Frenzy

by Robert Liparulo

  “It’s your choice,” Jesse said. “No one can make you. But I can tell you, whenever a generation has rejected the responsibility, the world has gotten worse, darker. Think of humankind as a body, a human body. Sometimes it gets sick or injured. If we don’t tend to it—stitch it up, make it right—it gets worse.”

  “What do you mean?” Xander said.

  Jesse shrugged. “Like the future you’ve seen. Or as we saw when you and David caused the Civil War to end years earlier, or when he saved that little girl who grew up to eradicate smallpox: without intervention, there’s a lot of death and grief that doesn’t need to happen.”

  Overhead, something banged. David had heard the sound enough times to recognize it. “A portal door just opened,” he said. “Someone’s here.”

  CHAPTER

  sixty - five

  SATURDAY, 2:49 P.M.

  “Or something,” Dad said.

  They were all peering up at the hole. Through it, David could see the corner of a portal door in the antechamber directly over their heads. It was closed.

  “Not that portal,” he said.

  Another bang.

  “Taksidian!” Xander said.

  “No,” Jesse corrected. “Can’t be. Even if he could find a portal back here, it’s too soon. The forces of Time—the pull—would still be holding him in his own time.”

  “Then who?” Dad said. “Or what?”

  “Who cares?” Xander said. “Let’s get out of here . . . finally.” He stepped toward the grand staircase.

  David grabbed his arm. “No,” he said. He stooped to pick up the two-by-four Xander had brandished against Taksidian. “This is our house. Whoever it is, I’m going to let him know that.” He shook the two-by-four. “And then I’m going to fix the future.”

  He looked at Dad and Mom, hoping to find in their faces the same commitment he felt, the same sense of purpose. What he saw was more like astonishment. He added, “Because that’s what we’re supposed to do. Who’s with me? Who wants to save the world?”

  Xander looked at his bloody hand. “What makes you think we can?”

  “The guy who made the mess is gone,” David said. “All we have to do is clean it up.”

  “All we have to do?” Xander laughed. He turned questioning eyes on Dad.

  Dad nodded. “I believe we can. What do you think, Gee?”

  Mom thought about it. “Let’s see,” she said. “Bake sales, Girl Scout meetings, laundry, dishes . . . or harrowing adventures through time.” She smiled. “I always did want to see Genghis Khan in action.”

  Toria shook her head and quoted what Dad always said about Mom: “Definitely not a Gertrude.”

  “Wait a minute,” Dad said. He looked at the wood in David’s hand, then up at the ceiling. Something on the third floor creaked. He wrapped his arm around Mom and pulled her close. “Don’t you want to . . . rest? Go out to dinner? Have a good night’s sleep?”

  “Do I want those things?” Mom said. “Yes . . . yes! I want to sip a cup of tea and watch the sunset with my family. I want to take a hot bath. I want to tuck my children into bed. And I’ll do all that . . . when it’s time. Right now, I want to do what we’re supposed to do. Isn’t that what we’ve been doing? Doesn’t it feel right?” She smiled up at him.

  “I’m in,” Keal said. He picked up a broken piece of wood that had fallen from the ceiling.

  Nana said, “I don’t know if I ever want to see Genghis Khan . . . again. But I do have some skills that could come in handy, like stitching wounds, setting bones, and screaming.”

  “But, Mom,” Dad said, “you can’t stay here, not with Time still after you.”

  “That’s okay,” she said. “I saw a nice little house in town. That’ll suit me just fine.”

  “I’m sure I can find one too,” Jesse said, picking up another length of wood. “Between Nana and me, you’ll practically have an encyclopedia of knowledge about history and time travel.”

  “Oh, yeah?” Xander said. “Then how come you didn’t warn us about David’s death when we first met you?”

  “What?” Jesse said, looking between Xander and David. “His death ?”

  Dad gripped Xander’s shoulder. “He doesn’t know about it, because it never happened, and you never went back to tell him it did. You never wrote the note.”

  “Ooooh,” Xander said, thinking it through. He gave Jesse an embarrassed smile. “Sorry.”

