A Pair of Docks

by Jennifer Ellis

  The relief was short-lived. When Abbey looked up, she saw that Mantis had Dr. Ford in a stranglehold on the ground. Mantis’s silver locks hung over his eyes and his face was crimson. Mark stood watching, still holding his sharpened stick. Abbey pushed Simon away in horror, but then realized that although Dr. Ford’s face was red, he was still making indignant sputters, and Mantis didn’t appear to be applying sufficient pressure to kill the man.

  Simon pursed his lips in disgust. “Mantis got stressed out when you didn’t come back right away. Dr. Ford made some snide remarks about him not knowing what he’s doing. They got into an argument. It degenerated into name-calling. Mark and I decided to let them work it out. I’m not even sure if we know whose side we’re on right now. I was afraid that if we hurt Mantis, he might do something to you, or we might not get you back.”

  When Mantis saw Jake and Abbey, he released Dr. Ford immediately and stood, brushing the dust from his dark overcoat and tucking stray strands of hair behind his ears.

  “It worked, then?” he said jubilantly. “Dr. Ford and I were just having a little discussion about manners.”

  “There were a few glitches,” muttered Jake, with a sullen expression. “But yeah, it worked.”

  “Hack,” said Dr. Ford, as he removed the bracken from his backside.

  “And I see our clients approach,” exclaimed Mantis, ignoring Dr. Ford. A column of white figures could be seen moving along the docks beside the pond, Caleb in the lead. About fifty men, women, children, and babies, with packs of supplies and crossbows, rounded the corner. Caleb raised his eyebrows when he spotted Abbey, Simon, Mark, and Dr. Ford, but he said nothing until his group assembled.

  “We’re ready for you,” said Mantis.

  Caleb nodded and started to address the crowd, his voice rising and falling with the practice of someone used to convincing people of his thinking, the tenor of it weaving a spell over all of them. “This is the magic I have spoken of. The docks that will take us to a new place—to a safe haven where I hope we can flourish. Thank you for volunteering to be the first to try out the new future. If we judge it to be a good place, I’ll come back and guide the rest of our people to the new land.” In his cloak of white, with the moonlight decorating his deep red hair, it occurred to Abbey that it was Caleb, not Jake, who looked like Moses.

  Caleb shifted the tilt of his head slightly, so that he still seemed to be speaking to the group, but was looking into Abbey’s eyes. “A few of you are old enough to remember the bomb, or what we think was a bomb. The bomb that shook the world and made people, animals, and plants all over the earth vanish. We didn’t know what happened. Our scientists said they became like dark matter in the universe…mass that was there but not. And now—because our planet lost too much carbon dioxide from its atmosphere—our summers grow colder, the glaciers advance, and we can no longer grow enough food to meet our needs. Tonight we are going to rejoin part of the world that split away and became a shadow to us, including our loved ones.” Caleb’s glance shifted to Simon. “So, with our prayers for safe passage complete, let us proceed. I will go with the first group and I will come back for the last. This group of fifty will be the pilot group. If we find safe haven in this new future, I will return for the rest of our people.”

  There was a smattering of applause from the other people in white clothes. But many of them looked scared. Men shifted from foot to foot, fingering their crossbows, and women held babies more tightly and clenched the hands of small children.

  “How many can you take at once?” Caleb asked Jake.

  Jake’s eyes widened and he hesitated. “Ten,” he said finally. “They all have to fit on that dock and hold hands, and you’ll have to hold hands with me. You stand on that dock. I stand on this one.” Abbey almost snorted. Jake was guessing. They had no idea whether he could transport more than one person at a time, or if everyone had to be standing on the dock.

  Typical, Abbey thought again. He was going on some sort of blind faith and male hubris, unwilling to admit he didn’t know.

  Then again, perhaps she was increasingly doing the same, and she was totally unsure how she felt about it. She was aware—had always been aware—that some of the greatest scientific minds in the world had to have gone on hunches and hubris. But she’d never been sure where the line was between methodical study and leaps into the unknown. If the last three days were any indicator, she was clearly quite capable of tossing the scientific method in the garbage.

