, so we’ll just take off.”

  “No, don’t do that. I’ll help. It can’t be easy for you guys being here. Do you even have a place to stay?”

  “We were going to try the Nassau Inn,” Ariele said.

  “Not unless you have a credit card, which I take it you don’t.”

  We shook our heads.

  “Look, there’s enough space here if one of you doesn’t mind a pull-out bed. Stay. I’ll even let you borrow my car.”

  Kellan was back to his usual laid-back self. “If you’re sure. I don’t want to put you out.”

  “It’s fine. You’re not. It’s late. Let’s hit the sack and talk more tomorrow.”

  We nodded. I just had one more thing I needed to do before I went to sleep—call Mom.

  We all needed to call our parents. “What are we going to tell them?” I asked when David left.

  “I vote for the truth… partially, anyway,” suggested Kellan. “The Ariele bit.”

  I nodded and called, wondering if it would have been better to wait until the morning. It was the middle of the night there, but when I noticed all the missed calls from Mom, I knew I had to. We’d obviously been caught.

  “Arizona! Where are you?” I could tell from Mom’s tone that she was beyond furious, but she did a champion job of keeping it under control. “Are Kellan and Ariele with you?”

  “Yes. I’m sorry to have worried you. We’re fine.”

  “Come back to Celia’s right away. We’ll talk then.”

  “We will, probably in a day or two. Don’t worry, we’re fine.”

  “Now. Come. To. Celia’s.” She paused and then repeated, “Now.” I could tell from her rising tone that it wasn’t going to be long before she lost it. Sigh.

  “Hold on,” she said.

  I heard muffled voices in the background. I looked up at Ariele, who scowled and held her phone away from her ear. She rolled her eyes at me.

  And Mom was back. “In New Jersey?” she yelled, practically tearing my eardrum apart. I moved the phone off my ear.

  “It’s fine, Mom,” I tried soothing.

  She was having none of it. “Come back right away. I’ll have Celia book you tickets on the next flight. Where are you? I’ll send a cab.”

  Ugh. “Mom, it’s late, and we’re bushed. We will be back soon, and we’d love it if you could book our tickets. Can you give us some time to sleep and do what we came for?”

  “Why are you there?” She sighed heavily.

  “Ariele wanted to check out some stuff. She needs to see the place for herself, you know, to make sure this is for real.”

  “That’s really dangerous. What if she’s recognized? It would really turn everything into a circus before her parents have decided how to handle this.”

  “Don’t worry. We’ll be really careful.”

  “Glenda is on the phone with Ariele right now. I am hoping she’ll talk her out of it. Did Kellan call his dad?”

  “Yep, they’re talking now,” I confirmed, looking over at Kellan, who was deep in convo.

  “Look, I know I can’t physically drag you home from there, but I will get on a flight and come and get you if I have to.”

  “Mom, please! By the time you do that, we’ll be on our way back, anyway. Trust me for once. Can you do that?”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. Trust you, after you pull this stunt?”

  It was my turn to sigh heavily.

  “I want you on a flight tomorrow. Get it?”

  “Yes,” I grumbled. “Could you at least book us on an evening flight? Please?”

  I waited while she quietly mulled it over. “Wait a minute.” I heard muffled chatter on the other end. She was probably speaking to Ariele’s mom. She was back in moments. “No. You have to take the next flight back.”

  “Look, Mom, we’re not going to do that. We just got here. Tomorrow evening is the earliest. Remember the time difference.”

  “That’s not relevant, Arizona, but I can tell it’s no use arguing with you right now. I’ll deal with you when you get back. I’ll book you for tomorrow evening, last flight. I’ll text you the details and will pick you up at the airport. You must be careful. Don’t do anything stupid. Even more stupid. You don’t want to blow Ariele’s chances of moving back there. Do you?”

  “Of course not, Mom.”

  “Good. Do you need a cab to Newark?”

  “We’re good. Bye, Mom.” I cut the call. I was exhausted from keeping stuff from her and by the sheer length of the day. Dawn was already breaking, and we had a full day ahead if we were going to make that flight. And we’d better.

