by Brinda Berry
“What is that?” I felt goose bumps crop up on my arms.
“Sensor chips,” Arizona said.
“And the chips control the portal?”
“It signals more than controls,” he explained. “There are many dimensional entities who know how to control the portal. And of course, the IIA controls them as well.”
“So, there’s more than one portal?”
“Of course. Hundreds across this dimension of your Earth.” Arizona motioned toward the area near the waiting booth. “This portal has been rarely used until the last couple of years. Regulus and I were assigned to this area a year ago.”
I did a mental calculation. That would be around the time that Pete had disappeared. An idea was blossoming in the back of my mind. “Did Pete go through the portal?”
“No, we’re quite sure he didn’t.”
I held my gaze steady and shielded my emotions so he couldn’t see my disappointment. Going through the portal would be the last thing I wanted for Pete. Just finding him here, in this dimension, was going to be hard enough.
“Did you know Pete?” My voice sounded low and small. Desperate.
“No, but I’d like to meet him.” I noticed his use of the present tense, which reassured me. I found it hard to dislike Arizona as he was always smiling and so darn friendly. Though I’d threatened him with a weapon in the past hour, he didn’t seem to hold it against me.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Regulus walking toward us, minus the baby bundle. He avoided my eyes. I guessed he would be holding a grudge over recent events.
“I’ll take this one, too.” Regulus used the same device Arizona had on the first Slip. When the “tagging” was completed, he grabbed both arms of the figure on the ground. Arizona rose to help Regulus move the Slip a few yards. Then Regulus disappeared with the body in tow.
“Do you have some more food in your kitchen? I’m so hungry. I could eat a pony.”
“Eat a horse. You mean eat a horse, right?” I tried not to smile, but the corners of my mouth lifted.
“I was just trying to use your slang phrases.” He looked embarrassed.
“Oh, I wasn’t making fun of you.” I straightened out my smile into a serious face.
“Yes, you actually were, but it’s because we are friends, right?”
I tried to read him. Was he trying to gain my trust, or did he think that friendships were gained in a day or two?
“If you can get me to Pete, you’re my new best friend,” I said as sincerely as possible to remind him of my goal.
“If I were you, I wouldn’t point a weapon at me or at Regulus again. You’re on our side in this. I’m patient. Regulus is not.”
I nodded my head in understanding. What had just happened had been a reflex. I didn’t plan to do it. I certainly wasn’t thinking about choosing sides.
“Mia, you and me, we’re the same, but…Regulus is different. He won’t understand your compassion.”
“We’re the same?” I cocked my head and raised an eyebrow. “And just how is that?”
“You and I are both from this dimension. Two peas in a pod.”
I stared at him.
“Peas in a pod. I said it the correct way, didn’t I?” Arizona said.
“Sure, Arizona. But I doubt we’re from the same pod. I gotta hear how you figure that.”
“Can we eat while we talk?” Arizona grabbed his stomach in mock expression of dire hunger.
“Will Regulus come back and wonder where we’ve gone?”
“He’ll know. We track each other automatically.” Arizona flipped his hand up in a gesture to show me the implanted chip he had revealed earlier. He did this in the way I might hold up my cell while saying my dad could reach me anywhere.
My mind was on overload with trying to process the information Arizona was giving me, so I let that one drop. We drove the rest of the way to the house. As soon as we entered, Biscuit greeted us. I felt bad for making him wait so long to be let out for a break. My dad had built a small fence around a section of the backyard for Biscuit to be able to run off some energy. He ran the perimeter, barking at a lone squirrel that had decided to hang out in a tree on the west side of the fence.
“Tell me how we are two peas,” I said as I shoved a large frozen pizza in the oven.
We bent in unison to pick up the small pieces of sausage that had rolled off the pizza. He smiled and allowed me to grab them.
“What?” He grinned.
I thought about how Emily would be swooning over that face. “You know, you said we were ‘two peas in pod.’ How do you figure that?” I turned to scan the fridge for something to drink. I handed him a can of soda.