  Caleb counted off ten of the white-clad people and directed them onto the dock. He spoke to a man with a long gray beard who nodded and came to stand where Caleb had been.

  Abbey was relieved that she couldn’t see Rowan—the man who’d escorted her to the beaver pond a few days before—anywhere in the group. The people on the dock formed a human chain with Caleb on the end. Jake stepped onto the dock and took Caleb’s hand. And then they were gone.

  There was a ripple of dismay among the crowd. Mouths hung open and wives turned to husbands. An agitated murmur of voices rose into the air.

  Mantis attempted some form of crowd control. “Now, now, people. This is what we expected. No need to be afraid. It’ll be fine. Jake will be back shortly.”

  The group ignored Mantis and instead encircled the gray-bearded man and stood speaking in hushed tones.

  Jake returned within five minutes this time. He must’ve just stepped on and off the docks quickly at each stop.

  Abbey watched as the gray-bearded man counted off ten more people. There was less shock this time, and Jake was back within a few minutes again, looking paler than before. Dr. Ford stood beside Simon, Abbey, and Mark, and watched the proceedings with great interest.

  “What did Caleb mean with all that bomb talk?” Simon asked Abbey in a low tone.

  “I don’t know. They’re moving to your future I think…” She decided not to mention what Caleb might be doing in Simon’s future. “That’s where Jake and I went first. The future with the causeway and the spaceships.” Abbey paused. “I did think our futures were a bit too different. How could those futures have even been on the same planet? Why would some people be traveling in spaceships while others are living in the woods in tents?”

  “Where did we see tents?”

  “Here. I did. That night I came through on my own. Caleb said that each future lost something… What if the desert future lost the earth’s atmosphere, which is why they need to live in the bubble. And this future lost carbon dioxide. And why were the three of us in totally different futures? It’s like we split apart, too.”

  “But who could, or would, split the world apart?”

  Abbey’s gaze wandered to Mantis, and then to Dr. Ford. “I don’t know.”

  The transfers went smoothly, but Abbey watched in turmoil. The map in Mantis’s car with the BP and the X’s was beginning to fester in her mind. What could the X’s be? Why was Mantis so interested in helping Caleb? Was it really just so Salvador Systems would have a competitive advantage in the future? In 2036, Mantis would be almost ninety. Why would he even care?

  Abbey noted that on the latest transfer Jake returned with a red welt on his cheek. He’d started to look more and more unnerved. Twenty people now remained to be transferred, and Caleb should be coming back with Jake the next time for the last group of people.

  The second-to-last group stood on the dock and disappeared with Jake.

  “I don’t get it though,” Abbey murmured to Dr. Ford. “Can people just move from one future to the other? Is that allowed?” It was all getting so confusing.

  “Of course,” said Dr. Ford. “The docks wouldn’t have been created if that wasn’t allowed.”

  “Dr. Ford, how much of what you know about the stones is just guessing?”

  Dr. Ford drew himself up. “I can assure you, young lady, that after years of studying the ancient texts, I’m the most knowledgeable person around about the workings of the stones. Nobody has taken an interest in the stones for years, except Man
tis of course, and now all of a sudden there’s a big rush and all of you young people seem to think you know better than me. You and that Andrews fellow.”

  “Wait—what did you say?” Abbey said. “Andrews fellow? You mean Russell Andrews?”

  Dr. Ford’s reply was cut off by the reappearance of Caleb and Jake on the docks. Both were bloodied around the face from scratches, and crouched in a fighting stance. Jake had a black eye. Abbey left Dr. Ford and ran toward her brother. Simon was just behind her.

  Caleb went to reassure the remaining group of ten. “It’s all fine. The future we’re going to is at peace. Jake and I just had to transfer back through another future. It’s only on the return trip. It won’t affect you. Let’s go.” The final group of ten began to shuffle toward the dock.

  “I don’t know,” muttered Jake to Mantis. “It’s getting bad in that green mist place. They’ve started waiting for me, and the last two times they grabbed at me. I don’t know if I can make it back on my own next time.”

  The smile Mantis had been wearing until this point slipped slightly. “Well, you’re going to have to try, my boy. There’s no payment for a job only half done.”