  “For what it’s worth,” Jesse said, “I always had a sense that you had to visit me while we were building the house. I don’t know why, just a feeling.”

  “Your feeling saved Dae’s life,” Xander said. “Thank you.”

  “Yeah,” David said. “Thank you.”

  “You know,” Jesse said, giving Xander a sly look from the corner of his eye. “The life-saving doesn’t have to stop with David’s.”

  Xander took that in, and David could tell his brother was thinking the same thing he was: all the people—children like them, adults like Mom and Dad, Nana, Jesse, and Keal—who would live, who would be spared grief and sorrow and pain, because the Kings lived in this house. Because they did what they were meant to do.

  Xander said, “Yeah . . . yeah.” From the floor he selected a short board with nails sticking out of one end. “But I better get some movie ideas out of it.”

  The linen closet’s door exploded off its hinges, and they all jumped. The school locker crashed out, falling to its side on the hallway floor. It looked like a metal coffin. The door was facing them, and David could make out the little number plate swinging back and forth by one rivet: 119. The entire locker had been beaten and battered, with dents and dings everywhere. But it had held together, and the door was still closed. A corner of the door had been bent out, exposing a triangle of blackness. A face appeared in the opening—two eyes blinking at them.

  “Phemus,” David said, stunned.

  The big man growled. He pounded on the locker, making the metal boom like thunder.

  “The pull’s got him,” Jesse said. “Time for him to go home too.”

  The locker began trembling. It flipped onto its top and tumbled end-over-end toward them.

  “Look out!” Dad said. Everyone leaped out of the center of the hallway, pushing themselves against the wall or the banister overlooking the foyer.

  The locker cartwheeled past them, thumping and bumping. David heard Phemus’s deep-throated wail, like a frightened Incredible Hulk on a never-ending roller coaster. At the end of the hall, it turned the corner, heading for the portals. It crashed and banged against the walls, then thudded up the third-floor stairs.

  David smiled and felt his heart soar at all the smiles his family and Keal returned to him. He took a deep breath and thumped the two-by-four into his palm. Turning to head for the portals, he said, “Let’s do it!”

  The end . . . ?

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Special thanks to . . .

  My son Anthony, for his countless contributions to this series, including the idea of Xander and David visiting Jesse while the dreamhouse is being built, the title of this last installment, and inspiring me to write these books.

  My wife Jodi, for helping with . . . well, everything.

  Melanie, Isabella, and Matt—for being the best children a parent can hope for.

  Katrien Stanley and Emily Auday, Frenzy’s winners of our “Dream the Scene” contest. Katie suggested that Xander find himself on a movie set, and Emily thought the boys should portal to Atlantis.

  Everyone who entered the “Dream the Scene” contest: Your creativity blows me away. I truly wish I could have used every entry—but then the Dreamhouse series would be a thousand books! Your task was difficult: not only did your idea of where to send the Kings have to be cool, but it had to fit a storyline that was only in my head, which added the element of chance to the contest. If I didn’t use your idea, don’t think it wasn’t awesome or even that it wasn’t the “best”; I just had to choose one that fit where I
was taking the story.

  My early readers, who helped me keep my eye on the ball: Nicholas and Luke Fallentine, Slade Pearce, Ben and Matthew Ford, Maddie Williams, Alec Oberndorfer, Joshua Ruark, Alix Chandler, Deborah and Becca King, and Reid Ausband.

  As always, my peerless editors: Amanda Bostic, Becky Monds, LB Norton, and Judy Gitenstein.

  My publisher Allen Arnold, as well as Jennifer Deshler, Katie Bond, Kristen Vasgaard, and Susan Ellingburg for looking at these stories from a thousand angles with eyes for making every part of them better. Joel Gotler, my incomparable agent and good friend.

  Authors James Rollins, Steve Berry, Douglas Preston, David Morrell, Jon Land, R. L. Stine, Matt Bronleewe, and Eric Wilson for being kind friends and exemplary colleagues. And especially Ted Dekker, on whom I can always depend for stimulating and challenging conversations; and thriller writer David Dun for suggesting the perfect location for Pinedale.

