by Brinda Berry
The next frame proved it. I looked closely at the leafy overhang of a tree, brush in the background, and a small clearing where I knew a flattened circle of grass pressed on the Earth.
Biscuit started barking about sixty seconds before the front door opened. I leaped out of my desk chair and ran down the stairs to meet the two guys who would surely laugh and explain the trick. At the bottom of the staircase stood Mrs. Anderson with her little old lady bag clutched firmly to her chest.
“Dear, you scared me half to death,” she said in a trembling voice.
“Jeez, Mrs. Anderson, what the heck are you doing here?” I sounded harsher than I intended.
“Your daddy asked me to stop in and pick up the grocery list early this week,” she answered. “What in tar hill are you doing home?”
She seemed to notice that I wasn’t exactly dressed for school and still wore my pajamas. “Oh dear, are you ill?”
I gave a small, guilty smile. “I’m fine, Mrs. Anderson. I was a little sick this morning, but I’m fine now. Must’ve been just a woozy stomach. I was actually going to hop in the shower.” A lie. The last thing I needed was to have Mrs. Anderson call my dad and tell him that something was wrong. And the truth was definitely out of the question.
“Honey, I’ll just wait here until you get finished bathing.” She smiled. I could see that she was determined to take care of me. My dad had insisted that Mrs. Anderson check on me often and run errands to keep our household operating in his absence. I barely restrained myself from rolling my eyes as I nodded in resignation.
I practically sprinted to grab some clothes as I made my way to the bathroom. I pressed my forehead to the door frame and peeked around just enough to peer downstairs, but Mrs. Anderson was nowhere to be seen. My mind was whirling with the possibility of Regulus and Arizona returning to talk to me while she puttered around. I was squeaky clean in record time, no singing, no messing around, or any of the usual pastimes I was accused of practicing in the shower.
I pulled my damp hair back in a ponytail and didn’t take the time to dry it. My hair was still slightly more blond than brown from the summer sun these days, but my face was pale and my hair wet and dark at this moment, and I really did look sick. I pulled on some jeans and a T-shirt that stated “Self-Rescuing Princess” on the front. I didn’t apply any makeup, but I thought maybe some pink lip gloss would bring some color back to my face. Mrs. Anderson was a sweet old lady, but she didn’t understand that I didn’t need mothering. I did very well on my own, thank you.
I leaped down each stair hoping that Mrs. Anderson would be finished with whatever she thought she needed to be doing. As I rounded the corner at the bottom, there she stood, wiping her hands on a kitchen towel.
“Sugar, no wonder you had a sour stomach, after eating that junk.” She tutted. “I cleaned up the kitchen…what a mess. I warmed you a bowl of chicken broth. It’s some of my homemade that I stored in your freezer last winter. I don’t know what your daddy was thinking, letting you eat all that junk. You will feel like new after a bowl of my soup.”
I nodded without answering since I knew she didn’t require any conversation from me. I sat at the kitchen table and proceeded to scarf down the broth. It didn’t take long for me to finish the bowl, and I actually did feel remarkably better after getting something in my stomach.
“Really, I’m totally fine, Mrs. Anderson. Please don’t stay, or I’ll feel guilty ’cause I know you were just dropping by for the list.” I longed for her to get the hint.
“OK, dear, if you’re sure. I do have an appointment at the beauty parlor in half an hour. I got the grocery list and will bring things by later in the week.”
I set my hand on her elbow and guided her to the door. “Thank you so much,” I cooed. “I just don’t know what we’d do without you. I think I’ll take a nap now, and I’ll be like new tomorrow.” I opened the door and gave her a quick hug.
She smiled as she tottered onto the front porch. “You have my number, and don’t hesitate to call if you need me.”
I stood on the porch as she walked out to her Lincoln, a tank of a car that seemed to swallow her behind the wheel. I stood in the doorway while it seemed that she took her sweet time to drive out at a three mile per hour pace.