He popped the top and guzzled the orange drink. “My father worked for the IIA. My mother worked for Target in Phoenix.”
“Really? You mean Target, as in the store?” He nodded to assure me that I had heard him right. “How does that happen?” I asked.
“It’s not supposed to happen. My parents broke the rules of interaction.”
“So do they live in Phoenix now?” I clicked the oven light on and peered through the spotted, filmy window to see that the cheese was not even melted.
“They’re both gone.” Arizona shrugged. “I lived with my mother until I was four. She died, I lived in foster homes, and then my father came to get me.”
“I’m sorry. About your parents.”
“I’m fine. I’ve lived without either one for a long time.”
I could tell he didn’t want any pity. I answered the same way when people found out that my mom had left me and my brother. “Oh. Do you have more family?”
“The IIA.” He went to the oven and bent to gaze through its cloudy glass window. “That smells delicious.” He reached for the handle.
I pushed his hand aside with my oven-mitted one. “I’ve got it.”
Looking up, I saw Regulus through the glass top of the kitchen door, which led outside. I don’t know how long he had been standing there, but I did notice the strange look on his face. I felt the urge to explain what we were doing. Geez. This was the same feeling as when my dad had caught me doing something wrong. Like I wasn’t supposed to have fun talking to Arizona.
“Come in.” I waved my hand, directing him inside.
Regulus hesitated but entered, sitting in the nearest chair. He looked at the drink glasses arranged catty-cornered at the opposite end of the table. His eyes met mine. I felt a black cloud descend on the room.
“Arizona doesn’t have time for this.”
“What? You guys don’t eat?” I remembered to check the pizza, which was probably on the brink of becoming a hard, sixteen-inch disk. I took the pizza from the oven and put it onto a large cutting board. “There’s plenty for all of us.”
“Where was the first Slip when you came home in your car today?” Regulus glanced down at the plate I laid in front of him.
“You saw where. On my driveway.”
I passed Arizona a plate of the hot pizza. I could see him salivating. He shoved the slice into his mouth and took a bite. I laughed when he opened his mouth to air cool the piece that had seared his tongue.
“He wasn’t hiding?” Regulus asked.
“Nope. He was standing by the waiting booth, you know, the covered bench, when I drove past it. Then he started walking toward me.” I eyed Regulus suspiciously. “I thought that you said in the note to expect somebody in the woods. Why the twenty questions all of a sudden?”
“It’s too soon. I’ve calculated the odds of discovery, and it’s monumental. Someone told them to send a scout ahead. I have a theory.” He paused as if for effect. “Your friends are informers.” He lifted the pizza slice to his mouth without taking his eyes from me.
“Are you crazy? My friends don’t know anything. That is ridiculous. And even if I had told them something, Austin and Emily would never tell anyone.”
“Really? You’re certain of this?” Regulus asked between bites of pizza.
I gl
anced over at Arizona for moral support. I felt like I was defending myself and my friends, and I didn’t like it one little bit. Arizona was taking smaller bites now and chewing each one to keep himself busy, I thought. He remained silent, his eyes flicking from Regulus to me.
“But they do know about me and Arizona in your woods. You told me that they saw the pictures,” Regulus said.
“Uh…well…yes. They just think that you’re two goons trespassing in my woods. Like maybe, you’re thieves or something. Come on, guys.” I looked from one to the other. “They’re just ordinary people, like me.” I laughed nervously.
“Like you? Mia, you are far from ordinary.” Regulus shook his head and reached across to help himself to another slice of pizza.
Normally, I’d have said “thanks for the compliment,” maybe blush a little in awkwardness, then move on to the next topic. But this time, there was just such gravity to the statement. And Arizona refused to meet my eyes while Regulus couldn’t seem to take his off me.
“I have a feeling this is supposed to mean something to me.” I fidgeted and started picking olives from my slice of pizza, unsuccessfully trying not to look at Regulus.