  The talented Mark Lavallee, Jonathan Maiocco, Robyn Twomey, and Rebekah Ramsdell for their Dreamhouse Kingsinspired music and art, which in turn inspired me.

  Justin S. Buus, the gifted graphic designer who created the fantastic map of Atlantis . . . well, at least the Atlantian town in which David and Xander find themselves. I would love to see Justin tackle the whole place someday. No doubt it would be awesome.

  Everyone who believed in these books enough to throw their considerable talents behind them: Burke Allen, Jake Chism, Connie and Dwight Cenac, Bonnie Calhoun, Rel Mollet, Todd Michael Greene, Jeanette Clinkunbroomer, Scott Quine, Shannon Bailey, Wayne Pinkstaff, and Paul and Jennifer Turner.

  Fans like Megan McNeill, Austin Reckerd, Anna Hayes, Sara Carlton, Sarah Lezgus, Fleur Elise Wayman, Lydia and Hannah Wade, Jesse Peterson, Kendal M. Burleson, Christopher J. Millett, Jill Geren, Adam Caratenuto, Sandi Stuart, Lyndsey N. Fowks, Danny Abrahantes . . . and so many others: Thank you for your letters, e-mails, and Facebook messages; they never fail to boost my spirits.

  The Dreamhouse “cast”—Dad, Mom, Xander, David, Toria, Jesse, Keal, Nana, and even Taksidian and Phemus— for taking me along on their adventures and letting me record them.

  And all the readers of the Dreamhouse Kings books: Thank you for letting the Kings live!

  READING GROUP GUIDE

  1. The term “character arc” refers to the changes and growth a character experiences through the course of a story. Discuss the arcs of the Dreamhouse Kings characters from their introductions to the last page of Frenzy. Who changed the most? In what way?

  2. After all was said and done, David believed that staying in the house so they could fix the future was the right thing to do. Do you agree? Have you ever done something because it was the right thing to do, even though it was dangerous or other people thought it was foolish? What?

  3. Time travel is such an odd idea—something that no one has ever done—that many people, including scientists and authors, have very differing views about it. Have you read any other books that involved time travel? How was it depicted differently than the way it worked in the Dreamhouse Kings?

  4. Where didn’t the Kings go in history that you would have liked them to go? What would have happened to them there?

  5. Through the terror of losing their mother and having to face all the dangers of the worlds, the King family learned how much they love and need one another. How do you show your family that you love them? Is there anything you can do differently that would express your love even more?

  6. Some of the Kings’ “work” to find Mom didn’t pan out; for example, Toria and Dad went to Los Angeles and discovered that Phemus was from Atlantis, but Xander and David found it out by going to Atlantis at almost the same time. The author wanted to show that not all of our efforts lead to the solutions we’re looking for. Sometimes they seem wasted. Has that ever happened to you? Because we don’t always know how to fix something, we have to try different things—some of which will have great outcomes and some of which will fall flat. How do you feel about that?

  7. Some of the mysteries of the house aren’t explained and some problems aren’t resolved. For example: Will the Kings really fix the future? How? Is Taksidian gone forever? Why was Taksidian using slaves from Atlantis (and not from somewhere else) as helpers? Why and how are the Kings (and their forbears) responsible for fixing history? The author had two intentions in mind for leaving these things unanswered: (1) To encourage each reader to use his or her imagination to “fill in the blanks”; and (2) to show that life’s puzzles aren’t always answered. Some things we learn in time . . . other things we never understand. What are your thoughts about this? Do you prefer stories that are neatly wrapped up, or ones that leave you wondering about some things?

  8. In your opinion, what is the “purpose” of the house?

  9. The “theme” of a story is the underlying message or messages about life the author is trying to convey. It is the lesson or moral of the story, such as Love conquers all. What do you think the theme of the Dreamhouse Kings is? (There can be more than one.)

  Visit DreamhouseKings.com

  THE SECRETS

  OF THE DREAMHOUSE KINGS

  A conversation between Jake Chism of FictionAddict.com and Robert Liparulo

  SPOILER ALERT: DO NOT READ UNTIL

  YOU HAVE READ ALL SIX BOOKS

  IN THE DREAMHOUSE KINGS SERIES!