As soon as the mammoth car was out of sight, I turned to reenter the house, but stopped as I heard footsteps. I looked up to see both Regulus and Arizona walking from around the corner.
I studied them suspiciously. “How did you do that? Where were you?”
“Mia, let’s sit and talk.” Regulus motioned at the wicker furniture on the front porch. He had shed his jacket, and I noticed his build for the first time. He had some ridiculous biceps. Not the kind that looked like he bounced at the local bar, but muscles that were proof of a physical training routine.
I wasn’t scared. “I don’t want to sit. I want answers, about you and about Pete.” Sticking to my earlier line of questioning, I was unwilling to give up until they could tell me something about my brother.
Arizona gave me his coaxing smile I had seen often during this twenty-four hour period. “That’s what we’re here for. Answers.”
Anybody would be blinded by the good looks of these two. Arizona seemed so harmless. Any girl my age would fall victim to his easygoing manner.
I sat in one wicker chair, while Regulus sat in the other. Our knees were almost touching, which made me slightly uncomfortable. Regulus looked a little agitated. His blue eyes narrowed as he sat straighter and pulled his chair back an inch. Arizona lounged sideways on the porch swing with one leg casually draped across the length of the seat.
“Arizona and I think you can help us. So, we’re prepared to give you some answers.”
“So, you came here for my help.”
“Initially, no, but it seems that after talking about it, it might be wise.”
“First, what do you know about Pete?” I noticed an almost imperceptible glance between the two.
“You need to understand about us before talking about Pete.” Regulus twitched.
“OK, who are you, and what’s with the disappearing act? You were there one minute, and nowhere the next.”
“Disappearing act is a good description. We didn’t cease to exist, we just changed our existence to another plane.”
“Is that, like, magician talk?” I fought to avoid a sarcastic tone.
“We entered what you might call a dimensional doorway,” Regulus answered, sounding casual, “and were in our world.”
I stared at them both. Either I was crazy, because I had actually witnessed this unexplainable event, or they were.
Chapter 5
The IIA
“Oh, is that all?” I said in a deadpan tone. “I thought you did something really cool.”
“I’m serious, Mia. I know it’s hard to believe. And you saw it yourself,” Regulus said.
“Hard to believe doesn’t even scratch the surface. It’s just not possible. I don’t believe in the Easter bunny, and I don’t believe in doorways that make you disappear.”
“We are assigned to your area.” Regulus glanced at Arizona, still quiet.
“What does that mean, assigned?”
“This area is our responsibility. We monitor your woods for unauthorized immigration.”
“So, how does this door work? You didn’t ask anybody to beam you up…” I nodded my head and widened my eyes in mock seriousness.
Regulus looked at me, his brow lowered in confusion.
Arizona chortled. “She’s making a joke. She is such a funny girl." He pushed at my shoulder lightly to emphasize that we were buddies. It’s difficult not to like someone who laughs at all your jokes. Arizona was certainly starved for humor if he thought my sarcasm was that funny.
“I don’t understand,” Regulus said. His irritation sliced through the air. “You shouldn’t know how the door works. You have no reason to know anything more than necessary. Trust me.”
I wanted to trust
him. His colors of warm yellow gold told me that he was good. But I couldn’t tell Regulus that he had a good aura any more than I’d tell Austin that his was good, too. I relaxed and focused on the conversation.
“Trust you, huh? So, you leave the starship to monitor my driveway for immigrants. And you take them back to outer space with you when you find them?” I was positive he didn’t have a clue about my starship reference. I knew my remark was a mean retaliation to his high and mighty dismissal of my need to know more.
Regulus’s humorless eyes narrowed. “You also don’t need to know what happens to dimension immigrants. I think your government calls it a zero tolerance policy for certain crimes.”
“My government. So you work for whoever is on the other side of the door. And who is that?”
Arizona had stopped grinning. “We have already explained that we are bound to the IIA. No joking, Mia.”