  Jake scowled but remained by the dock. “What happens if I don’t come back? Who’s coming looking for me?”

  “That is one of the risks of your task. As long as I somehow get proof you’ve completed the assignment, I’ll provide your parents with the payment.”

  The final group had now joined hands on the dock and Caleb was about to join them. He turned to Abbey and Simon. An etching of sadness surrounded his eyes. “I still don’t completely understand how these paradoxes work, but I don’t want anything you’ve seen tonight to endanger either of you. Go home immediately.” He looked at them intently like he wanted to say more, but Mantis had moved to within earshot.

  Jake glowered by the docks but nonetheless waited.

  Caleb lowered his voice. “I’ve changed my mind about what I said before. You need to look for something you’ve lost by the stones. The living ones.”

  “What?” Abbey said.

  Two arrows suddenly whistled out of the trees and landed with a splash in the pond. One of them grazed Abbey’s hair and she screamed. The group on the dock emitted various screeches and dropped to their knees.

  Two bearded men emerged from the trees, crossbows in hand, followed by the man with the clawed hand and half-burned face. The men who had chased her in the woods yesterday, the men who had planned to kill Caleb. Rowan pulled up the rear. “Traitor!” the clawed man howled. “How dare you take our people? How do we know they’re even still alive? Witchcraft! You should all be burned at the stake. The Light must be killed!” More arrows were unleashed. One hit Mark in the foot, and he dropped to the ground with a squeal. Another struck Simon in the shoulder and he fell. Simon’s cry of pain sliced through Abbey and she started to rush to him, but Caleb caught her arm and pulled her back. Mantis took an arrow to the groin and one to the chest and keeled over. The group on the dock huddled around their children; the men among them pulled out their own crossbows and began firing back. Caleb took out the first bearded man.

  Abbey felt the fear rip through her arteries and capillaries. She’d almost forgotten about Mark’s future. The future with blood and death. Abbey wondered vaguely if the younger Mark was now in the bushes, watching.

  Mark cried out like an enraged animal and hurled his sharpened stick at the men like a javelin. It hurtled through the air with shocking speed and only narrowly missed the clawed man. Mark spun and snatched Simon and Dr. Ford’s sticks. An arrow from a man on the dock cut Rowan down. Mark unleashed a second stick. It hit the clawed man squarely between the eyes. A look of shock crossed the man’s face before he dropped to the ground.

  “That’s a paradox!” yelled Dr. Ford, and he launched himself through the air to grab Mark.

  Caleb unleashed an arrow that took out the final attacker. “Hold hands. Now!” Caleb yelled at the group on the dock, who all frantically grasped hands. Dr. Ford’s weight unbalanced Mark, who had already pulled his arm back to throw his final javelin. Mark’s watch fell to the ground and the third javelin flew wildly, toward the docks—heading straight for Abbey. Abbey saw Mark’s look of horror, but her joints seemed stiff, and she realized in agonizing slow motion that she wasn’t ducking quickly enough.

  “No!” Caleb yelled, and leapt in front of Abbey. The javelin struck him in the center of the chest with a sick thud, and Dr. Ford and Mark vanished with a pop. Caleb’s body fell backward into hers, knocking them both back onto the dock, just as Jake reached out and seized one of her flailing hands. She struggled under Caleb’s mass, and just managed to slip her hand into Caleb’s as the whoosh of the docks overtook her. She heard Caleb shout to Simon, “If I don’t come back, get home and get Mother! Abbey will be with the life-giver!”

  They emerged on the causeway. The other white-clad people waited silently, huddled in a group like a flock of sheep in the night. Gasps rippled through them when they saw Caleb. A circle of red the size of an orange had appeared on his white-cloaked chest. The javelin must have fallen away during transport. He staggered slightly as he stepped off the docks.

  “I’m fine. I’m fine,” he called. “It’s just a scratch and a bruise. Alasdair!” he called out to the gray-bearded man. “Take everyone to the camping spot on the Plateau that we discussed last night. Set up camp. I’ll rejoin you before morning.”

  The gray-bearded man nodded and started to shepherd the group down the causeway. They went obediently, although with a few concerned glances in Caleb’s direction.