  Jake Chism: First things first: They didn’t fix the future! What’s up with that?

  Robert Liparulo: I didn’t want a pat ending. Life’s not like that. There’s always more to do. My intention was to show that the Kings could fix the future. They reach a point where they’re willing to stay and do it, which is probably the most important aspect of their being able to make the future right. But also, they’ve developed considerable skills and knowledge in dealing with time travel. They have the desire and the ability. And it helps that they’ve gotten rid of Taksidian.

  JC: But did they? Is Taksidian really gone? We don’t see him die, and Jesse admits there’s a chance—even if it’s a small one—that he could find his way back to the present, to the house.

  RL: I felt that killing Taksidian was too easy, almost a cliché. Plus, it seemed to me that if the Kings killed him or somehow set it up so he died, it would almost be opposite of who they are. It would lower them to his level, and I didn’t want that. Jesse tries to reassure them that the chances of Taksidian finding his way back are small, but you’re right: it could happen.

  JC: I love the way you used certain character traits throughout the story, such as David using his soccer skills to get away from dangers, and Xander frequently using the knowledge he gleaned from movies, which even saved David’s life! But I noticed a few things that I thought would play a larger part in the story than they did. For example, Xander’s moviemaking and the Mission Control Center.

  RL: A few of those were intentional red herrings. I like the idea of readers trying to figure out what’s going to happen and having all these things to choose from. The MCC came about because if I were in that situation, I’d want a room like that. As it turns out, events started happening so fast, they didn’t get a chance to use it as much as they thought they would. Remember, Mom’s gone for only a week . . . and it’s one turbulent week to say the least. It’s a good example of something I wanted to show: that when we’re faced with a big problem to solve and we don’t know the solution, we’re going to do things that ultimately don’t pan out. Another example is Dad and Toria going to the professor who tells them that Phemus is speaking Atlantian. They find out what Phemus said to Toria in House of Dark Shadows; but they really didn’t have to go, because the boys follow Phemus to Atlantis anyway. It’s a duplication of effort, but that’s the way things happen. As the writer, of course I knew they didn’t have to go. But there was no way they could have known that.

  JC: I’m not sure I’m clear about why most of the portals dump those poor Kings right in the middle of chaotic, violent times. Can you elaborate?

  RL: Some of th
at has to do with what Taksidian has been doing to cause the war that ends the human race as we know it. He’s been going back in time and causing wars to happen, all eventually leading to the most devastating one, the one that happens in the near future. As a result, there are things in those wars that shouldn’t have happened, that need fixing or undoing. Also, I believe that in times of great crisis, more long-lasting “accidents” happen, things that have a terrible ripple effect through the rest of history. People die, changing generations to come. These are the big things that need fixing, so that’s where the portals send the Gatekeepers.

  JC: So what about the linen-closet-to-school-locker and creepy basement-chamber-to-Taksidian’s-pantry portals?

  RL: I think of them as sort of a splattering or shrapnel from the collision of time portals at the house, almost an accidental consequence. Taksidian found the one in the basement and built his house on the other end. He used it to get into the house, until Jesse found it and blocked it off. Then Taksidian began using it to dispose of his various victims. Locker 119 just happens to catch the one from the linen closet when the school was built.

  JC: Whenever an antechamber door shuts, the world on the other side changes. Why?

  RL: That’s an easy one: There are more errors in history that need attention than there are rooms or portals, so they have to keep shifting around so eventually they all have a chance of getting fixed. I like to think of it as all the errors of history jostling for attention, wanting to be set right.

  JC: In Frenzy, David thinks, “The house was big and imposing and dark—dark in every way, with an absence of light and an absence of heart, of good.” But aren’t the portals—and by extension the house— from God?

  RL: Yes, but just because David has an opinion, doesn’t make it true. When he thinks that, he’s assuming he’s going to die, and up to that point, the house has caused a lot of grief for the Kings. So many times, we find ourselves in awful situations, and we don’t see God’s hand in it until much later. We can’t always see the big picture when we’re in crisis mode. By the end of Frenzy, David starts to understand, and he wants to stay so he can make things right, so he can fulfill his destiny.