“Then why do you seem so, I don’t know…” I hesitated, searching for the right word. “Earthly, if I’m supposed to believe this?”
“Because we’re human, like you,” Regulus answered. “We’ve also been trained for this assignment. My purpose has always been to monitor the portals. Arizona’s birth was in your world. Now he is of the IIA.”
“Oh, I’m so relieved that you weren’t going to tell me that you’re aliens or Men in Black. Although that would make about as much sense as this." I slumped down in exhaustion. This had seemed like the longest day of my life.
“Who are the Men in Black, Mia? Should we be aware of them?” Regulus continued to frown and his blue eyes glittered. He was as tense as a turkey on Thanksgiving.
Arizona hooted louder than before, thoroughly enjoying every minute of our interaction. He leaned toward me, smoothing his longish blond hair off his face. “You should know that he’s always like this…so serious.”
Regulus waved his hand as if to indicate that Men in Black reference was of little importance. “We think that you can lead us to the criminal who is aiding the immigrants in entering Earth.”
“For argument’s sake, let’s pretend that I believe this. Why on Earth would I care if these immigrants decide to live here?”
“Because the immigrants in Whispering Woods will destroy the human population.”
At this truly inopportune time in the conversation, I heard a vehicle coming up the drive. The motor was loud, indicating that the rumbling wasn’t Mrs. Anderson again. I saw Austin in his Jeep.
“Don’t leave.” I was panicking as I looked around for a hiding place. “I need to know about Pete and what he has to do with all this. In here.” I grabbed Regulus’s hand as he was closest to me. He flinched automatically, as if the touch of my hand had burned him. His gaze darted to our hands and up to my face when I tugged.
Both of them followed me quickly as I led the way toward the same downstairs bathroom I had locked myself in earlier this morning. The ironic twist of the situation didn’t escape me.
It had only taken moments for Austin to appear on the other side of the screen door.
“Austin, what in the heck are you doing here?” I looked through the screen door.
He grabbed the door handle. “You gonna ask me in?”
“Why bother? You usually just let yourself in.”
Austin clutched his chest, then grabbed the shaft of a make-believe arrow to remove it from his heart. He steadied himself dramatically before opening the door. “Emily sent me a text earlier saying that you didn’t show at school today and wouldn’t answer her chat. She was major textually frustrated.” He flung his head to the side to move his black hair out of his eyes.
“So?”
“You had pictures of the so-called ax murderers from the cam, remember? I was coming over here to go all Chuck Norris on them.”
“You crack me up,” I said glibly. “I told you that I wasn’t even worried about it.”
“You should be. You should be more careful. You had the front door open, and your alarm’s not even set, is it?” He pointedly looked at the unit on the wall beside the door.
“Mrs. Anderson just left,” I lied. It alarmed me that I was lying so easily when I considered myself a fairly honest person.
“So, you and Mrs. A just hangin’ out today?”
“No, I was sick.”
Austin pressed his hand to my forehead.
I backed away. “I might be contagious. Sicker than a dog all morning. You wouldn’t even want to go near the bathroom. Been in there for hours.” I was babbling, and I knew it. If Austin didn’t want to back off, telling him I’d been barfing this morning might just do it.
“OK, OK. I get the picture. No need for the details. I can hang around if you need me,” he said with no enthusiasm.
I gave a feeble laugh and shook my head. “I’ll be fine. I just need to get some sleep. And please text Em that I’m fine, and I’ll talk to you both later.”
“Sure.” He turned toward the door, pointed at me, and then to the security alarm keypad.
His college schedule left him way too much free time.
He stopped with his hand on the door. “Lock up behind me, all right? I know you aren’t worried about people near your house, but I am. And Em is.” He brushed his long dark bangs aside to make sure we were making eye contact.
Guilt’s heavy hand sat on my conscience. “Alarm on…the minute I shut the door,” I said. “My dad has nothing to worry about with you around.”