  Caleb looked at his people and then back at Abbey, shivering in the moonlight. “I don’t know how badly Mark was hit. If he dies, or leaves the area of the stones, we may not have much time before the energy is gone,” said Caleb. “I have to go back and make sure Simon’s okay. Rowan could have more men in the woods.” He nodded to Jake. “We need to take Abbey to her own future—she can find her way home from there. She’ll be safest there. Then you need to go back to the forest and get Mantis home if you want payment.”

  Abbey felt close to tears. “Wait, no. Why can’t I go with you?”

  “Because you need to get home alive.”

  “What about Simon? He’s hurt.” Abbey practically shouted at Caleb.

  “Jake and I will get Simon home. It shouldn’t be hard, as long as Rowan has no more men. The stones always want you to get home. They’re like gravity—you need the energy if you want to pull away from home, but they’ll always draw you back. It’s possible that Simon’s already home—if he was able to walk, and was smart enough to leave Mantis behind.”

  “What if there are more men there? You’ll be killed. Simon will be killed.”

  “That’s why I need to go right now.” The circle of red on Caleb’s chest was now the size of a cantaloupe, and he had his hand pressed against it tightly. Beads of sweat had appeared on his forehead. “You need to stay alive. It’s important. I’ve rethought it since we met a few nights ago. I was wrong. We do need to try to change the future. This thing that happened… It’s bad. We have to try and stop it—and if anyone can, it’s you, Ab. Find the thing you’ve lost, by the stones. We have to go.” She wanted to protest, to scream that he needed medical attention, but Caleb reached out and grasped Jake’s hand, and Jake took her hand.

  And she was in the Madrona atrium, her hand still clenched in Jake’s.

  Caleb wasn’t with them.

  “Where’s Caleb?” she demanded.

  “I let go of his hand,” Jake said. “I left him there.”

  “What?” Abbey clawed at the front of Jake’s shirt.

  “He needs medical attention, and I need him alive in that future to complete his end of the bargain, or this will all have been for nothing. Besides, if I brought him with me, I’d have to cycle through Nowhere twice more instead of just once—and honestly, I’m not sure I’d make it.” He gripped her shoulder. “Don’t worry, I’ll take your
brother and Mantis home. I have to go.”

  The warm waves of air pulsed through the membrane and Jake’s body practically vibrated with nerves.

  “I’m going with you.”

  “No. It’s easier on my own. The magic only works if the person is holding my hand. It took the people in that green mist place a while to figure it out because I was going through alone—but then they saw me and Caleb last time. I can keep my hands balled up in my pockets and just jump in the air to reactivate the docks if nobody is with me. Maybe I’ll make it. Besides, someone has to tell my parents something if I don’t come home.”

  “What if Rowan has more men?”

  Jake grimaced, and a muscle in his cheek pulsed. He had incredibly long lashes, Abbey noticed. “Then I’m probably dead. I’ll see you around, maybe.”

  “I’m coming with you!” She grasped for his hand, but Jake sidestepped her, pulled his hands away, and stepped on the dock.

  And then he was gone.

  And Abbey was alone.

  She swore, more loudly this time, using a curse word that her mother would definitely disapprove of. Both of her brothers were hurt, perhaps badly, and she didn’t know which one to go to first, or how. Her mother was probably half-mad with worry. Abbey had to find the stones that had taken them home before, the ones by the office where her favorite periodic table had hung. She ran to the door that led into the lab building and yanked on the large silver handle. The door didn’t budge. It was locked. She ran around the atrium looking for another door, but there was none. The air was humid and warmer than the night she’d left behind, and a slight breeze brushed her hair. A canvas of stars hung in the air above her. The atrium was open to the outer bubble like a courtyard. Of course the doors into Livingstone Labs were locked at night. She banged her fist against the glass wall. Maybe she could break it. Large decorative rocks surrounded the Madrona. She snatched one up and hurled it at the glass. The rock ricocheted off like she’d thrown it at a steel door. She cursed again and inspected the glass more closely. There, embedded in the glass, was the plant cell pattern used in the bubble membrane.