  I waited for Ariele and Kell to get off their cell phones. They both looked the way I felt as they slumped back into the couch. I walked over and cozied into Kellan, putting my arms around him and laying my head down on his chest. There was no time to go to bed, but I needed to rest my eyes for just a little bit before I could think of talking again. I guess the other two felt the same. Neither of them spoke. My eyes closed and I snuggled closer to Kellan to get warm.

  What felt like only moments later, David’s voice invaded the silence. “Poppet, wake up,” he whispered into my ear.

  I forced open my dry eyes and peered at David.

  He had his finger over his lips, hushing me. Then he waved at me to follow him. Kellan was still fast asleep. His arms gripped me to him. I squiggled, loosening them, and then slipped out. He moved but didn’t stir from his sleep.

  David and I made our way into the kitchen, where he handed me a mug of coffee after closing the door behind us.

  “What’s the time?”

  “It’s just eight, but I have to be on my way, and I didn’t want to leave without talking to you first.”

  I nodded and took a sip of the hot coffee tipped with caramel, just the way I liked it. I was going to need all the caffeine I could get.

  “I heard you guys on the phone last night. How did it go with your parents?”

  “We’ve got to take a flight back to California this evening. Thanks for waking me. We don’t have much time.”

  “Much time for what?” He looked at me thoughtfully.

  “Well, I really want to see my doppelganger—your girlfriend. What’s she like?”

  He smiled. “She’s different from you—to me, she’s another person entirely. I don’t think of her as your doppelganger, but I guess she is. The two of you are alike in many ways. She is more... raw than you, but I guess that’s because of the way she was brought up. She is fun, happy, spontaneous, and tough. All adjectives I’d use to describe you as well, but just slightly different.”

  I wanted to know how that slightly different made her better than me in his eyes, but I figured we didn’t have time for a full-blown analysis session at the moment. Plus, I could figure that out for myself when I saw her.

  “David, I want to see her for myself.”

  “Just see?”

  I nodded. “I don’t know why, but I need proof that she really exists and not just any proof. Like a picture won’t do.” I wondered if Ella had shown those pictures to Mom yet. Did David know about the other Ella?

  “I’ll take you to see her after school today. A will be at hockey practice, so w
e can go watch her from the bleachers. Just you and me. The other two will have to stay here. Will that take care of your need?”

  I was about to explode with excitement but kept my cool. “Yes, that’s fine.” I decided not to mention the Ella thing, in case that threw a wrench in David’s offer.

  “Good. I have to go now.” He handed me a set of keys. “Keys to the apartment and the blue Jeep parked outside. Take this credit card as well, in case you need it. I’ll meet you here at four this afternoon.”

  “Awesome, and thanks, David.”

  “No problem. Just stay out of trouble, okay?”

  “I’ll try.” I couldn’t help grinning.

  He laughed and bent down to kiss my head. “Later, Poppet.”

  I woke the others once David was on his way, handing each a steaming cup of coffee.

  Kellan stretched, yawning loudly. “G’morning. What’s the time?”

  “About eight thirty. David’s gone, but he left me his car keys and credit card, so we’re all set. What do you guys want to do first?”

  “What time do we have to leave for the airport?” Ariele asked.

  “Mom hasn’t texted me yet, but I guess early this evening.”

  Ariele looked at her watch. “Well, everyone should be at school by now. Boy, I’d love to just pop in, even sit in and listen to a class. Sick, right? I actually miss school, all of it. Even the lessons.”

  “Strike that. We can’t be seen at the high school,” Kellan said. “But, we could sit outside at dismissal time to stalk whoever.”

  “Okay, well, we have until the afternoon to do other things. What’s on the agenda?” she asked. “I’d like to swing past my house.”

  “Why not? We have a ride, so we can pretty much do whatever,” I said. “What about you, Kell?”

  “I’m just here to keep you from getting into too much trouble. Does A go to this high school?”

  “She does—I talked to David before he left. He’s going to take me to see her after school. Just me, though. Hope that’s okay with you.”

  Ariele looked put out, but Kellan just nodded.

  “I kind of wanted to see her as well,” Ariele said. “You know, to make sure she really exists. I kinda find it hard to believe.”

  “I totally get that,” I said. “But you’ll get to see her, actually even hang out with her soon enough, when you move back here.”