Austin left, pulling the door shut. I parted the blinds enough to see him jump into the Jeep and leave.
Exhaling in relief, I turned directly into Regulus’s chest. “Yikes! Don’t sneak up on me.” My voice was as high and squeaky as a five-year-old’s.
“Good job, Mia. Does your boyfriend visit you unannounced often?” Regulus asked.
“He’s not my boyfriend.”
“So this boy who isn’t your boyfriend… He knows about us somehow? And this Em person knows also?”
“And he’s not a boy. He’s probably the same age as you.” I felt somewhat defensive of Austin. I had forgotten that they could hear every word. Regulus and Arizona didn’t know about the pictures. My friends were becoming involved in this craziness…that bothered me.
“I have a camera set up taking pictures at the waiting booth.” My words came out sounding breathy. He was waiting for more explanation.
“Waiting booth?”
“The red wooden bench by the road.”
“And this camera took our picture,” Regulus said. “Does anyone else know?”
“No. Just Austin and Emily.”
Regulus frowned. He did a lot of that after hearing anything I had to say. “Do you think that they will tell anyone else?”
“Definitely not.” I shook my head adamantly to emphasize that I was positive that everything I had said was our secret.
Regulus still frowned and lifted his eyebrows toward Arizona who had made himself comfortable on the sofa. He was looking through a magazine on the coffee table with his feet propped on the edge.
“How are you so certain of this?” Regulus’s blue eyes drilled into me.
“I know my friends.” My voice had taken on a pleading tone. I took a breath since I wanted to sound confident and sure. “My friends will cover for me no matter what. My dad would freak out, and he wouldn’t leave me alone or even let me leave the house if he thought there were people lurking around in the woods.”
“Ah,” Regulus nodded, but the perpetual frown was still there. “Let’s agree that this must remain our secret.”
“So, tell me where Pete is.”
Arizona stopped flipping through the magazine and focused on the conversation. He looked from Regulus to me and back. “We don’t know where Peter Antares Taylor is located,” Arizona said. “But he should be the one helping us instead of you.”
I stood gaping in astonishment. Pete had hated that middle name. When we were little, he had threatened my life if I were to ever disclose it. They did know something about Pe
te.
“So, what do you know? You obviously know something.” I stared at Arizona since he was actually telling me the things I wanted to know. I couldn’t hold back the excitement in my voice.
“Peter was supposed to join the IIA, and he disappeared.” He shrugged as if that were the end of the story.
I knew there had to be more. “What?” I couldn’t fathom how Pete would think about leaving Whispering Woods, because that’s what it meant to me. Pete had been planning to leave.
“He disappeared,” Arizona said again.
“Yes, I heard that part.” I bit my tongue in frustration. Be nice. The voice in my head tempered my impatience.
“He was to join the IIA and something went wrong,” Arizona continued.
“Pete wasn’t old enough to join any IIA or whatever you call yourselves,” I answered in stubborn denial. “He was a teenager, like me.”
“Peter was a man,” Regulus said. “He was eighteen, right?”
I crossed my arms over my chest, hugging myself. “He was still in school. He was too young.”
“We’re close in age to your brother. The IIA begins training agents as young as possible. Your brother would be a strong and valuable agent.”
“We would like to locate him as much as you do. Maybe if you help us, we could help you,” Arizona was not looking at me, but at Regulus.
I measured what Arizona had said. I looked at his open, friendly face that told me to trust him. Regulus, on the other hand, had suddenly grown quiet. And he was avoiding eye contact. They say that sometimes it’s what a person doesn’t say as much as what he does say. I wondered what was left unsaid. Were they telling me only what they thought I wanted to hear?
Regulus turned toward me, and his eyes met mine briefly before he went to the window to gaze at the woods. “So, you will assist us.” His tone told me that he had made a decision, not that he was asking for my help. Was he ordering me?