“Maybe or maybe not. I had assumed you didn’t know anything, but maybe you know more about your situation than you have led us to believe.” Regulus’s squinted eyes told me what he thought.
“Don’t have a clue what you’re hinting at.” I decided to keep eye contact with him because I wanted it to be clear that I was being up front. I found this task harder than it sounded. I’d discovered that Regulus was the king of the stare down.
Biscuit scratched at the back door, and I let him in. He wagged his tail with unlimited energy, gleeful to see his buddies back in the house. He chose to sit beside Regulus on alert in case any toppings happened to jump off his pizza slice. Biscuit was out of luck.
Regulus chewed slowly, meticulously, watching my reaction to every word he said. “So, you and Pete weren’t as close as you let on.”
“You don’t know a thing about me and Pete,” I said. “If Pete had a secret, he didn’t tell me because he couldn’t.” I hated that Regulus filled my head with doubts about my brother. What had been going on?
“Not everyone can work for the IIA. Pete could and you can.” Arizona said. I guessed he was getting as tired of the cat-and-mouse dialogue as I was.
“OK, I give. Why me and Pete, and not the average Joe? Why you and Regulus? Oh, I know, we’re like superheroes, right? I should tell you now that I refuse to wear a cape.” I shook my head while smiling.
Arizona’s mouth twitched, but he was trying to be serious. “Your genetic makeup is special. Like Pete, you have a neurological gift.”
“Oh yeah. I am a real brainiac. I can’t even play along with Jeopardy. Guys, you have hit the wrong household for recruiting the Mensa squad.” I didn’t think I was dumb, but I sure knew my latest ACT score, and MIT wouldn’t be knocking on my door.
Regulus grabbed a pencil and pad from the counter. Oh great, he’s going to give me a math problem or ask me to perform some other neuro-gymnastics.
He drew a twisted rope on the pad. Cool. I could do Pictionary. “See this double helix? The DNA coding strand holds the genetic pattern that would—”
“I dreaded something on this piece of paper that involved math, but this may actually be worse. I should have paid more attention is science class.”
Arizona laughed and held up his hand. “Stop, stop. Summary, Regulus, summary.”
“She is not an idiot, Arizona.” Regulus ripped the sheet of paper from the pad and tossed the crumpled ball into the trash bin. The more Arizona laughed, the angrier Regulus seemed to become.
“Regulus, just tell me. What is this gift I have so inconveniently never discovered?”
“You are a synesthete, and so is Pete.” Regulus looked at me expectantly for some kind of reaction.
“You’re crazy if you think that’s a gift. It just means my senses get crossed. It drives me nuts. How did you find out that I am? I mean, Pete got tested at the university, but I’ve never told anyone.”
Arizona cocked his head to one side, the confusion clearly written on his face. “Why wouldn’t you want anyone to know, Mia?”
“Because it’s weird and different. And Pete hated it that teachers had that info in his student file.”
Regulus looked as confused as Arizona over my reasoning.
“Your neurological gift allows your brain to combine senses and feel the natural portals of your world. There is nothingness in the portals, and you feel it,” Regulus said.
OK, that last statement about “feeling nothingness” was about as contradictory as a statement could get. I stared at the front of Regulus’s T-shirt. Anything was better than looking into his questioning eyes, which clearly expected me to say something.
“How would you know I can feel anything? I would have noticed this, right?” I had a flashback to the last two times in the flattened circle of grass that was the portal for Regulus and Arizona. The last time I was there, it had felt reminiscent of the first huge drop at the top of a roller coaster peak. I had been thinking I would do some disappearing act, so I tied my feelings to anticipation. The time before that I had gotten nauseous. So, I could feel a portal. No big deal.
“The IIA has your genome file as well as Pete’s,” Regulus said. “They recognize how you can use your gift. So you’ve been officially recruited as an enforcer.”
“OK, I get it. You guys are like those army recruiters that came to my school and tried to tell us how great it would be to serve in the military. Right? There is a problem here in that I don’t want to join. I’m still in high school, guys. I have a college plan. Get real,” I said reasonably.
“You want to find Pete, right?” Regulus said with just enough threat.
The ringing of the phone prevented me from making a smart-aleck remark to him as I rose to answer it. I was sure that it must be a telemarketer, because the house phone never rang anymore. If anyone needed to call me, they just called my cell. Or my friends would send me a text for that matter. That thought made me realize that I hadn’t checked my cell in a while.
“Hello,” I answered, tucking the handset into the crook of my shoulder and chin.
“Mia Taylor, please.” The deep voice on the other end exuded authority.
“And who may I ask is calling?” I guessed a telemarketer, which was why I had told my dad that we didn’t need a landline. The only person who called besides telemarketers was Mrs. Anderson. She called the landline because she wouldn’t call my cell phone. When I asked her once why she never called it, she answered that she didn’t have a “cellular phone” so she was pretty sure it wouldn’t work. I remember thinking that was hilarious.
“This is Eli Bleeker,” the voice on the other end said.
“Oh, hi Dr. Bleeker.” I waited, wondering why my mentor was calling my home phone.
“We have a contract, umm, agreement that you’re supposed to e-mail me on a daily basis concerning the status of the science project. Most of the time, I’m not that much of a stickler about the rules, but we’ve just gotten started and you haven’t responded to my e-mails. I thought maybe I had written down the wrong e-mail address or that you’re having Internet problems.”
“Oh, gosh, I’m so sorry. I’ve been so busy with this being my senior year and all. I promise I will check in by e-mail today.” I twisted the phone cord around my fingers and peered around the corner to see Arizona investigating the contents of my refrigerator while Regulus looked at photos on the top freezer door.
“Sure, I understand. I was just checking to make sure that we are on track. A mentor has a job, too,” Dr. Bleeker said, and I could tell by his voice he was smiling.
I started to sweat when I saw Regulus remove the picture of Joey Blue and me at the spring dance last year. I was a good four inches taller than Joey in the picture and hated the outfit I’d worn. I silently cursed Em for talking me into wearing a
dress and heels.
“Thanks so much for calling, Dr. Bleeker. I have to go. I’m cooking something in the kitchen, and I think it’s on fire.” My statement came out rushed and nervous.
“Oh, definitely, don’t want to keep you. Come by my office at the end of the week for our face-to-face.”
“Sure thing. ‘Bye.” I ran and grabbed the picture out of Regulus’s hand. I slapped the four-by-six photo face down on the kitchen counter. Biscuit scratched on the back door, so I turned to open the door and let him out.
A loud crash and a thump sounded behind me the second I had my back turned on my visitors.
Austin lay splayed on the floor with one arm outstretched as if reaching for something to grab and the other twisted behind his back. The right side of his face was pressed against the floor, and his hair hung forward over the left side. Regulus’s knee was lodged firmly in the square of Austin’s back as he held the twisted forearm in place.
Startled, I turned and tried to form words that would defuse the situation as my mouth formed a small “o.” At least no one is bleeding, I thought optimistically. I saw Arizona poised conveniently a foot away to assist if necessary. Clearly, Regulus didn’t need help. He wasn’t even breathing hard.
“This,” I said slowly, “is my best friend, Austin.”
I guess I had thought that Regulus would be embarrassed at attacking my friend. He’d hop up and release Austin from the hold and shake hands or slap him on the back in camaraderie. But he didn’t.
“Can you let go of him.” This was not a question.
Regulus released the hold on Austin’s arm and stood gracefully. He backed up a foot in the small space between the kitchen table and the sink. I saw that two glasses had been knocked over in the scuffle while I was out of the room. Now I knew how teachers must feel. I had only turned my back for a few seconds, and…
Austin rose with as much dignity as possible and followed my gaze to take in the pizza and the dishes that said I had not been eating alone. I guessed he hadn’t previously noticed that detail.
“What’s up here, Mia?” Austin said, refusing to look at Regulus or Arizona. He sounded as accusing as a husband who returned to find his wife cheating.